Monday, June 30, 2008

More Pictures of Baby Samuel











13 comments:

lorenzothellama said...

He is so beautiful. I want to hold him and hug him! What a little star!

Ted M. Gossard said...

You have a beautiful family, and he fits right in!

Really cute. Wonderful.

Litl-Luther said...

Thanks for sharing in our joy Lorenzo and Ted! We appreciate the thoughtful remarks.

donsands said...

Samuel already glorifies our Lord. He is made in the image of God. How awesome is that! What a lovely child. i love him already.

Yet he is born in sin. And we pray for the Lord's great grace and mercy to come upon Samuel, so that he shall glorify our Lord in greater and more marvelous ways than we could ever imagine, as he grows in stature and "the knowledge and grace of the Lord Jesus Christ".

Triston those pics are fantastic. Thanks for sharing them.
Let me know if there's anything we can ship over bro. I mean it! Shepherd and Sons is doing better. thanks for the prayers.

God bless Jaya, Mary, Samuel, and Triston with His peace, joy, and knowledge of how much He loves them all. Amen.

Martin Stickland said...

Wow! Congratulations Mum and Dad and what a little angel his is!!!

Well done!!!! You deserve some great luck especially after you meeting with the mob, how is the head by the way?

I wish your son all the best for the future!

Kind regards

Martin

Litl-Luther said...

Hi Lorenzo,

I appreciate you wanting to stick up for little Samuel, but I agree with Don. Samuel, though adorable, and seemingly “innocent”, is nonetheless, a little bundle of sin. That’s what the Bible teaches. And it is not just Protestants who believe this. The Roman Catholic Church is in full agreement. This is one area where, as far as I know, all Christians agree—thanks to not only the Apostle Paul’s teaching on the matter but also St. Augustine as well, who wrote extensively on “Original Sin”.

Thanks to Adam, all people are born sinners—guilty of sin. We not only commit sin personally, but we are also guilty by virtual Adam’s sin, which has been imputed (credited) to us. This is why the Catholic Church baptizes infants, to purify them of Original Sin so they don’t end up in limbo on account of Adam’s sin. I don’t believe in Limbo or even in the necessity of baptizing infants, but I do believe the Scriptures are clear that without even committing personal sin, newborns are nonetheless guilty of sin, because of Adam. Adam stood as the representative of the human race, and because he sinned, we all sinned in him and are liable for that guilt. At first glance this sounds unfair and distasteful. But there is actually an incredibly beautiful coloration between the first Adam and the second Adam (Christ) that gives wonderful hope to Christians. It is really beautiful. Romans chapter 5 explains that just as the one trespass of Adam led to condemnation for all people, so also the one act of righteousness of Christ leads to justification. In other word, we were condemned in Adam, our representative, for his sin. But now, though we are sinners ourselves and not righteous, we can nonetheless, receive (be credited with) the perfect righteousness of Christ by faith in Him. Romans 5 teaches that death and condemnation came upon the human race because of Adam’s sin (even though we weren’t there and we didn’t literally commit that sin). But now by faith in Jesus, we can have the perfect righteousness of Christ (even though we are not righteous and we did nothing to deserve the gift of His righteousness credited to us).

So I find the fact of Original Sin beautiful. Yes. My son, though he seems innocent, is guilty of sin in the presence of God because of what Adam, humankind’s representative, did. But I can have great hope for Samuel that one day God will accept Him into His presence into heaven, not because Samuel is good, or holy or righteous (he will eventually commit his own sins). Samuel will be able to enter God’s presence someday if he puts his faith in Jesus because Jesus is all those things (good, holy, righteous), and Jesus promises to credit His goodness, holiness and righteousness to all sinners who place their faith in Him.

Please read Romans 5:12-21 when you get a chance. The Apostle Paul explains it better than me. Thanks.

Litl-Luther said...

Hey Martin,
Thanks for the kind note. I appreciate it. And my head is in good shape. Thanks for asking!

Martin, you should put out a "Book of Quips" You are so witty on your blog!


Don: Thanks! You are inspiring and encouraging as always.

Maalie said...

> Samuel, though adorable, and seemingly “innocent”, is nonetheless, a little bundle of sin

This is just the sort of absolute total rubbish that has confirmed me as an atheist. It is totally absurd.

Having said that, I sincerely wish you, and your family every joy, happiness and success.

Jim

Litl-Luther said...

Jim, please don't be so vague. It is difficult to figure out where you stand. :-)

Wow! the adjectives "absolute" and "total" in the same breath. Me thinks you don't like the idea of Original Sin. This should not come as a surprise as a prof. once said to my class, "There is no doctrine more offensive to natural man as inherited guilt." The thing is, the whole Bible is basically commentary on Genesis 3 (the Fall of Adam chapter), and without the historical Fall of Man into sin, the atonement of Christ makes little sense. If you think this "logic" through, it should not come as a surprise that the doctrine of Original Sin\inherited guilt of necessity must remain a fundamental belief within Christendom.

I appreciate your honestly Jim. And I'll admit, the "bundle of sin" comment does come across as over the top. Thank you also for the kind words for my families happiness. I truly wish the same for you and yours.

Triston

lorenzothellama said...

I have always believed that original sin is the fact that we are all capable of doing evil.

For instance, if we were born in a different time or place, we could well have been in Hitler Youth, we could have tortured Jews in concentration camps, we could have tortured 'non-believers' in the Inquisition, we could have burnt witches, we could have screamed 'crucify' 2000 years ago.

This is what I believe anyway. We are all capable of doing evil. It is inate in us.

Litl-Luther said...

Hi Lorenzo,
For the most part, I wholeheartedly agree with you. But I think what you have pointed out is not Original Sin per se, but the affects of Original Sin. The Bible would seem to indicate that the affects of sin are apparent immediately, even in infants:

"The wicked are estranged from the womb. They go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies." (Psalm 58:3)

Moreover, sin affects every part of our being: "Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." (Genesis 6:5)

Anyhow, what you indicated is true. I’d like to highlight, though, that the key, I believe, is God's grace. For instance, Peter (for his denial of Christ) and Paul (for his persecution of Christ and Christians) could have both went down in history just as Judas. But God was very gracious toward them, as he has been with me. The main difference I believe between someone ending up like Hitler or like Mother Theresa is God's grace in their lives. We’re all stained by sin. As you said, we are all capable of doing evil. But God is merciful and often does not allow us to become as bad as we could be.

Litl-Luther said...

Hi Don,
Thanks for the note and thoughtful offer to send a package. I did email you about that possiblity of mailing a package, but I sent it to your comcast address. I didn't realize you had switched companies.
Your bro.
Triston

lorenzothellama said...

Can we have a few more piccies of Samuel, please?