|
A Man Is Not Justified By the Works of the Law But by Faith
in The Gospel of The Water and the Spirit
< Galatians 2:11-21 >
“Now when Peter had come to Antioch, I withstood
him to his face, because he was to be blamed; for before certain
men came from James, he would eat with the Gentiles; but when they
came, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing those who were
of the circumcision. And the rest of the Jews also played the hypocrite
with him, so that even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy.
But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth
of the gospel, I said to Peter before them all, ‘If you, being a
Jew, live in the manner of Gentiles and not as the Jews, why do
you compel Gentiles to live as Jews? We who are Jews by nature,
and not sinners of the Gentiles, knowing that a man is not justified
by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have
believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in
Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the
law no flesh shall be justified. But if, while we seek to be justified
by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is Christ therefore
a minister of sin? Certainly not! For if I build again those things
which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. For I through the
law died to the law that I might live to God. I have been crucified
with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me;
and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the
Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. I do not set aside
the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then
Christ died in vain.’”
Our Faith
We just published the second sermon book on 1 John.
I believe that many people have returned to God after realizing
the Truth revealed through God’s Word in 1 John. I pray that God
will grant the blessings of salvation from all their sins to all
those who seek the gospel Word of the water and the Spirit.
These days some Christians have misunderstood some
verses in 1 John. And they do not know that believing in Jesus exactly
means believing in the gospel Word of the water and the Spirit.
I have the duty to explain God’s will, which lies in the gospel
of the water and the Spirit, to every person.
These days there are many among Christians who have
legalistic faith of the Law. Such legalistic believers are relying
on the Word in 1 John 1:8-10 to justify their erroneous ways of
faith. For this reason, I wanted to explain true gospel by making
the Word of Truth revealed in 1 John most simple to comprehend.
If many people within the Christian community were to realize the
secrets of the Lord-given gospel of the water and the Spirit, they
would not be captivated by the false doctrines any more. In this
sermon book, I am trying to explain the Word in 1 John within the
gospel Word of the water and the Spirit. Henceforth, I have the
conviction that many more readers of the book would come to believe
in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
It is impossible to understand the Word in 1 John
without first understanding and believing in the gospel Word of
the water and the Spirit. Yet, many people these days are still
confused in their legalistic faith because they try to understand
1 John without first knowing the gospel Truth of the water and the
Spirit. This is why I am trying to tell you once more about Truth
of the water and the Spirit.
All the Word in the Bible is aimed to solve the problem
of all the sins of every person. If you were to paid attention to
the gospel of the water and the Spirit, you would come to realize
that you have been a grave sinner and that you have become righteous
by this Truth of salvation. Thus, if we fail to realize the Truth
of salvation revealed in the gospel of the water and the Spirit,
we would perish for eternity. These days, not a few Christians are
born again and become sinless by their faith in the gospel of the
water and the Spirit revealed in the Word of God.
However, still many people fail to realize the gospel
of the water and the Spirit correctly despite the urgent need to
do so. Put differently, Christians are leading foolish lives of
faith right now without knowing the gospel Word of the water and
the Spirit, which in the only Truth of salvation. Thus, because
many who believe in Jesus have vague ideas about the gospel of the
water and the Spirit, there are even more misunderstandings about
God within the so-called gospel they believe in. Even in today’s
Scripture passage in Galatians, it is impossible for us to comprehend
the meanings of the Word unless we have correct faith in the gospel
of the water and the Spirit. If we can understand correctly about
the gospel of the water and the Spirit as witnessed by Paul through
these passages, we would be able to end our legalistic lives of
faith. Now, many people have to realize the secrets hidden in the
gospel of the water and the Spirit and be transformed in their hearts
towards truthful and right faith in order to receive abundant blessings
of God within this true gospel.
Right now you and I are very much delighted to do
the works of God after receiving the remission of sin through our
faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Thus, we have to
be evermore grateful for this gospel Truth. The reason we have to
pray for the servants of God more than ever before is so that they
can spread the gospel of the water and the Spirit throughout the
whole world. In order to carry out the works of God, we need to
ask God for His help by ardent prayers. It is certain that we who
believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit are doing blessed
works before God. We can say that we have become happy in the gospel
of the water and the Spirit.
We have read today Galatians 2:11-21. We can see Paul
rebuked Peter for his hypocrisy when Peter had come to Antioch.
That is, when certain men came from James, Peter ran away from a
dinner with the Gentiles. After having seen this pretense, the Apostle
Paul exhorted Peter with the following words; “How can you put the
yoke of the Law on the Gentiles when you, a Jew, cannot keep the
Law yourself?”
The blame Paul gave Peter for his hypocrisy was a
great gain for the spreading of the gospel. That is because our
salvation from all our sins does not come from righteous deeds of
the Law but by believing in the gospel Word of the water and the
Spirit. In fact, Christians can receive salvation from all their
sins once for all by believing in the gospel of the water and the
Spirit. But they have not been able because they had already believed
in false gospels. Thus, it is very wrong for them to lead their
spiritual lives outside of the faith in the gospel of the water
and the Spirit. If we were to play the hypocrite in our lives of
faith, we would lead many of our followers into hypocritical faith.
The same result was expected to the believers of those days when
Peter played such hypocrisy. In fact, the false pretenses of the
predecessor are passed on to the successors.
The Apostle Paul said, “I was not sent to deliver
the gospel to the Jews but to the Gentiles.” That is, Paul was a
gospel preacher to the Gentiles. God separated Peter and Paul, one
from another, and sent them as missionaries to the Jews and the
Gentiles respectively. Then, if Paul was sent to deliver the gospel
of the water and the Spirit to the Gentiles, he had more reasons
to overthrow their legalistic faith. As the Apostle to the Gentiles,
Paul could not help but rebuke Peter for his hypocritical faith.
Paul did so because he recognized how much obstacles would be created
in the spreading of the gospel among the Gentile believers owing
to Peter’s hypocrisy. If Peter were to add the works of the Law
on top of faith in Jesus Christ who came by the gospel of the water
and the Spirit, the Truth of salvation by which our Lord delivered
us from all our sins would no longer be able to shine its light
of salvation. What I am saying is how could the Gentiles receive
the salvation from all their sins by believing in the gospel of
the water and the Spirit if all of us make them believe in the other
gospel by playing hypocrisy in our lives of faith?
All of humanity is able to receive salvation from
all sins by the faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit,
which Jesus Christ has given us. Otherwise, we cannot receive salvation
from all our sins. No one can eliminate his sins by trying to obey
the Law of God. On the contrary, such legalistic faith only increases
sins in the hearts of those who are not yet born again. Our faith
is in the fact that all of our sins were expunged once for all when
we believed in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, which Jesus
Christ has given us. We are made righteous only after we receive
our salvation from all our sins by knowing and believing in the
gospel of the water and the Spirit.
The Apostle Paul is telling us what faith in Jesus
Christ enables us to attain true salvation. Now we remember that
in order to blot out all our sins, God has given us His Law so that
we may realize our sins and that the same God has granted us simultaneously
both true and eternal salvation through the gospel Word of the water
and the Spirit. Thus, every Christian must once for all receive
salvation from all his sins by believing in the gospel of the water
and the Spirit now. It is clear that we can become the children
of God only by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
We must witness this Truth throughout the world to reveal the Truth
of salvation.
What Is the Road to Salvation
from All Our Sins?
The Truth that brings salvation into our hearts is
nothing but our faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
There has been an argument about whether the chicken or the egg
came first. If someone insists that the egg came first, then the
other might raise an objection against it saying, “Okay, then, how
could the egg come to exist without a chicken?” But, all controversies
were to be terminated when we shed the light of the truth in God’s
Word. When God created the world, birds came into being as God said
“let there be birds,” just as the numerous fish in the water came
into being. So, the final and concrete answer to this controversy
is the chicken. Since God has created a full chicken from the beginning,
chicken came before the egg.
As such, our Lord did not deliver us from all our
sins and granted us our salvation owing to our human efforts but
only by our faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. That
is, to speak precisely, if we wonder whether our salvation from
all our sins came by our deeds or by the faith in the gospel of
the water and the Spirit, it was possible only by the faith in this
true gospel. It is clear that the remission of all our sins is not
by our fleshly deeds but only by our faith in the gospel of the
water and the Spirit.
Thus, it is very wrong to say that all of us must
offer prayers of repentance in order to rectify or strengthen our
faith. And it is also a wrong idea that we have to sanctify ourselves
on our own to be saved from all our sins. People are not delivered
from all their sins by their virtuous deeds. Strictly speaking,
every one’s sins can be blotted when the person believes in Jesus
Christ who has received the baptism and shed His blood to atone
all the sins of the world. The true remission of all our sins lies
in believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, through
which God unilaterally blotted out all our sins once for all. From
the human side, all we have to do to receive our salvation is to
believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, which Jesus Christ
has given us.
Fallacy of the Doctrine of
Repentance
Whether salvation is achieved through deeds or faith
has been an ongoing controversy in Christianity. This subject needs
to be answered by explicating the Truth of salvation that lies in
the gospel of the water and the Spirit. There could be no other
answer.
Still, even to these days, there are people who believe
only in the blood of the Cross say that they have to wash away all
of their sins daily with their legalistic faith of the Law. However,
if you read the Word of the Bible, you will soon come to realize
that the gospel of the water and the Spirit has already washed away
all our sins completely. The Bible does not talk only about the
blood of the Cross in relation to the Truth of the salvation, but
rather deepen our understanding of the remission of sin by emphasizing
the baptism Jesus received from John the Baptist.
The Bible places its importance on whether we believe
in the gospel of the water and the Spirit right now. The Lord asks
us in earnest whether or not we now believe in the gospel of the
water and the Spirit. We are creatures that need to believe that
Jesus the Son of God came to this world just like the sacrifices
of the Old Testament and received the baptism from John the Baptist,
which transferred all the sins of the world onto Him. We also need
to believe that He died on the Cross and resurrected from the dead.
We need to know the gospel Truth of the water and
the Spirit. However, many Christians today believe only in crucified
Jesus because they do not know the gospel Truth of the water and
the Spirit. To us, it is evident that Jesus Christ is the Son of
God. Thus, following the sacrificial law of the Old Testament, He
came to this world in the flesh of man and received the baptism
from John the Baptist to take all the sins of the entire humanity
once for all. According to the same statutes of sacrifice, He shed
His blood on the Cross. By resurrecting from the dead, Jesus has
become the Savior of those who believe in Him. Dear fellow believers,
you need to know how much emphasis the Bible puts on the gospel
of the water and the Spirit and believe in it.
However, those who are of legalistic faith say that
they have attained salvation only by the blood Jesus shed on the
Cross without believing in the baptism Jesus received from John
the Baptist. They have mistakenly believed that they received salvation
by believing only in the blood of the Cross without believing in
the gospel of the water and the Spirit, which Jesus told Nicodemus
about. We can excuse those who do not know Jesus because of their
ignorance, but Christians who believe Jesus to be their Savior need
to know and believe not only in the blood of the Cross but also
the baptism that He received from John the Baptist. Isn’t it right?
Nowadays, many profess their faith saying, “Jesus
is my Savior.” However, all these people who believe and follow
Jesus as their Savior believe only in the blood of the Cross. The
problem lies in the fact that most Christians believe in Jesus without
knowing correctly that He received the baptism from John the Baptist,
shed His blood on the Cross, died and resurrected from the dead
so that we may have our salvation. They have added their legalistic
faith to their faith in Jesus. Furthermore, they have added the
doctrine of repentance and the doctrine of sanctification as well.
Yet, because it is impossible to find the road to
Heaven with their legalistic faith of the Law, many people are perpetually
lost in their sins. They should find the road to Heaven in the gospel
of the water and the Spirit by faith. Since they only know Jesus’
blood on the Cross, they still have the sins in their hearts, which
prevents them from going into Heaven, due to their disbelief in
the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
Aren’t there great multitudes of people who say that
all their sins were washed away by Jesus’ blood of the Cross alone?
Then how could God acknowledge their faith? When they first believed
in Jesus, their hearts felt at ease. However, as time passes by
they reach a faith that is bound by their own deeds. Thus, although
they believe in Jesus as their Savior, they also think and believe
that Christians need to offer fervent prayers of repentance and
go through the process of sanctification.
But, what we need to know is that no matter how many
prayers of repentance we offer, we are not made sinless in that
way. With such a faith we cannot but remain sinners. Thus, they
come to the conclusion that they have to sanctify themselves everyday
by living virtuous lives. However, no one can sanctify oneself on
one’s own. People think their sanctification to be possible on their
own because they do not believe in the gospel of the water and the
Spirit. But it is just a superstitious thought that originated from
their emotion. Instead of relying on the gospel Truth of the water
and the Spirit, these people expect themselves to be sanctified
as time passes by. To believe that a person would gradually commit
less sin and become holy in one’s heart and body until one day they
are fully sanctified without any sin of their own is a highly superstitious
faith.
Believers in the doctrine of sanctification are saying
that they would be transformed into sanctified individuals with
the passing of time. Yet, this is merely a human wish. Where in
this doctrine can you find the gospel of the water and the Spirit
by which we can be made born again? It is utterly impossible for
one to receive salvation by becoming a perfect human being who does
not commit sin out of one’s fundamentally sinful nature. The doctrine
of sanctification, that today’s Christianity advocates, is a very
wrong faith and doctrine.
In fact, the reality is that people become even more
imperfect as they age rather than being sanctified. It is said that
a human walks on four limbs at first, then on two when he is in
his youth, and ultimately on three at his advanced age. As such,
every human being is an imperfect being. Just looking around our
lives, we can see many old people that devote themselves to the
basic instincts of their flesh just like a young child.
We can see that people become less and less competent
as they age. One’s temper grows more impatient as one grows older.
Adults over 50 years of age tend to show worse temperament than
their younger days. That is because people cannot overcome the weakness
of their flesh. This weakness is the reality of our existence. People
who advocate the doctrine of sanctification insist that we would
be able to learn not to be angry if we train ourselves enough to
suppress our anger in our hearts, but that is far from reality.
The body of a person follows the principle of physics in the flesh.
If a person has the power to restrain, then he would also be able
to restrain his anger. On the other hand, if he doesn’t, his anger
would be released. Thus, if a person gets older and loses one’s
self-control, the person is prone to get angry on the slightest
provocation. When you make an uncontrollable mistake while living
faithfully, that is because you have lost your self-control owing
to the exhaustion of your energy.
Because we have been delivered from all our sins by
believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, we have to
live our lives faithfully on the Lord’s side with that faith. We
gratefully and voluntarily serve our Lord because we believe that
our Lord has blotted out all our sins with the gospel of the water
and the Spirit.
Are we following our Lord in order that our hearts
would be sanctified to perfection? That is not the true faith. It
is not God’s will that we live our lives according to the Law of
God. God is telling us that we just need to believe in the gospel
of the water and the Spirit in order to be delivered from all our
sins. Of course, we should not forget that we often fall into our
weakness because our flesh is imperfect. However, because all of
our sins were blotted out once for all from God’s side by the gospel
Truth of the water and the Spirit, those who truly believe are completely
sinless. Because we were delivered from all our sins by our faith
in this true gospel, all the sins we commit daily before God are
also washed completely by our faith. Now, we must live by the faith
in the gospel of the water and the Spirit and give thanks to God.
We must recall our Lord who eliminated all our sins by ruminating
the gospel of the water and the Spirit once again.
Now, we must give thanks to God with our faith. When
we confess rightly before God about the deficiencies in our flesh,
we come to plainly experience that our Lord has blotted out all
our sins that we have committed due to our insufficiencies. A truthful
confession before God comes from one’s belief that our Lord has
delivered such deficient beings as us from all our sins by the gospel
of the water and the Spirit. Now when you and I look again up and
down the gospel of the water and the Spirit and confess our sins
before God, we gain great comfort and peace in our hearts with the
realization that our Lord has blotted out all our sins by this gospel
Truth. Then, we are able to live before our Lord still sinless and
full of thanksgiving. Although we are lacking in our flesh, because
we still believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, we can
do righteous works before God.
We believe that the gospel of the water and the Spirit
out of the might of God is of the remission of all our sins. We
also believe that our faith in this gospel is not from our human
efforts or deeds. Finally, we believe that our efforts and deeds
add nothing to the matter of our salvation.
The Apostle Paul Said That
He Could not Abandon the True Faith
Thus, the Apostle Paul said in Galatians 2:17-20,
“But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves
also are found sinners, is Christ therefore a minister of sin? Certainly
not! For if I build again those things which I destroyed, I made
myself a transgressor. For I through the law died to the law that
I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; it is no
longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I
now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved
me and gave Himself for me.”
Like this, the reason you and I believe in the gospel
of the water and the Spirit, which Jesus has given us, is to receive
our salvation from all our sins and become sinless people. We believe
that Jesus Christ has blotted out all our sins by the gospel of
the water and the Spirit. Despite of the fact that we believe in
Jesus to become sinless, if we were still sinners after believing
in Jesus, are we supposed to say that Jesus Christ is therefore
a minister of sin? Certainly not! Jesus Christ has delivered us
from all our sins once for all by the gospel of the water and the
Spirit. Jesus Christ does not make you and me into sinners but rather
He is our Savior who makes us sinless.
Jesus Christ is our Savior as well as our God. It
is evident that Jesus Christ is our Savior who has expunged all
our sins and that we have received the remission of all our sins
when we believed Jesus Christ to be our Savior. Then what would
happen if sin enters our hearts again after we have believed in
Jesus Christ and we try to solve this problem of sin by trying to
live according to the Law in order to become sinless? Just as the
Apostle Peter played hypocrisy before Paul, it would be erroneous
faith before God if believers in Jesus tried to become righteous
by keeping the Law of God. Addressing this very issue, the Apostle
Paul said that if he had done so, he would have made himself a transgressor.
To play hypocrisy and lead a legalistic life of faith by the Law
makes oneself into a transgressor.
We should pay attention to how greatly the Apostle
Paul reproached Peter for his wrongdoing. “How could you tell the
Gentiles to keep the entire Law, when you, even a Jew, cannot keep
all of them? Then, how grave wrongdoing is it for you to lay such
emphasis on keeping the Law?” What Paul was saying here is that
Peter and his followers had committed horrible transgressions before
God. So, Paul was saying, “As a result, you have rejected the just
love of God by not believing in the God-given gospel Truth of the
water and the Spirit; if you keep on playing hypocrisy, you would
not be able to be delivered from all your sins.”
The gospel of the water and the Spirit is the gift
of salvation that delivers every sinner from all their sins by revealing
the righteousness of God. To spread one’s own faith by playing hypocrisy
would be not only a terrible wrongdoing but also a rebellion against
the true gospel of the water and the Spirit. We must know this fact.
That is, playing hypocrisy out of one’s legalistic faith is terribly
wrong that stands against God, who loves us unconditionally with
the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
If we apply the Apostle Paul’s faith to the legalists,
it implies that their faith is wrong. That there are so many people
of the legalistic faith within the Christian community is a big
problem. What I am saying is that it is a bad thing. If we believed
in Jesus as our Savior to become sinless people but rather became
even more sinful after believing in Jesus, such faith must be terribly
wrong. Ordinarily, Christians have legalistic faith, and as a result,
they have become worse sinners after knowing Jesus Christ because
they have not been able to keep the Law. Still, they think that
they have received the salvation from all their sins. After all,
they come to rely on the doctrine of repentance and the doctrine
of sanctification with hoping that Jesus would have mercy on them
because they try hard to keep the Law of God somehow.
Is Jesus a creature? Jesus is God. God in His justice
judges the sins of those who do not believe in the gospel of the
water and the Spirit with fire, but He presents the reward of eternal
life to the believers. For that reason, we must recognize that keeping
the Law of God well cannot sanctify us. Such doctrines directly
oppose the faith in the God-given gospel of the water and the Spirit.
Such faith is in vain. Only those who believe in the gospel of the
water and the Spirit are delivered from all of their sins.
Since we were unable to keep the Law of God, our Lord
sacrificed His own body as propitiation to the Father—receiving
the baptism from John the Baptist and shedding His blood of the
Cross—and accomplished the perfect love of salvation. In spite
of this, if there are still people who do not know the gospel of
the water and the Spirit and try to be delivered from all their
sins by keeping the Law well, they should turn around from their
evil ways and believe in this true gospel. If there are still those
who have fallen into the doctrine of sanctification, they should
come to realize that they are committing a sin by opposing directly
the God-given gospel of the water and the Spirit. We should not
commit the sin of opposing the Lord-given salvation before God.
Now, Paul speaks of the gist of his faith by declaring
the famous passage of Galatians 2:20. Every Christian should comprehend
this passage. If we look at Galatians 2:19, it says, “For I through
the law died to the law that I might live to God.” The Apostle
Paul said that he died to the Law because of the strictness of God’s
Law. When he reflected himself on the Law standing in front of God,
he found out that the Law was speaking about his sinfulness. Because
the righteous law of God says, “The wage of sin is death,” we cannot
but become sinners and we are unable to escape God’s judgment. The
Apostle Paul is telling us that we deserve death even if we only
have the slightest hint of sin in us and have broken only a single
rule from the Law of God. We must admit the strictness of the Law
of God, and we should become those who have been put to death by
the same Law.
Ordinary Christians do not admit the strictness of
the Law of God and consider themselves sinners out of their own
standards. Such perspective is fundamentally very wrong. One does
not go to hell or become a sinner due to one’s own standards. God
has given us His Law and those who break that Law become transgressors
who have committed sins before God. Those transgressors have to
be judged and receive the judgments according to the just Law of
God. That is the very law of God that states that the wage of sin
is death. But the gift of God is the eternal life in Jesus Christ.
The believers of the gospel of the water and the Spirit have been
delivered from all their sins because Jesus Christ took all their
sins onto Himself by receiving the baptism and because He died shed
His blood unto His death on the Cross.
Have You Already Died to
the Law of God?
Just as the Apostle Paul acknowledged and believed
in the Word of God, you and I must do the same. We must acknowledge
that God is alive and that He gave us the Law. We who are humans
cannot keep the Law of God and keep committing sins throughout our
lives. Thus, if we were to be judged according to the Law of God,
we should rightfully be sent to hell. It is because the Law of God
is so holy and because people are inevitably born into this world
with innate sin. The Law of God states, “The wages of sin is
death,” that is, those with sins should be sent to hell.
We acknowledge all the Word of God. It says, “For
I through the law died to the law that I might live to God.” We
have to die once to the Law in order that we might live to God.
God has delivered you and me from all our sins through the gospel
of the water and the Spirit, washed away all our sins, and adopted
us as His sinless children by sending His Son our Lord Jesus Christ
to this world. We believe with our hearts in the salvation that
came by the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Those who believe
in Jesus Christ like us are the children of God who have received
the salvation from all their sins. Dear fellow believers, do you
believe in your hearts that God has delivered you from all your
sins? If yes, this is true faith.
Thus, the Bible says, “And you shall know the truth,
and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32). The gospel Truth
of the water and the Spirit has delivered you and me from all our
sins, has made us into God’s own children and people, liberated
us from all judgments for all our sins, and made us into truly free
people. By believing in this true gospel, we have become the children
of God who have received the salvation from all our sins regardless
of how deficient our hearts may be. Dear fellow believers, do you
believe this? Surely, you do.
It would be impossible for someone who has not received
the remission of sin to preach the true gospel. Unless one believes
in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, that person would not
be able to preach this true gospel. Even the greatest of all evangelists
in this world cannot preach the gospel of the water and the Spirit
without first believing in that gospel. They can merely speak of
the religious doctrines, but they cannot witness even a word to
the gospel of the water and the Spirit. You must realize that the
gospel of the water and the Spirit is so amazing that not just anyone
can share it with you.
The Apostle Paul confessed that he had died to the
Law in order to live towards God: “I believe that God has delivered
me from all my sins by the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Hence,
I have died with Christ and resurrected with Him as well. I had
become a sinner by believing in the Word of the Law and was made
righteous by the faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
Now, we have become God’s own people and His servants. Thus, I have
been shining the light of Truth upon a multitude of people as a
servant of Christ.”
We also are able to confess that we have been delivered
by the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Because the Apostle Paul
has recorded in the Bible that He had died and resurrected with
Christ, we can share the same faith as him.
The Apostle Paul has left a number of epistles, which
are called as the Pauline Epistles: Romans, 1 & 2 Corinthians,
Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 & 2 Thessalonians,
1 & 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, and Hebrews. This is quite amazing.
God has selected the Apostle Paul and called him to do these works.
God in order to record the Word of the Bible used
Paul as well as the Apostle John. God led a selected few Apostles
and servants to record the Bible. By doing so, He has completed
the whole Bible and fulfilled His own prophecies and the salvation.
And He warned that whoever adds anything to or strikes anything
out from the Scriptures would be deleted from the Book of Life.
Now, God admonishes us to read this Bible and believe in the gospel
of the water and the Spirit.
Nowadays, the servants of God should preach within
the Word of God. Put differently, the servants of God have an obligation
to preach the Word of God and not their own words. Moreover, they
should witness the Word of God in lights of the gospel Word of the
water and the Spirit. Then, both those who speak the Word of God
and those who listen to them will never go wrong as long as they
deliver and accept the Word in their hearts by faith.
Jesus Christ has become the true Savior who has delivered
us all from all our sins by coming by the gospel of the water and
the Spirit. The Apostle Paul was also able to make true confessions
of faith because he believed in the gospel Truth of the water and
the Spirit. We can conclude this fact from today’s Scripture passages.
That is why the servant of God said, “I have been crucified with
Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and
the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son
of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).
That we receive salvation from all our sins is possible
not by our own works of the Law, but by believing in our hearts
the gospel of the water and the Spirit which Jesus Christ has given
us. We become the righteous, become the children of God, receive
the eternal life from God, and become the servants of God by accepting
the salvation God has granted you and me through our faith in the
gospel of the water and the Spirit wit heart. Hence, the Apostle
Paul said, “For with the hearts one believes unto righteousness,
and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Romans 10:10).
Because God is the God of Truth, our Lord had promised us true salvation
and accomplished it just as He had promised. God has blotted out
all our sins by the gospel of the water and the Spirit and adopted
us as His own children. We are able to receive the salvation from
all our sins by believing in our hearts in His salvation and love
in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. The Apostle Paul is comparing
God’s grace of salvation with the Law for us.
We receive the salvation from all our sins, dying
and resurrecting with Christ to become the servants of righteousness
before God within the faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit,
which the Son of God gave us. If we live our remaining lives as
the servants of God’s righteousness, we will be recipients of glory
and honor in the Millennial Kingdom as God promised through His
Word. Receiving the eternal life from God, we would not die for
eternity and rather share the glory and honor alongside God. This
is the love of God and His purpose of our salvation. This is the
will of God toward us. I believe that God will surely do as such
for us. Because God has promised us, things will surely be thus.
Do you believe this? I am sure you do.
The Apostle Paul said that he could not set aside
the grace of salvation, which He has given us. The Truth that God
delivered us from all our sins by the gospel of the water and the
Spirit is the gift of salvation from God. The love of God is also
His gift. Also, delivering us from all our sins and turning us into
the righteous was a gift of God. The Kingdom of God prepared for
us is a gift of God. The fact that we are living in this world as
a tool of righteousness is a gift of God. And all the supplies for
our lives in body and spirit are also His gifts. That we are able
to do the right work of delivering others from all their sins by
sharing the gospel of the water and the Spirit is a gift of God.
That you and I will live for eternity is a gift of God.
Out of the things that we have received, which one
is not a gift of God? Everything in nature is a free gift of God
to us. We believe all these with our hearts. We believe that God
has adopted us His children, made us the servants of His righteousness,
and promised to share with us the glory and honor in the coming
future because God loves us.
Dear fellow believers, we should never reject the
love of God and the gift of salvation that came by the gospel of
the water and the Spirit. We must know this true gospel. God will
not nullify the salvation He has granted us. Neither should we set
aside the God-given gospel of the water and the Spirit by disbelieving
it.
What is the greatest sin a person could commit before
God? It would be to disbelieve in the power of the gospel of the
water and the Spirit. The greatest sin of all is to reject the gospel
of the water and the Spirit—which is the love of God—while
knowing all about it. The Apostle John said in his Epistles that,
despite the fact that people continually sin before God, people
should not commit the unforgivable sin before God. He defined this
sin as “the sin leading to death” (1 John 5:16). Thus, the Apostle
John is telling us that we should not commit the unforgivable sin.
That sin is not an ordinary sin we commit in our daily lives but
the sin of disbelieving in the God-given gospel of the water and
the Spirit. What this entails is that we should never reject God’s
grace of salvation.
On the contrary, receiving God’s gift of grace with
our faith, we should thank Him for eternity, believe in Him for
eternity, and praise Him for eternity. God desires for us accept
and enjoy all of His blessings with thanksgiving. Therefore, we
must believe that God will grant us the glory and honor for eternity
when we receive the God-given gift of salvation by faith. This applies
to me and also to you. We receive the gift of God with thanksgiving
and praise God.
What Kind of People Do We
Have to Become?
The Apostle Paul concluded at the end of Galatians
2, “I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness
comes through the law, then Christ died in vain” (Galatians 2:21).
If we could become sinless before God through our
legalistic faith of the Law, giving prayers of repentance and trying
to sanctify ourselves, then Jesus Christ would have received the
baptism and died for you and me in vain. Dear fellow believers,
would it be right for us to make the baptism and death of Jesus
Christ vain? We should not turn the salvation Jesus Christ gave
us into a matter of vanity.
From this worldly perspective, the worst thing a person
could do is to die before one’s parents pass away. Then, what sin
would be the greatest before God? It would be not to believe that
Jesus Christ has become our perfect Savior by coming to this world,
receiving the baptism to take all the sins of the world onto Himself,
shedding His blood on the Cross to atone all the sins of the world,
and resurrecting from His death. If we nullified Jesus’ love of
salvation by which He gave up His own life to give us new life through
His baptism and His bloodshed, that would be the greatest of all
sins. Whoever commits the blasphemy against the Spirit will not
be forgiven and will perish (Matthew 12:31). No one should commit
the sin of blaspheming the Holy Spirit. Do you understand?
Thus, when you share the gospel of the water and the
Spirit, you have to do so in faith and you cannot stop after delivering
it once but you have to keep sharing it. Although people may at
first mildly believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit in
their hearts, by continual sharing of the gospel, it has to be deeply
rooted in each individual’s heart. The faith in the gospel of the
water and the Spirit must take roots in everyone’s heart. We have
to admit the gospel Truth with our intellect, emotion, and will.
What I am saying is that we have to become people who know and believe
in the Truth clearly, posses the emotion of love, and then put into
deeds. We cannot turn the coming of Jesus Christ into this world,
His reception of the baptism, His death, and His resurrection into
vanity. If we do not believe in the gospel of the water and the
Spirit, we will surely receive the judgment for that sin.
Furthermore, we must lead a faithful life to the task
appointed to us, who believe in the gospel of the water and the
Spirit. God tells the righteous to be faithful as well as grateful
to Him in the faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit and
to share that gospel with others. That is why we serve the gospel
of the water and the Spirit faithfully before God. Otherwise would
there be any reason for us to spread this true gospel throughout
the world?
Nowadays the percentage of unused land is increasing
in my country. The government stated its policy to support those
who do not farm on their land up to a certain portion of the average
harvest. And there are actually farmers who instead of farming are
benefiting from this policy. Unused land is land on rest so its
landlord does not cultivate the land. Thus, if we go out to unused
land we cannot find any pure grain but weeds that have overrun the
land. Go out to the fields in autumn and compare the unused land
with a regular field. On a regular field you can find a lot of pure
grain with some occasional foxtails. But all you can find in an
unused land are weeds. It almost appears as if someone came and
sowed foxtail seeds and watered them to grow. This world is similar
to this illustration.
For us not to make the grace of God vain, we have
to become righteous by believing in our hearts the gospel of the
water and the Spirit, receive salvation, and spend the rest of our
lives sowing the seeds of salvation for spreading the true gospel.
The Apostle Paul said, “I have been crucified with Christ; it
is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which
I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved
me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). Just like this
Scripture passage, if God has given you and me true salvation by
the gospel of the water and the Spirit through Jesus Christ, we
should serve this true gospel by faith and spread it throughout
the world.
If we do not serve the gospel and nor live righteously
for the rest of our lives despite of receiving the salvation from
all our sins, all kinds of dirty thoughts would fill our hearts.
Then, we would become completely useless beings. You and I often
have to cultivate our hearts with the gospel of the water and the
Spirit. As we serve the gospel of the water and the Spirit, we cannot
forget to cultivate our own hearts often. Although unused land may
bring the physical comfort to the farmer, in the end it only produces
inedible foxtails. Land produces much edible crops only after it
has been cultivated, sown upon, fertilized, and watered. Dear fellow
believers, do you wish to become useless and even harmful just to
seek a little comfort in your lives?
We should not desire in our hearts to avoid serving
the gospel of the water and the Spirit. If we fail to serve the
gospel of the water and the Spirit, foxtails and all kinds of evil
thoughts inevitably grow in our hearts. Then, we would come to our
unbearable death. Our hearts are clean because we believe and serve
the gospel of the water and the Spirit. If we are not doing so,
our hearts would be unbearably tainted.
In the Bible, the tares or the weeds imply the sons
of the wicked one (Matthew 13:30). However, it is a shame that there
are still those who have unjustified high esteem of themselves.
Some people argue that even foxtails are worth something since it
bears its fruits. It is truly shameful that these people do not
realize that they are bad seeds that require the effort to be removed
from the field.
This is the Word of God. Truthfully speaking, people
who do not serve the gospel of the water and the Spirit become evil
people. That is why I tell you to serve the gospel of the water
and the Spirit despite the fact that you may be burdened by such
request. If we deny our thoughts of the flesh and serve the gospel
of the water and the Spirit, we will bear much fruit because of
the gospel we serve. Not only will we bear the spiritual fruits
and improve on our faith, but we will also bear much fruits materially.
| Want
to read more sermons on the Galatians? Please click
the banner below to get your free book on the Galatians. |
 |
I am happy because of God and the gospel of the water
and the Spirit. And I am thankful. I am quite joyful doing the works
of God. The more I serve the gospel of the water and the Spirit
and the more I remain patient, I experience the Holy Spirit working
more strongly in my heart comforting me more, empowering me more,
and blessing me more. I am very happy because God has blessed all
of us in body and spirit.
Instead of seeking the comfort of the body, I hope
you are joyful to live for the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
Whether we are facing difficulty or joy, it should be dealt with
in the Lord. No matter what, we should devote our lives for the
works of God.
“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer
I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live
in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and
gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). The Apostle Paul devoted
his entire life for Jesus Christ. Not only the Apostle Paul but
also we have devoted our lives for the spread of the gospel. “I
will succeed in the gospel for sure.” When we determine to do so,
God will work in us and bless us to become people of faith. If we
devote ourselves to the works of God in faith, much fruit will come
to bear through us and this body will come to live a prosperous
life under God’s blessings.
I give thanks unto God.
Back
|