I think I know; I'll put my guess here, but I think it's more important that you 'think this through' and either come to the same conclusion or give us the conclusion you came to & help us agree. The description of the groupLog In puts it best: "Using Creative Means to present Jesus to the world." Jesus is often referred to as "The Son of God, who gave Himself to The Cross to repay the sins of the world." That's an oversimplification; 'what Jesus was' was an example for us all to follow. He didn't die 'to save the world from sin,' but rather 'to uphold the truth that no man is inherently more-worthy than any other (not even Jesus Himself).' The Cross--the instrument of His execution, which He Himself (with the help of another) bore up to Golgotha to die upon--is a symbol for His ultimate destiny on Earth. It serves today as a memory-device, reminding Christians of 1) the price He willingly paid to affirm the truth & 2) the selfless love He encouraged His disciples to show.
Some good points and thanks for the mention! I hope Cross Allegiance is a ministry that will bless many as we use our gifts and abilities to glorify Him and point people to Jesus. I should mention that the very core of Jesus' life here was to give His life as a sacrifice for our sins so that, in believing on Him, we can have forgiveness, and in the end, eternal life with Him in Heaven. It does say in Matthew 1:21 -- "And she will have a son, and you will call his name JESUS: for He will save His people from their sins." That does remain a core part of who Jesus was -- even His Name means 'The LORD [is] Salvation' The Cross is definitely an amazing reminder of: - The love that He has for us (e.g. Romans 5:8 - God shows His love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us) - His Humility (Philippians 2 mentions that He humbled Himself even to die on a cross) - His sacrifice and centrality (Galatians 3:13 comes to mind...He freed us from the curse of the Law by becoming a curse for us). We don't worship the Cross...nobody should. But we are grateful that Jesus died on the Cross and Resurrected, and as you said, it's a great reminder of what He has undertaken for us. Without His sacrifice and sacrificial love for us, we would still be left in our sins and without hope in the world (see 1 Cor. 15)! - Sterling from Cross Allegiance
Gonna disagree with some stuff---mostly 'semantics' (cart before-or-after horse? doesn't matter in the end, so long as they BOTH are there to deliver the bread), but maybe this will enligten some. No, the core of His life was to deliver the Gospel (which He did BEFORE He died-&-rose again). He saved us by leading us past/away-from sin. And the name means "He saves." (True, His name IS shorter of a name that means "YAHWEH IS SALVATION"; but no version of the Bible that I've ever read mentions the long version. The Evangelical Covenant is to make of all Disciples.
