Phew… finally done. This is all God… how did I ever write 3200 words on 16 chapters of a letter?

These are the reasons why I believe in Jesus Christ. God’s truth is evident. He is beyond empirical evidence; He is beyond theory. He reveals Himself so clearly that there is no excuse not to believe: “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse” (Romans 1:20). But man chooses to suppress His truth, which in itself is evidence that God has revealed His truth, because for truth to be suppressed, then truth should have first been revealed. This suppression leads man to become “futile in their speculations, and their foolish hearts [were] darkened” (Romans 1:21). They can then only guess who God is, which even their guessing is useless in itself.

Most Christians would like to believe that this is only true of the non-believers. But it is very clearly seen even us; we, the children of God, have chosen this path for ourselves. We are, to ourselves, the “guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, a corrector of the foolish, [and the] teacher of the immature” (Romans 2:19, 20), but we ourselves are condemned by the message that we teach because we are “transgressors of the Law,” which causes our “circumcision to be un-circumcision” (Romans 2:26). We are no different from the non-believers. We need Christ just as much now as we ever have needed Him before. Because of our ignorance, and because of our hypocrisy, the life that Christ has put in us, we have turned to death. As much as we’d like to think otherwise, we do have things in our lives like the Mosaic Law of the Israelites, that we put our trust and faith in, despite Jesus: Spiritual Retreats, Powerful Speakers, Reading the Bible. Yes, those are all sin, if our Christianity is dependent on them! What is required for our continuing salvation is the circumcision of the flesh from our lives done by the Spirit’s intervention in our hearts rather than our obedience to the Law.

No one in the world will ever be found righteous in and of themselves. Paul quotes Psalm 14, which says that “there is none righteous, not even one; there is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God; all have turned aside, together they have become useless” (verse 11, 12). By this, he means that no one can perform the works of the Law and can be found righteous, for through the Law, sin is revealed. But rather the righteousness of the Law, which is revealed in the Law and in the Prophets, is equal to that of the righteousness found in faith in Jesus Christ, for that is the righteousness of God. In this then, boasting is eliminated so that the basis for our salvation remains God’s mercy on us and not anything that we have done: “Then what becomes of our pride and our boasting? It is excluded (banished, ruled out entirely). On what principle? On the principle of doing good deeds? No, but on the principle of faith. For we hold that a man is justified and made upright by faith independent of and distinctly apart from good deeds (works of the Law). The observance of the Law has nothing to do with justification.” (Romans 3:27, 28). The justification is through faith in the “just and the justifier” (Romans 3:26). It is by His mercy and grace, granting us justification, then righteousness, rather than our works and self-righteousness.

This is proven by the righteousness found in Abraham even before the establishment of the Mosaic Law: “For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was credited to Him as Righteousness’” (Romans 4:2, 3). Paul explains that Abraham was credited with righteousness even before he was circumcised, and that he was only circumcised as a sign – a seal – of the righteousness he has already received through faith. He then says, “For this reason it is by faith, in order that it may be in accordance with grace, so that the promise will be guaranteed to all the descendants, not only to those who are of the Law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all” (verse 16). Our faith is what allows us to experience the grace that God gives by our justification. On the basis of faith, I get to enjoy grace, receiving what I do not deserve: forgiveness; in order not to receive what I do deserve: death.

Having been justified by faith in Christ, I am now able to have peace with God, “therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1). But Peace with God is not how most people would define peace. Peace to the world usually means the absence of conflict, war or violence. But Peace with God is actually our acknowledgement of our deficiencies in light of His abilities. This is what grace is supposed to remind us of, that we have nothing in and of ourselves to please God. “For if while we were enemies we were reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation” (Romans 5:10, 11). It is God, in Christ alone, who does the work. He is the one who seeks us, and He is the one who saves us.

If then we are saved by God’s grace, the flesh – the sin nature in us – would then wonder that if God so freely gives His grace to us, then could we not continue sinning because we will be forgiven anyways? The question that Paul asks in Romans 6:1 goes even further, “Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase?” Should we continue to sin even though we have been saved, just so God’s grace may increase even more? The answer is simply no, for “how shall we who died to sin still live in it?” (Romans 6:2). The process of receiving Christ’s full salvation involves the whole process of being united with Him in His death, so that we may also be united with Him in His life: “For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is free from sin” (Romans 6:6, 7). The requirement of this is the consideration that we have died to sin and are alive only to God in Christ Jesus (Romans 6:11). This then means that sin no longer is master over us, and that we “do not go on presenting the members of [our] bodies to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present [ourselves] to God as those alive from the dead, and [our] members as instruments of righteousness to God” (Romans 6:13, 14).

Through this, we realize the continuing presence of sins right now in our earthly bodies, for while Jesus Christ has conquered the penalty of sin by reconciling us to God, the presence of sin will not be done away with until we are in our glorified bodies. What this results in, in our mortal bodies, is the struggle between the Flesh and the Spirit: “For what I am doing, I do not understand for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate” (Romans 7:15). Paul realizes that He is not walking according to the power of Christ’s salvation in his life. But with this realization also comes the brokenness that we need to have in order for God to work through us, as Paul writes in Romans 7:24, “Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?” Again we realize what we see in the previous passages, the acknowledgement of our deficiencies in light of God’s abilities. God’s ability to save us again clearly seen in Romans 8:1-4, “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and of death. For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” God is the one who redeems us; He is the one who took the steps necessary that we may continue to be saved from sin: its penalty, its power, and eventually its presence.

This again brings us to where our obligation lies which is not in the Flesh, but in the Spirit which is in Jesus Christ: “So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh- for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body you will live” (Romans 8:12). There is only death to be found in the flesh, if not the effects of sin – eternal separation from God in the lake of fire, but the power of sin – continuing separation from God in everyday futility of our minds. It says in Romans 8:13, “For if you live according to [the dictates of] the flesh, you will surely die. But if through the power of the [Holy] Spirit you are [habitually] putting to death (making extinct, deadening) the [evil] deeds prompted by the body, you shall [really and genuinely] live forever.” There is no longer any obligation to the flesh, but only victory in faith in Jesus Christ, which is a total victory that can never be taken away: “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38, 39). Amen!

What prevents us from realizing Christ’s sufficiency is our pride and our arrogance. This is the kind of arrogance seen in Romans 9:20, “On the contrary who are you, O man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, ‘Why did you make me like this,’ will it? Or does not the potter have a right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honourable use and another for common use?” This is the problem, when arrogance replaces faith. This is how the Israelites failed as well: “but Israel, pursuing a law of righteousness, did not arrive at that law. Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as though it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone” (Romans 9:31, 32). So to will we stumble over the truth of Christ if we do not receive it simply by faith, for only Faith in Christ brings salvation: “For not knowing about God’s righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes” (Romans 10:3, 4). This faith again is the realization that only God and His activity is the only one who can save us, “if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9).

God is so faithful to believe in! And He continues to make it clear that He is the way to salvation, as it says in Romans 10:17-18, “Surely they have never heard, have they? Indeed they have: ‘Their voice has gone out into all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world.’” God is completely clear. We just need to pay attention, take heed, and to obey: “For God has shut up all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all. Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgements and unfathomable His ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counsellor? Or who has first given to Him that it might be paid back to Him again? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen” (Romans 11:31-36). His evidence having been clearly examined and found true, we need to respond. Paul writes: “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship” (Romans 12:1).

Therefore, because from God and through God and to God are all things, the only response that we can have is worship. And this isn’t the worship that we are accustomed to: dim lighting, soft music, and hands lifted up while singing “Kumbayah my Lord.” The act of worship required in response to God’s revelation of who He is, is an act of sacrifice. We must surrender our lives to Him and remove ourselves from everything that we were before God. This is the only response that can be expected to God’s mercy and grace. But it not only that, it is also the only response that can lead to the satisfaction we desire, for that satisfaction is found only in being sanctified – in being used for our purpose, which is to be in His image: “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is that which is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2).

This is the summation of the Christian Life. It is not merely God saving us from the penalty of our sin – eternal death, but God continually saving us from the power our sins, now, and transforming us back into His image. This transformation leads us to sanctification – our being used for our original purpose to glorify God, and sanctification leads us to love. It says in Romans 12:9, “Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality.” This love also rejoices, and blesses rather than cursing (Romans 12:14). It does not pay back evil for evil, and at always attempts to be at peace with all men (Romans 12:17, 18). God in our lives leads us to an active love that the world would not be able to understand.

Our response to God also demands us to be subject to our governing authorities (Romans 13:1). This is in faith that “there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God” (Romans 13:2). Our response also is to be an example of morality, and understanding that we should be living lives that are seen and can be examined by those around us: “The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy” (Romans 13:12, 13). Our response to God should be something that people can see in our daily actions: “But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts” (Romans 13:14).

This response of love should also be seen in the way we treat other believers in Christ, and in the way we correct each other as we build each other up in faith: “So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God. Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this – not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother’s way” (Romans 14:12, 13). This is our call not to argue about simple things in our faith, for “nothing is unclean in itself; but to him who things anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean” (Romans 14:14). This is to say that we should not trample on each other’s beliefs and to reverse the work of Christ in arguments about things like denominational differences. “So then, we pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another. Do not tear down the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are clean, but they are evil for the man who eats and gives offence” (Romans 14:16).

This freedom should not be abused though, to the point that it is causing others to stumble: “now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength and not just please ourselves… so that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 15:1… 6). We should strive for unity in the belief that Christ alone can do His work in us. We should be servants of each other and of our faith, so that we may continually fulfill His promise to us, for “Christ has become a servant to the circumcision on behalf of the truth of God to confirm the promises…” (Romans 15:8).

The reason why I believe in Jesus Christ is that He is faithful and true to everything that I am and hope to be. He loves me “warts and all”: despite my imperfections, despite my disobedience and despite my unfaithfulness. His grace and mercy abound far more than I could ever imagine. And the only way that I can respond to this is that I can’t. I can’t find salvation in myself. I can’t even be truly human by myself. It takes Him in me – his continuing work in me – for me to ever come close to His expectations. This was a mystery for so long. But now it’s revealed. It’s in me. It can be in you. Christ in us, the hope of Glory! Wow. Thank You, Jesus! “Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which has been kept secret for long ages past, but now is manifested, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God, has been made known to all the nations, leading to obedience of faith; to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, be the glory forever. Amen.” (Romans 16:25-27).

April 19, 2004

The name of God that I was assigned was Jehovah, which conveys His characteristic as “life.” I guess you could say that this was a pretty easy name to research since it appears more than any other names. But in fact, it’s because it appears so many times that it was rather challenging to do; selecting a few passages and then focusing them onto one central theme. As I said before, God is Jehovah, the source and giver of life; but more than that, the one who is life itself. He is the very life content of our world and is the life content of our Christian lives, and it is only in Him that we can depend on in order to fulfill a victorious Christian life.

Looking through passages in the prophets, law and the gospels, we see instances of God working through people in order to save the lives of others. First we come to the prophet Hosea. It says in Hosea 3:1: “Then the Lord said to me, ‘Go again, love a woman who is loved by her husband, yet an adulteress, even as the Lord loves the sons of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love raisin cakes.’ So I bought her for myself for fifteen shekels of silver and a homer and half of barley. Then I said to her, ‘You shall stay with me for many days. You shall not play the harlot, nor shall you have a man; so I will also be toward you.’ For the sons of Israel will remain for many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred pillar and without ephod or household idols. Afterward the sons of Israel will return and seek the Lord their God and David their king; and they will come trembling to the Lord and to His goodness in the last days.

In this passage, we see God telling Hosea to take a harlot as his wife. We know that God is using this instance to show us what He will do to Israel: that is to forgive them and call them back to Himself even as they have played the harlot to other gods. But we also know from reading the law books what punishment Hosea’s wife deserved for her sin of impurity. In Deuteronomy 22:20, speaking of a girl who has sexual relations outside of marriage, it says: “But if this charge is true, that the girl was not found a virgin, then they shall bring out the girl to the doorway of her father’s house, and the men of her city shall stone her to death because she has committed an act of folly in Israel by playing the harlot in her father’s house; thus you shall purge the evil from Israel.”

We see in this that God is preserving Hosea’s wife’s life in order to show the example of how He will preserve Israel even in their sin.

In law books, we also see this in the story of Joseph. In Genesis 37:19-24, we read: “They said to one another, “Here comes the dreamer! Now then, come and let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits; and we will say, ‘a wild beast devoured him.’ Then ;et us see what will become of his dreams!” But Reuben heard this and rescued him out of their hands and said, “Let us not take his life.” Reuben further said to them, “Shed no blood. Throw him into this pit that is in the wilderness, but do not lay hands on him” – that he may rescue him out of their hands, to restore him to his father. So it came about, when Joseph reached his brothers, they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the varicoloured tunic that was on him; and they took him and threw him into the pit. Now the pit was empty, without any water in it.” Now in this passage, we see how God, showing his attribute of Life, preserves the life of Joseph from his murderous brothers; however, the story does not stop there, Joseph is still to be sold as an Egyptian slave, where God again preserves his life from the hands of Potipher after he is falsely accused of harassing Potipher’s wife. God continues to preserve Joseph’s life through many years in jail or captivity, but for what reason? We all know the story: Joseph interprets the stories of the cupbearer and the baker successfully, and is then called on by the Pharaoh to interpret his dream. Through this, he impresses the Pharaoh so much that he is made ruler over all Egypt, second only to the Pharaoh himself. In Genesis 41:49, 53-57, we see the result of this:

Thus Joseph stored up grain in great abundance like the sand of the sea, until he stopped measuring it, for it was beyond measure… When the seven years of plenty which had been in the land of Egypt came to an end, and the seven years of famine began to come, just as Joseph had said, then there was famine in all the lands, but in all the land of Egypt there was bread. So when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried out to Pharaoh for bread; and Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph; whatever he says to you, you shall do.” When the famine was spread over all the face of the earth, then Joseph opened all the storehouses, and sold to the Egyptians; and the famine was severe in the land of Egypt. The people of all the earth came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph, because the famine was severe in all the earth.

We see in this how Jehovah preserving the life of Joseph has in turn helped to preserve the life of not only the Egyptians, but also all of the people of the world. Later, we even see the brothers of Joseph coming to him, asking to buy some wheat. Jehovah then preserves even the life of those who first wanted to kill Joseph.

The final example we will look at is the resurrection life of Jesus Christ. We read in John 3:16-17: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.” This passage tells us the purpose of Christ’ resurrection, that is, not to judge the world but to save it, through faith in Christ. Again we all know the story; most of us probably have seen the movie. Jesus was beaten and flogged, enduring a torture that most could not, and then, as if that was not enough, He was hung on a cross to die. But He was not to remain dead. After three days, he was resurrected; for what? To extend God’s life, Jehovah, to all of humanity. You see, God used His Son to once and for all extend His life to our death.

Now in the Psalms, He shows us how He uses us to do the same.

We’ve all heard the Psalm that I’m going to go through, it is very simple, and it’s in this simplicity that we see Jehovah. In Psalms 46:10-11, it says:

“Cease striving and know that I am God;

I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

The Lord of hosts is with us;

The God of Jacob is our stronghold.

This verse is the application of what we have been learning tonight, and what we have been learning through the whole year. That is Christ’s life, Jehovah, in you and me. It says to cease striving and know that He is God. This is the simple truth of the Christian life, stop doing under our own strength and allow God to move and work through us. This is the “rest” that we hear about in Hebrews 4, a rest that just stops, that ceases our activity, in order to let God’s activity commence. But always remember that this will only happen when we stop. There’s a story that I heard a while ago about this lifeguard at a beach.

One afternoon there was a man drowning some distance from the beach. He was a pretty big and strong guy, but he wasn’t big or strong enough to handle the waves. The lifeguard runs down his tower and jumps into the ocean like we see in Baywatch. He swims towards the drowning man, but when he gets within a few feet of him, he just stops there and waits. The drowning man is hysterical, thrashing his arms around, but soon enough he looses any energy he has left and begins to sink into the water. That then is when the lifeguard swims up to him and rescues him. As he is coming back on the beach, though, the lifeguard is criticized by people watching the rescue about the time it took him to rescue the man. The lifeguard’s response to this was simple. “If I had gone and saved him right away, you would have quickly needed to find someone to save me as well,” he said, “I had to wait until he was done trying to save himself before I could do anything to help him.”

It is the same way with our God, not that we could ever pull Him down with us. But what He is waiting for is for us to stop trying to save ourselves, before He can help us. If we cease striving, just stop, and know, believe, and have faith that He is God, then He will be able to do His work through us, as it says in Philippians 2:3, “for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” In this, we can then be used by God to spread His message of Life, just as He did with Joseph, Hosea and his wife, and with Jesus Christ. But it only occurred when we became available to Him.

This is great thing about our God: He is at work with us, which means we don’t need to worry about doing the work ourselves. But what’s even more amazing is that there is still more than that. There is this hope that He provides for us at the end of the verse, it says “the Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob will be our stronghold.” When all is said and done, Jehovah is life for us as well. In Him, we can find a stronghold, and we can do so because He is always with us. He will preserve us from death like he did for Joseph and Hosea’s wife when He is using, and then, He will resurrect us and give us a new life like Jesus Christ. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 says:

Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparisons, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

This is our God, Jehovah, the source and giver of life. He can preserve our physical lives, but even if He does not, He still gives us a life eternal that we can never imagine. Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”