Has God rejected His people?
Aside from the interesting story about Elijah I read in an attempt to understand what Paul is saying here more, this was the one question that burned as soon as I began to read. Unsuprisingly, I suffer from an intense feeling of guilt when it comes to falling short of God's glory. I've mentioned it several times in past posts. One Bible verse that scares me the most is Ephesians 4:30 "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God." The question that comes to mind is "will I ignore God's call for me to change so much that God gives up on me? Will God reject me?"
Salvation by grace is re-affirmed here. Paul states that "And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace." I am amazed at how often I need to be reminded of the simplest truths of Christianity, but here it is: I have been saved, I am saved, and I will be saved not because of anything I did, but because God had reserved for himself a portion (Paul talks about Israel here, but a portion of humanity is also applicable) through grace.
But what about those who try so hard to please God? People like Israel, who earnestly sought God but did not obtain a relationship with him? Isn't that unfair? It's a danger for Christians (read: me) too. Jesus doesn't want Marthas (though I'm sure Jesus still ate her food). Rather, Jesus truly delights in Marys.
So I think the lesson here is to trust in God. Trust that God has truly saved me by his grace, and not strive to cheapen the salvation by thinking I could get a relationship with God by buying him candy.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Romans 10:14-21
In the previous passage, Paul emphasized that we gain salvation through faith in Christ, not deeds. And this is true, as followers of Christ, we're supposed to have faith in God and hear Him. And if we call upon Him, we will be saved. (v.9-11) But Paul says "How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in?" (v.14a)
Is it that Israel hadn't heard the gospel (v.18) or that Israel did not understand (v.19)? Neither, obviously. "Their voice has gone out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world." (Ps. 19:4) Besides, it'd be hard to believe that any Jew of that time period would be ignorant enough to not know of a potential Messiah. And the Jews, who prided themselves of knowing the Law, must've understood.
Is it that Israel hadn't heard the gospel (v.18) or that Israel did not understand (v.19)? Neither, obviously. "Their voice has gone out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world." (Ps. 19:4) Besides, it'd be hard to believe that any Jew of that time period would be ignorant enough to not know of a potential Messiah. And the Jews, who prided themselves of knowing the Law, must've understood.
As an aside...
Will people who have not heard of the gospel be condemned? Is it fair? I've been thinking about it lately & I want to address this. When we hear this, we often think that it's unfair for those who haven't heard the gospel to to condemned to hell. But we have to step back and look at the bigger picture. We've "all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God". (Rm. 3:23) All have sinned. "All" includes those who haven't heard of Christ. No one deserves to be saved, God saved us purely out of love and mercy. So it's not unfair for those who haven't heard the gospel to be condemned. (But if we really wanted to discuss fairness, it's probably more unfair for us to have known Christ & be saved) As well, non-believers also have consciences. Even if they have not heard the written law, they "show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts". (Rm. 2:14-15)
But finally, Paul pulls out the big guns. "All day long I have held our my hands to a disobedient and obstinate people." (v.21) It's just like what you observed in the children in our church; humans are predisposed to rebellion against God. (Romans, so far, has been very morbid.)
This really shows us how much we need God. We can't even have faith in Him without His help. Like what Pastor Tom told has last Sunday, we need the Holy Spirit to fill us and make sure we don't stray away. Do we have the Holy Spirit in our lives?
Sonia
Friday, July 1, 2011
Romans 9: 30 - 10: 13
Paul continues to tackle the apparent unfairness of God's salvation. Why do those who eagerly seek God not find him, and why do those who supposedly don't do anything instead receive salvation? It's like the story of the prodigal son; the son who runs away gets the welcome party, while the son who works hard gets nothing. What's going on, God?
Paul had reason for his question. As he said earlier in chapter 9, Paul loved his people to the point of willingly giving up his salvation if they could have theirs, if it were possible. Jesus felt the same way, seeing a nation so lost, and wanting nothing more than to gather them up and love them (Isaiah 6: 9-10, John 13: 34-35).
We're no different in the 21st century. We're like Israel; we work to gain purpose, or identity, or transcendance, or any other thing. The religious work for God, not realizing that it's Satan's biggest trap. From the very beginning, God told the Israelites that what he was commanding them was not so high up that they have to find someone to go into the heavens (as they did with Moses at Mt. Sinai), or to swim to the depths of the sea to find God. "No!" God said. He was right there with them. (Deut. 30: 11-14)
God calls salvation by works a stumbling block. In fact, it's not even "salvation by works," it's life with God! It's so easy, as Christians, to fall into the trap of doing things for God. God calls us to obey him, yes, but that obedience is but a means to have a relationship with God, not an end. He wants, as he did with other "sinners" to have dinner with us. He doesn't want to be served; heck, even washed our feet for us! And he grieves when we try to serve him instead like a servant and a master of enjoying alongside him as friends.
Case in point, I've been thinking about music-making at SCBC. As I've said to anyone who would listen to me, God's angelic choirs can make music a million times more divine than anything we can produce. Personally, I find it foolish to make music for God as if we're giving him gifts (when in fact we're grumbling about having to go to rehearsal, or having to practice, etc.). Why don't we enjoy life, and music, alongside God?
Paul had reason for his question. As he said earlier in chapter 9, Paul loved his people to the point of willingly giving up his salvation if they could have theirs, if it were possible. Jesus felt the same way, seeing a nation so lost, and wanting nothing more than to gather them up and love them (Isaiah 6: 9-10, John 13: 34-35).
We're no different in the 21st century. We're like Israel; we work to gain purpose, or identity, or transcendance, or any other thing. The religious work for God, not realizing that it's Satan's biggest trap. From the very beginning, God told the Israelites that what he was commanding them was not so high up that they have to find someone to go into the heavens (as they did with Moses at Mt. Sinai), or to swim to the depths of the sea to find God. "No!" God said. He was right there with them. (Deut. 30: 11-14)
God calls salvation by works a stumbling block. In fact, it's not even "salvation by works," it's life with God! It's so easy, as Christians, to fall into the trap of doing things for God. God calls us to obey him, yes, but that obedience is but a means to have a relationship with God, not an end. He wants, as he did with other "sinners" to have dinner with us. He doesn't want to be served; heck, even washed our feet for us! And he grieves when we try to serve him instead like a servant and a master of enjoying alongside him as friends.
Case in point, I've been thinking about music-making at SCBC. As I've said to anyone who would listen to me, God's angelic choirs can make music a million times more divine than anything we can produce. Personally, I find it foolish to make music for God as if we're giving him gifts (when in fact we're grumbling about having to go to rehearsal, or having to practice, etc.). Why don't we enjoy life, and music, alongside God?
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)