LL THE MEMBERS OF MY CHURCH ARE offended by one of the elements of the new logo,” the voice on the phone began explaining. I knew what the man was going to say, but I let him continue. “I was wondering, What is the purpose of having a cross there?”

It was a question that could have sparked a sermon. But instead of entering into an argument, I offered to send him a bookmark that would explain the elements of the logo. As I hung up the phone, I felt as though the suppressed sermon was going to burst through me, so I ran to some nearby cubicles and began preaching to my coworkers.

My small audience responded with hearty amens. I was at the hottest part of my talk, the amens were coming faster and louder, my feet were stomping and my arms flailing. Then the fire alarm went off. OK, I’ll admit it. I do have a burning passion for the cross.

Many times since that event I have wondered, How is it that somebody can be offended by the symbol of the one event in history that forever changed our destiny?

The Head of a Donkey
Nonbelievers found pleasure in ridiculing early Christians because their Saviour had been crucified. They found the idea of worshiping someone who’d died such a crude death to be purely ludicrous. An early sketch, which now hangs in the Kircherian Museum in Rome, illustrates exactly what non-believers thought of this concept. The sketch depicts a man raising his hand toward a figure on a cross. And the figure on the cross has the head of a donkey. Below the sketch are scribbled the words “Alexamenos adores his lord.”

This caricature is the earliest depiction of the cross that we have today. How foolish it makes Christianity appear! Hence the words of Paul: “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God” (1 Cor. 1:18, NIV).

What surprises me is that today it doesn’t seem to be the nonbelievers who show the greatest offense at the cross, but rather fellow Christians. “For 200 years people have been preaching ‘Just come to the cross, be saved, and Jesus loves you,’” posted one member of an Adventist online forum, “[but] this is not the message taught by Messiah! . . . It was repent of your wickedness, your immoral practices. Put away your idols and the actions learned from the pagans.”

While I do believe that it is important that we repent of our wickedness and immoral practices, I also believe that to teach this alone, without teaching the message of the cross, is dangerous. The law without Christ’s sacrifice is powerless. As Paul says in Galatians 2:21: “If righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!” (NIV).

Paul’s language becomes even stronger in chapter 3. “You foolish Galatians!” he writes. “Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?” (Gal. 3:1-3, NIV).

Spooked by the Law
The Galatians are not the only ones who began their spiritual journey focused on the cross, then became distracted by the law. The very same thing happened to Adventists in our church’s early history.

Early Adventists had a clear concept of the cross and righteousness by faith. After all, most of them had grown up in evangelical Protestant churches. Because they had such an understanding of the doctrine, however, they felt no burden to emphasize it. Instead, they focused on the new doctrines that were more or less unique to Adventism.

Unfortunately, as a new generation of Adventists grew up in the church this lack of focus led to a lack of understanding, which eventually led to the trauma of the 1888 General Conference session—a trauma that I sometimes wonder if our church has ever overcome.

It seems that some of us worry that if we preach the cross more than we preach the law, our members will no longer be “good” people. I disagree. I believe, in fact, that if we were to preach the cross more, our members would be better people.

“I long to see our ministers dwell more upon the cross of Christ,” Ellen White wrote. “If, in connection with the theory of the truth, our ministers would dwell more upon practical godliness, speaking from a heart imbued with the spirit of truth, we should see many more souls flocking to the standard of truth. . . . The mighty argument of the cross,” she says, “will convict of sin.”¹ On the other hand, “the less you meditate upon Christ and His matchless love and the less you are assimilated to His image, the better you will appear in your own eyes, and the more self-confidence and self-complacency will you possess.”²

So focusing on the law alone can cause us to think that we are fine the way we are. Once I decided to review the Ten Commandments to see where I stood. Here’s how I reasoned:

“Thou shalt have no other gods before me” (Ex. 20:3). I’ve been a Christian all my life. I’ve never worshiped Buddha or Baal or any of the other gods, so I guess I’ve got that one down.

“Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image” (verse 4). I looked through my house and found no idols—and the one knickknack I had that looked the most like an idol I recently got rid of at a white elephant party. That’s two for two!

“Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain” (verse 7). All I need to do is watch a couple PG-rated movies to know I’m doing better than the average person with that.

“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy” (verse 8). Ah, now I’m feeling real good about myself. After all, that’s one commandment that I keep faithfully and that few other people do.

“Honour thy father and thy mother” (verse 12). I’ve got great parents, so that’s an easy one!

“Thou shalt not kill” (verse 13). I’m really looking good now! Especially when you compare me to the murderer in a state penitentiary!

“Thou shalt not commit adultery” (verse 14). I still consider myself to be a newlywed, so that’s not even a temptation!

“Thou shalt not steal” (verse 15). Haven’t since I was 4 years old. And I didn’t know what I was doing then, so that doesn’t count. Besides, I got rid of that plastic hammer years ago!

“Thou shalt not bear false witness” (verse 16). I’ve always considered myself a truthful person. I’d say I’ve got that one pretty much covered.

“Thou shall not covet thy neighbour’s house” (verse 17). OK, maybe I’ve been doing a little of that lately, but no one knows, so I won’t count it against me.

Yup, I’m feeling pretty good about myself. Even if I did count the last one, nine out of 10 isn’t bad!

Hopeless Without the Cross
As I turn my focus to the cross, my perspective changes. I see the agony my Saviour went through to pay for my sins, and I think of the times that I’ve failed to stand up for Him, the times I’ve doubted Him, the times I’ve hurt others for whom He died. The more I look, the more I realize how much I’ve fallen short. I see the good deeds that I’ve passed up, and the other good deeds that I’ve done for purely selfish motives. And as I look I realize that I’m standing side by side with the murderer from the state penitentiary. We’re on the same level, and there’s nothing either of us can do to change our sinful selves.

But then I hear the most beautiful words ever spoken: “Father, forgive them” (Luke 23:34). With those words our slates are wiped clean. The murderer and I, we leave that hill, renewed in God’s amazing love and eager to live our lives within the will of the One who sacrificed so much for us.

It is by believing in the Saviour who died on the cross, and accepting His forgiveness, that this offensive symbol becomes something to treasure. “The cross speaks life, and not death, to the soul that believes in Jesus,” Ellen White says. “Welcome the precious life-giving rays that shine from the cross of Calvary. Reach up for the blessing, believe for the blessing.”³

A person who takes a deep, honest look at the law can come to see what a sinner they are. In fact, looking deeply at the law can cause one to feel hopeless. But the truth still remains that the law on its own cannot do anything to help. It’s only by looking at the cross that we can ever hope to become changed.

Ellen White writes, “As one becomes acquainted with the history of the Redeemer, he discovers in himself serious defects; his unlikeness to Christ is so great that he sees the necessity for radical changes in his life. Still he studies with a desire to become like his great Exemplar. He catches the looks, the spirit, of his beloved Master. By beholding . . . he becomes changed into the same image.”⁴

The Logo
The logo in question has been used to symbolize the Adventist Church since 1997. It calls attention to the three angels of Revelation 14, the Great Commission, the Holy Spirit, and Christ’s resurrection, ascension, and soon coming. At the base of the logo is the expression of the fundamentals of our faith: the Bible with the cross at the center.⁵

Said Ellen White: “The sacrifice of Christ as an atonement for sin is the great truth around which all other truths cluster. In order to be rightly understood and appreciated, every truth in the word of God, from Genesis to Revelation, must be studied in the light that streams from the cross of Calvary.”⁶

As we continue placing this symbol on our church’s buildings, our stationery, and our business cards, let’s also continue to study the Bible in light of the cross, so that we can say with Paul, “God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Gal. 6:14).

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¹ Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 4, pp. 374, 375.
² Ibid.
³———, In Heavenly Places, p. 52.
⁴———, Sons and Daughters of God, p. 235.
⁵  For more information on these symbols, go to the church’s Web page, http://www.adventist.org/logo/
⁶ Ellen G. White, Gospel Workers, p. 315.

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Lori Futcher is the publications coordinator at Life Care Centers of America in Cleveland, Tennessee. This article appeared in the April 26, 2001, edition of the Adventist Review.