Some Common Mistakes
Having considered the fact that there is a God and that
the Bible is the Word of God, we are faced with the reality
that each one of us has broken the laws of God. Each one of
us must now be aware that he has sinned and stands exposed
to the judgment of God. We have also examined the unique
history of Jesus Christ and the clear meaning of His death
on the cross for human sin.
We must now consider some of the more common misconceptions
people have regarding these issues. Although it is plausible
That the Bible is true, aren't alternative views also
plausible?
Is Sincerity Enough?
After explaining my convictions to a friend, he said,
You're right, but so am I, although I don't see things like you do. It seems to me that it doesn't matter so much what a man believes, so long as he is sincere in his belief.
Let's test that statement.
One Sunday morning a neighbor of mine said to his wife and
family, "Let's go for a drive." Traveling north, they came
to a railroad crossing. Sincerely believing there would be
no train on a Sunday morning, he attempted to drive across
without looking. He was killed on the spot by an oncoming
train while a son received a broken arm and his little
daughter was seriously injured and lay in a body cast for
months.
Did his sincere belief that all was clear save him? No, it
did not.
I know a nurse who, on night duty, sincerely believed she
held the right medicine in her hand, but she was wrong, and
in twenty minutes her patient was dead in spite of frantic
efforts to save him.
The Importance Of Being Right
Of course we need sincerity, but we must sincerely believe
truth, not error. In fact having sincere belief in error can
be the very means of deceiving us and finally destroying us.
The Bible leaves no room for doubt.
In John 14:6 Christ says, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."
Acts 4:12 says, "There is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."
If you can get to heaven in any other way you will be a
witness throughout eternity to the fact that Jesus Christ
lied when He said He was the only way. But since He gives
full evidence of being the Son of God, isn't it folly to
attempt coming to God by any other way than Christ Himself?
The real reason we want some other way is because the way of
the cross is a humbling way and we are proud at heart. But
remember the way of the cross was a humbling way for Christ
also, as we read in Philippians 2:5, 8.
Let the spirit of Christ Jesus be yours also. Though the divine nature was his from the beginning, yet he did not look upon equality with God as a above all things to be clung to, but impoverished himself by taking the nature of a servant ... and still further humbled himself by submitting even to death-to death on a cross!
Will Reformation Do? (What If I
Change?)
Some people have suggested that all a person needs to do is
sincerely change, do better in the future, and live down the
past. This is supposed to make a person ready for heaven.
Will it work?
Assume that the manager of a business goes to his accountant
and finds that his company owes $50,000 to manufacturers and
other suppliers. He says, "Write letters to all those people
and tell them that we are not going to trouble about the
past, that we have turned over new pages in our ledger, but
we promise to pay 100 cents on the dollar in all future
business, and from now on live up to the highest standard of
business integrity." The accountant would think his employer
had gone mad, and would refuse to put such a proposition to
the creditors. Yet thousands of otherwise sensible people
are trying to get to heaven by just such a proposal,
offering to meet their obligations toward God for the
future, but refusing to worry about the past at all. In
Ecclesiastes 3:15 we read,
God requireth that which is past.
Even if we assume that we can somehow begin to live an
absolutely perfect life - which is certainly impossible for
us - we are still sinners. God's righteousness demands that
no past account is considered settled till it has been paid
in full and every claim of justice met. The murderer may
cover his sin and live the life of a model citizen for ten
years after his crime, but man's law, when he is located,
condemns him to death. Though he has murdered no one for ten
long years-it still judges him a murderer.
To hide past sin, either thoughts, words, or deeds, by what
seems to be an absolutely perfect life, still leaves us
sinners. In God's sight the past and future are as open as
the present. According to God's standard of holiness, we
have all sinned, and we must bring sin out into the open and
have it dealt with righteously.
The Bible declares that Jesus Christ is the only One who
could pay this penalty. "We were reconciled to God by the
death of his Son" (Romans 5:10). Yes, the Lord Jesus Christ
gave up His life in place of ours that we might go free. Our
past sin is paid for, and God, against whom we have sinned,
has given us His receipt, showing His satisfaction with the
completed work of Christ on the cross in that He raised Him
from the dead. Christ, once crucified, is now our living
Saviour. He died to save us from the penalty of sin and now
He lives to deliver us from the power of sin.
Jesus Paid It All
But why did Christ need to die? Couldn't He have saved us
without that? Man had broken God's law and the penalty was
death. How could Christ righteously deliver us without
meeting our full penalty? Don't you see, if He paid anything
less than the full price, there would still be judgment for
us to meet? But because He died, the law we broke can judge
us no more.
The Bible says in Romans 8:1, "There is therefore now no
condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus."
On one occasion an unfinished court case had to be extended
another day. So that no outside influence could be brought
to bear, the jury was sequestered overnight. When they
arrived at court the next morning, the judge said,
"Gentlemen, the case is dismissed; the prisoner has been
called to a higher court. " The accused had died in his cell
during the night and there was no use going on with the
case, as the law cannot judge a dead man.
Again, if a man should murder one person, he may receive the
death penalty, but if he should murder six people he can
still die only once, because this is the utmost penalty of
the law, and no matter what a man's sins may be, the law
knows no greater penalty than to take his life.
Therefore, it doesn't matter that there are sins in my life
that I have long since forgotten; I fear none of them, for I
have confidence that the Lord Jesus Christ, my substitute,
suffered the utmost penalty of the law on my account,
freeing me absolutely from all the claims the law had
against me, both great and small.
Salvation Must Be Personally
Received
Because of the greatness of Jesus Christ's sacrifice, some
have suggested that if Christ died for all, then everyone
must be saved. But God does not say that. He says there is
salvation for all, but that not all are saved.
Let me illustrate. Picture a bitterly cold winter. Many are
in dire straights because of successive unemployment. The
city officials provide free meals for any in need. You meet
a man on the street who says he is starving. Naturally, you
ask if he doesn't believe the notices posted all over the
city, that there is enough food for all provided free?
"Yes," he replies, "I believe that's true, in a general sort
of way, but I am still hungry." You tell him that he will
remain hungry in spite of the provision if he doesn't eat
and drink personally of what is provided for all."
Although the death of Christ provides salvation for who ever
comes, only those are saved who personally receive Christ
and believe that He died in their place. I must take Christ
as MY Saviour, or His death will avail me nothing, just as a
man could die of thirst beside a spring of water if he
refused to drink its life-giving stream for himself.
How Can One Death Atone for All
Mankind?
Some may still question: How can the Lord Jesus Christ's one
life be considered the substitute for the lives of so many,
so that God offers salvation to whosoever repents and
believes in Christ? That's a fair question. Christ was God
manifest in the flesh - Divinity in humanity - so that the
life He gave was an infinite life, able to meet the needs of
any number of finite lives. Get a sheet of paper and write
down all the big figures you can think of - millions or more
- add them up. Now you have a big number; then multiply your
sum by 10, a 100, or a million if you like. Use as many
sheets of paper as you want. When you're done, you still
have a finite number - a number that has bounds set about it
- it has a beginning and an end, no matter how large it may
be. No, by adding finite things together no man has ever
been able to make that which is infinite. The infinite life
of Christ given for sinners is more than sufficient to save
all who accept Him as the One who died for them.
But how could Christ suffer for our sins when they were not
committed until more than 1900 years after He died? At first
this seemed a problem. But the more I thought, the more
readily I understood. God is omniscient (that is, He knows
all things), and God is eternal. In Exodus 3:14 God calls
Himself "I AM" (present tense), and Christ says in John
8:58, "Before Abraham was, I AM" (present tense). In other
words, to One who knows all things and is eternal, there is,
neither past nor future, but one eternal present. Events yet
to take place 2000 years ahead must be as clear to Him as
events which happened 2000 years ago, and both must, of
necessity, be just as clear to God as events happening now.
In this lesson we have tried to face honestly some of the
questions people raise when faced with their need of Jesus
Christ to be their Saviour and Lord. In our next lesson we
are going to look at some more common objections to this
truth.
Have you squarely faced your doubts and difficulties? If
not, will you do so now?