My Reflection on James

Hypothetically Speaking

If I lived in Corinth and was a Gentile Christian during that time, I would have been tattletaled by the household of Chloe who reported to Paul as one who was in the "I am of Paul" crowd. Paul's message of grace and his declaration about the gospel of Jesus as having the power unto salvation for those who believe resonated with me. I do not work for my salvation because Jesus already paid it all on the cross for me. If there's any good work that followed after receiving that salvation, it was only by grace that I was able to do it. The good works I produced were not by my own will power but by God who willed his good works through me. Besides, the good news of the salvation work of Jesus, was that the salvation encompasses all the areas of my life - mind, body, and spirit. Paul's letters, if those were the only ones I read, would have made me afraid of even lifting a finger to earn my salvation even more so because I would still be considered an infant - a type of unbelieving believer. I would be someone who has earned salvation but unsure of what that translates to in daily life. In contrast to James' letter, Paul taught complete trust in the Lord that was void of keeping up with outside appearances. James' retort cuts to the mind and heart of what it means to be both a professor of the faith as well as a partaker. But Paul's arguments for "by grace through faith alone saves" trumps James' "show your faith by your good works".
I admit though that Paul did agree with James that good works should follow in the faithful's life after salvation. This I read in Galatians 5:6, Philippians 2:11-12, and Ephesians 2:10. Paul in writing to Titus to help him lead the Cretan church even said those who believed in God should be careful to maintain good works which are not only good but profitable (not in a financial sense) for everyone. Paul's letters though, came years after James' and the Jerusalem Council and so were they letters of correction to those who are slipping back into the law?
James' letter was circulated to the scattered Jewish Christians outside Palestine earlier than Paul's. Could this letter, because it was circulated even before the Jerusalem council took place, have been one reason why Paul would have been disliked because his message of grace abrogated the old Law to the extent that no ounce of good work was ever going to be needed in salvation at all? These Jewish Christians who would read only James' letter of practicalities could have mistakenly concluded albeit understandably that James was just simply repackaging the works of the Law in a Christian context. Could the Judaizers that Paul was warning the Galatian church about have come from James' followers who were traditionalists and deeply rooted in Judaism?

In my Opinion

I'm a Law and Grace type of believer. And what I mean about this is that I only see my own walk in two absolutes - Law on one side, Grace on the other. Either I live under the Law which is living life on pretense and putting up a veneer of good works and believing that good things happen to those who do good things or I live under grace which is living freely without guilt or shame in accordance to God's purposes for my life.
The hope and faith that I have which are all hinged on the same kind of love Jesus displayed on the cross, must somehow and better yet some time later turn into good works. Abraham took 40 some years to prove his faith when he was willing to kill his beloved son. In my own life experience, from the time I answered the altar call to the time I started showing my trust in the Lord was a good 8 years. Why then must I expect my fellow Christian brothers and sisters to transform over night? Surely that can happen too but only by the grace of God and certainly not by guilt-tripping and repeatedly falling in and out of condemnation.
Giving up my salvation for someone else - can I really do that sincerely? Should I pray to remain sick (if I become sick) so my perseverance in the faith despite my illness could be a good testimony for others? Should I give up a job promotion so a colleague who is not a Christian can have his? These are soul stretching questions that I hope to answer "yes" some time and only by the measure of grace and faith that God bestow on me. Not all Christians are the same. Some are "of Paul", some are "of James", but all are "of Jesus".

Once Saved Always Saved?

My Testimony

Up until 2005, I considered myself a good Roman Catholic. I was born into the faith so to speak. I was baptized when I was a baby. I then received the sacrament of confirmation which perfects my baptism in my Christian faith at Grade 6. I received the sacrament of holy communion at Grade 2 which allowed me to partake of the transubstantiated body and blood of Christ shortly after I received the sacrament of penance or confession which was a prerequisite to holy communion. The way I remember I was brought up, my parents and my teachers (in catechism) didn’t spend a whole lot of time talking about soteriology (or the doctrine of salvation). The reason I believe is that from their perspective we have already received that gift when we got baptized at a young age. By the time I was an adult, I had become a practicing Catholic. That meant going to church on Sundays and receiving holy communion and getting penance for confessed sins. It had become my purpose to follow Lord Jesus. That was all I cared about because if I wasn’t following Jesus I was then sinning my way to hell. I always felt guilty for not being able to match up to Jesus’ standards. I cursed, I thought bad thoughts, I was proud, my life matched up Romans 1 (not point for point though). I was living a guilty life (let’s call this my pendulum swing to the left) and I’ve already forgotten that I’ve been forgiven. This because I’ve never heard of salvation again until 2005, when I heard a Christian preacher on the Sunday of an Amway business convention, no less, and he preached about repentance, about God’s love and His free gift of salvation. Like many people that day, I responded to the altar call, cried like a baby, “repented”, received Jesus, and got saved (from hell) and was born again. In 2006 we moved to Canada and I associated with the Baptist church that my wife's cousin went to and started going regularly to Bible study.
I wrapped the word “repented” earlier in double quotes, because my understanding of repentance was to outwardly turn away from my sins (which is the OT definition of repentance up to John the Baptist). I know I was saved – sometimes, not all the time. My thought was that if every time I sinned my salvation was at stake. Somehow, I had to pray hard to Saviour Jesus to save me. And so I went back to this endless cycle of thinking I am saved this time and not saved the next. Blessings come when I perform. Curses follow when I don’t. It wasn’t so much guilt that I was struggling with (like I did before 2005) but it was the mental and emotional fear of losing my salvation (let’s call this my pendulum swing to the right).
Now comes 2013, I came across a preaching about Law and Grace that I’ve never heard before. The preacher explained soteriology by polarizing Law on one side and Grace on the other and there’s no bridge between the two. He preached Paul’s complete gospel on repentance, atonement and resurrection – Saviour Jesus, Lord Jesus. This saved-by-Jesus and follow-Jesus events were not a two-step long process but IS an almost single event. In physical time maybe there’s a chronology to these events. But in spiritual time, they are one event. His preaching on repentance is inward repentance – the changing of the mind from self-occupation to Jesus-occupation (which is the NT definition of repentance).
And so I believe my pendulum is swinging less and less to the sides and becoming more centered now. I can rest on the reality that my salvation is 100% secure that Savior Jesus purchased for me on the cross and have the strength of his righteousness that Lord Jesus imputed in me when he rose from the dead. So now as a consequence, I am a Jesus follower and I have both these weapons in my armor.

Settling in the middle

My point to this testimony is to offer an opinion that I think that evangelical Christians who received Jesus (on the promise of once-saved always-saved) and then only to totally flake out from living the Christian life believing that they can just relax their way into heaven, just needs a jolt of true gospel electricity to jumpstart their faith again. And the same thing is needed for our guilt-laden non-evangelical brothers and sisters who insist that the grace of God must be earned by good works.
I am excited to see that many non-denominational Christian churches (the megachurches whose congregants are mostly younger people and couples) are moving away from the extreme left and right sides of the pendulum and instead are settling in the middle. At the same time, I am saddened by their persecution and dismissal from traditional and North American evangelical denominations as mere prosperity preachers. If you listen closely to their messages, they are not denying that Christians are going to suffer in this world. They are not saying that material prosperity is God’s promise alone. They are shouting that biblical prosperity is multi-layered and multi-dimensional and despite suffering and mortal death, Jesus promises an abundant life on earth (a life full of faith, hope, and love that leads to service to others) rather than abundant living (material wealth, health, and comfort that are self-serving).

The gospel of grace

These non-denominational churches’ halleluiah call to the gospel seems to be:

1. God loves you (and He does)
2. He saved you and made you right (and He did at the cross and at His resurrection)
3. He empowers you to be His image-bearer (through His Spirit) and
4. He delivers you from suffering, persecution, and death (because He is the first of the resurrected)
5. And the only true obedience is to this faith. 

And you know what? These churches are the ones proclaiming Jesus in underground communities in North Korea, Middle East, and China under the constant threat of death.

Preaching that One Can Lose Salvation versus Once Saved Always Saved

To me a doctrine that teaches that a believer can lose his/her salvation has the tendency in believers who are struggling in life to spiral deeper into guilt and depression for not being able to match up to Jesus’ standards. How can Jesus lead someone to kingdom living if there’s a hurt that needs to be healed first? Do we say, “too bad, you’re not like Jesus enough?”
Whereas, an always-saved doctrine that teaches that through the pains of suffering in a believer's life, produces a real hope and a resting peace beyond what the world offers and only Jesus can give. For no matter the circumstances from the very good to the very bad, someone can hang on to that salvation promise.
I propose, let’s not worry and judge about what people might do or won’t do with this divine assurance only that when it comes time to go through the fire of testing, this assurance of Jesus’ finished work of salvation will be wrapped around us so protectively that we’ll come out of the furnace un-singed like Shadrack, Meshach, and Abed-Nego when Nebuchadnezzar ordered them burned (Daniel 1-3).

My Take on the Once Saved Always Saved Doctrine

I find myself leaning towards the reformed arminian argument for conditional salvation based on faith in Jesus and not on sinning within a person's life. I mean the action of sinning does not risk a person's salvation. Surely, a person who's aware and consciously sinning has clearly abandoned his/her faith. This is very different from a person who's struggling with temptations that occasionally leads to sinning. The key word there is "struggling". In a sense wrestling with the faith. I'd like to think that there's biblical hope, which is a certainty, that a sincere believer who follows Jesus but is otherwise struggling with sinning has an iron-clad security with Jesus.

What does James have to say?

My pastor started a preaching series on the book of James. I used to believe that James was advocating works to attain God's grace. I was wrong. James' letter was addressed to Jewish Christians who were scattered throughout the Roman world. They were already Christians and had already received God's saving grace. James was merely giving them a jolt of electricity that their faith needed. James in essence wasn't preaching about salvation in his letter but rather he was preaching about what happens after one gets saved. James was talking to believers and not just to everybody in general.
Certainly, a dead religion isn't God's will for his Church here on earth who are already Kingdom citizens. He wants an active church who cares and loves people in practice and not just in thought. He wants a church who attracts sinners, who when are shown in physical terms what love really looks like, are then called to repentance and a renewal and by the grace of God bear fruit. The same way that the Word became flesh, our salvation through the power of the Spirit, must somehow translate and transform into the good works our God has willed on every believer. Hallelujah!

Reflection

Every Christian needs a dose of reminding that the relationship we have with Jesus isn't one that is stale or has gone stale. For sure, we think and feel sometimes in our own walk that nothing we want to do for Jesus gets done until it gets done. And so we must do something about it.
We don't want to stand in front of Jesus our Lord at the end and say to Him, "I hid your gift and didn't use it because I thought you meant to have it back at least in the original amount than for it to be returned zero." What would Jesus say to us then? Answer: Matthew 25:14-30

The Joy of the Finder

Luke 15 is an interesting chapter to me. It's a chapter in the gospel of Luke where the whole chapter exposes all members of the Trinity in similar parables.

In this chapter, Jesus gives three parables that have two main protagonists in each of them. One is the finder. The other is the lost. In each of the parables, the lost are allegories to either believers or the non-believers of the world. And the finder (Jesus, Holy Spirit, and the Father) in each of the parables expresses great joy upon finding the lost.

Let's explore each one.

In Luke 15: 3-7,
[3] So He spoke this parable to them, saying:
[4] “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?
[5] And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
[6] And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’
[7] I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.

Let's examine the context. Jesus just came out of an event that the Pharisees hosted on Sabbath night (Luke 14). I imagine Jesus after lecturing the people in attendance about what it takes to become a follower of His, hurriedly trying to leave because He just felt uncomfortable and out-of-place. Jesus must have just literally stepped out of the host Pharisee's estate and suddenly the sinners and the tax collectors who were there waiting by the gate drew near to Him. Jesus heard the Pharisees complain about Him being so accepting of sinners and associating with them. But then after breathing a sigh of relief from the suffocating atmosphere in the Pharisee's house and out in the open where the sinners and tax collectors were gathered, He then began to teach on the first parable in Luke 15 aiming it squarely on the do-gooders and simultaneosuly offering hope to the sinners who have teachable hearts.

The shepherd is a picture of Jesus himself. Notice how unconventional the shepherd is in this story just like Jesus. What shepherd abandons ninety nine sheep in the wilderness to look for a lost one? Allegorically, the wilderness represents where life itself happens to all people. It's representative of where we find the truth, where we encounter God, where God encounters us. It's where we find our struggles, our disappointments, our wanderings but where we also find happiness, pride, and accomplishment. The wilderness speaks of a place where anything could happen where the good mixes in with the bad.

In interpreting this parable, I used to think that one should identify with either the lost sheep or the ninety nine sheep left in the wilderness. After all, the traditional way this is taught in Bible studies is that the one lost sheep is a metaphor for a sinner who lost his God-given purpose in life. It is someone who lost his desire for God, a misguided free thinker, or a rebel without God's cause. He is the one who learned to hate God because the wilderness offered no solace from never ending feelings of hurt and disappointment. The lost sheep is also the believer who because of sickness, infirmity, and/or tragedy feels abandoned by God. And the ninety nine in the wilderness are the law-bound people who works hard to please a distant God. Do-gooders who are ethical, moral, and righteous but blind to the danger of relying solely in oneself. They are the proud ones whose accomplishments are displayed for everyone to see because they worked hard for their success and therefore, oblivious that their success had left them alone and without God. Don't we observe in people that God is sometimes nowhere to be found in their lives because they've become too self-reliant and blinded by their own self-made success that they don't have His presence anymore?

I do still believe in the symbolisms but after reflecting on this parable several times, I came to the conclusion that it isn't about trying to see which one of the sheep a person should identify with but the focus should be in the finder's joy in seeking and then finding the lost. Think about it, the ninety nine who were left in the wilderness were as much lost as the one really lost sheep. The moment the shepherd left the herd to find the lost sheep, the ninety nine in the wilderness had instantly become the lost ones because their shepherd was nowhere near them. So to me, the highlight of this parable isn't the sheep but the shepherd. Jesus gave Himself to the world without cost to us but with tremendous cost to Him. Everyone is lost without Jesus. So when one person repents, meaning, changes his or her mind (or renews his or her mind) from being self-centered to being Jesus-centered then His joy in heaven is overwhelming.

In Luke 15:8-10,
[8] “Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it?
[9] And when she has found it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost!’
[10] Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

In biblical typology, a woman represents the Church - the bride of Christ.  However, by tradition and in the Bible, we know that the Church is helped and guided by the Holy Spirit. So the woman in the parable is as much the Holy Spirit as it is the Church. In this parable, the woman looks for the lost coin that she lost. Sometimes, the Church can lose a believer by subjecting the believer with rules rather than love. Some Churches have gone back to teaching the Law as the way to holiness instead of Grace and Truth. The light from the lamp represents the Word (the Bible) which the Church through the Holy Spirit uses to help illuminate the path in the darkness and eventually recover the lost coin. And upon finding the lost coin she rejoices with her friends and neighbors. Again, let's reshift the focus on the finder. When the Holy Spirit finds a sinner who repents toward Jesus, "there is joy in the presence of the angels of God". And who is in the presence of the angels of God but God Himself?

Finally, in the story of the lost son in Luke 15:11-32, we find the Father's joy in reuniting with the son who lived a prodigal life. Here, Jesus exposes the extent of His Father's love, our heavenly Father's love to all and most especially the sinners. The father in the parable has joy over the return of his son who squandered a third of the family's riches on wild living and prostitutes. He has great favour bestowed on the one who thought of him as dead to ask for an early inheritance. The father, having recognized his son from a far ways off, ran to meet him to extend his loving reconciliation. This is a picture of the Father meeting us where we are in our lives. He accepts us in our current condition and works with us to turn us around.

The key verses are 7, 10, and 23-24. All verses point to the joy that God experiences over one sinner that repents. Sin is not so much about the act itself but its immediate effect of breaking a relationship. And so when the relationship is restored because the sinner changes mind toward the love of God, there is great joy indeed.

Discipled or saved?

I am reflecting on two doctrinal camps I find in the church today. One camp says, Jesus is my Lord, referring to believers who elevate discipleship at the expense of grace. This camp believes that good works prove, test, and build faith in Jesus. They view the Lord as Teacher. The other camp says, Jesus is my Saviour, referring to believers who emphasize the amazing grace of God and the faith that leads to good works. This camp believes in sonship over discipleship. They view the Lord as Savior.

Take up your cross and follow Me

Let's take a look at the Jesus is my Lord camp. In the synoptic gospels, there are a number of passages that talks about discipleship and the cost of discipleship. In Matthew 16:24, Mark 8:34, Luke 9:23, and Luke 14:26-27, Jesus emphatically says that you have to give up everything, even your own life, and to take up your cross to become His disciple. His language is the strongest in Luke 14:26 saying, "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple."
Let's put this in context. In the beginning of Luke 14, Jesus was a guest in a Sabbath meal hosted by one of the top leaders of the Pharisees. There were many guests at this dinner party. Seeing that there were guests who were in the best seats, He proceeded to tell a parable about the lowly places (Luke 14:7-14) and the parable of the great supper (Luke 14:15-24). Then beginning in verse 25, the great multitudes (referring to the guests at the Sabbath meal) were following Jesus to where He was going. Where? I can only deduce away from the house where the party was, to go outside. Jesus turned to the crowd who was after Him and told them how they can become His followers (and this is where we find the words in verse 26 above). You see, Jesus was addressing a different crowd and not the usual throng of sinners, the sick, and the outcasts. This crowd was the self-righteous bunch. They wore the same feather as the Pharisees who invited them to the dinner party. They were lawyers, physicians, scribes, and religious leaders. Being successful in their own right, conceivably they were interested to see the formula to Jesus' success. They wanted to know how to heal the sick, how to bring dead people back to life, how to cast out demons, and how to make the blind see, deaf hear, and mute speak. To them, discipleship means following Jesus so that they can learn how to do the miracles themselves.
Am I grasping if I said that these self-righteous people were by their very nature good-doers? They performed for merit and accomplishment. They relied on their own understanding and was interested in learning for their own sake. So, it is no wonder that they would be interested in learning what Jesus did and how He did things so they in turn could do it themselves. Possibly, they could even innovate and make Jesus' process more efficient. Jesus, inevitably would test their heart - their commitment by laying down his heaviest criteria.
A simple analogy I make is, let's say I am the greatest mountaineer on earth. I have followers who want to know what I know and what it takes to take on Mt. Everest. But I want to pick only the best. So I tell them that "if you want to follow me, you have to give up your family for one year to train and you could die in one of the practice mountains that culminates in taking on Mt. Everest. You have to pay for your own travelling, lodging, and other arrangements that could run upwards from $250,000. If you can commit to that then let's do it."
One more thing, when Jesus told His disciples, to take up his (own) cross, what would that have meant for them? The Greeks and Romans adopted the crucifixion from the Phoenicians as their form of capital punishment. It's reserved for the most guilty of criminals, inciters of rebellion, and thieves. Taking up the cross literally meant that you have had to acknowledge that you were guilty of a crime. Clearly, someone who didn't think they were guilty of anything much more a crime punishable by crucifixion would have already said no to Jesus' terms of discipleship.

Just a Disciple

The Greek word for disciple is mathētēs which means a pupil or learner. Is Jesus just a teacher we can learn from? Do I just want to learn from Him about how to live a good life? Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle had so many things to say about life and they are considered the fathers of western philosophy. Ancient China had its great teachers like Confucius and Laozi, the founder of Taoism. Ancient India produced some of the well-known teachers like Buddha, Mahavira founder of Jainism, and Patanjali founder of classical yoga.
In Matthew 7:12, Jesus said, "Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets." There were many texts in Ancient history in Greece, China, India, Egypt, and Persia that taught the same principle and was known as the Golden Rule. Jesus basically summarized the entire Law and the Prophets into the Golden Rule recognized by many ancient societies. Indeed, in Matthew 22:37-40, Jesus elaborated further, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets." The Babylonian Code of Hammurabi in Mesopotamia predates Mosaic Law by 300 years and it too has a version of the Golden Rule. What is my point in bringing up all these? My point is, when Jesus lived he had possibly hundreds if not thousands of disciples just like any teacher or prophet or philosopher during that time. Just like all teachers, Jesus was simply stating His criteria for accepting followers and stating the cost of discipleship (a tuition of sorts). Jesus did not accept money for tuition. He only accepted the only currency that no person can just give up without His grace, and that is one's own life.

Dire warning for not paying tuition

Jesus also issued a dire warning in Matthew 7:21-22, Matthew 25:11, Luke 6:46 saying, not everyone of those who says, "Lord, Lord" shall enter the kingdom of heaven. Clearly, Jesus knew that many of those who would follow him as disciples would flake out eventually. Jesus had many disciples in the beginning of His ministry. Luke records the 70 disciples that Jesus had at some point and those disciples were joyful that they could perform miracles just as Jesus did. In fact, Jesus told them not to enjoy their power but instead be joyful that their names are written in heaven. But in John's gospel (John 6:66), the Holy Spirit also recorded for us that many of the disciples left Jesus because they were offended that Jesus put restrictions on their discipleship. They couldn't understand that true discipleship involved faith, that in Him is life itself and that He is the Bread of life to be served up for all to eat (referring to the ordinance of communion). Jesus also hinted about the ascension and the coming of the Spirit (at Pentecost). These doctrines were very hard for them to understand. The last straw was that Jesus told them they couldn't understand all this on their own merits but can only come through the grace of God. We don't know for sure if the 70 were part of the bunch that left but it's a fact that many left Him.

From discipleship to apostleship

The word disciple was never again used after the book of Acts. Ananias, Tabitha, Timothy, Mnason of Cyprus, and other unnamed disciples from Caesarea were the last ones to be called disciples by the Holy Spirit. Paul, in his epistles, did not identify himself as a disciple but he referred to himself as an apostle of Jesus Christ. Peter, also called himself an apostle of Jesus Christ. The Greek word "apostolos" means a delegate, a messenger, one sent forth with orders (from Thayer's Greek Lexicon). There must be a reason the Holy Spirit never again used the word disciple to describe the followers of Jesus Christ after Acts.
In the Gospel accounts when Jesus was still living among them before His death on the cross, the Bible used the word apostle sparingly. Luke 6:13 mentions the transition from being just disciples to becoming apostles. Matthew 10:5-39 explains the difference. An apostle is a disciple who's been called out for a mission of proclaiming the kingdom of God. Verse 8, explains that as an apostle the twelve disciples have the mission of healing the sick, cleansing the lepers, raising the dead, and casting out demons. Verse 8 continues and Jesus reminded them, "Freely you have received, freely you give." In this context, it's understood and implied that the twelve had experienced the grace of God themselves (freely received) and because of it, they now have the power and authority to do those things that Jesus commanded them to do (freely give). The word "freely" in Greek is "dórean", which means gratuitously (literally or figuratively) -- without a cause, freely, for naught, in vain (from Strong's Concordance). Moreover, as the twelve disciples experienced grace after grace while they were with Jesus, they were able to approach Jesus' warnings of estrangement from family, persecution, and death from a position of strength from God and not from human weakness.
Paul says in his letter to the Romans that through Jesus "we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name." Romans 1:5
When Jesus carried His cross to Calvary, He was carrying our sins. When He hung on the cross and declared "Finished", He had finally paid in full all the requirements of the Law and exhausted all of God's judgment of our sins on His body. We are today called to believe that Jesus died for our sins so we may have eternal life. And when we believe that we have been saved, by the power of the Holy Spirit, we can truly say Jesus is Lord. We are not called to follow but rather to believe so that we can be led to our purpose in life. You see following Jesus involves too much of ourselves and less of Jesus. Jesus did not come to offer another religion. He came to liberate us from the bondage of the law. He came so that we may have life. It's true that even demons believe Jesus is Lord. But demons are not sons of the Father. They are not called to the obedience of the faith that Jesus is Saviour and so therefore they do not have the Spirit and furthermore, they can never be led to do any good work.

Jesus is my Saviour

After deep reflection I can say that I belong to the Jesus is my Saviour camp.  I believe in discipleship but I don't exalt it at the expense of grace. When I experienced the saving grace for the very first time, I reacted the same way Peter did at the boat when after witnessing the miracle of catching fish, Peter suddenly had a sense of his sins and Jesus' holiness that he shouted, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!" But the Lord did not depart, He saved me instead.

My confession

My sins have brought me to Jesus because I heard he could save me. And indeed I am not worthy to be in front of a holy and just God. But Jesus suffered for me, He died on the cross for me, and for my justification He rose up on the third day. I accept this truth and believe in the promise of eternal life. This is good news to me. I now come to a place of peace and love from Jesus that I allow myself to be vulnerable to His leading through the Spirit. Jesus your name is Yeshua, meaning "God saves". Today, I confess you are my saviour and my Lord. Amen.

Faith Healing

My heart grieves for the people who have been victimized by so-called faith healers. It's been reported many times in the 70s, 80s, and even today, that many purported faith healers had been basically stealing money from the sick enriching themselves. We hear of story after story of fake healers like Peter Popoff in the late 80s. Popoff tricked sick people into thinking he had God-given telepathic powers to know who they were in the audience and where they lived and other details. He gave such an impressive performance that enough people and advertisers believed in him and he generated millions for himself. This was later exposed as a fraud after learning that the "revelations" were sent by radio through an earpiece in his ear by his wife who relayed previously taken information from pre-interviews with the audience made prior to the faith healing extravaganza.
Sadly, this is not a unique case though. These fraudulent faith healings are present everywhere. You only have to turn on the TV and watch the late-night TV programs and infomercials and you'll see these people spreading their bait-and-hook modus operandi. It's amazing that innocent people still get victimized by these blatantly devious folks. If there's one thing to be learned about this is that it shows me that the world doesn't really know who Jesus is. I'm angry at these heartless fake healers who blaspheme Jesus and use his name to corrupt not just the world but the body of Christ - the church.

Quack, Quack

I am using the above observation as a prelude to what I want to share regarding my thoughts on faith healing. In all the synoptic gospels, meaning, Mark, Luke, and Matthew, there is the faith healing account of the woman who had a bleeding problem.
In Mark 5:25-34 NKJV, it says,

25 Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for twelve years, 26 and had suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse. 27 When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment. 28 For she said, “If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.”
29 Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction. 30 And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched My clothes?”
31 But His disciples said to Him, “You see the multitude thronging You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’”
32 And He looked around to see her who had done this thing. 33 But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth. 34 And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction.”

In Luke 8:43-49 NKJV,

43 Now a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any, 44 came from behind and touched the border of His garment. And immediately her flow of blood stopped.
45 And Jesus said, “Who touched Me?”
When all denied it, Peter and those with him said, “Master, the multitudes throng and press You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’”
46 But Jesus said, “Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me.” 47 Now when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before Him, she declared to Him in the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately.
48 And He said to her, “Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well. Go in peace.”

The gospel of Matthew has the shortest record of the event in Matthew 9:20-22 NKJV,

20 And suddenly, a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years came from behind and touched the hem of His garment. 21 For she said to herself, “If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well.” 22 But Jesus turned around, and when He saw her He said, “Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And the woman was made well from that hour.

My favorite is in Mark's account because it gives more dimension to the story. Let's analyze.
In verses 25-26, it describes the woman's condition. It is a bleeding disorder that's afflicted her for twelve years. If you've read Leviticus 15, you'll find out that this kind of condition during those ancient times, made her unclean - both from the stance of religion and basic hygiene. So, anyone she touched while having this condition also became unclean. So, it's not a stretch to imagine this woman had been shunned by family and friends. If she were married, her condition would've been grounds for divorce. It's also interesting to find out that the physicians during those times were not really the medical doctors we now know but rather they were "law" physicians. Meaning, they were rabbis who tried to heal her from medicines recorded in the Talmud. It's not hard to imagine that many of these law physicians were probably like Popoff who ripped her off of her money with a promise of healing. Why else did she not get healed? And for twelve years this woman who most likely had financial means went from one con artist to another only to spend all that she had and still did not get cured. So her affliction made her very poor and her attempt to seek cure from the "law" made her even more sick.

Faith Comes By Hearing

The succeeding verses 27-28, talks about her faith. My questions are, how did she develop her faith? And was her faith the same kind of faith we have now? The answer to the first is she must have been bombarded with information about the new rabbi in town. That the new rabbi, Jesus, healed many people. There's a song lyric that goes "grace like rain falls down on me". Similar to that analogy, the faith of the woman came like rain on her. Romans 10:17 talks about how "faith comes by hearing." I think this woman developed her faith after being told time and time again of Jesus' healing powers. And she believed this with all her heart. So, this woman must have just heard enough stories about Jesus (like rain falling on her) that her faith developed to the point that she must have drowned on that knowledge and became mentally and heartily convinced that even if she were to just touch Jesus' clothes she would be healed. This woman needed a healer and Jesus certainly healed her.
On the second question, personally, I didn't think there was anything wrong with the self-serving faith the woman had especially because the object of her faith was still Jesus Christ himself. After all I'm supposing the woman wasn't concerned about the kingdom of God that Jesus preached she just wanted to be healed. Also her faith action was quite different. What stood out for me was the simple fact that this woman got healed without Jesus first commanding her to be healed. Normally, the way Jesus exercised His healing power was by speaking commands. In this instance, because of the authenticity of the woman's faith she was able to actively pursue her healing without the benefit of Jesus' commands. She only touched Jesus' garment and she was healed. Perhaps this passage and the healing of the multitudes by touching Jesus' garment in Mark 6:56 gave reason for many denominations who believe that touching religious artifacts brought healing to them.
Also on the second question, remember that the power of the cross and his resurrection have not yet come to fruition. In context, faith in Jesus during the time he was living with the people involved only in believing that he has the power to heal and restore people to wholeness. Granted, Jesus also forgave sins and then healed people of their sicknesses but he also in the case of the multitudes just simply healed them on the basis of faith in his healing power not faith in the atoning of sins. Faith activated the healing grace that Jesus freely gave to everyone who asked for it. The faith we have now includes the cross and Jesus' atonement for our sins.

Honey, We Won the Lottery

Verse 29 describes her healing as immediate. The following verse tells us that Jesus felt power had left him and wanted to know who touched him. I love the sarcastic retort from the disciples asking Jesus, Really!?!? you want to know who touched you? Do you realize you are walking with a really large crowd? But Jesus really wanted to find out because he stopped and looked around. Of course, it is not to embarrass the woman but to bring glory to the Father.
In verse 33, the woman was fearful and trembling. In Luke's account, "she came trembling". In Mark, however, the phrasing is different and more telling, that it leads me to think that the woman wasn't afraid of what Jesus might do to her perhaps to scold at her for taking power from him. But it's the "fear and trembling" that you might experience after realizing that after twelve years of suffering you had just been cured. The closest I can imagine to this is that it's probably the same kind of frantic exuberance and tingling sensation that you might feel after learning you won the $50 million lottery and blurting out to your spouse that "Honey, we won the lottery!!!!!! Ahhhhhhyyyyyyaaaaaaayyyyyyyy!!!!" falling to the ground squirming with extreme joy.

Continued Healing Required

The last verse in 34, Jesus says, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction.” Wait a minute. She was already healed, wasn't she? Why would Jesus follow up with a command of "be healed of your affliction"? The words "be healed" is in the present active signifying the healing goes on. I suppose after seeing her squirm frantically with joy on the ground Jesus must have thought she was a little cuckoo in the head. Kidding aside, I do think that the physical healing immediately came. But true healing was continuously happening to the woman. Her affliction was her bleeding condition which was cured but that affliction must have caused her to suffer shame and humiliation which we know needs time to heal. Imagine being ostracized by family and society and then bilked by opportunists. So maybe she did suffer some form of mental anguish and thus required more healing from Jesus. I just wonder if this woman after her physical healing then started to follow Jesus and witnessed the cross and the resurrection. How wonderful  that would have been that she had been totally liberated from her anguish.

The Scandal of Grace

Was there ever an account in the gospels where a self-righteous person ever received healing? I don't think so. The truth of Jesus' saving grace was never on the side of the Law. "Lawful" thinking is believing wrongly both in the subject and the object of your belief. The refrain from a song by Hillsong called Scandal of Grace goes like this,

"Oh to be like You
Give all I have just to know You
Jesus, there's no one besides You
Forever the hope in my heart"

This best captures who your object of faith should be - Jesus Christ only. Indeed, the grace of Jesus is scandalous. Because as a Christian, you might be thinking that your performance is earning you favours from God. Or you might be thinking that you have to achieve holiness on your own so healing can be given.
The grace of Jesus Christ that Paul exposed so much in his ministry brought him accusations that he was giving people license to sin. On the contrary, he believed that law consciousness brought about more sin but where that happened grace exceeded much more. Come to think of it, that alone would have been easily perverted by some. That's why I also believe in the Holy Spirit's role as a helper to those who have received grace so they can truly understand this amazing gift.
The book of Romans summarizes Paul's rationale for teaching the scandal of grace that is, salvation from grace alone without an ounce of work through faith in Jesus and his finished work on the cross - the subject of our faith. Christian bible teachers who demand the law from the people while preaching grace is nullifying grace all together for the people. Paul explains that if obeying the law is all it takes to obtain the promise of eternal life then faith is voided (Romans 4).
Healing comes by grace through faith as much as salvation does. Faith turns into action much easily when you receive it with ears to hear. What I'm saying is, faith without works does not happen when grace is operating in your life. Works is a byproduct not the main ingredient of righteousness.

The Way I See Faith Healing

Let's not be the generation who seeks signs and miraculous wonders to anchor our faith in. Jesus sighs deeply when we do, just as he did in Mark 8:12 when the Pharisees insisted on seeking proof. Instead let's rest in the peace that Jesus can only give, and instead of seeking signs let's wait patiently for the Lord with the kind of hope in Psalm 40:1 AMP "I waited patiently and expectantly for the Lord; and He inclined to me and heard my cry."
And when the time of healing comes then we are more than ready to give glory to Him only, so that many who has ears let them hear and come to Christ. And if healing doesn't come at least in this world, then we can have the same peace that the woman in the story received from Jesus. And that's more important because if we can face the prospect of dying in the same manner that Jesus faced his death then we can truly say that we've been transformed. Of course, I hope you understand that you don't get to this point by your own sheer will power but by the power of the grace that you embraced through faith.
Again, as a true follower of Christ, we obey the basic truth that our faith is based on God's love for us not the other way around. When you put yourself under the Law, you cannot experience Grace.

My Prayer

Lord, I have friends and family who just received news they have cancer, who is experiencing extreme depression, who had sudden kidney failure and is waiting for a new kidney, and who is struggling with mobility. I myself still have the cough for three weeks now. We all have faith in you and your power to heal. Moreover, we live the faith that you died for our sins so that we can stand in front of a just God, righteous and blameless. You are the perfect lamb, the perfect sin offering. You received our sickness and ailments on the cross and we in return receive your health. Just as you are in heaven, so are we in this world. We thank you for your unceasing love for us. Abba, our Father, I pray all these things in the mighty name of Jesus your son. Amen.

His Way or the Highway

Last Sunday my pastor talked about "The Christian Perspective on Forgiveness". His sermon addressed the question of "does the Christian value of forgiveness bring about a peaceful society?" He concluded no, not necessarily so but as Christians we are called to live by His values. He added that as Christians we are citizens of heaven first. We follow Jesus' way of unmerited forgiveness and this may upset peace in the society. Listening to his sermon, I was struck by one passage that he used that spoke to me in real terms as I continue in my own life journey with Jesus.

I am going to reflect on one of the passages that my pastor used in his sermon.

"Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword."

Matthew 10:34

The Cost of Discipleship

The sword is symbolic of division. In Luke's account, the author phrased Jesus' statement in the positive interrogative saying, "Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at all, but rather division. - Luke 12:51" By phrasing it this way, it gives an impression that Jesus was issuing a stern challenge and an ominous warning to his followers. Jesus was implying that his Way was not going to be easy. Many of the remaining disciples and early church leaders of the Way died a martyr's death and/or imprisoned for rebellion. Some, according to the Bible and church traditions, were stoned and crucified even boiled in a cauldron of oil.
So does the message of grace, of underserved favour, of unmerited forgiveness, sit well with any society ancient or modern?

Radical Grace Divides

Grace and Truth is Jesus Christ. Jesus began his ministry by teaching in the synagogue the prophetic words of Isaiah. In Luke's account (Luke 4:18-19), Jesus read from the scroll,

“18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He has anointed Me
To preach the gospel to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set at liberty those who are oppressed;
19 To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”

then declared later on (in Luke 4:21) that "Today this Scripture is fulfilled". The "acceptable year of the Lord" is an expression that means the year of Jubilee. It's not a calendar year but a specific reference to the once every fifty years observance by the Jewish people for when the land rested, everyone returned to their family property, and slaves were freed. Reading back Isaiah's prophecy wasn't simply reciting a piece of Israel's history from when they were liberated from Babylonian exile, Jesus was in fact implicitly declaring to them their salvation from sin and liberation from all its consequences through him. 

He started an uproar and the people were so incensed at what he said later on (in Luke 4:25-27) about two examples of Gentiles receiving help from God (possibly insinuating that the blessings from Deuteronomy 28 will be bestowed to the non-covenant Gentile peoples rather than them who are the true sons of God). The people were so angry at that insinuation, which was a picture of radical grace, that they shoved Jesus to the edge of a hill ready to push him over the cliff. Of course, Jesus escaped that riot unharmed. But to the question, did Jesus come to bring peace? In this example, he caused quite a stir that brought out the wrath in people's hearts.

Sword Examples

As a Christian living here in Vancouver, am I also prepared for this kind of reception when I start sharing God's story of grace in the person of Jesus? The worst I could imagine is being dismissed and ridiculed. I remember an experience during one of our Church's outreach ministry to the homeless. We started to approach a homeless person who recognized us from a week before when we distributed a hot meal to two of his friends. My friend and I extended our hands to greet him when he hurriedly walked past us and angrily blurted out as he passed that he didn't accept anything from church folks. That experience was new to me but I've never personally witnessed anything worse than that. I acknowledge my experience pales in comparison to other Christians worldwide.
I occasionally sparred with officemates who are atheists (the ordinary kind not the intellectuals) who are just simply dismissive because in their mind they can't accept a powerful and seemingly loving God who allows suffering and strife in the world to continue. Honestly, I find it easier to argue with atheists than to talk about God's undeserved, unmerited, and unearned favour to fellow Christians who have fallen from grace (Galatians 5:4) because they stuck ardently to living rightly instead of believing rightly in the Grace and Truth of Jesus Christ.
Then to the question, does the message of grace, of underserved favour, of unmerited forgiveness, sit well with any society ancient or modern? In my opinion, the answer is a resounding no. The concept of grace isn't natural for all people Christian or otherwise. It is so unnatural that when you demonstrate grace today in public, you'll be mocked, labeled as an irrational fool, seen as pretentious, and worst of all even killed. Growing up I had uncles and aunts who worked as engineers and nurses in Saudi Arabia. I recalled them telling me that many times they risked their jobs and lives gathering together for Bible studies. If they were ever caught in the hallways of their apartments with a Bible they could be charged with proselytizing which was punishable by death. Many societies today in Asia and the Middle East are still like the ancient world where Christians are persecuted and killed for their faith.
In my own Bible study group, we had a visitor once who was personally struggling to understand why her son became a born-again Christian from Catholicism (or I should say folk Catholicism). She was convinced that her son was unduly influenced to break from her household because of the biblical passages in Matthew 10:35-37, which is a continuation of the passage above in my preface,

"35 For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; 36 and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’ 37 He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me."

Perhaps she was blinded by her own ignorance of the Word because she herself haven't read that passage before and was surprised to find out later that it was in the Bible and immediately attributed her son's estrangement to those very passages. She stuck around with us for a few succeeding sessions but eventually flaked out. In retrospect, we could have ministered to her much more about her own personal struggles on feeling abandoned by her son. I have faith though that a seed has been planted in her heart. I pray that her heart is good ground for God's word.

In Conclusion

Some fellow Christians tell me that being saved is not enough. Confessing Jesus is Lord is the next step in the Way, therefore discipleship is hard work.
However, it is by grace that I am saved through faith in Jesus who died for my sake that I may have life. His blood washed my sins clean and his resurrection made me righteous before a just God. He gave his life so that I may have life so abundant in grace.
His Way or the Highway? I agree that discipleship has a cost. But that cost was paid for and nailed to the cross. Then Jesus said, "It is finished." Sure, I expect to lose friends, perhaps invite enemies, experience hardships, and upset the peace from time to time. But by the grace of God, the only obedience that is required of me is the obedience to the faith not obedience to good works. I echo Paul's prayer below.

12 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength to do his work. He considered me trustworthy and appointed me to serve him, 13 even though I used to blaspheme the name of Christ. In my insolence, I persecuted his people. But God had mercy on me because I did it in ignorance and unbelief. 14 Oh, how generous and gracious our Lord was! He filled me with the faith and love that come from Christ Jesus.
15 This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I am the worst of them all. 16 But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will realize that they, too, can believe in him and receive eternal life. 17 All honor and glory to God forever and ever! He is the eternal King, the unseen one who never dies; he alone is God. Amen.
1 Timothy 1: 12-17 MSG

At the threshold of a new door opened by grace

Tonight, I finished my very first leading of a bible discussion group. I've done this at least once before but tonight was the very first time I felt the presence of the Holy Spirit. Praise Jesus! Hallelujah!

Our discussion focused on the topic of Law and Grace. What is Law? What is Grace? Are they two separate things or can they be mixed together. Are you a Jesus-centered Christian or a rule-based Christian? Yes, that's right - many who profess to be Christian can be of either types. When you obey the Law to make right with God then you are the latter. When you allow the Grace of God to lead you to the obedience of the faith in Jesus Christ and his finished work on the cross then you are the former.

I chose this topic because it's very close to my heart. Grace is not just a doctrine. Grace is literally Jesus Christ. The world did not deserve Him but He freely came so we may believe and have an eternity of the abundant life.

The transcript of my presentation is available here.

Proud and Mighty

The following is a personal reflection of a sermon about the sin of vanity.

On vanity

Much of what I see today, even in myself, is that we spend a lot of time in introspection. We charge ahead in life with a confidence in the knowledge that we are responsible for our success or failure. We internalize thoughts like "the answer to my problem lies within me. I have to examine my strengths and channel those out in the open. My weakness is an illusion. I create the circumstances of my own success. My destiny is my own."
The above new age thinking is now prevalent because it has the appearance and feeling of truth. Although truth in this new age context is relative, isn’t it? If it’s not my truth then it isn’t true. My truth is what I say it to be. My reality is my own.
Indeed pride is the root of all the other sins. The effect of pride on others is condemnation. A proud person condemns the people around him or her. We say, "I am superior" just so we can project an outside image of strength and leadership. Then there's the "I am inferior" to solicit attention and garner pity points. Vain thoughts are what keeps people from seeking help but pride is also what gives people a sense of entitlement.
Individualism is so rooted in our culture these days that it's not a leap to start self-worship when things are right and blame everyone else when things go wrong.
Pride hardens the heart indeed and causes us to become self-righteous.
I remember reading Exodus 19 when God was preparing to hand down the Ten Commandments, "[8] Then all the people answered together and said, "All that the LORD has spoken we will do." So Moses brought back the words of the people to the LORD." Exodus 19:8 NKJV.
That statement even before the commandments were given had a sense of fullness of pride as if they can DO all that is required. And so in Exodus 20, God gave the Law and so the ministry of death began, as Paul called the Ten Commandments in 2 Corinthians 3:7.

The antidote

The unmerited gift of our Lord Jesus Christ is the antidote to pride. When as believers we arm ourselves with this truth and claim the new promise revealed in Hebrews 8:12 then our hearts of stone are melted and we are set free. Jesus has paid for my sinful pride at the cross and His resurrection made me right with my Abba, Father.
Let's shift our mind to Jesus and be occupied with His thoughts. This is the true meaning of repentance. When we change our minds that changes our actions.

What it means for me to live in grace

It's not that simple

God's grace is a lot harder in the natural to comprehend. I know for sure that the knowledge that I have this unfettered access to everything that my God offers to the whole world also leads me to become egotistical and self-centered. Let me explain. I read a news story about dangerous speed racing on public access highways among teenage kids using their Lamborghini and Porsche sports cars. These kids were using their parent's cars for their own thrills - a very self-gratifying experience. Now, who is to blame for these kids' dangerous lifestyle? Some blame the kids for bragging too much. They want to be accepted by their peers so they abuse their parent's generosity and grace just to impress their friends. Some people blame the parents for raising entitled children who they allow to grow up without rules and tell them that they can do all they want. I don't know for sure who's to blame. I don't have the complete picture. I don't have the benefit of knowing the history of those kids and their parents. One thing I can be certain is that understanding the grace of God isn't just as easy as juxtaposing it in the example given above. God is not some irresponsible parent. And we the kids are not always trying to impress our peers. However, the parallel ideas establish for me a framework for understanding how grace is defined in proper context.

Living on faith

As a Christian, I live on the faith that Jesus came down to save the whole world from themselves. He came down to save me from myself. This is called the amazing grace. So that all who believe in him shall have eternal life. I live by faith on this promise everyday. So, my faith activates this promise that God so freely gave to me. This presupposes that if I don't believe in God and Jesus, the promise doesn't work. I am not going to explain about people who don't believe in God in this post. Frankly, not believing in God doesn't exclude someone from experiencing the effects of being separated from Him.

Now someone, who believes in God, might ask, "what is the benefit of eternal life?" My answer is, "Don't you want to live forever? And if you were to live forever, don't you want to be also forever young, forever healthy, forever successful in all that you do, and forever happy in every circumstance?" Well, I want that eternal life living healthy, successfully, and forever happy. I can jumpstart that process now by believing in Jesus and his amazing grace while I am still naturally alive. Everybody dies a natural death because of sin. I live in a broken world because of the sin committed by my first ancestor, Adam. After natural death, eternity continues on. So, if I am living crappily in my natural life what do I think my life will be in eternity? It will be hell for sure. Fortunately for me, my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, came down to earth 2000 years ago. He lived in the natural knowing no sin, doing no sin, and having no sin in his body. But he died an agonizing death on the cross and his body took every sin from every person who lived, who were living at the time, and who are going to be born. And when he said, "It is finished", he meant that sin no longer has a hold on me. He did the work, I reap the benefits. He was punished and killed and he was and is the only person in history to be killed as truly innocent. Then, when he rose again, he made us right with God and our godlessness is once and for all forgiven. Again, I emphasize that you can't have this perfect forgiveness without first believing in God and believing in Jesus' saving work.

Uhhmm... Uhhmm...

I know people who subscribe to the new age philosophy that basically says, "I live in harmony with the universe. The universe provides me with every tool that I need to be happy. This consciousness of myself lives within me and I have to free it up to reach my potential in life. I create my own destiny. My future belongs to me." It's sad to think that new age people are as blinded as the gnostics in ancient Palestine and the whole Greek world. These people think that the universe they worship is the true God and do not realize that the universe is only a creation and thus has no spiritual value whatsoever. I digress, but this life philosophy is prevalent in modern mysticism and the arts and entertainment world. It is an intoxicating idea that I can do everything myself. There's a morsel of truth here but it's not the complete truth. You see this new age thinking can lead me to think that "I, alone, am responsible for everything that happens in my life." Can you see how this philosophy can bring destruction to one's own being?

I am not buying the new age philosophy because

First of all, no one man can do everything by himself. Simple illustration: I am not a good singer if I am unable to convince another person that I am a good singer. In other words, I need that other person's confirmation that I am a good singer. But what if I already know that I'm not a good singer. Well, I can ask a good vocal coach to teach me how to sing. Did I then, do this alone? Granted, I took it upon myself to enlist someone's help. Technically, I still did it myself. So, the partial truth is, I can do things on my own. But the complete truth is, I still need someone else to validate my success. What does this tell me. It tells me that every joy and peace we experience in life, is not something that we can attribute to ourselves only but also to everyone who had a part in it. Joy, peace, love are relational and thus they are shared experiences.

Secondly, self-belief leads to a big ego. I don't know about everyone else, but I don't relish the idea of spending and sharing time with an egotistical person. No two egotists can co-exist in the same vicinity. They devour everything leaving out nothing for everyone.

Lastly, believing that I alone can do everything to make me happy, involves too much work. One universal truth I've learned is that the more work I put into achieving happiness, the more work that I have to do to keep it. Just think, if someone robs me of that happiness I worked so hard to achieve, I might end up in either of two places: in jail or in the asylum.

You can be with everybody but still feel lonely

Wikipedia defines loneliness like this, "Loneliness is a complex and usually unpleasant emotional response to isolation or lack of companionship. Loneliness typically includes anxious feelings about a lack of connectedness or communality with other beings, both in the present and extending into the future. As such, loneliness can be felt even when surrounded by other people." It's interesting that even when you surround yourself with all the happiest people you can find who can infect you with their zest for life, you can still feel lonely. Jesus' love and mercy, indeed his amazing grace can rescue you from that loneliness. You can feel his presence through his Word in the bible. You can experience his joy and peace in your mind when you read his salvation work throughout the bible.

Living in grace, for me, means that I am not alone in my loneliness. It is a mental state in which I can work while resting and then achieving so much. This, as opposed to working tirelessly just to maintain a fleeting moment of happiness. Living in grace also means that I live in gratitude for what Christ has done for me. There is an eternity beyond my natural life so I should live life with a purpose. A purpose to live by faith so that my faith can lead me to experience all the benefits of God's grace right now while I am still living physically. God's grace is a free gift of salvation from the effects of sin, that is, suffering, condemnation, and illnesses. And because I live in grace, I possess the antidote to death.

It's really that simple

In the beginning I said, "God's grace is a lot harder in the natural to comprehend." In conclusion, I say, "that grace is simpler to understand when we start believing that grace is His way to reach out to us and free us from the effects of a broken world thus, preparing us for the eternity that he promised."

A Lenten Reflection

This blog is a repost of an earlier one I made during the 2014 Lenten Season on 16 March 2014.

A Christian brother posted a series of questions on Facebook about LENTEN REFLECTION. The questions are: What is Matthew 17: 1-9, otherwise known as The Transfiguration all about? Why is it significant to us Christians?

Introduction

Let's look at the characters in the gospel account. We have Jesus, Peter, James, John, Moses, Elijah, and God the Father. Let's look at the objects mentioned such as the high mountain and the tabernacle. Let's examine the reaction of the disciples - their fear when they heard God's voice.

Peter, Peter, what were you thinking?

First, Moses and Elijah are from the old covenant. They were great servants of God. Moses symbolizes the Law and Elijah represents the Prophets. Jesus is Grace and Truth. Jesus represents the New Covenant. Jesus is life. So, when Peter says, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, let us make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” What is Peter essentially saying - that Jesus, Moses, and Elijah are on equal grounds?
So, God the Father immediately intervened and declared, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!” Those last two words "Hear Him" were very clear. Moses and Elijah do not have equal standing with Jesus. Christians today does what Peter tried to do. We are making Jesus the same as Moses and Elijah. In real life, this means that we often love only when conditions are attached. We care only after promises have been met. We criticize our friends to shame and claim to love them. Jesus is not on the same level as Moses and Elijah. Jesus is greater. So when the Father says to hear Jesus, in practical terms today, it means to love without conditions just as Jesus did for us.
It’s also interesting to see Peter, James, and John’s excellent symbolisms in this story. Peter comes from the Greek Petros meaning “stone” a symbol for the Law. James is derived from Jacob, which among other things, means “to supplant”. John is from the Hebrew Yochanan, "Yahweh is gracious", which in one word means grace. So, to complete the representations of the three in this gospel story, we can say that the “Law is supplanted by Grace”.
The superiority of Jesus’ message is of unconditional love that restores instead of condemns.

Other typologies in the story

Let’s look at the objects. We all know that Moses went up to Mt. Sinai to receive the 10 Commandments written on stone. It’s interesting that Jesus also went to a mountain (many say it’s Mt. Tabor) perhaps to reenact what Moses did but with the distinction that He was there to represent grace. And while we are on the subject of mountain typology, we all know that Jesus preached on mountains not to mention He also died on a mountain albeit a small one, a hill.
Then, there’s the tabernacles eagerly mentioned by Peter. We all know that the tabernacle is the mobile dwelling place of God. Peter, by now in this story, already knows that Jesus is the son of God. And yet, he suggests even to make three tabernacles. Again, with his characteristic quick wits equating Moses and Elijah to Jesus. Aren’t we like Peter many times always quick to speak without thinking? We behave like the grace of God comes with conditions apart from faith or with an attitude of self-righteousness for blessings to flow.

In conclusion

Lastly, let’s examine the reaction of the disciples after the Father spoke. Several bible translations say they were “greatly afraid”, “terrified”, and “scared to death”. Peter, James, and John knew what happened on the first Pentecost on Mt. Sinai. The people at the foot of the mountain were terrified of death on hearing God’s voice and would only listen to Moses. Just like Moses, Jesus went to the three and told them not to feel afraid. Upon further examination, at Mt. Sinai, Moses also told the people not to fear but the people stood away from the mountain. However, Jesus told the disciples “Arise…”, to stand up then said, “...do not be afraid.”
Remember also that the first Pentecost resulted in 3000 deaths (Exodus 32) but the second Pentecost resulted in life, that is, life in Christ (Acts 2) when 3000 became Christians. These accounts, to me, indicate that Jesus is about life not death.

To sum up, Matthew 17:1-9 is an illustration of Jesus' superiority, His authority, His Lordship over us. When we believe and follow Jesus, there is life. And where there is life, there is restoration.

A Prologue: "I Believe in Grace" Blog

Why the blog?

I am starting this new blog as an outlet for me to express the feelings and thoughts that I have about my new life in Christ Jesus. It is a journal of the revelations that I receive in my theology of the Christian faith. They are my opinions shaped by my heart, my mind, and my soul as I study the Word. It's a record of my journey towards discovering biblical truths for the first time or rediscovering long-held doctrines in a new light.

My testimony in a nutshell

I have always believed in God. I was born into that belief. I grew up believing that there is God up there looking after me when my parents were not around. And when they weren't around, I did sinful things. Many that I don't care to list here. But I believed that when I got into trouble, somehow, I wouldn't be able to get away with it. That I'd be found out and then get punished. During that time, spanking was an acceptable form of parental discipline. I got spanked a handful of times with bruises that hurt like a burn. Ironically, this persevering thought of God watching over me may have been the reason why I stayed out of trouble during elementary and all the way through high school. I was afraid of getting punished.
In university, I avoided the campus Christian proselytizers. They were the ones actively recruiting Catholics to become born-again Christians by asking "When you die tonight, do you know where you are going?" I remember thinking that my prejudice towards them were shaped by the common fear among largely Catholic folks that they weren't teaching the real faith. They were armed with bible verses to discredit Mary, the Saints, and the rituals of the Church that have been the common thread holding the fabric of our culture.
In retrospect, I could have spent time with them and learned more about this "born-again" thing. It could have brought me sooner to the realization of the amazing grace of God in my life. All through university and in fact throughout my early career, I avoided such encounters. I recall a conversation between a lady coworker of mine about her similar encounter with Baptist folks. I recall her reaction as somehow being repulsed by their invitation to attend church with them. I wondered then what turned her off so much as to be blinded by their message. I think it was the misguided association of the word "Baptist" to fundamentalist and militant Christians showing off their hypocrisy and hatred toward other people who were different. Of course, now I know that the fundamentalists are just cult members whose leaders pervert bible doctrines to serve their own self interests.

It's all about...

I received Jesus as my Lord and Savior at a non-denominational Sunday service offered at a business conference that I attended with my wife. I don't recall much about the sermon but when the pastor started asking people to come to the front and close their eyes and bow their heads, I just went. I prayed the sinner's prayer. Then what happened next was totally uncharacteristic of me. I cried inconsolably like someone I love had died in front of me. I realize it was my old self that died. A few weeks after that experience, I lived like I was God's only child. I started focusing on living for Him not wanting to disappoint Him and losing His precious gift. I shed my practice of touching blessed artifacts for blessings and healings. I discontinued reciting the rosary and the litanies. I gathered all my statues and amulets and gave them all away. I still attended a Catholic church just to hear the sermons and to receive communion. Gradually, I ended up attending a Baptist church. I loved the praise and worship in the beginning of each Sunday service. They evoked in me the feeling of connectedness to God. I started reading the Bible and attending bible studies to deepen my knowledge of the Bible and Jesus Christ. Somehow though, I still felt that I could lose my salvation gift. I started focusing on what I can do to maintain my standing with God. In other words, I lived a very religious life that was based on a checklist of items to do. I was angry at myself or blamed others for coming late during services and missing praise and worship. I was guilted to doing charity and giving money to tithes. When there was an opportunity to share my testimony, I felt that I didn't deserve the privilege. I became convinced that my blessings come and go depending on how much I got obeying the commandments. Good luck meant I did good. Bad luck meant I did or missed something in my practice of holiness. Worse, when I or someone in my family got sick or died (such as my mom dying from cancer), I blamed myself and thought my past sins have caught up to me.

... the heart

Then I met a Christ-centered, bible-based, grace teaching pastor. It's a one way meeting actually. I simply listened and watched his broadcast sermons and podcasts because you see, he is a TV pastor. He is quite unique among the many TV pastors that have come and gone on television. It's very easy at first glance to dismiss him as one of the snake oil ministries or the apocalyptic messengers or even the money for faith healers that have plagued televangelism throughout the last 30 to 40 years. But he's not like any other. In fact, he is a pastor of a megachurch in Singapore and his sermons are edited and broadcast on TV in 20-minute episodes. His grace teaching is to clearly separate and expose the difference between the Law on side and Grace and Truth on another side. Needless to say, he became influential in my spiritual revival. His teachings appealed to my heart.
Following his advice, I started reading the bible through the lens of Jesus' finished work on the cross. He discouraged literalism in bible interpretation especially of the old testament and encouraged people to always read the bible in context. Read the previous verse or chapter, then read the succeeding verse or chapter. Consider the history of the time period it was written, the author, and the audience and get to know the original Greek and Hebrew texts. Through his teachings, I became more immersed in my bible reading and I felt the real presence of the Holy Spirit guiding me in my studies. I began to see the real amazing grace found in the person of Jesus Christ.

... the mind

Then, at the beginning of this year, influenced by a cousin-in-law, I found a pastor who is an excellent communicator and a great expositor of Jesus. I auditioned his sermons on the church website before deciding to listen to his Christ-focused messages during Sunday services. Presently, I regularly attend the Baptist church where he is the senior pastor. His method of teaching is to present contrasts and extremes in Christian living and then bring Jesus into the equation. I sense his passionate disdain for "religious" living often criticizing the self-righteous behavior of some so-called followers of Christ (who may be attending the church, yikes!) He is an intellectual, an avid reader, a Church historian. We've been exchanging emails and he's been gracious enough to answer my many questions about the faith we share in Jesus. I developed an appreciation of the rich history of the Church (and its many characters from Acts to modern times) and started incorporating this in my theology. This pastor's teachings appealed to my mind.

... the soul

Lately, as I advanced in my personal theology of the grace of God through his Son, opportunities to share my testimony have begun to come to me in every direction. My wife and daughter are the immediate beneficiaries. I think that I've changed for the better for them because of the revelations of Jesus Christ in my own studies.
I began ministering to my father and two sisters and every chance I get when I talk to them over the phone or on Facebook, I tell them about God's love and his gift of Jesus.
I am now more engaged in bible studies and fellowship ministries with my brothers and sisters in Christ and I share my faith with colleagues in the office. I'd like to say that my own study of the bible appealed to my soul.

Start the blog!

And now, I am starting this blog. My goal is to expose my thoughts on this grace that I found in Jesus and to share my testimony to as many people as possible who are willing to be impacted by the grace that is Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior.