Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. - Psalm 51:5
For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. - Romans 8:6-7
In order for the Good News to actually be good, you have to comprehend the degree of "badness" embedded in the Bad News.
You are worse off than you think.
Some of us think we are born into this world innocent, then the world and sin corrupts us, therefore showing us our need for salvation. The problem with that assumption would be The Bible. It tells us that even upon conception we are sinful, never having done anything good or bad. Sin was so devastating, so destructive that it shattered our oneness with God and all of creation. After Adam and Eve sinned, everything turned on itself. Man and woman suddenly felt shame in front of eachother. God became scary and was portrayed to be someone they needed to hide from. The lion and the lamb no longer dined together (at least not in the sense where the lamb would walk away). But one thing was still true, no matter how severe the consequence, God still loved us. All throughout the Old Testament, you see God working with man, making covenants with them they would never keep because they were incapable of following through with such a high order, given their sinful nature and desires. They could pull themselves up by their bootstraps ever so often, but they could not provide a sinless life and sacrifice to appease the wrath of God that settled on men in their sin. Now that we've shed some light on the dark beginning, let's open the curtain on the scene of Good News.
For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit. - 1 Peter 3:18
But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
- Ephesians 2:13
Dead in our sins, unable to fully satisfy our debt to God, Christ comes on the scene. He was born of the Holy Spirit through Mary. Now, let's say you are having a hard time settling on the fact that you are born sinful. Well, if that be the case, then why would God require the Spotless Lamb to be born of the Spirit and not of human seed? If we are all born sinless, then there was no use for Jesus to be born supernaturally (unexposed to the sinful human seed). I'll even go further to say, if we are all born innocent, wouldn't it be the worst possible thing for us to hear the Gospel and then have to choose God or Hell?
I mean if we are innocent, then we are a on a one-way road to heaven! So, the best thing would be for us to never hear the Gospel and go about our lives ignorantly "innocent and blameless".
Even more than that, there would be absolutely no need for the cross because there would be nothing we needed saving from. This is not so. Christ came supernaturally to carry out what we as sinful humans could not, in order to bring us the peace of God. To settle the score. To be a cup that would hold the wrath of God for our behalf. To present us as blameless and bring us near to God again. What a beautiful picture. That's part one of the Good News. Want to hear the even better news?
I had concern for my holy name... -Ezekiel 36:21
I want you to know that I am not doing this for your sake...
- Ezekiel 36:32
Then they will know that I am the Lord... - Ezekiel 36:38
God is concerned with His name. It is Holy. His reputation? Flawless. But we Christians still screw things up. The life-long battle is between our Spirit that has now been regenerated and our flesh that still desires the things of this world. We go about our lives trying to live in a way pleasing to God, but ultimately we still fail. For me, I screw up like 10 times a day or more. Even though we have redemption (deliverance upon payment of ransom) and justification (the action of declaring or making righteous in the sight of God), through Christ, we still have the ongoing act of sanctification (set apart for sacred use; to consecrate, make holy) that begins at the time we accept Christ until the time we leave this earth to be with Him forever. So what would be the good news in the fact that God is "concerned for His holy name"? Because he is the God of the universe and has every tool imaginable at his disposal, I'd say he has the upper hand in being certain His name is glorified and His will carried out. Now, I can see where this would seem like bad news if this means that we were now forced to try and clean everything up, stop all our bad habits, follow the Law perfectly..because guess what.. we can't!
So let's sum things up.
God has seen us in our sin, sent Jesus to die on the Cross so that we stand justified and redeemed before Him because we as humans could not do so, just to now say "Ok, you've got this from here! I've saved you from damnation, now here's hoping you can pull yourself up by your bootstraps and follow my Law.. I got faith in ya! Go for it!"
Not hardly. Check out what happens next.
I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. 20 Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God.
-Ezekiel 11:19-20
And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God.
-Ezekiel 36:27-28
So then it depends not on human will or effort; but on God's mercy.
- Romans 9:16
"...for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. -Philipians 2:13
I'd like for you to tell me how many times in the verses above God says, during this process, that YOU have a role in making anything happen.
Go ahead...
Waiting, waiting, waiting.....
Ok. Now I want you to notice how many times God says, "I will...". Isn't that a beautiful picture? A Mighty, Sovereign God who sends a sacrifice to satisfy His wrath against sin, who draws us to Christ for redemption, who then causes us to walk in His truth by giving us a new, regenerated heart to serve and love him, and to top it all off, He works in us to will and act in a way that serves to fulfill His purpose in the Earth, for your good and His glory.
Now I know for some of you, I've just taken a lot of control out of your hands. But doesn't it feel good? Don't you feel like you can REST knowing that God really is in control? That He really is keeping His promise to make His name known and glorified. That's freedom. That helps me to see this present day circumstance as GOOD. That allows me to say a prayer over my child, send him off to school knowing that God is Sovereign no matter what happens that day. That lets me look at terminal illness and say God has a will for my life, and His will brings me joy not matter how many times my happiness leaves me. Maybe that's what Jesus meant when he said, "Come to me all who are weary, and I will give you rest. For my yoke is easy, my burden is light," Matthew 11:28,30. Doesn't THAT burden seem so light compared to the one we carry when we try to work, and do, and be all that God has called us to be in our own power?
That sounds like a grace that is amazing..and one that sounds so sweet!
When I began my journey with Christ, I saw life in yellows, oranges, pinks and bright purples. But as time crept by, temptation crept in, failures began to add up, those bright cheerful colors began to fade away. Now it seemed as if all I could see were the many shades of brown and grey. Things weren't so happy and cheerful.
Where were the butterflies and day lilies?
Why didn't the grass seem green anymore?
Why was the canvas of my life so downcast and dull?
Instead of running the other way when things got scary, when my 89393th failure reared it's ugly head, I pressed into God. More appropriately, He pressed into me. He began to show me that if I would take a step back, and see the big picture, I would notice that even though the brown looked dark and ugly, it had a purpose. Without the yellow and red, the brown wouldn't exist.
If we can imagine our life span on a canvas, with God as the painter in complete control of the paintbrush, we can trust that the things in our life that seem so abstract and hard to make out, will have a purpose in the end. That purpose will always be for our good and for His Glory.
I've learned to trust the Painter.
No matter how sloppy the Masterpiece looks at the moment.
I know, in the end, my life will be finished as a beautiful Masterpiece.
Beautiful, spotless and in perfect harmony, forever to be displayed in the Heavenlies.
"To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen."
- Jude 1:24-25
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