The name John Bradford did not ring a bell to me the first time I heard it. I guess many people will be in the same shoes with me. I never heard of him until recently when I read of a striking statement that he made during his lifetime. He lived from 1510 to 1555. He lived as a preacher and died as a martyr.
Public execution of prisoners on the death row was a common practice in his days. History has it that on one of the occasions when prisoners were being led to the place of execution, he said, “There but for the grace of God goes John Bradford”. It indeed could have been him.
This is a realization that without the grace of God, our base instincts will rule us, and we would be capable of any vice out there. ALL OF US, no matter how long we have been Christians or the positions we occupy in church can do anything except we make what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 9:27 a daily practice:
I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.
While also bearing 1 Corinthians 10:12 in mind
Therefore, let the one who thinks he stands firm [immune to temptation, being overconfident and self-righteous], take care that he does not fall [into sin and condemnation]
Time and again, we hear of people we hold in high esteem being caught or accused of very grave iniquity. They are usually tried and sentenced in the court of public opinion, fuelled these days by the ubiquitous social media. While their acts may be very weighty and extremely condemnable, we need to remember that as Christians, we stand by grace. Our reaction should certainly be different from how just anybody would react. Apostle Paul gave some insight into how we should react.
If someone falls into sin, forgivingly restore him, saving your critical comments for yourself. You might be needing forgiveness before the day’s out. Galatians 6:1
As a matter of fact, Jesus our perfect example demonstrated this in the way he handled the case of the woman that was caught in adultery and brought to him by the teachers of the Law and Pharisees in John 8. He refused to take sides with the crowd. So should we.
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