Tag Sin

The Rebellion at Babel

Todd R 1 Comment

The story of the Tower of Babel, recorded in just 9 verses in Genesis 11, has a lot more to say than its length might suggest.  It’s not just the story of a tower being built, or a story about the origin of different languages.  It is also a story of why the tower was built and what it meant about the builders’ relationship with God.

The Tower of Babel was mankind’s best effort at achieving salvation, a path to heaven, based on their own works.  In the tower we see man declaring his independence from God, his lack of need for the God, or any god.  This act of rebellion was similar to Adam and Eve’s sinful desire to know good and evil for themselves in the garden of Eden, because the builders of the tower were saying that they know better than God.  “We’ll get to perfection on our own,” they thought.  They were the progressives of their day, believing in the infinite potential of mankind.

Also, verse 4 tells us that part of the motivation for building the tower was to prevent man from being “dispersed over the face of the whole earth,” but God had told His people to “fill the earth,”[1] not to settle down in one spot.  In the next chapter God would tell Abraham that he would become a nation, and that through that nation, “all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”[2]  God’s people are not meant to hide in their own dwellings, but to bless the world by telling it of God’s love and by living out that love to “all the families of the earth.”  Babel’s builders had the wrong priorities.

Photo by Simon Berger on Unsplash. The Tower of Babel may have been a ziggurat or a pyramid.

The story of the Tower also tells us that our best efforts will always fall short.  In the story, note that “the LORD came down to see the city and the tower.”  Mankind intended for this tower to reach heaven, but God had to “come down” to see it.  Our best efforts fall way below God’s standards and intention for us.  While we might achieve a lot and take pride in it, it’s never as good as what God can do for us, and we know that “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”[3]  Later in history, He would show us that only He, in Christ Jesus, could be the path that gets us to heaven.  There is no other way no matter how hard we try.

Another subtle point from the story is that the materials we decide to work with are never better than what God has already given us.  Babel’s builders “had brick for stone,” meaning the tower was built with manmade bricks, not stones.  We might think of stones as “natural” but really, they’re what God created in the form He created it, and they’re much stronger than bricks.  In the same way, if we follow God’s intention for our lives rather than inventing our own ways, we will find that His ways are better and stronger than anything else available.

Lastly, the tower’s very name, Babel, is a form of “Babylon,” which is a literal city, but also in Revelation 17-18 Babylon represents any society where man attempts to live independently of God.  To seek perfection without Him and by His righteousness.  Revelation also tells us that Babylon will be destroyed, and everything that Babylon represents.

God has given us everything we need to live and to glorify Him today.  Will we use it, or try to go our own way?

[1] Genesis 1:28, Genesis 9:1
[2] Genesis 12:3
[3] James 4:6, 1 Peter 5:5

Caught in the Act

Todd R 2 Comments

The beginning of John chapter 8 has quite an enigmatic and controversial story about a woman caught in adultery.  The basics of the story are: Jesus was teaching in the temple in Jerusalem, and some Pharisees brought Him a woman they caught in the act of committing adultery.  They asked Jesus whether they should stone her, and the first thing Jesus does is write something on the ground with His finger (the only recorded instance of Jesus writing I believe).  Then Jesus stands and says, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.”[1]  Then He goes back to writing on the ground, and the woman’s accusers end up walking away.  Jesus then tells the woman He does not condemn her, but that she should “sin no more.”[2]

One problem with the story is that it is not included in the earliest manuscripts of John’s gospel, and so it’s questionable whether it should be in the Bible at all.  Another part of the story commentators talk about is what Jesus was writing on the ground.  From what John (or someone else) wrote, we don’t know.  We can only suspect that what was written had something to do with why the accusers went away.

I don’t like to speculate on what Scripture left out, especially on verses that may not even be inspired, but if this story actually happened, I do have my own guess at what Jesus wrote.  He probably wrote more than one thing, but part of what He wrote may have been “where is the man?”

See, Old Testament law said that both parties in the adultery (it always takes 2 people to commit adultery) should be stoned (see Leviticus 20:10 and Deuteronomy 22:22).  If these Pharisees truly caught the woman in the act, the man must have been present at the time or she wasn’t “in the act”.  Why wasn’t he being brought before Jesus?  We know the Pharisees were desperate to catch Jesus saying something wrong, so maybe, perhaps[3], the “guilty” man was in conspiracy with the Pharisees to embarrass Jesus?  In a male-dominated society, did the Pharisees think it was ok for the man to get away with it, especially if it led to a situation where the Pharisees could make Jesus look bad?  They may have been tired of losing arguments with Him.

In this situation, if Jesus wrote “where is the man?” on the ground it would let the Pharisees know that He was on to their scheme and knew they were being hypocritical.  Jesus always knows.

My handy dandy study Bibles warn not to make doctrine from this story that may not have actually happened, but I think there’s a lesson to be learned anyway, and it is that every one of us is “caught in the act” by Jesus.  Jesus knew that, under the law, both the woman that the Pharisees brought forward, and the unseen man were both guilty of adultery.  Likewise, whether our own sins are brought to public attention or whether they happen in secret, Jesus knows about them.  Also, not all of our sins are physical.  Some may be spiritual, where we put something else in the place of God in our hearts and minds.  Nothing escapes His notice.  Knowing this should terrify us, except…

I read a devotional by James Boice where he said that the person we want to be in this story is the woman caught in the act of adultery.  Why?  Because although her sins were revealed, she was forgiven and was alone left standing with Jesus when everyone else went away.  We may be too proud to admit we belong in her place, but maybe that’s because we aren’t aware enough of our won sins.  See, from Jesus’ perspective we are all “caught in the act.”  Not just once or twice, but many times over.  We may not be physical adulterers, but we are all spiritual adulterers.  Therefore, we need His grace and mercy, which He freely grants.  The cross paid for all our sins.

However, the story also teaches that grace is not license.  Christ died that He may give us grace and we must not scorn His sacrifice.  This woman’s forgiveness was free for her, but not for Him.  Our forgiveness is free to us, but not for Him.  It required the ultimate sacrifice, but He was willing and able to make it.

Jesus may have done a “gotcha” with the hypocritical Pharisees, and 1 John 1:10 says “If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us,” but the verse right before that says “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”  As long as we admit our guilt (which He already knows about), the grace He makes available to us is endless and eternal.

“Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” – Hebrews 4:16

[1] John 8:7
[2] John 8:11
[3] Maybe and perhaps are two words I hate to use when referring to Scripture, but maybe, perhaps, today is an exception.

Separating Good and Evil

Todd R 1 Comment

I like to collect quotes, and I have many favorites, but (outside of the Bible) the most influential quote to me is this one from Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn:

“The line separating good and evil passes, not through states, not between political parties either, but right through all human hearts.”

Much of the conflict in history, and in modern times, comes from a human tendency to group people into separate groups, where one is “evil”, and the other is “good.”  There are probably thousands of examples throughout history, but some that come to mind are religious categories like Catholic versus Protestant, political categories like Republican versus Democrat, or Marxist categories like “oppressed” versus “oppressor.”  Humanity follows a pattern over and over again, where we lump people into categories, then attack our enemies accordingly.  If someone belongs to the “other” group, they are evil, and if someone belongs to our own group, they are good.

In opposition to this, the Solzhenitsyn quote calls to attention Romans 3:23, which declares: “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”  This verse, and the quote, tear down the idea that people can be easily separated into “good” and “evil.”  That nations can be divided into good and evil.  That political parties can be categorized as good and evil.  Because every single person included in every single one of these categories is themselves a mix of good and evil, each of the groups themselves is a mix of good and evil.

Therefore, the quote calls us to treat people as individuals, dealing with them according to their specific situation and needs.  Without accepting that each person is imperfect (at best), societies may pretend to treat people as individuals, but they’re really stereotyping people according to their groups and pitting them in battle against each other.

For the Christian church, the quote doesn’t demand that we withdraw from politics altogether, but it does demand that we act with more compassion toward those we disagree with.  All too often, and especially on social media, we see category-based name calling and condemnation coming from Christians who categorize people and work hard to defeat those enemies that belong to other groups.

However, Jesus said in Matthew 5:43:
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’  But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”

Imagine if we followed Jesus’ words.  Imagine if everyone could be humble based on the evil that lives within them, and therefore treat the people who we view as evil as equals before God, and just as in need of grace as we are.  The church, and the world, would be much better off if Christians were as good at loving their enemies as they are at identifying them.

“The line separating good and evil passes, not through states, not between political parties either, but right through all human hearts.”

The Narrow Door

Todd R Leave a comment

Many people think the God of the Old Testament is a God of judgement, and the God of the New Testament is a God of love, but I’m not sure these people are paying attention.  The whole Bible speaks to us of the same God.  The Old Testament is full of stories about God pursuing His people, calling them to come back to Him because He loves them.  Likewise, the New Testament has many passages like Luke 13:24-27, in which Jesus says:

“Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.  When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’  Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’  But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!’”

Not only does Jesus here pass judgement on “workers of evil,” but many other places point forward to a time where Jesus will come again to judge the earth in righteousness and justice.  But that may not be the scariest part of the verses above from Luke.  In these verses, Jesus isn’t talking about just any “workers of evil,” but He’s talking specifically about people who think they’re following Jesus.

Photo by Greg Rosenke on Unsplash

These verses are a response to someone asking Jesus: “Lord, will those who are saved be few?”[1]  His response to the question isn’t “yes, they will be few” but more like “yes, because many are trying to get there the wrong way.”  These people say, “We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets”?  In my reading, this phrase is like saying “we go to church.”  In church we “ate and drank” with Jesus in communion.  When we listen to sermons, it was like “you taught in our streets.”  They were around Jesus all the time and doing what other Christians do, but as 20th century evangelist Billy Sunday said, “Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.”

We can’t get salvation by our own efforts, even if we do all the “right things” but only through what Christ has already done.  Christ’s work is the “narrow door” and anything else will be a closed door when Jesus returns in judgement.  Part of what we call the visible church is going to be shut out. Jesus says many in the church “will seek to enter and will not be able.”  These are people seeking salvation, who “knock at the door” but don’t get in.

Does this mean we should spend a lot of effort on figuring out who is and who isn’t a true Christian?  It doesn’t, but it does mean we all should examine ourselves, which is what I think Jesus expected from His audience when He said these things.  As James asked “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?”[2] I ask myself, since I call Jesus my Lord, what things do I do only because He wants me to?  Do I do more than hang around Jesus and His people?  Do I do things that earn me nothing in return, but which please God?  This is what I think is meant by Paul when he wrote in Philippians 2:12 “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.”  Although our salvation is free, and can only be earned by Jesus Himself, if we believe in Him then He is our Lord.  We should fear Him and do works that please Him.

Therefore, “strive to enter through the narrow door” of Jesus’ righteousness that was opened for us on the cross, but know that we won’t be the same on the other side.  We will be forever changed.

[1] Luke 13:23
[2] James 2:14

All Fall Short

Todd R Leave a comment

I’m writing a series about the verses I’ve quoted the most on this blog, and I see some of these verses as foundational to Christianity.  For example, another post in the series was about John 3:16 (“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”)  Today’s post (#5 of the series) covers Romans 3:23, another verse that states a basic truth central to Christianity:

“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”

This is so important because without knowing we are sinners, we have no reason to accept Jesus.  It makes John 3:16 and other verses matter more to the hearer.  This is why Romans 3:23 is the first verse in the “Romans Road.”  For those not familiar, the Romans Road[1] is an easy to memorize summary of the Christian gospel using verses from the book of Romans.  It gives a quick outline describing the need for salvation and the way to salvation using these verses:

Romans 3:23 – “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”
Romans 6:23(a) – “The wages of sin is death”
Romans 6:23(b) – “The free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord”
Romans 10:9 – “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved”

In the times I’ve quoted Romans 3:23, it has often reinforced the logic of the Romans Road, particularly its first step.  What does it mean that “all have sinned”?

Missing the Mark
In the New Testament, the word “sin” is often a translation of the Greek “hamartia,” which means “to miss the mark.”[2]  I’ve written that Paul in Romans 3:23 “is not saying everybody failed to follow a list of dos and don’ts, but that we have not fully lived the life God intended us to live.”  Sometimes we make a list of what we think are sins and think if we’ve followed the list, we haven’t sinned.  However, a better definition of sin tells us that “all have sinned.”  If the goal is for each person to attain “the glory of God,” none of us have achieved the goal.  We all need Jesus.

“There is Only One Who is Good”[3]
When someone came to Jesus (Matthew 19:16) and said ““Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” part of Jesus’ response was “There is only one who is good.”  He says this because “all have sinned,” except Jesus, who is sinless.  Regardless, often people are obsessed with grouping people into “good” and “bad.”  I’ve written about “religious categories like Catholic versus Protestant, political categories like Republican versus Democrat, or Marxist categories like “oppressed” versus “oppressor.””  We assign people to these groups, then we like our side and hate the other.  Therefore, one of my favorite quotes is by Solzhenitsyn, who said:

“The line separating good and evil passes, not through states, not between political parties either, but right through all human hearts.”

In each person there is good and evil.  There is no way to separate groups of people into a group of good people and a group of bad people, because every person in every group is both.  If we only put more stock in Romans 3:23, which declares: “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” we could avoid an awful lot of unnecessary hate and conflict.

God Loves Us Anyway
Now here comes the good news: “Most of the Bible is the story of the failures of people who can’t follow the will of God, but that God loves and accepts them anyway.”  Studying the Bible, particularly the Old Testament, it becomes obvious that God’s people aren’t “good’ people, but it also becomes obvious that God loves them anyway.  Therefore, Romans 3:23 cultivates in us a spirit of humility and gratefulness.  We know because of Romans 3:23 that any blessing from God is an act of grace because only Jesus lived a life of full obedience.  In Deuteronomy when Moses reviewed the blessings and curses that Israel would experience based on their ability to obey God, God knew that every single Israelite would fall short of deserving blessing.  Every single Israelite would sin.  However, because of God’s mercy and grace, we don’t get the judgement we deserve, but we do get the blessing we don’t deserve.  Therefore, we must be thankful for God’s grace, but also we must be aware that it is not at all earned by what we’ve done.

So, while Romans 3:23, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” is an important verse, Romans 3:24, right after it says, “and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” and that’s just as important.

[1] This site has some more helpful detail on the Romans Road: https://www.christianity.com/wiki/salvation/what-is-the-romans-road-to-salvation.html
[2] Greek Strong’s Dictionary
[3] Matthew 19:17