An Allegory

 

Condemned Building = Sin

Tenants = Un-forgiven People

 

When a building is condemned, it must be destroyed for safety and protection of the neighborhood.  Explosives are strategically placed inside and at a prearranged time, an implosion brings the building down into a pile of rubble which will be discarded.  Left unattended, the condemned building becomes a harbor for disease and danger.

 

Having un-forgiven sin is like living in a building that is condemned and explosives are already set for the demolition.  The sin is already condemned and waiting for the judgment of God (for the fuse to be lit on the explosives that are set in place).

“But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear” (Isaiah 59:2).

 The tenants who refuse to leave the building will suffer the same fate as the building—destruction.  To exit, they must initiate opening the door because there is no doorknob on the outside.  It requires a decision and a choice.

 

          Jesus said in John 3:18, “…he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”  Not believing Jesus-is-the-only-Savior-by-which-we-can-be-saved is a deadly sin; it has already been judged and brought condemnation on the building.  Unless we leave unbelief and accept Jesus as the only Door by which we can leave the building and enter the Kingdom of God, we will suffer the same fate.  When we exit, the building is still under condemnation; but we are free from it.  This is mercy at work.

“Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity…he retaineth not his anger forever, because he delighteth in mercy” (Micah 7:18).

 

Before we go further let’s be clear about something:  God hates the building; He has condemned it and scheduled its destruction.  However—He loves those who live in the building!  He is highly motivated to save them from the building’s fate.  He loves them so much that “…he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth on him should not be perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).  He made a way for the tenants to escape before the building is destroyed, but they have to make the choice to go or stay.

 

The only way we can escape the same fate as the condemned building is to separate ourselves from it.  It is not we who are condemned, but the sin we live in (like the building tenants who refused to leave even though the building was condemned and set for destruction).  If it were we who were condemned as individuals, we could not escape the wrath of God.  The building is where the condemnation and curse reside.  When God looked down and saw all the evil, condemned “buildings” whose residents refused to leave, He secured Noah and his family inside the ark while he destroyed the sin-ladened residences.  Had Noah failed to enter the door of the safety of the ark, he would have suffered the same fate of those who clung to their sinful buildings and perished.  We will never be safe until we move out of the cursed, sin-infested residence and enter the Door into the safety of God’s new place.  Jesus is the only safe “ark.”

 

 God pronounced a curse on the ground because of Adam’s sin (Genesis 3:17); the curse was not on Adam and Eve, but on the sin; and they moved into the sin-cursed building, subjecting themselves to the fate of the building.  If there were no sin, there would be no condemnation.  So it is sin itself that brings condemnation and activates the curse; what has been condemned cannot escape judgment, ever.  Sin will eventually be judged and destroyed when Jesus returns.  Adam and Eve lived free from condemnation and enjoyed the presence of God “in the cool of the day” before the ground was cursed because of their disobedience.  After their fall God provided coverings for them at the expense of the life of innocent animals (type of Jesus), showing His love and care even when they left beautiful Eden for the condemned building.  Had God cursed them, they would have been cast off and gone down with the building.  They could not have had His compassion, but destruction instead.  Again, this was mercy at work.

If we were cursed, we would still be in the same condition, because sin-judgment is inalterable, and God’s wrath will inevitably bring destruction; because His holiness and justice requires Him to judge that which is condemned.  Judgment will be poured out on any sin, and there is no remedy for sin itself.  The building has been eternally condemned and doomed.  When God brings judgment, He will cast sin’s perpetrator, Satan, into the lake of fire.  That is the building’s fatal future, and it won’t change; but it won’t bother us who have left it.  Sin can’t escape, but we can.  When God speaks of condemning “people,” it is because they are living in the condemned building.  It was sin that infiltrated that which God had pronounced “very good”--His creation. 

When God made man He said, “It is good.”  (Genesis 1: 31) “And God saw every thing that He had made; and, behold, it was very good…”  What happened?  Adam and Eve moved into the condemned building with their disobedience.  Unfortunately, they left all of us there also.  But we don’t have to stay!  When we leave the building through Jesus who provided our exit, we become “good” again; because when we leave the condemned building and walk through the “Door,” we are cleansed by His blood, receive forgiveness, restoration, and we take on His innocence.  A Redeemer was promised to Adam and Eve in Genesis 3:15; their hope of leaving the condemned building rested on Him and God’s faithfulness to honor His Word.

When we moved out of the condemned building, we were no longer in danger of suffering its fatal destiny; but judgment on it remained, since sin is forever condemned.  We are redeemed and must never return to that previous sin-ridden, doomed abode.

We are saved by forsaking the sin and leaving the building before the destruction takes place by following the only escape route—through the “Door.”  There is only one way out, and Jesus is It.  But if we refuse to use that Door and stay in the condemned building, we will be destroyed with it at final judgment.

 

When we exit through the Door, we receive God’s forgiveness for living in the condemned building.  The blood of Jesus removes all the stain and stench we acquired while living there.  We are totally separated and free from its doom.  Mercy has bought Grace for us.

 

When we vacated the building, we acquired an attitude of forgiveness toward others.  Jesus said, “Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy” (Matthew 5:7).  We received mercy which didn’t cost us anything; we got it in the Grace package.  When we show mercy and forgiveness, we are giving something away that was freely given to us; and the more we give it away, the more we have.  Love defies any mathematical equation:  every time we divide it, it multiplies!

 

The Holy Spirit has spoken to us through God’s Word.  He wound a warning tape around the condemned building and put up “Do Not Enter” signs.  All we have to do is abandon it, enter the Kingdom of God by the Door, follow the scarlet road to Calvary, accept God’s forgiveness, live in obedience to God and in a forgiving attitude toward others.

Now that God has forgiven us, we have His grace and mercy to extend to those who have harmed us in some way.  We have His love for a balm which brings healing to our bruises and wounds inflicted by others.  Failure to do so is to move back into the doomed building from which we once were rescued, and we will suffer its fate.  (Read Matthew 18:21-35).  You see, we forgive because we love!  Just as God loved us and forgave us, we forgive others because His love abides in us.  Not being forgiving is a self-inflicted wound.  It stems from an inner spiritual illness.  Forgiveness heals the illness and protects us from wounding ourselves.

Forgiving others is not too much to ask when we have been treated so mercifully and gracefully by a forgiving God.  “In my Father’s house are many mansions” -- and not one of them is condemned, and the curse of sin will never gain entrance!  There is no place for un-forgiveness in our new dwelling.  We live in freedom; “If the son therefore shall make you free, you shall be free indeed” (John 8:36).

David Wilkerson said love was more than forgiveness.  “It is to forgive all transgressions of others toward us….offer them fellowship….esteem them highly….make ourselves available to them….bury all of the past” – Just like Jesus acts toward us.

 

Every room of our new dwelling is a place of freedom, and we must never allow un-forgiveness, unbelief or any sin to pay a visit; it is a plague and pollutes the environment, bringing bondage.  It must be stopped at the door lest it bring condemnation on our present abode making it subject to destruction.

Who would want to stay in a condemned building, doomed for destruction, when they can live in a palace?

 

·        The best choice is self-evident.  Forsake the condemned building and enter the Door to a “place” without condemnation, blessed not cursed, prepared in love.

A “place” of peace and safety in the presence of the Rescuer!  A place of eternal blessings where sin can never bring its pollution!  A place prepared by Jesus Himself for those He loves and for whom He died that they could live!

ENTER “thou into the joy of the Lord” (Matthew 5:21), in a city with blessed residences where the “Lamb is the Light” and there is no darkness or destruction—no curse, no condemnation, only supreme Love.

“…I (Jesus) go to prepare a place for you…” (John 14:2).

Delores Adams
Copyrighted. All rights reserved.

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