But God forbid that I should glory, save in
the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and
I unto the world. Galatians 6:14
All unannounced and
mostly undetected there has come in modern times a new cross into popular
evangelical circles.
It is like the old
cross, but different: the likenesses are superficial, the differences
fundamental!
From this new cross
has sprung a new philosophy of the Christian life with encouragement for a new
and entirely different evangelistic approach. The evangelist tries to show that
Christianity makes no unpleasant demands; rather, it offers the same thing the
world does, only on a higher level. The modern view is that the new cross does
not slay the sinner, it redirects him!
The philosophy back of
this kind of thing may be sincere, but it is as false as it is blind. It misses
completely the whole meaning of the cross.
The old cross is a
symbol of death. It stands for the abrupt, violent end of a human being. In
Roman times, the man who took up his cross and started down the road was not
coming back. He was not going out to have his life redirected: he was going out
to have it ended! The cross did not try to keep on good terms with its victim.
It struck cruel and hard, and when it had finished its work, the man was no
more!
The race of Adam is
under death sentence. God cannot approve any of the fruits of sin. In coming to
Christ we do not bring our old life up onto a higher plane; we leave it at the
cross. Thus God salvages the individual by liquidating him and then raising him
again to newness of life!
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