Apr 10 2013

Some thoughts about the suicide of Pastor Rick Warren’s son


Suicide is a terrible thing, it ends a life and brings untold grief to the ones who love the deceased most. There is no question in my mind, that in most cases, suicide is a sinful act. I say “in most cases” because of the possibility that some who have committed suicide were so mentally unbalanced that they were incapable of rational thought. I think far more suicides would fit this category than we might think. I am no psychologist but but I do know that self preservation is a human’s strongest instinct.

I am no stranger to suicide, my first cousin, a young mother and devoted wife, took her own life and seemed rational to some degree, having carefully planned the act, leaving a well thought out note to her husband and infant son. I have had numerous friends who took their own lives. I have mourned with grieving family’s who had many, many questions and few answers, the most pressing with no answer. Why?

After hearing of Rick and Kay Warren’s loss, and reading some of the most hateful tweets and posts, some supposedly from Christians, my emotions have ranged from pity to intense anger, to sadness, to confusion, and finally to forgiveness. I remember Jesus’ words from the cross, “Father, forgive them, they don’t know what they are doing“. if or not people know how gross and ugly their actions are concerning this good family and their departed son, my only option is to forgive. And so, going against my every instinct, I am by faith granting personal forgiveness to those who have sinned terribly by what they have said and continue to say.

Back to Jesus. Yes, suicide is an awful sin (in most cases…). Can if be forgiven? Yes, it has been forgiven. Many serious disciples believe that since the one who takes his or her own life is not able to confess the sin and repent it is not forgiven so the person is therefore lost.

Really? If all the atonement of Jesus did for me was to position me where I am on a day by day bargaining with God about my many sins i am in deep trouble. As I said, this is exactly what many serious Christians believe. Have you thought this through? What if tomorrow afternoon you are killed in a car crash? Did you formally deal with God about every single sin of that day? The answer is NO! You can’t even track all you have thought, or said, or failed to do. As long as you and I live in bodies of flesh we will be to some degree sinful. Is there an answer to this dilemma? Yes!

The atonement of Jesus Christ covers all sin(s), past, present, and future. If not he wasted his life. But he did not waste his life! In Romans 4 the Apostle Paul quotes David in the Psalms, 

just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works:

7 “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven,
    and whose sins are covered;
8 blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.”

You ask, “Royce, surely you don’t believe God is not counting your sins against you, do you?” That is precisely what I believe. If not there is no way I could ever be justified by God. I’m too sinful. Oh, by the way, you are too.

Consider these words:

giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. 13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (Colossians 1:12-14)

 

He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high (Hebrews 1:3)

 

For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. 25 Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own,26 for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, 28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. (Hebrews 9:24-28)

 

But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God,13 waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. 14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. (Hebrews 10:12)

 

But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God,13 waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. 14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. (Hebrews 10:12-14)

 

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. (! Peter 2:24)

 

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21)

 

Today is April 10, 2013. How many sins had you committed 1,980 years ago? That is about how long it’s been since Jesus offered his holy life, fulfilling all of God’s righteous requirements for you, by giving his body as a sacrifice for your many sins. How man had you committed in the year 33 AD?

Are you getting picture? An atonement that only covered “past sins” is not much of an atonement! Honestly, my experience is that often I can’t even live up to my own frail standards much less God’s standard which demands 100% perfection.

You see, I have been declared “righteous” (not guilty) on the bases of the life and death of Jesus, not because of my goodness. And, so it is with you if you are in Christ. Here is the deal, a life given for a life, your life, Rick Warren’s son’s life.

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21)

 

If all God had done for us through the sacrificial death of Jesus was to forgive our past sins we would be in trouble. Before the sun went down on the next day we would be lost all over again because God’s demand is a complete holy life. Jesus’ life was that complete holy life, for you and me.

There is a mountain of Bible passages that support these facts. And, I expect there are scores that you suppose cancels these out. Well, I’ll tell you what, you try to reconcile your life with God on a daily, or even hourly basis if you want but I am satisfied with the once for all reconciliation of Jesus precious blood.

God hates sin! God hates suicide! God has done something about it. He judged it all in the person and work of Jesus our great high priest who made one offering for all people for all time. Are you in? I am all in. if not I have no hope of ever getting of my grave or seeing Jesus face to face. I have tried desperately and I find that I am not good enough to be approved by God. By the way friend, you aren’t either. 

I expect Rick Warren’s son to be in heaven along with the tens of millions of former offenders who appropriated the atonement of Jesus for their sins.

I am asking the God of all comfort to be near the Warren family and all those who loved their son. May they know the peace of God that only comes because of peace with God.

Royce Ogle
Monroe, LA

 

Apr 8 2013

Nuggets of Fudge – CRAFTY TEMPTATION


What a refreshing change to see a well known leader in the Christian community being transparent. Just when I thought Edward Fudge couldn’t top what he has already said about temptation I received this in my “in box” a few days ago. This illustration points out that I am not alone in loving the praise of men. God has some work to do on me!

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Temptation first walks into the Bible story over a verbal bridge that links Genesis chapters two and three. As we noted earlier, the passage pivots on a pun. Mr. and Mrs. Dirt-Creature (“Adam” in Hebrew) are naked (literally, “slick”) but they are not embarrassed. And the serpent is more crafty (literally,”slick”) than any other field-beast. Although fully bare, before they have sinned the Adamses feel no shame.

Embarrassment is a subjective form of self-consciousness, not a true measure of reality. Guilt, on the other hand, is an objective characteristic, whether one “feels” it or not. The crafty serpent will play head-games with the Dirt-Creatures, fool with their feelings, confuse their perception of reality–and, in the end–watch them distrust and disobey the Creator who IS life and who gives life to them.

The crafty devil is still at it today, and I speak from personal experience. I had been invited to read a paper at a particular scholarly meeting that I considered a great honor. Driving the night before to the city where the conference was being held, I was praying when my thanksgiving began to morph into self-congratulation. I heard my voice saying words I did not know I meant. I thanked God for this honor, which not only was well-deserved but long overdue. I thanked him that I finally was getting some of the attention that He, as the just judge of the universe, fully understood should come my way.

Suddenly I was flooded with feelings of guilt and appropriate embarrassment for my hubris. My sinful pride was obvious and outrageous. Scripture is full of warnings and admonitions regarding this sin that God hates. My self-centered thanksgiving quickly turned to a prayer of confession and request for forgiveness. I poured out my heart in sincere repentance. Then I heard a little voice in the back of my head. Again it came–only asking a question, a question one sentence long. But the content of that question could have but one source–the crafty serpent we met in Genesis 3. This was the question: “Wasn’t that the best prayer of repentance you have ever heard?”

Edward Fudge – gracEmail

Apr 3 2013

Nuggets of Fudge – Reflections on Temptation, A Wrap Up.


This post is the conclusion of a series of posts by my friend Edward Fudge. There is far more to be learned from these posts than about the subject of temptation in the Christian’s life. As usual, great biblical truths are a part of everything Edward writes. This series is no exception. They are jam packed with great doctrinal truths that we all need to know and appropriate.

The previous posts can be found here. Temptation (1), Temptation (2), Temptation (3), Temptation (4), and in this issue parts 5 and 6. I hope these lessons will bless you as they have me.

To subscribe to Edward’s gracEmail click here and you will blessed with Edward’s wisdom, scriptural insight, and news about what is going on in his life and other things he finds interesting.

Now, Edward writes:

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OVERCOMING TEMPTATION 

As these mortal bodies remind us, we have a fallen nature, and “natural” for us now includes a tendency to sin. As explained in Romans 6, the only way we can beat temptation is to die. People might sin in a cemetery, but the people who do so are not the folks who belong there. Whoever dies is liberated from sin and its appeal. Expect the devil to claim otherwise, but the truth is that sin’s power ends at the grave. But how does this help us, since we are still alive?

The answer is all about Jesus who rescues us from sin. Not only from its penalty, but also from its practice, and finally from its presence as well. He rescues us by becoming our high priest, standing in for us, taking our place, acting as our formal, official representative before God. But let us be specific: Jesus died–I died. Jesus was buried–I was buried. Jesus arose from the dead–I arose from the dead. These things really happened to Jesus, and because he is our representative, they also happened to us.

Fast forward now to the present. Satan comes tempting, reminding us that we humans, when left to our own power and to no other, cannot consistently resist sin. But Romans 6 interrupts. You died with Jesus, it says, and you moved past the jurisdiction of sin’s power over you. You were raised with Jesus, and you now live in righteousness–from a new power source that also empowers Jesus himself.

We can consider or reckon, calculate and conclude, that these things are really true–they truly describe the new reality in God’s new creation. In this new creation, whenever sin comes calling, we can say “no” to sin and present ourselves to God to do through us what he wishes. Sin’s power is broken–a new creation has begun and we are God’s righteous handiwork as he gradually makes us more and more like Jesus Christ himself.

JESUS’ RESURRECTION CONQUERS TEMPTATION 

The devil’s constant message and greatest lie is an attack on the very character of God. “God cannot be trusted,” Satan whispers. “You best keep an eye open if you really expect to be safe.” If we look closely, we see that all temptation to sin finally involves distrusting God. Not surprising, in the Gospels, Jesus’ saving ministry on earth begins and ends with the spotlight on this core issue. Can God be trusted to keep his promises?

“Since you are God’s son,” Satan literally begins in the wilderness (Luke 4:3). He dares not contradict the heavenly voice (Luke 3:22). Jesus would never fall for that. The issue is not Jesus’ divine sonship. The issue is the Father’s faithfulness. Can we trust God–and therefore obey him without fear or reservation–or must we look out for our own interests when dealing with the Father? Once, twice, then three times, Jesus deflects diabolical doubt. God’s word gives life, he affirms. Only God is worthy of our worship. Do not put him to the test (Luke 4:4, 8, 10). Jesus passes this test and Satan leaves him “until a more opportune time” (Luke 4:13).

The devil returns in Gethsemane, unseen and unnamed, but he brings the same haunting question as before: can Jesus really afford to trust God? The Father has said that Jesus is about to be slaughtered, then rise again on the third day. But can the Father be trusted to do that? Jesus’ prayer is not to avoid the cross, but rather to be rescued out of death. “Take this cup away from me,” Jesus prays; “yet not my will but yours be done” (Luke 22:39-46). To drink God’s cup of wrath is to undergo divine judgment. For God to take away the cup is to be restored again to life in God’s favor (Isaiah 51:17, 21-22).

Jesus faces the same temptation to doubt the Father’s character when from the cross he cries out words from Psalm 22:1–“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Psalm 22 closes with the godforsaken one alive and praising God with his brothers and sisters. Can Jesus trust that to be the case? In the end, faith triumphs over distrust, and Jesus dies with the words: “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” God is faithful to anyone who trusts in him. How do we know? We know because God raised Jesus from the dead.

Mar 31 2013

An empty life needs an empty tomb


Over 2200 people swarmed into the auditorium of White’s Ferry Road Church of Christ for Easter Sunday morning. There was great singing by the praise team and the congregation and songs with solo parts by elder Gordon Dasher and  Missy Robertson of Duck Dynasty. My heart was full to the point of tears as we sang about the One the tomb could not hold.

Jase Robertson gave a wonderful communion meditation and together we remembered the body and blood of the Lord Jesus who died for our sins. We gave our gifts and then Alan Robertson and Mike Kellett gave a wonderful message about Jesus and his work for sinners like us. An empty life can only be filled with the one the tomb was emptied of. The whole service focused on the good news about Jesus and what he accomplished by living and dying and then living again “for us”.

When the invitation was given many walked to the front (no one ever goes forward at the invitation alone) for prayers for sick family members, problems with marriages, and personal failures. And there was the usual love and forgiveness sealed with hugs and tender words of encouragement, and of course sincere prayers asking God to intervene as He wills.

Among those who came forward was a man whose beard and long hair resembled Jase Robertson. He and his wife had driven in from Indiana. Jase explained that this morning he had shared the good news with this man and then asked him what he had to say to the congregation. His words were brief and to the point. “I have lived a very rough life for the past 41 years and I want to give myself to Christ”. Soon Jase baptized this 41-year-old, a 13-year-old girl, and an African-American family of five, dad, mom, and three teens. Seven people who were helpless and hopeless have decided to follow Jesus and now the one who is the resurrection lives in them and they are assured they will live forever because of Him alone.

After sharing a delicious meal with my daughter, son-in-law, and our three grandsons, I am home and I can say that Easter this year was God blessed and couldn’t have been better.

If you read these words, somebody you, whose life is a mess, with no hope for a future with God, Jesus Christ is the answer! I hope you will consider him and his claims.

Royce Ogle

Easter 2013