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Darkness to Light - Vol. IX, No. 6

Darkness to Light
Volume IX, Number 6
2011

Presented by Darkness to Light Web site
Director: Gary F. Zeolla

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Scripture Workbook: Second Edition; 2 Volumes in 1
 

This book contains two volumes previously only available separately. It contains forty individual "Scripture Studies." Volume I covers the essential doctrines of the Christian faith. It is these doctrines that separate the true Christian faith from cultic and other deviations. Volume II of this book then covers controversial theologies, cults, and ethics.

"A Million Good Things"
By Gary F. Zeolla

"You do a million good things in your life, and one bad thing,
and all people remember is the one bad thing."

                The above was my dad's comment about Joe Paterno and the Penn State child sex abuse scandal. And he is right about Paterno. He has done "a million good things" in his life. He has positively affected the lives of probably tens of thousands of former and current student athletes, along with donating millions of dollars to the university. But now, if someone even tries to defend "Joe Pa" they are vilified, like has happened to Steeler great and former Penn Stater Franco Harris.

                Meanwhile, Paterno's name was removed from the new Big Ten Championship trophy and his name withdrawn for consideration for the President's Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian federal government medal available. All of this has happened because Joe Paterno did not act the way many believe he should have acted when told about the possible child sexual abuse by then assistant coach Jerry Sandusky, even though Paterno did all that he was required to do legally.

"Judge Not …"

Many misuse Jesus' statement about not judging, as discussed in two articles posted on the Web site ("Judge Not …" and Judging the Beliefs and Behaviors of Others). But I believe this verse does have applicability here, when taken in context.

"Stop judging, so that you* shall not be judged, for with what judgment you* judge, you* will be judged, and with what measure you* measure, it will be measured to you*" (Matthew 7:1,2; ALT3).

It is very easy for people to judge Joe Paterno, given that they were not there and do not have all of the facts, as to what he was told and what he told his superiors. And no one knows how they would act if they were in the same position. It's easy for people to self-righteously pontificate about what they would have done, but they really don't know.

But most of all, do all of those people condemning Joe Paterno really want their lives to be judged by one bad action they might have done, or in this case, for something they didn't do, with every good action they've done being ignored and forgotten? I would say that most would not.

And as humans, we need to remember this. No person is perfect; no one has done exactly what we should have done at every instance of our lives. And given that we are not perfect, we shouldn't be so quick to judge what someone else did or didn't do at a particular moment.

Innocent until Proven Guilty

A basic premise of the legal system in the United States is that people are innocent until they are proven guilty. But that standard unfortunately is not used in the public media and by most people when judging others. Everyone just assumes that Jerry Sandusky is guilty. As such, they just assume that Paterno's supposed lack of action led to the molestation of additional children.  But in many recent high profile cases, people that were assumed guilty by the media and by most people were found innocent in a court of law.

The most pertinent example is Michael Jackson. He was charged with multiple counts of child molestation. And the "facts" did sound convincing. He fully admitted to sleeping with children in his bed. Fully admitted to liking to be around kids, to touching them in non-sexual ways, and there were multiple children coming out saying they were molested by Jackson, and even a supposed witness.  All of this "evidence" parallels what we have in the Jerry Sandusky case.

But Michael Jackson claimed he was not sexually attracted to children and that his actions were not sexual or sexually motivated in any way. Sandusky has made the same claims. And none of us knows what was in Michael Jackson's heart when he was sleeping with the kids or Jerry Sandusky's heart when he was showering and "horsing around" with the children.

But importantly, in court, each and every one of the witnesses against Michael Jackson was discredited by Jackson's defense attorney. And Michael Jackson was found not guilty.

Now I am not making any judgment about the guilt or innocence of Sandusky. I will wait until he goes to trial and leave the judgment to the jury. But that unfortunately is not the attitude of all of the self-righteous TV and radio commentators whose comments are based on the assumption that Sandusky is guilty, and thus Joe Paterno is guilty by association.

But these commentators and the public do not have all of the facts and thus are not in a position to make such a judgment. And most of all, we are not giving Sandusky or Paterno the benefit of the doubt that we would want if we were charged with something that we claim we didn't do. And we definitely wouldn't want people telling us how we "should have" acted in a particular instance.

One Who Can Judge

But there is One who can judge with full knowledge of all of the facts, and Who is perfect, not guilty of anything Himself, be it action or inaction. That is God. And God does judge us for each and every act that we do or don't do. And he knows our hearts, so he knows why we do or don't do what we do in life. Thus He is in a position to righteously judge us. And the standard by which He judges is perfection. So all of those who want perfection from Joe Paterno and all other public figures need to realize that this standard is how they are going to be judged.

The problem is none of us are perfect. We all have done or not done things in our lives that render us less than perfect. Thus we are all sinners, in need of forgiveness and salvation. And that is what the Gospel of Jesus Christ offers us, forgiveness and salvation from our sins.

Jesus died on the cross so that we could be forgiven of all of our sinful actions and inactions. But we need to confess our sins, our sinful actions and inactions, and we even need to ask forgiveness for any "unknown" sins. In other words, there are probably many things we have done in life that we don't consider "that bad" but which God disapproves of. And there is probably many times in each of our lives when we should have done something "good" when we did not. And that, yes, is sinful – "So to the one knowing to be doing good and not doing [it], to him it is sin" (James 4:17).

Additional Verses

Some additional Bible verses that are pertinent to this topic are worth quoting. First are verses showing God knows our hearts and why we do and don't do things:

And He said to them, "You* are the ones justifying yourselves [or, declaring yourselves righteous] before the people, but God knows your* hearts, because the exalted [thing] among people [is] an abomination before God (Luke 16:15).

And having prayed, they said, "You Lord, knower of the hearts of all [people], disclose which one of these two You chose (Acts 1:24).

And the heart-knowing God testified to them by having given the Holy Spirit to them, just as also to us, (Acts 15:8).

Now the One searching the hearts knows what [is] the mind-set of the Spirit, because according to God He intercedes on behalf of [the] holy ones (Romans 8:27)..

So then, stop judging anything before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden [things] of the darkness and will reveal the counsels [or, intentions] of the hearts, and then the praise will come to each from God (1Corinthians 4:5).

For the word of God [is] living and effective and sharper than every double-edged sword and [is] penetrating as far as [the] division of both soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and [is] able to discern [the] thoughts and intentions of the heart (Hebrews 4:12).

Next are verses showing that God demands perfection but that we each fail to meet that standard but instead have sinned:

Therefore, you* will be perfect, just as your* Father, the [One] in the heavens, is perfect (Matthew 5:48).

 Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse [or, purge] ourselves from every pollution [or, defilement] of flesh and of spirit, perfecting holiness in [the] fear of God (2Corinthians 7:1).

Not at all, I say to you*, but if you* are not repenting, you* will all likewise perish! (Luke 13:3).

What then? Are we [any] better? Certainly not! For we previously charged [that] both Jews and Greeks are all under sin, just as it has been written: "[There] is not a righteous [person], not even one. [There] is not [a person] understanding; there is not [a person] diligently seeking after God. All turned aside, together they became unprofitable; [there] is not [a person] doing goodness [or, what is right], [there] is not so much as one (Romans 3:9-12).

For all sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).

But the Scripture confined all under sin, so that the promise shall be given by faith in Jesus Christ to the ones believing (Galatians 3:22).

If we should say [or, claim], "We do not have sin," we lead ourselves astray [fig., deceive ourselves], and the truth is not in us. … If we should say [or, claim], "We have not sinned," we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us (1John 1:8,10).

And finally, verses showing we can find forgiveness of our sins through Jesus Christ.

for this is My blood, the [blood] of the New Covenant, the [blood] poured out on behalf of many for forgiveness of sins (Matt 26:28).

to give knowledge of salvation to His people by [the] forgiveness of their sins (Luke 1:77).

and [for] repentance and forgiveness of sins to be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem (Luke 24:47).

This One God has exalted to His right hand [as] Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins (Acts 5:31).

To this One all the prophets bear witness [that] through His name every[one] that is believing [or, trusting] in Him receives forgiveness of sins." (Acts 10:43).

to open their eyes [in order] to turn [them] back from darkness to light and [from] the authority of Satan to God, [in order for] them to receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among the ones having been sanctified by faith in Me.' (Acts 26:18).

in whom we have the redemption by means of His blood, the forgiveness of transgressions, according to the riches [fig., abundance] of His grace (Ephesians 1:7).

If we shall be confessing our sins, He is faithful [or, trustworthy] and righteous that He shall forgive us our sins and cleanse [or, purge] us from all unrighteousness (1John 1:9).

Conclusion

"A million good things." Maybe you feel that you have done that. But it takes just one act or inaction of indiscretion to ruin your good name in the public's eye and to make you guilty before God. Redeeming your name among the public might be difficult, but being forgiven by God is not. Just acknowledge that you have sinned, that you are not perfect, that you need forgiveness, and God will forgive you, and you will find forgiveness from your sins in Jesus Christ.

Note: All Scripture verses taken from:  Analytical-Literal Translation of the New Testament: Third Edition. Copyright © 2007 by Gary F. Zeolla of Darkness to Light ministry (www.zeolla.org/christian). Previously copyrighted © 1999, 2001, 2005 By Gary F. Zeolla.

Radio Interview

I'm going to be on WSTS FM on Tuesday (11/22) at 5 pm. I will be talking about my ministry and my books, especially my new Scripture Workbook. If anyone is interested, you can listen online at www.wstsfm.com

New Computer System

Since I mentioned about needing a new computer system in a previous issue of this newsletter, I should mention that I did finally get a new computer. I had lots of problems along the way setting it up and packing up my old system. It was quite a job, but I am thankful I got it done. But that is why I am so late in getting this issue of this newsletter out.

Happy Thanksgiving and Merry Christmas
to all readers of this newsletter.

Scripture Workbook:
Second Edition; 2 Volumes in 1

For Personal and Group Bible Study
and Teaching the Bible

Also By Gary F. Zeolla:

Zeolla.org is the personal Web site for Gary F. Zeolla.
Author of Christian and of fitness books, Web sites, and newsletters,
and a top ranked and multi-record holding powerlifter.

Fitness for One and All Web site and FitTips for One and All newsletter.
Helping people to attain their health, fitness, and performance goals,
with an emphasis on powerlifting.

All material in this newsletter is copyrighted © 2011 by Gary F. Zeolla or as indicated otherwise.

11/18/11