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What is our purpose? As humans, what were we created for? What is our calling? These are questions we normally pose to ourselves. As image bearers of God, it is not only crucial that we ask these questions but that we seek to answer to it. Why did God make me and to what end? The Westminster divines, based on the truth stated in Holy Writ, answer this most crucial question, what is the chief end of man by saying, “The chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever.” (WSC Q. 1). We were created to glorify the triune God and this is what we should seek to do. That is our mission statement as humans. It follows then that we ask ourselves, How? How do we glorify God?

We must seek to fulfill our purpose of being created each day of our lives and we must reflect on these truths even more so now that the times are dark. Our eternity depends on it. We are fifteen days into the New Year and it will be best for our souls, if we dwelt on how we can achieve our purpose. The question we must face is this, “How can we glorify God”. We can glorify God in so many ways. So how does one summarize it? How do you teach someone how they should glorify God? That is not something we teach! God does that! He does everything! He regenerates our heart so that we can! It would be easier to just give everyone a to-do list and tell them to just follow this, for with this you can glorify God. But is God really glorified by following a to-do list? We have people from different races and different backgrounds and all walks of life. How do you answer this for everyone? The question, “how can we glorify God” is broad. It could have been easier had it said, “how can we glorify God in our workplace, or our body, or even at school”. But we ask, that the most Gracious and Holy God, will show us grace as we seek to glorify Him.

What Does Glorifying God Mean?

Glorifying God means we recognize that He is far greater, valuable and beautiful than any other thing. It means that He is our treasure. So to glorify God, we are in essence treasure hunters seeking out our greatest treasure. We must first recognize who God is to glorify Him. Glorifying God means we must worship God as He is and must cherish Him above all things. With this, How then, can we glorify God?

Knowing God And Christ

The most important way we can glorify God is to know Him. I do not mean knowing about Him but knowing Him. We glorify God by having a Father-Son relationship with Him; that is by knowing Him. As image bearers of God, we were all made for a relationship with God; in fact we are all in a relationship with Him. We either relate with God as a Father, who sent His Son for sinners and who welcomes us to a loving relationship with Him, or we relate with God as the Judge and Creator of all things.

In the first type of relationship, we are Sons, in the second, we are enemies of God. In both categories, we know about God (creation speaks of God (Romans 1:19-20)). As a result of the Fall, we are all born dead in our sins and find ourselves in the latter category; our natural relationship with God is not as a Father-Son relationship, but as enemies of God. As enemies of God, we hate God and do not honor Him as God. Paul says in Romans 1:19, “ For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.” We actually spit in the face of Him who gives us breath. We look in the face of God and disobey Him. How dare we! We don’t glorify God; in fact we can’t. However, because of Christ’s death on the cross, we are reconciled to God. We enter into a Father-Son relationship with the triune God by placing our faith in Christ. We down our weapons, stop warring against God in sinful rebellion and we cry out to Him. No longer are we children of wrath, but we are sons. We can now live our purpose: Glorifying God! It is important to understand how we can know God. It is only through Christ.

Knowledge of the Father comes only through the Son. Apart from the Son, we cannot know God. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature (Hebrews 1:3) and He makes God known (John 1:17). He is the way, the truth and the life and no one goes to the Father except through Him (John 14:6).

You can glorify God this year by knowing Him. In fact, that is what eternal life is! In his high priestly prayer, Jesus said this, “And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent “This is how we can glorify God: By knowing Him and His Son. God is so vastly greater than us that we cannot know Him fully, even into eternity. Knowing God is far much precious than gold or silver! Like Paul, we must count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus our Lord. He is All! Knowing God doesn’t end with believing in Christ at just one point. It is a way of life. We will find ourselves exactly where we started when it comes to Knowing God. He inexhaustible! Incomprehensible!

Do you know God and do you know Christ? John Piper is famous for saying this, “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him”. We will only be satisfied in God when we know Him. Isaiah says in Isaiah 40:17, “All nations before him are as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity.” Do you know this God? Do you cherish Him above all?

Obeying God’s Word

In His high priestly prayer, Christ says, “I glorified you on earth,…” How did Christ glorify His Father on earth? He tells us, by saying, “having accomplished the work that you gave me to do” (John 17:4). As the perfect man, Christ is the embodiment of a life that glorifies God. He lived in perfect obedience to the Father. It comes as no surprise that the Father is well pleased in Him (Matt. 3:17). To glorify God, like Christ, we must obey His Word. Dr. Steven Lawson notes this when he says, “The primary purpose of the Word of God is to glorify the God of the Word”. Unlike our first parents who disobeyed God in the garden, Christ lived in perfect obedience to His Father. Now, because of the person of Christ, his death and resurrection, we have the person of the Holy Spirit, who helps us to live in accordance with God and His Word. It is incredible to think that we need God to help us glorify God! O What wretched men we are! We can glorify God by obeying His Word, and trusting in His promises. To obey God’s Word, we must believe that He is who He says He is and that we can trust His Word. Because God is good, we must obey Him. God is glorified and honored, when we like Christ, do what He tells us to do. What does God tell us? He tells us to believe in Christ. He tells us to be in the world but not of it. He tells us to be a light in a dark world. He tells us to be holy, as He is holy. God is glorified if we are obeying God’s word in these and other places. Are you obeying God’s Word? Are we holy as He is holy?

Praying to God

You might be asking yourself, “How is God glorified when I pray to Him?” I will show you. God is glorified when we believe in the gospel. By believing in the gospel, we honor Him as Lord and Savior, and humbly accept that He is infinitely greater than all. Prayer is essentially living out the gospel. In his book, A Praying Life, Paul E Miller, makes this point when he says,

Prayer mirrors the gospel. In the gospel, the Father takes us as we are because of Jesus and gives us his gift of salvation. In prayer, the Father receives us as we are because of Jesus and gives us his gift of help.

Like the gospel, when we pray, we realize that we are nothing apart from Christ. In the gospel, we realize that we are wretched and sinful, and that we need the righteousness of the perfect Lamb of God to be right with God. When we pray, we acknowledge also, that we are nothing apart from Christ, and that we need Him to perfect our words. Does it not strike us that Christ tells us to pray to the Father in His name? Apart from Christ, we can do nothing ! Prayer is a recognition of this: God is most glorified, when we acknowledge our helplessness and His all-sufficiency!

When we realize we can do nothing on our own, we are helpless and God is everything to us. He is glorified when we pray. We must be a people of prayer. We must cast ourselves at the foot of the throne via the cross of Calvary and cry out, “We are nothing! We need you”. In Prayer, we come as broken and helpless, and all we can do is cling unto the promises of God. In what other way can God be more glorified than when we His people trust Him? In Prayer, we are confronted with who God is and we can only bow to Him. Prayer glorifies God and so we must pray.

When we know God and His Son, obey His Word and also trust in His promises, and when we pray to God, He is glorified in us. This is the root. And this applies to all from different races or walks of life or work force. We must be a people who know their God, obey Him and cry out to Him. And in doing so, we glorify God. We must always remember, this is our chief end. Grace and Peace to all who seek to glorify their God, who died to save them from their sins.

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Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus , called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God (Romans 1:1)

Paul introduces himself as a servant of Christ. He goes on further to say why he is a servant of Christ; he was set apart to proclaim the gospel of God. And as a servant, Christ did not call him to proclaim his own ideas and philosophies; as many preachers do today in the name of preaching. The Christian message takes its source from God. It is God’s message to human kind. The word gospel simply means good news. Hence the Christian message — the gospel of God is the good news of  God.

Now good news exists because there is bad news. The bad news is that human beings are sinners separated from God by sin and damned for condemnation (Ps. 51:5, Jer. 17:9, Jn 3:18-19, Rom. 3:23, 6:23; Eph. 2:1).

However, God in his mercy has made a way of escape for the sinner and this way is faith in Christ Jesus (Jn.1:12, 3:16, Rom.3:24; 28, 5:1). Christ is the ‘content‘ of God’s message. The gospel of God, Paul says was “…promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh“(v.2–3). Paul here tells us plainly that God’s message is about Christ. And where we find this message is in Scripture. Christ is, as I have already mentioned, the ‘content’ of God’s message. Christ is our kerygma—the proclamation of the Christian message.

One may further ask, “What about Christ?” Paul answers that Christ “was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord” (v.4). The Christian message is centred on the death and ressurection of Christ. That’s the gospel: “…Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures…he was buried…he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures” (1Cor. 15:3-4).

The gospel—Christ’s death and resurrection is the only hope by which sinners will be saved. Sinners can only be reconciled to God as they believe in the gospel and repent from their sins. Paul says in 1 Cor. 1:17 that Christ did not send him to preach the gospel “with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power”. There is power in the preaching of the cross —death and resurrection — of Christ for the salvation of sinners (1Cor 1:18).

The gospel—the message of the death and resurrection of Christ for the salvation of sinners is more relevant to our human condition than the so called relevant messages —motivational and prosperity— we hear often. Any message not centred on Christ and his finished work on Calvary is no gospel. The gospel is not God has a purpose for you. The gospel is not God cares about you. The gospel is not God will heal you. The gospel is Christ died for sinners and rose again that through faith in him sinners will have eternal life.

When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride.

Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
Save in the death of Christ my God!
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to His blood.

See from His head, His hands, His feet,
Sorrow and love flow mingled down!
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?

Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a present far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.

—Isaacs Watts

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If there is any text in the Bible that startles so many professing Christians in evangelicalism today, it is Matthew 7:21-23. Before we proceed, it is important to note the context of the text. First, Matthew 7 is the conclusion of the glorious sermon on the mount. Matthew 7 begins with Christ talking about judging righteously. He then speaks about the narrow gate and the wide gate. He also addressed false prophets and how they shall be known by their fruit. Then Jesus dropped these startling words; “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day, many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.”

Simply, Christ says here that not all who profess His name will be saved. In this text, the use of the literary device of repetition —“Lord, Lord”— places more emphasis on the severity of this text. The Reformation Study Bible note on Matt 7:21-23 notes that “The doubling of a name is an address of intimacy (Gen. 22:11; 1 Sam. 3:10; 2 Sam. 18:33; Luke 22:31). It is not claims or feelings of intimacy with Jesus that matter, nor is it performing miraculous works in Jesus’ name, as even Judas Iscariot did (Matt. 10:1-4).”  

Some, who supposedly knew him intimately will be cast from His presence forever because He never knew them. Now, let us turn to Matthew 7:21-23 to glean some five lessons from the text.

Which Christ?

This is the most important question we should ask ourselves based on this text. Which Christ are we trusting in? There are many Christs out there, but there is only one saving Christ. Christ warned us of this when He said many false Christs will come in the last days. False Christs do not and cannot save. There is only one Christ who saves, and He is the Christ of Scripture. He is our Sovereign Ruler and King. The Lord of Lords and Author of Life, who gave Himself as a ransom for His people. He bore the full wrath of God on a cross, died, and rose on the third day, having conquered death. He is the true and only savior. Salvation comes through Him and Him alone. Do you believe in the biblical Christ?

Known By God

To be known by God is more important than any other thing in this world. It is the very foundation of everything. We must be known by God before we can know God. This does not just mean knowing about God. Rather, it is knowing Him in an intimate way. Knowing God is one thing, but being known by God is another. Using a worldly analogy, we all know Queen Elizabeth. However, to be known by Queen Elizabeth is unique. In the same sense, we know God, but to be known by the God of the universe is mind-blowing.

In Matthew 7, Christ tells them to depart, for He never knew them. Of course, God sovereignly knows everyone, but He only shares an intimate relationship with His own: those who believe in Him. So never knowing them does not mean that He knew them and stopped knowing them at some point. Rather, they never had a saving relationship with Him to begin with. Those who are truly known by God are kept by God until the end. So, the key question is, “Are you known by God?” One may ask, how do I know if I am known by God? Well, do you believe in the gospel of Christ? Do you love God, even just a little?

Profession Is Not Possession

The fact that one professes faith in Christ does not mean he possesses it. We see this in Matthew 7. They professed and did many mighty works. However, we see them condemned in the end. It is not professors of faith that are saved, but possessors. Only those who possess a saving faith in Christ are children of God, and such are not brought into judgment but are passed from death to life. All those who possess saving faith profess it, but not all those who profess faith possess it. Hence, we are to make sure of our election and calling. Do you possess true saving faith?

Assurance

The people described in Matthew 7 had a false assurance. By prophesying in His name, casting out demons, and completing many mighty works in His name, they believed they belonged to Him. Christ tells us in Scripture that false Christ will rise up and do many great miracles and mighty works. Our assurance therefore should not come from what we do, but from Christ who saves. Our assurance shouldn’t come from God answering our prayers (providence is remarkable), or the things we do, but from the Word of God. We are to make sure of our election and calling and to examine ourselves to see if we are in the faith. Do we believe in the true Christ? Our fruits are a great litmus test for us, but the Spirit of God and the Word of God are our assurance.

The Spirit of God illuminating the truth of God’s word in our heart assures us that we are indeed Children of God. Is your assurance then from the fact that you said a prayer or walked an aisle, or because you grew up in a Christian home, or because a pastor said you are saved or is your assurance wrought by the Spirit of God on your heart through his Word?

Narrow Path Is Life

Early in Matthew 7, Christ tells us to “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” In Matthew 7:21-23, He tells us that “MANY will say unto me.” This group in Matthew 7 is not small in number. They are many. The fact that many profess faith does not mean they possess saving faith. We must ensure we are on the narrow path. We must not compare ourselves with the masses. The fact that “many” are doing something does not make it right. Rather, we must compare ourselves to the truth of God’s word. What does God’s word say? It is our final authority. The gate is narrow indeed.

The truth is, you could be part of the people in Matthew 7:21-23. Christ is the only way by which we can be saved, and by faith in Him alone, we are saved. Do you believe in Christ? Are you known by God? Are you just a professor of faith, or are you a possessor? Do you have a false assurance, or is your assurance from God the Holy Spirit and His Word? Are you on the narrow path that leads to life or the wide path that leads to destruction? This is something we must address individually. No one believes unto salvation for us; WE must believe in Christ alone on our own.

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The ministry I lead, Sovereign Grace Fellowship has a gospel tract “What Is The Gospel?” with content adapted from Saint Andrews Chapel. We use it for evangelism. It explains in simple, yet profound terms, what the gospel is. If anyone professes to be a Christian, you would expect them to be able to articulate what the gospel is. Obviously, if they are believers, they heard a gospel call and responded. But you will be amazed the responses people who claim to be Christians give for a question like “What is the gospel?”

Just this past weekend, I did an outreach in my community and spoke with a number of persons who claimed to be Christians. That made much of my conversations easier. With tract in hand, I will ask, “So what is the gospel?” I received quiet a number of interesting answers which to me indicated a misunderstanding of what they have believed. One respondent said “The gospel is going to church, listening to preaching, doing good works and listening to gospel music”. Another respondent, who I suspect was aiming at impressing me, said “The gospel is going on evangelism to tell others about God”.

Here are people who claim to be Christians yet are unable to explain what the gospel is. I am being cautious in not using their inability to explain what the gospel is as grounds to question their faith. Of course, we need not be able to articulate every doctrine there is in Christianity to be saved. However, an inability to explain what you have believed; that is, the Gospel, may be an indication one has believed a false gospel.

If you are a Christian, what did you believe to become a Christian? You must be able to easily explain to people what you believed to be converted. The gospel, I explained, in my interactions, is the good news of the death and resurrection of Christ for the salvation of sinners through faith (1Cor. 15:1-4). I have heard many preachers calling on people to give their lives to Christ when they have not preached any gospel content. All they have been doing was a motivational and pep talk laced with many promises of health, prosperity and a life of comfort if one will give their life to Christ. Then out of the blues, as if an afterthought, they call on people to give their lives to Christ. This is not gospel preaching.

There are numerous so-called gospels in the world proclaiming good news to those who would listen, and these gospels come in any number of forms–from the gospel of health and beauty. These gospels, however, do not address the most basic problem that all men and women have–the problem of sin and guilt; that is spiritual deadness¹.

You see if we say the Gospel is good news; it comes on the back of the fact that there is a bad news. The bad news is that all human beings are separated from God by sin (Gen. 3:23-24; Isa. 53:6; Rom. 3:23, Eph. 2:1-3). The good news, which counteracts the bad news, is that God has not left sinners to their fate to continue in darkness. There is hope for sinners to be restored in a relationship with God by coming to Christ in faith (John 1:19; 3:16, Rom. 5:8; 6:23; Eph. 2:4-8). “Put simply, the Gospel is the good news of Jesus Christ. It is good news because, without it, we stand condemned as sinners before a holy and just God deserving His wrath.”²

Is what you believed the gospel?

Notes:

1: From Page 3 of gospel tract “What Is The Gospel gospel?”

2: ibid, 4

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Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed (1 Peter 2:24KJV).

Many have twisted this text to preach a health and wealth gospel. But that is a great error. We are no where in this text promised physical healing. It is only a wrong reading that leads to that interpretation. Our greatest predicament as human beings is not poverty or sickness. Therefore the offering of health and wealth as the solution to all our problems is false and no gospel at all.

Our greatest predicament as humans is sin, hence our greatest need is the forgiveness of sin.

Death: The Wages Of Sin

Romans 3:23 condemns all human beings under sin separated from the glory of God. To be separated from the glory of God is man’s greatest problem and no amount of money or good health can make up for that void.  Sin is a sickness that plagues all humankind. And the wages of this sin is death the Bible says (Rom 6:23). We are not only sick of sin. We are dead in sin! “We are dead in sin” That is terrible. Looking at our ourselves we can identify the havoc sin causes in our lives and the lives of people we know. Sin is not only of earthly consequences. It has eternal consequences. Sin separates from God.

The prophet Isaiah wrote this of God’s people – a description that is characteristic of all fallen man:

Ah, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, children who deal corruptly! They have forsaken the Lord, they have despised the Holy One of Israel, they are utterly estranged. Why will you still be struck down? Why will you continue to rebel? The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even to the head, there is no soundness in it, but bruises and sores and raw wounds; they are not pressed out or bound up or softened with oil (Isaiah 1:4-6 ESV)

This is the state of our sickness and our sin; which the prophet graphically likens to sores and bruises that have covered the whole body from head to toe. This is the sickness of sin Christ died to heal us of that we might live to righteousness! How tragic that 1Peter 2:24 which deals with the grave situation of the life estranged from God by sin; and the glorious promise of redemption through the substitutionary sacrifice of the Lord Jesus will be cheapened to one of material significance!

Healed Of Our Sins And Restored Unto Rigtheousness

“by whose stripes ye were healed“. Peter quotes Isaiah 53:5 to tell us how we were healed. How? by Christ’s stripe. Healed of what? Sin. And how are we healed of this? Christ bore our sins in his body. That is good news. God has made a way to reconcile us unto Himself by putting our sins on Christ: “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree”. This is what theologians call double imputation. Our Sin is imputed to Christ and His righteousness imputed to us. Oh, what good news. Our sins are all forgiven when we trust in Christ.

The result of this imputation is that we “should live unto righteousness“.

Righteousness  simply is right standing with God as if we have never sinned. In Christ we who previously were sick and dead in sin are healed and made alive and  reconciled to God: “And you hath he quickened [made alive], who were dead in trespasses and sins” (Eph. 2:1KJV). “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him”(2Corinthians 5:21KJV).

Have you experienced this exchange; your sin for Christ’s forgiveness? If not seek His forgiveness. On the other hand, if you have, you can break forth into doxology and sing:

Praise, my soul, the King of heaven;
to his feet your tribute bring.
Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven,
evermore his praises sing.
Alleluia, alleluia!
Praise the everlasting King!

Praise him for his grace and favor to his people in distress.
Praise him, still the same as ever, slow to chide, and swift to bless.
Alleluia, alleluia!
Glorious in his faithfulness!

Fatherlike he tends and spares us; well our feeble frame he knows.
In his hand he gently bears us,
rescues us from all our foes.
Alleluia, alleluia!
Widely yet his mercy flows!

Angels, help us to adore him;
you behold him face to face.
Sun and moon, bow down before him,
dwellers all in time and space.
Alleluia, alleluia!
Praise with us the God of grace!

~ Henry F. Lyte, 1834

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It has become common phenomenon recently. Pictures of preachers or handkerchiefs from them or better still ‘holy water’ or anointing oil they have “blessed” are sold at exorbitant prices to congregants with the assertion that purchasing such items constitutes an act of faith.  The believers in these “anointed” items consequently keep them close to their person at all time, or in their cars and homes. In turn, these ‘anointed items’ are purported to be able to accomplish all manner of unimaginable results; including the ability to recover debts overnight; ward off evil spirits; cause a sudden overflow of business income; render one’s enemies impotent and in some cases take the lives of such supposed enemies; upon application in certain ways as directed by the ‘men of God’ from whom they were procured.

One ‘believer’ reportedly said by carrying a special handkerchief from his ‘man of God’, anyone with whom he shook hands was bound to favour them no matter what. He had countless testimonies to prove this, he asserted. But the question that begs answering is, is this Christianity or superstition?

What these preachers and their followers do is what Paul calls using the word of God deceitfully (2Corinthians 4:2). The superstitious practices of these false teachers and their followers are no different from that of users of charms procured from the local fetish priest or traditional native doctor. Whether the end goals of their ritualistic practices and the motives backing these are in line with the Scriptural teaching are secondary to these superstitious Christians. One can be living in sin, and still expect to get miraculous results simply by applying “anointed items” from a “special man of God”; clearly, a contradiction of the biblical teaching as we find in the pages of Scripture.

In Matthew 21: 12-13 Jesus enters the temple and is greeted by all these people engaging in merchandise in the temple. The temple authorities and priests at the time condoned a great market that sold animals used in the temple sacrifice to the worshippers; and served as a hub for money changers. Jesus in indignation chased them out of the temple, citing the Old Testament Scripture ‘’my house shall be called the house of prayer’’ instead of a den of thieves! (Isaiah 56:7; paraphrase).

How different is the Church of today from the scenery Jesus encountered in this passage? Is there any authority in the New Testament to support the selling and buying of so called anointed relics from servants of God, in order to derive miraculous results from these?

Further, what is to be said of the manner in which these so called men of God are idolised? Is God’s grace, which the Bible teaches is a gift, to be purchased with money? I shudder at Peter’s response in Acts 8: 20-22 ‘’thy money perish with thee for thinking that God’s gift can be purchased with money!’’ God’s gift is not to be sold nor bought with money. Faith is not magic. And Christianity is certainly not a quick fix, magic wand that can yield results to whoever wields it, no matter how they live their lives in relation to God’s word; or whatever their motives may be.

Sadly, the Protestant Church of today seems to have quickly sold the past. Johan Tetzel, the 15th century German friar, was reported to have said “As soon as the coin in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory springs”; meaning that one can give a coin to change the eternal destiny of an already departed one.

Tetzel further extorted money from his followers in exchange for the forgiveness of their sins, even those they were yet to commit in the future. These were the sort of practices that infuriated Luther and the reformers, whose battle cry was sola Scriptura – Scripture alone – with emphasis on salvation through faith alone, and through Christ alone!

Sadly, today we place more faith in preachers than in God and His Word, which alone is exalted above all things! Strangely, the word of men is exalted above the word of God, even when it is in plain contradiction with the Scriptural teaching. Whole congregations have in recent times been reported to do all manner of despicable things in blind obedience to so-called prophetic directions. In the pursuit of temporal breakthroughs and earthly comfort, we have denied the Lord we profess to love and have diverted our faith from Him to men and things.

Superstition is idolatry, because it ascribes the power of God to His creation instead of to Him. God commands that we worship Him alone (Exodus 20:3). He forbids the fashioning of images in any shape or form, and bowing to these (Exodus 20:3-4; Deuteronomy 5: 7-9). Angels refused worship countless times in the Scriptures and instead remonstrated that we worship God alone. Needless to say, the worship of men is clearly contrary to the Scriptural teaching. Peter refused worship from Cornelius (Acts 10:25-26). The apostles consciously pointed the believers to Christ, who alone saves, and were careful to divert all attention to Him and the Gospel – and nothing else. Any worship of a preacher (including bowing down to them instead of to God; kissing their feet in supposed honour, or regarding their words as equal to Scripture and infallible) is nothing short of idolatry in blunt terms, and must not be condoned.

Superstition is not Christianity. Christianity is faith in a person; the Lord Jesus Christ, and in His Word – which alone is our authority for living.

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The topic was: “are all religions the same?” As usual my Hindu friends were of the view that all religions are the same, and were trying hard to convince me of their reasons. According to them we all worship the same god, the only difference is that we have different names and approach him differently.

What surprised me wasn’t the genuine belief of my Hindu friends, but that of my supposed Christian counterpart. In his words “all religions are the same, it’s all about loving your neighbor as yourself”. According to him “we need to keep an open mind about some of these things, since we are not sure whether they are right or we are right. We need to be open in order to increase our chances on the last day”

The view of this “Christian brother” sums up the spirit of the age. We live in a time where any claims of exclusivity is viewed as intolerant and arrogant. There is an enormous pressure to conform to what the world considers to be tolerant and unifying. There should be no claims of exclusivity or rightness, everything is relative and should depend on what each person deems to be right we are told.

It is in the midst of these pressures, Christ calls on his followers to “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you…” (Matthew 28:19-20). The message these disciples were to carry was “[Jesus] I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). Elsewhere in the book of John, John the Baptist in giving his testimony about Christ said “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him” (John 3:36).

From these texts, Jesus doesn’t leave the issue of God open-ended. Far from Christians being bigots, it was Jesus Christ Himself who made the most exclusive and audacious claims about His identity and the way to find reconciliation and forgiveness with a holy God. Therefore you cannot claim to be on the side of Christ without affirming these exclusive claims. In a world where “tolerance” and “love” are in demand, such exclusive claims are not going to win any genuine Christian brownie points, but we must decide on whose side we are on.

Is it Unloving to be Exclusive?

Love is a very evasive term in a fallen world like ours; it means different things to different people. In the sight of the world, love is not confrontational, it doesn’t criticize, it must always say yes, and it is reciprocal. In the world’s definition of love it will be unloving to run and snatch my son out of the middle of the road, so long as he is happy playing there even if there is an approaching vehicle at the speed of 140 km/h. And that is where the world gets it wrong — by defining love in the context of what makes the other person happy or feel “loved”.

In our fallen state we are totally depraved and do not appreciate what is loving from God’s perspective. Love, like any good trait must be understood from the context of God, because God is the meaning of Love.

The question then is, is it unloving to tell people that Jesus is the only way to find forgiveness with a holy God? It is, if it wasn’t true. But if it is true, it is the most loving thing to do. Just a few days ago Christians all over the world celebrated Easter to commemorate the death and resurrection of Christ in triumph over sin and death. Man in rebellion had rejected God, and was therefore under God’s righteous judgement. But in His mercy and love God, the one who had been wronged gave His only Son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16).

God in His love did not sweep our sin under the carpet and assume nothing had happened. The rebellion had happened and the punishment for this treason was death (both physical and spiritual). Love didn’t mean God would turn a blind eye to our sin, it meant giving up His dear Son to die in the place of sinners so that he might be both the just and the justifier of those who have faith in Jesus (Romans 3:26). Love is not blind to wrong, love is not playing dumb that nothing had happened, and obviously love is not pretending that we are all the same.

If it is true(and it is) that we have all sinned against God and are under his righteous and just condemnation, our greatest need as humans is forgiveness from him. The question is, how do we secure this forgiveness? As Christians we believe there is no way we could ever do enough good deeds to make up for the wrongs we have done and continue to do. Besides, God’s standards are so high and perfect that no matter how long and hard we try, we cannot measure up.

The only way is to accept the perfection offered freely by Christ.
Love, is pointing people the right way where they can find forgiveness and peace with a holy God. Love, is telling people that there is an impending danger and they need to take cover in Jesus Christ. What is unloving is agreeing that we are all the same, when we are actually not. That is deception. The most loving thing to do is let people know that there are differences, but they have a choice which comes with consequences.

Make A Choice

Like my “supposed Christian” friend, most of us often go along with the flow and affirm the lie that all religions lead to God, either because we are afraid of ridicule or the desire to increase our chances on the last day in case others are right and we are wrong. Whatever beliefs we hold, by Jesus’ own words, He is the only way to the Father:

No one comes to the Father except through me. ~ Jesus Christ

I am trying to prevent anyone from saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Jesus: ‘I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God.’ That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic – on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg – or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make the choice: Either this man was and is the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse.~ C.S. Lewis

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Romans 10:3-9

Jesus paid it all,
All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow.
~ Elvina M. Hall; 1865

Imagine this scenario with me. A man who owes the creditors a huge sum of money is dragged before the court. He admits that even if all his property were sold, it wouldn’t be enough to clear all his debt. Suddenly, a ‘good Samaritan’ offers to settle all the debt to the last penny. If it were you, what would be your reaction? Now imagine further, if instead of accepting the good Samaritan’s benevolent offer, this debtor rejects it; choosing rather to make up for his debt by suffering a lifetime of hard labour in prison.

Who would do such a thing? Sounds outrageous doesn’t it? Yet in the passage from Romans 10 above, Paul suggests the actions of the Jews amounted to just that. They, to whom God gave the Law had spurned God’s Son, Jesus Christ, and rejected His offer of salvation through faith. In his description, Paul writes, “For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness” (Romans 10:3). The phrase “seeking to establish their own righteousness” (in the authorised translation, “going about to establish their own righteousness”) connotes a strenuous effort to establish one’s own righteousness instead of relying on God’s.

The Law and Man’s Inability

God gave the Law to man with this caveat “…the person who does the commandments shall live by them.” (Romans 10:5b). Which means one could attain righteousness and eternal life by fully obeying the law without faulting at any point (Deuteronomy 30:15-20, James 2:10). In our fallen state, God’s verdict is that no one could keep the law no matter how hard we try. The Jews were therefore wrong in thinking that they could work out their own righteousness before a holy and perfect God. God requires sinless perfection. Jesus in Matthew 5:20-48 clearly teaches that the benchmark is not 99% but a 100%.

It is therefore tragic that anyone would try to attain righteousness by their own effort and good works. Many today go to great lengths to be good, fast, pray and obey the 10 commandments — all in an attempt to save themselves. God demands perfect obedience with all of one’s heart, mind, soul and strength, and one ought to continue doing so unfailingly in order to maintain righteousness (Matt 22:36-38; Rom 10:5). The plain truth is that none of us is equal to such a task.

The law points to the fact that we need God’s help in order to be saved. It shows us how inadequate we are in terms of fulfilling God’s Law; yet offers us no remedy. On this, John Bunyan writes, “To be under the law as it is a Covenant of Works, is to be bound, upon pain of eternal damnation, to fulfil, and that completely and continually, every particular point of the Ten Commandments, by doing them.“¹

Paul, recounting his own experience wrote:

For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! (Romans‬ 7:15-16, 18, 24-25‬a ESV)‬.

John Bunyan further comments,

So long as people are ignorant of the nature of the law, and of their being under it – that is, under the curse and condemning power of it, by reason of their sin against it – so long they will be careless, and negligent as to the inquiring after the true knowledge of the Gospel.”²

If we truly understood what the law required of us in order to be saved, we\’ll come flying to the foot of the Cross.

The Good News: Christ, The End of the Law

Jesus, as the last Adam, was the only one who was able to wholly and completely obey God’s Law. This is what Paul meant by saying Christ is the end of the Law. Not that He abolished it; but rather because He fulfilled all its righteous requirements. But He is the end of the Law only to those who believe in Him. To these, the law is no longer binding in justifying sinners before Christ. Through faith in the finished work of Christ, sinners are freed from the guilt of the Law and from God’s wrath. Christ’s life of sinless obedience and His death on the cross fully satisfied God’s wrath against sin for all who believe in Him.

God therefore offers righteousness to all who believe in Christ alone, free of charge. This does not require any strenuous effort from us — only faith in Christ and what He has done on our behalf.

There’s no need to strenuously seek to establish your own righteousness. Jesus paid it all — all the debt we owed God for disobeying His Holy Law and its repercussions; eternal death. This is the reason for the Cross. Celebrate this season with understanding. If you haven’t already, come to saving faith in Christ now; He is willing and ready to save you.

Notes:

1: John Bunyan, The Doctrine of the Law and Grace Unfolded

2:ibid

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1 Corinthians 15:19-22

Today, Christians worldwide are gathered to celebrate our hope in Christ — Easter Sunday. It is the day our hope in Christ was secured. The grave could not hold the Lion of the tribe of Judah, he defeated death and therein is our hope.

In Luke 24, there is a story about two disciples on their way to Emmaus when Jesus joined them. They were lamenting over their dashed hope of the deliverance of Israel. They longed for deliverance from Roman rule through Christ. However, Christ their deliverer a few days ago was brutally murdered on a cross–the most humiliating way to die. With His death, went their hopes. But as the narrative progresses, we see a hope that is higher than deliverance from Roman oppression. They encountered the Resurrected Christ. He is alive! The grave couldn’t hold Him.

The believer’s hope is tied to the resurrection of Christ. It is a hope that is beyond the grave. Hope that makes us endure suffering because  we know the glory that awaits us. The hope that made Paul count all his achievements as garbage.

What is this hope?

Paul gives us a hint in 1 Corinthians 15:19-22: “If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.”

In this passage Paul was responding to those who deny the resurrection of the dead. He started by saying if there is no resurrection of the dead, then among all people we are the most to be pitied as Christians.  He points to Christ’s resurrection as the basis for his certainty. Christ is the firstfruit, and once you have the firstfruit it signifies that the rest of the harvest is going to come in.

This is the Christian’s hope, it is the hope that our present life is not the end of the story. The hope that our mortal bodies will be changed to the same glorious body of Christ. The hope that God is going to wipe away every tear from our eyes — there will be no more death, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore. In Revelations 22:4, we are told we will see the face of God and we will be with him forever. That has always fascinated me, because I know most of us are looking for something great, many of us are on a wild goose chase for something that will blow us away. We are always looking for that experience that will take our breath away. This is it, to see the face of God and still be alive.

But sadly, this hope is not for everybody. In 1 Corinthians 15:21 & 22 we are told that sin  entered the world through one man and with this came death as well. In Genesis the bible tells us that God created the world, and he said everything he created was beautiful. There was no death, there was no pain, there was no chaos. He then created man in his own image to have dominion and authority over everything he has created. Just as he gave authority to man to rule, he also wanted man to know that he did so under authority and so he gave a command not to eat from a particular tree. God told man that the day he ate from the tree he will die.

This was not only a physical death, it was spiritual death first and foremost. A life lived in separation from God in pain and torment forever. Man disobeyed God and sided with the devil, believing the lie over the loving and gracious care of God. Through Adam’s disobedience sin entered the world, and with sin came death. Man became an enemy of God.

There are some who vehemently protest why Adam’s sin should become their sin. But my answers to that is, really? Every personal sin we commit is actually rebellion against God. We sin because that’s who we are.

We are sinners, not because we sin. Rather, we sin because we are sinners.¹

But that is not the end of the story, John 3:16 tells us God looked at the depravity of man, and his loving heart was moved with compassion. He sent his Son into the world to reconcile the run away man to Himself. There are two things Jesus accomplished. He lived a perfect life as a man. He obeyed perfectly all the commands of God. The one we could not obey. Then he also went on to pay the penalty that was hanging over our heads as enemies of God.

So here we have two things, the perfect life of Jesus, and the payment for sin. And God has said anyone who will come, Jesus’ payment will be credited to them and His perfect record will be theirs as well. What an awesome invitation!  However, this invitation is not open ended, because God has appointed a time when everyone will give an account of all that they have done with their lives. We will all appear before the judgment seat of God, and at that time Jesus will not be a saviour, he will be a judge (John 3:36).

Christ has risen and it is the reason for our hope. To those who have come to know Him as their Saviour, He will return not to die again but to receive us to Himself and we will be with Him in all eternity. To those who don’t know Him, that day will be a day of terror and gnashing of teeth. He will come as a judge. Are you ready to meet Him?

1: R.C. Sproul, Essential Truths of The Christian Faith

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