In the letter to the Romans the Apostle Paul gives the inspired assessment of the human race in these words, “For ALL have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). The glory of God is His perfection. That is the mark that He has set for His creatures and He will tolerate nothing less. In the book of Daniel we have this doctrine illustrated in the judgment pronounced upon Belshazzar the King of Babylon. In Daniel 5:25 a hand appears and with a finger writes these words on the wall, “MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.” The interpretation by Daniel to Belshazzar was, “God has numbered your kingdom, and finished it; you have been weighed in the balances and found wanting.” It may be questioned as to how the human race could be charged with this universal failure. The illustration drawn from Daniel would help enlighten the idea. Belshazzar, being King of the great empire Babylon, acted for the entire kingdom when he desecrated the holy vessels by using them at his drunken feast. The judgment that fell on his head fell on the empire. In this I see an illustration of the judgment that fell on the human race due to the sin of Adam, the first created man who served as head and representative of his race. We read the charge in the letter to the Church at Rome in Romans 5:12, “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” Therefore, long ago, the Almighty passed judgment upon the human race in Adam, and found all men “wanting.” God placed the guilty pair, Adam and Eve with their clothing of freshly cut fig leaves, in one of the scales and the broken law in the other. The scale tipped overwhelmingly in favor of the broken law against Adam, the lawbreaker, and the race of mankind was found lacking. There is coming another day of “balancing;’ the scripture terms it the day of final judgment. All of Adam’s descendants will be present and that day will be set for personal examination. In other words if you don’t like the Judge’s decision on Adam as your representative, you will have your day in court. The conditions will not be altered; you will yet be judged in accordance with the demands compliance in word, thought, and deed from birth to death. How do you think you will fare? If you are not an unreasonable beast you know how you will fare, “Found Wanting!” Let me exhort you to flee to Christ for refuge, for “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth.” Oh may we, with Paul, “count all our moral excellencies as dung (garbage) that we may win Christ, and be found in Him, not having our own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by Faith” (Philippians 3:8-9).
Older
Top
