Just a note that we will not have our weekly Monday night Bible study tonight. We will pick back up next Monday evening.
We air the study on Facebook Live (RC-Lisa Sproul). Within a day or two we post the video of the study right here for those who would like to watch on their own schedule.
We’d love to have you with us, in person if possible. We’d love for you to invite your friends. Our new study considers the attributes of God, unpacks just a hint of His ineffable glory.
Turns out the world wide web didn’t become the sharing-of-ideas paradise we all once hoped it would be. This comparatively new way to communicate to a wide audience has created a comparatively new way for us to insult and belittle each other. Nevertheless I offer up a few rules I aspire to live by to both avoid and deal with this reality.
1. Just because someone disagrees with me doesn’t mean I am right. Even if the opposing “argument” is mere insult or ad hominem, it could be accurate. It’s a good thing to take a moment and at least consider the possibility that I might be wrong.
2. When I agree with my accuser that I am in the wrong, it’s a good thing to own it and repent. My critics may well not be in a forgiving mood, but my goal is not their forgiveness but my obedience. This doesn’t mean, however, repenting for everything I’ve ever said or done. I try not to let my shame in what I got wrong lead me to apologize for what I got right.
3. Pay zero attention to the anons. If they are not willing to tell you who they are while telling you you are wrong, I am not willing to respond. No one has ever or will ever lose their job if it is known they criticized me, so I’m not buying “Muh food on the table” arguments in this context.
4. Look for good faith disagreements and engage, peacefully. Sometimes people have genuine questions, and if we’re wound a little too tight, we hear them as accusations. I try to at least begin a conversation to see if we can find common ground.
5. On the other hand, I try to know when it is time to back out of the rabbit hole. Some people, even genuine good faith people, suffer from a fanaticism Winston Churchill (not, I’m sorry to report, GK Chesterton) described this way, “A fanatic is one who can’t change his mind and won’t change the subject.” I pay no attention to what often follows, the accusation that I have left the debate because I am losing.
6. Ignore the worst form of ad hominem, when my actual past sins are provided as proof that I’m no good. It is true enough that my actual past sins prove I was no good. It’s my current sins that prove that I am now no good. Raising old ones is just a tired stratagem from the devil.
7. Remember that I am loved. The moment I allow the internet to determine my value is the moment I devalue Jesus and His work for me. My treasure is in heaven, not in mentions. Jesus has blessed me with a wife and children who love me. He loves me. Our Father loves me. Everything I’ve ever lost on the internet, or anywhere else for that matter, are the very things any wise man would gladly sell to buy the Pearl of Great Price.
If you see me on the internet failing at these goals, by all means, let me know. Hopefully I’ll follow the first one enough to actually look to see if you are right, and I am wrong. Now, let’s be careful out there.
I remember it like it was yesterday. Bill Stewart was a reporter for ABC News. At a roadblock set up by government soldiers in Nicaragua he was ordered down on the ground and then shot point blank behind his ear. I remember it, however, not because I had been a fan of Bill Stewart’s. Not because I was a student of the political turmoil in Nicaragua. I remember it because ABC ran the footage over and over again. It was etched into my teenage mind.
We now live in a different world. Much of our spaces are under the coverage of CCTV cameras. Virtually every American has both a video camera in their pocket, but also access to post their video immediately, with no censors or editors to get in the way. Thus we have been witnesses in the past week to the brutal stabbing death of Iryna Zarutski and the assassination of Charlie Kirk.
In one sense we have been shocked by these events. In another sense we ought not to be. We understand, at some level, some homicides. Rival gangs trying to protect their illicit businesses, crimes of passion, drug deals gone bad. With these two we have opposite horrors. With the first there is the sheer randomness of the killing. Why her? With the second it is the long string of intentional decisions that spell out malice aforethought, and that, presumably, over political differences. How could they?
While it is true that we war not against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers (Eph. 6:12), and that the influence of the demonic should never be overlooked, it is simply not the case that either demons or insanity are the only explanations. When everyone was asking about the Connecticut school shooter Adam Lanza, “What kind of monster could do such a thing?” my answer was “The same kind I am.”
When we watch the footage and think, “There but for the grace of God go I” we should know we need to say it twice. It is because of the grace of God that we haven’t been murdered. But it is also the grace of God that we haven’t murdered. Left to our own devices, apart from His restraining hand, we are all murderers. No just unjust hatred for our brother murderers, but stabbing a stranger in the neck murderers, firing a sniper rifle from a rooftop murderers.
Is it horrifying? Yes. Is it evil? Yes. Is it damnable? Yes. Whether we mean by “it” the murders, or our hearts apart from His grace.
Praying for those who lost loved ones is the right response. As is mourning. The fruit of our sin is bitter indeed. But we should not be surprised. We do what we do because we are what we are. Which means we ought to give thanks, not only for the grace that called Charlie home, not only for the grace that kept us safe through the night, but for the grace that keeps us from making headlines through murdering a stranger, or a political foe. There but for the grace of God go we all.
I was a boy when I came up with what I believed to be a brilliant idea. It was the height of the Steelers’ dynasty. I loved the Steelers, (and still do) and loved Jesus (and still do.) I could serve them both. “Lord,” I prayed, “if you will make me an all-pro receiver for the Steelers, I’ll do great things for the kingdom. When I catch the winning touchdown in the Super Bowl I’ll point heavenward to You. When the reporters ask if I’m going to Disney World I’ll tell them I’m going to church. In the locker room I’ll give all glory to you.” Great plan huh? But God didn’t bless me with the physical gifts I’d need.
So I came up with another plan. “Lord, if you would make me a rock star, I could write subtle lyrics about you, shape people’s worldviews without them even knowing it. I call it ‘pre-evangelism.’” Alas again He didn’t give me the gifts necessary. So I prayed that He would help me write the great American novel. Eventually I noticed a pattern- my plans all involved me being incredibly wealthy and universally loved. Because, you know, the kingdom.
One need not, however, have such grand plans to fall into this same trap. We Christians are quick to seek out approval, standing, a place at the table, all in the name of influence. If we can get the world to love us, we seem to think, it’s just a matter of time until they come to love Jesus. So we wheedle our way into the broader world, you know, for the kingdom. We succumb to the “wisdom” of Screwtape who encouraged his young devil apprentice this way, “Persuade your patient that he is making his way in the world, while all the while the world is making its way into him.”
I am not, of course, opposed to influence. I’m just slow to learn from where it comes. Moses threw away the advantages he had in Pharaoh’s court, but found influence as a dusty desert prophet. Daniel came to Babylon a war prisoner. John the Baptist changed the world not in the halls of power but in the Jordan river. Jesus died. Paul preached to kings, while in chains. It’s a good thing, a great thing, to preach truth to power. It’s, given the deceitfulness of our own hearts, a bad thing to seek out power in order to do so.
It is the gospel we are so eager to preach that, according to God’s Word, is the offense. Remove the gospel to get close to power and we have lost our reason for being there. We have given up the only power we have. The power is not in our maneuverings, our stratagems. It’s not in our unspotted reputations, nor our worldly bona fides. The power is not at their table, but at His. Spilled blood, and a broken body.
Just a note that we begin our weekly Monday night Bible studies tonight. We begin at 7:00, but local guests are invited to come for dinner too, at 6:15.
We air the study on Facebook Live (RC-Lisa Sproul). Within a day or two we post the video of the study right here for those who would like to watch on their own schedule.
We’d love to have you with us, in person if possible. We’d love for you to invite your friends. Our new study considers the attributes of God, unpacks just a hint of His ineffable glory. Tonight- Trinity and Simplicity
A great deal would depend on what that someone had to say first. Has this person repentant of the abortion? To such a one I’d encourage remembering Jesus suffered God’s wrath that was due us for our sins. When we rest in Christ’s finished work we’re forgiven. Our sins have been removed from us as far as the east is from the west. We are not only forgiven but immutably and infinitely loved of their Father. That because of Christ He loves them as much as He loves His Son. I’d encourage them to not be afraid to enter into the sadness of their loss. But, having repented and been forgiven, not to return to their shame.
I’d take a different tack however, if the person has not yet repented. I’d call upon them to repent and believe the gospel. I’d tell them that they already know their guilt. That they have not just sinned but have committed what may be the most reprehensible sin one could imagine. They have not only murdered one who bears the image of God, but have murdered such a one who was utterly vulnerable and defenseless. They have not only murdered an image bearer that was utterly vulnerable and defenseless, but have done so to their own kin, their own child.
They, who were designed to nurture and care for their child, instead destroyed her. I would remind them that among the many things the living God hates is the hands that shed innocent blood (Proverbs 6:17). I would remind them that the all-knowing God finds this so shocking that He says of child sacrifice that it never entered His mind (Jeremiah 19:5). I would remind them that what they think they have done is secret will be revealed on the last day when the child, their own conscience and the living God will convict them.
The first answer, I pray you will note, in no way diminishes what was done. It does not downplay the sin, but rather magnifies the grace of God in Christ. The second answer, on the other hand, is no mean-spirited rhetorical torture. It isn’t piling on but is, like Peter’s potent sermon at Pentecost, careful, accurate, and loving. It is an appeal to whatever tattered remains of conscience this person may have left. Perhaps God might grant the gift of conviction, give a new heart and lead the person into the second conversation. It is designed specifically to push back against the very lies of the devil that encouraged the murder in the first place.
The sad truth is that too many believers cannot handle this simple truth. Calling sin sin is a sin to the contemporary church, which simply leaves the lost lost. The gospel is our only hope, and is given only to the hopeless. Jesus didn’t come to die for our mistakes, our bad decisions, our lapses in judgment. He came to die for our sins.
We will be back with fresh episodes next week. This week’s classic episode is a day late, though not a dollar short. I felt like yesterday’s Ask RC, also out of place, needed to go up quickly.
I got myself into a kerfluffle the past few days on the internet. I was seeking to come to the defense of my fathers. Someone posted this quote from my earthly father, “…ultimately there are no tragedies.” Someone objected by bringing to light some horrible suffering that a ten year old girl went through years ago. The argument was that this suffering demonstrated my earthly father was in error. And that my heavenly Father must have not been sovereign over the horror.
I made the regrettable mistake of responding as if this little girl were not a believer, and reminded everyone that no one outside of Christ has ever received more hardship than what their sins deserve. I should not have framed this as if I knew the state of the young girl’s soul. What I should have said was that her suffering was no harsher, from God’s perspective, than what she was due from Him. Despite the evident evil in the work of the criminal who assaulted her.
My mea culpa didn’t help. Because the real objection was that I believe, as did my father, that God is sovereign and that all humans apart from Jesus are due His eternal wrath. If this young lady was not a believer, what happened to her is a gross injustice, a great evil horizontally speaking, while she received justice vertically speaking. Thus not ultimately a tragedy.
If, on the other hand, this young lady was a believer, then she likewise was a victim of a gross injustice, a great evil, horizontally speaking, and went through a genuine tragedy proximately speaking, which will, in the end, turn out not to be a tragedy ultimately. We know this because God tells us that God works all things together for good for those who love the Lord, who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28.) Thus, once again, however much proximately, not ultimately a tragedy.
Every sin ever committed has been or will be fully and justly punished. Every sin of the man who assaulted the 10 year old, and every sin of the 10 year old. If neither die resting in His finished work for us, both will receive immeasurable torment for eternity. If either or both died resting in Him, their sins were justly punished in Christ at Calvary. And they will receive blessings at His right hand forevermore.
No, ultimately there are no tragedies. There are, however, genuine tragedies. Suffering, for both believers and unbelievers is all too real. But like every other reality, the living God sovereignly controls our suffering. It does no good to try to shield Him from our hardships. The Lord boasts in Isaiah 45 that He is the one who sends calamity. How shameful that we should be ashamed of that which He boasts of.
I have not, nor would I enter into someone’s proximate tragedy talking about the sins of the victim. I have not, nor would I begin to suggest that we can measure a given person’s relative righteousness on the basis of his or her relative suffering. I’ve read the book of Job. Comforting the suffering requires that we acknowledge God’s sovereign power, His holy character, and His love for those in Christ. None of these are in any way at odds with the others. None may be negotiated away.
I am sorry for my error. I’m sorry for a lack of clarity as well. I am not sorry for believing in God’s sovereignty, and His justice.
We must remember that the closest we’ve ever come to an ultimate tragedy was the crucifixion of our Lord. And it produced, as planned from all eternity, the very font of our ultimate joy. He is a great God, beyond understanding.
There are three great truths which, to the extent that they are believed, result not just in eternal life, but in a faithful life in the here and now. Three truths that can never be too familiar, never too impactful, that can never be silenced inside and outside the church. Three truths that have the power to reform the church.
The first is this- I am a sinner. I was conceived in sin. I was born in sin. I lived in sin in my death. When I was reborn by His Spirit and in accordance with His will, the power of sin was defeated in me, though its presence remains. I disobey God, defy Him. I harm His image bearers, disrespect His Spirit. I grumble against His goodness and seek joy, meaning and pleasure elsewhere. That I, as a believer, am forgiven, all my sins, past, present and future, doesn’t mean it is not right, fitting and potent for me to remember what I am. The same is true of all of us.
The second is this- Jesus is the Savior. He, God the Son, took on flesh and dwelt among us. He obeyed all that God has commanded, living a perfect life. That life He lay down freely, receiving in His person the just wrath of God due to me for my sins. He suffered in my place, taking on my guilt. He died on the cross. Death, however, could not hold Him. For He, in Himself, was innocent. The resurrection vindicated Him, demonstrating that the curse He suffered was what was my due. And the resurrection vindicated me. He died because in me He was guilty. I was raised because in Him I am innocent.
This same Jesus continues to save me, as He washes me with the water of His Word, as He intercedes for me, as He brings all things under subjection. He ascended into heaven, taking His throne at the right hand of the Father. This same Jesus will save me, when He returns, judging the quick and the dead, and raising up my corruptible body incorruptible. His kingdom is forever.
Despite the first, and because of the second, the third is this. My heavenly Father loves me. That love is infinite, immutable, eternal, and personal. That is, He loves me by name. He has adopted me as His son. He is my forever family. His love does not diminish when I sin, nor grow when I do well. For when He looks at me He sees only Jesus. He invites me to come into His presence, not just as my Maker, but as my Father. He holds me in His loving arms and delights in me.
This is what we gather to remember, to celebrate, to feast over. This is the message we take out of our meetings, carrying it to the four corners of the world, and of our neighborhood. This is what defines us as a people- sinners, redeemed and beloved.
