Who is Safe in God’s Eyes?

When I was working as a cancer surgeon, I saw many patients who came up to the clinic with a lump. Tests were performed and sometimes the result showed a cancer. What should I say? Surely I must share the bad news, even if I try to do this in as kind a way as possible. But then I will follow it up with a message of hope –something can be done about this problem.

The Bad News

The central message of the Bible, starting with the rebellion of Adam and Eve, is that our sin separates us from a holy God. Some people try to minimise this as a problem, rather like ostriches that bury their heads in the sand. They think that because they cannot understand the immensity of the problem that God talks about, then it doesn’t exist!

There are many Bible references that talk about God’s judgement that is to come, for example,

“For we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due to him . . .” 2 Corinthians 5:10

“Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgement . . . ” Hebrews 9:27

When we are young death means little to us, yet as we get older, it comes closer. Friends and family die as a reminder that it will eventually happen to us. At present the average life span of a man in the United Kingdom is 77.2 years and a woman 81.6 years. Then we face judgement.

I had a young lady who had an aggressive breast cancer. She needed a mastectomy but the idea was totally abhorrent to her. So she had a mastectomy and an immediate reconstruction. After the operation she confided in me that if she had lost her breast she had decided to commit suicide. So I asked her,

“Are you ready to meet God then?”

“What do you mean?” she replied.

“Jesus teaches us that when we die we face God in judgement – so it would not be sensible to speed up the process if you are not yet ready to meet him.”

“I have never thought about that.”

She wanted to know more.

The Good News

There is hope however. The verse from Hebrews about judgement continues,

“Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgement, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time,, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.” Hebrews 9:27-28

Jesus’ message is that he came to take on himself the penalty for our sins so that we can go free. He said that he had come from God for this very purpose, to die on that cross for us. As the prospect of his execution loomed, he said to the crowd,

“Now is my heart troubled, and what shall I say, “Father save me from this hour.” (his approaching death) ? No, for it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father glorify your name.” John 12:27-28

He did indeed bear the penalty for our sin on that cross. But note that in the Hebrews verse there are two important facts included. He died to ‘take away the sins of many’. Not everyone will be covered, it is clear that he will only bring eternal salvation to ‘those who are waiting for him”.

This reminder is so important. To be ‘saved’ by God, to have the hope of living with the Lord of the universe eternally, we must have entered into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Each of us must individually become one of his people by allowing him into our lives as both our Saviour and our Lord. All true Christians centre their lives on living for Jesus and they wait expectantly for his return when his salvation will be realised.

One of the most dangerous assumptions in our churches is the assumption that somehow God will accept us all. This is not the Bible’s teaching. I can even be very religious outwardly but never have become dependant on Jesus death for myself and not allowed him to be the focus of my life here on earth. The Bible is very clear. There is no admission to heaven without a personal surrender to Christ. Such a surrender will inevitably result in my becoming involved in the church, where together with others we live for God’s honour.

The Bible uses the word ‘repentance’ for this change in outlook. The Old Testament prophets kept warning both God’s people and also foreigners, ‘Repent’. Thus,

“Repent, and I will restore you.” Jeremiah 15:19

John the Baptist began his ministry by warning God’s people. He preached,

“ . . . a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” Mark 1:4

The Jesus started preaching a similar message to the Jewish people,

“The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news.” Mark 1:15

The apostle, Peter, continued this theme,

“Repent and be baptised, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.” Acts 2:38

The only door through which we must pass to enter God’s kingdom is ‘repentance’. Repentance means much more than being sorry for those things we have done wrong or even have failed to do right. It means a complete change in the direction of my life, I have to ‘rethink’ the way I am living. Indeed to ‘repent’ is to ‘rethink’. When a person gets married, they rethink the direction of their life, a new form of life begins with a lifelong partner. When Jesus talks about repentance he means a change of direction with him in charge as Lord, accepting his death as my substitute, as my Saviour.

This starts a new relationship with him and will inevitably involve a new relationship with Christ’s church, with others who are Christ centred. Not everyone who has been baptised or even who is involved with a church is secure because they have not yet turned to Christ personally to enter this relationship.

In the last book of the Bible, a church at Laodicea is described which was a nice comfortable church and was outwardly successful. They were self-satisfied. However the Lord Jesus was not at the centre. They were members of a church but not yet members of God’s kingdom. They had not individually turned to Christ. They were baptised but not saved.

“So be earnest and repent. Here I am at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him and he with me.” Revelation 2:19-20

Jesus says to these people, “You must repent, you must change direction to allow me to be in charge of your lives.” How were they to do this? Jesus describes himself as standing outside their lives. They must each open that door. In their consciences they can hear God knocking. They know that Jesus’ claims stand up to investigation. This is not wishful thinking but is evidence based. They instinctively know that they had left the Lord outside.

To be a member of God’s eternal kingdom we must each repent and enter into this personal relationship with Jesus by asking him to take over the driving seat of our lives.

When people hear this demand of God to repent there are different reactions. Some mock, just as they mocked Jesus. Others make excuses. Yet there are others who recognise just how true this is and they say to the Lord,

“Thank you for being the answer to my sin. I need what you offer and ask you to come into my life as my Lord and Saviour.”

Reactions to Jesus

When Jesus was crucified the onlookers reacted to him in a variety of ways. Mark’s record of this story highlights the various reactions.

Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.

The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium) and called together the whole company of soldiers. They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him. And they began to call out to him, “Hail, king of the Jews!” Again and again they struck him on the head with a staff and spit on him. Falling on their knees, they paid homage to him. And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.

A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross. They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”). Then they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. And they crucified him. Dividing up his clothes, they cast lots to see what each would get.

It was nine in the morning when they crucified him. The written notice of the charge against him read: THE KING OF THE JEWS.

They crucified two rebels with him, one on his right and one on his left. Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, “So! You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, come down from the cross and save yourself!” In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the law mocked him among themselves. “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! Let this Messiah, this king of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe.” Those crucified with him also heaped insults on him.

At noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).

When some of those standing near heard this, they said, “Listen, he’s calling Elijah.”

Someone ran, filled a sponge with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down,” he said.

With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last.

The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. 39 And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, saw how he died, he said, “Surely this man was the Son of God!” Mark 15:15-37

1. The man in authority

The Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, had met and interviewed Jesus. He recognised that Jesus had done nothing wrong. However, “wanting to satisfy the crowd”, he refused to do what he knew was right. Pressure from others was more important than the truth. What will he say when he himself is in the dock, standing before his heavenly judge, the Lord Jesus.

Unfortunately today there are many for whom the fear of man, of a husband, wife, work mates, friends or family matters more than the fear of God.

2. The soldiers

When we first meet these Roman soldiers they mocked Jesus , then they crucify him. They were just doing their duty, getting on with life. I doubt they thought very much about what they were doing only what they could get out of it. They had their pay and the perks of the job. The trouble is that as a result they received a few second hand clothes but not eternal life.

It is so easy to go through life, doing what is expected of us, raising a family and paying off our mortgage, and yet not thinking about why we are here and how the Lord God sees us. We can also be so preoccupied with our lives that we miss the significance of the cross.

3. The religious leaders

The religious leaders considered they would be alright as they were God’s representatives. Yet Jesus criticised this group heavily and frequently. They looked good in their religious uniforms but the Lord saw their hearts. Jesus warned his disciples,

“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognise them.” Matthew 7:15-16

The chief priests, teachers of the law and the elders of Israel were opponents of Jesus and this led to his crucifixion. They did not recognise what they were doing. Many by-passed Jesus to their eternal peril. Jesus had put himself in the centre in his teaching, it was his rightful place, but in his behaviour he was humbler than any man. This disparity is yet further evidence to support his claims to be the Messiah, God’s chosen king. Jesus said,

“I am the way (the way to God) and the truth and the life. No-one comes to the father, except through me.” John 14:6

There is no-one else who can forgive our sins, only God himself.

The playwright, George Bernard Shaw, once attended a Christian meeting where the cross of Jesus was being explained. He stood up as the talk was proceeding and said loudly,

“I will pay for my sin myself!”

At least he recognised that he had a problem. However you can hear the Lord saying to him,

“You fool.”

4. The onlookers

As in the days when public hangings were held in London, great crowds came for the show. Jewish tradition taught that Elijah sometimes came to help those in need. Some in the crowd wondered if indeed Elijah would step out of history and miraculously save Jesus, who was widely held to be a good man. Like the soldiers, they were there for themselves, they were just onlookers. They failed to see that this was the most important event in history, when the Saviour of the world carried their sin. The darkness that came over the land for three hours should have reminded them that God hates sin, and in front of them God’s only son was carrying the sin of many and facing God’s wrath. The wrath we deserve.

Marghanita Lasky was one of England’s best-known novelists and secular humanists. Shortly before she died in 1988, Marghanita Laski said this in television discussion: “What I envy most about you Christians is your forgiveness; I have nobody to forgive me.”

Kingsley Amis, the writer, had an interview with a newspaper reporter just before he died. He said,

“One of Christianity’s great advantages is that it offers an explanation for sin. I haven’t got one. Christianity’s got one enormous thing right, original sin; for one of the great benefits of organised religion is that you can be forgiven your sins, which must be a wonderful thing”

The interviewer said that he then paused a long time, bowed his head, and said,

“I mean, I carry my sins around with me. There is nobody to forgive them.”

He got one thing wrong, it is not organised religion that can forgive our sins. Religion can only point us to the Saviour and tell us of the need to repent and follow him.

In this account of the crucifixion, Mark is reminding us that we all react to Jesus in one way or another. We may make excuses but they will not hold up in that final court. I was too concerned with what others thought, I was too busy, I had my own religion, I did not realise that these matters involved me.

5. The centurion

This man alone stands out in the story. He was clearly thinking about all that had happened. Even though he had commanded the execution party he recognised what was happening. As he saw how
Jesus accepted his unjustified fate, how he talked to others from the cross, he announced publicly,

“Surely this man was the Son of God”

It cannot have been easy for him to speak out like that. He was not only saying that the justice system had failed an innocent man, he was personally honouring, even worshipping the man he had just killed for claiming to be God’s Messiah, God’s Son.

Some have tried to escape from Jesus’ claim over them by saying that Jesus was only known as the Son of God. An Indian friend who was raised as a Hindu but later became a Christian rejected this argument strongly by saying,

“The son of a tiger is a tiger; the son of a baboon is a baboon; the son of God is God.”

Justice and mercy meet

It is on that cross that God’s justice and his mercy meet. On top of the Old Bailey Law Court in London is a golden statue of the Roman goddess Justica. She is holding the scales of justice in one hand and the sword of judgement in the other. She is also blindfolded to demonstrate her neutrality. Its meaning is clear. People’s actions will be weighed in the balance of justice and the fair penalty administered. Treason against the Lord God, our creator is not a trivial offence. God’s justice is a very frightening prospect.

Just across the London skyline there is another golden symbol. It is on top of the dome of St. Paul’s Cathedral. This symbol is a cross. It reminds us that although we deserve God’s righteous judgement, the sword of God’s wrath has fallen on his son, on Jesus, if we will accept him.

One day I met a lady wearing a beautiful cross around her neck. I said,

“Excuse me asking but does that cross mean you are a Christian?”

She smiled and replied,

“It depends on what you mean by a Christian.”

I thought quickly,

“Someone who is sold out to the Lord Jesus is what the Bible teaches.”

“Then I am not a Christian”

To be forgiven and so admitted as a member of God’s kingdom, I must personally repent and accept Jesus as my Lord and my Saviour and live with Him in His church. No-one can do that unless they recognise that they are sinners in God’s eyes and need his forgiveness. A Christian has sold out to the Lord Jesus.

Too extreme?

I can imagine someone reading this thinking to themselves,

“This is too much. You are saying that there is only one way for people of all nationalities and religions to get right with God.”

This is not my teaching however, it comes from Jesus himself. Shortly before his crucifixion Jesus was speaking publicly. He created a stir then.

Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not openly acknowledge their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved human praise more than praise from God.

Then Jesus cried out, “Whoever believes in me does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me. The one who looks at me is seeing the one who sent me. I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.

“If anyone hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge that person. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; the very words I have spoken will condemn them at the last day. For I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me to say all that I have spoken. I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.” John 12:42-50

Jesus himself claimed to be the unique incarnation of God. He claimed that those who reject him reject his Father also. He taught that there is a judgement to come that will be based on how we have treated him. This is a staggering claim. This is why the most important question in the world that everyone should consider is the one Jesus asked Peter,

“Who do you say I am?”

Peter replied,

“You are the Christ.”

Please do not let fear of man, business, preconceived ideas or disinterest prevent an investigation of this central question,

“Who do you say I am?”

BVP

May 2011