Crossing The Line

Good News –July/August 2016 – Grace & Truth Magazine

Crossing The Line

“Whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point ... is guilty.” —James 2:10 NKJV

We all saw it! Those who attended the XXIX Olympiad in Beijing and those who followed it on television shared the delight of the leading 200-meter sprinter as he crossed the finish line. Jubilant scenes of celebration followed as, swathed in his country’s flag, the runner set off on a victory lap. The celebration was, however, short lived. Television replays showed that there had been a lane infringement: He had fleetingly crossed over into another competitor’s lane and was disqualified!

The unbelieving gasp from the crowd drew the runner’s eyes to the big screen, and in dismay his celebration turned to disbelief and finally to dejection as the truth sank in. Just one little mistake, just a few small steps over the lane marker and now he could not claim his prize. He was indeed disqualified.

Up to that point he had done everything right. In this very race he has been careful to avoid making a false start. Now despite his best efforts, all had been in vain. He had broken the rules and he had to face the penalty.

The athlete is like so many of us who believe that we need to keep the commandments to be accepted by God, not realizing that all our attempts will fail. No matter how hard we try, our sinful nature will cause us to err in thought, word or deed.

All of us are prone to miss the mark, even if only in some small detail. This is emphasized in the encounter which the Bible records between the Lord Jesus and a young man who insisted that he had kept all the commandments from his youth. In responding to his claim, the Lord challenged Him with the words, “One thing you lack” (Mk. 10:21).

Our best efforts are inadequate to meet the holy standards of a righteous God. At times we delude ourselves into thinking that we’re all right. But the Bible reminds us, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). Like the athlete, we have crossed the line; we have transgressed. Born with a sinful nature, we often miss the mark and commit sinful acts. This is true of all of us: “If we say that we have no sin we deceive ourselves ... If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us” (1 Jn. 1:8,10).

The disqualified sprinter was reminded the hard way that there are consequences for breaking the rules. But while “the soul who sins shall die” (Ezek. 18:20), and while the righteous judgment of God must be carried out, God in His love has devised a way to forgive those of us who are guilty of transgressing His law. The penalty has been paid! The Lord Jesus became our substitute and, when He died on the cross, He “bore our sins in His body” (1 Pet. 2:24). He was punished “for our transgressions” (Isa. 53:5).

If you realize that you have crossed the line, that you have transgressed, accept the provision that God has made for you to be forgiven. Confess your sin; repent that you have transgressed and believe on the Lord Jesus. The Lord will pardon you. He will wipe your slate clean. His promise to you is: “I will forgive [your] iniquity, and [your] sin I will remember no more” (Jer. 31:34). We can tell you more about salvation through Jesus Christ.

By G. Farrel Howard

Adapted from a tract published by Drawing Near Publications, Barbados.