CHRISTIAN ROCK CAFE

[excel]

The Bridge Christian Fellowship
The Pastor’s Pen


In today’s American political dialogue, immigration is the centerpiece of the greatest, most heated debate. And, included in any controversy involving immigration, is the infamous “wall.” Many Americans are for the wall; many Americans are against the wall. Hence, the great debate.

Without getting bogged down in political mud-slinging, I do find it interesting, if not amusing, that many of the politicos and celebrities most opposed to the wall, live in mansions surrounded by huge walls and personal security details. Curious, indeed.

Throughout the history of man, populations of people have erected walls to secure the safety of those within and prevent entry to those who are not part of the community. This is true in ancient, medieval, and modern history. In today’s American culture, many middle-class and upper-middle class people live in gated communities. I live in an extremely rural setting with a drive way more than a third of a mile long. Guess what? I have a locked gate at the bottom of the hill.

In fact, this may surprise you, but God has erected a wall, and the wall has one purpose. It is to keep those who do not belong in His Kingdom out. Before you get upset with me, think back to the garden of Eden. After Adam and Eve sinned, God clothed them and then drove them out of the garden, away from His presence. In the moment of Adam and Eve’s willful sin, all of mankind became unfit for the Kingdom of God. Our own sin became a wall of separation between God and man.

“For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God,” Paul declared adamantly in Romans 3:23. Jew, Gentile, male, female, young, old, black, white, brown. Democrat, Republican, Socialist, Independent, Libertarian: ALL have sinned!

Our Holy God cannot fellowship with sin and will not tolerate it in His presence. In fact, while Jesus hung on the cross as our substitute to pay the debt for our sin against God (”But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8), God turned His holy back on Jesus. “My God, my God, why have you forsaken Me?” cried out our Savior.

Each and every one of us are born into the kingdom of mankind. Regardless of our status or ethnicity, we all came into this world the same way. Yet, according to God’s Word, all of us were born as foreigners to God’s glorious kingdom. We were born on the wrong side of the wall of separation. In Ephesians 2:12, the Apostle Paul states it this way, “In those days you were living apart from Christ. You were excluded from citizenship among the people of Israel, and you did not know the covenant promises God had made to them. You lived in this world without God and without hope.”

The wall that separates us from God’s Kingdom is too high and too thick for us men to climb over or penetrate. But, there is good news. God has placed a door in His wall. It is the only way into His kingdom. The door is Jesus. This is why He said, “I am the way, the truth and the life; no man comes to the Father but through Me” (John 14:6). In John 10:9, Jesus said it this way, “Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved. They will come and go freely and will find good pastures.”

Unfortunately, most people try to scale the wall via their own good works, church attendance, religious affiliations, etc. These feeble, worthless, man-made attempts will not work. “It’s not by works of righteousness which I have done, but according to God’s mercy that He saved me” (Titus 3:15). Jesus made this statement: “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it” (Matthew 7:13,14).

Personally, I am not concerned about your opinions regarding the border wall, but I am very concerned about your opinion regarding the “Gate Debate.” To summarize, you and I were born separated from God. Our own sin walled us off from His presence. Jesus died on the cross, shedding His blood to pay our sin debt in full. Anyone who places his or her faith in Christ’s redemptive sacrifice is cleansed of all of their sin and made fit for God’s Kingdom. Jesus is the only gate that allows us access to God. Which side of the wall are you on?