andson - determined to continue the family tradition...Sunday 2nd March already and several weeks have passed since my last update. Yesterday evening was my 'Commissioning Service' at Madeley Baptist Church. I had to choose a date but wish I could have avoided Mothering Sunday. Still - the Divisional Commander turned up and said a few words and the preacher was the Ecumenical Dean. It was all over too quickly. We sang some hymns, read some Scripture, said some prayers and I made some promises. My eldest daughter and her partner turned out in their best uniforms and a PC and a CSO from the local station also came.
And it all made me reflect... not so much about being a chaplain to the Police but about the parallels between the role of the police in the community and the role of the church. If you take the 'Message' version of Romans 13 quoted above, it is clear that rule breaking is always unnacceptable and God has in place his agencies to deal with that and apply sanctions - involving the payment of a penalty by the rule breaker - from gaol to community sevice to a fine and so on. Through the action of the police - sanctions which are available through law are applied - and at the end of it all the price for offending has been paid and so society is arguably satisfied. For the legally innocent there is no threat and no sanctions.
But the church too is involved in dealing with rule breakers and also in declaring that wrong doing is unnacceptable and saying so to all of society (there is none righteous - no not one), and no one is legally innocent. The church has no powers of arrest and no sanctions to apply - just imagine if it did... I suppose the difference is that the forgiveness offered through Jesus is once for all and unconditional - because he has done the time, paid the penalty and freed all of guilty humankind from the consequences of breaking the rules. All that is needed on the part of the wrong doer is to acknowledge the fault, repent the fault and put trust in Jesus as Saviour and Lord. Simple and effective? Certainly saves on the mountains of paperwork - perhaps I ought to have a word with Ronnie Flanagan.
And it all made me reflect... not so much about being a chaplain to the Police but about the parallels between the role of the police in the community and the role of the church. If you take the 'Message' version of Romans 13 quoted above, it is clear that rule breaking is always unnacceptable and God has in place his agencies to deal with that and apply sanctions - involving the payment of a penalty by the rule breaker - from gaol to community sevice to a fine and so on. Through the action of the police - sanctions which are available through law are applied - and at the end of it all the price for offending has been paid and so society is arguably satisfied. For the legally innocent there is no threat and no sanctions.
But the church too is involved in dealing with rule breakers and also in declaring that wrong doing is unnacceptable and saying so to all of society (there is none righteous - no not one), and no one is legally innocent. The church has no powers of arrest and no sanctions to apply - just imagine if it did... I suppose the difference is that the forgiveness offered through Jesus is once for all and unconditional - because he has done the time, paid the penalty and freed all of guilty humankind from the consequences of breaking the rules. All that is needed on the part of the wrong doer is to acknowledge the fault, repent the fault and put trust in Jesus as Saviour and Lord. Simple and effective? Certainly saves on the mountains of paperwork - perhaps I ought to have a word with Ronnie Flanagan.
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