Jerry Richardson, Alex Murdaugh, and You

On Wednesday, Jerry Richardson died. On Thursday, Alex Murdaugh was sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering his wife and son.

Richardson brought the Carolina Panthers to Charlotte and was a revered member of the community until allegations came out in 2017 concerning his treatment of employees. Murdaugh comes from a prominent legal family – indeed, his father, grandfather, and great-grandfather served as solicitors/district attorneys continuously from 1920 to 2006, in charge of every prosecution in five South Carolina counties, including Colleton where Murdaugh’s trial took place (and where my ancestors lived).

Though there is a huge difference in the severity of their sins, the parallel is striking: Both seemed to be unassailable; both fell dramatically from their esteemed positions.

How should we Christians respond to the sins and subsequent fall of these two men? Consider five ways:

First: We should not be surprised. The Apostle Paul tells us, “There is no one righteous, not even one” (Romans 3:10). Scripture tells us that even pillars in biblical history such as Abraham, Moses, David, and Peter sinned. Other than Jesus, your greatest hero is a sinner.

Second: We should be thankful when justice is done. Jerry Richardson had to step away from the team he loved; barring successful appeal, Alex Murdaugh will never leave prison. God sets up government in part to implement temporal justice, punishing those who do evil (1 Peter 2:14). Praise God for justice.

Third: These cases should drive home truths about sin we so easily ignore: Sin always deceives; sin always is discovered; sin always destroys. We are tempted to believe the lie that this appealing sin really will be good for me; that this time no one will ever know; and that I can avoid any negative consequences of the sin. But Scripture makes clear that every sin – from the first in the Garden of Eden to the one I contemplate today – leads to the destruction of joy, not the deepening of joy. In God’s presence, following His paths, there is fullness of joy – and nowhere else (Psalm 16:11). And Jesus tells us that in the next life if not in the present, “What you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed on the housetops” (Luke 12:2-3).

Fourth: We should praise God the Father for providing forgiveness and reconciliation for sinners via the sacrifice of His Son on the Cross. Jesus’ first public exhortation is as true today as it was 2000 years ago: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15). Jesus came not to gather to Himself people who were sinless, but to call sinners to repentance and thus salvation (Luke 5:32, 1 Timothy 1:15). And that salvation can extend even to murderers – like David, like Alex Murdaugh.

Finally: The lives of Jerry Richardson and Alex Murdaugh should prompt us to examine ourselves, to root out and bring to light the sin within us. Personalize the truths about sin: My sins deceive. My sins destroy. My sins will be discovered. Yet I am forgiven if I repent, trusting only in Jesus’ sacrifice for my standing before God. Thus, we should repent from our known sins, turning away from them, and pray that God would reveal to us those we don’t recognize. As David prays in the psalm we are presently memorizing: “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!” (Psalm 139:23-24).

[I first heard the three “sin always …” statements in a 1985 sermon on David and Bathsheba by Gary Vanderet; it does not seem to be available on the internet. I used those statements in a 1998 sermon and a 2018 blog post based on that sermon – Coty]

Donald Trump and the Nature of Sin

January, 1977, western Kenya. Twenty-year-old Coty Pinckney arrives to begin teaching secondary school days after Jimmy Carter has been inaugurated president.

Students gather around to discuss the American election. One asks: “Why did Gerald Ford leave office?”

“Because he lost the election.”

“We know he lost the election. But why did he leave office?”

Thirteen years after Kenya’s independence, with their first president still in power, these students had never witnessed a peaceful transition between presidents of opposing parties. Indeed, the great majority of Kenyans had much more faith in a party or a leader than they had in the democratic system. When informed that 99 percent of Ford’s supporters would have abandoned him if he had tried to remain in office, the students were astounded.

Over the last 44 years many in the US have lost faith in that system. I have no idea what percentage of Trump voters would support his staying in office despite the election results, but it is surely several multiples of one percent. Similarly, had President Obama tried to remain in office in 2016, citing the dangers of a Trump presidency, several multiples of one percent of his voters would have supported him.

One of the primary strengths of the US constitution is its recognition of man’s sinful nature and the corrupting effect of power. Through constitutional checks and balances and, with the 22nd amendment, a limit on a president’s time in office, we weaken the authority vested in one man and encourage greater faith in the system for those holding opposing political views.

But over the last century, as the power of the presidency and the impact of the national government on our lives have grown, we have placed relatively more of our faith in political parties and particular leaders, and less in the democratic system. Thus the trends cited above.

Of all people, Christians should be especially wary of such trends. For we know that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). We know that “there is no one righteous, no, not one” (Romans 3:10). We know that “man in his pomp, yet without understanding, is like the beasts that perish” (Psalm 49:20). We know that our Lord Jesus says, “Apart from me, you can do nothing” (John 15:5).  And yet many professing Christians saw Donald Trump as something of a savior – just as, eight years earlier, many professing Christians of a different political bent saw Barack Obama as something of a savior.

Scripture is clear: “Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation…. Blessed is he … whose hope is in the LORD his God” (from Psalm 146:3-5).

These last few days provide us with a valuable spiritual lesson in this regard. Consider: What does Donald Trump love? His supporters believe he loves this country. Most recognize that he loves his children. His opponents say he loves power, and (to use biblical language) he loves magnifying his own name.

But in the weeks leading up to the assault on the Capitol, and especially in his speech to the protesters, what did he accomplish? He harmed his country. He seriously damaged his legacy. He effectively destroyed any chance of his receiving the Republican nomination for president in four years (unless the party splits and he’s nominated by the Trump rump for a quixotic final campaign). Compared to a week ago, today his family members are much less likely to hold future political office.

That is: Donald Trump harmed what he loved most.

Some are deeply disappointed in the man. Others point to these events, saying, “He acted as I always knew he would! He is evil and dangerous!”

But, friends, these last days just give us a very public example of what all of us sinners do. We harm what we love most. We think that sin will lead to joy and fulfillment – but it always, always leads to the destruction of joy, and, left unchecked, to the loss of what we love most.

For me that became apparent when I almost destroyed my marriage five years after my students asked about Gerald Ford, during my second period of residency in Kenya. As a confident and accomplished PhD student in my mid-twenties, I was forced to acknowledge that sin was not just breaking a few rules. Sin was a deep part of me, affecting the core of who I was. Furthermore, my wife Beth was similarly stained. Our marriage had no hope if it depended on either of us. We both wanted this marriage, we both loved this marriage – and we were both destroying it.

God graciously saved our marriage and redeemed us by the blood of His Son – the only possible way to redeem the mess we had made. Here we are, happily married 38 years later.

The point: What is true of me, what is true of Donald Trump, is true of everyone, and thus of every political leader. One way or another, in obvious ways or not (1 Timothy 5:24), every one of us sinners harms what we love most.

So don’t put your trust in Biden or Harris or Pence or Haley or the next charismatic politician. Don’t put your trust in the Republicans or the Democrats. Put more trust in the democratic system than in individuals or parties. Help others to do the same.

But even that system will fail one day – maybe soon. We can and should love our country and work for its improvement – but in God’s providential plan it will not endure. Along with all of this creation, it will be shaken and removed (Hebrews 12:27). Yet in Christ we are “receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken” (Hebrews 12:28). He is the only source of eternal joy; His is the only Kingdom that will endure; He is the only remedy for the destructiveness of our sin.

Thus, in light of a public sin by our president and the subsequent harm to what he loves most, may we ask God with David: “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!” (Psalm 139:23-24).

George Floyd and the Misuse of God-Given Authority

The Apostle Paul tells us:

There is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God…. If you do wrong, be afraid, for [the ruler] does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer (from Romans 13:1, 4).

The government, the state, thus has authority to work for the good of its citizens.

One aspect of that authority is the authorization to use violence against citizens of the state. But this authority is not to be used haphazardly – randomly harming some and supporting others. That’s terror. Nor is it to be used racially – systematically harming those of one ethnicity and supporting those of another. That’s genocide or its precursors. Nor is it to be used politically – harming one’s political antagonists and helping one’s political supporters. That’s tyranny.

Rather, God grants the state authority to use violence against wrongdoers as agents of God’s wrath. The state should give a foreshadowing of the justice to be implemented on the Last Day, when God sees to it that every sin is paid for – either by the blood of Christ or by the punishment of the perpetrator of the sin. So the state should only use violence when that is either necessary to halt a crime, or when that violence is just retribution for a crime already committed.

The authors of the Declaration of Independence argue that King George III had systematically misused such powers of the state, and thus the American colonies were justified in rebelling against him, and in setting up their own government.

But the government they set up was not another monarchy, substituting one king for another. Rather, “we the people … do ordain and establish this Constitution.” As Abraham Lincoln so marvelously described this political experiment four score and seven years later, it was “government of the people, by the people, for the people.” That is:

  • “Of the people:” The governing authorities are not foreigners nor aristocrats nor a dominant ethnicity, but come from the citizenry, from among the governed.
  • “By the people:” The rulers receive their authority neither from ancestry nor by the decision of a select group, but by the choice of the governed.
  • “For the people:” In line with Romans 13 and the Constitution’s preamble, the purpose of this government is to benefit its citizens as a whole – not to enrich its rulers or to extend the power of one faction or party over another.

When the state or agents of the state violate these principles – when they use law enforcement powers and violence to advance causes other than justice, other than the general welfare – they call into question the legitimacy of the government and thereby undermine their own authority. Most importantly, they misuse the authority God has granted, dishonoring Him, and making themselves liable to His perfect judgment.

The murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis policeman is a particularly egregious example of the misuse of power. Surely as time goes on we will learn what happened prior to this man being handcuffed, whether or not the officers were justified in so doing. But there is no possible justification for standing on a subdued, cuffed man’s neck for more than eight minutes until he dies from asphyxiation.

Why did this happen? What led a policeman – who should see himself as a servant of the public – to abrogate to himself the authority to take a life?

I would suggest it’s the same mindset that led to the misuse of the intelligence agencies in an attempt to take out political opponents in 2016/17; the same mindset that during this pandemic led a governor to open beaches in areas where his supporters predominate, but to close them in an area where his political rival is mayor; the same mindset that led a president to spread horrible rumors about a former congressman being a murderer.

This mindset is not, “I’m a servant of all these citizens.” It is rather: “I’m in charge. I’m here to advance my purposes, and the purposes of those like me. If someone annoys me, if someone gets in my way or in the way of our movement, he doesn’t deserve justice – he deserves to be taken out. I don’t bear the sword in vain.”

This mindset – often clothed in self-righteous justification of one’s actions – is antithetical to biblical teaching as well as to the founding principles of this country. May we, Christ’s church, call to account those who display this mindset – whether we agree or disagree with their political positions. And by God’s grace, may our governing authorities live out Romans 13 as well as the Constitution’s Preamble and the Gettysburg Address.

But it is not only policemen and politicians who are susceptible to the virus of this mindset. Many pastors are infected. Millions of church members have caught the disease. None of us is immune. And there is no vaccination available to prevent it.

So check your social media presence. Consider how you’ve interacted this week with those who are in some sense under you – those in your family, those in your workplace, those serving you in stores. Search your heart via God’s Word. Pray with David, “See if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!” (Psalm 139:24).

Our Lord came “not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). May those who wield the sword see themselves as servants of the people – and may we exercise our authority as those who serve.

 

God is Everywhere!

God is everywhere! Does that give you joy? Or should that make you tremble?

In Psalm 139, David delights in God’s omnipresence:

Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. (Psalm 139:7-10)

David sees God as his protector, as his guide, as his ally. In the most dangerous places, in the most remote places, God sees him, leads him, and watches over him. He rejoices that this is so.

Just so with all of God’s people. We are glad that we cannot run away from him, and so He protects us even from ourselves.

But if God is your enemy, His presence should be a terror, not a comfort.

In Amos 9, God speaks through His prophet using language quite similar to that of Psalm 139, highlighting His presence everywhere. But the point of this passage is quite different: God says that the disobedient Israelites will not be able to escape His punishment, no matter where they go:

“If they dig into Sheol, from there shall my hand take them; if they climb up to heaven, from there I will bring them down.  If they hide themselves on the top of Carmel, from there I will search them out and take them; and if they hide from my sight at the bottom of the sea, there I will command the serpent, and it shall bite them.  And if they go into captivity before their enemies, there I will command the sword, and it shall kill them; and I will fix my eyes upon them for evil and not for good.” (Amos 9:4-6)

The one true God is a God of justice. Because of this, no crime against the innocent, no oppression of the weak, no rebellion against rightful authority will go unpunished. Since He is omnipresent, since He sees all, since no one can stand against Him, there is no escape. He will right all wrongs. Praise Him!

But the one true God is also a God of mercy. And out of His mercy, to satisfy His justice, He instituted His plan of redemption through the death and resurrection of His Son. We guilty sinners can have our guilt assigned to Jesus, for Him to bear the punishment we deserve, if we confess our sin and rebellion, repenting and turning to Christ in faith. Then justice is done: Jesus takes on Himself the exactly appropriate punishment for our sin. And mercy is effected: God grants us salvation, completely undeserved on our part.

So: Together Psalm 139 and Amos 9 tell us that both God’s justice and His mercy will seek us out. If we continue in rebellion against Him, we will not escape Him. He is everywhere. He will find us. We will not get away with any sin, any rebellion. There is no hope of escape. There is no hope for a plea bargain. There is no hope of getting off on a technicality. God sees all and is always present. You will face Him. And that should make you tremble.

But God’s omnipresence will give you everlasting joy if you are His, if you are redeemed through Jesus Christ. And God offers that redemption to you and to me, to all mankind, to those from every tribe and tongue and nation. So come to Him repenting. Then surely His goodness and mercy will follow you all the days of your life. And you will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

 

Knitted Together in Your Mother’s Womb

Today is the 42nd anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Roe v Wade decision, removing virtually all state restrictions on the destruction of the unborn in their mothers’ wombs.

With that in mind, consider these thoughts on David’s Psalm 139, verses11-16:

If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,” even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you. (Psalm 139:11-12)

David acknowledges that there are times when he wonders: Can I be hidden from God? Can I go voluntarily where He can’t see me? Can I be forced to go anywhere where He won’t watch over me? David realizes the answer is no. No darkness can hide us from God. All is light to Him.

David then explains this further, considering the first dark place we all experience: The womb:

For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth.  Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them (Psalm 139:13-16).

In the womb, absent any light, God knitted you together. You are a remarkably complex being, and God fashioned every aspect of that complexity in the darkness of your mother’s uterus. He saw all, and like a master weaver He intricately and carefully wove the fibers of fabric that make up your being just the way He wanted. More than that: He had planned out your life – every day – even when you were just the merging of two cells.

Can we then take this fabulous creation and rip it apart – in the name of convenience?

We can and must understand and care for women caught up in the trauma of an unexpected and undesired pregnancy. We can and must show compassion and provide help for those who can’t imagine carrying a child and giving birth. (For an example of such understanding and compassion, see this video from the Pregnancy Resource Center of Charlotte).

But every one of the unborn is made in the image of God, knitted together by Him, created for His glory. Who are we to choose which ones shall live, and which ones shall never be born? Who are we to decide which remarkably complex being will become full grown, and which will be tossed out as medical waste?

We cannot hide from God – nor does anything hide us from Him. He sees us. He watches over us. He knows us. Every one – including all the unborn. And their mothers. And their fathers.

He is a just God – He will not let any sin go unpunished. Yet He is a gracious and compassionate God, abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, forgiving iniquity, rebellion and sin (Exodus 34:6-7) – all through the sacrifice of Jesus, the Son God knit together in Mary’s womb.

So walk in the light as He is in the light. And may God be pleased to grant us as a country both repentance for the tens of millions of unborn who have died these last decades, and compassion for the frightened women facing unplanned pregnancies.