I've been reading through Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis lately. In the book, he creates a sort of "basics list" for Christianity, things that, regardless of denomination, everyone calling themselves a follower of Christ will agree on. It's too funny how much there is that we all agree on, and the things that we diverge on are eternally unimportant. But I digress.
The first point Lewis makes in his book is that there is a universal "Law of Nature," a moral standard that we're all programmed with that guides how we treat each other. The basic idea is this--everyone feels a sense of right and wrong. We may not always behave like we do, and we may sometimes even deliberately go against that sense, but its still there. Lewis uses World War II as an example. Without a sense of right and wrong, who are we to say that what Hitler did with his power was wrong? But there is a sense of right and wrong, so we can make judgment calls like that.
The second point he makes is that everybody, at some point in there life, will do wrong even in complete knowledge of what is right. Now the offense varies. It may be something as simple as lying about why you were late to work to avoid trouble, or something as serious as killing a man for his shoes, but everyone at some point is going to do wrong even though we all know what is right.
I can't speak for everyone, but from what I have experienced, I know that these two points are true. Think about it. If you tell a little boy to stay away from the cookie jar, and he gets caught trying to sneak his hand in, what is the first thing he does? He hides his hands behind his back, because he knows that what he is doing is against the rules, which are assumed to be right. Everyone of us is built with an idea that there is a right and wrong. As for all of us breaking it, if we're honest with ourselves, we know that's true, too. All of us, at some point in our lives, made a temporary decision that the rewards of breaking the rules were better than obeying them.
Now, let's take a look at this in light of what we discussed last time. God, who according to the Bible is perfect, cannot let sin go by unpunished. He is loving, and it pains Him to punish His children when they break His law, but He has to punish or He would no longer, by definition, be God. We saw that in the Garden of Eden. God had every right to destroy Adam and Eve right then and there, but He didn't. However, he did give punishment for the wrongs that were committed.
So if God has to punish those who break the moral standard of right and wrong, and everyone at some point in there life intentionally does wrong, then what does that mean? It means that God has to punish everyone. Every human being, at some point in his/her life, will do something to deserve punishment from the God that created him/her.
I know, I know. That sounds really harsh. But let's remember a couple of things. First, if God decided to let evil, or doing wrong, go unpunished, He would no longer be just, and would therefore no longer be the standard of good that He is. In order for God to be God, He must punish evil. Secondly, even though God is just, He is also loving. I mean, you don't see people suddenly dying on the side of the street the minute they do something wrong. (If that were the case, I'd be dead a thousand times over already). He stays His hand, finding a way, because He is God after all, to satisfy the requirement for justice and at the same time not strike us dead for all the evil we do.
And what exactly is that way? How is God able to punish the evil that we do without taking us out completely? Well, that's where Jesus comes into play. We'll go into more detail next time about exactly how it works, but the basics can be summed in Paul's words to Rome:
"Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. For no one is declared righteous before Him by the works of the law, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin. But now apart from the law the righteousness of God (which is attested by the law and the prophets) has been disclosed--namely the righteousness of God through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. But they are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. God publicly displayed Him at his death as the mercy seat accessible through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because God in His forbearance passed over the sins previously committed. This was also to demonstrate his righteousness in the present time, so that he would be just and the justifier of the one who lives because of Jesus' faithfulness." ---Romans 3:19-26
Basically, to borrow the words of graffiti written on bathroom stalls in truck stops, "Jesus is the answer." Literally. Jesus provided a way to satisfy the justice that God had to show against our sin without taking us out in the process. This way, God's favorite creation, you and me, doesn't get destroyed, and at the same time, God is able to do what His nature commands and punish sin.
As I said, we'll go into more detail next time. For a preview, read Romans 5:6-11. As per usual, feel free to comment, ask questions, or whatever you want to do. I'm open to anything and everything you want to share.
Keep Soaring,
B
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