removing Jesus from the equation

what if you took Jesus out of the equation?

if I were to hear just that question with no context, red flags would go up and I’d say that sounded like some type of Rob Bell question.  I mean, you can’t take Jesus out of the equation.  You can’t remove Him from the Bible.  You can’t remove Him from the Christian faith.  You just can’t.

ok but what if you did?  wait – ok, stick with me here for a minute.

at worship team practice last night, we were discussing Psalm 97.  Here are the first 7 verses -

¹ The Lord is king!
Let the earth rejoice!
Let the farthest coastlands be glad.
² Dark clouds surround him.
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
³ Fire spreads ahead of him
and burns up all his foes.
⁴ His lightning flashes out across the world.
The earth sees and trembles.
⁵ The mountains melt like wax before the Lord,
before the Lord of all the earth.
⁶ The heavens proclaim his righteousness;
every nation sees his glory.
⁷ Those who worship idols are disgraced—
all who brag about their worthless gods—
for every god must bow to him.

So you read that and if you’re like me, you think “Yeah…totally.  Wow, God – You are awesome!”  You can read all through the Old Testament of crazy accounts of God’s unfailing love and compassion, and also accounts of God’s wrath and justice.  But in the New Testament, you don’t read those same kinds of accounts – at least ones about God wiping out entire nations and requiring all these sacrifices to keep people in right standing with Him.  We don’t see these stories because…well…enter Jesus.  The ultimate sacrifice, our ultimate rescuer, the One who redeems us and restores our relationship with the Father.

I don’t know about you, but often when I read the Old Testament, I think “God, I don’t understand why You do the things You do, but I know You’re good and I know You’re just.  and I’m glad Jesus’ blood covers me.”

ok so now – what if you removed Jesus from the equation?

as we read Psalm 97 last night, I was challenged by this.  I re-read Psalm 97 with this in mind, and suddenly…God’s holiness and His righteousness hit me in a whole new way.

“Fire burns up His foes…His lightning flashes out across the world…the earth sees and trembles!  Mountains melt like wax before the Lord…those who worship idols are disgraced…every god must bow to Him…”

see, when I’ve read passages like this before, I think I’ve always kept Jesus in the back of my mind – yeah, God’s holiness and splendor is terrifying (beyond what I can comprehend, for sure)…but I’ve got Jesus.  I mean, in the New Testament, we are told we can boldly approach the throne of God because of Jesus (Heb. 4:14-16, for example).  it’s almost like I have grown accustomed to this feeling of entitlement, for lack of a better word.  I take it for granted that I can approach the throne of God because of Jesus.

but when you remove Jesus from the equation, when you read these Old Testament passages with the mentality of “ok, this is how God is and I don’t have Jesus here to vouch for me”…oh.  my.  goodness.  Our God, the Creator of the Universe who holds it all together…is terrifying.  He is Holy.  He is Righteous.  He is Just.  in His presence, sin cannot exist.  without Jesus, I would not exist in His presence.

I think by removing Jesus from the equation, I realize my sinful wretchedness in a whole new way.  and at the same time, I realize my need for an Advocate, an Ultimate Sacrifice that will cleanse me of my unrighteousness and allow me to come before the throne of the Holy God.

may we come to recognize on whole new levels the holiness and righteousness of God.  and may we fall deeper in love with our Savior, Jesus Christ.

our God is worthy.