Friday, August 19, 2005
BTK: Dennis Rader
Is Dennis our brother in Christ or a wolf in sheep's clothing? How appropriate that Brent Riggs wrote the following on 8/18/2005:
The kingdom of heaven will include "fakes" for the time being
Matthew 13:24-25 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. (NKJV)
Matt 13.24-30 gives us the parable of the "wheat and tares". Tares were a type of weed that grow up in the midst of a wheat field. These tares look like wheat, but do not actually contain the wheat kernel - the outside is right, but the inside is not. They are useless fakes that compete for vital space and nutrients with the real wheat.
Jesus reveals to us that there will always be people among us who look like Christians, but in reality are not. They appear to be saved but are missing the "kernel" (Jesus Christ). We are told in the parable that it is not our place to attempt to pick out the counterfeits and remove them lest we make a mistake and uproot a true Christian.
Only God truly knows the heart of man. Any time we begin to judge the heart, we tread on ground that only God should traverse. We can judge behavior by measuring it against God's Word but it is to be done with love and a motive of restoration, not condemnation. The Lord instructs us at times to deal with certain behavior of others when it brings shame to Christ (ex. 1Cor 5.11), but we are never to become the judge of the authenticity of a professing persons salvation.
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Dennis Rader is now in prison for the remainder of his life. I hope and pray that he has truly been lead to Christ Jesus' salvation and that while in prison he focuses on doing the will of God. As Christians we cannot wish vengeance on Dennis as this would put our souls in jeopardy. Pray for him and all those who do not follow God's will.
I can empathize with Jeffery Davis but as a Christian I cannot condone his statement to the court. Jesus forgave those who killed him and he went as a lamb to the slaughter. He did not condemn those around him or call them names.
I will add both Dennis and Jeffery to the list of people I pray for because they were both made in the image of God and deserve the chance at salvation
- TCH
The kingdom of heaven will include "fakes" for the time being
Matthew 13:24-25 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. (NKJV)
Matt 13.24-30 gives us the parable of the "wheat and tares". Tares were a type of weed that grow up in the midst of a wheat field. These tares look like wheat, but do not actually contain the wheat kernel - the outside is right, but the inside is not. They are useless fakes that compete for vital space and nutrients with the real wheat.
Jesus reveals to us that there will always be people among us who look like Christians, but in reality are not. They appear to be saved but are missing the "kernel" (Jesus Christ). We are told in the parable that it is not our place to attempt to pick out the counterfeits and remove them lest we make a mistake and uproot a true Christian.
Only God truly knows the heart of man. Any time we begin to judge the heart, we tread on ground that only God should traverse. We can judge behavior by measuring it against God's Word but it is to be done with love and a motive of restoration, not condemnation. The Lord instructs us at times to deal with certain behavior of others when it brings shame to Christ (ex. 1Cor 5.11), but we are never to become the judge of the authenticity of a professing persons salvation.
----------
Dennis Rader is now in prison for the remainder of his life. I hope and pray that he has truly been lead to Christ Jesus' salvation and that while in prison he focuses on doing the will of God. As Christians we cannot wish vengeance on Dennis as this would put our souls in jeopardy. Pray for him and all those who do not follow God's will.
I can empathize with Jeffery Davis but as a Christian I cannot condone his statement to the court. Jesus forgave those who killed him and he went as a lamb to the slaughter. He did not condemn those around him or call them names.
I will add both Dennis and Jeffery to the list of people I pray for because they were both made in the image of God and deserve the chance at salvation
- TCH
