Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Virginia Tech

The killings at Virginia Tech give rise to the question: How can such a person (the killer) exist? But, in light of the Bible’s teaching on the seriousness of sin, a better question might be: Why are there not more such persons?


Samuel Bolton, a Puritan writing in the early 1600’s in England, gives some perspective as he writes about the mercy of God in giving the law which restrains sin, in “The True bounds of Christian Freedom” (Banner of Truth, 1964 (first published in 1645), p.79.



If God had not given a severe and terrible law against sin, such is the vileness of men’s spirits, they would have acted all villainy. The Devil would not only have reigned, but raged in all the sons of men.


And therefore, as we do with wild beasts, wolves, lions, and others, binding them in chains that they may be kept from doing the mischief which their inclinations carry them to, so the law chains up the wickedness of the hearts of men, that they dare not fulfil those lustful inclinations which are found in their hearts.


Blessed be God that there is this fear upon the spirits of wicked men; otherwise we could not well live in the world. One man would be a devil to another. Every man would be a Cain to his brother, an Amnon to his sister, an Absolom to his father, a Saul to himself, a Judas to his master; for what one man does, all men would do, were it not for a restraint upon their spirits.


Therefore we have cause to bless God that he has given a law to restrain transgression, that if men will not be so good as they should be, yet, being restrained, they become not so bad as they would be.

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