Does 1 Corinthians 10:14 forbid
Christians to wear a cross?
In 1 Corinthians 10:14 we read, "Therefore,
my dear friends, flee from idolatry." The Jehovah's Witnesses argue
that the command against idolatry in this verse represents a command
not to wear a cross. To wear a cross, they say, is a form of
idolatry.
It is certainly true that Christians must
avoid idolatry, but wearing a cross is NOT a form of idolatry. Let me
point out that the command to avoid idolatry was especially relevant
to the Corinthian believers because Corinth was an idolatrous city.
Idolatry in Corinth led to such things as sexual immorality,
drunkenness, and reveling. Because idolatry and its accompanying
vices were so terribly rampant, Paul instructs the Corinthian
believers to "flee" (run away from) idolatry.
Wearing a cross is not idolatry because the
cross is not worshiped or venerated. Christians wear a cross because
they worship and venerate Christ. It is an outward expression of an
inner worshipful attitude toward Christ. Only if a Christian bowed
down before a cross in worship or venerated it would it become a
forbidden object of worship (see Exodus 20:4).