THOUGHT FOR TODAY, APRIL 27, 2017: IF FAILURE WERE FATAL, WE WOULD ALL BE DEAD!

At this very moment, we are all failing, facing failure in the eye, recovering from failure, or living with the consequences of failure, which is another way of saying that we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. In fact, we might be doing all four at the same time. Obviously, if failure were fatal, we would all be dead.

God is the original recycler, for he has always worked in, through, and with sinners. If he didn’t, he wouldn’t have anything with which to work. The writer of Hebrews says, “God is not ashamed to be called their God” (Heb 11:16)—that’s Noah, Abraham and Moses, David, and some other sinners. Think about it:

1. Noah got drunk after saving himself and his family from the fate of the world.


2. Abraham lied twice about his wife and subjected her to the possibility of having to surrender her body to another man.


3. Moses spoke rashly with his lips and didn’t get to enter the Promised Land.


4. David committed adultery and then had the woman’s husband killed to cover up the sin.
But there are many more names inscribed in the Lamb’s Book of Life than are recorded in the Book of Hebrews, and Jesus is not ashamed to call us brothers (Heb 2:11). Sometimes we are ashamed of our family, our friends, and especially ourselves because we don’t measure up to the mythical, distorted image of a saint.

But hear Paul: “Having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God” (Rom 5:1-2). In the same vein, Paul wrote to the Ephesians, saying that we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Christ (Eph 3:12). Put it together:

1. We have access to grace by faith in Jesus Christ.

2. We claim this access boldly and with confidence.

3. The end of this confidence is peace, joy, and hope.

Not a single person whose name is in the Lamb’s Book of Life and on God’s great Honor Roll of Faith in Hebrews 11 got there by merit. Some who have a “balance-sheet” view of salvation might reply, “Ah! But the good in their lives outweighed the bad, so when we add up the two, they came out winners.” There is a big problem. The wages of sin is death (Rom 6:23). The very first sin we commit causes an eternal death sentence to be passed upon us. Our only hope is that we never collect our wages, just as Abraham and David did not collect theirs (Rom 4:1-8).