People in the United States and the Western nations in general are celebrating the death of Osama Bin Laden. I’m not sure what to make of it. I am a disciple of Jesus who happens to live in the United States but I in no way am an American first. The kingdom of God is first and foremost and God’s kingdom will someday overcome even the United States (Daniel 2:44). I believe that we should obey Romans 13:1-7 and submit to our nations and their leaders but our first priority is to Jesus.
This doesn’t mean that I don’t rejoice that a wicked man is gone. I do (Proverbs 11:10). But I do feel the pain that Bin Laden never repented of his sins (Ezekiel 18:23). The heart of God is to see all come to salvation (2 Peter 3:9) and this is why He sent His Son (John 3:16; 1 John 2:2). No doubt Bin Laden was an evil man who found a loop hole for committing great sins in his religion of Islam but in the end, Bin Laden needed Jesus and now he must face Him face to face in judgment (Hebrews 9:27).
Amazingly so many pagans here in the United States are celebrating Bin Laden’s death without realizing that they too are storing up wrath to come by living for their flesh. Do they think that just because Bin Laden was as wicked as he was that they will be spared because they haven’t committed the sins that he did? 1 John 3:4 establishes that they too (and all of us) have violated God’s holy Law. Romans 3:10-23 shows us that we are totally depraved people. We don’t earn God’s favor by being American or by not being a Muslim. We earn God’s righteousness by grace through faith in Jesus Christ (Romans 3:24-25). We must be in Christ Jesus to be spared the wrath to come (Romans 5:8-9; 1 Thessalonians 1:10). Notice how Peter preached on the day of Pentecost to the Jews (Acts 2:5). Peter didn’t preach a seeker sensitive message. He didn’t preach an inclusive sermon. He preached that unless they repented, they were guilty of murdering the Lord Jesus (Acts 2:22-23) and he then told them that they must repent and be baptized to be forgiven (Acts 2:38-39). He didn’t say, “You are all Jews and therefore are elect of God.” No! He told them to repent!
I pray the Church would rise up in this hour and realize that Muslims like Bin Laden still need Jesus. They don’t need war. They don’t need death. They need the gospel! Millions of Muslims are blinded by Satan (2 Corinthians 4:3-4) and deceived. They need to know that Jesus is not merely a prophet but that He is God in the flesh (Matthew 1:23; John 1:14). They need to hear that Jesus is the only way to God (John 14:6; Acts 4:12; 1 Timothy 2:3-6). They need to hear that their good works will never merit righteousness before a perfect God (Proverbs 20:9; James 2:10). I pray that the Church would groan in prayer over Romans 10:1-4 for both the Muslims, the Jews, and all others who are not found in Christ Jesus.
So while the world rejoices at the death of a wicked man, let us pray for Muslims to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. Let us pray that God would have mercy, pour out His Spirit, and that He would exalt His name through the preaching of the cross. The cure for radical Islam is not to make peace with them but to see them set free from sin through the cross of the Lord Jesus who died for them.
© 2011, Matt. All rights reserved.
