MURDER in HELL

                       Did you see the INTRODUCTION to this A to Z series? Check it out here.

Who goes to HELL? The MURDERER or the MURDEREE? Sorry, but that's a trick question. The answer is maybe both or maybe neither. 

Our salvation, or lack thereof, does not depend on our actions. A MURDEREE who has never repented of his sins and found forgiveness in the saving work of Christ for his soul does not get a free pass--he is not redeemed-- by being MURDERED. We can not save ourselves by good works nor are we saved by being wronged (even extremely).

And one of us who commits MURDER may still repent, while he still lives, and be saved from HELL! Not that God our judge can ever be fooled by a "jailhouse confession." He looks into and reads our hearts; discerning the authentic from the contrived. This truth may seem objectionable to some who would cry "Unfair!" at the thought of a killer getting off Scot free, But they need to think about it from the other side. "If God can forgive a MURDERER, he can certainly forgive ME of my little sins!" This is truly good news!

A problem is that so many people think that God is fully obliged to punish MURDERERS, AND that he is then duty bound to let the rest of us non-MURDERERS into heaven. As if we could corner him like some high school teacher and convince him to grade us on a curve! While it is true that some sins are worse than others, and will be judged more harshly, it is also true that every sin is equally damaging to our relationship with God and egregious in his sight. "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."   Romans 3:23

NO sin will be allowed into heaven, and therefore must be confessed and repented of so the sinner can be cleansed of even the most trivial, but still very real, transgression. The verse above delivers very bad news to those who would claim immunity from sin, but it continues with very good news for those who can admit they "fall short" and would seek forgiveness:  

"and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus." 

Romans 3:24

But in HELL? A MURDERING spirit will live on and on. Though there will be no deliverance, for there is no death in HELL. Just as there are many people here and now that "live" in a perpetual state of having died to life, all those in HELL will go on, not so much as the "living dead" but more as the "dead living."

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Murder and Mayhem

Murder and mayhem are part of this life.  Today's news from Boston says that much.  No matter who set the bombs out, and whatever the reason.  Whether it was a so-called rational terrorist, or a crazed lunatic, this was the work of fallen man.  There is no room to disparage the world's populations of beasts by calling today's criminal an "animal."  Animals don't do such things; only people do.

Since the fall of man, when disobedience first occurred and the knowledge of evil came into being, this race has been hell bent.  Adam and Eve felt the sting of the decision they made for us all, not only in the curses they earned, but most potently when their firstborn son plotted, and then killed, his brother.  You can read about it here, if you like.

Isn't the first thing detectives look for when investigating a murder, the motive?  But Cain had no insurance settlement to gain.  There was no woman they were fighting over.  Just like you and me, he only needed a corrupted heart to spawn this original homicide.  If anything, we might point to a mere "sibling rivalry" to explain Cain's evil deed.  In conversation with Cain, before the first murder, God warned Cain about the beast of Sin that was "crouching" at his door.

Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast?  If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”  From Genesis 4, linked above.

Murder and mayhem are all too familiar to us simply because it doesn't take much to lead us astray.  But we have a way out!  God's warning to Cain also showed the way.  Cain knew God directly, and talked with Him.  Through this relationship, Cain should have been able to "rule" his temptations. Because of the grace and mercy of God, established and offered the very same day Sin showed its ugly face in the family picture of man, Cain could have done better.  We, through a relationship with God established in Christ, are also enabled to overcome the tyranny of Sin!

Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?  Romans 6:16

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