{"id":7154,"date":"2026-07-05T07:56:59","date_gmt":"2026-07-05T07:56:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/?p=7154"},"modified":"2026-07-05T07:56:59","modified_gmt":"2026-07-05T07:56:59","slug":"the-cross-has-not-become-obsolete","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/?p=7154","title":{"rendered":"The cross has not become obsolete!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The cross has not become obsolete!<\/strong>

<\/strong>(Horatius Bonar, \u201cThe Surety\u2019s Cross\u201d)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor the preaching of the cross<\/strong> is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power<\/strong> of God.\u201d 1 Corinthians 1:18

<\/em>The whole world looked with contempt-indignant at the audacity of a few humble Christians, thus . . .
  affronting and defying the \u201cpublic opinion\u201d of nations and ages;
  assailing the religions of earth with the cross as their only sword;
  striking down their idols with this as their only hammer; and
  with this, as their one lever, proposing to turn the world upside down!
From that day the cross became \u201ca power\u201d in the earth; a power which went forth, like the light-noiselessly yet irresistibly-smiting down all religions alike, all shrines alike, all altars alike-sparing no superstition nor philosophy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This power remains-in its mystery, its silence, its influence, it remains. The cross has not become obsolete!<\/strong> The preaching of the cross has not ceased to be powerful and effectual!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are those who would persuade us that, in this modern age-the cross is out of date and out of fashion, time-worn. But this does not shake us. It only leads us to clasp the cross more fervently, and to study it more profoundly, as embodying in itself that gospel which is at once the wisdom and the power of God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet the cross is not without its mysteries<\/strong>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  It illuminates \u2013 yet it darkens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  It is life \u2013 yet it is death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  It is honour \u2013 yet it is shame.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  It is wisdom \u2013 but also foolishness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cross is . . .
  both pardon, and condemnation;
  both strength, and weakness;
  both joy, and sorrow;
  both love, and hatred;
  both medicine, and poison;
  both hope, and despair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cross is Christ\u2019s humiliation \u2013 yet it is His exaltation!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cross is Satan\u2019s victory \u2013 yet it is Satan\u2019s defeat!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cross is the gate of Heaven \u2013 and the gate of Hell!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cross is the key . . .
  to God\u2019s character,
  to God\u2019s Word,
  to God\u2019s ways,
  to God\u2019s purposes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cross is the summary of all the Bible \u2013 the epitome of Scripture Revelation!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The cross has not become obsolete! (Horatius Bonar, \u201cThe Surety\u2019s Cross\u201d) \u201cFor the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.\u201d 1 Corinthians 1:18 The whole world looked with contempt-indignant at the audacity of a few humble Christians, thus . . .  affronting and defying […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[58,62],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7154","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-author-horatius-bonar","category-pictures-and-types"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7154","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7154"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7154\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7155,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7154\/revisions\/7155"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7154"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7154"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7154"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}