I heard a song the other day that has me wondering. It is a very moving song, with powerful and encouraging lyrics. The title of the song is At the Cross. I am sure you have heard it; even sung along with it. It has been performed by a number of recognized Christian artists – most recently by Chris Tomlin. One Hillsong version has over 28 million views on YouTube.
At the Cross is filled with truth about the love and work of God in the death of His Son. I would venture to say it speaks deeply to a lot of people; saved and not. Furthermore, the lyrics speak out of a theology (intended or not). They are more than just words. And so, I wonder.
The chorus of At the Cross includes a repeated line, “At the cross I bow my knee, where Your blood was shed for me.” Those are the lyrics – and the theology – that have me wondering:
- Why would we bow at the cross when Jesus is no longer there?
- Is the Jesus that hung on the cross the Jesus I should be bowing to?
- How many are worshipping a dead Christ; trying to be saved by His death, rather than by His life?
I recognize that some may genuinely feel that I am making too much of this; or, I am missing something. For either case, please help me understand; for I have a hard time worshipping when the lyrics are wrong to me.
Respectfully, I think these questions expose a number of important challenges in the church today. Here is the one that weighs most heavily on my mind (I will cover the second later this week).
Many are trying to live for a dead Christ (though they don’t consciously intend to). The angels at the empty tomb asked the women that had come to treat Jesus’ body, “Why do you seek the living among the dead?” The implications of this are more profound that we might think.
For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. Romans 5:10
As important as His death is (and ours with Him), that only bought our reconciliation. Our salvation comes “by His life”. It could not be clearer: We are not saved by His death. We must move on to His resurrection and ascension.
…that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. Philippians 3:10-11
… and [God] raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. Ephesians 2:6-7
Please note the verb tense in these passages. These are not sweet-by-and-by promises, but right now and active demonstrations of our life in Christ Jesus. If we have not moved on from the cross, we are not living in the fullness of the normal Christian life. Could it be that we are not living in the Life at all?
Humbly yours and forever His,
inLight Adventure 
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October 14, 2015 at 9:48 am
Bowing at the Cross – Part Two | inLight Adventure
[…] a previous article, I challenged the theology of a particular song: At the Cross. My primary concern was with the […]
November 11, 2015 at 5:25 pm
Tyrone Burrell
I would add to the conversation that when we receive the Lord’s supper we are instructed to do so in rememberance of his death. So, appreciating and meditating on his suffering and atoning death is a substantiated doctrinal concept. According to the apostle Paul, there is extreme value in “looking back” to his suffering ie. the cross.
November 12, 2015 at 9:45 am
Rob Streetman
Tyrone: Thanks for the comment. You are absolutely right. It is imperative that we remember that we are justified by His blood, and reconciled by His death. This positions us that “much more, we shall be saved by His life”. I believe the Lord’s primary desire in regard to the article is for His followers to move on to resurrection and life. Many have not been taught that it is His life that saves us. Consequently, they have no experience of the “more than” that He promised; nor the gravity of sitting with Him at the Father’s right hand. I hope the article encourages you to encourage others that His death was the beginning of a glory producing process (2Corinthians 3:18).
November 12, 2015 at 8:10 pm
Walter Poole
The cross is the spark that God chose to display His love for Humanity. It was the cross that displayed God’s love for us and the depth of Christ’s love for the father. It was the high point of Christ’s humanity. That He would die for you and me, and it is because of His expressed love that we are moved to choose to love Him back. Jesus didn’t raise himself from the dead. God did that. Jesus’ choice ended at the cross and God’s acceptance raised Him from the dead. The cross is the catalyst of the gospel. Without His atoning sacrifice and God’s acceptance of it, there would not be a gospel. The cross is what won my devotion, and the resurrection seals my hope. It is because of what Jesus did in the name of God that I believe.
November 13, 2015 at 6:20 pm
Bee
I know there are a lot of ‘non-theology sound’ songs out there, but i think you are making too much out of this particular song, as the very next line of the chorus depicts the writer wasn’t dwelling on the death, but reflecting on it
‘At the cross I bow my knee, where your blood was shed for me, there’s no greater love than this, YOU HAVE OVERCOME THE GRAVE, YOUR GLORY FILLS THE HIGHEST PLACE, WHAT CAN SEPARATE ME NOW’!
Do enjoy this beautiful song for what it truly stands for.
November 14, 2015 at 5:46 pm
Dr. Joyce Wade Gibbons Kinslow
Good old fashioned song that tugs at my heart in this modern world
November 15, 2015 at 1:16 pm
Rob Streetman
Bee, I appreciate your constructive criticism. It sent me looking for any verse or passage that instructs or talks about the followers of Jesus bowing at the cross. I could not find one. However, there are many that speak to our bowing before the living God. This seems to affirm the primary point of the article: That too many are myopically focused on the cross, when it is the life of Jesus Christ that they should be pursuing. I am not trying to reduce the importance of the cross, but to encourage others to find the life that saves them. I encourage you to consider the same; and share it with others. Many will be lost, thinking the death of Christ saves them. Romans 5:8-10 makes it abundantly clear that we shall be saved by His life.