Lawful injustice
I confess I am utterly astounded by the extent to which legislative and judicial leaders of our day, to quote Psalm 94:20, frame injustice by statute. The Psalmist continues, They band together against the life of the righteous and condemn the innocent to death (v. 21). In North America, we are most conscious of “injustice by statute” in its abortion-on-demand, fetal tissue trafficking, sexualization of children, same-sex marriage, and predatory lending forms, to name a few. In other parts of the world, we can recognize it in government-sanctioned slavery, black market organ harvesting, craven corruption, blatantly illegal territorial conquest, and callous worker-exploitation. Such travesties seem to be proliferating, legitimized and enabled by laws of the most perverse kind.
We did nothing illegal
The defense, “we did nothing illegal” will not stand up in the court of heaven. Sometimes things that are reprehensible are indeed not unlawful. In some other matters, conversely, things that are unlawful are morally compelling. Consider, for example, the response of Peter and John to Jewish authorities who commanded them to cease testifying of the resurrection of Jesus in Acts 4:19-20: Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.
The Arbiter of justice
Not only is the pace at which the laws of the living God have been set aside in our day breathtaking but so also the unscrupulous falsehood and unrelenting vitriol against the Lord’s people who express conscientious objection to these modern orthodoxies. That calls for us to join the Psalmist in affirming, But the Lord has become my stronghold and my God the Rock of my refuge (v. 22). We are assured that He will rectify these injustices and obliterate the perpetrators (vv. 23-24). Meanwhile, we suffer in steadfast faith and hope.
Fresh gleanings to fuel your leadership awareness, reflection, and conversations …
What If We Applied Evidence Rules and Investigation Techniques to Answer the Creation Question?
While acknowledging that there is plenty of room for honest differences under the authority of Scripture regarding the when and how of creation, it remains an essential article of biblical faith to acknowledge the One and Only Creator God. God’s most pervasive scriptural self-designations are these: (1) He and none other has created the cosmos, earth, and all its creatures; (2) He has acted in pure grace to call and redeem in Christ a people for Himself. Regarding this first self-designation, check out this talk, God’s Crime Scene, by J. Warner Wallace. He asserts that an honest “cold case” approach to the question of origins inevitably leads to the Creator.
Mirror Mirror on the Wall
Walt Mueller, founder of Center for Parent/Youth understanding, emphasizes that culture is both a mirror and a map. Walt has a stronger stomach than I–and that’s a good thing. Having watched the recent Video Music Awards (VMA), Walt opines that the image in the mirror of contemporary pop-culture is as repulsive as it is reprehensible. You will be heartened, nevertheless, by his observation that a major key to cultural healing is restoration of biblical literacy.
21st Century Biblical Higher Education
I had the privilege of attending the August 25th hand-off between Mike Chambers and venerated veteran David Eubanks, formerly Johnson University president for 38 years and ABHE Biblical Higher Education Award honoree. Pressed out of retirement in 2013 for what was supposed to be a 6-month transitional role in overseeing the morphing of Florida Christian College into Johnson University-Florida, Dr. Eubanks’ distinguished service concluded last month as Dr. Mike Chambers was officially installed as Chancellor and Vice Provost. In my opinion, Dr. Chambers’ inaugural convocation address captures the essence of what faithfulness of heart and mind to our historic biblical higher education heritage requires in the 21st century. Mike has graciously consented for me to share this highly worthwhile read with you.