“SO I’LL CHERISH THE OLD RUGGED CROSS”

By Charles N. Spence, Jr.

Someone asked me, not too long ago, about whether wearing a crucifix was wrong. I knew it was, but the query led me to ponder the idea a little deeper. As I answered, I considered the fact that God never sanctioned the creation of images of what people believed existed in Heaven. Moses instructed the Hebrew people by saying, “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or 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” (Exo. 20:4). Lest anyone think that this was merely an Old Testament prohibition, Consider what Paul said in Acts 17:29. “Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man's devising.” Consider also Romans 1:22-23. “Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man--and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.” Clearly, image making in reference to anything Divine is against the will of God.

The crucifix is supposed to represent the Christ as He died upon the cross. Aside from the previously mention problems with such images, let me add some others. One, Jesus is no longer on the cross, but at the right hand of God the Father (Rom. 8:34). Yet, someone would say, “I wear this or display this to remember what Jesus did for me.” The problem with that is Jesus already told us what to do to remember Him. In 1 Corinthians 11:23-25, in an attempt to get the Corinthians to observe properly the Lord’s Supper, Paul instructs them on the manner and purpose of the observance. “For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me. In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” Jesus is supposed to live on in the hearts of those who believe in Him. Paul said in Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” Some wear the crucifix as an indication that they are in allegiance with Christ. However, one’s conduct is what should determine if he is in allegiance with Christ (Acts 4:13).

Even wearing a plain cross may present some problems in the minds of others. Jesus is the sacrifice to whom we must turn and give our trust. Our faith is in Him, not the cross. Now, I can see where some would be mistaken about the way in which the New Testament writers referred to the cross of Christ (see Gal. 6:14 for example). I do not think that they were emphasizing the wooden beam upon which Jesus died. I believe that they were emphasizing the death of Jesus with all of its cruelty. Notice the sentiments expressed in the song, “The Old Rugged Cross.” In one verse, the songwriter says, “I love that old cross . . .” The writer of Hebrews insinuates that Jesus hated the cross when he says, “. . . Who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame.” In verse three, the writer says that he saw a wondrous beauty in the cross. The biblical portrayal of the crucifixion does not even hint at the idea of beauty in the death of Christ. However, the songwriter may be alluding to a kind of esoteric beauty that those who recognize the real significance of the death of Christ see. The cross was the altar upon which Jesus was sacrificed. Our attention should be upon the sacrifice and not His altar.

The point is that we can lose focus of the real significance of these events and emblems when we fail to keep them in their proper, biblical context. Whether we wear a piece of jewelry or sing a simple song, let us not do anything that is not in keeping with God’s point of view.