Close Doesn’t Count

Mark 12:28-34

It was the sweetest golf shot I’ve ever hit

-from the elevated tees of the par 3, 8^th hole of the La Plata Golf

Course, I hit a soft, high-arching 7-iron...it sailed down the hill,

across the creek, over the tie wall...landed a few feet from the hole

...it rolled up the slope of the two-tiered green

--I held my breath—seriously—because I knew what would

happen...the ball began to trickle back down toward the hole

-the gentleman I was golfing with yelled, “It’s in!”

--but it wasn’t in...it stopped about 10” short

-I was 10” away from getting my name in the La Plata Home Press

--yeah, in La Plata, a hole-in-one is newsworthy

But close doesn’t count

-you don’t get your name in the paper for being close to a hole-in-1

--I know; I tried

-I tried to get the editor simply to forget the word “almost,” but

because of some integrity issue she wouldn’t do it

--and, surprisingly, “Morgan Almost Gets Hole-in-One” isn’t news

-why?

--because the most important word in that would-be headline isn’t

“Morgan”...it isn’t “hole-in-one”

---the most critical word is “almost”

-and it doesn’t matter one lick that my vision-impaired partner

thought it was in

--his opinion didn’t count...it couldn’t and didn’t change reality

Don’t you hate that?

-it’s tough when there’s a hard and fast line drawn...when there are

no exceptions allowed...when being close doesn’t get you anything

--perhaps we see that most clearly in sports

---Bill Buckner almost fielded the grounder in the bottom of the

10^th inning of the 1986 World Series...but close doesn’t count

---Doug Denkinger almost got the call right at first base in

Game 6 of the 1985 World Series...but close doesn’t count

-of course, in sports the actual consequences aren’t life-threatening

--and, yes, I’ll admit that’s true even if we are talking about the

Cardinals losing a World Series to the Royals (à years of grief!)

But being close in other things can be quite critical

-would you want your mechanic to get your brakes almost right?

-or your child’s lifeguard to be almost able to swim?

-or your pharmacist to give you nearly the correct medication?

-or your dentist to pull almost the right tooth?

-or your surgeon do anything almost right?

Now think in terms of your eternity—as in, forever in heaven or hell

-does it matter what you believe...or will you chance being close?

-does it matter Who you believe in...or will any god do?

-does it matter Who you are trusting...or will any savior do?

-does it matter if God allows you into heaven...or do you figure if you

almost make it then that will be consolation enough?

Those questions all lie at the heart of the conversation between a

certain Pharisee and Jesus

-it’s what Joe read earlier in Mark 12, starting in verse 28

You may have heard several sermons, and perhaps numerous

devotions and Sunday School lessons on this encounter

-there’s actually an entire series of messages about what it means

to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength...and to

love your neighbor as yourself.

--but this morning I want us briefly to focus on something else

Jesus says...something that had better grab our attention

Remember what happens?

-one of the teachers of the law approaches Jesus

--he’s not a law school professor...it’s referring to Jewish religious

law...so this guy is more like a respected seminary professor

--listen how Matthew’s Gospel describes him à ...the Pharisees

got together [and] one of them, an expert in the law, tested Him

with this question... (Matthew 22:34b-35)

---so this is their “big gun”...he’s the guy with all the degrees

and titles and letters behind his name

-and he asks what appears to be a simple, but important question

--of course, all is not what it appears—Matthew 22:35, remember—

reveals that his intent is to test or to trick Jesus

-by asking Jesus to name the most important commandment, he’s

probably expecting Jesus to pick one of the Ten Commandments

--but even this Pharisee, with his less-than-honorable-motives,

has to admit that Jesus’ answer hits the proverbial nail right on

the head

---you can even hear his surprised enthusiasm in v. 32 à

Well said, teacher...you are right...

---but here’s the shocking part: you get the sense this

cynical, unbelieving Pharisee actually means it when he

compliments Jesus...which just might indicate he’s got

this whole faith-thing figured out

-since I’m one of those who always hopes the bad guy will repent...

and use his power for good, not evil...I get a glimmer of hope that

finally one of these Pharisees is about to leave “the dark side”

--of all the Pharisees we’ve run across in Mark’s Gospel, this one

is far and away the nearest to genuine faith and salvation

I suppose that’s why Jesus’ response to the Pharisee’s response is

not only disappointing...but it should cause every single one of to sit

up in our pew and do some serious soul-searching

Read Mark 12:34

Not far from the Kingdom of God?

-c’mon Jesus, I mean, do You need me to repeat what he said?

--perhaps You didn’t hear his sincerity...or his super-duper answer

No, Mark makes it plain à Jesus saw that he had answered wisely

So that begs the question that is of infinitely greater significance than

the Pharisee’s original question à how can someone who obviously

has everything going for him—who is bright, well-educated, powerful,

and definitely religious—but still not cut it by Jesus’ standards?

-if you’ve never given that question serious, serious thought...then

you need to consider carefully what it means

--Jesus is saying that the things we often think will make us

acceptable in God’s sight can—at best—only get us close

---and close doesn’t count

Think about it: if you were going the wrong way on Cherry Street,

you’d want to be told...not because some horrible catastrophe

awaits you, but because you don’t want to get a ticket

But if you were going the wrong way on I-35, your life is in imminent

peril (not to mention all the unsuspecting drivers speeding toward

you at a combined 140 m.p.h.)...you’d want someone—anyone—to

say, “You’re going the wrong way! You’re gonna’ die!”

-which is precisely what Jesus does...and this whole scenario gives

us several specific things only capable of getting us close to God

Living a good life is “close”

-I suppose that most people believe that our eternity—whether in

heaven or hell—will be determined by some giant, balance scale

--on one side God will stack up all our good deeds and on the

other He will place our sins

---we dangerously assume that if we have more good than bad

then we are “in”

That’s exactly what Bernard Ebbers was banking on

-the former CEO of WorldCom had recently been convicted on

several felony counts for orchestrating an $11 billion accounting

fraud that shut down the telecommunications firm in 2002

--at the time, his company's collapse represented the largest

bankruptcy in U.S. history and devastated the lives of

thousands of employees, yet he asked for mercy

-his defense attorney, Reid Weingarten, argued it this way

--he cited 169 letters written in glowing support of Ebbers

--he detailed the seriousness of the 63-year-old's heart condition

--he pointed to his numerous (often anonymous) charitable gifts

--and he concluded with these moving words: "If you live 60-some

-odd years...if you have an unblemished record, if you have

endless numbers of people who attest to your goodness,

doesn't that count? Doesn't that count particularly on this day?"

---in other words, doesn’t a lifetime of being a hard-working,

decent, law-abiding American citizen wipe out a few bad

decisions here and there?

-the judge said “close...almost...but no”...and he sentenced

Bernhard Ebbers to 25 years in a federal penitentiary

You see, one of the many faults in the whole “live-a-good-life” logic is

Scripture leaves no doubt that just one sin will separate us from God

-and we can’t do anything to wipe out the effects of one sin, let

alone a lifetime and a nature of sin

-only one thing can save us: if Someone would cancel out our sin

by placing His perfect goodness on our scale—it’s our only chance

Knowledge will get you “close”

-this guy, this Pharisee, gives more than your basic Sunday School

answer...but something is still missing

--knowing about God and the Bible is fantastic, but it’s not enough

-I know a lot about the Cardinals, but they won’t let me play CF

--you can know volumes about God and be able to define terms

like liberation eschatology, premillennial dispensationalism, and

supralapsarianism...and while all that might help you earn a

good grade in Systematic Theology, it will not impress God

-I shook hands with President Jimmy Carter...and I’ve read one of

his books...but I don’t know him personally

--more significantly, he doesn’t know me

-that reminds me of one of a terribly disturbing passage near the

end of the Sermon on the Mount

--Read Matthew 7:22-23

---do you see what these people are doing?

----they are claiming rights to heaven based upon living a

good life, in fact it’s a spectacularly religious life

---but Jesus pronounces judgment on them because He does

not know them...they appear to have it all: knowledge, good

deeds, even religion, but there is no relationship whatsoever

Religion is “close”

-we humans love to practice religion—it’s a universal fact

--in fact, you’d be correct in saying that everyone is religious...we

all have an innate desire to worship someone or something

-we Christians are no different—we love to practice religion

--we may not be thrilled when the alarm goes off on Sunday

mornings, but we’re usually pretty satisfied with ourselves after

we’ve come to church...reckoning we’ve appeased God by

being good, little Baptists

-but even the Pharisee in Mark 12 recognizes that religion, in and of

itself, is empty and worthless

--did you catch that in what he said at the end of v. 33?

---he said that loving God with all you have and all you are, as

well as loving your neighbor is—and I quote—more

important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.

-so if that’s true (and it is) and a member one of the most religious

groups in history recognizes it...then why do we continue to hang

our hopes on our religion?

--do we think we can amass enough points through

---church attendance

---baptism

---being a Baptist

---financial giving

---mission trips

-the truth is: most of us would say “no” (and be correct in their

answer)...but far too many of us still live under the false

assumption that somehow our religion clinches the deal

I want to give you one more thing that will only get you close to God

-it’s the all-too-familiar: “Well, I believe in God.”

--James 2:19 à You believe that there is one God. Good! Even

the demons believe that—and shudder!

---believing in God is nothing extraordinary, really—after all,

Muslims, Mormons, and Druids believe in some form of god

-merely “believing in” something or something isn’t true faith

--I can believe with all my mind that a bungee cord will keep me

from hitting the ground head-first at 94 m.p.h. ...I can tell

everyone about my belief in a bungee cord...I can even have a

bumper sticker that affirms, “There is a bungee cord!”

---but unless I strap a bungee cord harness to my ankles and

hurl myself over the side of a bridge, my alleged belief in a

bungee cord is null and void

-that’s because faith is much more than “belief”

--an essential element of faith is trust...and until I surrender my life

completely to whatever or Whomever I claim to have faith in,

then my so-called faith is worthless

-I believe in a lot of things that don’t have any real impact on my life

--I believe Albert II is the king of Belgium, but other than their

tasty waffles, I’m not awfully concerned about Belgians

-James 2 essentially says an alleged “belief in God” that doesn’t

transform you—inside and out—isn’t genuine faith after all

I’ve heard several evangelists and camp preachers claim that the

distance between heaven and hell is a mere 16”

-they are right

They are, of course, referring to the 16” separating your mind from

your heart

-the Pharisee proves an intellectual knowledge is only close...so

you could, in one sense, say he was only 16” from salvation...just

16” from heaven

Jesus removes all doubt: being a noted Bible scholar or a Baptist

pastor or even being an upstanding, religious person cannot make

up the distance that divides you and God...and neither can a wishy-

washy belief in God that has no impact on your life (remember, even

demons believe in God and fear Him)

Instead, Jesus says it is all a matter of the heart

-a love for God that encompasses not only all you have and all you

are, but then expresses itself in its love for others

How do you love God like that?

-confess your sin and your need for a Savior

-with a childlike faith in Christ alone, trust only in His death to pay

the complete penalty for your sin

-surrender to following Jesus

-receive His gifts of salvation, forgiveness, and eternal life

-allow God’s grace to transform your heart, soul, mind, and strength

Anything else will only get you close...