And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me - Galatians 2:20
When did Jesus die for Paul? Before the road to Damascus incident, or after? It was before! WHILE Paul was a blasphemer and a persecutor of the Church, Christ loved him and gave His life for him.
But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us - Romans 5:8
Same question we must ask ourselves: When did Christ start loving us? After we became Christians? After we 'decided' to follow Christ? After we led many people to Christ? After we have done many works of ministry in the Church? NO! It was before! Before we cared anything about Jesus or about anything related to God. While we were in sin and following the desires of the flesh and fulfilling the will of the devil, Christ loved us, and died for us.
Let us dive into this love of God, which passes all understanding. Christ never loved us as a response to what we did. God loved us before we even thought about responding. God so loved the world - the world, with all its rebellion against God - and gave his only Son, so that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but have everlasting life! Praise be to God for this amazing grace!
In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 1 John 4:10
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Friday, April 13, 2012
Unbelief is just another symptom of sin
Why do atheists not believe in God? Why do Christians sometimes struggle with doubt in God's promises?
Unbelief is only one of the whole string of symptoms of the disease called SIN. When we have the flu, we cough. It is natural. Likewise, sinners are unbelieving by nature. Adam and Eve first sinned by rejecting to believe in the truth of God's word "Eat of the tree and you will die", and thus brought slavery to sin and death to all mankind. All mankind from Adam and Eve are thus all bound to do the same that their parents did: disbelieve in God. It is a natural fruit of a diseased tree called humanity.
But the Good News is that the Son of God came to the world as a Man. He lived, and He was faithful to God's word. He trusted in God with His destiny, even as He undertook the wrath of God upon himself and died on the Cross for our sin. Even though He was terrified, and He knew that He was going to undergo the judgement of God, He trusted in the Father, that He would raise Him from the dead, and restore the glory that He had at first. He was not faithless, but gave glory to God as He gave Himself to be mocked and tortured by sinful men.
And when Jesus Christ saves a sinner, He imparts onto him a measure of His faith by the Holy Spirit, so that the sinner may believe in God through Himself. He is healed of his faithlessness, and he becomes faithful. He begins to see the evil of unbelief, the monstrosity of likening God to a sinful, unreliable creature that cannot be trusted. God works in the Christian's heart, so that not only he believes in God, but so that he himself may become more and more a trustworthy man himself - so that in this world of scepticism and distrust he may become the salt and the light, that the world may be told that it is okay to believe again.
Matthew 17:17 - And Jesus answered and said, "You unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him here to Me."
Unbelief is only one of the whole string of symptoms of the disease called SIN. When we have the flu, we cough. It is natural. Likewise, sinners are unbelieving by nature. Adam and Eve first sinned by rejecting to believe in the truth of God's word "Eat of the tree and you will die", and thus brought slavery to sin and death to all mankind. All mankind from Adam and Eve are thus all bound to do the same that their parents did: disbelieve in God. It is a natural fruit of a diseased tree called humanity.
But the Good News is that the Son of God came to the world as a Man. He lived, and He was faithful to God's word. He trusted in God with His destiny, even as He undertook the wrath of God upon himself and died on the Cross for our sin. Even though He was terrified, and He knew that He was going to undergo the judgement of God, He trusted in the Father, that He would raise Him from the dead, and restore the glory that He had at first. He was not faithless, but gave glory to God as He gave Himself to be mocked and tortured by sinful men.
And when Jesus Christ saves a sinner, He imparts onto him a measure of His faith by the Holy Spirit, so that the sinner may believe in God through Himself. He is healed of his faithlessness, and he becomes faithful. He begins to see the evil of unbelief, the monstrosity of likening God to a sinful, unreliable creature that cannot be trusted. God works in the Christian's heart, so that not only he believes in God, but so that he himself may become more and more a trustworthy man himself - so that in this world of scepticism and distrust he may become the salt and the light, that the world may be told that it is okay to believe again.
Matthew 17:17 - And Jesus answered and said, "You unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him here to Me."
Worthlessness of God-less activism
Answer to the question "What about the good, charity-giving atheists? Why do they go the hell?"
Because those "good, charity-giving" atheists choose for themselves what is "good", which is the fundamental idea behind sin. Eve saw the tree and saw that it is "good" and ate of the tree. It was sin in God's eyes, though she thought it was "good". Saul thought it was "good" to show compassion to Amalekites, and to take their sheep to offer to God, even though God had clearly commanded him to destroy all Amelekites and to devote everything to destruction.
We can define "goodness" all we like, and trust ourselves to be righteous by doing all the "good" things like giving to charity, helping the poor, etc, yet if it is not God's will, it is not good. Indeed, these things are good in and of themselves, but when they are done apart from the consciousness of doing them for God's glory, they are useless, and self-righteousness, and thus nothing but filthy rags and a filthy stench before God. God will not accept such sacrifices, for those charity giving atheists do these good things for their own glory, and not unto God's. Thus they are actually not "good" works, but EVIL works.
We must help the poor and pray for the needy and sacrifice ourselves for those who are hurting, because Jesus Christ has done the same for us, because He became poor, though He was rich, that we may be rich - rich in the things of God. Thus we see how such a sacrifice is acceptable to God, but those who rely on themselves and do "good things" to make themselves feel good (though God will definitely use their gifts to feed those who are hungry and to help the needy), their works themselves will be rejected before the throne of God, and they, unless they repent, will be cast into Hell forever - for they have not loved God, but loved themselves and fellow man over God.
Friday, April 6, 2012
Good Friday Grace
Today I had a fight with my wife. My sinful behaviour exposed my heart to reveal who I was: a filthy sinner.
Was down with myself, and after hours of grovelling, I confessed my sins and failures to God.
On the way home, I looked at myself. And a thought came down from heaven: How could Christ decide to die for "this"?
And my eyes were opened to the glory of God's grace. If I was Christ, I wouldn't have died for me. Jesus knew what kind of a person I was. He could see the depths of my sinful, evil heart. Yet He chose to die for me, on a Good Friday 2000 years ago. He knew what kind of a sinner He was dying for. He knew what He was signing up for. He could see how I would offend Him again and again and again and again.
Yet He signed the contract, and died for my sins. Why? I cannot tell you, except that He loved me. Was it because I was lovable, or was it because he thought I would repay Him with perfect service and devotion? No. It was to show the glory of His grace in loving and dying for a sinner like me.
Have you put your trust in Christ? If not, do so today. He can save the worst of sinners, because He died for sinners. Have you already put your faith in Christ? Know that Christ knows that you are a sinner, and that when you fall, Christ is not surprised, because He already knew what was in your heart. Yet the Good News is that He died for you, knowing the kind of sinner that you were. That is the amazing grace of God! Take heart, and dive into His river of grace, and do not come out from there. Christ loves you, not because you are lovable, but because He shows forth the glory of His grace in loving and even dying for unlovable people! Rather than simply getting down on your self, after you have pounded your heart, stand up, and give praise to God for revealing to you what kind of sinner you really are. And thank Jesus Christ who knew all that and still decided to enter into an everlasting covenant with you!
Praise be to God through Jesus Christ!
Monday, April 2, 2012
Christ the explainer of the Law
It was at Mount Sinai, after the God spoke the Ten Commandments, that Israelites feared, and desired that God speak to them no more, because of the holiness of God. Therefore it was fitting that God send Jesus Christ to pick up from where He had left off on the Mount. Jesus ascended the Mount of Olives, and went on the explain the commandments, speaking to them as a Man, so that mankind may be able to bear and thus perform the true meaning of the Law, that the Law may truly be fulfilled in those who put their trust in Jesus Christ:
15 “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen— 16 just as you desired of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God or see this great fire any more, lest I die.’ 17 And the Lord said to me, ‘They are right in what they have spoken. 18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. 19 And whoever will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him.
Matthew 5:
1 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.
17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
21 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ 22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.
27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
33 “Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’ 34 But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.
17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
21 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ 22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.
27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
33 “Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’ 34 But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.
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