Mike Edmisten Follower of Jesus. Husband of Nicki. Father of Ryan & Brock. Communicator of the Word.

Osama bin Laden

Osama bin Laden is dead. And so far, the aftermath of his death has been fascinating to watch.

I don't know that I've ever seen spontaneous celebrations happen in our country like they did last night. Those type of celebrations in the U.S. are usually reserved for a World Series win, a Super Bowl championship, etc. But last night, celebrations erupted because of a military action. And specifically, because of the death of one man.

I've been getting hit with questions about this from the moment I woke up this morning. Honestly, I hadn't planned on saying anything about this publicly, but given the questions I'm receiving, I need to speak.

A lot of people feel conflicted about this kind of celebration. There are some who are jumping up and down in jubilation, while others fold their arms and refuse to celebrate whatsoever. And then there are a whole lot of people that just aren't sure how to react.

How should we respond to this? As with anything else, Christ-followers must take their cues from Scripture. The Bible should dictate our response. Not patriotism. Not pacifism. Our reaction must be rooted in Scripture.

In Romans 13, the Bible says, "Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer." (Romans 13:1-4)

God has placed governing authorities in their position, and they are there to reward those who do right and punish those who do wrong. And the Bible specifically says that the governing authorities "bear the sword," meaning they have the God-given authority to act with deadly force against the wrongdoer.

So the answer to this question is simple. Did our government act correctly in taking out bin Laden? Absolutely.

The government is there to protect and defend us. They are there to punish those who do wrong. Mission accomplished.

Bin Laden is dead, as he should be. He is a butcher. He is a murderer. And death is the only appropriate penalty.

But for most people, the question is not, "Did our government act appropriately?" More than that, people are asking, "Did our citizens respond appropriately?"

People are intrigued by the celebrations. Many Christ-followers are conflicted because Osama bin Laden died without knowing Jesus. While we are never called to make eternal judgments (that is God's role alone), we have many, many Scriptural reasons to believe that he is now in hell. As people who love Jesus, can we celebrate when someone…anyone…is condemned to hell?

That's a tough question. Scripturally speaking, the answer is no. We should not celebrate someone's condemnation to hell. The Bible says that God doesn't want anyone to perish. He wants everyone to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).

However, I'm not sure that is the reason many are celebrating. The celebrations are more about the fact that justice was done. The thousands of people who lost their lives because of this man have been vindicated. And countless more lives have unquestionably been saved because he is gone. That is cause to celebrate.

My friend, Scott Hodge, wrote this in a tweet. "Friends, it's ok and good to celebrate justice. It is much different than celebrating death. Justice points to our hope that evil will NOT have the last word."

And then there are these words from Steven Furtick. "Don't let anyone's misinterpretation of isolated scriptures make you feel guilty about rejoicing in the triumph of good over evil."

That is good, good stuff.

So here's where I land on this whole thing. I am uncomfortable with someone celebrating another person's condemnation to hell, regardless of who it is.

I do admit that the emotional part of me says that he should be damned. Hell is what this man richly deserves. But then I remember that hell is also what I richly deserve…and what I would receive were it not for the grace of God. That's a perspective that we all need to carry with us.

But at the same time, it is Biblically right and good to celebrate this as a victory over evil. No, evil itself is not dead. That will be taken care of when Jesus returns. But in the meantime, when there is such an unmistakable victory over an agent of evil, good people will celebrate as they should.

"The LORD loves righteousness and justice." (Psalm 33:5a) Our government and our troops carried out an act of justice. We should be thankful for our President's decision to give this order. We should be thankful to our troops for their courage to carry out the order. We should be thankful that an evil man who posed a danger to so many is gone.

That indeed is something to celebrate.