Monthly Archives: June 2020

Lets bring kindness back

Posted on by
Reply

The following was posted on social media today by Janice Procopio Walker. It is an appeal for common sense and kindness in the midst of the chaos all around us:

“I just got out of a 3 day FB jail. (Don’t try to post a toy g-u-n on marketplace. No warning. Jail for 3 days!). Yes, at this point, I’m scared to even type the word out!

One thing that really struck me during that time is that we don’t really know people’s stories. And sometimes, I’m not sure we care. 😞

During both Covid 19 and the recent racial tensions…beyond the sadness of the two events first and foremost…I was really saddened by the simple lack of love and kindness on social media.

If anyone questioned the media regarding Covid 19…they were a conspiracy theorist and lost our respect. Publicly. We have successfully hidden behind the computer screen for so long, I think we have lost sight of how relationships work. Undoubtedly, we have typed things we would never have the courage to say to someone’s face. I can’t tell you how many posts on my feed have said something like “I used to respect and love these people until I saw them post … xyz…” So do we only love and respect people when they think the way we think?

During the last few days, when I could not post…interestingly…I read countless posts of how if someone did not post a certain way…they showed their true beliefs and were not a friend, were a racist etc.

The reason our children are not yet on social media, is because the temptation to be one way behind a computer screen and another way in real life…is legit.

Have we really lost our way so much that we have forgotten the love and kindness it takes to make relationships work? Have we really decided that what someone posts or does not post is the true revelation of their character?

Isn’t true character who we are when only God sees? What we do…that no one knows about? How we serve, love, care for people when no camera follows us?

I have always believed that posting is easy. Living…is not. It’s easy for us all to post a certain way to appease the crowd…but how I live…is what matters. How I love…is what matters. How I treat people face to face…defines me more than what I post.

I’m not for or against posting a certain thing…that is not my point. The judgement of it all…scares me.

I think being in FB jail for three days is just an example that no one thought about … when they posted that their friends revealed their beliefs by their lack of a certain post. Just one example of many.

I’ve read many times all the things that Covid didn’t steal from us. But in many ways…it did.

Let’s bring kindness back. Let’s bring love back. Let’s bring all views to the table and welcome conversations.

And above all…let’s go do the hard thing. Let’s love people. All people. The people that don’t agree with wearing a mask. The people that do. The people that are scared for our country’s economic future. The people that are terrified of another Covid run. The people that are doing everything in their power to stay away from the temptation of the black hole of anxiety and depression. The people that post on facebook their support of a certain cause and look like a hero to all..but don’t go out of their way to be kind to someone they meet. The people that quietly spend time on their knees asking God to make them more like Him and to ignore the noise. The people that seek to make a small difference every single day in the lives of those they interact with…but try to keep their motives pure and will never tell you about it. The people God made. All of them.”

The 2nd Use of the Law

Posted on by
Reply

by Joel Ellis, pastor of Reformation Orthodox Presbyterean Church, Apache Junction, AZ writes:

The Reformed tradition has historically identified three uses of the Law. Although sometimes numbered differently, they are:

1st – Pedagogical: as a mirror to display the perfect righteousness which God requires, convicting the sinner of his sin and driving him (under the influence of grace) to repentance and faith in Christ

2nd – Civil: as a code to restrain the exercise of evil within human society

3rd – Moral/Normative: as a rule of life to reveal what pleases God and how believing persons ought to live in love and gratitude

It is important to recognize these are not three different parts of the Law, only three different functions by which it operates upon the hearts of human beings. The three uses are not in order of sequence or priority. Calvin regarded the third use as the primary function of the Law, but this application is only made in the lives of regenerate persons. Likewise the first use is primarily experienced by elect persons brought under conviction as they are drawn by the Spirit from death to new life in Christ–though reprobates will experience the terror of the first use without any redemptive result. But the second use applies in the same way to everyone, whether the Law is encountered as written on tablets of stone or in the moral consciousness of man where it is written upon the heart (Rom. 2:14-16).

What we see on the news in cities throughout our nation right now is illustrative of what happens when the second use of the Law is abandoned. This is not to say the Law is no longer written upon the hearts of rioters, looters, and violent men. But the conscience can be seared, and when it is, the influence of the moral law written upon the heart is diminished. This is why God appointed governments and gave them the power of the sword: to protect the innocent, uphold justice, and punish evildoers (Rom. 13:1-7). That all human governments do this imperfectly and some do it abusively and wickedly does not change the divine mandate. The same Law that says, “Thou shalt not murder” also says, “Thou shalt not steal.” If civil law enforcers turn a blind eye to violations of the Law, societies should expect to see lawlessness abound.

The Law cannot save anyone. It cannot convert. It cannot atone for or forgive wrongs. It cannot justify. It cannot change the human heart. The Law can only do two things: tell us what the standard is, and define penalties when that standard is violated. Grace is required to accomplish anything more. But that does not mean the Law is powerless or pointless. On the contrary, even if the Law does not convict the conscience of every evildoer and even if it cannot convert anyone, it does serve as a powerful restraint to the expression of greater and greater lawlessness.

If a burglar knows a particular house is guarded by a powerlifting insomniac with a baseball bat, he will probably seek a softer target on which to set his sights. If a criminal knows his actions will likely result in him being caught and incarcerated, there is a chance he will modify his behavior in order to preserve his liberty. The reverse is also true. If a burglar knows I am a diamond merchant and a pacifist who eschews the use of door locks and believes wealth is communal property, I should expect to find my inventory relocated soon. If civil leaders order law enforcement to retreat when windows are smashed, stores are looted, radio cars flipped over, and police stations burned, they can expect to see such incidents increase. The Law is given to restrain sin, to deter sinners from acting on their worst impulses. You can expect to get more of whatever you reward, and make no mistake: refusing to restrain and punish evil is rewarding it and inviting more. The fact the Law cannot save does not make it unimportant. It confronts us with real and painful consequences for foolish, selfish, self-destructive behavior. We ignore it at peril to our own lives and souls. Any society which discards its usefulness, no matter how well-intentioned, will not long survive.