Crime and Punishment

I am amazed by the way God opens doors unexpectedly.  Yesterday I had the privilege of meeting with three senior chaplains in the NSW police force.  For some time (off and on) I had been praying about how churches or myself could support and encourage our local police, and perhaps this meeting was a first step in God's answer to that question.  As we concluded the meeting with prayer, exchanging details and shaking hands, I was given a Bible printed by the Bible Society Australia tailored for police.  Within the pages (in addition to scripture) are topical articles and prayers.

When I looked closely at the cover, I noticed in the NSW Police Seal a motto written in Latin:  "CULPAM POENA PREMIT COMES."  Since I do not understand Latin I turned to Google for the translation which basically means, "Punishment swiftly follows crime."  I had never considered what a good motto would be for a police force, but I suppose it is a good one because the ideal is biblical.  The wheels of the justice system typically turn slower than victims or cops would like, but the importance of swiftly carrying out punishment on the wicked was not lost on King Solomon.  He wrote of the dangers of ignoring or slowly dealing with wrongdoers in Ecclesiastes 8:11, "Because the sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil."  Should wickedness go unpunished there is nothing to deter the wicked.  The cliche goes, "If you do the crime you do the time" - but it seems the passage of time does little to change hearts.  We need the transformation and cleansing only God can provide.

Solomon continued in Ecclesiastes 8:12-13, "Though a sinner does evil a hundred times, and his days are prolonged, yet I surely know that it will be well with those who fear God, who fear before Him. ¹³ But it will not be well with the wicked; nor will he prolong his days, which are as a shadow, because he does not fear before God."  People do evade the arm of the police and even "get away with murder," but this avoidance of detection, judgment, and punishment does not apply to God.  He sees the countless times we have sinned and even committed crimes and He is longsuffering, not willing any should perish but desires all to come to repentance.  The wicked man will not live out half his days, and many scriptures plainly say the way we live matters.  The one who slinks in the shadows to cover his crimes will become as a shadow, one who will be exposed before God and lost forever.  Hebrews 9:27 reads, "And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment..." and the soul which sins will surely die.  Good and bad cops are bundled in with the rest of humanity before a Holy and Just God before whom we have to do, and not one of us is without sin.

Praise the LORD for His love and patience toward us, and that He has opened a door to forgiveness and salvation through Jesus Christ.  Hebrews 9:27-28 says, "And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, ²⁸ so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation."  Every mortal man will someday die, and as sure as this is observed and true Jesus Christ was offered to bear the sins of men.  All who repent and trust in Jesus Christ will receive the atonement of His blood and the gift of salvation by His grace.  Death can strike men most unexpectedly:  at a party, driving to work, on the beat, while playing a game, or in our beds.  The only way we can stand justified before a holy God is by trusting in Jesus because He is the One who took our punishment upon Himself.  After death there is no escaping the swift and intense punishment of hell which will last forever should we die in our sins.  How great is our God, that He would wash our sins away at His own expense and provide salvation for guilty sinners! 

Receiving Benefits in Full

How good God is to those who fear Him!  God is good to all men beyond measure, but those who trust and seek the LORD can receive the full benefits as His dear children.  All the gifts God graciously provides for men and beast on earth will end, for this world is passing away.  But blessings from God are retained by those who receive the Gospel and inherit eternal life for Christ is our inheritance who abides with us and we with Him.  All men are freely offered the blessings of God's kingdom, but only those who repent and trust in Him can receive and retain them all.

See what the psalmist wrote in Psalm 103:1-5:  "Bless the LORD, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name! ² Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: ³ Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, ⁴ Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, ⁵ Who satisfies your mouth with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's."  When I worked in a union 10 years were required to be "vested," and this amount of time was required to receive a pension.  We do not receive full benefits for "time served" as a child of God, but by virtue of God's grace received through the Gospel.  God forgives those who repent, provides healing, redeems us from destruction, places His love and mercy upon us like a crown, satisfies us, and renews our strength.  God is worthy of all praise and honour, and we ought to bless Him for the great benefits He has provided us.

Though we receive God's blessings because of His grace, there is a connection between our obedience and the fullness of blessing.  Psalm 103:17-18 says this:  "But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, and His righteousness to children's children, ¹⁸ to such as keep His covenant, and to those who remember His commandments to do them."  Do you see the conditions held forth here?  God is merciful to all, but the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting "on those who fear Him," on those "who remember His commandments to do them." We do not earn God's favour or blessings by our labours or sacrifices, but our obedience demonstrates faith which God richly rewards.  It is those who remain faithful to His covenant of grace through faith in Christ which receive His daily mercies.  If we love God we will heed His Word in obedience.  His mercies are new every morning for great is His faithfulness, and we are covered by them when we walk uprightly.

Bless the LORD, O my soul!  Let us remember how He has blessed us and be grateful and thankful always for the goodness He has bountifully lavished upon us all.  How privileged are we to be receivers of the good things God has reserved for those who fear Him, keep His covenant, and obey Him!

Better than Money Bags

"Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys. ³⁴  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Luke 12:33-34

Jesus often emphasised the wisdom of investing in the kingdom of God rather than living for self.  Everything a person acquires will be passed to someone else or be lost, stolen, broken, ruined, or forgotten.  There is no life found in the accumulation of money or stuff:  real abundant life can only be discovered through faith and obedience to Jesus who is our life.  Christians store up treasure in heaven when we choose to obey God and walk according to His Word and will.  Even a cup of cold water given in His name is cause for God to set aside an eternal reward for the cheerful giver.  The part of the passage which especially spoke to me this time was the exhortation to "provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail."

In ancient times people carried their money in bags made for this purpose, whether made of leather or fabric.  What is implied from the statement of Jesus is those bags (like wallets or purses commonly used today) eventually wore out.  The money people carried was not light-weight paper or plastic, but was typically in the form of coins or crudely fashioned pieces of gold or silver which had weight to them.  Can you imagine carefully stowing a money bag which represented all your monetary wealth in the world on a beast of burden, only to discover days later the contents of the bag had dropped out along the way because the bag had grown old and tore?  What a dreadful discovery that would be!  It would be a terrible, sinking feeling to know all you had worked for could not be recovered.

Jesus taught money and things of this earth decay and can be lost and stolen, but the eternal inheritance and wealth provided by the grace of God for His faithful servants endures forever.  No mothballs are needed to prevent damage in heaven, no elaborate security system is required:  our future is safe in God's hands.  Verse 34 provides insight so we might know when our hearts are set on temporal things.  If it is dreadfully painful for us to lose money, to see a deep scratch in our new car, or are bitter when we are overlooked for a work promotion, it may very well be we are setting our affections on things of this earth and not in heaven.  When we treasure something, that is where our affections lie.

IF we truly place our affections on things above and not on things of the earth, we will treasure the presence of God and His Word.  We will delight to come into His presence with singing and prayer and rejoice to heed the voice of our Saviour, offering ourselves and all we possess as a living sacrifice.  We will not even count our own lives precious to ourselves, for we have been purchased with the precious blood of our LORD and King.  We have been forgiven so we forgive; we have been graced with an everlasting love so we love God and others.  In this world one often needs to have money to make money, but Jesus gives us something money cannot buy:  eternal life and a glorious future in heaven.  Knowing we are therefore rich, let us love freely, give generously, and obey wholeheartedly.  Money bags on earth grow old and fail, but the love of God never fails.

Remember God's Leading

When you have faced difficult trials have you ever wondered, "Why is this happening to me?"  Life is hard, and like the old Morton salt catchphrase says "When it rains it pours."  The difficulties we face are easily compounded.  The salt slogan originated because moisture in the air has a way of making salt clump together, but Morton salt had magnesium carbonate added so it would still pour freely in damp conditions.  Alas, there is no additive we can bring into our lives to neutralise the pain of a fiery trial.  But we have far more in Jesus Christ who will never leave us or forsake us.  He allows us to go through the fire so He might bring us through further refined for His glory.

An example of this is seen after God delivered the children of Israel from slavery in Egypt.  Being slaves for hundreds of years was tough to be sure, but the decades spent in the desert before entering Canaan were difficult too.  God had a purpose He was accomplishing in unexpected ways, and I suggest the trials God allows into our lives intending to bring us through have good divine purposes as well.  See what God said in Deuteronomy 8:2-3:  "And you shall remember that the LORD your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. ³ So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD."

At the time of the trial (which may be of long duration) we may not know why God has allowed it or what He intends to accomplish, but in His words to the children of Israel He spelled it out to them.  This is for our benefit, for God nor His good purposes ever change.  He led them for years through the wilderness to:  1) humble them, 2) test them, 3) to reveal what was in their hearts, and 4) to see if they would keep His commands or not.  God already knew what was in the hearts of the stiff-necked people who came from Egypt, but their response to His testing revealed it to all.  He knew they would push back against His commands, but gave them an opportunity to honour Him or go their own way.  God chose to allow His people to:  5) suffer hunger, and 6) fed them with manna from heaven.  The reason God did these things was so they might "...know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD."  God uses difficult circumstances to teach us lessons and truth we don't realise we need to learn.  These trying times are blessings in disguise, for through them God works marvellously in us.

Believer, remember how God has led you - even long before you believed in Him or regarded Him as LORD.  Hasn't He been gracious to provide for us, protect us, and lead us gently?  Hasn't He been gracious to us when we have been stiff-necked and would have preferred to go our own way?  Hasn't He remained faithful though our hearts and minds have been often estranged from Him?  Every day He supplies our daily bread through His Word and sustains us with His presence.  We may not be able to explain why God allows painful trials and seasons in our lives, but remember Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life!  Our Good Shepherd leads us gently and will ultimately bring us to His desired end.