Is It A Sin To Wear A Cross Necklace As Christian Identity

Is it a sin to wear a cross necklace, or we should not bother to wear it at all?

The cross which was made popular by the death of Jesus has been accepted as the symbol of Christianity.

Many churches use it as part of instrument of worship and service.

Some have it displayed conspicuously on their church building.

To cap it all, many Christians have a little form of the cross that they carry or tied to their hands, some hang it on their neck all the time.

The question is, is it a sin to wear a cross necklace?

It is good to have the right understanding of the significance of the cross of Christ.

That will help you to know whether it is good to wear a cross necklace or not.

Ordinarily, there is nothing significant about the physical cross.

It was used as a means of killing criminals in a very painful way.

You will remember that in Matthew 27:38, two men were crucified with Jesus, they were criminals, and they have been condemned to death on the cross.

Because Jesus died on the cross, it became meaningful and significant to the Christian faith.

It changed from being just a symbol of faith for the church, to become the door to life eternal.

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The Significance Of The Cross Of Christ

1. It is the symbol of the church of Christ.

The church was born after the death and ressurection of Christ.

The bible recorded that when Jesus gave up the ghost on the cross, one of the things that happened was that the curtain covering the holy place in the temple was torn into two, from top to bottom, signifying a new beginning (Matthew 27:51).

On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Ghost came down upon the disciples at the upper room in fulfillment of God’s promise.

That day, the disciples received power and they began to witness Christ to people.

All of these were possible because Jesus died on the cross, he opened the door of salvation for as many as would come to God.

This is the reason why symbolically the cross has become the identity of the church.

2. It represents victory over sin and death.

It is on the cross that Jesus conquered sin and death for us.

The bible says that all souls that sins shall die Ezekiel 18:19-24).

That is the judgement that we deserve because of our sinful nature, but Jesus came to replace us in that judgement and receive the punishment on our behalf.

The cross is meant to punish criminals unto death, but Jesus who never sinned had to be nailed to the cross because he borne our sins upon himself, and was counted among the criminals, he died a shameful death.

Through the cross, Jesus saved us from eternal damnation.

We could not have been able to save ourselves, but the cross made it possible for the work of redemption of Jesus to be possible.

3. It releases power for salvation.

The bible recorded that after Jesus died, the soldiers beneath the cross needed to check whether he was still alive.

One of them pierced his side with a spear, and blood and water gushed out, but there was no movement from Jesus, meaning that he was already dead.

The bible says without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin.

The action of that soldier who held the sword made the word of God to come to pass.

Without him piercing Jesus, his blood would not have been spilled, and without Jesus being on the cross, there would not be need for the soldier to use the sword.

The cross provided the opportunity for the blood of Jesus to flow down, washing, and purifying the world of sin, and unrighteousness.

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4. It makes victory over Satan possible.

Through the cross Jesus defeated the devil.

The devil entered into Judas Iscariot to betray Jesus for him to be arrested and killed (Luke 22:3).

Everything worked out well as planned, but it was in fulfillment of the word of God.

Jesus himself said when he was being arrested, that he could as well ask his father and he will send legions of angels to come to his rescue, but the scriptures has to be fulfilled.

It was on the cross that substitutionary work that he came to do on earth was carried out, and it was recorded that God was pleased with that.

Before the devil could realized that he was actually playing out what God had already ordained for the redemption of man, it was too late, because Christ was already hanging on the cross.

He moved the people and soldiers to mock him, and to say he should come down from the cross if truly he was the son of God, and they would believe him (Matthew 27:42).

Jesus knew who was talking, and his intentions, so he never yielded to their demands.

At last, he shouted it is finished, meaning that he has completed the assignment, he has successfully carried out the work meant for our salvation, Satan had been defeated.

5. It reconciled man back to God.

Man was separated from God when Adam and Eve sinned in the garden of Eden.

The situation remained the same throughout the old testament era.

God established a temporary measure through the office and mininstration of priests, who would go to the temple once in a year to pray for forgiveness of sins for the people of Israel.

This was accompanied with sacrifices of animals whose blood are uses for atonement of the sins of the people.

But the book of Hebrews made us to understand that the measure was put in place to cover up the sin of the people and not to remove it.

The blood of bulls and cows are not pure and powerful enough to redeem the soul of man from sin and death.

The permanent solution is for a man who has not sinned to die and shed his blood for the remission of the sin of humanity.

Only Jesus qualified for this position, and that was why he came to earth.

The cross where he died was the place where this sacrificial offering was given.

It was a final sacrifice that stops and cancels any other sacrifice.

With that sacrifice the gap between God and man created by sin was closed, and man can now return back to God.

6. It paves the way for our sins to be judged.

Colossians 2:14 tells us that Jesus took the records of debt of our sins with all it’s legal backings, and nailed them to his cross.

What this signifies is that, not only did his death on the cross gives us opportunity of a new life, it paves way for all our past records of sin to be canceled.

Not only that, one of the consequences of sin of Adam is sickness.

Jesus also took all our sicknesses and infirmities upon himself on that cross, so that we can be free from them.

Whatever he had carried on cross does not have any legal ground to overcome us anymore, we can always win by standing upon the finished work of Christ.

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Is It A Sin To Wear A Cross Necklace After We Have Been Saved?

After someone has been saved, can he not wear a cross, or is it a sin to wear a cross necklace to show to the world your new Identity?

The bible made one thing clear, our salvation is not tied to a physical cross, but to the work that Jesus did on the cross.

His obedience, his sacrifice, his pains, and his death, those are the things that make the cross important, remove them from the cross and it becomes nothing.

The following facts will further put you in the right perspective if you are still asking the question, is it a sin to wear a cross necklace, at least to be like some other religion who have specific symbols tied to their faith.

1. The cross cannot save.

Hanging the cross on the neck or anywhere in the body, or on your properties cannot bring salvation.

God just decided in his plans that Jesus has to die on the cross, just like a common criminal.

He could as well have chosen another way for him to die instead of death on the cross. There is nothing special about the cross alone.

Is it a sin to wear a cross necklace that cannot save, and claim that it shows we have been saved? Yes it is, because doing that means you are living in delusion, and misleading others.

2. It is tantamount to idol worshipping.

Giving a physical cross the recognition that God has not commanded is idol worshipping, a serious sin in the presence of God.

God told the children of Israel in the old testament that they are not to bow down to any image as the heathens were doing.

In all his dealings with them in the wilderness and after they became a nation, God made sure he never allowed them to see his own image in any form,

This is to discourage them from creating such an image as object of worship, instead of worshiping the true God.

They did that when Moses did not come back early after he went to the mountain to receive the ten commandments (Exodus 32:1).

People crave to have a physical object that they can see, touch, and relate with, and that is why Satan keeps deceiving them by making them to worship idols.

In the light of this, is it a sin to wear a cross necklace then?

The answer is yes, because anyone carrying a cross about has created an object of worship.

Such object will turn your heart and attention away from God

That is why in occasions of trouble, you will find some people with cross, touching the cross and saying some prayers.

Their faith is upon that cross. That is wrong, God actually wants their faith to be on Jesus who died on the cross.

3. It cannot protects.

Some people are abusing the cross to the point that they believe it has power to save them in time of danger.

Because of this reason, they display the cross conspicuously in their homes, business places, cars and other places where they expect danger to come.

Some will create a corner in their house, make an altar and put a cross on it.

They believe that is where they can pray and communicate with God and get answers to their prayers.

4. Jesus Did Not Give Any Command Concerning His Cross.

Have you ever wondered what happened to the cross on which Jesus died, the answer is nothing spectacular.

The soldiers probably continued to nail criminals on it as they were doing before Jesus died on it.

If that cross had been relevant to the plans of God it would have gotten to the church somehow.

If Jesus did not make any reference to his cross because that particular cross is no more relevant after he had died on it, then who are we to start giving it recognition.

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You Are To Carry Your Cross

Jesus said anyone who wants to follow him must be ready to carry his cross, before he can do that.

Looking at that, is it a sin to wear a cross necklace then?

You will notice that Jesus did not refer to his own cross.

He could not have, because he had not died at that time, and he was not even talking about a physical cross.

Jesus was actually talking about an attribute which anyone who ha decided to follow him must have, that is, such a person must be ready to live a sacrificial life.

The cross where Jesus died is the place where he sacrificed his life for us, hence he is using that to tell us that we must imbibe the same spirit.

It is a sin for anyone to try to modify the instructions of God, or try to add to it in order to make it more suitable.

God wants us to do only what he has instructed us to do, and not find a way to make them better.

So is it a sin to wear a cross necklace? The answer is yes.

While it is not a direct sin, it is capable of turning your attention away from God into an image, a way of worship that God did not approve.

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