1st John 2 opens with these words:
1 My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
2 And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.
3 Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.
But, while we have an Advocate, we also are expected to behave correctly. Righteousness is the expectation - in action, based in the change in identity that Christ has performed. We have been declared righteous and holy; now, we're expected to act that way. But, we are in the flesh, so there is the potential to mess up - to...sin. But, when we do, so that we might be restored to fellowship, we can confess our sins and be forgiven. We can encounter grace when we stumble, but our goal should be to follow Christ and allow His life and power to enable us to reflect His nature in us.
In Romans 5, we recognize the triumph of grace over sin, and in the subsequent verses in chapter 6,
we also recognize that we are not to sin so that grace may abound.
20 Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more,
21 so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?
2 Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?
NOTE: some graphic material unsuitable for children ahead!
She broke the rules, and paid a price. Perhaps by now you've heard about a difficult situation that has pitted Christians against one another. The story comes from Hagerstown, Maryland.
Maddi Runkles was a straight-A student at Heritage Christian Academy. During her senior year, she made the decision to engage in sexual activity, which resulted in a pregnancy. The school made the decision to not only punish her with a two-day suspension, but also by not allowing her to walk in her graduation ceremony, which took place last Friday night.
This story, which should have been an in-house manner, has become a national controversy. And, when you look at the headlines that come up with a Google search, it appears that the media has fed off this story and attempted to paint those "intolerant" Christians in a negative light - again. The interesting angle is that Maddi's correct decision to choose life and to follow through on giving birth to her child has caused pro-life people to stand with her.
So, Maddi and her family have been making the national news circuit. For instance on the website for The Today Show on NBC, she is quoted as saying: "That is everything I worked for and that's the night to acknowledge it,"adding, "Graduation is a very big deal and I'll be the only one not there to celebrate it with my friends."
The story says:
Kristan Hawkins of Students for Life of America has been especially critical of the school's decision. She is quoted as saying: "The school is afraid of what this looks like, that they have a pregnant student." The Today story states, "The group and Runkles argue that by singling out a pregnant student, the school is making abortion a more appealing option than suffering embarrassing and excessive punishment." Maddi says, "It's hard not to think of them as hypocrites because they promote life so much," adding, "But then when you make the right choice and choose life, they don't want anything to do with you."
The graduation at Heritage occurred without incident last Friday night, according to Herald-Mail Media. That website also reported on a separate ceremony for Maddi at a local church. Her father, who had been president of the school's board and resigned due to this situation, said at the ceremony: "I think God and his grace and his mercy, is simply telling us, 'I've got a different plan for Maddi, I've got something bigger for her.'"
It's easy to be critical in this situation. How it ended up in the New York Times and became a national story is unknown and unfortunate. Perhaps a more amiable solution could have been reached between the school board and the student. One could make the case that Maddi was being singled out, and she does claim selective enforcement of the school's moral code, which includes abstinence. And, as The Blaze website points out, the consequences of violating those standards are not clearly spelled out, according to the student.
So, if you're on the school board in Hagerstown, what do you do?
Well, here are the moral and Biblical issues at play here, as I see it.
First of all, sexual immorality, which includes sex outside of marriage, is a sin. Period. And, unfortunately, in our culture today, that is not something that is portrayed. The general "Hollywood" progression of a relationship is: boy meets girl, boy and girl go out on a date, and then they have sex. Perhaps there is a baby that is produced. How many unmarried celebrities announce they're expecting a baby? In some cases, they have moved in together. It just seems to be the progression that is modeled. Do we applaud people who choose to have the baby they have conceived? Absolutely! Every life, no matter the circumstances of conception, is a gift of God and should be celebrated.
That is the affirming message that those of us in the pro-life movement carry, and I am thankful that so many women in crisis pregnancy situations are making the right choice. But...at the same time, should there be a stigmatization for the unbiblical act of sex outside of marriage? You look at survey data and you can become alarmed at the rejection of the message of purity and abstinence in our culture today. The principal got it right: Maddi was facing punishment because of immorality. And, today, it's so important that the Church continues to uphold Biblical standards and call wrong what the Bible calls wrong. Unfortunately, when these types of things go public, then the narrative about our "intolerance" is furthered. We need to be upholding those principles of purity in our culture, recognizing that, as I like to say, God's way is best. And, violating His standards carries with it consequences that can be detrimental. It's cause and effect, sowing and reaping.
Fortunately, there's also grace. Amen? We know that when we miss the mark, we can go to the Lord for forgiveness. We can follow up wrong choices with right choices, as Maddi Runkles did. Her life has been altered by a choice; and God will give her the grace to get through it, and along the way, she and her family can celebrate the glorious occasion of a new life to whom she will be giving birth. That's grace! But, we still don't sin so that "grace may abound," according to Romans. I would contend that we also don't accept or glorify sin, thinking that our actions are OK or that we can receive forgiveness anyway. In a culture that has lost its way morally, and with Christianity being ridiculed for standing for truth, we can still gracefully and compassionately speak God's principles boldly.
+++++
In Romans 5, we recognize the triumph of grace over sin, and in the subsequent verses in chapter 6,
we also recognize that we are not to sin so that grace may abound.
20 Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more,
21 so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?
2 Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?
NOTE: some graphic material unsuitable for children ahead!
She broke the rules, and paid a price. Perhaps by now you've heard about a difficult situation that has pitted Christians against one another. The story comes from Hagerstown, Maryland.
Maddi Runkles was a straight-A student at Heritage Christian Academy. During her senior year, she made the decision to engage in sexual activity, which resulted in a pregnancy. The school made the decision to not only punish her with a two-day suspension, but also by not allowing her to walk in her graduation ceremony, which took place last Friday night.
This story, which should have been an in-house manner, has become a national controversy. And, when you look at the headlines that come up with a Google search, it appears that the media has fed off this story and attempted to paint those "intolerant" Christians in a negative light - again. The interesting angle is that Maddi's correct decision to choose life and to follow through on giving birth to her child has caused pro-life people to stand with her.
So, Maddi and her family have been making the national news circuit. For instance on the website for The Today Show on NBC, she is quoted as saying: "That is everything I worked for and that's the night to acknowledge it,"adding, "Graduation is a very big deal and I'll be the only one not there to celebrate it with my friends."
The story says:
Runkles admits she made a mistake when she broke a school code by choosing to have sex. But the straight-A student points out she already has been disciplined by her school, which suspended her for two days and stripped the student council president of her leadership role.Principal David Hobbs sent a letter home to parents, which also continues to be posted on the school's website. In it, he stated that the “best way to love her right now is to hold her accountable for her morality.” He wrote, "Let me clarify some facts. Maddi is being disciplined, not because she’s pregnant, but because she was immoral." He told NBC that the school "applauded" Maddi's choice to keep her baby.
Kristan Hawkins of Students for Life of America has been especially critical of the school's decision. She is quoted as saying: "The school is afraid of what this looks like, that they have a pregnant student." The Today story states, "The group and Runkles argue that by singling out a pregnant student, the school is making abortion a more appealing option than suffering embarrassing and excessive punishment." Maddi says, "It's hard not to think of them as hypocrites because they promote life so much," adding, "But then when you make the right choice and choose life, they don't want anything to do with you."
The graduation at Heritage occurred without incident last Friday night, according to Herald-Mail Media. That website also reported on a separate ceremony for Maddi at a local church. Her father, who had been president of the school's board and resigned due to this situation, said at the ceremony: "I think God and his grace and his mercy, is simply telling us, 'I've got a different plan for Maddi, I've got something bigger for her.'"
It's easy to be critical in this situation. How it ended up in the New York Times and became a national story is unknown and unfortunate. Perhaps a more amiable solution could have been reached between the school board and the student. One could make the case that Maddi was being singled out, and she does claim selective enforcement of the school's moral code, which includes abstinence. And, as The Blaze website points out, the consequences of violating those standards are not clearly spelled out, according to the student.
So, if you're on the school board in Hagerstown, what do you do?
Well, here are the moral and Biblical issues at play here, as I see it.
First of all, sexual immorality, which includes sex outside of marriage, is a sin. Period. And, unfortunately, in our culture today, that is not something that is portrayed. The general "Hollywood" progression of a relationship is: boy meets girl, boy and girl go out on a date, and then they have sex. Perhaps there is a baby that is produced. How many unmarried celebrities announce they're expecting a baby? In some cases, they have moved in together. It just seems to be the progression that is modeled. Do we applaud people who choose to have the baby they have conceived? Absolutely! Every life, no matter the circumstances of conception, is a gift of God and should be celebrated.
That is the affirming message that those of us in the pro-life movement carry, and I am thankful that so many women in crisis pregnancy situations are making the right choice. But...at the same time, should there be a stigmatization for the unbiblical act of sex outside of marriage? You look at survey data and you can become alarmed at the rejection of the message of purity and abstinence in our culture today. The principal got it right: Maddi was facing punishment because of immorality. And, today, it's so important that the Church continues to uphold Biblical standards and call wrong what the Bible calls wrong. Unfortunately, when these types of things go public, then the narrative about our "intolerance" is furthered. We need to be upholding those principles of purity in our culture, recognizing that, as I like to say, God's way is best. And, violating His standards carries with it consequences that can be detrimental. It's cause and effect, sowing and reaping.
Fortunately, there's also grace. Amen? We know that when we miss the mark, we can go to the Lord for forgiveness. We can follow up wrong choices with right choices, as Maddi Runkles did. Her life has been altered by a choice; and God will give her the grace to get through it, and along the way, she and her family can celebrate the glorious occasion of a new life to whom she will be giving birth. That's grace! But, we still don't sin so that "grace may abound," according to Romans. I would contend that we also don't accept or glorify sin, thinking that our actions are OK or that we can receive forgiveness anyway. In a culture that has lost its way morally, and with Christianity being ridiculed for standing for truth, we can still gracefully and compassionately speak God's principles boldly.
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