by Peter Hendsbee

Created on: April 10, 2009

The cross is a very powerful symbol in Christianity, however it is not to be glorified. Glorification of the cross is paramount to idolatry which is contrary to God's second commandment. Found in the book of Exodus chapter 20 verses 4 and 5, God commands, "You shall not make for yourself a carved image - any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them or serve them..." (NKJV). Attributing glory to the cross of Jesus is to take that which belongs only to God and to bestow it upon another, in this case, an inanimate object; the cross.

While it seems absurd to some that a historic device of torture would find prominence in today's culture, the cross of Jesus has a legitimate purpose in Christianity. It is a symbol to remind us of the price that had to be paid for our salvation. That the price had to be paid in such a brutal fashion is even more telling of the love that God has for us and what each one of us are worth to the Almighty.

The use of the cross as a symbol is valuable to Christians if it is used as a catalyst to trigger our praise and thanksgiving to the Saviour who died upon it and to cause us to reflect upon the reason why He had to die. Every human is guilty of violating the commands of God and is worthy of death as punishment for their sin, and in order to be free of that sentence it was necessary for someone to die in our place. Only the life of Jesus, the son of God who was without sin, could qualify as a legitimate substitute. He willingly paid our debt, commuting our sentence by hanging on a cross until dead.

If the cross does not serve to remind of that sacrifice; if it doesn't cause us to be grateful for the price that Jesus paid; if it does not instil in Christians a sense of humility; or if it does not cause us to praise and worship the One who set us free from sin and death, then it has no positive purpose to Christians. In the absence of these attributes, the symbol of the cross can only serve as a distraction from the true meaning behind it.

Glorifying the cross in Christianity, where Jesus made possible our salvation by dying on a cross, is like a drowning man who is saved by being thrown a rope and who ends up offering his thanks to the rope instead of the one who threw it to him. It simply serves no purpose and keeps us from placing our focus on the source of our salvation. It was the sacrificial death of Jesus that saved us, not the cross upon which He died.

Without bringing Jesus into focus, the symbol of the cross is only a detriment to Christianity. It distracts from what is truly important. It detracts from what the Christian message is about and focuses the attention away from Jesus. The focus in Christianity is Christ, not His cross.

Given its proper place as a symbol of Christianity, the cross can be a very beneficial reminder that God sent his only son Jesus Christ to offer his life, to pay the penalty that we incurred, for our salvation. We only need to accept and believe in order to reap the freedom that Jesus provided. However, the glory must be given to Christ, and not placed upon the cross on which He died.

Learn more about this author, Peter Hendsbee.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.