Justice Or Forgiveness?

00:00 - Speaker 1 Real Life presents the Jack Hibbs Podcast with intention and boldness to proclaim truth, equip the saints and impact our culture. 00:09 - Speaker 2 Hey, there's a lot of talk right now going on about forgiveness, about Charlie Kirk, about repentance, about revival. What in the world's going on, and should we forgive somebody like an assassin, or should we hope that they wind up in hell? Let's answer that question right now. 00:29 - Speaker 1 You can get the outlines of this podcast by going to jackhibbscom/podcast Today. If this podcast lifts you up and encourages you to live a more fulfilled life in Christ, then make sure you leave us one of those five-star ratings. To us that's like saying amen or yes. Then that rating will encourage others to listen Now open your hearts to what God's word has to say to you. Here is Jack Hibbs. 00:58 - Speaker 2 Hey, everybody, let's talk about what everybody's talking about and I'm so happy everybody's talking about it and that is forgiveness. Forgiveness, of course, the forgiveness, the whole topic, comes out of the assassination of my friend and your friend, charlie Kirk. And then, of course, the remarkable and just stalwart spine of steel handling of it all through Erica Kirk, and we know that that's the strength of God working through her life, her witness, her testimony in the hours following Charlie's assassination. Then, of course, at the memorial service in Phoenix, erica was anointed by the Lord to be a witness. By the way, side note to all of this, I've been watching the response of the females, women in the Islamic world, as they talk about and podcast about and analyze Erica Kirk's speech at the memorial. It's quite remarkable. If you get a chance, go look in Islamic websites where women are conversing back and forth and it is quite amazing. 02:09 God is using Erica's witness of forgiving the assassin that took her husband's life. God is using it and opening up the eyes of people who are in cults to consider this forgiveness as well. So let's just talk about. We're gonna combine in the brief time we have together the emotions of it all. We're gonna wrap it up in the theology of it. All the best we can in the short amount of time that we do have and let's try to dispel emotionally based perspectives, emotionally based theology, from biblically based understandings of, of course, biblically based theology. There's a big difference and, I'm sad to say, most of the world operates off of a emotionally based theology, which always, always, always leads to error. Perfectly 100% leads to error. So when Erica said I forgive that young man who took Charlie's life, the crowd cheered, the crowd wept. There were also people in the crowd who were angry, they were upset. They didn't want to hear that. They want the guy to fry in hell. They're miserable. Hear that they want the guy to fry in hell. They're miserable about that. And now people are voicing their opinions about I don't agree with that. That guy should burn, he should rot. And then when we advance our Christian doctrines from the Bible, saying Erica did exactly what Jesus did at the cross, it's exactly what Stephen did at the base of Golgotha when he was stoned to death, it's exactly what we're called to do as Christians, because we understand something that maybe a lot of people don't understand and so we are called to forgive. Here's the thing she didn't have to do that. You don't have to forgive those who kill your husband or kill your wife or your children. You don't have to. You don't have to grant forgiveness. In that setting, let's explain this Number one. Let's talk about the Christian family, the church family. 04:21 The Bible tells us throughout Scripture and certainly it is one of the hallmarks of New Testament theology, for example, when the Bible says in 1 John, 1, 9, if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. That is found in 1 John, 1, 9. First, 2, and 3 John are written only to believers, not unbelievers. When the Bible tells us that we are to confess our sins and he will forgive us of our sins, it is an issue of fellowship, not salvation. It is the issue of keeping the line clear, keeping the connection connected between the believer and our God, because sin can interrupt the contact. When we sin against God or against another, as a brother or sister, God will not be speaking to us. 05:14 Isaiah, chapter 59, verses one and two. God says my hand is not short that I cannot save you, neither is my ears deaf that I cannot hear you, but your sins have separated you from your God. Notice this there is sins that are repented of in the context of Christian fellowship, why we are commanded to forgive our brothers and sisters. If we have something against them, we are to forgive them. We're to go to them. If they have something against us but they don't have the guts to come to us, and we know it, then we are to go to them and we are to really rip Satan off by forgiving one another. I love to put it that way Rip Satan off by us, brothers and sisters, forgiving one another, and the Bible is full of these scriptures. We are to maintain that. 06:04 How about this? We are to strive to keep the unity of the faith among one another. How do we do that? That when we offend or hurt one another, we quickly go to them and say did I hurt you? Or I know I hurt you, I asked for your forgiveness. That was a wrong tone, that was harsh and I should not have done that. Please forgive me. That's what we do, but what about somebody like Charlie Kirk's assassin? Or what about what the Jews have had to endure with Adolf Hitler and Osama bin Laden and Hamas or Hezbollah? Or Iran or the Houthis and Hamas or Hezbollah, or Iran or the Houthis. You know where there's an arch enemy, so to speak? Right, there's an absolute confirmed enemy, and in this case the enemy would be the assassin versus the Kirk family, right. 06:58 And so this is not the issuing of forgiveness, that Erica didn't forgive him. Listen, please, everybody, because I know everyone, or a lot of people, I should say, have missed this. When Erica said I forgive him, it doesn't mean that he's been absolved of his responsibilities. He's a murderer, he's an assassin, he's committed murder. Okay, the Bible says Ten Commandments thou shalt not murder. The book of Revelation tells us that those who are in hell are murderers, among other things. 07:37 When Erica said I forgive him, this is what it means. This is what she was doing. I put you into the hands of the Lord. I forgive you because Jesus Christ has forgiven me so much, and even equal to, because there is no ratio or status of sin, value or sin damnation. All sin is sin. You tell a white lie. It's just as bad as murdering somebody If you take a dollar from the cash register. It's the same thing as committing adultery. There's no rate or scale of sin. Sin is sin to God. We're the bozos that want to prioritize it, to make ourselves feel justified, and we are dead wrong. 08:27 She said I forgive you. Why did she say this? She said this I'm issuing forgiveness because I'm commanded to do that, because my Jesus forgave me and he also told me to forgive those who sin against me. I'm going to do that, and here's the reason why you, assassin, are no longer going to have any control or power over my life or the life of my family, or the relationship between me and my God. I give you up, I release you to God. I will not bite my fingernails, I will not sharpen an axe, I will not pine away plotting your demise. Vengeance is the Lord's. He will repay. That's not for me to be involved in. 09:18 Erica Kirk set herself free from that man's crime against her family, and so she is now lifted. The Holy Spirit lifted from her the angst and the temptation to exercise judgment and justice. She handed him over to the Lord. Most people don't understand that. Some people would have felt better if Erica would have said I hope that guy rots in hell. People would have. I promise you that stadium would have broken out in applause and cheers, because there's a lot of people who feel that way, but they don't know God. You cannot know God and revel over the damnation of a human soul for which Jesus Christ died for. 10:05 Yes, it's true, Jesus Christ, according to the scripture, died for the sins of the entire world. Did Jesus die for this assassin? Yes, Jesus did. But does the assassin automatically go to hell or heaven, I should say, because Jesus died for him? No, he does not. The man needs to repent of his sins and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. The man needs to repent of his sins and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and he will be saved. But what if he never repents himself? He'll never be saved. But what if he does? He'll be saved. 10:34 And some people say I don't like that, I want justice. Are you sure? Are you sure about that? Because God will do that to you if you don't repent. While everyone's pointing at the wickedness of the assassin and it was horrible no one's pointing at themselves and condemning themselves because they're liars or they're cheating on their wife or their husband or they beat their kids. Are you hearing me? Everybody wants to throw stones at the assassin. I get it, but I don't feel that because Jesus took listen. Jesus could have done that to me. But he didn't. He went to the cross, and I believe that what's happening right now is a really important defining of what it means to not only experience revival, if we're really going to have one, because it's all based on repentance, by the way, and what is an emotional rush. So listen up. 11:45 Forgiveness and repentance keeps communication open between brothers and sisters in Christ and our God. Repentance toward God establishes salvation among the lost. The lost, when they repent, come to Christ. God issues forgiveness when they repent. Our God is a God that is perfect. His forgiveness is perfect, but so is his justice. So please listen to this. Truth lives out this way the God of all truth is the God of justice. He's the God of grace. He's the God of mercy. He's the God of forgiveness. Okay, he's God. He's the God of mercy. He's the God of forgiveness. Okay, he's God. He's the God of heaven, listen. And he's justified because he is also, in a sense, the God of hell, in the sense that he created for Satan, lucifer and his fallen angels. God doesn't want humans to go there, he says. But they do because man insists on it. So keep this in mind. This way very important For God to be just justice must be implemented. 13:00 So I'm going to take you back to ancient England, and this is how England used to do things, which, by the way, I am a big fan of. What I'm about to say is a personal belief of mine. I believe it's biblical. England used to practice this and that is this, excuse me, it's this If a man was convicted of a capital offense, there was a trial, there was testimony, there were arguments given, the man had an attorney and the defense had their attorney and there was the trial, there was the hearing, there was the evidence and after the length of the trial however long it was needed the jury voted and the sentence was given. 14:12 And if the sentence was, you have been found guilty of a capital offense. You will be executed for your crime. The Bible says in Scripture that that is justice and it's to be done. It's not a sin, it's not wrong. If you don't like it, that's your problem. But God says if a human murders another human, the justice system must take that human's life, life for a life. That is justice. So if the powers that be in the system of government, that is, says you have now been condemned to death, like I assume Charlie Kirk's assassin is going to be condemned to death in the state of Utah. The state of Utah will either do lethal injection or firing squad. They did the firing squad. They have done it and it hasn't been all that long ago and I got to tell you by firing squad is the most merciful. Lethal injection is quite gruesome. It's not fast, but be that as it may, we shouldn't even care because it's justice. The person must die. 15:25 But this is what England did and I love it and I endorse this to the condemned individual, who was convicted of a capital offense, in this case murder, for two weeks. Every day for two weeks, the Church of England brought a minister into the condemned's cell and read scripture to them and then would ask them if they want to repent of their sins and accept the Lord Jesus Christ and be forgiven. They did that every day for two weeks. Why two weeks? Because the date was set that on such and such a day this person is going to be executed because their offense of committing a capital crime. Friends, this is a huge act of mercy. They didn't kill the guy on the spot. They gave him two weeks. They gave him the gospel every day they give. They gave him every day an opportunity to accept Christ and have his sins forgiven so that listen, on the day of his execution he would die by justice but would immediately enter paradise in heaven because he had been forgiven. He had given his life to Christ, and England used to do that. 16:52 I wish America would do that. We should not have overcrowded prisons when it comes to death row. Death row should never be full. Death row should be about a two-week-long visit. A condemned criminal should be given the gospel that's mercy and then, on the day of his execution, be executed. That's justice and there's no contradiction in the word of God, because God is just, God is holy, God is merciful and, let's be honest, God is gracious, God is merciful and, let's be honest, God is gracious. Mercy is not getting what you deserve. Grace is the man is granted two weeks right and grace ends when that person's life is ended by justice. But during that interim between the mercy and the justice is the opportunity of grace to accept Christ and be forgiven. If the United States implemented this, starting today, you would see a lot less crime happening, because people would be very aware that if I pull the trigger or if I strangle that woman or if I rape this individual, I'm going to die two weeks after I'm convicted, and I don't want to do that. 18:15 So many people today are in prison because they don't want to live outside of prison. They want to have a life that they're taken care of, for. That's wrong. To have a life that they're taken care for, that's wrong. So forgiveness, listen, don't miss this. God grants you and I, as the believer, the power to forgive those who have sinned against us, so that we release them from the control that they have over our lives. We have given them into the hands of God. We communicate them to his justice and to his grace and to his mercy and we get up and we live our lives free. And that's what Erica Kirk is doing, and any one of us who still have to deal with the assassins taking away of our good friend, of a brother. 19:15 Sometimes we have to get up and forgive every day against those who have perpetrated things against us. But please do not forget this, folks Don't get caught up into that trap where you say things like this I will never forgive that person for what they did to me. I'll never forgive them. Did you know that person's out running around eating snow cones and ice creams and pizzas and having a great time. They're the ones that ripped you off, but you're the one seething for 30 years. You want to know why? Because you never understood the whole dynamic of forgiveness. Want to know why? Because you never understood the whole dynamic of forgiveness. God gave you the ability to forgive them for sinning against you so that you can go free, let God deal with them, but you, grinding your teeth and hoping for their fiery demise, only ate you up and it will eat you up and you'll never be free from them. And it will eat you up and you'll never be free from them. Erica Kirk refuses. Because Christians refuse to let those who hurt us control us. God gave you the power to forgive folks so that you can be free of them, commit them into the hands of God's justice. 20:27 But right now, a lot of people want to play God as long as nobody else plays God with them. Listen, nobody plays God, folks. God is God and you're not and I'm not. God is just, God is holy, God issues forgiveness, God is merciful, God is gracious. But there's an order to all of this, and so when the Bible tells us and I'll end with this when the Bible tells us, for example, if we don't forgive those who have sinned against us, God won't forgive us. So, oh my gosh, I'm going to go to hell. That's not what it means. It means communication is going to be cut off. 21:04 Peter made this very clear. Poor Peter. He was such a great example in hard ways. But if I will not forgive a brother or sister who sinned against me, I'm just going to refuse forgiving them. Then God's not going to listen to me. I'm not. I'm not aborted from the family of God, I'm not kicked out. God is saying if you don't forgive them, our communication, I'm not going to forgive you. Our communication is plugged up. Jack, go, issue forgiveness to them, fix it, and then we can talk. Isn't that what the Bible says? That's what it says. That's among brothers. 21:43 When it comes to those who are not brothers, we've been granted the power to release them from the control of our lives. God gave us the ability to set ourselves free by honestly going to them and saying or, if possible, maybe you can't go to them, but you can say, like she did, I forgive him. And I insert I forgive him, he will not control my life, I forgive him, he will not control the lives of my children. I forgive him. He will not rule and reign over this home anymore. What Satan meant for evil is going to be destroyed by good, and I will not allow it. Destroyed by good, and I will not allow it. And so I'm going to forgive that man who shot my husband, and that's what she did, and that's what you and I are to do. But, friends, don't get all uppity like you are the one that's going to only be happy once this guy's burning in hell. If you think like that, don't you know that you deserve that also. I deserve that also. But Jesus Christ washed my sins away so that I will not burn up in hell. 23:00 Did you know that Jesus Christ, according to the Bible, loves that assassin? Did you know, according to the Bible, that Jesus Christ John, chapter three, verse 16, did you know that Jesus Christ loved Adolf Hitler in light of everything that he did against the Jews? But just because Jesus loved Adolf Hitler doesn't mean that Adolf Hitler went to heaven. Adolf Hitler, unless we know, unless we find out something later, is in hell. Osama bin Laden is in hell. Think about that. In hell, osama bin Laden is in hell. Think about that. 23:45 But the thief on the cross. He was on his way to hell and all he said to Jesus was will you me when you come into your kingdom? That criminal that was condemned to death was saying I believe that you're going to live beyond the grave, Jesus, and I believe that you're coming back because you're going to have a kingdom, you're going to sit on a throne, you're going to live forever and when you do that, will you just do me a favor, please? Will you remember that I ever existed? And Jesus says today you'll be with me in paradise, because that thief on the cross sinned against God first, before he sinned against any human. And Jesus said you're going to be with me. 24:34 Is your God that big? Do you know the God of the Bible or do you have a God of emotions? Does your Bible understanding? Is it an understanding based on the sovereignty and the sacredness of your emotions? If you do, you're messed up. But if you bring your emotions and your own judgments under the control of God's jurisdiction, things go much easier and you can rest much better. This is a very important truth that we cannot cover in just 25-30 minutes, but I hope this gets the gears turning and the fluid flowing that you might search your Bible to find out. 25:16 Are you forgiven? Have you ever owned your sin, the wrong that you did to your children or to your neighbor, or the wrong that you did to your parents or to that girl or to that young man, the wrong that you did to that company or that company did to its employees, the wrong that you've done, the thoughts that you've had, the lust that burns in your heart, the entertainment of your evil? Have you ever gone to God, owning those things and no longer pointing fingers at other people because you're so guilty you dare not point to other people. You're so guilty you dare not point to other people. Who are you to judge another man? Listen once you realize how much Christ has forgiven you, it becomes easy to forgive others. Listen. God bless you guys, thanks for listening and if this means something to you, like us, subscribe, give us your thumbs up, tell people, get the word out. But we're all about real life here on this podcast together. I hope you know that by now and until next time, stand strong, be looking up. Christ is coming. 26:29 - Speaker 1 This Jack Hibbs podcast, as well as all the broadcast outreach opportunities, are listener supported. Will you consider partnering with us through a special gift? Go to jackhibbs.com to learn more and stay connected.