Death of Osama bin Laden

Death of Osama bin Laden

http://gbcdecatur.org/sermons/binLaden.html

We rejoiced at the news, as did much of the world. Many sang and danced and partied. Patriotism was renewed and partisanship again went by the wayside much like it did on 9/11. If only we would continue longer in our lessons than back then.

But let's be careful. There is a difference between justice and vengeance. I cringed to hear Christian people say, 'rot in hell' and take joy in God's judgment of evil.

Ezekiel 18:32
For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord GOD: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.

Proverbs 24:17-18
17 Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth:
18 Lest the LORD see it, and it displease him, and he turn away his wrath from him.

Matthew 5:44-45
44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

I take no pleasure of anyone going to hell - but God's justice is satisfied, and it all strikes a chord of reality as we remember Jehovah is the one and only true and living God, and today UBL's knees bow and his tongue confesses Jesus Christ as Lord! It's not the 72 virgins he believed it would be waiting for him, wherever he went.

Do I believe he is in hell? Yes. Why? Because of what he did? No! Because I have no indication that he turned from his sin and trusted in Jesus Christ as Savior. Could he have been saved. Yes!

Some of you cringe at such a consideration. "If anyone deserves hell it's UBL!" I say, if anyone deserves hell it's me. If anyone deserves hell, it's everyone! We all have the same thing in our heart as did UBL. It is sin, in many fruitions, many forms, at many levels. We are often worse in thought than he was in deed, and that's the level Jesus sees us on!

Last week Bill O'Reilly interviewed Franklin Graham about the reality of hell. Bill flaunted his spiritual ignorance, citing that nobody believes the Jews who died in the holocaust are in hell, but rather Hitler is. Right? It makes perfect logical sense to mankind...such a statement. Bill says, they didn't believe Jesus was the Messiah, yet a loving God makes a way for them.

What does the Bible say on this? Jesus is the only way! Bill replies, many have never heard the name of Jesus-of course, God cannot hold such an one accountable! Oh, the ignorance.

I'm a patriotic American. I'm glad UBL is dead. I'm glad justice was done. But I'm saddened that God's justice had to be settled in the death of a lost unbeliever.

And vengeance is God's, not ours. There may be a sense of satisfaction in this, but it didn't bring back dead loved ones. The greatest tragedy of that day was the lost condition of many who perished. If only we would wake up to the level not just of patriotism but spiritual revival and awakening and many be saved.

Instead, the terrorists are now awakened and revived. They feel today like we did 10 years ago, and they have proven to be more dedicated to their beliefs in the long haul!

On Monday and following, many people made their boast