57. The Nashville Shooting And Christian Warfare

Christian Warfare Begins With Repentance and Prayer

Welcome back to the broadcast where we prod the sheep and beat the wolf. This is episode 57 the Nashville shooting and Christian warfare. Dear Christian as I write to you this day My heart is filled with tremendous grief and sadness over the events that have transpired in the Nashville shooting.

On Monday morning a mentally ill biological woman who identified as a transgender male Shot her way inside of the Covenant school, which is a Presbyterian school in East, Tennessee. Firing indiscriminate rounds at both helpless children and adults before being gunned down by local heroic police officers.

In 14 horrifying minutes six innocent people were brutally killed. Including three little ones aged 9 and 3 adults in their 60s. One of the children who tragically perished was the daughter of Chad Scruggs who serves as the lead pastor over Covenant Presbyterian Church the church that founded the school.

During such awful instances of darkness we must remember that we are children of the light. We are living examples of Jesus Christ to all who are perishing. How we respond to tragedies like this will say much About how we think believe and cherish the gospel as We pray for the victims.

Let us also pray for the victimizers. As we pray for the affected families, let us also diligently remember to pray for the shooters family and As we are bombarded By all sorts of opinions on this subject.

Let us be slow to speak quick to listen wise Humble and ready to pattern our responses according to scripture. With that I'd like for us to consider. How is a Christian supposed to respond to such awful tragedies?

The Christian Is Not on the Left or the Right

Number one this memes war. Whether you like it or not, you will be inundated in the coming days with a cacophony of hot takes from trolls on Twitter rants by activists and Bobblehead personalities on biased news coverage.

There's gonna be shots fired from both sides of the left right culture war. You're also gonna see this situation entirely weaponized by gun control activists. You're gonna see the news and and Many people trying to play up the perpetrators victim status.

You're gonna see the trans community crying out for justice and for days of vengeance and Saying things like if Christians weren't so bigoted this would have never happened. Yesterday today we even saw Who what should have been an empathetic president consoling a wounded nation instead.

We saw a depraved doddering dolt Making inappropriate jokes before a press conference about what flavor of ice cream. He's Stacking in his fridge before blaming Republicans for this incident of gun violence and Sadly, this was not the only occasion that our Dunderhead and chief quipped sardonically about when doing so was both vile and inappropriate.

Perhaps you also saw the despicable and insensitive meme That was posted by Arizona Press Secretary Jocelyn Barry depicting a woman holding two handguns in a threatening pose. Captioned by the words us when we see transphobes.

Or maybe you saw any number of shameless responses on the interwebs as such as I've I've linked to in the blog this means war. From such a smattering of debased opinions. I believe it is obvious that we are in a war.

But let me be unequivocally clear here. We are not in a left-right culture war that is Captivated this nation for decades. We are not on the left. We are not on the right. We are on the side of Jesus Christ.

When the pundits politicians and the ideological left blame Christians and gun laws for this attack we must not respond with the kind of equal and opposite fury that's displayed among activists on the right.

As Christians we must respond like Christians and not like activists. We are citizens of heavens not paupers in this political war game. We have been called to war. Yes, and amen, but not that one. The battle that you and I have been called into first and foremost is a war against the flesh Romans 8 13.

We are called by God to be killing that which is wicked and depraved in us. Mortifying it by the Spirit so that we may live as Christians. We do not begin a plank guide campaign against a horde of sawdust II centers without first.

Pointing the lens of biblical truth upon our own heart and our own soul and examining us. We must make war through repentance and not through hollow pharisee ism. But now don't get me wrong that doesn't mean that we have nothing to say.

I'm just saying that our war begins with us, but it doesn't end there. In fact, the Bible does call us to a kind of warfare with the world. According to Scripture for the love of God and for the redemption of the planet.

We are called to expose the damnable misdeeds of darkness Ephesians 5 5 through 13. We are to call out pagan philosophy such as transgenderism with the light of the gospel of Christ Colossians 2 8 Jude 3.

We are to be salt which preserves the decaying world. We are to be light in the midst of a crooked people which means exposing and change chasing away the darkness Matthew 5 13 through 16 and Philippians 2 14 through 15.

And If we do that work faithfully meeting mistruth with facts Biblical facts and love Ephesians 4 15. Then we fully understand that the world is still going to hate us because it first hated Christ John 15 18.

No matter how the world views us. We labor on until every nation has been discipled according to the to Christ vision and the biblical standards that he lays forth in Matthew Mark Luke and John and the whole rest of the Bible because we know the whole Bible is all about him.

It's also a Battle that is not fault primarily with with men and women of the world. It's more importantly fault against the demonic Principalities and against the satanic powers who wage war against the plain truth of God's Word Ephesians 6 12.

We have to remember dear brother and sister that the transgender community is not our enemy. Likewise the LGBTQ LMNOP activists. They're not our foe. We do not wage our warfare against them but for them.

We wage a spiritual war against spiritual opponents with unique Nonviolent weapons that will attack with the gospel of Jesus Christ and will take back Dominion for our King in a world that is hopelessly lost and dead.

Ephesians 6 13 through 17. The Christians warfare Brings life and light to the world not death and hot takes. Which brings us to a very apropos passage for a time such as this in Light of the events that occurred in Nashville and whenever the next grisly evil is unleashed upon this world.

May the words of Romans 12 14 through 21 become our guide. May it become our guide on how we respond to the world the flesh and the devil with uniquely and poignantly Christian warfare. This is our battle guide.

Romans 12 as a Battle Guide for Christian Warfare

Let me read from the passage. Romans 12 14 through 21 says this bless those who persecute you bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind. Toward one another and do not be haughty in mind.

But associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation. Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men if possible so far as it depends on you be at peace with all men.

Never take your own revenge beloved but leave room for the wrath of God for it is written vengeance is mine. I will repay says the Lord. But if your enemy is hungry feed him and if he's thirsty give him a drink and for in so doing You will keep burning coals on his head.

Do not be overcome by evil. But overcome evil with good. This is the word of the Lord. Now in what follows I want to discuss four unique Christian weapons of warfare from this passage. The first one is we have to bless the ones who hate us in a world fomenting riotous hatred.

Christians consistently must love and bless. We pray for those who revive us and we are kind to those who malign us in our prayers. We drag the wicked and the depraved of the throne of grace in our prayers.

Begging God to save them and to forgive them and to sanctify Them in his love. This does not mean sugarcoated placations, but it does mean that we speak the truth with a liberal dose of godly affection.

Sometimes affection stings. We also pray for the families who lost loved ones we bless them. We ask God to comfort them in their grief to be near while they are broken and to give them the exact right words that They need to say whenever they're called upon to speak words that are gonna glorify Christ.

Words that offer Hope words that are saturated with the same forgiveness that God has provided us in Christ Jesus our Lord. We pray that the Lord will meet them in their hurt meet them in their brokenness and give them the exact right words to say when they speak.

Our first act of warfare is Not to grab the picket signs or the pitchforks and join in the lynchings. We are not people who advocate for our rights or hurl stones that are ideological opponents because We know if it were not for the grace of God then there too would go I.

Instead we strive to live like Jesus. We pray for those who are lost in gender confusion and for those who are consumed with religious republicanism. We don't curse the left. We don't chest bump the right.

Instead we plead with God to save everyone who does not have Jesus whether they be conservative or liberals Republicans or Democrats. We apply a heaping dose of love joy peace patience kindness goodness faithfulness tenderness gentleness and self-control.

To every situation and to everyone we meet that is our warfare. That's number one. The second weapon that we must employ in times such as these is we need to weep with those who weep in Our quest to fight evil with gospel blessing.

Let us not forget that the second weapon of our warfare instead of guns swords or nuclear warheads is Tears. We need to remember both the power and the potency of the salty tears shed by Gospel saints.

Scripture implores us to remember this because we are so prone to forget it. Why I Think because scar tissue is what often becomes the toughest. The war-torn heart tends to turn from tenderness to toughness for self-protection.

Over time when you've faced enough adversity and enough pain and enough wickedness the natural proclivity of the heart of your heart is to stiffen to harden and To reject the kind of tenderness that would leave you exhausted.

While everything within your weary wounded soul is going to work towards a kind of cardiac ankylosis Which just means stiffening you must labor for renewed compassion affection and empathy. Every single day we're going to be confronted with situations to weep over.

We're going to encounter human beings especially among the people of God who have the kind of scars that are worth weeping and wailing over. Instead of protecting ourself and growing tough and self-sufficient and emotionally aloof or distant may the Lord allow us and allow situations like these To unclog our tear ducts and To remind us to be soft and tender and weak and to mourn with those who mourn.

Remember. When we are weak Christ shows himself as strong. When our cheeks are soaked with tears we reminded that he is near to the broken heart at Psalm 34 18 and We were reminded that he will soon wipe away every tear from our eye and take away every curse and every pain Revelation 21 for This world that we are living in is going to fall in battle.

Because the Saints went blessing and weeping. Do not neglect your warfare dear saint, that's number two. Number three we have to leave the vengeance to God. That is an important and a Powerful weapon in the hands of the believer.

We must leave the vengeance to God in A world where Christian schools are being attacked with assault rifles and believers are being arrested by the DOJ for praying outside of Planned Parenthood Churches are being set on fire for opposition of Roe v. Wade.

We are going to need to understand how to fight back as believers. When we fight back we do not take up arms. We don't rally crowds to execute violence or repay evil with evil. Instead. We wage war through forgiveness and We leave the vengeance to God.

Unlike Radical trans activist network who is organizing a day of vengeance in Washington, DC Even after this event happened, they're still waging a day of vengeance. Christians don't act like that. We release our right to vengeance in this life and we trust that God is a far better judge than we are.

We understand that these situations are unquestionably evil. We're not ignorant of that. We know that justice must be executed and we yearn for that but as Christians, we also realize that anything that we could do in our flesh Would pale in comparison to what an infinite and holy God armed with an eternal hell Can do to those who spurn his grace and pulverize his Saints?

By forfeiting our right to the wrath the hatred the feelings of unforgiveness the retribution and the vengeance the violence and the justice. We are Deliberately trusting that God will execute the wicked more powerfully more flawlessly and more righteously than we could ever dare dream as We bless those who hate us and as we moan with those who wail.

Let us remember to allow God to execute the vengeance while the victims of such violence and while even us who are watching from the sidelines will Undoubtedly experience tremendous pain and feelings of hatred anger and all manner of emotion will be Enflamed from intent from attacks like these.

Christians do not fight back with the weapons of the world. We don't. Instead we take up the shield of faith. We don the breastplate of righteousness. We wield the sword of truth. We put on the helmet of our salvation and we shot our feet with the gospel shoes that guide us back into the world.

Back into the warfare again and again and again. We're not gluttons for punishment. We combat evil with gospel good, which is the last weapon that we're gonna speak about. Number four. We must overcome evil with good.

Paul ends this incredible section by saying do not be overcome by evil. But overcome it with good. We are most definitely in a war dear Christian and That war will not be won on Twitter Redditor discord.

That war will not even be won through leftist activism or conservative podcasting. This war will not be won by becoming a card-carrying member of the NRA or joining your local gun club. By voting for the most conservative candidate or by harboring hatred in your heart for the sinners who executed such egregious and sinful atrocities.

What we saw in Nashville, Tennessee is pure unadulterated evil and Because of this we will recoil when we are told by scripture to bless and pray for monsters like that. But let us however remember what Paul has told us.

That we must not only pray good and godly things for those who are his. We must not only pray and precatory prayers of judgment upon those who are not but let us also remember in the in the gamut of our prayer life that That we ought to pray that God would forgive and save and bless the ones who hurt us.

The ones who hunt us down the ones who hate us and the ones who homicide us. That is Christian warfare. With 175 children dead from Columbine to Nashville. It would be easy for us to say Enough is enough.

It'd be easy for a hardness of heart to set in for a numbness or apathy to take over and For us to put away tender hearts that are prone to wail instead dear brothers and sisters. Let us remember the words of the Apostle Paul and let us weep For all the children who attended the Covenant School Who now have one less classmate.

For the pastor who lost his beloved daughter? For husbands and wives who lost their spouses. For mothers and fathers who lost their children and for the church who lost their members. Let us weep righteous alligator tears for that dear brother and sister is our warfare.

Overcoming Evil With Good and Living the Gospel

Remember that while the world is ever eager to leap into the cacophony of another culture battle. We must remember that God is the one who will take vengeance. Our job is not to repay evil with evil. Our job is not To execute violence with violence.

Instead we are called to overcome that evil with good. All the villainy and the tyranny that is being perpetrated by the raging nations during this time will be conquered and Will be put down. Not by activism Not by weapons.

But by Christ like godly joyful Christians living out the gospel overcoming evil with good. As Christians we follow the Lord Jesus Christ who gave us this example. Whoever the joy set before him endured the most wanton and senseless of violence that have ever been perpetrated in order to bring about the most tremendous peace that could ever be given as Soldiers of the Living Christ.

Let us shine as lights in this dark and decaying world. Let us declare the gospel to the lost. Let us raise up godly children and increase our numbers. Let us pray for the Spirit of God to bring revival to this dead land.

Let us not participate in the sinful battle tactics of the raging world, but instead Let us bless those who hate us. Let us weep with those who weep. Let us trust the vengeance of God and let's overcome evil by doing good.

This is our warfare. This is our battle guide. Now fight on. Thank you so much for tuning in to another episode of the broadcast. I do ask that you would pray For everyone who was involved in this tragedy.

Pray for the mom and dad of the shooter as well. I can only imagine the hurt and the sadness that is going on in their life as well. Pray for everyone who lost a loved one in this and Dear Christian just be a Christian this week.

Showcase the love of Christ in the way that you respond and everything that you do and Christ will get the glory and he will Overcome the world he already has through his cross and he will continue to do so with you.

Living out the gospel not repaying evil with evil. I pray that you were blessed this week dear one. God bless you.