“What do you think and feel about the cross of Christ?” I shudder to even ask. I fear the closest many church goers will come this Sunday to a word about the cross will be a crossword puzzle in the Sunday paper. No mention of the cross in the speech given from the stage. Not a whiff of the stink raised in God’s nostrils from our sin. No groping to describe the total darkness sin has left us in. No recognition of the havoc wreaked on every level of creation by sin. No biblical scalpel wielded by the pastor to remove the malignant, terminal tumor of sin entwined in our hearts and minds. And certainly no mention of the bloody and shameful death of the Messiah on the cruel cross at the hands of hate-filled sinners.
“What do you think and feel about the cross of Christ?” Everyone recognizes they aren’t happy, so we tell them that God will make them happy. Everyone recognizes there are tragedies in the world, so we tell them God never wanted the tragedies to happen. Everyone recognizes life isn’t fair, so we tell them God will bring blessings into their lives. Everyone worries, so we tell them that God is on their side. Where is the cross? It’s not on display in many churches. It’s not mentioned in the “sermon” (which is actually more of an inspirational talk in many cases). But the cross of Christ is exactly what Paul preached. “What do you think and feel about the cross of Christ?” Does the sin-bearing life and death of Christ deserve any reflection? Does the one answer to sin’s slaughter of mankind merit any consideration? Does the pinnacle of God’s message to man ascend before our notice?
–J. C. Ryle, The Cross
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