Discovering Christ

Discovering Christ

Introduction: Who is Christ?

A. Jesus is a Teacher

Most if not all people regard Jesus as a great teacher. Mahatma Gandhi regards Jesus as one of the greatest teacher who ever lived and the Sermon on the Mount as the greatest sermon ever preached. He studied the New Testament in South Africa and when he went back to India to lead the Indian Independence movement. Unfortunately, he was unable to see Jesus as more than a man.

a. Teaches about God (John 14:6,7)

JN 14:6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him."

If you read through the Gospel accounts, you will notice that Jesus has always been teaching the people about God. He understands that it is difficult for people to relate to a God who is invisible. That is why He often points to Himself as the incarnation of an invisible God.

b. Teaches about God’s love (John 3:16)

JN 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.

The other emphasis about Jesus’ teaching about a God is who is not only our creator but a God who loves us, His creation. God loves us so much that He is willing to sacrifice His only Son for us. That is another difficult lesson to learn. For example, you have a really good friend. So good that you love each other very much. Then one day, you discovered that you have cystic fibrosis. This is a disease that eats up and destroys your lung tissues. The doctors tell you that the only way you will survive is if you receive a heart-lung transplant. And your friend came up to you and said, “Here take the lungs and heart of my only son so that you can live, the son I love very much.” I know it is not a likely scenario but that is what the love of God can be compared to in our present setting.

c. Teaches about God’s plan of Redemption (2 Cor. 5:18,91)

2 Cor 5:18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.

This world is not what God made it to be. God created a perfect world which He said was good. This world is broken. God wants to fix this world, this creation that He has made. Therefore He has a plan which involves His Son. Jesus coming to this world is part of this plan. The other part of the plan is what Jesus has been teaching: calling people to turn back to worship God and training the disciples to be the people of God-the Church.


B. Jesus is a Man

The Gnostics do not believe that Jesus is a man. If you have read the book or watch the movie, The Da Vinci Code, you would have been exposed to some of the Gnostic gospels; the Gospel of Barnabas; Gospel of Mary etc. Some Gnostic teaches that Jesus is not a man but something that looks like a man. Others teach that Jesus was the first created creature of God. The biblical accounts was very clear that Jesus is a flesh and blood man.

a. He is the son of Joseph and Mary (Matt 13:35)

MT 13:55 "Isn't this the carpenter's son? Isn't his mother's name Mary, and aren't his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas?

Even though He was conceived by the Holy Spirit while Mary is still a virgin, yet He was born normally like any other child. He has a childhood and was accepted by other children as one of them. In fact, he was accepted by his community as one of them. That is why they were so surprised to find Him different. Isn’t he so and so’s son? Even though Jesus has a divine nature and a human nature, His human nature was so prominent during His time on earth that He was accepted as one of the community.

b. He struggled with decision making (John 12:27,28)

JN 12:27 "Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? `Father, save me from this hour'? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name!"

If Jesus is purely God, then there is not need to struggle. After all, God is omniscience and omnipotence. The fact that Jesus struggled with His decision making indicates that He is like us. He is a human male. For his time on earth, He has put aside His divine nature so that he is human. Like us, he felt stress, pain and the uncertainty of decision making.

c. He was thirsty (John 19:28)

JN 19:28 Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, "I am thirsty."

For me, this is the strongest proof that He was human as He hung on the cross. It was midday, the sun was beating down mercilessly and He felt thirsty. God does not feel thirsty. A human being does.

C. Jesus is God

Jesus is a great teacher and a man. If that is what He is, then He would have just started an effective philosophical school and we are still in our sins. Jesus is fully man. He is also fully God. That is what is so amazing about Jesus.

a. He is called by Divine Names (Rev.22:12,13)

REV 22:12 "Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.

Names are very important. It is not just a label to identity you but denotes who you are. Those of you who have children will be aware of how difficult it is to find names for your children. Will they grow into their names? In Revelations, Jesus is uses a name the Alpha and the Omega. Alpha is the first letter of the Greek alphabet and omega, the last. It means completeness or perfection. The only one who can bear such a name is God. Jesus uses names reserved for God such as the “I am”. That is why the Jewish people wanted to kill Him. He was using the name of God and to them that is taboo; taking the name of God in vain.

b. He is called by Thomas his God (John 20:28)

JN 20:28 Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!"

The apostle Thomas, often called Doubting Thomas because he said he would only believe if he can see and touch the risen Christ. Actually I would consider him an empirical scientist because he wants to be sure in his own belief. Jesus knew that. That’s why He allowed Thomas to touch His wounds. Thomas burst out in amazement acknowledging that He is God. Legend has it that Thomas traveled to southern India. Here he came into contact with an ancient civilization and Hinduism. That he was able to have converts and started the Mar Thomas Church was an indication of how strong was his conviction that Jesus Christ is God.

c. He is referred to as God (Heb.1:8)

HEB 1:8 But about the Son he says, "Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever, and righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom.

God Himself referred to Jesus as God. We believe that God is Trinity: God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit. We do not have three Gods. We have one God who is three. Hence the doctrine of the Trinity. God is omnipresent. When Jesus was on earth, His divine essence is still part of the Trinity. One must not have the misconception that when Jesus was walking the earth, there is only two of the Godhead up there. There are always three who are one.

D. Jesus is Savior

a. Savior because of His completed work on the cross (Col 1:20)

19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

When Jesus died on the cross, it was all part of God’s plan of redemption. The world was broken. It was corrupted by human sin. Sin is defined as disobedience to God. The punishment for sin is death. That is justice. Since we have all sinned, we can die only for our own sin. We need someone who does not have sin to die for us. Then we can be free. This person is Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ being God is sinless. Hence He can die for our sin. Thus justice is fulfilled. The theological term for this is penal substitution atonement.

b. Savior that brings the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38)

AC 2:38 Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off--for all whom the Lord our God will call."

We receive this justice when we believe that Jesus die on the cross for our sins. We have received the forgiveness of sin because of what Christ has done. And what is more, God gives us a sign of our forgiveness. He gives us the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is given to us when we accept Jesus Christ’s completed work on the cross.

c. Savior bringing eternal life and assurance of salvation (John 10:28-30)

28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. 30 I and the Father are one."

God has given us his assurance that what He has given us is eternal. God however respects our freedom. We are all given the freedom to accept or reject Him. That is the wonder of God. Only a loving and supreme God will allow His creature to choose to accept Him or reject Him. If we accept Him, we move from the kingdom of this broken world to the kingdom of God. Once we are there, as long as we remain faithful, we will never fall out of the grace of His Hands.

Conclusion: Making Friends with Jesus (John 15: 5-8)

JN 15:5 "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. 8 This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

If Jesus is who He is: fully God and fully man, then what He has done on the cross are true and we have been freed from our sins. He has taken our sins upon Him. We have received forgiveness. All that He has taught us about God is true. God loves us and wants us to be part of His plan for the redemption of this creation. No only people but the environment as well. Jesus Christ is God incarnate. He is the invisible God making Himself visible. So our role now is to follow Jesus Christ.

Soli Deo Gloria

A Light In the Darkness

A Light in the Darkness

15 years old Tee Hui Yee made headlines last year when she received two heart transplants within a week. Prior to that, in 2006, she was on a mechanical heart for one year in IJN (Institute Jantung Negara), making a record for the longest period anyone is on a mechanical heart. Her own heart was too weak to work. It would not have been comfortable as the mechanic heart need a battery that weighs 9 kilograms.

In October 2007, she received a suitable donor heart from a man in Perak. Unfortunately, her body rejected the donor heart within one week. On 3 October, a 20 year old mechanic was killed in an accident in Johor. The parents agreed to donate their son’s heart and Hui Yee received a second heart transplant. This time, her body accepted the new heart and she was able to be discharged in time for Christmas last year.

Finding a suitable heart for transplantation is very difficult because the heart must match our bodies. If it does not match, our bodies will reject the foreign organ. This is like kidney transplant. For Hui Yee to find and receive 2 hearts within a week is nothing short of a miracle. The down side is that for a heart transplant to occur, someone has to die. No one can give away their heart and yet live.

Now what if like Hui Yee, your doctor tells you that you have a heart problem. Your heart is not working properly and you need a heart transplant. If not you will die soon. However there is a man whose heart is suitable for your heart transplant. Your doctor has done all the tests and only one man on the whole earth has a heart suitable for you. The man is alive. To donate the heart, he has to die. Do you think that will happen? What if that man is willing to donate his heart for you? How will you feel? I have never heard of any man who is willing to donate his heart. Kidney maybe, we have two. Donors want to live too.

However, I have heard of a man named Jesus Christ. Jesus said some interesting things which are found in the Bible.

Jesus claims that
1. the world is sick
2. the world is dying
3. that he is the cure
4. he has to die for the cure to work
5. that he will come back from the dead

1. the world is sick

Jesus said the world is sick. The world is broken. This is not what it is supposed to be. If you look around, I am sure you are aware that there is something wrong with this world
• The crime rate is Johor Bharu is very high. You are afraid to go out. Snatch thieves not only snatch your bag but may injure you first. Want to take, take lah. No need to use a knife.
• There are more wars in the twentieth century than in the whole of human history
• There are more people starving now than in the whole of human history. It is not that there is not enough food. It is that the rich nations eat more than 80% of the world’s food. There is not enough for poor nations
• Many people in Africa are dying of AIDS. Sub-Saharan Africa had 30 million people living with HIV/AIDS by early 2003. 2.4 million Africans died in 2002. Ten million young people (aged 15–24) and almost 3 million children under 15 are living with HIV.
• In some countries, parents are selling their young children, sons and daughters to be prostitute for money.

There is something wrong with the world. This is not how it is supposed to be. The world is supposed to be a good place. The Bible tells us that in the beginning the world is paradise. It is called the Garden of Eden.

2. the world is dying

Recently, a friend of mine went to Cambodia. In Phnom Penh, he visited a museum where prisoners were tortured and killed. The skulls of the victims were still there in the museum. Pol Pot of the Khmer Rouge may have killed 750,000 to 1.7 millions of his own people. During the Second World War, Hitler may have killed 6 millions Jews. How can human beings be so evil? How can we do such horrible things?

The Bible tells us that in the Garden of Eden, something terrible happened. Adam and Eve disobeyed God. Because of the disobedience, our human nature changed, become evil. That made God very angry. Adam and Eve were driven out of the Garden of Eden. To make this world we live in today.

There are many things our eyes can not see. This does not mean that it does not exist. We do not see the electricity, but we know it exist. Try putting your hand in an electric socket. There are angels, demons and devil at work in this world.

The world is dying. God is still angry and one day he will destroy the world. He will send everyone to hell. Hell is a place of eternal fire.

3. that Jesus is the cure

God though angry still loves us. That is why he created Adam and Eve is the first place. He loves us as a parent loves their sons and daughters. No matter how bad our children are, as parents we still love them. So God wants to save us from his judgment. The world is dying and need a cure. The cure is his son, Jesus Christ.

4. that Jesus has to die for the cure to work

For the cure to work, Jesus has to suffer and die. Jesus has to bear all our wrong doings, our evil and suffer judgment for us. He even has to go to hell for us. By doing that, our slate is wiped clean. Punished completed. The summon has been paid. The sentence of death has been carried out. This is like Hui Yee. To get a new heart, someone must die. Because of a young man’s accident death, she is alive today. His heart is beating in her. A sentence of death has been imposed upon us. Jesus has gone out and died in our place 2000 years ago. Sentence has been carried out. We are free.


5. that Jesus will come back from the dead


When Jesus’ work was finished, he rose from the dead. How many people have you met that come have come back from the dead? Even before he died, Jesus has told his followers that he will come back from the dead. Even his followers did not believe him. According to the Bible record, he was crucified and died on Friday. He was laid in a tomb which is a like a small cave and a heavy stone was placed over the entrance. That’s the way they buried the dead in Jerusalem. The governor also placed some Romans soldiers to guard the tomb. They were afraid that someone will come and remove Jesus’ body.

On early Sunday morning, some of Jesus’ female followers went to the tomb to clean up his body. When they arrived, they found the heavy stone rolled way and the tomb was empty. Jesus then appeared to them. All in all, Jesus appeared to 500 of his followers including his own brother, James who did not believe in his teaching. Then Jesus went up to heaven, promising that he will come again. When he comes back, it will be to carry out God’s judgment on earth.

This is an important point. If anyone who can prove that Jesus did not come back form the dead will show that Christianity is wrong. That all that the Christians believe in are fairy tales.

My friends, after more than 2000 years nobody was able to disprove that Jesus rose from the death. That is not for lack of trying. Thousands of people, from scholars, lawyers, CSI experts have tried. Not one can came up with any proof that Jesus did not rise from the dead.

What does that tell you? If someone who claims that he will die and then come back to life again tells me something, I will listen to him.
• He died a horrible death, tortured and crucified on the cross
• He was dead, otherwise they would not have entombed him
• He rose from the dead as he said he will

I will believe all his claims
Jesus claims that
1. the world is sick
2. the world is dying
3. that he is the cure
4. he has to die for the cure to work

Believing is one thing, but acting upon your belief is another. If Hui Yee were told that a second heart was available to her after her first heart transplant and her body was rejecting the first heart, do you think she will believe it?
• It is so hard to get a heart in the first place, now another heart within a week. She has been waiting for the first heart for so many years and was even on a mechanical heart for a year.
• So easy
She may think that the doctors may be bluffing her, trying to console her and make her feel better. What if she did not believe them? What if she refused the second heart transplant? She would be dead now. She will not be able to celebrate Christmas at home and eat Yee Sang during Chinese New year at the home of her heart donor’s family.

What if Jesus is correct?
Jesus claims that
1. the world is sick
2. the world is dying
3. that he is the cure
4. he has to die for the cure to work
5. that he will come back from the dead

That he will take your punishment and give you a second chance. No going to hell. Will you believe him? Can you afford not to take the chance? All you have to do is to believe him and accept his death for you. Then Jesus is the light in the darkness.

There is a simple prayer you can make:

Dear God, I believe that you have sent his Son Jesus Christ to die for my sins and I accept his death on the cross for me. Please help me to understand this more. Amen.

Approach any members of this church and they will help you to know more about Jesus.

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The Christian's Responsibility to Vote

The Christian’s Response to Government

Introduction

On February 22, 1986, Saturday evening in Manila, Philippines, Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile and Deputy Armed Forces Chief Lieutenant General Fidel Ramos announced over the radio that they were quitting the Marcos government saying that Marcos did not win the February 7 election fairly. They holed up in Camp Aguinaldo (later transferring to Camp Crame across the road), with only a few hundred soldiers to defend them. Over the Roman Catholic Radio Veritas the call was issued for a large number of civilians to surround the military camps to serve as a buffer between the rebels and the Marcos forces that were sure to come.

Many Christians are in a quandary. Would not participation in a barricade be equivalent to armed rebellion against the Marcos government? Is it not better to simply pray in our homes and in our churches? As it turned out, many Christians elected to pray as the main and only response.

There are Christians who did not hesitate to join the barricades. They have no intention of toppling the Marcos government by force of arms. Their reason for joining the barricades was simple and straight-forward: by providing a civilian buffer between the Enrile/Ramos forces and the Marcos soldiers, a shooting war would be prevented from breaking out and a peaceful resolution of the conflict could hopefully be worked out. The Christians know that their lives were in danger should the Marcos forces decide to attack. Their faith was in God.

As it turned out, the civilian barricade was so large (perhaps a million people surround the military camps by Sunday afternoon, February 23) that Marcos had to flee for his life, as defection after defection characterized his armed forces. A non-violent “revolution” finally toppled his 20-year regime!

This is perhaps the most recent example of the Christian’s response to the government. Years before this happened, the Church in the Philippines has been struggling with the issue of the Christian’s response to the government. When Cardinal Jamie Sin was critical of the Marcos government, a catholic layman wrote to the newspaper asking him to read “Romans 13!” The study of Romans 13 proved to be the basis of a Christian’s response to government.

The first eleven chapters of Romans (in particular chaps 1-8) explain in marvelous detail what it means to be saved and how men become saved - by being justified by God’s grace working through faith.

The miracle of salvation impacts every relationship associated with the believer’s life. When we are saved, our initial response should be to present our “bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is our spiritual service of worship (12:1). Then Paul wrote about our having the right relationship with our brothers and sisters in Christ (12:2-16) and with non-Christians, including even our enemies (vv.17-21). After dealing with this matter, Paul focuses on the need to have the right relationship to the human governments under which we live (13:1-7)

Text: Romans 13:1-7 in the New International Version:
1. Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.
2. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgement on themselves.
3. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you.
4. For he is God’s servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God’s servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.
5. Therefore, it is necessary to submit to authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience.
6. This is also why you pay taxes, for authorities are God’s servants, who gives their full time in governing.
7. Give everyone what you owe him; if you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor then honor.


This passage teaches five vital principles concerning the Christian’s response to the government:
A. The Government….
1. ….. is by divine decree (v.1 b.)
2. ……is an institution of God. Rebellion to Government is rebellion against God (v.2a)
3. ……serves to promote good (vv.3b-4a) and restrain evil (v.3a, 4b)

B. The Christian’s Response…..
4. ……to submit through their conscience (v.5)
5. ……to pay taxes and whatever is due to the government (v.6,7)


1. Government is by divine decree (v.1 b.)

v.1 Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.

First Paul says that human government is ordained by God for the benefit of society. In whatever forms it exists, civil authority derives directly from God.

6 types of government:
i. Perfect government will only come when Jesus the King returns to establish His Kingdom in all its fullness.
ii. Just government is possible where full participatory democracy is in bloom so that people elect good leaders and replace them as necessary.
iii. Mediocre government takes place if less than the best people are chosen to rule.
iv. Ineffective government happens in places where rulers are changed too frequently or the people are ungovernable for some reason.
v. Corrupt government develops when rulers assume public office mainly for private gain.
vi. Wicked government ensures when those in authority are particularly wicked, unjust and oppressive.

Like marriage, it is a universal institution of God, regardless of place, culture, race or any other circumstances.

There is no civil authority except from God. No matter what forms it takes, no matter where it is, no matter what ideology, no human government that has existed, existing or will exist , all government are under the sovereign authority of God. The entire world, everything in the heavens, on earth and under the earth are subject to the Creator. Without exception, the power that any person, group or society may possess is divinely given. How well or poorly this power is used is another matter. Paul’s point here is that this power has only one source – God.

Yet in his divine wisdom, God has permitted Satan to have vast but limited power over the world and the affairs of men. And this include governments. Many if not most government are under the influence of Satan and are a means of promoting and perpetuating satanic activity.

Governments have authority by divine decree. The autocratic, ruthless and demonic regimes of Adolf Hilter, Joseph Stalin, and Mao Tse Tung were no exceptions. The equally ruthless empires of ancient Assyria and Babylon were no exceptions. The Roman empire, ruled by caesars who declared themselves god are no exception.

2. Government is an institution of God. Rebellion to Government is rebellion against God (v.2a)

v.2 Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgement on themselves.

The logical conclusion we can draw is that since government is an institution of God. Any rebellion against a government is a rebellion against God.

The seriousness in which God takes rebellion is illustrated in the book of Numbers. God has chosen Moses not only to be the law-giver but also to be the human leader of Israel to lead them from Egypt, through the wilderness to the Promised land.

Numbers 16: 1-3 Korah, Dathan and Abiram rebelled against Moses and Aaron. “ With them were 250 Israelite men, well-known community leaders who has been appointed members of the council. They came as a group to oppose Moses and Aaron and said to them, “You have gone too far! The whole community is holy, every one of them, and the Lord is with them. Why then do you set yourselves above the Lord’s assembly?”…v.13 “Isn’t enough that you have brought us out of a land flowing with milk and honey to kill us in the desert? And now you also want to lord over us?” They are questioning Moses and Aaron’s authority. And God was so angry that “the ground under them split apart and swallowed Korah’s men and their household and fire came out of the Lord and consumed 250 rebels.

The next day, the whole Israelite community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. They were still defiant. The Lord then send a plague which killed 14,700 people.(v.49). Had not Aaron made atonement, the whole community would have perished!

God takes seriously any rebellion against those who challenge His appointed authority.


3. Government serves to promote good (vv.3b-4a) and restrain evil (v.3a, 4b)

vv.3,4 For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. For he is God’s servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God’s servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.

Paul then described the purpose of government. The government has a dual purpose- to promote good and restrain evil. Government is the God ordained vehicle to promote good and restrain evil in human society.

i. Promote good

To promote good is to promote order. The opposite of order is anarchy. Anarchy means there is no rules and everyone does whatever they want. Look at Indonesia when the government could not maintain order- the killing and raping, the destruction of properties. Look at Bosnia and Kosovo. Judges 21:25 “ In those days Israel has no king; everyone did as he saw fit “(NIV)

Rukun Negara were proposed to be the basis of our government:

1. Belief in God
2. Loyalty to King and Country
3. Supremacy of the Constitution
4. The Role of Law
5. Mutual Respect and Good Social Behavior.

This is a strong foundation to build a multinational society. As no human government is perfect, there will be shortcomings. We must accept these shortcomings and work to resolve them.

ii. Restrain evil

In order to promote and protect the good in society, human government must punish evil. Consequently, those who do what is evil have reason to be afraid. Because the sword is an instrument of death, the weapon here symbolized the right of civil government to inflict punishment, including the death penalty for crimes that deserve it.

To restrain evil, there must be a code of law that applies equally to everybody, rich or poor, black or white, educated or illiterate. No one can be above the law.

Interestingly, rulers are called God’s servant. This means that our Prime Minister Dr.Mahathir is God’s servant whether he knows it or not and he is carrying out God’s divine purpose whether he acknowledges it or not.

Servant is translated  diakonos. It also means deacon, pastor or minister. This means our deacon is the same rank as Pak Lah!


4. Christian’s Response is to submit through conscience (v.5)

v. 5 Therefore, it is necessary to submit to authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience.

Does vv.1-4 means that Christians must submit to whatever government they are under – whether good or bad. Are they to accept whatever government, keeping a low profile and hoping the government will leave them alone?

One of my favourite movie is Fiddler on the Roof. A musical with songs like “If I were a rich man” and “Sunrise, sunset”. It is a story about a community of Jew being persecuted by the Russians. The ruler of the Russian is the Tsar. In one scene, the Jew were asking their rabbi, ”Is there a proper blessing for the Tsar?” The rabbi said, “ Blessing for the Tsar? May the Good Lord bless the Tsar and keep the Tsar …………. far away from us all!”

v.5 comments on the above section on government. Here Paul is saying that the authority given to human government is not absolute. Submission is based on conscience. Conscience here refers to the Christian’s knowledge of God’s will and purposes.

When Jesus was asked a trick question about paying tax, He replied, “ Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.” (Mark 12:17)


So what are the limitations to the authority of human government:

i. When it is contrary to God’s law

When rulers give orders which are contrary to God’s law, for example, by ordering the killing of newborns (Exodus 1) or the worship of idols (Daniel 3) or by prohibiting evangelism (Acts 5), then Christians must say: “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29)

ii. When it fails to promote good.
iii. When it fails to restrain evil and become evil itself.


5. Christian’s Response is to pay taxes and whatever is due (v.6,7)

vv.6,7 This is also why you pay taxes, for authorities are God’s servants, who gives their full time in governing. Give everyone what you owe him; if you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor then honor.

No one enjoys paying tax. But taxes are part of everyday life and we as Christians must pay our taxes.


When God established the nation of Israel, He also instituted a taxation system:

i. Tithe or a tenth (Lev 27:30) This tithe is given to the support of the priestly tribe of Levite which had no land allocated to it and has no support. It is also called the Levite’s tithe.
ii. Annual Festival Tithe. Used for sacrifices, for supporting the tabernacle and then the temple, for cultivating social and cultural life, and for fostering national unity (Deut. 12:10-19)
iii. Triennial Tithe. Levied every three years (about 3.3% per annum) to help the aliens, the orphans and the widows.
iv. Annual half-shekel Tax. Levied on every male Israelite twenty years and above as a contribution to the Lord.(Ex 30:14)
v. At the end of every harvest, Jews were required to leave some of their crops unharvested, allowing the remainder to be gleaned by the poor (Lev 19:10)
vi. Every seventh year, cultivated land is to be left fallow. Whatever crop that comes up is to be left for the poor and what remained was left for livestock to each.

The total of all these six taxes, all of which are mandately amounted to 24% per year. The taxes are for governmental administrative costs, religious costs and social welfare.

We as Christians are required to give the government their due.

i. Taxes

ii. Services

Some government may require some additional services. Singapore have compulsory national service for their youth. Malaysia requires all doctors to do three years of compulsory service after their housemanship.

iii. Prayers

We are required to pray for our government whether we like it or not. Jeremiah in writing to the Jews in exile in Jer 29:7,8
And work for the peace and prosperity of Babylon. Pray to the Lord for that city where you are held captive, for if Babylon has peace, so will you.” (NLT)

Mind you, this is the Babylon that destroyed the Temple and carried them into slavery and exile. Yet Jeremiah did not ask them to rebel or pray for God’s vengeance on Babylon. Instead he asked them to pray for the prosperity of Babylon.

iv. Election

The new element that we now have which Paul and the Roman Christians do not have is called participatory democracy. Abraham Lincoln’s dictum of a government by the people, of the people and for the people is now everywhere embraced, in theory if not in practice. In a democracy, we have the awesome privilege of choosing those who rule over us.

Conclusion

Romans 13:1-7 gives us very clear teaching on the Christian’s response to government.

A. The Government….
1. ….. is by divine decree (v.1 b.)
2. ……is an institution of God. Rebellion to Government is rebellion against God (v.2a)
3. ……serves to promote good (vv.3b-4a) and restrain evil (v.3a, 4b)

B. The Christian’s Response…..
4. ……to submit through their conscience (v.5)
5. ……to pay taxes and whatever is due to the government (v.6,7)

It teaches that government is not a necessary evil that we Christians have to endure. It is appointed by God and is part of His divine plan.

And how are we to be involved?

1. Prayer
2. Taxes
3. Service
Some Christians should take up politics. A Christian brother who is also a doctor is standing for election in Sarawak. We should support him.

Another way is to be involved in NGO. The government is being to listen to NGOs. We must be involved in NGOs such as environment groups, woman advocate groups, Rotary International, Lion, Kiwanis

4. Election

We must vote. This time more than 9 million Malaysians will be voting tomorrow. We always think one vote is not going to make a lot of difference. We are wrong. One vote means a lot. One vote cast with the understanding of Romans 13 makes all the difference.



Recommended reading:

Eugene H. Peterson, Where Your Treasure Is (Grand Rapids, MI : Eerdmans, 1985)

G.k. Chesterton wrote:

O God of earth and altar,
Bow down and hear our cry;
Our earthly rulers falter,
Our people drift and die;
The walls of gold entomb us,
The swords of scorn divide;
Take not Thy thunder from us,
But take away our pride.

From all that terror teaches,
From lies of tongue and pen;
From all the easy speeches
That comfort cruel men;
From sale and profanation
Of honor and the sword;
From sleep and damnation,
Deliver us, good Lord!

Tie in a living tether
The prince and priest and thrall;
Bind all our lives together,
Smite us and save us all;
In ire and exultation
Aflame with faith, and free,
Lift up a living nation,
A single sword to Thee.

.

Spiritual Formation: Education of the Heart

Spiritual Formation : The Education of the Heart
Text: Mark 12:28-31

28 One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”
29 “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

Spiritual formation is the process of growing into Christ-likeness; characterised by knowing and loving God, knowing and loving ourselves, knowing and loving other people and experiencing the Presence of God in our everyday lives. The basis of spiritual formation is the call of God the Father, the finished work of Jesus Christ the Son and is empowered by the Holy Spirit.

1. Heart
The heart is a wonderful organ, a pump that keeps the blood circulating in our bodies. One we affectionately call our ticker. But we also use the word ‘heart’ in many different ways. We say our hearts may be glad or sad, troubled, aching or sick. Our hearts may be heavy or light, warm or cool, cruel or kind. Our hearts may be aflame with love or broken. To have a heart is to be empathetic, to have no heart is to lack feelings. We pray to change hearts of stone into hearts of flesh and blood. We open our hearts or close our hearts. Two hearts beat as one. We may take heart or lose heart. We may be faint-hearted or stout hearted, half-hearted or whole-hearted, weak-hearted or lion hearted. The heart suffers and the heart endures. On the Titanic, Celine Dion sang that her heart will go on forever.

It is obvious that when we refer to the word ‘heart’, we often refer to more than the organ in our bodies. In the OT, the Hebrew word for heart is lēbāb and the Greek word in the NT is kardia. It carries the meaning of the organ-heart and the metaphor that the heart is
(1) the inner spiritual life
(2) the center of personality
(3) the place in which God reveals Himself to man.

Thus the heart is who we are, our real self and it is out of this center that we relate to God, to other people, and the world. Our heart is not static. It is continually being moulded and formed by our thoughts, our desires, our feelings and our reaction to the external world. By default our hearts are self-centered. When we became Christian, we invite Jesus into our hearts. We called this the conversion of the heart. What it means is that our hearts are to be converted from self-centeredness to Christ-centeredness.

2. Definition of Spiritual Formation.
Spiritual formation is the process of growing into Christ-likeness. Spiritual formation is the education of our hearts
Spiritual formation is known by different names throughout the Christian eras. It is known as spiritual growth, growing into communion with Christ, sanctification, regeneration, discipleship, peregrinatio (journey) and Renovation of the Heart (Dallas Willard, Professor of the School of Philosophy at the University of Southern California). Spiritual formation or sanctification is an essential part of Christian life. We cannot be a Christian without sanctification, just as we cannot be a Christian without justification.

The moment we accept the redemptive act of Jesus Christ – that Jesus Christ who is fully God, fully human and is therefore sinless, died on the cross for our sins and rose again thereby defeating death- we are saved or born again. That very moment, we have justification by faith and we have sanctification. We are justified in God’s eyes because Jesus died for our sins. As evidence of our justification, we are sealed with the Holy Spirit who can to dwell in us. The Holy Spirit immediately begins the process of sanctification or spiritual formation.

Justification by faith can be considered as a once-off event. Sanctification or spiritual formation is a past, present and future event.
 Past, because as God has chosen us from the beginning of time we are already in Christ when he died to set us free. Hence when He rose, we rose with Him sanctified.
 Present, because as long as we are in the world, we are in the process of sanctification or spiritual formation.
 Future, because the process of sanctification or spiritual formation will ends when we receive our resurrected bodies and are presented to God as being made perfect in Christ.

Sanctification or spiritual formation is not optional. We cannot be like Peter Pan and refuse to grow up. Like any living organism, we have to grow if we are alive. If any organism is not growing it is dead. Similarly if we have accepted Christ and is not growing, we need to relook at our salvation. The Bible said if we are not saved, we are still dead in our trepasses and sins. And dead things do not grow.

3. Goals of Spiritual Formation.

3.1 Become like Christ.[Christ-likeness](Gal. 4:19)
19 My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you,
The process of spiritual formation is so we can become more like Christ. Jesus Christ is the ideal man. He has the fruit of the spirit. And the goal of spiritual formation is to make us like Him. In the Orthodox tradition, they call spiritual formation, theosis, the process of divinisation.

3.2 Restore the Image of God (2 Cor. 4:4)
4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
Man was initially created in the image of God. With the Fall, the image of God was distorted. One of the goals of the new creation in Christ is to restore the image of God.
John Wesley, in his sermon On Perfection stated that one of the features of sanctification is “the restoration of the image of God in the soul, a recovery of man to the moral image of God which consist of righteousness and true holiness.”

3.3 The People of God. (Rom.8:29)
29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

Adam and Eve were to be the first of the people of God. The laos. The people that God will stay with. That why in the beginning there was close fellowship with God. God will seek out Adam in the evening. Unfortunately, this relationship was broken by the Fall. Yet God has not given up His plans for His people. He again called His people through Abraham which led to the tribes of Israel and finally through the church. In the end, God will have His people to dwell with. God will be with His sons and daughters. Spiritual formation is the process in which His sons and daughters are transformed into His people. It is the process of building the Kingdom of God.

4. Aspects of Spiritual Formation.
For our discussion of the aspects of spiritual formation, we shall look at our text Mark 12: 28-31.
28 One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”
29 “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

Have you ever wondered why the Ten Commandments were given? The Ten Commandments can be considered the guidelines for the spiritual formation of the Israelites. It is to form a people of God. Jesus’ summary of the Ten Commandments is given for our spiritual formation. I would like to use the Celtic cross to illustrate the various aspects of spiritual formation. The Celts are the ancestors of the people of Scotland, Ireland and Wales. St. Patrick evangelized the Celts and a strong Celtic Church was developed way before the Roman Catholics. Celtic spirituality is strong in itself embrace of all aspects of life in Christ. The Celtic cross is unique to their part of the world. It stands twelve to fourteen feet high.The image is a powerful one- the circle of creation with the cross of redemption brought together into one whole. I would like to use it with a modern interpretation.

4.1 Know and love God
‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’
One aspect of spiritual formation is to know and love God. Unless you know someone, you cannot love the person. It is the same with God. Unless you know God, you cannot love Him. Unless you know God, you are loving an image or concept you have of God. It is not the real God, just your concept of Him. And often this concept of God is based on our own concept of our fathers. If our father is strict and distance, our God is strict and distance. If our father is warm and loving, our God is warm and loving. As Philip Yancey said in his lectures when he came to Singapore a few years ago, we need to move from knowing our own conceived idea of God to meeting the real God. What is worst is that our own conceived idea of God is a form of idolatry.

4.2 Know and love ourselves.
‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
It is only after we become Christians can be truly ourselves, to be fully human. Only God can make us authentic human beings. Many of us are living a life of lies. Instead of becoming who we really are, we hide behind a false mask and try to convince others that we are powerful, in control, beautiful and spiritual. Sometimes we even convince ourselves. This is our false self. Spiritual formation will help us to remove the false self and help us discover our true selves.
The second commandment is to love our neighbors as ourselves. It implies the order here. We first have to know and love ourselves. Then we can know and love our neighbors.

4.3 Know and love other people
‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
Christian spiritual life is relational. The Trinity is a relationship between God the Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit. Spiritual formation is the relationship between God, us and our neighbor which are other people. Spiritual formation is not just a Thou and I affair. Between God and us. It involves the whole world as we reach out to a hurting and suffering world and bring redemption to it. It is said of Abraham Joshua Herschel (1907-1972), a prominent Jewish theologian and social activist that ‘he stormed the fortress of self-righteous power- the war makers, impressing upon them that man is not a number, but the image of God.’


4.4 Experiencing God in our daily lives
Next we look at the context in which Jesus taught the greatest commandment. It is after He has told the parable of the tenants who was ungrateful for what they have been given (Mk.12:1-12), Paying taxes to Caesar (Mk.12:13-17) and debate about marriage at the resurrection (Mk.12:18-27). Jesus did not take His disciples away from the cities to live in a monastery. Jesus taught and lived among the people. His is a marketplace spirituality. Taken in this context, spiritual formation is not done separate from the world. Spiritual formation is experiencing God is the mundane, ordinary matter of our daily lives.

4.5 Trinitarian in the Center
The key to all this is the center. Jesus who is empowered by the Holy Spirit is teaching about the greatest commandment which is to love God the Father. Here we have the Holy Trinity: God the Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit. God the Father is the One who called us. Jesus the Son made it possible to be reconciled with God because of His sacrifice on the cross. And the Holy Spirit is the prime power in our spiritual formation. Without the Holy Spirit, it is not possible to have spiritual formation in our lives. We can try as hard as we can but we will never succeed. It is impossible. But with the Holy Spirit, all things are possible.

Thus we can define spiritual formation as :
Spiritual formation is the process of growing into Christ-likeness; characterised by knowing and loving God, knowing and loving ourselves, knowing and loving other people and experiencing the Presence of God in our everyday lives. The basis of spiritual formation is the call of God the Father, the finished work of Jesus Christ the Son and is empowered by the Holy Spirit.


The book, Les Miserables by Victor Hugo, was a powerful story of redemption of a soul. The novel, 1,200 pages of it, deals with the struggle of the soul, the balance between good and evil in human beings, and the continual challenge to conscience. The main character in this novel is Jean Valjean. Jean Valjean grew up as a woodcutter but could find no work. His widowed sister and her children were starving. One day, out of desperation, he raced out of his house, broke a window in a bakery and stole a loaf of bread. Due to the hard penal laws in the 1800s, he was sentenced to 5 years hard labor in prison. In prison he was dehumanized to being just a number. Four times he tried to escape and each time he was caught and his sentence extended. Finally he was released after 19 years in prison. This is a different Jean Valjean. There is no human kindness left. He is bitter, angry and cruel. Concluding that man treated, as animals become animals, Jean’s aim on release is to steal and kill until he is himself killed.

One day he came to the village where Monseignour Bienvenu, the Bishop of Digne, lives. This modest clergy diligently attempts to live in poverty and generosity of spirit in the model of Christ. When he found Valjean sleeping in the streets, he invited him home. Valjean intended to murder the priest and steal his silver spoons. Instead he just stole from the priest. However he was caught. Instead of accusing him, the priest called him his brother and sent him on his way with a gift of the silver candlestick. With this starling act of generosity and forgiveness, the bishop planted in Valjean mind that he has just bought his soul, relieving him of his bitterness and evil thoughts and given them up to God.

A born again Jean Valjean started a factory with the silver the priest has given him in another town. He became rich and prominent. He strove to be fair to his workers. The story went on to show how he saved and adopted an orphan and raise her up as his own. How he gave up himself to the authorities when another man was accused as him (Jean remained a fugitive). How he saved the life of his enemy, police inspector Javert who swore to capture him and thus making his life miserable. How he saved the life of Marius, his adopted daughter’s fiancée. It is the story of a man redeemed for good works. As the story unfolds, we saw the point of redemption of soul and also the spiritual formation of a soul. We see Jean Valjean turning to love God, to love himself, to love others and were involved in the world.

5. Practice of Spiritual Formation.
5.1 Know and love God
 Prayer
 Word
 Knowing God through His Creation
 Worship and Adoration

5.2 Know and love ourselves
 Prayer
 Solitude
 True self / false self
 Anamchara (Soul friends). One is not alone in our Christian walk but close companionship can encourage and correct one along the way.

James Houston, in his new book, The Mentored Life, wrote “Perhaps the central mystery of our humanness is that we are both individual and social selves at the same time….We are uniquely a self and yet also a self-in-relationships.” He quoted a Xhosa saying, Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu (Persons depend on other persons to be persons).

 Opening to God

5.3 Know and love other people
 Prayer
 Fellowship
 Exposure
 Service
 The Great Commission

5.4 Experiencing God in our daily lives
 Prayer
 Examining ourselves. Examen of consciousness
Frederik Buechner wrote in his Book, Now and Then, ‘Listen to your life. See it for the fathomless mystery it is. In the boredom and pain of it no less than in the excitement and gladness; touch, taste, smell your way to the holy and hidden heart of it because in the last analysis all moments are kept moments, and life itself is grace.’

 Desert spirituality: Attentiveness and Indifference
The Desert Fathers and Mothers in the fourth century are Christians who rejected the complacency of the Official church and went to leave in the deserts of Egypt. From them we have a rich heritage of writings which made up the desert spirituality tradition. This later developed into the monastic tradition. To survive in the desert, you need to be attentive to what is important and be indifferent to what is non-essential and distract you from what is important. The desert is unforgiving and will kill you. So in our spiritual formation, we also need to learn to be attentive to the essential and be indifferent to what is non-essential to our spiritual life.

 Biblical choosing
In our daily life, we are often faces with choices. Learning to make informed decisions that is pleasing to God is part of our spiritual formation.

 Practicing the Presence of God.
Brother Lawrence in his book, Practicing the Presence of God, gave practical advice on how to practice the Presence of God. While he worked in the kitchen of a monastery, the job of a manual worker yet he is the presence of the King.


5.5 Trinitarian in the Center
 Prayer
Prayer is the axis that connects all the aspects of spiritual formation with the Triune God of Grace in the center.
 Baptism (God the Father)
 Lord’s Supper (Christ the Son)
 Life in the Spirit. Cooperation with the Inner Work of the Holy Spirit in our lives


6. Concluding Remarks.

Spiritual formation is spiritual growth. It is moving from being nourished by spiritual milk to spiritual meat. It is moving from breast feeding to McDonald and to a steak dinner.

Spiritual formation is not a solo understanding. It is done in the company of the community of faith. That is why the church must be actively promoting spiritual formation, supporting and teaching spiritual formation and to provide the resources for spiritual formation. That is why in Holy Light Light, we shall be setting up a Spiritual Formation Institute. It is my prayer that God will use this Institute to help us all in our spiritual formation.


Soli Deo Gloria

The Good Soil

The Good Soil
The Matrix of Spiritual Growth in Shalom
Text: Mark 4:26-29

Dr Alex Tang
Sunday sermon
13 January 2008
Holy Light Church (English), Johor Bahru


Text
MK 4:26 He also said, "This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. 27 Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. 28 All by itself the soil produces grain--first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. 29 As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come."

Sermon Statement
The Kingdom of God is shalom. In each of us has a spiritual seed which has the potential to grow. We cannot cause spiritual growth. Spiritual growth comes from the spiritual seed and a nurturing soil (environment). The church can be the nurturing environment for spiritual growth. The components of S.H.A.L.O.M. provides the nurturing environment –Story (sharing love), Heart (experiencing love), Action (Acting love), Learning (thinking love), Oneness (living love) and Maturity (growing love).

Introduction
Story telling has a long tradition of teaching spiritual truths. Even now, many different religious traditions use story telling to convey a lesson or lessons. Jesus is a master in story telling. He tells parables which are a story with many layers of meaning. To teach about the Kingdom of God, some of the parables he used are:
• The Parable of the Sower (Matt 13;1-9, 18-23; Mk 4:1-9,13-20; Lk 8:4-8, 11-15)
• The Lamp and the Measure (Mk 4:21-25; Lk 8:16-18)
• The Parable of the Growing Seed (Mk 4:26-29)
• The Parable of the Mustard Seed (Matt 13:31-32; Mk 4:30-32; Lk 13-18-19)
Book recommendation: David Wenham, The Parables of Jesus (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1989)

Text Exposition
Jesus was teaching on the Kingdom of God. He was using a parable of the growing seed. Jesus was speaking to an agriculture based community who will appreciate fully what he was saying. It may not be so powerful a message if we get our vegetables wrapped in plastic from the supermarkets.

(1) What did the man do?
A man scatters seed on the ground (4:26b)
As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come." (4:29)

It is important to note there is a role for human effort in the Kingdom of God. The man is to sow and he has to harvest. However, there is nothing he can do to make the plant grow. People whose livelihood depends on agriculture knew this. They know that there are certain things they can do and they is much they have not control over. I believe that there is a reason why an agrarian society is more religious. They know that in spite of all the advances in technology and knowledge, thee are still elements that they cannot control. Elements like the weather; the rain comes in time or there is enough sunshine. If the rain comes too early, the seeds will not grow, too late and the seeds will have dried up. Too little and the seed with not grow or die and too much, the seed dies. The same applies to sun light.

(2) What did the seed do?
Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how (4:27)
Each seed has its own potential to grow. It does not need the man to do anything. Given the right condition, it will grow because that is what it is designed to do. Thus the man has no role in the seed growing. Nowadays, even with genetically engineered seeds, growth is still the property of the seeds.

(3) What did the soil do?
All by itself the soil produces grain--first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head (4:27)
It is interesting that Jesus point out the soil producing the stalk, head and full kernel in the head. Thus even though the seed can grow, without the soil it will die. The soil is also important in producing crops for the harvest.

Thus in this parable, Jesus points out the role of man, the seed and the soil in the Kingdom of Heaven. Man is to sow and harvest, the seed has the potential to grow and soil is the nurturing environment for growth.

SHALOM as the good soil for spiritual growth
Last week, we learnt in the sermon that Jesus taught us that the greatest commandment is love; love for God, for our neighbours and for ourselves. Love leads to shalom which is the fulfilment of love. S.H.A.L.O.M. is how a church practices love –Story, Heart, Action, Learning, Oneness and Maturity.

Spiritual growth is growing in love. Inside each of us has a spiritual seed that has the potential to grow. Shalom is the Kingdom of Heaven where everything is in harmony. We cannot cause spiritual growth. We cannot will ourselves to grow and mature spiritually. There are no lectures or books we can listen to or read to cause spiritual growth. Spiritual growth has to occur by itself. The seed needs the soil (or nutrients solution if we are thinking of hydroponics) to grow. I will suggest that without the soil, even the Holy Spirit cannot cause the spiritual seed inside us to grow. I will also suggest that the soil is the loving culture or matrix of the church. As the seed grows in the soil, we grow spiritually in the church.

As there are certain ingredients in the soil that nurture the seeds to grow, there are certain components in the church for our spiritual seeds to grow. I will suggest S.H.A.L.O.M.
They are:
· Story telling- telling the meta-narrative of God’s great plan of redemption and also our own stories and see how our own stories fit into God’s meta-narrative. Hence the importance of testimony telling and sharing of experiences. Sharing love.
· Heart matters; a call for emotional maturity- acknowledging, embracing, mastering, and detachment from our emotions or feelings. The will include experiential encounters with God (orthokardia). Emotions are important part of our makeup and our spirituality. We are called to love God with our heart, soul and mind. Experiencing love.
· Action: Incarnational living - narrowing the gap between what we believe and and how we live, thus living an incarnational lifestyle (orthopraxis). An incarnational lifestyle is a lifestyle of love, as Jesus lived out his human life as a sign of his love for us. Acting in love.
· Learning: transformational living- age appropriate learning of the knowledge of God through the Word, creation, and from others (orthodoxis). Knowing God means receiving the revelation of God. God has revealed himself to us through his Son, the Bible and nature. Thinking love.
· Oneness in community– development of committed relationships within and without the church. Relationships are very important. Living love.
· Maturity in Christ. This is our ongoing spiritual growth. Growing love.

(1) Story Telling: Sharing Love
• Pulpit teaching
• Celebration
• Ebenezers (1 Sam. 7:12)
• Christian Year
• Testimonies
• Church archives

(2) Heart: Experiencing Love
• Baptism and Eucharist
• Normative practices
• Social action groups
• Prayer groups
• Group spiritual directions

(3) Action: Acting Love
• Baptism and Eucharist
• Normative practices
• Social action groups
• Prayer groups
• Group spiritual directions

(4) Learn: Thinking Love
• Pulpit preaching
• Teaching classes/seminars/conference
• Discussion groups
• Seminary education
• Quiet time
• Self study of the Bible
• Contemporary issues

(5) Oneness: Living Love
• Hospitality
• Fellowship
• Makan
• Counseling
• Care and concern
• Cell groups
• Modeling
• Mentoring

(6) Maturity: Growing Love
• Spiritual friend
• Mentor
• Spiritual director
• Covenant groups
• Servant leadership
• Examining ourselves
• Desert spirituality: Attentiveness and Indifference
• Biblical choices
• Practicing the Presence of God

It is in a church community practicing S.H.A.L.O.M. that the Holy Spirit will be able to cause the spiritual seed inside of us to grow and develop into a fruitful plant.

Conclusion
The Kingdom of God is shalom. In each of us has a spiritual seed which has the potential to grow. We cannot cause spiritual growth. Spiritual growth comes from the spiritual seed and a nurturing soil (environment). The church can be the nurturing environment for spiritual growth. The components of S.H.A.L.O.M. provides the nurturing environment –Story (sharing love), Heart (experiencing love), Action (Acting love), Learning (thinking love), Oneness (living love) and Maturity (growing love).



Soli Deo Gloria

Our Utmost for Shalom

Our Utmost for Shalom
A New Year Resolution for 2008
Text: Matthew 22:34-40

Dr Alex Tang
Sunday sermon
6 January 2008
Holy Light Church (English), Johor Bahru

Sermon Statement

Jesus taught us that the greatest commandment is love; love for God, for our neighbours and for ourselves. Love leads to shalom which is the fulfilment of love. S.H.A.L.O.M. is how a church practices love –Story, Heart, Action, Learning, Oneness and Maturity.

Text

34But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together. 35Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, 36Master, which is the great commandment in the law? 37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38This is the first and great commandment. 39And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. (Matt.22:34-40)
The King James Version, (Cambridge: Cambridge) 1769.

34 Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. 35 One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: 36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
37 Jesus replied: ”‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
The New International Version, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House) 1984.

Introduction
Happy New Year. We are also in the season of Epiphany. The season of Epiphany, from the Greek epihaneia meaning “manifestation,” begins on January 6 and continues for nine Sundays, then concludes with the Sunday of The Transfiguration. It commemorates the first manifestation of Jesus to the Gentiles, represented by the visit of the Magi from the East. The season goes on to encompass his baptism, followed by the first miracle at Canaan. As Advent celebrates Christ’s humanity, Epiphany commemorates his divinity.

The making of New Year's resolutions dates back to the early Babylonians in about 2000 BC. The early Babylonian's most popular resolution was to return borrowed farm equipment.

The tradition of using a baby to signify the New Year was begun in Greece around 600 BC. It was their tradition at that time to celebrate their god of wine, Dionysus, by parading a baby in a basket, representing the annual rebirth of that god as the spirit of fertility. Early Egyptians also used a baby as a symbol of rebirth.

Although the early Christians denounced the practice as pagan, the popularity of the baby as a symbol of rebirth forced the Church to revaluate its position. The Church finally allowed its members to celebrate the New Year with a baby, which was to symbolize the birth of the baby Jesus. The use of an image of a baby with a New Years banner as a symbolic representation of the New Year was brought to early America by the Germans.

The USA.gov posted a list of Popular New Year's Resolutions (accessed 4 January 2008). The list include
• Lose Weight
• Pay Off Debt
• Save Money
• Get a Better Job
• Get Fit
• Eat Right
• Get a Better Education
• Drink Less Alcohol
• Quit Smoking Now
• Reduce Stress Overall
• Reduce Stress at Work
• Take a Trip
• Volunteer to Help Others
• Holiday and New Year Health-e-Cards

The website also offers 3 ways to keep the resolutions:
(1) Be committed.
(2) Be prepared for setbacks.
(3) Track your progress.

What are some of your New Year resolution for this year, 2008? What happened to last year’s resolutions? Did you manage to keep any of them? Making New Year resolutions are good. It allows a new start. The beginning of the year is a good time to start afresh. We leave last year behind. It is like having another chance to have another go. That is why making New Year resolutions and keeping them is important. In this sermon, we shall try to make some New Year resolutions together as a church.

Exposition of the Text
The Pharisees and Sadducees often see Jesus as a threat to the religious establishment. One group, the Pharisees who are very religious see Jesus as a threat to the basis of their divinely based religion. The Sadducees were opposed to Jesus because of political reasons. They are afraid that Jesus will set himself up as the messiah and thus incur the wrath of the Romans while diminishing their political influence. In the gospels, there are many instances of the Pharisees and Sadducees attempting to trap Jesus into saying something that will incriminate himself.

Earlier, the Sadducees had tried to trap Jesus by posing a question of a woman married to seven men consequently. This is legitimate by Mosaic Law. The brother is to marry his brother’s widow. However, whose wife will she be after the resurrection? The Sadducee do not believe in the resurrection, rejects all the extra-Torah teaching of the Pharisees and accept only what the Torah teachers. Jesus silenced them by explain a text from Exodus 3:6 by emphasis the tense of the Patriarch. "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob." The present tense indicates that there is an afterlife and that in this afterlife, we shall be like angels; without families.

After the failure of the Sadducee, the Pharisee sent in their champion, a lawyer. The question seems to be simple one. Which of the commandments is the greater one? The Pharisees after searching scripture found 613 commandments. The trap is simple. The Pharisees recognises that there is a hierarchy in the commandments. Thus murder is worst that boiling a lamb in its mother’s milk (Deut.14:21). Whichever one Jesus chose, someone will ask why not this other one.

Instead Jesus answered by quoting the Schema (Deu. 6:5) which is about loving God.
5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
Then he adds about loving your neighbours (Lev. 19:18, 34).
LEV 19:18 " `Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.
34 The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native-born. Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt. I am the LORD your God.
And then he concluded by stating that these two statements contains all that the Law and the prophets teaches.

Leon Morris, formerly principal of Riley College, Melbourne, Australia comments about this passage, ‘Wholehearted love for God means coming in some measure to see other people as God sees them, and all people as the objects of God’s love. Therefore anyone who truly loves God with all his being must and will love others, and this is expressed in the commandment, “You shall love your neighbour as yourself,” a commandment that is repeated in the Pentateuch.’

We can summarise it as thus

Love the Lord your God
with all your heart and
with all your soul and
with all your mind.’
Love your neighbor
as yourself.


Shalom as the Fulfilment of Love

Shalom is translated as, “(1) to be in a covenant of peace, be at peace, (Qal) to be at peace,peaceful one (participle), (Pual) one in covenant of peace (participle), (Hiphil) to make peace with, to cause to be at peace,(Hophal) to live in peace; and
(2)to be complete, be sound, (Qal) to be complete, be finished, be ended, to be sound, be uninjured, (Piel) to complete, finish, to make safe, to make whole or good, restore, make compensation, to make good, pay, to requite, recompense, reward, (Pual) to be performed, to be repaid, be requited, (Hiphil) to complete, perform, to make an end of.

• Jesus made shalom through the cross (Col.1:20; Eph.2:15-16).
• When Jesus healed and forgave people, he dismissed them by saying, “Go in shalom.”
• We are to “seek and pursue it.”(Ps.34:14b as quoted in 1 Pet. 3:11 ).
• We are to be at peace, pursue it, send it, and keep it (Rom.12;18; 1 Thess.5:13; 2 Cor. 13:11; Rom.14:19; 1 Cor. 16:11).
• Shalom is an active fruit of the spirit (Gal.5:22) and a mark of the realm of God. It is about the matrix of peace, harmony, and wholeness and is both a gift and task for the very goal of our teaching and learning life together.
• shalom in Christian community is an inclusive concept, signifying a place, a dwelling and a life where we can be different together.(Eph.2:14-22)

Joldersma, in unpacking Wolterstorff’s idea of shalom writes,

“Shalom means people living in right relationships with God, themselves, each other, and nature- and in taking delight in such relationships. Shalom involves finding meaning in our experiences and celebrating the actualizing of creation’s potentials. Shalom involves recognizing in ourselves that place where Gods’ goodness finds its answer in our gratitude. Shalom is an ethical community where all the members have a full and secure place in the community. As such, it embraces a “non-abandonment” view of the creation that involves redeeming it.” (Wolterstorff, 2004, xii)

Luke uses the word shalom (eirene) to describe the early struggling Christian church . Expanding on this, Norma Everist from Wartburg Theological seminary in Duduque, Iowa writes,

“Shalom looks both backward and forward. It recalls the paradisiacal Garden of Eden, and anticipates the coming of the reign of God. Shalom is personal, and may apply to God self or to an individual human being. Shalom is communal, meaning the right relationship between friends, neighbours, a community, nation, or even all the inhabited world (oikoumene). The heart of the meaning is close to life itself.

Shalom is linked with truth and justice in the Hebrew Bible, especially by Jeremiah. Forgiveness, righteousness, justification, reconciliation, pardon, restoration, good news, and salvation-words which point to harmony in any relationship- are all part of the semantic domain of shalom. In Paul’s theology in the New Testament Bible, justification by faith gives shalom with God through Jesus Christ.”

Shalom is the all inclusive term that means loving God, loving ourselves and loving our neighbours. This is what Paul taught in 1 Cor. 13. The greatest of these is love.
Loving God ---- loving others and self --- shalom

Expressing Shalom in the Church
What are some of the ways we can express our love that leads to shalom? How do we as a church learn to love God, love ourselves and love our neighbours?
We may do that by incorporating certain components in our church community life.

They are:
• Story telling- telling the meta-narrative of God’s great plan of redemption and also our own stories and see how our own stories fit into God’s meta-narrative. Hence the importance of testimony telling and sharing of experiences. Sharing love.
• Heart matters; a call for emotional maturity- acknowledging, embracing, mastering, and detachment from our emotions or feelings. The will include experiential encounters with God (orthokardia). Emotions are important part of our makeup and our spirituality. We are called to love God with our heart, soul and mind. Experiencing love.
• Action: Incarnational living - narrowing the gap between what we believe and and how we live, thus living an incarnational lifestyle (orthopraxis). An incarnational lifestyle is a lifestyle of love, as Jesus lived out his human life as a sign of his love for us. Acting in love.
• Learning: transformational living- age appropriate learning of the knowledge of God through the Word, creation, and from others (orthodoxis). Knowing God means receiving the revelation of God. God has reveal himself to us through his Son, the Bible and nature. Thinking love.
• Oneness in community– development of committed relationships within and without the church. Relationships are very important. Living love.
• Maturity in Christ. This is our ongoing spiritual growth. Growing in love.

The acronym for this is S.H.A.L.O.M.

In addition, these components of shalom includes
(1) the restoration of the Imago Dei (the Image of God)- the love for God and ourselves
Maturity, Heart and Learning
(2) The Missio Dei (the mission of God)-the love for others
Oneness, Story telling and Action

Conclusion
Jesus taught us that the greatest commandment is love; love for God, for our neighbours and for ourselves. Love leads to shalom which is the fulfilment of love. S.H.A.L.O.M. is how a church practices love –Story, Heart, Action, Learning, Oneness and Maturity.

Our New Year resolution for 2008 is
This year we shall love our God, our neighbours and ourselves more.

soli deo gloria

Are Babies and Children Saved?

Are Babies and Children Saved?
Spiritual Formation of Children
Text: Mk.10:13-16; Lk. 18:15-17; Matt. 19:13-15


Summary
Children are born into the kingdom of God but as they grow into the age of accountability, they will be required to choose to follow Jesus or not. It is the responsibility of parents, other caretakers and the Church to nurture their spiritual formation to make the right decision.

Introduction
Ron Buckland, former National Director of Scripture Union in Australia wrote in his book, Children and Gospel, that he once conducted a survey, approaching a variety if Christian men and women from different denominations, both clergy and layman. He outlined the following scenario:
“Imagine there are two families, living on either side of you. Each has a two-year-old child. One set of parents are atheists; the other set are committed Christians. Now imagine that in tragic circumstances both children were killed on the same day and you are to visit each home. What would you say to their child’s destiny and on what grounds would you say it?”
All but one person he interviewed said they would want to say to both sets of parents that their children are with God. One person wants to tell the atheist parents that their child is in hell and it was their fault!

Are babies and children saved? If they die now, are they going to hell or to heaven? What we believe influence the way we do children ministry. It will also affect the way we bring up our children.

Let us consider the various possible scenarios:
1.All children start life outside the kingdom of God.
2.The presence of a Christian parent establishes right standing before God.
3.The experience of baptism establishes right standing before God.
4.All children belong to God.
5.All children start life in the kingdom of God until they reach the age of accountability.

1. All children start life outside the kingdom of God.
This assumes that babies and children are in the same category as adults, even though they are too young to be able to exercise repentance and faith. To ‘make a decision for Christ’ means repentance and faith. What does a baby know of repentance? What does a baby have to repent for? Roman 3:23 states ‘that all have sin and fall short of the glory of God.’ Does this means babies and children too?

This comes back to this discussion of the original sin. Because of Adam and Eve’s disobedience in the Garden of Eden, sin has entered the world. And with sin comes death. Now there are two theological way of looking at this original sin:

(i) It is inherent in our nature. It is inherited. This is like a genetic disease where it passes from one generation. In this thinking, we have no choice at all. We are condemned to hell at the moment of conception or whenever the time human life begins.
(ii) It is a change in the makeup of our nature that makes us want to sin, to turn away from God. Until we make a choice, we have not sinned. For this way, there is a choice on whether one want to sin or not.

In this first option, babies have already sinned at birth. Hence there is an urgency to ‘convert’ children as soon as possible. Our entire parenting efforts and children ministry has an urgency to help children make a decision for Christ. Unfortunately, we manipulate children to ‘make decisions for Christ’. Many children do things to please the adults. So many children have made ‘decisions’ for Christ repeatedly until they became confused.

2. The presence of a Christian parent establishes right standing before God.
The basis for this thinking is based on biblical teaching about covenant. The presence of at least one Christian parent covers the child from the consequences of the original sin until he or she comes of age. Covenants like God with Moses (Ge.17), with the people of Israel (Deu.29) and the Christian church (1 Peter 2:9-10) makes participants people of God. Children born into this covenant automatically enjoys the benefits of it. Paul says in 1 Cor. 7:14
14 For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy.

3. The experience of baptism establishes right standing before God.
The Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox churches believe that the sacrament of baptism has the ability to wash away all sins and to claim the forgiveness of the Cross. Hence there is an emphasis on infant baptism. There is also an interesting tradition. During infant baptism, aside from parents, certain older members of the congregation are appointed as sponsors or god parents to help the parents in the spiritual growth of the baby. In the reformed tradition, infant baptism is done more on a basis of the covenant as stated above.

4. All children belong to God.
This is a nice option. Jesus taught about this when he spoke about children and the kingdom of God. Let us look at what the synoptic gospels teach. (The synoptic gospels are Mark, Matthew and Luke).

What Jesus said about children (synoptic gospels)

Mk.10:13-16
MK 10:13 People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. 14 When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 15 I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." 16 And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them.

Lk. 18:15-17. Gk. Babies instead of child.
LK 18:15 People were also bringing babies to Jesus to have him touch them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. 16 But Jesus called the children to him and said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 17 I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it."

Matt. 19:13-15 cf 18:1-5
MT 19:13 Then little children were brought to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked those who brought them. MT 19:14 Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." 15 When he had placed his hands on them, he went on from there.

Matt.18:1-5
MT 18:1 At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" MT 18:2 He called a little child and had him stand among them. 3 And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. MT 18:5 "And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me.

Jesus said the kingdom of God belongs to the children. Children are already there where adults may end up if they become like children or by an act of ill become childlike. All three follow Jesus meeting with the children with their version of the rich, young man (Mk.10:17-27; Lk.18:18-27; Matt. 19:16-26). He cannot give up all and be helpless. Utter helplessness is the basis of Jesus speaking about the kingdom of God belonging to children.

This is nice and good. All children are already in the kingdom of God. But what happens when they grew up and did not become Christians? Did they drop out of the kingdom of God? This is the problem with this option that all children are already in the kingdom of God.

5. All children start life in the kingdom of God until they reach the age of accountability.
In this option, children start off in the kingdom but as they grow, their sinful nature (original sin) began to manifest itself. They began to realise that they can choose. There are two biblical texts that mention a period before and a period after which a child can choose.

Deu. 1:39
39 And the little ones that you said would be taken captive, your children who do not yet know good from bad--they will enter the land. I will give it to them and they will take possession of it.

Isaiah 7:13-16
ISA 7:13 Then Isaiah said, "Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of men? Will you try the patience of my God also? 14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. 15 He will eat curds and honey when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right. 16 But before the boy knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste.

We call this age the age of accountability. Is this a sudden moment or a slow gradual wakening? It may be both or either. Some children sudden come to a point when they realise their sinfulness and their need for forgiveness. Such children have reached a conversion experience. Others, especially those who grew up in Christian families may gradually grow into this age of accountability and became Christians without them knowing it. Hence some period has a specific time for their ‘conversion’ while others do not.

It is my personal conviction that ‘All children start life in the kingdom of God until they reach the age of accountability’. It makes senses to me in view of what Jesus teaches about children and the kingdom of God and other verses about the ability to make decisions.
W.H.Griffith Thomas, an Anglican theologian argued, ‘all children are included in the great atoning sacrifice, and belong to Jesus Christ until they deliberately refuse him’.
This also means that it is our responsibilities: father, mother, brothers, sisters, grandparents, uncles and aunties that we help in the spiritual formation of the child so that he or she grows into the age of accountability with the ability to make the right choice for Christ. This is where parenting plays a large role. The church complement parenting with the community, mentoring and teachings as these children matures.

The Spiritual Formation of Children
(1) GENIUS parenting.
GENIUS parenting is based on Luke 2:52 in which 14 words covers the whole concept of parenting. GENIUS is an acronym for
Growth
Emotional Quotient (EQ)
Nutrition
Intelligence Quotient (IQ)
Utmost to Potential (Potential Quotient)
Spiritual Quotient.
It is the duty of all parents to ensure our children grows in all these 6 areas.

(2) Basis of GENIUS parenting.
The basis of GENIUS parenting is a balance between behavior and being. Generally, there are two approaches to parenting which starts from the 18th century. One approach is ‘to break the will of the child’. The child is to be forced, seduced into conformation to acceptable social practices. John Wesley, the founder of Methodism is an advocate for this. This approach emphasis the child’s capacity for evil. The emphasis is on behavior. For most of the late 19th century and all of the 20th century, our parenting has been greatly influenced by the behavioural sciences. Techniques of behavioural modification were introduced into parenting.
The other approach is to emphasis the child’s capacity for good. The advocate for this is Jean-Jacques Rousseau. He believed that children are basically good until they were influenced by adult. This ‘romantic’ approach gives more freedom for children believing that in some ways, children are wiser than adults. The emphasis is more on the being.
I think both approach are correct but I believe that they must be balanced. There should be behavioural modification but there should also be inner growth and maturity as a person.

(2) Components of GENIUS parenting.
To achieve this balance, there should be 2 components in GENIUS parenting:
(a) Relationship to maturity.
(b) Empowerment to maturity.
Relationship is important in parenting. Relationship is to each individual child in the 6 areas of development. It is much easier to work with the child when there is a good healthy relationship. But relationship is not enough. There must be empowerment. The child must be allowed to try things out and to fail if necessary.

(3) Objectives of Spiritual Quotient in GENIUS parenting.
(a) Children who are Christians are able to call God ‘Abba/Father’ through the work of the Holy Spirit who dwells in them (Rom.8:15)
(b) Children who are Christians will have assurance of their salvation through the inner testimony of the Holy Spirit (Rom.8:16)
(c) The desires of children to call Jesus ‘Lord’ is the outcome of the work of the Holy Spirit in them (1 Corinthians 12:3)
(d) Children who are Christians are candidates for the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22)
(e) Children who are Christians are candidates for the gifts of the Spirit (1 Cor. 12:4-11)

Closing Remarks
Children are born into the kingdom of God but as they grow into the age of accountability, they will be required to choose to follow Jesus or not. It is the responsibility of parents, other caretakers and the Church to nurture their spiritual formation to make the right decision.

Soli Deo Gloria