The Will of God: Your Sanctification

I really appreciate how the Holy Spirit works with all of us who believe. I've noticed a lot of work being done in conjunction with the saints over the past year.  I see growth in Christ at my church, with my family and friends, and across internet media that I follow.  The Holy Spirit has been working with me on this also. Holiness is a goal of our sanctification and He, alone, is sure to perfect it in us in His time. (Philippians 1:6)
 

Philippians 1:9-10 ESV
And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, [10] so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,

Our sanctification is another part of His grace towards us.  He exhorts us to participate in it. The Apostle Paul really waxes poetic about it in his pastoral epistles; firstly citing himself as an example of God’s perfect mercy towards him to show how gracious and patient He is towards us who believe.  (1 Timothy 1:16)  Then, Paul exhorts us in the same letter to pursue godliness not only as a means of grace for the present but also as a way to be ready for the life to come.  (1 Timothy 4:7-8)

Our participation in sanctification comes with a warning because we can easily get out of balance with the process.  If we attempt to succeed by self effort, we will become puffed up with pride and all will be in vain.  On the other hand, if we sit back on our laurels and wait for God to perfect us, we may be penitently sorry later when Christ rewards each of us who believe for what we have done in Him in this life.  The key, I guess, is to abide in the Vine of Jesus Christ.  (John 15:4-5)

Our motives in the process of sanctification always need to be self-examined because God will prove us in every way as He seeks to conform us to the image of His one and only Son. Legalists fall into the trap of pride and the fruit thereof is corrupt. Legalists are prey to the mentality that “I do _____ and, therefore, I deserve _____.” When the pronoun “I” becomes a part of the motive, then it is carnal and sinful. However, if you are bent towards godliness because you want to honor the One who paid it all for you, then it is Spiritually motivated and pleasing to Him.

God is most pleased when we honor Him with all He is and who He is. We cannot bring anything in and of ourselves to please Him except our praise, worship, and awe.

The Only Work That Matters

Trials continually test my willingness to depend upon Him.  The good news is that I can see my growth over the past 10 years because I journal whenever possible and am able to reflect on how God has been working on me.  I've marked the trail of my sanctification with clear markers so that if I happen to regress in any area of growth, I can clearly see if I've been here before (or not.)  A life without trials makes one weak in the faith.  He knows this and that is why He leads us through them.  I'm thankful that he is patient with me because sometimes my knee jerk reaction is grumbling and complaining when all He really wants is to grow my faith, hope, and trust in Him.   This is one of my most favorite D.L. Moody quotations about faith and belief:

"It is all folly for the inquirers to take the ground that they cannot believe. They can, if they will. But the trouble with most people is that they have connected feeling with believing. Now feeling has nothing whatever to do with believing. The Bible does not say, He that feeleth, or he that feeleth and believeth, hath everlasting life. Nothing of the kind. I cannot control my feelings... But I can believe God, and if we get our feet on that rock, let doubts and fears come and the waves surge around us, the anchor will hold." 
- D.L. Moody

John 6:27-29 ESV  Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal."  [28]  Then they said to him, "What must we do, to be doing the works of God?"  [29]  Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent."

The gospel is ridiculously simple which is why Jesus said this:

Luke 18:17 ESV  "Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it."

Babes can understand this but learned people are easily deceived.

The gospel is news not advice.  The news is that we don't deserve it and can't earn it nor can we add anything to it.  I'm convinced that the entire purpose of sanctification is to exterminate those areas of prideful sin that so easily hinder worship.  When I become less, He becomes more and when He becomes more, the fruit of holiness shows through because it's His holiness and not mine that is on display.  Jesus prayed that we might be One (united) just as He and Father are One.  The only way we can become united with Him is to deny ourselves and receive and believe in Him whom God has sent.

It is interesting to remember Abel's offering - he was a keeper of sheep - a shepherd.  Cain was a worker - a farmer of the ground.  Many teach that God had regard for Abel's offering and no regard for Cain's offering because Abel's was "the first born" as if Abel had some kind of ultimate strategy to earn God's favor.  However, by the Holy Spirit, I contend that God had regard for Abel's offering simply because he brought nothing that didn't already belong to God while Cain, a worker, brought forth the fruit of his own labor from the ground that God had already cursed by Adam's sin back in Genesis chapter 3.

Trials provide opportunity to die to self and live for Christ.  By doing that you prove your faith and that's what people who are seeking God are attracted to because it's no longer you but Him that they see.

It's a glorious gospel.  It's simple to understand but those who are gripped by sin have trouble letting go of their own works in order to attain the only work that matters, believing in the One whom God has sent.

Revelation 22:17 ESV  The Spirit and the Bride say, "Come." And let the one who hears say, "Come." And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.

Don't be deceived.  Jesus wants just you.  Not you plus your labors.  He's provided the way of reconciliation.  All you need to do is come.

Robbed of Joy - Restored by Grace

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My Saturday morning men's bible study group is going through the book of Philippians.  We are using a study help authored by Warren W. Wiersbe titled, Be Joyful.  The subtitle is "Even When Things Go Wrong, You Can Have Joy."  It's a good study on a great epistle from the Apostle Paul.  He wrote this epistle to the Philippian church while imprisoned in Rome.  Philippians is Paul's testimony of his joy, peace, contentment, and gratitude in Christ, in spite of his circumstances.  It is an excellent exhortation to a church that was caught up in strife, discontent, and quarreling.  If anyone had reason to be bitter and discontent, it was Paul.  However, Paul knew who he was in Christ.  Through Godly wisdom, Paul grasped what it meant to have abundant joy in any circumstance. Paul was a prisoner of Rome but he had surrendered his very life to Jesus long before his imprisonment and that is how he was able to say, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."  (Philippians 4:13 KJV)

Our study group leader challenged us with three study points based on our study of Philippians chapter 1:

1. What thief has robbed you of joy and what have you learned from the Apostle Paul on how to eliminate the joy stealer?
2. How have you been able to increase your joy during tough times?
3. A short testimony of a time when you were dealing with a difficult situation but were at complete peace knowing and trusting that God was in control.

 The following is my response to those study points:

The most common thief that I battle is pride when it comes to robbing me of my joy.  I have expectations of others (whether rightful or wrongful is really of no consequence) and when those expectations are not met, my circumstances and the negative situations that are born out of them become self-focused.  Sin creeps in subtly at that point and my flesh begins to demand justice.

The first thing this thief does is suppress my joy which is Christ in me, the hope of glory. (Colossians 1:27)  Then, if that sin is not repented of, it starts to sweep me away down a path of anger and bitterness.  My takeaway from Paul's example in Philippians is to remain single minded about Christ.

It seems to me that whenever I am doing well it's because I am living for Jesus.  However, the mistake I sometimes make is that I labor for God's approval which gives birth to pride but what I really ought to do is focus on what Jesus expects of me instead which is the path of humility in the presence of a Holy and Just God.  You see, when I sin, I find myself focused on others and what they're doing (and not doing) instead of being focused on Jesus and what He expects of me.  That's when self-examination yields to selfishness which is sin.  Therefore, getting my heart off of myself and my expectations of others is the beginning of repentance and reconciliation for me.

Don't misunderstand me.  Jesus has high expectations of me and I've not always come through.  Oftentimes, I fall short of His expectations.  It is then that I am thankful and rejoice that He is not like me at all.  When I fall short, He gives more grace instead.  (Romans 5:20)  I rejoice.  I rejoice because He doesn't demand justice for my short comings.  No.  His only demand is my heart (Deuteronomy 6:5) and repentance is the vehicle that brings me back home again to a right relationship with Him.  He is always there waiting for me.

Confession of sin and prayer always brings me back to Jesus and the joy of the Lord.  Also, I have spent the lion's share of my walk with the Lord meditating on the following two verses:

Luke 9:23-24 KJV

[23]  And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
[24]  For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.

This is the one teaching from Jesus that my flesh hates the most.  My flesh opposes it while my spirit simultaneously rejoices in it.  These words have the power to bring me back to repentance every time.  I sometimes wonder if my Christian brothers feel their bowels twist when these words are spoken or read?  Well, I wonder because mine sure do.

I've been saved by grace through faith for a little over 10 years.  Jesus has done a work in me for the salvation of my soul (John 3:16) and He continues to work in me to conform me to the image of His son.  (Romans 8:29)  Much of that transformation includes my willful submission to Him regardless of circumstances that occur in my marriage, my family, my friends, or my job.

Jesus has taught me that humility trumps pride (James 4:6, Proverbs 29:23) and that mercy is better than justice (Psalms 145:8-9) because without it no one would ever be able to stand before the Righteous One and live.  (Psalms 130:3-4)  But most importantly, He has taught me that it is grace that restores the joy that is stolen away by unrepentant sin and love covers a multitude of sins. (1 Peter 4:8)  No one can be won for Christ in any other way.

Psalms 51:10-17 KJV 

Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.  (11)  Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.  (12)  Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.  (13)  Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.  (14)  Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.  (15)  O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise.  (16)  For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering.  (17)  The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

If there was no Holy Spirit there would be no strength for me to endure the heartache that comes when I am sinned against by others.  But God did provide the Holy Spirit, and so, I endure.  On those days when the going gets tough and my pride robs me of my joy, I confess it to Him and He delights to clean me up of that sin and then He restores that joy that can only come from having a right relationship with Him.  Here is a journal entry of mine from November 2011 after I repented of my sin:

"November 11, 2011
I have great joy in my heart today.  I do not have any particular reason for it other than I confessed to God in prayer that I was lacking in joy and that I was sorry to Him for being such a lousy person about it.  I didn't say it in my heart to Him.  Rather, I confessed it to Him with my mouth in prayer last night.  Well, I think God took my confession and just delighted Himself in giving me great joy today.  I know that this joy is not from my self or my own doing.  It's like a well flowing over from within my heart, filled to the brim with joy.  As I walked to lunch today, filled with spiritual joy, this is what the Holy Spirit witnessed to my spirit:

The peace of God which surpasses all understanding shall guard your heart in Christ Jesus.  Joy in the Lord!  Your emotional fuel tank runs dry but grace abounds towards you.  Jesus prays for you;  the Spirit groans forth for you on your behalf to pray as you should.  Yeshua.  The Lord saves.  The Lord saves.  The name is Yeshua.

That really blew me away today."

Bread of Life: Part II - Fellowship with God Above All Else

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The hunger inside of us to seek after God is a product of the loss of fellowship with the Creator that came into the world when Adam and Eve sinned against Him in the garden of Eden.  How great was that loss for them and then to all of us who are their descendents!  But thanks be to God that He prepared a way to be reconciled to Him through His son, Jesus Christ!  To be in fellowship with God is to be fully satisfied in your soul.  Do you have this peace?  Yes or no?  Are you arrested with worry instead of being at rest in the love of God?  Jesus addressed not being worried (or "anxious" or "taking thought") frequently in the Gospels.  He addressed this to all of His disciples lovingly in the Sermon on the Mount:

Matthew 6:25-34 KJV 

Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?  (26)  Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?  (27)  Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?  (28)  And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:  (29)  And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  (30)  Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?  (31)  Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?  (32)  (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.  (33)  But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.  (34)  Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

Notice how Jesus didn't tell His disciples to do anything else other than to seek His fellowship?  How great is our God that tells us to exchange our worry with seeking His fellowship!  Another great example from Scripture about fellowship with God being ahead of everything else is the story that the Gospel of Luke recounts about Mary and Martha:

Luke 10:38-42 KJV 

Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house.  (39)  And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word.  (40)  But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me.  (41)  And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things:  (42)  But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.

As you can see, those that seek after Him and His righteousness are the ones that labor to enter into the rest of God and it is exactly what Jesus commanded those who followed Him to Capernaum, after the miracle of feeding the multitude, to do.  (John 6:27)  The people, upon hearing this command, immediately asked Jesus what it was that they must do to be doing the works of God.  (John 6:28)  What is interesting is that by asking Jesus what they must do, they are testifying to the fact that they understand that there is a separation that exists between God and humanity.  They are testifying that they understand that there is a chasm that exists due to sin and, therefore, they want to know what they can do to close that gap.

Clearly, they did not understand the terms that Jesus offered them even when he told it to them plainly in verse 27, and so, Jesus corrects them once again and tells them that the only work that they can do is to believe in Him.  (John 6:29)

What happens next is truly astounding.  They ask Him for proof of His authority and bring up the miracle of God providing Manna in the desert for the children of Israel.  These are the same people that had just eaten bread and fish that fed over 5,000 people the day before provided by Jesus!  This feeding of the multitude is a miracle that was not refuted then nor can it be explained by science now.  It is clear from Scripture that these people filled their bellies with real food provided by Jesus, in the middle of nowhere, from 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish.  (John 6:4-14)  And yet, they still wallowed in unbelief even though they were witnesses to so great a miracle.  A miracle that was so astounding that there were witnesses there that pondered in their hearts to immediately make Jesus king.  (John 6:14-15)  Nevertheless, Jesus took the opportunity to teach a great spiritual truth to all who had ears to hear.

Jesus declared that just as God the Father provided the Manna for their ancestors in the desert so also did God the Father provide the true bread of heaven that brings life to the world.  (John 6:32-33)  How the people responded next is a testimony to the hunger that is inside all of those that are lost.  They ask for the bread but fail to ask for fellowship with the one that provides the bread.  Therefore, Jesus responds by saying:

John 6:35 KJV 

...I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

 In essence, He is telling them I am what matters.  I am the One that you hunger for and there is no other in which you will find the cure for that hunger.  Stop seeking after what perishes with its usage and get on board with Him who is able to sustain you eternally. 

A Rebuttal of Bill Maher's Commentary on the Subject of Osama Bin Laden's Demise

 [Preamble to this article:  I wrote this over a year ago in the aftermath of Osama Bin Laden's demise.  I wrote it as a response to Bill Maher's video which was aired on his show "Real Time with Bill Maher" on May 13, 2011.  This video can be viewed on You Tube if you need to view the context for this rebuttal.  I will not provide a direct link to it from this website but you will be able to locate it by searching "Bill Maher" and "Thy Will Be Gun" in the search criteria for that website.  But be forewarned that this video clip is rated R for language and is not censored.]

I do not care about addressing politics or humanistic moral viewpoints in this reply.  I have no rebuttal for that nor will I give one because my only concern is for getting the integrity of the Christian faith correct of which Bill Maher failed.  Nevertheless, I am not going to stand idle while, Bill Maher, an unrepentant atheist sinner, twists Holy Scripture out of context in order to lead people astray concerning the Christian faith.

I will occasionally give an ear to Bill Maher on secular topics involving politics and social issues but, even then, I don’t normally agree with all of his agendas.  Bill Maher is an entertainer and he is like every other pundit that pontificates at the extremes of liberalism or conservatism; they exaggerate and decontextualize opposing view points in order to, for the sake of their own glory, gain public approval and higher television ratings.  This video clip is no different and I find it laughable that an atheist is trying to rebuke all of Christendom with Holy Scripture as to how their reactions should have been to the assassination of America’s public enemy number one.  Moreover, in this case, Bill Maher deserves to be rebuked for his ignorance.

His ignorance to what Holy Scripture actually says, if left unchecked, is poisonous to anyone that is weak in his or her own Christian faith or is a seeking unbeliever.  The basis of Bill Maher’s entire rant against the “so-called Christian hypocrisy” is,  “But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,”  (Matthew 5:44 ESV).  However, Maher chose to truncate Jesus’ entire thought (notice the comma instead of a period after the word, “you?”) in order to isolate it and twist it so he can use it for furthering his own agenda which is blaspheming Jesus Christ.

Furthermore, Maher wrongly attributes Jesus as saying, “do not repay evil with evil” and “do not take revenge on someone who wrongs you” when Holy Scripture shows that the author (under the power of the Holy Spirit, of course) was the apostle Saint Paul of Tarsus when he wrote the epistle to the Romans.  The passage that Maher is refering to:

Romans 12:17-21 ESV

(17)  Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all.  (18)  If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.  (19)  Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord."  (20)  To the contrary, "if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head."  (21)  Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

This is exactly the same way that satan tried to tempt Jesus into jumping off the top of the temple in Matthew 4:6 ESV by reciting Psalm 91:11-12 ESV.  Satan truncated the Scripture in order to twist its context and meaning.  Psalm 91 is about trusting God not about testing God and so Jesus thoroughly rebuked satan with Scripture by reciting Deuteronomy 6:16 ESV.

If you allow Jesus to complete his thought, he says:

Matthew 5:44-48 ESV

(44)  But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,  (45)   so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.   (46)  For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?   (47)  And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?   (48)  You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. 

Jesus is giving an object lesson on what true holiness is and how it involves mercy and compassion even to one's enemies. He did this because the self-righteous in the crowd felt comfortable and secure with the love of their neighbors. In fact, the entire Sermon on the Mount was one gigantic gut check for the self-righteous in the crowd because Jesus raised the bar higher on every subject concerning holiness.

Lastly, Jesus concludes his thought on the love of one's enemies with “you must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”  Who can be this perfect?  Not a single finite human being can and that is Jesus’ point here.  He is calling the self -righteous to repentance of their sins.   He’s calling out anyone and everyone that has falsely put their faith in themselves or their good works to secure eternal life.  The Scripture says, “What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, as it is written: "None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God.”  (Romans 3:9-11 ESV)

The linchpin for the gospel of Jesus Christ is simply that there is nothing that a human can do or practice that can reconcile oneself to God and earn eternal life.  Jesus’ ministry wasn’t to teach everyone to practice trying to be holy.  Rather, Jesus’ ministry was to tell people to “repent and believe the gospel.” (Mark 1:14-15 ESV)  All other world religions center around humanistic endeavors and deeds and, therefore, the followers of those false religions spend an inordinate amount of time building a ladder to try to get to heaven based on their own merit.

Christianity is the only religion in the world where the ladder of reconciliation with God drops down from heaven.  In Christianity, God does all the work through Jesus Christ and asks for people to acknowledge it through repentance and belief.   Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount was designed to show people how far away they are from God's standard of holiness and to call them to repentance.  That’s what Bill Maher gets wrong.

Because, in reality, the true enemies of God consist of all of humanity, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” (Romans 3:23 ESV).    Jesus is actually teaching on how God loves all of his creation even though they are enemies because of their sin against him “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8 ESV)   Therefore, the following pretty much sums up what Jesus’ first advent on earth was all about:

 Luke 4:18-21 ESV

 "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." 

(Jesus is actually quoting Isaiah 61:1-2 ESV here.  Remember this because I am going to refer to it later in a couple of paragraphs.)

God sent his son, Jesus, to release humanity of their sin guilt against a Holy and Just God so that He could extend mercy and compassion to humanity.  This is only possible for those who repent of their sins against God and receive Jesus as Lord and Savior.  Which is why the most famous Scripture in the Bible rings true, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16 ESV)

All of this is possible because, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. “ (2 Corinthians 5:21 ESV)  That’s the gospel for those that believe in His name.  “Jesus” in the Greek literally means, “The Lord saves.”

However, there is something peculiar and interesting about Jesus quoting Isaiah 61: 1-2 ESV.  Jesus, Himself, truncated verse 2 when he finished reading the scroll that day in the temple.  Some Christians speculate that was because he was only talking about his first advent when he closed the scroll and proclaimed the Scripture fulfilled. In other words, this was no mistake, the Lord Jesus did so with a purpose.  Therefore, when he comes again the balance of verse 2 will ring true:

Isaiah 61:1-2 ESV

“The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn;”

The true and living God is a God of mercy and compassion but he is also a God of justice as well.  Jesus’ second advent on earth will be for holy judgment.  In the day of the Lord, impenitent people will be judged according to their deeds, which, according to Scripture, are all (both "good" and "bad" deeds) “like a polluted garment.” (Isaiah 64:6 ESV)
 

Furthermore, God doesn’t have to wait until judgment day to execute His justice.  God executes righteous judgments in His own time and in His own way.  Osama Bin Laden’s death, although carried out by the US government, was ultimately successful due to God’s sovereignty.  The Scripture says:

Romans 13:1-5 ESV

“Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience.”

There are many examples of God using foreign governments to execute His righteous judgments throughout the Bible.  The 23^rd chapter of Ezekiel shows one such example.   God is patient and loving but when it is clear to Him that the objects of His mercy reject Him and refuse to repent, He will execute righteous judgment.

While it is true that some Christians “rejoiced” when Bin Laden was executed, I contend that on this side of eternity, it may not have been the best way to display God’s mercy through Jesus Christ to an unbelieving world.  In fact, it displayed their immaturity in Christ especially since we are still in the age of mercy.  However, were they unrighteous for rejoicing?  Are they not Christians for rejoicing?  That is between them and the one true God.

Nevertheless, I think it’s clear that a day is coming when all who are in Christ will rejoice at God’s judgment on unrepentant sinners:

Revelation 19:1-3 ESV

“After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying out, "Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, for his judgments are true and just; for he has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her immorality, and has avenged on her the blood of his servants." Once more they cried out, "Hallelujah! The smoke from her goes up forever and ever."

Lastly, all Christians did not categorically “rejoice” at the news of Bin Laden’s execution as Bill Maher lamented.  Some Christians received the news and took it to prayer.  These more mature Christians looked at the whole event with sober reflection and said to themselves, “that could have been me without Christ.”