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.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
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.
Monday, May 17, 2010
STOP BRAGGING! - Preached at GGC, May 16, 2010
Stop Bragging!
Romans 2:17 – 29
Introduction:
One of the things I can't stand about certain people is their tendency to brag about anything and everything under the sun. Have you ever met such people before? I'm sure you have. They're the kind who talks about their personal achievements, about the important people that they know or are acquainted with, about how great they are when they engage in sports or when they're doing business. They emphasize where they've studied (especially if its a prestigious school) as well as where they're working (if its a multi-national company). Such people are often termed as braggarts and I believe the reason they brag is because they want to feel important and they want others to think that they're important.
But sometimes people brag for other reasons, such as when they think and when they know that they're right and you're wrong. They brag when they have something that you don't have or something that is way much newer than what you have now. They even brag when they think that they are better and nicer people than you. Now before I keep on pointing fingers at others, I need to look at myself and admit that there are times when I am a braggart myself, when I begin to look at myself as being more superior than others or when I think that I'm smarter than others, or when I have something more superior to what you have. Why do some people brag or boast? It is because they feel a bit insecure about themselves as compared to others and thus, the need to elevate themselves or to put themselves on a pedestal in order for them to get attention.
Bragging is not an exclusive domain of an individual; it is also something that institutions do when they achieve a certain level of success such as a school winning a basketball tournament over a rival school, or a university achieving an engineering breakthrough, or of an alumni doing very well in the business world and in politics. Companies also brag about what they've accomplished such as inventions and patents.
Bragging is a trap we, as individuals, all have the tendency of falling into, when we are not careful in our thoughts as well as with our words. In fact, we may brag about certain things that may prove to be detrimental to us in the end. A southern California couple appeared in the talk show of Dr. Phil McGraw, the psychiatrist who became famous because of Oprah. This couple bragged to Dr. Phil that they had made US$ 100,000.00 by selling shoplifted toys on e-Bay, and even told Dr. Phil that they had stolen more than a hundred boxes of Lego toys. Their bragging led to their arrest by the police. The husband must serve a 27 months prison term while the wife must serve 12 months. There was also an incident involving an old friend of mine. One day he showed up in school wearing a Giordano T-Shirt. He was then boasting to another friend that he had a Giordano T-Shirt which was the fad in the early 1990s. Our friend then asked a seemingly innocent question, “What size is it?” My friend who was wearing the Giordano T-Shirt then answered, “Free Size.” Immediately, the other friend replied with a taunting chant, “Walang free-size ang Giordano. Fake iyan.” My friend who was wearing this fake T-Shirt had a deflated look on his face. His bragging led him to embarrassment instead!
While the examples that I've cited may cause one to be imprisoned or to be embarrassed, there is a kind of bragging that is dangerous to our soul and, if not addressed, will surely lead us to eternal damnation. What exactly am I talking about? As we will be examining Romans 2:17 – 29 this morning, we will see some things the Jews of Paul's time were bragging about and Paul warned them that their bragging would lead them nowhere close to God.
Context:
In the second half of Chapter 1, we find Paul talking about people having no excuses because of their rejection of the knowledge of God, their worship of idols, and the surrendering of themselves to their sins. Many scholars and commentators will tell you that Paul was talking about the Gentiles. A Jew would heartily agree that Paul was right – that the Gentiles were idol worshippers, people who have no idea whatsoever who the One True God really was. The Jews also despised the Gentiles as being terrible sinners, as described in Chapter 1.
Even as the Jews scoff and look down at the Gentiles, they also became arrogant and began to brag about what they had that made them superior to the Gentiles. From today's passage, we find a couple of areas that the Jews bragged about. As the Jews were beginning to feel that they were safe and secure from God's wrath, Paul reminds them that their bragging would lead them nowhere. What the Jews bragged about themselves and about their being God's people are the same dangers we may commit, bringing spiritual peril to us as we think wrongly that we are already safe and secure. What are these dangers?
Danger # 1: Religious Affiliation
The first danger that we can see from this passage is the danger of religious affiliation. Look at verse 17 carefully. Here we read that the Jews bragged about their relationship with God; this was because of their religious affiliation, the Jews being the chosen people of God. If one is familiar with the Old Testament Scriptures he would be aware that the Jews traced their lineage to Abraham. Furthermore, it was their ancestors who received the Law from God through Moses. If you were to compare the Jewish faith with the other religions existing together with it, not counting Christianity, you would easily conclude that Judaism was a superior religion with its ethical and ceremonial teachings as well as it elaborate rituals and sacrifices. But herein lies the danger: the Jews thought that they were right with God simply because they were Jews. They thought that their being descendants of Abraham would surely save them and give them favor before God. We know from the Gospels that being a descendant of Abraham was no guarantee of salvation and favor with God; just read what John the Baptist said to the Pharisees and the Sadducees in Matthew 3:7 – 9, and what Jesus said to the Jews in John 8:33 – 47 and you will conclude that being a Jew does not guarantee a right standing before God.
The danger of religious affiliation is not exclusive to the Jewish people; it applies even to people who claim to be Christians. There are many who claim to be Christians or, to be specific, who claim to be members of a particular denomination or followers of a certain theological position or of a particular church. They proudly declare that they are Methodists or Episcopalians or Presbyterians or Baptists. They proclaim that they are Calvinists or Dispensationalists or Arminians. They will claim that they are Christians because of their long-time membership in a particular church or denomination; they may also claim to be Christians because their parents and grandparents were Christians, or that they are saved because their parents were missionaries or pastors. The emphasis on religious affiliation poses danger because it will mislead people into thinking that they are OK with God on the basis of their membership and ancestry when in fact every person has to make an individual response to the message of the Gospel. No human being can ever do anything to give me salvation; a person's right spiritual connection with the Lord is no assurance that the next generation is saved and is right with God.
Danger # 2: Intellectual Knowledge of the Word
The second danger the Jews fell into, according to Paul, was that their understanding of the Word was merely intellectual and not transformative. In verse 18 we read that the Jews knew God's will and approved what was taught by the law. They gave their intellectual assent to the Word of God, however, there is no indication that they were truly practicing what the Word of God was teaching. In fact, Paul rebuked the Jews, saying that the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of them, meaning they had possession of the Word of God and they knew the Word of God but they failed to live out the Word of God and had become stumbling blocks for others. The Jews thought that they were blessed by God and even saved because they possessed God's Word, but sadly, no amount of intellectual knowledge about the Word will bring salvation.
We may think that it is rather far-fetched that there would be people who think they're OK with God because they know God's Word, but I do believe that there are people who think that way. They have read the Scriptures and are familiar with the different facts recorded. They know the order of the books of the Bible by memory. They can even memorize and quote Scriptures. However, these same people who know so much about the Bible do not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. They think that they are OK because they know the Word, but that's not the basis for our salvation. Many people come to church and they have heard countless sermons; many have attended Sunday School for so many years and have heard so many lessons from the Bible, yet they are not saved. Why? It is because they think that hearing the Word is enough. They think that possessing the Bible in their hands is enough. Well, the Jews had the Word of God but were they exempted from God's condemnation? NO! In fact, they stood even more condemned because they knew the Word but they failed to put it into practice.
Now, I am not in any way treating the Word of God as being unimportant, but what I am stressing right now is that the mere intellectual knowledge and possession of the Word of God will not save you. The Word of God must probe deep into our hearts, revealing our sins and bring us before the feet of Jesus. If we know the Scriptures solely for intellectual exercise, then we stand condemned by what it teaches. We shouldn't brag if we are in possession of God's Word – what is expected of us is our response and obedience to God's Word.
Danger # 3: Religious Duty
Related to the danger of mere intellectual knowledge is the danger of religious duty. If you look carefully at verses 19 and 20, you will read that the Jews understood that they had the responsibility of being guides for the blind, of being lights for those who are in darkness, as instructors for the foolish and as teachers of infants. In other words, they understood that, because they possessed the Word, they were responsible for teaching the word. They knew their duty as God's chosen people, and no doubt, they did exercise their duty; but they did not pay attention to their personal testimony.
This danger that Paul cited was something that had been happening for some time already. Jesus had rebuked the Pharisees and the teachers of the law numerous times in the gospels because they were too eager to teach but unwilling to follow what they were teaching themselves. We know this problem by the term, hypocrisy. What they taught others to observe, they themselves violated.
However, I would like for us to pay attention to the idea of duty. I have no doubts that the Jews, outwardly, were faithful in administering their responsibility as bearers and teachers of God's law to those who are ignorant and who are in the dark. What is sad is that they think that their being dutiful to the Law of God is something for them to brag about. They viewed their duty as a hallmark of a good Jew and probably thought that it would win more merits for them. Unfortunately, we know that doing good works is not going to save anyone. We've learned that in other passages of Scripture such as Ephesians 2:8 – 9 and Titus 3:5 – 7. We will also learn more about that in Romans 3. We do good works as a grateful response to what God has done in saving us, and not as a prerequisite for salvation.
Unfortunately, many people who go to church, even to an Evangelical or a Protestant church still fall into such a trap. They believe that, by doing good works, they will earn merit that will tip the scales in their favor. They believe that, by doing good works, they will be rewarded with eternal life. Some are even in positions of authority and they're doing a lot in the church but they do not have a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus.
The Jews of Paul's time fell into the trap of thinking that their good works or fulfillment of duties will win them God's favor. Many in the Christian community make the same mistake also and what is worse is that they brag about their goodness and falsely conclude that they are saved. Let us be careful that we don't make this mistake also.
Danger # 4: Ritualism
Finally, the fourth danger that would surely bring peril to anyone who adheres to this is the danger of ritualism. In our passage, we see indications that the Jews thought that their being circumcised surely meant that they were viewed with favor by God and that they were surely saved. I'm sure we all are aware that the rite of circumcision was something important for the Jews. It was the sign of the covenant between God and Abraham in Genesis 17, sort of a condition required of Abraham and his descendants as indication that they belong to God's covenant community. Sadly, the Jews thought that being circumcised or keeping this important ritual was key to their being the people of God. This was why Paul talked about the circumcision of the heart by the Spirit (v. 29), because the outward rite should be symbolic of what has taken place inside your heart. If circumcision symbolized separation unto God, then the heart must first affirm that it is devoted or consecrated to God in order for the rite of circumcision to be truly meaningful for the person who has undergone the rite.
I think the closest equivalent to circumcision in the church is the rite of baptism. We know that baptism is the outward rite that symbolized what has happened to us spiritually, namely the forgiveness of our sins and the new life that we have in Christ Jesus, attained not by good works but because of God's grace that operated through our faith. The inward reality of conversion must happen in order for the outward rite to become something meaningful. Unfortunately, many in the Protestant and Evangelical churches have the mistaken notion that, because they are baptized, they are already saved and they are in a favorable position with God. Baptism does not save us from our sins and give us salvation in the same way that ritual circumcision does not make one a true Jew. Ritualism is dangerous because it gives a false security or hope that, because we have gone through baptism we are already safe when in fact, we aren't.
Conclusion:
This morning, we've learned that the Jews made the mistake of trusting in four things for their salvation and for their gaining favor with God. First, they trusted in the religious affiliation. Second, they trusted in their knowledge of God's Word. Third, they trusted in their fulfillment of religious duties. Finally, they trusted in the rituals they had undergone. Now, note that I never said that these things are bad in themselves, however if we are to trust these things for our salvation and for gaining favor with God, we will soon find out that we are trusting in the wrong things. Being right with God does not depend on what we do or what we achieve; it depends on our having saving faith in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. The Jews made the mistake of trusting in their own righteousness; some who attend church have committed the same mistake. I hope and pray that we will not make the same mistake of trusting our own righteousness; instead, let us trust only in the Righteous One – our Lord Jesus Christ.
Romans 2:17 – 29
Introduction:
One of the things I can't stand about certain people is their tendency to brag about anything and everything under the sun. Have you ever met such people before? I'm sure you have. They're the kind who talks about their personal achievements, about the important people that they know or are acquainted with, about how great they are when they engage in sports or when they're doing business. They emphasize where they've studied (especially if its a prestigious school) as well as where they're working (if its a multi-national company). Such people are often termed as braggarts and I believe the reason they brag is because they want to feel important and they want others to think that they're important.
But sometimes people brag for other reasons, such as when they think and when they know that they're right and you're wrong. They brag when they have something that you don't have or something that is way much newer than what you have now. They even brag when they think that they are better and nicer people than you. Now before I keep on pointing fingers at others, I need to look at myself and admit that there are times when I am a braggart myself, when I begin to look at myself as being more superior than others or when I think that I'm smarter than others, or when I have something more superior to what you have. Why do some people brag or boast? It is because they feel a bit insecure about themselves as compared to others and thus, the need to elevate themselves or to put themselves on a pedestal in order for them to get attention.
Bragging is not an exclusive domain of an individual; it is also something that institutions do when they achieve a certain level of success such as a school winning a basketball tournament over a rival school, or a university achieving an engineering breakthrough, or of an alumni doing very well in the business world and in politics. Companies also brag about what they've accomplished such as inventions and patents.
Bragging is a trap we, as individuals, all have the tendency of falling into, when we are not careful in our thoughts as well as with our words. In fact, we may brag about certain things that may prove to be detrimental to us in the end. A southern California couple appeared in the talk show of Dr. Phil McGraw, the psychiatrist who became famous because of Oprah. This couple bragged to Dr. Phil that they had made US$ 100,000.00 by selling shoplifted toys on e-Bay, and even told Dr. Phil that they had stolen more than a hundred boxes of Lego toys. Their bragging led to their arrest by the police. The husband must serve a 27 months prison term while the wife must serve 12 months. There was also an incident involving an old friend of mine. One day he showed up in school wearing a Giordano T-Shirt. He was then boasting to another friend that he had a Giordano T-Shirt which was the fad in the early 1990s. Our friend then asked a seemingly innocent question, “What size is it?” My friend who was wearing the Giordano T-Shirt then answered, “Free Size.” Immediately, the other friend replied with a taunting chant, “Walang free-size ang Giordano. Fake iyan.” My friend who was wearing this fake T-Shirt had a deflated look on his face. His bragging led him to embarrassment instead!
While the examples that I've cited may cause one to be imprisoned or to be embarrassed, there is a kind of bragging that is dangerous to our soul and, if not addressed, will surely lead us to eternal damnation. What exactly am I talking about? As we will be examining Romans 2:17 – 29 this morning, we will see some things the Jews of Paul's time were bragging about and Paul warned them that their bragging would lead them nowhere close to God.
Context:
In the second half of Chapter 1, we find Paul talking about people having no excuses because of their rejection of the knowledge of God, their worship of idols, and the surrendering of themselves to their sins. Many scholars and commentators will tell you that Paul was talking about the Gentiles. A Jew would heartily agree that Paul was right – that the Gentiles were idol worshippers, people who have no idea whatsoever who the One True God really was. The Jews also despised the Gentiles as being terrible sinners, as described in Chapter 1.
Even as the Jews scoff and look down at the Gentiles, they also became arrogant and began to brag about what they had that made them superior to the Gentiles. From today's passage, we find a couple of areas that the Jews bragged about. As the Jews were beginning to feel that they were safe and secure from God's wrath, Paul reminds them that their bragging would lead them nowhere. What the Jews bragged about themselves and about their being God's people are the same dangers we may commit, bringing spiritual peril to us as we think wrongly that we are already safe and secure. What are these dangers?
Danger # 1: Religious Affiliation
The first danger that we can see from this passage is the danger of religious affiliation. Look at verse 17 carefully. Here we read that the Jews bragged about their relationship with God; this was because of their religious affiliation, the Jews being the chosen people of God. If one is familiar with the Old Testament Scriptures he would be aware that the Jews traced their lineage to Abraham. Furthermore, it was their ancestors who received the Law from God through Moses. If you were to compare the Jewish faith with the other religions existing together with it, not counting Christianity, you would easily conclude that Judaism was a superior religion with its ethical and ceremonial teachings as well as it elaborate rituals and sacrifices. But herein lies the danger: the Jews thought that they were right with God simply because they were Jews. They thought that their being descendants of Abraham would surely save them and give them favor before God. We know from the Gospels that being a descendant of Abraham was no guarantee of salvation and favor with God; just read what John the Baptist said to the Pharisees and the Sadducees in Matthew 3:7 – 9, and what Jesus said to the Jews in John 8:33 – 47 and you will conclude that being a Jew does not guarantee a right standing before God.
The danger of religious affiliation is not exclusive to the Jewish people; it applies even to people who claim to be Christians. There are many who claim to be Christians or, to be specific, who claim to be members of a particular denomination or followers of a certain theological position or of a particular church. They proudly declare that they are Methodists or Episcopalians or Presbyterians or Baptists. They proclaim that they are Calvinists or Dispensationalists or Arminians. They will claim that they are Christians because of their long-time membership in a particular church or denomination; they may also claim to be Christians because their parents and grandparents were Christians, or that they are saved because their parents were missionaries or pastors. The emphasis on religious affiliation poses danger because it will mislead people into thinking that they are OK with God on the basis of their membership and ancestry when in fact every person has to make an individual response to the message of the Gospel. No human being can ever do anything to give me salvation; a person's right spiritual connection with the Lord is no assurance that the next generation is saved and is right with God.
Danger # 2: Intellectual Knowledge of the Word
The second danger the Jews fell into, according to Paul, was that their understanding of the Word was merely intellectual and not transformative. In verse 18 we read that the Jews knew God's will and approved what was taught by the law. They gave their intellectual assent to the Word of God, however, there is no indication that they were truly practicing what the Word of God was teaching. In fact, Paul rebuked the Jews, saying that the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of them, meaning they had possession of the Word of God and they knew the Word of God but they failed to live out the Word of God and had become stumbling blocks for others. The Jews thought that they were blessed by God and even saved because they possessed God's Word, but sadly, no amount of intellectual knowledge about the Word will bring salvation.
We may think that it is rather far-fetched that there would be people who think they're OK with God because they know God's Word, but I do believe that there are people who think that way. They have read the Scriptures and are familiar with the different facts recorded. They know the order of the books of the Bible by memory. They can even memorize and quote Scriptures. However, these same people who know so much about the Bible do not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. They think that they are OK because they know the Word, but that's not the basis for our salvation. Many people come to church and they have heard countless sermons; many have attended Sunday School for so many years and have heard so many lessons from the Bible, yet they are not saved. Why? It is because they think that hearing the Word is enough. They think that possessing the Bible in their hands is enough. Well, the Jews had the Word of God but were they exempted from God's condemnation? NO! In fact, they stood even more condemned because they knew the Word but they failed to put it into practice.
Now, I am not in any way treating the Word of God as being unimportant, but what I am stressing right now is that the mere intellectual knowledge and possession of the Word of God will not save you. The Word of God must probe deep into our hearts, revealing our sins and bring us before the feet of Jesus. If we know the Scriptures solely for intellectual exercise, then we stand condemned by what it teaches. We shouldn't brag if we are in possession of God's Word – what is expected of us is our response and obedience to God's Word.
Danger # 3: Religious Duty
Related to the danger of mere intellectual knowledge is the danger of religious duty. If you look carefully at verses 19 and 20, you will read that the Jews understood that they had the responsibility of being guides for the blind, of being lights for those who are in darkness, as instructors for the foolish and as teachers of infants. In other words, they understood that, because they possessed the Word, they were responsible for teaching the word. They knew their duty as God's chosen people, and no doubt, they did exercise their duty; but they did not pay attention to their personal testimony.
This danger that Paul cited was something that had been happening for some time already. Jesus had rebuked the Pharisees and the teachers of the law numerous times in the gospels because they were too eager to teach but unwilling to follow what they were teaching themselves. We know this problem by the term, hypocrisy. What they taught others to observe, they themselves violated.
However, I would like for us to pay attention to the idea of duty. I have no doubts that the Jews, outwardly, were faithful in administering their responsibility as bearers and teachers of God's law to those who are ignorant and who are in the dark. What is sad is that they think that their being dutiful to the Law of God is something for them to brag about. They viewed their duty as a hallmark of a good Jew and probably thought that it would win more merits for them. Unfortunately, we know that doing good works is not going to save anyone. We've learned that in other passages of Scripture such as Ephesians 2:8 – 9 and Titus 3:5 – 7. We will also learn more about that in Romans 3. We do good works as a grateful response to what God has done in saving us, and not as a prerequisite for salvation.
Unfortunately, many people who go to church, even to an Evangelical or a Protestant church still fall into such a trap. They believe that, by doing good works, they will earn merit that will tip the scales in their favor. They believe that, by doing good works, they will be rewarded with eternal life. Some are even in positions of authority and they're doing a lot in the church but they do not have a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus.
The Jews of Paul's time fell into the trap of thinking that their good works or fulfillment of duties will win them God's favor. Many in the Christian community make the same mistake also and what is worse is that they brag about their goodness and falsely conclude that they are saved. Let us be careful that we don't make this mistake also.
Danger # 4: Ritualism
Finally, the fourth danger that would surely bring peril to anyone who adheres to this is the danger of ritualism. In our passage, we see indications that the Jews thought that their being circumcised surely meant that they were viewed with favor by God and that they were surely saved. I'm sure we all are aware that the rite of circumcision was something important for the Jews. It was the sign of the covenant between God and Abraham in Genesis 17, sort of a condition required of Abraham and his descendants as indication that they belong to God's covenant community. Sadly, the Jews thought that being circumcised or keeping this important ritual was key to their being the people of God. This was why Paul talked about the circumcision of the heart by the Spirit (v. 29), because the outward rite should be symbolic of what has taken place inside your heart. If circumcision symbolized separation unto God, then the heart must first affirm that it is devoted or consecrated to God in order for the rite of circumcision to be truly meaningful for the person who has undergone the rite.
I think the closest equivalent to circumcision in the church is the rite of baptism. We know that baptism is the outward rite that symbolized what has happened to us spiritually, namely the forgiveness of our sins and the new life that we have in Christ Jesus, attained not by good works but because of God's grace that operated through our faith. The inward reality of conversion must happen in order for the outward rite to become something meaningful. Unfortunately, many in the Protestant and Evangelical churches have the mistaken notion that, because they are baptized, they are already saved and they are in a favorable position with God. Baptism does not save us from our sins and give us salvation in the same way that ritual circumcision does not make one a true Jew. Ritualism is dangerous because it gives a false security or hope that, because we have gone through baptism we are already safe when in fact, we aren't.
Conclusion:
This morning, we've learned that the Jews made the mistake of trusting in four things for their salvation and for their gaining favor with God. First, they trusted in the religious affiliation. Second, they trusted in their knowledge of God's Word. Third, they trusted in their fulfillment of religious duties. Finally, they trusted in the rituals they had undergone. Now, note that I never said that these things are bad in themselves, however if we are to trust these things for our salvation and for gaining favor with God, we will soon find out that we are trusting in the wrong things. Being right with God does not depend on what we do or what we achieve; it depends on our having saving faith in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. The Jews made the mistake of trusting in their own righteousness; some who attend church have committed the same mistake. I hope and pray that we will not make the same mistake of trusting our own righteousness; instead, let us trust only in the Righteous One – our Lord Jesus Christ.
Monday, May 3, 2010
NO EXCUSES - Preached at GGC, May 02, 2010
NO EXCUSES
Romans 1:18 – 32
Introduction:
I will never forget the very first day I stepped into Rev. David Cheung's class in New Testament Exegesis. Upon the start of the class, Rev. Cheung passed out some handouts containing book references he expected us to use throughout the course. He also passed out a sheet containing the course requirements. Of course, the most prominent assignment in a subject like NT Exegesis is the exegetical paper, which is the analysis of a particular passage from the NT. In some sense, an exegetical paper is like writing your own commentary on a given passage. Now, the paper had to be passed on a certain time and date, either by dropping it on Rev. Cheung's pigeon hole or by handing it straight to him. If someone failed to pass on the given date, the supposed grade of the paper would be cut in half (example: if you got 100% on the paper but submitted it late, you only get 50%).
Now, I don't recall if anyone failed to submit his paper on time, but I am sure that if there was someone who did, he probably wouldn't have been able to get Rev. Cheung to give him an extension or to give leniency. Why? It was because he had made it clear already what was the submission date and time. He also made it very clear that he would not be lenient to those who submit their papers later than the said time and date. We were aware of the date and we had no excuse whatsoever to submit our paper late, nor could we complain about unfair treatment because we had full knowledge of the deadline and the consequences of submitting late.
In my particular case, we had full knowledge of deadlines and consequences, thus we could not give any excuses for submitting our papers late and get away with it. With regards to the laws of the land, we often hear the expression, “Ignorantia juris non excusat” or in English, “ignorance of the law excuses no one”. Ignorance of the laws of the land does not excuse us from the penalties and consequences when we violate these laws. Whether we have knowledge or we are ignorant of the law, we must suffer consequences when we break them.
As we continue our study of the Book of Romans, in particular our passage today taken from Romans 1:18 – 32, we learn that we are all under the wrath of God and that none among us can ever reason to God and say that we are not deserving of his wrath. In fact, none of us can ever offer an excuse as to why we should not be punished. However, we may be asking the question, “What makes us fall under the wrath of God and why can we not be excused or spared from it?” Today's passage holds the answer to our question, and I pray that as we study this passage, we will better understand why we need the gospel so badly.
Just a side note before I continue with our study: Paul's presentation of the Gospel began with the bad news. Why is this so? Why didn't he begin with the good news like what a popular gospel tract called “The Four Spiritual Laws” did? My personal interpretation is that Paul wanted the readers to understand the depths of humankind's sin and depravity as well as the punishment due in order for them to appreciate more deeply the salvation the Lord Jesus has won for us and the undeserved grace God extends to us.
There are three reasons why humanity cannot be excused from God's righteous judgment that we can find from today's passage. Let's examine these three reasons carefully.
Reason # 1: Knowledge of God is Readily Available
We cannot excuse ourselves from God's judgment because the knowledge of God is readily available, even for someone who doesn't have the Bible or know who Jesus is, even for someone who belongs to a different religion or even for someone who is an atheist. Just look at verse 18; here we read that God's wrath is being revealed against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness. Here, humanity is aware of the truth but they chose to suppress it in order to continue living a life of wickedness.
Now, how was the truth manifested or made known to humanity? In verses 19 to 20, we see that Creation was actually a showcase of God's invisible qualities – namely his eternal power and divine nature. All you have to do is to look at the created things such as the animals, the forests, the seas, the stars, the heavens, and you will see that these are truly marvelous sights to behold. Furthermore, they testify that a powerful, eternal God brought all these to existence. In Psalm 19:1 – 3, the psalmist wrote, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night to night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard.” In Job 12:7 – 9 we read, “But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds of the air, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and they will teach you; or let the fish of the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this?” The creation testifies that there is a powerful, eternal God. Everything in it bears witness to this God.
Humanity's knowledge of God doesn't just come about because of Creation; it is also available through the decrees God has given in people's conscience. Look at the first part of verse 32. Here we read that humanity knows God's righteous decrees that those who do evil deserves death. Not everyone here on earth is exposed to the ethical teachings of the Holy Scriptures like Roman Catholics, Protestants and even Jews; however, if you look at the teachings of major religions, they actually have laws similar to the Ten Commandments. In Hinduism, adherents were expected to refrain from killing, stealing, sexual impurity and lying. In Buddhism, there is the teaching about having the right attitude, right speech and right action. An author pointed out that primitive tribes know when they have sinned and they have sacrificial systems in place in order to atone for their sins. You can investigate the different belief systems in the world and you will see that many of the ethical practices are similar to the Ten Commandments. What this reveals is that, even though many may not know the God of the Bible, they do know that there is a supreme being out there and that they must be careful not to offend this being by keeping certain moral laws. Even without the Bible, people do have their conscience to dictate what is right and wrong.
Sadly, people have chosen to reject God's revelation of himself through creation by saying that the universe came about because of evolution over millions upon millions of years. Also, people have chosen to deaden their conscience in order to continue in their sinful ways. The knowledge of God is readily available but we have rejected this knowledge. Therefore, we cannot make any excuses when God executes his wrath upon us.
Reason # 2: Failure to Honor God
Our second reason is connected with the first reason but I believe it stands on its own because it is a clear reflection of humanity's rejection of the knowledge of God. The second reason why we cannot be excused from God's wrath is because we have failed to honor God properly. We find this in verse 21 where it says that we neither glorified God nor gave thanks to him, even though we have the knowledge of God.
Now, how did humanity fail to glorify and give thanks to God? This is not a simple case of failing to say “thank you” or “praise God” when you receive blessings or when people honor you, although expressing these words are appropriate; rather, humanity fails to glorify and to thank God by becoming futile in their thinking and their hearts becoming foolish. A Bible scholar suggested that because man refused to acknowledge God, he must now substitute God with a being greater than himself, which explains why he fabricates myths and idols. The result: images of mortal men and animals are made to be gods or deities.
Just imagine that: man takes the place of God as the object of worship. This was very much true during the time of Paul when people worshipped Caesar or the emperor as a god. It is very much true today when people kneel, bow and burn incense to Buddha, or when people pray to the statues of Mary, Santo Niño and all the other saints. It is also true that we worship men when we bow and burn incense to our departed ancestors. At times, when we claim glory for ourselves or when we view ourselves as more superior than others, we make ourselves to be gods and, in effect, we are worshipping ourselves.
Ancient myths such as those of the Greek and the Roman Empire were also fabricated by men in order that they could have objects of worship in place of the true God. However, these Greek and Roman gods and goddesses behave not like the true God but just like fallen, depraved human beings.
Humanity also made animals as objects of worship. We see this in the Book of Exodus where the Israelites, upon the absence of Moses, demanded Aaron to make gods for them to worship. Aaron asked that the people give them their gold earrings, and from these he fashioned a golden calf. Aaron then declared to the people that the golden calf was their god and he even instructed the people to build an altar for the calf. If you remember the second plague that God inflicted upon the Egyptians when Pharaoh refused to let the Israelites go, God sent countless numbers of frogs upon the land. There is significance to this, as the Egyptians had a god who had the head of a frog. Today, people still worship animals such as the Hindus who treats the cow as a deity as well as the elephant.
Our trip to Southern India in 2007 was a memorable experience for us not only because we got to do ministry but also because we saw firsthand what India was like,especially the city of Madurai with all the shrines, temples and images found in almost every corner of the city. We also got to see from a distance one of the fourteen towers of the Meenakshi Amman Temple, where each of the towers are filled with thousands of idols. It was fascinating to see such a sight, but at the same time, it was also saddening because the people chose to worship these idols rather than seek after the one true God. The same is true for the whole of humanity – we know that God exists but we refuse to worship him and give glory to him. We have chosen to worship the creation rather than the Creator. Thus we are not excused from the wrath of God.
Reason # 3: We Deliberately Sin Against God
Finally, we cannot escape God's judgment nor give excuses because we have deliberately sinned against God. Again, this reason is connected with the two previous reasons we've looked into. If you look at the progression, it goes something like this: Man rejects God's revelation of himself through the creation and conscience; they give glory and worship instead to idols; because of their failure to worship God, God gave them over to their sinful desires.
Now, the idea of God giving humanity over to their sinful desire does not mean that God caused us to sin; on the contrary, what it means is that God gave us up to what we want to do. If we want to abandon him and go after other gods, fine. But we better be ready to face the consequences of our actions. It is our willful rejection of God that produces ugly results in humanity.
There is a long list of various sins people commit as a result of their rejection of God. We do not have time to look at each one of these sins in detail. However, I would like for us to pay attention to one particular sin mentioned in verses 26 to 27. It is the sin of homosexuality. The media as well as the gay rights movement want us to believe that homosexuality is not a sin but rather, it is a choice people should be free to make. Psychiatrists on the other hand say that homosexuality is in the genes of some people, thus making them more prone to become homosexuals; therefore such people should not be hindered from being their “true self”. They can justify all they want, but when God says its a sin, its a sin.
Now, I don't want you to leave this sanctuary later thinking that homosexuality is the worst sin of all. In God's sight, sin is sin, regardless of what kind of wrong act you've committed. You cannot blame your environment for making you a sinner. You can't blame the people around you for making you a sinner. You made the choice to rebel against God. You made the choice to worship anything and anyone other than God.
In the 1960s, psychologist Dr. Stanton Samenow and psychiatrist Dr. Samuel Yochelson, sharing the conventional wisdom that crime is caused by environment, set out to prove their point. They began a seventeen-year study, published in 1977, titled, The Criminal Personality. To their own astonishment, they discovered that the cause of crime cannot be traced to environment, to poverty or oppression. Instead, crime is the result of individuals making, as they put it, “wrong moral choices”.
Well, sinning is a poor choice humanity made as an act of rebellion against God. Because of this poor choice, we are left without an excuse as we must face the wrath of God.
Conclusion:
Today, we have learned that none of us are excused from God's wrath. It is because we have rejected God's revelation of himself through creation and our conscience by instead believing in the lie of evolution as well as in deadening our conscience. We cannot be excused because we have failed to honor God by bowing our knees and offering our prayers and allegiance to false gods – idols. Finally, we cannot be excused because we deliberately chose to sin against God instead of choosing to follow God's way.
While it is true that most, if not all of us are already believers of Jesus Christ and we have been justified by faith in Christ such that God's wrath is no longer upon us, I believe today's message should be a reminder to us that God's wrath is real. While we may be spared from his wrath, there are still many who are lost in their sins and in their rebellion. We must take seriously our responsibility of sharing the good news to the lost.
Today's discussion should also help us to see the gravity of our sins and why Jesus had to pay for our sin and rebellion with his death on the cross. As God's redeemed people, we should no longer allow sin to dominate us, going back to the old way of life. Instead, let us live the new life which Christ has already bought for us through his death and resurrection, forsaking our sins and choosing instead to please God.
Romans 1:18 – 32
Introduction:
I will never forget the very first day I stepped into Rev. David Cheung's class in New Testament Exegesis. Upon the start of the class, Rev. Cheung passed out some handouts containing book references he expected us to use throughout the course. He also passed out a sheet containing the course requirements. Of course, the most prominent assignment in a subject like NT Exegesis is the exegetical paper, which is the analysis of a particular passage from the NT. In some sense, an exegetical paper is like writing your own commentary on a given passage. Now, the paper had to be passed on a certain time and date, either by dropping it on Rev. Cheung's pigeon hole or by handing it straight to him. If someone failed to pass on the given date, the supposed grade of the paper would be cut in half (example: if you got 100% on the paper but submitted it late, you only get 50%).
Now, I don't recall if anyone failed to submit his paper on time, but I am sure that if there was someone who did, he probably wouldn't have been able to get Rev. Cheung to give him an extension or to give leniency. Why? It was because he had made it clear already what was the submission date and time. He also made it very clear that he would not be lenient to those who submit their papers later than the said time and date. We were aware of the date and we had no excuse whatsoever to submit our paper late, nor could we complain about unfair treatment because we had full knowledge of the deadline and the consequences of submitting late.
In my particular case, we had full knowledge of deadlines and consequences, thus we could not give any excuses for submitting our papers late and get away with it. With regards to the laws of the land, we often hear the expression, “Ignorantia juris non excusat” or in English, “ignorance of the law excuses no one”. Ignorance of the laws of the land does not excuse us from the penalties and consequences when we violate these laws. Whether we have knowledge or we are ignorant of the law, we must suffer consequences when we break them.
As we continue our study of the Book of Romans, in particular our passage today taken from Romans 1:18 – 32, we learn that we are all under the wrath of God and that none among us can ever reason to God and say that we are not deserving of his wrath. In fact, none of us can ever offer an excuse as to why we should not be punished. However, we may be asking the question, “What makes us fall under the wrath of God and why can we not be excused or spared from it?” Today's passage holds the answer to our question, and I pray that as we study this passage, we will better understand why we need the gospel so badly.
Just a side note before I continue with our study: Paul's presentation of the Gospel began with the bad news. Why is this so? Why didn't he begin with the good news like what a popular gospel tract called “The Four Spiritual Laws” did? My personal interpretation is that Paul wanted the readers to understand the depths of humankind's sin and depravity as well as the punishment due in order for them to appreciate more deeply the salvation the Lord Jesus has won for us and the undeserved grace God extends to us.
There are three reasons why humanity cannot be excused from God's righteous judgment that we can find from today's passage. Let's examine these three reasons carefully.
Reason # 1: Knowledge of God is Readily Available
We cannot excuse ourselves from God's judgment because the knowledge of God is readily available, even for someone who doesn't have the Bible or know who Jesus is, even for someone who belongs to a different religion or even for someone who is an atheist. Just look at verse 18; here we read that God's wrath is being revealed against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness. Here, humanity is aware of the truth but they chose to suppress it in order to continue living a life of wickedness.
Now, how was the truth manifested or made known to humanity? In verses 19 to 20, we see that Creation was actually a showcase of God's invisible qualities – namely his eternal power and divine nature. All you have to do is to look at the created things such as the animals, the forests, the seas, the stars, the heavens, and you will see that these are truly marvelous sights to behold. Furthermore, they testify that a powerful, eternal God brought all these to existence. In Psalm 19:1 – 3, the psalmist wrote, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night to night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard.” In Job 12:7 – 9 we read, “But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds of the air, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and they will teach you; or let the fish of the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this?” The creation testifies that there is a powerful, eternal God. Everything in it bears witness to this God.
Humanity's knowledge of God doesn't just come about because of Creation; it is also available through the decrees God has given in people's conscience. Look at the first part of verse 32. Here we read that humanity knows God's righteous decrees that those who do evil deserves death. Not everyone here on earth is exposed to the ethical teachings of the Holy Scriptures like Roman Catholics, Protestants and even Jews; however, if you look at the teachings of major religions, they actually have laws similar to the Ten Commandments. In Hinduism, adherents were expected to refrain from killing, stealing, sexual impurity and lying. In Buddhism, there is the teaching about having the right attitude, right speech and right action. An author pointed out that primitive tribes know when they have sinned and they have sacrificial systems in place in order to atone for their sins. You can investigate the different belief systems in the world and you will see that many of the ethical practices are similar to the Ten Commandments. What this reveals is that, even though many may not know the God of the Bible, they do know that there is a supreme being out there and that they must be careful not to offend this being by keeping certain moral laws. Even without the Bible, people do have their conscience to dictate what is right and wrong.
Sadly, people have chosen to reject God's revelation of himself through creation by saying that the universe came about because of evolution over millions upon millions of years. Also, people have chosen to deaden their conscience in order to continue in their sinful ways. The knowledge of God is readily available but we have rejected this knowledge. Therefore, we cannot make any excuses when God executes his wrath upon us.
Reason # 2: Failure to Honor God
Our second reason is connected with the first reason but I believe it stands on its own because it is a clear reflection of humanity's rejection of the knowledge of God. The second reason why we cannot be excused from God's wrath is because we have failed to honor God properly. We find this in verse 21 where it says that we neither glorified God nor gave thanks to him, even though we have the knowledge of God.
Now, how did humanity fail to glorify and give thanks to God? This is not a simple case of failing to say “thank you” or “praise God” when you receive blessings or when people honor you, although expressing these words are appropriate; rather, humanity fails to glorify and to thank God by becoming futile in their thinking and their hearts becoming foolish. A Bible scholar suggested that because man refused to acknowledge God, he must now substitute God with a being greater than himself, which explains why he fabricates myths and idols. The result: images of mortal men and animals are made to be gods or deities.
Just imagine that: man takes the place of God as the object of worship. This was very much true during the time of Paul when people worshipped Caesar or the emperor as a god. It is very much true today when people kneel, bow and burn incense to Buddha, or when people pray to the statues of Mary, Santo Niño and all the other saints. It is also true that we worship men when we bow and burn incense to our departed ancestors. At times, when we claim glory for ourselves or when we view ourselves as more superior than others, we make ourselves to be gods and, in effect, we are worshipping ourselves.
Ancient myths such as those of the Greek and the Roman Empire were also fabricated by men in order that they could have objects of worship in place of the true God. However, these Greek and Roman gods and goddesses behave not like the true God but just like fallen, depraved human beings.
Humanity also made animals as objects of worship. We see this in the Book of Exodus where the Israelites, upon the absence of Moses, demanded Aaron to make gods for them to worship. Aaron asked that the people give them their gold earrings, and from these he fashioned a golden calf. Aaron then declared to the people that the golden calf was their god and he even instructed the people to build an altar for the calf. If you remember the second plague that God inflicted upon the Egyptians when Pharaoh refused to let the Israelites go, God sent countless numbers of frogs upon the land. There is significance to this, as the Egyptians had a god who had the head of a frog. Today, people still worship animals such as the Hindus who treats the cow as a deity as well as the elephant.
Our trip to Southern India in 2007 was a memorable experience for us not only because we got to do ministry but also because we saw firsthand what India was like,especially the city of Madurai with all the shrines, temples and images found in almost every corner of the city. We also got to see from a distance one of the fourteen towers of the Meenakshi Amman Temple, where each of the towers are filled with thousands of idols. It was fascinating to see such a sight, but at the same time, it was also saddening because the people chose to worship these idols rather than seek after the one true God. The same is true for the whole of humanity – we know that God exists but we refuse to worship him and give glory to him. We have chosen to worship the creation rather than the Creator. Thus we are not excused from the wrath of God.
Reason # 3: We Deliberately Sin Against God
Finally, we cannot escape God's judgment nor give excuses because we have deliberately sinned against God. Again, this reason is connected with the two previous reasons we've looked into. If you look at the progression, it goes something like this: Man rejects God's revelation of himself through the creation and conscience; they give glory and worship instead to idols; because of their failure to worship God, God gave them over to their sinful desires.
Now, the idea of God giving humanity over to their sinful desire does not mean that God caused us to sin; on the contrary, what it means is that God gave us up to what we want to do. If we want to abandon him and go after other gods, fine. But we better be ready to face the consequences of our actions. It is our willful rejection of God that produces ugly results in humanity.
There is a long list of various sins people commit as a result of their rejection of God. We do not have time to look at each one of these sins in detail. However, I would like for us to pay attention to one particular sin mentioned in verses 26 to 27. It is the sin of homosexuality. The media as well as the gay rights movement want us to believe that homosexuality is not a sin but rather, it is a choice people should be free to make. Psychiatrists on the other hand say that homosexuality is in the genes of some people, thus making them more prone to become homosexuals; therefore such people should not be hindered from being their “true self”. They can justify all they want, but when God says its a sin, its a sin.
Now, I don't want you to leave this sanctuary later thinking that homosexuality is the worst sin of all. In God's sight, sin is sin, regardless of what kind of wrong act you've committed. You cannot blame your environment for making you a sinner. You can't blame the people around you for making you a sinner. You made the choice to rebel against God. You made the choice to worship anything and anyone other than God.
In the 1960s, psychologist Dr. Stanton Samenow and psychiatrist Dr. Samuel Yochelson, sharing the conventional wisdom that crime is caused by environment, set out to prove their point. They began a seventeen-year study, published in 1977, titled, The Criminal Personality. To their own astonishment, they discovered that the cause of crime cannot be traced to environment, to poverty or oppression. Instead, crime is the result of individuals making, as they put it, “wrong moral choices”.
Well, sinning is a poor choice humanity made as an act of rebellion against God. Because of this poor choice, we are left without an excuse as we must face the wrath of God.
Conclusion:
Today, we have learned that none of us are excused from God's wrath. It is because we have rejected God's revelation of himself through creation and our conscience by instead believing in the lie of evolution as well as in deadening our conscience. We cannot be excused because we have failed to honor God by bowing our knees and offering our prayers and allegiance to false gods – idols. Finally, we cannot be excused because we deliberately chose to sin against God instead of choosing to follow God's way.
While it is true that most, if not all of us are already believers of Jesus Christ and we have been justified by faith in Christ such that God's wrath is no longer upon us, I believe today's message should be a reminder to us that God's wrath is real. While we may be spared from his wrath, there are still many who are lost in their sins and in their rebellion. We must take seriously our responsibility of sharing the good news to the lost.
Today's discussion should also help us to see the gravity of our sins and why Jesus had to pay for our sin and rebellion with his death on the cross. As God's redeemed people, we should no longer allow sin to dominate us, going back to the old way of life. Instead, let us live the new life which Christ has already bought for us through his death and resurrection, forsaking our sins and choosing instead to please God.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
What Drives You? - Messaged preached at GGC, April 11, 2010
What Drives You?
Romans 1:1 – 17
Introduction:
You are probably familiar with the slogan, “what drives you?” if you pay attention to TV commercials. It is the slogan used for Caltex. The point of the slogan is that Caltex fuels will bring you farther and faster compared to other fuels. However, what is interesting about the Caltex commercials, like the one you just saw, is that the person has a motivation for excellence or great performance and the means to achieve these would be through the use of Caltex fuel. In the commercial, it is the desire to provide the freshest produce on time to his customers that drives the farmer to work hard and to use Caltex fuel.
Now, I am not here to tell you to fill up your cars with Caltex gasoline nor am I endorsing their products. However, I would like for us to pay attention to their slogan, “What drives you?” What is the driving force of our lives? What motivates you to excel or to survive? What is the goal that you are aiming for? For some people, the motivator may be their families – the desire to see that their families would be well-provided for and that the children would grow up as fine individuals; for others, it may be the desire to make a reputable name for one's self. Some are motivated by the money and the things they can buy with it, thus they strive to gain much of it. Still, there are those who are motivated by what is called altruism or simply the desire to do good without selfish reasons because they desire for a better world.
What about us as believers? What drives us? This morning, we will begin our study of the Book of Romans. In today's passage, we find that Paul had a particular motivation as to why he was so zealous in working for the Lord. Now, his motivation is not like what some believers have when they serve the Lord. Some believers think that when they serve the Lord, they will surely be blessed materially. This explains why many believe in the prosperity gospel. Others think that when they serve the Lord, they will gain favor with the Lord which they can claim later when they have a need or want. Paul however served the Lord with the motivation being nothing less than the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Now, what is the Gospel of Jesus Christ? So often, our comprehension of the word “Gospel” is limited simply to the salvation we have because of what Jesus Christ did for us on the cross. Nothing wrong in thinking like this, but this isn't exactly the whole picture when we use the word, “Gospel.” According to a Bible scholar, the central message of the gospel is the person of Jesus Christ himself, how he lived his life, how he died and rose again, with the desired result that we will believe him for our salvation as well as follow his example and abide in his grace in our sanctification and glorification. In fact, the Kerygma or the proclamation of the Christian church centers on Christ. The same scholar, in his online commentary, wrote on the topic of kerygma and I found the following to be the essential proclamation of the church or, we could say, the very message of the gospel:
1.The promises by God made in the O.T. have now been fulfilled with the coming of Jesus the Messiah
2.Jesus was anointed as Messiah by God at his baptism
3.Jesus began his ministry in Galilee after his baptism
4.His ministry was characterized by doing good and performing mighty works by means of the power of God
5.The Messiah was crucified according to the purpose of God
6.He was raised from the dead and appeared to His disciples
7.Jesus was exalted by God and given the name “Lord”
8.He gave the Holy Spirit to form the new community of God
9.He will come again for judgment and the restoration of all things
10.All who hear the message should repent and be baptized
(Online Commentary on Romans by Rev. Dr. Bob Utley)
What drove Paul in life was the Gospel or the very person of Jesus Christ. Before his conversion along the road to Damascus, Paul was simply driven because of his zeal for the Jewish religion and his desire to conform to the Law of the Jews; his encounter with Jesus changed all that. He became so enamored, so in love with Jesus Christ, that everything he did and say were all done for the sake and for the glory of the Lord Jesus. What made Paul so zealous for the gospel message? I would like to share with you three things we must have if we want to have the zeal Paul had for the gospel. To help us remember these three things, each starts with the letter “C”.
I. Confidence in the Message of the Gospel
Paul had great confidence in the message of the Gospel. In Romans 1:16, Paul wrote, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.” He was confident that it had the power to bring about salvation, that any person, whether Jew or Gentile, who believes in the message, the person of Jesus Christ, will surely find salvation. If the apostle Paul were a gambling man, he would, without hesitation, put everything he has at stake. This, I am sure, was the extent of his confidence in the gospel message.
Why would Paul have such a great confidence in the Gospel message? I believe that his confidence came about because he had personally experienced the Gospel in his own life and had seen how powerful it was as to transform him from a persecutor of the church to becoming an apostle of Christ. He had seen for himself how the gospel had changed him from a violent, angry man to someone who was tender and loving. Let me give a word of caution regarding experience – when I speak about experience, I am talking about the transformation that God brought about in a person's life, of how God changes a person from a sinner to a saint; I am not talking about ecstatic, supernatural experiences. Although believers can have supernatural experiences, these are not accurate gauges of a person's transformation because even Satan can duplicate supernatural events and use these to deceive people into thinking that they are right with God. The most important experience that we can have with regards to the gospel is the experience of real transformation.
Aside from the experience that Paul had which confirmed his confidence, I believe his confidence in the Gospel also stemmed from the truth of God's Word. Paul was heavily grounded in the Word of God and he knew that Jesus fulfilled the OT prophecies regarding the Messiah. Both his experience of Jesus in his life as well as his familiarity and love for the Scriptures gave him confidence in the Gospel message.
When we are properly grounded in the Word of God and when we are continually experiencing the transforming power of the Gospel in our lives, we will not be easily swayed by the false teachings that proliferate today that tells us that all roads lead to God or that the gospel is an insufficient message for salvation. What is sad is that many people who profess to be Christians are not going deep into God's Word and they are not experiencing God's transforming power at all. Such people will never form true confidence in the gospel and it will be extremely easy for them to sway from one false teaching to another, from one wrong practice to another. I pray that we will all have real confidence in the message of the gospel, that it is indeed powerful to bring about salvation.
II. Conviction in Bringing the Gospel to the Lost
It is great to have confidence in the message of the Gospel, for it means that you don't doubt the message; it means you believe it to be true and effective. However, what good would that be if you are not moved to see the great need out there, of the countless souls who are lost, who will forever be lost unless they hear the Gospel and respond to it? Thus, the second “C” that we all need is conviction – a conviction that we are all responsible for bringing the gospel to the Lost.
The apostle Paul had conviction regarding his personal responsibility in preaching the Gospel. In fact, in today's passage, he viewed his conviction as being an obligation – he was obliged to the Gentile people to preach to them the gospel (1:14); however, this obligation was not something he did begrudgingly but he did this with eagerness. I would surmise that conviction entails both a sense of obligation and a sense of eagerness. Without obligation, we would not go about doing what we have to do; without eagerness, we will simply be doing our responsibility but without excitement and joy. We need both obligation and eagerness – that's what conviction is all about.
In 1 Corinthians 9:16, Paul proclaimed a curse upon himself if he did not fulfill his obligation of preaching the gospel. On the other hand, when you look at how Paul seemed unstoppable when it comes to preaching the gospel, you see his eagerness to get the message across to the lost. Consider what Paul had gone through just to preach the Gospel and you will see that he was truly a man with conviction about the gospel message:
1. Stoned in Galatia (Acts 14:19)
2. Imprisoned in Philippi (Acts 16:23-24)
3. Smuggled out of Berea (Acts 17:4)
4. Chased out of Thessalonica (Acts 17:10)
5. Laughed at in Athens (Acts 17:32)
6. Regarded as a fool in Corinth (1 Corinthians 1:18, 23)
What about us? Do we have conviction with regards to the gospel that we are eager as well as obliged to share it? Again, it is not enough that we have confidence in the message, but we must also be convicted as to actually be proclaiming it to the lost.
There is the story of a woman who had seen a beautiful needlepoint picture being sold in a garage sale. The message of the needlepoint picture was “prayer changes lives”. The woman bought the picture and she brought it home, seeking for an appropriate place to hang it. She finally decided that the best place to hang it would be in the dining hall area. When her husband came home, she excitedly showed him the picture. The husband looked at the picture but did not make any response, whether favorable or unfavorable. The next day, the wife noticed that the picture was missing while she was cleaning the house. She continued her chore and then found the picture behind the bookcase. She took the picture and returned it to the dining hall. The next day, the picture was again missing and the wife looked for it and found it behind the bookcase. When her husband returned home, she confronted him, asking why he moved the picture. She asked if the artwork was not pleasing to him and the husband responded that the picture was beautiful. She then asked if the problem was the location; the husband replied that the location was perfect. The wife then concluded that it must have been the message of the picture, but when she asked her husband, the husband said the message was great. Baffled, the wife then asked, “So, what's the problem?” The husband replied, “I just don't like change.” The husband, no doubt, believes that prayer really can change life; in fact, we could say that he had confidence that prayer really works, however, he has no conviction whatsoever about praying – he has no eagerness nor sense of responsibility about praying. The same is also true for preaching the gospel. If you have no conviction whatsoever regarding your responsibility to share the gospel, your confidence in the gospel would be something useless.
III. Consecration to the Task of Sharing the Gospel
Finally, the third “C” we need to have if we want to have zeal in sharing the gospel is the need for consecration on our part. What does the word “consecration” mean? It is simply to devote one's self to a specific purpose. We find this to be true of the apostle Paul, for in verse 9 Paul expressed that he serves God with his whole heart in preaching the Gospel of Christ. He was not half-hearted at all when it comes to preaching the Gospel; but rather, he gave himself wholly to the task. Even when he faced so much trials and persecutions for preaching the gospel, he remain committed and devoted to the task. It is because he devoted himself to the preaching of the gospel.
Without consecration or a personal commitment to share the gospel, we will never get around to actually doing it. We can be confident about the message of the gospel; we can be convicted that we need to share the gospel; but if we do not make the personal resolution that we will share the gospel, we will never get around to doing it.
We do not need to become great orators in order to preach the gospel. We do not need to work in church or to be in full-time ministry in order to preach the gospel. The gospel is a message all believers, whether laypeople or clergy, must bring to the lost. We all have our spheres of influence – our colleagues, our classmates, our family, our friends – they all need the gospel. If we are not devoted to the task of sharing the gospel, no amount of confidence or conviction will give the lost the chance to hear the gospel. It is your consecration or devotion that will ultimately drive you to speak the words of life and peace to the lost.
Conclusion:
Let's review what we've learned this morning. What will drive you to make the preaching of the gospel your lifestyle? First, we must have confidence in the message of the gospel. Without confidence, we will be easily swayed by false teachings or we will be hesitant about sharing the gospel with others. Second, we must have conviction regarding our responsibility to share the gospel. If we do not believe that we have a God-given responsibility to share the gospel, we will not go out and do it, even if we are confident in the message of the gospel. Finally, we must be consecrated or devoted to the work of preaching the gospel. We can be confident about the gospel, we can have conviction about our responsibility to share, but if we do not say to the Lord, “Here am I, send me,” or “Here am I, use me,” then the likelihood that we will be zealous in sharing the gospel will be quite thin.
I pray that we will, like Paul, be driven by the message of the Gospel to go and preach it to those who we come in contact with everyday. Let us have a passion, a zeal for sharing the gospel, because it is a life-giving message that everyone needs to hear.
Romans 1:1 – 17
Introduction:
You are probably familiar with the slogan, “what drives you?” if you pay attention to TV commercials. It is the slogan used for Caltex. The point of the slogan is that Caltex fuels will bring you farther and faster compared to other fuels. However, what is interesting about the Caltex commercials, like the one you just saw, is that the person has a motivation for excellence or great performance and the means to achieve these would be through the use of Caltex fuel. In the commercial, it is the desire to provide the freshest produce on time to his customers that drives the farmer to work hard and to use Caltex fuel.
Now, I am not here to tell you to fill up your cars with Caltex gasoline nor am I endorsing their products. However, I would like for us to pay attention to their slogan, “What drives you?” What is the driving force of our lives? What motivates you to excel or to survive? What is the goal that you are aiming for? For some people, the motivator may be their families – the desire to see that their families would be well-provided for and that the children would grow up as fine individuals; for others, it may be the desire to make a reputable name for one's self. Some are motivated by the money and the things they can buy with it, thus they strive to gain much of it. Still, there are those who are motivated by what is called altruism or simply the desire to do good without selfish reasons because they desire for a better world.
What about us as believers? What drives us? This morning, we will begin our study of the Book of Romans. In today's passage, we find that Paul had a particular motivation as to why he was so zealous in working for the Lord. Now, his motivation is not like what some believers have when they serve the Lord. Some believers think that when they serve the Lord, they will surely be blessed materially. This explains why many believe in the prosperity gospel. Others think that when they serve the Lord, they will gain favor with the Lord which they can claim later when they have a need or want. Paul however served the Lord with the motivation being nothing less than the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Now, what is the Gospel of Jesus Christ? So often, our comprehension of the word “Gospel” is limited simply to the salvation we have because of what Jesus Christ did for us on the cross. Nothing wrong in thinking like this, but this isn't exactly the whole picture when we use the word, “Gospel.” According to a Bible scholar, the central message of the gospel is the person of Jesus Christ himself, how he lived his life, how he died and rose again, with the desired result that we will believe him for our salvation as well as follow his example and abide in his grace in our sanctification and glorification. In fact, the Kerygma or the proclamation of the Christian church centers on Christ. The same scholar, in his online commentary, wrote on the topic of kerygma and I found the following to be the essential proclamation of the church or, we could say, the very message of the gospel:
1.The promises by God made in the O.T. have now been fulfilled with the coming of Jesus the Messiah
2.Jesus was anointed as Messiah by God at his baptism
3.Jesus began his ministry in Galilee after his baptism
4.His ministry was characterized by doing good and performing mighty works by means of the power of God
5.The Messiah was crucified according to the purpose of God
6.He was raised from the dead and appeared to His disciples
7.Jesus was exalted by God and given the name “Lord”
8.He gave the Holy Spirit to form the new community of God
9.He will come again for judgment and the restoration of all things
10.All who hear the message should repent and be baptized
(Online Commentary on Romans by Rev. Dr. Bob Utley)
What drove Paul in life was the Gospel or the very person of Jesus Christ. Before his conversion along the road to Damascus, Paul was simply driven because of his zeal for the Jewish religion and his desire to conform to the Law of the Jews; his encounter with Jesus changed all that. He became so enamored, so in love with Jesus Christ, that everything he did and say were all done for the sake and for the glory of the Lord Jesus. What made Paul so zealous for the gospel message? I would like to share with you three things we must have if we want to have the zeal Paul had for the gospel. To help us remember these three things, each starts with the letter “C”.
I. Confidence in the Message of the Gospel
Paul had great confidence in the message of the Gospel. In Romans 1:16, Paul wrote, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.” He was confident that it had the power to bring about salvation, that any person, whether Jew or Gentile, who believes in the message, the person of Jesus Christ, will surely find salvation. If the apostle Paul were a gambling man, he would, without hesitation, put everything he has at stake. This, I am sure, was the extent of his confidence in the gospel message.
Why would Paul have such a great confidence in the Gospel message? I believe that his confidence came about because he had personally experienced the Gospel in his own life and had seen how powerful it was as to transform him from a persecutor of the church to becoming an apostle of Christ. He had seen for himself how the gospel had changed him from a violent, angry man to someone who was tender and loving. Let me give a word of caution regarding experience – when I speak about experience, I am talking about the transformation that God brought about in a person's life, of how God changes a person from a sinner to a saint; I am not talking about ecstatic, supernatural experiences. Although believers can have supernatural experiences, these are not accurate gauges of a person's transformation because even Satan can duplicate supernatural events and use these to deceive people into thinking that they are right with God. The most important experience that we can have with regards to the gospel is the experience of real transformation.
Aside from the experience that Paul had which confirmed his confidence, I believe his confidence in the Gospel also stemmed from the truth of God's Word. Paul was heavily grounded in the Word of God and he knew that Jesus fulfilled the OT prophecies regarding the Messiah. Both his experience of Jesus in his life as well as his familiarity and love for the Scriptures gave him confidence in the Gospel message.
When we are properly grounded in the Word of God and when we are continually experiencing the transforming power of the Gospel in our lives, we will not be easily swayed by the false teachings that proliferate today that tells us that all roads lead to God or that the gospel is an insufficient message for salvation. What is sad is that many people who profess to be Christians are not going deep into God's Word and they are not experiencing God's transforming power at all. Such people will never form true confidence in the gospel and it will be extremely easy for them to sway from one false teaching to another, from one wrong practice to another. I pray that we will all have real confidence in the message of the gospel, that it is indeed powerful to bring about salvation.
II. Conviction in Bringing the Gospel to the Lost
It is great to have confidence in the message of the Gospel, for it means that you don't doubt the message; it means you believe it to be true and effective. However, what good would that be if you are not moved to see the great need out there, of the countless souls who are lost, who will forever be lost unless they hear the Gospel and respond to it? Thus, the second “C” that we all need is conviction – a conviction that we are all responsible for bringing the gospel to the Lost.
The apostle Paul had conviction regarding his personal responsibility in preaching the Gospel. In fact, in today's passage, he viewed his conviction as being an obligation – he was obliged to the Gentile people to preach to them the gospel (1:14); however, this obligation was not something he did begrudgingly but he did this with eagerness. I would surmise that conviction entails both a sense of obligation and a sense of eagerness. Without obligation, we would not go about doing what we have to do; without eagerness, we will simply be doing our responsibility but without excitement and joy. We need both obligation and eagerness – that's what conviction is all about.
In 1 Corinthians 9:16, Paul proclaimed a curse upon himself if he did not fulfill his obligation of preaching the gospel. On the other hand, when you look at how Paul seemed unstoppable when it comes to preaching the gospel, you see his eagerness to get the message across to the lost. Consider what Paul had gone through just to preach the Gospel and you will see that he was truly a man with conviction about the gospel message:
1. Stoned in Galatia (Acts 14:19)
2. Imprisoned in Philippi (Acts 16:23-24)
3. Smuggled out of Berea (Acts 17:4)
4. Chased out of Thessalonica (Acts 17:10)
5. Laughed at in Athens (Acts 17:32)
6. Regarded as a fool in Corinth (1 Corinthians 1:18, 23)
What about us? Do we have conviction with regards to the gospel that we are eager as well as obliged to share it? Again, it is not enough that we have confidence in the message, but we must also be convicted as to actually be proclaiming it to the lost.
There is the story of a woman who had seen a beautiful needlepoint picture being sold in a garage sale. The message of the needlepoint picture was “prayer changes lives”. The woman bought the picture and she brought it home, seeking for an appropriate place to hang it. She finally decided that the best place to hang it would be in the dining hall area. When her husband came home, she excitedly showed him the picture. The husband looked at the picture but did not make any response, whether favorable or unfavorable. The next day, the wife noticed that the picture was missing while she was cleaning the house. She continued her chore and then found the picture behind the bookcase. She took the picture and returned it to the dining hall. The next day, the picture was again missing and the wife looked for it and found it behind the bookcase. When her husband returned home, she confronted him, asking why he moved the picture. She asked if the artwork was not pleasing to him and the husband responded that the picture was beautiful. She then asked if the problem was the location; the husband replied that the location was perfect. The wife then concluded that it must have been the message of the picture, but when she asked her husband, the husband said the message was great. Baffled, the wife then asked, “So, what's the problem?” The husband replied, “I just don't like change.” The husband, no doubt, believes that prayer really can change life; in fact, we could say that he had confidence that prayer really works, however, he has no conviction whatsoever about praying – he has no eagerness nor sense of responsibility about praying. The same is also true for preaching the gospel. If you have no conviction whatsoever regarding your responsibility to share the gospel, your confidence in the gospel would be something useless.
III. Consecration to the Task of Sharing the Gospel
Finally, the third “C” we need to have if we want to have zeal in sharing the gospel is the need for consecration on our part. What does the word “consecration” mean? It is simply to devote one's self to a specific purpose. We find this to be true of the apostle Paul, for in verse 9 Paul expressed that he serves God with his whole heart in preaching the Gospel of Christ. He was not half-hearted at all when it comes to preaching the Gospel; but rather, he gave himself wholly to the task. Even when he faced so much trials and persecutions for preaching the gospel, he remain committed and devoted to the task. It is because he devoted himself to the preaching of the gospel.
Without consecration or a personal commitment to share the gospel, we will never get around to actually doing it. We can be confident about the message of the gospel; we can be convicted that we need to share the gospel; but if we do not make the personal resolution that we will share the gospel, we will never get around to doing it.
We do not need to become great orators in order to preach the gospel. We do not need to work in church or to be in full-time ministry in order to preach the gospel. The gospel is a message all believers, whether laypeople or clergy, must bring to the lost. We all have our spheres of influence – our colleagues, our classmates, our family, our friends – they all need the gospel. If we are not devoted to the task of sharing the gospel, no amount of confidence or conviction will give the lost the chance to hear the gospel. It is your consecration or devotion that will ultimately drive you to speak the words of life and peace to the lost.
Conclusion:
Let's review what we've learned this morning. What will drive you to make the preaching of the gospel your lifestyle? First, we must have confidence in the message of the gospel. Without confidence, we will be easily swayed by false teachings or we will be hesitant about sharing the gospel with others. Second, we must have conviction regarding our responsibility to share the gospel. If we do not believe that we have a God-given responsibility to share the gospel, we will not go out and do it, even if we are confident in the message of the gospel. Finally, we must be consecrated or devoted to the work of preaching the gospel. We can be confident about the gospel, we can have conviction about our responsibility to share, but if we do not say to the Lord, “Here am I, send me,” or “Here am I, use me,” then the likelihood that we will be zealous in sharing the gospel will be quite thin.
I pray that we will, like Paul, be driven by the message of the Gospel to go and preach it to those who we come in contact with everyday. Let us have a passion, a zeal for sharing the gospel, because it is a life-giving message that everyone needs to hear.
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