The Loss of the Cross

For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

( 1 Cor. 1:17).

First Corinthians 1:18 – 2:5 is perhaps the most important passage Paul ever wrote on the cross. He explains that the crucifixion of Jesus is the ultimate demonstration of God’s power, at least for those who are wise enough to understand it. Paul’s point is that the cross not only saves us; it shapes us! Cruciformity (cross-shaped thinking and living) is what the gospel is all about.    

Corinth Community Church, however, had pushed the cross to the margins. Rather than being the defining center, it had become just another doctrine in her statement of faith. Instead of being the grid through which all spiritual thought and practice was understood, the cross was little more than a singular event in history that made possible the blessings of the Spirit-filled life. In writing this letter, Paul intends to reestablish the centrality of cruciformity as the defining center of the Corinthians’ faith and practice.   

In this blog, my focus is not on what Paul has to say about cross-shaped living, but rather on how he introduces what he has to say. He states that his greatest fear for the believers in Corinth is that the cross of Christ would “be emptied of its power” (I Cor. 1:17). Other versions say, “be made void” or “be made of no effect”.  Paul knows that a gospel where the cross has been rendered impotent is no gospel at all; even in a church that boasts of its spiritual maturity, charismatic gifts, and high-powered worship.  

As I have meditated on Paul’s words in I Corinthians 1:17 and thought about how they apply to the American evangelical church, I want to suggest four ways I believe Christians today are emptying the cross of its power. 

The cross is emptied of its power when:

It becomes little more than a corporate logo.

Nike has its swoosh, McDonald’s has it’s golden arches, Starbucks has its mermaid; and  the church has it’s cross. It’s just a symbol, nothing more. In fact, the church has other symbols that we could use with equal effect: the dove, the basin and towel, or the rainbow. Right? 

It is no longer associated with pain and death.

Although the cross originally symbolized violence, suffering, and shame, we have moved beyond all that now. We want the symbol of our faith to be more, well, pleasant and comforting. Why would anyone want a reminder of excruciating pain in their worship space? So let’s make the cross beautiful by dressing it up. Let’s invite artists to cover it with gold or carve it with expensive wood. Let’s turn it into expensive jewelry, studded with gemstones. And for heaven’s sake, let’s not have a body hanging on it! Those Catholics and their crucifixes… that’s morbid, grotesque, unhealthy. Right?

It describes something that happened long ago.

We may need to admit that crucifixions are ghastly and gory. But thank God it’s over! It all happened so long ago and so far away. So, let’s be sure to keep the emphasis on the fact that Jesus rose from the dead. Yes, we must turn the page and put all those horrible images behind us and focus on the joys and blessings that Jesus makes possible. Right?   

It belongs only to Jesus, certainly not to me. 

There is just one cross in the gospel: the cross of Christ. When Jesus spoke about a second cross, one with my name on it, well, that was just a metaphor. He didn’t really mean it. The gospel proclaims that he paid my debt. He bore the cross for me. So I get to enjoy all the benefits. Right? The cross relates to me personally only as the mechanism that Jesus used to make possible my salvation. He suffered so I don’t have to. That’s what the cross is all about, and that’s all there is to it. Now, can we please move on to another subject? 

As you read these four statements, perhaps you find yourself saying: “Hey, this is what I believe about the cross! These statements represent what I learned in church, from my pastor. Frankly, I’m offended that Paul would suggest that my belief in the cross has been emptied of its power.”

If this is your response, my friend, then I need to inform you that you are a member of Corinth Community Church. In fact, the majority of Christians in America today are members in good standing at CCC, the most dysfunctional church in the New Testament. Most don’t know what they don’t know. They are not living in the power of the cross because they have never truly understood a cruciform gospel. They have never heard it preached. They have never lived in a community that was shaped by the power of the cross. But some in the church today, especially in leadership, are willfully opposed to a gospel that threatens our comfort, reveals our sin, and exposes our bad theology. Any way you cut it, the sad fact remains: multitudes will gather for worship this Sunday under the sign of the cross while they empty it of its power. 

The Loss of the Cross

By Stan Key

On a hill far away

Near a major highway

Stands a church all aglow with success.

And the thing I like most

(You must pardon my boast),

I can go with no sins to confess!

So I’ll cherish this gospel of wealth,

How it pampers me, makes me feel good.

And promises blessings and health,

Without needing a Man nailed to wood.

And on top of this church

Like a crow on its perch,

Shines the symbol of what’s preached inside.

Though the form is a cross

The message is lost

All covered with greed and with pride.

This new gospel I hold

Offering silver and gold,

Has a wondrous attraction for me.

For now my new creed

Fully sanctifies greed

And blesses my prosperity.

When I go to the mall

My god is on call

To grant me my every request.

For the reason I pray

Is to get my own way,

And decide for myself what is best.

For those who would weep

For the sins of the sheep

And grieve for a world lost in sin;

They will notice the loss

Of the old rugged cross,

And pray, “Lord, revive us again!”

Print Blog