One of the questions I have not heard but I’m waiting for is this, “Why, if Jesus died for the whole world, do some still go to hell?” This question is one that has rattled around in my head and I have answers for it, but I still realize I’m not likely to hear it.
I ask it from time to time because I have accepted two other things. First off, Jesus didn’t die in my place or for me per se. Jesus died as atonement for the sins of the world. That is different. In 2 Corinthians 5:21 Paul says that God made Jesus sin (the noun sin, not the verb). Literally that is what Paul said. It is as if the Father transforms the Son into the sins of the world, and then sacrifices Him on Mount Moriah. That is how Paul describes the Atonement of Jesus.
Since Jesus didn’t “die for me” or as is popular, “take my place” my response is just, “Wow! Thanks!” and then carry on my merry way. I see that and have done that, but that does not match what Scripture presents. The other half of 2 Corinthians 5:21 says that the Father made Jesus into sin “so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” In other words, the Father made Jesus into sin so He could then make me into His righteousness in Jesus. I’m going to be made into something I am not now. I will be different. So, how do I get a chance to participate in this transaction?
What I see in Scripture is that my Master initiated my relationship. As Chambers put it yesterday and refers to today, He reveals to me what He has already done on my behalf, and I believe that. I don’t bring anything of my own making or accomplishment to the party, it’s all the Master of the universe. I respond to what is revealed, and I suppose in that sense I have a choice to believe or not. What I am believing in is my Master’s identification with my sin and atonement for it, and then that I will be remade into His righteousness. I accept His solution to my problem (which requires me to accept His definition of my problem), and I accept that He will change who I am into something else; I choose to loose my identity that I have worked so hard to establish.
I want to bargain, negotiate, and offer alternatives for both the atonement and my transformation. I want partial credit for the work of Jesus, and I want to retain part of my personality. That is not how the exchange works, and it is therefore difficult to accept in this culture. Thankfully, my Master does not require me to understand it all up front. It is in some ways like making an uninformed decision, but really, once I accept His definition of my problem, accepting His solution is obvious, at least on the surface. The transformation He works in me requires me to love Him and be devoted to Him only. That is really pretty simple. I make it hard by focusing on what I’m loosing, rather than on my Master who I am gaining.
The reward is that my Master forms His righteousness in me… actually no, what happens is that I become His righteousness. That is a personal transformation into righteousness, not just a relocation of righteousness. I don’t “contain” the righteousness of my Master, I become the righteousness of my Master. Something contained within me can be relocated elsewhere and I can misplace it and so on. When I am transformed into something else, that is not so easy to “lose”. That would require another transformation to negate. The work of my Master is not so temporary as my own. My work is fairly shoddy, His work is masterful workmanship that lasts for eternity.
How is such an amazing result not worth giving up my identity? How is it that I can require more of the One having Atoned for my sin along with the sin of all human existence? What is my identity worth compared to being the righteousness of my Master? He forms stars, traces quarks, and forms me into His righteousness. Is that not enough? Do I want more? Is there something about my identity among my fallen fellows that is so precious that is becomes more valuable to me than the righteousness of the Master of all creation? I can’t think of anything. So, why is it so hard for me to let go of it? It’s not like my Master is asking me to accomplish some great task, He asks that I believe and accept His transformation of me. As much as I don’t really like hard work, you’d think I’d be all over such an offer.
The solution for me is become a fool among my fallen fellows, and not before my Master. Okay, it’s really not so far to go to become a fool before my fellows. It is much longer to stop being the fool before my Master. The choice before me is life or death, blessings or curses. Relating to my Master is life and blessings, not relating to Him is death and curses. Today, I will practice choosing life.
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