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Sinning and Violence |
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Some Friends seem to reject the importance of eliminating our propensity for sin. Seemingly most Friends do accept that sin indicates an alienation from God and Conservative Quakers proclaim that the act of sinning constitutes a gross disobedience of our Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus. Yes, sin is serious business that needs to be addressed, if we wish to consider ourselves children of our gracious God. For example, when we are willing, despite all Jesus' admonitions to the contrary, to utilize violence in conflict situations, we have alienated ourselves from God's power and therefore, we are in sin. Of course, we may claim that we are acting righteously in committing violence in defense of others and ourselves. But in so doing, we have alienated ourselves from the love and power of our blessed Savior. As Paul so brilliantly elucidated in his epistles, Jesus provides us with the armaments of God, including the sword of the spirit, weapons which overcome the human need for revenge, no matter what the revenge involves. Small wonder, God requires us to forsake outward hostility and live in the commands of Jesus. Then, my Friends, if we are faithful, we have abandoned our sinful nature. This does not mean that others may not act violently towards us when we possess the love of God. We are cognizant of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. among other violence perpetrated by humans overcome by evil, Satan himself. That is why we need to accept the possibility of receiving violence while preaching the Gospel of our Savior. Yet Jesus' armaments have discouraged potentially violent individuals from resorting to violence - some of these individuals turned to Christ in their repentance. Jesus will forgive them, and most important take away their sinfulness. Fox illustrated this work of the Lord in his journal. Likewise when we treat a spouse or friend with contempt even implying that we might utilize outward force, we have alienated ourselves from the Lord's presence. Yet God does not expect us to submit to every demand of our adversary. Rather Christ influences us to encourage our adversary to open himself or herself to Jesus and pray for reconciliation. We too should offer to pray with our adversary. In prayer, God restores our relationship with Him - relieving us from our sinfulness. Let us remember that we are being challenged by "the other god," yes, the devil, to abandon our gracious savior. And we can surrender to the face of evil, if we do not pray consistently to remain in God's power. That is why it is so necessary for us to participate in waiting worship at our meetings in addition to praying individually in the name of the Lord. We need to wait on the Lord consistently. In this relationship, we overcome God's adversary and keep ourselves sinless. Yes, we will live lives without sin by being obedient to the Lord.
Arthur Berk |