Posted on by Angela

Four Ways to View the Cross

The cross is a universal symbol. It is worn by Christians and non-Christians. When we see the cross most of us immediately think of the crucifixion and the suffering Christ. It denotes hope and freedom, and it is used to decorate our homes, clothing, jewelry, and bodies in the form of tattoos. Let’s consider four additional ways we can view the cross.  

DEATH 

The cross demands death. I realize this is simplistic, but at its most basic level the cross is an execution device. The cross was used as an instrument of torture and death by the Romans. Criminals were nailed on the cross and hung in public places as a warning to others. Being nailed to a cross was humiliating and a slow, painful death. The person executed in this way was left on the cross for hours exposed to the elements of the weather, heat, rain, etc. There was only one way off the cross –death.  

The cross is central in the Christian faith. Jesus was put to death on the cross for the sins of the whole world, past, present, and future. Were it not for His death on the cross, we would still be lost in our sins with no hope of peace with God. Jesus and His death on the cross made a way for reconciliation between man and God. So that we might be saved. God used a device of torture that man had created and redeemed all mankind through Jesus on that very device.  

Historically, the cross had been used since ancient times for varied reasons. It gained popularity with the Romans in execution and then with Christians symbolically under Constatine. It symbolized Jesus’s death and resurrection. In Catholic circles, the cross is referred to as the Crucifix and has Jesus on the cross symbolizing His death. In Protestant circles, the cross has Jesus removed from the cross, marking His resurrection. Without Jesus’s death on the cross we have no hope of salvation.  

The cross is not found in the Old Testament. There is one reference in Deuteronomy that is applicable to the cross. Paul references it in Galatians 3.  

 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”— (Galatians 3:13 NASB) 

Here is that reference from Deuteronomy.  

22 “Now if a person has committed a sin carrying a sentence of death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, 23 his body is not to be left overnight on the tree, but you shall certainly bury him on the same day (for he who is hanged is cursed of God), so that you do not defile your land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance. Deuteronomy 21:22-24 NASB (emphasis mine) 

DENIAL 

Wearing the cross identifies a person with the suffering of Jesus. It shows we are willing to sacrifice ourselves for the things God loves and give up our rights. It is about denial. 

Jesus told His disciples in Luke 9:23, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” The choice to follow Jesus is not a one and done event. It is a daily choice. It is a denial to what we want and a surrender to what He wants. Our will always pulls us away from the things of God. Daily denial of those things brings us in line with His way and His will. For example, our will desires revenge when someone wrongs us. His will demands we deny that desire for revenge and offer forgiveness to the one who wronged us.  

Jesus asked us to do this daily. Not every once in a while. Daily. Jesus asked the Father if there was some other way than the cross, yet He surrendered His will for the Father’s. He denied what He wanted for the better plan of the Father’s. He had to go to the cross so that we could be saved. He bore the cross once. He asks us to deny ourselves daily. In comparison, it is a small ask.  

IDENTITY 

The cross also gives us identity. We identify ourselves as believers in the suffering, death, and resurrection of Christ in the wearing and display of the cross. While many individuals suffered and died on the cross in history, it became the symbol of the suffering of Christ. Had He not died on the cross there would be no need for anyone to place a cross in their homes, wear it around their neck or in any other form of jewelry, or have it tattooed on their body. We only do these things because Jesus was crucified on the cross.  

We identify with Jesus in His suffering and accept that His suffering was enough to redeem us for eternity. Paul writes often of this in the New Testament. In 1 Corinthians 1:18 he says, 

“For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” 

And again, in Ephesians 2:16: 

“and that He might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the hostility.” 

And still in Colossians 2:14: 

“having canceled the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.” 

Think about what we are identifying ourselves with each time we wear the cross. In Jesus death, the separation between God and man was removed. It was through the cross Jesus made atonement for our sins. This is why the cross is special to Christians.  

In early Christian history, Christians would signify Christian businesses, gathering places, etc. either through the sign of the fish or later through the cross. Many steeples on churches carried a cross at the top. Anyone looking knew where Christians gathered. Sadly, today’s steeples seem to have gone out of fashion among churches and the cross with it, but that is another topic for another time.  

The proliferation of crosses makes me wonder if the cross has not lost some of its wonder and meaning in today’s world. Have we lost sight of the price that was paid on a hill 2000 years ago? 

Before we put the cross anywhere on us, either by jewelry, clothing, or ink, we better be sure we understand what we are identifying with. Can we honestly say we are willing to lay all on the line for Jesus? That is what the cross represents. 

DEVOTION 

What does the cross mean to you? What do you think of when you see the cross? The answer to these questions reveals a great deal about what we think about Jesus. We cannot separate the cross and Jesus. The cross leads us to Jesus and Jesus leads us to the cross. 

The cross brings us to devotion. Just as Jesus was devoted to the will of the Father even to death on the cross, so to we should be devoted to Him. There are many things which divide our devotion. We have many things to entertain us and pull us away. Screens abound everywhere, and there is always something to watch, a new game to play, a new feed to follow, or a new video to view. Before we know what has happened, we have been led astray from the things of God and any commitment we once made to Him, and we have slipped into the coma of scrolling reels on Facebook or TikTok. 

All of the previous points are culminated in devotion. We acknowledge His death was enough to cover our sins, in doing so we deny ourselves daily for His will, and we identify ourselves with Him in the recognition of the cross. We show our devotion to Him by our obedience to His commandments and striving to become more like Him in our words and actions.  

Jesus remarks in Matthew 10:38, “…the one who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.” 

Just as Jesus knew what lay beyond the cross, let us give Him our devotion knowing that someday our time will also be complete and we will be forever with Him. The writer of Hebrews said it well in Hebrews 12:2 

“looking only at Jesus, the originator and perfecter of the faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” 

May we always be so devoted to Jesus that we look only to Him. We know our joy and hope is found nowhere else. Let’s remember to give our all for One. 

CONCLUSION 

It is a simple device. Two lines, horizontal and vertical, encompassing everything, and it demands everything. It is an acknowledgement of our surrender to give our everything to the One who gave His everything for us.  

So, here are four ways to view the cross. We view the cross through Jesus’s death, our denial of what we want for what He wants, our identity as believers, and our devotion to Jesus the originator and perfecter of the faith. 

Maybe the next time we wear a cross, purchase a cross for our home, or if you are a person who likes tattoos, selects one for your body, we will pause and consider our reason.  

All for One 

Angela 

Posted on by Angela

Third Verse Devotion: At the Cross

Mary Shelley wrote a book called Frankenstein in which a doctor became so obsessed with creating life he robbed graves and stole cadavers and used the parts to create a man. He managed to bring this man to life. Once the deed was done, however, he was so horrified by what he had done he could not even look upon his “creature” as he called him. The book goes on to describe the lengths the “creature” went to in which to gain his creators attention and approval. The creature wanted companionship and love and acceptance and all he received was rejection and scorn.

As I read the book, I could not help but consider the comparisons between God’s “creatures” and Himself. Only in this case it was in reverse. God created us with his own hands and gave us life and the gift of speech and intelligence and yet we deny His very existence. He paints the sky with sunrises and sunsets to get our attention and we say it is only she way the suns rays react with the water droplets in the atmosphere. Or some other scientific explanation. We see the earth’s majesty and say it all began with some cosmic accident or ooze from the ocean. Really? The creature denies the Creator. We were created to love the Creator. We were created to fellowship with Him. Yet in a reverse Shelley story we run from the very one who loves us. Why? Because of the creature’s sin.

Isaac Watts addressed this in his hymn “At the Cross.” There are five to six verses to the song. I have posted five for context. Usually verses three and/or four are omitted when singing. I want to talk about both in the time and space we have.

1 Alas, and did my Savior bleed,
And did my Sov’reign die?
Would He devote that sacred head
For sinners such as I?

Chorus:
At the cross, at the cross where I first saw the light,
And the burden of my heart rolled away,
It was there by faith I received my sight,
And now I am happy all the day!

2 Was it for crimes that I had done
He groaned upon the tree?
Amazing pity, grace unknown,
And love beyond degree![Chorus]

3 Well might the sun in darkness hide,
And shut His glories in
When Christ, the mighty Maker died
For man, the creature’s sin.[Chorus]

4 Thus might I hide my blushing face
While Calv’ry’s cross appears,
Dissolve my heart in thankfulness,
And melt mine eyes to tears.[Chorus]

5 But drops of grief can ne’er repay
The debt of love I owe;
Here, Lord, I give myself away,
‘Tis all that I can do.[Chorus]

When Christ was on the cross the sun was “hidden” so to speak. Matthew 27:45 reminds us that, “Now from the sixth hour darkness fell upon all the land until the ninth hour.” For three hours the sun hid in darkness shutting in the glories of God. Many scholars believe it was during those three hours that Christ bore the weight of God’s judgment. He felt the full force of our sin. It was in these hours the price was paid for our redemption. At the ninth hour, Jesus cried out “My God, My God why have you forsaken me?” Someone ran and gave him a drink (verse 48). In verse 50, Jesus cries out again with a loud voice and gives up his spirit. The mighty maker died for man the creature he loved. For those whom he gave a free will to choose him or deny him. Who were under so great a weight of sin they could never be free any other way.

The fourth stanza goes on to remark that as we look on the event of the crucifixion we should look away in shame for our sin. Yet the cross stands as a reminder of the great price which was paid there. It is this reminder which brings us to our knees in thankfulness and tears. Jesus paid a debt he did not owe. Paul writes to the Corinthians,

2 Corinthians 5:21

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin in our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

He loved you and me that much. He is not a weird Dr. Frankenstein, and you are not created out of leftover body parts. You were created with design and purpose. He loved you and gave himself for you.

 Oh, how lovely is the cross of Christ. The instrument of torture has become our symbol of freedom. What can we do in return but give ourselves to him?  The Creator is waiting Creature.

Angela

Posted on by Angela

The Price

September has always been a time of reflection for me. I look at September and reassess my year, what have I accomplished, what do I hope to accomplish in the coming year. I don’t exactly know why. I guess it was when school started and all the school supplies were out, it had the feeling of a new beginning. I don’t always accomplish my goals for the upcoming year, but I think it is good to evaluate and examine and think forward. I do the same thing in January, the actual start of the year. Yet my big review is September.

What does this have to do with anything you ask? Well, when I wrote the post on sin. It was a getting back to basics. Understanding sin is foundational to our lives. We need to know we have all sinned and we are all sinners. Now see this causes a problem, because once we realize the fact we must do something with it. People have tried many things throughout history to do something with their sin. Many tried by themselves through good deeds thinking that good deeds will outweigh the stain of sin. Others tried penance. The act of confessing to a priest, self-punishment, prayer, fasting, or other means. While these may have merit on their own, though I can’t see much value in self-punishment, they are not enough to cleanse from sin. Even the Jews had to have a day of atonement each year to remove their sin.

So, what is to be done with this debt of sin?  We cannot get rid of it on our own. The blood of animals cannot cover it. Our own efforts are not enough to wash it away. Well, it happens that God had a plan to wash away our sin from the start. God being righteous and holy cannot look on sin and do nothing. There must be a judgement. There must be a price paid. Paul wrote in Romans that the price for our sin is death (Rom 6:23).  Death not just physically, but eternally. It is a price we cannot pay. We cannot wipe away our debt with a confession to a priest. We cannot wipe it away with a few good deeds. God must judge sin, but there is hope.  

Psalm 103:10

He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor rewarded us according to our guilty deeds.

God in his grace and mercy provided salvation for our debt. Paul finishes his statement in Romans 6:23 with, “but the gracious gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Were it not for God’s grace none of us could be forgiven. It is only by his grace and mercy we can be set free in Jesus Christ.  God did not just create us and leave us to our own devices to figure things out. No, he loves us and wants to be involved in our lives. In other words, he wants a relationship with us. Our sin gets in the way of that relationship. Jesus stepped in as our sacrifice and carried our punishment so that the relationship between God and man could be restored.

2 Corinthians 5:21

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin in our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

The writer of Hebrews also attests that,

“without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” (Hebrews 9:22)

When Jesus died on the cross, he satisfied the debt of our sin. The judgment and wrath that was due was paid in full by the shedding of his blood. 1 John says it like this:

1 John 2:2

and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

1 John 4:10

In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

There’s a word in there we don’t use often. The word propitiation. It refers to satisfaction or appeasement. In other words, Jesus is the satisfaction for our sins. He alone is the appeasement for our judgment. He alone can turn away God’s wrath for our debt of sin which deserves death. Because Jesus took our place we can be restored to a right relationship with God. The relationship He had always intended. The choice is now ours.

Think and ponder on the things on which we have looked. Have you tried on your own to make things right with God? Do you plow through good deeds but still carry guilt? Are you in church every Sunday but Monday through Saturday there is no difference? Think on these things and ask yourself if you need a Savior.  What choice are you willing to make? We will talk about it next time.

Angela