Posture is everything.

“25 And behold, a certain legal expert stood up to test him,” (Luke 10)

This line bolted off the page at me today.  Then a thousand thoughts ran through my mind and onto this page until it became a literary elephant seal which could barely lift its bulk out of the water to bark and make it’s “Port-o-john-at-a-chili-cook-off” noises.  So I clubbed it, skinned it and rendered the blubber down in my oven to what I hope, I hope will be the oil of essence to light a lamp of truth.

Coincidentally, that might be the grossest paragraph I’ve ever written.  Oh well, if you can’t be edifying, at least be provocative.

I hear the “hater” label a lot these days.  Christians are intolerant.  Their God is a baby-killer.  Jesus consigns people to hell because they just happened to live in the wrong country and never heard of him or they’re gay or democrat or what have you.  And all of this is missing the point and no different than what Adam did in blaming Eve or Cain did in saying his punishment was unfair.  Oh poor me, all I did was kill my brother in cold blood and now I have to go live somewhere else.  Boo hoo.  God is mean!

Let’s get something straight and ironed out right here and now.  No one goes to Hell where the worm never dies and the fire is not extinguished or the Lake of Fire that burns with sulphur or the Outer Darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth for any sin, ANY sin except this one…

Self righteousness.

That’s it.  It’s true there will be no gays in heaven, no adulterers, no murderers or pornographers or gossips or slanderers, no liars, fiends, addicts, bigots, racists, prostitutes, traitors, fornicators, perverts, brawlers, drunkards, witches, there will be no thieves, cheats, swindlers or greedy people there, no one who manipulates, no one who has been selfish, rude, arrogant, angry without cause, unfair, mean, or short-tempered, no one who has been disobedient to their parents or legitimate authorities, no one who sins at all will be there.

The new heaven and the new earth will however be full of former gays, adulterers, murderers, pornographers, gossips, slanderers, liars, fiends, addicts, bigots, racists, prostitutes, traitors, fornicators, perverts, brawlers, drunkards, witches, thieves, cheats, swindlers, formerly greedy people, manipulators, people who were formerly selfish, rude, arrogant, angry without cause, unfair, mean, short tempered and disobedient.  Heaven will be full of people who sinned, recognized their unworthiness and fell on God’s love, compassion and forgiveness. 

In former times and in far away lands, faith meant believing God could do this even though one didn’t know how.  How could a God who is fully fair, fully just, just …forgive our sins?  No matter how great?  No matter who I hurt?  He couldn’t!  He would have to punish sin!  He is holy!  Nothing sinful can enter His presence without being burnt down like a French fry shot at the Sun! 

But Jesus!  Jesus, the Son of God, came to earth and took the punishment, the full punishment for our sins!  God took he who had never sinned, never been disobedient and put all our sins on Him and then killed him!  Killing all our sins!  And because Jesus did this willingly, did this perfectly, did this lovingly God raised Him from the dead!  For how could a just God, a fair Judge, a loving Father not reward such sacrifice!?

“21 For just as the Father raises the dead and makes them alive, thus also the Son makes alive whomever he wishes. 22 For the Father does not judge anyone, but he has given all judgment to the Son, 23 in order that all people will honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. The one who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. 24 Truly, truly I say to you that the one who hears my word and who believes the one who sent me has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.” (John 5)

In former times and far away lands, rebellion against God’s mercy, love and sovereignty looked like idolatry.  Which is really worship of self.  God’s of our own understanding.  God’s we control and manipulate.  God’s who give us what we want which is to be our own gods.  Now, since Jesus, it’s exactly the same, only people can be more specific about it if they want.  All of it results in the same thing however, rejection of God’s plan for mercy in the person of Jesus.  Rejection of God’s love.  The Father loves the Son and the Son loves the Father.  All things were made by the Father, through the Son, for the Son and the Son has come and purified all things as a gift for the Father.  This has been testified to since the beginning by the Holy Spirit.  Rejection of this testimony is calling the Holy Spirit a liar.  Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.  The one unforgivable sin. 

What does this look like?  Is it just saying you don’t believe once and your done like the kids and fools on a website created for atheists who can’t even be atheists without attempting to biblically insult the God they profess not to believe in?  Is it atheism itself?  Or do you have to be a pagan?  Is it anything in that list of sins at the beginning?

It looks like three crosses.  Jesus in the center with a thief on either hand.  One thief looks at the guiltless lamb of God and mocks in anger and impotent fury.  The other, guilty of the same crime as his brother, confesses his guilt, looks at the guiltless lamb of God and asks for mercy he knows he has no right to receive unless the one in the center is loving.

“Today if you will hear his voice:

8 “Do not harden your heart…” (Ps 95)

“You warned them so that they would return to your law. Yet they acted arrogantly and did not listen to your commandments but sinned against your judgments that a person must do so that they may live. They turned a stubborn shoulder and stiffened their neck and would not listen.” (Neh 9)

Paganism?  Atheism?  Murder, adultery, greed?  No.  Those are just symptoms.  Symptoms of a hard heart and stiff neck.