Behold the wood of the cross on which hung the saviour of the world!

[MoreCoffee]

If a Catholic or someone who smells like a Catholic mentions the Resurrection, then we're told we don't emphasize the Cross enough. If we mention the Cross, then we're told we don't emphasize the Resurrection enough. No matter what we say, we are emphasizing the wrong thing and not putting enough emphasis on something else.

I think it all comes down to ancient churches giving emphasis to everything rather than to just one thing. Our mission is to preach the gospel to all the world as a testimony to the Christ knowing that only then will the end of this world's rebellion and wickedness come. So we preach Christ crucified and risen and born and teaching and suffering too. The incarnation is such a vast and deep matter that all of our preaching is touched by it and the cross is the clear display of love hung on the tree that brings life to the world of which the resurrection is the affirmation and the gospel truth is preached in the cross.

 

[Rick Otto]

Catholics sing these words on Good Friday:

Behold the wood of the cross,
on which hung the saviour of the world.

Come let us adore.​

When you think of the cross what is in your mind, in your heart, where does it take you in your prayers?

Gratitude.

 

[BobRyan]

Catholics sing these words on Good Friday:

Behold the wood of the cross,
on which hung the saviour of the world.

Come let us adore.​

When you think of the cross what is in your mind, in your heart, where does it take you in your prayers?

The cross of Christ is no more - Christ is no longer sacrificing himself - and neither is anyone else because Hebrews 9 says He is not still suffering that sacrifice - and Heb 10 tells us that He did it "once for all" then sat down having completed it - no longer engaged in it.

As for the "wood of the cross" rumor has it that if you add up all the tons of wood that people throughout the ages have claimed as a sacred relic of the cross - you would have a forest.

in Christ,

Bob

 

[Knee V]

The cross of Christ is no more - Christ is no longer sacrificing himself - and neither is anyone else because Hebrews 9 says He is not still suffering that sacrifice - and Heb 10 tells us that He did it "once for all" then sat down having completed it - no longer engaged in it.

As for the "wood of the cross" rumor has it that if you add up all the tons of wood that people throughout the ages have claimed as a sacred relic of the cross - you would have a forest.

in Christ,

Bob

We've discussed that Christ is not on the Cross any more and that it is not the wood itself that is significant. We all agree on that.

 

[Melethiel]

Sure seems like the RCC and Orthodox sure do focus a lot on the Baby and the Cross (with him still on it), then they do with the resurrection..... No offense but just sayin..

That is utterly ridiculous. If anything, it is Protestants who forget about the Resurrection, precisely because they ignore the Cross. Easter means nothing if you do not observe Holy Week. Growing up in an evangelical church, I certainly didn't understand the full importance of the resurrection. It was just the day with the extra long sermon.

 

[GratiaCorpusChristi]

A hunk of wood is right.

But why not just give the attention to the ONE that deserves it.

You're making up problems were none exist out of a desire to perpetrate accusations against the historic church even where the historic church does not need reforming.

Or do you think we're disparaging the president when the press corp reports that "Yesterday the White House reported launching a new initiation against poverty/terror/corruption" because the president/executive branch is referred to metynomically as the "White House"? Does that upset you?

Saved/born again people (rom 10:9) do not need to make "symbols" when they have Jesus.

Jesus used symbolic imagery in his speech and parables all the time. Christianity does not require us to go on crusade against literary devices. Such a Christianity is devoid of all symbolism, art, and beauty.

And lest we forget, terms like kingdom, redemption, salvation, atonement, body, flesh, death, and even born again/from above are all used either as metaphors or analogically or as literary devices throughout the gospels, Paul, and the rest of the New Testament.

 

[GratiaCorpusChristi]

Sure seems like the RCC and Orthodox sure do focus a lot on the Baby and the Cross (with him still on it), then they do with the resurrection..... No offense but just sayin..

You clearly have not spent much time in an Orthodox church.

And do you really believe Protestants have such a perfect balance between nativity, crucifixion, and resurrection?

Also, Melethiel is right: Does the resurrection actually mean anything for you other than a confirmation of what was accomplished on the cross? Does the incarnation actually mean anything to you except as a method of getting God from heaven to the cross?

 

[BobRyan]

That is utterly ridiculous. If anything, it is Protestants who forget about the Resurrection, precisely because they ignore the Cross. .

No one who has been to a Protestant or Evangelical church in real life could take that accusation seriously.

The fact that the non-RCC view is the Heb 10 "once for all" completed sacrifice of Christ - ended at the cross after which he "sat down" at the right hand of the Father - rather than "having his divinity, body soul confected in the Eucharist week after week" -- does not show a lack of focus on the benefits of the death of Christ.

in Christ,

Bob

 

[BobRyan]

We've discussed that Christ is not on the Cross any more and that it is not the wood itself that is significant. We all agree on that.

Certainly all agree that Christ is not on the cross.

But is He continually being "Confected - divinity, body, soul" in the mass each week - not as a memorial or re-enactment - but as the continuation of that sacrifice.

And are there enough relics floating around to comprise a forest of supposedly "pieces of wood from the cross of Christ" after all these centuries with one supposedly in every Catholic church under the altar.

 

[Mama Kidogo]

Gratitude.

A good answer.

 

[Mama Kidogo]

No one who has been to a Protestant or Evangelical church in real life could take that accusation seriously.

The fact that the non-RCC view is the Heb 10 "once for all" completed sacrifice of Christ - ended at the cross after which he "sat down" at the right hand of the Father - rather than "having his divinity, body soul confected in the Eucharist week after week" -- does not show a lack of focus on the benefits of the death of Christ.

in Christ,

Bob

Coming from one who's church uses about as much imagery as any, I find the statement a bit hypocritical. So is it only dandy when it's sanctioned by Ellen's disciples?

 

[Nik0s]

O Lord, save your people, and bless your inheritance! Grant victory to the faithful over their adversaries, and by the power of your cross, preserve your commonwealth!. ​

 

[Mama Kidogo]

A hunk of wood is right.

But why not just give the attention to the ONE that deserves it.

Saved/born again people (rom 10:9) do not need to make "symbols" when they have Jesus.

I was just looking at your avatar. A man with a fishing pole, an eagle with water in the background. Why not give attention to the one who deserves it?
So what is the significance of the fishing pole and eagle? They surely are not symbols as your dead set against such.
Gee I thought it had something to do with being a fisher of men. Silly me.

 

[StephanieSomer]

When you think of the cross what is in your mind, in your heart, where does it take you in your prayers?

I am overwhelmed with love and thanksgiving, knowing that He hung there taking the punishment I deserved to have so I could go free. As John pointed out, "We love Him because He first loved us." Even after more than 5 decades of knowing Him, I still have a very profound emotional response whenever I consider the Cross. There have been times when I was reading aloud the crucifixion story from the Gospels and couldn't finish it because I couldn't stop crying.

 

[MoreCoffee]

The cross of Christ is no more - Christ is no longer sacrificing himself - and neither is anyone else because Hebrews 9 says He is not still suffering that sacrifice - and Heb 10 tells us that He did it "once for all" then sat down having completed it - no longer engaged in it.

As for the "wood of the cross" rumor has it that if you add up all the tons of wood that people throughout the ages have claimed as a sacred relic of the cross - you would have a forest.

in Christ,

Bob

I chose to follow the Lord and have heard the word of the Lord in saint Paul's letters; saint Paul chose to know Christ crucified, he said that more than twenty years after the wood of the cross had no man upon it. Yet for saint Paul it is Christ crucified that is the power of God for the salvation of the world.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycgji9ucIrQ

If you do not know the price paid for your salvation then it may seem a small thing when others remember it.

 

[rick357]

I chose to follow the Lord and have heard the word of the Lord in saint Paul's letters; saint Paul chose to know Christ crucified, he said that more than twenty years after the wood of the cross had no man upon it. Yet for saint Paul it is Christ crucified that is the power of God for the salvation of the soul.
thank you sir. The life of the spirit given in resurection can not be obtained except first the adamic nature die in the cross...we are crucified with christ that we maylive unto God

 

[MoreCoffee]

I chose to follow the Lord and have heard the word of the Lord in saint Paul's letters; saint Paul chose to know Christ crucified, he said that more than twenty years after the wood of the cross had no man upon it. Yet for saint Paul it is Christ crucified that is the power of God for the salvation of the

soul.
thank you sir. The life of the spirit given in resurrection can not be obtained except first the Adamic nature die in the cross...we are crucified with Christ that we may live unto God

Didn't you like the word 'world' in my post since you change it to 'soul'?

 

[GratiaCorpusChristi]

No one who has been to a Protestant or Evangelical church in real life could take that accusation seriously.

The fact that the non-RCC view is the Heb 10 "once for all" completed sacrifice of Christ - ended at the cross after which he "sat down" at the right hand of the Father - rather than "having his divinity, body soul confected in the Eucharist week after week" -- does not show a lack of focus on the benefits of the death of Christ.

in Christ,

Bob

Dude, Mel and I both grew up evangelical Protestant.

 

[GratiaCorpusChristi]

Certainly all agree that Christ is not on the cross.

But is He continually being "Confected - divinity, body, soul" in the mass each week - not as a memorial or re-enactment - but as the continuation of that sacrifice.

And are there enough relics floating around to comprise a forest of supposedly "pieces of wood from the cross of Christ" after all these centuries with one supposedly in every Catholic church under the altar.

Orthodoxy doesn't have nearly the same emphasis on continued sacrifice in the Eucharist that Catholicism does, and other churches that believe in the real presence, like Lutherans, actively reject any belief in continued sacrifice.

In any case, all you're really proving is that there's a strong emphasis on the crucified Christ in traditional churches as well as strong emphases on the incarnation and resurrection, not that evangelical churches actually have any real emphases on the saving significance of the the triple Christ-event.

 

[MoreCoffee]

Orthodoxy doesn't have nearly the same emphasis on continued sacrifice in the Eucharist that Catholicism does, and other churches that believe in the real presence, like Lutherans, actively reject any belief in continued sacrifice.

In any case, all you're really proving is that there's a strong emphasis on the crucified Christ in traditional churches as well as strong emphases on the incarnation and resurrection, not that evangelical churches actually have any real emphases on the saving significance of the the triple Christ-event.

Catholics reject any notion of continued sacrifice; we believe in one sacrifice offered once for all time, never repeated and not continued in time. Just one sacrifice which all who come to Christ receive and are washed in the blood shed in that one sacrifice - I reckon Protestants believe they are washed in the blood of that sacrifice too, so they secretly believe what Catholics teach but make a song and a dance about rejecting it.

A protestant hymn writer wrote these words - eerily Catholic when one thinks about it

Have you been to Jesus for the cleansing pow’r?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Are you fully trusting in His grace this hour?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?

Refrain:
Are you washed in the blood,
In the soul-cleansing blood of the Lamb?
Are your garments spotless? Are they white as snow?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?​

Are you walking daily by the Savior’s side?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Do you rest each moment in the Crucified?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?

When the Bridegroom cometh will your robes be white?
Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?
Will your soul be ready for the mansions bright,
And be washed in the blood of the Lamb?

Lay aside the garments that are stained with sin,
And be washed in the blood of the Lamb;
There’s a fountain flowing for the soul unclean,
Oh, be washed in the blood of the Lamb!
​

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1TPn98v7O8