First be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.
Agree with thine adversary quickly, while thou art in the way. (Matthew 5:24b-25a)

The Collect
O God, who has prepared for those who love thee such good things as pass man's understanding; Pour into our hearts such love toward thee, that we, loving thee above all things, may obtain thy promises, which exceed all that we can desire; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

OT Lesson: II Samuel 19:16-23
And Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite, which was of Bahurim, hasted and came down with the men of Judah to meet king David. And there were a thousand men of Benjamin with him, and Ziba the servant of the house of Saul, and his fifteen sons and his twenty servants with him; and they went over Jordan before the king. And there went over a ferry boat to carry over the king's household, and to do what he thought good. And Shimei the son of Gera fell down before the king, as he was come over Jordan; And said unto the king, Let not my lord impute iniquity unto me, neither do thou remember that which thy servant did perversely the day that my lord the king [Absalom] went out of Jerusalem, that the king should take it to his heart. For thy servant doth know that I have sinned: therefore, behold, I am come the first this day of all the house of Joseph to go down to meet my lord the king. But Abishai the son of Zeruiah answered and said, Shall not Shimei be put to death for this, because he cursed the Lord's anointed? And David said, what have I to do with you, ye sons of Zeruiah, that ye should this day be adversaries unto me? Shall there any one be put to death this day in Israel? For do not I know that I am this day king over Israel? Therefore the king said unto Shimei, Thou shalt not die, and the king sware unto him.

Psalm: 62 (Coverdale)

1. My soul waiteth still upon God: for of Him cometh my salvation.
2. He verily is my strength and my salvation: He is my defense, so that I shall not greatly fall.
3. How long will ye imagine mischief against every man: ye shall be slain all the sort of you; yea, as a tottering wall shall ye be, and like a broken hedge.
4. Their device is only how to put him out whom God will exalt: their delight is in lies; they give good words with their mouth, but curse with their heart.
5. Nevertheless, my soul, wait thou still upon God: for my hope is in him.
6. He truly is my strength and my salvation: he is my defense, so that I shall not fall.
7. In God is my health, and my glory: the rock of my might, and in God is my trust.
8. O put your trust in him alway, ye people: pour out your hearts before him, for God is our hope.
9. As for the children of men, they are but vanity: the children of men are deceitful upon the weights, they are altogether lighter than vanity itself.
10. O trust not in wrong and robbery, give not yourselves unto vanity: if riches increase, set not your heart upon them.
11. God spake once, and twice I have also heard the same: that power belongeth unto God;
12. And that thou, Lord, art merciful: for thou rewardest every man according to his work.

Gospel: Matthew 5:20-26 (compare with Luke 12:54-59 regarding the price of seeking the Kingdom and living a life of faithful stewardship) For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven. Ye have hear that it was said of them of old time, Thou shalt not kill: and whosever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: But I say unto you, that whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison. Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.

Epistle: Romans 6:3-11(14)
Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise, reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. (11) Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. (14)

The Sermon
The Collect for today notes that "[God's] promises…exceed all that we can desire…". "All that we can desire"?! — that is something worth thinking about, for it immediately poses to us the underlying question: "What do we desire — as human beings, as Christians, as Americans…"?

In light of our Scripture passages today — and especially in follow-up to last week's recognition of Independence Day which ably demonstrated the extent to which the Founding Fathers held to an essentially Biblical, Christian (and particularly) a Covenantal worldview — it seems fitting that we continue the discussion regarding some of the other implications and consequences of that view of society which are integral to the American vision and our Christian heritage.

As was noted in our Rector's sermon of last week (and in a correspondingly brilliant sermon, also delivered last Sunday, at Holy Trinity by Rev. (Deacon) Lawrence Jones), much of the genius of the Founding Fathers stemmed from their (Christian) appreciation for the inherently fallen (sinful) state of man — such that the American government was designed to limit the State so that the State could not become Messianic. Over time, the American system of law has developed in complexity to address the wide range of situations that have arisen — such that now American jurisprudence is analogous to a huge modern hospital in which there are numerous departments, each dedicated to addressing (if not curing) any one of the vast range of illnesses and conditions that can be found within the population.

Today we will reflect upon an issue that is addressed in Scripture, which is keenly felt in the contemporary scene by virtue of its presence in civil law: the question of Justice, and more specifically, that subcategory of justice termed restitution¹.

Today we will investigate the (theological) relationship between restitution and worship — both familiar terms to Anglican ears.

We can extend this discussion regarding the American way in this manner because during this extended season of Trinity — characterized as a period of growth in our Christian life, in the Church, in society — we are challenged to pull out of the Christian toolkit some of the other instruments (or weapons from the Christian's arsenal, if that imagery is more preferable) which help us to develop and extend the Biblical worldview outwardly to its fullest extent.

We will presently see that in order to have an adequate system of law and justice, a Biblical view of restitution is necessary — it will be integral to that righteousness after which we are "to hunger and thirst" (Matthew 5:6). Our task as Christian citizens is to kindle within our selves, and within our society, the desire and the commitment to pursue those forms of justice which are God-honoring in every way, including those aspects of true justice which result in the restoration of both the victim (via restitution) and where possible, the salvaging of the offender (via his true repentance) so as to effect the ultimate restoration of the offender a productive citizen of society, to the greatest extent possible.

1. Everybody Wants Restitution (Everybody is Upset at /about Something)

Although it may just be my imagination, it seems fair to say that, nowadays at least, "everybody seems to be upset about something" and everybody seems to be competing for status for who should be considered to be the most victimized. Especially in our media-saturated environment, where the constant barrage of TV shows about sensational murder trials, etc., or Talk Radio hosts who cultivate our generally legitimate sense of outrage (while nonetheless leaving out the solutions which are found in God's Law, save for anything except the most trite "Gospelisms"), it is easy to become caught-up in the furor, and to get mad because everyone else is mad! Atheists are mad that God exists; Islam is mad that Judaism persists; the Tea party is mad that our taxes aren't abated; and the Liberals get mad when the Gospel is permeated. I could go on — but won't (God forbid).

It has even (astutely) been said that we are now essentially a culture of victimization², where we are bombarded with guilt-inducing techniques to induce us to everything from buying a new car to creating new pseudo-freedoms (like same sex marriage). Much of the (deeply mis-guided) activism that we see today is a result of this victim-mentality which is (autonomously) self-empowered to advocate for its own cause. This is why the quest for more freedoms (per se) is not the solution — more freedoms are the very last thing that sinful men need. The focus on what the Supreme Court has done or has not done this session is indicative of our fixation (over-reaction) on the need to create more laws so as to enshrine more freedoms — ironically thus being a symptom of the inherent lawlessness of the sinner.

While many citizens (including some Christian "liberals") tend to look to the State (or God forbid, the United Nations) for relief, others — typically "conservatives" — find attractive the (sometimes admittedly enticing) alternative of thinking that by seceding from the system (i.e. resorting to a minimalist State) we can thus effectively reduce our level of victimization. The logic goes as follows: Less government = less laws = less taxation = (therefore) more left over for my retirement account...

It may come as news to some that, per Deuteronomy 17 (18-20), Israel's king was to write out his own personal copy of God's law, as follows:

"And it shall be, when he [the king] sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this law in a book out of that which is before the priest the Levites (18): And it shall be with him and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear the Lord his god, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them (19): that his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he turn not aside from the commandment, to the right hand, or to the left (20a)…" (Deuteronomy 17:18-19)

Assuming (as is sometimes evident) that America's view of leadership (whether at the Presidential, Congressional, or lower levels) is moving steadily in the "kingly" (if not Messianic) direction, then it is a fair question as to when Christians will muster the courage to seriously advocate that prospective leaders follow Deuteronomy's criteria?

One of the primary benefits of the American way (a nation "governed by the rule of law") is that when our system of law is properly functioning, all of these are kingly attributes are present. Conversely, when abused, mostly horrendous results are seen. Scripture is clear that one sign of a nation having lapsed into a God-dishonoring state is when its legal system becomes so perverse that its normative judgments are essentially inadequate or disproportionate such that sin abounds at a practical level, and on a daily basis. The Biblical history of Israel is there for our edification: Israel's kings were constantly stealing land from the poor; Israel's widows were going hungry while the priests lived in luxury; Israel's prophets were turning their back on God because they were only in it for the profit, etc..

Some Christians even choose a church based on the criteria that there be a minimum level of theological "victimization" (ie., simplistic, pared-down doctrinal standards, "E-Z" worship etc.). This is indicative of the corresponding and considerable pressure in our society that the Church not be the Church at exactly the time when we actually need to hear the hard truth that oftentimes God must chastise us precisely because He loves us, and that He disciplines us today because he wants us to be better tomorrow³. Though this seems ironic, it is clear that an important part of God's mercy is seen precisely in when He is hard on us so as to bring us back in line with what is pleasing to Him — to a place that "exceeds all [anything] that we can desire" on our own⁴.

But God is not honored when we sit idly by and let sin abound for lack of the courage to stand up and resist — "God forbid" (Romans 6:2)! Scripture demonstrates that, to the extent we are so empowered by God, we must engage — like the Apostle Paul when he confronts the philosophers in Athens (Acts 17) or in his treatise on sin in the 1st half of the Epistle of Romans (1). This is especially true when we reach those points in history when what is needed is a message of God's displeasure with sin (and/or that we must also be tough on sin) despite the preference of the world (and the Church) for only those "kinder, gentler" aspects of God's character. And few things are as engaging as the topic of restitution.

The Christian must be willing to take a stand in the uncomfortable position (often thought of as "suffering for the cause") and risk being seen as "unloving" if this is what is required to be faithful to the full message of the Gospel — and many in today's society (sinners/victims) are especially keen to see that Christians suffer for the cause of Christ so that sinners can continue to sin with impunity.

When Jesus uses the term Raca ( empty/worthless, someone/thing not worth arguing with/over), he is criticizing that dismissive posture (popular even today) regarding conflict which is not the Biblical way of thinking about conflict — truly loving our enemies means caring enough about them (and the consequences of their actions) to confront them with their sin (and its consequences on others). This is much of the concern of the discipline of Christian apologetics — to help others see the error of their ways, using the appropriate means of presenting the Gospel. We are not to be interested in winning an argument/debate, but rather than offenders hear God's word.

Regarding the Biblical view of restitution, we thus cannot afford the luxury of being so pious about justice (i.e. of being holier than God) that we give others the wrong idea about the holiness of God's character. We must never forget that Jesus Christ paid a real price for our justification — it was a true penalty for the sin of all men. Coming to terms with the holiness of God's character is what is at stake when we are called upon to be responsible in playing our part in causing true repentance to occur — starting with ourselves, and then extending the same to others. This is the exact opposite of "being judgmental".

Thus — whether any of us is correct regarding the proximate cause or the underlying nature of our victimization — all beings, as victims (and especially including God, the Ultimate Being, and thus the Ultimate Victim) — have been/are/or will be expecting some form of restitution to redress those injustices which they have suffered. Although depicting God as victim is surely not an especially fashionable position to take, it would be less than faithful to the Gospel to allow this important truth to lie dormant. All of Scripture, especially culminating in the New Testament, makes it abundantly clear that, outside of the Atoning work of Jesus Christ — that is, outside of a faithful and obedient functioning relationship with Jesus Christ — our Heavenly Father is still disposed to wrath regarding the sinfulness of the world (re: Romans 1:18; 5:9, etc.) because God is the ultimate Victim of sin! It would follow that, whatever other criteria may be brought forward, there is really no such thing as a victimless crime — because, any form of sin puts God in the position of being the Victim.

We can now turn to see what Scripture says about the question of restitution — as they say, everybody wants some, but nobody wants to pay it out — because the question of restitution perfectly captures what is really a stake regarding the theological relationship between justice and worship.

2. The Scriptural Concept and Basis for Restitution

As was previously mentioned, today's OT Lesson and the Gospel passage both address — one implicitly, the other explicitly — the question of the Biblical view of restitution⁵. Restitution is generally subsumed under those 6 Commandments (Nos. 5-10) which comprise the 2nd table of the Law, and which address those issues affecting the relationships between man/man. The latter 6 are seen in contrast, though not in opposition to the 1st table of the Law (Commandments 1-4) ⁶ which address the God/Man relationship.

Over the course of this preceding week, the OT readings from the Lectionary included the account of Samson in Judges, the troubles of Jeremiah as he ministers to apostate Israel, and, especially the passage from II Chronicles (36:15) in which the prophet emphasized that it was because of His compassion that God sent the prophets (as agent/adversaries) to Israel to call Israel back from being God's adversary and to call Israel to repentance and to faithfulness unto Him. All these OT lessons point out that there are times when, in response to our sinfulness, God will act not as Savior or Protector, but as Adversary!

OT Lesson (II Samuel 19:16-23)
King David knew a lot about restitution. This morning's OT lesson from II Samuel assumes that we are generally aware of the events which immediately preceded the verses that were read. Lest we forget, David's rebellious son Absalom (having illegitimately attempted to seize his father's throne and mounted an armed insurrection against David) had just been killed during a seminal battle. With the death of Absalom, David was now 3/4 of the way through paying back to the Lord the 4-fold restitution God imposed as penalty for David's having contrived the battlefield death of Bathsheba's former husband, Uriah the Hittite — a Gentile convert grafted into Israel's covenant (II Samuel 11). Archbishop Sutton, who has written extensively on the topic of restitution, notes the following: "Four-fold restitution is required for stealing and then slaughtering a stolen sheep (Exodus 22:1), for sheep are representative of vulnerable innocent people. David knew this, and so specified four-fold restitution (2 Samuel 12:6). Though David repented, God exacted His four-fold restitution: the infant died [2 Samuel 12:15-23], David's son Absalom killed his son Amnon [2 Samuel 13], his cousin Joab killed Absolom [2 Samuel 18], and his son Solomon had his son Adonijah killed [1 Kings 2:19-24]". ⁷

In today's passage, some of David's "loyal subjects" were now seeking vengeance on one of Absalom's lieutenants who was returning in repentance to the rightful King David and seeking forgiveness for having let himself be drawn into siding with Absalom in the insurrection. Contrary to the disposition of his "loyal subjects", David understood that vengeance is not the only answer, and that, in this case vengeance was definitely not the right answer. While not forsaking his comprehension of what was at stake, David recognized that something bigger/better was involved.

Psalm 62 — We see in his many Psalms how David constantly proceeds along a 2-fold path: 1) confessing his sins (i.e. not appealing to his own good works towards salvation), and 2) petitioning the Lord to deal with those who are rebellious against God (via troubling himself as God's agent/king). The "Imprecatory Psalms" ⁸ form a major part of the Book of Psalms — prophetically serving as Christ's voice in calling out sin unto His righteous judgment.

NT Lesson (Matthew 5:20-26)
In the Gospel of Matthew (the "kingly" Gospel), Jesus criticizes of the Scribes and Pharisees because they weren't interested at all in the restorative dimension of the sacrificial system — they were primarily interested (legalistically) in form over content, to the point of being dismissive ( ) of the very depths of both spiritual and physical human need which were evident on a daily basis in Israel.

When Jesus says that our righteousness must exceed that of the Scribes and Pharisees, we must not misunderstand this point — Christ is not requiring us to become more legalistic than the lawyers. This is a false dilemma, resulting from a misappropriation of some popular American notions of the nature of the law and which import back into Scripture what was never intended. Jesus expected more from the lawyers than piety!

Likewise, if we expect God to forgive us our sins (represented by the words: "bring your gift to the altar"), then we first need to do everything possible so that our neighbor will forgive us our sins (restitution). Pious-sounding words intended to justify ourselves so that we can presume to have worshipping relationship with God suddenly take on the chilling prospect ("he was straightened in his reigns") that the justice part of God's mercy involves much more than our saying pious prayers. This is why our Lord Jesus commands us to work out whatever "ought" is between the parties before coming to present our gift at the altar. Any attempted worship while there are outstanding matters between parties is a form of sacrilege. Persons who "game the system" (i.e. "you have to forgive me in order to be forgiven") seriously miss the point that one must fully repent before one can expect to be forgiven. Whether or not I forgive you (now/later), you must repent and make restitution. One aspect pertains to what is between you and me, one pertains to what is between God and me — both are governed by what is between God and Man. Hear again Archbishop Sutton on this:

"The Bible requires restitution, whether a person is repentant or not. If you murder someone, whether or not you're sorry has nothing to do with whether or not you should receive the death penalty, even though it has everything to do with eternal forgiveness. A life has been taken and restitution must be paid. If [the victim's defender in the example] does not enforce some kind of restitution, then the [victim's] children will think that [the criminal] has gotten away with sin⁹".

Any un-repented-of sin (measured to a great extent against the benchmark of any un-restituted matters) is thus of the nature of presumptuous sin, and is a form of "gaming the system". It should be evident that such taking of God's mercy for granted is very serious indeed, and again reminds us that there really is no such thing as a "victimless crime" — if only because God is always there as Victim when we abuse each other. It is precisely because of the fact that God created us and that He knows what is best for us that we must never let sinfulness abound, nor allow sin to "reign in our members" (Romans 6:12). False worship (taking God's name in vain) is thus fabulously dangerous precisely because the meaning of the Gospel is at stake (consider the case of one Mel Gibson).

God imposed upon Himself a fabulously extravagant (i.e. infinite) penalty — death on a Cross — for Adam's seemingly trivial offense (stealing a piece of fruit), because the ultimate penalty (eternal death) is the only fitting counterpoint to the ultimate blessing (eternal life with God). This is why it can be rightly voiced on behalf of God that: "your sins are (literally) killing me!" Having personally executed (upon Himself — at Calvary) the judgment on sin, the victorious Christ (now Ascended) is seated alongside our Heavenly Father from whence He exercises judgment over the entire world. This should come as no surprise, since Christ, as Prophet/Priest/King is simply fulfilling at the highest level that which every preceding Priest, King, and Prophet exercised as part of their respective responsibilities as God's servants in their day.

On President Harry Truman's desktop was posted the famous sign: "The buck stops here". This image is very telling, because, as far as Christians are concerned, in Christ's acceptance upon Himself of our Heavenly Father's punishment for sin, it would not be too much to say that: "The grace starts here" (formally, at Calvary). God's own self-imposed willingness (as a loving Designer) to do what is necessary to accomplish the intended result is fully consistent with His own holy nature. God has been tough (not merciful — actually merciless) on Himself in order to restore what we could not restore. He was not gracious to Himself (in Christ) for the same reason. This is the ultimate case where we see the truth of that statement we have all heard from our parents, invariably our fathers): "This hurts me more than it hurts you".

Thus, Christ is the only one in history whose works-righteousness really worked:

"Therefore, as by the offense of one [Adam] judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one [Jesus Christ] the free gift came upon all men [faithful believers] unto justification of life. For as by one man's [Adam's] disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one [Jesus Christ] shall many be made [imputed] righteous" (Romans 5:18-19)

By parity of reasoning, it is thus correct to say that truly loving our enemies means that we will care enough about them (and the consequences of their actions) to confront them with their sin (and its consequences). Real heartfelt repentance includes our faithfully accepting the consequences (on ourselves or on others) because we must never presume upon God's mercy. Not negotiating with God regarding the terms of restitution is thus a real sign of spiritual maturity — rather we take the consequences for what they are. And far from being fatalistic, not negotiating with God is a real expression of real faith. Hear again what Archbishop Sutton says in this regard:

"The Bible teaches that there is no forgiveness apart from repentance: "If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him" (Luke 17:3). What is repentance? Repentance is a show of good faith, what I have already described in the section on restitution in [a previous] chapter. It is not a system of penance, whereby one earns his way back, a system of work. Rather it is a demonstration that one has returned to the faith; it is an outward display that one is indeed faithful". ¹⁰

So, please repeat after me: "I am not a victim — I am an adversary!"

3. Restitution in Practice

If it is the case that one party has a just complaint and a legitimate disagreement with another, what is to be done — especially if the conflict involves a fellow Believer?

First, (per Matthew 18:15-20), we must prosecute our differences through the proper courts of appeal, starting with trying to resolve the matter between ourselves. If that fails, then we are to take the matter to the Church (18:17). In I Corinthians (6:1-11, and especially 6:6), the Apostle Paul reminds us that it is un-Godly for professed believers to start out in the (assumed pagan) law-court without having 1st made a concerted effort to resolve their differences within the Church — even if this means that one party must temporarily suffer being cheated by the other (6:7). However, this Godly wisdom must not be abused as rationalized, pietistic over-compensation by the victim or else it can easily become a form of complicity which facilitates sinfulness." ¹¹

If matters cannot be resolved within the Church and require that the conflict be taken to the civil court of law, then a resolution must be pursued in a timely manner ¹²because "justice delayed is justice denied". Jesus says that we must agree quickly with our Adversary, because to do otherwise is an indication of bad faith on our part. If we delay and wait for someone to confront us with our sins, we are denying that we have gone astray (like lost sheep) and are denying that we are, by nature, God's adversaries. Correspondingly, how long should God be expected to (graciously/mercifully) wait for offenders to turn to Him? As we have now seen, any attempts by the offender at delay are simply manifestations of sinful man's inclination to not agree with our Adversary that we are the problem.

This is why the prayers of repentance in the services of Holy Communion and of Morning/Evening Prayer are so poignant, and so telling — they acknowledge this fundamental deficiency in the human heart, and point out in no uncertain terms that it is we who are the ones provoking the Adversary to haul us into His court. Thus, our heartfelt prayers (whether rendered in these forms or otherwise) petition the Lord to transform us from being His adversaries into being His faithful, grateful, and redeemed Allies! This must surely "exceed[s] all (anything) that we can desire?

First be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.
Agree with thine adversary quickly, while thou art in the way..
 

Mr. Kemendo is a Candidate for Holy Orders in the REC and is pursuing studies at Cranmer Theological House in Houston, Texas. He has been awarded degrees from the University of Houston and Harvard University.

Footnotes
¹ Restitution involves the economic — though not necessarily the financial — dimension of justice.
 
² See Rousas Rushdoony's The Politics of Guilt and Pity (Nutley, NJ.: the Craig Press, 1970) and especially David Chilton: Productive Christians in an Age of Guilt Manipulators (Tyler, TX.: Institute For Christian Economics, 1981). The concept of "victimization" is characteristic of the human condition (going all the way back to the Garden of Eden) being seen in rebellious man's perennial attempt to blame God for sin itself (i.e. Adam complaining to God about that essential ingredient of freedom which God bestowed upon mankind — the "freedom/liberty" to make a bad decision). Whether it is the homosexual lobby who argue that "genetics made me like this", etc., all such protests are manifestations of sinful man's inclination to not agree with our Adversary that we are the problem.
 
³ "Whom the Lord loveth, He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if you be without chastisement, whereof are partakers, than are ye bastards, and not sons. (Hebrews 12:6-8)
 
⁴ Though it is well said that the Doctrine of Total Depravity is in its emphasis of how sin has affected all dimensions of the human condition, it is equally true that this doctrine reminds us that it is only because of God's grace that we are not any worse (more fully consistent in our sinfulness) than we are.
 
⁵ North,, Gary Victim's Rights: The Biblical View of Civil Justice (Tyler, TX: Institute for Christian Economics, 1990)
 
⁶ These "2nd Table" issues also fall under the general category of "Kingly knowledge" (Wisdom) which gives guidance regarding the "hard choices" (i.e. of discerning good/evil) of life, and where more than only God/man or 1 or 2 parties are involved — Solomon's wise decision being the quintessential example in this regard (I Kings 3:16-28) — though, to be fair, it must be noted (per II Kings 23:25) that "Before him [King Josiah] there was no king like him who turned to the Lord with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might, according to the Law of Moses; nor did any like him arise after him"
 
⁷ Sutton, Ray, Second Chance: Biblical Principles of Divorce and Remarriage (Ft. Worth, TX: Dominion Press, 1988) p. 66 (footnote)
 
⁸ North, Gary Victim's Rights: The Biblical View of Civil Justice (Tyler, TX: Institute for Christian Economics, 1990)
 
⁹ Sutton, Ray, op. cit., p. 100
 
¹⁰ Sutton, Ray, op .cit., p. 95
 
¹¹ The emergence of a poor theology (pietism) which casts the Church-as-social-victim has resulted in a culture of defeatism within a Church where much of the practical effect of the Gospel has been vitiated. Though it takes actual wisdom (exactly the kind of Kingly wisdom that is available in the Spirit to truly discern good/evil), it is necessary that we distinguish the fine line (but nonetheless real line) between being a true victim and having succumbed to the debilitating mindset of "victimization".
 
¹² Sutton, Ray, op. cit., pp., 120-123 where the concept of a period of covenantal transition (timing) is discussed in detail.