Saddamned

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Saddamned
By: Reed R. Heustis, Jr., Esq.
Christian Constitutionalist
January 8, AD 2007

When I first heard FOX News report that former Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein, would be hanged "within hours," I began to pray.

According to the Word of God, eternal salvation only comes by God's Grace alone through Faith in Jesus Christ. Without God's Grace, sinners must eternally pay for their own sins apart from Christ. In the Acts of the Apostles, Luke writes of Christ, "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."

At the time of the FOX News report, I already knew that Saddam had long rejected Christ as his savior, and so I realized that "within hours" Saddam not only would be executed, but his soul would be damned; unless - of course - he repented of his sins and embraced King Jesus entirely.

This was my prayer: that Saddam would be saved.

"How can you possibly pray for the Butcher of Baghdad?" people will scream, many of them self-proclaimed Christians, most of whom Bush-bot Republicans.

Don't get me wrong. There is no question in my mind that Saddam was a brutal, evil dictator who deserved execution for each one of the countless slayings and fatal tortures he ordered while reigning as Iraq's supreme tyrant. Who really knows how many murders Saddam was criminally liable for during his reign of terror? Believe me, you won't get an argument from me that Saddam received a raw deal.

This article is not about whether the evil Saddam "deserved" the death penalty. (I believe that he did.) This article is not about whether the United States was "right or wrong" in invading Iraq. (I believe that it was wrong.) Moreover, this article is not about whether Saddam received a fair trial. (I don't know what to believe.) This article is not about whether the tribunal was legitimate. This article is not about whether the United States played a legal role in putting Saddam to death. It is not about future U.S. foreign policy in Iraq. In fact, it is not even about Iraq! It is not about the United Nations; it is not about Republicans and Democrats. It is not about President Bush. It is not about interventionism. It is not about isolationism. It is not about politics. It is not about oil.

My comments are simple and to the point: Based upon Saddam's own confession and the authority of the Word of God, Saddam Hussein is now in hell.

Some people indubitably will muse, "Well duh!" Saddam deserves hell because he committed atrocities, they will moralize.

They all will be wrong.

No different than any other sinner, Saddam deserved hell because he is a sinner. From the moment he was conceived in his mother's womb, Saddam was a sinner, and all sinners deserve hell.

The only difference with Saddam and other sinners is that Saddam actually committed crimes that necessitate punishment by civil authority. His actions invoked the powers of civil government. However, regardless of the penalty that must be paid at the hands of civil magistrates, every sinner's soul is able to be saved by Christ's precious blood if the Lord so willed it. Even the "Chief of Sinners," Saul of Tarsus, a murderer and persecutor of Christians, was saved! (1 Timothy 1:15)

A major difference exists between the relationship between (1) sinners and civil government; and that of (2) sinners and God.

First, the relationship between sinners and civil government depends upon a body of criminal law rooted in the biblically based common law. A defendant can only be convicted of a felony if he committed "actus reas" with "mens rea." The Latin term, "actus reas," means the "guilty act;" and "mens rea" means "guilty mind." Both are required together in order to convict of a felony. Thus, if a defendant committed a "guilty act" without a "guilty mind," or had a "guilty mind" without a "guilty act," no guilt would lie. It is therefore possible for a sinner to possess a "guilty mind" without actually committing a civil crime. Thus he would be safe from the sword wielded by civil government.

Second, in contrast, the relationship between sinners and God is an entirely different scenario, and one that should concern all sinners. Every person, except Christ Himself, is guilty of sin without regard to whether there exists an actus reas. The penalty of sin is death and eternity in hell. Even those who are innocent of civil crimes, are guilty of sin against God.

Jesus said, "...[W]hosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart." (Matthew 5:28) One does not actually have to commit the civil crime of adultery in order to be guilty of the sin of adultery. A mere lustful heart will do.

Jesus also said, "Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. " (1 John 3:15) One does not actually have to commit the crime of murder in order to be guilty of the sin of murder. A mere hateful heart will do.

Lest people think they are so righteous, people must realize that the natural man, from the moment of conception, rebels against God's law. Every person is born guilty of breaking God's 10 Commandments, and so every person deserves eternal hell fire.

Not every sinner deserves capital punishment, but every sinner certainly deserves hell. You don't have to be a Saddam to be damned.

Thankfully, by His own execution by crucifixion at Calvary, Jesus Christ paid the price for all His redeemed, elect believing people, setting them free from the penalty of hell. Those who belong to Him will eventually come to a saving faith in Christ, which leads to repentance and eternal salvation. Those who don't belong to Him will reject him and salvation.

The London Baptist Confession of Faith of 1689 states it clearly: "It pleased God, in His eternal purpose, to choose and ordain the Lord Jesus, His only begotten Son, according to the covenant made between them both, to be the mediator between God and man; the prophet, priest, and king; head and savior of the church, the heir of all things, and judge of the world; unto whom He did from all eternity give a people to be His seed and to be by Him in time redeemed, called, justified, sanctified, and glorified."

Those who legitimately repent of their sins and confess Jesus as Lord are redeemed.

After my prayer for Saddam, it became evident that God's saving grace would not be upon him. Last week, after a captive Saddam was led into the execution chamber, escorted up the steps of the scaffold, and noosed by a hangman's rope, Saddam chanted the shahada: "Allah is great and Muhammad is His prophet." As he repeated the phrase, the floor opened, his body plummeted from the gallows, his neck snapping just after he uttered his final word, "Muhammad." Sadly, he cried for a God other than Christ.

The execution of Saddam means different things to different people. It might mean sic semper tyrannis, Latin for "Thus always to tyrants." It could mean the advance of globalism or American empire. It could mean justice, or even the lack thereof. Whatever the meaning might be, people must realize that eternity is a heartbeat away. They must beware that "it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment...." (Hebrews 9:27)

Christians must preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ in love to all nations so that salvation will abound for sinners everywhere and Christ's Name will be glorified to the ends of the earth.

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