First our prayers and deepest sympathy is with the Emmanuel AME Church in Charleston, S.C. who tragically lost nine of their finest, including their beloved pastor, to another of America's undisciplined, godless, video game cultured, drugged, rock headed, stone hearted, conscienceless, robots that is passed off as a human being.  If a person kills one, society says it is evil, they just can't seem to bring themselves to say the word sin.  But kill multiple people as Dylan Storm Roof did Wednesday evening at that prayer meeting and they will call you sick, because they can't believe that any normal person could do anything that hideous. But the Bible says,  "…The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?"

Man in his present sinful condition is capable of doing the most vile, wicked acts that the mind can imagine.  Any of us outside of the grace of God could be a Dylan Roof, a Charles Manson, or a Stalin, Hitler or Mao, or any other despot of the ages past or present.

That's the reason that the most peace loving man, who that ever walked on this earth, who is the "Prince of Peace" told His disciples, "… and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one."  He knew that there would always be the Dylan's in the world.  So his disciples would need the Sword of the Spirit, to defend against the enemies of the soul, and the Sword of the flesh, so to speak, for self-defense.   The church is not to be an advancing army, but they are to be able to defend themselves against those that would come to destroy them.  Rev. Pinckney was wise to have his Bible, but he should also have had his sword (a weapon), or at least others in the congregation, designated to protect the church should have been armed.  Just possibly if they had obeyed their Lord in this area, nine people would not have died in that church last Wednesday night, or at least more of them might still be alive.