An Ounce of Plutonium and a Ton of Sin
On November 20, 1959, a small amount of solvent exploded and blew open the door of a processing cell at the Atomic Energy Commission Oak Ridge laboratory. About one-fiftieth of an ounce of plutonium was scattered into the air. The AEC later reported on what it took to clean up this minor atomic mishap.
All those who were within a four-acre area of the explosion turned in their laboratory-issued clothes to be decontaminated. Their urine was checked to insure that they had not inhaled or ingested any plutonium. The processing plant and a nearby research reactor were shut down. The buildings were washed with detergents, and the buildings' roofs were resurfaced. The surrounding lawn was dug up and the sod carted to a deep burial place. The surface was chiseled off one hundred yards of a nearby asphalt road. To anchor any speck of plutonium that might have survived, the buildings were completely repainted. Final cost, including resodding, repaving, and reroofing: approximately $350,000.
The AEC will go to all that trouble for a fraction of an ounce of plutonium, yet there are some light-thinking Christians who believe that all that has to be done when sin has touched the life is to pray, "I'm sorry. Please forgive me. In Jesus' name, Amen." In many circles the attitude regarding sin is outright flippancy.
Every night before we sleep we should make a careful analysis of the day, its deeds and its thoughts. We must acknowledge the exceeding sinfulness of self. We must have a deep desire for the Holy Spirit to expose any surface that has been contaminated by sin, and if there has been some willful sin, it must be the work of God to remedy it.
Yes, we may be sure that the Heavenly Father forgives us because of the death of Jesus Christ, but in addition to forgiveness there must be a cleansing of the contaminated area. What caused the Adamic nature to break out in fleshly act or thought? What unguarded avenue did we leave open to the rise of the flesh or the entrance of the world? What device of Satan did we ignore? Did we fail to have our whole being insulated by the power of the Holy Spirit? Did we fail to feed our spirits with the Word of God? We are told that "godly sorrow worketh repentance" (2 Cor. 7:10), but how much do we know of such sorrow and repentance? When Paul wrote to the Corinthians these hard words about their laxity, there was an immediate effort at complete decontamination. We read, "I rejoice . . . because you were grieved unto repenting; for you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us (through the firmness of his reproof). For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation and brings no regret, but worldly grief produces death. See what earnestness this godly grief has produced in you, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what zeal, what punishment!" (2 Cor. 7:9-11).
Surely a comparison of the methods used by the Atomic Energy Commission over a mere one-fiftieth of an ounce of plutonium and that of most Christians over a slight attack—say a ton—of sin reveals a light and frivolous attitude on the part of the believer towards something which can contaminate all of life. May God teach us the nature of godly sorrow that leads to no regrets.
1. Evaluate your general understanding and view of repentance. How does Christ, the Holy Spirit, the Church and Scripture form your view of repentance?
2. God has forgiven us through Christ, How is this possible? Explain how the deity and personhood of Christ make this possible.
