What Is Man?

What interesting thoughts run through the mind at night. And this might possibly be caused by a change in medication or the addition of one. I am extra hungry, one side effect of a new drug, so that may explain the active cogitation. How about attributing this to the work of the Holy Spirit making Himself known? I like that one. Although, He does not do it every night. It often accompanies some change in schedule or routine or, ahem, medication. But He is still the instigator.

A case in point recently kept me awake. I contracted what the doctor thinks is bronchitis and only sleep in spurts. In one of the semi-sleep episodes, my mind wandered to the idea of a Masonic lodge, particularly the ceremony enacted in memory of a departed “lodge brother,” or whatever they call themselves. It is often at a funeral.

I have only seen one such action and was mystified. I do know that some, if not many, or even all  Baptist churches, “frown on” such displays, particularly in a church service, the funeral. I questioned someone who knew more about it and received an interesting answer. I do not know if he was a Mason or not, but he offered a suggested explanation or justification for the process.

He said that it might help people to have more confidence that they are going to heaven. It was  suggested that a justification for membership was to make sure that the person had not “left anything out.” This might be a “final push” to get him over the threshold into heaven.

I immediately wondered, “What then, would be enough?” Would or should everyone join every organization and religion “just to make sure?” I asked the question but did not respond to his answer. But maybe I should have. Here is what he said.

“Jesus is ‘big enough’ to let someone have that little extra boost in confidence that he will make it.” I did not like that response. We do know that if this person has accepted Christ as Savior, he is as good as being in heaven right then. So this little “extra help” will not affect that at all, unless he was not truly sincere and recognized it. This was at a funeral, and I decided not to make a scene. But, the “help” answer is wrong on several levels. He was correct about faith. But the concept of helping Jesus save us is problematic. Here is why.

First, the item in question is not the “bigness” of Jesus. It is the faith of the person in question. The hymn, “In Christ Alone,” sums up the situation. Nothing more than Christ is needed because there is nothing more. Everything else is less. The basis of salvation is not “production” or works. It is the SUBSTITUTION of Christ’s righteousness for our unrighteousness. It has been imputed to us. Accepting Him puts us into the position of being seen by the Father as if we were His Son. And we are. Sons of God is not a euphemism or a platitude. It is a fact. I am God’s son. You are His son or daughter.

Now let’s get into a little science. I am confident that the aforementioned Holy Spirit gave me this insight. It is time to turn our attention to astrophysics. (Spoiler alert. A series is in the offing here.) We recently had an event called the Mercury Transit. On November 11, the planet Mercury passed in front of the sun. It was the same thing as an eclipse by the moon, except that the dimensions and perspectives are far different. For people with proper solar protection and a telescope, Mercury appeared as a small dot passing across the face of the sun. The same thing happens during a solar eclipse, only the body passing in front of the sun is our moon.

The major difference is the proximity between the earth and the “transiting” body. When the moon makes a transit, it, coincidentally appears to be the same size as the sun, and completely blocks our view. Providing, that is, we are in a direct line between the sun, the moon, and our observation location. It took about five and a half hours for Mercury to cross the sun’s face. The moon takes only a few minutes at the most.

Now for my inspiration. Imagine an astronaut standing on the side of the moon facing us during a full eclipse. He will strike a match at the point of full eclipse. (I know, a match would not light on the moon. There is no oxygen. Just humor me for the sake of illustration.) Would an observer on earth be able to see the match burning on the moon?

“How ridiculous!” you can and should retort. Of course we cannot see anything that small from that far away. Now let’s extend our analogy. Put an astronaut on Mercury during its transit and have him strike a match. (Technical impossibilities noted. This is a word picture. Thanks for your understanding and PERMISSION.) With the brilliance of the sun in the background, our ability to observe the flaring match would be even less. Mercury will obscure part of the light, but the match will compensate for some of the lost light. (Smile)

Back to the topic. Theologically, a Masonic rite will have as much impact on a person’s suitability for entry into heaven as the flaring match will add to the visible light from the sun. In fact, the analogy may be even more apt as placing something in place of Christ, then “lighting the match” of ritual will not increase the light observed, but actually less light will reach the observer. (Recall that Jesus’ righteousness is infinite, so that we cannot add to, nor detract from it. But that merely supports our explanation.) We can call this the practical or scientific refutation of the idea.

I already alluded to the paucity of knowledge as to how much or how many such “additions” we need to “complete the work” of Christ. And, yes, I used that term deliberately. On the cross, Jesus cried out, “It is finished!” That can be translated as “Paid in full,” or fully completed. Jesus removed any doubt or question as to the sufficiency of His sacrifice.

But, going farther, Isaiah 42:8 declares:
“I am the Lord, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another, Nor My praise to graven images.”
Isaiah 48:11 repeats the same phrase. The question is not whether God is big enough to allow us to “add a little security” to our salvation. It is whether we are humble (or wise) enough to recognize the paucity of our ability to increment His glory and work. If we can comprehend the example of Mercury and the astronaut, we can surely understand His direct statement. Just as we cannot receive more light from our astronaut lighting a match on Mercury, we cannot make a better “presentation of brightness” or holiness to God.

Adding anything else to His finished work is pride. It is foolish pride, to be precise. Nothing more is needed, and nothing more can be added. And in light of the astronomical illustration, both literal and figurative, we come to David’s declaration in Psalm 144:3.
O Lord, what is man, that You take knowledge of him? Or the son of man, that You think of him?

Oh, by the way. If we continue to travel “out” from our perspective of observing Mercury, we will pass the edge of the solar system and eventually will leave the Milky Way galaxy. We will get so far away that the galaxy itself will appear as invisible as the planet we “saw” circling the sun. And then, continuing to move away from the group of our “local galaxies,” they will diminish into invisibility.

Space is a big place. And yet, the Creator of this whole thing deigns to notice “man.” That is not the whole of mankind. It is one single person. That is David, and that is you, and that is me. “Stunning or unbelievable” are as inadequate to describe this as “very small or slight” describes the match flare billions of light-years away.

The God Who made the entire universe paid the price for my sin. Incidentally, an offense against such a Person, is a big thing, to understate it a tad. If I were to crawl on my knees in repentance and retribution to the end of the universe, my offense would be as far from being “paid in full” as it is right now. I cannot add anything to what He did.

But, sadly, I can take away from it. Not literally, of course, but in my faith, I am diminishing the sacrifice that He made. And that, I dare not do.

I did not state this, but it seems to be true. Christ plus nothing is everything. Christ plus anything is nothing. I hesitate to declare such flawed thinking as meaning that someone is “lost.” But,  thinking that we can or should add anything to what God said is the basis of every cult and false religion. The hisssssss of the serpent in the Garden was, “Did God really say...?” We can reprise it as, “Did God do enough?” He did!

Adding our, or actually, Satan’s, answer to what God said, is the fatal first step of unbelief. Jesus said, “It is finished.” It is complete. It is done.

Is this “extra push” needed? Absolutely not! Should we do it? Probably not. Does it hurt anything? Yes, it diminishes my faith.

It is enough!