WATCH OUT FOR THE LION!
1 PETER 5:8 – 13
Introduction:
I am sure most of us have seen a lion before, if not in a zoo, at least on TV or in the movies or even in the circus. Lions are huge creatures, with some weighing as much as 250 kgs. or 500 lbs. Lions spend as much as 18 to 20 hours sleeping and do much of their hunting at night, usually done as a team effort and not individually. Lions are also creatures where the male and the female can be readily distinguished, with the male lions possessing a beautiful mane which is notably absent in lionesses. We view lions as majestic creatures, thanks in part to the description of the lion as being the “king of the jungle” by many, as well as biblical imagery which portrays Jesus as being both lion and lamb. Even the animated movie and the musical “The Lion King” has made lions look very appealing. Also, the C.S. Lewis book series, “The Chronicles of Narnia”, features a lion named Aslan who is representative of the Lord Jesus.
While we may find a lion to be a beautiful creature, I'm sure we will not deny the fact that a lion is also a very dangerous predator. Because of their size, they cannot pursue a prey for a long distance; thus, they are known to stealthily go near a flock of animals and then scatter the flock while looking for the weakest or slowest animal among the flock. Once they have locked in on and captured their intended target, they will use their huge mouths to bite their necks, crushing it and killing it almost instantly. While I may admire the beauty of this creature, I will not make the mistake of jumping inside a lion's enclosure in the zoo just to take a closer look or to pet him. I will just admire him from a safe distance, behind the bars of the enclosure. The same would be true for other creatures such as crocodiles, tigers and bears. They may look beautiful but I know they're dangerous and I wouldn't unnecessarily risk my life by getting too near them.
In this morning's passage, we are warned by the apostle Peter that there is a lion roaming out there who wants to attack and devour us. This lion roars loudly in order to intimidate us and make us shudder in fear. This lion however is not out to threaten our physical lives, but rather, it is out to wreak havoc on our souls. This lion is none other than Satan, also known as the devil. What should we be aware of when we are dealing with this enemy of ours? There are three things we should remember when we are in conflict with Satan so that when he attacks us, we will not be caught unaware, but rather, we will be ready for his attacks. To help us remember these three points, all of them starts with the letter “R”.
Now, before we go the main point of today's message, let's examine who our enemy, the devil, really is. When Peter referred to our enemy as being the devil, no doubt he had in mind the person of Satan. However, in our passage, Peter doesn't specifically use the name “Satan” but the Greek word, “diabolos”, which means accuser or slanderer. The word, “diabolos”, is a description of what Satan is doing against believers. He is doing everything within his power to make us fall, and when we do fall, he then proceeds to accuse us before the presence of God. Now, Satan doesn't just accuse us. He is also responsible for giving us wrong ideas about God. For example, when something goes terribly wrong in your life at this very moment, you will probably hear a voice saying something like “God doesn't care.” We all know God's promises of care and love for his people but Satan will do what he can to lead us astray and to give up on God. Satan operates by using lies and accusations. That is how he goes about causing us to sin.
With this information in mind, let's look at the three main points of this morning's message.
I. Respect The Enemy
The first thing we must do in dealing with our enemy is to actually respect him. Now, when I use the word “respect”, I do not mean that we admire and adore the devil. Instead, respect means awareness on our part of Satan's character and schemes such that we don't take him for granted but instead, we prepare for his attacks.
Many of the men here play or have played basketball. In a formal tournament, a team has twelve players. Usually a coach will use around 8 to 9 players heavily while the remaining 3 to 4 players will probably come in when the game is safely won already and they're in the game just for what is known as “garbage time”. Very often, we pay more attention and respect to the top 5 to 8 players of the opponent, but when they send in the guy who usually sits at the end of the bench, we probably wouldn't guard him that tightly. We probably would even let him take a shot from afar, thinking that he'll surely miss. We have the notion that players at the end of the bench are usually poor shooters, poor rebounders or poor defenders. We would probably be laughing on the inside, thinking why your opponent would send a bench player and you're imagining that he'll mess up his team's chances of winning. Now, imagine the surprise on our faces when that bench player all of a sudden goes on a shooting rampage, making key baskets, pulling down crucial rebounds and making good defensive plays. We never expected that the opponent's bench player could do that. We took them for granted. In fact, we failed to give respect to that player by thinking that he can't contribute to his team's efforts.
So often, we do that to the enemy of our souls, Satan. Somehow, we don't respect him enough to know that he is dangerous. Scripture describes him to be a dangerous foe; one who is cunning, has great power and intelligence. We must never ignore him or underestimate his ability nor should we joke about him.
How do we underestimate his ability? We underestimate him when we think that we are able to stand firm and we say to ourselves that we can't fall to a certain sin that Satan then intensifies his attack using numerous other means until we eventually yield to temptation. I am sure many among you have heard of the sad stories of prominent Christian leaders who have fallen into sexual temptations. How many among them felt that they were invincible to the attacks of Satan because they were Christian leaders? How many among them thought that they would surely not fall? If any among us were to feel that way when facing a temptation, I tell you, we will surely fall because we are underestimating Satan's ability to make us fall.
We make light of our enemy also by how we portray him. I'm sure many here know who Casper the Friendly Ghost is. But did you know that he had a friend who is a devil? His friend's name is Hot Stuff and he looks like the stereotype portrayal of what a devil looks like – red in color, horns on the head and pitchfork in hand. We know Casper as being the Friendly Ghost; Hot Stuff, on the other hand, is more like the mischievous kid who likes to play pranks on people. Also, there was a character that appeared in two movies who goes by the name of Hellboy. Hellboy is a devil who was found by the Americans during World War 2 as an infant in the hands of the Nazis. He was then raised up by a scientist like any normal boy. He did not behave like what we expect a devil would. Instead, he goes around saving the world. These are just a few examples of how the world portrays the enemy, making light of him. If we are not careful, we may just buy in to the ideas that the world is telling us about Satan and we end up admiring him.
On the opposite extreme, we sometimes give Satan too much credit. How do we give too much credit to Satan? It's when we blame him for everything bad that happens to us. We have a headache, we say there is a “spirit of headache” that is afflicting us. We have a fever, we automatically think that there its Satan causing us to be sick. While it is true that Satan can bring about illness, how can we know that every disease we have is caused directly by Satan?
You want to be ready when Satan comes to tempt and attack you? Begin by respecting him. Be aware of his character and his schemes. If you don't respect him and choose instead to underestimate him or even joke about him, you will surely lose to him when he attacks.
II. Recognize Your Enemy's Tactics
The second thing we need to remember as we fight the devil is to recognize his tactics for causing us to fall or fail. It is sad to see believers like you and myself yielding into temptation, and do you know why we often fall or fail? It is because we don't recognize the means or the tactics our enemy is using against us.
In the previous verses of 1 Peter 5, Peter cited two issues that the believers were prone to fall into. The first was the issue of pride. Let's admit it, we are anything but humble people. We are proud of our accomplishments, we are proud of what we have and we are more than willing to show it. Often times our pride inflates our ego so much that we end up relying more on ourselves rather than relying on God. When we begin to rely more on ourselves and less on God, we are actually falling into the same trap Adam and Eve fell into – the desire to become like God. Pride dictates that we do things our way, that we do things with our resources. It is in opposition to God's way and God's promise of provisions. Peter had to remind the believers that God opposes the proud but shows favor to those who are humble. Humble people are those who easily recognize and realize that apart from God's help and guidance, they cannot do much.
The second issue mentioned by Peter is anxiety. Satan loves to attack us using this particular tactic. He wants us to worry about anything and everything that comes our way. Why? It is because anxiety is a sure sign that we are not trusting God enough. We face situations wherein our faith is tested and we sometimes respond by not believing that God cares enough to help us. When we don't believe that God cares for us, then it is easy for us to panic and to want to do damage control our way. Thus Peter reminds us that we must cast all our anxieties on God because he cares for us. The apostle Paul, in Philippians 4:6-7, commands us not to be anxious about anything but instead, we should commit everything to God in prayer, and God will give us peace.
Now, a third tactic not mentioned in today's passage but was the context of the believers during that time was persecution. As we all know, persecution was done in order to force people to renounce and abandon their faith in Jesus Christ. Using physical pain, psychological and mental anguish, this particular tactic is meant to cause so much hardship that a person may want to escape by complying to the persecutor's demand. When a believer gives in because of the pain and renounces Jesus Christ, this brings great pleasure to our enemy. Christians during Peter's time were thrown in prison, tortured, made to face lions in the arena, just to name a few. Peter encouraged the believers to stand firm in their faith. In standing firm for Jesus Christ, the enemy's tactic will have failed and we bring greater glory to our Lord Jesus.
Peter only mentioned a few of the tactics that Satan uses. If you were to examine the whole of Scripture, you will see that there are many schemes Satan will use in order to make us fall and even for us to renounce and abandon Jesus Christ. Therefore, if we want to fight victoriously for our Lord Jesus Christ, we need to realize the enemy's tactics. The whole of Scripture will inform us of how the enemy works. We only need to pick this book up and read it carefully and we will be able to see clearly Satan's schemes. As we become familiar with God's Word, we will be able to see then how the enemy is at work today in our culture, the media (TV, music, internet), and our philosophies, and we will be able, by the grace of God, to stand up to these tactics.
III. Resist the Enemy Violently
The third and final thing we need to remember when we are in conflict with Satan is for us to resist the enemy; when I say “resist”, I am not talking about peaceful and passive resistance but I am referring instead to a “violent” resistance of Satan's attacks.
I am sure most of us have witnessed the scenes from the first People Power revolution that took place along EDSA. That revolution has become a model for how civilians can peacefully topple a dictatorial regime, like standing in front of a huge armored vehicle and giving flowers to the driver of the vehicle, softening the resistance. It may work for a country like the Philippines but try doing that against Satan and I will assure you that you will surely endanger yourself. You can't resist him peacefully or passively. Instead, picture the scene from World War 2 when Filipino and American soldiers valiantly fought against the Japanese invaders in Bataan. The Japanese Army thought that it would be easy for them to conquer the Philippines but it took them around four months before they defeated the joint Filipino and American forces when the latter finally surrendered to the Japanese, but not without first inflicting heavy casualty on the Japanese Army and delaying Japan's movement in Southeast Asia, giving the Americans enough time to rebuild their military capabilities. That is the kind of resistance we must have when we are being tempted or attacked by Satan. When Satan attacks us, we fight back actively.
Now, how exactly do we resist Satan? Well, we do what Jesus did when he was being tempted in the wilderness – he had an answer to every temptation that Satan threw upon him because he knew how to use the Word of God. His familiarity with the Word of God is not just about knowing the facts recorded in the Bible but it is all about putting into practice what he knew regarding the Word of God. The Word of God is a powerful weapon when resisting Satan's attacks. Jesus simply pointed to the Word and said “it is written” to all three recorded temptations and it silenced Satan. When we face temptation, we need to refer back to the Word of God and answer the tempter by saying to him, “it is written”, while at the same time, making a strong commitment to obey God's Word. By reminding Satan of the Word of God and your commitment to obey the Word of God, you would have shown active and violent resistance against him.
Another weapon we should use liberally when we are resisting Satan is the weapon of prayer. Prayer is not just communication with God, prayer is about relying completely on God's resources and strength. Prayer is all about aligning ourselves with God's will. Remember the story where the disciples of Jesus couldn't cast out the demon from a boy? When they asked Jesus why they couldn't cast the demon out, Jesus answered that the demon could only be cast out by praying. (Wow!) That is a great testament to the power of prayer when resisting the enemy. When we pray, we are asking the God of the Universe, the God who sent his own son to the cross to die for us, to deliver us, and surely, God will deliver us when we pray. How can Satan stand up to God, to our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray and boldly ask for their help and deliverance?
Another important weapon we can use is to remind the enemy that we have been bought with the precious blood of the Lord Jesus, thus we are no longer under condemnation. No matter what accusations the devil may bring against us – saying that we are no-good, that we have committed these or those sins – they will not stand before the Lord, because we have already received forgiveness when we believed in Jesus Christ and what he did for us on the cross. Revelation 1:5b states clearly that Jesus loves us and that he has freed us from our sins by his blood. In 1 John 1:7, the blood of Jesus continues to cleanse us from all our sins. How can we use this third weapon? Whenever Satan attacks us with accusations, condemning us for our sins, we just simply rebuke him by saying with authority and confidence that, because we have already trusted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, we have experienced forgiveness for our sins and we will continue to receive forgiveness whenever we sin because we are covered by the blood of Jesus Christ. However, for this weapon to work powerfully, we must be sure to keep ourselves clean spiritually by constantly examining ourselves, confessing our sins and claiming forgiveness that Jesus Christ offers us.
Conclusion:
Our enemy, Satan, is like a roaring lion out to frighten and attack us. He knows his time to work is short, thus, he will do whatever it takes to make us fall into temptation, to make us turn our backs on the Lord Jesus, to make us doubt our salvation and our relationship with God. This morning, we learn the three Rs that we need to remember and apply as we will surely be attacked by Satan and his minions. First, we must learn to respect the enemy, that he isn't someone we should take lightly even though he has already been defeated by Jesus on the cross. He can still cause significant damage to our spiritual lives if we take him lightly and don't prepare for battle against him. Second, we must learn to recognize our enemy's tactics. Satan has a lot of tricks up his sleeves; we need to know what his strategies are so that we will not be caught by surprise. The Word of God records for us how Satan attacks us, subtly or overtly. Therefore, spend time to study the Word of God so that you will be aware and can prepare better for his attacks. Finally, we must resist the enemy violently. This means we must fight back by using the Word of God, prayer and by claiming the forgiveness and cleansing that comes from the shed blood of Jesus Christ.
Satan wants to destroy us all, but we can thank God that he is a defeated enemy and we have all the resources available to live a victorious Christian life. I pray that we will use these resources and proclaim victory for ourselves through Christ Jesus. Let us also help others find that victory through Jesus as we lead people to the saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus and as we counsel and guide fellow Christians in claiming their victory in Jesus Christ.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Make Your Marriage Work - Preached 10/17/2010 at GGC
Make Your Marriage Work
1 Peter 3:1 – 7
Introduction:
Who among you know what is the percentage of marriages in the U.S. that end in divorce? Who says its 50%? 60%? 70%? Actually, the answer is a bit complicated. Often, we hear that the divorce rate in the U.S. is 50% and the answer is somewhat correct but you will be shocked at what I am going to share with you right now regarding that statistic. In a first-time marriage, the divorce rate is 41%; in a second marriage, meaning there was a previous divorce that has taken place, the rate went up to 60%; then for those who get into a third marriage, the rate went up even further to 73%. This does not account for those who got divorced and never married but are now cohabiting with others. Thus, a figure of 50%
While divorce is not allowed in the Philippines, the government does allow for annulment where a marriage is declared as non-existent under certain conditions. Prior to 2006, the number of cases filed did not exceed 7000 per year. By 2006, the number of cases breached the 7000 mark for the first time with 7,138 cases. The number increased significantly in 2007 with 7,753 cases. I don't have figures for 2008 and 2009 but I believe that the numbers may even be higher.
Why are we seeing such a high rate of divorce in the U.S. as well as a growing number of annulment in the Philippines? According to a study, there are around ten reasons why a marriage heads toward divorce or annulment. What are these reasons? In the interest of time, I will not discuss these reasons but just read through them as they are self-explanatory.
(1) The other partner's infidelity
(2) Non-commitment to the marriage
(3) Lack of communication
(4) Abuse (physical, emotional & substance)
(5) Inability to handle conflicts
(6) Difference of goals
(7) Money problems
(8) Intellectual incompatibility
(9) Mental illness
(10) Differences/clashes in lifestyle, religion and culture
Why did I bring up all these statistics and reasons as to why so many marriages are heading for divorce or annulment? It is because, sadly, many people enter into marriage without the expressed goal and intention of making their marriage work. Many enter into marriage simply because they're physically attracted to each other or because of the pressures of society and parents or because of some material benefit they can get from the marriage. They don't enter into a marriage thinking of it as a commitment and with a strong desire to make it work. They don't think much about pouring in the effort to making a marriage that will last.
This morning, we continue our study on the book of 1 Peter. While Peter wasn't talking about divorce, he was talking about how husbands and wives were to treat each other. His teaching on the matter would, no doubt, strengthen a marriage and even avert a divorce or annulment from happening. So, let's dive into our study of today's passage and learn how a couple can make their marriage work. For those who are single here, today's passage should be of help to you as you will, sooner or later, ponder about marriage and what it takes to make a marriage work.
Context:
You may have noticed that Peter's instruction for the men was only a single verse while for the women it was six verses long. It was because married women in those days were at a great disadvantage. You see, women back then were viewed as a thing, an object, a property that was at the disposal of either the father or the husband. Women back then had no rights whatsoever. Furthermore, Peter was addressing women who had become believers after their marriage to their non-believing husbands. This was an even more complicated matter because, as I said, a woman back then had no rights, even the right to decide, and thus, her decision to become a believer in Jesus Christ ran counter to the culture of those days. Now, if a husband had become a believer, it would have been easier because he could bring the whole family to church, but because the women were the ones being converted first, how then could they win their husbands to Christ? I believe this is very much an issue in Chinese-Filipino families as the wives are usually the first to come to Christ.
Now, what Peter laid out for the married women to do back then still applies today. Here he taught the married women who had non-believing husbands what they can do to win their husbands to Christ. However, what Peter taught is not just applicable for wives with non-believing husbands, but they apply also when the husband is a believer. The command for the husband is likewise applicable up to today. However, as I studied on the passage, I found that the commands given to the wives can very well apply to husbands and they should take note of these. Therefore, what I have done is to classify the commands for both husbands and wives to three general commands that we all need to pay attention to as well as put them to action.
Before I get to the main points of today's message, I would like for us to look at a phrase that occurs in both verse 1 and verse 7. That phrase is “in the same way.” What is the significance of this phrase such that it is used to introduce the commands for both husbands and wives? The phrase is actually a reference to the last portion of Chapter 2 where Peter wrote about Jesus Christ and how he was humble, how he refused to retaliate against those who wronged Him, and how he trusted God completely throughout his suffering. Peter was saying to both husbands and wives that they were to have the same humility as what Jesus had, they were to never think of getting even when their spouses wrong them, and they were to completely trust the Lord as the one who can make their marriages work out. So, let's look now at what Peter commanded both husbands and wives to do and learn how we who are married can apply these commands, and for the singles, how you can properly prepare for married life someday.
For a marriage to work there must be . . .
I. Respect for Each Other
There needs to be respect flowing freely between husbands and wives if they want their marriage to work. However, the manifestation of respect from husband to wife and vice versa are different. For a wife, the way to show respect to her husband is actually to submit to the husband. This is very much in line with what Paul taught in Ephesians and Colossians. Now, submission should be taken to mean blind obedience nor should it mean that the wife becomes inferior; instead, submission is, in the words of a Bible commentator, “voluntary selflessness.” The wife puts to death whatever pride she may have in her achievements and even her intellectual superiority and instead chooses to serve and be under the leadership of her husband. It is a submission grounded, not in fear, but in love.
When these wives became believers, I am sure they have heard the teaching that, in Christ, there is no difference whether male or female, whether slave or free. This was a radical teaching for a society where the male figure was deemed as being superior over the female, where the slave is subject to the mercy of the master. They were probably tempted to assert their rights, their newfound freedom in Christ. However, any such attempt to voice out this radical truth about freedom in Christ would surely cause violent reactions amongst the husbands and would bring about a rejection of the Gospel truth as well as probable punishment of the wife for defying him. While it is true that all in Christ are equal, God has still set in place that the husband be the head of the family and everyone in it is to support him and follow his lead. It is not a question of equality but a question of authority, that the husband is ordained by God as having leadership over the family. Therefore, the wife must submit to the husband, but she must do so because she chooses to and not simply because she is forced to. Peter's command to the wives apply not only to non-believing husbands but also, and all the more, to believing husbands.
Now, this submission on the part of the wives actually has a powerful influence on the unbelieving husbands as they see their wives behaving in such a way that they are affirmed as men and that they are accorded the respect that they need. Let's face it men, we need affirmation and respect, and when our wives give it to us without reservation, this somehow lifts us up. Even if a wife is more intelligent and probably more capable as a leader than her husband, if she willingly gives the husband the respect due him as the leader of the family, then this gives her husband a lot of affirmation and averts any feeling of resentment.
Augustine, the Bishop of Hippo, cited that her mother, who was a believer, won her husband to the Lord primarily through her good conduct. Of course, by all means, believing wives should mention the Gospel to their non-believing husbands, but let your action speak louder. Maybe there are some here whose husbands do not yet know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and you want so badly for them to become believers; well, Peter makes clear that we can win them to Christ by submitting to them, by giving them the affirmation and respect that is rightly due them, by our good conduct. I hope you will submit out of love to your husbands.
Now, respect needs to be shown also by husbands to their wives. In verse 7 Peter instructed the husbands to be considerate towards their wives and to treat them with respect since they are the weaker partner. Why were wives called the weaker partner? It is because women generally are physically weaker compared to men. They are also considered weaker because of how women are unfairly accorded a lower status by society.
What did Peter mean when he instructed the husbands to be considerate towards their wives? The word, as defined by the dictionary, means that one must be careful not to cause inconvenience or hurt to another person. In a more practical light, what it means is that the husband must treat their wives gently and must be sensitive to their feelings. Back during Peter's time, some husbands were anything but gentle towards their wives. According to Cato, a typical ancient Roman, he wrote: “If you were to catch your wife in an act of infidelity, you can kill her with impunity without a trial.” Egnatius beat his wife to death when he found her drinking wine. Sulpicius Gallus dismissed his wife because she had once appeared in the streets without a veil. Publius Sempronius Sophus divorced his wife because she went to watch the public games. This was how men treated their wives. It was their “privilege” and they were not expected to live up to any particular responsibility towards their wives. However, the Christian ethic does not operate in such a way but places an obligation upon the husband to be considerate. In Ephesians, Paul commanded husbands to love their wives with sacrificial love. For Peter, he doesn't use the word “love” but his thoughts are the same as those of Paul. To be considerate means that he must be understanding, chivalrous, and remember that she is very much equal with him in the sight of God.
So, do you want a marriage that works? Begin by exercising respect for each other. Wives, submit to the leadership of your husbands. Husbands, be considerate towards your wives.
II. Purity of Life
For a marriage to work, there needs to be purity of life found in both husband and wife. Although this phrase was used by Peter specifically for the wives, I believe that this should apply to both, considering that we live in an age where people have become more perverse; where both husbands and wives can get entangled in forbidden affairs; where there is so much trash circulating not only in print and on TV and movies but also in the virtual world of the internet.
When one talks of purity, two ideas should come to mind. The first is chastity. Chastity, simply defined, is to refrain from engaging in extramarital affair for a married person, or in immorality, in the case of single people. In Hebrews 13:4 we read “Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled.” Sex is good when it is exercised within the proper boundary of marriage; but outside that boundary, sex becomes an affair or immorality. Now, chastity is not just about refraining from engagement in sex outside of marriage, it is also about keeping one's mind free from the things in the world that pollutes our minds and would surely affect our marriage and how we view our spouses and people in general. I'm not just talking about pornography but I'm also referring to what we watch in TV and in movies, what we read in magazines and books as well as browse on the internet. Many materials are not classified as pornography but they treat sex as something people can casually engage in without consequence. Jesus warned that if we look at a person and begin thinking of lustful thoughts, we are already committing adultery (Matthew 5:27 – 30). Brothers and sisters, let us keep ourselves chaste. Its true, we live in a time when many are saying “everyone's doing it” and “it feels right”, but our God is a holy God and he expects us to live holy lives, nothing less.
The second aspect of purity is fidelity. What it simply means is “be faithful” or to “be devoted to one”. In a marriage, it means you must put your spouse as first and foremost in the order of all your human relationships. You must never allow anyone else or anything to come in the way of your marriage relationship. Some spouses will, never in their lifetime, commit adultery against their partners, but they will be unfaithful to them by paying more attention to their careers, their hobbies, their sports, more than their spouses. They want to spend more time being with their friends rather than with their spouses. They spend too much time in the office and the house becomes nothing more than a hotel where they come home to sleep, eat breakfast and then be gone for the rest of the day, not returning until its late in the evening. If you want to make your marriage work, you have to focus on your relationship with each other as being top priority, second only to your relationship with God. Set time to be with each other, do things together.
Purity, that is what is so badly needed in marriage. There has to be chastity as well as faithfulness. Without purity, a marriage will never last long.
III. Focus on Inner Beauty
Finally, if we want to make our marriage work, we have to learn to focus on the inner beauty of our spouses rather than dwelling on their outward appearances. Peter was talking to the wives when he told them not to become preoccupied with making themselves outwardly beautiful. Why were the wives spending so much time and money making themselves outwardly attractive? According to a scholar, it was because in the ancient world women had no part in public life, they had nothing to pass their time. For that reason, it was sometimes argued that the women must be allowed to indulge in dress and adornment. They needed to make themselves beautiful so that their husbands would love them and keep them.
What was the extent of beautification of ancient women? Check out Isaiah 3:18-24 and you will be surprised at what women in the past wore. In the Greek and Roman world, women were known for sporting different hairstyles, wearing wigs, putting on hairbands, pins and combs made of ivory, tortoise shell and gold studded with gems. Some women wore expensive pearl earrings such as the wife of Julius Caesar, whose pearl earrings were estimated to be worth £ 65,250, or the wife of Caligula wore a dress covered with pearls and emeralds costing £ 450,000. Even Christian women were guilty of focusing too much on outward beauty because archaeologists found blonde wigs inside Christian catacombs, an indication that some of the worshippers were extravagant in adorning themselves with the most expensive of fashion.
The same is true today. A lot of wives who have the means will spend so much time and money making themselves look attractive so that their husbands will love them. This explains why businesses like high-end salons, clothing stores, jewelry shops and beauty enhancement centers make tons of money. Now, the husbands aren't exactly that better. Some husbands may insist on buying the most expensive clothes, accessories and even visit a skin care doctor and center and say that its an “investment” that will ensure grabbing that high-paying job or make sure that their wives will still love them. Others will buy that expensive car or watch thinking that it makes him cool and attractive. As followers of Jesus Christ, what is more important is what's inside of us. Do we manifest the Fruit of the Holy Spirit? Can people say that they see Jesus Christ through us? Now, Peter is not saying that we should neglect our physical appearance nor are we prohibited from buying an expensive car or watch, but what he is saying is that physical beauty should take a backseat to inner beauty. Physical beauty fades because we're going to get wrinkles, we're going to wear bifocals, we're going to lose our teeth and what have you, but inner beauty will last.
So, we should first of all cultivate in our lives those things that make us beautiful inside – the Fruit of the Holy Spirit. Then we should look at other people in the same light. We look at what is inside them. When both husband and wife are working on their inner beauty, can you just imagine how wonderful and lasting that marriage is going to be? The same should be true for those who are planning to enter into an exclusive relationship; don't fall in love just because the other person is beautiful physically, but look at the inner beauty of the person, their character, their desire and striving to be like the Lord Jesus. Inner beauty, according to Peter, was the element that would win an unbelieving husband to Christ. Its the same thing that will make a marriage work. You want a marriage that will last? Then be beautiful inside and look for that same beauty in your spouse.
Conclusion:
At the start of my message, I talked about the high rate of divorce in the States. What I did not mention was that even Christians in the States were divorcing at the same rate. 50% of Christian marriages are ending in divorce. This is a painful statistic. If only Christian couples can learn to respect each other, live pure lives for each other, and focus on building their inner beauty and looking at the inner beauty of their partners, then I am sure that there would way lesser divorces taking place.
To all the couples here, my prayer for us all is that we will heed Peter's word and give our best effort to make our marriages work. To all the singles here, one day you will most likely consider marriage and even before that day comes, I hope you will all commit that when you do get married, you will follow Peter's teachings on making marriage work. God wants marriages to last, not end in divorce and separation. Let's make marriage work so that we fulfill God's original intention for marriage and bring glory to Him.
1 Peter 3:1 – 7
Introduction:
Who among you know what is the percentage of marriages in the U.S. that end in divorce? Who says its 50%? 60%? 70%? Actually, the answer is a bit complicated. Often, we hear that the divorce rate in the U.S. is 50% and the answer is somewhat correct but you will be shocked at what I am going to share with you right now regarding that statistic. In a first-time marriage, the divorce rate is 41%; in a second marriage, meaning there was a previous divorce that has taken place, the rate went up to 60%; then for those who get into a third marriage, the rate went up even further to 73%. This does not account for those who got divorced and never married but are now cohabiting with others. Thus, a figure of 50%
While divorce is not allowed in the Philippines, the government does allow for annulment where a marriage is declared as non-existent under certain conditions. Prior to 2006, the number of cases filed did not exceed 7000 per year. By 2006, the number of cases breached the 7000 mark for the first time with 7,138 cases. The number increased significantly in 2007 with 7,753 cases. I don't have figures for 2008 and 2009 but I believe that the numbers may even be higher.
Why are we seeing such a high rate of divorce in the U.S. as well as a growing number of annulment in the Philippines? According to a study, there are around ten reasons why a marriage heads toward divorce or annulment. What are these reasons? In the interest of time, I will not discuss these reasons but just read through them as they are self-explanatory.
(1) The other partner's infidelity
(2) Non-commitment to the marriage
(3) Lack of communication
(4) Abuse (physical, emotional & substance)
(5) Inability to handle conflicts
(6) Difference of goals
(7) Money problems
(8) Intellectual incompatibility
(9) Mental illness
(10) Differences/clashes in lifestyle, religion and culture
Why did I bring up all these statistics and reasons as to why so many marriages are heading for divorce or annulment? It is because, sadly, many people enter into marriage without the expressed goal and intention of making their marriage work. Many enter into marriage simply because they're physically attracted to each other or because of the pressures of society and parents or because of some material benefit they can get from the marriage. They don't enter into a marriage thinking of it as a commitment and with a strong desire to make it work. They don't think much about pouring in the effort to making a marriage that will last.
This morning, we continue our study on the book of 1 Peter. While Peter wasn't talking about divorce, he was talking about how husbands and wives were to treat each other. His teaching on the matter would, no doubt, strengthen a marriage and even avert a divorce or annulment from happening. So, let's dive into our study of today's passage and learn how a couple can make their marriage work. For those who are single here, today's passage should be of help to you as you will, sooner or later, ponder about marriage and what it takes to make a marriage work.
Context:
You may have noticed that Peter's instruction for the men was only a single verse while for the women it was six verses long. It was because married women in those days were at a great disadvantage. You see, women back then were viewed as a thing, an object, a property that was at the disposal of either the father or the husband. Women back then had no rights whatsoever. Furthermore, Peter was addressing women who had become believers after their marriage to their non-believing husbands. This was an even more complicated matter because, as I said, a woman back then had no rights, even the right to decide, and thus, her decision to become a believer in Jesus Christ ran counter to the culture of those days. Now, if a husband had become a believer, it would have been easier because he could bring the whole family to church, but because the women were the ones being converted first, how then could they win their husbands to Christ? I believe this is very much an issue in Chinese-Filipino families as the wives are usually the first to come to Christ.
Now, what Peter laid out for the married women to do back then still applies today. Here he taught the married women who had non-believing husbands what they can do to win their husbands to Christ. However, what Peter taught is not just applicable for wives with non-believing husbands, but they apply also when the husband is a believer. The command for the husband is likewise applicable up to today. However, as I studied on the passage, I found that the commands given to the wives can very well apply to husbands and they should take note of these. Therefore, what I have done is to classify the commands for both husbands and wives to three general commands that we all need to pay attention to as well as put them to action.
Before I get to the main points of today's message, I would like for us to look at a phrase that occurs in both verse 1 and verse 7. That phrase is “in the same way.” What is the significance of this phrase such that it is used to introduce the commands for both husbands and wives? The phrase is actually a reference to the last portion of Chapter 2 where Peter wrote about Jesus Christ and how he was humble, how he refused to retaliate against those who wronged Him, and how he trusted God completely throughout his suffering. Peter was saying to both husbands and wives that they were to have the same humility as what Jesus had, they were to never think of getting even when their spouses wrong them, and they were to completely trust the Lord as the one who can make their marriages work out. So, let's look now at what Peter commanded both husbands and wives to do and learn how we who are married can apply these commands, and for the singles, how you can properly prepare for married life someday.
For a marriage to work there must be . . .
I. Respect for Each Other
There needs to be respect flowing freely between husbands and wives if they want their marriage to work. However, the manifestation of respect from husband to wife and vice versa are different. For a wife, the way to show respect to her husband is actually to submit to the husband. This is very much in line with what Paul taught in Ephesians and Colossians. Now, submission should be taken to mean blind obedience nor should it mean that the wife becomes inferior; instead, submission is, in the words of a Bible commentator, “voluntary selflessness.” The wife puts to death whatever pride she may have in her achievements and even her intellectual superiority and instead chooses to serve and be under the leadership of her husband. It is a submission grounded, not in fear, but in love.
When these wives became believers, I am sure they have heard the teaching that, in Christ, there is no difference whether male or female, whether slave or free. This was a radical teaching for a society where the male figure was deemed as being superior over the female, where the slave is subject to the mercy of the master. They were probably tempted to assert their rights, their newfound freedom in Christ. However, any such attempt to voice out this radical truth about freedom in Christ would surely cause violent reactions amongst the husbands and would bring about a rejection of the Gospel truth as well as probable punishment of the wife for defying him. While it is true that all in Christ are equal, God has still set in place that the husband be the head of the family and everyone in it is to support him and follow his lead. It is not a question of equality but a question of authority, that the husband is ordained by God as having leadership over the family. Therefore, the wife must submit to the husband, but she must do so because she chooses to and not simply because she is forced to. Peter's command to the wives apply not only to non-believing husbands but also, and all the more, to believing husbands.
Now, this submission on the part of the wives actually has a powerful influence on the unbelieving husbands as they see their wives behaving in such a way that they are affirmed as men and that they are accorded the respect that they need. Let's face it men, we need affirmation and respect, and when our wives give it to us without reservation, this somehow lifts us up. Even if a wife is more intelligent and probably more capable as a leader than her husband, if she willingly gives the husband the respect due him as the leader of the family, then this gives her husband a lot of affirmation and averts any feeling of resentment.
Augustine, the Bishop of Hippo, cited that her mother, who was a believer, won her husband to the Lord primarily through her good conduct. Of course, by all means, believing wives should mention the Gospel to their non-believing husbands, but let your action speak louder. Maybe there are some here whose husbands do not yet know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and you want so badly for them to become believers; well, Peter makes clear that we can win them to Christ by submitting to them, by giving them the affirmation and respect that is rightly due them, by our good conduct. I hope you will submit out of love to your husbands.
Now, respect needs to be shown also by husbands to their wives. In verse 7 Peter instructed the husbands to be considerate towards their wives and to treat them with respect since they are the weaker partner. Why were wives called the weaker partner? It is because women generally are physically weaker compared to men. They are also considered weaker because of how women are unfairly accorded a lower status by society.
What did Peter mean when he instructed the husbands to be considerate towards their wives? The word, as defined by the dictionary, means that one must be careful not to cause inconvenience or hurt to another person. In a more practical light, what it means is that the husband must treat their wives gently and must be sensitive to their feelings. Back during Peter's time, some husbands were anything but gentle towards their wives. According to Cato, a typical ancient Roman, he wrote: “If you were to catch your wife in an act of infidelity, you can kill her with impunity without a trial.” Egnatius beat his wife to death when he found her drinking wine. Sulpicius Gallus dismissed his wife because she had once appeared in the streets without a veil. Publius Sempronius Sophus divorced his wife because she went to watch the public games. This was how men treated their wives. It was their “privilege” and they were not expected to live up to any particular responsibility towards their wives. However, the Christian ethic does not operate in such a way but places an obligation upon the husband to be considerate. In Ephesians, Paul commanded husbands to love their wives with sacrificial love. For Peter, he doesn't use the word “love” but his thoughts are the same as those of Paul. To be considerate means that he must be understanding, chivalrous, and remember that she is very much equal with him in the sight of God.
So, do you want a marriage that works? Begin by exercising respect for each other. Wives, submit to the leadership of your husbands. Husbands, be considerate towards your wives.
II. Purity of Life
For a marriage to work, there needs to be purity of life found in both husband and wife. Although this phrase was used by Peter specifically for the wives, I believe that this should apply to both, considering that we live in an age where people have become more perverse; where both husbands and wives can get entangled in forbidden affairs; where there is so much trash circulating not only in print and on TV and movies but also in the virtual world of the internet.
When one talks of purity, two ideas should come to mind. The first is chastity. Chastity, simply defined, is to refrain from engaging in extramarital affair for a married person, or in immorality, in the case of single people. In Hebrews 13:4 we read “Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled.” Sex is good when it is exercised within the proper boundary of marriage; but outside that boundary, sex becomes an affair or immorality. Now, chastity is not just about refraining from engagement in sex outside of marriage, it is also about keeping one's mind free from the things in the world that pollutes our minds and would surely affect our marriage and how we view our spouses and people in general. I'm not just talking about pornography but I'm also referring to what we watch in TV and in movies, what we read in magazines and books as well as browse on the internet. Many materials are not classified as pornography but they treat sex as something people can casually engage in without consequence. Jesus warned that if we look at a person and begin thinking of lustful thoughts, we are already committing adultery (Matthew 5:27 – 30). Brothers and sisters, let us keep ourselves chaste. Its true, we live in a time when many are saying “everyone's doing it” and “it feels right”, but our God is a holy God and he expects us to live holy lives, nothing less.
The second aspect of purity is fidelity. What it simply means is “be faithful” or to “be devoted to one”. In a marriage, it means you must put your spouse as first and foremost in the order of all your human relationships. You must never allow anyone else or anything to come in the way of your marriage relationship. Some spouses will, never in their lifetime, commit adultery against their partners, but they will be unfaithful to them by paying more attention to their careers, their hobbies, their sports, more than their spouses. They want to spend more time being with their friends rather than with their spouses. They spend too much time in the office and the house becomes nothing more than a hotel where they come home to sleep, eat breakfast and then be gone for the rest of the day, not returning until its late in the evening. If you want to make your marriage work, you have to focus on your relationship with each other as being top priority, second only to your relationship with God. Set time to be with each other, do things together.
Purity, that is what is so badly needed in marriage. There has to be chastity as well as faithfulness. Without purity, a marriage will never last long.
III. Focus on Inner Beauty
Finally, if we want to make our marriage work, we have to learn to focus on the inner beauty of our spouses rather than dwelling on their outward appearances. Peter was talking to the wives when he told them not to become preoccupied with making themselves outwardly beautiful. Why were the wives spending so much time and money making themselves outwardly attractive? According to a scholar, it was because in the ancient world women had no part in public life, they had nothing to pass their time. For that reason, it was sometimes argued that the women must be allowed to indulge in dress and adornment. They needed to make themselves beautiful so that their husbands would love them and keep them.
What was the extent of beautification of ancient women? Check out Isaiah 3:18-24 and you will be surprised at what women in the past wore. In the Greek and Roman world, women were known for sporting different hairstyles, wearing wigs, putting on hairbands, pins and combs made of ivory, tortoise shell and gold studded with gems. Some women wore expensive pearl earrings such as the wife of Julius Caesar, whose pearl earrings were estimated to be worth £ 65,250, or the wife of Caligula wore a dress covered with pearls and emeralds costing £ 450,000. Even Christian women were guilty of focusing too much on outward beauty because archaeologists found blonde wigs inside Christian catacombs, an indication that some of the worshippers were extravagant in adorning themselves with the most expensive of fashion.
The same is true today. A lot of wives who have the means will spend so much time and money making themselves look attractive so that their husbands will love them. This explains why businesses like high-end salons, clothing stores, jewelry shops and beauty enhancement centers make tons of money. Now, the husbands aren't exactly that better. Some husbands may insist on buying the most expensive clothes, accessories and even visit a skin care doctor and center and say that its an “investment” that will ensure grabbing that high-paying job or make sure that their wives will still love them. Others will buy that expensive car or watch thinking that it makes him cool and attractive. As followers of Jesus Christ, what is more important is what's inside of us. Do we manifest the Fruit of the Holy Spirit? Can people say that they see Jesus Christ through us? Now, Peter is not saying that we should neglect our physical appearance nor are we prohibited from buying an expensive car or watch, but what he is saying is that physical beauty should take a backseat to inner beauty. Physical beauty fades because we're going to get wrinkles, we're going to wear bifocals, we're going to lose our teeth and what have you, but inner beauty will last.
So, we should first of all cultivate in our lives those things that make us beautiful inside – the Fruit of the Holy Spirit. Then we should look at other people in the same light. We look at what is inside them. When both husband and wife are working on their inner beauty, can you just imagine how wonderful and lasting that marriage is going to be? The same should be true for those who are planning to enter into an exclusive relationship; don't fall in love just because the other person is beautiful physically, but look at the inner beauty of the person, their character, their desire and striving to be like the Lord Jesus. Inner beauty, according to Peter, was the element that would win an unbelieving husband to Christ. Its the same thing that will make a marriage work. You want a marriage that will last? Then be beautiful inside and look for that same beauty in your spouse.
Conclusion:
At the start of my message, I talked about the high rate of divorce in the States. What I did not mention was that even Christians in the States were divorcing at the same rate. 50% of Christian marriages are ending in divorce. This is a painful statistic. If only Christian couples can learn to respect each other, live pure lives for each other, and focus on building their inner beauty and looking at the inner beauty of their partners, then I am sure that there would way lesser divorces taking place.
To all the couples here, my prayer for us all is that we will heed Peter's word and give our best effort to make our marriages work. To all the singles here, one day you will most likely consider marriage and even before that day comes, I hope you will all commit that when you do get married, you will follow Peter's teachings on making marriage work. God wants marriages to last, not end in divorce and separation. Let's make marriage work so that we fulfill God's original intention for marriage and bring glory to Him.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
The Absolute Standard - GGC, September 12, 2010
The Absolute Standard
1 Peter 1:13 – 2:3
Introduction:
I am sure that many of you have noticed business and educational establishments putting up signs saying that they are “ISO certified”. We may wonder, what does that mean? Well, ISO is actually an organization, the International Organization for Standardization, and it is composed of 163 countries, of which the Philippines is part of. This non-profit organization design standards for virtually every known industry and processes. At present, there are 18,000 international standards that covers areas like manufacturing, construction, information and communication technologies as well as good management practices. But why spend so much time studying and designing standards for different industries? It is because set standards ensure high quality, the sharing of innovation among those belonging to the same industry as well as providing solutions to common problems encountered within a given industry by referring to manuals furnished by the organization. For the consumers, like most of us, it means that products designed and manufactured by an ISO certified company will be safer, reliable and of high quality as well as being environmentally friendly. When industries do not comply to set international standards and do things their own way, we, as consumers, suffer the most. If companies like Nokia and Samsung, makers of cellular phones, did not conform to the standards set by ISO, our phones would probably have high radiation, there would probably be poisonous components leaking out. If car companies like Toyota and Honda do not conform to the international standards for safety, there would probably be no safety devices installed and we would have to drive at our own risk. If there is no standardization for street signs, then if I were to drive in another country, I would never be able to understand the street sign and I would get into an accident.
Aside from ISO certification, our country also has other standards set in order to protect the consumers. For example, when we buy purified water from a refilling station, you will see posted in front of the refilling station a document attesting that the water has been tested and found to be within the allowable limits for coliform. This limit is set by the government to ensure that the water we buy and consume from a refilling station is clean enough to drink. When we buy a light bulb, we find a seal printed in front ensuring that the bulb conforms to government standards for safety and quality, meaning it won't break in just a few hours of use nor will it become a cause of electrical fire. Certain organizations also have their internal standards such as the computer softwares that is to be used by everyone; schools require students to submit their term papers according to set margins as well as to the size of the paper itself. Even in our own families, we have certain standards that are set such as the allowable amount of time a child can watch TV or play computer games or the curfew set for one to be home by night time. In competitive sports, the coach sets a high standard because the goal is to win the gold medal during competitions. Standards are important; without them, people will just live life anyway they want, companies will cut a lot of corners to make more money at the expense of our safety and health.
The same is true for us as followers of Jesus Christ. There is a set standard that we are all supposed to follow and conform to. What exactly is this standard? I believe it is very clear to us not only in this passage but throughout the Bible that the set standard for believers of Christ is nothing less than holiness. It is the absolute standard and there can be no compromise in this area. This morning, as we continue our study on 1 Peter, we will look at the Christian's rightful response to the awesomeness of God's saving work which we've learned last Sunday from Rev. Go's clear exposition. We will examine Peter's rationale for why we should be holy as well as his practical suggestions for keeping ourselves holy.
Now, what exactly is holiness? Sadly, many people have wrong ideas about holiness. When they hear the word “holiness” or “holy”, they think of stained-glass windows or they think of hymn books and church pews as against Praise and Worship songs and individual chairs. When they hear the word “holiness” or “holy”, they think of people who come to church well-dressed and clutching in their arms a big Bible, who never enter inside a theatre or cinema, who spend so much time in church, being swamped in church activities, being a member in almost every church and para-church board. Holiness is not about the objects or things inside the church sanctuary, although these things would be classified as “holy” because they are dedicated to the Lord's use; holiness is not about external religiosity, whether a person is carrying a huge Bible or is using a cellphone Bible, or about entering a cinema or refraining from doing so. Holiness has little to do with being a member of a church or para-church board. So, what exactly is holiness? Simply defined, holiness is all about conformity to God's standards in terms of our thought, morality and conduct, as well as the living of a dedicated life, where we are loyal to God alone and we do not allow ourselves to be distracted by the things of the world and by sin.
Now that we have a working definition of holiness, let's examine today's passage more closely and we will answer two questions. The first question that we will answer is “Why be holy?”, while the second question is more practical, “How can we be holy?”. Both questions are actually answered by the apostle Peter in today's passage.
WHY BE HOLY?
If you still remember last Sunday's message, Rev. Go spoke about the awesomeness of salvation. We know that our salvation was in God's plan even before the world was created. We learned that our salvation was not simply the work of the Lord Jesus but it was the work of the Trinity. We also learned that the Lord Jesus paid for our salvation through the shedding of his blood. It is in light of this great and awesome salvation that we possess by grace that Peter now exhorts us to be holy. We find this continuity in the very first word of verse 13 – the word therefore.
Peter cites four reasons why we must be holy. What are these reasons? Let's look at each of them. I have arranged them, not according to the order of the verses, but according to what I believe to be of top priority.
Reason # 1: We Must Be Holy Because Our God Is Holy (1:15-16)
The first, and we could say, the foremost reason why we must be holy is because our God is a holy God. In 1 Peter 1:15-16, Peter quotes an Old Testament passage that was often repeated by the Lord himself. The Lord God commanded the people of Israel, “Be holy, because I am holy.” These words were recorded in Leviticus 11:44 – 45, 19:2 and 20:7 and they are words that came from the mouth of God himself.
In essence, Peter is reminding us that holiness is an essential aspect of God's character. He is not alone in testifying about the holiness of God. If you searched for the word “holy” throughout the Bible, you will find that this word is often attributed to God himself. The warrior-leader Joshua, before his death, mentioned to the people that the Lord is a holy God (Joshua 24:19). When Hannah dedicated Samuel to the Lord's service, she mentioned in her prayer that there is none holy like the Lord (1 Samuel 2:2). David, in Psalm 71:22, calls God the Holy One of Israel. When Isaiah had a vision of the throne of God, he heard the angels declaring God as holy (Isaiah 6:3). There are so many verses in the Bible that mention God as being holy, too many in fact to mention in our short time together; but it should leave us beyond a shadow of a doubt that holiness is a key aspect of God's character, one that should never be taken lightly.
If we claim that the Lord is indeed our God, our master, our king, and our Father, then we who say that we are his children, those whom God has called unto salvation by grace through faith, must be like Him. God's people must be characterized by what God is like. God's children must behave like the Father. God's servants must do the bidding of the Master. He is calling us to be holy. If He is truly our God, our master, our king and our Heavenly Father, we must then be like Him, especially in the aspect of holiness. Now, God's expectation for us to become holy doesn't mean that we become sinless for the rest of our lives, because that is an impossibility; however, his command for holiness does mean that we should do what we can to live a holy life, and that is what we will look closely into later when we answer the second question, “How can we be holy?”
Reason # 2: We Must Be Holy Because Jesus Paid A Costly Price To Save Us (1:18-21)
The second reason why we must be holy should be because of our gratitude for what the Lord Jesus did for us just to save us. In verses 18 to 21, Peter wrote that we were redeemed with the precious blood of Jesus Christ. This stands in contrast to two precious metals mentioned: gold and silver. We all know that both these metals are precious in terms of monetary value. I checked with CNNMoney.com to see how much these two metals are worth nowadays and I discovered that one troy ounce or 31.1 grams of gold is currently worth US$ 1,257.30, while silver is worth US$ 19.88 per troy ounce. To make this easier to understand, let us use one kilogram as our basis of computation. There are 32.15 troy ounces in one kilogram. This means a kilo of gold is currently worth US$ 40,422.19 while a kilo of silver is worth US$ 639.14. Now, how much gold and silver do you think does the world have? We are probably talking about US$ 5 Trillion worth of gold and US$ 4 Billion worth of silver. That is a lot of money but they are nothing compared to the worth of the shed blood of Jesus Christ! In fact, you could take everything that has worth in this world – oil, diamonds, gems, natural resources and money – and they will still be nothing compared to the blood that Jesus shed on the cross. Why? It is because Jesus is the Son of God, the second person of the Trinity, the co-Creator of this world. It is God himself in the person of Jesus who shed his own blood in order to redeem us. All the silver and gold, all the precious material resources that we now possess are merely his creations. They are of no worth in comparison to the Creator himself.
Because Jesus paid very dearly in order to redeem us from sin and give us new life, don't you think that we need to respond with thankfulness not only in our words and in our worship but also by choosing to live a holy life? He deserves nothing less than our very best. That very best is our willingness to live the holy life every day.
Reason # 3: We Must Be Holy Because We Have Already Been Transformed (1:14)
Thirdly, we must be holy because we have already been transformed. In 1:14, Peter described his readers as being “obedient children”. According to the apostle Paul, in his letter to Titus, prior to our being saved by God, we were disobedient (Titus 3:3). I believe Peter, when he addressed his readers as being obedient, recognized that a transformation has already taken place in them. Those who have been saved by God's grace through faith in Christ have gone through a transformation, from sinner to saint, from ungodly to righteous, from profane to holy, from disobedient to obedient. Therefore, since every true believer has already been transformed, then it is but fitting that they should behave according to their new position. We should not contradict what is true or real about us by doing that which goes against our nature. Since God has called us holy, then we must strive to live the holy life, in keeping with our new nature. I will not elaborate too much on this reason as this has often been preached and reiterated – that our behavior and speech must be consistent with our identity in Jesus Christ.
Reason # 4: We Must Be Holy Because We Will Be Judged By God (1:17)
The fourth reason why we should be holy is because we will face judgment for how we live out our Christian conviction. We find this thought in verse 17 where Peter states that the Heavenly Father will judge each person's work impartially, thus we are all to live with reverent fear towards God.
Whether we like it or not, we will stand before the Judgment Seat. While every true Christian need not fear condemnation, this does not mean that we will escape judgment. We will still be judged based on what we have done for the Lord and given appropriate rewards. If we live with holiness in mind, we will be repaid back by the Lord accordingly. If we live our lives on earth recklessly, then we will be repaid back according to what we have done. If we read 1 Corinthians 3, we will find that Christians will be judged for how they built their lives upon the foundation of Jesus Christ. If they use poor materials, meaning if they did not live their lives in order to please God fully, then it will be consumed by fires of judgment. We will still be saved but we will be like one who barely escaped from the flames. Our God is not just our Heavenly Father; He is also the Righteous Judge. We should respect and fear Him by doing what He wants, so that we will not be judged harshly on the Judgment Day.
HOW CAN WE BE HOLY?
Peter has just cited four reasons why we must be holy. Thankfully, he doesn't end merely with reasons for holiness but he also gave some practical ways in which we can be holy. I see four ways we can exercise holiness in our given passage. In the interest of time, we will not elaborate too much on each point but I hope we can the see practicality of Peter's letter for us in the area of holiness.
A. We Can Be Holy Through What We Think (1:13)
At the very start of today's passage, Peter commanded the believers to be holy through what they they think. First, he instructed the believers to prepare their minds for action. In other words, they must use their God-given faculty of thinking and even imagination, not for self-indulgence and lustful thoughts, but for thinking of what they can do to please God. He also commanded the believers to be self-controlled. Self-control is very much a function of one's mind. We are not helpless victims of circumstances but we can choose to do that which is right rather than yield to sin. Holiness can come about through our thinking and the corresponding action that comes from our sanctified thinking.
B. We Can Be Holy Through Obedience To The Truth (1:22)
The second way in which we can be holy is through our obedience of the Word of God. The Word of God is not just a book containing facts about God; it is a book with instructions and commands to be obeyed. The Bible is not a book of useless facts but it is the book that contains practical truths that will help us become holy. When Jesus was about to be betrayed, he spent time praying for his disciples. In his prayer, he asked the Father to sanctify or to make holy the disciples by the truth (John 17:17). This becomes possible when the disciples are ever obeying the truth. You see, the more we obey what Scripture says, the more we are agreeing that the Scripture is true; this makes us conform to the truth, resulting in our becoming holy. Holiness comes about when we seriously obey God's Word, and the highest gauge of holiness is how we treat or love one another. When we sincerely love one another, we will not do anything that would harm others or cause them to stumble.
C. We Can Be Holy By Getting Rid of Sinful Desires (2:1)
The third way in which we can be holy is to get rid of our sinful desires. Peter specifically mentioned five sinful desires – Malice, Deceit, Hypocrisy, Envy and Slander. All of these have to do with our inner motives when dealing with other people. All these things surface through our actions. So, how can we get rid of these? Again, our inner self is purified by obedience to the truth and by sincerely loving one another. Think well of others and do not allow your selfishness to get the better of you.
D. We Can Be Holy By Craving for Spiritual Nourishment (2:2 – 3)
Finally, we can be holy by an ever growing desire for the Word of God. The Word of God here is described by Peter as being pure spiritual milk. When we continuously saturate our minds with the Word of God, through reading, studying, memorizing and meditating, we will find that our thinking and our actions will be guided by the Word of God, thus causing spiritual maturity and holiness. This fourth way is actually the foundation for all the other ways listed above. By saturating ourselves with the Word, it will affect the way we think; it will tell us what is the truth and that we should obey it; and it will be a mirror for us to check if we are effectively getting rid of our sinful desires.
CONCLUSION:
Holiness – this is the absolute standard of God. This is what He expects from us. We know the reasons why we have to be holy. We have also received practical instructions on how to exercise holiness. My prayer for all of us is that we will pursue God's standard for our lives. Stop comparing yourself with others and think that you're doing well spiritually; instead, start looking at God and His Word and see where you've fallen short and then start aiming to be holy. We will never be perfectly holy in our actions and speech but God wants us to keep aiming for holiness. It is not perfection that He expects from us, but faithfulness. So, let us faithfully aim to be holy.
1 Peter 1:13 – 2:3
Introduction:
I am sure that many of you have noticed business and educational establishments putting up signs saying that they are “ISO certified”. We may wonder, what does that mean? Well, ISO is actually an organization, the International Organization for Standardization, and it is composed of 163 countries, of which the Philippines is part of. This non-profit organization design standards for virtually every known industry and processes. At present, there are 18,000 international standards that covers areas like manufacturing, construction, information and communication technologies as well as good management practices. But why spend so much time studying and designing standards for different industries? It is because set standards ensure high quality, the sharing of innovation among those belonging to the same industry as well as providing solutions to common problems encountered within a given industry by referring to manuals furnished by the organization. For the consumers, like most of us, it means that products designed and manufactured by an ISO certified company will be safer, reliable and of high quality as well as being environmentally friendly. When industries do not comply to set international standards and do things their own way, we, as consumers, suffer the most. If companies like Nokia and Samsung, makers of cellular phones, did not conform to the standards set by ISO, our phones would probably have high radiation, there would probably be poisonous components leaking out. If car companies like Toyota and Honda do not conform to the international standards for safety, there would probably be no safety devices installed and we would have to drive at our own risk. If there is no standardization for street signs, then if I were to drive in another country, I would never be able to understand the street sign and I would get into an accident.
Aside from ISO certification, our country also has other standards set in order to protect the consumers. For example, when we buy purified water from a refilling station, you will see posted in front of the refilling station a document attesting that the water has been tested and found to be within the allowable limits for coliform. This limit is set by the government to ensure that the water we buy and consume from a refilling station is clean enough to drink. When we buy a light bulb, we find a seal printed in front ensuring that the bulb conforms to government standards for safety and quality, meaning it won't break in just a few hours of use nor will it become a cause of electrical fire. Certain organizations also have their internal standards such as the computer softwares that is to be used by everyone; schools require students to submit their term papers according to set margins as well as to the size of the paper itself. Even in our own families, we have certain standards that are set such as the allowable amount of time a child can watch TV or play computer games or the curfew set for one to be home by night time. In competitive sports, the coach sets a high standard because the goal is to win the gold medal during competitions. Standards are important; without them, people will just live life anyway they want, companies will cut a lot of corners to make more money at the expense of our safety and health.
The same is true for us as followers of Jesus Christ. There is a set standard that we are all supposed to follow and conform to. What exactly is this standard? I believe it is very clear to us not only in this passage but throughout the Bible that the set standard for believers of Christ is nothing less than holiness. It is the absolute standard and there can be no compromise in this area. This morning, as we continue our study on 1 Peter, we will look at the Christian's rightful response to the awesomeness of God's saving work which we've learned last Sunday from Rev. Go's clear exposition. We will examine Peter's rationale for why we should be holy as well as his practical suggestions for keeping ourselves holy.
Now, what exactly is holiness? Sadly, many people have wrong ideas about holiness. When they hear the word “holiness” or “holy”, they think of stained-glass windows or they think of hymn books and church pews as against Praise and Worship songs and individual chairs. When they hear the word “holiness” or “holy”, they think of people who come to church well-dressed and clutching in their arms a big Bible, who never enter inside a theatre or cinema, who spend so much time in church, being swamped in church activities, being a member in almost every church and para-church board. Holiness is not about the objects or things inside the church sanctuary, although these things would be classified as “holy” because they are dedicated to the Lord's use; holiness is not about external religiosity, whether a person is carrying a huge Bible or is using a cellphone Bible, or about entering a cinema or refraining from doing so. Holiness has little to do with being a member of a church or para-church board. So, what exactly is holiness? Simply defined, holiness is all about conformity to God's standards in terms of our thought, morality and conduct, as well as the living of a dedicated life, where we are loyal to God alone and we do not allow ourselves to be distracted by the things of the world and by sin.
Now that we have a working definition of holiness, let's examine today's passage more closely and we will answer two questions. The first question that we will answer is “Why be holy?”, while the second question is more practical, “How can we be holy?”. Both questions are actually answered by the apostle Peter in today's passage.
WHY BE HOLY?
If you still remember last Sunday's message, Rev. Go spoke about the awesomeness of salvation. We know that our salvation was in God's plan even before the world was created. We learned that our salvation was not simply the work of the Lord Jesus but it was the work of the Trinity. We also learned that the Lord Jesus paid for our salvation through the shedding of his blood. It is in light of this great and awesome salvation that we possess by grace that Peter now exhorts us to be holy. We find this continuity in the very first word of verse 13 – the word therefore.
Peter cites four reasons why we must be holy. What are these reasons? Let's look at each of them. I have arranged them, not according to the order of the verses, but according to what I believe to be of top priority.
Reason # 1: We Must Be Holy Because Our God Is Holy (1:15-16)
The first, and we could say, the foremost reason why we must be holy is because our God is a holy God. In 1 Peter 1:15-16, Peter quotes an Old Testament passage that was often repeated by the Lord himself. The Lord God commanded the people of Israel, “Be holy, because I am holy.” These words were recorded in Leviticus 11:44 – 45, 19:2 and 20:7 and they are words that came from the mouth of God himself.
In essence, Peter is reminding us that holiness is an essential aspect of God's character. He is not alone in testifying about the holiness of God. If you searched for the word “holy” throughout the Bible, you will find that this word is often attributed to God himself. The warrior-leader Joshua, before his death, mentioned to the people that the Lord is a holy God (Joshua 24:19). When Hannah dedicated Samuel to the Lord's service, she mentioned in her prayer that there is none holy like the Lord (1 Samuel 2:2). David, in Psalm 71:22, calls God the Holy One of Israel. When Isaiah had a vision of the throne of God, he heard the angels declaring God as holy (Isaiah 6:3). There are so many verses in the Bible that mention God as being holy, too many in fact to mention in our short time together; but it should leave us beyond a shadow of a doubt that holiness is a key aspect of God's character, one that should never be taken lightly.
If we claim that the Lord is indeed our God, our master, our king, and our Father, then we who say that we are his children, those whom God has called unto salvation by grace through faith, must be like Him. God's people must be characterized by what God is like. God's children must behave like the Father. God's servants must do the bidding of the Master. He is calling us to be holy. If He is truly our God, our master, our king and our Heavenly Father, we must then be like Him, especially in the aspect of holiness. Now, God's expectation for us to become holy doesn't mean that we become sinless for the rest of our lives, because that is an impossibility; however, his command for holiness does mean that we should do what we can to live a holy life, and that is what we will look closely into later when we answer the second question, “How can we be holy?”
Reason # 2: We Must Be Holy Because Jesus Paid A Costly Price To Save Us (1:18-21)
The second reason why we must be holy should be because of our gratitude for what the Lord Jesus did for us just to save us. In verses 18 to 21, Peter wrote that we were redeemed with the precious blood of Jesus Christ. This stands in contrast to two precious metals mentioned: gold and silver. We all know that both these metals are precious in terms of monetary value. I checked with CNNMoney.com to see how much these two metals are worth nowadays and I discovered that one troy ounce or 31.1 grams of gold is currently worth US$ 1,257.30, while silver is worth US$ 19.88 per troy ounce. To make this easier to understand, let us use one kilogram as our basis of computation. There are 32.15 troy ounces in one kilogram. This means a kilo of gold is currently worth US$ 40,422.19 while a kilo of silver is worth US$ 639.14. Now, how much gold and silver do you think does the world have? We are probably talking about US$ 5 Trillion worth of gold and US$ 4 Billion worth of silver. That is a lot of money but they are nothing compared to the worth of the shed blood of Jesus Christ! In fact, you could take everything that has worth in this world – oil, diamonds, gems, natural resources and money – and they will still be nothing compared to the blood that Jesus shed on the cross. Why? It is because Jesus is the Son of God, the second person of the Trinity, the co-Creator of this world. It is God himself in the person of Jesus who shed his own blood in order to redeem us. All the silver and gold, all the precious material resources that we now possess are merely his creations. They are of no worth in comparison to the Creator himself.
Because Jesus paid very dearly in order to redeem us from sin and give us new life, don't you think that we need to respond with thankfulness not only in our words and in our worship but also by choosing to live a holy life? He deserves nothing less than our very best. That very best is our willingness to live the holy life every day.
Reason # 3: We Must Be Holy Because We Have Already Been Transformed (1:14)
Thirdly, we must be holy because we have already been transformed. In 1:14, Peter described his readers as being “obedient children”. According to the apostle Paul, in his letter to Titus, prior to our being saved by God, we were disobedient (Titus 3:3). I believe Peter, when he addressed his readers as being obedient, recognized that a transformation has already taken place in them. Those who have been saved by God's grace through faith in Christ have gone through a transformation, from sinner to saint, from ungodly to righteous, from profane to holy, from disobedient to obedient. Therefore, since every true believer has already been transformed, then it is but fitting that they should behave according to their new position. We should not contradict what is true or real about us by doing that which goes against our nature. Since God has called us holy, then we must strive to live the holy life, in keeping with our new nature. I will not elaborate too much on this reason as this has often been preached and reiterated – that our behavior and speech must be consistent with our identity in Jesus Christ.
Reason # 4: We Must Be Holy Because We Will Be Judged By God (1:17)
The fourth reason why we should be holy is because we will face judgment for how we live out our Christian conviction. We find this thought in verse 17 where Peter states that the Heavenly Father will judge each person's work impartially, thus we are all to live with reverent fear towards God.
Whether we like it or not, we will stand before the Judgment Seat. While every true Christian need not fear condemnation, this does not mean that we will escape judgment. We will still be judged based on what we have done for the Lord and given appropriate rewards. If we live with holiness in mind, we will be repaid back by the Lord accordingly. If we live our lives on earth recklessly, then we will be repaid back according to what we have done. If we read 1 Corinthians 3, we will find that Christians will be judged for how they built their lives upon the foundation of Jesus Christ. If they use poor materials, meaning if they did not live their lives in order to please God fully, then it will be consumed by fires of judgment. We will still be saved but we will be like one who barely escaped from the flames. Our God is not just our Heavenly Father; He is also the Righteous Judge. We should respect and fear Him by doing what He wants, so that we will not be judged harshly on the Judgment Day.
HOW CAN WE BE HOLY?
Peter has just cited four reasons why we must be holy. Thankfully, he doesn't end merely with reasons for holiness but he also gave some practical ways in which we can be holy. I see four ways we can exercise holiness in our given passage. In the interest of time, we will not elaborate too much on each point but I hope we can the see practicality of Peter's letter for us in the area of holiness.
A. We Can Be Holy Through What We Think (1:13)
At the very start of today's passage, Peter commanded the believers to be holy through what they they think. First, he instructed the believers to prepare their minds for action. In other words, they must use their God-given faculty of thinking and even imagination, not for self-indulgence and lustful thoughts, but for thinking of what they can do to please God. He also commanded the believers to be self-controlled. Self-control is very much a function of one's mind. We are not helpless victims of circumstances but we can choose to do that which is right rather than yield to sin. Holiness can come about through our thinking and the corresponding action that comes from our sanctified thinking.
B. We Can Be Holy Through Obedience To The Truth (1:22)
The second way in which we can be holy is through our obedience of the Word of God. The Word of God is not just a book containing facts about God; it is a book with instructions and commands to be obeyed. The Bible is not a book of useless facts but it is the book that contains practical truths that will help us become holy. When Jesus was about to be betrayed, he spent time praying for his disciples. In his prayer, he asked the Father to sanctify or to make holy the disciples by the truth (John 17:17). This becomes possible when the disciples are ever obeying the truth. You see, the more we obey what Scripture says, the more we are agreeing that the Scripture is true; this makes us conform to the truth, resulting in our becoming holy. Holiness comes about when we seriously obey God's Word, and the highest gauge of holiness is how we treat or love one another. When we sincerely love one another, we will not do anything that would harm others or cause them to stumble.
C. We Can Be Holy By Getting Rid of Sinful Desires (2:1)
The third way in which we can be holy is to get rid of our sinful desires. Peter specifically mentioned five sinful desires – Malice, Deceit, Hypocrisy, Envy and Slander. All of these have to do with our inner motives when dealing with other people. All these things surface through our actions. So, how can we get rid of these? Again, our inner self is purified by obedience to the truth and by sincerely loving one another. Think well of others and do not allow your selfishness to get the better of you.
D. We Can Be Holy By Craving for Spiritual Nourishment (2:2 – 3)
Finally, we can be holy by an ever growing desire for the Word of God. The Word of God here is described by Peter as being pure spiritual milk. When we continuously saturate our minds with the Word of God, through reading, studying, memorizing and meditating, we will find that our thinking and our actions will be guided by the Word of God, thus causing spiritual maturity and holiness. This fourth way is actually the foundation for all the other ways listed above. By saturating ourselves with the Word, it will affect the way we think; it will tell us what is the truth and that we should obey it; and it will be a mirror for us to check if we are effectively getting rid of our sinful desires.
CONCLUSION:
Holiness – this is the absolute standard of God. This is what He expects from us. We know the reasons why we have to be holy. We have also received practical instructions on how to exercise holiness. My prayer for all of us is that we will pursue God's standard for our lives. Stop comparing yourself with others and think that you're doing well spiritually; instead, start looking at God and His Word and see where you've fallen short and then start aiming to be holy. We will never be perfectly holy in our actions and speech but God wants us to keep aiming for holiness. It is not perfection that He expects from us, but faithfulness. So, let us faithfully aim to be holy.
Monday, August 16, 2010
The Difference Maker - Preached at GGC, August 15, 2010
The Difference Maker
Romans 8:1 – 17
Introduction:
How often have you heard of the phrase, “difference maker” used in everyday life? I'm sure this is a phrase we are all familiar with. In fact, we often hear this phrase when it is used to describe a person who has done something that brought about a certain outcome. I'm sure also that we know of people from history or even people who are our contemporaries who are making a solid impact on our society or to whatever sphere we may belong to, be it the business world or in our schools. The term is even used in sports when a player or a certain circumstance affects the outcome of the game.
One difference maker that I was impressed with is a man named Illac Diaz. During our MBA class in marketing, my professor invited Illac Diaz to come share about his work. I was impressed with what he was doing to help the poor communities in the Philippines. His invention, the pedal-powered peanut shelling machine, is being used by poor rural communities to uplift their livelihood. Normally, when the women, children and the elderly are tasked to peel peanuts, they can only do a kilo an hour. However, Illac's machine enabled the people to peel from 27 to 50 kilos in an hour! The machine costs only PHP 3,000.00, making it an attractive and viable equipment for small peanut farmers. He has also invented a pedal-powered washing machine and dryer which can be used by the poor in urban communities for engaging in the laundry business.
Illac is also engaged in studying ways to build houses and school buildings using non-conventional methods (hollow blocks, G.I. Sheets). Thus far, he has built 25 three-room school building in Siargao using the Earthbag Construction System, costing only PHP 150,000.00 to complete each school building. He is also experimenting with PET bottles as a building material for low cost school buildings.
Another difference maker is the winner of the 2009 CNN Hero of the Year Efren Peñaflorida who is providing free education for poor children living in trash dumps and cemeteries using unconventional means, namely, through a pushcart. As a child, Efren experienced poverty, having lived in the slum areas of Cavite. He could have ended up like many children who live in the slums – hopeless, becoming a member of a street gang. However, he was chosen by World Vision as one of their sponsored children and this led him to achieve academic excellence as well as instill in him a desire to help the poor of Cavite by providing them with free education.
Efren Peñaflorida's work is slowly bearing fruit as former drug pushers and petty thieves have been reformed through their projects and now serve as volunteers of Efren's organization. Former scavengers of trash are now enrolled in schools. Some children who remain unschooled were able to learn how to read and write through the pushcart classrooms. Thousands of children have been reached and helped by his work.
For me, Illac Diaz and Efren Peñaflorida are difference-makers, because they are making a positive impact in the lives of many poor people.
Most likely, there is someone who has made a difference in your life, too. Your life may have been going on a tailspin when someone came around and helped you get up on your feet. You may have felt that there was no way out of your situation or dilemma when someone came and pointed the way out for you. That person may have been a family member or a close friend or someone here in church. I'm sure you would call that person a difference maker in your life.
There is someone who is making a difference in our lives as followers of Jesus Christ. Without him, there can be no success or victory in the Christian life. Who am I talking about? I am not talking about the pastor or the leaders of the church. I am not talking about the Sunday School teacher or the leader of your discipleship group. These people may have contributed something to your spiritual development but they are not the people who ultimately makes the difference in your walk with Christ. The one who makes the difference in your Christian life is none other than the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, the one whom Jesus has called as the Counselor. He is the difference maker in the life of the Christian. How is the Holy Spirit the difference maker in our lives? This morning, as we examine Romans 8:1 – 17, we will find areas in our lives where the Holy Spirit's presence has made all the difference; without him, there would be no way for us to be victorious over sin and live a life that is pleasing to God. But before we continue, we need to understand a few things about the Holy Spirit. Now, we are not entering a formal theology class where the discussion will leave you saying, “huh?”, and your fingers scratching your head. Instead, I will do my best to introduce the Holy Spirit to you in a simple, down-to-earth manner.
The Holy Spirit is not an impersonal force, like in the Star Wars movie where people keep saying “May the Force Be With You”, and where he could be either good or evil – good when used by Luke Skywalker or evil when used by Darth Vader. He is not, as the King James Bible unfortunately calls him, a “ghost” like Casper the Friendly Ghost. Instead, as we've mentioned earlier, the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity God; he is equal with God but subordinate in terms of function. He is called the Counselor, the one who will teach us and remind us of the teachings of Jesus. The disciples of Jesus were promised power when the Holy Spirit would come upon them in order that they may be effective in spreading the Gospel of Christ. Throughout the Book of Acts, we find the disciples of Christ preaching powerfully and fearlessly through the power of the Holy Spirit. They were able to perform miracles and cast out demons through the power of the Holy Spirit. More importantly, the Holy Spirit dwells within the believer, which explains why Paul said that we are the temple or the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit, and He serves as the mark of God's ownership over our lives.
Well, that's our short theology class on the person of the Holy Spirit. Now, let's see how the Holy Spirit makes a difference in the life of a believer from today's passage.
I. Our Condition
The presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives means that there is a change in our condition. Check out verses 1 & 2. Here it says, “Therefore, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. Because we are in Christ Jesus and we have the Holy Spirit in us, we have already been set free from the power of sin and death. The Holy Spirit is the guarantee that forgiveness for our sins is readily available, that we no longer stand as condemned people awaiting the judgment due to sinners. No matter how much the enemy, Satan, may accuse us, we are no longer condemned people. Why? It is because the forgiveness available through the death of Jesus Christ is available for all true believers, as evidenced by the presence of the Holy Spirit within Him. This is a lifetime guarantee! Up till the day I die, I stand forgiven before the Lord. I am no longer a sinner condemned to hell, but I am now a Child of God who is loved and cherished by God. The Holy Spirit's presence in my life is the proof that there has already been a change in my condition, from condemnation to righteousness, from sinner to saint.
Our being “in Christ” and having the Holy Spirit in us also means that we are free from the grip of death. Before we trusted in Jesus Christ, death was a reality that haunted us physically, spiritually and eternally. We were figuratively, dead men walking. However, when we came to faith in Christ and the Holy Spirit came to dwell in us, we have been freed from the power and grip of death. We are now alive in Christ Jesus. Spiritually, we are now in a right relationship with God. Eternally, we will no longer face condemnation. Physically, we will experience death but this will merely be temporary as we will follow Jesus Christ through the path of resurrection.
That is the first difference the Holy Spirit has brought about in our lives when we received Jesus as Lord and Savior – there is a change in our condition. What this should mean for us is that we should live according to what has been made new in our lives. No longer should we think that we are helpless pawns who would be easily defeated by sin nor should we be afraid of death, because the Holy Spirit has changed our condition.
II. Our Concentration
The second difference the Holy Spirit makes in our lives is the change in our concentration. Check out verse 5. Here we read, “Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desire.” Before we came to Christ, our minds were held captive by our sinful nature and we think only of those things that would please our sinful nature. Now, what benefit did that bring us? It brought us nothing! In fact, when our minds were still held captive by the sinful nature, it resulted in futility and our being trapped in the deadly pattern of sin. It gave more fodder or fuel for the fires of judgment.
However, when we came to Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit came and live inside us, our minds are no longer held captive by the sinful nature and we are given the power by the Holy Spirit to set our minds on things above, on things that are good, on things that please God. Every true believer of Jesus Christ possesses the Holy Spirit and we have the capability to think of good and to do that which is good through the Spirit's power.
While the Spirit dwells in us and gives us the capability to set our minds on what He desires, we do need to play our part. You see, the Holy Spirit, while he lives in us, doesn't want to make us mindless robots who does his bidding blindly. He wants us to submit to his leading. He wants us to deliberately and mindfully do the things that will please God. This is the reason why Paul, in Galatians 5:25, tells us to keep in step with the Spirit. In Ephesians 5:18, Paul instructs us to be constantly filled with the Holy Spirit, and this is done by thinking about God, worshipping and giving thanks to Him.
Even after becoming believers and having received the Holy Spirit, we often go back to some of our old patterns of sinful thought and action. It isn't because the Holy Spirit is powerless or ineffective. It is simply because we have not focus our minds on what the Spirit wants to do in us; we have not set ourselves firmly on the new area of concentration the Spirit has in mind for us. It is because we are, at times, very lazy when it comes to the things that cause our inner spirits to grow. The Spirit will help us to think of thoughts that will please God, but we must participate in the process by filling our minds with the Word of God and by keeping ourselves filled with thoughts about God and his kingdom. We also participate by intentionally praying that God's Spirit will help us to focus on the things of the Spirit.
III. Our Confidence
The third difference the Holy Spirit makes in the life of the believer is the confidence He gives us. Now, what aspect of confidence are we talking about here in this passage? The confidence the Holy Spirit gives us in with regards to our relationship with God.
Before coming to faith in Jesus Christ, we were enemies of God because of our sinfulness. We were the objects of His wrath. However, when we trusted Jesus as Lord and Savior, our relationship with God changed. We were given a total makeover. From his enemies, we became His beloved children. From eternal separation, we are now eternally united with God through Christ. How can we be sure of this change? Well, it is none other than the Holy Spirit's in our lives that guarantees we are the children of God.
Check out Romans 8:14. Here we read that “those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.” Furthermore, in verse 15, we read that we have received a Spirit of sonship, which leads us to cry “Abba, Father;” then in verse 16, we read that the Spirit himself testifies that we are God's children. The Holy Spirit gives us confidence when it comes to our relationship with God. He also enables us to call God our Father in an intimate manner and not as a distant being.
What does this confidence through the Holy Spirit mean for us? It means we can approach God in prayer, knowing that we are addressing our loving Father who cares about us. We can also feel safe about our relationship with God, that we will never be separated from God because we have the Holy Spirit within us. Because we are accepted by God as His children, we do not need to feel inferior in comparison to others. God's acceptance of us as His children means more than what people may think about us. Even if others do not accept us, as long as God accepts us, that is more than enough.
IV. Our Conciliator
Finally, the Holy Spirit is the difference-maker in our lives because He is our conciliator. Now, this is a word that we probably don't hear that much but I am sure you will be familiar with its synonym. The synonym for the word conciliator is the word intercessor. The Holy Spirit is described in our passage as being the one who intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express (v. 26). In verse 27, he is described as the one who intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will.
There comes moments in our lives when we just don't know what we ought to be praying for, when we are uncertain what would be God's best for us. Well, even if we don't know what to pray for, since the Holy Spirit is living in us, He will help us by interceding for us, by lifting up our unvoiced concerns and cries to God the Father. We don't need to worry if the Holy Spirit is praying the right thing for us or not, because verse 27 tells us that he intercedes for us in accordance with God's will. What it means is that the Holy Spirit prays for us with God's will in mind. He will always pray for the right and best thing for us.
The thought that the Holy Spirit is interceding on my behalf brings comfort and peace to me because I know that He understands me and He never ceases to do this work for as long as I have breath. It is also reassuring to know that His prayer is in line with God's plan for me. So, even though I may have my personal agenda or plans, if they don't jive with God's will, the Holy Spirit will make sure to pray in accordance with God's will and not my plans. The Spirit will also eventually reveal God's will for us. What we must do is to obey and follow God's will once it is clearly revealed.
Conclusion:
The Holy Spirit, He is the difference-maker when it comes to living the victorious Christian life. It is because His presence in us indicates a change in our condition; His presence enables us to change our concentration from a sin-filled life to a God-centered life; His presence gives us confidence with regards to our relationship with God, assuring us that we are accepted by God with great love; finally, his presence in us means He is our conciliator, the one who intercedes for us when we don't know how to pray in accordance to the will of God.
For everyone here who have already trusted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit already dwells in you and He is in you so that He can make a difference in your life. However, as I've mentioned earlier, the Holy Spirit does not intend to make us mindless robots. What God wants for us to do is to prepare our minds daily for the working of the Holy Spirit by reading and meditating on His Word, by praying and worshipping God. He also wants us to yield ourselves to Him, to surrender our lives everyday to God's leading, to learn to trust Him rather than depend on our own abilities and strengths. When we are consciously doing these things, the Holy Spirit will then do His work mightily in us and through us. We who believe in Christ have the Spirit in us, but have we allowed Him to have full possession of our lives?
Romans 8:1 – 17
Introduction:
How often have you heard of the phrase, “difference maker” used in everyday life? I'm sure this is a phrase we are all familiar with. In fact, we often hear this phrase when it is used to describe a person who has done something that brought about a certain outcome. I'm sure also that we know of people from history or even people who are our contemporaries who are making a solid impact on our society or to whatever sphere we may belong to, be it the business world or in our schools. The term is even used in sports when a player or a certain circumstance affects the outcome of the game.
One difference maker that I was impressed with is a man named Illac Diaz. During our MBA class in marketing, my professor invited Illac Diaz to come share about his work. I was impressed with what he was doing to help the poor communities in the Philippines. His invention, the pedal-powered peanut shelling machine, is being used by poor rural communities to uplift their livelihood. Normally, when the women, children and the elderly are tasked to peel peanuts, they can only do a kilo an hour. However, Illac's machine enabled the people to peel from 27 to 50 kilos in an hour! The machine costs only PHP 3,000.00, making it an attractive and viable equipment for small peanut farmers. He has also invented a pedal-powered washing machine and dryer which can be used by the poor in urban communities for engaging in the laundry business.
Illac is also engaged in studying ways to build houses and school buildings using non-conventional methods (hollow blocks, G.I. Sheets). Thus far, he has built 25 three-room school building in Siargao using the Earthbag Construction System, costing only PHP 150,000.00 to complete each school building. He is also experimenting with PET bottles as a building material for low cost school buildings.
Another difference maker is the winner of the 2009 CNN Hero of the Year Efren Peñaflorida who is providing free education for poor children living in trash dumps and cemeteries using unconventional means, namely, through a pushcart. As a child, Efren experienced poverty, having lived in the slum areas of Cavite. He could have ended up like many children who live in the slums – hopeless, becoming a member of a street gang. However, he was chosen by World Vision as one of their sponsored children and this led him to achieve academic excellence as well as instill in him a desire to help the poor of Cavite by providing them with free education.
Efren Peñaflorida's work is slowly bearing fruit as former drug pushers and petty thieves have been reformed through their projects and now serve as volunteers of Efren's organization. Former scavengers of trash are now enrolled in schools. Some children who remain unschooled were able to learn how to read and write through the pushcart classrooms. Thousands of children have been reached and helped by his work.
For me, Illac Diaz and Efren Peñaflorida are difference-makers, because they are making a positive impact in the lives of many poor people.
Most likely, there is someone who has made a difference in your life, too. Your life may have been going on a tailspin when someone came around and helped you get up on your feet. You may have felt that there was no way out of your situation or dilemma when someone came and pointed the way out for you. That person may have been a family member or a close friend or someone here in church. I'm sure you would call that person a difference maker in your life.
There is someone who is making a difference in our lives as followers of Jesus Christ. Without him, there can be no success or victory in the Christian life. Who am I talking about? I am not talking about the pastor or the leaders of the church. I am not talking about the Sunday School teacher or the leader of your discipleship group. These people may have contributed something to your spiritual development but they are not the people who ultimately makes the difference in your walk with Christ. The one who makes the difference in your Christian life is none other than the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, the one whom Jesus has called as the Counselor. He is the difference maker in the life of the Christian. How is the Holy Spirit the difference maker in our lives? This morning, as we examine Romans 8:1 – 17, we will find areas in our lives where the Holy Spirit's presence has made all the difference; without him, there would be no way for us to be victorious over sin and live a life that is pleasing to God. But before we continue, we need to understand a few things about the Holy Spirit. Now, we are not entering a formal theology class where the discussion will leave you saying, “huh?”, and your fingers scratching your head. Instead, I will do my best to introduce the Holy Spirit to you in a simple, down-to-earth manner.
The Holy Spirit is not an impersonal force, like in the Star Wars movie where people keep saying “May the Force Be With You”, and where he could be either good or evil – good when used by Luke Skywalker or evil when used by Darth Vader. He is not, as the King James Bible unfortunately calls him, a “ghost” like Casper the Friendly Ghost. Instead, as we've mentioned earlier, the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity God; he is equal with God but subordinate in terms of function. He is called the Counselor, the one who will teach us and remind us of the teachings of Jesus. The disciples of Jesus were promised power when the Holy Spirit would come upon them in order that they may be effective in spreading the Gospel of Christ. Throughout the Book of Acts, we find the disciples of Christ preaching powerfully and fearlessly through the power of the Holy Spirit. They were able to perform miracles and cast out demons through the power of the Holy Spirit. More importantly, the Holy Spirit dwells within the believer, which explains why Paul said that we are the temple or the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit, and He serves as the mark of God's ownership over our lives.
Well, that's our short theology class on the person of the Holy Spirit. Now, let's see how the Holy Spirit makes a difference in the life of a believer from today's passage.
I. Our Condition
The presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives means that there is a change in our condition. Check out verses 1 & 2. Here it says, “Therefore, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. Because we are in Christ Jesus and we have the Holy Spirit in us, we have already been set free from the power of sin and death. The Holy Spirit is the guarantee that forgiveness for our sins is readily available, that we no longer stand as condemned people awaiting the judgment due to sinners. No matter how much the enemy, Satan, may accuse us, we are no longer condemned people. Why? It is because the forgiveness available through the death of Jesus Christ is available for all true believers, as evidenced by the presence of the Holy Spirit within Him. This is a lifetime guarantee! Up till the day I die, I stand forgiven before the Lord. I am no longer a sinner condemned to hell, but I am now a Child of God who is loved and cherished by God. The Holy Spirit's presence in my life is the proof that there has already been a change in my condition, from condemnation to righteousness, from sinner to saint.
Our being “in Christ” and having the Holy Spirit in us also means that we are free from the grip of death. Before we trusted in Jesus Christ, death was a reality that haunted us physically, spiritually and eternally. We were figuratively, dead men walking. However, when we came to faith in Christ and the Holy Spirit came to dwell in us, we have been freed from the power and grip of death. We are now alive in Christ Jesus. Spiritually, we are now in a right relationship with God. Eternally, we will no longer face condemnation. Physically, we will experience death but this will merely be temporary as we will follow Jesus Christ through the path of resurrection.
That is the first difference the Holy Spirit has brought about in our lives when we received Jesus as Lord and Savior – there is a change in our condition. What this should mean for us is that we should live according to what has been made new in our lives. No longer should we think that we are helpless pawns who would be easily defeated by sin nor should we be afraid of death, because the Holy Spirit has changed our condition.
II. Our Concentration
The second difference the Holy Spirit makes in our lives is the change in our concentration. Check out verse 5. Here we read, “Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desire.” Before we came to Christ, our minds were held captive by our sinful nature and we think only of those things that would please our sinful nature. Now, what benefit did that bring us? It brought us nothing! In fact, when our minds were still held captive by the sinful nature, it resulted in futility and our being trapped in the deadly pattern of sin. It gave more fodder or fuel for the fires of judgment.
However, when we came to Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit came and live inside us, our minds are no longer held captive by the sinful nature and we are given the power by the Holy Spirit to set our minds on things above, on things that are good, on things that please God. Every true believer of Jesus Christ possesses the Holy Spirit and we have the capability to think of good and to do that which is good through the Spirit's power.
While the Spirit dwells in us and gives us the capability to set our minds on what He desires, we do need to play our part. You see, the Holy Spirit, while he lives in us, doesn't want to make us mindless robots who does his bidding blindly. He wants us to submit to his leading. He wants us to deliberately and mindfully do the things that will please God. This is the reason why Paul, in Galatians 5:25, tells us to keep in step with the Spirit. In Ephesians 5:18, Paul instructs us to be constantly filled with the Holy Spirit, and this is done by thinking about God, worshipping and giving thanks to Him.
Even after becoming believers and having received the Holy Spirit, we often go back to some of our old patterns of sinful thought and action. It isn't because the Holy Spirit is powerless or ineffective. It is simply because we have not focus our minds on what the Spirit wants to do in us; we have not set ourselves firmly on the new area of concentration the Spirit has in mind for us. It is because we are, at times, very lazy when it comes to the things that cause our inner spirits to grow. The Spirit will help us to think of thoughts that will please God, but we must participate in the process by filling our minds with the Word of God and by keeping ourselves filled with thoughts about God and his kingdom. We also participate by intentionally praying that God's Spirit will help us to focus on the things of the Spirit.
III. Our Confidence
The third difference the Holy Spirit makes in the life of the believer is the confidence He gives us. Now, what aspect of confidence are we talking about here in this passage? The confidence the Holy Spirit gives us in with regards to our relationship with God.
Before coming to faith in Jesus Christ, we were enemies of God because of our sinfulness. We were the objects of His wrath. However, when we trusted Jesus as Lord and Savior, our relationship with God changed. We were given a total makeover. From his enemies, we became His beloved children. From eternal separation, we are now eternally united with God through Christ. How can we be sure of this change? Well, it is none other than the Holy Spirit's in our lives that guarantees we are the children of God.
Check out Romans 8:14. Here we read that “those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.” Furthermore, in verse 15, we read that we have received a Spirit of sonship, which leads us to cry “Abba, Father;” then in verse 16, we read that the Spirit himself testifies that we are God's children. The Holy Spirit gives us confidence when it comes to our relationship with God. He also enables us to call God our Father in an intimate manner and not as a distant being.
What does this confidence through the Holy Spirit mean for us? It means we can approach God in prayer, knowing that we are addressing our loving Father who cares about us. We can also feel safe about our relationship with God, that we will never be separated from God because we have the Holy Spirit within us. Because we are accepted by God as His children, we do not need to feel inferior in comparison to others. God's acceptance of us as His children means more than what people may think about us. Even if others do not accept us, as long as God accepts us, that is more than enough.
IV. Our Conciliator
Finally, the Holy Spirit is the difference-maker in our lives because He is our conciliator. Now, this is a word that we probably don't hear that much but I am sure you will be familiar with its synonym. The synonym for the word conciliator is the word intercessor. The Holy Spirit is described in our passage as being the one who intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express (v. 26). In verse 27, he is described as the one who intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will.
There comes moments in our lives when we just don't know what we ought to be praying for, when we are uncertain what would be God's best for us. Well, even if we don't know what to pray for, since the Holy Spirit is living in us, He will help us by interceding for us, by lifting up our unvoiced concerns and cries to God the Father. We don't need to worry if the Holy Spirit is praying the right thing for us or not, because verse 27 tells us that he intercedes for us in accordance with God's will. What it means is that the Holy Spirit prays for us with God's will in mind. He will always pray for the right and best thing for us.
The thought that the Holy Spirit is interceding on my behalf brings comfort and peace to me because I know that He understands me and He never ceases to do this work for as long as I have breath. It is also reassuring to know that His prayer is in line with God's plan for me. So, even though I may have my personal agenda or plans, if they don't jive with God's will, the Holy Spirit will make sure to pray in accordance with God's will and not my plans. The Spirit will also eventually reveal God's will for us. What we must do is to obey and follow God's will once it is clearly revealed.
Conclusion:
The Holy Spirit, He is the difference-maker when it comes to living the victorious Christian life. It is because His presence in us indicates a change in our condition; His presence enables us to change our concentration from a sin-filled life to a God-centered life; His presence gives us confidence with regards to our relationship with God, assuring us that we are accepted by God with great love; finally, his presence in us means He is our conciliator, the one who intercedes for us when we don't know how to pray in accordance to the will of God.
For everyone here who have already trusted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit already dwells in you and He is in you so that He can make a difference in your life. However, as I've mentioned earlier, the Holy Spirit does not intend to make us mindless robots. What God wants for us to do is to prepare our minds daily for the working of the Holy Spirit by reading and meditating on His Word, by praying and worshipping God. He also wants us to yield ourselves to Him, to surrender our lives everyday to God's leading, to learn to trust Him rather than depend on our own abilities and strengths. When we are consciously doing these things, the Holy Spirit will then do His work mightily in us and through us. We who believe in Christ have the Spirit in us, but have we allowed Him to have full possession of our lives?
Monday, July 12, 2010
Under New Management - Preached at GGC (07/11/2010)
Under New Management
Romans 6:15-23; 7:1-6
Introduction:
Whenever my wife and I go to Cubao, we usually frequent a restaurant that serves, in my opinion, the best pizza and pasta in the city. The name of the restaurant was Volare. Their pizzas are baked in a red brick oven and they are well cooked to the point that they maintain their crispiness even when the pizza becomes cold. They also serve great tasting pasta, my favorite being the spinach cannelloni. Well, a few months ago, we visited Cubao and we were surprised to find that our favorite restaurant had changed name from Volare to Va Pensiero. We soon discovered that the restaurant changed its name because there was a change in the ownership as the Italian chef who started the business had found a new business partner. However, I observed that, while ownership had a slight change, the same delicious pizza and pasta I enjoyed before were still on their menu. Also, the décor of the restaurant still looked the same. It was as if nothing really changed, just the name or signage, and a new partnership to run the restaurant. For me, that's a good thing because I still get to enjoy the same great tasting food. If the change in management resulted in a different tasting pizza and pasta, I would probably have second thoughts about going back to that restaurant.
I'm sure we have all seen business establishments post a sign declaring that they are under new management. Sometimes, new management does bring about apparent changes, making the business establishment look quite different from the original. But quite often, there is a simple change in ownership but not necessarily a change in appearance or in the system implemented for running the company. Now, in the case I've cited, it doesn't matter for me if the management and name changed, as long as the food tasted the same. However, there are times when a change in management must also bring with it a change in the way things are done. Consider our country. Just eleven days ago, we had a new president assume power. When we elect a new president and he formally assumes power, it means that the country is under new management. However, a change in the person sitting in Malacañang doesn't mean a thing for the nation unless that person goes about making a positive difference for the nation, when he brings about an improvement over what the previous president achieved.
This morning, we are going to talk about a change in management in the life of the Christian. This change is never intended to be superficial like the pizza and pasta restaurant in Cubao but it is a change that is and should be seen through and through in a believer's life. We will be studying Romans 6:15-23 and 7:1-6, and learn what are the things that have changed and what needs to change in us.
So often, when we talk about becoming a Christian, our first thought is that of the change of our eternal destination. If you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you will go to heaven. If you don't accept him, you will end up in hell. This was how I was introduced to the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ when I was studying in a Christian school. It was all about our eternal destination. Now, there's nothing wrong when you share about going to heaven when you believe in Jesus, however, I think that is an inadequate picture of what it means to accept or believe in Jesus as Lord and Savior. Having faith in Jesus Christ is more than just about going to heaven, it is also about a change in management in terms of your life. The problem with a gospel that simply talks about going to heaven is that many will want the benefit of eternal life but they don't necessarily want a change in the management in their lives. Maybe this explains why Paul had to address the problem of believers who continued to live a life of sin; it was because some of the Roman believers may have wanted the benefit of their newfound relationship with Jesus Christ, namely his grace, but without having to surrender their old way of life. This probably also led them to thinking that they could continue sinning so that more grace would be given to them.
Becoming a Christian is not just about going to heaven; that is just part of the entire package. As I have mentioned, becoming a Christian also means a change in management. Let us look at three aspects wherein this change of management takes place and how it should affect the way we live as a follower of Jesus Christ.
I. We Have A New Master To Whom We Owe Our Allegiance To
The first aspect of the change of management is the change of masters. When we accepted Jesus, we are not just accepting that he alone can save us from our sins (which is his being our Savior), but we are also inviting him to be in control over our lives (in other words, we are asking him to be our master). Prior to our becoming Christians, who do you think was our master? The answer is, of course, Satan. According to Colossians 1:13, we used to belong to the dominion of darkness but we were rescued and brought into the Kingdom of light. The word “dominion” means sovereignty or control. We were under the control of Satan who is the ruler of the dominion or the kingdom of darkness. Before becoming believers of Jesus Christ, we were under his rule. We were his slaves, bound to do his bidding. Now, we may vehemently deny that we are slaves of Satan and say that this is unthinkable, however, the fact that, prior to our becoming God's children, we were under the rule of Satan cannot be denied. The Bible never said that there is a middle ground for which a person can stand upon. It is either you belong to God or you belong to Satan. If you haven't yet believed and trusted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, then you are in Satan's kingdom and you are his slave. As slaves of the devil, we have the inclination to commit sin and we do not have the power to free ourselves from the clutches of sin. Furthermore, a life under the rule of Satan leads to ever-increasing wickedness (v. 19), wherein our lustful desires can never be fulfilled, but more must come our way. This explains why people are greedy, are trapped in habitual sin, are always scheming to do even worse (from petty thief to murderer; from stealing paper clips to millions of pesos). Our loyalty to Satan was expressed through our sinful acts as well as through our acceptance of worldly standards and way of doing things.
However, when we come to faith in Jesus Christ, there is a change in ownership or master. Jesus is now our new master and this means we are and can no longer be slaves to sin. When Jesus becomes our master, we are retooled to becoming slaves of righteousness. Positionally, we are now slaves of righteousness, thus we are to behave like one. When we put our faith in Jesus Christ, we are not only acknowledging our need to be saved and to have the way to heaven opened for us, we must also acknowledge that when we let Satan or ourselves run our lives, it is a mess, thus we are also giving Jesus the authority to manage and rule our lives! We show our loyalty to Jesus by no longer doing the works of darkness but, instead, by doing those things that bring glory to his name, those things that are considered as righteousness.
What are those areas in your life that needs to be under the control of Jesus Christ? While it is true that everything in our lives must be under the control of the Lord Jesus, I think we need to clarify what we mean when we say “everything”. “Everything” means our mind (Romans 12:2) – are we thinking of things that bring glory to the Lord Jesus (Philippians 4:8)? We are also to subject our body to the control of the Lord Jesus. We should no longer yield to sexual temptations nor should we give over our bodies to anything that will destroy our bodies such as smoking, taking illegal drugs and excessive intake of alcohol or even to excessive playing of video games which causes us to lose sleep and to be unproductive in other areas of life. The third area of our life that needs to be under the lordship of Jesus is our decision-making process. We need to remember what Proverbs 3:5-6 tells us, that we are never to lean on our own understanding but instead we must acknowledge him. Don't mess up your life by making your decisions based on your own experience and knowledge but learn to trust in the leading of the Lord Jesus when you make decisions. Fourth, give Jesus the control over your finances. When you spend, save or invest, do it with a firm conviction that every cent you have actually belongs to Jesus and not to you. If he tells you to do something good with the money in your hands, don't hesitate to obey him. Finally, give Jesus the rightful throne in the management of your time. This is not to say that we spend everyday being in church but what it means is that we must use our time with the Lord Jesus in mind – our working and studying, as well as giving adequate moments to commune with the Lord and to fellowship with our brothers and sisters in the faith.
When we came to faith in Christ, we changed masters, from Satan to Jesus Christ. Are we acknowledging his lordship over our lives everyday, in the five realms that I've mentioned? Jesus is both Lord and Savior. While we are assured already of eternal life, we must appropriate daily in our lives the truth of Jesus' lordship over us and allow Him to take the driver's seat of our lives.
II. We Have New Goals in Life
The second point that the apostle Paul brought out with regards to our being under the lordship of Jesus Christ is that we have new goals in life. Before we came to faith in Christ, our goals in life were in tune with those of the kingdom of darkness – it was all about our own agenda, our own pleasures, our own benefit. Everything probably revolved around us – we made ourselves the center of our own world and everyone and everything had to conform to us. What did that achieve for us? True, we may have more material possessions, we may receive more honor and recognition from people, but when we put ourselves as the center of our own world, we end up feeling frustrated and there is also an empty feeling in our lives. What is even more frustrating is that when we were still under the kingdom of darkness, the things that we did resulted in death rather than give us life!
But when Jesus Christ came into your life and took over as master, he not only forgave us of our sins and promised us eternal life with Him in heaven, he also gives us new purposes and goals to pursue. Before Christ, we pursued the things of this world relentlessly, but now that we have Christ in us, he sets us on the path of righteousness. In verse 19, we read of our former condition – we used to offer the parts of our bodies to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness; but now that we have become followers of Jesus Christ, we are told to offer our bodies in slavery to righteousness. In other words, we are commanded to pursue righteousness, to live up to our new status as righteous men and women of God by doing the things that please and honor God. In Romans 7:4, we are told that we have already died to the law of sin and death and now belong to Jesus Christ with the expressed purposed of bearing fruit for God. When we check out other passages in Scripture, we know that the word “fruit” can refer to people who come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ through our faithful witness; the word can also refer to what the Holy Spirit is doing in our lives in building our character. I believe that the use of the word here in Romans 7 is more in line with the Fruit of the Holy Spirit as recorded in Galatians 5 where God the Holy Spirit is changing us to become more like Jesus. Our role is to cooperate with the Holy Spirit by following his lead and by making ourselves fertile ground for him to work with.
Offer our bodies to righteousness and bear fruit to God. These are our new goals in life as followers of Jesus Christ. If we think that these are easy, they actually aren't; but if we are already saved by the grace of Christ and we constantly remind ourselves of our new goals in life and go about doing them by relying on God, we will find that God will supply what we lack. His grace will enable us to successfully pursue these goals throughout our lifetime.
III. We Have a New Object of Affection
Finally, when we believe in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we have a new object of affection. Where do I get this idea? We find the idea implied in 7:1-3. In 7:1-3, Paul used the analogy of the husband and the wife in explaining the issue of our being dead to sin and alive in Christ. While the analogy has its spiritual lesson, I find the use of the husband and wife analogy as having another significance, as it is all about a love relationship between spouses. When we became followers of Jesus Christ, not only do we change allegiance but we also change in terms of our love. Before following Jesus Christ, whether we would admit it or not, we loved sin and we loved the world. Our affection was for the things of this world, for what it can offer us to please our desires. If you will allow me to say it, we were once “married” to sin and the kingdom of darkness. However, when we came to faith in Christ, we died to our sins and have been joined to Jesus Christ. We now have a new “spouse”, to whom we will be attached to for all eternity. We now have a new object of affection.
It is easy to say that, positionally, we are now one with Christ and that he is our object of affection. However, it can be quite hard to express love to the Lord Jesus consistently, on a 24/7 basis. Why? It is because there are moments when we forget that we are already in a new relationship with the Lord Jesus and we keep looking back to the old relationship that we had with sin, that we haven't really cut our ties with sin decisively. To best illustrate this, let me tell you a story.
There was a woman named Jane who was married to Frank for around 15 years. Frank was the kind of guy who never cared about sitting down to eat breakfast in the morning. All he did was grab a cup of coffee, gulp it down quick, and then shove a piece of toast in his mouth and leave for work or to do some other thing. This was the pattern for 15 years and Jane got so used to it, she never prepared a nice hot meal for Frank during breakfast. But then, Frank died, leaving Jane a widow. After two years, Jane met Pete and after a few months of courtship, they got married. Now, Pete is the kind of guy who will insist on eating a heavy, hearty breakfast every morning. Imagine the very first day after the wedding when Pete comes down for breakfast and he finds nothing but coffee and toast; he's going to ask Jane, “Where's breakfast?” Jane will then reply, “Oh, Frank never really sat down to eat breakfast, just drank coffee and put a piece of toast in his mouth. So I guess you'll want the same thing.” Pete would probably say to Jane in a kind manner, “Honey, Frank is dead. I'm your husband now and I like eating a hearty breakfast. I hope you'll get used to that fact and do something about it.” Jane was already married to Pete but she behaved as if Frank was still alive and didn't care about eating breakfast. It would probably take Jane some time before she gets used to her new husband but if she readily acknowledges that she has a new husband and that her new husband likes eating a hearty breakfast, she will most gladly prepare breakfast for him because she loves him.
Because of our faith in Jesus Christ, we are now intimately attached to him, and no longer to sin and the kingdom of darkness. However, we need to acknowledge everyday and every moment that we now have a new love and that we want to do those things that will please our new love. When we consciously remember that Jesus is now our new love, then I am sure we will do everything that we can in order to honor him. However, if we fail to remind ourselves of our relationship with Jesus Christ, it will be very easy for us to keep looking back to the old way of life – the way of sin.
Conclusion:
Under New Management. This is what happens to the person who comes to faith in Jesus Christ. Its not just a change in one's future destination – from heading to hell to heaven instead; its also about having a new master to whom we owe our allegiance, about having new goals to strive for – fruitfulness for God and righteousness, and about having a new object of affection – our Lord Jesus.
For those here who are already followers of Jesus Christ, I pray that you will constantly acknowledge God's ownership over your life. We should no longer live simply to please ourselves and to fulfill our own agenda; we have been saved in order to live for him, to serve him, to do good works that will bring glory to him, to love him.
For those who don't know Jesus yet as their personal Lord and Savior, I invite you to make the life-changing decision of trusting him. Trusting Jesus Christ is more than just being forgiven of our sins and going to heaven someday, its also about giving him the control over your life. Giving him the rightful place in your life will bring you true contentment and purpose. I pray that you will not hesitate to make a decision to follow Jesus Christ.
Romans 6:15-23; 7:1-6
Introduction:
Whenever my wife and I go to Cubao, we usually frequent a restaurant that serves, in my opinion, the best pizza and pasta in the city. The name of the restaurant was Volare. Their pizzas are baked in a red brick oven and they are well cooked to the point that they maintain their crispiness even when the pizza becomes cold. They also serve great tasting pasta, my favorite being the spinach cannelloni. Well, a few months ago, we visited Cubao and we were surprised to find that our favorite restaurant had changed name from Volare to Va Pensiero. We soon discovered that the restaurant changed its name because there was a change in the ownership as the Italian chef who started the business had found a new business partner. However, I observed that, while ownership had a slight change, the same delicious pizza and pasta I enjoyed before were still on their menu. Also, the décor of the restaurant still looked the same. It was as if nothing really changed, just the name or signage, and a new partnership to run the restaurant. For me, that's a good thing because I still get to enjoy the same great tasting food. If the change in management resulted in a different tasting pizza and pasta, I would probably have second thoughts about going back to that restaurant.
I'm sure we have all seen business establishments post a sign declaring that they are under new management. Sometimes, new management does bring about apparent changes, making the business establishment look quite different from the original. But quite often, there is a simple change in ownership but not necessarily a change in appearance or in the system implemented for running the company. Now, in the case I've cited, it doesn't matter for me if the management and name changed, as long as the food tasted the same. However, there are times when a change in management must also bring with it a change in the way things are done. Consider our country. Just eleven days ago, we had a new president assume power. When we elect a new president and he formally assumes power, it means that the country is under new management. However, a change in the person sitting in Malacañang doesn't mean a thing for the nation unless that person goes about making a positive difference for the nation, when he brings about an improvement over what the previous president achieved.
This morning, we are going to talk about a change in management in the life of the Christian. This change is never intended to be superficial like the pizza and pasta restaurant in Cubao but it is a change that is and should be seen through and through in a believer's life. We will be studying Romans 6:15-23 and 7:1-6, and learn what are the things that have changed and what needs to change in us.
So often, when we talk about becoming a Christian, our first thought is that of the change of our eternal destination. If you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you will go to heaven. If you don't accept him, you will end up in hell. This was how I was introduced to the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ when I was studying in a Christian school. It was all about our eternal destination. Now, there's nothing wrong when you share about going to heaven when you believe in Jesus, however, I think that is an inadequate picture of what it means to accept or believe in Jesus as Lord and Savior. Having faith in Jesus Christ is more than just about going to heaven, it is also about a change in management in terms of your life. The problem with a gospel that simply talks about going to heaven is that many will want the benefit of eternal life but they don't necessarily want a change in the management in their lives. Maybe this explains why Paul had to address the problem of believers who continued to live a life of sin; it was because some of the Roman believers may have wanted the benefit of their newfound relationship with Jesus Christ, namely his grace, but without having to surrender their old way of life. This probably also led them to thinking that they could continue sinning so that more grace would be given to them.
Becoming a Christian is not just about going to heaven; that is just part of the entire package. As I have mentioned, becoming a Christian also means a change in management. Let us look at three aspects wherein this change of management takes place and how it should affect the way we live as a follower of Jesus Christ.
I. We Have A New Master To Whom We Owe Our Allegiance To
The first aspect of the change of management is the change of masters. When we accepted Jesus, we are not just accepting that he alone can save us from our sins (which is his being our Savior), but we are also inviting him to be in control over our lives (in other words, we are asking him to be our master). Prior to our becoming Christians, who do you think was our master? The answer is, of course, Satan. According to Colossians 1:13, we used to belong to the dominion of darkness but we were rescued and brought into the Kingdom of light. The word “dominion” means sovereignty or control. We were under the control of Satan who is the ruler of the dominion or the kingdom of darkness. Before becoming believers of Jesus Christ, we were under his rule. We were his slaves, bound to do his bidding. Now, we may vehemently deny that we are slaves of Satan and say that this is unthinkable, however, the fact that, prior to our becoming God's children, we were under the rule of Satan cannot be denied. The Bible never said that there is a middle ground for which a person can stand upon. It is either you belong to God or you belong to Satan. If you haven't yet believed and trusted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, then you are in Satan's kingdom and you are his slave. As slaves of the devil, we have the inclination to commit sin and we do not have the power to free ourselves from the clutches of sin. Furthermore, a life under the rule of Satan leads to ever-increasing wickedness (v. 19), wherein our lustful desires can never be fulfilled, but more must come our way. This explains why people are greedy, are trapped in habitual sin, are always scheming to do even worse (from petty thief to murderer; from stealing paper clips to millions of pesos). Our loyalty to Satan was expressed through our sinful acts as well as through our acceptance of worldly standards and way of doing things.
However, when we come to faith in Jesus Christ, there is a change in ownership or master. Jesus is now our new master and this means we are and can no longer be slaves to sin. When Jesus becomes our master, we are retooled to becoming slaves of righteousness. Positionally, we are now slaves of righteousness, thus we are to behave like one. When we put our faith in Jesus Christ, we are not only acknowledging our need to be saved and to have the way to heaven opened for us, we must also acknowledge that when we let Satan or ourselves run our lives, it is a mess, thus we are also giving Jesus the authority to manage and rule our lives! We show our loyalty to Jesus by no longer doing the works of darkness but, instead, by doing those things that bring glory to his name, those things that are considered as righteousness.
What are those areas in your life that needs to be under the control of Jesus Christ? While it is true that everything in our lives must be under the control of the Lord Jesus, I think we need to clarify what we mean when we say “everything”. “Everything” means our mind (Romans 12:2) – are we thinking of things that bring glory to the Lord Jesus (Philippians 4:8)? We are also to subject our body to the control of the Lord Jesus. We should no longer yield to sexual temptations nor should we give over our bodies to anything that will destroy our bodies such as smoking, taking illegal drugs and excessive intake of alcohol or even to excessive playing of video games which causes us to lose sleep and to be unproductive in other areas of life. The third area of our life that needs to be under the lordship of Jesus is our decision-making process. We need to remember what Proverbs 3:5-6 tells us, that we are never to lean on our own understanding but instead we must acknowledge him. Don't mess up your life by making your decisions based on your own experience and knowledge but learn to trust in the leading of the Lord Jesus when you make decisions. Fourth, give Jesus the control over your finances. When you spend, save or invest, do it with a firm conviction that every cent you have actually belongs to Jesus and not to you. If he tells you to do something good with the money in your hands, don't hesitate to obey him. Finally, give Jesus the rightful throne in the management of your time. This is not to say that we spend everyday being in church but what it means is that we must use our time with the Lord Jesus in mind – our working and studying, as well as giving adequate moments to commune with the Lord and to fellowship with our brothers and sisters in the faith.
When we came to faith in Christ, we changed masters, from Satan to Jesus Christ. Are we acknowledging his lordship over our lives everyday, in the five realms that I've mentioned? Jesus is both Lord and Savior. While we are assured already of eternal life, we must appropriate daily in our lives the truth of Jesus' lordship over us and allow Him to take the driver's seat of our lives.
II. We Have New Goals in Life
The second point that the apostle Paul brought out with regards to our being under the lordship of Jesus Christ is that we have new goals in life. Before we came to faith in Christ, our goals in life were in tune with those of the kingdom of darkness – it was all about our own agenda, our own pleasures, our own benefit. Everything probably revolved around us – we made ourselves the center of our own world and everyone and everything had to conform to us. What did that achieve for us? True, we may have more material possessions, we may receive more honor and recognition from people, but when we put ourselves as the center of our own world, we end up feeling frustrated and there is also an empty feeling in our lives. What is even more frustrating is that when we were still under the kingdom of darkness, the things that we did resulted in death rather than give us life!
But when Jesus Christ came into your life and took over as master, he not only forgave us of our sins and promised us eternal life with Him in heaven, he also gives us new purposes and goals to pursue. Before Christ, we pursued the things of this world relentlessly, but now that we have Christ in us, he sets us on the path of righteousness. In verse 19, we read of our former condition – we used to offer the parts of our bodies to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness; but now that we have become followers of Jesus Christ, we are told to offer our bodies in slavery to righteousness. In other words, we are commanded to pursue righteousness, to live up to our new status as righteous men and women of God by doing the things that please and honor God. In Romans 7:4, we are told that we have already died to the law of sin and death and now belong to Jesus Christ with the expressed purposed of bearing fruit for God. When we check out other passages in Scripture, we know that the word “fruit” can refer to people who come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ through our faithful witness; the word can also refer to what the Holy Spirit is doing in our lives in building our character. I believe that the use of the word here in Romans 7 is more in line with the Fruit of the Holy Spirit as recorded in Galatians 5 where God the Holy Spirit is changing us to become more like Jesus. Our role is to cooperate with the Holy Spirit by following his lead and by making ourselves fertile ground for him to work with.
Offer our bodies to righteousness and bear fruit to God. These are our new goals in life as followers of Jesus Christ. If we think that these are easy, they actually aren't; but if we are already saved by the grace of Christ and we constantly remind ourselves of our new goals in life and go about doing them by relying on God, we will find that God will supply what we lack. His grace will enable us to successfully pursue these goals throughout our lifetime.
III. We Have a New Object of Affection
Finally, when we believe in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we have a new object of affection. Where do I get this idea? We find the idea implied in 7:1-3. In 7:1-3, Paul used the analogy of the husband and the wife in explaining the issue of our being dead to sin and alive in Christ. While the analogy has its spiritual lesson, I find the use of the husband and wife analogy as having another significance, as it is all about a love relationship between spouses. When we became followers of Jesus Christ, not only do we change allegiance but we also change in terms of our love. Before following Jesus Christ, whether we would admit it or not, we loved sin and we loved the world. Our affection was for the things of this world, for what it can offer us to please our desires. If you will allow me to say it, we were once “married” to sin and the kingdom of darkness. However, when we came to faith in Christ, we died to our sins and have been joined to Jesus Christ. We now have a new “spouse”, to whom we will be attached to for all eternity. We now have a new object of affection.
It is easy to say that, positionally, we are now one with Christ and that he is our object of affection. However, it can be quite hard to express love to the Lord Jesus consistently, on a 24/7 basis. Why? It is because there are moments when we forget that we are already in a new relationship with the Lord Jesus and we keep looking back to the old relationship that we had with sin, that we haven't really cut our ties with sin decisively. To best illustrate this, let me tell you a story.
There was a woman named Jane who was married to Frank for around 15 years. Frank was the kind of guy who never cared about sitting down to eat breakfast in the morning. All he did was grab a cup of coffee, gulp it down quick, and then shove a piece of toast in his mouth and leave for work or to do some other thing. This was the pattern for 15 years and Jane got so used to it, she never prepared a nice hot meal for Frank during breakfast. But then, Frank died, leaving Jane a widow. After two years, Jane met Pete and after a few months of courtship, they got married. Now, Pete is the kind of guy who will insist on eating a heavy, hearty breakfast every morning. Imagine the very first day after the wedding when Pete comes down for breakfast and he finds nothing but coffee and toast; he's going to ask Jane, “Where's breakfast?” Jane will then reply, “Oh, Frank never really sat down to eat breakfast, just drank coffee and put a piece of toast in his mouth. So I guess you'll want the same thing.” Pete would probably say to Jane in a kind manner, “Honey, Frank is dead. I'm your husband now and I like eating a hearty breakfast. I hope you'll get used to that fact and do something about it.” Jane was already married to Pete but she behaved as if Frank was still alive and didn't care about eating breakfast. It would probably take Jane some time before she gets used to her new husband but if she readily acknowledges that she has a new husband and that her new husband likes eating a hearty breakfast, she will most gladly prepare breakfast for him because she loves him.
Because of our faith in Jesus Christ, we are now intimately attached to him, and no longer to sin and the kingdom of darkness. However, we need to acknowledge everyday and every moment that we now have a new love and that we want to do those things that will please our new love. When we consciously remember that Jesus is now our new love, then I am sure we will do everything that we can in order to honor him. However, if we fail to remind ourselves of our relationship with Jesus Christ, it will be very easy for us to keep looking back to the old way of life – the way of sin.
Conclusion:
Under New Management. This is what happens to the person who comes to faith in Jesus Christ. Its not just a change in one's future destination – from heading to hell to heaven instead; its also about having a new master to whom we owe our allegiance, about having new goals to strive for – fruitfulness for God and righteousness, and about having a new object of affection – our Lord Jesus.
For those here who are already followers of Jesus Christ, I pray that you will constantly acknowledge God's ownership over your life. We should no longer live simply to please ourselves and to fulfill our own agenda; we have been saved in order to live for him, to serve him, to do good works that will bring glory to him, to love him.
For those who don't know Jesus yet as their personal Lord and Savior, I invite you to make the life-changing decision of trusting him. Trusting Jesus Christ is more than just being forgiven of our sins and going to heaven someday, its also about giving him the control over your life. Giving him the rightful place in your life will bring you true contentment and purpose. I pray that you will not hesitate to make a decision to follow Jesus Christ.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
JUSTIFIED! - Preached at GGC, June 13, 2010
JUSTIFIED!
(Romans 5:1 - 11)
Introduction:
Who among you has gone through typing lessons while in either high school or in college? I was born at a time when people still used the typewriter and we had to undergo typing class. I learned to type correctly when I was in college where we were required to attend typing class. In fact, I barely passed typing class, averaging at a slow pace of 20 to 25 words per minute while everyone was doing a blistering 30 to 40 words! However, I will admit that I learned a lot from typing class. In fact, I can type a letter or a message without looking at the keyboard, as if it were second nature to me. I guess most of you can do the same thing, so its nothing unique nowadays. However, I realized that there is one thing the manual typewriter cannot do on its own – it cannot align what I am typing on the right side, unlike on the left side. Now, it just so happened that while I was still in college, the personal computer was the newest thing in town. I had bought one and I discovered that the personal computer had word processing programs that were capable of doing what the ordinary typewriter could not do and that was the function called “Justify”. Now, the old computers were not easy to use, not like today's computers. You had to type in certain commands that would be inserted into the document. You had no idea what the output would be like until you printed your document; but it was a vast improvement as you could easily justify your document so that it is aligned on both the left and the right side. Today, with just a click of a button you could easily justify or align your documents straight on both sides. But what is the point of justifying or aligning one's document? Well, according to some, a document looks more presentable when it is aligned on both sides. This is especially true if you're using a word processing program in order to write a book where alignment seems to be the standard. Whether you agree or not, the justify button or command makes a difference in the appearance of one's document.
On my own, I cannot align my document perfectly on both sides. I needed a function in the word processing program to do it for me. I can attempt to do it on my own, but I would be utterly frustrated and I would probably just quit after a paragraph or two.
You may be wondering, why am I talking about word processing and the function of justifying or aligning lines of texts in a document at a time like this? The reason why I am beginning today's message with this is because of the word “justify”. It's a word that is actually rich in meaning but when we hear the word, many here would first think be of word processing since they are often in front of a computer writing something.
In the dictionary, there are three ways in which the word is understood. The first definition listed is “to show or prove to be right or reasonable”. The word is also used to refer to the act of word processing wherein an adjustment takes place in a line or a block of text such that one or both sides form a straight edge. However, the dictionary contains a third usage of the word which is theological: To justify is “to declare or make righteous in the sight of God”. We're going to dwell on this final use of the word in today's study on Romans 5. It is a beautiful word that merits careful examination; not only that, the concept of justification in Scripture gives rise to numerous implications as found in today's passage.
In our study of the Book of Romans, thus far we have learned that all humanity, whether Jew or Gentile, are under the penalty of sin because we have fallen short of God's standard, which is none other than holiness. We also learned that none of us are righteous in God's sight; try as we might to get into heaven as well as to attain peace with God using our own efforts, we will always fall short and will never be seen as righteous by the Lord. Thankfully, it is the Lord God himself who provides salvation for us through His beloved Son, the Lord Jesus. This salvation is attained not by what we do, but by having faith in what Christ did for us. It is when we trust the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior and Master that we are justified or viewed by God as being righteous. Paul then used Abraham as an example of how he was reckoned by God as being righteous although Abraham had done nothing to merit God's favor except that he responded to God in faith.
Since we have already been justified or we have been deemed righteous by God through Christ Jesus, what then do we stand to benefit from this? Is God's declaration of our being righteous or our being justified just mere words or do they bring so much more to us? We will spend the rest of our time looking at what justification brings to us and I pray that, after our study, we will better appreciate the salvation that we have in Christ Jesus.
Today's passage begins with the word “therefore”. This word is a signal, telling us that there is a connection between today's passage and last week's passage. The connection is the word justification itself. Last week, we've learned from Rev. Go's message that since the beginning, (1) it has always been God who declares a person righteous and worthy of salvation; (2) no one has ever been declared righteous because of human intervention or action; (3) man has always been declared righteous by receiving God's grace through faith. Now, if Paul had stopped his discussion about justification at that very point, we would simply know for a fact that justification is an act of God wherein we are made righteous; but we would be left hanging and we would surely want to know if anything happens to us as a result of our being declared righteous.
Benefit # 1: Peace with God (v. 1)
The first benefit of justification listed in the passage is the benefit of having peace with God. So often, when people hear the word “peace”, their definition is “the absence of war”. However, the idea of peace with God is not just the absence of war but it means way much more. So often, when we define peace as being the absence of war, then it simply means that there is no outward conflict but people may simply be civil towards each other and no warmth is expressed, like what we do to some people who've offended us and whom we made peace with. We don't fight, but we don't talk to each other either. That is not the kind of peace that Paul is talking of.
Prior to our justification, we were all God's enemies (v. 10), having rebelled against him and choosing to sin rather than doing the right thing. As a result of our rebellion and sin, we became the objects of God's wrath, of his righteous anger. It doesn't matter what kind of sin you've committed, even if you think it is trivial compared to someone who has murdered or stolen or committed adultery; in God's eyes, sin is sin, and God hates sin. Thus, we made ourselves to become his enemy when we chose to sin. Because of sin, we do not have any peace whatsoever with God. What this means is that, our relationship with God is strained. As long as God sees us as his enemies, there is no peace between Him and us. There will always be a barrier that separates Him from us. No matter what we do in order to correct the situation, we will always fall short because God is totally holy and righteous.
However, when we came to faith in Christ through repentance from our sins and the acceptance of Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, the relationship between God and us changed. When God reckoned us as righteous, or when he justifies us, there is the change in status from enemy to friend, from estranged to beloved. Having been justified, the once estranged relationship has been restored. There is no more tension between God and us. We are no longer the object of God's wrath but the objects of his love. God's declaration of peace between Him and us doesn't mean that it is simply the absence of anger but it is also the showing of his love and favor towards us. All people need to be at peace with God and this can be attained only if we accept God's offer of peace through his Son Jesus Christ who is our peace who has broken down the walls of hostility between God and us.
Benefit # 2: Access to God's Grace
The second benefit that we gain because of our being made righteous is that we have access to God's grace. The word which was translated as to gain access is the Greek word, prosagoge. According to a Bible scholar, the word has two beautiful imagery. The first is that of a person introducing or ushering someone into the presence of royalty. The apostle Paul here was saying that Jesus ushers us into the presence of God, that Jesus is the one who opens the door for us into the presence of God the Father; when that door is opened and we enter in, we will find grace and not condemnation awaiting us. We will find God's favor. The second picture is that of a harbor or a haven where a ship can dock and find safety from the tempest or the storm. The harbor is none other than grace, where we can find rest from the ceaseless yet futile striving to win God's approval that we so often try to do.
What does this access to God's grace mean for us as believers of Jesus Christ? It means we can easily approach God through Jesus Christ and we will surely find favor when we do so. When we pray in our time of need, we can be assured that God hears us and that he will bestow grace to provide for that need. In Hebrews 4:16 we are all encouraged to draw near to the throne of grace with confidence, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
The access to God's grace also means that we need not work in order to gain God's approval, but that we trust the grace God has given us through Christ, that he has accepted us and he now keeps us safe from the storms of life.
Benefit # 3: Hope
The third benefit of justification is hope. Because of our change in status from enemies of God to becoming his children, we are no longer hopeless people but instead, we can be filled with hope. The hope that we have is a sure thing. It is not like some of the things that we long for or aspire for; they don't always come to pass. I'm sure some of you here have experienced being rejected when you were applying for your U.S. Visa. Prior to the rejection, I'm sure you hoped for a favorable response. Some of us hope for a high grade in a test but when the results come back, we are disappointed because we didn't score as high as we wanted. We hope to get that high paying, prestigious job but we end up working elsewhere where the pay is low. There are many things that we hope for that never comes to pass, however, when we have faith in Jesus Christ, the things that really matter are guaranteed. Eternal life – guaranteed. The promise of a future resurrection – guaranteed. The promise of reward in heaven – guaranteed. The promise of Christ's second return – guaranteed.
Because our hope is sure, we are to live life with a different perspective. One of the issues brought to our attention is the issue of suffering. For a non-Christian, suffering is meaningless; in fact, it should be avoided at all cost. But for us as Christians, in light of the sure hope that we have in Christ, the sufferings we have in this world can become something beautiful. If we are properly focused on Christ and on what he has promised to us, then we will be able to endure sufferings, and this leads to development of our character, and ultimately this strengthens our hope in God even more.
Benefit # 4: Salvation
The fourth benefit we stand to receive once we are justified is salvation. Look carefully at verses 9 and 10. Once we have been reconciled to God through Christ, we shall be saved from God's wrath by his life. According to a Bible scholar, what this phrase means is that we shall be saved from any future outpouring of God's wrath. We shall no longer be the object of God's wrath for whatever sins we commit after being justified. In other words, our justification ensures that our past, present and future sins cannot and will not subject us anymore to God's wrath. It is because God sees us as righteous, again not because of what we have done, but because of what Christ has done for us. As long as the Lord Jesus is there as our advocate, as our intercessor, we need not fear about being under God's wrath in the future. We may be under the discipline of God when we do wrong, but under his wrath? Never!
What is the implication of this particular benefit for us? What it means is that our salvation is a complete act. We are not saved sometime in the past but having to work our way to being saved in the future. When God saves us, he saves us completely. True, we still sin against God but if we have truly repented of our sins and sincerely accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior at some point in our life, and there is evidence of real transformation in your life, then you are truly saved.
Benefit # 5: God's Love
The final benefit that we find in the passage is God's love for us. In our passage, verse 8 in particular, we find that God loved us even when we were still sinners, and he expressed that love by sending his Son to die for us. Now, we may think that God's love in this passage is just something manifested in the past when he sent Jesus Christ, but no, God's love continues to be expressed to us. If we read Romans 8, we will find that once we belong to God through our faith in Christ, his love will always be poured out upon us such that nothing can ever separate us from that love. Our being made righteous by God means that his love is also lavished on us.
So often, Satan will try to plant doubts in our minds, telling us that God doesn't love us. That is nothing more than a big, fat lie. God loved you in the past which explains why he sent Jesus to die for us, he now loves us, he will forever love us. If you are truly saved by God's grace, then you are also greatly blessed with the love of God. This is one thing we need to constantly remind ourselves – that we are loved by God. Don't let Satan tell you otherwise.
Conclusion:
This morning, we've learned about the benefits that come from our being justified or being made righteous by God. We've learned that we are at peace with God. We are no longer his enemies but we are his children and friends. Second, we have access to God's grace. We can come before the Lord with confidence because of Christ. We can also be at rest from having to win God's approval because we already have it in Christ. Third, we have hope because our salvation is certain. It also means that the sufferings we go through here in life can become meaningful and beautiful because of our sure hope. Fourth, our salvation is sure not only in the past but also now and in the future. God's wrath is and will no longer be upon us. Finally, God continually loves us and we will never be separated from that love.
If you have already accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and have repented of your sins, then all these benefits of justification are already yours. You may say, “but I don't feel like I have these things”, but we need to remember that these things are real even if you don't feel like it right now. Don't let your feelings determine what is true, but let what is true determine how you feel.
Maybe you haven't accepted Jesus yet as your Lord and Savior. I pray that you will not hold yourself back, but that you will make the decision to believe. All the benefits we've talked about can be yours, if you are willing to repent and believe Jesus Christ. In closing, I would like to show a 2-minute video that best illustrates what justification is all about. The video is somewhat amusing but I think it will drive the point home.
(Romans 5:1 - 11)
Introduction:
Who among you has gone through typing lessons while in either high school or in college? I was born at a time when people still used the typewriter and we had to undergo typing class. I learned to type correctly when I was in college where we were required to attend typing class. In fact, I barely passed typing class, averaging at a slow pace of 20 to 25 words per minute while everyone was doing a blistering 30 to 40 words! However, I will admit that I learned a lot from typing class. In fact, I can type a letter or a message without looking at the keyboard, as if it were second nature to me. I guess most of you can do the same thing, so its nothing unique nowadays. However, I realized that there is one thing the manual typewriter cannot do on its own – it cannot align what I am typing on the right side, unlike on the left side. Now, it just so happened that while I was still in college, the personal computer was the newest thing in town. I had bought one and I discovered that the personal computer had word processing programs that were capable of doing what the ordinary typewriter could not do and that was the function called “Justify”. Now, the old computers were not easy to use, not like today's computers. You had to type in certain commands that would be inserted into the document. You had no idea what the output would be like until you printed your document; but it was a vast improvement as you could easily justify your document so that it is aligned on both the left and the right side. Today, with just a click of a button you could easily justify or align your documents straight on both sides. But what is the point of justifying or aligning one's document? Well, according to some, a document looks more presentable when it is aligned on both sides. This is especially true if you're using a word processing program in order to write a book where alignment seems to be the standard. Whether you agree or not, the justify button or command makes a difference in the appearance of one's document.
On my own, I cannot align my document perfectly on both sides. I needed a function in the word processing program to do it for me. I can attempt to do it on my own, but I would be utterly frustrated and I would probably just quit after a paragraph or two.
You may be wondering, why am I talking about word processing and the function of justifying or aligning lines of texts in a document at a time like this? The reason why I am beginning today's message with this is because of the word “justify”. It's a word that is actually rich in meaning but when we hear the word, many here would first think be of word processing since they are often in front of a computer writing something.
In the dictionary, there are three ways in which the word is understood. The first definition listed is “to show or prove to be right or reasonable”. The word is also used to refer to the act of word processing wherein an adjustment takes place in a line or a block of text such that one or both sides form a straight edge. However, the dictionary contains a third usage of the word which is theological: To justify is “to declare or make righteous in the sight of God”. We're going to dwell on this final use of the word in today's study on Romans 5. It is a beautiful word that merits careful examination; not only that, the concept of justification in Scripture gives rise to numerous implications as found in today's passage.
In our study of the Book of Romans, thus far we have learned that all humanity, whether Jew or Gentile, are under the penalty of sin because we have fallen short of God's standard, which is none other than holiness. We also learned that none of us are righteous in God's sight; try as we might to get into heaven as well as to attain peace with God using our own efforts, we will always fall short and will never be seen as righteous by the Lord. Thankfully, it is the Lord God himself who provides salvation for us through His beloved Son, the Lord Jesus. This salvation is attained not by what we do, but by having faith in what Christ did for us. It is when we trust the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior and Master that we are justified or viewed by God as being righteous. Paul then used Abraham as an example of how he was reckoned by God as being righteous although Abraham had done nothing to merit God's favor except that he responded to God in faith.
Since we have already been justified or we have been deemed righteous by God through Christ Jesus, what then do we stand to benefit from this? Is God's declaration of our being righteous or our being justified just mere words or do they bring so much more to us? We will spend the rest of our time looking at what justification brings to us and I pray that, after our study, we will better appreciate the salvation that we have in Christ Jesus.
Today's passage begins with the word “therefore”. This word is a signal, telling us that there is a connection between today's passage and last week's passage. The connection is the word justification itself. Last week, we've learned from Rev. Go's message that since the beginning, (1) it has always been God who declares a person righteous and worthy of salvation; (2) no one has ever been declared righteous because of human intervention or action; (3) man has always been declared righteous by receiving God's grace through faith. Now, if Paul had stopped his discussion about justification at that very point, we would simply know for a fact that justification is an act of God wherein we are made righteous; but we would be left hanging and we would surely want to know if anything happens to us as a result of our being declared righteous.
Benefit # 1: Peace with God (v. 1)
The first benefit of justification listed in the passage is the benefit of having peace with God. So often, when people hear the word “peace”, their definition is “the absence of war”. However, the idea of peace with God is not just the absence of war but it means way much more. So often, when we define peace as being the absence of war, then it simply means that there is no outward conflict but people may simply be civil towards each other and no warmth is expressed, like what we do to some people who've offended us and whom we made peace with. We don't fight, but we don't talk to each other either. That is not the kind of peace that Paul is talking of.
Prior to our justification, we were all God's enemies (v. 10), having rebelled against him and choosing to sin rather than doing the right thing. As a result of our rebellion and sin, we became the objects of God's wrath, of his righteous anger. It doesn't matter what kind of sin you've committed, even if you think it is trivial compared to someone who has murdered or stolen or committed adultery; in God's eyes, sin is sin, and God hates sin. Thus, we made ourselves to become his enemy when we chose to sin. Because of sin, we do not have any peace whatsoever with God. What this means is that, our relationship with God is strained. As long as God sees us as his enemies, there is no peace between Him and us. There will always be a barrier that separates Him from us. No matter what we do in order to correct the situation, we will always fall short because God is totally holy and righteous.
However, when we came to faith in Christ through repentance from our sins and the acceptance of Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, the relationship between God and us changed. When God reckoned us as righteous, or when he justifies us, there is the change in status from enemy to friend, from estranged to beloved. Having been justified, the once estranged relationship has been restored. There is no more tension between God and us. We are no longer the object of God's wrath but the objects of his love. God's declaration of peace between Him and us doesn't mean that it is simply the absence of anger but it is also the showing of his love and favor towards us. All people need to be at peace with God and this can be attained only if we accept God's offer of peace through his Son Jesus Christ who is our peace who has broken down the walls of hostility between God and us.
Benefit # 2: Access to God's Grace
The second benefit that we gain because of our being made righteous is that we have access to God's grace. The word which was translated as to gain access is the Greek word, prosagoge. According to a Bible scholar, the word has two beautiful imagery. The first is that of a person introducing or ushering someone into the presence of royalty. The apostle Paul here was saying that Jesus ushers us into the presence of God, that Jesus is the one who opens the door for us into the presence of God the Father; when that door is opened and we enter in, we will find grace and not condemnation awaiting us. We will find God's favor. The second picture is that of a harbor or a haven where a ship can dock and find safety from the tempest or the storm. The harbor is none other than grace, where we can find rest from the ceaseless yet futile striving to win God's approval that we so often try to do.
What does this access to God's grace mean for us as believers of Jesus Christ? It means we can easily approach God through Jesus Christ and we will surely find favor when we do so. When we pray in our time of need, we can be assured that God hears us and that he will bestow grace to provide for that need. In Hebrews 4:16 we are all encouraged to draw near to the throne of grace with confidence, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
The access to God's grace also means that we need not work in order to gain God's approval, but that we trust the grace God has given us through Christ, that he has accepted us and he now keeps us safe from the storms of life.
Benefit # 3: Hope
The third benefit of justification is hope. Because of our change in status from enemies of God to becoming his children, we are no longer hopeless people but instead, we can be filled with hope. The hope that we have is a sure thing. It is not like some of the things that we long for or aspire for; they don't always come to pass. I'm sure some of you here have experienced being rejected when you were applying for your U.S. Visa. Prior to the rejection, I'm sure you hoped for a favorable response. Some of us hope for a high grade in a test but when the results come back, we are disappointed because we didn't score as high as we wanted. We hope to get that high paying, prestigious job but we end up working elsewhere where the pay is low. There are many things that we hope for that never comes to pass, however, when we have faith in Jesus Christ, the things that really matter are guaranteed. Eternal life – guaranteed. The promise of a future resurrection – guaranteed. The promise of reward in heaven – guaranteed. The promise of Christ's second return – guaranteed.
Because our hope is sure, we are to live life with a different perspective. One of the issues brought to our attention is the issue of suffering. For a non-Christian, suffering is meaningless; in fact, it should be avoided at all cost. But for us as Christians, in light of the sure hope that we have in Christ, the sufferings we have in this world can become something beautiful. If we are properly focused on Christ and on what he has promised to us, then we will be able to endure sufferings, and this leads to development of our character, and ultimately this strengthens our hope in God even more.
Benefit # 4: Salvation
The fourth benefit we stand to receive once we are justified is salvation. Look carefully at verses 9 and 10. Once we have been reconciled to God through Christ, we shall be saved from God's wrath by his life. According to a Bible scholar, what this phrase means is that we shall be saved from any future outpouring of God's wrath. We shall no longer be the object of God's wrath for whatever sins we commit after being justified. In other words, our justification ensures that our past, present and future sins cannot and will not subject us anymore to God's wrath. It is because God sees us as righteous, again not because of what we have done, but because of what Christ has done for us. As long as the Lord Jesus is there as our advocate, as our intercessor, we need not fear about being under God's wrath in the future. We may be under the discipline of God when we do wrong, but under his wrath? Never!
What is the implication of this particular benefit for us? What it means is that our salvation is a complete act. We are not saved sometime in the past but having to work our way to being saved in the future. When God saves us, he saves us completely. True, we still sin against God but if we have truly repented of our sins and sincerely accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior at some point in our life, and there is evidence of real transformation in your life, then you are truly saved.
Benefit # 5: God's Love
The final benefit that we find in the passage is God's love for us. In our passage, verse 8 in particular, we find that God loved us even when we were still sinners, and he expressed that love by sending his Son to die for us. Now, we may think that God's love in this passage is just something manifested in the past when he sent Jesus Christ, but no, God's love continues to be expressed to us. If we read Romans 8, we will find that once we belong to God through our faith in Christ, his love will always be poured out upon us such that nothing can ever separate us from that love. Our being made righteous by God means that his love is also lavished on us.
So often, Satan will try to plant doubts in our minds, telling us that God doesn't love us. That is nothing more than a big, fat lie. God loved you in the past which explains why he sent Jesus to die for us, he now loves us, he will forever love us. If you are truly saved by God's grace, then you are also greatly blessed with the love of God. This is one thing we need to constantly remind ourselves – that we are loved by God. Don't let Satan tell you otherwise.
Conclusion:
This morning, we've learned about the benefits that come from our being justified or being made righteous by God. We've learned that we are at peace with God. We are no longer his enemies but we are his children and friends. Second, we have access to God's grace. We can come before the Lord with confidence because of Christ. We can also be at rest from having to win God's approval because we already have it in Christ. Third, we have hope because our salvation is certain. It also means that the sufferings we go through here in life can become meaningful and beautiful because of our sure hope. Fourth, our salvation is sure not only in the past but also now and in the future. God's wrath is and will no longer be upon us. Finally, God continually loves us and we will never be separated from that love.
If you have already accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and have repented of your sins, then all these benefits of justification are already yours. You may say, “but I don't feel like I have these things”, but we need to remember that these things are real even if you don't feel like it right now. Don't let your feelings determine what is true, but let what is true determine how you feel.
Maybe you haven't accepted Jesus yet as your Lord and Savior. I pray that you will not hold yourself back, but that you will make the decision to believe. All the benefits we've talked about can be yours, if you are willing to repent and believe Jesus Christ. In closing, I would like to show a 2-minute video that best illustrates what justification is all about. The video is somewhat amusing but I think it will drive the point home.
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