A Homeschooling Parents' Advantage

4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. ~ Deuteronomy 6:4-9 (NIV)

Brothers and sisters in the Lord Jesus, the God who commanded these words to his people in the Old Testament is the same God that we worship and serve today. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, this God has become our God. And by faith in him, we become His people.

So these words are his commands for us. And the essence of God's command is this: Since the LORD is our God - and we ought not to have any other gods - and since we belong to him by virtue of saving us and loving us in our Lord Jesus Christ, God wants us to love him wholeheartedly. God wants us to be loyal to him as his own people.

One way of showing our love and loyalty to him is to love the children he has given us. Fellow parents, our children are inheritance from the Lord (Psalm 127:3). Our children belong to God first and foremost. He entrusted them to us in order to raise them up and nurture them the way He would nurture them. Children, you belong to God first and foremost.

Do you understand the implication of this truth? God is saying, "You are mine. Your children are mine. I love you and I want you to love me with all your life. Love me by loving the children that I gave you."

And how do we show our love for the children that God has given us to nurture? By teaching them everything that he has commanded us to do. When and where do we teach our children God's commandments? When we sit comfortably in our home. While we walk on the street. While we lie down on our bed. At the dining table. While we drive our car. While shopping or doing our grocery. While on vacation. In the morning or in the evening. At noon time. All day long and all the time.

So godly instruction begins in the home but does not end there. It also flows over into a life under the Lordship of Christ in every aspect and sphere of life. In the home the children are taught the basic principles of how to seek the will of the Lord and how to please him.

Someone rightly said, "History proves when the family is sound, both Church and society flourish. The family is the foundation of human society. Give us thus [faithful Christian] families and the Church [and society] will prosper. Otherwise we will certainly face a dark future."

As homeschoolers, we are on the best position to obey this command of the Lord. We really are. Why? We have our kids with us at home most of the time. We see them always. And that's a wonderful blessing that homeschooling brings us. And we thank the Lord for that!

Do we always have the opportunity to teach them? Opportunity? Yes! But do we always take those opportunities? I doubt it! I always fail with my responsibility to teach them. There are times that Facebook is more appealing to me than teaching or spending time with my children. Now you know that I'm an ordinary parent like you. I have my own weaknesses. We all have and we don't pretend. We learn to admit and confess them.

But the thing is, we don't give up teaching our children in spite of our failures. We also admit our sin and weakness and ask for the Lord's forgiveness. And by the way, since failures and frustrations are pretty much part of our life here on earth, we teach ourselves, and our children as well, to accept them and deal with them in a godly way.

We tell our children that even if they fail once, twice, or many times, they don't give up. Rather, we turn to God again and again through our Lord Jesus Christ. Those who humble themselves before God, no matter how many times they fail or fall, are pardoned and accepted by God because of what Christ has done in our behalf.

Today and tomorrow are opportunities to show our children and our brothers and sisters in Christ the love of God in us. Right here. If we truly love God the way Christ loved us by giving up his life for us, we will also be willing to love others, even to give up our comforts and rights, for our children, for our fellow homeschoolers, for our friends and neighbors, and most of all, for the sake of God's kingdom and for the glory of God.

Remember: the Lord is our God. And we belong to him. Let us give others the opportunity to see our Lord Jesus Christ in our lives today, tomorrow, and the rest of our lives.

(A devotional talk given at the opening of our "Yes! You Can Homeschool" Conference at the NCCC Mall Davao on November 19-20, 2016).

The Merciful Lord Heals the Paradigmatic Man

This week we in Davao City have the privilege of having a dear brother in Christ from the other side of the world, Michael Card. This Monday evening, Mike spoke to an audience of around three hundred people on the Gospel of Mark. On Tuesday night, he sang his songs before several hundreds of people and led in a solemn singing of the classic hymn, "Great Is Thy Faithfulness."

One of the things that struck me both in his talk and concert is his focus not on himself as a singer or speaker but on the message of the gospel and how it impacts our knowledge of God in Christ and ourselves.

If I am to highlight and summarize his message, I think it is captured by his song, “The Paradigm,” which is based on Mark 10:46-52, and has now become one of favorite Michael Card songs. The song focuses on Jesus’ encounter with the blind Bartimaeus. When Jesus and His disciples were about to leave Jericho on His way to Jerusalem, blind Bartimaeus shouted at the top of His voice, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.”

Many tried to silence him but their attempt to hush him only yielded with a more vigorous shouting from the blind man. Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem to suffer many things, to be rejected by the religious leaders, and to face His impending death and to rise again in three days. Yet on this occasion, Jesus took the time to serve and save this suffering blind beggar.

When Jesus stopped and called for him to come, Bartimaeus left everything he had, which practically nothing but a cloak (v.50). The blind man pleaded for mercy before the One whom he knew is able to grant him. He asked, “Let me recover my sight.” With no delay, Jesus said, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” Immediately he received his sight and did the best thing he could ever do, that is, follow Christ.

While this story of blind Bartimaeus presents the paradigmatic image of who we are without God – blind, beggar, outcast, shamed, and rejected, it really highlights the real person and work of our Lord Jesus as the Christ, the Promised One who came to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45).

Yes, on the one hand, this story portrays Bartimaeus as the perfect model of an undeserving sinner, one who is blind and poor and outcast, and pleads vigorously for mercy. Yet, on the other hand, it truly underscores the authority and power of Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of David. He is the One who gives sight to the blind, restores the outcasts into fellowship with God and the community, grants mercy to undeserving sinners, like you and me, and equips the powerless to become His faithful disciples.

So the Bartimaeus story is really a beautiful portrayal of our greatest need – sight to see God in Christ and salvation to serve Him by His Spirit – and a wonderful depiction of the our merciful Christ Jesus.

In our natural and sinful state we wallow in our shadows, self-pity and shame yet at the same time boast in our shining moments of success and self-elevated status which, compared with the glory and riches of Christ, are worthless rubbish, stinking dung.

Christ calls us to acknowledge who we are - blind, beggar, and braggart - and beg for His mercy, which is something that we don’t deserve. He tells us to leave behind our sins and darkness and follow His holy calling and walk in His glorious light by His strength and grace. He bids us to travel in the power of His might on the road that He trod – the road of suffering and shame that leads to grace and glory!

Here’s the lyrics of Michael Card’s “The Paradigm,” from his 2012 album, The Beginning of the Gospel:

He is poor, he is blind
He will be a paradigm
One of Jesus’ greatest finds
There beside the road.

Calling out, he has the nerve
To want what he does not deserve
All the beggar’s begging for
Is mercy from the Lord.

So come all you beggars
Up on your feet, take courage
He’s calling to you
Surrender you striving
And find the nerve
To boldly ask for
What you don’t deserve.

A timeless moment caught in time
The beggar leaves it all behind
Then the perfect paradigm
Calls Jesus by name.

Falling down upon his knees
With one request, he wants to see
He could see immediately
When Jesus said, “Go.”

©2012 Covenant Artists ASCAP

Godly Wisdom that Informs Intelligent Prayers

(A devotional message based on Proverbs 30:1-9)

Prayer. Intercession. Communion with God. These spiritual activities are something we can’t do without as believers. Prayer is an important part of our congregational life for in it, we express our dependence on God alone. I admit that this is something we usually take for granted. Sometimes we have the notion that we don’t really have to spend much time in prayer because God knows our needs anyway. So why bother to let Him know what we need if in the first place He already knows them.

But prayer is not only about asking God what we need. It is actually a solemn expression of our desire to enter into the throne of God’s mercy, acknowledging who He is and thanking Him for all He has done and has provided for us in His Son by the Spirit. We can’t do this on our own but the Holy Spirit moves us and helps us overcome our weaknesses so we can communicate with God.

I will not go into elaborate explanation of what really prayer is and what are the essential elements of a Biblical prayer. Some other time may be appropriate for that. My aim is to help you eagerly desire and patiently seek godly wisdom for it will help us live wisely, especially in living out and in exercising Christian piety.

The passage before us, Proverbs 30:1-9, tells us that Godly wisdom informs intelligent prayers. We will answer two relevant questions from our passage that will explain our theme. First question, “What constitutes godly wisdom?” Second, “How does godly wisdom shape or inform intelligent prayer?”

What Constitutes Godly Wisdom? (vv.1-6)

A sage named Agur, the son of Jakeh, writes Proverbs 30. We don’t know much about this man nor about his family. Due to its vagueness, Bible translations render differently the second part of Prov. 30:1. Some transliterate it and come up with “This man declared to Ithiel, to Ithiel and to Ucal (NIV).” Others, however, take it as a phrase and end up “The man declares, I am weary, O God; I am weary, O God, and worn out” (ESV). The latter translation seems to be mood setting because the verses that follow (2-9) have melancholic tone. Thus it prepares the reader what to expect next. The former translation, however, is also possible.

The message of this passage parallels with that of Job or Ecclesiastes.

A. Godly Wisdom Recognizes Man’s Limitation (vv.2-3)

In verses 2-3, Agur despairs for his lack of understanding, wisdom and knowledge of the Holy One. He confesses that he missed these things, which are the stuff of a wise man. Is he just wallowing in self-pity or truly confesses his human limitation in the face of God’s infinite wisdom? I think he is doing the latter.

As a wise man, this teacher of the oracles of God must possess divine wisdom worth pondering for. But confronted by the power, glory, majesty and wisdom of the Holy One, Agur can simply admit his ignorance.

Wise men do not boast of their vast knowledge. It is my observation that the more a person grows in wisdom the more he admits his limitations. Godly wisdom manifests itself in man’s humble recognition of his limited intelligence compared with God’s perfect knowledge and power, which He has revealed in the person and work of our Lord Jesus Christ, ‘in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Col. 2:3). Verse 4 further supports this claim.

B. Godly Wisdom acknowledges the Majesty of God (v.4)

The series of questions in verse 4 calls for God as the answer. These questions parallel in tone and structure with that of God’s in Job 38. There the Lord answered Job with a storm, questioning him and forcing him to admit his ignorance and yield to God’s wisdom.

Verse 4 shows not only the limitation of human wisdom in understanding the design and power behind creation but also highlights the glory and the majesty of God the Creator. Those who do not fear the Lord will always end up in ignorance of these things because they do not only understand the world, they also do not know the Lord who created it.

Thus Agur needs not be in total despair because such problem of ignorance is common only to those who do not trust God. Those who fear Him and acknowledge Him, however, have the privilege of knowing Him. The wording “what is His Son’s name” ‘opens the passage for a New Testament interpretation: “No one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him” (Matt. 11:27).’

Godly wisdom boasts on the glory of the sovereign God. But even if we possess such wisdom, we may not totally comprehend how everything works in this world. God reserves to Himself the many mysteries in our world that our finite mind cannot contain.

But these mysteries shake us up from our self-confidence and lead us to behold the infinite wisdom of our God. God pressed the mystery of creation to Agur ‘in order to relieve him of his depression and assure him that he was not alone in his doubt and ignorance.’ God always do this to make us realize of His greatness and to trust Him all the more.

C. Godly Wisdom Boasts on the Reliability of God’s Word (vv.5-6)

Verses 5-6 further show us what constitutes wisdom. Godly wisdom also underscores the reliability of God’s Word. It talks about its flawlessness or purity (v.5a). It also boasts of its trustworthiness by stating that those who put their trust in it will finds it to be like a shield (v.5b). ‘Such reliability cannot be improved on’ (v.6). God’s Word is sufficient to make us wise unto salvation. If we trust in the Lord and in His promises with all our heart, He will direct our paths. Those who lean on their own understanding, those who do not recognize the completeness of God’s Word, will be rebuked and be found a liar (v.6). So be wise. Don’t lean on your own wisdom. Fear God and trust in His covenant faithfulness to you.

How Does Wisdom Shape Intelligent Prayer? (vv.7-9)

These holy truths give us godly wisdom. As we can see, these realizations led the speaker to pray intelligently in verses 7-9. We will briefly examine this prayer and see that intelligent prayers are done persistently and according to our need.

A.Intelligent Prayers are Done Persistently (v.7)

After the passage affirmed the reliability of God’s Word, the author records a prayer that is very insightful. First, this prayer is characterized with persistence. “Do not refuse me before I die,” is an expression of strong perseverance of the one praying to the Lord. This is a kind of prayer not for one’s immediate deliverance from a pressing crisis but a plea for continual help in never-ending difficulties. The phrase “before I die” can actually be translated “as long as I live.”

Persistence is an important quality of intelligent prayer. Not that God is unwilling to answer us when we call, but it is more of an attitude of continual trust in Him that glorifies God when we patiently pray and not being discouraged. Jesus Himself told His disciples to pray always and not give up when he told them the parable of the persistent widow (Luke 18:1-8). God is more than willing to hear us when we pray and ‘deliver the goods’, so to speak, when we ask Him with persistent faith.

B. Intelligent Prayers are Presented According to One’s Need (v.8-9)

Intelligent prayers are not only characterized by persistence. When we pray intelligently we also tell God what we need. There are two petitions the author presents here. Both are in the imperative mood. The first asks for integrity; the second for contentment.

1. Since man is naturally a liar, we pray for honesty and integrity (v.8a)

The first petition “Keep falsehood and lies far from me” requires no elaborate explanation. It recognizes man’s propensity to tell a lie or to live in self-deception. It also projects ‘the damaging results to the person who deals in dishonesty’ and the harmful effects to those who are victims of dishonesty.
“Falsehood” or “deception” is literally “emptiness,” worthless behavior or speech. “Lies are regularly condemned in Proverbs for their disruptive impact on the social and especially judicial welfare of the community” (6:19; 19:5,9,22).

A person who recognizes his inclination to deceive himself and others will surely ask God for honesty. To us who had lived in persistent lies, it is insightful to pray such kind of prayer. Truth is always a threat to those who live in dishonesty. But to us who have been set free by the truth, we want our lives to be free from falsehood and ‘empty’ promises.

2. Since man is naturally greedy, we pray for what is enough that brings contentment (vv.8b-9).

The second petition “Give me neither poverty nor riches” is even more insightful and requires further explanation. In the original language, both petitions place the nouns, not the verbs, in front of the sentence. This is a literary device to put emphasis on what is being asked. Here ‘the petitioner knows what he needs in terms both of protection and supply, and he asks for it in the straightforward manner of the children of God (Matt.7:7-11). He counts on the Lord to determine his basic needs to meet them.’

“Give me only my daily bread” is almost identical to the supplication for daily bread in the Lord’s Prayer. In its Hebrew form this petition ‘portrays the divine hand extending a loaf of bread (“food”) and telling him exactly what his portion is to be.’ In other words, the petitioner asks God to give him what is only necessary in order to live and fulfill his duties.

One author noted that ‘the most fascinating about the prayer is the balanced and worldly wise wisdom present in the motivation clauses beginning “lest” [or otherwise] (v.9).’ Riches or overabundance may lead to an arrogant self-sufficiency that loses all sense of dependence on God. The question ‘Who is the Lord?’ in v.9 carries the same weight as the statement ‘I have no need of the Lord.’ This is always the potential danger that faces many rich people.

Poverty, on the other hand, may drive a person to desperate act of stealing. Theft has a very devastating effect to oneself. But most importantly, it profanes or dishonors the name of God. ‘It does so by breaking His law against stealing (Exod.20:15; Duet.5:19) and by declaring that God will not provide for His own as God has promised. The worldview expressed here is remarkable. The supplicant knows both the frailty of his own human nature and also the sanctity of God’s name. Earthly sins have heavenly significance and the ultimate result of human crime is to insult the name of the Lord who made us, and who made us for better things than lying and stealing.’

Psalm 23 assures us of God’s providential care as our Great Shepherd. God also promises His people that ‘He will supply our every need according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus’ (see Philippians 4:19). Thus Paul can say in Phil. 4:11-12 that he has learned to be contented in whatever situation he was in.

But the provision that God has given us in Christ is more than just material. Christ has secured for the greatest need that we have. He provided for us salvation from the wrath of God. He provided for us forgiveness of our sin in His death. He has given us victory over death in His resurrection. He has set us free from the tyranny of the devil in His death. He has clothed us with His righteousness which by faith we continually wear. These are the blessings that God has given us in Christ which beyond our comprehension. We would never ask these things without the grace of God, the grace of new birth, working in our lives. We would rather ask for more money, more stuff of this world, more success in our career and more conveniences.

Our natural tendency to be a liar and greedy person needs to be checked with the wisdom of God. Our compulsion to acquire many things through dishonest gain must be stopped and be put to light. God’s Word reminds us of the spiritual dangers inherent in wealth and material prosperity, as we have seen in our text.

Do not be deceived. Material abundance cannot bring real, lasting peace and satisfaction. Left on our own, it only feeds our compulsion to acquire some more. Our true satisfaction is in our Lord Jesus Christ, who is our life, our wisdom and our righteousness. Putting our trust in Him brings us the greatest reward God can ever promise, which is eternal and abundant life in His presence. We would ever be blessed if the thing we seek in this life is to do the will of God. Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you, says Jesus (Matt. 6:33). Even the things He has given us must serve to glorify Him and bless others. If we don’t use our possessions, may they be money or non-monetary resources, to serve God they will use us to serve our ourselves and our materialistic desires.

As we conclude, let’s read 1 Timothy 6:17-19. If you think that only rich people struggle with greed and materialism think again. Greed is not only the problem of the rich people. “None of us is immune, for materialism is not a sin of having, but one of wanting. It grips us in the heart, and not in the wallet,” said Dr. John Sittema.

So the next time you pray, ask intelligently. Recognize God and His faithfulness first in your life. If you find satisfaction in Him, you will also find contentment in what He gives. May this encourage us to trust Him more in our daily life.

The One Thing

A meditation on Psalm 27:4

One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life; to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple.

The psalmist David expresses his great confidence in the Lord in Psalm 27. Whether he is assailed by his foes or surrounded by his enemies David does not fail to recognize his only protection and deliverance in the Lord. No wonder his only desire, his one burning passion in verse 4 is to dwell in the house of the Lord: that he may be enthralled by the beauty and majesty of his God and Redeemer. He knows that in the mighty presence of God, under His protective care, no enemy is able to harm him. No evil can terrorize him. Nothing can cripple his living faith in the Lord.

In the midst of our busyness and challenges in daily life, it is always refreshing to go to the house of the Lord on His Day worshiping Him with His people, listening to the preaching of His Word and responding in joyful praise.

As a pastor one thing that gives me fresh air of God's presence is the Wednesday night Bible study at a member's house. We enjoy studying the Word of God meditating upon His glorious works in the gospel and savoring the beauty of His majesty. For two years, we were studying the amazing and life-transforming book of Revelation (that was on Saturday night). Just this month we started studying the book of Romans, the epistle about which John Calvin said, “When any one gains a knowledge of this Epistle, he has an entrance opened to him to all the most hidden treasures of Scripture.”

Every opportunity to know God in Jesus Christ through His Word by His Spirit brings pleasure and delight into our souls that it makes us confident in God and His providence even in dark and difficult times. I praise the Lord that He gives us this great privilege to know Him more as we study His Word in church, in a small group setting, and in our own personal and family devotion at home. Regardless of our circumstance we ought to be continually captivated by the glory of God as He is revealed in the pages of the Holy Scripture.

Do you think it's being unrealistic to meditate upon the glorious attributes of God when life and ministry is becoming hard? Finding time to meditate on God’s majesty, much less making it the “one thing” to which all else is subordinated seems almost unimaginable when one’s life is falling apart. But it’s precisely when life is at its worst that focusing our hearts on Him is the most reasonable thing to do.

If you think David can say what he does in verse 4 because, as king over Israel, he is out of touch with the pains and problems of everyday life look closely at verses 1-3. What we discover there, in conjunction with what we know elsewhere concerning David’s experience, indicates that he didn’t lead an easy life. The shattering consequences of David's adulterous affair with Bathsheba and his murderous scheme with Uriah brought on him and the nation of Israel as a whole can hardly be imagined. That is why his resolution in verse 4 is so stunning.

In view of David's circumstances, one might have excused him had he opted for a little peace and quiet or perhaps a safe home away from his enemies and away from troubles. With all the struggles he faced and the heartache he endured most of us would be willing to grant David a sabbatical leave.

But look at verses 1-3 again and get a sense of what David faced, maybe even on a daily basis. “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When evildoers assail me to eat up my flesh, my adversaries and foes, it is they who stumble and fall. Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me, yet I will be confident” (Ps. 27:1-3).

He speaks of “evildoers” who “assail” him (v. 2). Their ravenous desire is to “eat up” his flesh (v. 2), a vivid description of their murderous intent. He speaks of “adversaries and foes” (v. 2) who sought every opportunity to destroy his reputation. He envisions an “army” (v. 3) of enemies encamped around him and “war” (v. 3) rising up to undermine his achievements. This reference to an “army” and “war” conveys the truth that no matter how great or threatening the danger may be, his confidence in the Lord never wavered.

In spite of these factors, he declares: “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” If distress and trouble are as darkness, the Lord is his light! If trial and tribulation are as an army, the Lord is a mighty fortress! He is confident that God is able to protect him and save him from his foes.

Greater still is his undying aspiration to see and savor the beauty of God! “One thing have I asked of the LORD,” said David; “that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple” (v. 4).

When troubles come you and I are tempted to look for help and refuge in something or someone else somewhere. That thing maybe is our financial resources, which always isn’t much, or our skills and talents, which are not always reliable. Or in most cases we would be tempted to look to our family and relatives or our employers and masters for help.

David, however, fixed the focus of his faith on God: His uncreated beauty, His undeserving favor, His unfailing love, and His awesome power and majesty. He thought of one thing: to find a way to break free of routine entanglements that he might dwell in the presence of God; to avoid trivial activities that might divert his eyes from beholding God; to clear his mind of unnecessary details that he might meditate upon the beauty and splendor of God; to set aside less important tasks that he might bask in the light and glory of everything that makes God an object of our affection, delight and adoration.

I admit that aside from reading the Bible this year, I also enjoy (as I always do) reading J. I. Packer's “Knowing God.” I've read the book several times but every time I read it, I'm always fascinated by God, how He reveals Himself through Jesus Christ in the pages of the Holy Scripture. And it gives me that longing to know Him more.

“One thing have I asked of the Lord,” says King David, “that I may dwell in the house of the Lord...to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord.” In Psalm 145:5, David also makes the same point declaring: “On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.”

I long for this unitary, single-minded resolve. Note in verse 4 how the future tense ("I shall seek") is combined with the past tense ("I have asked") to express an ardent longing which extends out of the past and into the future and therefore runs through his whole life.

Thus one writer says, “How utterly, absolutely, and incomparably practical this is! Nothing brings greater peace to the troubled soul than meditating on the majesty of God! Nothing puts life and its competing pleasures in greater spiritual perspective than a knowledge of the surpassing greatness of God as revealed in the face of Jesus Christ! Nothing empowers the will to make hard choices, often painful choices, to forego the passing pleasures of sin than does a view of the superior reward of knowing and enjoying the fellowship of our triune God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit!”

It is my prayer that God will enable us to gaze upon His beauty as we seek to know Him in our daily walk with and service of Him. And may the knowledge of God embolden us to face every trial that comes ahead of us.

PRAYER: Oh, Father of glory, make us a people of one thing! Give us one heart, one mind, one all-consuming passion for your name! Daily may we find you to be our life-giving light in the midst of today’s darkness. May we, like your servant David, find comfort in You as our light, salvation and stronghold. You grant sanity and peace in the midst of trouble and chaos. Bring us to Your presence by Your Spirit where our faith is strengthened and our fears are stilled. Bless our souls with Your life-giving Word, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, we pray. Amen.

Does God Answer the Prayers of Unbelievers?

This question was asked in one of the Facebook fora that I’m a part of. Since I’m very interested in anything about prayer, I’ve shared some of my thoughts on this question. Here are a few of those thoughts.

First, the simple answer may be found in the Gospel of John: "We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him" (John 9:31).

Second, when one surveys the Biblical passages on prayer, the overwhelming evidence tells us that God answers the prayers of His people if it is according to His will. However there are instances in the Old Testament that even foreigners, non-Israelites, are heard by the Lord when they come to Him in faith, as 2 Chronicles 6:32-33 says, "“Likewise, when a foreigner, who is not of your people Israel, comes from a far country for the sake of your great name and your mighty hand and your outstretched arm, when he comes and prays toward this house, hear from heaven your dwelling place and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to you, in order that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your people Israel, and that they may know that this house that I have built is called by your name." That explains the Roman centurion in Matthew 8:5-13 and the Canaanite woman in Matthew 15:21-28. Hebrews 11:6 tells us that "… without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him."

Third, there are times of course that God does not hear the prayers of His people, that is, when they remain in their sin. "O Lord God of hosts, how long will you be angry with your people's prayers? You have fed them with the bread of tears and given them tears to drink in full measure” (Psalm 80:4-5). Psalm 66:18 also adds, “If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.” Confession of sin and repentance from sin are necessary before the Lord could hear His people's prayer.

This is consistent with what James is saying in 4:13-16: "Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working." The Lord hears the prayers of His people who recognize and confess their sins before Him.

So it seems that the overwhelming answer of the Scripture to the question, “Does God answer the prayer of unbelievers?” is "No!"

Fourth, as one who subscribes to a Reformed confession, I think the Heidelberg Catechism (1563) gives us a very important thought on why Christians ought to pray and what kind of prayer that pleases God and moves Him to answer. In Lord’s Day 45, Question and Answer 116, the Catechism asks, “Why do Christians need to pray?” The answer goes, “Because prayer is the most important part of the thankfulness God requires of us (Ps. 50:14-15; 116:12-19; 1 Thess. 5:16-18). And also because God gives his grace and Holy Spirit only to those who pray continually and groan inwardly, asking God for these gifts and thanking God for them (2 Matt. 7:7-8; Luke 11:9-13).

The Catechism continues to ask in Question and Answer 117, “What is the kind of prayer that pleases God and that he listens to?” Here is the Catechism’s answer, “First, we must pray from the heart to no other than the one true God, revealed to us in his Word, asking for everything God has commanded us to ask for (Ps. 145:18-20; John 4:22-24; Rom. 8:26-27; James 1:5; 1 John 5:14-15). Second, we must fully recognize our need and misery, so that we humble ourselves in God’s majestic presence (2 Chron. 7:14; Ps. 2:11; 34:18; 62:8; Isa. 66:2; Rev. 4). Third, we must rest on this unshakable foundation: even though we do not deserve it, God will surely listen to our prayer because of Christ our Lord. That is what God promised us in his Word (Dan. 9:17-19; Matt. 7:8; John 14:13-14; 16:23; Rom. 10:13; James 1:6).

Finally, a friend raised the issue that there are occasions when it seems that God answers the prayer of unbelievers and because of the answer to that prayer these unbelievers got converted to Christianity. One of the examples she mentioned is the former Russian church persecutor Sergie Kourdakov who wrote a book, "Forgive Me, Natasha", and related in that book that when he prayed, "God, if you exist please show me Yourself," and God showed him, and he became a Christian after he defected and jumped ship in Canada.

She also mentioned another example. She related a "student exchange from China who has never heard of the name of God and did not know that Jesus is God. She never saw a Bible. She came to an international Bible study with the motive to practice speaking English. One day, her bag was caught in between the doors of a New York City Subway train. A week before that, she read about Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead and answering Mary's prayer. So she said, ‘I heard the God of Christians answers prayer. I am not a Christian but I want to pray to the God of the Christians to help return my bag.’ (Inside her bag were her passport, $400 cash, her student's class cards for New York University). She called the staff of International Students to pray with her and for her. She also called on the God of the Christian to show Himself to her. The Staff of ISI are under fire because it is impossible to retrieve a bag with cash in NYC. One week after, her bag was returned at the NYU Lost and Found section, everything was intact, and the cash was untouched! The unbeliever student from China said ‘I see that the God of Christians answers prayers indeed!' She became a Christian.”

I responded that these examples presuppose what the Scripture really teaches that before these unbelievers called upon the Lord they must have heard something about God and Jesus Christ first. Then through providential circumstances they were brought into a situation to call upon God. And as Hebrews 11:6 tells us, those who draw near Him must believe that He exists, even if that faith is but like a mustard seed.

I can't help thinking of two Gentile women who became true Israelites because of what they've heard about the God of Israel. Rahab, for example, must have heard about the God of Israel through the miracles He performed in Egypt and in the wilderness before she changed allegiance from the god of Jericho or the god of his people to the God of Israel (Judges 2:8-13). Likewise, before Ruth the Moabitess made that timeless confession to her mother-in-law, “Your people shall be my people and your God shall be my God,” she must have heard about the God of Israel, probably through her husband Mahlon and her in-laws.

This is quite relevant because in the case of the Chinese student exchange, before she prayed to the God of the Christians she must have read or heard about Jesus. This is the same situation even in the case of Sergei Kourdakov. Before he prayed to God, he must have heard a lot of things about God whom he denied and whose children he persecuted. Both of them might have believed God (in the sense that they have knowledge or heard about God) before they started praying to the Lord, but it seems clear that by the time they prayed to God, when they begin asking something from God, God has already started to work faith in them, otherwise how can they call upon Him?

So the Holy Scripture clearly teaches that God hears and answers the prayer of His children when they pray according to His will and purpose and when they ask Him humbly, fully aware of their undeserved status before Him who is holy and just, loving and merciful. Experience as well proves that. Just think of how many times we have failed to obey God’s will and yet when we draw near Him, humbling ourselves and confessing our sins, He hears us and grants us His blessings. Even those unbelievers whom He draws to Himself are given the faith to believe Him and to turn to Him and to call upon Him. This is all by His amazing grace and abundant mercy to undeserving sinners like you and me.

Why A High View of God Is Necessary?

(taken from the Preface to A. W. Tozer's "The Knowledge of the Holy')

The message of this book....is called forth by a condition which has existed in the Church for some years and is steadily growing worse. I refer to the loss of the concept of majesty from the popular religious mind. The Church has surrendered her once lofty concept of God and has substituted for it one so low, so ignoble, as to be utterly unworthy of thinking, worshiping men. This she has done not deliberately, but little by little and without her knowledge; and her very unawareness only makes her situation all the more tragic.

The low view of God entertained almost universally among Christians is the cause of a hundred lesser evils everywhere among us. A whole new philosophy of the Christian life has resulted from this one basic error in our religious thinking.

With our loss of the sense of majesty has come the further loss of religious awe and consciousness of the divine Presence. We have lost our spirit of worship and our ability to withdraw inwardly to meet God in adoring silence. Modern Christianity is simply not producing the kind of Christian who can appreciate or experience the life in the Spirit. The words, "Be still, and know that I am God," mean next to nothing to the self-confident, bustling worshiper in this middle period of the twentieth century [this was in 1961 when Tozer wrote this book, but the message he's sounding is still very timely].

This loss of the concept of majesty has come just when the forces of religion are making dramatic gains and the churches are more prosperous than at any time within the past several hundred years. But the alarming thing is that our gains are mostly external and our losses wholly internal; and since it is the quality of our religion that is affected by internal conditions, it may be that our supposed gains are but losses spread over a wider field.

The only way to recoup our spiritual losses is to go back to the cause of them and make such corrections as the truth warrants. The decline of the knowledge of the holy has brought on our troubles. A rediscovery of the majesty of God will go a long way toward curing them. It is impossible to keep our moral practices sound and our inward attitudes right while our idea of God is erroneous or inadequate. If we would bring back spiritual power to our lives, we must begin to think of God more nearly as He is.

God’s Indescribable Gift - Part 2

(part 2 of my meditation on 2 Corinthians 9:15 "Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!" Thanks to my friend Andy Spriensma, whose thoughts I have borrowed a lot here.)

God’s indescribable gift does not only make us generous. It also keeps us humble. Here we are going to focus on that word “indescribable.”

We need to understand that when Paul mentioned about God’s indescribable gift, he was referring to none other than our Lord Jesus Christ. He is God’s ‘indescribable gift.’

In preaching and teaching the Word of God, what is it that we do but tell of this gift. We describe this gift. And that is the proclamation of the gospel, the preaching of the good news.

Pastors like me have been trained to be preachers of God's holy Word in the pages of the Bible. The whole Bible reveals this gift of salvation. Preaching is especially the telling of that gift!

Probably no one understands this better than the apostle Paul himself. He has traveled vast portions of the known world of his time preaching the gift of Jesus Christ. He has proclaimed the gospel to both Jews and Gentiles, slaves and rulers, friends and foes. Yet he says that this gift from God, our salvation in Jesus Christ, is “indescribable” (ESV says, “inexpressible” while KJV “unspeakable”).

Now the word “indescribable” has an interesting background. First, it appeared only here in the whole New Testament. Second, it is not found in the Greek version of the Old Testament or in any Classical Greek literature. It was until later, near the end of first century, that an early Christian bishop used the word.

So did Paul just make the word up? If so, ironically here, Paul cannot find a word to express the fact that he cannot fully express or describe the gift of God in Christ.

Thus what Paul really meant to say in using that word is this: We cannot fully express God’s gift. Jesus Christ cannot be described in exhaustive detail. Even the paraphrase The Living Bible translates this verse this way: “Thank God for his Son - His Gift too wonderful for words.”

Now while the Living Bible is not an accurate translation of the original texts it grasped, however, the right meaning of the text. Paul is saying that the gift of God is too glorious and too wonderful for words to do full justice to it.

Paul has seen this gift in the person of Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus. The Holy Spirit has revealed to him the great plan of salvation. He has entertained visions from heaven. He has witnessed the power of Pentecost in his work and he can testify that God’s promises are being brought to completion.

Because of this he has an even greater burden to put all this into human words. But certainly God’s glory cannot be contained in the Greek or the English language, not even in my own language or in any language of the world.

God’s marvelous works of grace cannot be limited to any language. The mystery of the gospel cannot be completely decoded in human language. No matter what distinctions or systems we make of it, the gift of salvation, the Son of God, is “indescribable.”

So in order to keep us from bragging how great and exhaustive our knowledge of Christ is and how effective teachers or preachers of the gospel of Jesus Christ we are, Paul is reminding us that God’s gift is beyond our words.

As teachers or preachers, it is always enticing to hear from students and parishioners how good we are in explaining and applying the Word of God in their lives. That is why preachers and teachers of the Bible must remember that however splendid their sermon or teaching is, no matter how good their points are, no matter how well they have excelled in their interpretation and how creative and articulate the presentation of their ideas is, still, their glorious sermon or lecture pales in comparison to the glorious Gift they are called to proclaim and teach.

Jesus Christ and how He has saved us from our sins, how He was sent from heaven above according to the great electing love of God the Father to come down and rescue us from our sin and misery, to suffer in our flesh, and to die upon the cross for our sins, is too wonderful and too humbling for words.

Yet we speak about Him who was raised on the third day and who declared victory over sin and death, over Satan and the whole world, who has all the power and authority given to Him, and who is our only Savior and our great God. This is the Gift we speak about. And what or who we speak about will always be far greater than how we speak about Him.

This serves as a warning to all of us who think we already know Jesus Christ and do not need to study the Bible or hear about Him more. It keeps us humble because no matter how long we have been a Christian or no matter how long we’ve been reading, studying or teaching the Bible, still our knowledge of Christ is still lacking. We don’t fully know our Lord and Savior yet. Even the apostle Paul admits that God’s gift, our Lord Jesus Christ, is ‘inexpressible,’ ‘indescribable,’ He’s beyond description.

Man’s Selfish Quest for Earthly Possessions

(a meditation on Luke 12:16-19)

Luke 12:16-19
16 And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. 17 He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’
18 “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. 19 And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’

The agricultural setting and terminologies of this parable perfectly fits the situation in Jesus’ life and time. Undoubtedly, the images Jesus presenting to His audience were understandable to them because Israel was largely a rural and agricultural community. So what’s the point of this parable?

The parable can be divided into two sections. Each section contains one major point. Each point is derived from the action of each character mentioned. The two characters are the rich man (v. 16) and God (v. 20). The division would be: (1) the rich man’s selfish quest for earthly possessions (vv. 16-19); and (2) God’s solemn judgment of man’s senseless life (vv. 20-21).

The first section tells us of man’s good agricultural harvest (v.16) and his boasting about the kind of life which he can enjoy as a result of his great material success (vv. 17-19). The second section, however, gives us a sad picture of man’s destiny in the hands of God who will demand a reckoning of his life. This second section is notably marked by the contrasting word ‘but’.

The Rich Man’s Selfish Quest for Earthly Possessions (vv. 16-19)

The point of the first section of the parable is not to show the readers that acquisition of material wealth is sinful, nor to remind them that good stewardship of one’s wealth is wrong. The Bible itself does not condemn money or any earthly goods. What is ‘foolish’ in the rich man’s action was his selfish or covetous pursuit of acquiring wealth.

Covetousness is surely a sin, a breach of the essence of the tenth commandment that says, “You shall not covet.” This surely hinders one’s relationship with God for as Paul says in Col. 3:5, “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: ... covetousness, which is idolatry.” A selfish quest for wealth is indeed idolatry for it draws man away from God unto mammon.

Greed also destructs one’s devotion to God for as Paul again warned Timothy in 1 Tim. 6:10 that, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.”

Indeed the rich man in the parable is preoccupied with self and his quest for more wealth for selfish indulgence. This is obvious by the text’s repeated use of the personal pronoun “I” and the words ‘relax, eat, drink, be merry,’ which also imply a kind of life void of godliness.

In general, the point here, as one author puts it, is that, “A purely selfish accumulation of possessions is incompatible with true discipleship.” The problem with this man is that, in his great material success he did not bother to ask, “How much shall I give to the cause of God?” Nor did he inquire, “How much of this shall I give to the poor?”

Let us always remember that everything we call our own comes from God and they belong to God. He gave them to us in order to serve Him and others better. One day we will give account to Him for the use of these things, whether money, talent or gifts.

Jesus is saying, “If you want to follow me, you must be willing to give up the things in your hands. You must be willing to suffer loss. You must be willing to assume other’s loss and trust me to repay you. You must make me your greatest treasure in life and in death.”

Unless we accept this challenge, we cannot be true followers of Christ. Do you really want to follow Christ? You must be willing to die yourself so Christ could live and rule in your heart. Instead of striving for your self, work hard to help others as well, especially those who are in the family of God.

Giving up our pride is necessary to be able to consider others as important as we are. Sometimes as a pastor, I have the tendency to present myself as if I know a lot. The truth is, I don’t. There are certain areas that others know more than I know. Women know a lot about housekeeping, cooking and baking. I know very little. Our children know more about computers and how to use them than we do.

The world does not revolve around us. We are not the most important people in this world. We must therefore learn to give up our rights and privileges in order to serve others in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Let's use our time, our talent and our treasures not to boost our pride but in order to serve our neighbor and fellowmen. Give up anything Christ requires from you. Put Him first. Stop saying, “I will do this and I will do that so I can be happy.” Instead say, “If this is pleasing to the Lord and beneficial to others, I will do it.”

A meaningful and successful life is a life that obeys the will of God and cares for the welfare of others. Christ Himself exemplified this life by living and dying for the glory of God and the redemption of His people. God defines success in life. He is the judge who evaluates our lives. What kind of life do you live? God judged the man in the parable. God’s judgment of this man’s life is that it is a senseless life.

Perseverance and Prayer

"Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up." - Luke 18:1

As disciples of Jesus Christ and citizens of the kingdom of God you and I are engaged in constant battle. We live in a day not unlike the days of Noah and Lot when wickedness has reached its limit and when people were more interested in goods and good times than God. Probably the only difference is that wickedness and perversity in our day is more sophisticated than their time. But the struggle for the righteous to remain faithful to the Lord remains the same.

And sometimes the battle can be fierce and tiresome, when unbelievers become aggressive in persecuting or marginalizing Christians, as in the case of many places around the world like North East Africa, the Middle East and China. Surely many Christians from those regions long harder for relief and vindication from the Lord.

But this battle can also be subtle. I say that because we wage war not only against the evil one and against the wickedness around us but also against our own sinful nature that constantly clings to us, against our own complacency and lukewarmness to the things of God. And it comes to us in the ordinary situation at home, at work, in school, even in church, when we eat and drink, when we're on our business trip. For college students the battle rages when they're in the dormitory or inside the classroom.

Whatever our status or situation in life is, our struggle is how to remain faithful to the Lord God and loyal subjects of His kingdom. Whether the heat of conflict escalates every passing moment and relief is not visible in the horizon, retreat or withdrawal from the battle line is not an option.

So what should we do? We can't give up. What we need to do is to persist. In order to persevere, we need to pray. We need to pray with our eyes of faith focused on God, not on the fierceness of our battle.

So we read from Luke 1 that our Lord Jesus instructs us to persevere in prayer and not give up until His return. He told this parable in order to drive the point that we need to pray at all times and not to be discouraged when circumstances in life sap our energy and sanctity, and our prayers seems to be unanswered.

The Lord Jesus knows our weakness and that we all are prone to give up. In light of that, He graciously gave His disciples and us this parable of the persistent widow to show that we always ought to pray until God vindicates us, His people.

Praising the Lord Our God - Part 2

[The LORD] loves righteousness and justice... ~ Psalm 33:5a

God "loves righteousness and justice." Righteousness and justice are two closely related moral attributes of God, akin to His holiness and wrath, whereby ‘He maintains Himself as the Holy One over against every violation of His holiness’ (Louis Berkhof, A Summary of Christian Doctrine, p.33). Our God delights in doing what is right and just because He is righteous and just.

As the Creator and Lord over all the earth, He governs the whole world with righteousness and justice. And how does He do that? Through His law which is the standard of His righteousness.

Essential to the notion of righteousness is conformity and obedience to the law of God. The world is full of wickedness and injustice because it rejects the law of God. Our society in general abhors the law of God. In its rebellion against the righteous rule of God the world is under judgment. That’s why Paul says, “the wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness” (Rom.1:18).

Friends, God is holy. His holiness sets Him apart from us. He hates sin and evil and punishes them who do evil. Part of His punishment is to give sinners over to their own deceitful hearts, sinful passions and depraved minds. Yet in His righteousness He rewards those who do what is right.

But who among us do what is right always? Who among us obey the law of God perfectly? No one, except our Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 3 does not only tell us that no one is righteous and no one does good. It also declares that God manifested His righteousness and justice in Jesus Christ. God presented Him as propitiation, that is, as an atoning sacrifice that satisfied God’s wrath against our sins.

Jesus, the Lamb of God, the Righteous One, is God’s perfect sacrifice for our sins. He perfectly obeyed the law of God and offered Himself in His death in our behalf.

So none of us can boast before God. All of us are guilty of disobeying His law. None of us is righteous. None of us does what is right. We deserve His wrath. But if by faith you and I accept the righteousness of God in Jesus Christ, we are counted righteous. We are united with Him who was tempted in every way yet did not sin so that in Him we who believe become the ‘righteousness of God’ (2 Cor 5:21).

One Puritan pastor puts it this way: “It is our wisdom and our comfort; we care for no knowledge in the world but this: that man hath sinned and God hath suffered; that God hath made himself the sin of men, and that men are made the righteousness of God" (Thomas Hooker).” This is good news! This is the gospel!

So how do we magnify the righteousness of God? The best way is to believe that Christ is our righteousness…that in Him, by faith, God has declared us righteous… that we now stand in a right relationship with God, His law, and His justice…that through Christ we have peace with God and have obtained mercy. Look to Christ. Behold Him as your righteousness and God will not count your sin against you any longer.

We also magnify God’s righteousness by loving His law, His righteous law. When I say the law of God, I’m referring not only to all the laws and commands of God in the Bible but the whole written Word of God itself. Do you love reading and memorizing the word of God? Most of all, do you delight in obeying His Word? Obedience to God’s Word is another way to praise God in His righteousness.

Devoting your time in meditating in order to practice the Word is another way of conforming to God's righteousness. Joshua 1:8 says, “Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.”

The law of God is for our good. The Apostle John says, “This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3). When God justifies us, He also gives us the ability to love His Word and to keep His Word. By keeping His Word, we conform to His righteousness and that way we glorify God.

No matter how hard your situation is, God desires your obedience. When your faith is tested look to Christ as your only righteousness for in the light of it, you can endure, even rejoice, in your sufferings. Look to Him who endured all kinds of injustice and pain for your sake.

In all your trials and suffering, remember Him who suffered for you. But do not forget that in all your hardships, God still does what is right and good for you. In Christ, He turns your sorrows into joy, your mourning into dancing, your affliction into opportunity to grow in your faith and obedience. Suffering builds up good character and strengthens hope for God’s people. God alone makes good out of evil. He alone makes right from wrong. He alone does what is right and just. This is the righteous God of the Scripture.

Oh, how easily we accuse God of being unfair when adversity strikes us. Maybe someone very close to you keeps on hurting you. Maybe you have been cheated or abused by someone and it still bothers you. Before accusing God of being unfair or getting back at your perpetrator, remember Christ and the agony He has to go through in bearing the consequences of your sins.

Remember that He was without sin but because of your sins and my sins, He was forsaken by many, hated, scorned and bruised by those who wished him dead. But He endured them all so that you and I will be forgiven. He suffered so that you and I would sin no more. He was afflicted so that you and I would stop hurting each other and would start building up one another in the faith.

We can glorify God even in the most painful situation of our lives when we recognize our suffering and count it with joy that God regards us worthy to share in the suffering of His Son. God knows what is right for us and He does what is right for us, even allowing us to go through difficult circumstances.

Growing in God's Grace by Knowing His Patience

2 Peter 3:15-16: "And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters."

We need to understand that the reason Christ has not returned yet is to give time for the full number of God's people to be saved. 2 Peter 3:15a is a recap of 2 Peter 3:9. Peter is saying that the Lord is not unfaithful to His promise. The very reason why Christ is not coming back yet is to give time for the people of God to repent and be saved. Through the proclamation of the gospel, God is patiently calling His people from all over the world to repent from their sins and return to Him in faith.

Verse 15 is God's word on how to interpret the time between the first and the second coming of Christ. It is the time of salvation. The Savior has come and has opened the way for God's people, His sheep, to return to His fold. While our Lord Jesus Christ has not appeared for the second time, the way to God is still open. But when He comes back the way will be closed and the time of salvation will be over.

Notice that, according to Peter, this is also what Paul taught and wrote in his letters. Peter says, “And count the patience of our Lord as salvation.” Paul says in Romans 2:4, “Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?”

So both the Apostles Peter and Paul teach that God's postponing or withholding final judgment on the wicked is an act of forbearance that should be interpreted as 'giving more time', so to speak, for our repentance and salvation.

Moreover, in 2 Cor. 6:2 Paul also says, “And working together with Him, we also urge you not to receive the grace of God in vain — for He says, "AT THE ACCEPTABLE TIME I LISTENED TO YOU, AND ON THE DAY OF SALVATION I HELPED YOU." Behold, now is "THE ACCEPTABLE TIME," behold, now is "THE DAY OF SALVATION"” (emphasis mine).

So by mentioning Paul and his letters, Peter shows that there is agreement among the apostles. The false teachers may reject the perfect law of God or deny the second coming of Christ, but the apostles of Jesus are united on these matters: Christ is coming again and you should live a life separated from sin and consecrated to God. Meanwhile His delaying is for our salvation.

The knowledge that all the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ are united in their doctrine is really enriching. It helps us to see how God divinely superintended the writings of the Holy Scripture ( 2 Peter 1:21) so that when it is correctly interpreted and applied to us now, it confirms the divine authority of God. And it accomplishes the purpose for which it is intended for the hearers – that is, their salvation and sanctification, and for God – His praise and glory. Again verse 18 tells us, “...but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be glory, both now and to the day of eternity.”

God's patience is God's work of grace in order to give us time to repent, believe and be saved. In God's sovereign plan, it is also the time for us to grow in our knowledge of Him and to be continually transformed by that knowledge from the inside out so we can progress in holiness.

That's why we take this time as opportunity to spread the good news of Jesus Christ through out the world, to call people to repentance and faith and to disciple the nations of the world, teaching them everything Christ has commanded us to do. You grow in the grace of God when you participate in taking this opportunity to go out to your neighborhood and proclaim the mercy and grace of our God and, at the same time, warn them of the coming judgment if they persist in unbelief.

You also grow in the grace of God when you take your sin seriously. Sin is an offense to the holy character of God. When we sin we commit something that the law of God forbids and God will not let us go away with that, unless we repent and depend solely on the grace of God.

Will you forsake your sin and serve the Lord while the way is still open? Do not provoke the Lord's patience by persisting in disobedience. But in humility, confess your sin and trust in the finish work of Christ, the blameless and spotless lamb of God. He will truly save you until the end.