"All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23).

• Pollution of sin (Mark 7:20–23)

• Power of sin (John 8:34)

• Penalty for sin (Romans 6:23)

• Partition of sin (Isaiah 59:2) 

• ‘The self-substitution of God’ (1 Peter 2:24)

• Agony of the cross (Isaiah 53:6) 

The cross shows:

• You are infinitely valuable to God
• Jesus is the supreme example of love (John 15:13)
• God is not aloof from suffering
• The powers of evil have been defeated: the resurrection wasn’t the reversal of a defeat; it was the manifestation of a victory

The partition has been removed (2 Corinthians 5:19)

• Reconciliation with God and in other relationships

The penalty has been paid

• Justified (‘Just-as-if-I’d never sinned’)

The power of sin has been broken

• If the Son sets you free, you really will be free’ (John 8:36, NLT)

The pollution has been removed

• ‘... the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin.’ (1 John 1:7)
• When you are forgiven, you want to forgive 

But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven.

Matthew 5:44-45

This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ.

Colossians 1:21

For everyone has sinned; we all fall  short of God’s glorious standard.

Romans 3:23

God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.

1 John 4:9-10

But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.

Romans 5:8

If we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us  our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.

1 John 1:9

To all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.

John 1:12

If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved.

Romans 10:9-10

I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 15:13