Good Morning Friends,
I am not typically one to quote Friedrich W. Nietzsche, the German philosopher, but since he was raised a Christian, and had a relevant observation to today’s topic here it is anyway:
“Beware that, when fighting monsters, you yourself do not become a monster… for when you gaze long into the abyss. The abyss gazes also into you.”
Today’s text poses some heavy theological questions related to what Nietzsche once said, and that Calvin undoubtedly used to support his view of the human condition. But as I think about the scripture, the quote and what I think I know of the theology of Total Depravity; I must wade through the tears and peel back the layers of the onion. So, I consider the controversy and our plight and wonder, Do We Even Have An Option About Being Wicked?
Scripture: Thus says the Lord: Cursed are those who trust in mere mortals and make mere flesh their strength, whose hearts turn away from the Lord. They shall be like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see when relief comes. They shall live in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land. Blessed are those who trust in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. They shall be like a tree planted by water, sending out its roots by the stream. It shall not fear when heat comes, and its leaves shall stay green; in the year of drought it is not anxious, and it does not cease to bear fruit. The heart is devious above all else; it is perverse— who can understand it? I the Lord test the mind and search the heart, to give to all according to their ways, according to the fruit of their doings.
Jeremiah 17:5-10 (NRSV)
“There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who longed to satisfy his hunger with what fell from the rich man’s table; even the dogs would come and lick his sores. The poor man died and was carried away by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was being tormented, he looked up and saw Abraham far away with Lazarus by his side. He called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in agony in these flames.’ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your lifetime you received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in agony. Besides all this, between you and us a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who might want to pass from here to you cannot do so, and no one can cross from there to us.’ He said, ‘Then, father, I beg you to send him to my father’s house— for I have five brothers—that he may warn them, so that they will not also come into this place of torment.’ Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.’ He said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”
Luke 16:19-31 (NRSV)
Surely there is no one on earth so righteous as to do good without ever sinning.
Ecclesiastes 7: 20 (NRSV)
Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone.
Luke 18:19 (NRSV)
And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.”
Matthew 19:17 (NRSV)
as it is written: “There is no one who is righteous, not even one;
Romans 3:10 (NRSV)
“Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. For with the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? Or how can you say to your neighbor, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ while the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor’s eye. “Do not give what is holy to dogs; and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under foot and turn and maul you. “Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for bread, will give a stone? Or if the child asks for a fish, will give a snake? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him! “In everything do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law and the prophets. “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it. For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it. “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will know them by their fruits. “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many deeds of power in your name?’ Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; go away from me, you evildoers.’ “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell—and great was its fall!” Now when Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.
Matthew 7 (NRSV)
He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; Honor your father and mother; also, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” The young man said to him, “I have kept all these; what do I still lack?” Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” When the young man heard this word, he went away grieving, for he had many possessions. Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astounded and said, “Then who can be saved?” But Jesus looked at them and said, “For mortals it is impossible, but for God all things are possible.” Then Peter said in reply, “Look, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?” Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man is seated on the throne of his glory, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold, and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.
Matthew 19:18-30 (NRSV)
Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or take the path that sinners tread, or sit in the seat of scoffers; but their delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law they meditate day and night. They are like trees planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season, and their leaves do not wither. In all that they do, they prosper. The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; for the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.
Psalm 1: 1-6 (NRSV)
Message: Given author L Frank Baum’s strong Christian faith, and his assertion that his book “The Wizard of Oz” may have been divinely inspired, it’s unsurprising that several commentators over the last 126 years have sought to find Christian allegory within the Oz stories. Some have seen Dorothy, whose name means “Gift From God,” baptizing the Wicked Witch and melting away her wickedness and sin. Others have compared the Yellow Brick Road as the narrow path of discipleship described by Jesus in Matthew 7 and the way of character development. We witness courage, love and wisdom grow in Dorothy’s travelling companions, the development of which takes place in community, through divine intervention – which seems a lot like the fruit of the Holy Spirit. And the “Emerald City” certainly sounds a bit like the new heaven and new earth when in Oz we finally come face-to-face with the powerful God-figure at the end. But society and culture have a way of taking the storyline of the classics I grew up watching on our first color T.V. set years ago and adapting them for a social agenda. This has happened in the latest reimagining of the Wizard of Oz in the movie entitled Wicked. It asks as did the book and broadway musical by the same name the question, “What makes someone”wicked “? Is it a birthmark of our nature, or is it shaped by our experiences and choices? The movie Wicked flips the traditional story of good versus evil on its head. It invites us to consider the deeper struggles behind the labels we place on others—and ourselves. Here it is important to reflect on what the Bible has to say about the human heart in this regard. In Scripture, wickedness is not merely a label—it’s a spiritual condition we all share. As Romans 3:10 reminds us, “There is none righteous, not even one.” But that’s not the end of the story. Through Jesus Christ, we’re offered a transformation far greater than the magical promises of Oz. As we reflect on Wicked, perhaps its themes of identity and redemption can point us to a greater truth: that we are not defined by our failures or the labels the world gives us. In Christ, we are new creations, fully accepted and unconditionally loved. So, ask yourself: Are you living in the light of God’s grace? Do you want things to be good or bad, black or white in a world that is so grey? Do we appreciate that being green is not so easy? Have you allowed Jesus’ offer of redemption to define your story, transforming what was once “wicked” into something beautiful? And are you sharing that hope with others, showing them the love of a Savior who changes us not just “for good,” but forever?
And So, I think that a lot of people have a misconception regarding total depravity and the nature of wickedness and what is required to enter the kingdom of God. The Bible is filled with the stories of the good guys and gals that did really terrible things. Still, we tend to misinterpret the term and fail to realize that we must be as little children with humble dependence on God. Total depravity does not mean that people are as evil and sinful as they can be, nor does it mean that people are without a conscience or any sense of right or wrong, nor that they cannot grow. Neither does it mean that people do not or cannot do things that seem to be good when viewed from a human perspective or measured against a human standard. It does not even mean that people cannot do things that seem to conform outwardly to the law of God. What the Bible does teach and what total depravity does recognize is that even the “good” things people do are tainted by sin because they are not done totally for the glory of God and out the faith of Jesus in them. That is why trying to improve oneself apart from the work of the Holy Spirit and Christ is a worthless endeavor. The nature of humans portrayed by Jeremiah presents a pretty sad view and we may not like to embrace it and yet Paul seems to echo it when he says, and I paraphrase, that there is no one that does good, not one, all is as filthy rags. And yet we have hope that though our sin reaches far, God’s grace reaches infinitely farther. When we become Christians the depravity and the disinclination to do what is right can still be there and yet part of us seeks to delight in what is holy and pure and good. The goal is to be satisfied in God’s ability to conquer sin perfectly even though it is not something we have already obtained. That is why we must press on to make this reality our own because Jesus has made us his own. The call to renounce everything is before us, but in our fallen human nature, redeemed and adopted and loved and forgiven as we are, we fall short of the goal. There is something that stops us from following Jesus wholeheartedly. Instead, we consider the importance of possessions in our lives, even though from time to time we consider if they might be used for the benefit of others. So, our fallen human nature that remains must be put to death day after day for we are still inclined to like the approval of people. Our nature inclines us to wonder how others see us. And it inclines us to be angry at the person who criticizes us. But I cannot go there, and you cannot go there either. We need to keep fighting the good fight for we are always sinning, and it can paralyze us if we submit to it. Instead, we must look to the glorifying actions of Jesus on the cross and seek to glorify God in all our actions so that though we are still sinners we might yet be in God’s sight, because Jesus’ grace and faith are perfect.
Pray that we do not become self-absorbed in blaming others for who we are. Pray that we are not so shallow that we fail to care. Pray we realize that we cannot bring any good into this world unless we do it with God and to God’s glory. Pray we realize that God judges the heart and that we have sick hearts. Pray that we realize that we desperately need grace and healing in order to soar with Jesus. Pray we love in a world believing that God can and does use evil for good. Pray we realize that salvation comes to us when God comes to us, and we submit. Pray we do not deceive ourselves. Pray we realize that we have no option but to trust and obey. Pray we are willing to turn from any and everything that would prevent us from following wholeheartedly after Jesus. Pray we are willing to come to Jesus and obey without conditions. Pray we are willing to let God reorder our lives for the glory of the only thing that is good. Pray we realize that God is an expert of taking what is bad and turning it into something that is good. Pray we are willing to trust in Jesus and surrender everything to God. Pray the Holy Spirit teaches us to put all things in their proper perspective, especially the money with which God has given us and entrusted us to glorify God. Pray that we realize that our actions have consequences and that sometimes the consequences are unintended.Pray we follow the golden rule and not the rule of gold.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 