Last night we Americans heard the news that the murderous Islamic-terrorist Osama bin Laden was killed in a shoot-out with American forces (http://goo.gl/L8F88). As the news emerged, a number of thoughts began to criss-cross my mental landscape. (These are “random” and not fully developed at this time– so please treat this as a “rough” draft and a work in progress).
1. AS AN AMERICAN: My first (gut) reaction was as an American and an ex-New Yorker (who worked in downtown Manhattan for a decade and used to spend many of my lunch hours at the World Trade Center). My visceral reaction was similar to scores of Americans: ”Ding, dong… the witch is dead!” I was proud to live in a country with such brave special forces who could pull off such a daring attack. I was happy for the ”closure” that some of my NY neighbors — especially the families of those brave first responders– were possibly feeling. (In reality, I am sure there is no “closure’ since their loved ones can’t come back.) I thought of a woman I recently met who lost a husband on 911 and I wondered, “…what’s going through her mind right now?” I guess I was hoping that they were somewhat relieved because “justice” (albeit in some small measure) has finally been served to them!
2. AS A CHRISTIAN:
a. Should I be cheering at the death of this horribly evil man? Since Yahweh says He does NOT cheer at the death of an evil man (see: http://bib.ly/Ek33.11.NIV), should I? The Bible says, “NO!” If only every reaction of mine was first and foremost controlled by the truth of Scripture! Pastor Tom Ascol does a good job of explaining how we should let the Bible inform our thinking on this point: http://goo.gl/PyzzW . Some others who are wrestling with this “mix of emotions” can be found here: http://goo.gl/kFfM2.
b. Should I have been praying for this horribly evil man? Jesus instructed his disciples to “love your enemies and pray…” Matthew 5:44. I think it would be fair to say that nearly all Americans consider him a brutal enemy. And, I have to honestly admit the thought of loving and even praying for OBL has not been at the forefront of my mind. How about you? Perhaps, we should ask, “What does that say about our faith if we cheer when our enemies are deafeated?”
c. If there is no hell as so many “preachers” are now proclaiming, then what? Why would I bring up this topic? Because Emergent Pastor Rob Bell’s Love Wins has caused a lot of controversy in the past few weeks. It even made the cover of Newsweek because he has reinterpreted classic Christian theology on Hell. He claims that “love wins” in the end and every person gets (and ultimately “takes”) a second chance and will go to Heaven afterall. (Yeah, I know I have given a very simplistic summary of his book – please see this excellent detailed treatment of Bell’s work by Kevin DeYoung at: http://goo.gl/AEDEN ). I watched the cheers on tv, the posts on facebook, and the tweets of so many that “Osama’s in hell….” I wondered how many of them may have been soaking up (or were inclined to blindly accept) Bell’s book about a “no hell for you” theology just a week before? We live in a culture that is confused if not outright hostile to the doctrine of Hell. But, I guess we have learned today that our culture wholeheartedly accepts that there’s at least one person in hell (yes, along with Hitler and Stalin). In terms of today’s theological debate, I guess you could say that our culture believes that there is at least one person that Bell’s revisionist theology doesn’t apply to.
d. And, if OBL gets what he deserves in Hell, then what about everyone else? Far too many people believe hell is a place for others (definitely not them). As I was processing exactly what the Bible says about “who” goes to hell, I thought of OBL. Was it the fact that he was a murderous terrorist that consigned him to hell? Or, was there a more fundamental reason? Many in our culture would say, “All terrorists go to hell!” But, may I respectfully, ask, “Is anyone else in danger of hellfire? (You might be very surprised at what the Bible actually teaches about “who” is in danger of going to hell and what the “root sin” is that sends one there. These are just a sample of the verses to check out for yourself: John 3:18, 8:24; Romans 3:23, 6:24; Revelation 20:15.)
Even, if you persist in saying, “Well, only terrorists and people like that go to Hell…” then, what about a person like the Apostle Paul? I think it is fair to say that Saul (the pre-converted Paul) had some commonalities with a “religious terrorist” like OBL. At least we can say that Saul’s relentless attacks on the the earliest Christian converts was religiously motivated too. (I know there are some BIG differences between OBL and the pre-Christian Saul too.) But, here is the point I want to make: Both men did things which our culture deems as “damnable offenses” AND, yet, God mercifully changed Saul before it was too late:
“[9] For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. [10] But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.” (1 Corinthians 15:9-10)
For OBL, I believe — because of what the Bible teaches (Hebrews 9:27) and the objective evidence about OBL’s life — that Mr. Bin Laden has already faced an eternal JUSTICE at the hand of a infinitely Holy God. (Yes, I know God’s the judge, not me.) And from everything I know about OBL, I believe that God’s justice is fair and deserved for his heinous crimes!
But, remember St. Paul? In ignorance, he also brutalized people “in the name of God” for a season. But, the wonderful Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is that there was MERCY at the hand of an infinitely Loving God for Paul. This mercy was free (he couldn’t earn it or repay God for it). In a word, it was so “undeserved” for Paul. That is exactly what grace is!
I have never done anything as terroristic as OBL, although I have let “murderous thoughts” kidnap my mind on more than one occasion - see Jesus on this at: Matthew 5.22. So, should I rest in the fact that “I am not as bad as _______________…” Many people settle for this logic, but it is NOT a Biblical logic! The Bible does NOT say God grades “on a curve” or will let me “off the hook” because I was “better than most.” No, the Bible is absolutely clear that ALL have sinned and fall short of God’s glory (http://bib.ly/Ro3.23.NIV). And, the real scandoulous fact of the Bible is simply this: to fall short of the glory of God is a damnable offense!
I wonder if everyone who shouted with glee that, “Osama’s in hell!” has given any thought to the implications of “falling short of God’s glory” for themselves? I know I have. The death of OBL has given me some time to think about a few important questions today. And, I have decided I want to be like St. Paul and rest in God’s free and undeserving MERCY to sinners like me to save ME from hell. How about you?
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2 May
Some Random Thoughts on the Death of OBL
Posted May 2, 2011 by pastoralexp in BibMin, Commentary. Leave a Comment
Last night we Americans heard the news that the murderous Islamic-terrorist Osama bin Laden was killed in a shoot-out with American forces (http://goo.gl/L8F88). As the news emerged, a number of thoughts began to criss-cross my mental landscape. (These are “random” and not fully developed at this time– so please treat this as a “rough” draft and a work in progress).
1. AS AN AMERICAN: My first (gut) reaction was as an American and an ex-New Yorker (who worked in downtown Manhattan for a decade and used to spend many of my lunch hours at the World Trade Center). My visceral reaction was similar to scores of Americans: ”Ding, dong… the witch is dead!” I was proud to live in a country with such brave special forces who could pull off such a daring attack. I was happy for the ”closure” that some of my NY neighbors — especially the families of those brave first responders– were possibly feeling. (In reality, I am sure there is no “closure’ since their loved ones can’t come back.) I thought of a woman I recently met who lost a husband on 911 and I wondered, “…what’s going through her mind right now?” I guess I was hoping that they were somewhat relieved because “justice” (albeit in some small measure) has finally been served to them!
2. AS A CHRISTIAN:
a. Should I be cheering at the death of this horribly evil man? Since Yahweh says He does NOT cheer at the death of an evil man (see: http://bib.ly/Ek33.11.NIV), should I? The Bible says, “NO!” If only every reaction of mine was first and foremost controlled by the truth of Scripture! Pastor Tom Ascol does a good job of explaining how we should let the Bible inform our thinking on this point: http://goo.gl/PyzzW . Some others who are wrestling with this “mix of emotions” can be found here: http://goo.gl/kFfM2.
b. Should I have been praying for this horribly evil man? Jesus instructed his disciples to “love your enemies and pray…” Matthew 5:44. I think it would be fair to say that nearly all Americans consider him a brutal enemy. And, I have to honestly admit the thought of loving and even praying for OBL has not been at the forefront of my mind. How about you? Perhaps, we should ask, “What does that say about our faith if we cheer when our enemies are deafeated?”
c. If there is no hell as so many “preachers” are now proclaiming, then what? Why would I bring up this topic? Because Emergent Pastor Rob Bell’s Love Wins has caused a lot of controversy in the past few weeks. It even made the cover of Newsweek because he has reinterpreted classic Christian theology on Hell. He claims that “love wins” in the end and every person gets (and ultimately “takes”) a second chance and will go to Heaven afterall. (Yeah, I know I have given a very simplistic summary of his book – please see this excellent detailed treatment of Bell’s work by Kevin DeYoung at: http://goo.gl/AEDEN ). I watched the cheers on tv, the posts on facebook, and the tweets of so many that “Osama’s in hell….” I wondered how many of them may have been soaking up (or were inclined to blindly accept) Bell’s book about a “no hell for you” theology just a week before? We live in a culture that is confused if not outright hostile to the doctrine of Hell. But, I guess we have learned today that our culture wholeheartedly accepts that there’s at least one person in hell (yes, along with Hitler and Stalin). In terms of today’s theological debate, I guess you could say that our culture believes that there is at least one person that Bell’s revisionist theology doesn’t apply to.
d. And, if OBL gets what he deserves in Hell, then what about everyone else? Far too many people believe hell is a place for others (definitely not them). As I was processing exactly what the Bible says about “who” goes to hell, I thought of OBL. Was it the fact that he was a murderous terrorist that consigned him to hell? Or, was there a more fundamental reason? Many in our culture would say, “All terrorists go to hell!” But, may I respectfully, ask, “Is anyone else in danger of hellfire? (You might be very surprised at what the Bible actually teaches about “who” is in danger of going to hell and what the “root sin” is that sends one there. These are just a sample of the verses to check out for yourself: John 3:18, 8:24; Romans 3:23, 6:24; Revelation 20:15.)
Even, if you persist in saying, “Well, only terrorists and people like that go to Hell…” then, what about a person like the Apostle Paul? I think it is fair to say that Saul (the pre-converted Paul) had some commonalities with a “religious terrorist” like OBL. At least we can say that Saul’s relentless attacks on the the earliest Christian converts was religiously motivated too. (I know there are some BIG differences between OBL and the pre-Christian Saul too.) But, here is the point I want to make: Both men did things which our culture deems as “damnable offenses” AND, yet, God mercifully changed Saul before it was too late:
“[9] For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. [10] But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.” (1 Corinthians 15:9-10)
For OBL, I believe — because of what the Bible teaches (Hebrews 9:27) and the objective evidence about OBL’s life — that Mr. Bin Laden has already faced an eternal JUSTICE at the hand of a infinitely Holy God. (Yes, I know God’s the judge, not me.) And from everything I know about OBL, I believe that God’s justice is fair and deserved for his heinous crimes!
But, remember St. Paul? In ignorance, he also brutalized people “in the name of God” for a season. But, the wonderful Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is that there was MERCY at the hand of an infinitely Loving God for Paul. This mercy was free (he couldn’t earn it or repay God for it). In a word, it was so “undeserved” for Paul. That is exactly what grace is!
I have never done anything as terroristic as OBL, although I have let “murderous thoughts” kidnap my mind on more than one occasion - see Jesus on this at: Matthew 5.22. So, should I rest in the fact that “I am not as bad as _______________…” Many people settle for this logic, but it is NOT a Biblical logic! The Bible does NOT say God grades “on a curve” or will let me “off the hook” because I was “better than most.” No, the Bible is absolutely clear that ALL have sinned and fall short of God’s glory (http://bib.ly/Ro3.23.NIV). And, the real scandoulous fact of the Bible is simply this: to fall short of the glory of God is a damnable offense!
I wonder if everyone who shouted with glee that, “Osama’s in hell!” has given any thought to the implications of “falling short of God’s glory” for themselves? I know I have. The death of OBL has given me some time to think about a few important questions today. And, I have decided I want to be like St. Paul and rest in God’s free and undeserving MERCY to sinners like me to save ME from hell. How about you?
Like this: