6.9.20 Luis (See Video HERE)
Seems like the subject of atonement for one’s sins has
become very popular lately, as our pop outrage culture struggles over just what
whites owe for the sin of racism. Not long
ago the sin of the day was failure to social distance, and before that was
failure to embrace the fight against climate change. All this outrage and shaming is done in the
name of social justice, but one major problem with this is the question of just
who it is that defines justice? How do
we know when appropriate atonement has been made, and how can we be sure that
the goalposts won’t be moved in the meantime?
There can be no justice without an authority to determine
when, exactly, justice has been reached.
In the Bible, God developed this sense of His authority in the nation of
Israel through a series of covenants in which He set the terms for justice and how
we can be in a right relationship with Himself.
All the laws given to Israel reminded them of His authority to establish
laws (even laws we don’t understand or agree with) and His authority to determine
a just punishment or consequence of breaking those laws. Without God’s authority, we end up with the fascism
or mob rule we see so often today.
As God developed this concept in His people down through the
centuries, one can see many foreshadows of the Gospel we have now. The sacrificial system helps us understand
that sin must be punished and that blood is required for atonement, and the idea
of a scapegoat that could carry away the sins of the nation helped prepare us
for the cross, as we read in Leviticus 16:
“He (the priest) is to lay both hands on the head of the live goat and
confess over it all the wickedness and rebellion of the Israelites—all their
sins—and put them on the goat’s head. He shall send the goat away into the
wilderness in the care of someone appointed for the task. The goat will carry
on itself all their sins to a remote place…”
Unfortunately, our pop mob culture takes these concepts and
distorts them by shaming and canceling various people or groups, making them
the scapegoats for the sins of the many.
There have been times in history when people have resorted to drastic
measures in the self-righteous effort to atone for their sins. During the Bubonic Plague it was self-flagellation,
and I can’t help but believe that there is some misguided scapegoating and
self-flagellation going on today in the wake of our own plague.
Without the authority of God and His Word, our search for
atonement is left to it’s own devises, as I saw during an outreach conversation
with a young man named Luis while I was shopping at Menards. Like so many, Luis had many of his own
theories on how he might atone for his sins, most involving trying to outweigh
his sins with good deeds, especially good deeds done without thought of reward
or punishment.
But there is one true final Authority, one true standard of
morality, on true system of justice, one true sacrifice and one true scapegoat,
and it all revolves around Jesus. For
any of us trying to determine our own sense of justice and cost of atonement,
we are in effect joining the pop outrage culture that tries to take on a role
that only God is equipped to play.
Thank, Luis, for allowing me to record our
conversation! It can be seen at https://youtu.be/9hDdBnH125s
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