The Word of the cross is the powerful New Covenant gospel that preaches freedom from sin by taking up your cross and following Jesus daily, after having received forgiveness through Jesus’ death on the cross on Calvary. The cross that we are to take up is not a physical cross, like the one on Calvary, but rather it is the process of denying the sinful lusts in your flesh and thus “crucifying” them so that they are overcome and rendered powerless to control us. (1 Corinthians 1:18; Luke 9:23)