And they shall be my people, and I will be their God

36 “Now therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning this city of which you say, ‘It is given into the hand of the king of Babylon by sword, by famine, and by pestilence’:37 Behold, I will gather them from all the countries to which I drove them in my anger and my wrath and in great indignation. I will bring them back to this place, and I will make them dwell in safety. 38 And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. 39 I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, for their own good and the good of their children after them. 40 I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me. 41 I will rejoice in doing them good, and I will plant them in this land in faithfulness, with all my heart and all my soul.

Jeremiah 32:36-41

This passage contains such hope and spectacular promises. God promises to forgive the heinous sins of His people and restore them to him. He promises to give them a home and grant them safety. Yet, most of all, he promises to be their God and that to make them fear and follow him. And most of all, He promises to accomplish this with all His heart and soul. How great that is! To have Almighty God promising to protect our cause with all His infinitely merciful, loving and powerful being. 

This is one of my favorite sermons from John Piper, I would encourage you to listen to it:

Sustained by Sovereign Grace - Forever

Fundamental Liberties

We had a class on constitutionalism and fundamental liberties yesterday. There is a good measure of debate over what degrees of freedoms should be allowed to citizens in a modern constitutional democracy. Consider some fundamental liberties such as freedom of speech, expression, association or assembly. How much of these should be allowed before we run the risk of endangering public order? Where should the state draw the line between what is permissible and what has to restricted?

Doing my daily Bible reading, it occurred to me that if everyone followed 1 Peter 2:16, this wouldn't be an issue at all:

Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.

Can a Christian sue a non-Christian?

This question has been on my mind recently, in large part because of what I study and read about everyday. In civil law, one tends to sees lawsuits as the basic vehicle through which justice, rightful recompense and distribution of losses is achieved. It is easy to see lawsuits as just another mechanism of the law, become desensitized to how society views them.

Just last week, a church in Singapore started legal proceedings against a neighboring institution for damages to its property. We can imagine that lawsuits can taint the image of Christianity. A church suing another organization stands in jarring contrast with a faith that the world often associates with espousing ideals of "love" or "righteousness" or "forgiveness".

So can a Christian sue another person?

I am glad that Pastor John Piper provided a timely exposition of his views on this question. You can read it at: Is it ever OK for a Christian to sue a non-Christian?

Where the issue is explicitly a matter of justice that goes beyond mere personal vindication, retribution or recovery of monetary losses, it may be possible to justify a lawsuit against a non-Christian. However, I would opinion that, in most if not all situations, a Christian's testimony shines far brighter and stronger when he meekly chooses to forgive or overlook injury done to him than when he seeks punitive justice. That is what Christ did when he submitted himself to death on the Cross. We can endure injustice on this earth because of our confidence that ultimate justice belongs to our sovereign God.

Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Romans 12:21 (ESV)