There Must Be Something More

66 | Blood-Stained Cross

"Hey, man," Trey came in with a plateful of cake. He was chewing as he made his way to the side of my bed.

"You need more rest," he said.

"Yeah," I said, pulling the covers to my chin.

"So, want to hear more about Pastor James's teaching on Worship Night and last Sunday's service?" He asked.

"Yes."

Trey sighed and looked up, thinking hard. He stroked his chin thoughtfully and clenched his jaw. Then he smiled and looked at me. "Similarly, in the case of Nathaniel in John 1:43-51. Nathaniel was an Israelite brought up under the law in deed, not just in word, in whom there was no guile; there was no deceit in his heart. Obviously the law was a schoolmaster to bring this godly Jew to Christ.

"Similarly with the Jews on the day of Pentecost in Acts chapter 2. They were devout Jews, godly Jews, who, therefore, ate, drank, and slept God's law. Matthew Henry, the Bible commentator, said the reason they were gathered together on the day of Pentecost was to celebrate the giving of God's law on Mt. Sinai.

"So when Peter stood up to preach to these godly Jews, he didn't preach wrath. No, the law works wrath; they knew that. He didn't preach righteousness or judgment. No, no.

"He just told them the good news of the fine being paid for, and they were pricked in their hearts and cried, 'Men and brethren, what shall we do?' (vs. 37). The law was a schoolmaster to bring them to Christ that they might be justified through faith in His blood. And the hymn-writer said, 'By God's word at last my sin I learned; then I trembled at the law I'd spurned, till my guilty soul imploring turned to Calvary.'

"Timothy, chapter 1, verse 8, says, "But we know that the law is good if it used lawfully for the purpose for which it was designed." God's law is good if it's used lawfully for the purpose for which it was designed. Well, what was the law "designed" for? The following verse tells us: "The law was not made for a righteous man but for sinners." It even lists the sinners: homosexuals, fornicators. If you want to bring a homosexual to Christ, don't get into an argument with him over his perversion; he's ready for you with his boxing gloves on. No, no. Give him the ten commandments. The law was made for homosexuals. Show him that he is damned despite his perversion."

I nodded. At the midst of all this, I grabbed a notepad from my bedside table and started taking notes. My hands trembled and turned cold as I did. The revelation sent me chills to the bones. I could feel the strong conviction of the Holy Spirit through it.

Trey continued, "If you want to bring a Jew to Christ, lay the weight of the law upon him; let it prepare his heart for grace as happened on the day of Pentecost. If you want to bring a Muslim to Christ, give him the law of Moses; they accept Moses as a prophet. Well, give them the law of Moses and strip them of their self-righteousness and bring them to the foot of a blood-stained cross.

"Think of the woman caught in the act of adultery (John 8:1-11). Violation of the seventh commandment. The law called for her blood (Lev. 20:10). She found herself in between a rock and a hard place. She had no avenue but to fling herself at the feet of the Son of God for mercy; and that is the function of God's law.

"Paul spoke of being shut up under the law (Gal. 3:23). It condemns. You say, 'You can't condemn sinners.' Saints, they're already condemned. John 3, verse 18: 'He that believes not is condemned already.' All the law does is show him himself in his true state."

I nodded in deep agreement. Until then I had not realized how sinful I was, even becoming a Christian. I was still a sinner. But I am saved from my sins and that gave me peace unspeakable.

"Imagine it in this scenario," Trey said, "Your table needs dusting in your living room. So you dust it clean; all the dust is gone. Then you draw back the curtains and let in the early morning sunlight. What do you see on the table? Dust. What do you see in the air? Dust. Did the light create the dust? No, the light merely exposed the dust.

"And when you and I take the time to draw back the curtains of the holy of holies and let the light of God's law shine upon the sinner's heart, all that happens, is that he sees himself in truth. 'The commandment is a lamp and the law is light' (Prov. 6:23). That's why Paul said, 'By the law is the knowledge of sin' (Rom. 3:20). That's why he said, 'By the commandment sin became exceedingly sinful' (Rom. 7:13). In other words, the law showed him sin in its true light."

I smiled. I couldn't wait to hear more. I'd sacrifice my resting time for it if I had to.

And then a knock on the door. Trey stood and opened it. Meredith stood. Her brown hair long and low under her pink strawberry baseball cap. She wore an unsightly pink dress that could have damaged my eyesight if it was any more neon, and the click of her boots never went away. So did her smile.

"How's my favorite patient?" She asked.

"Now you sound like Nurse Emily," I said.

She giggled. "What are you guys talking about?"

"Hell's Best Kept Secret," Trey said. He leaned back and smiled. "Want to join us?"

"Okay," she said, sitting down the cold ground cross-legged. Her knees were hopping excitedly as she did so. She patted Trey's knee and said, "Go on, go on!"

Trey and I exchanged smiles.

"Now, Pastor James is a strong believer in following in the footsteps of Jesus. Never, ever, would he approach someone and say, "Jesus loves you." Totally unbiblical; there's no precedent for that in Scripture. Neither would he go up to someone and say, 'I'd like to talk to you about Jesus Christ.'

"Why? Because if I wanted to awaken you from a deep sleep, I wouldn't use a flashlight in your eyes. That will offend you. I'd turn on the light dimmer very gently. First, the natural, then the spiritual. Why? Because 'the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God; neither can he know them. They are foolishness to him because they are spiritually understood' (1Cor. 2:14)."

I scribbled more notes in my notepad. I wondered how much I'd be writing down. But I didn't complain.