Well, that was a great evening. We had all assembled early and were soon in lively discussion about the challenges presented to everyone else’s imperfect understanding of God’s Law and what He means exactly.
I don’t think I saw a single soul who had the right interpretation of all the verses and I was genuinely surprised how many people were simply wrong in their interpretation and argued illogically with what I actually
know is correct - often by saying that they
knew their version was right!
Honestly, sometimes you might think that the interpretation of God’s Word was “a matter of opinion!” instead of an Absolute Truth.
As I listened to some of the arguments, I was struck by how many people were quoting
Job:24:13: They are of those that rebel against the light; they know not the ways thereof, nor abide in the paths thereof.
Job:24:14: The murderer rising with the light killeth the poor and needy, and in the night is as a thief.
They seem to have forgotten that Mr Sharpwell had distinctly said that Leroy should be released, and had failed to note that Job talks about killers and thieves and we all knew, or should have done, that Leroy was neither of these.
(As an aside, one guy caused a ruckus and was thrown out when he purported to quote Exodus:22:18 and said “Do not allow a sorceress to live,” because obviously this was a KJV only event and nobody has any interest in what the NIV and papists say.)
In fact, after this heretic had been ejected, we all decided that this verse could not be at all relevant because Satan had sent him to mislead us – so we all now knew that
Exodus:22:18 was inapplicable.
This derailed the discussion a little, as one group was still arguing about
M't:6:13: And lead us not into temptation, - with the old and well-settled question
“Why should God “lead” us into temptation, if God is all good?” when Craig Sharpwell came on stage.
When the applause died down, Craig led us in 30 minutes of prayer. I found this most helpful as it concentrated my mind on what God really wanted – although I was distracted a little by the guy next to me who once or twice said “Amen” at the wrong moment.
And then he started:
This is why Leroy should now be released – He should be released because in America we do not lock up or punish innocent men. God can see into the souls of men and knows their motivation. Everything – yes, everything you say, do, think, see, hear, taste and feel is known unto God in line with
Joh:2:24: But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men,
Joh:2:25: And needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man.
and everything you say, do, think, see, hear, taste and feel is judged as to its content of “Godliness” as opposed to base self-interest.
To die
for the Faith is not enough - Christ and many a Christian have been persecuted - Christ and many a martyr have been put to death, but, although persecution is a blessing: blessings are like gold and should not be wasted where no Salvation will occur. I cannot emphasize enough that it is quite possible to die
for what you think is “Faith” but, because nobody in their right mind can think that there are, for example, any “Catholic martyrs” - they all died in sin and error – Heaven is open only to those who die
in Faith – Once Saved, always Saved.
The dictum is and must always be:
“Once the motive is known to be pure, absolutely nothing else matters to God.” If you work for Him, you are right – if there is any chink, (if I can still used that word
[laughter]), in your armor, then you are dead to the world and God.
Yet there is only one among you who has managed to grasp the essential Truth.
With this in mind, and here is what you should have noted when concluding that the reasoning that justifies, in the eyes of God and hence, man, the decision to release of Leroy is as solid as the rock upon which the Church stands.
1.
Quote:
The lawyer outlined the case: The accused, Leroy St James, was addicted to meth. He had a rapsheet as long as your arm and then some. He was 29 and since the age of 18, he had spent only 2 of those years, in total, outside a penitentiary.
|
Irrelevant. We are looking at what was done, not what had happened. The publicans, the thief on the cross, Paul the tax collector – they all had a history but are in heaven. The Bible is filled with those who have repented and been Saved.
2.
Quote:
When his parents had come to remonstrate with him, he had screamed more abuse and shouted his disgust for them.
|
Lu:14:26: If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. You will note that at the time the incident occurred, it was clear that Leroy had already, long since, accepted the Discipleship of Christ. We therefore can say that whatever happens, the motive was good and not evil.
3.
Quote:
Leroy’s home was a small and filthy room in a condemned building. He possessed nothing of value at all […]and he was desperate
|
Last part first - You have assumed “desperate for drugs”, it does not say that, we will see that this is not so.
First part: Who does Jesus love? The poor. What is Jesus’s take on filth?
M't:15:2: Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread.
M't:15:3: But he answered and said unto them, […] M't:15:11: Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.
4.
Quote:
This, he took to a small liquor store.
|
You have seen the liquor store. You should have noted two things:
1. It is somewhere in a city.
2. The notice on the side of the building reads “Check out our packages.” – we need to know more about these “packages”, and so did Leroy.
5.
Quote:
when the woman, the daughter of the owner, spoke to him and opened the cash register, she said, “Anything else, tonight?”
|
We now know what the “packages” were. The “soft bits” of a woman. This place is a brothel, isn’t it? And the woman is a harlot – and what happens to harlot? – even after a man has been “in unto her”? They are put to death.
Ge:38:24: And it came to pass about three months after, that it was told Judah, saying, Tamar thy daughter in law hath played the harlot; and also, behold, she is with child by whoredom. And Judah said, Bring her forth, and let her be burnt.
6.
Quote:
Leroy ran round to the cash register and took what was within.
|
This is what I kept from you. My bet is that you thought it was money. How could that be? Does the Lord not speak badly of those with money? And thus why would the Christian Leroy take money? More to the point we know
The wise liquor store own keeps little cash in the register and so late, there would be a few coins – Leroy was no fool when he entered the store – he knew that would be the case, and he had seen the “packages notice” – we have a clear and holy motive – to prevent lewdness, expose abominations and fulfil the Law of God! He did not enter for personal glory or robbery.
So, my friends the question is “What might justly cause a Christian to act in such a manner that he would hit the woman a second time?
A clue:
De:29:25: Then men shall say, Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD God of their fathers, which he made with them when he brought them forth out of the land of Egypt:
De:29:26: For they went and served other gods, and worshipped them, gods whom they knew not, and whom he had not given unto them:
De:29:27: And the anger of the LORD was kindled against this land, to bring upon it all the curses that are written in this book:
Which we may combine with
De:13:6: If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which is as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers;
De:13:7: Namely, of the gods of the people which are round about you, nigh unto thee, or far off from thee, from the one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth;
De:13:8: Thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto him; neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him:
De:13:9: But thou shalt surely kill him; thine hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people.
De:13:10: And thou shalt stone him with stones, that he die; because he hath sought to thrust thee away from the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.
The contents of the cash register:
And now you understand – a heathen graven image - clear evidence of the worship of
“other gods, which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers;” but let us move quickly on as this “crime” is evaporating before our eyes.
7.
Quote:
Leroy as he can now be seen running to the front of the store, locking the store door and returning.
|
In view of what he was about to do, Leroy did the right thing. He was to “uncover the woman’s nakedness” and to that end, privacy is essential, otherwise there would be a similarity to Sodom and Gomorrah where all manner of lewdness took place openly.
8.
Quote:
Camera 2 now records what the autopsy showed to be the silent, lonely, rape of the woman. Leroy then left.
|
I’m sure that all of you saw this one. It is a weakness in the drama of the story – it sort of gives the game away, doesn’t it? Nevertheless, that is how it happened
Quote:
when the woman, the daughter of the owner, spoke to him and opened the cash register, she said, “Anything else, tonight?”
|
Yes,
Deu:28:28-29. The words on the sign “packages” and “Anything else, tonight?” – particularly when read with
De:22:24: Then ye shall bring them both out unto the gate of that city, and ye shall stone them with stones that they die; the damsel, because she cried not, being in the city;.
Although that verse, refers to a
married woman the message is clear:
if a woman does not cry out, then she willingly consents – and if she willingly consents, the man has made no assault against her, rather against her husband. We know that the liquor store owner’s daughter did not cry out and that she has no husband.
In the circumstances, the very worst that could happen is that money would pass between Leroy and the father and Leroy must marry the daughter. However, this is not possible as the daughter is dead, and rightly so.
It is worth noting that you probably assumed that Leroy left with the contents of the cash register. Nowhere in that story is a robbery mentioned. I feel that you are not quite as Christian as you may make out – you still hold to “common sense assumptions”, instead of letting God do your thinking. And If God does not speak to you, then there’s probably a reason for that.
But let’s make this case watertight – I don’t want anyone clever atheist lawyer standing up and shouting “Objection!”
We have the notice; we have the symbols of worship of a foreign god; we have the harlot’s offer;
was there even any type of rape? As you know, I did not talk to him, but I am sure that Leroy would again have said that he knew nothing about a rape – she’s a harlot! And what do you do with Harlots? Well read
Gen:38 – you go in unto them and if they are caught playing the harlot, they are burned alive.
9. On with the lesson!
We tend to think that it is a bad thing when someone dies, but, how can it be? God’s Will is done. The Christian’s Faith is being tested here: is there doubt in the mind that the death of the woman was God’s will? Ha! Think of the woman “taken in adultery” – she was about to be stoned to death! How much worse
in God’s eyes is “worshiping false gods or idols or graven images”?
10.
Quote:
His defense had been at first that he knew nothing
|
Admit it – you thought that this was a stupid reply, didn’t you? You mocked Leroy. You cheered the police. And now you are feeling foolish. You are feeling foolish because if some police offer were seriously to question why you were doing God’s work, wouldn’t you be amazed? Would you know anything about a “robbery” or “rape”? When blasphemers were stoned to death, do you seriously think that the Roman equivalent of the police took an interest in those who threw stones? No, they knew the authority of God when they saw it.
11.
Quote:
He then attempted to escape and failed
|
Interesting thought – can an innocent man “attempt to escape”? or is he “fleeing from his kidnappers and persecutors”? You decide. But when you do think about it, think about Peter who was jailed and an angel came and helped him flee. Would Peter do anything wrong?
12.
Quote:
but in doing so he gouged out the eye of a police officer who had called him a cheap murderer.
|
No more than the officer should have done himself – The officer saw Leroy and was offended. M't:5:29: And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.
That completes the statement of The Law of God and the lesson in being a private eye. I have my source among you and the reports are not good –
all except one of you need to up your game.
I will speak privately to that person in my suite after this.
You need to know what God wants – he wants you to have a successful and prosperous life and, in your soul you know how to achieve that but for most, you ignore that voice and I feel that although God is 100% with you – some are not 100% with God. Yes, he loves you, but remember that he also loved Israel and that didn’t stop him sending plagues, famine, invading armies, floods, etc., etc, when He felt He had been forgotten…
Thank you gentlemen for being a good audience and good students. I may look in again some day, but I’m a bit tied up in Washington with a complex case involving some Russians and time is money. And if that is not enough, I am writing a book on how God killing over 1,000,000 people during the course of the Bible (often through unusually violent means) does not mean that He is not entirely loving and worthy of worship.
[MASSIVE APPLAUSE]
I am sure that in Mr Sharpwell’s presentation there were no surprises to any of the True Christians at Landover but for others it will be an insight. If Mr Sharpwell appears again, I’ll be sure and let you know well in advance (but please note that it is “men only” as some details are bound to be upsetting for ladies.)
As a final word, I must say that Craig Sharpwell’s suite at the Des Moines Marriott is rather special – the view alone is worth the money.
YIC
Bathfire E.