So what’s so good about being “Chosen”?

Having charged the pagan (Rom 1:18-32) and moral Gentile (Rom 2:1-16) with sin, Paul turned his focus on the Jews to wrap up his indictment of the whole human race. So what’s so good about being God’s chosen people? Paul listed the following advantages in Rom 2:17-3:2:

• v 18 know His will … instructed by the law;
• 2:19 a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark,
• 2:20 an instructor of the, a teacher of little children
• 2:25 circumcision
• 3:2 the Jews have been entrusted with the very words of God.

The Jews have the word of God (3:2). The law is the expression of God’s will, the embodiment of knowledge and truth (2:20). With the law, the Jews can teach others about God, and guide those in the dark (2:19-20). And circumcision is the sign of the covenant (Gen 17:11) between God and Abraham that the Jews are His chosen peoplE. Notwithstanding these privileges, the Jews did not live up to their calling. And the proof? Paul cited the following evidence as examples of breaking the 10 commandments:

• 2:21 stealing (8th commandment)
• 2:22 committing adultery (7th commandment), idolatry (2nd commandment)
• 2:24 blaspheming God’s name (3rd commandment)

The list is not exhaustive, but illustrative of the fact that the Jews are lawbreakers (2:27) and therefore sinners. The important thing is not the outward rituals, but the inward reality. The same could be said about modern-day baptized church goers who do not really have the life of Christ indwelling them. 2:28-29 could be adapted as follows:

• 2:28 A person is not a “Christian” who is one only outwardly, nor is “baptism” merely outward and physical.
• 2:29 No, a person is a “Christian” who is one inwardly; and “baptism” is “baptism” of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code.

So what’s so good about being “chosen”? It is good only if it is an inward reality, that you live worthy of your high calling. Otherwise you are just outwardly performing some rituals, and your praise is from people, not God. Is that you? Reflect and act accordingly.

Principles of Judgment

Mini-series on Rom 1-5 continued:

Q. In the Last Judgment, how will God judge people? What criteria will He use? Wouldn’t He favor His chosen people?

A. There are 9 principles of judgment given in the first half of Rom 2:

• v2 God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth.
• v3 do you think you will escape God’s judgment?
• v5 storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed
• v6 God will repay each person according to what they have done.
• v11 For God does not show favoritism.
• v13 those who obey the law who will be declared righteous.
• v16 God judges people’s secrets through Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares.

1. Based on truth. In earthly courts there are wrong judgments because they are based on evidences which might be faulty, and witnesses who might lie. They also depend on the rhetoric of the lawyers, not necessarily truth. But there will be no wrong judgments before God, because God is omniscient and knows all truth.

2. No escape. Nobody is exempt – unbelievers before the Great White Throne, and believers before the Judgment Seat of Christ. Rom 14:10, 12 For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. Each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.

3. Cumulative. Not only will no one escape, everything will be accounted for. The unrepentant will be storing up wrath against themselves. What now seemed like God overlooking things is only apparent. All will be reckoned with.

4. According to what was done. This one everyone recognized as fair. Everybody is responsible for what he/she has done, not what others accuse them of, or mere intentions.

5. No favoritism. In this world there is bias, discrimination, inequality, nepotism, unfairness. But not when God judges. God is impartial and favors no one. He is absolutely fair.

6. Based on obedience. Some complain that God is not fair by selecting Israel as the chosen people. They certainly had the privilege of hearing God’s law. However, it is not those who hear, but those who obey the law who will be declared righteous. Knowing the law will not benefit you, but will in fact increase your penalty if you knowingly disobey.

7. No secrets. People keep secrets because they feel ashamed of who they really are, or what they have done. However, according to the parable of the sheep and the goats, the general judgment will be public, not private. There will be no place to hide.

8. Through Jesus Christ. Jesus Himself, whom many have rejected, will be the judge. Jn 5:22 Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son.

9. According to the gospel. Although judgment is according to what was done, to show that all fell short of the glory of God, no one will be declared righteous on their own merit, because all have sinned (Rom 3:23). Only those who believe in Christ will be saved. Jn 3:38 Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.

When you truly understand how God will judge, the only wise response is to cast yourself at God’s feet and beg for mercy. Not to do so is utter arrogance and foolishness. Think it through and act accordingly.

Downward Spiral

Q. I thought God is supposed to be loving and forgiving. Why then would He give up on people according to Rom 1:
• Rom 1:24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another.
• Rom 1:26b Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts.
• Rom 1:28 Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done.

A. First, God is loving and forgiving, but His Spirit will not contend with humans forever (Gen 6:3). Even though He forgives not just seven times, but seventy times seven (Mt 18:22), there is a limit to men heaping up their sins, after which the wrath of God will come upon them (1 Thes 2:16). When Israel turned to idols, God sent His prophets to warn them again and again. But they did not repent, despite hardship and enslavement by foreigners. In the end God sent them into exile to purify them.

Secondly, to every effect there is a cause. God giving men over is an effect. What was the cause? The answer is in the immediate preceding context:
• Rom 1:23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.
• Rom 1:25 They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.
• Rom 1:26a Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones.

Notice the word “exchanged”. Men’s actions have consequences. When men exchanged God’s glory, truth and knowledge for idols and lies, and natural relations for unnatural ones, God responded by giving them over to what their hearts desired – sexual impurity, shameful lusts, and a depraved mind. The effect is a downward spiral going from bad to worse, with men going down a slippery slope to the depths of depravity. Be careful what you wish for, or you might pass the point of no return and cannot turn back, because you have gone too far and did not want to return. God will leave you alone and grant you what you asked for, but the price is eternal damnation in hell.

Interesting Testimony

My wife attended a reunion of her high school graduating class, who met for the first time after 47 years. Some like us went to Canada for university and stayed, but a few moved to Australia and the US. So it was a happy and noisy occasion as they tried to match faces to what they remembered from 47 years ago! The spouses didn’t know anyone, so we talked among ourselves as in any social gathering of strangers. The person who sat next to me is a Christian with an interesting testimony. Here’s his story.

He was a rebel at age 19, involved in street gangs in New York. When some classmates tried to witness to him, he would ridicule them. One time he got into a fight, and found himself surrounded by over a dozen hoodlums with wooden clubs and water pipes as weapon. He was vastly outnumbered and tried to run away, but someone smashed his club on his head, and blood oozed out from his cracked skull.

He was left for dead on the street, but as he laid in a pool of blood on the pavement he remembered Jesus. In desperation he cried out, “If you are really there, save me and I will believe in you.” Somehow he managed to pull himself up, staggered onto the road, and tried to ask for help. He saw a car coming and tried to stop it by waving his arms. Usually drivers in that dangerous part of town do not stop, especially when the stranger standing in the middle of the road was drenched in blood. But unexpectedly, the first car did. The driver told him to hop in, as blood continued to flow and stained the entire back seat.

The driver took him to the emergency department of the nearest hospital, where they gave him seventeen stitches to close up the wound. When he came to, the doctor told him if he had come five minutes later, he would have been a “goner”. He tried to find the driver to thank him, but he left already without leaving his name and phone number. It was then that he realized the Lord had intervened to save his life, so he started going to church and committed his life to Christ, baptizing later in the sea.

But his miraculous encounters did not end there. In his late thirties he was working daytime in the post office, and part-time as a cab driver. One winter there was severe snow storm and workers were told to go home early. He was trying to get home on an icy secondary highway, when he heard a loud thud as if something was caught under his car. So he pulled over to the left shoulder of the divided highway, got out, and stooped between the driver side of his car and the concrete divider to examine what’s caught underneath the car.

Unfortunately his car was positioned at the T-junction of a country road on the right side intersecting the highway. Normally cars on the country road would stop at a stop sign to wait for the traffic to clear before turning onto the highway, but because the road surface was very slippery, like sheer ice, an on-coming car was unable to stop, and about to T-bone our friend’s car , crushing him between the car and the divider! The driver frantically blasted his horn to warn our friend to get out of the way, but as he was crouching down in a very narrow spot, there was no time to get up and run. He looked up, saw a bright light, and shouted, “God save me!”

The next thing he knew was he was lying on the snowy ground on the other side of the divided highway. He thought he had died, but felt his legs and they were still there, and he could move his arms! Next he saw the driver leaning over him and asked, “Do you really know how to fly?!” It was then that he remembered a great force yanked him away to safety just before the other car T-boned his, but to the other driver it appeared as if he himself flew away like Superman!

This was the second time the Lord intervened to save his life. From that point on his Christian walk was cranked up several notches. Everywhere he went he would tell people his testimony and ask them to believe in Jesus. That was over twenty years ago, but he hasn’t lost steam yet. Wouldn’t it be great if more Christians were like him, boldly sharing Christ to anyone, anytime, anywhere?

No Excuse

Recently we started a bible study with a friend who grew up in a mainline church. Unfortunately they did not emphasize studying the Bible, so even though some members had gone to church for many years, they did not have a firm grasp of some basic teachings until they changed to an evangelical church.

For our purpose we chose the first few chapters of Romans, as that explained the fundamentals of the gospel in a very succinct way. As a matter of fact, whenever we share the gospel with seekers, many of their questions were answered right from those few chapters. For instance:

Q. I come from an atheistic educational system and was never taught about God. So you can’t hold me accountable to something I never knew and don’t believe in. That wouldn’t be fair!

A variation is the often asked question, “What about the heathen? Nobody told them about Jesus. God couldn’t send someone to hell for not believing in Jesus whom they have never heard! Those folks were innocently minding their own business. Surely God would excuse them!” Sounds familiar? Maybe you’ve wondered about that yourself, but unfortunately the world does not work that way, even in our secular society.

Let me give you an illustration. Suppose you come from Germany where the autobahn’s posted speed limit is 130 km/hr, but often cars drive at over 200 km/hr. You rented a car and cruised along TransCanada Highway at your usual 200 km/hr, but were stopped by the police. Can you say to the policeman, “I’m sorry, officer. I just arrived in Canada and don’t know about your local speed limits. You can’t charge me because I honestly didn’t know.” Think you can get away with that defense? Not on your life! Ignorance of the law is no excuse!

The same is true of God’s law. Ignorance of God’s law excuses no man. More importantly, are people really ignorant? Not according to the word of God:

• Rom 1:19-20 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For His invisible attributes, namely, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
• Rom 2:1 Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things.
• Rom 2:15 They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them and at other times even defending them.

People may plead that they have never seen or heard of God, but they are without excuse. Why? Because although God is Spirit and invisible, He has made His divine nature and attributes plain to men. How? Through His creation, which is visible. God’s power and intelligence can be clearly perceived when men consider the immensity, the intricacy of the design, and the orderliness of the universe, whether on a cosmic or microscopic scale. Whenever men think of the designer, they know there must be an omnipotent, omniscient Creator behind it, namely God.

That’s the external witness to God, the created universe and natural law, but there is also an internal witness – conscience. Although men may not know the details of God’s law as revealed in the Mosaic law, the moral requirements of His law are written in men’s hearts. While this can be marred by people hardening their hearts and stifling their conscience, it is universal in that it cuts across race and time, and instinctively tells people what is right or wrong. Where does this universal conscience come from? From the Creator – God.

The third nail in the coffin is man passing judgment on one another. In doing so they condemn themselves, because the one who judges practices the very same thing. So whenever we judge others, we judge ourselves. These three, creation, conscience, and condemnation join together to prove that men actually knew God. They just don’t want to acknowledge Him as God. That’s a problem of the will, not cognition. So men are without excuse, despite their plead of ignorance.

But back to the heathen question. Is it fair for people to be sentenced to hell when they don’t know Jesus? Think it through carefully. First of all, people are not condemned because they don’t know Jesus. They are condemned because of their own sin. Secondly, they may not know Jesus, but they know the Father through creation and conscience. Yet no one lives fully up to the level of their own conscience, even though that’s a very low standard compared to God’s requirements, namely perfection. So men are guilty and accountable to God with no excuse. Trust in Him and ask for mercy. We’ll return to this in future posts.

Why call anyone a Sinner?

Q. I have a problem with the term sin. Everyone makes mistakes. Why call anyone a sinner? It’s so serious!

A. First of all, let’s define our terms. The Bible defines sin as lawlessness:
• 1 Jn 3:4 Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness.

If you look up a lexicon, you’ll see sin is defined as:
• to be without a share in,
• to miss the mark,
• to err, be mistaken,
• to miss or wander from the path of uprightness and honor, to do or go wrong,
• to wander from the law of God, violate God’s law.

The literal meaning of the Greek noun harmatia is to miss the mark. In archery, if you shoot an arrow at the bull’s-eye of the target and you failed to hit it, you’ve missed the mark. It does not matter whether you missed it by an inch or a mile, you missed. The same is true in the spiritual realm. When we aim to achieve God’s standard and fail to live up to it, we sin.

The reason some people have a problem calling “sin” sin is that they use a human standard, which is relative. When you compare yourself with your neighbors, of course you’ll be better in some areas, but worse in other areas. You may feel while you’re not perfect, you are better than most. Many of us feel we’re above average. But when we measure ourselves against God’s standard, that’s a different story.

What is God’s standard? He requires us to be holy, for He is holy (Lev 11:44, 45; 19:2; 20:7, 26; 1 Pet 1:16).
• 1 Pet 1:16 for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”

He also asked us to be perfect:
• Mt 5:48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Now which of us can honestly say, “I am holy, and perfect”, by my own strength? No one. We all missed the mark. We all sinned. That’s why the Bible says:
• Rom 3:10 There is no one righteous, not even one;
• Rom 3:12 there is no one who does good, not even one.
• Rom 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

You are right in saying everyone makes mistakes. That’s why everyone is a sinner. Just as a doctor need to correctly diagnose an illness, we need to identify sin as sin and not down-play it with euphemism. That is not putting down people, just calling people by who we really are in order that we can seek the proper cure.

Mother’s and Father’s Day Videos

These commercials seem to know nothing about the 30 seconds typical in N. America, but they touch the emotions few N. American commercials do. The dialogue is in Cantonese but there are English subtitles. Enjoy.

Mother’s Day:

Father’s Day

Is Christianity Exclusive?

Q. Why are Christians so exclusive? I have my truth and you have yours. Why do Christians insist that only they have the truth and everybody else is wrong? That’s so arrogant!

A. Some people feel that way, but those are biased statements not critically thought through! First, the reality is that all religions are exclusive. They all have their own system of beliefs, to the exclusion of others. All claim to be true, including Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism etc. But a claim must be backed by evidence; otherwise it’s just an empty claim, nothing more. And Christianity has the best and the most evidence proving it to be what it claims to be – the only truth that saves.

Secondly, some truths are relative, but not all. To give a trivial example, it is true that my friend’s eyes are blue while mine are brown. Both statements are true, since we’re talking about different things. They are relative, don’t contradict each other, and not mutually exclusive.

However, if my eyes are brown and you say they are blue, then both of us can’t be right at the same time, because we are referring to the same thing in the same respect. Only one of us would be right, regardless of what the other person claims.

Thirdly, if I have the truth, it is not arrogant for me to insist that I am right and the other person is wrong. That’s called conviction, not arrogance. Again using my trivial example, since I really have brown eyes, it is only right and proper for me to insist that they are brown and not any other color. To accept claims that they are blue to be equally valid would be propagating error i.e. lying.

Now, are there absolute truths i.e. things that are universally valid, regardless of personal preferences? Of course there are! Some are by convention. For example, in science the International System of Units for length, weight and time is the meter, kilogram and second. These standard units of measurement are the same world-wide, whether you apply them in Canada, China, or anywhere else. Had they been relative, with each person defining what they are according to his or her preferences, then everyday systems of science and commerce would break down, and there would be chaos.

There are even physical constants that go beyond human consensus. They are generally believed to be universal in nature and constant in time e.g. the speed of light c, or the gravitational constant g. They are constant whether you measure them using the metric or Imperial system, and are independent of human convention. They are absolutes, not relative.

In the realm of faith it is the same. There are absolute truths, not just relative. The important thing is who has them. Let me assert that all religions are mere human endeavors to know and approach God, and since they are based on human knowledge and philosophy, they are limited, incomplete, and relative. Christianity, however, is not a religion in the sense of man trying to reach God, but God the Creator reaching out to man the creature. It is based on revelation, God revealing truths to man which he could not otherwise discover and fathom. It is therefore unique among all systems of faith in that it is the only one that’s divinely inspired, and the only absolute truth. I have written previously on why the Bible is the Word of God which you can trust, and won’t repeat myself here.

How do We Know what we Believe is True? 1

How do we Know what we Believe is True? 2

Christianity too Narrow?

Lastly, it is foolish for someone to claim that there are no absolute truths. For refutation, all you have to ask is, “Are you absolutely sure of that?” If he says “Yes”, that in itself is an absolute claim which contradicts his own statement. If he says “No”, he is denying himself and can be ignored. Either way he is self-defeating.

Contracting Lessons 2

Just as in any management situation, communication is extremely important. One of the contractors we hired was a masonry company which specialized not only in brickwork, but in water-proofing and drainage. When the estimator came, we explained what we needed done: (1) solve the water pond problem in the backyard, (2) repair cracks in the walls from years of weathering, including rebuilding the chimney, and (3) replace the soil in window wells with gravel so that water will drain to the ground more quickly instead of seeping through cracks into the basement. Parts (1) and (2) were bigger jobs and more costly, while part (3) was much smaller in comparison.

When the work crew came, we went through the same explanation with the foreman, going carefully over the job specs, which he understood. However, when it came to the foreman giving instructions to his crew, he focused on parts (1) and (2), presumably because that was the greater part of the contract, but glossed over part (3). And therein lies the problem.

The estimator reckoned on digging 12-18″ deep in the window well, then backfilling with gravel to solve the drainage problem. The workmen, however, thought they were doing us a favor by doing a little extra on the side, and that they only need to dig 6-8″! When we told them that was not the case, they said that’s not what their foreman told them. Not until we produced the contract and phoned the foreman was the misunderstanding cleared up and the job completed according to specification.

Two things we learned in this little incident. One is that you need clear communication at all levels, not just between the purchaser (i.e. us) and the vendor salesman and foreman. In our case that level of communication was clear enough, but it didn’t flow through to the workers. Sometimes in church projects the same thing happens. The pastors and deacons discussed the pros and cons of a project and had a common understanding of what needed to be done, but the why’s and how’s were not properly conveyed to the superintendents or teams responsible for executing the project, leading to frustration and dissatisfaction for both “management” and “labor” alike. The solution is to ensure clear and precise information is communicated to all levels, not just among the leadership.

The second is you get what you inspect, not what you expect. Had we relied just on our communication with the estimator and the foreman, and not inspected the project as it progressed, we would have gotten results that looked the same on the surface (gravel instead of soil), but which would not have solved the drainage problem (6″ deep instead of over 12″). Same appearance, but different effectiveness. I may expect a lot, but I would be disappointed. To achieve the desired end result, you need to periodically check up on the project while it was still in process. Otherwise you may not get the correct solution, or cause a lot of anger when you ask them to re-do the work.

Clear communications with all levels, and you get what you inspect, not what you expect. Two principles of project management you can apply anytime, anywhere.

Live Well, Die Well

Last week we heard the sad news of yet another former church member who passed away prematurely. He was in his early 50’s, a hard-working man who didn’t want to rest. He suffered a stroke, felt severe headaches, was sent to the hospital, and was gone within two days. His wife did a noble thing by donating all his organs to save other lives. The consolation is that the couple are Christians and know that they will meet again the other side of heaven. Life is short. Soon it’ll be over. Live well. Fulfill your mission. Finish strong. We never know when our time is up. Cherish those around you. Seize the day.