Category: Sermon

[audioplayer file=”http://thegatheringcommunity.in/sermons/christian-bible-law.mp3″]

I think we need to take another look at last week’s passage to understand the context of this week’s passage.

Read 1 Timothy 1:3-7

Paul urges Timothy to command certain teachers at Ephesus to stop teaching a different, false doctrine. A few things we can learn about the wrong doctrine from v4: devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardship[a] from God that is by faith.

The teachings weren’t Scriptural but spiralled and revolved around myths and endless genealogies which were causing speculations and confusion to arise in the church. Once I remember a teacher who taught on the story of the Fall in Genesis 3. He started by stating the facts, Adam and Eve ate the fruit and sin entered the world through that act.

He paused and then asked a question: What if Adam and Eve repented right after the sinful act? Would there then be a need for Christ to come to the earth? He said this and then proceeded to talk about something else. Now he was addressing teenagers and young adults. Just imagine how he would’ve harmed the faith of a lot of young adults by asking these twisted questions.

Another instance was when a preacher claimed that the Ten Commandments were inspired/copied from the rule book of an ancient Egyptian king called Hammurabi. With that one statement he belittled the authority of Scripture and made it look like it was man-made piece of fiction. Upon hearing this, the leaders of the youth group protested because we knew this wasn’t biblical.

But look at the damage it caused. The youth that were actually seeking God during this camp would’ve been terribly confused because this was what the “preacher” said. Other youth became really sceptical of these discussions because they felt that “religious” talk always ends in controversy and fights. How is this promoting the stewardship from God that is by faith?

And that’s why I totally agree with Saju’s point last week where he said that we need to pay attention and form the right doctrinal framework to discern between right teaching and wrong teaching. Only if you’ve seen and studied the original Rs. 500 note, will be able to discern that from the counterfeit Rs. 500 note.

Another learning is that if you find a preacher who constantly talks about controversial topics that is not leading you to love, trust and obey Christ, a red light should go out.

We also know from this text that wrong motives or intentions were behind this false teaching. Their false teaching was spurred and motivated by pride. How do we know that? It says “desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions.”

Later on in 1 Tim 6:3 & 4, Paul says “If anyone teaches another doctrine and disagrees with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and with godly teaching, 4he is conceited and understands nothing. Instead, he has an unhealthy interest in controversies and semantics, out of which come envy, strife, abusive talk, evil suspicions”

In other words, wrong doctrine always and always finds its root in wrong motivation. It’s one thing to preach stuff out of ignorance. But if you make confident assertions of things that you yourself don’t understand then there has to be a prideful motivation attached to it. In contrast, correct and sound doctrine finds its root in love, purity and sincere faith. And this will be a key theme in the book.

Coming to our main text for today:

Read 1 Timothy 1:8-11

V8: Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully

What is this law that is being spoken of? Law of the land? Law of the Country? No, this is the Mosaic Law comprising of the 10 commandments and other laws that were mentioned in the first 5 books of the Bible.

Why did God want to give people a law?

God gave people a law so that they could know Him and obey Him through it. The intention was that through the law, sinful people like you and I should understand what it would take for us to experience a relationship with a Holy God. Each of those commandments revealed a certain aspect of God’s glory and His character.

For eg: Why does it say “You shall not murder”? Because God is life.

Why does it say “You shall not bear false witness/lie”? Because God is truth.

Why does it say “You shall not commit adultery”? Because God is pure.

Therefore, the law is good for teaching. But the condition is also stated “if one uses it lawfully”. So there is a lawful way of using the law. What’s that?

1. The lawful way of using the law is to expose the sin in our lives.

What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” (Rom 7:7)
For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. (Rom 3:20)

It was to show us God’s Holy standards and in doing so expose how greatly sinful we are. In our sinfulness we may compare ourselves to each other and be comforted with the thought that we aren’t too sinful. But that’s the mistake. The standard for holiness is not us…it’s not of human origin. The standard is declared and set forth by God Himself. Because we are His creation created to reflect who He is. And sin doesn’t at all reflect the majesty and glory of God. So God gives His people the law to know what sin really is: to identify sin!

2. The law is not laid down for the just but the lawless

The law isn’t created/set for the righteous, upright and virtuous but for the lawbreakers. Imagine a country which didn’t have a law. It’s a state of utter lawlessness. Suddenly one day, a law is established. Who do you think will it affect the most? The one who abides by the law or the one who breaks the law? The one who breaks the law. Let’s look at each of these words/phrases closely:

a) Disobedient

These are words to describe someone who cannot be subjected to control. Someone who is unruly. We hear it being used in these phrases a lot: “Disobedient child or disobedient student”. Can that be described of our relationship with God? Are we easy to control? Or is there always a struggle for us to continue to be in control? When we think about these words “Master, Lord, Owner”…does it ring true about Christ in our lives or is it us?

b) Ungodly

Describes someone who is irreverent. No reverence for God. A lack of respect or seriousness for God. It’s not just talking about revering God when we are around other believers but it’s our attitude 24/7. Our zeal for God & passion to obey Him often reflect how much we respect and value God in our lives.

c) Sinners

Being devoted to sin. We are sinners not because of the sins we do, we are sinners because at the root of our hearts that’s all that we know to do.

“The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” (Gen 6:5)

d) Unholy and profane

These are words to describe how wicked and ungodly we can be.

But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. 20 These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone. (Matt 15:18-20)

It’s a shocking yet true verse to read. Do you realize that the propensity to commit the most violent and horrible crimes is within you? It’s not in your environment.

e) for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers

Referring to those who murder their parents and others. 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[c] will be liable to judgment; whoever insults[d] his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell[e] of fire. (Matt 5:21-22) Have you ever been angry at your parents? Bitter fury rage toward them? In God’s eyes, it’s as good as murder.

f) the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality

The word sexually immoral in the Greek is a broad word to include all activities of sexual promiscuity outside of marriage. 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. (Matt 5:27, 28) In God’s eyes, if you’ve looked lustfully at someone other than your spouse you’ve committed adultery. And sexual promiscuity is being glorified in our generation. Lust is used as a substitute for love. And everything which is referred to as progressive in the media and our culture is nothing but outright adultery. Homosexuality : lying with another person of the same sex. In fact you would be ostracized and called unloving if you didn’t accept their lifestyle.

g) Enslavers: those who take people captive and sell them off

Still true of many trades in the world where they forcefully capture people and sell them off. Human trafficking industry is all about it.

h) Liars and Perjurers

Someone who speaks falsehood and perjurer is someone who swears falsely. There’s no one who can claim to have not lied. If they claim to not have lied, then that’s a lie in itself.

and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine

I find it interesting that sound/healthy doctrine is not only referred to teaching but also a lifestyle. Right through the Bible, you’ll find sound doctrine also being accompanied by Christ exalting lifestyle. But coming back to this list which is invariably the Ten Commandments and the law, how many of us can claim to have obeyed this completely on our own? Can we call ourselves “just” by our own efforts?

In fact if anything, this whole passage talking about the law and the other cross references prove that are lives are exposed because of the law. And we agree with Scripture when it says “All have fallen short of the glory of God”. (Rom 3:23)

V11 holds the key when it says “in accordance with the gospel of the glory of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted.”

3. The law was meant to point us to Christ.

The law wasn’t meant to be an end in itself. That’s why God gave the people sacrifices. When they looked at the law which exposed their sin and lawlessness, they had to trust on a sacrifice to make things right between them and God.

The law paves way for the gospel!

It’s the gospel of glory of the blessed God! There is good news. Christ – God’s Son, came down to earth and took the form of man. 100% God and 100% man. Where we failed in our obedience, purity, attitude and action, Christ succeeded. He lived an impeccable life. The punishment that we deserved for our outright rebellion was borne by Him on the cross. Death for sins. All our sins were nailed on the cross and three days later He rose from the grave defeating all the effects of sin, Satan and death. His sacrifice ensured that we could see God who deserves all our praise, honour and worship!

Based on how we view ourselves in the light of the law, we can find ourselves in one of two sections. Either we’re Performing or we’re Pretending. Here are the applications we can draw from this passage on the law:

1. Performing: Trying to perform in order to earn favour from God.

This can manifest in various ways. One way is thinking that by having your abiding time every day, sharing the gospel and doing other Christiany stuff, it makes you right before God. Another way is that you can get critical about other people’s faith and walk with God. You’re constantly comparing yourself with other people, pointing out their faults and feeling that you’re morally superior to them. Another way is that Bible studies, sermons and discussions with other believers are merely seen as opportunities to check or verify the other person’s theological doctrines and arguments.

If you find yourself there, let this passage remind you of how messed up you truly are apart from Christ. All our righteous deeds, theological arguments are all filthy rags without Christ. The Pharisees probably were superficially righteous but their attitudes were extremely sinful. They were great performers but their faith was rejected and hated by God. That should humble us and make us run to Christ for His perfect righteousness.

2. Pretending: Trying to hide who you truly are

You’ve seen this passage and are convicted because you know you’ve messed up. You look at that list and are burdened with the weight of your sin. You feel condemned and ashamed because of your sin. You’re always thinking what would other people do if they come to know the real you. So you resort to pretending because you think that will protect you from the shame and guilt but it doesn’t.

If you find yourself there, you’ll need to throw aside the weight of pretending and come to Christ confessing your sin and your need for Him. Remember conviction is not the goal, repentance is. Regret is not the goal, fellowship and life with Christ is. The good news is not in your sin but in Christ’s victory over your sin. The good news is not in your condemnation but in freedom from condemnation. The good news is not in shame but in a life of purpose, value and dignity found in Christ. But here also it involves humility to humbly accept what Christ has offered. So run to Christ and receive His forgiveness, hope and joy.

Last Sunday we began a new series called ‘The God Alive Church’ – a journey through 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus.

1 Timothy is a letter written by Apostle Paul who was once a persecutor of Christians, a Jew and a Roman citizen. He would kill everyone who professed the name of Jesus and followed him. He became a Christian after a real time encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus, and since then he’s been involved in the Kingdom work planting churches all over.

Paul is writing this letter to a young man called Timothy whom he met in Lystra, he was born to a Jewish mother who later became a Christian and a Greek father.

Since the time Timothy met Paul he he’s been travelling with him on all his trips. Paul considered him as his own son.

Timothy was sent by Paul to the church in Ephesus and we learnt the purpose of this letter was

1. Advising Timothy about issues in the church at Ephesus and to refute the false teaching that was prevalent.

False teaching is any kind of teaching..
– that isn’t rooted in the truth and takes people away from God
– that twists our beliefs and distorts our understanding of God
– that damages our relationship with Jesus
– that takes away the joy of salvation

One of the main responsibility of church leaders is to protect the truth of the Gospel from false teaching.
False teaching in Ephesus was damaging the church of Jesus and Timothy is charged by Paul to speak up and address the issue.

2. The second purpose of the letter are instructions on how church members should conduct themselves in the household of God.

Throughout 1 Timothy you will see Paul either talking about false teaching or the conduct of believers in the church.
In our passage today which is 1 Timothy 1:3-7 Paul is advising Timothy against false teaching and there are some interesting things we can learn from them.

verse 3 – Note, Paul uses a very strong word ‘Command’ when he tells Timothy to speak to the people spreading false teaching.

These people were teaching other doctrine which was not in-line with the doctrine of the true Gospel.

Their teachings were based on Myths, a traditional story concerning early history of people often based on natural or social phenomenon.

How was it harming the church?

verse 4 – These teachings were promoting empty speculations, forming theory or conjecture without firm evidence and instead of devoting themselves to Godly things they were getting involved in fruitless discussion and wasting their time and energy.

In verse 5 Paul distinguishes his teachings from the others by saying “The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith”

Verse 7 – It seems that these people were not necessarily the bad guys trying to pollute the church but they themselves did not understand what they were saying or what they were insisting on. They were ignorant people.

Here are some practical lessons we can learn from this passage which can be applied to our lives.

1. Empathize with your leaders and appreciate their role in your life.

Like I said before Paul uses a very strong word ‘Command’, he is not saying to Timothy to urge them or request them to stop talking rubbish.

As you know, in today’s generation, especially in the church context commanding words are not really a cool thing to say or use. But still when it comes to the point of protecting the Gospel God wants his leaders to exercise every bit of their authority to refute and correct the person or people disrupting his church.

Think about how demanding task it is for leaders – and if we fail in doing so the bible says we are accountable to God.

Hebrews 13:17 says “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.”

With that in mind how do we empathize with our leaders?

Here are some things to consider:

– Pray for your leaders that they may be faithful to God and protect the Gospel message
– Thank God for their role in your life and in the life of the Church
– Submit to your leaders
– Obey your leaders
– Make their work a joy

2. Pay attention and form right doctrinal framework for yourself.

In the Ephesus church people were teaching other doctrine that was not in accordance with the true Gospel of Jesus Christ.

As you know that the gospel is simple truth very well summarized in John 3:16

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son to die for us and whosoever believes in him will have eternal life”

The biggest tactic the enemy uses against God’s people is to confuse us by adding unwanted things to the gospel.

Sadly Christians often fall into the enemies trap because of our own negligence of not studying and rooting our believes in the truth of God’s word. Because of our own lack of not paying attention to the message of the true Gospel and failure to form the right doctrinal framework.

Darkness only creeps in when the light is not bright enough.

Our understanding of the gospel and the scriptures should be so strong that none of the wrong teachings out there should confuse us to believe in empty speculations.

Q- How much time do we dedicate in listening and learning the scriptures on a daily basis?
Q- How often do we meditate on God’s word?
Q- When we invest our time in all others activities during the day how much of importance do we give to God’s word?

2 Timothy 3:16 says “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”

Our failure to listen and form a right doctrinal framework will often lead us into believing the lies and empty speculations of the enemy distracting us from the purposes of God.

3. Approach with Love from pure heart, good conscience and since faith.

As Paul emphasizes in verse 5 says “The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith”.

This should be our approach as children of God. We will find ourselves in unpleasant circumstances and unfruitful discussions. But as Paul writes our approach should always be Love from pure heart, good conscience and sincere faith.

A Love that is gospel driven.

In Jesus’s instructions to his disciples in Matthew 18:15-17 we can see how he stresses on the point “but he listens to you, you have gained your brother”. He is saying that if your brother repents forgive him and accept him.

Galatians 6:1
Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.

“Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted” also indicates that the approach should be made with a good conscience, which means we need to be walking rightly with God before we approach another brother, so that you are kept away from sinning.

1 Timothy 1:19 – “holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith”
And a faith that firm and not shaky.

4. Refrain from teaching from the word of God until you have understood the whole counsel of God.

Not necessarily these people who were saying ungodly things has wrong motive in mind. The verse says “They want to be teachers of the law, although they don’t understand what they are saying or what they are insisting on.”

Yes, it is possible for any of us to make an error while teaching from God’s word if we do not have the right understanding of the Gospel and whole counsel of God.

It is easy to read a scripture and think and talk about it completely out of context and therefore we need to super careful with our words.

And that is what Point no 2 is very important which is forming your own theological framework.

Until we have understood the whole counsel of God it is better to refrain from teaching from the word of God to others.

In conclusion, let’s bring our heart to God and allow him to convict our hearts if we have not been obedient to the things we just spoke about and let’s make a decision to follow them with all honesty and dependence on God.

[audioplayer file=”http://thegatheringcommunity.in/wp-content/uploads/timothy-pauls-letter.mp3″]

We are beginning a new series titled “God Alive Church”! It’s going to be exciting as we journey through 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus together as a family.

I would like to start by asking a question “Whose church is it? Who is building the church?” The question in itself might seem too simplistic or obvious but the answer is critical to understanding what our role and goal as a church is.

Jesus says in Matt 16:18: And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

It’s Jesus’ church and He is building it! That’s the starting point. Because we can very easily create a church environment which has the best music & best programs but lose out on what the church was meant to be and what was it called to do. Now how does Christ build his church? He builds it by empowering believers to submit and obey to His teachings in Scripture. That’s why these three books contain sufficient instruction and encouragement on what God desires from His church.

So we know that Paul wrote this letter to Timothy. But why did he write it? What was the purpose of writing this letter? Understanding the purpose will give us insight on what this book is really trying to say and will later on help us in applying it accurately.

Purpose:

1. To advise Timothy who was a young pastor about issues in the church at Ephesus and refute the false teaching that was prevalent (1 Tim 1:3,4)

As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine, 4 nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith.

Ephesus as a city itself was a large, multi-ethnic centre of trade, commerce and culture. Culturally Ephesus was pluralistic in every way. Many ethnic and cultural backgrounds were represented, and religious pluralism was entrenched and embraced. Moral beliefs, like religious ones, were diverse, and considerable moral depravity was accepted, perhaps considerably more so than in our modern culture.

You could imagine how this was also affecting the church. So there were these false teachers that were teaching a doctrine that was contrary to the sound doctrine of Scripture. Now why is it such a big deal?

a) False doctrine (by definition) isn’t rooted in truth and takes people away from God. It twists our beliefs and distorts our understanding of God. (1 Tim 6:21)

b) False doctrine results in sinful lifestyle. Through the letters of 1 Tim, 2 Tim and Titus we understand that false teachers always reflect their wrong doctrine through their sinful lifestyle. Greed, arrogance and a craving for controversies. Their doctrine is an outlet to justify their sinful desires. Why? Because they aren’t looking to please God anyway so they end up pleasing themselves.

Now this is damaging to the church! What would happen if false teachers were allowed to have their way in a church? It will distort people’s understanding of God and will cause them to swerve from the faith. It will also result in sinful living. And remember this is God’s church…God’s family that he redeemed through His Son. Can we allow them to be destroyed through the snare of false teaching?

As a parent if you are aware of a person who will cause harm to your kid – either physically or mentally, would you allow your kid to interact with him? No, absolutely not. That’s why Christ has appointed elders for the church. Not just to feed the sheep but to also protect the flock of God from false teaching.

And it’s amazing to see Paul’s fervour for the purity of sound doctrine. May our hearts be so in love and in tune with Christ and His Word that we would also share His passion in seeing people be fed with the pure Word of God.

2. To instruct them on how should members conduct themselves in the household of God (1 Tim 3:14, 15)
I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these things to you so that, 15 if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth.

Another key theme that we see in 1 Timothy is “church is the family of God”. Through Christ’s life, death and resurrection we have been adopted as sons and daughters in God’s family! Isn’t it so wonderful? Since we are members of God’s family, how are we to relate with each other? Do we have different roles and responsibilities in this family? How are we to take care of each other’s needs? How are we representing God’s family to the outside world?

How are we to conduct ourselves for corporate worship? These and many more questions about organizing ourselves in God’s family are addressed in this letter. Sometimes these 3 letters are just thought of as only Pastoral Letters (Letters for Pastors). However when we look at these topics pertaining to our life as a church then we learn that this applies to the entire church not just the pastors.

Even though a lot of these applications will come out in the coming weeks, let’s start out this week by seeing and embracing each other as co-members of God’s family. I think we do a good job of defining church as not a building but we still turn it into an event. Church is the family of God! We are not members of different families who come together to socialize on Sunday. We are members of one family in Christ.

I like the way v15 ends by saying “household of God, which is the church of the living God”! Consider the weight of that phrase. This is the “church of the living God”. Now that we’ve established that church is not a building, it’s not an event but the family of God, so what would it mean to be a family of the living God? When people interact with us, do they sense that God is alive in us?

Can that be the testimony of our Sunday Gatherings and GC’s? I think this verse is an excellent reminder of our identity and call. Our identity of being the church of the living God is not merely emotional expressions on a Sunday but a lifestyle of obedience to Christ. And our call: we are a pillar and buttress of truth! We are called to be sharers and protectors of the gospel!

For our brief exposition of the first two verses in 1 Tim 1:1-2

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope,

To Timothy, my true child in the faith –

Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

Why does Paul start this letter by mentioning that he is an ambassador of the gospel?

a) Paul wasn’t trying to show off his title. Firstly, they were part of a generation where any kind of association with Christ and the gospel invited persecution. Secondly, apostle meant that you’ve witnessed the risen Christ and have been personally sent and commissioned by Christ. Not the way in which people refer to themselves as “Apostle so and so” these days.

b) Since the letter is an instruction and encouragement, this could be a way by which he’s trying to say that these words and instructions are to be considered seriously because it’s been approved by God. On the basis of his authority from God, he charges Timothy with this task and provide general charge for Christians.

Why does Paul refer to God the Father as God our Saviour and Christ as Christ our hope?

Two very interesting attributes are mentioned here. The first is God our Saviour. Why does God reveal Himself as God who saves? In Luke 1:46, 47 in Mary’s song of praise: she exalts God by singing “My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour”. Throughout history God has always revealed Himself as a saving, delivering God. The Israelites understood first hand that whenever they would fall into the hands of their enemies. In their trouble and misery they would cry out to God and He would deliver them. Another way of understanding this characteristic is by the word “Preserver”.

God preserves and protects His people! Okay, so I get how God delivers and saves people from their enemies or when they’re in trouble but what if the people themselves rebel against God? What if people themselves reject God through their words, attitudes and actions? They communicate that they don’t need God; they don’t prefer God above everyone else and everything else. “God I don’t need you during every single moment of my life, I just need you when I’m in trouble. I need you for a couple of hours on a Sunday morning. I want to live my life on my terms for the most part.

I’ve got other things and people that pre-occupy my mind. They are more beautiful and wonderful to me than you. They are my gods that rule me throughout the week. My desire for money is greater than you. My desire for sexual fulfilment is more pleasurable than you. My desire for people’s admiration and appreciation is more important than you. God I don’t really need you.”

And having a love for other things and preferring them above God is a serious crime!

21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. (Rom 1:21-25)

So God in His holiness can’t tolerate this. His wrath is poured out on all who have worshipped the creature rather than the Creator! All of us are fully and totally guilty of this. Our lives are marred with this sin of rebellion. Can God really save us if we turn against our Savior?

Ephesians 1:4, 5: Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love, he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ according to the purpose of his will.

God loves and He sends His Son to absorb the wrath that was meant for us. Through that precious sacrifice of God we are Saved! Three days after dying for us Christ is raised so that all who believe and put our faith in Christ are now adopted as God’s children. How amazing is this truth?

God is our Saviour who saves us from the worst thing that can come upon us: His wrath for our sins. And He saves us through Christ our Hope: our trust in Christ is not blind anticipation but an assured confidence in who Christ is (Son of God) and what He Has done (completely taken away the punishment that we deserved and now brought us to God).

Why does Paul describe Timothy as his true child in the faith?

Paul would’ve probably led him to faith on his first missionary journey to Lystra. At the second visit, Paul invited Timothy to join him on his missionary travels. Timothy was a faithful, trusted and effective co-worker in ministry.

Paul spoke highly of him to the Philippian church and named him as the co-sender of 6 of his letters. Not only does this once again highlight the family of God but it also reminds us to invest in discipling relationships where we would be able to raise up spiritual children who would someday lead, care and protect others. And it’s a great model for us. All of his lessons weren’t taught in just weekly meetings. A lot of the learning happened as they were on mission together. Timothy saw Paul’s life up and close.

Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

Some definitions of the three words are:

Grace is receiving favour that we don’t deserve which is central to God’s gift of salvation to those who trust in him. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God (Eph 2:8) It is also the essence of the “gifts” that we received from the Holy Spirit to minister to each other (1 Corinthians 15:10): But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of.

Mercy is withholding the judgment that we deserve. It is also what God responds with when we ask for His help. “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).

Peace is not just a lack of anxiety but it’s a state of one’s soul assured of salvation through Christ and so fearing nothing from God and content with whatever position and circumstance God places us in.

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. (John 14:27)

Even though this is a common greeting in NT letters, but I think there is a reason why the writers mention this in the letters. All these come from God. They are all precious gifts from God. And more than anything that he would want to share with his son in the faith and co-worker in the Lord was to share and desire these three things for Timothy.

IS CHURCH HISTORY IMPORTANT?

Definition: History is the branch of knowledge that records and explains past events.
Do you think that it is important to have an understanding of Church History?

Why learn Church history?

1. To be obedient

Job 8:8-10
“Ask the former generations and find out what their fathers learned, for we were born only yesterday and know nothing, and our days on earth are but a shadow. Will they not instruct you and tell you? Will they not bring forth words from their understanding? “

2. To understand God

Psalms 44:1
“We have heard with our ears, O God; our fathers have told us what you did in their days, in days long ago.”
Knowing the acts and ways of God in working with His people throughout history provides us with a better understanding of God Himself.

3. To keep us from error

Not knowing about the many errors in the history of the Church dooms us to repeat those failures again. Many of the heresies of the first, few centuries of the Church have surfaces once again in our times. Knowledge of those early heresies will help us to remain on the clear path of Biblical truth.

4. To understand our own time

Church History helps us to understand our own time better. The author if the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes once wrote that there is nothing new under the sun (Ecclesiastes 1:9). History, in very real and concrete ways, moves in circles and cycles. A fuller understanding of our past helps us to understand how we have arrived at this point in history. It helps us to see today from God’s perspective. Church History shows us that actions and ideas have consequences not only in our own generation but future generations as well.

5. To Glorify God

The ultimate and most important reason to study Church History is that it facilitates true and extravagant worship of our God. Our hearts are filled with awe and wonder when we explore the mighty acts of God in the past. The apostle John (Revelation 4:8, NIV) recorded that in heaven four living creatures, surrounding a throne, do not stop day or night declaring the glory and holiness of God, “who was, and is, and is to come.” As we gain an appreciation of Church History we gain a greater appreciation of the Lord and how He has chosen to reveal Himself to mankind throughout the ages this increases our thankfulness to Him for not being a God who is absent and unconcerned with our lives but a God who has revealed Himself as the one who is always present and willing to act on behalf of those who call upon Him. Church History can be thought of as the study of how God has intervened in the events of mankind in order that he might redeem mankind and establish His kingdom purposes.

THE CHRISTIAN UNDERSTANDING OF HISTORY IS UNIQUE

A Christian understanding of history is unique for the Bible declares that in history God is working out His redemptive purposes.

Please turn to Romans 8:28-30

Can you identify from those verses what’s God purpose in History might be?To conform us to the image of His Son in order that He might be the first born among many brothers. First born meaning that He is Heir in all of God’s things! In Him, we become coheirs to God’s riches too.

Who do those verses apply to?This surely applies to all of God’s people who were, are being and will be saved. In other words “The Church”.

Now turn to 1 Peter 2:2-10

Does this verse give us any additional insights to what God’s purposes in history might be?

Verse 5 indicatesA Christian is a) Chosen by God, b) Like Living stones being built as a spiritual House, c) To be a holy priesthood, d) To offer spiritual sacrifices accepted to God through Jesus Christ.

Verse 5 says A Christian is a) A Chosen Race, b) Royal priesthood, c) A People for His own possession so that you proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

Lets look at a few Heresies

1) IDOLATERS – Christians continued to worship or create idols in violation of the 2nd commandment. There were two problems here. The first was the practical use of the idols, and the second was their continued presence, merely adding Christianity to their other beliefs. Response: abstain from the pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from what is strangled, and from blood. Acts 15:20; 1Jn. 5:21

2) NICOLAITANS – Rev. 2:6,14-15 a sect holding to the “teaching of Balaam” which upheld the freedom to eat food offered to idols. The fear was that if Christians unwittingly ate such food, purchased from the marketplace and offered to an idol by its seller, that they had desecrated the temple of their body, losing their holiness and their salvation. Response – Paul rejected that idea, asking “is that anything?” He provided a weaker-stronger brother standard in 1Cor. 8-10. This ruling upheld the freedom we have in Christ concerning food sacrificed to idols, but weighed that freedom against the temptation to new believers; its bottom line was to avoid it where possible, but not to fret if it happened. As far as the use or presence of idols, or committing fornication, Acts 15:20 is an absolute prohibition. Rev. 2:20 outright condemns intentionally eating food sacrificed to idols (participating in idolatry).

3) No Resurrection of the Dead – 1Cor. 15:12 Response: if Christ is not raised, your faith is vain; you are still in your sins. If we have existence in Christ only in this life, we are the most miserable of all men. (v. 17,19) There is a resurrection, but it already took place – spiritually – 2Tim 2:16-18 Hymenaeus and Philetus… have swerved from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already happened. They are upsetting the faith of some. We expect a physical resurrection of the bodies of all men at Christ’s return, some to eternal glory, the rest to eternal damnation. (Dan. 12:2; 1Cor 15:23,42,52; 2Cor 5:10)

4) Easy-Believism – this is a belief that because we are under grace, obedience is optional. Our freedom in Christ, our forgiven state, becomes a license to sin. Response: What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, who are dead to sin, live in it any longer? Rom. 6:1,2. Don’t you know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be misled: neither the immoral, idolaters, adulterers, the corrupt, the effeminate [man-boy sex], homosexuals, extortionists, thieves, drunkards, the pugnacious, nor defrauders will inherit the kingdom of God. 1Cor. 6:9,10.

5) JUDAISM – 1. Circumcision is a prerequisite to salvation for men. 2. Obedience to Jewish Law is necessary including Sabbath and Kosher requirements. Response: 1. It denies salvation by faith through Christ’s Atoning sacrifice. 2. It undermines obedience inspired by love and thankfulness rather than reward. If some one asks you how are the Old Testament saints saved. Well lets look at 1 Peter 1 :8-11. So they are saved awaiting a messiah (Christ) who was supposed to come and we are saved by trusting the messiah who came 2000 years back.

6) Roman Catholic Church: It claims to be the true church. Mary is venerated in the Catholic Church as Queen of Heaven and honored in numerous Marian devotions. Basically, salvation is attained through sacraments and good works. It is maintained by good works and participation in the sacraments. We know as the Bible says 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—9 not by works, so that no one can boast. So none of us are ever saved by any works.

Additionaly we surely believe the following

Sola Scriptura – the standard of truth is the Bible alone, not the church, not the Pope
• Solus Christus – salvation is by Christ alone, not by sacraments, not by priests
• Sola Gratia – salvation is by grace alone, not by works, not by penance
• Sola Fide – salvation is by faith alone, not by faith plus anything else
• Soli Deo Gloria – everything we do is for the Glory of God alone; everything that has been done for us by God is for God’s glory alone; nothing we do merits God’s grace.

The Gospel as concluded by the puritan Jeremiah Burroughs

The gospel of Christ is the good tidings that God has revealed concerning Christ. As all mankind was lost in Adam and became the children of wrath, put under the sentence of death, God, though He left His fallen angels and has reserved them in the chains of eternal darkness, yet He has thought upon the children of men and has provided a way of atonement to reconcile them to Himself again.

The second Person in the Trinity takes man’s nature upon Himself, and becomes the Head of a second covenant, standing charged with sin. He answers for it by suffering what the law and divine justice required, and by making satisfaction for keeping the law perfectly. This satisfaction and righteousness He tenders up to the Father as a sweet savor of rest for the souls that are given to Him.

And now this mediation of Christ is, by the appointment of the Father, preached to the children of men, of whatever nation or rank, freely offering this atonement unto sinners for atonement, requiring them to believe in Him and, upon believing, promising not only a discharge of all their former sins, but that they shall not enter into condemnation, that none of their sins or unworthiness shall ever hinder the peace of God with them, but that they shall through Him be received into the number of those who shall have the image of God again to be renewed unto them, and that they shall be kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.

CONCLUSION

History teaches us that a person who has a deep devotional life before the Lord is characterized by

1) An intense love towards the Lord and His people. 2) A life that is lived out in dependence upon God, results in a joyful heartfelt freedom. 3) A desire to reflect Jesus and proclaim His Truth with Love 4) An assurance that the kingdom of God can be realized in history and the Lord works in all circumstances to bring about His purposes in the way that He desires. 5) Humility 6) Every person encountered by the Christian is seen as a potential brother or sister in Christ. 7) Devotion is not escaping the world but rather through worship of the Lord they are motivated to serve by bettering the world. 8) They are salt and light to the world.

As you all know that we are doing a series on ‘The Church’. We started the series by discovering our Identity as a Church Community – We learnt that we are a Covenant people, redeemed by the death and resurrection of Christ Jesus, holy and blameless in the sight of God because of Christ, a people with a purpose to glorify God in our words, deeds and actions. And the bible says that there is absolutely nothing that can separate us from this love of Christ.

Last Sunday we stopped at the Book of Revelation chapter 2 and 3 and started looking at Christ’s letters to the 7 churches which he gave to Apostle John while he was exiled in the island of Patmos.

When we read Jesus’s comments to these churches we realize how messed up their lives were.

Jesus continues to lovingly pursue and convict us of our sins and wrong doings

But the fascinating thing is Jesus still calls them his church and addresses them as his people. It tells us that yes it possible to be a church of Jesus and yet live a completely messed up lives and one that looks hopeless.

The good news is that Jesus still continues to lovingly pursue and convict us of our sins and wrong doings. And that has been the nature of God from the beginning. We learned this about God while we did an expository preaching through the book of Nehemiah. Even though the people of God rebelled against him and abandoned him God still came to their rescue for the sake of his name.

The failure of God’s people is never because God abandons us but because we abandoned God – It is our sinful nature and unrepentant heart that draws us away from Him.

Instead of deepening our relationship with Jesus by allowing the gospel to govern our lives we tend to lean more towards the pleasures and deceitfulness of this world.

These words of Jesus to the seven churches reminds us that he still calls us his own and lovingly pursues us and convicts us of our sins. Therefore when we hear these words of Jesus and humbly submit to them and walk in obedience to his words he promises us …

– To give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God (Rev 2:7)
– To give the crown of life (Rev 2:10) and also promises in verse 11 that he will not be hurt by the second death.
– In Rev 2:17 he promises to give some of the hidden manna
– Rev 2:26 – Authority over nations
– Rev 3:5 – Clothed with white garments and will never take away our name out of the book of life
– Rev 3:12 – Will make us a pillar in the temple of God
– Rev 3:21 – Grant us to sit with him on his throne

At the same time he also warns those who are unrepentant. He says

– Rev 2:5 – I will remove your lampstand from its place
– Rev 2:11 – I will war against you with the sword of my mouth
– Rev 2:22 – I will throw you into great tribulation and give according to your works
– Rev 3:3 – I will come like a thief against you
– Rev 3:16 – I will spit you out of my mouth

Last week we looked at 3 letters to 3 churches.

• To the church in Ephesus he says return to your first love – Love the Lord with all their heart, mind and soul.
• To the church in Smyrna he says be faithful unto death even in your sufferings and tribulations
• To the church of Pergumam he says stay away from idol worship and sexual immorality

Church in Thyatira

Today we will briefly look at the rest of the 4 churches beginning with the church of Thyatira.

[READ 2:18-29]

Jesus begins by complimenting them from their love, faith, service and patient endurance. Everything seems perfect – Everything that was missing in the previous three churches is present here – There is love, they are faithful and have patient endurance.

But they missed one quality that the church of Ephesus exhibited – And that was testing and identifying false apostles among them.

Jesus’s charge against the church of Thyatira was that they were tolerating a woman called Jezebel, who called herself to be a prophetess but was teaching and seducing God’s servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. Jesus even gave her time to repent but she refused to repent of her sexual immorality.

Jesus warns them by saying in 2:22-23 “I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works, and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works.”

Basically, the church failed to stand against an ungodly spirit who was leading God’s people astray especially the leaders.

Yes, we are good and loving people by nature. We are even harmless as doves. But in Matthew 10:16 Jesus tells his disciples “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.”

As a church we shouldn’t lack in the ability to show courage in standing up for what is right and scriptural, we have to stand up and speak up against those who lead the people of God astray and into sin and idolatry.

In most churches there is this unsaid rule that people should keep their mouth shut and not raise fingers even if the people are led astray into sin and deceit.

I believe the Bible encourages us to speak up against false teaching but it needs to be done in an orderly manner. In fact at one occasion Apostle Paul points and corrects the hypocritical attitude of Apostle Peter in public, you can read the account in Galatians 2.

And if you fail to do so then remember Jesus will hold that up against you just as he did with the church of Thyatira.

Church in Sardis

[READ 3:1-6]

Jesus quickly and clearly condemns the lifeless state of the Sardian church: “I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead” (Revelation 3:2).

This church may have had a good reputation, but they were spiritually lifeless. In other words, the church was filled with unsaved people going through the motions of religion.

It is one thing to know the truth of the gospel and profess it with our mouth but living it out in our daily lives is something that we should desire and pursue.

After hearing about the church of Sardis the question I want us to ask ourselves today is

As a Christian..

– Are we truly enjoying the fullness of joy that comes from knowing Jesus or is it just a superficial thing that we experience only on a Sunday morning?
– Do we experience the peace of God in our heart when we think about the promise of the glorious gospel even in times of struggles and sufferings?
– Do we hide ourselves behind a happy and cheerful face for the sake of good reputation and not willing to admit that our actual life is dead and lifeless?

If our answer to any of these question is ‘yes’ then Jesus calls us to repent of our sin: “Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God. Remember, therefore, what you received and heard; obey it, and repent” (Revelation 3:2-3a).

To “wake up” means to start paying attention to your need of salvation, to stop being careless about your heart’s condition before God.

Church of Philadelphia

[READ 3:7-13]

The church of Philadelphia is the only church against whom Jesus did not have anything negative to say.
Jesus affirms the church’s positive actions: “I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name” (Revelation 3:8).

The church of Philadelphia was weak in some respects, yet they had remained faithful in the face of trial. Because of this, the Lord promises them an “open door” of blessing.

Jesus’ letter then condemns the enemies of the Philadelphian believers: “I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars—I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you” (Revelation 3:9).

Those who persecuted the believers (the persecutors were religious hypocrites in this case) would one day realize Christ loves His children. The church of Philadelphia would be victorious over its enemies.

Church of Laodicea

[READ 3:14-22]

In contrast to the other six churches, the Laodicean church has nothing to commend it. Jesus begins the message with condemnation: “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked” (Revelation 3:15-17).

They claimed to be rich, blessed and self-sufficient. Perhaps they were rich in material things. But, spiritually, the Laodiceans were in a wretched, pitiful condition, made all the worse in that they could not see their need. This was a church filled with self-deceived hypocrites.

Jesus calls the Laodicean church to repent of its sin: “I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see” (Revelation 3:18). Their material wealth had no eternal benefit, so Jesus commands them to come to Him for true, spiritual riches (see Isaiah 55:1-2). Only Christ can supply an everlasting inheritance, clothe us in righteousness, and heal our spiritual blindness.

Jesus then notes His concern for His church in Laodicea: “Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me” (Revelation 3:19-20). His rebuke is not born of animosity but of love. “The Lord disciplines those he loves” (Hebrews 12:6).

The church is nominally Christian, but Christ Himself has been locked out. Rather than turn His back on them, He knocks, seeking someone to acknowledge the church’s need and open the door. If they would repent, Jesus would come in and take His rightful place in the church.

Last week we started a four-week series on ‘The Church’ and we unpacked our true identity as the Church community from the book of Hebrews chapter 8. Like I said everything starts on a right note when we know and understand our true identity as a Church.

We learnt that we are a covenant community knit together as a body of Christ, not on the basis of the old testament laws but because our faith in Christ Jesus.

In Hebrews 8:6 the author points to Christ as the one who obtained a ministry that is as more excellent than the old covenant, enacted on better promise

Christ has obtained everything needed for us to relate back to God and we don’t have to please God in our own efforts.

Under this new identity we recognize that Christ has obtained everything needed for us to relate back to God and that we don’t have to please God in our own efforts. This identity is given to us so that we declare the goodness of Him and live for his glory. And last but not the least we learned to stay humble and remind ourselves daily that we are mercied by God through Christ and we need to allow this gospel truth to govern our lives.

Today morning we will look into a very interesting book in the Bible called the book of Revelation, and particularly chapter 2 & 3. I believe these two chapters have a lot to say to us about Church life. It will unpack for us Christ’s expectations from us as a church community.

The book of Revelation is actually a revelation of Christ to Apostle John while he was in an island called Patmos where he was exiled (banished/punished). The island of Patmos was the most uncomfortable, lonely and horrible place where John happen to see the vision of Jesus and heard him talk.

The purpose of this book was to comfort and encourage believers in the midst of suffering and persecution at the hands of evil ones by assuring them that Jesus Christ, and they themselves, will ultimately and finally triumph.

In Revelation 1:12-20 John writes a beautiful description of his encounter with Jesus.

He writes “I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength.

When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades. Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this. As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.”

In chapter 2 & 3 Jesus goes on to address the seven churches and tells them certain things which I believe can help us understanding God’s heart and His expectation from his people. And I hope you are ready to hear them out, not just for knowledge sake but to allow the spirit of God to enlighten our hearts with his truth and live a life worthy of his calling.

Before we begin looking at these verses let me also remind you that even though we as a group of churches across the globe have the same faith and calling, we still differ with respect to our cultural context, our backgrounds and the challenges we face, and that’s exactly what you will see in these seven churches. Each of them are unique and have their own set of good and bad.

I believe this understanding should help us identity our own cultural challenges and apply the word of God accordingly.

This Sunday we will look at the first three churches followed by the rest four next week.

So, here we go

Church of Ephesus

The first church Jesus addresses is the Church of Ephesus (2:1-7)

Let’s start with the compliments

1. Jesus commends them for their toil and patient endurance – The first impression it gives me is that they obviously seem to be hard working people.
2. They stay away from people who do evil, especially the ones who call themselves apostles but are not.
3. For not growing weary and patiently enduring and bearing up for the sake of his name.

But then in verse 4 Jesus goes on to say “Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.”

This reveals to us God’s first expectation from his church

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Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind and soul

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The saints in Ephesus were not being obedient to the central truth of the Scriptures Old and New Testament which is Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind and soul. (Matthew 22:37)

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The saints in Ephesus were not being obedient to the central truth of the Scriptures Old and New Testament which is Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind and soul. (Matthew 22:37)

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Their lives were clogged with so many things that Jesus was no longer first in their hearts, in their daily schedules, in their thoughts which clearly signals that Jesus was no longer the King of their lives.

Here Jesus is telling them to press the reset button and go back to their original settings when they started off.
I don’t know how you feel about these words of Jesus but I want to confess that in the past couple of weeks I’ve been far away from loving Jesus more than I should. Even though I can hide from all of you I cannot hide from my wife. She knows how frustrated, angry and disappointed I was the last one week. The reason I believe is clear – My love for Jesus has not been the same.

But I also believe God in his mercy has revealed my heart condition and led me to repent and ask for forgiveness.

Today as we hear these words where do we find yourself? Are we too busy to even take out time and search our hearts?

Jesus paid the highest price by dying on the cross for our sins.
Hebrews 12:2 says Jesus endured the cross with joy, scorning its shame.

He loves us beyond measure because we are his creation
John 15:13 says “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

And that’s is exactly what Jesus did for us.

In return he expects that we love him back and be willing to give away everything and anything that we hold dear in our lives. Whether it is our love for money, desire for comfort, our longings for the pleasure of this world.
It is quite a sad thing when everything around our lives revolves around work, making money & pleasing people – when it should be the other way around.

We fail to realize that the satisfaction and fulfillment we are hoping to receive from the things of the world is false idea. Only Jesus can satisfy us and fulfill our deepest longings.

Q: Are we willing to love him more – and love him first?

Romans 12:9 – Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.

I want to encourage you this morning if you feel your hearts not in the right place go to God, repent of your sin and make a decision to love him more.

Church of Smyrna

The second church Jesus talks to is the Church of Smyrna (2:8-11)

You see this church in comparison to the church in Ephesus is quite different culturally.

They are a poor church with many tribulations and sufferings.

People have been talking bad about them and putting false accusations

Jesus’s comforting words to them is “Do not fear what you are about to suffer” – “You are been tested”

And Jesus’s instruction to them is “Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life”

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“Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life”

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Last to last Sunday Pastor Jeff preached a sermon on “The Mission of God through the suffering of his people”. He explained how God uses our present sufferings to advance his gospel.

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Unlike what we’ve heard from the prosperity preachers who talk about pursuing a life of comfort and riches. The bible has a completely different take on it. Jesus himself said in John 15:20 “If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also”.

When we encounter suffering and pain in our lives the tendency of many of us is to close the door on Jesus and sulk in our depravity. We stop loving Jesus and stop serving him.

I feel sad to see many Christians in this condition. The devil has taken away their joy and filled their hearts with bitterness and anger.

Jesus’s words to us who suffer is “Do not fear what you are about to suffer” … rather continue to be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.

Remember, we’re not chasing an earthly reward – we might see and experience his goodness on earth or we might not experience his goodness on earth. Think of the numerous number of people who gave their lives for the sake of the gospel. What do you think they were chasing after? They died a miserable death on this earth for the sake of the kingdom.

Jesus was their greatest reward. They fixed their eyes on the crown of life they will receive from Jesus in heaven.
On the basis on these verses my encouragement to all of us is don’t give in to your present sufferings rather be faithful to God in what God has called you into irrespective of the pain and suffering you are experiencing at this very moment.

Church of Pergamum

The third church Jesus addresses is the church of Pergamum [2:12-17]

According to these verses we understand that the church of Pergamum is located in a very dark and satanic place.
Jesus compliments them by saying “Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not deny my faith”

The description of this place reminded me of the area in malad where Jane and I have been discipling a catholic family “Joseph & ArokyaMary”. Last monday the family invited another two ladies to join us for prayer and bible study.

After we finished we started talking to one of the ladies and she started pouring heart out saying her husband works in gulf and both her children are married and gone away. She lives in her home all alone and every night a spirit in the form of a young girl visits her and talks to her. After talking for a while she then tries to kill her by chocking her throat and pressing her stomach.

When we heard her story and started talking to her we realized the strong hold of idols in their lives.

Jesus while talking to the church in Pergamum identifies these strong holds and says “But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality.”

I won’t go into the details of the teaching of Balaam but it is mainly to do with Idol worship & sexual immorality.
Jesus’s expectation from his church is to refrain from any kind of idolatry and sexual immorality.

Idols not just in the form of mud and clay, but heart idols that cause us to stumble and stop us from worshipping Jesus.

Sexual immorality is another rampant sin in our culture. With our current exposure to information and whatever else we need. Our society has been contaminated, our children’s future is in danger.

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And therefore as a true church of Jesus our choices and our obedience to God’s word is the only hope for this dying world around us. Our children’s future depends on the choices we make in favour of God.

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“Our choices and our obedience to God’s word is the only hope for this dying world around us”

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And therefore as a true church of Jesus our choices and our obedience to God’s word is the only hope for this dying world around us. Our children’s future depends on the choices we make in favour of God.

1 Corinthians 6:18 Paul writes “Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body.”

In the light of what we heard today I want to urge you to come together as one body and re-commit our lives to Jesus once again.

Where do you see yourself falling apart from God’s calling over your lives.
Do you think your love for Jesus has become cold?
Do you see yourself sulking in depravity before of the current sufferings and pain?
Do you see the strong hold of Idols in your lives? Or
Do you see the sin of sexual immorality taking away your joy being a Christ follower.

If any of the above is true, then we need to repent and ask for forgiveness.

I believe our God is a forgiving God, a father who loves us dearly. More than us he wants to see us flourish and rejoice in him and take hold of the crown of life when we reach heaven.

2016 was an exciting and adventurous year for all of us and I believe this year will also bring a lot of surprises. I’m personally hoping and praying to see some more marriages happen this year and the possibility of planting a new church as the Lord leads us.

Coming to today’s sermon as you all know that we love to do expository preaching through the books of the bible which we believe to be most beneficial for the body of Christ. Last year we studied and preached through the book of Nehemiah for 7 months (April to October) followed by a short series on Mission which we did along with our family of churches.

The next book we will look into is 1 Timothy but we will start the series from the first week of February.

Meanwhile for the next couple of Sundays the leaders at The Gathering felt God leading us to do a series on The Church.

As we begin this new year we thought it would be great for us to look and understand what the scripture has to say about the true church of Jesus Christ.

We live in a generation where people have different ideas about church, these ideas are formed because of the influence of society, people, culture, needs, history etc.

Let me give you some examples:

• Some think of church as a building with a cross on it where people go to find peace.
• Some think of it as a place where people gather to sing godly songs to rejuvenate their minds
• Some think of church as a place where their needs are met, whether financial, mental or emotional
• Some think of church as a place to build network, make friends and have fun

But when we read and investigate the scriptures we realize that church is much more than what we have made of it. And in the next couple of Sundays that’s exactly what we will be doing.

We will read and remind ourselves of what the true church of Jesus should look like.

And we will begin our journey today by firstly finding our identity as a church.

Who are we as a Church?
What does the Bible say about our identity as a Church community?

Our passage for today is Hebrews 8. (Please turn with me to the book of Hebrews 8)

In this passage the writer is presenting Jesus as the High Priest of a Better Covenant and therefore addresses us as a people of the new covenant in Christ, which in fact is our identity as a church. We are a covenant community.

But what does the word ‘Covenant’ really mean and why is there an old covenant and a new covenant mentioned in this passage.

It might sound a bit complicated to you in the beginning but I will try my best to simplify and explain it better. So please do hang on with me.

To start with, let us first understand the meaning of the word ‘Covenant’. This word is not very commonly used in our culture. We’ve probably heard the synonyms of this word.

Like for example ‘Agreement’, ‘Commitment’, ‘Deed’, ‘Treaty’ etc but I believe the word ‘Covenant’ has a much deeper meaning and none of these synonyms justify that.

Here’s what I mean by that.

Like for example the word ‘agreement’ is often used to describe an arrangement between two or more people to do or not to do something specific. An agreement can have an expiry date and can be broken anytime with mutual consent.

Wherein the word ‘Covenant’ is always used in context with God to describe a conditional promise/promises made by God to his people. And unlike an agreement a covenant is irrevocable because the conditions are laid down by God and we cannot amend them.

The Old Covenant was a conditional or bilateral agreement that God made with the Israelite’s. The Old Covenant was in effect during the dispensation of the Law that was given to Moses, the ten commandments been the center of all others laws.

The amazing thing about the 10 commandments is no matter what faith and religious background you come from these commands which were given to Israelite’s thousands and thousands of years back will resonate in your mind even today. These are still the norms in many religious beliefs to attain a perfect life pleasing to God.

Listen to them. (Exodus 20:2-17)

1. You shall have no other God before me.
2. You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness that is in heaven above, or that in the earth beneath.
3. You shall not take the name of the Lord in vain.
4. Remember the day of rest and keep it holy.
5. Honour your father and mother.
6. You shall not murder.
7. You shall not commit adultery.
8. You shall not steal.
9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour.
10. You shall not covet your neighbour’s house.

In the Old Covenant, the Israelites were required to obey God and keep the Law, and in return God protected and blessed them. The Old Covenant required repeated, daily sacrifices of animals as a reminder of the people’s sin. Under the Old Covenant, only the high priest could enter the Most Holy Place where God’s presence dwelt—and that only once a year. The Old Covenant was a set of “external regulations”.

This understanding presents God as someone who is really mean and unreachable which is exactly how people perceive him to be even today. Isn’t it?

People think..

– they need to do good things in order to please God
– they need to offer sacrifices and offerings so that God can forgive me
– they need to visit the church/temple/mosque as often as I can so that God can protect and provide for me

The truth is that God’s intention for giving us these laws were not to press us down or make us feel miserable rather as it is written in Hebrews 8:5 these were a copy and shadow of the heavenly things. The laws were meant to point us to the standard of Gods holiness and reminds us of our sinfulness.

These commands were not just meant to be external activities but a heart condition. In Matthew 5:27-28 Jesus says “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

Knowingly or unknowingly we all end up doing things and trying to please God with all the external activities. You take any world religion for example including the Christianity, it’s all about rules and regulations, do’s and don’ts, practices and rituals that are just meant to exhaust us and lead us nowhere.

Verse 7 and 8 says

“ For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second. For he finds fault with them when he says ..”

Verse 9 – “For they did not continue in my covenant”

You see the fault is not in the covenant or in the law per SE, the verse suggest that the fault is with us, the sinful human heart.

You see our sinful heart is so sinful that no matter how hard we try we can never please God. Because God’s standard of holiness is way above our reach.

And that is exactly why verse 6 of Hebrews 8 is a good news to all of us.

“But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises.”

Remember, this good news is not just for Christians, but for people from all background, faith and religious belief’s. Christ is the answer to man’s deepest need. The search for peace, fulfillment, satisfaction, salvation ends when you encounter Christ.

God presented these moral laws to reveal our immorality and then provides and answer through the sacrifice of His only begotten son so that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.

The Bible says in John 3:16 that God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son so that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Which means fulfilling the requirements of the old covenant or the laws are no more the norms to please God and win his favor.

Christ fulfilled the law for us by living a perfect life and dying on our behalf for all our sinfulness.

And therefore, believing this truth and putting our faith in Christ is the new norm to please God.

And that is why the writer of Hebrews in verse 8 says “But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises.”

And this is the new covenant that we are called into.

Does that mean that we no more obey the commandments in the Old testament?

No – We must obey the OT commandments the same way we obey the NT commandments—not in order to win God’s favor. We have already won his favor by putting our trust in his son Jesus.
We obey because we depend on his free grace and trust that his commands will lead to full and lasting joy.

We should delight in God’s law, meditate on it day and night, and sing of its value unto all generations.

Listen – As a Church this is our true Identity and that is exactly why we are a covenant community.

John 1:12 – In Christ we have been given the right to become children of God
Colossians 2:10 – In Christ we have been brought to fullness
Romans 6:6 – The day we put out faith in Christ our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin
1 Corinthians 12:27 – Now we are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it

We as a Church is a covenant community, the bride of Christ, holy, blameless and set apart for His glory. That is our identity.

And, therefore here’s what it means to live out our identity as a Church?

1. Stop trying to please God in your own efforts

We are not a miserable bunch of people who needs to do a certain number of things to win God’s favour.

You are not part of his church because you are a good guy. In fact the bible says in Romans 5:8

“God demonstrated his love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Hebrews 8:10 says

For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel
after those days, declares the Lord:
I will put my laws into their minds,
and write them on their hearts,
and I will be their God,
and they shall be my people.

2. Live a life that declares his goodness all the time

To all the people – whether in your neighborhood, or our workplace or your place of study.

Hebrews 8:11 says

And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor
and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’
for they shall all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest.

3. Stay humble and remind yourself every single day that you are mercied by God

Hebrews8:12

For I will be merciful toward their iniquities,
and I will remember their sins no more.”

It is important that we constantly remind ourselves this gospel truth

– by thanking him daily in our prayers
– by meditating on this truth everyday
– by living a life centered around the gospel
– by letting the gospel truth influence every decision in your life

I believe everything begins on a right note when we truly understand our true identity. And every outcome of our lives should flow from that identity.

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First day of the year 2017 and this sermon on “The Mission of God through the suffering of his people” has enlightened our hearts to see missions in a new light. We are extremely grateful to the Lord for Pastor Jeff who served us well and unpacked the verse in Colossians 1:24. 

We hope as you listen to his sermon it will give you a new hope for this coming year and strengthen your heart to faithfully pursue God’s mission for your lives.

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Greetings and a warm welcome to all of you!

25th Dec is celebrated as Christmas day all around the world and as we’ve gathered today we will unpack the true meaning of Christmas.

Over the last number of years there has been a tremendous influence of culture, traditions and ideas outside the bible that has distorted the true meaning of Christmas. And today we will unpack the true Biblical meaning of Christmas.

But before we get into the word of God and search the scriptures let me answer some very valid questions about Christmas that people often ask. I believe the answers will help clear a lot of doubts surrounding Christmas.

Q1 – Was Jesus born on the 25th of Dec?

The answer to that question is that it is impossible to prove that Jesus’s date of birth is 25th Dec. It is an assumption that he was born on 25th Dec. People made these assumptions based on the time and season when the Roman Empire ruled Israel and many other factors. But the truth is there is no solid evidence that 25th Dec was the day.

Q2 – In that case is it wrong to celebrate Christmas on 25th?

Well, the truth is that Jesus was born someday. Even though we may not know the exact date of Jesus’ birth I see no harm in celebrating his birth on 25th Dec or any other day for that matter.
In fact we should celebrate the birth of Jesus every day. But celebrating it on 25th Dec along with the world around us gives us an opportunity to share about Jesus more boldly and in open.

Q3 – What does Christmas Tree symbolize?

The honest biblical answer is that it symbolizes nothing. There is absolutely no reference about Christmas tree in the Bible.

In the earlier days the ancient inhabitants of northern Europe would cut evergreen trees and plant them in boxes inside their houses in wintertime. Somehow it got associated with the season and especially with Christmas.

Q4 – Is it wrong to get a Christmas tree home?

I don’t see an issue unless people start worshiping the tree and idolize it instead. I would rather look at it as a decorative item in the house. As for my family we never got a tree home anytime.

Q5 – Who is Santaclaus and where is he mentioned in the Bible?

Again, there is no mention of Santaclaus in the bible.

Santaclaus, also known as Saint Nicholas, Father Christmas is a legendary figure of western culture who is said to bring gifts to the homes of well-behaved children on Christmas Eve.

Since Santaclaus has absolutely no significance or reference in the Bible we personally refrain from the idea and do not teach them to our children. The reason we do not teach them to our children is so that they don’t misunderstand or misinterpret the deity of Christ with another figure or a person.

Q6 – Is Christmas about drinking and getting drunk?

As per the Bible I would say some drinking is definitely not OK, like drinking to drunkenness.

Ephesians 5:18 says “do not get drunk with wine”

1 Cor 6:10 says “Drunkards will not inherit the Kingdom of God”

Another one that’s not OK is drinking with person who has a weak conscience and is easily tempted to get drunk.

Let’s look at some facts –
– Excessive drinking kills millions of people in this culture
– It’s killing marriages
– It’s killing jobs
– Alcohol is deadly in this culture.

In some culture light drinking is permitted and the bible does not show any objections. In Jesus’ time they used to drink wine – In fact the first miracle Jesus performed at a wedding ceremony was turning water into wine (the best wine).

My take on drinking is it better to refrain from alcohol if you don’t have self-control over it, and also better to refrain if your drinking causes another to stumble.

Christmas is definitely not about drinking or getting drunk.

Now, coming to the true meaning of Christmas

Christmas in un-doubtbly the celebration of the birth of Jesus.

A few years back I happened to sit and think of the one Christmas verse that I believe sums up the whole meaning of Christmas and the one that is my personal favorite among all. The verse I picked up was John 3:16

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life”

I believe this verse is a true expression for all the reason of our celebration and joy and should be held closer to our hearts not just on Christmas but all the days of our lives.

Every word in that verse is so rich with revelation that we can meditate on it for days. Here are my thoughts as I went through each and every word in that verse and hope your hearts respond in the same way as mine did.

‘For GOD’

The verse begins with the mention of the main character and that is “GOD”.

I often tell stories to my boys before sleep and I start by saying “Once upon a time, there was a TIGER (with a growling voice)…”The moment I mention the main character of the story I observe their reactions and I found out that they respond differently at the mention of different characters. If it is a tiger or a lion, they get really enthusiastic and if it’s a rabbit, they’re more calm and curious.
What I learnt is that the character definitely carries some weight and sets the momentum for the rest of the story and takes the course in that direction.

Similarly, I want you to understand the weight of our main character in our favorite verse; here we are taking about God.

These days the use of the word ‘God’ has become so common that we rarely get gripped even by the mention of it.

We are talking about the ultimate power, the source of all good things, the one who was from the beginning, the master designer who designed us, the earth we live in, this massive universe, the sun and the moon, the different planets and arranged it in such a fashion that scientists say that if there is a deviation of 0.000000000000000001% the earth would not exist, we will not exist.
Before we go ahead, I want to encourage you to take some time and allow the weight of that name to grip you and I am sure the rest of the verse will sound more meaningful and enriching.

“so LOVED”

The greatest love we’ve ever known or experienced is the love of the creator God. I don’t even know whether anybody can even define that great Love; a love greater than that of a Father or a Mother, Brother or a Sister, Husband or a Wife.

Our Love is conditional but God’s love is an unconditional Agape love.

God is Love, that’s His character and I strongly believe that is what sustains us every single moment. He loves us because we are created by Him in His image for His glory.

“the WORLD”

This means He loves literally every single individual, nobody is exempted, no one is disqualified; no matter how crazy it sounds, that is the basic truth.

Irrespective of your background, the language you speak, the clothes you wear, your beliefs, your circumstance etc, God looks at each of you as His masterpiece, His priced possession far worth more than any valuable treasure in this world.

“that He GAVE”

Do you ever look at an ant on the floor and think of giving something to it? They are so tiny that we don’t ever care if they are around.

If we could ever get an opportunity to look at this earth we live in from a considerably far off distance, we will realize that we are just a speck, much smaller than even an ant, almost negligible.
But the verse says that this Great Big God didn’t just love this tiny speck that we are but also decided to ‘give’. I feel so humbled, blessed, fortunate, honored and favored just to know that God is so interested in you and me that He would go to any lengths to simply get our attention, draw us back to Him.

To what extent is that love which He has for us? Well, to the extent that He gave….

“His one and only SON”

I can stay speechless for hours just thinking of this precious gift. He gave us the very best, not close to the best but ‘the best’ gift.

For the fallen mankind who became rebellious towards the creator God, living in disobedience and trapped in sin, a sin that has no other penalty other than death. The good God meant for His creation (us) we turned into evil by killing, stealing, abusing and committing the worst sins possible.

We were destined to die for the penalty of our sin. God had to choose someone else to take up our sin and die in our place, someone who himself has never sinned. And who else could ever take that place?

His one and only son, Jesus Christ was the perfect candidate to take that place… and so the unconditional love of God compelled Him to give Jesus to us.

Hebrews 10:14 says

It was a perfect sacrifice by a perfect person to perfect some very imperfect people. By that single offering, he did everything that needed to be done for everyone who takes part in the purifying process. (The Bible)

He suffered the most terrible death recorded in human history as a ransom for our sin and wrong doings.

But the most amazing thing is that He rose again from the dead on the third day, defeating death and the devil. The empty tomb still exist in Israel to prove that all of this is not just a story by a true event back in history.

“that whoever BELIEVES in Him”

Who said we have to feed a 1000 people or climb Mount Everest or walk 1000 miles to receive this great gift from God. All it says is to believe.

It wouldn’t cost you anything to do that yet for most, it seems to be the most difficult thing to do. What is stopping you? What are the doubts or confusion clouding your head?

All you need do is just believe in your heart that Jesus died for you, repent of your sins and follow him wholeheartedly, that’s all it takes.

“shall NOT perish”

For those who believe in Him are rescued from hell, from the destruction of your soul, from the fiery furnace, from meaningless life, from eternal death and condemnation.

“but have eternal LIFE”

The promise is what matters the most; a life beyond death, a joy beyond measure, a peace that passes all understanding and freedom from the bondage of sin and death. There is no better proposition. It doesn’t get better than this.

God promises us life in abundance; hope and a bond restored back to Him if we only receive the truth, confess our sins and believe with all our heart.

King David in Psalms 34:8 says

“Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him” – The Bible

If you still have doubt than God even invites you to reason with him, Isaiah 1:18 in the bible says

“Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.” – The Bible

Christmas just cannot be enjoyed or celebrated without knowing the truth behind it. And the truth is “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” – John 3:16

As I conclude my message I was encourage you and urge you not to make Christmas just a one day event but rather cherish and treasure this true every single day of your life.

Merry Christmas and a Big God bless you

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What is the general view in the world today about how a person can get to heaven? If you were to ask people living in your neighborhood, colleagues at work, friends from college, strangers on the street or even sometimes people in the church, they’ll usually say “Do good to others, always do what you feel is right, work really hard at being a better person, try to improve every time and you will have a good chance of making it into heaven”.

Logically this probably makes sense because in every other field if you put in hard work backed with a lot of dedication you can achieve your goals. You will get recognized and rewarded for your best efforts in any field. Plus the thought is that if you are constantly improving as a person, God is forgiving enough to pardon your sins and you can easily gain access into heaven. Let’s look at how this passage today responds to that general view. What we’ll find out is that this isn’t just an intellectual response but this is something that can radically transform your life. Later we’ll see why this message needs to be shared!

Romans 10:5-15

Moses writes this about the righteousness that is by the law: “The person who does these things will live by them.” But the righteousness that is by faith says: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down)  “or ‘Who will descend into the deep?’”[c] (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

Right from the start we see two ways being described: there is one “righteousness by the law” and there is “righteousness by faith”. Just to define righteousness: it is the way in which a way a person can be accepted by God! To rephrase: there are two ways here:

1) A way by which a person can be accepted by God through the law
2) A way by which a person can be accepted by God through faith

Let’s look at each in detail.

Righteousness through the Law:

V5 says: “The person who does these things will live by them.” This is same general worldview that we spoke about earlier: Do good, do better, improve yourself and God will accept you. On the outset it seems logical and innocent. However, there are three problems with this view:

a) It assumes that God’s standards are like our standards of holiness and righteousness: changing, shifting.

We sometimes think of it as two friends or parties having an issue. One friend offends the other, the other friend forgets the issue and they are back to being friends. Hab 1:13 says this “You who are of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong”.

I heard someone once describe how we try to understand the holiness of God. Because we are finite creatures, we need illustrations that will help us understand. So we’ll consider the most “holy” person that we know of. Multiply his “holiness” by a trillion times and that’s probably how holy God is. The reality is that the holiness of God is way beyond our understanding or imagination. As sinful people, we could never comprehend how holy is our God! That’s why the Bible rightly differentiates between God and Sin…Light and Darkness!

b) It assumes that we are by nature good people that have a few flaws that can be corrected.

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? (Jer 17:9)
What? Wait a minute? My heart? We know that that’s the place from where all your emotions and decisions come from. If that’s wicked and sick, how can we ever think that we just need to make a few corrections? It’s like rotten vegetables, no matter how much you wash them or boil them…they are still going to be bad and taste bad.

Now you may ask, why have a law? Just to define what “law” is here. The law is the set of commandments that God gave Moses to communicate with the people. It’s the terms by which God and man could relate with each other.

What shall we say, then? Is the law sinful? Certainly not! Nevertheless, I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.”[b] But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of coveting. For apart from the law, sin was dead. Once I was alive apart from the law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died. I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death. For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived me, and through the commandment put me to death. So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good.

The law was given so that we could know what “sin” is. If any country or nation doesn’t have a law that governs the land, what happens? Utter chaos and lawlessness. So God gave us the law so that we could know what His standards were and relate with Him accordingly. So the example given here is of the command “Do not covet”. The purpose was to let us know what God’s Holy standards were. But what did the sin in our hearts do? It instead created a desire to actually covet! Why do you think we always want to do what we’re forbidden to do? It’s easier to do what is wrong than to do what is right. Just imagine there is a kleptomaniac (someone who is unable to refrain from stealing things) in a town where they don’t have a proper law and order situation. If we take that kleptomaniac, bring him to a city where there is a proper law and give him training on the “Do’s” and “Don’t’s”, do you think he’ll stop stealing? No. Because the issue is within him, not in his environment. Now that’s us! We are those kleptomaniacs in our flesh.

So what do you think? Can we be accepted by God through the Law, Good works, Best efforts? No.

Let’s come to the Righteousness by Faith

But the righteousness that is by faith says: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down) “or ‘Who will descend into the deep?’”[c] (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).

You don’t need to go and reach the highest heaven in order to find God or be accepted by God. When I think about this, I think about all the actors, musicians and businessmen from the West who come to India trying to find God. God has already sent His Only Son to us! Neither do you need to go down to the grave to find Jesus. He died and rose again on the third Day! He is our living Savior.

But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.

By believing in your heart that Christ died for you and rose again on the third Day and declaring that “Christ is your Lord”, you will be saved! In those days, everyone used to say “Caesar is Lord”. They would worship, honor and serve the King. Their utmost allegiance would be reserved for the King. So the people knew what it meant. What does it mean for you and me today? Does it mean removing the idols of entertainment, people, fame, money, pleasures for you? How can Christ be your Lord? Remember it’s not just giving mental assent to Jesus but committing your whole life.

And it’s because Christ committed Himself to dying on the cross for you! Remember we spoke about how we were trying our best efforts to please God but to no avail because we are utterly sinful people. But Christ lived in complete obedience to the Law. He was the only person who lived a life acceptable to God. No man on earth apart from Jesus lived like that. It was a perfect life and then He gave it up on the cross to die for our selfishness, lust, apathy, pride, self-righteousness, hatred, bitterness, disobedience and the like. He died and rose again so that He could offer us His perfect life that would make us acceptable to God.

So beautiful! We receive Christ’s righteousness just by believing and making him our Lord.
For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.

Does it take years to be made right before God? Does it take a certain level of maturity? Do you need to be 70-80% perfect to be saved? No. Instantly and freely you can receive this gift by believing and making Christ your Lord!

Isn’t this contrary to every other worldview or religious belief system in the world? Where everything around us tells us we can do better and we may have a chance, Christ says “I’ve already done the work…perfect, pleasing work! Take it freely! It’s for you!”

As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.”

Wow! I don’t want to be put to shame especially in the heavenly courts. It’s says “Never”. And he sealed this promise with His own blood. Can it get more real than that?

For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

How I would apply this is…no difference between any of you. There is no distinction based on what your upbringing or religious background or sin history is. You may be a rapist or serial killer or atheist or whatever but Christ is your Lord and He will richly bless you if you call on Him. That sometimes seems too good to be true and it is! That’s why it is good news! “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Through Jesus everyone will be saved! By the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, everyone will be accepted by God.

That’s how we come to the mission part.

How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15 And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

We just read and pondered on how wonderful this news is! Firstly, no one can be made right before God by obeying the Law. Secondly and most importantly, everyone can be made right with God by faith in Jesus. What Paul is saying here…this is such an amazing truth! How will people call, depend and trust Jesus if they don’t believe? How will they believe if they don’t hear the good news?

How will they hear if no one preaches to them? And how can people preach unless they are sent? Sending, preaching, hearing, believing and calling upon the Lord…that’s the pattern set before us in Scripture. This truth of the gospel should excite us and get us charged to take the gospel to everywhere we go.

This mission is an outflow of the gospel’s work and activity in our lives! Only the church knows and understands the difference between righteousness by the Law and righteousness by faith. The world by default thinks only about righteousness by Law. But we know the joy of being accepted, owned, comforted, satisfied, loved by God through faith in Jesus. It’s needs to be told. It needs to be shared. Believing is preceded by hearing the good news.

What is God leading you to do this week? Is it a commitment to Him because you haven’t surrendered or believed in Jesus? Or you have made the choice and now you are being sent? Who is God sending you to this week?