Peter Witkowski Discipleship

The Deadly Effects of Beautiful Sin

Deadly-sinSin looks good. If it was not so appealing, we wouldn’t find ourselves waking up with troubled consciences, seeking greater thrills, and contemplating the meaning of life through the lens of depression. As Adam and Eve discovered, sin appears to be “a delight to the eyes (Gen 3:6).” But, it always ends in divine judgment, broken relationships, and earthly hardships. And though thousands of years have passed since our forebears ate the fruit, sin still dresses in false beauty and rewards its friends with death.

Fast forward from Genesis to 1 Samuel 8. The people of God have once again depended upon their senses instead of divine revelation. And the fruit of delight for the nation of Israel is a “king to judge us like all the nations (1 Sam 8:6).” As the context of 1 Samuel makes clear, the people are not primarily making a political statement. They are making a theological claim. They are choosing an earthly king to replace the King of Kings. 1 Samuel 10:19 concludes with this divine assessment, “You have rejected your God who saves you from all your calamities and your distresses, and you have said to him, ‘Set a king over us.’”

But unlike our first parents the nation of Israel gets a brief reprieve. God does not immediately turn his back on his idolatrous people. God sends Samuel to “solemnly warn them (1 Sam. 8:9).” In verses 10-18, Samuel tells the people that their love of the world will negatively effect their families, their personal well-being, and their relationship with God.

Those who pursue the world above Christ will ultimately sacrifice their children’s wellbeing for their sinful passions. Both the Israelites’ sons and their daughters would be taken from their homes and conscripted into kingly service. Christians do not have to look far to see this reality play out in the modern world. Some children are aborted because their parents fear that they do not have the money and the time to both raise a child and finish school, to keep traveling, or to keep up with the drunken partying. They sacrifice the child for their sin. Other children go without clothes, food, and deodorant because mom and dad spend all their money on drugs, gambling, and ponzi schemes. Others wind up in fights at school, struggle to interact with the opposite sex, and fail at school because their parents are locked in a constant battle of words that occasionally escalates to a thrown glass at or to a violent slap. Others have no friends because they are afraid to invite Sally over for the night for then she will see what an angry, scary, drunk their Dad is.

We like to think that we are autonomous human beings and that our sin hurts no one but ourselves. But this is not the case as experience reveals and as the Scriptures make clear. The deadly effects of sin will always touch our families.

And the effects of sin will ravage our own lives as well. As 1 Samuel 8:14-17 makes clear, the passions of the world will consume our very livelihood. We know this to be true. We have seen young men and women trash promising careers because they believed relationships, sex, and money could satisfy. We have encountered men who bounced from job to job because they repeatedly violated sexual conduct guidelines, fight angerly with their bosses, and fail to show up to work on time. We know of women who approach their golden years with no money because they spent their livelihood chasing experiences, shoes, or beauty. Though sin promises peace, relaxation, and joy, it robs us of wealth and our ability to work.

And lastly sin draws us away from God. 1 Samuel 8:18 says, “And in that day you will cry out because of your king, whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the Lord will not answer you in that day.” Seemingly since the fall of Adam and Eve, men and women have operated under the notion that they can live-it-up and then stop on a dime and repent a few moments prior to death. But God does not offer such hope. If we repeatedly and frequently spit upon God, he will ultimately spit upon us. Friends we know this reality to be true. God may require our lives without any warning. Car crashes, strokes, and a whole host of other circumstances can spring upon us without warning and take our lives without offering us that needed moment for spiritual reflection. Moreover, the hardened sinner becomes only more harden by his exposure to sin. The more one embraces sin, the more one has no thoughts or inclinations toward the things of God. Many given the opportunity to repent at the end of their lives do not. They hated good as youths, as middle-aged adults, and as sickly senior adults.  As James 4:4 warns us, “You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”

Thankfully, we do not have to choose the Kong’s of this world. And we do not have to keep choosing the kings of this world. Christ has died on the cross. He has died to save us from our sins. If we submit to him, he will save us.

But make no mistake, sin destroys our families, our lives, and separates us from God. Let’s not indulge in sin. Let’s not create a secret room for our sin. Let’s not rationalizes away our sin, valuing our world’s salacious promise of happiness over holiness. Sin destroys. Let’s heed the warning o 1 Samuel 8.

We have been warned. We will listen?

Peter Witkowski Apologetics

A Pastor’s Response to the VA Abortion Debate

Christians must use all legitimate civil means to stop the government of Virginia from embracing Governor Ralph Northam’s position on infanticide and abortion. In an radio interview on WTOP earlier this week, He said the following in regards to House Bill 2491,

If a mother is in labor, I can tell you exactly what would happen. The infant would be delivered. The infant would be kept comfortable. The infant would be resuscitated if that’s what the mother and the family desired, and then a discussion would ensue between the physicians and the mother.

Regardless of how one may attempt to slice or to spin the governor’s comments, the words always point to one meaning: Infanticide. Governor Northam believes parents and doctors should be allowed to determine whether or not a child lives. If a mother’s  physical or mental health could be hurt by the existence of the “comfortable” baby, then the mother could choose to kill her baby. And the definition of health provided by court case Doe v. Bolton is so vague almost any maternal inclination would be ample justification for killing the baby in question. A mother could terminate her child because the child was the ‘wrong’ gender, or because the child threatened the mother’s financial or career goals, or because the child had deformities that promised to consume the mother’s time and financial resources. Governor Northam’s statement did not concern women’s health. It concerned infanticide.

Now before I proceed further, I want to be clear. I do not want to minimize the sacrifices associated with motherhood. My four siblings and I taxed my mother to no end. And as the father of three kiddos, I watch my dear wife repeatedly sacrifice her desires, health, money, and mental well-being for our children. Motherhood is a huge undertaking.

But Governor Northam and by extension Kathy Tran who sponsored House Bill 2491 are not seeking to support motherhood through tax breaks or government programs. They are seeking to empower mothers to kill their children after birth. They are seeking to normalize infanticide. They are seeking to allow one portion of the population to exterminate another portion of the population.

And once one part of a society is permitted and licensed to kill for convenience sake, others will seek similar permissions. If all human life is deemed to have no intrinsic value, then ultimately any life can be sacrificed for the ‘greater good’ or mental health reasons. If the old, the Jews, and the mentally infirm (to name a few groups) are deemed by the government to be causing a significant portion of the population mental anguish, what will stop Virginians from exterminating them?

The press and the Democratic Party of Virginia has attempted to deflect the outrage bubbling up around House Bill 2491 and Governor Northam by claiming the whole ordeal is an orchestrated political stunt engineered by Republicans seeking to protect their control of the Virginia legislature. After all, four similar bills have already been put forward and voted down in Virginia over the last three years with little fanfare. Sarah Jones from New York Magazine dismissed the whole controversy and encourages us to do the the same writing,

The idea that abortion providers tear apart full-term, viable babies about to breathe has animated the right for a long time. It’s the stuff of pulp fiction, and the myth bears little resemblance to reality.

And as Governor Northam’s office said, “No woman seeks a third trimester abortion except in the case of tragic or difficult circumstances.”

Sadly, Sarah Jones and Governor Northam are mistaken. The idea of abortion that Sarah Jones mocks as pulp fiction is not the day dream of crazied political junkies; it is reality. Abortion kills millions of viable babies in the cruelest and most uncaring of ways as can be seen in the medical drawings that detail the abortion procedure. Abortion providers such as Planned Parenthood suck babies from the womb piece by piece.

Infanticide will also harm the innocent. Notice that the governor’s office defines tragic and difficult circumstances as things, “such as a nonviable pregnancy or in the event of severe fetal abnormalities.” Non-viable pregnancies that could claim the mother’s life such as ectopic pregnancies are already covered by Virginia law. The governor is not talking medically non-viable pregnancies. He is talking about killing babies who have fetal abnormalities such as Down Syndrome or anencephaly that may disrupt their mother’s quality of life. In short, Governor Northam believes doctors and mothers should be allowed to let unwanted yet viable babies die.

Though the press may now view the defense of life as being ‘sensationalism,’ Christians must continue to declare the truth about abortion and infanticide. Abortion and infanticide are not Democratic Party and Republican Party issues. These practices are moral issues of the highest level, issues of good and evil.

Regardless of their political affiliation, Christians cannot call evil good; they cannot sit quietly on their hands as their government casually discusses murdering its citizens. Christians must deal with reality identifying abortion for what it really is…murder.

The Scriptures clearly teach that all life from inception to death represents the image and beauty of God. The words of Psalm 139:13 apply to all people regardless of their age, gender, or health.

For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.

Luke chapter 1 also clearly teaches that both babies in the womb and out of the womb are fully human. And Exodus 21:22-25 states that anyone who takes the life of a baby should be charged with murder.

Theologian Wayne Grudem concludes,

The Bible teaches that we should think of the unborn as child as a person from the moment of conception, and therefore we should give to the unborn child legal protection equal to that of others in the society.”

As a Christian, as a husband, as a father, as a pastor, and as a voting Virginian, I call upon Governor Northam to defend the life of every Virginia. I call upon him to disavow his support of infanticide and of abortion on demand. I also urge my fellow Christians to join me in supporting life. I encourage them to use their voices and their votes to defend the life of every Virginian.

Will you join me?

Peter Witkowski Apologetics

The Precedented Unprecedented

precedentThe interdisciplinary team working at Huanchaquito-Las Llamas recently disturbed the modern conscience with their latest discovery. The team led by Gabriel Prieto of the Universidad Nacional de Trujillo and John Verano of Tulane University and sponsored by the National Geographic revealed that their Peruvian archaeological dig contained the, “largest single incident of mass child sacrifice in the Americas— and likely in world history.” The scientists and historians found the remains of more than 140 children and 200 baby lamas that had been murdered and mutilated some 550 years ago by the Chimú Empire. And less than a half mile away from where children’s hearts were ripped from their chests, the empire conducted their affairs of state. Calculated trades and negotiations took place just minutes away from unbelievable horror.
The pictures of the excavated skeletons lying face up with broken ribs are dark and disturbing. Though America is increasingly defined by violence, the mass premeditated murder of 140 or more children still disturbs the modern mind as evidenced by the magazine’s bold claims. And evil of this magnitude should be noted in the press and mourned.
But the Kristin Romey, one of National Geographic’s editors that covers archaeology and paleontology, missteps when she attempts to help audience appreciate the magnitude of the slaughter being studied. She writes,

The discovery of a large-scale child sacrifice event in the little-known pre-Columbian Chimú civilization is unprecedented in the Americas—if not in the entire world.

Romey’s captures the sentiment of the moment, but she wrong assumes that the sacrifice is unprecedented in world history.
In one sense, her claim is justifiable. The whole sale slaughter of 140 plus children at one religious event is noteworthy. But when compared against the annals of world history, academics cannot say this is unprecedented. If we go back only four years in the historical cannon of world history, we discover a far greater slaughter.
In 2014, the United States legally aborted 652,639 children (the most recent statistical year in file) according to the CDC. Americans aborted more than 1,788 babies per day in 2014 down. Such acts of horror took place down the street from hospitals, gas stations,  factories, restaurants, and government buildings. Clearly large scale infanticide taking place in close proximity to a nation’s established societal institutions  is not unprecedented in the Americas as Romey claimed.
Admittedly some will object to the comparison, pointing to the religious nature of pre-Columbian event. Few if any abort a child to appease the gods or to convince them to send rain. Few if any cut out the heart of their child to determine their future or to connect with the life force of the gods.
But the basic ideas that drove those men and women to murder children 550 years ago are still driving modern men and women today.
The Chimú people sacrificed those 140 plus children because they believed their deaths would benefit society by alleviating hardship and winning more wealth and happiness. Today, boyfriends and husbands, parents, and ultimately mothers abort their children for their benefit. They do not want to be saddled with having to care for the child’s physical, emotional, and monitory needs. Modern adults do not want to sacrifice their educational goals, their financial plans, and their personal peace for a child. Instead of sacrificing for the child, they sacrifice the child for their needs. As C.S. Lewis thoughtfully showed through his book, That Hideous Strength, modern science divorced from Christian morality often becomes  little more than cruelly efficient paganism. The Chimú people could kill 140 or more kids in one day at one location. We can kill 1,788 or more kids across 50 states in a day. We too rip apart the bodies of our dead children seeking to find brighter futures filled with medical advancements. For all of our advancements modern men and women apart from Christ are still quintessentially pagan.
As believers we should mourn the discovery at Huanchaquito-Las Llamas. But we must not leave our gaze in the past. We must fight against our nation’s annual sacrifice of children to the gods of ease, comfort, and wealth. We must support foster care and adoption. We must speak for the unborn. We must engage in the political community. We must do all that we can to end this slaughter.
We do not find fault God for bringing the Chimú government to end. If this is true, can we find fault with God for one day bringing our nation to an end?
God be merciful to us!