An imagined scene:
The gateway to heaven –
the Lord is sitting on his Umpires Throne (the Bema) – a hopeful person comes
to the judgement seat. He is expecting
to be admitted, though maybe will have to endure some burning away of the wood,
hay and stubble of fleshly works …
THE JUDGE: Name,
please;
PERSON: (your name here)
THE JUDGE: Ah, Yes ….
Mmmm
PERSON: Is there a problem?
THE JUDGE: Well, there is a technical problem. We have run through your life on the slow
motion screen and found that you did not properly understand the doctrines of
the Church.
PERSON: And?
JUDGE: We have decided that you cannot be admitted!
Well, we can thank and praise God that a real believer will
not experience such a thing. Yes, our
lives will come under scrutiny at the Bema but not with a view to
disqualification – rather with a view to reveal all that was valuable and good.
The world seems to be drowning itself in
technicalities. Law breakers are able to
get away free on a technicality. In many
sports the cameras and microphones that are focused on the goal mouth, the wicket,
the starting line or the try line, seem to demand infinitesimal accuracy before
a decision can be made. Not long ago, a
decision for lbw (leg before wicket) was a matter for the umpire. Now it involves third umpires and repeated
examination of film footage. I have
noted the same dilemma when someone scores a try. The referee is unable to decide and refers to
the judgment of other referees.
This fine-tuning seems to affect everything and
everyone. Arguments in our Law Courts
seem less concerned with whether a person actually committed a crime. Instead they become involved in
technicalities about the arrest, or the mindset of the accused. You know the kind of thing. It is happening in Norway at the moment and
is described as the Christian way of dealing with crime. But is it?
I am not keen on attitudes that label everything “black or
white”. Life is not like that and there
are shades of grey in between. Jesus was
not afraid to describe people as sinners.
He did not treat everyone the same.
He forgave all kinds of sin but we do not hear him speak lightly of
it. He commanded people to “sin no
more!” He was also very cross with the
Pharisees for their way of making people sinners (technically) through
disregarding their book of rules.
Pharisees made everything black or white. A tailor was a sinner if he accidentally
carried a pin in his cloak on a Sabbath Day!
Yet a man could deny his mother and father all support through making a
commitment to the Temple (Corban). A
Pharisee technicality allowed a major law (honour your Father and your Mother)
to be broken! Another Pharisee
technicality labelled a man a sinner.
If the world wants to tie everyone up with technicalities
like the Pharisees – well that’s up to them.
The world is in their hands; God will call them to account! My concern is over Christians who do the
same. So many Christians exclude others
on the basis of a technicality. Yes,
there are seriously important doctrines of our faith but, in my view, many of
the differences and distances placed between believers are mere
technicalities. There are spiritual
wanderers (from church to church) who have no good reason for their wandering
other than a few technicalities. I hear
complaints about styles, songs, versions, attitudes and individuals. Little is said concerning the Lord Jesus and
his glory! The concerns are mere
technicalities that have no value in the Light of Christ.
I wonder if those who judge so finely between each other
would like the Father to do the same?
How would they enjoy being judged unworthy for heaven on a
technicality? Even the most righteous of
Christians would not want to claim worthiness for heaven! Our access to glory sits entirely on the
foundation of Jesus – his words, his ways and his finished work at the Cross
(Oh, sorry – I should write stake – a technical difference no doubt?). There is no way in to heaven on a
technicality – there is no being excused on a technicality. God has declared every person to be a sinner. On that level playing field we seek his mercy
and grace. This is available freely
through faith in Jesus Christ.
There it is set down in the Word of God. A person is saved by grace through faith in
the Son of God. There is no film footage
checking how you got there, how you stayed there, what you did to deserve it or
what you did to deserve losing it. No, the Judge of all the Earth says – all
who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ will be saved (rescued, delivered,
redeemed, reconciled to God, baptised in the Spirit, filled with the Spirit,
added into the Body of Christ, regenerated, born again …. It does not matter what one says, it is
who one believes in that matters).
Understanding the details of the grace of God may take you a lifetime;
enjoying the wonders of his grace starts now!
