Scott Bushey
Puritanboard Commissioner
Something from a friend of mine over @ RTDISC
Dear Sisters and Brothers,
I just finished watching the execution of the man who stood in the way of the Shiite takeover of Iraq, Saddam Hussein. I've watched not a few people die. Saddam appeared to die bravely, calling on the name of his god.
Saddam was a very bad man, but I don't believe that he went to the gallows believing that. I think that he believed that he was an effective leader, the kind of man who did what he had to do in order to rule this amalgam called Iraq. Saddam could have evaluated himself by other leaders in that part of the world and concluded that he was no worse than they. I don't doubt that he thought of himself as a martyr as the noose was placed around his neck. As he called on the name of his god, I think that he anticipated Paradise, imagining that his god would welcome him as one who had defended the faithful against the sectarian Shiites and the enemies of "the Prophet."
That's the frightening thing about what the Bible teaches regarding human nature. Total depravity doesn't mean that any human is as bad as he possibly can be, not even Saddam, Mao, Hitler or Stalin. Total depravity means everything that we do is polluted by sin, and so we cannot please God. It means that no part of human nature has escaped the effects of sin, not even our minds. Total depravity means that I can think I'm doing something really good when I'm actually doing something really bad. Jesus warned his disciples that "a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God" (John 16:2).
Even people who have a relationship with God through Jesus Christ must be careful about assuming that they really know themselves. The Apostle Paul evaluated himself very cautiously: "I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God" (1 Corinthians 4:3-5).
Our natural tendency is to demonize other human beings as if they deserve hell and we don't, or as if they deserve hell more than we do. The trouble with that is that there are many factors that determine our judgment, factors beyond our present ability fully to comprehend. Jesus told us: "That servant who knows his master's will and does not get ready or does not do what his master wants will be beaten with many blows. But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked" (Luke 12:47, 48).
Taking that into consideration, I may actually deserve hell more than Saddam. I was raised in a Christian home and church. In the mid-twentieth century, when I was being educated, the public schools of South Carolina were essentially Protestant Christian schools: I had to memorize the Ten Commandments in grammar school, where I also learned about sin and grace. I have had the benefit of college and seminary, and, like my father and grandfathers before me, I am an officer in the Church. When I was unconverted, I would sometimes wake up in the middle of the night and see my mother on her knees beside her bed. This daughter of the manse learned early on that the most effective tool in parenting is prayer. My mother has been dead for a decade and a half, but I have a wife who prays for me like my mother did, and I have hundreds of other people who regularly pray for me, too.
Saddam Hussein, on the other hand, had virtually none of the privileges I have. Saddam Hussein was born a decade before me into a very turbulent world. He never knew his father and was raised by his devout Sunni Muslim maternal uncle. Under his uncle's tutelage, Saddam developed a strong patriotic bent and became involved in politics while a very young man. But Middle Eastern politics has usually been a very brutal enterprise, especially since the defeat of the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War I, and Saddam learned early on that brutality counted for more than charisma in his world.
I have been given very much; Saddam was given very little. Judged by the principle of Luke 12:47, 48, I cannot think of myself as fairing better in the Judgment than Saddam -- if I have to stand on my own merits. My only hope is my faithful Savior Jesus Christ, who with his precious blood has fully satisfied for all my sins, and redeemed me from all the power of the devil. That really is my only hope, but it is my sure hope, and living with that hope, I know that I can die in peace.
Pro Rege,
Bob
"We have only one doctrine--Christ is our righteousness" (Bugenhagen).
Robert Benn Vincent, Sr.
Grace Presbyterian Church
4900 Jackson Street
Alexandria, LA 71303-2509
Tutissimum Refugium Sanguinis Christi
80 Hickory Hill Drive
Boyce, Louisiana 71409-8784
Dear Sisters and Brothers,
I just finished watching the execution of the man who stood in the way of the Shiite takeover of Iraq, Saddam Hussein. I've watched not a few people die. Saddam appeared to die bravely, calling on the name of his god.
Saddam was a very bad man, but I don't believe that he went to the gallows believing that. I think that he believed that he was an effective leader, the kind of man who did what he had to do in order to rule this amalgam called Iraq. Saddam could have evaluated himself by other leaders in that part of the world and concluded that he was no worse than they. I don't doubt that he thought of himself as a martyr as the noose was placed around his neck. As he called on the name of his god, I think that he anticipated Paradise, imagining that his god would welcome him as one who had defended the faithful against the sectarian Shiites and the enemies of "the Prophet."
That's the frightening thing about what the Bible teaches regarding human nature. Total depravity doesn't mean that any human is as bad as he possibly can be, not even Saddam, Mao, Hitler or Stalin. Total depravity means everything that we do is polluted by sin, and so we cannot please God. It means that no part of human nature has escaped the effects of sin, not even our minds. Total depravity means that I can think I'm doing something really good when I'm actually doing something really bad. Jesus warned his disciples that "a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God" (John 16:2).
Even people who have a relationship with God through Jesus Christ must be careful about assuming that they really know themselves. The Apostle Paul evaluated himself very cautiously: "I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God" (1 Corinthians 4:3-5).
Our natural tendency is to demonize other human beings as if they deserve hell and we don't, or as if they deserve hell more than we do. The trouble with that is that there are many factors that determine our judgment, factors beyond our present ability fully to comprehend. Jesus told us: "That servant who knows his master's will and does not get ready or does not do what his master wants will be beaten with many blows. But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked" (Luke 12:47, 48).
Taking that into consideration, I may actually deserve hell more than Saddam. I was raised in a Christian home and church. In the mid-twentieth century, when I was being educated, the public schools of South Carolina were essentially Protestant Christian schools: I had to memorize the Ten Commandments in grammar school, where I also learned about sin and grace. I have had the benefit of college and seminary, and, like my father and grandfathers before me, I am an officer in the Church. When I was unconverted, I would sometimes wake up in the middle of the night and see my mother on her knees beside her bed. This daughter of the manse learned early on that the most effective tool in parenting is prayer. My mother has been dead for a decade and a half, but I have a wife who prays for me like my mother did, and I have hundreds of other people who regularly pray for me, too.
Saddam Hussein, on the other hand, had virtually none of the privileges I have. Saddam Hussein was born a decade before me into a very turbulent world. He never knew his father and was raised by his devout Sunni Muslim maternal uncle. Under his uncle's tutelage, Saddam developed a strong patriotic bent and became involved in politics while a very young man. But Middle Eastern politics has usually been a very brutal enterprise, especially since the defeat of the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War I, and Saddam learned early on that brutality counted for more than charisma in his world.
I have been given very much; Saddam was given very little. Judged by the principle of Luke 12:47, 48, I cannot think of myself as fairing better in the Judgment than Saddam -- if I have to stand on my own merits. My only hope is my faithful Savior Jesus Christ, who with his precious blood has fully satisfied for all my sins, and redeemed me from all the power of the devil. That really is my only hope, but it is my sure hope, and living with that hope, I know that I can die in peace.
Pro Rege,
Bob
"We have only one doctrine--Christ is our righteousness" (Bugenhagen).
Robert Benn Vincent, Sr.
Grace Presbyterian Church
4900 Jackson Street
Alexandria, LA 71303-2509
Tutissimum Refugium Sanguinis Christi
80 Hickory Hill Drive
Boyce, Louisiana 71409-8784
That has got to be the most worthwhile post I have ever read on the PB.
