What happend on the cross for me is substitution....Jesus paid the penalty for our sin.Jesus was brutally tortured and then hung by his hand, which were nailed to a cross...He took our curse and gave us his blessing, because of his sinless life, He was the only one qualified to pay tne penalty for man's sin and to bridge the gap between God and man.Therefore , our  salvation is based on what Jesus did for us on the cross. It has nothing to do with what we do for him. Jesus alone can and did pay the penalty for sin.

But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and He will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him.

                                HEBREWS 9:26-28