A Man Fell in a Hole

Thomas Boston, the great Scottish theologian (1636-1732), illustrated man's spiritual condition by comparing the unconverted person to a man in a pit.  He can only get out of the pit by grabbing hold of the rope of gospel let down by Christ and be pulled out of his misery.  Yes, he may decide to pull himself up by the rope of the gospel, but there’s one problem: the unconverted man is dead in the pit.  Can a dead man grab the rope of the gospel?   Can a dead man reach out in faith for Jesus?

We are unable to save ourselves.

·         Eph. 2:1,4,5 - "you were dead in your transgressions and sins….But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions -- it is by grace you have been saved."

·         I Cor. 2:14 - "The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned."

WORMY

 But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people (Psalm 22:6).

Worms are any of numerous small creeping animals with more or less slender, elongated bodies, and without limbs or with very short ones, including individuals of widely differing kinds, as earthworms, tapeworms, insect larvae or maggots.  A worm metaphorically related to a man shall mean a human being who is an object of contempt, worthless, loathsome and stinking, wretched, a reproach, worthy to be abhorred, despised and trodden by foot. The discussion of worms is sometimes a disgusting and unappetizing topic to us.

Has anyone ever treated you like a worm? Have you ever been called a “worm"? Yes, someone in history was treated as a worm - JESUS CHRIST. Psalm 22 is a messianic psalm reflecting, to happen more than a thousand years thereafter, the imagery of the passion and the cross of Christ.

 "I am a worm".  Christ calls himself "a worm" on account of the opinion of the men of the world had of him.  The world labelled Christ as a worm, and treated him as such; he was loathsome to them and hated by them; maltreated, scorned, buffeted and spit upon by them; mocked and tormented as to seem more like a worm than a man. Everyone trampled upon him, and trod him under foot as we do to worms. His disciples disowned him as we do with disgusting maggots. In the scourging of the Cross, we find the handicapped of the worm. He did not rise above his lowly position. He remained on the ground, meek, humbled, bound and vulnerable to be trodden by all!

The story of the cross is the most abnormal event in the history of the world. The necessity of the cross directs to the wormy unworthiness of sinful humanity before a holy God.  

"This death of the Son of God is the only and most perfect sacrifice and satisfaction for sins, of infinite value and worth, abundantly sufficient to expiate the sins of the whole world. This death is of such great value and worth because the person who submitted to it is not only a true and perfectly holy man, but also the only-begotten Son of God, of the same eternal and infinite essence with the Father and the Holy Spirit, for these qualifications were necessary for our Saviour. Further, this death is of such great value and worth because it was accompanied by a sense of the wrath and curse of God, which we by our sins had deserved, (Second Head, Articles 3 & 4, Canons of Dordt, 1618-1619)."

I am a sinner. I am born in sin (Psalm 51:5;58:3). By nature I am spiritually dead, blind and deaf to spiritual truth. My mind is darkened by sin. My heart is corrupt and evil (Romans 8:7-8;Mark 7:21-23; Jeremiah  17:9; Ephesians 5:8). I am a child of the devil and under his control. I am slave to sin (John 8:44;Ephesians 2:1,2; 2Timothy 2:25,26; 1John 3:10; 1John 5:19; John 8:34; Romans 6:20; Titus 3;3). I am the lowest of the low because of my sin. I deserve to be a worm forever in hell in unquenchable fire. Oh wretched man that I am!!! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord!!! (Romans 7:24,25).

How can I be righteous before God? Heidelberg Catechism, Lord's Day 23, Q&A 60, said,

''Only by true faith in Jesus Christ.(1) Although my conscience accuses me that I have grievously sinned against all God's commandments, have never kept any of them,(2) and am still inclined to all evil,(3) yet God, without any merit of my own,(4) out of mere grace,(5) imputes to me the perfect satisfaction, righteousness, and holiness of Christ.(6) He grants these to me as if I had never had nor committed any sin, and as if I myself had accomplished all the obedience which Christ has rendered for me,(7) if only I accept this gift with a believing heart.(8)'' *

Scriptural support:

(1) Rom 3:21-28; Gal 2:16; Eph 2:8, 9; Phil 3:8-11; (2) Rom 3:9, 10;(3) Rom 7:23; (4) Deut 9:6; Ezek 36:22; Tit 3:4, 5; (5) Rom 3:24; Eph 2:8;(6) Rom 4:3-5; 2 Cor 5:17-19; 1 Jn 2:1, 2; (7) Rom 4:24, 25; 2 Cor 5:21;(8) Jn 3:18; Acts 16:30, 31; Rom 3:22.

God in the abundance of his grace and mercy, through the atoning sacrifice of Christ on the cross, justified and clothed us with Christ righteousness, not for us to stay a worm forever, but to live in total awe of His glorious grace forever and ever. 

Behold what great contempt had the Lord of Majesty endured, that his death, punishment and resurrection is our glory and heavenly bliss! Amen.


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Note:
This blog is inspired by the hymn: AT THE CROSS

Interested about worms in the Bible?? Read more here!