Thomas Cartwright (c. 1535 - 1603) on God's Earnest Desire

"Adam where art thou? so that two things may we learn from hence; the one from the matter, the other from the form or manner of this reproof.

1. That God does earnestly desire the repentance and life of the sinner, and therefore he checks him in the career of his sins, and puts him in mind how if he do not stop his course, he will quickly run headlong into the bottomless pit.

God goes but slowly when he goes about to punish, that so the sinner repenting of his sins may escape his judgments; like a tender father he inquires after his prodigal son, when he had lost and forgot himself, and having found him puts him in mind of the ruin into which his riot will bring him, and if he will be woo'd to a return, he will meet him halfway and embrace him. When the sinful offspring of Adam do like their forefathers run from God, he is pleased in mercy to follow them; and to draw nigh to them, that so they may no longer estrange themselves from him, and to put them in mind of the right way, that so they may no longer run on in their erroneous courses."

Thomas Cartwright, God's Arraignment of Adam (London: Printed for John Baker, 1659), p. 19. [pagination corrected and spelling modernized]

"But consider in this your day that he does once more stretch forth his hands to a gain-saying, and rebellious people: He now calls upon you as a judge, to try whether you can acquit yourselves of the whole, or excuse yourselves in part of these crimes, these crying sins that are laid to your charge. Does he not sometimes cause your consciences to read you that sentence of condemnation under which you lie, that so if my any means possible he might move you to repentance: Does he not mitigate the severity of a judge with the tenderness of a father, and show how unwillingly he is to disinherit you; and how desirous rather that you should return and live? Does he not like a physician make a search into your disease, the sad condition in which your souls lie? That so having made you sensible of your distemper and danger you may be desirous of a cure. Does he not call to you in pity, and show you how you are even upon the brink of destruction, so that there is hardly a hairs breadth between you and misery?" Ibid., p 23.

In Memory of Cristian Alexander Pelico Byrne

As some of my readers already know, my brother's youngest son, Cristian, died last week in a tragic accident. My brother David and his father-in-law (Longino) were working on the brakes on a van. Longino thought that the brakes were working, so he started the vehicle, put it in reverse, and started to back out of the garage. The brakes were not working and it proceeded to roll down the very steep driveway. He tried to steer it out of trouble but there was no stopping it. It was quickly rolling towards my brother's work van at the bottom of the driveway. Cristian ran to get his remote control car that was in the way and ended up getting pinned between the two vans. He probably died instantly due to a severe head injury.

My brother asked me to speak at Cristian's funeral service, and I did so on Friday, June 6Th. Below is a copy of my message. Thanks to the internet, I was able to contact many online friends and ask for their prayers. I am very thankful for their ministry in that respect. My God use our prayers and my message below to draw my family and their friends to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ in this time of profound grief.

A Message at the Funeral of
Cristian Alexander Pelico Byrne
(December 1, 2000 - June 1, 2008)
Son of David and Yolanda Byrne
as Delivered by Tony Byrne on June 6, 2008

I. Introduction

A. Welcoming Remarks

First of all, I would like to thank all of you for your prayers, your service to our family, and for your generosity.

In case I have not met some of you yet, my name is Tony. I'm David's brother. Since David moved into his new house not long ago, I have been enjoying spending time with his family every few weeks or so. I do not have kids of my own, so I get to go over to his house, play with his kids, and then go home where it's nice and quiet again. One of the things I could always count on was meeting his kids at the front door seconds after I ring the bell.

B. My Memory of Cristian

They all seemed eager to see me, especially Cristian. But then, that's one of the things I most strongly remember about him. He was a very affectionate child.

I got to experience his contagious laughter, his bright smile, and the joy he had when opening presents on his birthday and Christmas. He literally attacked the gifts so that wrapping paper was everywhere! But he was always thankful, and I will cherish the times when I got to see him so happy. He certainly loved to play, but I noticed that it was more than just having fun with him. He wanted to play in order to give and to receive affection. He simply wanted to follow me around wherever I went. I recall playing with him while standing at the backdoor and asking him, "do you want to go inside or outside?" If he said he wanted to go outside, then I stayed inside. If he said he wanted to stay inside, then I would go outside. It didn't take him long to catch on, so when I asked him the question again, he just smiled at me and waited to see where I wanted to go.

This is interesting because it is relevant to the very meaning of his name, Cristian. In the Bible, in the book of Acts, chapter 11 and verse 26, it says that Jesus' disciples were first called "Christians," because they were viewed as "followers of Christ," or "those of the household of Christ." Jesus' title became their nickname. Since I am a "Christian," or a follower of Jesus Christ, I always wanted to explain to Cristian the meaning of his name. In recent weeks I even thought about writing him a letter about this.

I would like to now share with all of you what this letter might have said. I hear that Cristian was very eager to learn in school, so I can imagine how many questions he had. There are five basic questions that children might ask about life in general. I would have liked to be there when Cristian asked this first one:

II. The Contents of My Letter to Cristian

A. Where did we come from? (The Doctrine of God and Creation)

I might have said, "that's a very good and important question, Cristian," and then try to explain it to him in simple, child-like terms. So, where did we come from? I would have said that a magnificent and great being that we call "God" made everything that we can see and can't see. He created you, me, Osman [his older brother], Maryann [his sister], your parents and every single human being. Also, look around you. He made the trees, the flowers, the animals, the earth, all the planets and the entire universe. We know this God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

This God is all-good, so he never does anything wrong or bad. We can trust him to do what is right. This God knows absolutely everything there is to know, so he knows us better than we know ourselves. He knows our pain and our grief. He is also all-powerful or almighty, so he can always help us in our time of need. As a loving Father, he is merciful, patient, and ready to forgive. He is so generous that he even gives to those who do not deserve it.

After hearing all of this, I can imagine Cristian's eyes shining with wonder and curiosity. He might have then asked this second question:

B. Who am I? (Anthropology - The Doctrine of Man)

That's another very good and important question that needs to be answered. What makes you who you are has a lot to do with what you are. The bible tells us in the book of Genesis that we are creatures made in the image and likeness of God. We have minds to think and wills to make choices. We were made to reflect God's goodness to one another and to all of his creation. We know right from wrong and we should live in such a way that makes God proud of us. We were made to know and to perfectly love God with all that we are, and to thank him for everything he has given us.

After hearing this, it would have only been natural for Cristian to ask this third question, which is:

C. What's wrong? (Harmartiology - The Doctrine of Sin)

If we were made to reflect God this way, why don't we see that? Before answering, I would have apologized to Cristian for any bad ways I might have treated him, such as my impatience at times. I would have told him that the bible tells us that our very first parents (Adam and Eve) disobeyed God, and that this has affected every single one of us. Instead of loving God and one another as we love ourselves, we fight with each other and especially against God. We are alienated from him. We are not at peace with God or with ourselves. We don’t think as we ought to. Pain, suffering and death are the result of our disobedience to God. The entrance of sin into the world brought death and destruction.

Cristian might have asked, "Are we stuck this way? Is there any way out of this situation?" He might think there is no hope since we seem unable to help ourselves. If there's nothing that we can do, is there something that God can do? We already know he is merciful, and ready to forgive.

He might, therefore, ask this fourth question:

D. What can be done about it? Or, What's the solution? (Christology - The Doctrine of Christ and Soteriology - The Doctrine of Salvation)

Yes, God is ready to forgive and to heal us, but only in a way that is consistent with his character. Something must be done to satisfy what he requires of us. He demands perfect obedience to his rules (laws). Since we cannot do this ourselves as lawbreakers, God sent his only Son to obey his rules and to suffer in our place (instead of us) in order to satisfy his demands. The Son of God became man and lived the way we should have lived. He suffered and died the death we should have died, so that we could live and be forgiven. Then God raised him from the dead and he is alive today. We can talk to him, ask him to forgive us, and trust him to do so if we believe that he died for us and rose from the grave. Through Jesus we can have peace with God and with each other.

The following is a well-known verse, but we should listen carefully to the words:

NKJ John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 "For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

This is the way to life with God.

Since death is still a reality for every human being, and even for Christians, one may ask what happens to us after we die. This brings us to the fifth and final question:

E. Where are we going? (Eschatology - The Doctrine of Future Things)

The bible says that it is appointed for men to die once, but after this there is judgment. We will have to stand in front of God and be judged according to what we have done with our lives. Most people think that God will look to see if we have done more good things than bad things. The bible makes is clear that this is not the way God will judge us. Rather, what matters is whether or not we have trusted in Jesus Christ alone and what he has done on our behalf. Even the best things we do fall short of what God requires. We must be clothed with the goodness of Jesus Christ, instead of trying to clothe ourselves by our own good works. Going to church many times will not save us. Saying many prayers will not save us. Giving money will not save us. Being a religious person will not save us. Only the obedience of Jesus Christ can save us, and we must be found in Him at the day of judgment. If we are truly followers of Christ (or Christians) in this way, then we will enter heaven. Heaven is a place where believers live in the presence of God forever. If we refuse the gift of God in Christ and work to make our own way, we will be punished forever in a place called hell. God has been so generous in making a way for us to be saved in Jesus Christ. He will only accept us in Christ.

Therefore, we should look to the future and live in light of it.

III. Final Remarks and Exhortation

The above simply summarizes what it means to be a "Christian."

These are the kinds of things I would have told Cristian in the letter. We should be more than Christians in name only. We should be true followers and learners of Jesus Christ. How appropriate if some of us today, as we think about the realities of life, death and coming judgment, were to trust and follow the living Christ. Some of you may be Christians in name only. That will not do. God looks at the heart, to see if you have really trusted in his Son instead of your own self-sufficiency to save you. The bible tells us in Proverbs 27:1 that we should "not boast about tomorrow, for we do not know what a day may bring forth." Therefore, do not put it off any longer. Become a true Christian today, instead of merely being one in name only.

Let's pray.

IV. Closing Prayer

Our Father in heaven, you are holy, good, true and faithful. We thank you for the mercy, patience and love that you have shown towards us. You do not treat us according to what we deserve. Let us be ever mindful of this, so that we turn to your Son and trust in his work on the cross on our behalf. Moses said in Psalm 90 that, "The days of our life are seventy years, or perhaps eighty, if we are strong; even then their span is only toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away." We also ask, as he did, that you would "teach us to count our days that we may gain a wise heart."

Comfort all that are here, especially Cristian's immediate family, as they grieve over this tragic accident. We lift our broken hearts up to you, Lord. Heal us and keep us safe, in Christ's holy name we pray. Amen.

p.s. I have decided to disallow comments for this blog entry. If you wish to comment, feel free to send me an email (see profile above). Thanks.