Brother Joshua Marks sodomized my son. Should I forgive him?
 

Brothers and Sisters,

Some of you know that my family and I have had an issue recently. There has been a lot of hushed talk going on and urgent meetings.

It turns out that the man who we all call brother is a predator. He has been using his position in the church to do disgusting things with many of the children in town.

The thing is that he has apologized. I am so mad right now that I can't even think of forgiveness, but our Lord's Words keep jumping out at me right off the pages from the Bible.

Matthew 18:21-27
21 Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?
22 Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven. (490 times)

Luke 17:3-4
3 Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him.
4 And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.

Ephesians 4:31-32
31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:
32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

Knowing the right thing to do and living are two very different things. Believe it or not, there is a part of me that wants to cut his balls off and feed them to him, but God's Holy Word restrains me from it.

Romans 12:17-21
17 Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.
18 If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.
19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
20 Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.
21 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.


So I guess we have to have Brother Marks over for dinner soon.

I just wanted you guys to know this and please not hold it against Brother Josh.

I want us all to pray for him and keep both Jesus' and Paul's words in mind. Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.

Re: Brother Joshua Marks sodomized my son. What to do?
 

Isn't God's mercy amazing? Let the unsaved and false Christians say we are not forgiving to others.

I dare them to. :threaten:

Re: Brother Joshua Marks sodomized my son. What to do?
 

What a blessing this is to the many families of Freehold! While my flesh may recoil at the thought of Brother Mark's nefarious actions, my spirit rejoices in his effort to please the Holy Spirit by making amends. Also, your response of charity as outlined in the Holy Bible is truly inspiring.

Besides, as they say, No Harm, No Foul. No eternal souls were harmed, so let's move on.

:)

Re: Brother Joshua Marks sodomized my son. What to do?
 

Maybe the possesed child seduced a blinded-by-satan brother Mark. The evil one is a master of lies and deception. The child might have even DRUGGED brother Mike. I know a teenager's uncle who WITNESSED said boy inject three whole marijuanas into himself before proposing the gay to him. The uncle smelled the marijuanas in the boy's breath and blacked out only to wake up with the child crying and LYING about horrible incriminating filth that would ruin the man for good.

So, the uncle quickly deduced it was Satan's blood flowing through the marijuanas that made the child conspire against him. Anyway, the child was sent off to Christian rehab camp as soon as the parents were notified of Satan's induced treachery. Maybe the child in question should be sent off to rehab, or if in Texas, he should come to our Karate for Jesus all-male lock-in for a weekend.

I guarantee RESULTS.

Re: Brother Joshua Marks sodomized my son. What to do?
 

Forgiveness of sins for everyone is a core principle of our Lord's teachings. No matter what! Except, of course, blasphemy of the Holy Spirit.

Mark 3:28-30
Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme: But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation: Because they said, He hath an unclean spirit.

Never let it be said that True Christians™ don't have their priorities right. That son of yours should be the first to embrace him! :thumbsup:

Re: Brother Joshua Marks sodomized my son. What to do?
 

Brother Levi,

This has weighed heavy on my mind. While you post the relevant scriptures to forgive Brother Marks (and I have as well), you still have a son that has disobeyed you and is now a sodomite. Scriptures are clear on children who disobey their parents (Deuteronomy 21:18-21). No doubt you have plowed the teachings of Leviticus and Romans into his head regarding sodomy.

Do you think he may have the AID now?:(

Re: Brother Joshua Marks sodomized my son. What to do?
 

Yes, locking the confused young boys away together to contemplate their evil ways seems like a productive resolution to me. But isn't Karate a gateway to meditation and Satanism?

I noticed you hail from Waxahachie, brother. Do they still hold those Satanic renaissance festivals there where everyone revels in witchcraft instead of burning the witches? Wretched, foul enablers of darkness, the lot of them.

Glory onto Him. :innocent:

Re: Brother Joshua Marks sodomized my son. What to do?
 

Whenever I find it hard to forgive someone, I read the parable of the unforgiving servant.

Mat 18:23-35
23 Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants.
24 And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents.
25 But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.
26 The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.
27 Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.
28 But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest.
29 And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.
30 And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt.
31 So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done.
32 Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me:
33 Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?
34 And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.
35 So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.

It reminds me that my debt to God is greater than anyone's debt to me. If, for example, someone kidnapped, sodomized, tortured and murdered my son and then repented, I would simply reflect on how much God has forgiven me. Sure, I've never kidnapped, sodomized, tortured and murdered anyone, but I was once unsaved. Before I came to faith in Christ at the age of fourteen and was made perfect, I was a sinner. I had broken the Sabbath a few times and disobeyed my parents. I had had a few outbursts of anger. Yet God forgave me! And it wasn't easy for God to forgive me, either. He had to sacrifice His own Son. Surely if God can forgive me so great a debt, I could forgive my brother his trifling debt to me for violating and murdering my son. If Christ's sacrifice on the cross is enough to appease God's wrath, it should be enough to appease mine.

If you feel like doing physical harm against Brother Josh, just remember physical harm was done to Christ on Josh's behalf. He was scourged, had a crown of thorns placed on His head, was nailed to a cross, became severely dehydrated, died and had a spear thrust in His side. Christ underwent torture in the place of Brother Josh, so in a way your he has already been tortured in Christ. Think on that the next time you want to cut his balls off.

Sometimes, when I have to forgive someone, I'm tempted to think, "But it's just not fair!" Whenever Satan whispers this in my ear, I ask myself, "Was it fair what Jesus went through on the cross? Dying for sins He never committed?" Of course it wasn't fair. Forgiveness isn't fair. It's about people not getting what they deserve and getting what they don't deserve.

If I still find it hard to forgive a brother, I just remember that God's forgiveness is conditional on our forgiving others. The unforgiving servant was handed over to tormentors, which represents hell. If you don't forgive your repentant brother, you will go to hell. This threat really helps me to forgive genuinely and sincerely from the heart (Mat 18:35). It brings me great comfort to know that our Heavenly Father is just like the king in this parable, who threatened to sell a debtor and his family into slavery yet relented when he was begged for mercy, but then unforgave and tormented him when he wouldn't forgive one of his debtors.