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Up–ramp to heaven
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| I USED to work in a Council. I remember how
disappointed some people were when they had a project in mind, and they
submitted their plans, and I had to hand them their refusal letter. For many years, anthropologists and archaeologists and others of their kin have tried to find suitable names to describe human beings. They talk of “man, the hunter”, “man, the upright ape”, “man, the knowledgeable one.” Perhaps they are also right in speaking of “Man, the builder”. There is something in us which loves to build, to create. It’s no wonder people were so hurt when their projects were knocked back. The people with the biggest dreams had the biggest disappointments. In Genesis, we read how humans decided to build a tower to reach right up to heaven itself. The Tower of Babel became the Tower of Babble, because God saw the pride, the hubris, of the builders. He confused their languages so that they couldn’t communicate, and the project fell apart. We all have a desire to build our towers right up to heaven. That’s the point of the story of the Tower of Babel. Pride occupies the throne of the human heart, dreaming of conquering heaven itself. In the old times, they built on hills — walled cities; castle fortresses against invaders. Of course, invaders came. They dreamt of climbing the hillsides, of scaling the walls, of taking control. In England we saw several old castles. One was near York, on a hill off a leafy suburban street. From the ruined walls you can still see the paddock where the Wars of the Roses began. Even half a millennium later, that paddock is there. And from that paddock, assaults were launched on the castle. It can seem that we want to do the same with heaven itself. That was the issue with Babel, and it has been a constant theme throughout history. People want to clamber into heaven, up the wall and through the window, like some cat burglar. Here is a question for you: are you building an up–ramp to heaven, hoping to bridge the gulf to God? Or are you taking the royal road which God himself has provided for you? We are approaching Christmas. Let’s understand what Christmas betokens. We are approaching the celebration of the incarnation, of God’s coming in human form. Let’s see the greatness and splendour of God’s goodness and grace in sending his son. And let’s see the darkness of our efforts to build ourselves that ramp, so that God’s grace will shine like a splendid jewel lying on a dark cloth. God has sent his refusal letter. Jesus is the true way. Jesus is God’s rejection of all other entry applications. There is only one way, and we can never build another way to suit our own aims. So, for the next few weeks, we will look at several attempts to build an up–ramp to heaven. We will look at why they fail and what God’s alternative is. THE JUDAISING HERESY Paul faced a serious difficulty when he was in Galatia. He had been to Jerusalem with Barnabas for the Council of Jerusalem. At that council, he set out clearly what he preached and taught, particularly that Gentiles were not obliged to keep all the ceremonies and rules of Jewish religion. Faith in Christ is enough. But there was conflict, as Paul writes: This matter arose
because some false brothers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the
freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves. 5 We did not
give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might
remain with you.
GAL 2:6 As for those who seemed to be important [...] those men added nothing to my message. 7 On the contrary, they saw that I had been entrusted with the task of preaching the gospel to the Gentiles, just as Peter had been to the Jews. 8 For God, who was at work in the ministry of Peter as an apostle to the Jews, was also at work in my ministry as an apostle to the Gentiles. 9 James, Peter and John, those reputed to be pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the Jews. So Paul’s message of free grace was fully recognised. But there were jealous people. There were people who, out of evil intent wanted to limit that freedom. Today, we know that movement as the Judaisers. They tried to force Christians to keep all the Jewish rules. Paul could see how dangerous that was. Even good, solid believers like Peter could be led astray. Here’s the story:
GAL 2:11 When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because
he was clearly in the wrong. 12 Before certain men came from James, he
used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw
back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of
those who belonged to the circumcision group. 13 The other Jews joined
him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led
astray.
These Judaisers claimed to be Christians. They believed in Jesus. He
was the Son of God, the saviour. But there was something seriously
wrong with their belief.GAL 2:14 When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter in front of them all, “You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs? GAL 2:15 “We who are Jews by birth and not `Gentile sinners’ 16 know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified...” A LADDER FROM THE BASEMENT Here’s how it worked. The Jews of Jesus’ day were, by and large, convinced that they were special to God. When they heard the message of salvation through faith in Jesus, it seemed mysterious and puzzling. How could such a degrading death possibly have anything to do with God’s blessings? It was incredible that God could even look on someone who died on a cross. The entire thought was too horrible. Others raged. “Why should we change!?” they demanded. “We are God’s people. Abraham is our father. All the blessings are ours. What more can this Jesus add?” But others, still, who took a different tack. They agreed that the death of Jesus was absolutely horrible. They agreed that the Jews had a special relationship with God. They agreed that Jesus didn't really add anything for the good Jew. But they also knew that that the Bible says that sin makes a separation between God and mankind. They knew that sin alienates. And who could be more sinful, who could be more separated from God, who could be more alienated from his covenant and his promises, than a Gentile? To these Jews, Jesus was the one to bring the Gentiles back to God. They believed in Jesus, because they saw him as the author of a new thing in the world. They believed in him as the prophet sent to bring in the non-Jews. And when the non-Jews arrived, they would be there to greet them, they would be there to show them the way, they would be there to teach them about sacrifices and about circumcision and about phylacteries and the Passover Seder and all the other things that they should know. Do you see the picture? They believed in a three–layered universe. At the top was heaven. Below it was the sunny Jewish land. Between the two was an up–ramp of religious works on which Jews could climb, hoping to reach heaven’s blessings. But there was another layer in their picture. A dark nether–world, a place filled with vermin and filth, a place so horrible that its inhabitants could never even reach ground level in the Jewish world, let alone begin climbing that religious ladder to heaven.  But a loving God had sent his son to die for the people walking in darkness. The Gentiles had seen a great light. The light was Jesus. Any person who trusted in him would instantaneously become clean enough to start living the Jewish life. Then it was only a matter of circumcision, of sacrifices, of feasts and fasts. For the Judaisers, Gentiles lived in a pit, and Jesus lifted them out. So now believing Gentiles could be almost as good as any Jew, and maybe even better than some. All they had to do was become good Jews as soon as they believed. So, to the Judaisers, Jesus is the ladder by which Gentiles can climb out of their cesspit and reach ground zero in the real world. From there, they can start on the ladder of religious works, hoping to satisfy God and be fully accepted by him. THE PROBLEM What is wrong with this? Isn't it a step forward, if a Jew believes that Jesus is the Saviour of the Gentiles? What kind of step forward is it? You say, “At least, the person is trying to make sense of what Jesus did and taught.” But look at the racism in that picture! Look at the arrogance! “We are good, clean and acceptable; you are bad, filthy and worthless.” These people don’t see Jesus for what he is. They don’t see God becoming human to dwell among us and to bridge every gulf so as to bring us into his presence. They see Jesus as a Jew who degraded himself for the sake of Gentiles.“ It is not my thing: it is for them.” That’s the mentality. A Jew who rejects Jesus outright is more honest about him than someone who tries to squeeze him and bend him to make him fit such an inadequate picture. Is it any wonder that Paul was so critical of these people? It is not a matter of a stricter form of Christianity: it's a denial of the very heart of our faith. If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned, Paul says. It’s that serious. END I want us to think. It’s easy for us to slide towards the Judaising heresy. All ramps pointed towards heaven become slippery slopes to the Pit. In Paul’ day, Judaisers knew precisely what rules to apply. They felt it was very clear–cut. But the bottom line is not the rules: it is the way of thinking. We make Jesus right for the wicked people over there, but no longer relevant to me. I led a combined prayer time once, and suggested that we pray for revival. The people were keen on the idea. Here is the kind of prayer they prayed, “Lord, there is so much wickedness in our world. Send a revival like in Wesley’s day, so that people will give up drink and drugs. Revive our world so that families will stay together, and there will not be all those abortions...” And so it went. No one prayed that basic prayer of revival, “Lord, send revival, and let it begin in me!” These good Christian people had no sense of their own need or of God’s marvellous grace in their lives. They just wanted a world that was comfortable for themselves. It was just like the Judaisers. They didn’t like Gentiles, but they would have been happy if God made Gentiles more like Jews. They wanted Jesus, not for their own salvation, but to stop the Gentiles being an irritation to their own lives. Whilever we let ourselves think that way about people who are not like ourselves, we slip into judaising, and we need to repent of the sin. John and I take tracts onto the streets every Sunday morning. But it is not in the hope of making Marrickville a more pleasant place for us. It is so that we, who have experienced grace, can share that grace with others. CONCLUSION In our passage, we read the truth: There is one God, and
one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave
himself as a ransom for all men...
It isn’t a matter of one rule for some and another rule for others. He
gave himself a ransom for all. It isn’t a matter of Jesus’ giving some
people a boost up to the starting cage with all the nice clean
double–income people, so that you can start clawing your way towards
God. That gulf between you and God is vast, an uncrossable chasm lies
between me and God, a yawning abyss, bridged bodily — only by the Lord
Jesus Christ. There is salvation in
none other, for there is no other name under heaven given among man by
which we might be saved.
Now is the chance for you and for me to return to Christ, or to turn to him for the first time. Nothing in my hand I
bring,
What will you do with Jesus today? Would any of us dare blaspheme by
making him the Saviour of the unclean, but not of us “wonderful clean
ones”? That is the Judaising heresy.Simply to thy cross I cling No, the truth is that All have sinned and come short of the glory
of God.
We all need Jesus: every day, every hour. It is he who is the one mediator, the ony way between us and God the Father. Repent... turn in faith... and you will have life — from today on and even forever more, AMEN
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| © Peter R. Green 2003. Permission is granted for quotation in full for non-commercial purposes provided that authorship is acknowledged and this copyright notice is displayed with the text. | |
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