Fruit Cove Baptist Church

In the past week I have cared for three families who experienced death. Two of the three found themselves suddenly bereaved of husband and father. We all somehow internalize Romans 8:28 and either remember it, hear it quoted, or preached to us when a moment like that comes. “And we know that in all things God is working for the good….” Unfortunately when a death surprises us or suffering attends, that portion of the verse is all we manage to remember and we wonder how something so painful can ever be called “good.”

Does “good” mean it feels good, or ever will? No.

Does “good” mean it will ever make sense to us? No.

Does “good” mean we are somehow better off because of it? No.

But if we can remember the rest of the passage we can begin to have hope. “…For the good of those who love Him and who are called according to His purpose.” What is His ultimate good for us? His ultimate purpose? That “we might be conformed to the image of His Son.” (Romans 8:29). All things work together in our lives… as followers of Christ… to the end that we may become like Christ.

And that is good even when we can’t see through the tears.

“For those he foreknew He predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son.” Romans 8:29

FOR REFLECTION: Can you thank God for the painful times in your life you didn’t understand knowing they are the means of making you like Jesus?

Usually suffering doesn’t make sense. Specifically we don’t understand why WE have to suffer. Sometimes, however, it does make sense. The other day I was passed on San Jose by a man in a fast, red car weaving and bobbing through the traffic. He was driving entirely too fast in mostly stalled traffic.

At another red light I saw the same car who sped out and continued the same way. Shaking my head at the “maniacs” who drive (faster than me) I went on to my destination. Crossing the Buckman I saw the flashing lights of a State Police car. Pulled over in front of him… you guessed it… the red car! Now I’m not proud of myself, but I wanted to cheer. Justice had been done! The person who needed to be punished was caught.

Sometimes suffering seems OK to us when the bad guy gets what he deserved; when the bully gets punched out; when the criminal is caught. But often it is not that clear. Nothing confuses us like suffering that comes when we don’t have a reason. And nothing hurts like undeserved pain unless the pain is compounded by accusations from others that somehow we must deserve it.

Job’s companions came to him with accusations that compounded his suffering. “Surely,” they taunted, “you must have done something to deserve the pain you now know.” And ironically that old, old story was lived out again at the cross of Jesus. “We considered Him smitten by God and afflicted… but He was wounded for our iniquities….”

Surely, the bystanders reasoned, surely, He was being punished by God. And they were right. Only the punishment was not for His sin…

… but for ours.

“But the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him… and by His stripes we are healed.” Isaiah 53:5

FOR REFLECTION: Have you ever been misunderstood as you experienced hardship? Remember that Jesus was too.

Jesus said “If I be lifted up I will draw all men to myself.” (John 12:32). What an incredible statement. Jesus in essence is saying “When men do the worst they can do to me… when I am unjustly condemned and cruelly executed I will draw all men to me.” We simply point the lost to the cross. We hold it up for all to see.

This verse inspired the conclusion below. George MacLeod wrote this some years ago. It has inspired me many times since.

I could not agree more!

“But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross…” (Galatians 6:12)

FOR REFLECTION: How does the MacLeod verse change your thinking about the cross?

The word “justified” is a word that takes us back to the cross. Over the past centuries the church has rediscovered an interest in the word. To be justified implies a change in legal status.

In a courtroom a person can have their status changed by the declaration of a legal authority. To be declared “not guilty” is within the power of the judge. While the person is not essentially changed in character, their status is radically altered.

Likewise when the word justification is applied to our relationship with God, we see ourselves standing before the Judge of all judges. We have broken His Law. In many ways. We are guilty and deserve the full penalty required.

But as the Judge prepares to pronounce our guilt, a surprise verdict is rendered: Not guilty. But how could this be? Another has paid your debt. Justice is satisfied. You are not guilty.

How would it feel to walk out of the courtroom after that pronouncement? That is the story of all who have been justified by God’s amazing grace.

And the reason for the cross.

“Therefore being justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Romans 5:1

FOR REFLECTION: The Judge has said we’re not guilty. Do you allow condemnation a place in your life? God will not condemn those He has declared righteous. The condemnation is not from God. In Christ we are no longer guilty.

Why is redemption so hard? Why couldn’t God just say, “you’re forgiven….let’s forget it and move on? After all, we all make mistakes don’t we?” Great questions frequently asked by well-intentioned people.

Let’s relocate the drama for a moment from the hill of Golgotha to a courtroom in your hometown. Your child… your spouse… your grandson… your parent… has been unjustly attacked and cruelly killed by an out-of-control and unrepentant drug pusher. He has been caught. He has been arrested. The evidence is laid out before the jury. Not a dry eye is seen among the twelve. A guilty verdict is assured. The jury returns to read the verdict to the courtroom. “Guilty as charged, your Honor.”

And when the time comes for the judge to render appropriate punishment he looks at the convicted criminal, glances at the victims family, and says, “You know what? You’re forgiven. Let’s just forget it and move on. Nobody’s perfect.”

We don’t have to pause long to think about what your response to that would be, would we? It would be insane! Inexcusable! This judge should be disbarred from the law!! And yet we ask God to do the same.

Where do you think this desire to see the Law fulfilled within us comes from? It comes from the One Who made us as we are. He is perfectly just… without any fault… Holy, Holy, Holy. And because of that Holy perfection there is within our God and Father a desire to OBLITERATE anything that is not like Him. That is not perfect. That is not Holy.

But holiness cannot be handed out like favors at a birthday party. It can be given only when sin has been taken out of the picture.   So God is in a place where His Holiness struggles with His Love for us all.   The answer?

The cross. The cross and that alone would allow God to say, “Guilty as charged!” and exact the perfect punishment and at the same time say, “You’re forgiven” without compromising who He is.

Redemption was hard. For God. But it doesn’t have to be for us…

… if only we’ll believe.

“For God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself….” 2 Corinthians 5:19

FOR REFLECTION: Have you ever thanked God for His redemption?

Reconciliation. If the cross is glorious for no other reason, it is glorious because a way has now been made for God and man to relate with no barrier. No accusation. No hostility.

In the cross the debt of sin has been paid in full. The wrath of God has been fully appeased. The “handwriting of ordinances that was against us” is covered now with atoning blood.

Some may ask, “Is it not just a matter of fairness to say that another way of salvation is possible?” “Aren’t all religious systems equally effective if practiced sincerely?”

No it is only through the cross that sin can be covered and fully forgiven. No other religion can aspire to that lofty goal. No means of self righteous accomplishment can.

The glory of the cross is that IT IS THE ONLY WAY that reconciliation can be effected. Any other way falls short.

And that is a mistake we dare not make.

“For God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself not counting their trespasses against them.” 2 Cor 5:19

I was barely out of childhood when my grandmother died. She died in her bedroom while I played in her room. She died as she often lived, with a worn out Bible in her lap. She had thumbed through it, worn the cover off of it, and had inhaled its words like air. She probably didn’t hardly notice the transition from this life to eternity, and passed away instantly with heart failure.

But I noticed. It was the first death I had experienced that close to me. I am pretty sure I am in ministry today because she prayed me into it! Zelphia Salyers still has her name on a plaque over the Sunday School class of sweet little ladies she taught for years at the Second Baptist Church of Ashland, Ky.

While I know she was far from perfect, she was a saint in my eyes. I remember the parade of little Baptist ladies from “The Zelphia Class” coming in with fat-laden casseroles and mountains (it seemed) of potato salad. I remember their weeping and them hugging my mother, grandfather, and me.

And I remember the funeral. Not the sermon. Not even the eulogies, though I’m told there were many. No, I remember a song. Just one. It was not the first time I’d heard it, I’m sure. And it wouldn’t be the last (and no, it wasn’t Just As I Am!)

The song that Grandmother requested was the song that was the most meaningful to her. I heard it sung then, and probably paid attention for the first time. I have pondered it’s theology for a lifetime since. It was, I believe, my Grandmother’s parting message to me… her prayer for her husband… and her testimony.

“On a hill far away, stood an old rugged cross
The emblem of suffering and shame.
And I love that old cross where the dearest and best
For a world of lost sinners was slain.”
“And I’ll cherish the old rugged cross
Til my trophies at last I lay down
I will cling to that old rugged cross
And exchange it one day for a crown.”

“For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ….” Romans 6:11

FOR REFLECTION: Which part of the hymn above is most personal to you?

Visiting New York City for the first time is an overwhelming experience. Many who read this column will perhaps be veterans or even natives of the place. But for me, my first time came last fall in a visit to speak at the Filipino Southern Baptist Association.

Apart from the incredible speed at which everything moves, it is remarkable how many people move around on the streets no matter if it’s day or night. The other thing that strikes the first-time visitor is the large shadow that is still cast by the Twin Towers that fell September 11, 2001. Even though the physical structures no longer stand, their influence and meaning still do. And, I suppose, always will for Americans and certainly for natives of New York.

There is another structure, however, that has also many years ago been removed. Though it no longer physically stands atop Golgotha Hill, it’s shadow certainly still does. And for Christians and those who have been redeemed by it’s Divine Occupant over two millennia ago, it always will be a reminder of eternal grace.

While I know it is not the cross that saves us but the One Who died there and our faith in Him, nothing more perfectly captures salvation’s plan than the memory of the transected pieces of wood that make up the cross. It is “foolishness to those who are perishing,” according to the Apostle Paul. But “for us who are being saved, it is the power of God unto salvation.” (1 Corinthians 1:18)

And that cross will never lose its power.

“But God forbid that I should glory, except in the cross of Christ my Lord…” Galatians 6:14       

FOR REFLECTION: As we begin our journey toward Easter, what does the cross of Jesus mean to you?