Leading The Way

Dr. Michael Youssef: On the cross, Jesus' body was broken so that we might become spiritually whole. On the cross, Jesus was humiliated so that we be justified before the Father. On the cross, Jesus' blood was shed so that we might be cleansed. On the cross, Jesus was nailed so that we might be pulled away from the jaws of sin and death. On the cross, Jesus was lashed with whips so that we might be comforted. On the cross, Jesus died so that we might live forever with Him in heaven.

Guest (Male): Thank you for joining Dr. Michael Youssef for Leading The Way audio. Approaching 40 years of life-changing gospel ministry, beginning in Atlanta and now changing lives in and across six continents, get ready for an up-close personal look at the cross. More than a universal symbol of faith, but a real source of real power for those who call on Jesus.

A little later, find out how to get a copy of Dr. Youssef's brand-new book, An Unholy Alliance. It's a great read that brings truth and grace into these crazy days of 2026. Now though, listen with me as Dr. Michael Youssef begins today's teaching from God's word on Leading The Way.

Dr. Michael Youssef: Dateline: London, England. A British Airways employee was asked to either remove the cross that she was wearing or risk losing her job. The employee took her case to the court and sued British Airways, especially in light of the fact that Sikhs and Muslims are wearing their religious clothing, and she lost. The judge said, in effect, that a Muslim or a Sikh can wear their religious clothing, but the cross is an offense.

Dateline: Mojave Desert, April 2007. The ACLU threatened to sue to remove a memorial cross which stood there since 1934. The government settled for covering the cross with tarps and boards. Dateline: New York, August 2003. An interfaith network called for Christian churches to remove the crosses from the churches, calling them a symbol of oppression. One of them said, "We want to tear down the walls that separate us as people of faith." What faith are they talking about?

Well, I'm only going to share those very few because I could go on for an hour, case after case after case of how the cross is being rejected, despised, and stamped out of public life. In truth, we are one generation away from total obliteration of what the true gospel of Jesus Christ is all about. Even today, there are many evangelical churches that have decided not to identify their buildings with the cross. They may have good intentions, but the problem is they are aiding and abetting in this departure from the truth.

None of this, of course, should really surprise us. Why? Because whenever man elevates his own wisdom, they automatically denigrate God's wisdom. Whenever man becomes the measure of all things, God's wisdom becomes foolishness to them. Whenever man thinks that he can save himself, then the thought of God becoming man, dying on a cross, and rising again so that He might provide forgiveness of sins and the only entrance into heaven sounds so foolish.

We should not be surprised because the Word of God told us not to be surprised. 1 Corinthians 1:18, here's what the Word of God said: "The message of the cross is foolishness for those who are perishing, but to us who are saved, it is the power of God itself." You know, the Greek word for foolishness is *moria*, from which we get our word moron. That's what foolishness means.

In many ways, to the non-believer, it is moronic that a man who died on a cross 2,000 years ago can be the only grantor of eternal life. It is moronic not to rely on your own wisdom and on your own strength to bring you peace in life. It is moronic not to depend on your good works and on your effort to take you to heaven. It is moronic that the blood of the God-man Jesus Christ is the only payment that is acceptable to God for eternal redemption.

I was thinking about this and the foolishness of the cross and the power of the cross. I couldn't think of a better example of a person who thought of the cross as moronic in every sense of the word and later was transformed by that same power of the cross like the Apostle Peter. I mean, the Apostle Peter thought the cross to be absolute foolishness, to be absolute moronic. In Matthew 16:22, Jesus prepares them to understand that He came for the cross, that He was born for the cross, that He's going to the cross.

But Peter didn't like it. Why? Because he understood from his Bible, the Old Testament, that the cross is for sinners, that the cross is for those who are cursed by God, that the cross is for disgraced people, that the cross is not for a perfect, sinless, holy, righteous God of very God, who became man of very man. He couldn't understand that. In Deuteronomy 21:23, the Bible said, "Cursed is a man who hangs on a tree," and that's all he could understand.

And because Peter's human wisdom was contrary to God's wisdom, listen to me, any wisdom that is contrary to God's wisdom, any wisdom that is contrary to God's Word, is satanic. It's not just a good idea. It's not just his opinion versus my opinion. It is satanic. How did I come up with this? Listen to the words of Jesus. He called Peter, His chief apostle, He called him Satan. He said, "Get behind me, Satan." He said, "You are a stumbling block for me. You are only interested in your own plan, not in God's plan."

Even during Jesus's arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane, Peter was still not getting it. Getting what? Getting the fact that Jesus left heaven and came to earth for the cross, that Jesus was born for the cross, that Jesus is the fulfillment of the foreshadowing of all of the animal sacrifices that have been offered since the Garden of Eden all the way to the time of Jesus. And so he pulls out his .32 Magnum sword and chops the ear of one of the arresting soldiers.

Peter was not easily going to get over his preconceived ideas. How many of us get our own preconceived ideas, even when we know it's contrary to the Word of God? God can't possibly die on a cross. God couldn't possibly die in full payment for a repentant sinner. It did not make sense to him, and it still does not make sense to millions of people across the world today.

Oh, but listen, after the cross and the resurrection, Peter goes from thinking that the cross is moronic to experiencing the very power of the cross that Paul is talking about in 1 Corinthians 1:18. There he stands up before thousands of people on the Day of Pentecost, and he declares, "Let all of Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you have crucified, both Lord and Messiah."

And then he goes into his first epistle that he writes to the church in 2:24. This is the very man who said, "Jesus, you cannot go to the cross," and he said, "He himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness, for by His wounds we have been made whole." That's the power of the cross.

Let me give you four things that God has accomplished through Christ's cross. First, Jesus died on the cross to satisfy the justice of God. Secondly, Jesus died on the cross to redeem His own children. Thirdly, Jesus died on the cross in order to justify the believers before God the Father. And fourthly, Jesus died on the cross to reconcile us to His Father. He came to satisfy His own justice, the justice of the Father.

You see, in the last message, I explained to you that it was God Himself who instituted that the shedding of blood of an innocent lamb in the Garden of Eden, it was to satisfy His own justice. God said to Adam and Eve, "The day you disobey, the day you go your own way, you shall die." He doesn't mean just physical death. He was talking about eternal torment, eternal suffering. That's the justice. That's God's justice. That's God's law.

But we know Adam and Eve did not die. Why? Because God's mercy and God's grace came into the picture because the law says you do this, you suffer that. That's the law. That's justice. God's law says, "The soul that sins," and who doesn't, "it shall die." The law said you break the law, you pay for the penalty. Somebody has to do the paying. Somebody has to do the paying.

And Jesus said to the Father, "I will do the paying. I will satisfy Your justice. I will fulfill Your law. I will do what no one else could ever do. I will pay what nobody else could ever pay in 10,000 lifetimes." Why? Because according to God's justice, only a sinless person can pay for the sinner. Just think about this from human logic. If I'm up to my eyeballs in debt, how can I pay for somebody else's debt?

A sinner cannot pay for another sinner. That is why God said it has to be pure, sinless, holy, righteous, absolutely without a sin. That is why Jesus Christ lived for 33 and a third of a year. He was tempted in every way like we are tempted, but He was without sin. The cross satisfies the justice of God.

Secondly, the cross is God's redemption. You say, "What's redemption?" To redeem is to buy back, is to purchase, is to pay a ransom to set somebody free. Every one of us was born, every single person that has ever been born, born as a slave to sin and Satan. Every one of us was born with our backs to God. Every one of us was born with a condition of wanting to say no to God. It is in our DNA. It's in our genes.

But on the cross, listen carefully, on the cross, God paid the ransom and set us free to say yes to God. He set us free to obey God. On the cross, God paid the mortgage and gave us the property. On the cross, God broke the chain and liberated us. On the cross, God bought the deeds from our taskmaster and set us free. Beloved, listen to me very carefully, and I say that with heart of compassion and with every ounce of love.

That is why anyone who continues to be enslaved to any form of sin, anyone who continues to be in addiction of any form, is a contradiction. For a Christian who says that I am saved and on my way to heaven and continues to be enslaved to any form of sin is a contradiction. Listen to me, because when Jesus hung on that cross, that payment included your freedom from sin, your freedom from the wages of sin, your freedom from the ravages of sin, your freedom from the enslavement of sin.

You noticed I did not say perfection, because I know some of you are going to misunderstand me. I didn't say perfection. Freedom from sin is different from perfection. I promise you, every time you and I fall in sin, every time, it is because we have forgotten that we have been bought and paid for in full by the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is because you and I have forgotten that sin and Satan have no authority over us anymore, that sin and Satan have no power to hold us captives anymore, that sin and Satan have no authority to keep us in their grip.

The cross satisfied the justice of the Father. The cross paid for our redemption. And thirdly, the cross covers us with the righteousness of God. Theologians give it a big word, and I'm a simple guy, I don't like the big words theologians throw at you and say "justification by faith alone." What's that mean? Well, some people used to say "just as if you never sinned." No, that's not what it means. That means God is winking at your sin, and God doesn't wink at sin.

Let me explain it to you. What does it mean to be justified? I have listened enough to Christian people through the years who in their minds think salvation is like amnesty. They really do. They think it's amnesty. It is not. Being justified before God is not amnesty. Amnesty is a pardon without principle. Justification is not overlooking your sin. It's not overlooking the wrongdoing. Justification is an act of gracious justice of God.

When the President of the United States, as they all do at the end of their term, starts issuing pardons to people, amnesties for people who may have committed crime, may not have committed crime, the President has that power. When he does that, it costs him next to nothing. That's amnesty. But when you and I come to God acknowledging our rebellion and our independence, acknowledging that we wanted to live our own life our own way, when we acknowledge our disobedience, God says, "Guilty as charged." He wouldn't think, "Oh, it's okay, I'm so grateful you came to me and said that." No, that's not justice. That's not grace. That's not fairness.

"Guilty as charged," heaven says. God never, never, never winks at sin and says, "That's all right." Christians make this mistake that when somebody hurts them deeply and that person becomes under conviction and therefore they come and say, "I'm sorry I hurt you, I'm sorry I sinned against you," most Christians say, "That's all right, that's all right." Don't ever do that. Don't say it's all right. It wasn't all right.

You need to say, "Yes, you did hurt me. Yes, I received that pain, but I take that pain as the price for forgiving you and redeeming you." That's the grace of God. That's how you do it. Don't let a person get off the hook and say, "Well, it's all right." God never says it's all right. But when we come to God in humility and acknowledging our willfulness in sinning, Jesus says, "Yes, guilty, and you deserve eternal judgment."

Oh, but listen, that's not the end of it. He says, "I have served your sentence for you. I've paid your fine. I have suffered in your place. I went to the cross in your stead." And so grace says, "It is my gift to you, but it cost me the precious blood of my one and only Son, my begotten Son." And that's what justification by faith is all about. Faith stretches out its hand and receives and says, "Thank you. Thank you."

And then you spend the rest of your life saying thank you. All of your life's actions, all of your words, all of your lifestyle, all of your resources, all of who you are is saying thank you. Thank you for the cross. And that is why the Apostle Paul confidently but humbly can declare, "Therefore, there is no condemnation upon those who are in Christ Jesus."

Because on the cross, God paid what we could never have paid in a million years. On the cross, God did what the law could never have done for us. On the cross, our debt was canceled, and we were set free. On the cross, Jesus' body was broken so that we might become spiritually whole. On the cross, Jesus was humiliated so that we be justified before the Father. On the cross, Jesus' blood was shed so that we might be cleansed.

On the cross, Jesus was nailed so that we might be pulled away from the jaws of sin and death. On the cross, Jesus was lashed with whips so that we might be comforted. On the cross, Jesus died so that we might live forever with Him in heaven. Amen.

Finally, the cross was to reconcile us to the Father. Probably this concept of reconciliation is more understandable than the first three, that's why I spent a lot more time on them. It's a familiar concept. But believe it or not, as I said, everyone of us were born at enmity with God. Everyone of us were born with that desire to do our thing. God demanded perfect obedience, and who of us can meet that demand?

God demands perfect obedience, but you know the first word a child learns to say? It's not mommy or daddy, it's no. And that is why we teach the children to be able to say yes to Jesus so that when they grow up and be adults, they can say yes to God. Only Jesus can take my hand, a sinner, repentant sinner, and place it in the hand of God the Father. And then the Father looks down and he says, "You're not my enemy, you're my child. I love you."

You see, that's why this falsehood that's going around that all religions will lead to heaven, all the religions are going to lead to heaven. They are misleading people. They're taking people all the way to hell, sadly. Breaks my heart. It's misleading. It makes a mockery of the fact that God before the creation of the world had a plan that for Him to come down from heaven and die on a cross to be the only way to heaven.

Guest (Male): A reminder to lean into the power of the cross from Dr. Michael Youssef. Thank you for joining listeners around the world for Leading The Way. As this month quickly comes to a close, allow me to mention once again Dr. Youssef's new book, An Unholy Alliance, and the current special offer to get your copy.

Lurking behind the chaos growing worse with every news cycle is a shocking truth that has many shaking their heads. Radical Islamists and radical progressives, normally opposed to one another, have created an unholy alliance, which is also the title of the book, An Unholy Alliance. Why? Both of these groups seek the destruction of Judeo-Christian values, and Dr. Youssef's book will open your eyes and sound a warning about how these strategies are playing out in the headlines. An Unholy Alliance will wake you up and will strengthen the resolve of your faith in this deceptive, destructive time.

Dr. Michael Youssef: Hello friends, you have seen the wave of extremism on college campuses, in conversation with some young people in your life, even in many churches. Two radical ideologies, once enemies, now they're marching together. They shut down debate, excuse violence, and they target biblical truth. That alliance is real, and it is deliberate. In my new book, An Unholy Alliance, I explain what these two radical opposed forces are, why they are working together, and I also give you the 1,400-year backstory many people are entirely ignorant about that is shaping today's headlines. Get my new book, An Unholy Alliance. It's going to open your eyes and give you practical ways to make a difference for Christ.

Guest (Male): Call Leading The Way at 866-626-4356. 866-626-4356. You can also learn more about the content of the book and order securely online at LTW.org. Keep in mind, Leading The Way is a listener-supported gospel-spreading media ministry, delivering the message of God's grace into and across six continents. It's only through the faithful gifts of listeners like you that Dr. Youssef and his worldwide team can continue passionately proclaiming uncompromising truth at home and around the world. So stand with him at LTW.org. This program is furnished by Leading The Way with Dr. Michael Youssef, passionately proclaiming uncompromising truth around the world.