Who am I, that the Lord of all the earthDavid asked a similar question.
Would care to know my name,
Would care to feel my hurt?"
Who am I, O YHWH God, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far? (1 Chron 17:16)I suspect most people would have an answer. "I'm somebody." "I deserve a break today." "I'm smart and funny and, doggone it, people like me." "I am, after all, basically good." So what's with David ... or Casting Crowns? They, unlike so many today, understand reality.
We were created uniquely in the image of God (Gen 1:27). That made us special. But we fell (Gen 3:1-7). We fell hard (Rom 1:18-32). We fell fatally (Gen 2:16-17). We fell ... eternally (Rom 3:23). Why eternally? Because sin, according to Scripture, is falling short of the glory of God, an eternal infraction, an eternal death sentence. We think we're basically good. We think we're not so bad. God says, "None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one" (Rom 3:10-12). Not ... even ... one.
Natural Man falls in the category of "men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth" (Rom 1:18) ... the ones who are under the wrath of God. Only when we are convicted by the Spirit do we arrive at "Who am I?" Only when we see the wrath we deserve can we appreciate the mercy He provides. As long as we defend ourselves as basically "not guilty," we will fail to see the magnitude of His grace, the vastness of His mercy, and the amazingly good news that God sent His only Son to die for us.
3 comments:
I was correct! There was a post in that “I don’t need no stinkin’ pardon” story from Saturday, when combined with “there is good news, but only if you accept the bad news” from Tuesday. Really, who in their right mind, would turn down a “get out of jail free card”? It’s like, “No thanks. I like where my sinful nature is taking me in life; I’ll just go with that and see how things pan out for me.” Incredibly foolish…and sad! And how incredibly gracious of God to offer us an alternative scenario.
To be accurate, though, I did see that the news article on Saturday stated that the two men’s sentences were to be reduced from “death row” to “life without parole”--so not exactly “get out of jail free.” But my thoughts do pertain to those not literally in jail but “imprisoned” by their sin natures.
I find Reformed Theology to be the most Man denigrating and God glorifying theology around. Arminianism and Roman Catholic forms of Christianity increase the value of humans and devalue the glory of God. All other religions do that to an even greater degree.
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