Λόγωτης πανδημίαςτουιού COVID-19 και τηςδιακοπήςτηςδιεθνούς υπηρεσίας αλληλογραφίας,
έχουμε αναστείλει προσωρινάτην υπηρεσία μας "ΔωρεάνΤυπωμέναΒιβλία (Free Print Book)".
έχουμε αναστείλει προσωρινάτην υπηρεσία μας "ΔωρεάνΤυπωμέναΒιβλία (Free Print Book)".
Κάτω από αυτή την κατάσταση δεν μπορούμε να στείλουμε τα βιβλία αυτή τη στιγμή.
Προσεύχεστε ώστε αυτή η πανδημία να λήξει σύντομα και να αρχίσει ξανά η ταχυδρομική υπηρεσία.
Προσεύχεστε ώστε αυτή η πανδημία να λήξει σύντομα και να αρχίσει ξανά η ταχυδρομική υπηρεσία.
Subject 15 : The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the GALATIANS
[Chapter 4-3] Do Not Turn Again To the Weak and Beggarly Elements of the World (Galatians 4:1-11)
“Now I say that the heir, as long as he is a child, does not differ at all from a slave, though he is master of all, but is under guardians and stewards until the time appointed by the father. Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world. But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, ‘Abba, Father!’ Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. But then, indeed, when you did not know God, you served those which by nature are not gods. But now after you have known God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, to which you desire again to be in bondage? You observe days and months and seasons and years. I am afraid for you, lest I have labored for you in vain.”
Are Our Sins Blotted Out Only If We Offer Prayers of Repentance?
Paul wrote this letter about 2,000 years ago. The “elements” here refer to the basic principles of the Law to lead a legalistic life of faith according to the Law. The Jews used to learn everything in a yeshiva. The Apostle Paul himself was also trained under a famous teacher called Gamaliel and taught to fear God through the Law. That is why the Apostle Paul called it ‘elements’ to be still bound by the Law, learn the Law, and practice the Law even after the coming of Jesus.
Paul believed in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. He said, “The heir, as long as he is a child, does not differ at all from a slave, though he is master of all, but is under guardians and stewards until the time appointed by the father.” What Paul wants to tell us in this passage is that we should believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit and thereby become God’s children to inherit the dominion of Heaven. Before meeting the Lord, we had been under the Law, and we were in desperate need of a Savior.
However, many people still had a legalistic faith even as they professed to believe in Jesus. They were trying to observe every statute of the Law, festivals, and the Sabbath, as it is written in Galatians 4:10-11, “You observe days and months and seasons and years. I am afraid for you, lest I have labored for you in vain.” The people of Israel in the Old Testament age had observed many festivals such as Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and the Feast of Harvest. The legalists, however, argued that even in the age of the New Testament, the saints of God’s Church still had to keep the Old Testament’s festivals and the Sabbath, and that they could become God’s people only if they were physically circumcised as well.
Like this, there were many in the Early Church who pursued a legalistic faith. What about now then? Are there such people among today’s Christians who are still leading a legalistic life of faith? Yes. There are so many Christians who believe that they still have to offer their own prayers of repentance to be washed from their sins. They are none other than the modern version of the legalists. It’s truly tragic that most Christians are still adhering to a legalistic faith, even though Jesus Christ has already blotted out all our sins once and for all with the gospel of the water and the Spirit. What we have to recognize here is the fact that it’s not just “some” Christians who are such legalists, but almost all Christians are leading a legalistic life of faith. Few Christians actually know that leading a legalistic life is to stand against God so much.
Those who profess themselves to be faithful Christians, those who argue that they must keep the Law of God, or believe that that their salvation is completed only if they believe in the doctrine of repentance or the Doctrine of Incremental Sanctification, are living a life of faith that is completely divergent from the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit. All of us must, therefore, now cast aside the legalistic faith and believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
Does this then mean that in the present age of the New Testament, the Law is now useless for us Christians? No, that is not the case. We still need the Law. Everyone can believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit only if he has the proper knowledge of the role of God’s Law. For anyone and everyone, only when one realizes his sins through the Law can he then be saved from all sins by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and become one of God’s people. The problem, however, is that most Christians just try to keep God’s Law blindly, without even realizing why God gave them His Law. God gave us His Law to let us realize and know our sins (Romans 3:19-20). Only those who recognize before the Law that they are sinners bound to hell can accept the gospel of the water and the Spirit into their hearts and attain their salvation.
When we look back on our past lives of faith, we can see that for a long time, we had, indeed, lived our lives of faith imprisoned by the Law. However, once the gospel of the water and the Spirit came to us, the Son of God made us completely righteous, so that we would no longer be under the Law. That is how we came to belong to Jesus Christ. Through the gospel of the water and the Spirit, we have now become Abraham’s spiritual descendants and the heirs who will inherit the Kingdom of God according to His promise.
Nevertheless, Christians who still adhere to their legalistic faith remain oblivious to the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit, absolutely convinced that they must give prayers of repentance everyday to receive the remission of their sins. They believe that although everyone is remitted from his original sin all at once by believing in the blood of the Cross, his personal sins committed thereafter are washed away through prayers of repentance. So even though they believe in Jesus as their Savior, they have no other choice but to always remain sinners. That is why they believe that even if one believes in Jesus, it is only at his death that he is made sinless to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
These people have actually become God’s enemies, although this was never their intention. Why? They have come to stand against God and His Church precisely because they have rejected God’s Truth that remits away their sins once and for all, and are instead trying to receive the remission of their sins through their own prayers of repentance. They believe staunchly that their sins are always forgiven through their own prayers of repentance. But those who adhere to this kind of faith have all their sins remaining intact in their hearts, and therefore they cannot help but continue to be bound by sin and offer prayers of repentance throughout their lives. These people do not have the proper knowledge of the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and that is why they are leading their lives of faith so foolishly. Yet despite this, they don’t even think of the slightest possibility that they are misleading their lives of faith.
In this light, we can see that virtually all Christians today are still living a legalistic life of faith under the elements. This doctrine of repentance is a doctrine commonly found in every religion of the world, which indicates that it fits everyone’s thoughts because it is based on “the principle of rewards and punishments according to one’s deeds.” In other words, mankind’s logic of rewards and punishments, in which one has to do something on his own to compensate for his sin whenever he commits one, has led to a doctrine that tries to wash away sin through an act of penance called prayer of repentance.
However, the adherents to such a doctrine believe in Jesus in vain. The blessing that Jesus wants to give them is for them to receive the remission of their sins once and for all, become forever sinless and righteous, and turn into God’s children, all by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Yet despite this, these people remain ignorant of this true gospel, and, as a result, they have all their sins remaining intact in their hearts, and they continue to be tormented by their sins everyday, only to be cast into hell in the end. Because they still have sin in their hearts, they can never become God’s people. Since countless sins have been written on the tablet of their hearts (Jeremiah 17:1), they cannot say to God, “I have no sin. I am a righteous person.” In such people’s hearts, there is neither the Word testifying to their remission of sin, nor the Holy Spirit.
Because these people still remain spiritually blind, they believe in Jesus in vain with a vague expectation, thinking, “Since I believe in Jesus, I’ll be changed into a sinless person someday.” Common to all of them is the fact that they are still sinners, and that because of their sins, they are living in bondage under the Law.
Then What Should We Do for Them?
The Apostle Paul rebuked the faith of those who insisted that they could become God’s people only if they were physically circumcised. Before we try to preach the gospel of the water and the Spirit to today’s Christians, we also have to teach them that they can never receive the remission of their sins just by offering their own prayers of repentance. To those who believe that they can be washed from their sins through prayers of repentance, we should ask as the following: “Did your heart’s sins really disappear when you offered prayers of repentance?”
Honest people would then surely answer with a “no.” After thus making them realize how they had believed incorrectly, we then have to explain the gospel of the water and the Spirit to them in detail. The first thing that we should teach to those who believe in Jesus mistakenly is the fact that it is impossible for them to be remitted from their sins through their own prayers of repentance. They can then realize that their hearts are bound by sin, and that their spirits are to be cursed by God. That’s because it’s after this realization that they come to listen to the gospel of the water and the Spirit, accept it into their hearts, and believe in it.
We must teach all those who are relying on their own prayers of repentance that only the gospel of the water and the Spirit can cleanse them from sin and make them God’s people. To do so, however, we must first have them realize that those with legalistic beliefs have not yet received the remission of sin from God, and we must also have them admit that this remission of sin cannot be received by offering prayers of repentance. They will then also realize what it really means when the Bible says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23), and return to the true gospel of the water and the Spirit. That’s because only then do they finally grasp the fallacy of their faith, and realize that the gospel of the water and the Spirit, the real Truth of salvation, is the gospel that saves them from all sins.
If anyone realizes and believes that Jesus has indeed washed away all our sins through the baptism He received from John the Baptist and shedding of His blood on the Cross, he will receive abundant spiritual blessings. There is no one who would misbelieve in Jesus once he realizes that God has completely washed away his sins with the gospel of the water and the Spirit. We must grasp the fallacy of a legalistic faith. Only when we believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit is true salvation finally fulfilled in our hearts.
The Book of Galatians teaches us many truths. Through this Word of Galatians, we can teach people all over the world who just recently believed the gospel of the water and the Spirit as they began to realize why the circumcisionists’ legalistic faith is incorrect. Moreover, through this Word, we can also teach them clearly why today’s legalistic faith captivated by the doctrine of repentance is so wrong, and, in doing so, shine the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit even more brightly. Like this, the knowledge of this Word of Galatians is absolutely indispensable when the believers in the gospel of the water and the Spirit seek to preach their faith to those who are leading a legalistic life of faith.
To those who just recently believed in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, the Book of Galatians will be the Sword of the Spirit that affirms the Truth of salvation and cuts off the false doctrines. Our brothers, sisters, and colleagues all over the world, who have met the gospel of the water and the Spirit through our books, are probably not aware of what they should teach first when they preach this genuine gospel to the Christian sinners around them. In particularly, when they preach this gospel to those who are trying to wash away their sins through their own prayers of repentance, they are likely to be at a loss, not knowing what they should teach first. However, what is clear is that that those who have the gospel of the water and the Spirit can heal them from their mistaken beliefs.
In the Catholic Church, when its believers commit sin, they partake in the sacrament of penance. Catholics confess their sins to a priest, sitting across a small window in a confession room, saying, “I’ve committed such and such sins.” Then the priest asks the penitent to express sorrow by saying one of the prayers found in the ritual or praying in his own words, and assigns him corresponding penance. The priest then prays ‘the prayer of absolution,’ to which the penitent responds, “Amen.” This is an institution that corresponds to prayers of repentance in Christianity.
However, do Christians, Catholics and Protestants alike get their sins washed away by partaking in the sacrament of penance or offering prayers of repentance? No, absolutely no sin is blotted out through such a method and such beliefs. Yet despite this, today’s Christians believe in Jesus as their Savior according to their own convenience, without knowing the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Believing that the crucified Jesus is their Savior, they are trying to be washed from their sins by offering prayers of repentance. They think that their sins will all disappear if they are just diligent with their prayers of repentance. In other words, they believe in Jesus only as a matter of religion. That is why they always remain sinners even as they profess to believe in Jesus as their Savior.
During the Early Church era, the saints of the Galatian churches received physical circumcision to avoid contempt and persecution from unbelievers. Seeking the approval of the Jews who did not believe in Jesus, they followed the religious tradition of Judaism. These people had no desire to seek the will of God, nor the growth of their faith. By whatever means, they only sought to avoid the persecution that inevitably followed their faith in Jesus. However, if they had been under the curse of the Law before, but they now came to know and believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, the Truth of real salvation, then it was only a matter of course that they should be persecuted by many friends, colleagues, and even families.
You must realize that even in God’s Church, there are many who are not truly God’s people. It’s only natural for us to be persecuted because of our faith in Jesus by those who are not God’s people. The Apostle Paul had also believed in Judaism, and when he converted and believed in Jesus Christ, the Jews persecuted him and tried to kill him. That is why the Apostle Paul said, “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18).
“The message of the cross” here refers to the Truth that the Lord came to this earth, took upon all the sins doomed to be cursed by the just Law through His baptism, was crucified, rose from the dead again, and has thereby saved us from all our sins. This “message of the cross” does not just refer to the death of Jesus Christ on the Cross, but it refers to the gospel of Truth, that Jesus has saved us humans from all our sins by shouldering the sins of mankind and dying on the Cross to atone for them. This also means that once we believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, we are to be persecuted for our faith in Jesus. If we have indeed become God’s people by believing in this genuine gospel, then it is only a matter of course that we should be hated by all the people of the world, and detested by even our own families of the flesh and our friends.
After you received the remission of your sins by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, didn’t many of your own family members turn against you? Once we are born again by believing in this genuine gospel and receive the remission of our sins, we often come across many people who vehemently oppose us and hate us for no reason. Those who have not yet received the remission of their sins have evil spirits in them, and that is why they groundlessly hate us who have met Jesus by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. They persecute us in both body and spirit, just as Ishmael persecuted Isaac in the Old Testament.
Few Christians actually know that their sins are not blotted out through their own prayers of repentance. Therefore, to break down their fallacious beliefs, we must first teach them to realize the futility of prayers of repentance. To do so, we need to ask them, “It’s been ten years since you believed in Jesus, and yet don’t your sins still remain intact? Did your sins really disappear through your own prayers of repentance?” And we need to ascertain to them that their sins are not blotted out just by offering prayers of repentance after committing them.
When you first started to believe in Jesus, your hearts probably felt liberated. When you thought about Jesus, this alone was probably enough to fill you with gratefulness, and you probably felt as if your hearts were cleansed after offering prayers of repentance. However, after several years passed by since you first believed in Jesus, you came to realize that sin continued to pile up in your hearts, and that these sins did not disappear even though you offered lots of prayers of repentance. Was this not the case? So, in general, while Christians are very enthusiastic when they first attend church, after a short while, they eventually end up becoming like the hypocritical Pharisees.
For us to really be saved from all our sins, we must believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit given by the Lord. If you still have sin in your hearts despite believing in Jesus, then it’s all because the gospel Word of the water and the Spirit is not in your hearts. Unless you have faith in this genuine gospel, you will surely end up attending church only out of obligation, and, as a result, turn into a hypocrite without even realizing that this has happened to you.
So, when we meet and talk with people who have led a religious life for a long time, we can see just how wrong it is to believe in the doctrine of repentance or the Doctrine of Incremental Sanctification that they rely upon. According to the logic of their faith placed in those doctrines, after leading their lives of faith for that long, they should have become sanctified to brilliance. But the reality is that their hearts still remain sinful, and so whenever they face any problem, they only lament, crying out, “What should I do? What should I do?” Indeed, having relied only on doctrines without any faith in the real gospel of the water and the Spirit, they are exposed as sinners before God, and they are therefore no longer able to maintain their own doctrinal conviction. That their hearts remain sinful is the clear proof that they have not been delivered from sin yet.
As such, when we preach the gospel to Christians, we need to let them know first that it is nothing more than a lie to claim that the remission of sin is received by offering prayers of repentance. If you are still offering prayers of repentance, then you are still leading a legalistic life of faith. If people believe that their sins are blotted out by offering prayers of repentance, then they have no other choice but to keep offering prayers of repentance time after time, for otherwise their sins would remain in their hearts.
So, everyday, most Christians try not to commit sin, but they end up sinning again and again, and therefore they have to offer prayers of repentance day after day. They turn into strange people, switching back and forth from sinners to righteous people several times in just a day. That is why the Bible says, “Its swamps and marshes will not be healed; they will be given over to salt” (Ezekiel 47:11). To such people who offer prayers of repentance everyday, we need to make it clear that their own faith will ultimately cause them to be sinners and lead them to death.
Those Who Believe in the Gospel of the Water and the Spirit Are Now No Longer under the Law
The Apostle Paul said to the Galatian saints, “Now I say that the heir, as long as he is a child, does not differ at all from a slave, though he is master of all, but is under guardians and stewards until the time appointed by the father” (Galatians 4:1-2). And he said that once we are saved by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, we are no longer under a tutor. In other words, once we are born again through this genuine gospel, we don’t try to receive the remission of our sins by offering prayers of repentance, nor by keeping the Sabbath faithfully, far less by observing Lent or the festivals of the Old Testament.
Now that we have received the remission of our sins by believing in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, it is by our faith in God that we live, just as He said, “The just shall live by faith.” In other words, we live by believing that the Lord is our Savior, and that He has blotted out all our sins. This is what the lives of the righteous are like. After we really grasp that the Lord has wholly saved us through the gospel of the water and the Spirit, we can have real faith in Him, in His Word, and in all His good intentions toward us.
Those who are leading a legalistic life of faith still have not moved beyond the elementary stage of a religion called ‘Christianity.’ They are fundamentally different from those who are leading an elevated life of faith. The believers in the gospel of the water and the Spirit are people of extremely accurate faith, but those Christians who now think that the remission of sin is received by offering prayers of repentance are still leading their lives of faith without even realizing the wrath of the Law prepared for them. The wrath of the Law brings eternal death.
Young students have to continue to attend school until they become adults. Why? Because they have to get at least the basic education to function properly in society. However, once they become adults, they no longer go to school. Yet almost all Christians are still bound under the bondage of the Law. Everyone was already a sinner from the very moment he was born, and therefore he is under the rule of the Law. Why? Because there is sin in everyone’s heart. That is why every sinner must meet Jesus Christ through the gospel of the water and the Spirit. And he must escape from the elementary knowledge of the Law.
Galatians 4:4-5 says, “But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law.” The words “to redeem” here mean to purchase by paying a price. Slave markets were quite active in the old days. When someone needed a slave, he had to go to the slave market and pay an appropriate price to purchase one. In other words, to possess a slave, one had to pay the money and buy him. Likewise, in order for the Lord to take us to the Kingdom of God and make us live forever as God’s children, He had to redeem us with the atoning work of the water and the Spirit. That is why the Lord was baptized by John the Baptist and was crucified to death, all to pay off the wage of our sins.
This is how the Lord has redeemed us from all our sins: Before Jesus Christ came, this world was under the Law, and therefore everyone was a sinner. At that time, when we were sinners, Jesus was born on this earth incarnated in the flesh through the body of the Virgin Mary. To atone for all our sins, the Lord Jesus had to take upon Himself all the sins of mankind once and for all by being baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan River, shed His precious blood and die on the Cross, and rise from the dead again. By fulfilling all these ministries, the Lord paid off the wages of all our sins. He bought us by paying the proper price of salvation.
By offering Himself to God, the Lord redeemed us from sin, and enabled us to attain the right to become God’s children if we only believe in His righteous work wholeheartedly. Before, we were sinners, but now, by believing in the merits of Jesus Christ, we have been adopted into God’s family. The Lord has saved us from all our sins through the gospel of the water and the Spirit, and by believing in this gospel, we have been saved from all our sins once and for all. That is why Galatians 4:6-7 says, “And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, ‘Abba, Father!’ Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.” The Lord has indeed redeemed us from sin.
Anyone who believes in this Truth can now be washed from all his sins and become a son of God. And God sent the Holy Spirit into our hearts and enabled us to call God as Abba, Father. Therefore, we are no longer slaves but sons, and if sons, then we are heirs of God. In other words, if we are indeed God’s sons, then we are heirs who will inherit everything God has. Just as God lives forever, we are to live forever also; by giving us salvation, God has enabled us to enjoy all His splendor and glory; and God has given us everything He has. In short, we have become God’s sons through our faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
Now, we the believers in the gospel of the water and the Spirit no longer live as slaves under the elements of this world. Also, we do not make friends with those who are not born again as of yet. The Lord said in Psalm:
“Blessed is the man
Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners” (Psalms 1:1).
The righteous can never join hands with sinners to work together, nor should they. And even if they were to do this, it would not work. Those who have been born again through the gospel of the water and the Spirit cannot work with not only unbelievers, but they can’t work with legalistic Christians either. If you have really received the remission of your sins, then you probably have experienced for yourselves how you are not compatible with those worldly people. If, however, you are marching to the same drum as the people of the world, then you should realize that you have already been utterly corrupted. And you should turn around as soon as possible, realizing that you are turning into an instrument of evil.
Once I met the Lord through the gospel Word of the water and the Spirit, I had to part from my old companions with whom I had led my life of faith. Although they asked me to stay and work with them, I said to them, “No, I’m afraid I can’t. While I don’t hate you personally, I cannot be with you. If the gospel of the water and the Spirit that I preached was right, then you should have believed in it. Unless you believe in this gospel, I can’t share fellowship with you.”
If I were to work with them, I would still be a liar. Had I joined hands and worked with the legalists or those claiming that the remission of sin is received through prayers of repentance, then this would have meant that I still approved of their lies, and that is why I could never join hands and work with them.
However, there are many Evangelicals who join hands and work with legalistic believers without any hesitation. Such people pretend to be spiritual, only to exploit their followers for financial gains. I could never bring myself to do this. When I met my old worldly friends just after I was born again of water and the Spirit, I could see at first glance that I could never be with such people. Since we were close friends back in our childhood, I was deeply attached to them emotionally. But, I found out that their faith was only elementary, and I felt spiritually shameful and uncomfortable to be with them.
Of course, I’m not saying here that you should isolate yourselves from all the people of the world. But it is not that beneficial to maintain spiritual fellowship with your old acquaintances. When you try to preach the gospel to your friends who have memories of your old selves only, they will not easily accept the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit that’s inside you, since their carnal memories will hinder them from believing in the Truth. This is why the Lord said, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house” (Mark 6:4).
So unless you remove them from your minds, you cannot serve the Lord, nor follow Him, nor preach the gospel. The Bible says that Abraham left his country, his family, and his father’s house to follow the Word of God. Likewise, unless we throw away our old relationships, we cannot follow God’s Word. So it is absolutely indispensable for us to never be enslaved by the legalists or the people of the world. We must not join hands and work with them.
That is why the Apostle Paul rebuked the Galatian saints and warned them, saying, “Now that you know the gospel of the water and the Spirit, how is it that you wish to turn again to the weak and beggarly elements?” To couch this message in today’s terms, the Bible is asking, “How can a born-again person want to return to the world, and back into the faith of the legalists claiming that the remission of sin is received through prayers of repentance?” To do so would render it meaningless that Jesus Christ came to this earth, was baptized, and died on the Cross to save us. Given the fact that Jesus did not avoid persecution or hardship but personally bore them all to save us, how could we return to the elementary knowledge, submit under the legalists, and just be content to live like this? We must never do this. If the born-again want to be servants, they must be servants of righteousness. They must not be servants of sin, servants of the Devil, or servants of the legalists. The Apostle Paul made it clear here that we must not be enslaved to those who do not practice righteousness.
Because the Lord has saved us through the gospel of the water and the Spirit, the Apostle Paul said the following: “For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another” (Galatians 5:13). In other words, God has given us true liberty, but we should not use this liberty to serve our own flesh or practice evil. When we were bound by sin to be cursed, God delivered us from the curses of the Law and of sin. And Jesus freed us from all the shackles that had bound us and gave us true liberty.
The Lord said that He gave us true freedom because He wanted us to live voluntarily for what is right. Yet do you wish to be bound by the world again despite this? If anyone wants to be bound by sin again, and to be enslaved by the world again, then he deserves to be rebuked. We must listen to the admonition of the Apostle Paul.
This year also, we have a great deal of God’s work that needs to be done through His Church. We have made many preparations so far, and now, we will actually carry out many works. We need many workers of God as well. The saints should serve the Lord, make money diligently through their jobs, and take care of their families properly, while His servants should labor diligently to carry out their entrusted tasks from each of their posts. There are many things that we have to do from our respective posts.
We must never return to the weak and beggarly elements to be enslaved by the Law. The word “beggarly” is an antonym of “noble.” Those who do not do righteous work are called “beggarly.” If politicians do not work for their fellow countrymen but only for the interest of their own party and themselves, then they are “beggarly.” What else could they be but charlatans? If we Christians defend only our own denominations’ doctrines and forsake the Truth, then we would be nothing more than spiritual scoundrels. Such scoundrels are none other than the circumcisionists and the advocates of prayers of repentance.
We Christians must take the Word of God as our bread and grow spiritually by trusting in God’s Church. And we must live by faith and pool our strengths together. We shouldn’t say, “I don’t have to care anymore. Since the Church has leaders and preceding servants, they will take care of everything.” The Lord wants to use all of us as His workers.
Nowadays, I wish I had ten bodies. One of me could then write the book, another could work to make money, yet another could meet and have fellowship with the saints, my fourth person could travel around the world to preach, and so on. I say this because there is so much work to do, and it would be wonderful if all this work could be completed soon.
My fellow believers, do you want to return to the weak and beggarly elements? Do you want to return to such legalistic beliefs, claiming that the remission of original sin is received just by believing in Jesus’ blood on the Cross alone, and that the remission of personal sins are received by offering prayers of repentance? I know that this is not what you want. If you and I offer our bodies to what is right, then we will be made instruments of righteousness, but if we offer our bodies to evil despite receiving the remission of our sins, then we will become servants of evil.
That is why the Lord is telling us to become servants of righteousness. Regardless of who, if anyone offers his body as an instrument of righteousness, the Holy Spirit inside him will rejoice, the Lord will bestow grace on him, and He will bless him in His time. However, if we offer our bodies to what is evil as its instruments, then only curses will await us. If we do this, it’s inevitable for us to come across those whom we should never meet, and so whether intentionally or unintentionally, we may very well be tainted with filth and stained by their evil thoughts and their wicked and false beliefs.
The Apostle Paul had labored hard to preach the gospel of the water and the Spirit to the saints of the Galatian churches and to nurture them, and yet the circumcisionists came and ruined them all. That is why the Apostle Paul said, “Do not render my labor for you in vain. Please don’t make it futile.” Yet despite this, after the Apostle Paul’s death, the saints and God’s servants tolerated the circumcisionists and left them alone, and God’s Church in this region disappeared as a result. The Early Churches all disappeared in vain like this.
In our Church also, if we tolerate those who claim that sin is blotted out by offering prayers of repentance, then we will all perish away. First of all, therefore, we ourselves must not turn into such people. And second, we must never tolerate those who misinterpret the Word and confuse the Church. We have patience to wait for those who are insufficient in the flesh. When the flesh is insufficient, all that is needed is some correction. However, if one misinterprets the Word, then this brings about immediate death. It will kill not only this person, but countless people around him.
Therefore, those who preach the Word of God are very important to you. While all those who serve the gospel in various ways are very important, you need to cherish even more those who preach the Word of God to you. Remember that if the Word is properly understood and properly explained, countless people will be able to be saved, but if not, then countless people will die. Never tolerate such false teachers inside the Church.
Now, we must not return to the elementary knowledge to live a legalistic life of faith. Nor should we tolerate such beliefs. We must always live and overcome by our faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Indeed, living by our faith in the gospel of the water and the Spirit, we must preach this true gospel to even more countries. To preach this gospel all over the world completely, we must live by faith until the day we stand before the presence of the Lord. I admonish you all to willingly dedicate your bodies and hearts to support the spreading of the gospel.
I, too, give myself to the Lord like this. I am now carrying out what has been entrusted to me from my post so that the gospel flowers would blossom fully. I believe that you will also fulfill what has been entrusted to you until the gospel flowers blossom fully throughout the whole world. Having escaped from the legalistic faith of this world, whether we eat or drink, we must live for the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31).
I give my thanks to the Lord for saving us from all our sins and confusion, and moving us to the Kingdom of the Son of God. Hallelujah!
This sermon is also available in ebook format. Click on the book cover below.
Copyright © 2021 by The New Life Mission