His Response Shocked Me

2 Corinthians 5:10, Matthew 5:48, Galatians 4:4-5

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How do you explain the Christian faith to someone? A number of months ago. I got a message from a man who was wondering about Christianity, and who wanted me to explain it to him. I quickly went into pastor mode and thought about some of the ways in which to start this conversation, and I went to some classic questions that I know people use. One of those questions is this: If you were to die tonight, are you sure that you would go to heaven?

I was kind of shocked at the man’s response, he said. I don’t even know how to answer that question. It was obvious to me that he really didn’t know much at all about religion or God or even heaven. And so I realized that wasn’t the place where we should start because there was no common ground upon which to start. And so I decided to take a different approach with him. And I used a different question, focusing on our conscience and our natural law. So I asked him this question: Do you ever have a sense of something you do as being right or wrong?

He responded, Yeah, of course. I went on to talk to him about the sense of right or wrong that it’s kind of curious, especially when we note that the animals apparently don’t have a sense of things being right or wrong, but human beings do. In fact, it’s such a universal sense that we have that no matter where you go, no matter what country, no matter what people you’re among, it seems like there’s kind of the same list of things that are considered to be wrong and the same list of things that are considered to be good or right in general. That everyone knows that it’s wrong to murder, that it’s wrong to steal, that it’s wrong to commit adultery, that everyone knows that it’s good to help someone when they’re in need or to care for them if they’re injured or sick. It seems like those sort of things are universal, this right and wrong.

I went on to tell the man that the Bible tells us where that sense comes from, that law that’s on our hearts and that conscience that we have. The Bible says that it comes from God, that he’s the one that gave us this sense and that God himself is ultimately a God of right and wrong, a God of justice. I think there’s part of us that that’s really appealing to, especially as we think about all of the bad things that people do in this world, how they hurt one another, especially murderers and rapists and child molesters. We like to know that there is a God of justice who, if someone isn’t punished in this life, God is going to punish them in the next world or in the next life, and to hold them accountable for what they have done wrong.

Then that maybe makes us wonder. What about us? The Bible says in Second Corinthians chapter five, verse ten

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he did while in the body, whether good or bad. (2 Corinthians 5:10)

And the Bible tells us that there is going to be a day of divine judgment from God. And it doesn’t say that just the murderers and child molesters and rapists are going to stand before God, but all are going to stand before him. So what is God going to hold us accountable for? Is it just those really serious actions that I just mentioned, or is it maybe other things as well? Jesus himself says in Matthew chapter five.

So then, be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matthew 5:48)

God’s standard by which He will judge us on the final day is perfection. God expects us to never once say something bad or to hurt someone else, never once to steal or to lie or to lust. And so many other things. God expects us to be perfect. We know that it’s kind of terrifying to think about divine judgment. What is God going to say to me when I have to stand before him on that day? Herein lies then the precious message of Christianity in Galatians Chapter four, if we hear this.

But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son to be born of a woman, so that he would be born under the law, 5 in order to redeem those under the law, so that we would be adopted as sons. (Galatians 4:4-5)

The Bible tells us that God sent his Son, Jesus Christ, and he’s born of a woman born of the Virgin Mary, born under law, the same law that God has placed on our hearts. Jesus is born under that law. But guess what? He never once disobeyed. He kept it all perfectly. And he did this to redeem you, to buy you back unto God.

Now maybe to kind of understand Jesus and what he did for us we can think about it in these terms. Imagine that you’re driving down the road and you’re speeding and you got pulled over by a cop and he gave you a ticket, maybe a couple of hundred bucks. And so you try to go and fight it in court. But when you show up before the judge, the cops there and the cop shows his radar readout and he testifies, yeah, you were speeding. And so the judge declares that you’re guilty and you need to pay the fine or else. Well, what if that day in court, there was someone there who took out their checkbook and wrote a check for $200 and paid the judge? What would the judge do? He’d let you go, wouldn’t he. Even though you didn’t pay the punishment, you didn’t pay the fine someone else paid. As long as that punishment and fine is paid, you are free to go.

In some ways, that’s kind of a picture of what Christ does for us. We certainly are guilty of so many wrongs against God’s holy, and perfect law that he has even placed on our hearts. We know the wrong that we’ve done. But God sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to suffer your punishment, to pay your fine. And that’s what Jesus did on the cross. He came under God’s divine justice and judgment for you. You see, Jesus was perfect in every way, and you were sinful and are sinful. Yet he paid your fine, the punishment you deserve. And so God tells us now that all who believe in Jesus and trust that He has paid that fine are free to go.

And we can know that we are right before God and have the sure hope of everlasting life. We’re thinking about ways to share our faith with other people, especially those that maybe don’t know a whole lot about religion or God or Christianity. That might be one approach to focus on natural law, to focus on conscience and to point people ultimately to Christ and what he has done for them. Amen.