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The Power, Purpose & Puzzle of the Cross
But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.⎯ Galatians 6:14
The Power of the Cross, the Purpose of the Cross and the Puzzle of the Cross. From the get-go, this topic stands on three premises:
1. The first premise is that the Cross is powerful;
2. The second premise is that the Cross has a deep practical and theological purpose; and
3. The third premise is that the power and purpose of the Cross ultimately converge to give it quite several puzzles which this morning we must unpack.
According to a popular atheist writer, from a scientific perspective, many atheists could be prepared to enter a sophisticated discussion on the possibility of an intelligent mind behind the creation of the universe. It is when they come to the Cross of Calvary, however, that the story for them begins to take a sharp curve. To them, the story of the Cross is so mundane, so ordinary, so in-this-world, so unimpressive, that none could intelligently believe it.
‘Could not the God who created the universe,’ says the man, ‘think of anything better to solve the sin problem than torture Himself on a Roman cross? After all, if He was that eager to do the forgiving, could He not…
