Idolaters and the Mercy of God

Assassination, Sikhism and Olympics shenanigans

A post by Paladin Actual

I want to talk about 3 things today and how we should view them through the lens of Scripture: first the Trump Assassination attempt, second the Sikh at the RNC, and finally the Olympics Shenanigans.

Trump Assassination –

God absolutely can be thanked for preserving the lives of those who survive violent attacks, God can also be trusted to handle the souls of those who have died. All of this is within His authority and He has done many times before.

Does this mean that Trump is the anointed savior of America and Christendom. No, absolutely not, God preserves many people from death and heals them of illness, both people you would consider the good guys and the bad guys. Why God acts to preserve life one time and not another, we won’t know unless He tells us in heaven.

Remember, God gives blessings to people who don’t deserve it, both Christians and non-Christians. His protection in a moment should not be seen as a guarantee on divine appointment to earthly immortality. Consider this Bible verse from Matthew 5:44-45, it will be relevant to later topics today too:
But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust

So, whether you believe Trump is just or unjust, we can credit God for his salvation from this attempted murder without trying to read all kinds of things into it.

It’s fine to speculate, but not insist, so long as you are being Biblical. If I had to guess, I think part of this preservation of Trump’s life was to preserve relative peace in the United States. A successful assassination might have thrown the entire country into violent upheaval, so we can thank God that we are preserved from that.

God is the one we can credit for maintaining peace in our nation and we should continue to pray for it, consider 1 Timothy 2:1-4, this verse too will be relevant later:
First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.  This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth

We should pray for peace in the country, whether or not we like our rulers. Remember, all rulers, whether they are King David or King Saul, whether they are Solomon, or Herod have authority given by God. So it is good to pray for their health, their wisdom, and that they may lead the country well.

Let’s talk about the RNC and the Sikh “benediction”.

For those of you who are aware, the Republican National Convention just happened, and for Christians, there was some good and some bad. First some good, somehow some brain cells made it into the Republicans in charge and they got an actual, for real, competent pastor to do a Benediction. In particular they got Pastor Jim Roemke, an LCMS pastor, and he prayed a prayer from the LSB before giving a benediction. He did so faithfully, he avoided the appearance of syncretism, it was trinitarian, I have no complaints except the one he has, that immediately after he faithfully blessed the people present and prayed to the one true God, they had some Sikh priestess show up and start warbling some blasphemous prayer to her imaginary pagan deity.

Ah, you say, I am being too harsh perhaps? Perhaps I should be more tolerant and polite? Well, let’s see who such worship is actually being offered to, since Sikhism is a false religion.

1 Corinthians 10:20-21:
No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons.  You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons.

Not I, not even Paul, but God declares that the “gods” that pagans worship are either nothing but wood and stone idols, at best, or at worst actual demons.

So as a Christian, are you called to have anything more than derision for demons? Do they deserve respect and tolerance?

Now recall the text from before about loving our enemies. Those who worship demons are indeed enemies of God, and thereby enemies of God’s Children, but keep in mind, so too were you and I before we were raised from our own spiritual death.

Romans 5:10
For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.

So if we were enemies of God that were saved, God certainly can save more of His enemies. We can simultaneously, like Elijah the prophet, and so many others in Scripture, call the demonic what it is, foolish and evil, while we pray for the souls of those led astray.  Lord have mercy and save those who worship rocks, carved wood, and demons, and let us never fall into the trap of legitimizing such blasphemous worship.

Which of course brings me to the Olympics buffoonery.

I don’t watch the Olympics generally; in fact I would not have known it was going on except for the numerous people who contacted me regarding the opening ceremony and pagan pageantry going on. Last I heard, France was still unable to decide if it was a mockery of the last supper, or a depiction of a Greek festival, which ironically would also be a pagan mockery of the one true God. It doesn’t make a huge difference honestly, both spit in the face of the creator, just with different concentrations of phlegm.

I will give you a phrase, and you may apply it every time you turn on a TV, the phrase is “Disappointed, but not shocked”.

I’ve seen the picture of the absurd nonsense that counts as art by the unbelieving world. It’s pagans acting like pagans, should I really be surprised anymore? Should you?

This is what to expect, this is the norm, Christians were told that we would be persecuted, that our God would be mocked, that our religion would be mocked, that we would be considered fools and people would blaspheme constantly. Why is anyone surprised that unbelievers who hate God make works of art that display their hatred for God?

It’s not good, of course. Not because it does any damage to God or undermines Christianity one bit, but by participating in such mockery these people store up judgment for themselves for later, unless they repent.

Here is a promise from God, Galatians 6:8
Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.

Pray that these wicked men and women are spared the harvest that they sow.

In the meantime, how should we Christians respond? With public outrage? Certainly, why not? We have a voice, we are called to speak up when people sin both in disgust of the sin and for the preservation of those who are in danger, or those they hurt with their sin. Post, and share posts, talk about it, sign letters and petitions, cancel advertising contracts, boycott businesses? Absolutely, go for it, your kingdom is not of this world, but you live in this world, you are called to civic participation, do righteousness in this kingdom.

I have a lot of heathen and pagan friends, Muslims, Jews, Bahai, Buddhist, atheist, Mormon, whatever. Before anyone starts any dumb angry twitter threads about a pastor being friends with unbelievers, don’t worry, I make it abundantly clear that unless they repent, they are in danger of the judgment.

Anyway, one of these Muslim friends was outraged by this Olympics display.

“When will you Christians rise up? You are cowards, soft and weak, and you let these infidels mock your god! You should respond with violence?”

He was infuriated by what he saw as apathy on my part. But really, why? What good would it do to kill all the unbelievers who mock God? To remove their opportunity to repent and populate hell? As a Christian, I have no desire to do such a thing.

And what are they actually accomplishing with their mockery of Christ and the last supper?

By mocking the events that brought salvation to this world, do they somehow prevent them?

I’ve got news for you, bucko, You’re too late. you’re 2000 years too late to stop God from doing His work. It’s already done, we’ve already won! Ha ha ha ha!” It is finished, game over, you’ve accomplished NOTHING, you LOSE, good day sir!

Ah but this is not the end, the battle is finished, but there still is chance for victory, even for those who have lost the battle against God. There is victory in Christ alone if they but repent of their wickedness, cease the hardening of their hearts, cease their resistance of the Holy Spirit, repent and believe!

Even they have not out-sinned God’s love. God has forgiven far worse sinners than these heathens, a sinner like me has been forgiven more than they, so if God can save me, He can save them, He can save you.

Paul’s Second Letter to Timothy, the second chapter promises this (2 Tim 2:25-26):

Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.

It is not too late. If the thief on the cross, in his last hours both mocked Christ and trusted in Him, and was saved by Him, it is not too late so long as any unbeliever draws breath. So we pray desperately for repentance and salvation of those enemies of God.

That’s what we do as Christians. We are not pagans who wage war when someone insults a god who cannot defend himself, a block of stone or a carved wooden idol that needs people to fight for it. We share Christ and Him crucified.

Ezekiel 33:11 says this:

As I live, declares the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live

If God wants it, we should want it. God’s mercy is not weakness, as the Muslims see it, God’s mercy is strength. It is withholding deserved wrath to allow for love. That’s what God has done for us, that’s what we should desire for others. So that is what we pray for, and what we Christians should make of this Olympics sin.

God bless you all and take care.