He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them. … This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! [2 Corinthians 5:15,17 (NLT)]
Never did God so manifest His hatred of sin as in the death and suffering of His only begotten Son. Hereby He showed Himself unappeasable to sin, and that it was impossible for Him to be at peace with it. [Jonathan Edwards]
In a recent Doonesbury comic (written by Garry Trudeau), a pastor is explaining to the congregation what constitutes sin in the eyes of their church. The elders now will condone conduct such as, “lewdness, vulgarity, profanity, adultery, and sexual assault,” and exemptions from Christian values include, “greed, bullying, conspiring, boasting, lying, cheating, sloth, envy, wrath, gluttony and pride.” In addition, the church will overlook such things as, ”Biblical illiteracy, church non-attendance, and no credible sign of faith.” After the service, one church member says, “Lovin’ the lower bar, Pastor!” while another adds, “I feel like a freakin’ saint now!” Trudeau’s comic may be satire but it is closer to the truth than I care to admit.
The church of the 18th and 19th centuries often preached a fire and brimstone message that emphasized a wrathful and vengeful God. During the 20th century, the pendulum moved toward God’s love and mercy. In the 21st century, perhaps in an effort to fill empty pews, we see the pendulum moving to the other extreme where there are feel-good messages that come more from self-help books than the Bible, an emphasis on self-esteem rather than self-denial or self-control, an “anything goes” God who would never allow anyone to go to hell, and the absence of words like sin, guilt and repentance. The concepts of right and wrong, good and evil, appear to have gone out of style along with madras shorts, poodle skirts, and velour track suits. Rather than list acceptable sins as did Trudeau’s pastor, the church simply avoids mentioning sin or hell at all. This new age feel-good doctrine is correct that Jesus loves us and accepts us just as we are but it is woefully wrong when it neglects to mention that He doesn’t want us to stay that way! Since Jesus came to earth, suffered and died on the cross to pay for our sins, sin is an important part of any Christian conversation; without sin or hell, there was no need for a Savior.
Some people find this new version of Christianity an ideal arrangement: mankind loves to sin and God loves to forgive so it’s a win-win situation! Let us remember that a profession of faith that doesn’t result in a changed life and good works is not a true profession of faith. For the true Christian, deliberate sin is not an option; he should hate sin, not accept it! As St. Augustine wisely said: “It is human to err; it is devilish to remain willfully in error.”
It was said that when listening to the 18th century Puritan pastor Jonathon Edwards, one could almost smell the sulfur burning when he spoke about hell! That wasn’t all bad. Unlike Trudeau’s comic strip pastor (and many popular pastors in real churches), at least Edwards cared enough about his flock to warn them of hell’s reality and the dangers of sin.
Some people have no sense of the vileness of sin, and no sense of God’s infinite and holy opposition to it. They think God has no higher standards than they have! So they get on well with him and feel a sort of love for him, but they are loving an imaginary God, not the real God. [Jonathan Edwards]
Several years ago, there was a popular television program in which “Supernanny” Jo Frost would visit a home to help parents deal with the behavior problems of their children. She emphasized the need for both discipline and forgiveness. If children misbehaved or broke a rule after receiving a warning, they served a time-out on the “naughty step.” The parent clearly explained the reason for the discipline and the length of time they’d be sitting there. Once the sentence on the step had been served, the parent offered a second explanation for the discipline. An apology was requested which, once offered, was followed up by a kiss and cuddle and the incident was over and done.
In C.S. Lewis’ fantasy The Horse and His Boy, Aravis, a young noblewoman, is attacked by a lion. After her wounds are cleaned and dressed, she’s told that the cuts on her back are neither deep nor dangerous and no more serious than the cuts of a whip. Aravis later learns from Aslan, the lion who attacked her, that the gashes on her back, stripe for stripe, equal the stripes laid on the back of the maidservant she’d caused to be punished. At first, this seems more like the Old Testament retribution of “an eye for an eye” than something Lewis’ Christ-like character of Aslan would do. What if the maidservant had been hung or beheaded? What then?
Yesterday I mentioned the wooden cross and rustic nail on my desk that serve as reminders of the terrible price Jesus paid for our salvation. Although early Christian symbols included a dove, ship, lyre, anchor, and fish, the cross has become the universal symbol for Christianity. While Coca-Cola’s logo, Nike’s swish and McDonald’s golden arches may come close, I doubt there is any so recognizable sign in the world. Nevertheless, a gruesome instrument of Roman torture seems an odd symbol for a faith that preaches such things as reconciliation, sacrifice, forgiveness, hope, love, and peace. While I’d never wear a miniature gallows, guillotine, or electric chair on a chain around my neck, I do wear a cross. Although it symbolizes everything that happened to Jesus on that dark Friday two thousand years ago, the cross would be meaningless if the tomb had not been empty Sunday morning.
After warning us not to put them in our pockets and accidentally take them home (or put them in the dryer if we did), small pieces of paper were given to everyone in attendance at last week’s Good Friday service. Following the sermon, we were asked to write a sin (or sins) for which we repent on the papers, come forward, and nail them to a cross resting on the steps before the altar. Listening to the hammering echoing in the sanctuary, I thought of what it must have sounded like two thousand years ago when Jesus and the others were hammered to their crosses: the loud pounding of the hammers, the commotion of the crowd, the mockery of the soldiers, and the cries of agony from the men as those blunt tipped nails pierced their bodies.
The Lord does whatever pleases him throughout all heaven and earth, and on the seas and in their depths. [Psalm 135:6 (NLT)]
