Some Year-end Reflections

As I reflect upon my life and experiences in 2013 I realize how slow my growth in holiness and obedience to the Lord has been. It’s been humiliating as the Lord painfully exposes the ungodly desires of my sinful heart. I have been secretly seeking the approval of people and inwardly seething with resentment some criticisms and corrections I received from people who love me. My mind keeps on falling into ‘the error of taking material prosperity as the ultimate mark of God’s blessing’ rather than ‘poverty of spirit, mourning for sin, and persecution for righteousness sake.’ I’m easily forgetting that ‘the only thing that matters is what God thinks’ and that true spirituality ‘is not seen in gathering wealth but in being delivered from loving it – whether we have it or do not have it.’ Greed, lust, hypocrisy, anxiety, and many other sins continue to hound me.

I can feel the indictment of the Lord telling me, “O you of little faith!” But thanks be to God! Although I have some setbacks and grieve for my slow growth in godliness I do not doubt the grace of God in Christ for such a sinner as me. And by the power of His Spirit I trust Him to enable me to rely upon His faithful provision for life and godliness and to seek His kingdom and righteousness first this year and the years to come. "My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever" (Psalm 73:26).

Leaving All to Follow Christ - Part 1

(Part 1 of a sermon based on Luke 18:18-30)

In the three-year ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ on earth He was asked by different people with different kind of questions. Some asked Him in order to test or to trap Him. Others, however, asked Him sincerely.

In our passage today, we can see a very sincere person asking our Lord Jesus what to do in order to obtain eternal life. Unlike the lawyer who put our Lord to the test by asking Him the same question (Luke 10:25), here Luke does not tell us that the man had such a motive to trap our Lord.

The question, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” is a very important question. The person who asks such a question is concerned not only of life in this world but also in the world to come. For the question itself pertains to our eternal comfort and salvation wherein God’s promise of abundant life in His presence is at stake.

In our passage, we are going to see that eternal life is for those who leave everything for the sake Jesus Christ and His kingdom.

What must you do to inherit eternal life? That’s the question I want to address as we look at our text. First, we will try to understand what it means by obtaining eternal life. Second, we will explore on the related theme of entering the kingdom of God. Third, we will wind up in discussing the encompassing theme of following Jesus Christ, the Lord and King in the kingdom of God.

Receiving Eternal Life (vv. 18-23)

What does it mean to inherit or to receive eternal life? What really is the essence of this man’s question? Maybe it is necessary to point out that the one asking our Lord is no ordinary person. Luke tells us that he is a ruler. Most probably the man was a respected leader in Jewish society, not necessarily a synagogue or religious leader because in Matthew’s account he was still young (Mt. 19:20). As noted earlier, his question is similar to the lawyer in Luke 10.

In essence, the ruler wants to be assured of his salvation in the final resurrection. Eternal life for him, in other words, is the essential covenant blessing that God promises in His Word, not only for this life but especially for the life to come.

So he is asking if there’s still something he needs to do in order to enjoy God’s blessings both in this life and the future life. So the question pertains to the kind of life God promises to all His covenant people, to all His children.

The answer this man got from Jesus does not immediately address his question. For the Lord made him realize something about what he said. He calls Jesus a “Good” Teacher. Before Jesus answered his question, he told the man that no one is good except God.

Why did Jesus point out to this man that no one is good except God alone? One possibility is that, before the ruler understands what he is asking, “Jesus wants [him] to focus on God and his will [first] so that he will be genuinely responsive to God.” The mention of the commandments supports this interpretation. Jesus wants the man to first realize who God is and what He demands from man.

Jesus is therefore asserting God’s absolute goodness and His righteous requirements in the face of his question on how to earn eternal life. In other words, the ruler must realize, first of all, that God is good and that He is holy. If he desires to obtain an inheritance from God, he has to remember that God is full of goodness and at the same time He desires perfect obedience to His law.

Friends, do you see the cost to inherit eternal life? First you have to acknowledge that it is God alone who is good and the source of all good things, including eternal life. Not us. Not our good works.

When Jesus mentioned about the commandments to love one’s neighbor, the ruler confidently said that he has kept all of these since his youth (v.21), which is equivalent to early teen years in our time. So this man is not only a respected leader, he is also a very pious person. He keeps the law of God.

However, when Jesus further tells him what else is lacking, something within him was exposed that disqualifies him from obtaining what he asks. Jesus commands him to sell everything he has and to give them to the poor. In doing this Jesus promises him of treasure in heaven. This treasure of course includes eternal life and other blessings both in this life and the life to come. Then Jesus wants him to follow Him.

What can we see from the Lord’s demand from this man? Why he has to sell everything he owns and give the proceeds to the poor? Does Jesus prescribe a new way to be saved? What does Jesus ask of the man when he told him to sell everything and give to the poor? Someone says, “The selling of all is intended to force the ruler to trust God and humbly rely on him.” In context, this is the fundamental issue that Luke wants to point out. Humble acceptance of one’s inability to earn God’s favor and confident trust in God alone to provide one’s need, both in this life and the life to come, is at the heart of what Jesus asked of the ruler.

Not everyone who wants to be saved and to follow Jesus was told to sell what he has. But everyone who wants to become a disciple of Christ is compelled to obey Christ and to trust God for his salvation. This may mean different things to different people. For a fraud tax collector like Zacchaeus, it shows in giving half of his possession to the poor and to return four times the things he earned from corruption. For an adulterer like the woman in John 8, it means to stop his adulterous relationship and to start obeying God. Salvation is from God. One has to trust Him in order to obtain eternal life.

At this point, Luke tells us that the man became very sad upon hearing our Lord’s demand. Reason? He was very rich. He was not ready to let go of his possessions and help the poor. In other words, he is not ready to come to God and to follow Christ. He wants to earn eternal life. But he does not want to do the first step to obtain it. He does not want to listen to the One who gives eternal life. For Jesus alone has the power to grant eternal life to those who ask for it. But what is eternal life? Jesus said in John 17:3 that it is to know the one true God and the one He sent to save the world, who is Jesus Christ.

The man seems to be admiring Christ of His perfect character yet He is not willing to listen to what Christ tells him to do. He cannot give up his earthly treasures for a heavenly one.
Bottom line: this man is still in the grip of his greed, not of God’s grace. His wealth still holds him. They bind him so tight he cannot take hold of God. He may have obeyed the other commandments. But he stumbled on one. James said it counts to nothing (2:10).

If he really wants to obtain eternal life by means of obeying the law, he has to obey everything perfectly. Otherwise, the law condemns him. Or he can simply humble himself before Christ and trust God for His salvation. No one can obtain eternal life apart from the grace of God through His Son Jesus Christ. In other words, no one can enter the kingdom of God apart from God’s saving grace.

A Testimony of God's Grace in My Life

Grace is one of my favorite biblical words because of the depth it reveals. It was just an ordinary word for me from way back then. But the word became of utmost importance to me when God enabled me to understand what He did in the life, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ for sinners like me.

Search for Peace and Acceptance

I grew up in a "dysfunctional" and nominal Roman Catholic family from the province of Capiz in the Philippines. My father was an alcoholic and a habitual gambler. My mother, though religious and outwardly good, was a notorious nagger. She drove my father crazy most of the time. I was both a victim of and a witness to their frequent quarrels. This made us siblings feel ashamed of ourselves and our family as well. Two of my older brothers married as early as eighteen just to get out early of my parents' authority.

Early in my life I longed for peace and love which obviously I have not experienced from my family. As a result I have tried to be good and intelligent so I can be accepted and loved. I have performed well in trying to please others except my family. I became rebellious to my parents. I learned to disobey and dishonor them by not heeding their advices and not being good to them. I told myself that I don't want to be like them and not to do the same mistakes they have done to us their children.

Yet I noticed that the same things I hated in them were gradually being developed in me. I learned to smoke and drink hard liquors early in high school. Later I became addicted to gambling, too. Unknown to my parents, I stole money from our cash box. I used them to satisfy my gambling and impulsive-buying habits.

I also became critical with other people. Outwardly I looked nice and good. I was a hypocrite. I was one of the best students in school. I always top my religion subjects in high school and know a good number of facts from the Bible and the Roman Catholic Church. Yet others did not know the evil I was trying to hide with my outward behavior. They did not see the pain and guilt I was trying to bury with my good performance and behavior.

I tried to look for ways to be at peace with others and to be acceptable. I thought serving God in the church would help. I thought being in the church could get rid of the evil I have inside. So I joined the church choir. I served as one of the altar boys that assists the parish priest during the mass. I became very religious. Like many young people I tried to be more knowledgeable. I thought knowing a lot of things would make me a better person.

Still I did not get what I longed for. Even though many of my friends seemed to have admired me and have told me a lot of good things about me still it did not matter. I also started reading the Bible so I would look more religious but the words were too deep and the teachings were quite strange for me to understand at that time. It did not help me at all and I got very frustrated. So I gave up trying hard.

God-Sent Messengers

In God's appointed time, He sent some people to explain to me the gospel of His Son Jesus Christ. The first person God used to share with me the gospel was Mr. Samuel Colinco, a Baptist minister from Bacolod City. He was a high school teacher. We were roommates at the National Secondary School Press Conference (NSSPC) back in 1986 in Iloilo Province. I was a third-year high school student and a delegate at the conference. He used a gospel tract in presenting to me some important ingredients of the gospel and had me read Bible passages that supported them. Of course I did not understand everything he said because they were new to me. Two words stuck into my mind though after that encounter. The words were born-again and grace. But grace was more pressing to me. After the conference we parted ways but left me with several literature. None of those I really cared to read at all.

When I entered college in Manila, my brother became instrumental in helping me understand more about grace. He was a member of a growing Pentecostal church then and he cared to bring me to their Sunday afternoon meetings to listen to their Bible teacher. Providentially, the Lord used those meetings to increase my understanding of the concepts of grace and born-again or regeneration.

The Beginning Work of God's Grace

Through my brief encounter with the Baptist minister and through the help of my brother and the people in their church, God brought home His salvation message to me. I had seen my own selfishness and pride. Then as they explained to me the reason why Jesus had to die at the cross, I was also being convicted of my hatred against and rebelliousness toward my parents. The Holy Spirit enabled me to understand that Jesus' death is a sacrificial and substitutionary death in behalf of guilty sinners like me.

I understood that God saw the wickedness of humanity, including my hatred and rebelliousness, and He was so displeased. His wrath was upon sinners, including me. But because sinful man is totally hopeless and helpless in saving himself from the wrath of God, God Himself, in His divine mercy, took the initiative to save man from sin and its eternal consequences. God sent His Only Son and offered Him as a substitute for sinners. As a substitute, He not only obeyed God's law perfectly, He also bore the sins of many and paid the just penalty of their sins in His cruel death at the cross of Calvary. Thus, in Christ’s perfect obedience and sacrificial death, man's salvation was achieved for God’s wrath against sin was satisfied and man's guilt has been taken away.

Slowly, I understood these doctrines and through the effectual power of the Holy Spirit I was enabled to see this work of Jesus Christ as the Good News, bearing God’s powerful message of salvation to those who believe. I was led to confess my sins and to cry out to God for forgiveness and mercy. I was also enabled to put my trust in the work of Jesus Christ for my salvation from sin and its horrifying eternal punishment.

Eventually, the grace of God became apparent to me. I understood that God’s grace is something that He gives to an undeserving sinner on account of his relationship with Jesus Christ by faith. Grace is a divine favor given to someone who deserves otherwise. This grace cannot be earned. Not by any good works, but is received by faith alone in Jesus Christ, the One whom God has highly favored.

So this saving grace can only be received by putting one’s trust in the person and works of Christ, the Son of God who became the Lamb of God. There’s no other way grace can be accepted apart from faith in God’s beloved Son. I did believe in Christ and made a profession of faith in His saving work. And I still do by the grace of God.

The Continuing Work of Grace for Sinners Like Me

Since then, the peace that I have been longing for came as a result of the knowledge of God’s grace in Christ. The prophet Isaiah's words in chapter 53 verse 5 became meaningful to me. It says, "But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him and by his wounds we are healed." There is a lot of comfort that comes from the knowledge that God will not take my sins against me anymore; all because somebody has taken my stead and paid for the penalty of all my sins. That’s really amazing! That’s grace. It gripped me from the inside out.

Now I know that God, by His grace, has been working in my life. Now I know that the reason why I believed (and continue to believe) in Christ is all because of His effectual grace. In His goodness and mercy, He regenerated me. He gave me new life. I learned that since birth I was dead, not in physical sense but in spiritual sense, which means, I have been separated from Him and without hope for future blessings.

Apart from God's enabling I cannot come to Him for mercy and I cannot truly repent from my sin because I simply do not have the ability and will to do so. My response in faith in Christ's finished work of redemption and my repentance from sin was a result of His work of grace prepared for me even before the foundation of the world and is the work of the Holy Spirit in me.

Now, by faith in Jesus, His mercy and forgiveness are in my life. I have learned that His grace led me and keeps on leading me to repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. This grace that saved me in the first place is the same grace that is now at work in me, keeping me from falling back to my old life. Thank God! I pray that God will continually give me the power to do good and to live a holy life. I realize that at the time of my spiritual birth the Holy Spirit started to live in me. He gives the will to desire and the power to do what is good and pleasing to God.

God's Grace Enables Obedience and Grants Real Peace

There are several things worth mentioning here that have changed in my life as a result of the grace I received from God. The hate I had toward my parents was replaced by understanding and desire to love and care for them. Instead of blaming them I have learned to forgive my parents. Instead of rebellion I have learned to respect and honor them from the heart. I started to seek to please them and still seek to be pleasing to other people. The most amazing change I have noticed especially is my motivation in doing good. Unlike before, I am compelled to be good and to do what is right to others because I want to express the love God has given me in Christ.

The inner peace continues to reign in my heart as God enables me to understand His patience, forgiveness and mercy toward me in and through Christ. His love becomes clearer as I read the Bible this time. Now I love listening to Biblical preaching and reading good Christian literature.

Yes, I still see the remaining sin within me. I daily struggle with my sinful habits, especially with covetousness and lustful thoughts. I fall oftentimes if not for the grace of God working in my life and giving me the strength to stand against the onslaught of the flesh. God's grace empowers me to obey Him and to resist the sinful desires that daily wage battle against me. I know that in Christ He has bestowed me everything I need for life and godliness through the knowledge of my God and Savior Jesus Christ.

I thank Him for breaking through my life. If not for His undeserving mercy and grace I am still living in my sin and still looking for peace and love from other sources. If not for His abounding grace I am still working my way to Him. I thank God for giving the Lord Jesus for sinners like me. In Him, through the working of the Holy Spirit I am saved and being transformed into His likeness, patiently waiting for that day that He has promised when I can be with Him throughout eternity. All by His sovereign, free grace. All for His honor and glory!

"Make Known His Deeds Among the Peoples" - Part 1

(based on a sermon from Isaiah 12:1-2)

Where shall we find joy to sustain us beyond the excitement of the New Year or any special occasion such as birthday or wedding anniversary?

In Isaiah 12:1-6, we will find reasons to be joyful and sing praises to the Lord our God. The passage discloses the joyful response of the faithful remnant of Israel to God’s promised salvation. As an individual and a congregation, we sing the glory of our God regardless of our situation. He preserves us through many dangers and threats in life. And through all the difficulties we don’t stop praising Him.

That’s the message we get from this. The chastised people of God sing the glories of the Lord. Yes, Isaiah 12 is Israel’s response song to God’s promised salvation. Here, the saved community of God, although suffering the rod of His chastisement, proclaims to one another, and to the world, the wonders of God.

Here in Isaiah 12, we are given three important truths of God that we shall sing about to one another and proclaim to the ends of the earth. First, we ought to sing His Gracious Salvation; second, we sing His Great Commission; and third, we sing His Glorious Presence.

His Gracious Salvation (v.1-2)

When Isaiah wrote this prophecy the people of Jerusalem and the whole kingdom of Judah were sinning against God. In fact, Isaiah started his prophecy with a series of accusations of the people of Judah (Isa. 1:2-4). Isaiah accuses them of rebellion (1:2), ungratefulness (1:3-4), false worship (1:13-15), hypocrisy (1:15), and many other transgressions. God sees all these iniquities and transgressions in us.

We cannot hide anything from Him. He sees our outward devotion to Him but He can also see our hearts’ deep longing for this world and all the material things in it. He knows how we go through the motions of worship, even pretend to listen to His Word, but our minds are wondering somewhere else and our lips are filled with vile things and our lives with uncleanness.

If you and I are brutally honest, life in the holy presence of God is unbearable for sinners like us. Even the prophet Isaiah would confess, having seen the presence of God in a vision, he would admit that he is lost. He curses himself for being a man of unclean lips, dwelling among proud and ungrateful people, people with dirty tongues and thoughts. That’s us, people of God.

And so if God is going to judge us, we deserve nothing but His anger. We deserve His punishment. But thanks be to God that Someone has appeased God’s anger toward us! Somebody has satisfied the wrath of God for you and me. Even Isaiah himself could testify that although he deserved to die in the presence of God, yet God has touched his unclean lips and has taken away his guilt and has atoned for his sin.

Now the question is, “How can our holy God do that to a sinner like Isaiah, like you and me?” “How can a just God change His disposition toward us who are so idolatrous, ungrateful, and greedy?” Well, of course, the answer is in verse 1. The prophet testifies that although God was angry with him, yet in that day, God’s anger will be turned away once and for all.

God’s anger was turned away at the altar when Isaiah’s sin was atoned for. As a result Isaiah had comfort, and his fear of God’s wrath was gone when he believed the word of God. Trust, rather than fear, has overpowered Isaiah (8:17).

Ultimately, God’s anger against us His people was turned away only through the atoning sacrifice of Christ. Matthew Henry says, “Though God may for a time be angry with his people, yet his anger shall at length be turned away; it endures but for a moment, nor will he contend for ever. By Jesus Christ, the root of Jesse, God's anger against mankind was turned away; for he is our peace.”

Salvation for sinners is a rescue from the wrath of the God Who is offended by our sin. But it is this same Lord God Who made a provision for our sin. God, in His great mercy and love, poured out His wrath against our sins upon Jesus as He suffered upon the cross so that God would not have to pour out that wrath upon us. The cross is the place where the fires of God's judgment consumed our sacrifice, even Christ Jesus our Lord. He bore the fires of God’s anger upon Himself because of our sin and transgressions so we don’t have to carry them anymore.

Boys and girls, Isaiah 53 gives us an awful picture of what Christ has suffered in bearing our iniquities upon Himself (see esp. vv.4-6). And so when God calls us to the cross in faith, He calls us to the one place of safety from His holy wrath against our sin. The cross is the place where God’s anger was satisfied. So when Christ first came, the day of salvation has dawned!

This is the gracious salvation that Isaiah is singing about in vv.1-2. Although God is angry with us because of sin (and let us not forget that), yet He does not treat us as our sins deserve because of the atoning work of Jesus on our behalf. When God is angry with His people, His anger is that of a father to a son. It’s going to be a temporary anger intended to correct and discipline but not to harm. This is the anger of chastisement and not the wrath of judgment. It’s for our good. It’s for our holiness, for without which we cannot see God.

In contrast, God's anger against the pagan Babylonians, against the unbelieving world of Isaiah’s time, was the wrath of judgment, and God permanently destroyed them as a people and culture. They were erased from the face of the earth. The same thing will happen to all the unbelievers who will persist in their rejection of God, who abuse the kindness of God as a license to their wickedness and sinful lifestyle. There will come a day when God’s anger will forever consume the unrepentant and the unbelieving world. So be warned, beloved congregation!

Israel’s exile to Babylon was a discipline for their idolatry and immorality. God used the hardships of the exile in pagan lands to cleanse Israel of their idolatry, to give them a sorrowful heart for their sins and to work faith in them. Then, when they repented as a people, God comforted them and restored them.

So don’t be discouraged when God chastises you. Don’t be dismayed when you feel the rod of God’s discipline. It’s for your good. He loves you with that rod. That’s why you and I could sing with Isaiah, “God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the LORD God is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.”

What troubles you today? What hinders you to offer your sacrifices of praise to God? Are there any unconfessed sins, or troubled past, or unsettled relationships that bother you? Does it make you feel unworthy before God? Are there sins or failures that cause you to think that God is angry with you?

Be comforted! There is freedom and deliverance. In Christ you can find God’s gracious salvation. Though it’s costly for God, yet it’s free for you! God has promised that anyone who trusts in His Son, anyone who calls upon Him in faith, asking His forgiveness, He will turn away His wrath. He will comfort those who are sorrowful and seek refuge in Him.

Then as God’s comforting grace overwhelms you, sing His praises with all your heart. Join the chorus of God’s people in singing His gracious salvation in our Lord Jesus Christ!

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.

God's Indescribable Gift

2 Corinthians 9:15: "Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!

There is much that is said in this verse. Certainly, in the overall context of 2 Corinthians 8 and 9 the central focus is on giving and Christian charity. As you may remember, the church in Jerusalem was in need and the apostle Paul called upon the other churches to help.

The Macedonian churches had already helped, giving more than they could really afford. As 8:3 says, “…they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability.”

Now the Corinthian believers had begun the work already a year ago, but had lapsed in completing the collection (see 2 Cor 9:2). They pledged to give to the poor Jerusalem church a year ago but there had been a problem of collecting the money that was pledged!

So in this letter Paul exhorts the Christians to give what they have promised. Paul is sending a team ahead of him to collect their pledge, knowing that they are ready and eager to fulfill what they have promised (2 Cor 9:5). In order to motivate the Corinthian believers for the collection, Paul reminds them of the grace and the gift they received from God.

Paul encourages them in this manner in chapter 8:9, exhorting them to pattern themselves after Christ, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.” The same principle is said in 9:14b.

Then Paul concludes this whole section of his letter with a brief doxology saying, “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!” It is that last verse, that last sentence that I would like to focus on with you here. Let us consider how that truth might influence our lives and service to the Lord, especially in making us generous.

There are those times in our life when we read the Bible or listen to a sermon that the Holy Spirit turns on the light in our mind and we see clearly the glory of Christ. In one chapel devotion on this passage, I was drawn all the more to God’s gift, our Lord Jesus Christ.

As I was listening to the speaker, he came to this verse where Paul says God’s gift of salvation in Jesus Christ is “indescribable.” Suddenly it hit me. The reason why these Corinthians are so generous is because they understand that in Christ they have everything. In Him they lack nothing.

In Christ, God has given them the greatest gift beyond words. And with Him, they have been given everything they need. Nothing comes to us, no blessing – whether material or spiritual – comes to us apart from God’s grace in Jesus Christ. He is the greatest gift of God to you and me. When you have Christ you abound in many other things.

Read 2 Corinthians 8:9 and 9:8 and you’ll see that God grants us His gracious gift and He promises abundance to us. But take note also that God has a purpose in blessing us. And what is that purpose? Clearly God promises to supply abundantly so that we would be able to give generously to others. Paul wants the Corinthians to be free from the fear that generous giving will leave them impoverished or financially broke.

So don’t you ever think that when you give freely and cheerfully to others, especially the family of God, you will become poor and broke. No. The truth is, before God, you will be rich and you actually cause others to glorify God as you live generously by the grace of God.

Let’s move the thought a little further. Why does God promise material abundance to those who cheerfully and freely give? It is in order that "you may have an abundance for every good deed" (9:8b). Note how Paul uses a "string of universals" in verse 8. "God is able to make all grace abound to you, that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed."

God’s blessings are not only intended for our own benefit but really for us to abound in every good work, particularly in doing good works to others, especially those in the household of faith.

Finding Grace in Drawing Near God

(Another meditation on Hebrews 4:16)

If we draw near to God with confidence on the basis of Christ's atoning sacrifice and as our sinless High Priest, we draw near Him for the purpose of obtaining mercy and finding grace (v.16b). God calls us to come boldly into His throne of grace for there we find mercy and grace to help in time of need.

A minister once said, “Prayer is our supply line to God in the battle. His abundant, sustaining grace flows to us through prayer. Because prayer is so vital, the enemy tries to sever that supply line. When we suffer, the enemy often whispers, 'God doesn’t care about you and He isn’t answering. Why waste your time with these worthless prayers?' It’s easy to get discouraged and quit praying, which cuts us off from the very help that we need!”

The Hebrew believers’ problem is that instead of drawing near to God they are in danger of drawing back (10:35). Instead of facing persecution, they seem to be discouraged to the point of going back to their old lifestyle and inadequate religion.

Some of us who are facing many trials might have been tempted to quit following Christ. This is the same struggle that these Hebrew believers were facing. God comforts us with these words of encouragement. He tries to lift our spirits up by looking unto Jesus, our high priest in the presence of God. So let us keep on looking at our Lord and Savior. Let's fix our eyes on Him.

God presents to us His Son, who endured every attack of sin so that you and I may not grow weary. I know that every trial that comes our way has the potential to drive us to self-pity, depression and apathy. Maybe you may have been praying to God to give you victory over besetting sin which haunts you all the time. I don't know how you persevere in such situation.

But the Scripture is clear in instructing us that when such occasion comes, it should drive us, not away from God, but near Him in prayer. When we do, we find help. We find that much needed 'supply' for that specific time of special need, when afflictions abound and temptations press us sorely.

If your faith in God is being tested today, God reminds you to pray with confidence. He would give you the grace to endure and to deliver you from that trouble. Help comes to those who ask for it!

Sometimes, of course, God does not positively answer our prayers. I think of broken vows in marriage, failing health and prolonged suffering of a relative, maybe you think of an unrepentant friend.

Both in all our trials and in our triumphs, God exhorts us to take delight in drawing near Him in prayer for we always find grace to help in time of need, and that time is actually all the time.

I can't help thinking how our Lord Jesus effectively interceded on Peter's behalf in Luke 22:31-32. There He says, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethen." Peter was fully restored to the faith only because of the faithful intercession of our merciful great high priest, Jesus Christ.

As you actively pursue obedience and holiness in life, be aware that there are trials of various kind. But I urge you to keep on pressing to the goal of godliness, asking God's grace and wisdom when troubles come.

On the basis of Christ's redeeming work and constant intercession, your faith is being strengthened by the power of the Holy Spirit. Do not doubt the goodness of God when your faith is being tested. Trust His loving-kindness. Believe that in Christ, God will supply your need, even in the most difficult or dangerous circumstance. As you persevere and persist in prayer, God will surely mature your faith. May you and I remain steadfast in the Lord.

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.

Serving Christ by the Grace of God

(A brief journey in the faith and ministry of Vic Bernales first shared at MEANS monthly meeting in Huntley, Illinois on April 2007).

Thank you for the privilege of joining you today. I was supposed to be here last month but God thought it best for me and my family to come here today instead. So I praise the Lord that I can be with you. I hope that my testimony of God's in my life will also help you reflect on the grace of God in your own life.

I grew up in a Roman Catholic family in central Philippines, in Capiz to be specific. I was baptized as an infant, catechized as a child and received confirmation in the Roman Catholic Church. I had known and believed in the doctrine of the Trinity and the virgin birth of Jesus Christ since I was a child. I also learned the Ten Commandments and I was active in Catholic youth activities in high school. Out of these experiences I have desired to serve God in full-time ministry as an ordained priest in the Catholic Church. How many of you here are converts from Roman Catholicism? Please do not misunderstand me. I am not here to criticize the RCC (or any religious group, for that matter). I am here to testify of the goodness of God in my life as I relate to you my experiences and my journey in the Christian faith.

I grew up a disobedient child alien to the concept of the fear of the Lord. I may have looked nice and okay outwardly but deep within I was miserable. My conscience would always bother me and give me a strong feeling of condemnation and uncertainty of the future. It wasn't very obvious to others, but I was so afraid to die. Although I was told that Christ saves still I did not have the faith to trust Him fully. So I tried hard doing penance and other good things that would make me feel good. I was taught that in doing good works and sacrifices for the Catholic Church I can sort of get a pass on the way to heaven. But it did not help me at all and I was quite frustrated. There was something that I was looking for that I haven't found and tasted during those years.

I don't know if you have heard this but it was French physicist and philosopher Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) who spoke of people's need for Jesus when he said, "There is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart of every man, which only God can fill through his Son Jesus Christ." Do you agree with Pascal?

About 1200 years before Pascal it was Augustine (354-430) who said, “You [Oh God] have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.” That's how I felt before. There was a vacuum in my life that needs to be filled, and there was some kind of restlessness that I didn't know how to put to rest. Did you have similar experience? Do you know what I'm talking about?

In God’s appointed time, around February 1986, I came to meet this Baptist minister who shared with me what I called 'a strange teaching about God.' He was trying to explain to me the holiness of God, the sinfulness of man and the person and work of Jesus Christ in a way that I did not see in my Catholic upbringing. Gradually I was beginning to understand old concepts differently, like grace, faith and being born again.

In my Roman Catholic upbringing, grace is an obscure concept, and somehow one has to do something to receive it. Faith likewise was understood as something that man can and should do all by himself. To be born again you must be baptized (as a child, of course) and faithfully receive Christ in the Holy Eucharist during mass.

My basic belief was being challenged by this Baptist minister whom I meet only once in my life. Do you have that kind of experience when somebody comes to you and share with you about something that at first it doesn't sound right, and it doesn't correspond with what you know?

At first I was so skeptical at what he was telling me but later, I was enabled to believe that Christ indeed saves and through Him, by faith, I can truly be assured of my salvation. Seeing this gracious act of God in Christ toward sinners like me, I was led to confess my sin and repent from all my known wickedness – you know, lying, stealing, disrespect to parents, envy, covetousness, idolatry, etc.

Oh after confessing my sins and renouncing all those horrible, shameful acts, I felt that sense of joy and satisfaction and gratitude deep within. The things that Augustine and Pascal were talking about are now real to me. That peace within that wasn't there before starts to overwhelm me.

My contact with this Baptist minister was short. But when I entered college in 1987 one of my older brothers who was a new convert to a growing Pentecostal, full-gospel church, was instrumental in my decision to leave the Catholic Church and join this new religious group. One good thing I've experienced in this new group, though, was learning to submit to the Lordship of Christ by submitting to the authority of His Word in every area of my life – from my daily, ordinary choices to future, long term, major decisions – everything. Isn't it true that when we are truly born again our attitude to the Bible also changes?

God has used the experiences I had in this group to develop in me the love for His Word in spite of the group’s tendency to regard 'spiritual experiences’ higher than the truth of the Bible itself in relating with God. Do you know what I mean?

About a year and a half later, I became discontented and uncomfortable with the group, specifically with their practice of ‘speaking or praying in tongues.’

So in 1989 I moved to a conservative Evangelical church where Kuya Elvin Mijares was pastoring. (Another brother of mine and his family were actually members there). During this time I also became actively involved with Inter Varsity Christian Fellowship (IVCF). I was drawn to join IVCF in the campus partly because of the sound teachings about the Bible and God, and the priority of Christian discipleship and missions that I was getting. Not to mention, there were many beautiful and intelligent young ladies whom I wanted to know and befriend with.

But aside from that, I was really impressed by the kind of relationship that the members and leaders have toward one another and toward other people. There's something unique and attractive in them that I also wanted to experience.

So I first became a small group member, then a leader. I attended many leadership and discipleship camps and conferences and the most memorable and life-changing camp of course was the month-long Kawayan Camp (known to many IVCF folks as KC) in Cebu in 1990.

Then in 1992, a year after college, I was surprised to receive an invitation to join the Inter Varsity staff team. After considering the invitation and after several months of prayers and seeking godly counsel I finally decided to join the staff team. And in the providence of God my five-year ministry with Inter Varsity was one of the most faith-building experiences in my life.

While with Inter Varsity I was greatly influenced by the writings of many authors, one of those of course, is Bill Hybels. But my top two favorites are John Stott and J.I. Packer. Oh I am greatly indebted to these two evangelical giants in my understanding of the Christian faith. Stott’s Basic Christianity increased my knowledge of my sinfulness and misery through his clear exposition of the Ten Commandments. I was convicted of my sin. But at the same time, because Stott also emphasized in that book the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ at the Cross and how that sacrifice provided for me the assurance that all my sins are forgiven in Him, I was also comforted and delighted that I don't need to do anything to save myself. Wow, that's a profound truth! Simply said, Christ did everything for my salvation. Oh isn't that liberating?

Dr. Packer’s Knowing God also deepened my knowledge of and devotion to God. His scholarly yet practical exposition of God's sovereign grace in the salvation of mankind through Jesus Christ has left me dumbfounded. Through Packer’s various expositions I was able to understand the gospel better and became more grateful to God. I'm just curious, how many of you here have read Dr. Packer's Knowing God?

Since then, the peace that I have been longing for has come as a result of the knowledge of God’s grace in Christ. My reading of the Scripture, like that of the prophet Isaiah, especially his words in chapter 53 verse 5 became very meaningful to me. There it says, "But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him and by his wounds we are healed." There’s a lot of comfort that comes from the knowledge that God will not take my sins against me anymore. All because somebody has taken my stead and paid for the penalty of all my sins. That’s really amazing! And that’s grace. It gripped me from the inside out. Does the grace of God grip you, too? Does it move you to serve God faithfully too?

Shortly after I moved out of Inter Varsity in 1997 I was introduced to the writings of R.C. Sproul and James M. Boice. These authors contributed in shaping and strengthening my theological and Biblical perspective. Sproul has helped me grasp clearer many 'difficult' Biblical doctrines.

Providentially, God led me and my wife to regularly attend a Reformed Bible study in 1999. This was led by Mr. Nollie Malabuyo, a Wycliffe Bible Translator missionary who is now a church planter in Pasig City area with the United Reformed Churches in North America (URCNA). This Bible study later became a small congregation in January 2000. It has become what is now the United Covenant Reformed Church (formerly Davao Covenant Reformed Church or DCRC), a member congregation of the United Covenant Reformed Church in the Philippines (UCRCP).

My desire to serve God in full-time ministry did not wane after my move from Catholicism, Evangelicalism and to the Reformed tradition. To some extent it has actually strengthened my desire to be formally trained and be equipped to do the ministry. Through various providences the Lord has given me the opportunity to study at Mid-America Reformed Seminary in 2001. However my seminary study was interrupted in 2002 when I and my family have to return to the Philippines in June of 2002. The American missionary who was then ministering to the small congregation in Davao City was recalled due to some security reasons occasioned by the 9/11 bombing. So he and his family were asked by their sending church to leave the Philippines immediately.

By the grace of God, the congregation has continued to exist after this missionary family left in November 2001. So in June 2002, having been examined and was given the license to minister by the supervising church in California, we arrived in the Philippines and continued the ministry in the Davao City church. My one year seminary training has helped me a lot although I kept on hoping that one day I could return to the seminary to finish my training.

I praise the Lord for granting that desire in 2006. I am thankful to the Lord for using several individuals, churches and organizations who have become instrumental in my return to the seminary to finish my formal, rigid, but very edifying theological and Biblical training. I am now on my second year in seminary hoping to graduate next year. Please keep me in your prayer that by the grace of God I will be able to fulfill all the seminary requirements and graduate. My family and I are hoping to return to the Philippines next year to serve the small congregation in Davao City.


(P.S. In 2008, I was able to finish my Master of Divinity degree. A month after graduation, my family and I returned to the Philippines to minister to our congregation. By the grace of God, in September 2010, I was examined by the pastors and elders of UCRCP during our special classis meeting and I was able to sustain (pass) the examination. On October 19, 2010, I was ordained to the Ministry of the Word and installed as the pastor of the Reformed congregation in Davao City. I thank God for the great privilege He has given me to bring the good news of salvation in Christ to our own people, by His grace. And I hope you would keep on praying for me and my family in our desire to serve the Lord among our "kababayans" [countrymen]).