Crucifakers

You may have heard of the Filipinos who have themselves crucified every Good Friday. No? They really do get nailed to a cross each year; I’ve seen them in the newspaper. Every year—tappety-tap—right through the same nail holes. The Filipinos think they’re imitating Christ, but they’re sadly mistaken. I would be disappointed if anything I have said about them has moved you to anything but mortification.

The Filipinos have tried to imitate Christ, yet they neglect (or have simply not been tutored in) several crucial particulars, namely: 1) they are not under God’s curse, 2) they are not shouldering the world’s sin, 3) they are not naked, 4) their mothers aren’t watching, and 5) they do not die. These deficiencies are serious enough to ruin the whole effect for me. The Filipinos do get their pictures in the paper, however, which ensures their celebrity.

Other Filipinos of a more retiring variety whip themselves. This is altogether fine, but not as fine as if someone else (a disgruntled creditor, say) were to whip them.

I hope you see the folly and fakery of the Filipinos. To do what they do does not require bravery, but an embarrassing ignorance of Calvary. To do what they do requires believing that one could have stood at the Place of the Skull that awful day, then gone back to work. To do what they do requires believing that one could have walked away from Golgotha in the afternoon, then expostulated upon it in the evening, holding a hot dog.

The Filipinos wish they had conquered Satan themselves, but they hadn’t, so they reconstruct him with Tinkertoys and pelt him with tiny stones. The Filipinos wish they had gotten the applause of the universe at the resurrection, but they hadn’t, so they came up with this cross thing, then called The Manila Times. The Filipinos want to be God, but they lack height, so they grab their little chisels and reduce His pedestal.

I would give the Filipinos five minutes with Mary at The Skull. Returning, they would cry on their faces in bed, worshipping God, rather than playing with Tinkertoy tortures in public, worshipping themselves.

Crucifakers.

Similarly, you may have heard of these churches that put out signs that say: GOD GAVE TEN COMMANDMENTS, NOT TEN SUGGESTIONS. No? The church leaders really do put out signs that encourage law keeping as a means to righteousness; I drove past two of them just last fall. Every time someone goes by that sign—tappety-tap—they feel lousy because they’re too weak to keep all the rules. The church leaders think they’re advancing the cause of Christ by encouraging law keeping, but they’re sadly mistaken. I would be disappointed if anything I have said about them has moved you to anything but mortification.

The church leaders have tried, themselves, to imitate Christ by obeying the Ten Commandments, yet have neglected (or have simply not been tutored in) several crucial particulars, namely: 1) it is impossible to imitate Christ by attempting to keep the Ten Commandments—Rom. 8:3, 2) the Ten Commandments turn free people into slaves—Gal. 4:3-6, 3) the slightest infraction of any of the Commandments historically incurred the righteousness indignation of God—Rom. 4:15, 4) trying to keep the Ten Commandments sends people to early graves—2 Cor. 3:7, 5) trying to keep the Ten Commandments makes people sin more—Rom. 5:20, 6) not even Bible writers could keep the Ten Commandments—Rom. 7:18-20, 7) anyone who even tries to keep the Ten Commandments is under a curse—Gal. 3:10, ignorant of the righteousness of God—Rom. 10:3, and 8) the Ten Commandments were never designed to work, but, rather, to mire people in helplessness so that Christ, Himself, could rescue them—Rom. 5:6. For me, these deficiencies are serious enough to ruin the whole effect of trying to keep the Ten Commandments.

The church leaders get a lot of compliments on the cleverness of their signs, however, which causes those who have received God’s righteousness apart from law (Rom. 3:21) to walk away from these poor signs and these poor churches, shaking their heads.

Other church leaders of a more retiring variety simply preach the Ten Commandments from the pulpit. This is altogether fine, but not as fine as if someone else (a disgruntled parishioner, say) were to ask them if they kept the law themselves.

I hope you see the folly and fakery of the message of the church sign. To put up a church sign like this does not require bravery, but an embarrassing ignorance of Calvary (Rom. 10:3,4). To put up a church sign encouraging law keeping as a means to righteousness requires believing that one could have stood at the Place of the Skull that awful day, then gone back to work. To put up a sign encouraging law keeping as a means to righteousness requires believing that one could have walked away from Golgotha in the afternoon, then expostulated upon it in the evening, holding a hot dog.

The people who think that obeying (or at least attempting to obey) the Ten Commandments will please God and make them better Christians, wanted to conquer Satan themselves, but they didn’t, so they reconstruct him with Tinkertoys and pelt him with tiny stones. People who still want to effect their own salvation wish they had gotten the applause of the universe at the resurrection, but they hadn’t, so they came up with this "grace isn’t good enough" theme, then built a sign. The exponents of law want to be God, but they lack height, so they grab their little chisels and reduce His pedestal.

I would give the church sign people five minutes with Mary at The Skull. Returning, they would cry on their faces in bed, worshipping God, rather than playing with Tinkertoy toil in public, worshipping themselves.

Crucifakers.