What actually changed because of the cross?

Devotional from Pastor Tim Chalas

The cross is more than a symbol we wear around our necks. It is the turning point of all human history.

When most people think about the cross, they think, Jesus died for my sins. And that’s absolutely true. Praise God, your sins were fully forgiven because of what Jesus accomplished there.

But even more happened at the cross.

Paul writes in Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.”

Think about that for a moment. It wasn’t just Jesus who was crucified. In God’s amazing grace, you were included in His death. The old person you were in Adam—the one separated from God, spiritually dead, and condemned by sin—was brought to an end at the cross.

God didn’t simply forgive the old you and send you back to try harder. He put that old identity to death.

Then came the resurrection.

You were raised with Christ into an entirely new life. You’re not a cleaned-up version of the same old person. You’re a new creation. The barrier between you and God is gone forever. You’re no longer identified as a sinner separated from God—you are a saint, completely united with Jesus and fully accepted in Him.

That changes everything.

Yes, sin may still tempt you, and old habits may still try to pull at you, but they no longer define who you are. Your past is not your identity. Your failures are not your name. Christ is your life.

So when you remember the cross, don’t see only the place where your sins were forgiven. See the place where your old life ended.

It changed who you are. Fully forgiven, fully accepted, completely loved, and forever united with Jesus. And when you know who you are in Christ, you can finally live with the freedom, confidence, and joy He died and rose again to give you. 

A Prayer for This Week

Father, thank You for the finished work of Jesus. Thank You that the cross is not only where my sins were forgiven, but where my old identity ended so my new life in Christ could begin. Help me see myself through the truth of the resurrection. When old labels and old lies try to define me, remind me of who I really am—fully forgiven, fully accepted, completely loved, and forever united with Jesus. Teach me to live each day from that place of grace, freedom, and joy. Amen. 

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” — 2 Corinthians 5:17