Tag Archives: grace

Proclaiming Truth Through the Tears

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“The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous 
and his ears toward their cry.
The face of the Lord is against those who do evil,
to cut off the memory of them from the earth. When the righteous cry for help,
the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.”
(Psalm 34:15–18)

On Monday, March 27, 2023, three 9 year old students and three adult staff of Covenant Presbyterian Academy in Nashville, TN were murdered when an armed assailant entered the school with intent to kill. The female attacker was quickly stopped when Police entered the building using deadly force to prevent further carnage.

Within moments, the blame games were started.

Mainstream news outlets blamed Republican politicians for not doing enough to prevent gun violence, the Church and Christian School for not being more inclusive of the “Trans Community” (the female perpetrator identified as a male), and even the killer’s parents for their alleged rejection of their daughter’s new identity.

Meanwhile, conservative pundits were quick to blame the Democratic party for their lack of initiatives to provide protection in our schools, the LGBTQ+ activists for encouraging a mindset that leads to greater depression and aggression, and even the mainstream media for blaming everyone but the killer.

In each and every time that this kind of violence erupts in our world, we turn on each other, accuse and vilify one another, and even subtly blame the victims… all because we are afraid to say the one thing we know to be true: Sin and Evil are real, and there is a cosmic, spiritual battle raging in the world around us. Since the fall, satan has asserted himself as the prince of the power of the air (Eph 2:2), and has been working to undo all that God has done. Jesus said, “[The devil] was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44). The lies of the left, and the lies of the right, only serve to promote satan’s agenda. When we turn to lies in the midst of tragedy, the only one who wins is the devil.

And so it is that in the midst of evil’s eruptions, the Church must stand for the Truth. Even in our suffering and sorrow, we proclaim the victory over sin and death that has been won for un in Jesus Christ. We declare that there is freedom from the chains of sin, hope in the midst of a dark and fallen world, and security in the arms of our Eternal God. We stand in the revelation that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and that no one may come to the Father except through Him (John 14:6). 

Because of this victory we have in Christ, called to bless those who persecute us, and reminded “never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:19–21).

This is the hope, the peace, the faith that I hear when Pastor Chad Scruggs, Senior Pastor of Covenant Presbyterian Church (PCA), and father of 9 year old Hallie who was killed on Monday said, “Through tears we trust that she is in the arms of Jesus who will raise her to life once again.” Through tears of pain, sorrow, and unbearable grief, there is still a hope that is rooted in the eternal Truth.

This is the truth that, only months ago, Pastor Scruggs proclaimed as he preached from John 11:35:

The whole time Jesus knew how the whole thing would go down and yet what are the most remarkable things about this story, it always gets me, is that knowing exactly what he’s about to do Jesus sits down and does what? He weeps. Do you see that a strong confidence in the end of the story does not undo or justify the absence of grief in the middle. A mature faith adds its tears to the sadness in our world Jesus says blessed are those who mourn all the while not losing confidence and how that sadness will eventually be overcome in him

If you’re doubting the love of Jesus, you try to work it out through your circumstances. No, you never read your circumstances and then read the Love of Jesus. You read the Love of Jesus towards your circumstances. If you are doubting his love for you, if you are struggling with his authority in the midst of sadness and confusion, let the cross speak to you again. Look there so that you might say confidently, ‘see how he loves me. This is the one man given for me.’

Beloved, let us not do the devil’s bidding today and be divided by lies, but let us stand firm in the truth that is found in Christ alone. In Him we have redemption from our sins, forgiveness with God, hope and security for the future, the Spirit who gives us grace and strength to live for today and the boldness to stand and shine as a light in the midst of darkness.

SDG

Such Were Some of You

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Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

1 Corinthians 6:9–11

This was the scripture I read this morning for my devotions.

Who needs a cup of coffee after reading something this jolting.

Paul wrote this to a Church that was dysfunctional. There was fighting among Christians about which gift of the Holy Spirit was more important than the others; about which preacher was better than the others, all the while, turning a blind eye – even encouraging – sinful behavior to continue in the lives of members of the Church. Moreover, Christians were taking each other to civil court over their disputes, putting themselves under the authority of the unrighteous worldly judges. When Christians wrong and defraud each other, they are behaving like the ungodly, unrighteous world around them, and this is not who you are.

Paul makes his point abundantly clear, and we should not deceive ourselves:

  • Sexual immorality is a sin
  • Idolatry is a sin
  • Adultery is a sin
  • Homosexuality is a sin
  • Stealing is a sin
  • Greed is a sin
  • Drunkenness is a sin
  • Reviling (abusive, angry, critical language) is a sin
  • Swindling others is a sin

Of course, this is not an exhaustive list. Paul has other such lists in Galatians 5:19-21 and Romans 1:18-32, but the point is clear: these are all sinful behaviors, and those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. I may lose my audience, get removed from the blogosphere and social media for saying this, but it must be said, these things are sinful, and those who make a practice of unrighteousness will never enter in the kingdom of the righteous God.

But here’s the point of Paul’s message: “such were some of you.” Paul is writing to the redeemed, to those who have been called out of sinful living and into the righteousness secured for us in the righteousness of Christ. Those who are in Christ have been washed of the sin, cleansed from the filthiness of it. Those who are in Christ have been sanctified, set apart as holy for God. Those who are in Christ have been justified, declared righteous because of the righteousness of our mediator, Jesus Christ.

You were once defined by your unrighteousness, but now you are defined by your new life in Christ. Once you were marked by the division and animosity between God and man, and man and man, that comes about because of sin. Now you are marked by the peace, reconciliation, and forgiveness of our gracious God, and that grace permeates all our relationships.

I think the reason this passage reaches out and grabs us by the collar is because it does the two things that any presentation of the gospel ought to do: 1) It hits us with the condemnation of sin, of which we are all guilty and liable to judgment, and 2) It declares the salvation and redemption that is found only in the Lord Jesus Christ through the working of the Holy Spirit.

There is great hope in this passage, for while it does not excuse any sin, it does offer forgiveness in Jesus Christ for every sin. As the Spirit leads you to see the sinfulness of your sins and your desperate need for a savior, may you turn from your life of sin and come to rest in this assurance, that by the grace of God in Jesus Christ, you have been washed, sanctified, and justified in Jesus.

SDG