Forgiveness and the Serial Killer

 Convicted serial killer, David Berkowitz who was more infamously known as the "Son of Sam" killer has sent word that he will not seek parole, even though he will be eligible again in May.  Berkowitz terrorized New York in the late 1970's by killing six people and wounding seven before he was apprehended.  He is presently serving six 25 year to life sentences for his crime. (Son of Sam Refuses Parole)

In the letter he wrote to Fox News, Berkowitz wrote that he had found forgiveness in Jesus Christ and is already a free man even though he is behind bars.  I will admit that I was a child when Berkowitz committed his crimes and so I have no recollection of the terror that he caused.  Even still, I know it is difficult to believe that someone who caused so much harm could claim forgiveness.  How could someone say that God has forgiven them for such terrible crimes?  As difficult as it seems to believe, it is possible. 

Berkowitz deserves to finish his life in prison for the crimes he has done.  Most people are glad that he is not seeking parole.  Berkowitz also deserves to go to hell for the crimes that he has done.  What he deserves is the wrath of God, not forgiveness.   The truth is if Berkowitz has found forgiveness by trusting Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior, that punishment has already been served.  God's grace is seen in that God's wrath for sin was placed on Jesus Christ at the cross.   The eternal punishment for Berkowitz's crime was meted out on Christ.  The debt of sin is paid in full.

It is easy for us to say that Berkowitz deserves hell, but it is not as easy for us to say that we deserve hell.  But we do.  The wages of sin (even what we consider small sins) is death.  The severity of our sin is not found in the harm it causes humanity but in the majesty of the law giver.   We deserve eternal death in hell, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus. If you put your faith in Jesus Christ, then the punishment for your sin has been served.  Jesus took your place.  The only thing we can do is bow our knees to the one who loved us and gave himself up for us.  Think about it.

Preach the Gospel to Yourself

One of the reasons why many of us have difficulty trusting God is that we doubt His willingness to keep His promises to us.  We know that God is faithful and will keep His promises, but we still struggle with our own worthiness to receive those promises.  Why would God want to use me?  Why would He bless me, look what I've done.  Because we struggle with this, our problem is not with God's promises but with the Gospel itself.

Christians know that we are saved by grace through faith, but we somehow come to believe that God's desire to bless us is tied to our performance.  Now, I recognize that faith without works is dead.   Our faith does lead us to obedience, but we never have a perfect obedience.  Most of recognize that and are well aware of our shortcomings.  When we see our failures, we doubt that God really wants to bless us. 

Our problem is that we spend too much time focusing on ourselves rather than Jesus.  We know we are saved by grace but we must always recognize that we are kept by grace.  In order to remember that, we must preach the gospel to ourselves.  How do I do that?  Here are a few suggestions.

1.  Meditate on the greatness of God.  Most of us enjoy the wonders of creation.  When we see them, we marvel at God's greatness and power for the heavens declare the glory of God.  When we see how great God is we must ask what the psalmist asked, who is man, (who am I) that God would consider him (me).  The answer is grace.

2.  Meditate on the sinfulness of sin.  As long as I justify my behavior, I can never really appreciate the truth of the gospel.  Most of us do not want to think that we are all that bad, after all I am better than you.  But our standard is not men, but a holy God.  When I meditate on my sinfulness, I realize I have no excuse.  The only hope I have is grace.

3.  Meditate on the cross.  John Stott in his book "The Cross of Christ" said, "Every time we look at the cross Christ seems to say to us, ‘I am here because of you. It is your sin I am bearing, your curse I am suffering, your debt I am paying, your death I am dying.’ Nothing in history or in the universe cuts us down to size like the cross. All of us have inflated views of ourselves, especially in self-righteousness, until we have visited a place called Calvary. It is there, at the foot of the cross, that we shrink to our true size."  When we realize what Christ has done for me, I know my only hope is grace.

We all need to preach the gospel to ourselves everyday.  We must sing the words of that great hymn, "The Solid Rock", "My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness."  My only hope is that my sin is covered by the blood of Jesus and when I stand before God I will be covered with Jesus' righteousness."  Because of the gospel, I know that God wants to bless me.  Do you know that?  Think about it.

The Wrong Focus

We often read of statistics that say that there is little difference between the behavior of Christians and non-Christians.  I don't know how accurate those statistics are, but I do know that many Christians are struggling to live out who they are in Jesus Christ.  One of the reasons for this struggle is that too many Christians have the wrong focus.  We focus too much on our selves rather than Jesus. 

I am not sure who said it but I heard someone recently say, "the gospel doesn’t call us to rededicate our lives to Jesus, but to come alive to Jesus’ total dedication to us."  Too often as Christians, we spend more time focusing on our shortcomings rather than Christ's victory.   Don't get me wrong, I believe that progress in our sanctification is made through "working out our salvation with fear and trembling."  But our work must always be a by product of God's work in us.  We choose to please Christ, when we desire Him more than ourselves.  Our problem is that we do not love Jesus more than anything else.

If we are to become more like Jesus, we must spend more time focusing on Him than ourselves.  Jerry Bridges once defined living a godless life as living any moment of our lives without considering God.  As Christians, we are called to seek God's kingdom and His righteousness first.  He is to be our priority.  As we consider Him and His love and dedication for us, our hearts will be drawn to Him more and more.  As we desire Him more, we will choose to please Him and our lives will begin to change.  The next time you fail in your walk, preach the Gospel to yourself again and again.  Think about it.

The Art of the The Deal

It looks like the crisis is passing.  The congress has worked out a deal to raise the debt ceiling and America will not default on its loans.  I am glad that a compromise has been worked out, I haven't read all the details but I am hopeful for the best.  It would be nice if our nation would never get to this point again.  It would be wonderful if our government would do what each of us must do, live within our means, but that may be too much to ask.

In all of the debate about solving this problem, there was so many predicting the end of the world.  I heard one commentator say this would be the end of the world as we know it, if a deal was not reached.  The end of the world as we know it, if America defaults on its loans.  Don't get me wrong, I love my country but my ultimate hope is not in the security and prosperity of the United States of America. 

Isaiah 40:15 states, "All the nations of the world are but a drop in the bucket.  They are nothing more
than dust on the scales."  No one concerns themselves when one drop spills out of a bucket of water.  No one asks the grocer to wipe the dust of the scales because they are afraid that it will make a difference in the weight and cost of their item.  No these things are insignificant.   Isaiah is saying, all the nations of the world are insignificant in comparison to almighty God.

Every nation rises and falls, but the world continues to turn.  Our hope must always be in what is eternal and truly all powerful and that is our Lord.  Yes, I am glad a deal was made but that does not change where my hope lies.  How about you? Think about it.