The Rabbi's Tell

So there I was, eating something that I'd picked up on a low-level search and destroy run through my parents' kitchen. I had been enjoying their hospitality (and their central air conditioning) when I hear this contentious ruckus coming from the TV. There, on CNN was this very up-tight looking preacher being given the third degree by an anchor who probably knows nothing more about Christianity than what she is smugly reading from the teleprompter.

This pastor is being raked over the coals for the audacity of his church to display a message on their marquee that raised the possibility that just maybe, perhaps, the devastation of the Gulf Coast by Katrina was a wake up call from God. I have rarely seen such a display of animosity as was leveled at this pastor, and I have to say that even though his body language was WAY up-tight, the words that he was saying in defense of the message were sound.

Now you need to understand. I generally roll my eyes at messages put out on church marquees. I think that most of them are trite rather than clever, and I think that they tend to do more harm than good. There is one on the way to my parents' home that I almost universally disagree with. Either the content or spirit of what they are saying seems out of line to me. Thus, I would tend to not be pulling for the pastor in an exchange over a marquee. This poor fellow wasn't doing himself any favors either with his body language. He was clearly back on his heels.

Then the anchor announces that she has brought in Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, from TLC's Shalom In The Home to discuss this usefulness of this sign. I had seen Rabbi Shmuley's show before. It is kind of schmaltzy, but he seemed to have a sweet spirit, and I thought the name of the show was cool, so I had a very positive opinion of him. I was sure that he would bring in a reasonable, cool response that would calm the harpy in the anchor chair down a bit.

I couldn't have been more wrong.

What followed was a level of self-righteous invective that made the anchor's ranting seem serene by comparison. Rabbi Shmuley literally yelled at the pastor for the remainder of the segment about how religious people are supposed to somehow become an advocate before God and calm Him down before He destroys the lot of us.

The pastor's response was sound. He reiterated time and time again that our job is to warn people about their sin and the eternal, dreadful consequences of that sin. Rabbi Shmuley would have none of it.

So, what is it about the message of this church that sent an otherwise calm and serene Rabbi into mouth-foaming histrionics?

Before I take even one step further I want to make something ABUNDANTLY clear: I absolutely do not in any way shape or form hate Jews, Judaism, Israel, or God. On the contrary, I love my Jewish friends very much and consider myself an "ingrafted" Jew. I am of Abraham's spiritual seed and long for the day when his natural seed recognize Jeshua of Nazareth as their Messiah who has come and who is coming again. The day that happens will fill my heart with great joy. In the meantime, I work among my Christian brethren to dispel the lies of Replacement Theology that they have believed.

That being said, it is very evident to me why both Rabbi Shmuley and the CNN anchor responded to this message in such a rabid fashion: the message of this marquee was exposing the lie under which they are living. To be more explicit: if the destruction from Katrina was a wake up call from God, then I'm not OK and you're not OK.

Rabbi Shmuley certainly must know from his own scriptures that God throughout history has used calamity to get people's attention. There are notable cases where no sin was involved and yet calamity came (Job comes immediately to mind), but by in large there are VERY MANY accounts throughout the Jewish scriptures (also included in the Christian scriptures) that very explicitly state that war, or disaster, or famine, or any number of other bad things came upon the various peoples of the world as a direct result of their sin and as a means of God to bring repentance to those people. I'm not going to enumerate these examples, but you could just about open the books of the Bible between Genesis and Malachi at random and point.

Does anyone REALLY want to challenge the notion that New Orleans was (and in many ways still is) a very sinful and decadent city? If so, your GOOD vs BAD meter is broken.

Now, to be honest, the chick on the news was probably trying to impress the guys in the comfy office by her ability to ambush a guest on her show. Thus, she is irrelevant to me. I don't expect much of her. She probably never gives religion even a second thought - although she probably "prays" to "someone" she calls "God."

It's Rabbi Shmuley that really tipped his hand. Anger is a very common response to fear. See, as much as the good Rabbi knows that the scriptures are rife with accounts of God trying to get mankind's attention via calamity, he must as assuredly be quite aware that he falls far short of the requirements of the 10 Commandments - let alone the entire requirement of the law as disclosed in the Torah. He must be acutely aware that there is no atonement left to him under the law of the Torah. The Temple was destroyed in 70 AD and the sacrifices for the atonement of the sins of Israel haven't been offered since.

Thus he is in a quandary. He has had to figure out some way to relieve his conscience. The law says that for atonement to be secured there must be a shedding of blood. The law also says that he can't just buy a goat from the farmer down the road and kill it in the back yard. The atoning sacrifice must be made by the High Priest and taken into the very presence of God manifested about the Ark of the Covenant. I think I already mentioned that the temple has been destroyed for 1937 years? Currently there is an abomination standing in the place where the temple stood. Boy, this is a mess.

He really only has a few choices: 1) He can give up on religion entirely and convince himself that it's all just a big hoax. (i.e. ignore it and hope it will go away) 2) He can try to come up with a new compromise that will make up for his sin while he is quietly praying that the temple will somehow be rebuilt and sacrifices will begin again. (i.e. ignore it because he is powerless to do anything about it) 3) However, if it worked while there wasn't a temple, is the sacrifice really necessary? Can't you just meditate on the sacrifices that were offered before the Romans ruined everything? (i.e. still ignoring it and hoping it will go away) 4) He can acknowledge that he is a sinner and face the consequences of that knowledge.

Well, it is obvious that he hasn't chosen #1. I'd say he is probably with #3 if you asked him. But the real truth of the matter is that his response to this pastor revealed what he knows at the core of his being: he is a sinner facing the wrath of God.

I am a procrastinator by nature. I am also more of a passive-aggressive type of fellow. I tend to go for a diplomatic solution or postpone a solution when I am faced with a situation that I'm pretty sure I am not equipped to handle. However, procrastinate as I may I am always forced to face that thing that I am fearing head-on from time to time. The experience is typically terrifying and can generally ruin an otherwise good day.

Most non-Christian people are procrastinators too. (At least in regards to doing something about their sin and its consequence.) The Bible tells us that every one of us is aware of our sin. We are aware of the fact that we aren't perfect. And something deep down inside of us tells us that perfection is the standard. That's why we come up with these little "I'm OK and You're OK" slogans. They make us feel better. We decide that "God is love" means that God can't be wrathful and angry too. It helps us to avoid the eventuality that all lost people sense in their deepest being: a reckoning is coming. If God is love, then a loving God certainly couldn't send someone to hell. Right?

Wrong.

If you have been reading this blog at all lately, you will know that I have been reading and pondering Jonathan Edwards' "Sinners In The Hands of An Angry God." This sermon has galvanized in me a realization that there are a whole bunch of really nice people - people I know and like - who are headed for the eternal wrath of God. The thought terrifies me. I wish I only had a deeper revelation of its reality.

So how can a loving God send someone to hell? In reality, God doesn't. He made a provision for us to escape His wrath and then gave us a choice as to whether we want to accept it or not. Each individual makes a decision to either accept the provision that God has made to rescue them from His wrath or to reject it. That choice determines our final destination. Our sin punches our ticket to hell. And in case you missed it earlier - no one is without sin. Therefore, if we do nothing else, hell is where we will end up. But here is the good news:

Even though the temple sacrifices have been defunct for ages, blood has been shed to cleanse away the sin of anyone who would ask. Jesus - God's Son - willingly gave his life so that we could be granted fellowship with God and spared His wrath. This happened because God loves us so much. This is God's love. God's justice required that the sacrifice be made to pay the penalty for our sin. Why did God do this for us? I wouldn't have paid so high a price. But because God's love is so great for us He did. We certainly didn't deserve it but He did it anyway. Just astounding.

Now He has issued the call to anyone who will accept salvation ON HIS TERMS. There is only one way to be saved and that is through Jesus Christ. I can't say this forcefully enough: there aren't many paths to God - only one. It isn't politically correct, but it is true.

You are now faced with a question. If you have already believed that Jesus died for your sins and if you have asked Him to save you then you're good. You don't have to worry about hell - at least not for yourself. However, if you haven't, you are staring down both barrels of God's eternal wrath. Here is your opportunity to avoid this fate. God said that anyone who wanted to could come to Him. The offer is open to all. You don't have to get clean before you come to Him. The offer is for Him to clean you. You have already demonstrated that you cannot clean yourself. It doesn't matter what you have done. Even if you have put Christians to death in the name of your god, you can still come and receive pardon. The offer has been made to so many, but so few have actually received it. Will you?