Trials

Recently my wife bought a bunch of John Grisham movie adaptations. And as usual these films have had me thinking about things, and how the natural often speaks of the spiritual.

I am not sure how familiar people are with John Grisham, but he writes legal thillers, I have read several of his books over the years and for te most part they feature around the legal system and lawyers and the like.

We watched the Pelican brief one night and as I write this blog the Firm is playing on the television in the background.

I got to thinking about how these films are all about legal proceedings or practise, the acts of lawyers and legal students and so on. And watching these two films started me thinking about another of the John Grisham adaptations we own on DVD - A Time to Kill, and how that film is based mostly within a court room.

The comparision to the spiritual really started at this point. Thinking about that court room, and its set up and how it is a very natural picture of our state as humans,

Since Adam disobeyed God and broke the command of God in the garden, we have been breaking God's law throughout history. We inherited our sinful nature, and we willing continue to participate in that sin. We enjoy it.

I once heard a speaker at a conference refer to sin as being like a Double Chocolate geteau, and that we start with the intention of just having a small slice, we eat that and enjoy it so much taht we have to go back for another 'small' slice and before we know it the entire thing is gone.

We are guilty, completely, totally and fully. Just like Carl Lee Hayley in A Time to Kill, we did exactly the thing we stand accused of.


The bible tells us that God is the judge, and that the day of judgement is coming. romans 14:10-12 is very clear that we shall all stand before the judgement seat of God and give an account of ourselves.

This is a scary place to be, knowing that we are completely guity
and will answer for our lives before a judge. This situation becomes even more frightening when it is noted that the standard that we shall be held to is not the standard that we look at.


God is Holy, he holds such a high standard that lust is comsidered adultary, and hatred considered murder. The simple fact is that you and I can never measure up to those standards, being a good person is just not going to cut it att he white throne described in Revelation.


However, as we looked at in my last blog, there is good news to be had. Jesus' actions at the cross has done the one thing we could never manage alone. He stepped into the dock for us. Took the judgement and washed us clean.


Its a case of Jesus, being God, steps down from the seat of Judge, just as sentance is cast, and takes us out of the dock and steps into it in our place, he is lead away, beaten, nailed to a cross and killed, all in our place.


The result of this, for those that believe, our names are written into God's book, the book of life.revelation 20:11-15


This is the security of salvation. That Jesus actions has placed our names on God's list and at the throne of jusgement, we answer for our lives, we are viewed through the blood covering of Christ, so that God the judge sees only His perfect spotless Son, and frees us from the wrath of the soveriegn LORD.