|
 
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.
Leaving The Condemned
Building Notebook
Alice's Legacy
Remembering Alice
The "Handkerchief"
has been anointed and prayed over by
several believers who care about you and want to help
you realize
your full potential in Christ Jesus Our Lord.
~The
Ten Commandments~
|