THE CHURCH WITH OUT CALVARY

 

THE CHURCH WITHOUT CALVARY

By Ikechukwu Frank

He looked at me across the room, his eyes carrying a quiet pain I could not ignore. He was a pastor I had admired for years—gifted, eloquent, respected across the city. Yet that day, he seemed a shadow of his public self. “I cannot explain it,” he said, “but the more the crowd increased, the more the Cross disappeared from my messages.” His voice trembled, not from fear, not from guilt of immorality, but from the awareness that something vital had slipped away. He had silenced Calvary in his preaching, thinking the people wanted encouragement, not confrontation. At first, the church celebrated him. Numbers exploded. Offerings soared. But over time, a terrifying pattern emerged. People shouted louder but repented less. They danced with joy but transformed little. They served busily yet surrendered rarely. He said something I have never forgotten: “Pastor, the day I stopped preaching the Cross was the day I lost my authority in the Spirit.” That confession cut into my soul like fire: Christianity loses power the moment the Cross loses its place.

Paul’s words resound with renewed urgency: “The message of the Cross is sheer folly to those on the broad road to ruin, but for us it is God’s power to save” (1 Corinthians 1:18, MSG). Remove the Cross and the church becomes an empty ritual, a shell of activity without reality. As an African proverb warns, “When a house loses its pillar, even the strongest roof will eventually collapse.”

THE SUBTLE SHIFT — FROM CALVARY TO CONVENIENCE

The disappearance of the Cross is rarely loud; it creeps in softly, one sermon at a time, one compromise at a time, one attempt to please at a time. Pastors grow afraid to offend; congregants choose comfort over consecration. Churches offer blessings without brokenness, miracles without repentance, Christianity without cost. The world now teaches many to want the crown while rejecting the Cross. Emotions roar louder than conviction; convenience overshadows covenant. The elders remind us, “You cannot climb a palm tree with soft hands.” Yet soft Christianity, soft holiness, soft discipleship seduces many.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE CROSS IS REMOVED?

A church without Calvary becomes a church without life. A believer without the Cross becomes a believer without transformation. Remove Calvary, and the gospel becomes a performance: excitement without endurance, worship without repentance, activity without anointing. Holiness becomes optional. Truth becomes negotiable. Discipleship becomes a choice, not a command. Paul’s declaration pierces the heart: “God forbid that I should boast in anything except the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Through that Cross, the world is crucified to me, and I to the world” (Galatians 6:14, MSG). Without Calvary, we are actors on a stage, not soldiers in the battle.

BIBLICAL AND REAL-LIFE EXAMPLES OF A CHURCH WITHOUT CALVARY

History is clear. Every time sacrifice, holiness, or obedience is abandoned, collapse follows. Esau traded destiny for convenience. Samson pursued pleasure instead of consecration. The rich young ruler loved possessions more than surrender. Israel demanded a king to “be like the nations,” rejecting God’s rule. Laodicea grew wealthy, comfortable, and blind—lukewarm in faith. In every case, ignoring the principles of Calvary—brokenness, surrender, repentance—led to ruin. In modern life, I have seen believers abandon the Cross and lose spiritual vitality. Churches replace altars with stages, worship with entertainment, doctrine with motivation, holiness with hype, repentance with rehearsal. Each time, the result is the same: noise without depth, crowds without transformation, prosperity without purity, activity without anointing. As an African adage says, “If the drum is silent, the dance becomes hollow.”

THE MODERN CRISIS — A GENERATION ALLERGIC TO SACRIFICE

We face a generation allergic to sacrifice. Many desire blessings without burden, breakthrough without brokenness, peace without purity, success without surrender. Believers can shout in church but cannot endure temptation. They can dance yet refuse to die to self. They can give offerings yet withhold obedience. They want resurrection life but reject crucified living. As an African proverb warns, “You cannot remove the firewood and still expect the soup to boil.” Remove the Cross, and the fire of Christianity dies. Without Calvary, zeal fades, holiness diminishes, conviction evaporates, and faith becomes performative, not transformative.

THE CALL TO RETURN TO THE CENTRE

The Cross is not a relic to admire, it is a life to live. It is the foundation of strength, the doorway to holiness, the birthplace of power, the path to true transformation. Without Calvary, there is no salvation, no sanctification, no surrender, no spiritual authority. Every revival in history began not with crowds, but with Calvary. Every genuine transformation began not with excitement, but with surrender. Every powerful Christian became powerful not through talent but through death to self. The Cross is still the centre, still the power, still the truth that demands what the flesh resists: obedience, brokenness, humility, holiness, and total surrender.

THE HEART OF THIS MESSAGE

The Cross is not outdated. It is not old-fashioned. It is not offensive without reason. It remains the power of God because it calls us to die to self, to surrender fully, to embrace holiness, to walk in brokenness and obedience. Many have removed these demands, and Christianity has lost depth, authority, purity, and power. God calls us back—not to religion, but to reality; not to convenience, but to consecration; not to performance, but to purity; not to the church without Calvary, but to the church of Christ. If we lose the Cross, we lose everything. If we return to the Cross, we regain everything.

The fire of revival, the depth of transformation, the authority to overcome, all flow from Calvary. Every believer called to influence, every church called to impact, every generation called to witness must recover the Cross. True power, true purity, true purpose—these begin where the Cross stands.

So, I ask you today: Where is your Calvary? Where is the Cross in your life, your church, your generation? Will you settle for entertainment, comfort, and convenience—or will you return to the place where true fire begins? Every revival, every transformation, every spiritual authority starts there. Let us not be a church without Calvary. Let us be a people who live, walk, and preach the Cross—because if we lose the Cross, we lose everything. But if we embrace it, we regain all that matters.

WITHOUT JESUS, WE CAN DO NOTHING

If you desire to surrender your life to Jesus and experience the freedom, peace, and hope that only He can give, take this prayer of salvation sincerely from your heart:

SALVATION PRAYER

Dear Lord Jesus,

I confess that I am a sinner. I believe You died on the cross and rose again to save me. Today, I turn away from sin and invite You into my heart as my Lord and Saviour.

Cleanse me, forgive me, and fill me with Your Holy Spirit.

Help me to follow You faithfully all the days of my life.

In Jesus’ name I pray,

Amen.