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Today, after almost 250 years from the founding of the United States of America, we look back on our history and are shocked, ashamed and disgusted that there ever existed the institution of slavery where men, women and children of color were bought and sold. They were considered to be mere chattel, property that could be used and disposed of at the slave owners discretion, simply because of the color of their skin. In the Declaration of Independence, where it was declared that “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness,” the issue of slavery was ignored chiefly in order to secure the signatures of southern slave holders. But the issue didn’t go away. Like the proverbial can, it was just kicked down the road.
It would again surface during the senatorial Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858. One of the issues debated was whether new states entering the union would be free states or slave-holding states. Douglas argued that the residents of the potential states should decide for themselves. Lincoln, however, treated the issue of slavery as a moral issue, that the institution was fundamentally morally wrong. Lincoln would lose that election, but would go on to be president. In his March 4th 1865 second inaugural address, Abraham Lincoln said, “The Almighty has his own purposes. ‘Woe unto the world because of offenses! for it must needs be that offenses come; but woe to that man by whom the offense cometh.’ If we shall suppose that American slavery is one of those offenses which, in the providence of God, must needs come, but which, having continued through his appointed time, he now wills to remove, and that he gives to both North and South this terrible war…” It would take the 600,00 dead of the Civil War to finally inaugurate the steps that would end that terrible institution and move us closer to those ideals expressed in our founding documents. In our day, the issue is abortion, which has progressively been pushed to center stage. Pro-abortion advocates argue the so-called “sanctity” of the Roe decision precedent. House Speaker Pelosi, the President and others would like to see that decision codified into permanent law. Many precedents have remained unchallenged for years, but after almost 50 years, the Roe decision is still a contested issue. And the reason is the same as in the days of slavery. It’s a moral issue and no amount of Supreme Court decisions like Roe, or Congressional legislation can change that. Imagine Americans 250 years from now looking back on our time. I believe they will shocked, ashamed and disgusted that 60 million plus children in the womb were routinely and legally put to death. I’m thankful that many Americans of all colors, creeds and political persuasions are becoming more informed by listening to the science, using ultrasound to see the images of human beings in the womb, getting counseling, and ultimately listening to what God says. Lincoln did as he quoted from Scripture, “Woe unto the world because of offenses! for it must needs be that offenses come; but woe to that man by whom the offense cometh.”
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Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me” Matthew 16.24
Note in the words of Jesus above that He didn’t just say “follow Me.” He very clearly connected following Him with the denial of self and taking up one’s cross. There are many who are content to simply follow Jesus. On the surface, that sounds like a good thing to do, but Jesus made it clear that there was much more to it. The idea of simply following Jesus brings to mind a popular program that was promoted amongst Christians several years ago entitled “WWJD,” or “What Would Jesus Do?” It was probably well intentioned, but it tended towards following Jesus on a kind of surface level. If one could just mimic the behavior of Jesus, then one could be considered to be a follower of Jesus. It’s potentially the “Just tell me what to do and what not to do” approach. That’s just “moralism.” In the book “Pilgrim’s Progress,” the character Graceless, as he was known prior to his conversion, was riddled with guilt, which was pictured by the heavy burden he carried. He had been reading his Bible and had come under the deep conviction that he had sinned against God. Then along came Mr. Worldly Wiseman who convinced him to seek the help of a friend named Mr. Legality in the Village of Morality. And if he is not home, then his son Civility will be able to help. There Graceless would receive the worldly advice to just be a good person and avoid evil, to keep the outward form of the law, to achieve a righteousness based on his works of law keeping. This kind of law keeping would make up for any wrongdoing. But Graceless, when confronted with the requirements of the law, only felt his burden of guilt become even heavier because of the fear of God and judgment. He was humbled as he realized his utter helplessness to relieve himself of guilt through his own efforts of reforming himself. There was something fundamentally spiritually wrong with him. The guilt he experienced was the result of a corrupted nature which was incapable of not sinning. He would experience what the apostle Paul wrote to the Romans: “There is none righteous, no, not one; there is none who understands; there is none who seeks after God… There is none who does good, no, not one.” (3.10-11,12). Graceless was absolutely helpless within himself to not only change, but to be rid of the overwhelming guilt of his transgressions. Prior to his conversion, Paul was much like Mr. Worldly Wiseman, filled with pride in what he thought was his blamelessness regarding the moral law (Philippians 3.) But later, after God opened Paul’s spiritual eyes and gave him a new heart of flesh to replace his stony dead heart, Paul came to see his so-called blamelessness as dirty rags. His pride in self was demolished. As such, he died spiritually to self. He would later write, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). There it is. One can only truly follow Jesus by denying self and taking up one’s cross in order to follow Jesus. And to do that is to ultimately do what Jesus did. Die! Of course, the death of the believer is not the same as the death of Jesus. He, the sinless One, died in the place of sinners, “the just for the unjust” (1 Peter 3.18). In this way, and only in this way, is God able to justly forgive believing sinners, that is, to justify them. Therefore, the all-important question to be asked before “What Would Jesus Do?” is “What Did Jesus Do?” Further, the justified sinner who is joined to Christ by faith, who is “in Christ,” is not only forgiven, but is graciously set on a path of renovation, or sanctification as a new creature in Jesus Christ. This is because they have been “born again” as Jesus described it (John 3.3). To be born again is to have a God-given new heart and the indwelling of the Person of the Holy Spirit. Its to have died with Christ and to now be participating in the resurrection of Christ. This resurrection experience for the true believer in this life is an ongoing process of dying to self. And this is not just a onetime event. Paul wrote about himself, “I die daily” (1 Corinthians 15.31). This same truth was echoed by the German pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer who wrote, “When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.” He was one of the few faithful pastors and Christians who spoke out and resisted Hitler and Naziism during the 1930’s and 40’s. He and others were finally executed by Hitler during the war for the stand they took. And so, we see that taking up our cross and dying with Christ inevitably involves suffering. It’s the means whereby God purifies His blood-bought people. The Apostle Peter wrote, “For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps” (1 Peter 2.21). Its only in this light that a Christian can believe and appreciate what James wrote: “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing” (James 1.1-4). By God’s grace, may we indeed deny our often-selfish selves and take up our cross and follow Jesus. |
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