A week ago at this time Andy and I were driving from Portland back
home after dropping our daughter Judy off in Seattle for college.
Portland is a beautiful city. It is situated around the Willamette
River, which winds to and fro though downtown. When you drive on the
upper deck of the Marquam Bridge toward the east, you can catch a
glimpse of an exit that drops off into empty space.
Ron Mehl, in his book Love Found a Way, reflects on this curious
oddity. "When the bridge was built back in the mid-1960's, it
was designed to accommodate an east-running freeway which was to be
known as the Mount Hood Freeway. But the freeway was never built
because they chose to put their money into a light rain rail line instead.
"Even though there is no Mount Hood freeway, you can certainly
see Mount Hood from the top deck of the Marquam Bridge. On a clear
day, it looms on the eastern horizon, this symmetrical, snow-capped
beauty. And if you look carefully, you can see how the bridge was
built to accommodate a freeway lane veering off to the southeast. It
juts out just a bit from the bridge structure, then is cut off as
though sliced by a giant knife. The exit, permanently blocked now,
goes nowhere except into the waters of the Willamette River. You can
see Mount Hood in all its beauty way out there in the distance
glistening like a jewel. But you could never, ever reach the high
slopes of that mighty peak via the Mount Hood freeway because that
freeway doesn't exist."
Our world is full of signs that claim, "This way to
fulfillment," or "This way to pleasure," or "This
way to security." But ultimately, the Word of God proclaims
every one of them is a dead end because they cannot lead us to Life.
Today's passage, one of the most famous and endeared passages of all
of Scripture, is set in the context of a conversation Jesus was
having with a Pharisee. Jesus had some choice words for the Pharisees
during his ministry. But there was apparently an open-minded Pharisee
named Nicodemus who came to Jesus at night - when his reputation
wouldn't be tarnished - and asked Jesus some important questions
about the faith. Jesus answered them with a theological observation
about being "born again" - coming alive, being born of the
Spirit - in language a little confusing to Nicodemus.
Jesus is expanding on his basic point. He says here, "God sent
his Son into the world to save it through him." Jesus spoke in
terms of saving, and that's what drew me into this passage this week.
Without Jesus' intervention, human beings would perish.
In the gospel of Luke
13:1-5, Jesus is asked about some tragic incidents that had
recently happened in Jerusalem. He says - in fascinating parallel to
today's history - "Do you think that these Galileans were worse
sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way?
I tell you no, but unless you repent, you too will perish." The
prevailing view of the time was that if bad things happened to you,
there was something wrong spiritually with you. God was punishing
you, or you were a great sinner. Jesus goes on, "Or did those
eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them? Do you think
they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell
you, no. But unless you repent, you too will all perish."
What a remarkable claim! What an amazing statement! In both
cases - the conversation with Nicodemus where he talks about the
birth of a child, and this situation where he talks about the death
of people under tragic circumstances - Jesus starts with a human
incident and then comes to a conclusion of spiritual truth, of
spiritual significance. He says in both cases, "Unless you
respond with faith and repentance, you too will perish [spiritually speaking]."
What's he talking about? When he talks about "perishing,"
he's talking about living without or outside the presence of God. He
is talking about the spiritual dead-end of darkness, of hate, of
confusion. What would the world be like, or what would this
place be like if God were not there? It would be ugly. Destruction
would be one of its values and unending misery would prevail. This is
what life is like without God's gracious life - filled, life-giving
presence. When Jesus talks about perishing spiritually, he's talking
about a condition that lasts for all of eternity.
The apostle Paul, in his letter to the Romans, put it this way,
"For the wages of sin is death," that is, that which sin
deserves, the consequences of sin, or the income that sin produces,
is spiritual death, eternal separation from God.
In the letter to the Galatians he says, "Do not be deceived. God
cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to
please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction. The
one who sows to please the spirit, from the spirit will reap eternal life."
You hear right. Today I am preaching hell. It's not something we're
used to talking about, but without an understanding of the reality of
an eternal hell, salvation has no meaning.
You know, people are hesitant. We get a little squirmy when we talk
about hell. It's not politically correct to talk about hell. Our
culture is skeptical that such a place exists. But we have to
consider its reality because, otherwise, from what are we saved? If
Jesus is the Savior for the world and our Savior, what are we saved
from? Somebody earlier this week said, "Well, we're saved from
sin." Sure, we're forgiven of our sins, but we are saved from
the consequence of our sin, which, without Christ, is eternal life
outside the presence of God - Hell itself.
The indescribable and unexpected and horrific tragedies of September
11th demonstrate the reality of evil and destruction. It is
quite common for people to recognize nature and beauty and music and
the good they see around them as signposts pointing to the reality of
God. If that's true, then why wouldn't we believe the display of such
grotesque evil on September 11th points to the reality of the devil
and his bent to destruction? It's the same argument. The Gospel says
that we have a choice about which direction we want to go. And if we
follow the direction of our natural inclinations without Christ, we
go towards the direction of evil. But if we choose life in Jesus
Christ, we are led to eternal life.
This passage came alive to me many years ago in conversation with one
of the young women who used to live with us and help take care of the
kids when they were small. She was living a rather fast and loose
lifestyle, which we didn't comment on much, although it was a concern
to us for her well being. But at one point in our conversation, she
said she felt like we were condemning her. I felt bad about
that, because I had tried to be gracious and kind and patient, and
not coming down on her. It wasn't my place to do that. But the
Scripture says that when one feels condemnation, it is not because
one is being condemned, even by Jesus, but one bears condemnation in
one's spirit already because she knows she is going in the wrong
direction, taking the dead end route off that bridge. That's what the
text says. "Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but
whoever does not believe stands condemned already." Nobody even
has to say so, because he has not believed in the name of God's one
and only Son.
I was moved to tears this week by the TV interview of these two
businessmen who carried a paraplegic woman down 68 floors of the
World Trade Center to safety. As they started at a higher level and
were coming down the stairs, they saw a huddle of women behind the
glass doors on the 68th floor. They were surrounding a disabled woman
who was concerned about losing her very expensive electric wheelchair
if they were to attempt a descent. The men convinced her to transfer
to a smaller wheelchair, and then they carried her the 68 floors
down. And they never even got her name.
Now that to me presents a very vivid picture. Okay. So this lady in
the World Trade Center is paralyzed from the waist down. Is it
condemning to tell her, "Lady, you need to get down 68 floors,
and we're going to take you, but you're going to have to give up your
electric wheelchair in order for us to do that"? Is that
condemning to say that? No. It's the most compassionate and proactive
and effective thing anyone could say to her because they knew her
need and her inability to do for herself what needed to happen for
her rescue. This is what Jesus Christ is telling us. "Hey you
guys, if you stick around in this condition, you're not going to make
it. Your wheelchair won't carry you into eternity. Come follow me.
You can't walk? Okay. I'll carry you. You can't get across the divide
that separates you from your Creator? I'll be your bridge. You can
put your full weight on me," he says. This gracious offer is
what salvation is all about.
The point is, we're in desperate need of what Jesus Christ gives.
What he gives is rescue from the fiery flames of hell in the next
life and the consequence of sin in this life. Hell is where we're
going if we do not grab hold and trust our life to his saving arms.
So why is this so hard for us to grasp? Why do we resist the Gospel?
Well, first of all, pride. You know, most of the time we want to take
care of things ourselves, right? We don't like the idea that we're
weak or we have to admit sin. This spiritual stubbornness is really
embedded in our hearts. It prevents us from seeing our true condition.
Did you hear this story? A woman was working one night in a
Honey-Bake Ham store. The store was equipped with security cameras,
and she was watching that small black and white monitor when she saw
a woman come into the store, walk down the handicapped ramp and go
between two shelves. To the clerk's amazement, this woman grabbed a
ham off the shelf and stuffed it up her dress. With the ham wedged
between her thighs, the woman waddled toward the door. You get the picture.
The clerk was stunned and wondered what she should do. Should she
yell out? Should she follow the woman? But just at that moment, the
ham dropped out from between the woman's legs, hit the metal
handicapped ramp with a loud bang and then rolled and clanged to the bottom.
Now the thief didn't miss a beat. What did she say? She quickly
turned her head and yelled out, "Hey, who threw that ham at
me?" and was out the door in a flash. What a great picture! The
Scripture says, "People love darkness instead of the light
because their deeds are evil. Everyone who does evil hates the
light." We do not want to admit our sin. That's the first reason
why we resist this whole idea of hell and of Christ's salvation.
The second reason is a denial of the consequences of sin. In our
culture, in our time and place, we've kind of gotten soft on this
whole subject. We've underestimated what is at stake. Life in this
life has been pretty good for most of us, probably better for most of
us than it has been our whole life. And to think that such a good
life (but without Christ) would lead to unending misery is
incomprehensible to some.
I think another reason we resist the Gospel is that we're unwilling
to relinquish those things we have depended on up to now. We go back
to the lady in the wheelchair. Bless her heart. That wheelchair had
carried her and provided for her security and mobility for a long
time, and she didn't want to let it go. Can't blame her. She's
thinking financially. She's in the World Trade Center thinking about
her investment. We do the same thing spiritually. We hang on to
our good works, our accomplishments, our resources, all those things
that have made us secure, and we think those are going to carry us
into heaven. Now when we put it that way, we know it's not going to
work. We have hesitated about putting our full weight on Jesus,
in this life, for right now, which is what Jesus is asking us to do.
And then, maybe some of us have just given up thinking about eternal
things. It's a bit irrelevant. Hasn't been necessary to think about
what happens to us when we die. Well, I don't know about you, but in
today's climate those thoughts are going through many people's
minds. If I knew this was my last plane flight tonight, going
to Orlando, would I live my life differently today? Would I know
where I am destined to go? My answer is yes because of this
Scripture. What is your answer?
We might understand that there is a God and even yearn to reach him
across an impossible distance. We might recognize his power and glory
and be moved by his majesty and goodness on occasion. We might have a
desire with all our hearts to know him and to be with him. But we may
view the distance as too great, or we are too unworthy or the gulf is
too wide.
But that's why the gospel is the gospel. The good news is it isn't up
to you or to me to earn our way into God's good graces. Eternal life
is not something we buy with human resources. It's something that has
been given out of God's great love. God has provided the bridge.
Jesus Christ, his Son, our Lord and Savior. Oh, it makes me so happy
to proclaim this to you! This is not a word of judgment and not a
word of condemnation, because Jesus has been given by God for you to
believe in and hang on to for that ride into eternal life.
Jesus later in the Gospel of John speaks of our crossing over from
death into life by virtue of our faith in him (John
5:24). By trusting in him, we recognize that Jesus is our bridge
over troubled water. He is the bridge over the river of grief, of
sin, our sin, our confusion. Jesus has declared himself the bridge
over our weaknesses and our sinful nature, over our lack of will.
Jesus has paid the price, laid the foundation, built the bridge
between us and our creator.
He was sent to do that. And this sending of God, the sending of his
Son Jesus, was fueled by God's immeasurable love for you and for me,
for every person, without exception, in this world. He came in order
to restore us to a full and open relationship with him. The
church is called to make him known and to demonstrate his love and
give people an opportunity to encounter that love and to experience
new life in Christ (see our statement of purpose).
All this takes is the recognition that you won't get there from here
without trusting in Jesus Christ. As Billy Graham so simply and
eloquently put it, "I know I am going to heaven, not because of
what I have done, but because of what Christ has done for me."
This is the essence of the gospel and why the gospel does not
pronounce condemnation on anyone, but opens the door through faith in
Jesus Christ to every person who will believe. Every person. Which
means you. Even today.
The offer is extended to you. The invitation has been issued to you.
It's got your name on it. The question is, do you know the path you
are following? Is it a path paved in faith in Jesus Christ towards
eternal life, or is it the path of your own ingenuity, your own
autonomy leading to hell? You need to know on your day of destiny
where you're going. The Lord is prepared and able and will take you
to be with him, if you grab hold. Let's bow in prayer.
Oh Lord Jesus Christ, we thank you that, though we don't talk about
it much, you have provided for our safety and eternal security in
you, if we would simply put our full weight on you today. And so we
do that. I know, Lord, that for many of us, this is a trusting that
took place a long time ago and needs renewal today. I pray, Lord,
that you would build a fire of joy and purity and holiness and
resolve and repentance in our hearts today as we continue to follow you.
But for some, this whole the idea is barely new, and the idea of hell
is not a pleasant thought. I pray, Lord, for these dear ones, that
you would show your grace and patience, your love to each one, and
move in their hearts to respond to your invitation. We do believe in
you, Lord. We know that we have sinned, and that the consequence of
that sin without you is eternity out of your presence. We also know
that you have created us to be in relationship with you, a
relationship which is broken by our sin. We thank you that in Jesus
Christ our relationship with you is restored. We welcome you
into our hearts. Do your work there. Transform us. Change our minds
and hearts to be Christ-like, and help us, Lord, to be sustained in
our faith through these difficult days even as we know Christianity
itself is a big question mark in many people's minds. We thank you
for being the true God, Lord of all, Savior of the world. We profess
you and rejoice in you and bow before you. In the name of Jesus
Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
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