READ: ROMANS 3:9-26 TEXT v15 THE GUN CULTURE IN IRELAND
Their feet is swift to shed blood
We have set ourselves a question tonight as to why there is a gun culture in Ireland and why some people are trigger happy
We must first commiserate with the family of Donna Cleary - the young woman who was gunned down in Dublin this past week
When we deal with these things, they quickly become abstract Principles replace personalities and that is important
But we should never forget the pain/suffering that lies behind the headlines and the debates which follow
A family is grieving the loss of a daughter, a sister(?) and a wee lad will never again know a mother's love
So we commiserate and pray for the family left behind
Many people have died violently in Ireland in the past - why does this murder shock us?
Without in any way excusing past murders - this murder seemed to be so trivial
It was not politically motivated -
It was not a gangland murder -
It was not a crime of passion -
It was not a robbery gone wrong
It was simply some young men, who when refused entry to a birthday
party (to which they were not invited) said that they would be back and
at 2:30am they could access a deadly weapon, and they returned and
fired indiscriminately into the house and one solitary bullet hit Donna
Cleary and within a short time, she was sent out into eternity.
Shocking!
What lies at the bottom of this?
Ought we to be surprised?
Or ought we not to be surprised that there are less incidents of this kind than there are?
I take the latter view
While we may debate the causes etc., the One who knows and who searches
human hearts, weighing the spirits etc., tells us that men's feet are
swift to shed blood. 3 thoughts:
1) THE HUMAN HEART, UNRESTRAINED, WILL PLUNGE TO THE LOWEST DEPTHS:
A/ You will see that I do not take a high view of the moral standing of the human heart
I include myself in the condemnation - Not "holier than thou"
That men do good works and help each other (Good Samaritan) is a fact none can contend with.
We thank God it is so.
That an ambulance should arrive at the scene of the murder and the
police and neighbours rally round and counsellors etc., all testify to
the great amount of good that is in the world
Even our shock at the murder denotes presence of much good
I am not denying this presence
BUT I am merely pointing out: left/ourselves…would not be so
B/ Our passage tell us that we are under the condemnation/sin
Words like "all" and "Jews and Gentiles" (no other categories) and when it comes/positives:
"None…no not one" all accumulating in the great verdict: "No difference…all have sinned etc." (v22-23)
C/ Our hearts are wicked by nature
We are sinners - inherited Adam's guilt/sinful nature and we have added to the great account by engaging in sin ourselves
D/ Why do we not then all go out and murder?
Why then is earth not a hell hole in which to live?
Why can 99.9% of us lead a normal life 99.9% of the time?
I'm sure you don't lie in your bed/night totally terrorised etc.,
Further more…thought of hurting/murdering someone fills you with horror also "I wouldn't dream of it"
Ans:- We have been restrained from doing so (next point)
But before we leave this one…if that restraint was lifted from you…you would be another Hitler/Stalin etc.,
Easily proved from the Bible: 2 Kings 8:10-15
Note:
[i] It did not shock Elijah that he could so prophesy
(It grieved him…but it did not shock him that it could happen)
The first man born/woman could kill his own brother - Abel was a holy
man/God, inoffensive in himself and total undeserving/hurt
[ii] When he told Hazael what he (Hazael) would do…Hazael was
shocked and appalled and sickened/thought: Thy servant/a dog?
Hazael felt himself to be a servant/good man and so good himself
[iii] Notice how immediately the wickedness began to work (v14)
Edited version/truth. No mention of the warning
[iv] Within 24 hours…Hazael had slain his first victim (v15)
[v] Soon the women with child were ripped etc., (10:32)
What had happened? What came over Hazael?
Nothing - the brakes that ever kept him (and you/I) from doing these things
were removed - He was left unrestrained
Go the zoo. Iron bars restrain the wild cats from killing you
You don't have to train a lion/tiger to kill human beings.
Just take away the bars and let unrestrained nature work
So with us - we are all potential killers. Just been restrained.
2) WHAT IS THIS GREAT RESTRAINING INFLUENCE UPON THE HUMAN HEART?
There are several agencies but One overall controlling cause
A/ You might hold back from killing your enemies because of fear
Fear the law/land. Fear 12 years in prison with all the hardened
criminals in there. Fear revenge attacks etc., Or you might fear your
conscience - could you live with blood/hands?
Folk would murder if it were not for the law or their conscience
B/ But how is it we have a conscience at all? Or where do the law enforcement agencies get their ultimate authority?
Answer: From God - as He is revealed in His word
[i] Conscience/described: As the candle/Lord searching the inwards parts of the heart (Proverbs 20:27)
Reason why your conscience nags at you is because you know that you will be answerable to a Holy God for your deeds.
An atheist contradicts himself as much as he contradicts/Bible
[ii] The state has the God given right to bear the sword in defence of its citizens (Romans 13)
When Paul appealed unto Caesar (Acts 25:11) he was appealing unto the
one who had been placed/power by God (Proverbs 8:15) to protect him
C/ Furthermore, God Himself who can influence the hearts of men by many different means restrains man from murder etc.,
Doesn't always (for reasons not yet revealed) but he often does
Does so in the vast majority cases of people (Common Grace)
[i] He prevented Abimelech from touching Sarah (Genesis 20:1-6)
OK...he wasn't going to murder, but the principle/intervention
[ii] Laban knew that he had been restrained/God (Genesis 31:29)
[iii] Psalm 105:13-14
[iv] Sometimes people were allowed to be hurt…but not slain
D/ In a future day, when greater wickedness than has ever been seen
before (2 Timothy 3:1/Matthew 24:21) - the Spirit/God will simply take
the brakes off and men will be allowed to indulge their violent desires
to a greater extent
You can see how we ought to be amazed that such shootings do not take
place every night. Behind the "thin blue line" that stands between us
and total anarchy lies the Sovereign hand/God
3) WHY WE NEED TO GO FURTHER THAN MERELY BEING RESTRAINED FROM INDULGING THE WICKEDNESS/OUR HEARTS:
A/ Words of vs9-18 is not a mere explanation…but an indictment
Concerns not merely our ability/murder etc., but also our natural and
sinful reluctance to seek/God (v11) and so the whole world is described
as guilty (v19) and having come short…glory/God (v23)
B/ Very easy for us to shake our self righteous heads at the trigger
happy thugs/society and darkly mutter "Hang 'em high"
But we are no better in the sight/Holy God if we are not saved
We have sinned - We are guilty too
C/ To merely restrain ourselves from certain actions may make us good neighbours (Good!) but it doesn't reconcile us to God
Negative virtues (What we don't do) means nothing before/God
Negative virtues cannot remove/blot out positive sins
Illogical thought and with no scriptural support. Doesn't work
v20 declares: By the works/law…no flesh shall be justified
How then we can be saved?
v21 speaks of a righteousness being from God which (again) is not of the law but by simple faith in Jesus Christ
This is His sinless righteousness imputed to our account (v22)
Basis of His death upon the Cross (v25) which was God organised - an
act of grace (v24) - and where God satisfied His divine justice by
punishing Christ in our guilty room/stead (v25) and
again…accessible to all by an act of simple faith/trust (v26)
D/ We can get tough with criminals. I hope they do. We can maybe clear
the streets of guns. I hope so. But the law of God and man can never
change the human heart. It take away the opportunities to murder but
never the desire
Only the gospel can do that. Are you willing to be saved etc.?