Sermon preached at Bedok Church, Singapore on 25th April 2010
Before zeroing in the on the text in Rev 7:9-17, I would like to take us through Rev 6-7: the vision of the seven seals.
It follows a 4-2-1 pattern:
Four horseman (6:1-8)
Two questions (6:9-17)
an interlude (7:1-17)
One final consummation (8:1-5)
The four horsemen depict a world ruled by violence/domination:
1st horseman is white - bent on conquest
2nd horseman is fiery red - war
3rd horseman is black - famine; food is severely rationed (1 litre of barley for 1 day's wages barely enough to feed one person)
4th horseman is pale/greenish yellow - color of death
a natural progression of evil: conquest -> war -> famine - > death
It's a downward spiral of evil that begins with desire for conquest and ends in death. This desire for control is not only found in the dictators eg. Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Genghis Khan but resident in everyone. As Tears for Fears sings 'Everybody wants to rule the world'.
5th seal : a minority of underdogs offer an alternative vision over and against the system of 'rule-by-conquest'; these are the martyrs who bear witness to the gospel of peace. They ask 'how long?''
'How long before justice is served? How long before evil is punished and the world put right again?'
6th seal is God's resounding answer in the form of an earthquake. The perpetratorswould rather be crushed by the mountains than suffer God's wrath. They ask 'who can stand the wrath of God?'
'Who can stand?'
In the interlude John saw a people who can *stand* for they stand in the presence of God and are kept from wrath.
He saw two complementary pictures of the same people in 7:1-8 and in v 9-17
the first he heard, the second he saw
the first is counted, the second is countless
the first is a nation of Jews, the second is an international gathering
the first is gathering for the Messianic war, the second is celebrating the victory of the Lamb
It is not two different people but one. the bible knows of only one people of God. 144000 symbolizes the whole people of God from the old (12 tribes of Israel) and the new covenant (the church founded on the 12 apostle)- therefore 12x12x1000= 144 000. heaven is not populated by factions or by individual christians loosely connected to each other. God is creating one people called by his name.
The mission
This people was first called forth through the election of Israel and then extended to the gentiles cos Israel was called to be a light to the nations.
In the same way, the church is called to preach the gospel to every nation. Salvation is for all.
This underscores the missional nature of the church. 'the church is the only organisation on earth that exists primarily for the benefits of its non-members'
This reminds us of the words of jesus to his disciples on resurrection day 'as the Father has sent me so do I send you!'
The tribulation
one of the elders explains that the multitude are they who have come of the great tribulation ('thlipsis') and washed their robes white in the blood of the Lamb'
'thlipsis' means hard pressed on every side, like being thrown into a pressure cooker.,
this means for God's people - NO WRATH but PLENTY OF TRIBULATION.
wrath is what you suffer for sins, tribulation is what you suffer for doing what is right.
being washed in the blood of the lamb contrary to popular interpretation is not about being cleansed of sins, it refers instead to martyrdom.
this does not mean that every christian is called to physical martyrdom but to bear faithful witness to Christ no matter what it costs.
we should not be surprised when we face fiery trials as christians. one of marks of the church is suffering.
we may not suffer physical martyrdom in singapore, but if we are faithful servants of Christ, we expect to suffer no less.
-we suffer as we reach out to the poor, the sick and dying. it involves standing in the places of pain and brokenness and intercede, groaning with the pains of a fallen creation (Rom 8) and standing in solidaity with the needy. It requires sacrifice of resources.
-we suffer as we love our enemy and forgive our debtors - we do not return evil for evil but overcome evil with good, absorbing the damages and pains inflicted on us.
-we suffer as we seek to love one another within the community of God. Community-building involves risks, possible misunderstandings, frustrations, disappointments and being vulnerable to others, losing something of our selves in the process. when one member suffers, the whole body suffers with it.
If the Lamb overcomes the world not by wielding the sword and killing other people but by coming under the sword and being slain, his followers will do no less. The Christian answer to the problem of evil is the cross. God becomes a man and gets killed bearing the full brunt of evil upon himself and neutralizing it.
The victory
The gathered multitude sings the victory song 'salvation belongs to our God, to the one who sits on the throne and unto the lamb' and the angels, the elders and the four living creatures fell face down in worship saying 'praise and glory, honor and thanks, power and strength belongs to God forever!' All creation joins in worship - angels, humans and animals.
this shows that salvation is not an end in itself but worship is the goal of salvation history. we are saved to worship the Creator, the only one worthy of our worship,the rightful ruler of the world.
the language John uses echoes Isa 49 a Servant Song which pictures the Messiah as leading the people through the new exodus..God to pharaoh 'let my people go that they might go and worship me in the land I give them.'
now we are in the wilderness - hungering, thirsting, beaten by the desert heat , but the Lamb will lead us
to springs of living water. he will spread out his tent (ie tabernacle) to shield us. now we sow in tears but he will wipe every tear away.
Conclusion
Will you be there? Will you be counted among the 144 000?
Not an automatic process.
but if you would stand and be counted among his faithful NOW in the face of adversity, you will be counted in that number and stand before the throne...
if you would bear faithful witness to Christ and not shrink from hardships and death, you will be found in that festive throng
and God will wipe away every tear from our eyes...
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Monday, June 21, 2010
Sermon 'Unity in Christ'
'Unity in Christ' sermon preached at Bedok Church of Christ, Singapore on 20th Jun 2010
I shall begin my sermon today with 2 typical prayers from the Jewish-Greco-Roman world in the early centuries - both by non-Christians:
- prayer by RabbI Judah (second century AD): Thank God I am a Jew and not a Gentile, a free man not a slave, a man and not a woman.
- prayer by Diogenes Laertius (Greek philosopher 3rd century AD): I thank the gods that I am a Greek and not a barbarian, a man and not a woman, a human and not a beast.
These prayers indicate that in the ancient Jewish and Greco-Roman world, the sense of racial and male superiority and the practice of slavery are universal. Your lot in life is more or less determined by birth.
Paul ministers in such a world and sees the gospel as God's solution to the divided and segregated human condition. Gal 3:28 is the focus of our sermon this morning and has been hailed as the magna carta of the new humanity.
I would focus on the theme of 'unity in Christ' in this verse but let's first look at the context that begins from v 15.
Paul paints 2000 years of ancient Jewish history through 3 key historical figures: Abraham , Moses and Christ. This takes us through three pivotal historical moments of human history: the promise, the law (Torah) and the fulfilment in Christ.
God has promised to bless Abraham and his descendants (seed) and through them the world - Paul emphasises the singular 'seed' indicating the unity of the people who will be constituted around the Messiah. God intends to form one people/family out of the broken, divided world.
But the law that came 430 years after Abraham seemed to contradict the promise by appearing to create barriers and segregations through its boundary marker laws - circumcision, food laws, Sabbath. These laws reinforce Israel's covenant identity with is inseparably bound with her ethnic identity, and virtually keep the Gentiles out.
while the law provides for the care and protection of women and slaves, they are generally considered second and third-class members in the Jewish society.
Paul explains that the law serves in the intervening period a temporal custodian role 'because of transgressions' until Christ is born.
- it keeps Israel safe from the surrounding immoral and idolatrous cultures
- it exposes sins as transgressions ie. an offense against God
- it leads us to Christ by making us hungry for grace (cos the law declares the whole world prisoners to sin and powerless to be righteous before God)
2 images of the law: prison and guardian - the law plays a temporal protective and disciplinary role until Christ is born.
In Christ, all of God 's promises find their fulfilment. In Christ, all the walls are torn down, and it's time to live as one family!
'By faith you are sons of God in Christ, for all of you who were baptised have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slaves nor free, man nor woman for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are the seed of Abraham and heirs according to the promise.'
IOW, in Christ there are no second-class, third-class memberships; all who are in Christ are first class citizens in God's family on the basis of faith. It is a society of equals.
Lessons for today:
Today the church continues to face the challenges of disunity. The church divides along many other lines besides birth distinctions - doctrinal differences, denominational distinctives, generation gaps, worship styles, etc. To date, there are 38 000 denominations. The figure can be depressing. What is the way forward?
Allow me to make 3 suggestions: we need to -
1. recognise that unity is a gift of God, not a human achievement. While we may see 38000 denoms, God sees one Church. Peace/reconciliation/unity has been secured on the cross. The burden of unity is not ours to bear but ultimately God's. Christ has born the burden at Calvary and finished his work of atonement! The Spirit of Truth will guide us into complete unity. Our task is to keep putting on the virtues of Christ in humility, gentleness, patience, forbearance, and love and to walk in the Spirit and allow him to lead us to full maturity.
2. recognise that the sole basis of christian unity is 'faith in Christ'. The British bible scholar NT Wright calls 'justification by faith' the great ecumenical doctrine. There is no foundation that has been laid for the church other than Christ. It is our confession of Christ as Lord that is the Rock on which Christ will build his church and the gates of hades will not overpower it! let's not exchange that foundation for some other things or add to it other tests of fellowship. there are many important doctrines no doubt that Christians may disagree about but they should not compromise the one foundation upon which we stand together in Christ. However important our distinctives are, they should not be elevated to the test of fellowship as our faith in Christ is. Hence, we can imagine Paul saying, 'there is neither catholics nor protestants, calvinists nor arminians, acapella nor instrumental groups, complementarians nor egalitarians for we are all one in Christ.'
3. reclaim our baptismal identity as the deepest identity over all our other loyalties and distinctives - ethnic, kinship, professional ties! To the question: 'who are you?' the Church through the ages has consistently answered: 'we are baptised.' Note not 'we were' baptized but ' we are' - in other words, baptism is not simply a ritual we got over and done with in the distant past. rather, it *is* our badge of covenant identity. Baptism marks us out as God's people and is an eternal seal of our belonging to Christ. It is also the basic pattern for Christian living that is characterized by daily dying to the old self and rising to our new life/identity in Christ, that is, in God's family.
I shall begin my sermon today with 2 typical prayers from the Jewish-Greco-Roman world in the early centuries - both by non-Christians:
- prayer by RabbI Judah (second century AD): Thank God I am a Jew and not a Gentile, a free man not a slave, a man and not a woman.
- prayer by Diogenes Laertius (Greek philosopher 3rd century AD): I thank the gods that I am a Greek and not a barbarian, a man and not a woman, a human and not a beast.
These prayers indicate that in the ancient Jewish and Greco-Roman world, the sense of racial and male superiority and the practice of slavery are universal. Your lot in life is more or less determined by birth.
Paul ministers in such a world and sees the gospel as God's solution to the divided and segregated human condition. Gal 3:28 is the focus of our sermon this morning and has been hailed as the magna carta of the new humanity.
I would focus on the theme of 'unity in Christ' in this verse but let's first look at the context that begins from v 15.
Paul paints 2000 years of ancient Jewish history through 3 key historical figures: Abraham , Moses and Christ. This takes us through three pivotal historical moments of human history: the promise, the law (Torah) and the fulfilment in Christ.
God has promised to bless Abraham and his descendants (seed) and through them the world - Paul emphasises the singular 'seed' indicating the unity of the people who will be constituted around the Messiah. God intends to form one people/family out of the broken, divided world.
But the law that came 430 years after Abraham seemed to contradict the promise by appearing to create barriers and segregations through its boundary marker laws - circumcision, food laws, Sabbath. These laws reinforce Israel's covenant identity with is inseparably bound with her ethnic identity, and virtually keep the Gentiles out.
while the law provides for the care and protection of women and slaves, they are generally considered second and third-class members in the Jewish society.
Paul explains that the law serves in the intervening period a temporal custodian role 'because of transgressions' until Christ is born.
- it keeps Israel safe from the surrounding immoral and idolatrous cultures
- it exposes sins as transgressions ie. an offense against God
- it leads us to Christ by making us hungry for grace (cos the law declares the whole world prisoners to sin and powerless to be righteous before God)
2 images of the law: prison and guardian - the law plays a temporal protective and disciplinary role until Christ is born.
In Christ, all of God 's promises find their fulfilment. In Christ, all the walls are torn down, and it's time to live as one family!
'By faith you are sons of God in Christ, for all of you who were baptised have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slaves nor free, man nor woman for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are the seed of Abraham and heirs according to the promise.'
IOW, in Christ there are no second-class, third-class memberships; all who are in Christ are first class citizens in God's family on the basis of faith. It is a society of equals.
Lessons for today:
Today the church continues to face the challenges of disunity. The church divides along many other lines besides birth distinctions - doctrinal differences, denominational distinctives, generation gaps, worship styles, etc. To date, there are 38 000 denominations. The figure can be depressing. What is the way forward?
Allow me to make 3 suggestions: we need to -
1. recognise that unity is a gift of God, not a human achievement. While we may see 38000 denoms, God sees one Church. Peace/reconciliation/unity has been secured on the cross. The burden of unity is not ours to bear but ultimately God's. Christ has born the burden at Calvary and finished his work of atonement! The Spirit of Truth will guide us into complete unity. Our task is to keep putting on the virtues of Christ in humility, gentleness, patience, forbearance, and love and to walk in the Spirit and allow him to lead us to full maturity.
2. recognise that the sole basis of christian unity is 'faith in Christ'. The British bible scholar NT Wright calls 'justification by faith' the great ecumenical doctrine. There is no foundation that has been laid for the church other than Christ. It is our confession of Christ as Lord that is the Rock on which Christ will build his church and the gates of hades will not overpower it! let's not exchange that foundation for some other things or add to it other tests of fellowship. there are many important doctrines no doubt that Christians may disagree about but they should not compromise the one foundation upon which we stand together in Christ. However important our distinctives are, they should not be elevated to the test of fellowship as our faith in Christ is. Hence, we can imagine Paul saying, 'there is neither catholics nor protestants, calvinists nor arminians, acapella nor instrumental groups, complementarians nor egalitarians for we are all one in Christ.'
3. reclaim our baptismal identity as the deepest identity over all our other loyalties and distinctives - ethnic, kinship, professional ties! To the question: 'who are you?' the Church through the ages has consistently answered: 'we are baptised.' Note not 'we were' baptized but ' we are' - in other words, baptism is not simply a ritual we got over and done with in the distant past. rather, it *is* our badge of covenant identity. Baptism marks us out as God's people and is an eternal seal of our belonging to Christ. It is also the basic pattern for Christian living that is characterized by daily dying to the old self and rising to our new life/identity in Christ, that is, in God's family.
'One True Gospel ' sermon
Sermon preached at Bedok Church of Christ, Singapore on 7th June 2010
The One True Gospel
Gal 1:1-12
1. Intro:
Before we plunge into the text, let's get a sense of the letter's tone and tenor.
Here there is an absence of any endearing/affectionate terms for the churches he writes to - no 'to my beloved brethren', 'saints' or 'holy and faithful brothers' - just a terse, formal address 'to the churches in Galatia'.
There too is an absence of thanksgiving/commendation section in the salutations: no 'i thank my God everytime i remember you', ' i thank God because of your growing faith and love..'
Rather, 'I am astonished at you... that you are turning to another gospel..'
'if any preach a different gospel to you let him be anathema!'
and he says it again 'let him be anathema!'
When the apostle Paul writes in this manner, with such sharp and uncompromising words, from the opening of the letter, you know all is not well with the church he's writing to. In fact, that it is the churches (plural) -not one congregation but several that is affected/infected - makes it all the more grave and sorrowful.
2. Background/exposition:
What is happening?
Paul in his first missionary journey had won converts and planted churches in Lystra, Derbe, Iconium, Pisidian Antioch - an account you can read about in Acts 13-14. These are likely the churches referred to as 'the churches in Galatia'. Soon after Paul had left these churches, false teachers (the Judaizers) had crept in claiming to come from the mother church of Jerusalem. They told them that what Paul preached to them was not adequate. One has to be circumcised and obey the Torah, besides faith in Jesus, to be a full-fledged Christian. Until then, the Gentile converts have no place to sit at the same table (of communion) with the circumcised.
What is wrong with this 'gospel' preached by the Judaizers?
It is wrong both in its origin and contents.
Origin - the issue of apostolic authority
'apostolos' means 'messenger' - , one who is sent. In the NT, Twelve were first designated as 'apostles' in Luke 6:13. Paul on the other hand was on an independent basis/occasion during/after his Damascus' encounter of the Risen Christ been called to be an apostle too and his apostleship was confirmed by the leadership of the Jeriusalem church, including Peter, James (the Lord's bro) and John, pillars of the Jerusalem church. The task of the apostles is to give the authoritative eyewitness account of Jesus - who he is, what he taught and deed. They were personally chosen by Christ, taught by Christ and had seen the Risen Christ and were marked by extraordinary signs and wonders (2 Cor 12:12) as well as extraordinary sufferings for the faith (2 Cor 11:23ff). In short, Paul's apostleship is a bona fide one as is the gospel that he preached.
Contents - the issue of orthodoxy.
the 'gospel' that the false teachers preached is squarely incompatible to the gospel preached by Paul and the Twelve in 3 ways:
- it calls people back to the old law of Sinai - this implies that the new age/kingdom has not come. as if Jesus had not died, resurrected and the Spirit given.
- it calls people back to salvation by works rather than by grace through faith.
- it erects old walls that have been torn down by the cross: between Jews/Gentiles, slaves/free, man/woman.
How is the passage relevant to our time?
Are we in danger of losing the one gospel of Christ as the early church? No more and no less. Though we have the NT with us, we are 2000 years removed from when the gospel was first preached. It is easy for distortions to creep in and destroy the church if we are not vigilant.
3. Application:
Dangers we face toay:
A. Truth Decay - today's mood of postmodernism/relativism tends to deny the notion of absolute truth. 'My truth is my truth, your truth is your truth, let's just keep it that way since there is no absolute truth to judge bet right and wrong, good and evil.'
B. Many 'Jesus' and 'gospels' promulgated in the religious marketplace. - health and wealth gospel by Creflo Dollar, Joel Osteen, Joyce Meyer, gnostic gospel of Dan Brown (Da Vinci Code), New Age gospel of Shirley MacLaine, Gospel of Positive Thinking by Robert Schuller, Norman Vincent Peal, Gospel of Judas/Thomas/Mary and many such 'gospels' that have long been rejected as non-canonical, even heretical by the church for very good reasons. 'Matthew, Mark, Luke and John - stick to them and you won't go wrong.' says NT scholar/historian Ben Witherington.
C. Decline of Biblical Literacy. Recent survey in America: '80% cannot name 3 out of the 10 commandments, 60% think the oft-quoted verse in the bible is 'God helps those who help themselves'.
It is a shame that many Christians today are not reading and studying the bible with the depth that it deserves.
Exhortation to devote ourselves to the study of God's word.
'Heaven and earth will pass away but my Word will not pass away.' All scriptured is inspired by God and has no expiry date.
The gospel is not of human but divine origin. God has chosen to reveal his truths to us through Christ/apostles.
We were reborn by the word of truth, we need to feed on it to grow our faith and order our lives around the gospel.
let's be devoted to the apostles' teaching on a daily basis both privately and corporately. if we do so, the other gospels simply do not have a leg to stand on.
The One True Gospel
Gal 1:1-12
1. Intro:
Before we plunge into the text, let's get a sense of the letter's tone and tenor.
Here there is an absence of any endearing/affectionate terms for the churches he writes to - no 'to my beloved brethren', 'saints' or 'holy and faithful brothers' - just a terse, formal address 'to the churches in Galatia'.
There too is an absence of thanksgiving/commendation section in the salutations: no 'i thank my God everytime i remember you', ' i thank God because of your growing faith and love..'
Rather, 'I am astonished at you... that you are turning to another gospel..'
'if any preach a different gospel to you let him be anathema!'
and he says it again 'let him be anathema!'
When the apostle Paul writes in this manner, with such sharp and uncompromising words, from the opening of the letter, you know all is not well with the church he's writing to. In fact, that it is the churches (plural) -not one congregation but several that is affected/infected - makes it all the more grave and sorrowful.
2. Background/exposition:
What is happening?
Paul in his first missionary journey had won converts and planted churches in Lystra, Derbe, Iconium, Pisidian Antioch - an account you can read about in Acts 13-14. These are likely the churches referred to as 'the churches in Galatia'. Soon after Paul had left these churches, false teachers (the Judaizers) had crept in claiming to come from the mother church of Jerusalem. They told them that what Paul preached to them was not adequate. One has to be circumcised and obey the Torah, besides faith in Jesus, to be a full-fledged Christian. Until then, the Gentile converts have no place to sit at the same table (of communion) with the circumcised.
What is wrong with this 'gospel' preached by the Judaizers?
It is wrong both in its origin and contents.
Origin - the issue of apostolic authority
'apostolos' means 'messenger' - , one who is sent. In the NT, Twelve were first designated as 'apostles' in Luke 6:13. Paul on the other hand was on an independent basis/occasion during/after his Damascus' encounter of the Risen Christ been called to be an apostle too and his apostleship was confirmed by the leadership of the Jeriusalem church, including Peter, James (the Lord's bro) and John, pillars of the Jerusalem church. The task of the apostles is to give the authoritative eyewitness account of Jesus - who he is, what he taught and deed. They were personally chosen by Christ, taught by Christ and had seen the Risen Christ and were marked by extraordinary signs and wonders (2 Cor 12:12) as well as extraordinary sufferings for the faith (2 Cor 11:23ff). In short, Paul's apostleship is a bona fide one as is the gospel that he preached.
Contents - the issue of orthodoxy.
the 'gospel' that the false teachers preached is squarely incompatible to the gospel preached by Paul and the Twelve in 3 ways:
- it calls people back to the old law of Sinai - this implies that the new age/kingdom has not come. as if Jesus had not died, resurrected and the Spirit given.
- it calls people back to salvation by works rather than by grace through faith.
- it erects old walls that have been torn down by the cross: between Jews/Gentiles, slaves/free, man/woman.
How is the passage relevant to our time?
Are we in danger of losing the one gospel of Christ as the early church? No more and no less. Though we have the NT with us, we are 2000 years removed from when the gospel was first preached. It is easy for distortions to creep in and destroy the church if we are not vigilant.
3. Application:
Dangers we face toay:
A. Truth Decay - today's mood of postmodernism/relativism tends to deny the notion of absolute truth. 'My truth is my truth, your truth is your truth, let's just keep it that way since there is no absolute truth to judge bet right and wrong, good and evil.'
B. Many 'Jesus' and 'gospels' promulgated in the religious marketplace. - health and wealth gospel by Creflo Dollar, Joel Osteen, Joyce Meyer, gnostic gospel of Dan Brown (Da Vinci Code), New Age gospel of Shirley MacLaine, Gospel of Positive Thinking by Robert Schuller, Norman Vincent Peal, Gospel of Judas/Thomas/Mary and many such 'gospels' that have long been rejected as non-canonical, even heretical by the church for very good reasons. 'Matthew, Mark, Luke and John - stick to them and you won't go wrong.' says NT scholar/historian Ben Witherington.
C. Decline of Biblical Literacy. Recent survey in America: '80% cannot name 3 out of the 10 commandments, 60% think the oft-quoted verse in the bible is 'God helps those who help themselves'.
It is a shame that many Christians today are not reading and studying the bible with the depth that it deserves.
Exhortation to devote ourselves to the study of God's word.
'Heaven and earth will pass away but my Word will not pass away.' All scriptured is inspired by God and has no expiry date.
The gospel is not of human but divine origin. God has chosen to reveal his truths to us through Christ/apostles.
We were reborn by the word of truth, we need to feed on it to grow our faith and order our lives around the gospel.
let's be devoted to the apostles' teaching on a daily basis both privately and corporately. if we do so, the other gospels simply do not have a leg to stand on.
Trinity Sunday sermon 'faith, hope and love'
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Trinity Sunday sermon: 'faith, hope and love' Rom 5:1-11
Today's Trinity Sunday. We shall reflect on the 3 theological virtues : Faith, Hope and Love. These are known as theological virtues because they have their source in God and are directed towards him. Mentioned together in various places in the NT eg Jn 3:16, 1 Thes 1:3, Col 1:4-5, 1 Cor 13:13 and in our sermon text Rom 5:1-8.
Rom 5:1-8 is a bridge bet Rom 1-4 and 5-8. It brings to a close Paul's arguments in the first four chap and anticipates the next four. We shall look at the text as the three virtues are fleshed out.
In the first 4 chap, Paul discusses the problem of the human race and the solution in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Faith
Humankind as a whole has come under the judgement/wrath of God because of sin and rebellion. Broadly, it can be divided into Gentiles and Jews.
The Gentiles though they know God from creation, have not acknowledged God as God and has fashioned idols out of created things. They have rejected God's created order and will and become a law to themselves, indulging in every act of immorality that defies God's creative intents. Theirs may be called the failure of the heart. Though they knew God, they *would not* acknowedge him as such.
The Jews on the other hand have been called to be a light to the world/nations so that God could be made known to the world. They have been given the Torah, the temple and covenant promises but they turn out to be part of the problem themselves than part of the solution. Though they have received a special revelation of God's will through the Law, they too were found to be disobedient and unfaithful because they share in the same sinful condition - the bible calls the 'flesh'. Theirs may be called the failure of the will. Though they were called to obey the law, they *could not*.
Now the solution is found in the one faithful Israelite, Jesus the Christ, whom God sent to do for the world what Israel could not do for itself because of the flesh. Through his life of perfect obedience to the will of God, he satisfies the righteous requirements of the Law. Through his death on the cross, he has become the sin offering, the Perfect Sacrifice to take away the sins of the world. Through his resurrection from the dead, he brings new life to the world under the penalty of death.
Our only appropriate response is Faith. Faith is what NT Wright calls the badge of our covenant membership. It marks us out as the new covenant people of God.
'Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ and have gained access into his grace in which we now stand.'
Faith is what admits us into the presence of God and the covenant community.
This reminds us that the Christian faith is not a self-help religion. The gospel is not 'God helps those who help themselves.' Rather it is 'God reaches out to us precisely to those who cannot help themselves.' As far as sin is concerned, we simply cannot pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps. We simply cannot save ourselves. Instead, the gospel is for those who recognise their powerlessness, their spiritual bankruptcy and cast themselves on the sheer grace of God. There is therefore no basis of boasting about ourselves. If there is any boasting to do, we boast rather in the work of God in our lives.
Hope
'we rejoice/boast in the HOPE of sharing in the glory of God...'
What is the glory of God?
This anticipates Romans 8 which pictures the cosmos/creation being renewed and set free from its bondage to decay and death. There is a cosmic dimension to our Christian hope. Many think of the Christian hope in a too individualistic and narrow way - the individual soul going to heaven after death. But the Christian hope is much larger - God is at work renewing the whole creation. This has a bearing on the Christian's responsibilty towards the created world - the environment, the animal and plant kingdoms. This harks back to God's first command to the first human couple to 'be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth, exet rcising dominion over the rest of creation.
The personal dimension of sharing in the glory of God has to do with the transformation of our character into the likeness of Christ.
That is why Paul goes on to say, 'not only so, we also boast in our sufferings because suffering produces perseverance, perseverance character and character hope..'
An elephant sculptor was asked what was the secret of his work. How could he transform a lifeless piece of stone into a life-like elephant statue? To which he replied, 'I just keep chipping away what does not look like an elephant.' In the same way, we are in the process of being reshaped into the likeness of Christ so God will pare away from us what does not look like Christ.
Suffering is a necessary prelude to glory. There is no other way. Therefore we should not be surprised at the trials and hardships that come our way. Not any kind of suffering of course but the suffering we endure for the sake of Christ (for doing what is right, etc). God uses suffering as a means of pruning, purging and maturing our faith.
GK Chesterton: 'I believe in getting into hot water because it keeps you clean.'
The Korean Christians who suffer much persecutions say to their persecutors: 'Hit us harder. We are like nails. The harder you hit us, the deeper you drive us into Christ!'
Love
Then Paul says something interesting: 'hope does not disappoint..' He is anticipating the question 'how do we know if all this is not mere wishful thinking?' Remember the Christians in Rome were going through intense persecutions and from the world's point of view, they look rather foolish. What keeps them believing and clinging on to their hope? Paul has a ready answer for that: the love of God.
'For God has poured into our hearts the love of God by the Holy Spirit whom he has given us.' Love is the deepest reason for our faith and our hope. The Holy Spirit brings into our heart a deep inner assurance that God loves us and we will not let us die nor the world to perish.
The example of Abraham in chp 4 is instructive. Abraham believed, hoping against hope, ..and it was reckoned to him as righteousness' Just as Abraham believed that God has the power to bring forth a baby out of a barren womb, we believe that God has the power to bring forth life out of an empty tomb.
Historically, the love of God is demonstrated on the cross. The essence of love is giving. The measure of love is indicated by two things: the cost of the gift and the unworthiness of the recipient.
God has given us not just a surplus part of his heavenly goods, nor a spare angel but his very own Son.
Secondly, Paul uses various words to describe us : powerless, ungodly, sinners and enemies. We deserve nothing from God but wrath!
Yet, see how Paul puts it all together:
'God demonstrates his love towards us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.!'
With a love like that, how could we not believe?
So, we answer that love of God with our answering faithfulness, our fervent hope and love.
Trinity Sunday sermon: 'faith, hope and love' Rom 5:1-11
Today's Trinity Sunday. We shall reflect on the 3 theological virtues : Faith, Hope and Love. These are known as theological virtues because they have their source in God and are directed towards him. Mentioned together in various places in the NT eg Jn 3:16, 1 Thes 1:3, Col 1:4-5, 1 Cor 13:13 and in our sermon text Rom 5:1-8.
Rom 5:1-8 is a bridge bet Rom 1-4 and 5-8. It brings to a close Paul's arguments in the first four chap and anticipates the next four. We shall look at the text as the three virtues are fleshed out.
In the first 4 chap, Paul discusses the problem of the human race and the solution in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Faith
Humankind as a whole has come under the judgement/wrath of God because of sin and rebellion. Broadly, it can be divided into Gentiles and Jews.
The Gentiles though they know God from creation, have not acknowledged God as God and has fashioned idols out of created things. They have rejected God's created order and will and become a law to themselves, indulging in every act of immorality that defies God's creative intents. Theirs may be called the failure of the heart. Though they knew God, they *would not* acknowedge him as such.
The Jews on the other hand have been called to be a light to the world/nations so that God could be made known to the world. They have been given the Torah, the temple and covenant promises but they turn out to be part of the problem themselves than part of the solution. Though they have received a special revelation of God's will through the Law, they too were found to be disobedient and unfaithful because they share in the same sinful condition - the bible calls the 'flesh'. Theirs may be called the failure of the will. Though they were called to obey the law, they *could not*.
Now the solution is found in the one faithful Israelite, Jesus the Christ, whom God sent to do for the world what Israel could not do for itself because of the flesh. Through his life of perfect obedience to the will of God, he satisfies the righteous requirements of the Law. Through his death on the cross, he has become the sin offering, the Perfect Sacrifice to take away the sins of the world. Through his resurrection from the dead, he brings new life to the world under the penalty of death.
Our only appropriate response is Faith. Faith is what NT Wright calls the badge of our covenant membership. It marks us out as the new covenant people of God.
'Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ and have gained access into his grace in which we now stand.'
Faith is what admits us into the presence of God and the covenant community.
This reminds us that the Christian faith is not a self-help religion. The gospel is not 'God helps those who help themselves.' Rather it is 'God reaches out to us precisely to those who cannot help themselves.' As far as sin is concerned, we simply cannot pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps. We simply cannot save ourselves. Instead, the gospel is for those who recognise their powerlessness, their spiritual bankruptcy and cast themselves on the sheer grace of God. There is therefore no basis of boasting about ourselves. If there is any boasting to do, we boast rather in the work of God in our lives.
Hope
'we rejoice/boast in the HOPE of sharing in the glory of God...'
What is the glory of God?
This anticipates Romans 8 which pictures the cosmos/creation being renewed and set free from its bondage to decay and death. There is a cosmic dimension to our Christian hope. Many think of the Christian hope in a too individualistic and narrow way - the individual soul going to heaven after death. But the Christian hope is much larger - God is at work renewing the whole creation. This has a bearing on the Christian's responsibilty towards the created world - the environment, the animal and plant kingdoms. This harks back to God's first command to the first human couple to 'be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth, exet rcising dominion over the rest of creation.
The personal dimension of sharing in the glory of God has to do with the transformation of our character into the likeness of Christ.
That is why Paul goes on to say, 'not only so, we also boast in our sufferings because suffering produces perseverance, perseverance character and character hope..'
An elephant sculptor was asked what was the secret of his work. How could he transform a lifeless piece of stone into a life-like elephant statue? To which he replied, 'I just keep chipping away what does not look like an elephant.' In the same way, we are in the process of being reshaped into the likeness of Christ so God will pare away from us what does not look like Christ.
Suffering is a necessary prelude to glory. There is no other way. Therefore we should not be surprised at the trials and hardships that come our way. Not any kind of suffering of course but the suffering we endure for the sake of Christ (for doing what is right, etc). God uses suffering as a means of pruning, purging and maturing our faith.
GK Chesterton: 'I believe in getting into hot water because it keeps you clean.'
The Korean Christians who suffer much persecutions say to their persecutors: 'Hit us harder. We are like nails. The harder you hit us, the deeper you drive us into Christ!'
Love
Then Paul says something interesting: 'hope does not disappoint..' He is anticipating the question 'how do we know if all this is not mere wishful thinking?' Remember the Christians in Rome were going through intense persecutions and from the world's point of view, they look rather foolish. What keeps them believing and clinging on to their hope? Paul has a ready answer for that: the love of God.
'For God has poured into our hearts the love of God by the Holy Spirit whom he has given us.' Love is the deepest reason for our faith and our hope. The Holy Spirit brings into our heart a deep inner assurance that God loves us and we will not let us die nor the world to perish.
The example of Abraham in chp 4 is instructive. Abraham believed, hoping against hope, ..and it was reckoned to him as righteousness' Just as Abraham believed that God has the power to bring forth a baby out of a barren womb, we believe that God has the power to bring forth life out of an empty tomb.
Historically, the love of God is demonstrated on the cross. The essence of love is giving. The measure of love is indicated by two things: the cost of the gift and the unworthiness of the recipient.
God has given us not just a surplus part of his heavenly goods, nor a spare angel but his very own Son.
Secondly, Paul uses various words to describe us : powerless, ungodly, sinners and enemies. We deserve nothing from God but wrath!
Yet, see how Paul puts it all together:
'God demonstrates his love towards us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.!'
With a love like that, how could we not believe?
So, we answer that love of God with our answering faithfulness, our fervent hope and love.
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