Last week's lesson below this week: (check for the voice message on Sermons on our home page)

4 Oct: 

When Is A Disaster NOT A Disaster?

Last week I spoke to the idea of our being found justified and/or righteous based on our faith in Christ Jesus who died for us. That faith must work in our lives so that we have a “living” faith not a “dead” faith as James says in his letter: James 2:17. 20 “Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself. But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?”

One of the first places for that faith to work in our lives is to sustain us through our struggles and trials. It is our faith which allows us to take up our cross and follow Christ “faithfully”!!!        James also addresses this issue:   James 1:2-4, 12“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness   (faithfulness)   have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”   “Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial for he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.”     

So at times, when we are going through a difficult situation, we may find ourselves wondering about its origin. Consider the event which transpired during Christ’s life here on earth: John 9:1-3 “As He went along, He saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?’ ‘Neither this man nor his parents sinned,’ said Jesus, ‘but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him’”

Jesus was asked whose fault it was that this situation happened? Jesus answered by shifting the focus from whose fault it was  to  what purpose it served. This indicates that the man’s blindness may be considered as a privilege/opportunity, not a punishment. It seems that that God wishes for us to consider difficulties as opportunities in which to bring glory to God.  Jesus was encouraging us to see situations as an opportunity for Him to display His works in our lives.

So, if some disaster is occurring - Why Might It Occur?

Divine Act of Judgment – The Bible contains many examples of God taking direct action in judgment against a people and punishing them for their evil deeds. We can look to the examples of the flood in Noah’s day, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, the ten plagues in Egypt, citizens of both Israel and Judah taken into captivity and many more. One important point to notice that these all had in common is that these judgments were announced by God beforehand.

• Before sending the flood, God announced its coming to Noah: “The end of all flesh has come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence because of them; and behold, I am about to destroy them with the earth” (Genesis 6:13).
• Prior to the destruction of the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, the Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?” So He told him, “The outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah is indeed great, and their sin is exceedingly grave. I will go down now, and see if they have done entirely according to its outcry, which has come to Me; and if not, I will know” (Genesis 18:17-21). It is clear from Abraham’s response that he understood the Lord’s intention was to destroy the cities (Genesis 18:22-33).
• When God called Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, He told him that Pharoah would need to be stricken:  “But I know that the king of Egypt will not permit you to go, except under compulsion. So I will stretch out My hand and strike Egypt with all My miracles which I will do in the midst of it; and after that he will let you go” (Exodus 3:19-20).
• Hosea prophesied beforehand that Israel would be carried off into captivity: “Israel is swallowed up; they are now among the nations like a vessel in which no one delights. For they have gone up to Assyria, like a wild donkey all alone… now I will gather them up; and they will begin to diminish…” (Hosea 8:8-10).
• Similarly, Jeremiah revealed to Juday their coming captivity: “‘Because you have not obeyed My words, behold, I will send and take all the families of the north,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will send to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, My servant, and will bring them against this land and against its inhabitants and against all these nations round about; and I will utterly destroy them… This whole land will be a desolation and a horror, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years’” (Jeremiah 25:8-11).

In every case, God clearly indicated what He was going to do. We can see this pattern with other examples of divine judgment as well – judgment against various nations (Amos 1-2), the destruction of Jerusalem (Matthew 24:1ff / Luke 21:20ff), and the overthrow of the Roman empire (Daniel 2:44).

However, when we think about disasters that occur today, what prophecy could we turn to in order to show that God is actively bringing judgment against the ones involved? There is no such prophecy. Therefore, we should be wary to attribute such things to God. We have a divine obligation to “speak as the oracles of God” (1 Peter 4:11, NKJV). This means we must speak according to what has been revealed, not according to our own speculation and imagination.

Consider this as well: even during the time when God acted in people’s/nation’s lives not everything was because it was the hand of God. We see this clearly in the life of Job as well as the lives/deaths of those mentioned in Luke 13:1-5 “Or do you suppose that those Galileans whose blood Pilate mixed with their sacrifices or the eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed were worse culprits than all the men who live in Jerusalem? I tell you no!  but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”  So, Jesus was clearly stating that these horrors were NOT incidents under God’s influence or design.

 

Since God has NOT made any direct revelations against people and nations today, we should be hesitant to   assume  that God IS now doing so.  Today we live in a different time in God’s scheme of redemption. God certainly used and judged nations in the Bible, but it was all working its way to one thing: Christ – His arrival, His sacrifice, His resurrection, and His ascension to His throne to rule over His kingdom. Paul said God’s “eternal purpose” was “carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Ephesians 3:11). All of God’s actions in the Bible point to this. Rome was the last empire/nation in divine prophecy (Daniel 2:44). Now the focus is not upon nations, but upon individuals from the nations becoming part of God’s kingdom (Acts 10:34-35).

So, if some disaster is occurring and it is NOT divine judgement - Why Might It Occur?

Actions of Evil Men – There will always be wicked people in the world who cause suffering for others. Because of this perpetual reality, God ordained civil government with the mission to be “an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil” (Romans 13:4). Unfortunately though, history shows us that it is sometimes the government that is the evil force behind persecution (Revelation 17:5-6). In fact, the example that Jesus used first was of the evil actions of Pilate, a Roman governor (mixing the blood of those offering a sacrifice with their own blood). Sometimes tragedies happen because evil people seek to do harm to innocent victims. In 2 Cor 11:23ff Paul makes a whole list of sufferings that he had endured for the cause of Christ. Bad things do happen to good people without just cause.

This was the primary reason for the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon on September 11, 2001. God was not using these men to execute judgment against the United States for various sins. Rather, there was a group of evil men who, in the name of Islam, carried out a carefully planned attack that killed thousands of people. To paraphrase Jesus’ words: Do you suppose that those three thousand on whom the twin towers fell were worse culprits than others? I tell you, no. Those people did not die in those attacks as a punishment for some sin, but they died as victims of the actions of evil men.

So, if some disaster is occurring - Why Might It Occur?

 

Matters of Happenstance – Another reason why people fall victim to various disasters is simply the matter of time and chance. The wise man wrote, “I again saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift and the battle is not to the warriors, and neither is bread to the wise nor wealth to the discerning nor favor to men of ability; for time and chance overtake them all” (Ecclesiastes 9:11). People often want to believe that all things happen for a reason. The Scriptures teach us that this simply is not the case. We sometimes find ourselves as victims of bad luck, coincidence, and happenstance.

So, if some disaster is occurring - Why Might It Occur?

Consequences of Foolish Behavior – Sin, foolishness, and irresponsibility all have consequences. Tragedies often occur due to negligence or irresponsibility: a construction crew may do a poor job and it later collapses : a driver may not be paying attention and strike another driver or a pedestrian, a worker may be negligent in necessary safety precautions and injures a co-worker. We must not jump to the conclusion that God somehow caused these things to happen in order to teach us a lesson (though there are some lessons in these events). Instead, we must acknowledge the reality that sometimes tragedies occur because of someone’s foolish behavior.

What These Events Teach Us

Even if these events are caused by something other than God’s direct action, there are still some important lessons for us to learn from them:

Life Is Uncertain – James reminded his readers of the uncertainty of life: “Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.’ Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away” (James 4:13-14). Therefore, since life is uncertain, “Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth” (Colossians 3:2).

Obedience to God Is a Priority – Jesus used the examples of the deaths of the Galileans at the hands of Pilate and the victims of the collapse of the tower in Siloam to emphasize the importance of repentance: “Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish” (Luke 13:3, 5). Repentance means we turn from disobedience to obedience. The Bible teaches that obedience is not an option. Jesus said, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments” (John 14:15). Heb. 5:9  points out that Jesus is “to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation”. We need to make certain that we are walking as near the truth as we can.

God Will Ultimately Judge Us – When Jesus said, “Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish” (Luke 13:3, 5), He implied that all unrepentant sinners, regardless of how or why they die,  will suffer the same ultimate fate – eternal destruction.  Therefore, we must prepare now for the divine judgment that will happen in the last day. Paul wrote, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad” (2 Corinthians 5:10).

Conclusion

When disaster strikes, rather than speculate about God’s involvement, let us learn the lessons that we can take from these tragedies. Scriptures speaks to the value of tribulations and testing in building our faith.  Life is short and we must always be prepared to meet the Lord in judgment. Therefore, let us serve Him in faithful obedience. Then, regardless of when or how we might pass from this life, we can look forward to the eternal reward in heaven

 

 

27 Sept: Justified:

 

The word justified means “pronounced or treated as righteous.”

The Christian, being declared righteous, is thus freed from the guilt of sin.

For a Christian, our justification is the ‘gracious’ act of God not only forgiving the believer’s sins but imputing to him the righteousness of Christ.

Our being righteous in God’s eyes is necessary so that our relationship with Him is restored.

Our situation is summarized clearly in Rom 5:1 “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ”.  We should see in this passage that our justification and restored relationship is because of what Jesus has done and not because of our good works. Ephesians 2:8-9: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.” 

This passage in Ephesians tells us that we have been granted salvation because God’s grace has led Him to accept us if we have faith in our Lord Jesus.  We are told exactly this in Acts 4:12 “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” Rom 5:1 went into deeper detail by telling us that the reason we are saved is because God sees our justification as real because of our faith in Christ.

To be justified means to be declared righteous before God. It is a legal term indicating that God forgives our sins and imputes the righteousness of Christ to us.  How do we obtain this righteousness? In the same way we obtained ‘justification.’  2 Cor 5:21 “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”   Romans 3:22 “This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile.”  Phil 3:9 “and may be found in Him (Christ), not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which come from God on the basis of faith.”

This means that our justification/righteousness is not based on anything we CAN or SHOULD do. Gal 2:16 “Nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ…” This is again restated in Gal 3:24 “Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith.”    These passages affirm that our salvation and righteousness are granted through faith, not human effort. 

An additional result in our receiving salvation through Christ is that it ensures that we are accepted and at peace with God.      I am NOT preaching ‘once saved, always saved.’ But our faith in Christ has secured our salvation and this should motivate believers to live in gratitude, pursue good works, and grow spiritually, knowing that their standing before God is secure.              1 Peter 2:24 “and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds, we were healed.”   Gal 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ; and 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 up for me.”

Understanding that Jesus died for all encourages Christians to live in gratitude, faith, and obedience. It calls believers to embrace His love, share the message of redemption, and walk in righteousness, knowing that His blood has paid the price for sin and opened the way to eternal life. Gal 3:13 “Christ bought us with His blood and made us free from the Law. In that way, the Law could not punish us. Christ did this by carrying the load and by being punished instead of us.” 1 Cor 6:20 “For you have been bought with a price – therefore glorify God in your body.”   Col 3:23,24 “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.”  2 Cor 5:15 “And He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for them and was raised again.”  Rom 12:1 ““Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God — this is your true and proper worship.”

Our response to Christ’s sacrifice and God’s gift of forgiveness is to have a faith that enables us to live a life as best we can to bring honor and glory to His name. In summary, Jesus’ death is a universal offer of salvation, available to everyone who believes, demonstrating God’s boundless love and providing the foundation for eternal life and restored fellowship with Him. Our justification brings us a freedom from sin made possible through His sacrifice.   Eph 5:8 “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light.”  

We should understand that it isn’t just about being saved from eternal damnation but it’s about the restoration of our relationship with God. Every verse about Jesus dying for us emphasizes that His blood paid for our sins, paving the way for us to walk in the light. This sense of freedom should inspire us to live authentically and embrace our identities as beloved children of God.