“My God, My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me?” (Psalm 22:1)

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?
Psalm 22:1

Enter the very heart-cry of our Savior upon the cross. The words of king David became the words of King Jesus as he hung bloody, beaten, and bruised.

Do you realize what it meant for the Son of Man to utter these words? The Scriptures say darkness covered the land in those last hours (Mk 15:33). What the onlookers saw around them was only a shadow compared to the internal darkness Jesus experienced on the cross. The wrath of our sin. Placed on him. Who knew no sin. He should have never uttered these words.

But see his great love! Jesus bore the punishment we deserved. There must be punishment for sin. We should have been the ones hanging there, experiencing the hell of being utterly forsaken by God. Yet Jesus chose to be our substitute. The only One free from corruption, blameless in his thoughts and deeds—the only One who should have never paid the due price for sin!—this Jesus stood in the sinner’s place.

Do we realize the ugliness of sin? Do we recognize what it costs us? Look no further than Jesus on the cross. Here is a marred, disfigured, grueling picture of sin’s price. Every thorn that pierced his brow reminds us of the shame of every sin. Every lash relinquished on his back reveals the uncountable record of debt we owe. The nails in his hands, the suffocating breaths, the crushing weight of gravity suspending him by a crucifix — here is the pounding guilt we feel in our deepest sins. Yet all of this was placed on him.

Do you see the beauty of grace? Jesus forsaken became our salvation. Justice demanded the cross, but so did mercy. If Jesus did not take your place, you would still owe the punishment for your sin: you would eventually say, “God, why have you forsaken me?” But Jesus owned these words for you. Out of mercy, the Father provided a perfect substitute. Jesus was spotless, pure, innocent. Yet on the day of his crucifixion he was also silent, led like a lamb to the slaughter. He did not defend himself. This was a willing surrender. When he could have called down angels with a loud voice, he instead allowed sinners to verbally abuse him. When he could have waved a hand in power to dismantle his enemies, he willingly stretched them out to be pierced for our transgressions. When he did speak, it was because he bore the weight of our sin: “God, why have you forsaken me?”

Let his words be the assurance of your salvation. When you are guilty, flee to this moment. Your sin was laid there upon him. You have been crucified with him. If he has done this “once for all,” O sinner, then he cannot undo his sacrifice. Believe this by faith: Jesus will never go back on these words. He was forsaken in your place. Therefore you will never have to be.

Do What Makes You Happy..?

“The wicked are estranged from the womb; they go astray from birth, speaking lies.”
Psalm 58:3

In our culture it is very easy to dismiss what the Bible says concerning human nature. Generally, our world proposes that human beings are naturally good people who sometimes do bad things. They advocate that any intensely wayward behavior or disorder can be chalked up to a malnourished childhood, societal oppression, or simply an unmet need. When human nature is given such a benevolent stroke of sincerity, almost any action can therefore be justifiable. For instance, the world may say: “Are you unhappy in your marriage? If so, it is not because of you, oh poor friend, it’s because of that other person who just isn’t right for you! Just leave and do what makes you happy.”

Do what makes you happy. That is the whisper of the world today. But oh, how foolish we are to believe the lie. We imagine and paint scenarios in our minds of the “good life”; we fantasize what life on “the other side” may look like. We play god by living off our desires. No, we let our desires become our god.

Oh please do not miss the psalmist’s words today: the wicked are estranged from the womb. This is the natural state of any human being. From the womb we know evil, as we grow we do evil, and as we are old we seek evil. It is not to say we are as terrible and despicable as we could be; rather, it is to say that our desires are naturally bent towards throwing off the chains of God’s authority. It is not necessarily pure-evil-all-the-time behavior, but it is a daily waywardness which takes the form of living for the god “ME.” It is not even doing the most heinous of crimes, but it is daily participating in the first crime: pride before God. You see, being wicked from the womb is our natural state. We naturally rebel against the Lord and His anointed, Jesus Christ. We are naturally at odds with our Creator.

Oh reader, how I implore you to understand the state of your condition apart from God’s rescue of your life. Without Him, how can you do any eternal good? All you know is to live for yourself and your kingdom. Yes you may truly “care” for others, but what is that worth when all is said and done? The best way to live your life is to bring others to God; but how can you do so if you refuse His complete authority and rule in your life?

Reader, this is why you need a Savior. You may try your ‘best’ — and some people say that God accepts your ‘best’ — but I’m sorry to tell you that even your ‘best’ effort is still a dirty rag to a holy God (Isa 64:6). You are still under His judgment for your rebellion.

But praise be to God for sending His very Son, God in the flesh, to bear your sin upon a cross. Forgiveness is offered to you if you will accept it. Do you see your need? Will you accept God’s grace?

You’re a Liar

What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? By no means! Let God be true though every one were a liar…”
Romans 3:3-4a

Some people make the claim that they do not believe in Jesus because of how hypocritically His people act. Fair enough: there are some pretty foul sinners out there who have been saved by grace and are still learning to daily crucify their self-ambition through that same grace. What these unbelievers do not realize about their reason for disbelief is that they are falling into a fallacy of reason; they are throwing the “baby out with the bath water,” as it were.

Listen to the apostle Paul’s answer to this objection, just as relevant in our day as it was when it was inspired. “What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God?” In other words, “so what if there are those out there who claim to follow God but don’t live lives to back it up: does that change in any way the truths of God displayed in Jesus Christ?” By no means! Even if every “Christian” scorned the grace of God by dwelling in sin, God would still be true.

Pay attention reader, for this is important: nothing can change the objective truths of God’s character revealed in Jesus Christ. Do you understand that? Jesus has fully revealed the nature of God to us: His goodness, righteousness, holiness, faithfulness, love, mercy, graciousness, omnipotence, wisdom, and sovereignty. Therefore, do not think for one minute that a mere human—a creature of dust, limited, frail, here-for-one-moment-then-gone-the-next—can nullify the faithfulness of God displayed in Jesus Christ! It cannot be! “Let God be true, though every one were a liar”

Sadly, many people stumble in their belief of Jesus because they are looking through the messy kaleidoscope of his professing followers. They see nothing but hypocrisy, “fundamentalism,” and power-grabbing for positions of influence through narrow dogmatic claims. “Bigots,” they say, “you can’t even live up to what Jesus asks of you!”

I will admit, there is some truth to their claims. How? Because every Christian who has placed their faith in Jesus will be a hypocrite at some point in their lives. Why? Because we “still live in the flesh.” We all will scorn the grace of God. None of us is perfect.

But doesn’t this prove exactly why we needed Jesus in the first place? Oh, how we all are hypocrites in need of grace! How we all have scorned the faithfulness of God by our own faithlessness towards Him! Isn’t this the point? God has chosen to save worthless wretches—not on any merit of our own—but through His sheer kindness and goodness, sending His Son to bear our sins for us. What good news! This is so that “no man may boast.” God receives all the glory for saving worthless sinners.

If this be the case, I admit my hypocrisy! Lord Jesus, cleanse and renew me to follow you with an upright and pure heart. I don’t want unbelievers to stumble over my life; rather, I want it to point to Your sinless, perfect life on my behalf. Lord God, let every man be a liar if it makes Your glory shine all the more powerfully in your saving grace. Amen.