January 9

Genesis 9-10 A few months ago the News Press had a front page story about a murder. A man and his girlfriend were at home drinking one night with another male friend. The man went to the bathroom and returned to find his friend making out with his girlfriend. He beat the man unconscious, drug him outside, and left him in the yard to die. He then went in and beat up his girlfriend. A neighbor found the man in the yard unconscious and called the police. The man died at hospital. That was pretty cold blooded. Why is murder such a horrible thing? I really do not believe that most people have thought through the answer to that question, but it is an answer that is closely related to the glory of God. I think that most people find murder to be unacceptable because they realize that it could happen to them or someone they love. But in a world that rejects God as creator and embraces only the survival of the fittest, why should it be wrong? After all, if you are not one of the fit ones, you ought to die, and does not your inability to survive the attack of a rival indicate that you are not one of the fit ones? But such a line of reasoning is emotionally unacceptable, albeit logically demanded. Why is murder such a horrible thing? It is horrible not because it might happen to me or someone I love but because man is created in the image of God; male and female we are created in His image. When one lashes out at a human being, one is not lashing at just a human being. One is lashing out at the image of the Almighty God! That is what makes it a horrible thing. So why does God make it a rule that when one commits murder, then one’s life should be taken by man? Here He uses the term man in the generic sense. It includes both male and female. On that occasion when the murderer’s life is taken, it seems to me that this passage implies that a rationale for the taking of the life should be given to all who are present—“In the image of God, He made man.” This would imply to me that the taking of the life was not to be done in a vigilante or revengeful sense, but it should rather be done in calculated sense of justice. It was not the prerogative of an individual but the corporate prerogative of the people, the government. On those occasions where capital punishment is practiced, it should be an occasion when the people are called back to view that we are created in the image of God, and to not love God is a serious matter. More stipulations are given to the nation of Israel in the Mosaic law concerning capital punishment. Exodus 21:12-14; Leviticus 24:17; Numbers 35:33 each reiterate the responsibility of the corporate body to shed the blood of one who shed’s innocent blood. Some safe guards are put into place. No one was to be executed except on the basis of at least two eyewitnesses, Num. 35:30; Deut. 17:6; 19:15. The witnesses were to begin the execution followed by all the people, Deut. 17:7. Thus capital punishment was a call to the people be reminded that we are created in the image of God. To seek to kill that image, was not to be tolerated. But now that the New Testament is initiated, is it still to be done? Paul says in Romans13:1-5 Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same. 4 For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. 5 Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience’ sake. In today’s world God has left that right to bear the sword to punish the evil doer to the governments, which He has appointed. I would think that would include how those governments use or don’t use capital punishment. If those governments use capital punishment, then I would think that God would probably desire them to use His principles in performing them. The governments which refuse to follow those principles will surely have to answer to Him. I know of no government in the world today which before they execute a convict reminds their populace that the reason they are executing the convict is because he/she has struck out at the image of God before they committed murder. Nor do I know of any government that requires two eyewitnesses to the murder. Nor do I know of any government that requires the eyewitnesses to be the executioners. A final thought for consideration is that under our New Testament understanding of the cross, mercy triumphs over judgment. Is there room at a corporate level for governing authorities to release mercy and not execute the convict? Hmmm. . . I would think there would be, especially if the government did so while proclaiming the reasons that the murder was wrong—the murderer was striking out at the image of God. Then the government could proclaim mercy as an image of God’s mercy. It would even be more convincing if the murder repented and trusted Jesus for mercy. Why at this point in Genesis does God make this rule? Remember the leading reason that God destroyed the earth was because of the violence of man. I’ll bet there was a whole lot of murder going on before Noah’s flood. I think a lot of current evangelic church in the USA thinks of the evil of Noah’s day as marrying and giving in marriage—sexual immorality. And we know that according to Jesus that was a big part of the problem, but in Genesis violence seems to be the focus. Like the story with which we began, sexual immorality and alcohol seem to fuel a lot of violence. But the main point is the image or glory of God. He follows this instruction with the repeated command to be fruitful and multiply. He wants the earth to multiply with His image, His glory. That glory is to be seen in our image. He did not want another world filled with violent people. He wants the world to be filled with people who experience His mercy and grace! Now that is glory! Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor john * Ezra 9 15“O LORD God of Israel, You are righteous, for we are left as a remnant, as it is this day. Here we are before You, in our guilt, though no one can stand before You because of this!” What was their guilt? Ezra confesses things that he personally had not done. Why? He understood corporate guilt. There are times when we are corporately guilty. Ezra saw the need for corporate repentance. As their leader, he leads them in corporate repentance. What do we see about the glory of the Lord in this prayer of repentance? He is righteous. He punishes us less than we deserve. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor john * Psalm 9 We were driving in the middle of the night going east on I-70. Laura was driving; I was sleeping. We hit black ice at 70mph. I woke up when she screamed. The first thing that I saw was snow coming over the hood. My first thought was, “Lord, I’m coming home!” It was rather frightening. We came to an abrupt stop in a 4-foot-deep snow bank. A highway patrolman came right behind us and dug us out. He said, “It is black ice all the way from here to the border. Take the next exit and find a motel.” We started on our way. This time I was driving. Even going slow, I soon went into a spin. I was trying to remember my driver’s education, “When you go into a spin, turn into the direction of the spin.” That was just counter-intuitive. Its kind-of like, if a guy throws a left hook, you lean into it. I soon found myself sliding off the highway again. We dug ourselves out again, and we took the next exit. The Lord is a just judge. The concept is both frightening and comforting at the same time. It is frightening because I know that I have sinned. In Psalm 7 we learned that the Lord is angry with the wicked all day long. How many sins must I commit in order to be considered wicked? The Scripture is clear, one sin makes me wicked. IF the Judge is angry with me, I am fearful to be judged by Him. However, this judge is also merciful. 9:10 says, “You, LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You.” So, I, who am wicked, am supposed to run to the judge, who is angry with the wicked all day long? That doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me. It seems counter-intuitive. It is kind-of like turning into the direction of a spin on ice. Yet, that is what He desires. He delights as a judge in dispensing mercy. He wants to show us His mercy so that we may revel in His love. It is only by turning into His direction of the spin that we are in that we can find mercy. It always brings us back to Him. Turning into His direction is called, ‘repentance’. When I turn that direction, instead of finding a God who is angry with me all day long, I find a God who delights in my embrace. To turn away from Him is to invite His wrath. To turn toward Him is to invite His embrace. Why do I hesitate? Should be a no-brainer, but it is not. It is counter-intuitive. I rejoice in the fact that He is a just judge and invites me to seek Him. What glory! Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor john * Matthew 7 I grew up being taught that dancing with any girl/woman was a sin. Now, I think that I understand the reasoning behind that teaching. Obviously, Jesus taught that adultery begins in the heart. Much of the male/female partner dancing in the USA is partly designed to promote romance (sexual attraction) between couples. Jesus said that if a man looks on a woman to lust for her, he has committed adultery with her already in his heart. If a man dances with a woman who is not his wife, it seems to me that he is placing himself in a position where he increases the possibility of being tempted to lust for the woman with whom he is dancing. No physical immorality may ever take place, but immorality may have begun in the man’s heart and perhaps in the woman’s heart as well. It is easier to condemn all dancing as sinful and tell people to stay away from it than to try to tell young people, “Well you can dance unless it is the type of dance that will produce lust in your heart for a person who is not your spouse.” Where do you draw the line? I cannot see into the heart. It is easier to draw the line by condemning one activity as sinful rather than to discern the heart. To this day I have difficulty dancing with my wife and even have problems with liturgical dancing because I am unable to let loose of the standard that condemned all dancing. What is wrong with dancing with my wife? Nothing really, it is just that the standard I grew up with keeps nipping at me. This principle can be illustrated in a number of other issues as well such as smoking, drinking, dating, clothing, church activity etc. They are visible acts by which we hope to judge the heart. They are standards we can measure. If we can measure the standard, then we can know who meets it and who doesn’t. But the problem is that we can gloss over the standards for man to see, but we never change the heart. That is why Jesus so vehemently condemned the Pharisees as white washed tombs full of dead men’s bones. It is natural for our hearts to judge others by the standards that we understand. The standards we understand tend to be the ones that we grew up with and are able to accomplish. We are frequently blind to other standards to which we have not been exposed or to which we have not attained. If we could grow up with all the correct standards and attain them all, then that would probably not be a problem. But alas, we do not grow up with all the correct standards, and we do not attain them all. As a result, the natural tendency is to judge the heart of others who participate in an activity which we have determined to be sinful. Righteousness begins in the heart for the citizens of the kingdom of God. That is why Jesus exhorts us to keep asking, seeking and knocking. Ask, seek and knock for what? Well, for a pure heart of course! (In Luke's version of the Sermon on the Mount, it is for the Holy Spirit.) And where is a pure heart to be found? At the narrow gate and the difficult way! And where is this narrow gate and difficult way? It is found only in Jesus. He is the Way, the Truth and the Life and no man comes to the Father except through Him. He is the One who changes our hearts. That is why we need to hear His sayings and base our lives on Him. He has a pure heart. He keeps every standard of holiness. We need Him desperately. While in the process of seeking Him, we are changed to be like Him. Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today! --Pastor John