Do you really know What makes a Christian?
The story goes, that a police wire tap expert named Jimmy Vaus had tapped the notorious LA gangster Mickey Cohen.
However Cohen discovered the tap, and instead of killing Jimmy Vaus he got Vaus to spy on the cops instead.
Eventually Vaus was caught and publicly shamed.
In the midst of this, Vaus went to a Billy Graham crusade and got saved. It was 1949.
Billy Graham talked with Vaus and got him to set up a meeting with the mobster Cohen.
Graham went to meet Mickey Cohen at his home in Brentwood and it started what became a public friendship between the two men.
Cohen even went to a Billy Graham crusade in New York.
The mobster said that he was “High” on the Christian way of life, in a 1957 TIME magazine article.
But it is not known if he converted from his Jewish religion to Christianity.
He continued with his mobster life, and was asked about repentance, by some Christian acquaintances; to which he is claimed to have asked an interesting question.
“Christian football players, Christian cowboys, Christian politicians; why not a Christian gangster?”
So, the question is,
Why not?
We are not asking about Mickey Cohen’s salvation. The question is about Positions of power, real repentance, and salvation.
Can a President be a Christian? They send people to kill and die. They enforce laws that are not always inline with Christ. They appoint people who are not believers. Etc.
Can a judge be a Christian? They send people to die in prison.
Can a soldier be a Christian? They are prepared to go and kill for questionable reasons.
Can a cop be a Christian? They arrest people and fight with people and kill people while enforcing laws that are not always in line with Christ.
Can a Football player, Boxer or MMA fighter be a Christian? They use violence to make money.
Can an insurance agent be a Christian? They sell faith in money, instead of God.
The question goes on and on.
Repentance means “to turn”
The Bible teaches that we turn to God, and He saves us through Jesus Christ. Then, He builds a relationship with us through His Holy Spirit, which makes the things of God more important than the things of the World. We then walk in this relationship. Growing in Him.
The scriptures also teach that God ordains people in positions of power. Which many Christian scholars have gone so far as to claim that this includes the boss of your job, and that God puts them in these positions and we are to obey them. There are different ways to interpret this, but we will go with the traditional view in this case.
So, is a mobster boss a “Power” ordained by God? You must realize that in some foreign countries the legitimate government is no different than gangsters. Some might say, it’s no different in America itself. That the police are just another gang.
If your employer is ordained as a power by God, then why not the local Mob boss?
If the judge and police chief are ordained by God, then why not the neighborhood mafioso who often do police type duties, by keeping things safe and dealing justice?
What about repentance? Do Presidents sin? Yes. Do Presidents send people to kill and die? Yes.
So, whats the difference between a “saved” President and a “saved” Mobster Boss?
The question is supposed to get you to see the nature of repentance, power and salvation.
We all need Jesus and we are all sinners saved by grace, through faith; not by works.
We let the Lord work in our lives and draw toward Him.
It’s not about how holy you look to other humans. It’s about you and God.
God will work on His children, and correct them as He sees fit.
Further reading:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mickey_Cohen
https://crimeandcocktails.net/mickey-cohen-and-billy-graham-a-friendship-tested-by-faith/
Bio: Chris Bunton is a writer, poet and blogger fro Southern Illinois.
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