ALL OUR DAYS … AS A TALE THAT IS TOLD

We share a common beginning to the tale of our life with every man and woman in the world today. Despite the many objec­tions made by philosophers and theologians, our history is bound up with that of the first man, Adam. We share in his origi­nal sin and, because of it, we are ‘by nature the children of wrath, even as others’, Eph. 2. 3.

Although we had no control over how our story began, we do have a responsibility for how it will end. ‘They lived happily ever after’ is a genuine possibility for believers because Christ has balanced Adam’s one act of disobedience in Eden by His one act of obedience at Calvary. The human race is now aligned to two federal heads - Adam and Christ. When the final count is made, and the tale is told, through them, many will be ‘made sin­ners’ and many ‘made righteous’, Rom. 5. 19.

When the gospel is presented, many people object to being called sinners because they have not committed murder, adul­tery, or any of what they consider to be gross sins. Paul came to understand the truth of the sinful nature within. There was a time when he could boast that as ‘touching the righteousness which is in the law’, he was blameless, Phil. 3. 6. But he came to see himself as the chief of sinners, 1 Tim. 1. 15. It is vital that people address their sinful condition in time, for once their tale is told, it cannot be altered. Some of the most chilling words in scripture are found in the last chapter, ‘He that is unjust, let him be unjust still; and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still’, Rev. 22. 11. Nature formed the character and death set the character for all eternity.

The believer must also recognize that once our tale is told it cannot be undone. It is a common misconception that our mis­takes, failures and sins can be undone at the judgement seat of Christ. But the judgement seat is a place of review, ‘That every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad’, 2 Cor. 5. 10. That is why Paul sought to have the judgement seat before him every day. He reviewed and adjusted his life so that, whether present or absent from the body, he was ‘accepted of him’, 2 Cor. 5. 9.