Escape Plan

This morning we recognised our need for Jesus Christ. Upon Him rests our final destination: heaven or hell. But while we know we need Christ’s death and resurrection, why do we need it? Why did Jesus have to die? What’s so amazing about Jesus Christ?

Two weeks ago, we looked at God’s justice and mercy. Why couldn’t God just turn away from sin, and forget the whole mess? We learned that God is just as well as merciful. His justice requires punishment. His mercy gave us Jesus Christ. We learned that our desire for God to turn away from sin is nothing other than laziness, an attempt to keep on sinning. It turns the awful price of the crucifixion into cheap grace. It is an attempt to get God to accept us on our terms. Instead, we have to realise that God accepts us, but only on his terms.

Lord’s Day 5 is blunt. God’s righteous judgement means our punishment, both now and forever. How can we escape punishment and re-enter into God’s favour? At first glance, this question seems like an attempt at cheap grace again. But it is not. It is boldly asking, God, is there any way we can return to your favour?

God’s answer is that his justice must be satisfied. The claims of his justice must be paid in full, by us or by another. Let’s understand something. Condemning us to eternal hell satisfies God’s justice. That is the price that is the penalty. But God is not an impersonal judge. No, God is love, and he could not let his whole creation spend eternity in hell.

Now is a good time to remind ourselves of the context of the catechism. The catechism, asks these questions and answers within the context of our only comfort. Our only comfort is in Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour. So the believer asks, “How can a miserable sinner escape the supreme penalty of a righteous God in order to return to God’s favour?”[1] The answer is God’s justice be satisfied. People familiar with the scriptures know that God’s justice is always met. Those who try to escape minimise the seriousness of God’s anger. Instead, people try to get around justice by focussing on God’s love.

Everywhere people are clamouring for human rights. Rights for the poor and the oppressed, for gays and lesbians. But no one cares for God’s justice. The thought that God might not be just is a terrible thought. But sinners, concerned for justice for fellow humans, seem to be completely satisfied with any pardon that compromises God’s justice. We will argue, and get angry, and puff ourselves up with righteous indignation for any and all injustice brought against us, but will gladly accept, even go so far as to sell the cheap and easy pardon on God’s behalf.

The truth is, all humans have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Everyone is in the same boat. God’s justice demands payment. Either by ourselves or by another.

Who then can pay this debt? Can we pay this debt? The answer is short and emphatic. “Certainly not. Actually, we increase our guilt every day.” This silences once and for all the argument, “but I know lots of people who do good deeds.” That is a moralistic approach to getting into heaven. All our good deeds mean squat because they do not pay the punishment required by God’s justice. God’s justice requires the penalty of death. The answer to this catechism question calls into mind the answer to question 8, that “we are so corrupt that we are totally unable to do any good and are inclined toward all evil… unless we are born again, by the Spirit of God.” The one who can pass God’s scrutiny must be perfect, living up to the divine law in every way. Even the good that believers do is cannot make us right with God.

A person of true faith acknowledges his or her complete inability to meet the claims of God’s justice. The famous hymn, “Rock of Ages,” puts it beautifully:

Not the labours of my hands

Can fulfil Thy law’s demands;

Could my zeal no languor know,

Could my tears forever flow,

All for sin could not atone;

Thou must save, and Thou alone.

Nothing in my hands I bring,

Simply to Thy cross I cling;

Naked, come to Thee for dress;

Helpless, look to thee for grace;

Foul, I to the fountain fly,

Wash me, Saviour, or I die.

Rock of Ages, cleft for me,

Let me hide myself in Thee;

Let the water and the blood,

From Thy wounded side which flowed,

Be of sin the double cure;

Save from guilt and make me pure.

Having underscored that we are totally unable to pay the debt of our sin, the catechism asks if any other mere creature can pay the debt. Is it possible to use a scapegoat, a scapelamb, or a scapeangel? Can anything else pay the debt of human sin? The answer is no. “God will not punish another creature for what a human is guilty of.” Also, no mere creature, humans included, can bear the weight of God’s eternal anger against sin and release others from it.

The authors of the catechism quoted Hebrews 2:14-18 in order to provide proof to their answer. In order to be our mediator, Christ had to take on our flesh and blood. Why, because the children of God have flesh and blood. Christ shared in our humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is the devil—and free all who were held in slavery by their fear of death. As our mediator, Christ had to share our flesh to satisfy God’s demands.

God places the blame of sin on the one who sinned, not on another. Ezekiel 18:20 states, “The soul who sins is the one who will die.” Thus, someone human had to pay the price. But we also have to keep in mind the corporate responsibility of sin. The whole of Ezekiel 18 underscores the corporate nature of sin. God punishes the children for the sin of the fathers. Now we might look at that and think it is unfair. Why should my children have to pay for my sin? Why should I have to pay for the sin of my parents?

But perhaps you don’t think there is such a thing. Perhaps you believe that God punishes you only for those sins, which you commit yourself. Let me ask you this: if I were to model drunkenness to my children, would it not affect them? If a parent abuses a child, does not that child become an abuser also? It is true, my Pastoral Care professor showed the link between the generations. The sins of the fathers have impact on the children. It carries on and on, until someone breaks the cycle. And I am not talking just about non-Christians, it happens in Christian families too!

The passing on of sinful repercussions from generation to generation has happened since Adam and Eve. God still punishes us for their sin, along with the sins we commit ourselves, both now and in the life to come, unless, unless we call on the one who can break the cycle. Unless we call on Christ who shared our flesh, so that, we might share his righteousness.

Christ did for us what no other creature, angel or otherwise could do. What about the sacrifice of animals? They sacrificed animals in the Old Testament as an offering for sin (Leviticus 16). Answer 19 states that the reason the animal sacrifices were present in the Old Testament when there were unable to atone for human sin, was to proclaim the holy gospel in the Old Testament. But they repeated the same sacrifices year after year. They were inefficient for salvation. Instead, they pointed the way to salvation. They pointed toward the one and only sacrifice—the sacrifice of Christ.

The scriptures point it out clearly. “For God so loved the world that he sent his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Jesus also declares, “I am the way and the truth and life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” These are the terms, spelled out by God. Adam and Eve’s disobedience caused all humanity so sin. But Christ’s perfect obedience made it possible for all humanity to live—only through trusting in Jesus Christ.

But our human rationality doesn’t like that answer. We would rather trust in our selves, or in other creatures. Human reason, left to its self, could never arrive at true deliverance. Thus, we have to find the true mediator and deliverer as revealed in the Holy Word of God.

Question 15 asks, “What kind of mediator and deliverer should we look for?” This question is not so that we can go on some saviour-deliverer treasure hunt. This question is not an excuse to look for someone other than Christ. Believe me; people have tried. When Jesus was teaching, he made it abundantly clear that He was the only way. Many people were dismayed, and they left. They felt the stakes were too high. Jesus’ demand upon them was too great.

It is still the same today. People don’t want to have to trust only in Jesus. They ride the fence. They try to keep one foot in and one foot out. They convince themselves they are only trying to keep their options open. They hope that they can do it on their own, through their own merit. They don’t want to be solely at the mercy of God. They don’t want to have to place all their trust in Jesus alone.

But that is the only option. It is either all or nothing. It amazes me what people will put themselves through to earn $50,000 on Fear Factor. For some petty cash, they will risk their lives. It’s crazy! The lengths people will go through just to get money, possessions, or other worldly things. But when it comes to getting everlasting life, the answer seems too simple; too easy. It reminds me of the story of Naaman, commander of the army of Aram.

Naaman was a great commander because the Lord had allowed him to win many victories, but he suffered from leprosy. He found out from an Israelite captive, serving his wife, that there was a prophet in Israel who could cure him. So, he gets permission from his king, and goes to the king of Israel. The Israelite king, upon hearing Naaman’s request for healing, tears his robes and says, “Who am I? Can I kill and bring back to life? I cannot do that, let alone cure a man of leprosy!” Elisha, the prophet heard his king’s distress and he summoned Naaman to him.

When Naaman arrived, Elisha sent a servant to meet him and give Naaman his instructions; he was to wash in the Jordan River seven times. Naaman became angry. First, he was upset that Elisha didn’t meet with him directly, as commander of the army of Aram, he would have expected some personal attention. Then, the instructions seemed way too easy! If he had known that, he wouldn’t have come all the way to Israel, were not the rivers in Damascus better than the Jordan?

Fortunately, Naaman’s servant had his wits about him. He said, “Gee boss, it wouldn’t hurt to try, would it? If the prophet had told to do some hard thing like on Fear Factor, but without safety ropes, wouldn’t you have done it?” So Naaman followed the instructions and God healed him. This was his reaction. He went back to the prophet of Israel and declared; “Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel.”

Naaman had to be cured of leprosy in order to believe. Jesus promises us to cure us of our sin, if we but believe in Him. What will it take for us to trust him completely? Why can’t we accept his free gift of grace? Why must we always make it more difficult? Why must we always try to put rules and regulations regarding how we live and what we do? We always seem to try to make ourselves right first. But the truth is that we enter into forgiveness by accepting who we are, and accepting the work Christ already accomplished on the cross. There is no other way. None. There is no mediator in the entire world except for Jesus Christ.

Amazing love, how can it be, that you my God should die for me. Amen.

[1] Klooster, Our Only Comfort. p. 152