Exodus 20:13, “Thou shalt not kill.”
Proverbs 29:27, “An unjust man is an abomination to the just: and he that is upright in the way is abomination to the wicked.”
Jude 1:21-23, “Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. And of some have compassion, making a difference: And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.”
By God's wondrous grace, I have been a born-again Christian now for 42 years (I was saved at age 13, in 1980 in an old-fashioned Baptist church on Chicago's northside). One of the most important lessons that I have learned is to NEVER base any doctrine upon a single passage of Scripture. Most pastors who preach heresy are guilty of lifting text out of context to create a new pretext. I love something that Pastor Curtis Hutson (1934-1995) said: “A good rule to follow when interpreting the Bible is to never use an obscure passage to contradict a clear one.”
A good example of this is the accursed Lordship Salvation crowd today. If you pay attention, you'll notice that people like Billy Graham, Paul Washer, John Piper, Steve Pettit, John MacArthur, Ray Comfort and other false prophets, often cite passages from the books of Matthew, Luke and other obscure passages, lifting their text out of context to create a new false pretext, to bolster up their strawman of damnable heresy!!! All the meanwhile they totally ignore the plain Gospel of John, which was authored by God specifically to show the reader how to get to Heaven (John 20:31). The Gospel of John is indeed God's Gospel tract!
Having said that, I chose the three passages of Scripture as text, so we could put them all together for this article. Please bare with me, I'm going somewhere. The Bible is very clear that killing (murder) is a sin (Exodus 20:13). We also read in Proverbs 29:27, “An unjust man is an abomination to the just: and he that is upright in the way is abomination to the wicked.” God's children (i.e., born again believers), who walk close with the Lord, are going to hate being around unsaved heathens!
A backslidden Christian can sink so far into sin and the world, that they don't care anymore; but there will ALWAYS be conviction from God's indwelling Holy Spirit (Hebrews 12:6-8). It is for this very reason, why unsaved people won't come to the light of the truth of the Gospel to be saved, lest their evil deeds (i.e., a lifestyle of sinning) should be reproved (John 3:20-21).
And then the last Scripture passage I chose is from Jude 1:21-23, “Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. And of some have compassion, making a difference: And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.”
I mentioned these three passages to lay a foundation to talk about Mark David Chapman (born 1955), the scumbag that cold-heartedly murdered John Lennon (1940-1980); who openly admitted decades later in a parole hearing, that one of the reasons he ruthlessly murdered John Lennon was due to anger over John's statement in 1966 about The Beatles are more popular than Jesus.
Admittedly, one of my favorite musical groups are The Beatles (not their wicked lifestyles, but the music itself). The Beatles were musical geniuses. You'd have to be a musician to truly appreciate the brilliance of their melodies, skill as musicians and iconic lyrics. That is quite astounding for four teenage lads from England. I am a musician, so I naturally love all kinds of music. As a Christian I filter what I choose to listen to.
1st John 4:1b teaches to “try the spirits whether they are of God,” so we need to evaluate each song individually with the filter of the Holy Bible. I'm just saying that some secular music is okay to listen to, in my humble Christian opinion. If that offends you, then don't listen to it. Romans 14:22, “Hast thou faith? have it to thyself before God. Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth.” I have no religious scrupulosity (religious guilt) about listen to some secular music.
Recently Olivia Newton John (1948-2022) died. I love her song: “Hopelessly Devoted To You.” I often here that song in my mind and it is so beautiful. Olivia did profess to be a Christian, but I couldn't find anything concrete online to determine if she was really saved. It always bothers me when someone claims to be a Christian, but there is no public testimony of it. Of course, that doesn't mean she didn't go to Heaven. In John 12:42-43, the Bible says that many of the chief rulers believed on Jesus, but they DID NOT confess Him, for fear of the Pharisees. The wicked Pharisees had warned that if anyone confessed Christ, they would be excommunicated from the synagogue. John 12:43 says that those chief rulers who believed loved the praise of men more than the praise of God. I think that was Olivia's testimony too, but I have a good feeling that she went to Heaven. I think there are quite a few celebrities who are saved, but keep it quiet to avoid public scrutiny (Luke 8:13; Galatians 2:2).
Ladies and gentleman, John Lennon told THE TRUTH. At least from his own perspective. I am not sanctioning what he said, and John himself said that he regretted ever saying it. Those were just the words of a 26 year old young man, who had never been famous before. John later said that he sincerely meant no harm by his words, nor was he attempting to berate Jesus Christ, nor offend Christians. I believe him.
Unfortunately, John Lennon's enemies weren't going to stop criticizing him for the rest of his sadly premature life (when he was unjustly killed in 1980 by a crazed religious nutcase). It wasn't what John said that made millions of religious Americans angry at him; but rather, the fact that The Beatles were so popular, especially with the young girls. People were jealous of their success. I can show you the same type of hateful people attacking Pastor Jack Hyles, because he was a massive success in the religious world. So the issue wasn't about what John Lennon said, in my humble opinion, as much as it was the fact that The Beatles were super popular around the world.
It was difficult for me to read the details of John's killing. Chapman bought a .38 caliber gun, but didn't have any bullets. So he flew down to Georgia to meet a friend of his, who was a policeman (the cop had no idea what Chapman was planning on doing). The bullets were hollow-point tipped, which do maximum damage to the victim (blowing out the back of whatever is targeted). John was in a hurry that fateful night, headed from his penthouse apartment in New York to his waiting wife (Yoko Ono) in the limousine. He was headed for a recording session, to finish up a song that they hadn't put on their most recent album.
Mark Chapman approached John and asked for his autograph, which John kindly gave him. John even asked Mark if he needed anything else, which Mark admitted years later. Mark said that John was friendly and nice to him in every way. So why did Mark do the inexplicable evil thing that he did, to the man who had just befriended him with love? Mark shot John 5 times! One bullet missed him. Two entered into John's shoulder, but the two that entered into his lungs proved to be fatal, as he bled to death in the ambulance. Doctors spent 45 minutes trying to revive John's lifeless body, but he was gone from this earth. Proverbs 27:1, “Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.” John Lennon hadn't the slightest clue that December 8th, 1980 would be his last day alive on earth, but it was. Dear reader, have you been born-again? If not, right now is the time, please.
Mark Chapman later admitted at a parole hearing (he has been denied parole 12 times already as of 2022), that he murdered John Lennon because he was angry at him:
- One thing that Mark was angry about was John Lennon's statement that The Beatles were more popular than Jesus. Mark says he became a born-again Presbyterian at age 16, and hated John for saying that The Beatles were more popular than Jesus.
- Another thing that made Mark angry (according to his own admission) is John Lennon's alleged hypocrisy for living such an extravagant lifestyle, which Mark feels is totally contradictory to John's lyrics in his 1972 number one hit song, Imagine, in which John sings “imagine no possessions, I wonder if you can.”
- Mark Chapman admits though, that the real reason he murdered John Lennon was because he himself wanted to become famous, for murdering a famous person. He admits to having also contemplated killing Johnny Carson, Elizabeth Taylor and George C. Scott. Unfortunately for John, Mark said it was easy to gain access to John, where he lived in New York City. That is so sad and disturbing.
I think the only logical conclusion for any normal person is that Mark Chapman is a very wicked person! Mark's lawyers suggested that he plead insanity, which he himself refused to do, admitting to the judge that he fully understood what he did to John Lennon. At least the guy is honest to admit what he did. The real victim in all of this is John Lennon's family. I feel sorry for Yoko Ono, who still today lives in the SAME apartment in New York where she and John lived when he was assassinated by a nutcase.
The real victim is Mark's wife, Gloria Chapman, who married Mark in 1979 in Hawaii. She said later that December 8th, 1980 was the worst day of her life! That was the day her husband committed the unthinkable, killing John Lennon. Unbelievably, Mark and Gloria are still married in 2022, 42 years later! Wow! Gloria is a born-again Christian living in Hawaii still today. I must say that I greatly admire Gloria for staying married to Mark all these many years. That is uncommon among married couples, to see that kind of dedication. All it took was one fight between Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, and she quit their marriage in 2016.
I chose the three Scripture passages for our text, because of the often contrarian nature of the Bible. I have learned that the word “balance” is important when studying the Bible. For example: We are commanded as believers to “hate evil” (Psalms 97:10). But we are also commanded to love our neighbour, which means every human being on the planet (Matthew 7:12). Anytime that you get your spiritual life out of BALANCE, you're headed for trouble!
That is what I think happened to Mark Chapman. I do believe that he is a born-again Christian, but I do not know for certain. We know from the Bible that saints can do some horribly unsaintly things; such as, Moses and David unjustly murdering another human being. I would need to talk with Mark Chapman directly, to hear a clear testimony of his faith in Jesus Christ without any works, to determine if he is truly saved or not. Sadly, most religious people who claim to be a “Christian” are not! That unsaved group includes: Roman Catholics, Mormons, Jehovah's Witness, Seventh-Day Adventists, Church of Church, Lutherans and the United Methodist Church. All of these groups corrupt the Gospel, adding works to faith (Hebrews 4:10-11).
The Beatles still today are indeed MORE POPULAR than Jesus to many people. This is called the sin of IDOLATRY!!! Anything or anyone that you hold, love, cherish, worship and idolize in your soul and life above the God who created you, is the horrible sin of IDOLATRY!!! ...
Exodus 20:1-6, “And God spake all these words, saying, I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.”
Most Americans are idolaters and don't even realize it! For many people (young and old alike), cars are their god. For others it is their motorcycle, pet dog, golfing, a boat, fishing, hunting, a guitar, a band, cooking or their girlfriend or wife. There is nothing wrong with any of these things, not at all; unless you allow these things to take precedence over God in your heart and life. Deuteronomy 6:11, “And houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and wells digged, which thou diggedst not, vineyards and olive trees, which thou plantedst not; when thou shalt have eaten and be full; Then beware lest thou forget the LORD, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.” Moses warned the Jews—after God had delivered them from bondage in Egypt, and provided all their needs bountifully—that they not become ingrates by forgetting the Lord. Sadly, they did forget! BEWARE LEST THOU FORGET THE LORD AMERICA!!!
Mark Chapman hated sin so much that he became disillusioned with reality, hating the sinner instead. Dear reader, we should never accept the sin with the sinner; nor reject the sinner with the sin. I love that important truth. It is worth remembering! We should never accept the sin with the sinner; nor reject the sinner with the sin. I am a born-again Christian first and foremost. That is the ONLY reason why I am going to Heaven, because of what Jesus—the Christ, the only begotten (biological) Son of the living God—did through Calvary's cross to pay my sin debt (and yours too friend)! Jesus was buried and bodily resurrected miraculously (by the power of God) three days later from the dead. This is “the Gospel” (or Good News) by which all who BELIEVE IT are immediately, irrevocably and forever saved (1st Corinthians 15:1-6; Romans 1:16; Galatians 3:26; Philippians 3:9; 1st Thessalonians 4:14).
I grew up in our American culture, born in 1967. I grew up listening to beautiful music, and was influenced by the same celebrities that the rest of us have. But now they are growing old, many having already died. I always wonder if famous people went to Heaven or Hell. If you listen to the ungodly world at their funerals, most of the time they automatically assume that everybody goes to Heaven. That reminds me of United Artist's 1989 movie: “All Dogs Go To Heaven.” I think it is so sad. In fact, it is evil blasphemy! Many children's resources are now advertising: “In Dog We Trust,” instead of “In God We Trust.” If you think that is merely harmless and cute, you are not right with God friend! The things of God are sacred, and no one ought ever diminish, make fun of, belittle or take God name in vain. If you think God has a sense of humor akin to perverse Late Night Television, you are in for a horrific surprise in eternity (Hebrews 10:31).
Anyway, I wrote this blog after watching a YouTube documentary about the life of John Lennon. At one time in John's life, he sought out compassion from Pastor Oral Roberts. Unfortunately, Roberts didn't treat John very well, and I have no doubt that it discourage him. Like most other Americans, John has seen Oral on television. All of those TV preachers are of the Devil!!! But in his search for God, John did publicly announce to the world that he became a Christian. I don't know if John went to Heaven or Hell, and that is the honest truth. I hope that John did, but I don't know. Only John, God, the Devil and those already in eternity know for sure where John Lennon is right now! But I can tell you upon the authority of the Scriptures that John either went to Heaven or Hell (John 3:16-18; 8:24; Revelation 14:13; 20:11-15).
Yes, The Beatles are still sadly more popular than Jesus in many people's lives. But from a historical viewpoint, John Lennon was so very WRONG! It is possible to like a music group, and listen to their music, without worshipping them. In this video gone viral about a decade ago, a young teenage boy (he sadly looks like a girl), says that he will kill himself if Britney Spears kills herself because of her critics on social media. Folks, that is America today!
On August 23, 2022 an emotionally distressed girl jumped from a school's third floor.
Our foolish culture thinks that more emotional support is needed to prevent students from trying to kill themselves. When will the heathen world realize that youth need God in their curriculum. I don't care how much a child may learn about God at home, that youth is going to be broken and messed up being indoctrinated for 40 to 50 hours each week from ungodly curriculum and homework devoid of their Creator. God made us humans! When all else fails, read the instructions, that is, the inspired HOLY BIBLE!!!
Please read what the Bible says these Last Days will be like:
2nd Timothy 3:1-7, “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.”
All we keep hearing from the media, police, teachers, you name it, is that we need more of everything except to put the inspired Holy Bible back into America's classrooms!!! Children need Jesus. We've allowed a tiny group of God-hating atheists to destroy our entire society, but they accept no responsibility for it! Truly, Satan is the god of this evil world (2nd Corinthians 4:3-4; 11:13-15).
I'll stop here. This was a longer blog, but an important one. I could write about John Lennon's infamous statement that The Beatles are more popular than Jesus for days. There are many different aspects of John's claim that could be addressed. I think it is terrible that John made that statement, showing that he had no regard for God's feelings. God does have feelings. It is possible to grieve God (Ephesians 4:30). The Bible says that God is angry with the wicked every day (Psalms 7:11). I think it is clear that George Harrison went to Hell, according to the Holy Bible, since George worshipped Hara Krishna instead of Jesus Christ (John 14:6).
Paul McCartney has made subtle professions of being everything from an ashiest, to an agnostic (not sure what's out there), to a Roman Catholic, to following Harrison's eastern mysticism. Will the real Paul McCartney please stand up? I simply don't know what he believes, and I doubt if Paul does either. Worldly riches, pleasures and fame blind men to the seriousness of preparing for eternity (Luke 16:19-31). Ringo Starr professes to be a Christian, but I read that he is a member of the apostate Church of England, with their Sacramental Salvation from their accursed water baptistry. That is NOT the Bible way to Heaven!!! Jesus warned in John 3:3b, “YE MUST BE BORN AGAIN.”
John 3:3b, “YE MUST BE BORN AGAIN.”
