Welcome to another installment of “Wally Wednesdays”!
A guest post by Wally Fry
Off to Jail!
Last time we talked about God as a judge. What if we tried some of the things in an earthly courtroom we try with God?
“Judge, it wasn’t really a big robbery. I didn’t even use a gun! And I only got a little bit of money anyway.”
The law says the penalty for armed robbery is imprisonment, no exceptions. “Off to jail!” says the judge. God likewise does not care about the size of our sin. God is perfect and Holy, remember? A small sin makes us just as guilty as a big on in they eyes of a perfect God. James 2:10 teaches us that a man can keep the whole law and yet offends in one point is still guilty of violation the entire law.
“Judge, I may have committed that robbery, but I never killed anybody!”
The law says the penalty for armed robbery is imprisonment, no exceptions. “Off to jail!” says the judge. God is not going to look at all the things we could have done, but did not do. Once again, a violation of the law is a violation of the law.
“Judge, I may have committed that robbery, but did you know I have been working down at the food kitchen helping the homeless for years? What about all the money I gave to charity?”
The law says the penalty for armed robbery is imprisonment, no exceptions. “Off to jail!” says the judge. No matter how many good things we may do, they do not make up for our violation of God’s law. We cannot cover our penalty due by doing anything good.
“Judge, look what THAT guy has done!”
The law says the penalty for armed robbery is imprisonment, no exceptions. “Off to jail!” says the judge. God is not comparing us to each other to decide our innocence of guilt. He only compares us the the standard of His perfection and Holiness. It only matters what we have done, not what anyone else has done.
“Judge, I’m really, really sorry for committing the armed robbery.”
The law says the penalty for armed robbery is imprisonment, no exceptions. “Off to jail!” says the judge. The idea that we could tell a judge we are sorry and expect to be released is really absurd. The law says what the penalty is, and the penalty must be paid. Why would God be any different?
Coming up next Wednesday…part 4 (the conclusion)
Since the 1990’s the American people have witnessed the Clinton’s Teflon-like machine avoid judgment for anything. Did they do all the things they’ve been accused of doing? Who knows? All we people really know is that in the last week all the people involved in the current scandal have given off the appearance that something very weighty was placed on one side of the scales of Justice. From Jessica Flowers to Monica Lewinsky; from cattle futures to emails: the weights in the bag are always changing (Deut. 25:13).
The Recovering Legalist 