The Writing on the Wall

There it is. I never thought I would actually see it. I’m sure I should have expected it, but I never wanted to. The Writing on the Wall. No, seriously, it was there!!! A five stubby-fingered outline drawn right on the wall, along with a myriad of other childish hieroglyphics. This is, as it should go without mention to any parent reading this, not an un-preached sermon. “Pencils are for papers, not tables and walls”. “If you get a pencil out you MUST put it away, as the younger kids will write on EVERYTHING!” Yet, the sermon is rarely received, resulting in a police style lineup to determine the at-large suspect.

In a fit of fury the wife will resort to, “WHO WROTE ON THE WALL! I’VE TOLD YOU A MILLION TIMES NOT TO DO THAT!” Or, in a “eyes like fire”, cold, calculated “daddy voice” fashion, the lineup is faced with, “Somebody better talk, and they better talk now.” Pencil writing on the wall is not the end of the world, I realize. It’s more the repetition of the issue (pencils continue to be left out or this is the 5,395th time it’s happened today) than it is the severity of the crime that brings about the wrath. But, regardless of who is bringing judgment, or how it’s being administered…something happens. Something happens in the minds of those “sweet”, “innocent” little children. As if they were stuck in a 5 alarm fire their mind starts looking for the exits. Without any knowledge of John 3 they are praying within themselves, “What do I need to do to be born again…except to another parent???”.

Through the smoke and flame of their current situation, an escape route is spotted. “She did it.” “It wasn’t me.” “I didn’t leave those out.” I saw *child other then themselves* do it." The famed ghost, "Not Me" of Family Circus lore has, apparently, reared it's ugly head. Even if I was someone who'd lie to my wife I certainly wouldn’t do it to the knowledge of my children (what child can keep a secret, right?) and even if I did do it in front of my kids they would likely have no clue what I was doing. So, where did this amazing ability come from? Where did the handwriting Houdini come from?

Psalms 58:3 – The wicked are estranged from the womb; they go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies.

In the “nature vs. nurture” debate I have strongly stood on the “nurture” side, and with gusto. In my guesstimation, a child that was not behaving as they should was a direct reflection of the environment in which they grew up. This is not a 100%, all of the time standard. But, by and large, if a kid was acting contrary to the way they should then something in their upbringing was missing. I do not look to absolve parents of the need and responsibility to parent, but in light of the above verse I was, at least partially, incorrect in my position. “Spare the rod/spoil the child” (Prov 13:24) exists for a reason. As a parent we are all to teach our child the way they should go (Prov. 22:6) and if the way we teach them is biblical we will reap a desired result. That being said, that kid is going to lie. When backed into a corner that lovely lad is going to do whatever it takes to prevent the “rod of correction” from falling upon the “seat of higher learning” , even to the point of it falling on their sibling. Despite our best efforts our kids are heathens! (JUST A JOKE! I mean, our kids ARE heathens, but I only use that word as a throwback to my Aunt Peggy who always talked about the “heatherns”).

In contrast to this, the world at large would have you believe we are all, “good people”. Anne Frank is quoted as saying, "I keep my ideals, because in spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart". You would be hard pressed to find anyone to come against Anne Frank or this logic. If you listen to the news, the blogosphere, friends and family, or nearly anyone outside of the Bible, the general consensus is that human kind is innately good. Every article written or argument posed runs on the assumption that people are born with a sense of right and wrong. “In our hearts”, they argue, “we want to do what’s best”. They fall on the “nurture” side of the argument as I once did, suggesting that it is the bad influence of those around us that have corrupted an otherwise “good” person.

As is the order of things, children grow up to become adults. For someone to hold the idea that people are generally “good” it would logically have to follow that they believe at some point in a person’s past that they started good. To think that people are not generally good would suddenly heap us into that same category. By admitting that people are bad by nature it means that everyone, including MYSELF, is bad by nature. It’s a tough pill to swallow. As painful an admission of innate evil (vs. innate good) is, it begins an amazing change in perspective. No, this does not suddenly give someone the right to snub their nose at people saying, “I’m saved, and you’re not, and you’re EVIL! EVIL, I tell you! *Evil maniacal laugh*” The perspective change looks something like this:

I cannot achieve a perfection that I never possessed in the first place.

Let me say it again. If I was never perfect, it’s not possible to achieve perfection because perfection, by definition, is never having been not perfect. It is on this premise that we must live, otherwise the idea will creep up in our minds that we can actually do something to save ourselves. If at some point in our past we were “good”, even if it was while crawling around on all fours playing with blocks, we will allow ourselves the glimmer of hope that we can re-achieve that so-called innocence.

Romans 3:23 – [F]or all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

Psalms 14:2-3 – The Lord looks down from Heaven upon the children of men, to see if there are any who understand, who seek God. They have all turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is none who does good, no, not one.

These are the painful building blocks on which we find ourselves in need of salvation. There is no one worthy of Salvation or the grace that God offers us, no not one. The truth is that from the moment of birth we are deserving of death. No one wants to think of their new bundle of joy as evil, but let me ask you a question; if, from the moment of birth, you considered your child “not good” and in need of salvation, how differently would you approach their upbringing? How much more quickly would you bring them the truth of God’s word? How much more urgent would it be that THEY understand they are not “good”? How much less important would their self esteem be versus their understanding that all their righteousness is like filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6)? Taking it a step further, how does this impact our overall worldview? How does the idea that not only are people not good but they love being bad (John 3:19) change our approach to spreading the Good News? How are your current evangelistic endeavors altered in light of the fact that it is not possible for an unsaved person to seek God (Romans 3:11, 8:7)?

This message hopefully speaks to two groups of people.

First, I hope it speaks to those who do not yet know Jesus as their Lord and Savior. I do not judge you for your current life, the things you do, the things you think or the person that you are. The fact is, It really IS who you are. It’s who ALL of us are, until the time of salvation through Jesus. We can hope to be nothing in and of ourselves. In the 3rd chapter of John it says, “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” Though there will come a time of final judgment it is important to realize that Adam's sin in the garden resulted in a sin nature being passed down to all humans, which means we are all guilty and judged before we even begin. The only way to be forgiven from judgment now, and final judgment in the future, is to confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead(Romans 10:9). A simple “walk to the front of the church” experience is not what salvation is. The ideas of “confession” and “belief” speak to the fact that it’s more than words, but something that you commit to doing going forward. In other words, If Jesus truly is your lord, you will want to do what He says (John 14:15).

The second group I hope this speaks to are the people who are already in Christ. Because it “feels good” it is too easy to subscribe to the worldly idea that we are “all good”. This, in turn, impacts the way we go about our duty as Christians. As I mentioned earlier, we are not to be judgmental against people who do not yet know Christ as their savior. Why? Without Christ we are no better than they! This does not mean that we close our eyes and pretend that sin doesn't exist. Further, it doesn't mean that we stand by mum on the sins that ARE present. We are charged to speak the truth in love (Eph 4:15). Without allowing ourselves to step onto a pedestal of self-righteousness, we need to lovingly speak the truth of God's Word, which is the means God has provided for the Holy Spirit to lead the sinner to repentance. So, to answer the questions I posed earlier, we can no longer think it is what we do that saves people. Don’t get me wrong, we are, without question, called to preach the word (Mark 16:15) and, as I just said, speak the truth in love. What we often overlook is that it is not our persuasive argument or crafty language that brings people to Christ. Yes, we are to preach the word but it is the work of God, drawing someone to Christ, that does the final work in the lives of the unsaved (John 6:44). When we put the focus on us and what we can do to “save” people it becomes glaringly obvious why the seeker sensitive movement has taken root in our churches. It becomes clear why we water down the message of the Bible which states simply that we are sinners in need of a Savior (Romans 5:19). I understand why many have reservations about being as bold about Christ as a sinner is about their exploits. We are too fearful that if we simply present the truth of scripture it might hurt people’s feelings and they won’t “believe” us. The root of this feeling? We think their salvation depends on our talented transmission of the gospel. We put too much stock in what we do and not enough in what God, through his Holy Spirit, will do. To put it another way, our faith is in ourselves and not in God. Our words are a part of the process, in that we speak the truth of God’s Word. But the end result of a person’s salvation comes by God’s spirit, using His words spoken in Scripture and transmitted through us, to draw the unsaved person to Him.

While there is great pain felt when we hear who we really are without Christ, and the plight we are facing, we must immediately be reminded of our available salvation from this destination. As much as it is true that from birth we are evil it is also equally and more importantly true that before the foundation of the world our salvation was planned and paid for (Eph 1:3-6, 1 Peter 1:19-21).