THE EDEN SYNDROME

Obadiah 1-21; Revelation 4:1-11; Psalm 132:1-18; Proverbs 29:24-25

“You have been deceived by your own pride because you live in a rock fortress and make your home high in the mountains. ‘Who can ever reach us way up here?’ you ask boastfully. ‘But even if you soar as high as eagles and build your nest among the stars, I will bring you crashing down,’ says the Lord. ‘If thieves came at night and robbed you (what a disaster awaits you!), they would not take everything. Those who harvest grapes always leave a few for the poor. But your enemies will wipe you out completely! Every nook and cranny of Edom will be searched and looted. Every treasure will be found and taken. All your allies will turn against you. They will help to chase you from your land. They will promise you peace while plotting to deceive and destroy you. Your trusted friends will set traps for you, and you won’t even know about it. At that time not a single wise person will be left.’”

“Whenever the living beings give glory and honor and thanks to the one sitting on the throne (the one who lives forever and ever), the twenty-four elders fall down and worship the one sitting on the throne (the one who lives forever and ever). And they lay their crowns before the throne and say, ‘You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power. For you created all things, and they exist because you created what you pleased.’”

“Let us go to the sanctuary of the Lord; let us worship at the footstool of his throne.”

“If you assist a thief, you only hurt yourself. You are sworn to tell the truth, but you dare not testify. Fearing people is a dangerous trap, but trusting the Lord means safety.”

The idea that we somehow deserve heaven is a very insidious presumption that not only erodes the majesty and mystery of grace but can result in true alienation of faith. For example, many people – even “good” Christians - actually refuse to accept the idea of Hell because it contrasts with their idea of a loving God. “Oh, surely,” they reason, “God would not allow Bob to go to Hell. Bob’s a great guy. He doesn’t go to church, and he isn’t much for religion, that’s true. But he does a lot for the community, is a wonderful father and husband and almost single-handedly got the new park built. Surely, there’s room in heaven for a nice guy like Bob.” This is an assumption of the worst sort. It lulls Bob, and us, into believing there’s no real need for a relationship with Christ. That assumption could not be more wrong, or more deadly.

The same flaw enters into our reasoning when we assume that God would not condemn practitioners of other religions, for example, “because they never had a chance” to hear of or claim Christ as Savior. What of those who followed Baal? They surely got no breaks. The Bible says Creation itself provides enough of a clue of God’s existence and our need to be reunited with Him. Regardless, the hard truth is that God is not an insurance policy or a probation officer. Divine Holiness just does not, can not, allow for even a single exception that would undermine its foundations. Never has there been any Scriptural suggestion that one who does not follow the Lord as He is and for Who He is will ever see Heaven. We simply deceive ourselves and others when we argue to the contrary.

Let us be absolutely, irrevocably clear on this point, because it is critical. Not a one of us is ever going to get into Heaven because we deserve it. The spiritual status quo is NOT that everyone makes the team. Quite the contrary, in fact: without graceful intervention, we can be sure we are destined for an eternity apart from the Giver of Life. Those who do not even sign on to be considered for the Lord’s team can have no logical expectation of any eternity except Hell. Eternal life is not awarded to those who simply say they’ve signed up, either. Even a lot of people who do try out won’t make the cut or stay on the team. As painful as it may be to realize, Heaven will be denied to a lot of folks who thought they’d made the grade. That’s just the way things are, and wishing them otherwise has absolutely no impact on their reality.

I know I risk alienating some today. This unbending word can be interpreted as dogmatism by those who choose to reject it. So be it. That, too, is mere belief. They are entitled to their opinions, but their opinions have no relevancy to factual truth. Entering into the final days of this journey, I am compelled to plainly state that, in some form or fashion, Jesus Christ is an indispensible, non-negotiable component of every act of salvation. His Grace is offered and will be given to all those who ask and are willing to receive. It also will be denied to all who scoff at the idea, and we must be equally clear about that if we are to be true to Him.

Nevertheless, we must never presume to judge for God. Our attitude as Christians should include equal parts gratitude, compassion and evangelism. We are grateful, radically grateful, to be the beneficiaries of grace. We remain compassionate and tender-hearted toward those who have not come to accept their need for grace, as well as for those who pridefully reject the very concept. We work our tails off to help the Lord bring as many of our fellow human beings into His house as will accept the invitation.

We all want Bob to get into Heaven. We’d like to think he (like we) deserves it. But this idea is just part of the same “Eden Syndrome” that compels us to attempt to remake God in our own image. We don’t enjoy meditating on judgment and wrath, so we focus on His forgiveness and love. Pretty soon, we have reduced His Holiness to our own latter day version of divine tolerance. We neuter grace by refusing to accept that we did not have it coming all along. We reject the idea that any particular faith has a lock on God, and are much more comfortable with the claim that each religion has part of the truth. Must we say it again? Our opinions are completely irrelevant to God, except to the extent they pull or push us farther away from Who He really is. What we believe does not change what is. None of us, absolutely no one, deserves Heaven. There will be a Final Judgment. We cheapen grace when we presume that anything else (and especially, nothing at all) will get us into our Father’s house. On that score, we could not be more wrong.