Sunday, March 29, 2015

Romans 16: The Goal Of The Gospel

Romans 16:
17 I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. 18 For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people. 19 Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I rejoice because of you; but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil.
20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.
The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.
21 Timothy, my co-worker, sends his greetings to you, as do Lucius, Jason and Sosipater, my fellow Jews.
22 I, Tertius, who wrote down this letter, greet you in the Lord.
23 Gaius, whose hospitality I and the whole church here enjoy, sends you his greetings.
Erastus, who is the city’s director of public works, and our brother Quartus send you their greetings. [24] [e]
25 Now to him who is able to establish you in accordance with my gospel, the message I proclaim about Jesus Christ, in keeping with the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past, 26 but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God, so that all the Gentiles might come to the obedience that comes from[f] faith— 27 to the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen.



Earlier this month, the local social media was abuzz with news that Putrajaya has purchased a new private jet for our Prime Minister’s use. It costs tax payers RM 109 million. Many people wonder if the money could be put to better use at a time when people are tightening their belt with rising costs of living. But even Putrajaya was outdone by a pastor who caused an even bigger uproar by asking 200,000 supporters to donate $300 each to his ministry. You may ask why would a mega church pastor need to raise 60 million dollars? (> two times more expensive) Is it for a noble cause like providing education and medicine to poor children? Or feed starving people around the world? Well, sadly no.

All that money will go to buy Pastor Dollar a brand new luxury private jet so he could "continue reaching a lost and dying world for the Lord Jesus Christ." A few people dug deep into their wallets to send him the cash. The rest of us started feeling sick in our stomachs at so many levels. Why can’t he just fly commercial planes? Which Jesus is he preaching anyway? The real Son of God arrived on the back of a humble donkey. He didn’t require a first class, luxury chariot. A prosperity preacher who gets rich off the offerings of poor people is not only exploiting/oppressing the church, he is denying everything that the gospel stands for. There is a word for it: He is fleecing the sheep for his own selfish profit.

That’s why the apostle Paul warns us to watch out for false teachers in the passage we read just now. He says: Be alert of what they are up to. Be on the lookout for their scams. He tells us to keep away from them. There is no getting close to them with a holy kiss. Instead, turn away. Separate yourself from their lifestyles and teachings. Because if we remain silent and pretend that everything is hunky dory, we are in effect giving them legitimacy and opportunity to cause further damage and harm. At the very least, we are showing consent by our silence and close association with them.

Look at verse 17-19: “I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people.” 

There is a sharp transition from greetings to warnings here.

Why? Because unity of the church (expressed by the holy kiss) has its foundation on Christ. We share the same faith in the gospel of His kingdom. That is the basis for our fellowship and partnership. In Christ, we transcend all cultural, social, ethnic barriers.

That is the reason Paul now warns them to be on guard against false teachers who threaten to divide their community. His anger was aroused by their attempts to cause disunity in the church by contradicting apostolic teachings. Contrary to the claims of books like Da Vinci Code that everything is up for grabs until the church tradition defines what orthodoxy is hundreds of years later, Paul is referring to an already established body of apostolic tradition that is normative and binding even at this very early stage of the Christian faith. Truth unites God’s people. Heresy separates and divides us.   

Now look at verse 19: *Everyone has heard about your obedience*, Paul says, *so I am full of joy over you*. But there are two kinds of obedience – blind obedience or discerning, eyes-wide-open obedience. Yes, I’m happy to hear of your obedience *but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil*. To be wise and discerning is to recognize what is good, to love it and follow it. But when it comes to evil, be innocent like a child.

Now, how do we discern truth from error? Paul gives us three litmus tests that we could apply in the form of questions to any kind of teaching we come across.

Does it agree with Scripture? (The biblical test – is it contrary to the apostles’ teaching?)
Does it glorify our Lord Jesus? (The Christological test – does it serve Jesus or someone else?)
Does it promote goodness? (The moral test – be experts in good, and not even beginners in evil)

Recently, I had the chance to speak to some of our guests here and find a recurring theme: one family drove here from quite a distance because they are looking for a church that teaches the Bible consistently and faithfully. They said it’s hard to find one. One sister was greatly helped by solid Bible teachings she found online that made her to question and seek for a similar church. Yet another family shared with me that they were frustrated when teachers do not faithfully interpret what Scripture says, but go off tangent on their own favorite topics that had no connection whatsoever with the text.

Although I don’t know if they will eventually find CDPC Puchong a suitable home church or not, I want to commend them for their commitment to take the trouble to discern the truth from error. I want to encourage you to continue your hunger for faithful preaching of God’s word. Because for some people, it is simply not a priority…

Once I heard a guest preacher from the UK came to a local church and he taught from the pulpit: “There are many ways of salvation apart from Jesus. As long as they are sincere, it doesn’t matter what they believe”. Only a few people picked it up (maybe about ten), and we had a conversation with him after the service. What surprised me was that most people didn’t even realize that what the preacher taught was far from biblical. They just continued with their normal Sunday activities without a hint. Either they didn’t understand his British accent or it simply didn’t matter to them.

But it does matter. It matters whether we are divided by error. It matters for the glory of Christ. It matters for the well being and unity of God’s people.

That is why as part of our Church membership requirement we go through a few sessions on our Basic Beliefs on: What is the gospel? What are some of our core values we hold in unity? Because if we are divided, fragmented and we do not even agree on core doctrines like who Jesus is and what the gospel means, then it would be an obstacle for the church to grow and serve together. In the essentials, let there be unity. On the non-essentials, let there be diversity. We can agree to disagree on lots of other things (which are important to us, and we may have strong views about speaking in tongues or end time scenarios) because the unity we share in Christ and in the gospel transcends all these differences.
In all things, let there be charity, gentleness and respect.

That’s also why I need you to help our team of preachers who serve you by teaching God’s word. Pray for us. Discern with us. Check out our pulpit calendar and study the Scripture text in advance. Help each other to grow in discernment. I always welcome your feedback to help me to be more faithful to the text and more effective in teaching it. If I ever teach things that seem contrary to what the Bible says, you’d do me a great favor by gently pointing it out and correcting me from the authority of Scripture. Maybe that would help me improve. Maybe that would give me a chance to clarify. Whatever it is, our teachings matter so that we give Christ the glory He deserves and to maintain unity in His body.

Behind these false teachers and divisions and factions, Paul sees the work of Satan, the enemy. So look at the promise in verse 20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. God’s peace is not compromise with evil. It is not through appeasing Satan but the defeat of evil that true peace is attained. For that, we need the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.

With these warnings, Paul continued with a shorter list of names and greetings. Here we go again in verse 21-23 other fellow workers and friends of Paul who were with him in Corinth show up to send their greetings to the church in Rome. Timothy is his famous son, protégé in the Lord. Do you notice something interesting here verse 22? “I, Tertius, who wrote down this letter, greet you in the Lord.” The ideas and words in this letter were all from Paul but he was technically not the person who wrote it down. He collaborates with a scribe named Tertius. And if I could meet him personally, I want to thank Tertius for writing one of the most influential and important letters ever written. It was a momentous task, a difficult mission to keep up with Paul’s complex thoughts especially when he gets excited, but he has done a wonderful job so we can read it today.  

With that we come to the appropriate conclusion, the grand finale of Paul’s letter to the Romans. Here he breaks forth into praise: “To the only wise God be glory forever“! There is a reason for this and it’s simply this: Theology is for doxology. After reflecting and explaining who God is and what Christ has done to effect our salvation at such length and depth, it is time to bow down and worship Him for all that He is, for all that he has done. Because the goal of all Bible studies, of all Christian education, of all Sunday school catechism, of all youth group Systematic theology, of all Alpha course, of all doctrinal reflection is ultimately for the glory and love of God. They are like fuel that feeds the fire of our worship. That’s why in our worship songs we put a high premium on solid, truthful and biblical lyrics and express that in song, with emotion.

Because the purpose of studying about God is not to just stop at satisfying our curiosity or some sort of intellectual exercise. God is not to be merely analyzed and discussed, He is to be adored, marveled at, obeyed, exulted in, to be reveled in and magnified for all that He is. If theology stops short of worship/doxology, it is stunted and incomplete. Do you see and do you love it? You were made for this. Something deep in your soul is saying to you: I was made for this—to behold the glory of God and to reflect that glory. 
What does Paul praise God for? Interestingly, God is glorified for 3 things… Three major themes in the entire letter of Romans captured in a nutshell. These are the same themes found at the very beginning of this letter’s introduction (Romans 1).

1) Earlier, he speaks of the power of God to save sinners. Now, he speaks of God’s power to establish saints. He not only brings us to faith, He also strengthens and nurtures us to grow in faith. When we see that spiritual progress is getting hard and seems hopeless, that’s not a reason to give up… All the more you should press on because God is able to establish us against errors, He is able to make us stand firm against temptation. He is able to grant us courage against dangers.

No power of hell, no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand
Till he returns or calls me home
Here is the power of God I stand.

2) Paul speaks of the gospel of Christ as something promised and revealed progressively “through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God” (verse 26). It is a mystery that beyond the powers of the human mind to discover on its own, a secret that is hidden for long ages past in symbols, hints and clues in the Old Testament. But now it is revealed fully in the person of Jesus Christ, through His death and resurrection as recorded in the NT.  

Spurgeon has this to say about how we read all of Scripture, especially the OT: “Don’t you know, young man, that from every town and every village and every hamlet in England, wherever it may be, there is a road to London? So from every text of Scripture there is a road to Christ. And my dear brother, your business is, when you get to a text, to say, now, what is the road to Christ? I have never found a text that had not got a road to Christ in it, and if ever I do find one, I will go over hedge and ditch but I would get at my Master, for the sermon cannot do any good unless there is a savor of Christ in it.”

Christ is in the OT concealed, and in the NT revealed.

3) Thirdly, God is praised for *the evangelization of the nations*. Not only is the gospel revealed, it must also be made known *all nations might believe and obey him* (verse 26). Again, this is a major theme at the beginning of Romans 1:5 – Paul received his calling as an apostle to *bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of Christ’s name among all nations*.

And this is not a divine suggestion. This universal, all inclusive commission to bring the gospel to all nations is by *by the command of the eternal God* to unite Jews and Gentiles, bumiputra and non bumiputra as one people in Christ. And the only proper response to the gospel is faith alone, but it is not just merely lip service (I believe, and then live just like everybody else). That faith is itself an act of obedience to what God has revealed and demanded… and that genuine faith will result in a life of obeying Christ as Lord and King.  
So, God is praised and worshiped for His wisdom and power in making known the gospel through Scripture, by God’s command, so that all nations may believe and obey.

Let us worship him for his power and wisdom displayed in the gospel.

12 comments:

Perisai dan Pedang said...

Thanks for your faithfulness in blogging, bro Dave.

How are you, btw?

I am coming back to revive my blog.I have been writing on my facebook (Pena Rajawali) but they got mixed up with other things that my followers hard to trace back my former postings...

Hey, we have never met up, kan?

Unknown said...

Hi, Dave. Joshua Lim here. The 3 Litmus tests u mentioned are fine. Nevertheless, if things were so clear like you say, we wont be having so many different Interpretations based on the same 66 books. I think glorifying Jesus Christ is easier to discern.I agree with you on the urgency to share the way of salvation thru Jesus Christ, epistemology & hermeneutics aside.In non-essentials, maintaining our bond in Christ.

Dave said...

Helo Pena Rajawali, we'd not met face to face yet though you are my FB friend lar. More pastoral duties now so less time to blog. Only upload sermons now haha... catch up when ur in KL or when i go sabah lar.

Hi Joshua, thanks for your comments! Agree that it's not easy and could be complex... though it's heartening to note that the technical debates usually revolve around those basic questions.

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Hung Hui Onn said...

경애하는 최고령도자 김정은동지께서 제2차( Pastor Jean Lim)
전국당초급선전일군대회 참가자들에게 서한 《참신한 선전선동으로 혁명의 전진동력을 배가해나가자》를 보내시였다
우리 당과 국가, 군대의 최고령도자 김정은동지께서는 3월 6일 제2차 전국당초급선전일군대회 참가자들에게 서한 《참신한 선전선동으로 혁명의 전진동력을 배가해나가자》를 보내시였다.

경애하는 최고령도자 김정은동지께서는 서한에서 우리 당력사에서 두번째로 되는 전국당초급선전일군대회는 주체혁명위업이 새로운 발전단계에 들어선 중대한 력사적시기에 열리였다고 하시면서 다음과 같이 지적하시였다.

간고하고 시련에 찬 투쟁로정을 승리적으로 돌파하고 사회주의건설의 전환적국면을 힘차게 열어나가고있는 때에 우리 당사상전선의 제1선에서 활약하는 당초급선전일군들의 대회합을 가진것은 자못 의의가 큽니다.

나는 제2차 전국당초급선전일군대회를 통하여 위대한 우리 인민의 자랑스러운 일원으로서 애국충정의 피를 먼저 끓이며 전진하는 대오에 혁명열, 투쟁열, 창조열을 더해주고있는 온 나라의 선전원, 선동원들에게 조선로동당 중앙위원회의 이름으로 뜨거운 전투적인사를 보냅니다.

지금 혁명정세는 우리에게 유리하게 발전하고있습니다. 당중앙의 전략적결단과 우리 인민의 굴함없는 투쟁에 의하여 모든것이 목적하는바 그대로 되여가고있으며 사회주의건설을 거침없이 다그쳐나갈수 있는 주객관적조건이 성숙되고있습니다. 자력으로 보란듯이 미래를 개척해나가는 우리 인민의 힘을 그 무엇으로써도 억제할수 없다는것이 엄연한 현실로 증명되였습니다. 우리 국가에 대한 제국주의자들의 날강도적인 전쟁위협이 무용지물로 된것처럼 극악무도한 제재압살책동도 파탄을 면치 못하게 되여있습니다.

격변하는 현정세하에서 우리가 달성하려는 웅대한 투쟁목표는 언제나 그러했던바와 같이 혁명과 건설의 주인인 인민대중의 사상정신력을 발동함에 더 진지하고 더 많은 품을 들일것을 요구하고있습니다.

국가발전의 근본원천은 인민의 창조력이며 혁명의 전진동력은 인민대중의 정신적힘입니다.

오늘 우리 국가제일주의에 고무된 인민들의 애국열의를 고조시키고 그것을 실제적이며 비약적인 사회주의건설성과에로 지향시키는 기본방략은 정치사상사업을 보다 참신하게 전투적으로 벌리는데 있습니다.

우리 당은 사회주의강국의 기초를 든든히 다져야 할 당면한 혁명임무와 우리 인민의 앙양된 기세에 상응하게 선전선동사업을 결정적으로 개선하며 여기에서 중요한 몫을 맡고있는 초급선전일군들에게 새로운 투쟁을 호소하기 위하여 이번 대회를 소집하였습니다.

군중이 있는 모든 곳에 선전원,선동원들을 두고 그들의 역할을 높여 하나가 열,열이 백을 교양하고 이끌어나가는것은 우리 당의 고유한 대중교양체계, 군중공작방법입니다.

혁명의 위대한 수령이신 김일성동지와 김정일동지께서는 조선혁명을 이끄시는 전기간 군중의 핵심이고 선도자인 초급선전일군들을 중시하시고 그들과의 사업에 각별한 힘을 넣으시였습니다. 친근한 스승, 다심한 어버이의 손길로 시대를 대표하는 붉은 선전원, 선동원들을 키우시고 당조직들과 초급선전일군들을 통하여 대중적혁신운동의 불길을 지피신 위대한 수령님과 위대한 장군님의 현명한 령도밑에 화선선전, 화선선동의 고귀한 경험과 전통이 마련되였습니다. 이것은 우리 당사상사업발전의 귀중한 밑천으로, 사회주의전진의 동력을 부단히 보충강화하는 위력한 방도로 되여왔습니다.

우리 인민이 가혹한 시련과 난관을 박차고 강용한 기상을 떨치며 사회주의수호와 국력강화의 기적적성과를 쟁취할수 있은것도 전국의 초급선전일군들이 일터와 초소마다에서 대중을 영웅적창조투쟁에로 적극 고무추동하였기때문입니다.

사상사업은 우리 당사업의 중핵중의 핵입니다.

사상의 위력, 선전선동의 위력으로 모든 문제를 해결하고 혁명의 전진을 가속화해나가는 우리 당의 투쟁방식은 어제도 오늘도 일관합니다.

당중앙의 의도는 이번 대회를 계기로 온 나라의 당초급선전일군들이 일제히 들고일어나 혁명의 북소리를 더 높이 울림으로써 사회주의건설의 전 전선에서 새로운 앙양을 일으키자는것입니다.

당초급선전일군들이 활발히 움직이면 당사상전선이 약동하게 되고 혁명대오전반이 용을 쓰며 나아가게 됩니다. 모든 당초급선전일군들은 자기 임무의 중요성을 깊이 자각하고 결심도 새로이 분발하여 선전선동활동을 힘있게 벌려나가야 합니다.

Petrus said...

Yes. I remembered this ministry (Semarak Revival Centre) and Glory Place Prayer Centre(GP), they brough harm to my family member, my brother. They tried to recruit him into their cult movement. He was brained washed by them to quit from his job even though he has 3 children and a wife to support. This ministry forced him to burn all his certificates and degree qualification, he ruined his career.
All his money in the bank and savings was stolen by the Church. He was forced to sell his house and new Honda Civic and give all the money to the church. This ministry forced him to stop sending his children to School.

Brained washed him and taught him all the wrong teachings and doctrines, they asked him to fast for 70 days without food and water.His wife divorced him after 6 months of joining this cult because he was unable to support his family. They teach you wrong teaching and doctrines.
This ministry stole everything from him. I am writing this and hope hope there is no more victims like my bother(WARNING!!!), to ask you to quite your job, ruined your career and stop sending your children to school and scamming all his hard earned money.
It took at least 7 years to recover all the mental and emotional hurts caused by this Ministry. Today, his children working in a petrol station and low paying job here and there. All the false doctrines and teachings Pastor Jean Lim and Semarak Revival Centre(SRC) caused so much of harm to countless of people around the world.
Please don't be the NEXT Victim! At your own RISK, l have warned your already.
For those people who want to contribute to stop this cult movement, you can do it by re-posting all the comments in this blogs about this Ministry and warn all your friends, relatives, children and public about this Ministry.

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