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Title:
"EXCUSE
ME, PLEASE"
Author:
Dr. Jay E. Adams
"There
hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man:
but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye
are able;
but will with the temptation also make a way to escape,
that ye may be able to bear it."
I
Corinthians 10:13
"But
if you had to live with a wife like mine . . ." Listen, pastor - no
one has ever had to face anything comparable to this at work
before." "But the other kids' parents don't make rules
like mine do." Well, you'd have done it too, if he had said that to
you!"
These, and a hundred and one similar protests are heard daily by
Christian counselors. Boiled down, they all say one thing:
"Please excuse me from my responsibility to live like a Christian,
on the grounds that my problem is unique."
But is it? Does God ever allow a Christian to face a test that is
utterly unique? Even if He does, would that be an adequate excuse?
In
an unmistakably clear reply, Paul says "No! You cannot evade your
responsibility to think and act like a Christian by pleading that your
case is unique." As a matter of fact, he shows that no case
is unique. Listen to his words in I Corinthians 10:13: There
is no trial that has overtaken you but such as is common to men."
To begin with, let's nail down one thing: I Corinthians 10:13
allows for no exceptions of the sort that many of us are inclined to
make for ourselves. Our sin simply cannot be excused.
The reason why Paul declares that there are no exceptions is that at
bottom all men in all times face the same basic problems. There are no
special cases. That is why in this chapter Paul can appeal to history of
God's dealings with the Jews in the days of Moses when writing to a
Gentile church in Corinth that outwardly, at least, seemed to be facing
quiet different cultural problems. Looking beneath the surface of
time, geography, language and culture, Paul said, "These things
happened" to the Jews, but they are "examples to you upon whom
the ends of the ages have come." Of course, he says the same
to you and me today.
To be sure, there are unique features to each problem. No two
situations are ever exactly alike. But what Paul insists upon is
that beneath these features you will find that the problems of the Jews
in the wilderness, the temptations of the Corinthians in the Roman
empire, and the frustrations of modern day Americans are not
significantly different. God has not changed; His commandments
have not been altered; and sinful man below his modern sophisticated
exterior is still the same. Men today stand in the same
relationship to God and to one another as they did in biblical times.
Therefore, the message of the Bible is as fresh today as when Paul's
scroll was first unrolled and read in Corinth. Sinful men, who
disobey the law of God, still find that God's message of forgiveness in
Scripture is the only answer to this life's most fundamental problem.
That message tells of Jesus Christ who became man in order to live and
die in the place of His elect people. He too faced the hunger,
misunderstandings, hatred, discouragements and excruciating pain that we
endure. He also knew the difficulty of making agonizing decisions,
stark loneliness in the midst of a superficial and fickle crowd, the
bitterness of betrayal by companions and denial by those with whom He
had openly shared His love. Yes, He was "tested in all points
. . . yet without sin." If ever a man might have pleaded for
exemption on the grounds that His case was unique, He might have done
so. Yet He never shirked His responsibility to God or His
neighbor. No, God's truly unique Son became one of us, not only to
save His own from the wrath to come by dying for their sins on the
cross, but also to live a holy life fully satisfying all of God's
requirements on their behalf, so that His righteousness might be counted
to them when they trust in Him as Saviour.
Since He, without sin, experienced for us all that we must experience
today, He knows that by His grace His redeemed children can follow in
His steps. That is why He who knows our problems through and through
from personal experience says: "There is no trial that has
overtaken you but such as is common to men." If He says so,
you may count on it! And you may also count on the fact that He
will hold you responsible to meet each problem as God commands.
Christian, there are no special cases. Christ Himself has
demonstrated that by His life and death, and He expects you to do the
same. In a day in which the Freudian ethic of irresponsibility
permeates every aspect of society, and men find it stylish to blame
their sinful behavior upon someone else, Jesus Christ calls you to live
a life of responsibility.
There is no ground for failing to "turn the other cheek" or to
"do good to those who despitefully use you." Christ
prayed for you and died for you though you have been His enemy. He
took the responsible course to Calvary.
When He took upon Himself the common lot of men, Jesus showed once and
for all how God expects His children to live and die. So,
Christian, throw off excuses, stop shifting blame to others, and
instead, by the power of God's Spirit, "walk in a manner worthy of
the calling wherewith you have been called."
Dr. Jay E. Adams
Excerpt taken from "Christ and Your Problems"
©1971 Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, Michigan
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