Thoughts on the Death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Sovereign Grace Family Church

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Welcome back to coffee with a Calvinist This program is dedicated to helping you better understand the Word of God and the doctrines of grace The Bible tells us do your best to present yourself to God as one approved a worker who is no need to be ashamed Rightly handling the word of truth Get your Bible and coffee ready and prepare to study along Here's your host with today's lesson pastor Keith Foskey and Welcome back to coffee with a Calvinist.

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My name is Keith Foskey, and I am a Calvinist today is September the 22nd 2020 and if you're following along in our daily Bible reading We are going to be reading 2nd Timothy chapter 2 We're reading one chapter a day through the New Testament at Sovereign Grace Family Church And if you'd like to follow along with us, you can go to our website SGFCjacks.org Go to posts and under post you will see our reading list for 2020 Now today we are going to talk about a subject that has been in the news now for a few days And I want to begin with a quote from CNN Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg Died on Friday due to complications of metastatic pancreas cancer The court announced she was 87 Ginsburg was appointed in 1993 by President Bill Clinton and in recent years served as the most senior member of the court's liberal wing consistently Delivering progressive votes on the most divisive social issues of the day including abortion rights same-sex marriage voting rights immigration healthcare and affirmative action All right, so that is the quote from CNN about the passing of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg And as soon as the news hit on Friday People on both sides of the aisle began to opine Dr.

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Albert Moeller even did a special edition of the briefing because this event really it has monumental significance in political history and As you if you were on Facebook or Twitter on Friday Saturday Sunday, you'll notice it exploded with comments memes articles Facebook even changed their logo to include a gavel and a collar which Ruth Ginsburg was known to wear and so I've decided that I wanted to on today's issue Talk about this subject because I use this program to address things that I might not be able to or have time to Either from the pulpit or in the classroom.

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This gives me an opportunity to share my thoughts as a Christian and as a pastor try to shed some biblical light on current issues and To give again.

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This is my opinion.

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This show is it gives me an opportunity to share opinions and try to share from a from a biblical perspective Why I believe the things that I believe in things that I hold to and as a pastor I'm trying to encourage folks to look to scripture for our answers.

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And so here are some thoughts that I've had regarding the passing of Ruth Bader Ginsburg the Supreme Court justice first the first thought that I had as I was considering this is that a woman has died and a family is certainly grieving It's easy to forget that public personalities are real people We should consider the fact that there is pain Associated with the loss of someone who was loved by her family And and I'm reminded that just a few weeks ago President Donald Trump's brother died and one of the things that I found grotesque was that the Opponents of the president used his brother's death as an opportunity to to take unnecessary swipes at the president Using his brother's death as a as a club as it were to to strike him with one I remember in particular was a drawing of I Think it was a cartoon of the Grim Reaper and someone was challenging the Grim Reaper saying you took the wrong brother And so I saw that and I thought what a what a hateful thing to and and This is something that is par for the course Unfortunately in the political situation that we find ourselves in today We find ourselves in a situation where there seems to be very little Couth on either side there seems to be just a willingness to go straight for the jugular no matter the situation no matter the pain or the loss and again, I think it comes down to the fact that we often forget that these are real people and they're human beings and So my first thought is that as Christians we should always try to maintain a high standard when it comes to how we comment on the death of Particularly our political opponents and the tragedies that surround their lives.

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I think we have a responsibility To maintain a high standard for how we speak maintain a high standard for how we behave.

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I Think we are we are better for doing so Having said that I I do not believe that we should candy coat the legacy of Ruth Ginsburg either While we should not be intentionally hurtful or coarse We should also avoid Swinging too far to the other direction and making a hero out of someone who supported things like the killing of children in the womb And the profanation of marriage and and and we need to remember death does not bring justification for her support of ungodliness and and that leads me to the second point that the second thought that I've had as I was considering this and That is not only has a woman died, but a soul has entered eternity and We have no reason to believe that Ruth Ginsburg was a Was a believer in Christ Her record was was one which showed an opposition to godliness and to the things of the scriptures and We we have to consider the passing of her soul as a tragedy because This if she was not a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ and I don't believe that she was even if she had a Religious Some kind of a religious affirmation at some point in her life.

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I don't think that her the things that she supported were indicative of a person who follows Jesus Christ and so And I'm not kidding.

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I'm not saying I know for certain the condition of her soul I don't have the knowledge to know that but I can say based upon the things that she said and she supported I don't think that she had bowed the knee to Jesus Christ, and I don't think that she was a follower of Christ and Therefore I have to consider her passing as tragic for her soul As many of her supporters are lauding her life.

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It's her eternity which is of greater consequence One person asked a very sobering question and some people might take offense to this But I think it was very thoughtful and really sobering He said what if all the babies that she aided in destroying in the womb? Were there to greet her at the judgment bar of God? I mean, I just I pause to think What a scene that would be You know Ruth Bader Ginsburg was a judge in the highest court in the land But when she left this world she faced a greater judge than she could have ever imagined His righteousness is unfailing.

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His rulings are final and Her position as a powerful earthly judge gave her no authority in his courtroom In fact, I would argue it just made her all the more responsible for the decisions that she made She had a lot of power here.

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She had a lot of responsibility here.

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She was given a lot of light certainly, she she she was educated but None of that matters when we face the God of the universe if we face him in sin apart from his son And no matter how successful a person is in this life in eternity It's all it's all lost if you don't have Christ We count it all as lost for the sake of Jesus Christ But it's it's actually her position as a judge that leads me to where I wanted to get to and really the maybe even the more Substantial part of today's episode is is my thought on the political response to her death because As as much as I think about her as that she was a real person.

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She was a soul that is now in eternity and As much as that is Something to consider I think the the what really affects us all and why her death is so significant for all of us is that There is a major political response that is going to happen in regard to her death And and I think I want to say this the political response to her death is proof of what is wrong with us as a country politically Because the immediate concern everybody has is really not the fact that a woman died really not the fact that she is in eternity and That's not what most people care about what most people care about is the fact that there's a vacant seat and They want to know who's going to fill it The left demands no one fills it until after the election the right wants the seat filled immediately because of Obvious reasons that both sides have a purely political motivation and we know this because In part because the opposite position was held the last time this happened in the final year of Obama's presidency He wanted to nominate a Supreme Court justice and the left Supported him and the right said it was wrong because it was a election year Now in this election year Trump wants to nominate someone the right supports him and the left say it's wrong And I know some will say well it's a different situation because Obama was at the end of his presidency Trump is at what we might say is a midpoint depending on Whether or not he wins the election, but it it's cert.

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This is one thing I believe is certain and I think you have to I think you would have to Agree with me at least in theory.

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I think that If the roles were reversed the arguments would be reversed I think if the if this were a If the if the president right now was a Democrat then the Republicans would be saying no, he should not elect or he should not appoint a judge and likewise going the other way if the If the if the if the Democrat were if the president were Democrat the the Democrats would be saying yes He needs he needs to choose one.

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So you so you understand what I'm saying? essentially We've stopped being concerned with what's righteous we we've we're only concerned with what's expedient and what we're really only concerned with what's expedient for our side and and that has there's a sense in which that's always been people have always been partisan and and Being that they support their side, but it's gotten so it's gotten to the point where it's almost comical if it weren't so sad That if my side does something it's righteous no matter what if The other side does something it's wicked no matter what and it seems as if this is the trend of politics always There's just absolute willingness to assume That so long as it's beneficial for me It's the right thing to do politically and so long as it's beneficial for the other side.

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It's the wrong thing to do politically and And and I think that this this just points out that very very very big issue and and as I said, I I look at it from the perspective of saying This is this is a problem on both sides Do I think that there are more problems on one side than the other? Yes, of course I mean I think that ultimately the reason why I'm a conservative is because I believe in Certain very foundational things that are non-negotiables such as the the right of babies in the womb to be person to be understood as persons and and and so the idea that I Could even think to be on the left is it's not it's not even Conscionable to me because of that one main issue of abortion and there are other issues, of course But but that major thing but at the same time I still see the hypocrisy on on both sides and what's what's interesting about it is It seems as if this is just people just understand that that's just the way it is.

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Everybody's going to be hypocrites And say something different than they said before and no one's going to Be expected to hold any type of moral high ground But there's a more insidious problem Underlying all this that I want to point out and that is this the reason why this issue is as big as it is the reason why this vacancy on the Supreme Court is is as polarizing as it is in my opinion is Because the Supreme Court has become much more Powerful than I believe our founding fathers ever intended Certainly they were always meant to wield a large stick But they've gone well past their intended duties They no longer are interpreters of the law.

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They are now manufacturers of law Legislation is supposed to come from the legislature But in the past several decades it's come from the judiciary and therein lies one of our biggest problems and Therein lies why Ruth Bader Ginsburg Seat is so important Because the left knows it can't get its laws through the legislator.

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It's tried it gave up on that a long time ago So instead of trying to get the laws through the legislature Instead they push them through the judiciary and They know another conservative on the bench will push their agenda further back Now consider this for a moment The Supreme Court is more important in the minds of most people than the presidency Because it wields more power than the presidency in what has become the creation of law and For many when they vote for the president, they're really not voting for the president They're voting for who they believe he will choose to sit on this court Because the people know that's where the power really lies and I have to ask this question.

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Is that what our forefathers saw for this country to be? To essentially live under the tyranny of nine unelected lawyers Because that's where we find ourselves in fact, I I saw this quote in Time magazine It said how could it be that the most important decision a president makes is picking one non elected lawyer You know most most presidents if they get any opportunity at all.

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It's maybe just one Choosing of one Supreme Court justice if any at all and in the question, I think is right How could it be that that's the most important that's why we choose the president is Because he gets to pick this one unelected lawyer to sit on this one seat That wields way more power than it should in the creation of legislation So I think again Not only in the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

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Do we see the issue of a woman who's died? Not only do we see the issue of a soul going into eternity But we also see that the political response to her death Shows a massive problem in our United States political system massive amount of hypocrisy and a massive amount of Change in regard to the three branches of government and what they are supposed to be doing so as We draw to a close Considering all these things.

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I want to Before we close I want I want us to consider two Proverbs now The reason why I chose these two Proverbs is It's funny.

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I've seen Christians on both sides post both of these and I think it's so interesting because If you read them without context or without considering how Proverbs work It's easy to think that these two might compete with one another but it's interesting in regard to this subject because there's Christians who are lauding Ruth Bader Ginsburg and there are those who are You know saying she was a horrible person.

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And and and so how are they what are they doing? Well, this is what they're doing there there They are putting up Bible verses to try to support their side.

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And these are the two verses that I've seen First is Proverbs 11 10 it says When it goes well with the righteous the city rejoices and when the wicked perish there are shouts of gladness And that's the part that's the focus when wicked perish.

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There are shouts of gladness and Some folks are saying Ruth Bader Ginsburg was wicked for her support of abortion and other things and therefore we should shout with gladness but then at others post Proverbs 24 17 do not rejoice when your enemy falls and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles and they say see even though she was a Person who supported these bad things and even though she was an enemy of the gospel we can we should not rejoice at her falling and So you have these two Proverbs One says the wicked perish their shouts of gladness the other say do not rejoice when your enemy falls and you said How do we respond? well first understanding that Proverbs are intended to express proverbial truth.

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They are They're not absolute statements.

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These statements are meant to give general truths that that that fit within a context But also the think about this Based on these passages, I think it's clear that we ought not rejoice in the terrible fate of Ruth Bader Ginsburg Especially when it comes to her eternal condition The Bible says that even God himself does not take pleasure in the death of the wicked Ezekiel 33 11 and in that sense Neither should we But at the same time there is a sense in which we can rejoice That a person who fought so hard in opposition to the things of God has now passed from history We can pray that maybe God will allow someone who will stand on his Principles that will stand on his word will take her place and one of the highest seats in the land However, no matter what we think about the passing of Ruth Bader Ginsburg We must also understand one other thing our nation Is on the brink of a massive crisis no matter what happens in regard to this vacant court seat there will be political fallout and Recently political fallout has resulted in Physical harm rioting mob violence and even murder beloved My encouragement to you today Stay vigilant and be fervent in prayer 2020 is not over yet I'm Keith Foskey, and I've been your Calvinist May God bless you.

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