Introduction
So here is what happened—in case you are not up to speed. My friend Brooks Potteiger was on a podcast with Joshua Haymes and the topic of James Talarico, a death angel from Texas, came up. Now to be fair, he doesn’t look like a death angel. As one meme put it, he looks like a walking embodiment of that COEXIST bumper sticker. But despite the choir boy appearances, he is a card-carrying member of the abortion death cult.
So Haymes and Potteiger began talking about the prospect of Talarico’s conversion—which in biblical terms means death and resurrection. That is what happens when someone is born again. The New Testament is replete with this kind of language. “Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?” (Romans 6:3).
So of course the gotcha journalists who circulated the clip left out the parts that made this most evident and plain. They left out the part wishing that he would become “Talarico of Tarsus.” Using so of course for the second time in a row, so of courseThe Huffington Post went with the headline that “Pete Hegseth’s Pastor Says He Wants James Talacrico to Die.”
That is quite the construction.
Aftermath
Of course, the Internet went nuts. And if the phone calls to our church office here in Moscow are any indication (as I believe they are), the sympathizers of the Talarician way have a long way to go before they can appear quite as sanctimonious as their leader Talarico does. The hypocrisy force is strong with him. Their wishes for the deaths of their adversaries are unvarnished, old school, and pretty much out there.
But Talarico went on the record with the controversial sentiment “Jesus loves,” embedded above for you. But what does He love? How does He love? Does He love our sin? Talk about a Jesus Juke.
Talarico said this to Brooks Potteiger. “I love you more than you could ever hate me.” Let’s step into this for just a moment. Suppose this love of Jesus that Talarico embodies finally penetrated the wall of hate that has imprisoned Brooks. What would that love do to that hate? Ah, yes. That love would put that hate to death.
And if we switch it around, what would the actual love of Christ that Brooks has do with the wall of hypocrisy that has imprisoned James. Right again. The love of Christ is the death of sin.
Always the Point
So here is the thing. If the devil wants to talk about this, let’s do it. If he wants this to be the topic, that is fine by us. At the end of Proverbs 8, Lady Wisdom says this: “All who hate me love death.” I used the phrase death cult earlier, and this is what I mean by it. A death cult is any manner of life conducted outside Jesus Christ.
“And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience.”Ephesians 2:1–2 (KJV)
Outside of Christ, we walk in death, we live in death, and it is a particular kind of death— without any hope of resurrection. What God did in the crucifixion of Christ was to make a way out for us. When we look to Christ in faith, looking to the crucified Messiah, we are joined to Him in that death. And because we are joined with Him in His death, we are given the great grace and privilege of being joined together with Him in His resurrection.
“Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”Romans 6:4 (KJV)
Walking in newness of life. And that is what Brooks was wanting for James. And when the liars swarmed, the only thing they demonstrated was now much they need to die also. Talarico is not the only one in this who needs to die to sin. So do his minions.
So . . . if you guys want to talk gospel . . . let’s talk gospel. You all need to come to Jesus. No, really. And as Bonhoeffer put it, “When Christ calls a man, He bids him come and die.”