Don't Take It Lightly

I wrote in “A SourTaste in My Mouth” that although we have done wrong many times, and the sins of the entire world number in the Gazillions, we can be entirely and completely forgiven through Christ! No need to feel condemned, we can be forgiven and free. Righteousness through God.

Even when I repeat a wrong, rather than feeling hopeless and guilty, I can talk to Him, and have the assurance that Jesus’ death on the Cross buys my forgiveness. God is merciful.

In this post I want to stress that we should never, never take sin lightly. We should never, never take forgiveness for granted.

God hates sin. In one place the Bible says “The fear of the Lord is to hate evil.” [1]

Out of respect for God we should view sin the way He does. That is the fear of God. I need more of it.

Sin is horrible. It is hideous. It flies in the face of God’s nature.

Doing wrong has consequences. They are always misery, suffering, and ultimately death. Because of God’s sheer mercy, the consequences of evil are not always immediate. If they were instantaneous, we would stop sinning, but we would probably stop living too. If I don’t water my plants, they wither and die. They don’t die instantly. When I do wrong my life, relationships, and career begin to wither.

New Town was the result of sin. So is divorce. And so is the fight with my wife after I say something harsh or stupid.

 “Why doesn’t God do something?”  we might say. “Why did this happen to me?” Amazingly, we blame God!

Why should God do something? Are you and I obligated to be good to those who ignore and offend us?

But in reality, God has done something! The cross. What a friend called the “throne of God.” Sin was overcome on that “tree.” Free favor and forgiveness was offered in Jesus. God didn’t need to give His Son, but He did, because He loves us. He loves you. He loved the shooter at New Town, he loves both parties in a divorce, he loves me when I’m harsh or stupid.

But He doesn’t love the wrongs themselves. He hates sin because it kills us. It is contrary to who He is.

So I purpose never to take sin lightly. First and foremost my own.

“How blessed are all who fear the LORD as they follow in his ways. You will eat from the work of your hands; you will be happy, and it will go well for you. Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your children like olive shoots surrounding your table. See how the man will be blessed who fears the LORD.”[2]

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[1] Proverbs 8:13 (International Standard Version)

[2] Psalm 128:1-4

A Sour Taste In My Mouth

Jesus Christ forgives all our sins. Christians don’t claim to be without sin. Sound theology teaches that like Paul, each one of us must say, “I am the chief [sinner].”[1]

Sadly, I’ve sinned many times. Believe me, it has left a sour taste in my mouth. But I’m a Christian because, through faith, Christ has forgiven all my sins. Having been sinless, He’s the only one qualified to do this. Receiving forgiveness puts a spring in my step. It’s like a fresh start, with no more guilty accusation.

The Bible says “There is … no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus.”[2] But, being a “chief,” I have tended to repeat my failures. Anger, lust, selfishness, arrogance, foolishness, complaining, criticism, gossip, fear. In those moments of repeat failure, I feel condemned. “I’ve failed. How can God forgive me again?” The spring goes out of my step. I work really hard to “pay God back” for my wrong.

This idea has helped me.

Let’s imagine each sin I commit is a lemon. Why a lemon? No particular reason, but maybe because the apple has gotten a bad wrap already..

How many sins have I done in my life? Let’s say 3 a day. (Remember our thought life counts) That would be 1095 in a year. (I’m being super conservative I am sure) I’m 61 years young, so that’s 66,895 sins in my lifetime. That is a hill of lemons. Two and a half lemons is about a pound. My sins weigh 13 tons. That’s 2/3 of a semi-truck. So I’ve nearly filled up a truck.

But how many lemons would represent your sins? Maybe another 30,000? (If you’re 30 years old and not as sinful as I am.) Two of us total 100,000 lemons. Twenty tons. The truck is full. Then we add a guy who went to prison for murdering someone. Maybe another 200,000 lemons? By now the pile of lemons fills almost three trucks. No longer a hill, but a mountain of lemons. How many lemons would represent the sins of the United States? The 7 billion people of the world? Billions!!

Is God willing to forgive that much? That many times?

The Bible says yes. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”[3] So today, if my 66,895 sins increases by one, will God be able to forgive me for Jesus’ sake? Yes!

My point is, God has forgiven far, far more sins than what I have committed. If I fail again... and again, He will forgive. That is so sweet! Be free! Be forgiven today!

But never take sin lightly. More on that in my next post on “Mike On Evidences.”

Click here to read part II: "Don't Take It Lightly"

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[1] 1 Tim 1:15 (American Standard Version)

[2] Romans 8:1 (American Standard Version)

[3] 1 John 1:9 (American Standard Version)

Who Will Throw the First Stone?

Is capital punishment a Christian position?

I write this because of the recent Norwegian mass murder. Anders Behring Breivik is charged with murdering 77 people, in two connected attacks. These were heartless and calculated crimes.

Opponents of capital punishment cite New Testament passages such as “turning the other cheek” to counter. Jesus stopped a capital execution by saying, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.”[1] How can one reconcile Christ’s act of forgiving his Roman executioners with the administration of sodium thiopental to a death row felon? Who has a right to throw that stone?

Yet capital punishment seems clearly biblical. Yahweh declared in the Law, “Anyone who strikes a man and kills him shall surely be put to death.”[2] No negotiation. There are numerous examples of God instigating executions.

Christ Himself, along with two criminals, died by crucifixion, the Roman form of capital punishment. He referred to Pilate’s authority as “given … from above.”[3]

There are two aspects of punishment, - human and Divine. In the 1995 movie “Dead Man Walking,” Sean Penn plays a cold-blooded killer who seemingly escapes Divine punishment, only to be executed by men. Forgiveness is one thing. Consequences of our actions is quite another. The Bible condones an avenger who kills his loved ones’ murderer as “without being guilty of murder,” [4] provided it was done within the legal framework. Executing a serious offender is sanctioned.

How can a loving God endorse the death of a person? Could it partly be the deterrent effect the death penalty has? One study concluded that from 1977-97, “each additional execution decreases homicides by about five.”[5]

Norway has no death penalty. Anders Breivik faces a maximum of 21 years in prison under Norwegian law. It seems Norwegian lawmakers could not envision such a horrific crime. Breivik faces 99 days for each life he took unless the sentence is changed. Does the punishment fit his crime?

The criminal crucified near Jesus admitted, “… we are getting what our deeds deserve.”[6] That is the tenor of the Bible regarding capital punishment. Some crimes “deserve” the life of the perpetrator, while others do not. It is right that a judge should have the option of capital punishment.

Should Breivik get the death penalty if he is finally convicted? Definitely. Would God spare him from Divine punishment if he repents of his sin of murder? Yes, He will.

After all, He doesn’t cast stones.

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[1] John 8:7 NIV Bible

[2] Exodus 21:12 NIV Bible

[3] John 19:11 NIV Bible

[4] Numbers 35:27 NIV Bible

[5] “Getting off Death Row: Commuted Sentences and the Deterrent Effect of Capital Punishment,” 1995, by Naci Mocan (University of Colorado at Denver) & R. Kaj Gittings (Cornell)

[6] Luke 23:41 NIV Bible

Nobody's Perfect

Last night we were discussing Christianity with some young people. I asked them, “What connects your faith to real life?” After some discussion, my wife said, “Christian principles work in real life.” Others added stories of how “loving your enemy” had worked in their experience. One girl said, “I called many friends that I’d had issues with. I asked forgiveness, and later, I felt so free. I think they did too.”

Christian principles work. In a clear example at Detroit on June 2, a young Tiger pitcher (Armando Galarraga) was one out from a perfect game. (When a pitcher gets all 27 batters out) It would have only been the 21st time in baseball history. But umpire Jim Joyce called the last batter safe on a play at first base. The perfect game was gone. Joyce’s call stood, even though the replay showed the batter was out. The fans screamed. Some kooks made death threats! A blogger called it, “one of the worst blown calls in baseball history.”[1]

What happened next was kind of magical. After the game, Joyce watched the replay and promptly admitted his mistake.“About a half hour after tonight’s game, Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga was asked to visit Jim Joyce in the umpires’ dressing room at Comerica Park. Galarraga said Joyce told him, ‘I’m so sorry in my heart. I don’t know what to tell you.’”[2] Galarraga gave him a hug!

Even more touching, the next day Joyce openly wept when he walked out onto the field for the Tigers game.

The resulting public reaction was a massive show of admiration for Joyce’s response. Tigers General Manager Dave Dombrowski said, “You don’t see an umpire after the game come out and say, ‘Hey, let me tell you I’m sorry.’ He felt really bad. He didn’t even shower.”[3] Media commentators lauded Joyce’s character. Peter Gammons wrote, “the most important lesson to be learned from what happened in Detroit is that Joyce, Galarraga … never lost their dignity. They treated the game and one another with respect.”[4] As Joyce travelled to his next game in Philadelphia, he said, “I walked through the Detroit airport today and people were patting me on the back,” Joyce told more than a dozen reporters … choking up again. “I had a police officer actually say thank-you to me today.”[5]

So a man commits one of the worst blown calls in baseball history and people are patting him on the back? Go figure!

The Bible says, “humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time.”[6] Joyce made an error, not a sin. But to have denied he missed the call would have been wrong. Instead he took responsibility for his mistake. That is called humility. The apostle James told us, “confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed”[7] Jim Joyce is experiencing healing. He found redemption by responding as the Bible counsels. Joyce didn’t do this as a Christian testimony of some sort. But his actions lined up with the Bible, as do many actions that are widely perceived as the virtuous thing to do.

“How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven…”[8] Jim Joyce knows that. He told NBC’s Today Show, "Well, I've probably been at an all-time low, and steadily climbing to … an all time high, I guess," [9] NBC's Matt Lauer told Joyce he was going to use the umpire's willingness to admit his mistake and apologize for it as an example for his kids.

Yes, Christian principles work in real life.

[1] Robbed! Blown call costs Armando Galarraga a perfect game
By 'Duk, Big League Stew Yahoo Sports Blog
[2] John Lowe, Free Press Sportswriter, Umpire Jim Joyce apologizes to Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga for blown call, denying perfect game Posted: 6:15 p.m. June 2, 2010
[3] Michael Santo, HULIQ.com, 6/3/10
[4] Peter Gammons, Tigers, Joyce Show Class, http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100603&content_id=10754280&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb Posted 6/3/10
[5] Mark Snyder, Free Press Sportswriter, Jim Joyce out of Detroit but not the spotlight, Posted 6/4/10
[6] 1 Peter 5:6, New American Standard Bible, (NASB)
[7] James 5:16, NASB
[8] Psalm 32:1 NASB
[9] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/04/jim-joyce-impressed-by-su_n_600467.html