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KNOCKING ON HEAVEN'S DOOR #4
NO CRUTCHES FOR "THE BODY"
I guess the rumble has died down by now, but back in
October, 1999, a certain flamboyant governor from Minnesota caught the
attention of the Christian world with some remarks he made about religion.
Now, the quotes from Governor Jesse "The Body" Ventura were
out of Playboy magazine — which we don't scan for script ideas — but they
were soon screaming from headlines in all venues. In Newsweek the soundbite
read this way:
"Organized religion is a sham and a crutch
for weak-minded people who need strength in numbers."
The next weekend, as you might understand, Governor
Ventura was the guest on some national talk shows, and ABC News was kind
enough to send us a transcript of the ensuing discussion. Sam Donaldson
asked Jesse:
"Is your position now, as I understand,
that only SOME people who believe in organized religion are ‘weak-minded'
and ‘weak-minded' is not necessarily bad?"
And here's the answer Jesse gave:
"Exactly. I'll use my wife as an example. My wife will start to doubt
herself and she's very religious. She goes to church every Sunday because
she needs to go. And when she starts to doubt or have doubts about things
in life, that's a weakness. She then goes to church and gains strength
from going there."
Just a minute later in the ABC interview, he expanded
on what he had just said:
"When you say ‘weak' and a ‘crutch' that means you've been injured.
You use the crutch until the injury's gone and many people need the faith
of organized religion to accomplish that. I DON'T." Sam Donaldson:
"All right." Mr. Ventura: "I do not need that."
End of segment.
Well, that's quite interesting, isn't it? And you know, friend, you don't
have to be a former Navy SEAL, or be a bulked-up professional wrestler
in the WWF to hold the same view. To think that God and religion and church
are things that, at best, are a comfort in your weak moments. You lose
a loved one, and a few prayers in church — the quiet solitude, the candles,
the organ music, the comforting words of the preacher or chaplain – those
things bring you strength in your weakness. But perhaps you say, along
with the governor of Minnesota: "I don't need that. I am not one
who needs a crutch. I am not ‘weak' in that regard."
I guess it's true that if all you are interested in is THIS life right
here — a few bouts in the ring, a family, some friends, a four-year term
in the governor's mansion, retirement, and then a one-way trip to the
cemetery, a person might look at "(quote) religion" and say,
"Hey, I ain't got time to bleed. I don't need that stuff. I'm strong
enough to survive without church and God and the so-called comforts He
promises."
But what if you want more than just 70 years of Wrestle-mania and World-mania?
What if you feel a longing inside of you for the things of eternity? What
if you'd like to live forever in a better place where someone loves and
accepts you as the divine creation you are? What if you're one of those
who senses that God-shaped vacuum, and know that becoming governor or
even president isn't going to fully satisfy?
We've been addressing the bold statement in God's Word, said by Jesus
Christ: "I am the Door." And the Bible also tells us that, because
of sin, there is a great gulf between us and God. Which . . . maybe doesn't
bother you. If God is a long ways off, you say, "So what? I don't
need Him. I'm strong enough without that ‘crutch.'"
But you know, the Bible doesn't say that you and I are merely "(quote)
injured." That we have a weak moment or two, or a life crisis, where
we need to sit in a cathedral — like wearing a cast for a broken arm —
just until we heal up again. "Crippled" isn't the right word
for our condition. Where you and I find ourselves here on this Thursday
isn't in the emergency room of the hospital for a temporary condition.
No, our dilemma is described in this familiar verse — Romans 6:23:
"For the wages of sin is DEATH."
Sin is a terminal condition. It's not something that
strong wrestlers or strong-willed, do-it-yourself-ers can body-slam their
way through. The Bible makes it plain that this gulf created by sin cannot
be overcome on our side of the canyon. No matter how tough we tell Cokie
Roberts we think we are.
But then God says to us: "I have a remedy for you. I have an answer.
I have a rescue plan." Or, as these simple, four-step Christian diagrams
put it, a BRIDGE. There's a gulf between sinful people and a sinless God
. . . but that sinless God provides a bridge back to Him. Here's how one
description puts it:
"Jesus Christ is the only answer to this problem. He died on the
Cross and rose from the grave, paying the penalty for our sin and BRIDGING
the gap between God and people."
Here are some powerful verses on this very concept.
I Peter 3:18:
"For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous"
— and now notice this — "TO BRING YOU TO GOD."
Here's another "bridge" verse, found in I
Timothy 2:5:
"God is on one side and all the people on the other side, and Christ
Jesus, Himself man, is between them to bring them together."
And you know, we've been reading just PART of a verse
all week . . . and it's high time we read the entire thing. Romans 6:23:
"For the wages of sin is death . . . BUT
the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord."
And friend, even though I'm no artist, and even though
this is radio and you can't see my pencil or my little pad of paper, this
diagram is so simple I can tell you about it right here. You and I are
on one riverbank, and on the other side: God. Sin is the great chasm between
us. Not because God hates us, or is disgusted with us, or refuses to have
anything to do with us. No, just because sin is a deadly virus that can't
survive in His presence. And we are separated from God by this insurmountable
gulf. Except that it ISN'T insurmountable. Right here you simply draw
a Cross that serves as a bridge between God and us.
How does this work? Frankly, I don't know. I don't understand it. I can't
dissect and explain the science of Calvary for you, because quite frankly
I don't comprehend it myself. But I have the plain evidence of the most
truthful Book in the universe, and this Book called the Bible tells me
that the Cross of Jesus does indeed re-connect us with our heavenly Father.
It brings us back to Him. It spans the gulf of sin and separation and
death. Why? Because the Bible says so. That's all I can tell you.
Why can you and I be saved right now, today? How can we know that we have
eternal life waiting for us WITH the very Father who was on the other
side of the great divide? Well, if you'll pardon a sanctified pun, it's
because Jesus Christ said on a Friday afternoon: "I DO have time
to bleed." And His sacrifice on that Cross built a bridge that the
devil can never blow up or destroy.
There's one thing we should clear up and KEEP it forever cleared up. Let
me read that great verse, I Timothy 2:5, from the New International Version,
and you'll spot the problem immediately. Here it is:
"For there is one God and one MEDIATOR between
God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all
men."
And I know full well that the word "mediator"
makes us think of two warring parties: maybe the NBA players against the
owners. Steel workers against the factory bosses. The AFL-CIO against
Big Business. And a mediator has to frantically shuffle back and forth
and keep saying, "Now, come on, fellas . . . can't we work this out?"
He has to PERSUADE a reluctant boss to give in a little.
Is it that way here? Was God so angry with us that
only this heroic gesture on the Cross could melt His heart? Does Jesus
have to go to His own heavenly Father and plead with Him: "Please,
Father, I know You're angry . . . but I love these ragged, wretched sinners.
I died for them. Can't you let them off? Just this once? If I personally
vouch for them"? Friend, is that the way of it?
Listen, let's never forget what that great verse says. Here it is the
THIRD time — Romans 6:23:
"For the wages of sin is death, but the
gift of GOD is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord."
Don't ever, EVER forget that God gave His own Son to
build this Bridge! Remember? "God so loved the world that HE GAVE
His only begotten Son"? Listen to this unbelievable verse in II Corinthians
5:
"God was IN CHRIST, reconciling the world
unto Himself."
So this was GOD'S plan! He and Jesus together agreed
to build this bridge. Remember how Jesus told His disciples until He was
blue in the face: "Look, you guys, the Father and I are ONE. The
Father HIMSELF loves you!" If Jesus is a mediator between God and
us, don't forget that He and God were arm-in-arm on the deal from the
very beginning.
We've focused on that statement: "I am the Door. The ONLY Door."
Or a bridge, if you will. The ONLY one. Use any metaphor you choose .
. . but Jesus is the only way Home.
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