Theological Reflections

Volume 2, Issue 1 – April 2025

Losing the Cross, Losing the Gospel: Rethinking Thai Christianity’s Foundations

Date: 22 April 2025

Author: Dr. Chansamone Saiyasak (Professor Religious Studies and Missiology), Theological Commissions & Religious Liberty Commissions of Evangelical Fellowship of Thailand & Asia Evangelical Alliance (a WEA-Regional Alliance) | Author’s Profile

This article is written in response to a growing trend within certain expressions of Christianity in Thailand, where the message of the gospel is increasingly framed around themes of resurrection power, supernatural victory, and spiritual authority, while the Cross of Christ is minimized, sidelined, or functionally ignored. While such theological emphases are not new globally, they have found increasing appeal in the Thai church landscape, often captivating believers with promises of healing, breakthrough, prophetic insight, and victorious living. This reflection does not aim to target specific individuals or movements but offers a loving call to return to the biblical center of the gospel—the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Without the Cross at the center, the gospel message becomes something else entirely: a system of inspiration without redemption.

In these newer streams of Christian expression, the resurrection is frequently presented as the ultimate display of God's power, with believers encouraged to live in the triumph of resurrection life. The Christian life is described as one of dominion, favor, and spiritual success. In this view, the Cross may still be acknowledged but is no longer central to the shape of the gospel or the Christian life. It becomes a doorway quickly passed through to reach “higher” spiritual realities. But such a shift distorts the gospel, reducing it to personal empowerment while avoiding the hard truths of sin, repentance, and sacrificial grace.

By contrast, the witness of Scripture—preserved faithfully in historic evangelical theology—places the Cross of Christ at the very heart of the gospel. The Apostle Paul declared, “For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2). He did not prioritize miracles or even the resurrection as the core of his message, but the crucified Christ, because it is through the Cross that atonement, reconciliation, and redemption are accomplished. The Cross alone confronts the core human problem: sin. As Scripture says, “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree” (1 Peter 2:24), and “without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins” (Hebrews 9:22). Without the Cross, grace becomes cheap, power becomes purposeless, and salvation becomes superficial.

The resurrection, while absolutely essential, is not a replacement for the Cross—it is its divine vindication. “He was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification” (Romans 4:25). The empty tomb confirms that the work of redemption is finished and accepted by God. When we elevate resurrection above crucifixion, we end up with glory without sacrifice and victory without the cost of atonement. The resurrection can only be rightly understood when rooted in the reality of the Cross.

Moreover, the Cross is not only the means of salvation; it is the model for discipleship. Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Matthew 16:24). A Cross-centered gospel produces Cross-shaped lives—marked by humility, repentance, sacrificial love, and faithful endurance—not spiritual elitism or religious performance.

This Cross-centered understanding of the gospel also resonates profoundly with the Thai cultural context. In Thai Buddhism and broader Southeast Asian worldview, suffering is the central human problem, and the cycle of karma and reincarnation is seen as the endless chain that binds human existence to pain. While some Christian expressions seem to echo Buddhist merit-making by offering escape through miraculous power or spiritual success, the Cross offers something far deeper: a confrontation with the root of suffering—human sin—and the declaration that Jesus has dealt with it once and for all. The Cross offers true freedom and salvation—not just from external affliction but from the spiritual condition that fuels the karmic cycle. Where Buddhism seeks escape through personal effort, the Cross offers release through divine grace. This is why the Cross—not merely the resurrection—must be the theological bridge that connects the gospel to the deepest longings of the Thai soul.

If we lose the Cross, we lose the very essence of Christianity. We lose the biblical definition of love (1 John 4:10), the richness of grace (Ephesians 1:7), the victory over sin and death (Colossians 2:13–15), and the pattern of Christian life and mission (Philippians 2:5–11). Christianity without the Cross becomes little more than motivational spirituality, where Jesus becomes a life coach instead of the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

This article urges the Thai Christian community—especially those shaped by newer, power-oriented expressions of faith—to return to the foundation. The crucified Christ must be restored to the center of our message, not as a symbol of defeat but as the very wisdom and power of God (1 Corinthians 1:18–24). Only when the Cross is central can we understand the resurrection for what it truly is: the divine affirmation of a finished work and the beginning of a new life in Him. A gospel without the Cross is no gospel at all.

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