ကိုဗစ်-၁၉ကပ်ရောဂါနှင့်အပြည်ပြည်ဆိုင်ရာစာပို့လုပ်ငန်းဝန်ဆောင်မှုများပျက်ပြားခြင်းကြောင့်ကျွန်ုပ်တို့၏ 'အခမဲ့ပုံနှိပ်စာအုပ်ဝန်ဆောင်မှု' ကိုယာယီရပ်ဆိုင်းလိုက်သည်။
ဤအခြေအနေ၏အခြေအနေအရကျွန်ုပ်တို့သည်ယခုအချိန်တွင်သင့်အားစာအုပ်များမပို့နိုင်သေးပေ။
ဤကပ်ရောဂါသည်မကြာမီကုန်ဆုံးပြီးစာတိုက်လုပ်ငန်းပြန်လည်စတင်ရန်ဆုတောင်းပါ။
Subject 22 : The Gospel According to LUKE
[Chapter 12-9] We Must Understand God’s Law Correctly (Luke 12:54-59)
(Luke 12:54-59)
“Then He also said to the multitudes, ‘Whenever you see a cloud rising out of the west, immediately you say, ‘A shower is coming’; and so it is. And when you see the south wind blow, you say, ‘There will be hot weather’; and there is. Hypocrites! You can discern the face of the sky and of the earth, but how is it you do not discern this time? Yes, and why, even of yourselves, do you not judge what is right? When you go with your adversary to the magistrate, make every effort along the way to settle with him, lest he drag you to the judge, the judge deliver you to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison. I tell you, you shall not depart from there till you have paid the very last mite.’”
How Must We Think of God’s Law?
In the end times, there is nothing else to do except to preach the gospel. We frequently hear in the news these days that souls throughout every corner of the whole world have received the remission of sins. Let’s consider that as our food and give thanks to God as we live in this world. I really believe that the preaching of the gospel will become abundant food for us.
I am worried about our brothers in China. As you know, there is much difference in the economic level between China and our country. Many people in China work for a company run by the government. Therefore, they cannot receive wages if the government does not give it to them. In such circumstance, I heard a story of a father who stole rice from a rice store because his son could not eat and go to school because he was so poor. However, the rice pack that he stole had a hole and it dripped rice as he was taking the pack of rice to his home and he was therefore arrested for stealing. His father told the authorities not to tell this fact to his son. He was worried about his son even as he was being arrested for stealing. It was because he could not bear the pain of seeing his child not being able to go to school because of being ridiculed by his fellow students. My heart aches when I think about that. Therefore, I heard that they did not even lock him up because they were so touched by that situation.
Some of our workers are now staying in China doing mission work. However, it is a very huge but dangerous country. Witnessing the gospel in China is risky adventure. It would be worthy of special mention in the front page of our gospel newspaper in big bold letters if God’s workers arose in China. We may think among ourselves that it’s just another great work God has done, because it would be really hard to find a few faithful believers among the people who are just trying to make money on behalf of Jesus. I want the gospel of the Lord to be preached even more in such lands like China. I believe many souls have received the remission of sins by now through our missionaries. Moreover, I believe that even more souls will receive the remission of sins in the coming days. They say the authorities in China give the permission to establish a church if there are forty believers. In other words, the government gives the permission to establish a church when a certain minister gathers forty believers and reports to the authorities and pay taxes. Therefore, we can appoint Brother Hyungsik Shin as the minister and establish a Church there if more than forty brothers and sisters gather there. If that happens, we will be able to go there, gather Chinese people, and hold a revival meeting.
Of course, there are many ministers in China too, but those ministers just preach that they can be healed from sickness and become wealthy if they believe in Jesus. There are just false ministers like that and there is not anyone who preaches the true gospel. There isn’t anyone who preaches God’s Word exactly as it is. When I first met Brother Hyungsik Shin, he asked me to lay hands on him and pray for him. He asked me to lay hands on him and pray for him because he was sick then. Many people requested such things from me, but I did not pray with laying on of hands. Instead, I told them about the laying on of hands that Jesus received when He was baptized and caused them receive the remission of sins. I think that maybe many souls received the remission of sins now because people who have received the remission of sins like that shared the gospel to their family. Let’s get together and pray every morning. Let’s pray for all the brothers and sisters throughout the whole world and for various needs for the preaching of the gospel.
Although we haven’t done wonders and signs personally until now, truly many souls have received salvation through our Churches throughout the country. Furthermore, many people overseas have received salvation. I give sincere thanks before the presence of God for this. Do not be discouraged or disappointed just because people have not received salvation through you personally. Whether a certain soul has received the remission of sins through you personally or through another person, we are people who are all united together by the gospel. I believe God’s reward is same for all of us because we are all joined together. It is like that because we pray together in one spirit like this and work together like this.
Now, I am going to share the Word from the Scripture passage we have read today. It says, “Then He also said to the multitudes, ‘Whenever you see a cloud rising out of the west, immediately you say, ‘A shower is coming’; and so it is. And when you see the south wind blow, you say, ‘There will be hot weather’; and there is. Hypocrites! You can discern the face of the sky and of the earth, but how is it you do not discern this time? Yes, and why, even of yourselves, do you not judge what is right? When you go with your adversary to the magistrate, make every effort along the way to settle with him, lest he drag you to the judge, the judge deliver you to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison. I tell you, you shall not depart from there till you have paid the very last mite.’” In this passage, the Lord was saying to His disciples about the signs of this age and time. The Lord says to you and me, “You say a shower is coming whenever you see a cloud rising out of the west, and you know that the weather will be very hot when you see the south wind blow, right? Then, why can’t you realize the righteous thing? You must receive salvation, receive the remission of sins, before this period passes and before you come before my presence.” The Lord is asking why people can’t discern the signs of the time when this era is the end time. The Lord was saying, “You discern the signs of the weather of this period well. But, how can you not discern the upright things by yourself? Shouldn’t you receive the remission of sins in your heart before you receive the judgment and go to hell after you die? Shouldn’t you receive the remission of sins and become as clean as white snow?”
Our Lord spoke about the signs of the times and did not end by just asking why they could not judge the right thing by themselves. He continued and said, “When you go with your adversary to the magistrate, make every effort along the way to settle with him, lest he drag you to the judge, the judge deliver you to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison.” We must not think of the Word of God as one of fairy tales. We must not overlook this simply like a part of a fairy tale.
That is true. We must look at the Lord’s Word here and see what He meant as He said this. Our Lord spoke about a very important thing to us now. He was saying, “This era is headed toward destruction and you will face the end. Therefore, believe in the gospel quickly and receive the remission of sins while living in this world before you come before my presence and receive the judgment and go to hell due to your sins. Don’t you think you should do this? If you cannot receive the remission of sins, I, the judge, will bring down the verdict that you are a sinner with sins when you come before me. Then, you will be handed over to the guard and you will be imprisoned. Beware of this.”
Our Lord Told Us to Reconcile with Him While We Are Alive
The Lord is telling us to believe in the gospel of the water and the Spirit and receive the remission of sins as quickly as possible while living in this world. He tells us that we must receive the remission of all sins cleanly without even one iota of sin remaining. It means that we must receive the remission of all sins without even one iota of sin remaining in us.
How did we become sinners? The Scriptures say that we became sinners because we are beings that cannot live according to God’s Law. Moreover, it says, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” That is, the Lord was saying, “Reconcile with Me while you are alive. Receive the remission of sins quickly and come into My Kingdom. You will not be able to come out of hell if you have even one iota of sin.” Jesus Christ who came to this world as the Savior was intimating that there was a way for us to receive salvation like this.
What problem do people who have not received the remission of sins until now even though they believe in God in this era have? Why haven’t they received the remission of sins immediately when they believed in Jesus and live for many years as sinners? They are sinners whether they have believed for one year or two years. Why do they live as sinners for such a long time until they go before the Judge? It is because they misunderstand God’s Law that points out sin as sin. Many people who believe in God with such misunderstanding have not received the remission of sins until now.
How Then Do We Understand God’s Law as We Read It?
What does God’s Law say to us? For what purpose did God give us the Law? How do we understand this Law? How do we believe it? Do we understand it correctly? Here, let’s think about God’s Law first. Did God give the Law to us humans in order for us to keep the Law? Or, did He give us the Law so that we can realize our sins? God gave us the Law to make us realize our sins. However, many people who believe in Jesus misunderstand the Law without knowing this truth. They have a self-contradicting and idealistic way of thinking that they must keep the Law without any reason.
Through Moses, God gave us the Law that provided 613 statutes of do’s and don`ts. Ten Commandments are representative of them. Then, why did God give this Law to us? Did He give it for us to keep it? Or, did He give it for us to realize our sins? He gave it for us to realize our sins. That is the Lord’s Word.
Even so, many people try to receive the remission of sins by keeping the Law. That is why they cannot receive the true remission of sins even until they go before the presence of the just Judge. Truly, the day of the judgment in the world, the end of the world, is coming closer and closer. Not only the end of each individual, but also the end of the world is actually drawing closer. However, how are we human beings? They are heading for that day without being prepared to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. They must receive the remission of sins, but they do not even know that they are sinners. It is a phenomenon results from their misunderstanding the Law God has given.
In the Book of Galatians, it says that the Law was our tutor to bring us to Christ and that we are not under the Law after the faith has come to us. And it also says that the Law had authority over our hearts only until Jesus Christ came to the world.
People think that they can keep the Law. Such a thought comes because they do not know God’s Law. Humans can never keep God’s Law. How could a human being keep all that Law? If you want to receive the true blessing before the presence of God, then, you must realize quickly that you are a person who cannot keep the Law and receive in your heart the gospel of the water and the Spirit. That is the only way to receive the remission of sins.
A lawyer appears in the Gospel of Luke chapter 10. He asked Jesus, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus said to him, “What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?” So he answered, “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” And Jesus said to him, “You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.” Moments later, that lawyer came before Jesus again and asked another question, “Jesus, who is my neighbor then?” To this question, Jesus illustrated this with a parable.
The lawyer at the time was a sort of religious leader. Simply put, he was a person who was not born again and just lived a religious life pretending to be a leader. When this person asked, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus illustrated this with a parable.
Let’s look at the Word together. Jesus said, “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.’ So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves? And he said, ‘He who showed mercy on him.’ Then Jesus said to him, ‘Go and do likewise’” (Luke 10:30-37).
What do you think about this Word? Do you think, “Oh, I must live a good life like the Good Samaritan since Jesus said this”? However, that is an absurd interpretation originated from human thinking. The Lord’s Word here does not mean that. The Levite and the Priest here signify the religious leaders, the people who believe in God without being born again. The Lord was saying through the parable here, “Would a teacher of the Law who claims that they should keep the Law have true faith? Can you keep all the Law even though you know that the Law is right? You cannot.” The Lord illustrated the parable to say this.
Then, who is the Good Samaritan here? He is our Lord Jesus Christ. Although Jesus was an Israelite in flesh, He was rejected by all Israelites. Even so, Jesus ripped His clothes to bandage the victim’s wound and took care of him. What does that mean? It means that Jesus Christ who is God and the Son of God left His glory and came to this world and took all our sins upon Himself and blotted out thoroughly all the sins of all the sinners who cannot live according to the Law.
All human beings are pitiful. All their lives are poignant. We try hard to live according to God’s Word and try hard to live according to the ethics and morals that the great sages of this world have instructed. But we are beings who cannot live according to the right way because we have been born as sinners. All the sinners can never keep the Law even though they know God’s Law is right. Therefore, we commit sin throughout our lives whether we like it or not. All the humans of this world commit sin and live a pathetic life with the misery of knowing that he has become a sinner and that he is going to hell after receiving the judgment on the last day. That is the fate of every human being.
However, Jesus came to this world to save those sinners. Only our Lord can save you and me from this sinful world just as there was only Jesus who saved the woman who was caught in adultery; who saved the demon possessed, the prostitute, the male prostitute, the thief, the swindler, and all the sick and the disabled.
We just have to realize through God’s Law that we are really sinners before the presence of God and that we deserve to go to hell. Then, we have to go to Jesus. You just have to realize, “God, I am a sinner. I am a person that deserves to go to hell,” and go before the presence of the Savior without any more expectation from this world. Then, we go before the presence of Jesus and receive salvation by believing the Truth that Jesus has blotted out all our sins. Jesus has truly blotted out all our sins.
It is written, “‘Come now, and let us reason together,’
Says the LORD,
‘Though your sins are like scarlet,
They shall be as white as snow;
Though they are red like crimson,
They shall be as wool’” (Isaiah 1:18).
It means that the Lord has taken every single sin without exception. That is true. The Lord has saved us perfectly from sins. However, some people say they are still sinners even though they believe in Jesus. What is the reason? It is because they misunderstand God’s Word, the reason God gave the Law.
Our Lord came to this world as our Savior. In addition, He gave us the Law through Moses even before He came to this world. Then, why did the Lord give us the Law first? The Lord gave us the Law in order to make us realize and understand our sinful nature. All the descendants of Adam are born with sin. All human beings of the world are the people who are born with the mind of murder, adultery, envy, thievery, and all kinds of sinful mind (Mark 7:21-23). However, the people who have become sinners do not know that they are grave sinners. That is why the Lord gave the Law to people before He came to this world and made them recognize their sins. The Lord came to this world when they realized they were sinners. Furthermore, after coming to this world, Jesus took all the sins of all sinners upon Himself though the baptism at the Jordan River, received the judgment on the Cross, and saved all humankind from sin perfectly.
That is correct. Jesus, our Savior, first sent the Law to this world and then came to this world personally. What does this mean? It means that we are sinners who were born as descendants of Adam. We have sin in our hearts originally from birth.
What does the Word from the Gospel of Luke chapter 13 verses 1 through 5 say? It says that Pilate killed a certain person from Galilee and took the blood and offered it along with his sacrifice offering to the idol that he worshipped. People told this to Jesus. They told Him, “Pilate killed a certain person from Galilee and mixed its blood with his sacrifice offering and offered it up as a sacrifice.” Then, what did our Jesus say to them? He said, “Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things?” And, at that time, an accident happened in Israel and eighteen people died because huge tower in Siloam fell. And Jesus said, “Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem?” It means that those people and you are sinners all alike.
Among people, there are two kinds of sinners: One kind is the people who actually commit many sins and the other kind is the people who commit sin only with their hearts. Then, what kind of person is the real sinner in God’s eyes? Among us humans, we say that people who commit sins with their actions are real sinners. However, God does not say it like that. God considers them all alike whether they have sinned with their action or whether they have sinned just with their hearts. Jesus said, “But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:28). It means they are all the same whether they have actually committed adultery or whether they have committed adultery just in their imagination.
Our Lord says that a person does not receive hardship and suffer death because he has committed more sins. He says that all people are sinners in like manner; people who deserve to receive judgment, people who deserve to receive the guilty verdict, and people who deserve to go to hell are sinners because they have all been born as sinners. Do you acknowledge this? You and I must acknowledge we are sinners all alike whether we have sinned much or not. All people are sinners before the presence of God.
Then, how do we realize the fact that we are sinners? There is no other way to realize this but through the Law the Lord has given to us. If God’s Law was not given to us, then sin cannot come into existence in us. People would be able to walk through anywhere if there were no law that said pedestrians must walk on sidewalks or crosswalks. Police would not be able to do anything about it because there was no law regarding it. It means that there isn’t any crime to commit because there is no law or regulation.
We would be sinless beings even though we were born with sin if God did not give the Law to us through Moses. However, God clearly gave His Law through Moses. What was the content of the Law? The content of the Law is: “You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain. Observe the Sabbath day. Honor your father and your mother. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house.”
What do you think about these Ten Commandments that you see here? We were not able to keep these statutes until now. We have not been able to serve God properly and we bowed to anything and cursed God whenever we felt like doing so. We said, “If there is a God, how could a wretched person live well and a decent person live miserably? How could that be? Is God really good? What do you mean God?” and cursed at God. What does this mean? It means that even the people who say they believe in the Lord are beings who have become sinners that cannot keep all the Law the Lord has given.
What Does It Mean to Keep the Sabbath Holy?
I was a person who had grown up in the Presbyterian Church. Moments ago, I bought cotton candies for children because they were fighting and crying, but how could a Presbyterian buy a cotton candy on Sunday? They cannot even serve anything on Sunday even if a guest came to their home. At that time I said, “I cannot go out and buy things on Sunday because I believe in the Presbyterian teachings. Please excuse me,” and acted boldly like that.
However, that was not God’s will. That was just human misunderstanding of God’s Law. God telling us to keep the Sabbath holy was not telling us to keep the date of Sabbath faithfully. God was telling us to keep the ministry of our Lord that blotted out all our sins holy. Our Jesus said, “For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.” Jesus is the Savior and Lord who blotted out all our sins, who gave us the Sabbath, and who gives us comfort. Therefore, Keeping the Sabbath holy means to keep the faith of believing the gospel of the water and the Spirit, with which the Lord has blotted out all our sins.
Think about it. How can we keep the date of the Sabbath perfectly? When it is night in our country, it is daytime in the United States. I could take a flight the day after the Sabbath in order to keep the Sabbath today, but the day that I arrive in the United States would be the Sabbath by the local time. Then, it would turn out that we couldn’t keep Sabbath without even knowing it. As such, humans can never keep Sabbath if they think of it from a literal perspective.
In Mark 7:20-23, the Lord says, “What comes out of a man, that defiles a man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile a man.” The Law tells us to honor our parents, but out of the heart of men, there come sins that offend the Law. Furthermore, we have hearts that want to give a hard time to parents from time to time. How can human beings honor their parents properly when they have such a heart? Of course, when they later have their own children and become mature, many of them come to think, “I think I can understand the heart of our parents now that I have been raising my own kids,” and honor their parents and have memorial services faithfully. However, before they become mature, they like to bother their parents, and they do this without even knowing that they are doing this. Therefore, they leave home, lie to their parents, and do such things.
Haven’t you done things like that too? Didn’t you also do whatever you could to get your parents’ attention? A person who has not received the remission of sins has such heart that cannot honor his parents even after attaining adulthood. The Law tells us not to commit murder, but a human can kill another person so awfully when a person really hates someone. A person has committed the sin of murder before the presence of God when he feels in his heart, “I want to kill him.” When we raise kids, we tell them “Don’t do that” at first, but we later swear at them and hit them so terribly. That is the heart of committing murder. A human being wants to commit murder. There is no one among us who has not committed murder.
In addition, the Law said that we must not commit adultery, but even elementary students are committing adultery because they are so mature sexually these days. Also, it says that we must not steal. But how often have we stolen such things like watermelon and melons in our adolescence? Do you know how many people there are who turn other people’s wealth into their own just using computers? We are all sinners alike. The person who was crushed to death by the falling tower at Siloam is not the only person who died because he had sins. Actually, you and I are all sinners before the presence of God.
We have committed all the sins that violated God’s Law that says not to steal, not to covet, and not to lie. We were not able to keep any statutes of the Law of do’s and don’ts. Are you or are you not such a sinner? We can realize that we are sinners through the Law God has given to us. Put differently, realizing what sin is through the Law is the reason God gave us the Law. We would not know that we were sinners even if we died and resurrected if not for God’s Law.
Even if we had killed a person, we would have justified ourselves and said, “I had no other choice under the circumstance. I did it because he bothered me.” However, that is not true. Every human being is essentially a mass of sin. They are sinners. Therefore, God gave us God’s Law before coming to this world to save us. Through God’s Law, we have realized our sinful nature saying, “I am a sinner who has not lived according to God’s Word. Therefore, I am guilty if I was sentenced according to God’s Law because I have sin.” And Jesus Christ visits us who acknowledge that we are sinners and bestows proper blessing of salvation to us.
Where should we go then? We must go to Jesus Christ our Savior. Jesus came to this world to save you and me from all the sins. Then, we just need to focus and reflect on how the Lord saved us from all our sins. We receive salvation if He took all our sins, and we go to hell if He left even an iota of sin in us.
To whom do you and I receiving salvation, receiving the remission of sins, and going to Heaven depend on? It depends on Jesus Christ our Savior. Let’s say a person who was swimming suddenly had cramps in his leg. He is not able to swim because he has cramps in his leg even though he was a very good swimmer well skilled in freestyle, backstroke, and butterfly stroke. He kicks and squirms desperately, but it is of no use. To whom does the salvation of such person depend on? It depends on the rescuer. He can be saved if someone comes to him by swimming or on a boat and saves him. Otherwise, he dies if he is left alone. That is the same with you and me. The remission of our sins depends totally on Jesus Christ our Savior.
We were born with sin from our birth. And we were all marked as sinners based on God’s Law. We have been given the verdict of guilty. We are people who have sins. We commit sins until we die. Then, can we escape from all these sins through our own strength? No, we cannot. The Lord said we would never be able to escape from it unless all the sins are paid without even one iota of them remaining. Then, to whom does our salvation depend on? It depends on Jesus. We receive salvation if Jesus has blotted out all our sins without leaving even one iota of them remaining in us, but we go to hell if the Lord has left even small amount of sin in us even though He came to save us. It means that we absolutely do not receive salvation due to our effort.
Then, how do we receive salvation? We receive salvation through faith. Is it by faith or by works? It is by our faith, not by our works. Then how do we attain that faith? The Lord said faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God (Romans 10:17). It means faith comes by hearing God’s Word. We are drowned into water all the same no matter how hard we try, no matter how faithfully we tithe, witness, attend the overnight prayer meeting, attend the early dawn prayer meeting, and volunteer faithfully. We do not attain faith or salvation by begging before God and confessing our transgressions. Therefore, our receiving the remission of sins, becoming God’s believer, and going to Heaven depends solely on Jesus Christ, not our effort.
The name “Jesus” means “Savior.” Who is our Savior, our Messiah? It is Jesus. Who is the Savior of the sinners? Who is the Savior of the woman who was caught in adultery? Who is the Savior of sinners who cannot but sin until they die? Only Jesus can save those sinners. Our Lord said there is only one name, Jesus, in the world through whom we could receive salvation (Acts 4:12).
Only Jesus saved us. If we still have sin in our hearts even after believing in Jesus, then we must know that we are sinners. Whether we have sin after believing in Jesus or whether we have sin before believing in Jesus, we must realize that we are sinners based on God’s Law. That is the only way we can receive the remission of all our sins through Jesus Christ by hearing the gospel the Lord gives.
Actually, I had lived as a sinner for ten years after I first believed in Jesus. That life was simply hell. I even thought about killing myself at that time. I tried hard to live an upright life, but it was hell. I realized that I became an even more wretched person after having believed in Jesus than before I believed in Jesus. But, how did I come to know this? I came to know this through God’s Word. I used to think I was somewhat smart and thought I was an upright person before believing in Jesus. I was a wretched man as the Apostle Paul confessed, “I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died” (Romans 7:9). Later, Jesus Christ came to my desolated heart. And the sins of my heart disappeared as clean as snow after hearing, understanding, and believing the gospel of Jesus Christ.
I am now a righteous man. I do not have sin in my heart. How is it that I do not have sin? As it is written in Romans 3:10, “There is none righteous, no, not one,” we were all born sinners originally, not righteous. But, I have become righteous because Jesus came to this world and saved all the people who believe in Him through His righteousness.
You must believe in Jesus. Why must we believe in Jesus? We must believe in Jesus because we really are sinners. Actually, we would not even need to believe in Jesus if we were not really sinners. However, how is our actual existence? We are born sinners. Then, how must we resolve our sins? Do we receive the remission of our personal sins by offering prayers of repentance, overnight prayers, and fasting prayers now that we have already received the remission of original sin? That is like trying save ourselves through our own effort when we are drowning. A person who is drowning in the ocean can never save himself through his own strength. He can only be saved if there is a person who really wants to save him. It means that a person can never save himself on his own.
Every human being is just like the one who is drowning hopelessly in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. All human beings are those who have been swept away by the five meters high waves drowning in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and waiting for a savior before our lifeline is cut off. We will be saved if the Rescuer we have been waiting for comes and saves us; otherwise we become food for fishes if we die before the Rescuer comes. What does this mean? It means that people who really have sins must wait for the salvation of Jesus Christ.
We will hold a revival meeting starting from tomorrow, and it will be a joy to hold this kind of meeting. People will be saved automatically if they just hear the Word and believe it in their hearts. The person who encountered the robbers did not receive salvation by going to a doctor and saying, “I have been beaten with a stick by robbers and I have lost a lot of blood. Please bandage me here.” God’s Word says that the robbers left him half-dead. Although we eat fleshly food and seem like we are living well, we are actually like being half-dead spiritually due to our sins.
However, our Lord visited us whose life was at the end of the ropes and witnessed the gospel of the water and the Spirit. Therefore, the people who believe in this gospel in their hearts have received the remission of sins and attained true life again. If there is anyone who still has sin in his heart because he has not received the gospel of the water and the Spirit, then, I earnestly beseech such a person to believe in the gospel and receive the remission of sins during this week.
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