IT’S GOD’S WAY OR NO WAY!
II Kings 5: 13 Naaman’s servants went to him and said, “My father if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he tells you, ‘Wash and be cleansed?’”
Naaman was a great commander for the King of Aram. In fact the Bible even says that the Lord helped him to have his victories! As famous and no doubt wealthy as he was, he had a very severe problem and this was he had leprosy or a serious skin disease. As desperate as he was to be cured it must have been life threatening like leprosy or he would have never went to Israel when it was an enemy of Aram. When a person would get leprosy the outcome was death. It was also terrible in that a person would lose circulation and feeling and then their flesh would rot off until infection would take the person's life. Needless to say once a person had leprosy other people stayed stayed away for them, because it was spread by contamination. Almost always the person had to go to a leper colony just to be able to live and not make others ill. The very rich like Naaman could afford to stay in the comforts of their own home or palace. The problem was they might infect others especially those they loved. So it was extremely important for Naaman to find a cure. The only problem was that there was no cure other than God healing that person supernaturally.
One day Naaman’s slave from Israel told him that Israel had a prophet that could cure him. So Naaman took 750 pounds of silver, 150 pounds of gold and ten sets of clothing and set off for Israel. When Elisha heard that Naaman had come to the king for help, Elisha sent word to Naaman to come see him. But instead of coming out to see Naaman, Elisha sent his servant to tell him to go wash in the Jordan River seven times and he would be healed.
I am sure because Naaman was very rich and important he expected to be treated with much more respect and hopefully sympathy. Because he felt disrespected he started to go back to Aram in a fit of rage. He told his servant that he thought Elisha would at least come out to see him and possibly wave his hand over the leprosy , and that he had better rivers in his country. This is when his servant reminded him that if Elisha would have asked something difficult he would have done that.
I can relate to this story very much. One day I went to visit someone to tell them about Jesus’ salvation. After talking with them for a while I explained Jesus’ atonement to them, but to my surprise they said they didn’t want any part of it. To say the least I was very surprised. I thought for sure that they would jump at the chance to become a Christian just as I did. They explained to me that anything so important as forgiveness of their sins and eternal life could not be so easy. Well, I tried to share with them that it was not an easy thing for Jesus, but they just shook their head as if I was a fool.
After I became more mature in Christ and especially after going to seminary, I learned that every other religion except Christianity base their reconciliation with God on a person’s efforts. It may be good works, sacrificing something of value, self punishment or even difficult feats such as going up a hill with a gravel road on their hands and knees, and with some Buddhists climbing a very high and dangerous mountains like Mount Fuji or the Himalaya's. The greater the effort or sacrifice required the more likely they feel they may be accepted by their god or gods. Even with Judaism their reconciliation is based on obeying God’s laws and when they had a temple they would make sacrifices. The more they were able to obey the laws of God or the greater the sacrifice the better chance they to find reconciliation with God.
Elisha pushed Naaman’s religious beliefs by simply making him wash in the muddy Jordan River seven times. He was making Naaman humble himself and solely depend on what he said. Even for Elisha I am sure that salvation by faith in the grace offered by Jesus Christ might have been hard for him. The reason I say this is that Elisha had a tendency to be arrogant and hard hearted.
Certainly not everyone is willing to humble themselves enough to solely trust in what they can not see, feel or rationalize. It doesn’t make since to hear that God sent his only begotten son to die a terrible death only to be rejected and despised by almost everyone he did this for. Why would God care so much about a creation that seemingly cares so little about him?
Well, I agree it doesn’t make much sense, but it is true none the less! God had to do it this way to remain holy in his justice. God can not just overlook sin. Those that reject Jesus point this out. The problem they and we have is that being good is not good enough. When we are good we are only doing what we were supposed to do all of our life. It took a sinless perfectly holy God to bring about the justification of God’s forgiveness, and this can only be received by faith and not by our own efforts otherwise it would be back to our own insufficient efforts. It simply boils down to the fact that we either receive forgiveness by God’s ways or not at all!
What are you basing your salvation on today? Are you walking the tightrope of trying to be good enough, punishing yourself, being religious or just what? Surprising many Christians really don’t trust in their salvation by faith in the grace offered by Jesus’ atonement at all! They are not any different than a Buddhist, Jew, Muslim, or Hindu. They might deny and even feel insulted, but the fact is in their belief and practice of it.
If it wasn’t for Naaman’s servant, Naaman would have went back to Aram just as unhealed of the leprosy as when he went. It will not be until a person completely humbles themselves to receive forgiveness of their sins and reconciliation with God by faith that they can find forgiveness. There is only one way to eternal life with God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit in heaven or all eternity and that is by doing it God’s way. That way is by the most costly way God could afford, and that was through his Son!
Prayer: It is strange Lord that your salvation is so easy, but for some it can be so hard. Please Holy Spirit convict the world of it’s sin, the righteousness of Christ and the judgment of God in hopes that hearts will be changed to trust in Jesus’ salvation by faith in his grace.
