When I was in my twenties, I joined a small group at my church. The other women in it were mostly around my age. I can remember a conversation about sin and saying aloud, “Well I’m not really that bad. I’ve not murdered anyone!”
One of my dear friends gently said to me, “You’re right. By our world’s standards, you aren’t as ‘bad’ as some of the people in our society. But we don’t live by the world’s standards. And in the Kingdom of God, the cross is the ultimate equalizer because whether you’ve sinned big or small, everyone is in need of the cross.”
That last bit hit me hard. Everyone is in need of the cross.
In Need of A Cure
You see, in the garden when Adam and Eve first sinned, they didn’t murder anyone. They were not maliciously trying to ruin anyone’s life. They didn’t lead an intentional attack on humanity. And yet, their sin was the sin of not fully believing God, which ultimately led to their disobedience. And because of their disobedience, sin entered a perfect world, and we’ve been in dire need of a Savior since then.
If our measure of goodness is “Am I better than the worst person I can imagine?” we’re asking the wrong question. The right question is, “Is there a cure to all of our sinful hearts?”
And thankfully there is.
God’s Mercy Through Christ
Ephesians 2:3-5 says, “all of us also formerly lived out our lives in the cravings of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath even as the rest…But God, being rich in mercy because of his great love with which he loved us, even though we were dead in offenses, made us alive together with Christ–by grace you are saved!”
I love those words, “But God.”
All of us are broken but God.
Every single one of us has messed up but God.
We all are subject to judgment but God!
But God, being rich in mercy, loves you and me so much that Christ came to earth and died for our sins. He paid it all on the cross. And this is why we boldly proclaim that the cross is the ultimate equalizer.
At the Foot of the Cross
All people go from sinner to saints at the foot of the cross. It’s also why we can’t boast in our salvation because we did nothing to earn it. It’s only by God’s grace that we’ve been saved! What a gift!
And so, my friend was right, and I’m so grateful for her courage in helping me understand the nature of sin (and to shine a spotlight on my self-righteous heart!). We’re all just sinners in need of a Savior at the foot of the cross. This is good news for us all: Good news for the murderer and good news for the self-righteous.
And praise God because that is good news indeed.
