Must we worship the crucifix?

Worship is the core of our relationship with God and it is very important to know what is true worship which is pleasing to God.

Whom and how do the true worshipers worship?

When He talked with the Samaritan woman about the true worship, Jesus Christ said:

 

“Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” (John 4:21-24)(NASB)

According to this passage:

• True worshipers worship the Father, that means they worship God
• True worshipers worship in spirit
• True worshipers worship in truth, that means according to what is written in the Sacred Scripture, because Jesus said: “Your word is truth”

What is the crucifix?

According to Wikipedia Free Encyclopedia:

CRUCIFIX – is a usually three-dimensional cross with a representation of Jesus’ body.

The Bible relates that Jesus was crucified. It was not a form or an image, but it remained as a symbol of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.There is no reference in the New Testament that the early Christians would have practiced making or placing crucifixes, but we can easily realize that they have started to make crucifixes and place them in their homes or other places just to always remember about the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

How is the term “cross” used in the New Testament?

It is well known that the cross was the tool of torture and execution used by the Romans and on which has been also sacrificed the Lord Jesus Christ.Therefore the word ‘cross’ began to be used as a synonym for “sacrifice of Jesus Christ.” Thus, Apostle Paul says that God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe, but he clearly does not refer only to the cross, but to the sacrifice of Christ when he says:

For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. (1 Corinthians 1:21)

Why do people make crucifixes?

Lately people made many crucifixes and the reasons are different too.When I tell some people about salvation and repentance, urging them to join the New Covenant with Jesus Christ, they try to convince me that they are very faithful because they funded or placed a crucifix, yet they do not have the least idea about the essence of the Gospel or basic knowledge of the Scriptures.So, it seems some people think that they can be saved by the fact that they have made a crucifix … Let no one be deceived in this way. We have salvation only by faith in Jesus Christ and repentance of the heart.

I also heard about some people who had committed serious crimes and murders and they made crucifixes after that, thinking that way they would atone for their sins. Let no one deceive himself.Only by repentance from the heart and faith in Jesus Christ they can attain forgiveness, all other trials are self-deception.

About worship

God spoke very firmly giving the second of the 10 commandments and He said:

 

You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments. (Exodus 20:4-6)(NASB)

How can the crucifix help you?

When you stand before a crucifix look attentively and think carefully for yourself at the following questions:

• Do you wholeheartedly believe in the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ?
• Did you ask God in prayer to forgive your sins and wash you by the blood of the Savior that was shed on the cross?
• Do you preach to others about this great sacrifice?
• Have you been crucified to the world through the cross of Christ?

God help us to live worthy of the sacrifice made by Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary.

Translated by Felicia Rotaru