Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall
All the king’s horses and all the king’s men
Couldn’t put Humpty together again.
I could not find an image of what Humpty must have looked like after his fall. One picture showed him on stretcher with a bandage around his head. When eggs have a great fall, it’s a mess. So it was when Adam and Eve fell. The entire creation was shattered on that pivotal day. Like Humpty, the human race was broken beyond repair. Yet, that is not how most of us view ourselves. We imagine that we have some faults, for sure, but nothing too serious. Nothing that cannot be patched up. Nothing we cannot handle if we work at it.
Religion and legalism are our attempts to put Humpty back together again. If I just try hard enough, I can conquer my sins and make everything right again. Martha and I recently watched a movie entitled Beyond the Mask, which was surprisingly good. It was a swashbuckling adventure from Revolutionary War days that combined history with fantasy. The theme of the movie was a man’s attempt to redeem himself from past evil acts. It became apparent that this was impossible, at which time the gospel was shared with him by the heroin. She let him know that no one can redeem himself. No one can put Humpty back together again.
One big element of what the Bible calls “repentance” is coming to the realization that apart from Jesus, we are hopelessly broken and lost.
Until an alcoholic reaches the bottom of the barrel, he is not usually willing to admit he has a problem bigger than his ability to conquer it. We are all sin-aholics. We have a rebellion problem against God that is beyond our ability to fix.
The Bible says that we come into this world as God’s enemies. (Romans 5:10 & Colossians 1:21) Not only are we beyond repair, we fight and resist our one Source of hope, the only One who is able to help us in our hopeless state.
When Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the garden, it was because they wanted to be God. We do not like being dependent creatures. We want to be in charge and answerable to no one but ourselves. This is the essence of sin and the core of our problem. This is what makes us broken beyond repair.
We believe the lie that we are capable of doing life without God, which is categorically impossible. We were designed by our Creator to live in a glorious unity with God and dependence upon him.
Through sin and rebellion against the Creator and Sustainer of all life, we put ourselves outside his protection, guidance, and care. We cut ourselves off from the Life-Giver. We are alone, without God, and without hope – broken beyond repair, just like Humpty.
What did the kings men do with Humpty? I imagine they picked up the pieces, threw them in the garbage, and washed down the area where he fell, so it would not stink. What can be done with broken people? Can they be patched up and sent merrily on their way, or must they be disposed of?
When Jesus died on the cross, he took the penalty for our sins so that we could be forgiven. But being forgiven is not the same as being fixed. We can forgive a family member who has descended into the hell of addiction and stolen our valuables to support his habit, but that does not set him free.
Forgiveness can be an important first step on the road to wholeness, but it is not the destination. To experience true freedom, we have to be radically changed on the inside.
All of us are born with what the Bible calls the “flesh” or the “old man.” Some people call this the “sin nature.” This part of us is irredeemable. It will never be reformed. You can have been a follower of Christ for fifty years, and your flesh is just as corrupt today as it was the day before you believed. It is part of the old creation in Adam, and the only solution for it is to die.
When Jesus died on the cross, the old man died with him. Our sin nature was nailed to the cross with Christ. The flesh lost its power to rule us. (Romans 6:6)
When Jesus rose again from the dead, those who have put their trust and allegiance in him, rose with him in newness of life. Jesus’ resurrection body is very different from his old one. It is no longer subject to death or other physical limitations, such as walls.
When we are born again by God’s Spirit, we become what the Bible calls a “new creation.” We are fundamentally changed on the inside.(2 Corinthians 5:17)
It is as if Humpty died and came back to life with an new unbreakable shell and a core that will never spoil.
The New Covenant is the almost unbelievably Good News that we cannot and don’t have to redeem or fix ourselves.
Jesus recognized the total impossibility and did the only thing possible: he put us to death and out of our misery, so we can live again in complete and total freedom and joy, no longer chained to the hopelessly flawed sin nature. Those who understand, embrace, and live according to this wonderful truth are most happy and free.
Jesus told us that those who believe (trust, follow, and are loyal) to him undergo an amazing transformation and transition. In his own words:
I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life. John 5:24 (NLT)
Jesus said that his followers have been taken off the treadmill of striving to be good enough. We have been exempted from the final exam. We have been given a free pass. Why? Because we can never be good enough. We can never pass the exam. We can never measure up. Our only hope is that he was good enough on our behalf, that he passed the exam, and that he gained the ability to make up for our hopeless condition. And he did!
This is why Paul wrote in the culmination of his explanation of what Christ accomplished on our behalf in his letter to the Romans.
So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. 2 And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. Romans 8:1-2 (NLT)
Not only have we been forgiven, released from judgment, restored to a right relationship with God, and transformed on the inside, the Holy Spirit now gives us the power to live out a life of loving and freely given obedience to God. The “free pass” sets us free to live for God. Freedom is not doing whatever we want.
True freedom is living in joyful and obedient union and dependence on God through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. (2 Corinthians 3:17-18)
Have you been working hard to put Humpty Dumpty back together again? Give it up. Admit that you need a Savior and receive all that Jesus died and rose again to give you. Ask the Holy Spirit to live his life through you to the glory of God. You will experience joy and freedom beyond measure. This is the New Covenant.
Prayer
Jesus, I now realize that I cannot make myself good enough. I admit that without you I am lost. Thank you for dying for me to set me free. I receive what you died to give me. Thank you for paying the penalty for my sins and forgiving me. Thank you for setting me free and putting me back into a right relationship with my heavenly Father, the Creator and Sustainer of the Universe. I welcome you, Holy Spirit, into my life. Live Christ’s life through me. Help me to live the rest of my life for the glory of God. Amen.
