The Centrality of the Cross

August, 2009

by: Brock Bolde

Without question the cross has been, and continues to be, the symbol for Christianity. It is a reminder of the great lengths that God needed to go through in order to fully display His justice and mercy. The instrument that was designed to bring shame and pain has become the instrument that brings hope and healing; what was once grotesque is now glorious; and that which was at first designed to demonstrate the highest form of brutality has blossomed into that which demonstrates the highest form of beauty – for those who have been called (1 Corinthians 1:24). How peculiar it is that the cross, a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles, is at the core of the Christian message. The very thing that drove so many away has, over the millennia, become the very thing that has drawn all in. Yes, Christ has transformed the cross into the instrument that brings salvation to all those who trust in His perfect work upon it. The cross has been the foundation upon which the whole Christian faith has been established, so we must be sure to keep it in its rightful place as we bring up our children in the faith. It was D. Martin Lloyd-Jones that told us that “the preaching of the cross of Christ was the very center and heart of the message of the apostles, and there is nothing (he) know(s) of that is more important than that every one of us should realize that this is still the heart and the center of the Christian message.” Martin Luther put it like this — “No man understands the Scriptures, unless he be acquainted with the cross… The cross alone is our theology”. Bible scholar and professor D.A. Carson offers us this warning regarding the cross — “I fear that the cross, without ever being disowned, is constantly in danger of being dismissed from the central place it must enjoy, by relatively peripheral insights that take on far too much weight. Whenever the periphery is in danger of displacing the center, we are not far removed from idolatry.”

Needless to say, the cross is not some elementary doctrine that we learn early in our Christian lives so that we can then move on to meatier things. The cross is to remain front and center guarding and shaping every other doctrine that we learn. If our children (and us) are to grow in spiritual maturity, then we must ensure that we do not let a day go by in which the cross is not pondered and reflected upon. The cross is our message for it demonstrates both the power and wisdom of God. While those around us scoff at the idea of Jesus Christ being the way, and the truth, and the life, and that nobody comes to the Father but through Him (John 14:6), we are to proclaim Christ crucified. This is what Christians have been doing for nearly the past 2000 years and this is what we must continue to do in every sphere we find ourselves in — especially in regards to the raising of our children. While the natural man doesn’t get it, those of us who have been saved by it must. Each of us needs to clearly grasp that which the Scriptures teach; that which Jesus spoke of regarding Himself (Mark 8.31-33, 9.30-32, 10.32-34). The cross and Christ are inextricably linked — you cannot have one without the other. The cross is the means by which Christ suffered in our place. It was there that He did for us what we could not do for ourselves. It was there that mercy and judgment met to once and for all settle the score and thus deal sin its fatal blow. Christ’s death on the cross restored the relationship that was broken between God and man.

The cross is the key component in our salvation and the more you and I are able to dwell on it and think rightly about it, the more apt we are to grow in the sanctification process. The more rightly we approach the cross, the more apt we will be to convey its life-altering message to our children. So let us always be sure to look with fresh eyes to the cross and be amazed at all that God has done to make a way for sinners like us to be at peace with a glorious God like Him; let us look intently at the cross and see a love so amazing that we stand in awe of our marvelous God, both for the sake of our own souls as well as the souls of our children.