What Actually Happened on the Cross?

Christianity is a religion, but the cross of Christ is not. In fact, the cross is where religion—and everything else—comes to die. The cross marks the end of all religion, all striving, all human attempts to reach God on our own terms.

Think about it: the cross ends all the foolish stories people cling to, the political bets of emperors like Constantine, the imagined competition between God and Satan, the wars between religions, and the petty divisions between humans. The cross is the end of the old humanity, bringing everyone into the new creation in Christ.

Many people tragically limit the accomplishment of Christ on the cross by saying, “Christ made it possible for us to be saved if we believe or live right.” What blatant disrespect for what Christ truly achieved! To claim that His victory is only potential until a “mighty human” adds their faith, free-will choice, or good deeds reduces the cross to a conditional offer, rather than a finished triumph.

But the truth is, Christ ended sin on the cross (John 19:30). He ended the old humanity, and it is done—finished, just as He said. There is no human action that can undo the salvation Christ has accomplished. No effort, no law-keeping, no striving can add to what Christ completed through His death for sin, His burial, and His resurrection.

Picture it: the Christian religionist looks at the brutal torture and death of Christ and self-righteously asks, “What must I do to be saved?” Meanwhile, the believer looks at the cross and says, “Look at what has been done to save me.” Christ dealt with sin once and for all, and no sin will keep any of God’s creatures separated from Him forever. Christ saves us—not our righteous living, not our avoidance of sin, not our faith or actions. Christ alone saves.

As Romans 5:18-19 clearly states, the same “all” who were condemned and died in Adam are the “all” who are justified and given life in Christ. All humanity is justified and saved by the obedience of the One—Jesus Christ—not by the obedience of any other man or woman as religion claims. The work of salvation has been fully accomplished by Christ for all creation.

God gives faith to those He saves first—the firstfruits—and then, through judgment, the rest will come to the realization of what Christ has completed on the cross. In the end, all are saved by Christ’s finished work. This is the true, scandalous, and glorious message of the cross.