Insurance
But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping
the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the
prophets long ago. We are made right
with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone
who believes, no matter who we are. For everyone has sinned; we all fall short
of God’s glorious standard. (Romans 3:21-23)
I'm glad the letter I received a few
years ago wasn't sent from heaven. It came from my homeowner’s insurance company,
uh … my former homeowner’s insurance
company. I didn't drop them; they dropped me. Not because I didn't pay my
premiums; I did. Not because I failed to do some kind of paperwork; every
document was signed and delivered. I was dropped because I live in an area
that’s prone to catching on fire. Big fires.
The letter began by politely informing
me that my policy had been under review, and that they had historical data of
my area dating back to at least 2000 when homes in my community, and elsewhere,
went up in flames. Twice. Now, I’ll be the first to admit that I do live in an
area that’s prone to go up in smoke in October. In fact, that’s the reason why I
have insurance in the first place. Wasn't the whole insurance business invented
for people like me? Don't occasional natural disasters put food on some insurance
adjuster's table? If not for the potential of a fiery apocalypse, what would
the actuaries actually actuate?
My initial thought when I got the
letter was that the company was writing to congratulate me on being such a good
customer. But the letter continued. Their records indicated that in 2003 they had
paid a claim to power wash my house because my neutral-colored castle had gone grey
from the soot of the fires that year. It was $350.00. Total. I even cleaned out
the swimming pool myself to save them an additional claim. Don't I get some
credit for saving them money? Apparently not. So, in conclusion, the insurance
company said that in view of this information, they were unwilling to renew my
homeowner’s policy, and that my policy would terminate at 12:01 a.m., Pacific
Standard Time, 90 days later. It concluded: “We’re sorry our decision could not
have been more favorable. For your protection, we urge you to obtain other
insurance to prevent any lapse in coverage.” Thanks.
So let me see if I get this right. I
bought insurance to protect my house from natural disasters – like a fire. But
then I get dropped for living where fires occur. Did I miss something? Did I miss
a footnote? Did I skip some fine print in the contract? Did I overlook a
paragraph that said something like, "We, the aforementioned insurance company,
will consider your property an insurable risk until such time as you need
insurance for said risk, at which time your coverage will terminate”? Isn't
that like a dentist hanging a sign in the window, "No cavities,
please"? Or a teacher penalizing you for asking too many questions? Isn't
that like qualifying for a loan by proving you don't need one? What if the fire
department said it would protect you until
you had a fire? What if a bodyguard said he'd protect you unless someone was stalking you? Or a lifeguard said she'd watch
over you unless you started to drown? What if heaven had limitations to its
coverage?
What if you got a letter from Pearly
Gate Mutual that read: “Dear Mrs. Smith, we’re writing in response to this
morning's request for forgiveness. We’re sorry to inform you that you’ve reached
your sin quota. Our records indicate that, since accepting our services, you’ve
erred seven times in the area of greed, and your prayer life is substandard
compared to others of like age and circumstance. A further review of our
records also reveals that your understanding of doctrine is in the lower 20th
percentile, and you have a disproportionate tendency to gossip. Because of your
sins you are a high-risk candidate for heaven. Unfortunately, grace has its
limits. Accordingly, Jesus sends his regrets, but kindest regards, and hopes
that you will find help elsewhere to prevent an unfortunate lapse in coverage
in the event of a claim.” Many fear receiving a letter like that. Some worry
they already have. If an insurance company won’t cover natural disasters, can I
expect God to cover my intentional rebellion?
Paul answers that question with what
John Stott calls the most startling statement in Romans. "God makes even
evil people right in his sight." (Rom. 4:5) Wow. It's one thing to make
good people right, but those who are evil? We can expect God to justify the
decent, but the dirty? Surely coverage is provided for the homeowner with the spotless
record, but the careless? The arsonist? The high-risk customer? How in the
world can justification come for the evil? It can't. It can't come from the
world. It must come from heaven. Man has no way, but “God has a way . . . .”
Up until this point in Paul's letter,
all efforts at salvation have been from earth upward. Man has inflated his
balloon with his own hot air and can’t even leave the atmosphere. Our pleas of
ignorance are inexcusable. (Rom. 1:20) Our comparisons with others are
impermissible. (2:1) Our religious merits are unacceptable. (2:29) The
conclusion is unavoidable: self-salvation simply doesn’t work. Man has no way to
save himself. But Paul announces that “God has a way.” Where man fails, God
excels. Salvation comes from heaven downward, not earth upward. "A new day
from heaven will dawn upon us."
(Luke 1:78) "Every good action and every perfect gift is from God." (James 1:17) Salvation
is God-given, God-driven, God-empowered, and God-originated. The gift is not
from man to God, but from God to man. "It is not our love for God; it is
God's love for us in sending his Son to be the way to take away our sins."
(1 John 4:10)
Grace is created by God and given to
man. "Sky above, make victory fall like rain; clouds, pour down victory.
Let the earth receive it, and let salvation grow, and let victory grow with it.
I, the LORD, have created it." (Isa. 45:8) On this point alone,
Christianity is unique from any other religion in the world. No other system,
ideology or religion proclaims a free forgiveness and a new life to those who
have done nothing to deserve it, but deserve judgment instead.
As far as the way of salvation is concerned,
there are only two religions the world has ever known – the religion of divine
accomplishment, which is biblical Christianity, and the religion of human
achievement, which includes every other religion, regardless of its name. Every
other approach to God is a bartering system; if I do this, God will do that.
I'm either saved by works (what I do), emotions (what I experience), or
knowledge (what I know). By contrast, there’s not a whiff of negotiation in Christianity.
Man is not the negotiator because man has no grounds from which to negotiate.
Those closest to God have understood
this. Those nearest to him have never boasted about their deeds; in fact, they
were disgusted by the thought of self-salvation. They describe legalism in
repulsive terms. Paul equated our religious credentials with the pile of stink
you avoid in the cow pasture – “I count them but dung." (Phil. 3:8) We can
summarize the first 3½ chapters of Romans with three words: we have failed. We’ve tried to swim the
Atlantic but can’t get past the beach. We’ve attempted to scale the Everest of
salvation, but we haven’t even left base camp, much less attempted to ascend
the slope. The quest is simply too great. We don't need more supplies or muscle
or technique; we need a helicopter. The good news is that the helicopter has arrived.
"God has a way to make people right
with him." (Rom. 3:21) How important that we embrace that truth.
God's highest dream is not to make us
rich, not to make us successful or popular or famous. God's dream is to make us
right with him. So, how does God do that? Go back to the insurance company story.
Was the company unjust in canceling me as a customer? No. Oh, I might think their
decision was distasteful, unenjoyable, even discouraging, or discriminatory or arbitrary.
But I can’t call it unfair. The company only did what it said it would do. So
did our Father. He told Adam, "If you ever eat fruit from that tree, you
will die." (Gen. 2:17) No fine print there. No hidden agenda to obfuscate
the truth. No loophole or technicality. God hasn’t played games with us. He’s been
fair. Since Eden, the wages of sin have always been death. (Rom. 6:23) Just as
I have no defense before the insurance company, I have no defense before God.
My record accuses me. My past convicts me.
Now, suppose the founder and CEO of
the insurance company wanted to have mercy on me. Suppose, for some reason, he
wanted to keep me as a customer. What can he do? Can't he just close his eyes
and pretend I don’t live in a community that’s just one Santa Ana away from disaster? Why doesn't he just take the
statistics and tear them up. Two reasons. First, the integrity of the company
would be compromised. He would have to relax the standards of the organization,
something he could not, and should not do. The company can’t abandon its
precepts and still maintain its integrity. Second, the mistakes of the other insureds
would be encouraged. If there’s no price for living in the next disaster
waiting to happen, why should I care? If the president will dismiss my choices,
then what's to keep me or anyone else from living anywhere we want and expect
to get insurance? Is that the aim of the president? Is that the goal of his
mercy? Lowered standards and risky insureds? No. The president is faced with
this dilemma: “How can I be merciful and fair at the same time? How can I offer
grace without endorsing mistaken judgment?” Or, put in biblical terms, how can
God punish the sin and love the sinner?
Paul answers that question. "The
wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and
wickedness." (Rom. 1:18) Is God going to lower his standard so we can be
forgiven? Is God going to look away and pretend I've never sinned? Would we
want a God who altered the rules and made exceptions? I don’t think so. We want
a God who "does not change like . . . shifting shadows" (James 1:17),
and who "judges all people in the same way." (Rom. 2:11) Besides, to
ignore my sin is to endorse my sin. If my sin has no price, then sin on. If my
sin brings no pain, then keep on sinning. In fact, "We should do evil so
that good will come." (Rom. 3:8) Is this the aim of God? To compromise his
holiness and enable our evil? Of course not. Then what is he to do? How can he
be just and love the sinner? How can he be loving and punish the sin? How can
he satisfy his standard and forgive
my mistakes? Is there any way God could honor the integrity of heaven without
turning his back on me? Holiness demands that sin be punished. Mercy compels
that the sinner be loved. How can God do both?
Let’s go back to my former insurance
company executive. Imagine him inviting me into his office and saying, “Randy, I’ve
found a way to deal with your insurance problem. I can't overlook your choice
of geography; to do so would be unjust. I can't pretend you didn't choose to
live in a risky neighborhood; to do so would be a lie. But here’s what I can
do. We’ve found a homeowner in our records with a spotless past. Lives in a
concrete jungle. Is surrounded by fire hydrants and two fire stations. He’s volunteered
to trade records with you. We will take your name and put it on his record. We
will take his name and put it on yours. We will punish him for what you did.
You, who chose the wrong locale, will be made right. He, who did right, will be
made wrong." My response? "You've got to be kidding! Who’d do that for
me? Who is that guy?" To which the president answers, "That guy would
be me."
Now, if you're waiting for an
insurance executive to say that, don't hold your breath. He won't. He can't.
Even if he wanted to he couldn't. He has no perfect record. But if you're
wanting God to say those words, you can breathe a sigh of relief. He has. He
can. For "God was in Christ, making peace between the world and himself. .
. . Christ had no sin, but God made him become sin so that in Christ we could
become right with God." (2 Cor. 5:19, 21) The perfect record of Jesus was
given to you, and your imperfect record was given to Christ. Jesus was
"not guilty, but he suffered for those who are guilty to bring you to God."
(1 Peter 3:18) As a result, God's holiness is honored and his children are
forgiven. By his perfect life Jesus fulfilled the commands of the law. By his
death he satisfied the demands of sin. Jesus suffered not like a sinner, but as
a sinner. Why else would he cry, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken
Me?" (Matt. 27:46)
Ponder for a moment the achievement
of God. He doesn't condone our sin, nor does he compromise his standard. He
doesn't ignore our rebellion, nor does he relax his demands. Rather than
dismiss our sin, he assumes our sin and, incredibly, sentences himself. God's
holiness is honored. Our sin is punished. And we are redeemed. God is still
God. The wages of sin are still death. But we are made perfect. That's right, perfect.
"With one sacrifice he made
perfect forever those who are being made holy." (Heb. 10:14) God justifies
(makes perfect) then sanctifies (makes holy). God does what we cannot do so we
can be what we can’t even imagine – perfect before God. He justly justifies the
unjust. And what did he do with your poor choice of geography? "He
canceled the debt, which listed all the rules we failed to follow. He took away
that record with its rules and nailed it to the cross." (Col. 2:14). And
what should be your response? Go one last time to my former insurance company
example.
So, I return to my insurance agent
and ask him to pull up my file. He does and stares at the computer in utter disbelief.
"Randy, you have a perfect record. Your choices and record are spotless."
My response? If I'm dishonest and ungrateful, I will deepen my voice and cross
my arms and say, "You’re right, Bob. It's not easy to be me." But if
I'm honest and grateful, I’ll simply smile and say, "I don't deserve that
compliment. In fact, I don't deserve that record. It was, and is, an
unspeakable gift of grace."
By the way, I have a new homeowner’s insurance
company. Have for a few years now. They charge me a little more since I was bumped
by a competitor. And who knows? I may get a few more letters before it's all
over. But my eternal soul is heavenly underwritten, and Jesus isn't known for arbitrarily
declining coverage. He’s known, however, for paying premiums, and I'm paid up
for life. I'm in good hands with … Jesus.
Grace,
Randy
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