In the Beginning

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men." John 1: 1-4

"And the Word became flesh..." John 1: 14

"So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them." Genesis 1: 27

"Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh." Genesis 2: 24

"He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, 5 and said,‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’?" Matthew 19: 4,5

So, what does Jesus think about same sex marriage? 

When male and female each have different attributes of God as being prominent in their intrinsic (masculine or feminine) nature, can the union of two women (all feminine), or of two men (all masculine), truly be Imago Dei?

What Should we Think About Chan and Sukamaran?

In the months leading up to, and through the hours in the wake of, the execution of convicted drug smugglers Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukamaran, social media and the mainstream news have been flooded with the opinions of many. On the one hand we have those who fully support the execution, and on the other hand we have those who laud mercy as the superior standard.

It is a topic surrounded by emotions, and there are some terrible arguments being used by both sides. So, what are we to think?

MERCY

Mercy is better:
But how is it better? And is mercy at loggerheads with justice?
I suggest that this cannot be the case: without the standard of justice, mercy is meaningless. Unless you know exactly what it is that you deserve, there is no value in getting the opposite.
This is precisely the case of the Cross. God's justice demands that payment be made for all that we have done wrong. Each and every one of us deserve no less than an eternity of suffering for each and every single slight against the infinite holiness and majesty of a perfectly good God. And this is precisely the standard which gives the merciful death of Christ its value.

Further to this, as if the death of Christ is not compelling enough, if we take the stance that mercy is better, we cripple ourselves as a nation. Should we abolish gaols altogether? Merciful freedom is better than just incarceration.

They were rehabilitated:
Yes, it seems that they were. However, actions still have consequences, and these are not necessarily removed by a change in character. The consequences of a promiscuous life include several sexually transmitted diseases, some of which are devastating to the bearer, but these diseases remain, regardless of whether or not the previously promiscuous person has begun a life of celibacy.

The two men had also become followers of Christ, and without detracting from this beautiful conversion, it bears mention that these are not the first two men to suffer consequences of crime after they are saved. We go back to the Cross, and we see a man repent next to our crucified saviour, even admitting that he deserved to be there while Christ did not, and we hear the words of Jesus, "Today you will be with me in paradise." It was not, "you are free, get down from the cross and go your merry way", it was "bear the consequences in this life, I will bear them in the next."

It is also worth noting that, while they sung hymns before the firing squad, these men were killed while in His Name, but not for His Name.

Killed needlessly:
Were they? I've read and heard many times that these deaths were needless, pointless, and that the Indonesian government did not need to go through with the executions. But does it hold up?

I suggest that the opposite is true. Much like a parent does not want to (or get pleasure from) punish their child, and much like God does not wish for men to perish (see 2 Pet 3, if you think my theology is a bit off there), so the Indonesian government does not, necessarily, want to execute people, or take any pleasure from it.

But they did not have a choice. Much like the parent who has set a boundary to never be crossed, and much like God telling Israel "Jericho is mine; take from it and be destroyed", they didn't have a choice but to follow up the crime with the consequence of discipline. They were put in that position by the two men.

When a child accepts the risk of a punishment and crosses the line, when Achan, with full awareness of the punishment God had declared for disobedience, took from the spoils of Jericho, they take upon themselves the responsibility for the consequences. The same applies to Chan and Sukamaran.

What goes up, comes down. Throw a rock up into the air, and be standing underneath it, and it will hit you in the face. It's not that the rock hates you, or does it out of spite; the rock is just following the rules, and you experience the exact consequences you took upon yourself when you hoisted the rock into the air.

JUSTICE

Their country, their laws:
This argument is usually used by lefties, in defense of other cultures.

"Oh, it's their culture to behead homosexuals, Christians, and Jews."

"It's their culture to mutilate the female anatomy, to have child brides, and to beat women."

"It's cultural to separate people based on castes."

Bemusing, then, to see the same reasoning used by conservatives - Christians, no less!

This kind of thinking is a product of relativism, and can be boiled down to the point where it is impossible to say that anything is either right or wrong, even in our own country.

Obviously, the opposite is true: we do not need to accept unjust laws. We rail against abortion because it is an injustice of the highest degree. We oppose same sex marriage because of the injustice (among other things) which follows, to children and society. The Americans had a revolution, sparked by an injustice in tax, by law. Daniel refused to give up prayer to YAHWEH, as it was an unjust law. Same applies to his three friends who were thrown into fire for refusing the unjust command to worship a gold statue. Clearly, we can and must rebel against bad laws, so to say "their country, their laws, mind your own business" is not a good argument to make.

WHAT THEN?
So, what do we think then?

I can only tell you what is known for sure, and let you make up your own mind.

What we know, is that Chan and Sukamaran are responsible for their own punishment, even death.

We know that they were saved, and that (as far as we can tell) they are in paradise today, alongside the repentant criminal on Golgotha.

We know that they shared the gospel with fellow inmates, and reportedly saw others, even on death row, saved by Christ.

We know that justice, as hard and unpleasant a concept as it may be, was metered out in this life; that the sword to limit crime was used, and that the line once set still sits in the same spot.

So, we can mourn that sin entered this world, and through sin, death. We can weep that Andrew and Myuran were contaminated by the same original sin, the same total depravity, as the rest of mankind. But we can rejoice that these two men did not die in their sin, but Christ. We can jump with excitement at the mention of their impact on other inmates. And we can dance in the knowledge that, like Chan and Sukamaran, our consequences - our hurt, our sickness, even death itself - may remain a little longer in this life, but they have already been defeated, and removed forever by the blood and broken flesh of Christ on the cross.

Yeah, We Know...

I had no intent of making this post. I had no intent of any kind of public announcement on this at all. But, it seems that there are feet eager to run and tell news that is not theirs, and the mouths attached to these feet, in their haste to spill the beans, have neglected to make sure they have the facts.

Why make sure you've got the facts, when you have a perfectly plump and juicy bit of gossip, right?

Random Thoughts

The pop-Christian saying, "You don't know my heart" runs aground when you consider that "out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks." It breaks upon the reef when you hear, "by their fruits you shall know them."

The best profiler is not the man who sees what is inside another's head, but the man who has an intimate knowledge of his own mind.

To be asked by a theonomist to provide "chapter and verse" to show that it is wrong to attack a person's character instead of their ideas, suggests they may have missed the essence of the very Law they cherish.

Friends don't let friends use logical fallacy. If your position is a lie, it will be uncovered; if your position is the truth, it will defend itself.

If the grass on the other side of the fence is greener, invest in some irrigation. Anything in life worth having requires work, and your rewards are directly proportionate to the effort you put in.
Want a good marriage? Work at it.
Want to be complimented on how well behaved your children are? Work on disciple-ing them.
Want a good job? Work for it.

The paradox of our time is that we are more connected, yet more cut off.

When you apply the economic law of supply and demand to society at large, you begin to see that any chance we have of salvaging what is left, must be done by reaching individuals at a street level, rather than approaching things top-down. A morally righteous populous will demand a morally righteous government; A morally corrupt people will never make the same demand.

On Social Media

Much has been written, spoken, and pondered, concerning the dangers surrounding social media. Much has been said about the merits of monitoring our children's use of facebook, snapchat, twitter, instagram, and the like. Much will continue to be said on that, even though it really is over-complicating a very simple matter.

If you cannot trust your child enough that they have their own account, don't allow them an account.

If you are worried about your child, talk to them. Chances are, they'll respect you more for telling them your concerns, than for spying on them.

If you are unable to control yourself on social media, cut it off and enter the Kingdom without it.

Simples.

But what about for reaching people? What about for preaching the Gospel?

Things Left Unsaid

Yesterday, I had a brief exchange with a man who refused to hear the Gospel message. He told me, as he walked away, he would never serve Jesus, after what Jesus had done to him. As a parting shot, I called out, "but did He do it to you?"

Eventually, he came back through the area where I was standing, and he, oddly enough, encouraged me to continue in what I was doing, saying that not many people would be willing to take the abuse people threw at them. I pointed out that Jesus went to the cross for me, so it isn't really that big a deal to have someone swear at me. Then he volunteered the real reason for his hesitance to hear the Gospel. He'd been hurt before. Hurt by someone acting in the Name of Christ. Once bitten, twice shy.

Searching for something to say, I asked if he was sure I couldn't convince him to take a tract and read it later; I tried to tell him that it was never too late to pick up the Bible he hadn't read since he was a child.

And now, I wish I had said something else. Something like:

"Would you like to grab a coffee and talk about it?"

And maybe from there, another conversation could be had, my side of which I can only hope he stumbles across on this insignificant little blog, as there is a chance I'll not see him again to say it face to face.

So, sir, if you're reading this, here is what I would say:

"You are a sinner. And you are in desperate need of Jesus.

"But so am I. And so is that other guy handing out tracts over there. And so are the people who hurt you enough to make you spurn the Saviour. In fact, even the Pope himself needs Jesus, but that's a topic for another time.

"I get it. I really do. You've been abused in some way, hurt, cheated, taken advantage of, by someone who you should have been able to trust. Someone who bore the banner of Christianity. Someone who, like you and I both, needs Jesus. And I get the connection. I get that there is a fear of it all happening all over again. If one Christian could hurt you so much, what is stopping another Christian from doing the same? And all I can say to that is, Grace.

"It is only the Grace of God which is the difference between the saved and the sinner. It is only by God's grace that some do not become so abusive as others. And even then, we sinners stumble. And God's Grace picks us up again. So I cannot guarantee you'll not be hurt again. I cannot promise that a saved sinner, will not sin again.

"But I can tell you that where we sinners fail and fall, Christ stands, perfect. Put your faith in sinners, and you're setting yourself up for disappointment. Put your faith in Jesus Christ, and He will never let you down.

"And now, would you like a refill?"

On the Fear of Men

A dog barks when his master is attacked. I would be a coward if I saw that God's truth is attacked and yet would remain silent

~  John Calvin