We all go from time to time through certain experiences that crush us physically, emotionally, spiritually and our faith in God is severely tested. Recently I read the testimony of William J. Stuntz a professor at Harvard Law School. Here is the excerpt: “While driving home from a family vacation his car got a flat tire. When he started to change it something nasty happened at the base of his back ever since his lower back and the top of his right leg have hurt. Inspite of psychotherapy and thousands of pills his back and leg hurts every waking moment. When his family moved to accept a job at Harvard Law School his family began to fall apart one of his children suffered a life threatening disease and his marriage fell apart. In February 2008 another bad news struck him: Doctors found a large tumor in his colon, a month later films turned up tumors in both of his lungs. He had two cancer surgeries and six months of intensive chemotherapy. He continues to have that back pain and lives with the thought that probably cancer might kill him with in the next two years. He is fifty years old.[1]
Your situation might be different than this Harvard professors’ but the truth of the matter is that these situations or maybe worse can happen to any one of us. When that happens to us we are devastated, crushed in our spirit all our strength is drained, we become depressed and begin to wonder, thinking that God is millions of miles far away from us. We wonder where is God when life hurts like that? Does God know how we feel, does He care? Why do some suffer while others seem to have an easy ride? Is God anywhere near? There are no easy answers to any of these agonizing questions. However we can find some answers from the scriptures. Here are a few: Isaiah 57: 14-19; Isaiah 61:1-3, John 10:10; Luke 4:16-21
Isaiah 57:14-19 “And it will be said: "Build up, build up, and prepare the road! Remove the obstacles out of the way of my people." 15 For this is what the high and lofty One says-- he who lives forever, whose name is holy: "I live in a high and holy place, but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite. 16 I will not accuse forever, nor will I always be angry, for then the spirit of man would grow faint before me-- the breath of man that I have created. 17 I was enraged by his sinful greed; I punished him, and hid my face in anger, yet he kept on in his willful ways. 18 I have seen his ways, but I will heal him; I will guide him and restore comfort to him, 19 creating praise on the lips of the mourners in Israel. Peace, peace, to those far and near," says the LORD. "And I will heal them."
At times God is angry with us because of our disobedience and sin but he doesn’t always remain angry forever. When we acknowledge our sin and cry out to him for help he is there to heal, guide and restore comfort to us. On the contrary they enemy is there to steal, kill and destroy. John 10:10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
Isaiah further amplifies the heart of God in Isaiah 61:1-3 “The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, 2 to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, 3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion-- to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor. This was also a prophecy concerning the messiah.
One of the first things that Jesus did after he came through temptation successfully was that he established his mission or purpose. Luke 4:16-21 “He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, and he began by saying to them, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever. You might be feeling crushed in your spirit, or feeling depressed due to a chronic illness, financially strapped due to a job loss, feeling disillusioned over a family situation, or you may feel like you are in a prison and unable to get out because of certain addictions. Whatever may be your situation you can be set free, experience joy, gladness, receive healing and find hope and strength for the future. Satan’s mission is to steel your health, kill your joy and destroy your life and your loved ones but where as Christ came to give you life and life in abundance. This abundant life is for you.
[1] Christianity Today Magazine, August 2009
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Sunday, August 9, 2009
THE FEAR OF THE LORD
David McCullough in his book Mornings On Horseback tells this story about young Teddy Roosevelt (Theodore Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States): Mittie (his mother) had found he was so afraid of the Madison Square Church that he refused to set foot inside if alone. He was terrified, she discovered, of something called the "zeal." It was crouched in the dark corners of the church ready to jump at him, he said. When she asked what zeal might be, he said he was not sure, but thought it was probably a large animal like an alligator or a dragon. He had heard the minister read about it from the Bible. Using a concordance, she read him those passages containing the word ZEAL until suddenly, very excited, he told her to stop. The line was from the Book of John, 2:17: "And his disciples remembered that it was written, 'The ZEAL of thine house hath eaten me up.”
This illustrates the legitimate fear of a young man who thought God would eat him up if he came to Church because of lack of explanation of the scripture, but one way I think it was good he had such fear of God. We must tremble before the Lord because He is indeed an awesome God but at the same time we don’t have to stay away from him, we can feel safe in his presence because He is also a good and loving God. Unfortunately many take his loving-kindness for granted and do not exhibit any fear of God at all. They live as though God does not exist. God is replaced with self; he is mocked by the media, ridiculed by the skeptics and reduced God to a benevolent being who will suit our fancy. Roosevelt said, “A thorough Knowledge of the Bible is worth more than a college education.” Let’s look at what the Bible has to say about the fear of the Lord. What is the fear of the Lord? Why should I fear God and what are the rewards of the fear of God?
I. What is the fear of the Lord?
The word fear first appeared in the garden of Eden, when Adam and Eve sinned against God they were afraid to meet him. They ran away and hid from God. Have you ever done something that you should not have done and been afraid of getting caught? It is a frightening thought to be caught in the act of wrong doing. When you do the right thing there is nothing to be afraid of. But there are people who do some of the most gruesome things yet are not afraid of anything, what makes them not to be afraid? In the Old Testament those who have sinned against God, the wicked people were terrified of God whenever He showed up. They ran away from the presence of God. That kind of fear was generated because of the judgment and the impending punishment that was due to them because of their sin.
A modern man may feel he has emancipated himself because he is no longer afraid of a hell of fire after he dies. But modern men have other fears. They are afraid of bacteria that my invade their bodies to produce illness. They are afraid of losing their jobs, of being dependent in their old age, afraid of war, afraid of failure, afraid of death. To add the fear of the Lord to these and many other fears that haunt men today seems to add to a list of fears that is already too long. Perhaps if we feared God more we would fear everything else less.
What is the fear of the Lord? It is often translated as “Reverence for the Lord.” Reverence is showing awe and regard for the power of God. It is realizing that we are created beings and not the creator and the sustainer of the universe. It is recognizing that we are dependent on God. To revere also means to regard with the deepest respect, and esteem.
Revere suggests awe coupled with profound honor. So to fear the Lord is to have deep respect for God, because of that I try my best to honor him by the choices I make in my life. I do certain things that please God and avoid certain things that are displeasing to God.
II. Why should I fear God?
In the Old Testament people were afraid of God because they had seen his mighty acts. When God appeared on mount Sinai, smoke came up from it like smoke from a furnace, the whole mountain trembled violently and the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder and when the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke they trembled with fear.” (Exodus 19:18-20:19) Who wouldn’t be afraid when God shows up in a spectacular way? “Moses said to people, do not be afraid. God has come to test you so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.”(Exodus 20:20). Why should I fear God? The fear of the Lord keeps me from sinning. When I fear God I am making a commitment to live according to the revealed word of God. Like the Psalmist I would say, “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”(Psalms 119:11). Only by having the fear of God we can avoid sin. Just by listening to someone’s speech we can usually figure out quite quick whether this person fears the Lord or is just wise in his or her own eyes. Gossip, sarcasm, complaining, a critical tongue, lavish and irresponsible spending, are a few evidences of a lack of the fear of God. Our conduct towards the opposite sex is an indicator of how much we fear God.
Most of us are familiar with God’s attributes such as his loving-kindness, mercy, compassion, grace, forgiveness and so on but we often overlook the fact that He is a holy God, and a jealous God (Joshua 24:19). His wrath can consume all his enemies (Psalm 59:13).His anger can destroy us (Deut 6:15). When we don’t recognize the awesomeness of God we become arrogant, flippant in our devotion to God and careless of our conduct thinking that we can just get by with any and every thing. We are wrong!
Over 4000 years ago Abraham lived among the people who thought the same way; they were evil and did not honor the Lord. This is what Abraham said about that place, “There is surely no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me.”(Gen 20:11). Fear of God here has the sense of reverential trust in God that includes commitment to his revealed will (word). In that land there was no regard for God’s laws every one lived as they pleased. Our days are no different to the days of Abraham. Many just ignore the fact that God exists and they keep on living lives that are contradictory to God’s revealed word. Let’s not be fooled, we will reap what we sow. The writer of the Hebrews warns us by saying that “it is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” (Hebrews 10:31). “That you have come to God the judge of all men. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.”(Heb 12:23, 28) No matter who you are one day we all will have to give an account of our lives to a righteous judge who judges without any partiality.
The realization that one day I have to stand before the righteous judge and give an account of my life brought me to my knees. My many sins were so visible before my eyes. I so desperately wanted to escape the wrath of God. I realized that the only way to escape the wrath of God was to confess my sins to him and accept Jesus as my personal savior and receive his forgiveness. After having done that I have decided to live a life that is pleasing to God to the best of my ability.
It has been a learning curve for Wilma and me to work with an organization that taught and whose leaders modeled the fear of the Lord. Floyd McClung who used to be the Executive Director for YWAM tells how the Lord taught him a lesson in the fear of the Lord vs the fear of man. Floyd was the leader of the discipleship community of the Ark in Amsterdam those days.
Floyd loved drinking ice cold milk from the fridge but living in a community there are rules and restrictions on the consumption of community foods. He writes in his book about one night after every one had gone to bed he went down into the kitchen and opened the fridge, right there in front of him was a glass of milk. He knew that glass was not meant for him because he had already had his ration of milk. Yet because of his love for milk he started rationalizing saying to himself: well I am the leader I work the hardest, I can make decisions, I am in charge here I want this milk. So he gulped down the glass of milk. The next morning in the staff prayer meeting as he was trying to listen to God’s voice he was convicted of the sin of stealing. He was very uncomfortable he wrestled with the thought of having to confess this to the community after all he was the leader; he struggled with the fear of men, what will people say? Yet when he humbled himself and confessed how he had violated the rules the staff respected his humility and honesty.
At times the fear of the Lord will teach us to make amends for sin or to go back to a person and set things right where we need to. Where as the fear of man will prove to be a snare.
III. The rewards of the fear of the Lord:
The Bible is full of rewards to those who fear God. When we fear God we choose to do the right thing and avoid what is wrong, this is called wisdom we become wise by fearing the Lord because the Fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom (Proverbs 1:7). When we fear God we hate evil therefore we can live a long life in security (Pro 14:26, 10:27).With so much emphasis on education in order to get ahead in life we should be careful not to confuse wisdom with knowledge. From God’s point of view the professor steeped in knowledge with multiple degrees may completely lack wisdom while an uneducated person who seeks to know and obey God may be a truly wise man.
This is basically what the wisest man who ever lived concluded in all his searching for meaning this was the bottom line: Ecclesiastes 12:5 “Fear God and keep his commandments for this is the whole duty of man.
The Fear of the Lord makes the Lord delight in us (Psalm 147:11). The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life turning a man from the snares of death (Pro 14:27). During his farewell speech the prophet Samuel addressed the Israelites with these words, “If you fear the Lord and serve and obey him and do not rebel against his commandments, and if both you and the king who reigns over you follow the Lord your God- good. But if you do not obey the Lord, and if you rebel against his commands, his hand will be against you, as it was against your fathers.”(I Sam 12:14)
What can we learn from these scriptures? We can either become the people of his delight or people of his wrath. We can either inherit his blessings or curses. We can either live a long life with security or face an untimely death. We can either experience his prosperity or inflict upon ourselves all sorts of troubles. We can either have God as our friend or our enemy. It all hinges on whether or not we fear the Lord, whether we respect Him.
IV. How can we grow in the fear of the Lord?
In the Psalms and Proverbs we find many exhortations to fear the Lord. I encourage you to do your own personal study on this very vital topic. Psalm 34 vs11 gives us a loving invitation to become a student in the school of the fear of the Lord. Come my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Proverbs 1:29 indicates that we can choose to fear the Lord, and increase in our knowledge of God. It is a wise choice to pursue the fear of the Lord through the diligent study and application of His Word.
All of us have the privilege to wholeheartedly pursue the fear of the Lord. None of us has reached perfection yet but neither should anyone of us settle for sloppiness in our walk with God. The fear of the Lord is a conscious choice to line up our lives with the will of God and do away with any patterns that are displeasing to the Lord as revealed in his word. Let us join David in humbling ourselves and asking God to teach us his way. Give me an undivided heart that I may fear your name. (Psalm 86:11)
This illustrates the legitimate fear of a young man who thought God would eat him up if he came to Church because of lack of explanation of the scripture, but one way I think it was good he had such fear of God. We must tremble before the Lord because He is indeed an awesome God but at the same time we don’t have to stay away from him, we can feel safe in his presence because He is also a good and loving God. Unfortunately many take his loving-kindness for granted and do not exhibit any fear of God at all. They live as though God does not exist. God is replaced with self; he is mocked by the media, ridiculed by the skeptics and reduced God to a benevolent being who will suit our fancy. Roosevelt said, “A thorough Knowledge of the Bible is worth more than a college education.” Let’s look at what the Bible has to say about the fear of the Lord. What is the fear of the Lord? Why should I fear God and what are the rewards of the fear of God?
I. What is the fear of the Lord?
The word fear first appeared in the garden of Eden, when Adam and Eve sinned against God they were afraid to meet him. They ran away and hid from God. Have you ever done something that you should not have done and been afraid of getting caught? It is a frightening thought to be caught in the act of wrong doing. When you do the right thing there is nothing to be afraid of. But there are people who do some of the most gruesome things yet are not afraid of anything, what makes them not to be afraid? In the Old Testament those who have sinned against God, the wicked people were terrified of God whenever He showed up. They ran away from the presence of God. That kind of fear was generated because of the judgment and the impending punishment that was due to them because of their sin.
A modern man may feel he has emancipated himself because he is no longer afraid of a hell of fire after he dies. But modern men have other fears. They are afraid of bacteria that my invade their bodies to produce illness. They are afraid of losing their jobs, of being dependent in their old age, afraid of war, afraid of failure, afraid of death. To add the fear of the Lord to these and many other fears that haunt men today seems to add to a list of fears that is already too long. Perhaps if we feared God more we would fear everything else less.
What is the fear of the Lord? It is often translated as “Reverence for the Lord.” Reverence is showing awe and regard for the power of God. It is realizing that we are created beings and not the creator and the sustainer of the universe. It is recognizing that we are dependent on God. To revere also means to regard with the deepest respect, and esteem.
Revere suggests awe coupled with profound honor. So to fear the Lord is to have deep respect for God, because of that I try my best to honor him by the choices I make in my life. I do certain things that please God and avoid certain things that are displeasing to God.
II. Why should I fear God?
In the Old Testament people were afraid of God because they had seen his mighty acts. When God appeared on mount Sinai, smoke came up from it like smoke from a furnace, the whole mountain trembled violently and the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder and when the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke they trembled with fear.” (Exodus 19:18-20:19) Who wouldn’t be afraid when God shows up in a spectacular way? “Moses said to people, do not be afraid. God has come to test you so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.”(Exodus 20:20). Why should I fear God? The fear of the Lord keeps me from sinning. When I fear God I am making a commitment to live according to the revealed word of God. Like the Psalmist I would say, “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”(Psalms 119:11). Only by having the fear of God we can avoid sin. Just by listening to someone’s speech we can usually figure out quite quick whether this person fears the Lord or is just wise in his or her own eyes. Gossip, sarcasm, complaining, a critical tongue, lavish and irresponsible spending, are a few evidences of a lack of the fear of God. Our conduct towards the opposite sex is an indicator of how much we fear God.
Most of us are familiar with God’s attributes such as his loving-kindness, mercy, compassion, grace, forgiveness and so on but we often overlook the fact that He is a holy God, and a jealous God (Joshua 24:19). His wrath can consume all his enemies (Psalm 59:13).His anger can destroy us (Deut 6:15). When we don’t recognize the awesomeness of God we become arrogant, flippant in our devotion to God and careless of our conduct thinking that we can just get by with any and every thing. We are wrong!
Over 4000 years ago Abraham lived among the people who thought the same way; they were evil and did not honor the Lord. This is what Abraham said about that place, “There is surely no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me.”(Gen 20:11). Fear of God here has the sense of reverential trust in God that includes commitment to his revealed will (word). In that land there was no regard for God’s laws every one lived as they pleased. Our days are no different to the days of Abraham. Many just ignore the fact that God exists and they keep on living lives that are contradictory to God’s revealed word. Let’s not be fooled, we will reap what we sow. The writer of the Hebrews warns us by saying that “it is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” (Hebrews 10:31). “That you have come to God the judge of all men. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.”(Heb 12:23, 28) No matter who you are one day we all will have to give an account of our lives to a righteous judge who judges without any partiality.
The realization that one day I have to stand before the righteous judge and give an account of my life brought me to my knees. My many sins were so visible before my eyes. I so desperately wanted to escape the wrath of God. I realized that the only way to escape the wrath of God was to confess my sins to him and accept Jesus as my personal savior and receive his forgiveness. After having done that I have decided to live a life that is pleasing to God to the best of my ability.
It has been a learning curve for Wilma and me to work with an organization that taught and whose leaders modeled the fear of the Lord. Floyd McClung who used to be the Executive Director for YWAM tells how the Lord taught him a lesson in the fear of the Lord vs the fear of man. Floyd was the leader of the discipleship community of the Ark in Amsterdam those days.
Floyd loved drinking ice cold milk from the fridge but living in a community there are rules and restrictions on the consumption of community foods. He writes in his book about one night after every one had gone to bed he went down into the kitchen and opened the fridge, right there in front of him was a glass of milk. He knew that glass was not meant for him because he had already had his ration of milk. Yet because of his love for milk he started rationalizing saying to himself: well I am the leader I work the hardest, I can make decisions, I am in charge here I want this milk. So he gulped down the glass of milk. The next morning in the staff prayer meeting as he was trying to listen to God’s voice he was convicted of the sin of stealing. He was very uncomfortable he wrestled with the thought of having to confess this to the community after all he was the leader; he struggled with the fear of men, what will people say? Yet when he humbled himself and confessed how he had violated the rules the staff respected his humility and honesty.
At times the fear of the Lord will teach us to make amends for sin or to go back to a person and set things right where we need to. Where as the fear of man will prove to be a snare.
III. The rewards of the fear of the Lord:
The Bible is full of rewards to those who fear God. When we fear God we choose to do the right thing and avoid what is wrong, this is called wisdom we become wise by fearing the Lord because the Fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom (Proverbs 1:7). When we fear God we hate evil therefore we can live a long life in security (Pro 14:26, 10:27).With so much emphasis on education in order to get ahead in life we should be careful not to confuse wisdom with knowledge. From God’s point of view the professor steeped in knowledge with multiple degrees may completely lack wisdom while an uneducated person who seeks to know and obey God may be a truly wise man.
This is basically what the wisest man who ever lived concluded in all his searching for meaning this was the bottom line: Ecclesiastes 12:5 “Fear God and keep his commandments for this is the whole duty of man.
The Fear of the Lord makes the Lord delight in us (Psalm 147:11). The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life turning a man from the snares of death (Pro 14:27). During his farewell speech the prophet Samuel addressed the Israelites with these words, “If you fear the Lord and serve and obey him and do not rebel against his commandments, and if both you and the king who reigns over you follow the Lord your God- good. But if you do not obey the Lord, and if you rebel against his commands, his hand will be against you, as it was against your fathers.”(I Sam 12:14)
What can we learn from these scriptures? We can either become the people of his delight or people of his wrath. We can either inherit his blessings or curses. We can either live a long life with security or face an untimely death. We can either experience his prosperity or inflict upon ourselves all sorts of troubles. We can either have God as our friend or our enemy. It all hinges on whether or not we fear the Lord, whether we respect Him.
IV. How can we grow in the fear of the Lord?
In the Psalms and Proverbs we find many exhortations to fear the Lord. I encourage you to do your own personal study on this very vital topic. Psalm 34 vs11 gives us a loving invitation to become a student in the school of the fear of the Lord. Come my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Proverbs 1:29 indicates that we can choose to fear the Lord, and increase in our knowledge of God. It is a wise choice to pursue the fear of the Lord through the diligent study and application of His Word.
All of us have the privilege to wholeheartedly pursue the fear of the Lord. None of us has reached perfection yet but neither should anyone of us settle for sloppiness in our walk with God. The fear of the Lord is a conscious choice to line up our lives with the will of God and do away with any patterns that are displeasing to the Lord as revealed in his word. Let us join David in humbling ourselves and asking God to teach us his way. Give me an undivided heart that I may fear your name. (Psalm 86:11)
Sunday, July 5, 2009
FREEDOM FROM BONDAGE
STUDIES ON THE BOOK OF EPHESIANS- III
(Ephesians 1:7)
In October 2000 ten oil workers, including seven foreign workers were held hostage in Ecuador’s Amazon jungle region. The kidnapers demanded initially $ 80 million ransom to release their hostages. After much, negotiations they dropped the ransom money to $13 million dollars. After the oil companies paid $13 million, in March 2001 seven foreign workers were released. Here the oil workers were in no position to pay the ransom, but the oil companies paid huge sum of money to secure their release. In the famous children’s movie The Chronicles of Narnia, Aslan paid the ransom by dying on the stone table to redeem Edmund.
There are significant lessons in both these stories. One, the ransom is costly. The person abducted or guilty cannot pay it by himself or herself. Some one else has to pay on behalf of them. In biblical language this sort of paying of a ransom is called Redemption. The Ephesians knew the Greco-Roman custom of paying a ransom. Paul used this analogy to explain how much it cost, Jesus to secure freedom not only for the Ephesians but also to the whole world. “In him we have Redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.”(Ephesians 1:7)
Background of Slavery: In order for us to understand the depth of redemption we must understand slavery, which goes back to the Old Testament. God told Abraham that his descendents will be enslaved in a country not their own for four hundred years, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. (Gen 15: 13-14). In ancient Rome slavery was commonly practiced. It was accepted as part of life. Slaves were bought and sold in the slave markets. These slaves end up doing all the dirty and hard work. If they tried to run away, they were whipped, burned with iron, and sometimes even killed.”[1]
(Ephesians 1:7)
In October 2000 ten oil workers, including seven foreign workers were held hostage in Ecuador’s Amazon jungle region. The kidnapers demanded initially $ 80 million ransom to release their hostages. After much, negotiations they dropped the ransom money to $13 million dollars. After the oil companies paid $13 million, in March 2001 seven foreign workers were released. Here the oil workers were in no position to pay the ransom, but the oil companies paid huge sum of money to secure their release. In the famous children’s movie The Chronicles of Narnia, Aslan paid the ransom by dying on the stone table to redeem Edmund.
There are significant lessons in both these stories. One, the ransom is costly. The person abducted or guilty cannot pay it by himself or herself. Some one else has to pay on behalf of them. In biblical language this sort of paying of a ransom is called Redemption. The Ephesians knew the Greco-Roman custom of paying a ransom. Paul used this analogy to explain how much it cost, Jesus to secure freedom not only for the Ephesians but also to the whole world. “In him we have Redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.”(Ephesians 1:7)
Background of Slavery: In order for us to understand the depth of redemption we must understand slavery, which goes back to the Old Testament. God told Abraham that his descendents will be enslaved in a country not their own for four hundred years, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. (Gen 15: 13-14). In ancient Rome slavery was commonly practiced. It was accepted as part of life. Slaves were bought and sold in the slave markets. These slaves end up doing all the dirty and hard work. If they tried to run away, they were whipped, burned with iron, and sometimes even killed.”[1]
How could slaves then ever find freedom? In the Old Testament God commanded the Israelites that at the end of every seven years the masters who owned slaves were to let them go free. They were not to let them go just empty handed but supply them with flocks, grain and wine abundantly. Because that was how God had delivered them from their slavery in Egypt. (Deut 15). In the ancient world a slave was made free by sheer mercy of his master or some one paying a heavy ransom on behalf of that slave. Once that slave was freed he could enjoy all the privileges just like the rest of the citizens.
Thankfully today by and large in the USA and other parts of the world slavery has been abolished. We are living in a free world where overt slavery does not exist, however other type of slavery still exists, many are still in bondage and crying out for freedom, they need a redeemer who could truly liberate and set them free from their bondage.
Thankfully today by and large in the USA and other parts of the world slavery has been abolished. We are living in a free world where overt slavery does not exist, however other type of slavery still exists, many are still in bondage and crying out for freedom, they need a redeemer who could truly liberate and set them free from their bondage.
Are you surprised I said bondage? Are you in bondage? In other words are you a slave? You may be offended when I say slave but in reality that’s what we are. Speaking to a group of Jewish believers Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” To that statement the Jews took offence and said we are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free? Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth everyone who sins is a slave to sin.”(John 8:31-34). When we sin we become slaves to sin. The bible says that all have sinned and have come short of the glory of God. There is no exception whoever sins becomes a slave to sin. In other words our sin leads us into bondage where we become victims in the hands of Satan. What is sin? How does sin enter? How can we be free from sin?
In our culture we do not call sin, sin, we trivialize sin by terming it merely a mistake. For example we label “fornication” as sleeping together and we make it sound just cozy. We call adultery cheating or unfaithfulness. For anger we say, “I lost my cool”, greed we call “making it big in life”, we mistakenly think that pride is a virtue forgetting that the Bible says that God opposes the proud. We call it “fudging on our income tax” when we are cheating the government or we say “a little white lie” when we are actually violating truth.
We seldom hear or read convicted government officials or celebrities confessing, “I have sinned” or expressing remorse and true brokenness. Listen to what Bernard L. Madoff said about what he did when he was sentenced to 150 years imprisonment, “First calling the fraud a “problem” and an “error of judgment.” Madoff said “he dug himself into a hole he couldn’t dig out of. “I could not accept the fact that, for once in my life, I had failed. And that was a tragic mistake.”
The Bible doesn’t mince words when it comes to calling sin, sin. How about you? Do you down play sin by simply calling it a mistake or a bad habit?
what is sin? Sin is “breaking God’s commandments.” (I John 3:14) Sin is also in its true meaning "missing the mark". Margaret Feinberg says, "Sin is choosing good over best. The real struggle we have is not that we desire bad things, but rather, that we 'over desire' good things like, sex, our jobs, our boy friends, our spouse, children etc. It is the good things in our lives become the best things that we end up worshiping instead of God and that is idolatry"[2] Hence we violate the first commandment because Idolatry is sin (Gal 5:19). God hates Idolatry.
How does sin enter? Sin enters slowly but surely. The little lies, little clicks of the porn sights on the Internet, little flirtatious ways, little cheating here and there, little pride, anger could ruin us. The wise King Solomon warned us against these little sins, Song of Songs 2:15 “Catch for us the foxes the little foxes that ruin the vineyards, our vineyards that are in ruin.” If we don’t take care of the sinful habit patterns in our lives they can destroy our families, our career, our testimony and in the end destroys our entire lives.
When we sin we become slaves to sin and Satan. So far we have seen how we get into bondage now let's shift gears from bondage to the bondage breaker. Paul highlights Christ as the redeemer or the bondage breaker. “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.”(Ephesians 1:7) We will look at what redemption is and it's cost.
What is redemption? Redemption is not a common English word that we use from day-to-day. But we are familiar with the concept and the process. Redemption is the act of redeeming, or the state of being redeemed. The payment, of a debt to regain possession. To recover, to set free; to rescue; In Biblical terms redemption means: Deliverance by payment of a price; salvation from sin; death and wrath of God. In simple terms, Redemption is setting a bond slave free by paying a high price of ransom.
A story told by Paul Lee Tan illustrates the meaning of redemption. He said that when A.J. Gordon was pastor of a church in Boston, he met a young boy in front of the sanctuary carrying a rusty cage in which several birds fluttered nervously. Gordon inquired, "Son, where did you get those birds?" The boy replied, "I trapped them out in the field." "What are you going to do with them?" "I'm going to play with them, and then I guess I'll just feed them to an old cat we have at home." When Gordon offered to buy them, the lad exclaimed, "Mister, you don't want them, they're just little old wild birds and can't sing very well." Gordon replied, "I'll give you $2 for the cage and the birds." "Okay, it's a deal, but you're making a bad bargain." The exchange was made and the boy went away whistling, happy with his shiny coins. Gordon walked around to the back of the church property, opened the door of the small wire coop, and let the struggling creatures soar into the blue. The next Sunday he took the empty cage into the pulpit and used it to illustrate his sermon about Christ's coming to seek and to save the lost ~ paying for them with His own precious blood. "That boy told me the birds were not songsters," said Gordon, "but when I released them and they winged their way heavenward, it seemed to me they were singing, 'Redeemed, redeemed, redeemed!"
When we sin it is like being caged like those birds. There will be no way to escape from his evil grip. John goes on to say to that extent, (1 John 3:8) “He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning.” Wow that is hard hitting, does that mean when I sin I am on the devil's side? But the good news is that Christ has purchased our pardon through his blood to set us free.
We do not appreciate our freedom until we understand the depth of the bondage we were in, and what it cost Jesus to liberate us. What did it cost Jesus? His whole life. We have no clue, of what exactly went on during crucifixion? Do we understand the gravity of the suffering of Jesus on the cross? The Roman soldiers whipped the body of Jesus with a lead-tipped whip. This whipping completely disfigured the body of Jesus. Prophet Isaiah said, “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities. By his wounds we are healed (Isaiah53: 5) Jesus bore my pain and agony so I could be healed in every dimension of life.
Paul writing to Colossians explains this marvelous deed of redemption, "Having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross."(Col 2:14-15). What a powerful provision God has made available for us in the death and the resurrection of Jesus! His death on the cross liberates us from our bondage, his blood cleanses us from all our sins, his wounds heals all our physical and emotional sickness and finally his resurrection power gives us life, not just life but abundant life. "
When we receive God’s forgiveness and his redemption only then can we experience his blessings in life. I am grateful for the cross. I am free at the cross. How about you, are you free or still in bondage? Why don't you reach out to Him today and receive his forgiveness and be liberated from the bondage of sin and experience freedom and the abundant life.
[1] http://www.richeast.org/htwm/Greeks/Romans/slavery/slavery2.html
[2] Enrichment Magazine Summer 2009 page 59
In our culture we do not call sin, sin, we trivialize sin by terming it merely a mistake. For example we label “fornication” as sleeping together and we make it sound just cozy. We call adultery cheating or unfaithfulness. For anger we say, “I lost my cool”, greed we call “making it big in life”, we mistakenly think that pride is a virtue forgetting that the Bible says that God opposes the proud. We call it “fudging on our income tax” when we are cheating the government or we say “a little white lie” when we are actually violating truth.
We seldom hear or read convicted government officials or celebrities confessing, “I have sinned” or expressing remorse and true brokenness. Listen to what Bernard L. Madoff said about what he did when he was sentenced to 150 years imprisonment, “First calling the fraud a “problem” and an “error of judgment.” Madoff said “he dug himself into a hole he couldn’t dig out of. “I could not accept the fact that, for once in my life, I had failed. And that was a tragic mistake.”
The Bible doesn’t mince words when it comes to calling sin, sin. How about you? Do you down play sin by simply calling it a mistake or a bad habit?
what is sin? Sin is “breaking God’s commandments.” (I John 3:14) Sin is also in its true meaning "missing the mark". Margaret Feinberg says, "Sin is choosing good over best. The real struggle we have is not that we desire bad things, but rather, that we 'over desire' good things like, sex, our jobs, our boy friends, our spouse, children etc. It is the good things in our lives become the best things that we end up worshiping instead of God and that is idolatry"[2] Hence we violate the first commandment because Idolatry is sin (Gal 5:19). God hates Idolatry.
How does sin enter? Sin enters slowly but surely. The little lies, little clicks of the porn sights on the Internet, little flirtatious ways, little cheating here and there, little pride, anger could ruin us. The wise King Solomon warned us against these little sins, Song of Songs 2:15 “Catch for us the foxes the little foxes that ruin the vineyards, our vineyards that are in ruin.” If we don’t take care of the sinful habit patterns in our lives they can destroy our families, our career, our testimony and in the end destroys our entire lives.
When we sin we become slaves to sin and Satan. So far we have seen how we get into bondage now let's shift gears from bondage to the bondage breaker. Paul highlights Christ as the redeemer or the bondage breaker. “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.”(Ephesians 1:7) We will look at what redemption is and it's cost.
What is redemption? Redemption is not a common English word that we use from day-to-day. But we are familiar with the concept and the process. Redemption is the act of redeeming, or the state of being redeemed. The payment, of a debt to regain possession. To recover, to set free; to rescue; In Biblical terms redemption means: Deliverance by payment of a price; salvation from sin; death and wrath of God. In simple terms, Redemption is setting a bond slave free by paying a high price of ransom.
A story told by Paul Lee Tan illustrates the meaning of redemption. He said that when A.J. Gordon was pastor of a church in Boston, he met a young boy in front of the sanctuary carrying a rusty cage in which several birds fluttered nervously. Gordon inquired, "Son, where did you get those birds?" The boy replied, "I trapped them out in the field." "What are you going to do with them?" "I'm going to play with them, and then I guess I'll just feed them to an old cat we have at home." When Gordon offered to buy them, the lad exclaimed, "Mister, you don't want them, they're just little old wild birds and can't sing very well." Gordon replied, "I'll give you $2 for the cage and the birds." "Okay, it's a deal, but you're making a bad bargain." The exchange was made and the boy went away whistling, happy with his shiny coins. Gordon walked around to the back of the church property, opened the door of the small wire coop, and let the struggling creatures soar into the blue. The next Sunday he took the empty cage into the pulpit and used it to illustrate his sermon about Christ's coming to seek and to save the lost ~ paying for them with His own precious blood. "That boy told me the birds were not songsters," said Gordon, "but when I released them and they winged their way heavenward, it seemed to me they were singing, 'Redeemed, redeemed, redeemed!"
When we sin it is like being caged like those birds. There will be no way to escape from his evil grip. John goes on to say to that extent, (1 John 3:8) “He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning.” Wow that is hard hitting, does that mean when I sin I am on the devil's side? But the good news is that Christ has purchased our pardon through his blood to set us free.
We do not appreciate our freedom until we understand the depth of the bondage we were in, and what it cost Jesus to liberate us. What did it cost Jesus? His whole life. We have no clue, of what exactly went on during crucifixion? Do we understand the gravity of the suffering of Jesus on the cross? The Roman soldiers whipped the body of Jesus with a lead-tipped whip. This whipping completely disfigured the body of Jesus. Prophet Isaiah said, “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities. By his wounds we are healed (Isaiah53: 5) Jesus bore my pain and agony so I could be healed in every dimension of life.
Paul writing to Colossians explains this marvelous deed of redemption, "Having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross."(Col 2:14-15). What a powerful provision God has made available for us in the death and the resurrection of Jesus! His death on the cross liberates us from our bondage, his blood cleanses us from all our sins, his wounds heals all our physical and emotional sickness and finally his resurrection power gives us life, not just life but abundant life. "
When we receive God’s forgiveness and his redemption only then can we experience his blessings in life. I am grateful for the cross. I am free at the cross. How about you, are you free or still in bondage? Why don't you reach out to Him today and receive his forgiveness and be liberated from the bondage of sin and experience freedom and the abundant life.
[1] http://www.richeast.org/htwm/Greeks/Romans/slavery/slavery2.html
[2] Enrichment Magazine Summer 2009 page 59
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