From Galatians: Taking Up the Cross Means You Were Crucified With Christ
Orientation
Many hear Christ's command to 'take up the cross' as a summons to relentless striving and self-imposed suffering, which breeds bondage and undermines the gospel.
- This misunderstanding turns Christianity into a works-based obligation.
- It leads to viewing the cross as a burden you must carry to earn God's approval.
- This error actively nullifies the assurance and freedom Christ purchased.
And that because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage: (Galatians 2:4)
— Galatians 2:4
Clarification
The cross is not a task left for you to complete, but the place where God has already dealt with your old self, once and for all.
- 'Taking up the cross' is recognizing your old self was crucified with Christ.
- It is not about adding a new burden, but agreeing with God's finished work.
- This reality silences the law's condemnation and ends all performance-based expectations.
There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. (Romans 8:1-2)
— Romans 8:1-2
Structure
The biblical logic is that being crucified with Christ liberates you from the law and enables you to live by the Spirit of life.
- God unites you to Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection (Romans 6:3-4).
- Having died to the law through the law, you now live unto God without expectations (Galatians 2:19).
- This union means Christ Himself is your righteousness, sanctification, and reward (1 Corinthians 1:30).
I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)
— Galatians 2:20
Weight-Bearing Prose
The gospel proclaims a definitive, completed action: ‘I was crucified with Christ.’ This is not an invitation to agony but a declaration of accomplished fact. Through this union, God has executed the old self and severed its connection to the law’s condemning power. The believer has died to the law through the body of Christ (Romans 7:4). This is the foundation of Christian freedom—liberation from the law of sin and death into the law of the Spirit of life (Romans 8:2). Any teaching that reintroduces ‘taking up the cross’ as a demand for self-effort or suffering is smuggling works back into the gospel, seeking to bring you into bondage (Galatians 2:4). The Pauline category is clear: sanctification is a Person, Christ, given to you as your portion in justification (1 Corinthians 1:30). Your new life is not a improved version of the old under law; it is Christ living in you by faith. The believer’s walk is by faith in the Son of God, not by sight of personal performance (2 Corinthians 5:7).
Integration
Your assurance rests on what God has done, not on what you must do. Christ is your righteousness, your sanctification, your reward. You are hidden with Christ in God. The pressure is off. The demands are finished. You live now by the faith of the Son of God, who loved you and gave Himself for you. Abide here. This is your resting place, your anchor. Let the comfort of the Spirit refresh you as you agree with God’s testimony about His Son. There is no condemnation. You are free.