The Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17)

Editor's note: This was written by Diana Andino, chairperson of the Dormitories Christian Fellowship, and delivered to the Centennial Christian Movement on the 6th of September, 2011. 

I.             Purpose of the Law

From the beginning of time, God created mankind to have a personal relationship with Him. Of all His creatures, man alone was created in His image and likeness (Genesis 1:26-27). 

In Genesis 2:16-17, God gave simple instructions about how Adam and Eve, the first man and woman, should live. Unfortunately, they ignored God and went their own way (Genesis 3). From then on, sin entered the world and as its grave consequence, death engulfed all mankind (Romans 5:12).

But even with the entry of sin, God’s purpose of calling people to Himself remained the same. Out of Abraham, God made a nation who would declare His marvelous works to the entire world. In Isaiah 43:21, God calls Israel “… my chosen, the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise.”

A large portion of the book of Genesis is devoted to the life and biography of the four patriarchs of Israel, namely Abraham, his son Isaac, Jacob (Isaac’s son), and Joseph (one of the 12 sons of Jacob). The nation of Israel was named after Jacob, who was named Israel by God Himself in Genesis 32:28. 

Stephen’s speech to the Sanhedrin in Acts 7 gives us an excellent summary of Israel’s history. From a small family of only seventy five, God made Israel increased greatly in Egypt. When the Israelites were maltreated in Egypt, God raised Moses to lead them out of that country. Through a series of miracles never before seen, God delivered Israel out of the land of slavery (Exodus 5-15). In the third month after the Israelites left Egypt, God made a covenant with Israel at Mt. Sinai. In Exodus 20, God spoke to all people the covenant which is later known as the Ten Commandments (Exodus 34:28).

Originally, the Ten Commandments (also called the law) were given to teach the Israelites how to live rightly before God. As a new nation emerging out of Egypt, God gave them the law to set them apart from other nations. In Exodus 19:5-6, God stated both the condition and purpose of the law.

“Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.”

In the course of God’s progressive revelation, He revealed to us several purposes of the giving of the law particularly in the New Testament.  The Law reflects the character of God. It shows how holy and set apart He is from us. These commandments give us an idea of His standard, which is perfection. He demands perfection from us in our relationship with Him (1-4) and with our relationships with other people (5-10).

Another purpose is to make us conscious of sin. Romans 3:20 “Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.” So here, it is clear that we cannot be saved by obeying the Ten Commandments. It was given for us to see the contrast between God’s holiness and our sinfulness. It allows us to realize that no matter how hard we try, we cannot fulfill the Law by ourselves because we are not perfect.

One more purpose is to lead us to Christ. Once the Holy Spirit convicts a person of sin, He would also lead that person to look for a Savior. Galatians 3:24 “So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith.”  This is why in days gone by, parents taught their children the Ten Commandments. The children should learn the Ten Commandments, not because they would be saved by keeping the commandments, but because the commandments would show them their need to be saved by the matchless grace of God. 

II.           How the Law should be obeyed

Since God is holy, he requires that we obey His commandments both externally and internally at all times. In His Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), our Lord Jesus Christ corrected the wrong interpretation of the Pharisees concerning obedience. 

For example, in Matthew 5:27-28 Jesus gives an explanation and extension of the seventh commandment (adultery). The male Jews then thought that adultery can only be committed by having an affair with another woman. However, Christ said that while that is true, it is not limited to that. They also committed adultery even when “only” looking lustfully at a woman.

The same is true with verses 43-44. The Law tells us of loving our neighbors, but the Jews added that we should hate our enemies (Deut 23:6). So Christ was trying to correct their interpretation of God’s laws. He explains that loving a neighbor means loving all of them, whether they are your enemies or not.

So God requires that we obey His laws completely. Even before the giving of the Ten Commandments, God has always intended that His laws be fully obeyed and kept (Exodus 19:5).

We have already established earlier that God demands perfection in fulfilling these commandments. So now, the question is, “Is there any person capable of obeying the law?”  

Because of our sinful nature, we have become incapable of fully obeying the commands of God. He requires that we perfectly obey all His commands all the time; otherwise we are under a curse.

Galatians 3:10 “All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.’” 

If you wanted to be right with God by obeying the law and by good works, do you know how good you would have to be? Jesus says in Matthew 5:48: “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

III.        Should we still obey the Law?

Knowing that the Ten Commandments were originally given to the Israelites of the Old Testament, and that observing it cannot justify us, should we still obey the Ten Commandments?

Galatians 2:15-16 “We who are Jews by birth and not ‘Gentile sinners’ know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.”

Romans 7:12 “So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good.”

We know that Paul was not saying that the Law is bad, because in Romans, he said that it is holy. Instead, he was saying that the Law can never make us acceptable to God. However, the law has still an important role to play in the life of a Christian. It:

a.       guards  us from sin by giving us standards for behaviour

b.      convicts us of sin, leaving us the opportunity to ask for forgiveness from God

c.       drives us to trust in the sufficiency of Christ, because we can never keep the Ten Commandments perfectly.

The law cannot possibly save us. But after we have become Christians, it can guide us to live as God requires.

Summary of the Ten Commandments:

Mark 12:30-31 “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31The second is this: `Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”  

Proper Heart and Motive in Prayer

Taken from corbis.com

In a previous post, we talked about persistence in prayer as the active seeking of God’s will in prayer, and having the heart of obedience to conform to His desires and purpose for us.

We persist in prayer not to annoy God so that He’ll give in to what we want. We also do not persist just to prove to Him our worthiness so that He’ll grant our request; afterall, no one is worthy enough to reach God’s standard of perfection apart from Christ.

Instead, we do not give up praying because by continuously seeking Him and His will, we are able to see through the mist and understand God’s purpose in our lives. Our wills, in effect, slowly bend down before the Greatest Will which belongs to God. This, however, is possible only with a heart of humility and obedience.

Most often than not, however, we look from the wrong vantage point. We think of ourselves and our need and our benefit above God. James 4:3-4 is a very telling passage:

“When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God…”

We cannot treat God as a Coca-cola machine where we put in coins of prayer and faith, and demand the results we desire.  He is not our genie nor does He exist for our benefit and glory. It is dangerous to treat Him only as only the final resort, having the attitude that says, “When all human strength and schemes fail, turn to God.”

If we have this attitude, it is good to review 1 John 5:14-15, and note a single very important phrase. “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us--whatever we ask--we know that we have what we asked of him.”

“According to His will” is often overlooked. We can ask God anything but anything is bound by His will. This is the reason why I emphasized the need to persist in seeking God’s heart in prayer and meditation. Unless our requests are aligned with God’s will, He cannot give them to us. Or in the occasion that He does (I’m not sure if this happens), it is only to teach us something and ultimately redirect us to His will.

God gives what we ask of Him not because we have proven ourselves worthy but because through prayer (and study of the Word) we are able to understand God’s desires more and more, and so begin to ask for the things that He wills.

Sometimes we do not notice it, but an intimate understanding of His purpose yields to prayers that actually mirror God’s Word. When we begin to ask the very things God wants for us, we have the confidence that He hears us and will answer.

When we approach God in prayer, may it be that our utmost motive is God’s glory and the fulfillment of His will.

Listen to Christ when He prayed at Gethsemane, "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done (Luke 22:42).” This is a rare opportunity that we witness His humanity asking for something that’s not in the Godhead’s salvation master plan. But look at Jesus’ words. He added the very humble phrase, “If you are willing,” and closed it with the words, “yet not my will, but yours be done.”

He knows the agony and pain that he is about to experience. He knows that physical and spiritual suffering that he’ll go through. So, in one moment, he was able to say his very request in Luke 22:42. But what’s amazing is that Christ knows God’s will and He followed it.

How many of us have this same attitude towards prayer? Do we think of God’s glory in all that we ask? Or are we confined to our own benefits and desires? May we consider these things as we seek God’s presence more in our lives.

Related Post

Persistence in Prayer

Persistence in Prayer

Taken from www.elshaddaicm.com

Luke 18:1-8 

¹ Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. ² He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. ³ And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’
   ⁴ “For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, ⁵ yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’”
 ⁶ And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. ⁷ And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? ⁸ I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”

In this passage, Jesus’ reason for teaching the parable is clear. He wants to impart persistence in prayer. He wants his disciples to “always pray and not give up” the wonderful privilege of talking to God, of being in personal fellowship communication with the King of the Universe.

Persistence is defined as “long continuance” in doing one activity or the “incessant or unrelenting” attitude towards the fulfillment of one action. In the case of Jesus’ parable, to be persistent in prayer means to continuously seek communion with God in good times or bad, whether to praise Him, intercede for others, seek something or simply to be in His presence.

Did the disciples learn the lesson? The answer is a resounding, “Yes!” One can browse through the Epistles to see how much they applied the principle in their exhortations of one another. Paul, for example, told the Philippian church, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God (Philippians 4:6).”

Aside from this, in his letter to Timothy, Paul encouraged his young co-worker to pray for people first of all. “I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone (1 Timothy 2:1),” he said.

John also has this motivation for all believers, “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.  And if we know that he hears us--whatever we ask--we know that we have what we asked of him (1 John 5:14-15).”

And James, the Lord’s brother, emphasized prayer in all circumstances—in trouble, joy, sickness or sin (James 5:13-16).

These are but some examples of the apostles learning persistence in prayer. In their letters, they repeatedly exhorted believers to always commune with God as individuals and as a group. To talk to Him in prayer, putting at the foot of His cross all worries and all praises.

They do this not to "nag" God but to show Him their faith. God sees every person's heart and is well aware of their circumstances. Even before one asks, God already knows what he or she needs. This, however, is not a license for people to neglect their communion with God. Instead, this should inspire people to continue depending on the omniscient God who knows even the prayers people can only express in silence.

If persisting in prayer is not nagging God about what a person wants, what is it, then? When one persists in prayer, this doesn't mean spending long hours badgering God until He gives in to one's requests. Instead, this  implies actively seeking His will and praying for obedience to submit to His desires. It is having a heart that says, "Not my will Lord, but Yours be done."

Afterall, even prayer is not about us but all about Him and His glory.

Now the question for us believers is this: Have we also learned what it means to persist in prayer?

Related Post

Proper Heart and Motive in Prayer

Isaiah 12:4-5

"Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done, and proclaim that his name is exalted. Sing to the Lord, for he has done glorious things; let this be known to all the world."

What a striking reminder. God calls me to have a thankful heart in all circumstances, be it good or bad. With my melancholic personality, I find this difficult especially when my mood is down. But here I remember the difference between joy and happiness. 

Happiness is circumstantial but joy is a disposition anchored in an unchanging Truth. I have not been calling out to the Lord like I used to and so it is not surprising that I've been relying on my strength through the challenges of life. I pray that God will truly convict me to make Him the ultimate purpose and joy of my ministry and service. Pray with me.

The Offended One: God (and His character)

Writer's Note:This is the outline manuscript of my message to the Centennial Christian Movement on Aug 30, 2011.

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWS0OcRJLXa88ylzOVC9LY4PX3fdKksJR-AKAGae6CjHVSU2PXZcND5n7BIKVlBEG3vj95_p9-yzxXHRi7jXVe1u47uT7KfNuUOnmN8T6KrfG4OhA1piCeNyygoSOQ1eSvMHDzKtBOVWMk/s1600/golden-rays.jpg

  I. An Indictment to the modern Christian Church

-we have turned God into a fairy, a talisman, a genie whose worth is in His fulfillment of our desires

Who is God to you?

-We have three rough classifications of who God is today

1. The high and mighty, disinterested and self-centered God who made the universe out of His whim but left it on its own

2. The submissive God who is swayed by His creations’ whims and desires, who exists to give His creations the best of everything they ever dreamed of; He is their genie in short

3. The sovereign and all-powerful Maker and Sustainer of the universe but who exercises concern and love for His creations according to His own will

-take your pick, who is God to you?

The Collegian Article

-whether we agree with this or not, I believe the second description of “god” is the most prevalent in our time and our campus

-there is an article from the Philippine Collegian that summarizes this for us—written by “Naomi Marcos” and entitled “Confession of a believer”

-In the article she wrote:

“In most Christian orgs, believers are encouraged to focus on their personal relationship with God. God is considered a personal god, and members are conditioned to think of God in their own convenient ways: as a father, a friend, a teacher, or whatever they need. God becomes everybody’s own run-to guy...”

-In a word, she is saying that Christian organizations today, “condition” their members to think of God as a genie who gives them all they wish provided that they have enough faith, or as a coca-cola machine we put in our coins of faith and out comes our desired outcome

-interestingly, Naomi follows this up with these words, and I believe she is correct:

“This concept (of God being everybody’s own run-to guy) disturbed me, for I always thought that if God did exist, He existed for a purpose beyond taking care of me, or any other person in the world. What was the point of being omnipotent and omniscient if God was only here to console me when my grades dropped? God can manage my personal life anytime He wants, but confining Him to my own personal conflicts was belittling His power and existence.”

-even if Naomi expressed doubt in her faith, she recognized that God is someone greater and bigger than what her former Christian org wanted her to make of Him

Is this how you see God as well? Or is this how you conceive of God? Think again.

We have this ministry (2 Cor 4:1-7)

I. Opening Story

-STAND-UP incident when I was in my sophomore years

-Question: What is your main purpose for existence? What are you fighting for?

-Answer: we believe in the Biblical diagnosis of humanity’s problem—Sin

               : what you labor against—poverty, corruption, injustice etc.—are but byproducts of sin

 : we labor for the root cause, because as the Bible emphatically declared, unless God gives us a heart of flesh in exchange for our wicked hearts of stone, there can be no genuine transformation

: Humanity’s Sinful Nature is the problem

: we labor earnestly to resolve this issue through the Message of the Gospel

·      Jesus came as a man, sinless (John 1:14, Hebrews 4:15)

·      Jesus took upon Himself the sins of humanity past, present and future (1 Pt 3:18)

·      Jesus’ death on the cross paid for the penalty of the world’s sins (Mark 10:45)

·      He is the perfect Lamb sacrifice that we may be freed of sin and its penalty—eternal spiritual death in hell (John 1:29)

·      We can partake of this gift of reconciliation, forgiveness and eternal life the moment we put our faith in Jesus, commit our lives to Him as our personal Savior and Lord, and from a life of sin, surrendering our all at His cross through repentance (Eph 2: 8-10  Mark 1:15).

·      We are able to do this only by the sheer grace of God

: when we commit our lives to Jesus:

- He promised to make us God’s sons and daughters, co-heirs of the kingdom

-He gives us eternal life, we shall never perish

-we now belong to His Kingdom for eternity

: notice that this Gospel never promises health, wealth or prosperity in this world but promises spiritual health, wealth and prosperity—because this is undoubtedly the key issue

-Ate Tine’s reaction: I’m not sure if she understood me completely

:my joy is in the fact that a seed is planted in her heart and I pray that God will make it grow

: she now works with Bayan Muna in Congress

: this is our ministry, one of our main purposes as Christians, the message that we go out and proclaim everyday to everyone

:Summary in 2 Corinthians 5:20—“We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God.”

II. Context of the Passage

-our ministry and purpose for being align with Paul’s own understanding of his ministry

-our reasons are his reasons that is why he wrote Chapter 4 of 2 Corinthians

-Paul and all believer have a ministry—the ministry of the New Covenant (2 Corinthians 3:6)

The New Covenant

“He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant--not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” (2 Corinthians 3:6)

-this ministry is of the Spirit (v.6)

-this ministry brings life (v.6)

-this ministry is glorious (v.8)

-this ministry brings righteousness (v.9)

-this ministry of the Spirit lasts (v.11)

How did such view of the Christian ministry affect Paul?

-such view of ministry gave him hope

-this hope made them bold in proclaiming the message of Christ

-Dear friends, may we also view our ministry in the same way. It is not ours but the Spirit’s, it brings life and righteousness, is glorious and it lasts.

-I believe, a great majority of Christians fail to shine ever brightly for the Lord because one way or another they do not believe that their ministry is such

-Woe for those people! Woe even for us! If we call ourselves followers of Christ but doubt the very heart of our message, we have a compelling reason to go back to the Cross and wrestle with God.

- Struggle with Him until He shows you what it means to be His disciple

-When you get struck by a truck in KNL, your life will change forever. Now imagine if you get struck by God! Your life has to change! Every aspect of it. Because it is impossible not to be moved when the Living God Himself begins His work in your life.

-Unless this is true to you, you will find that the ministry of reconciling the World to God is impossible, because you yourself may not yet be reconciled with the Lord in the first place.

10 signs that show you are TRULY SAVED

1. You Fellowship

1 John 1:7 – “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.” 

2. You Recognize Your True Sinful State

 1 John 1:8 – “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”

3. You Are Obedient to His Commandments

1 John 2:3 – “And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.”

4. You Do Not Love the World

1 John 2:15 – “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”

5. You Have Knowledge of Who Jesus Christ Is

1 John 2:23 – “Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: but he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.” 

6. You Look Forward to His Coming

 1 John 3:2 – “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.” 

7. You Do Not Practice Sin

 1 John 3:8-10 – “He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.”

8. You Love Your Brothers

1 John 3:14 – “We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.”

9. You Love Preaching, Teaching and Hearing God’s Word

1 John 4:6 – “We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.”

10. You Proclaim Jesus Christ

1 John 4:15 – “Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.” 

*Taken from 'Way of the Master" 

Four-Point Gospel: an outline

1.  The Offended One: God (and His Character)

-the Creator and Sustainer (Acts 17:24-25)

-He is Holy

a. Sinless: absolute separation from sin (1 John 1:5)

: no communion with sin (Habakkuk 1:13)

b. Hates all kinds of sin (Proverbs 6: 16-19)

c. Punishes sin: God pours out His wrath against sin (Romans 1:18)

d. Sets His holiness as standard for all (Leviticus 11:44)

2. The Offender: Man (and his sin)

a. Sin: sin is primarily an offense against God (Psalm 51:4)

 : sin is any action contrary to God’s will (James 4:17)

b. Man’s condition: everyone is sinful (Romans 3:23; Romans 3:10-12; Genesis 6:5)

: man and woman are sinful from birth, at the moment of conception (Psalm 51:5)

c. Sin’s source: man inherited the sinful nature of the first man and woman who rebelled against God (Romans 5:19a; Genesis 3)

d. Result of sin: man became spiritually dead because of sin (Romans 5:12)

          : sin separated us from God (Isaiah 59:2) because God is holy (Revelations 15:4)

e. Man will face judgment for sin: God punishes every single sin with eternal death and separation from Him in hell (Romans 6:23a; Matthew 13:40-42)

3. God’s Solution: Jesus Christ

-to escape God’s judgment, man or someone in his place must satisfy
   God’s justice (Isaiah 65:6-7)

How?

-Good works? No.

-even our best effort is unacceptable to God because it is stained by sin (Isaiah 64:6)

-this is so, because we are inclined to do evil all the time (Genesis 6:5)

-also, God will accept only the sacrifice of a holy or sinless man

-because of the demand of sinlessness, it is clear that man can’t save himself from sin because he is sinful and he can’t reach God’s standard

Who, then, is sinless?

-God alone.

-this is where God demonstrates His love. He knows that we cannot save ourselves and so He came here on earth as a man—Jesus Christ—to be our substitute. He came here to take the punishment of sin that was meant for us (1 Corinthians 15:3; Romans 5:8)

Jesus alone can substitute for us because:

1.       He is fully human and so he can represent us before God (John 1:14)

2.       He met God’s requirement of holiness and sinlessness (Hebrews 4:15)

3.       He is God himself (John 20:28; Romans 9:5; 1 John 5:20)

-He had to die because without the shedding of blood, there can be
       no forgiveness (Heb 9:22b)

-by Jesus’ sacrifice, we have a way to be reunited with God (1 Pt 3:18, John 14:6)

   On the third day, He rose back from the dead:

1.       His sacrifice was acceptable to God (Romans 4:25)

2.       He conquered death; death has no power over Him because He is sinless (2 Timothy 1:10;     Acts 2:24)

3.       He can give us eternal life (John 14:19, John 10:28)

4.       He is the Messiah or Savior (Psalm 16:10)

4. God’s Requirement: Repentance and Faith

-Jesus made a way for us to be reunited with God, He is giving us eternal
       life for free (Romans 6:23b)

THE QUESTION: How can we receive all these?

-Jesus’ categorical answer is in Mark 1:15

“Repent and believe the Good News”

-Repentance and faith are God’s requirement for salvation

A.      Repentance (Luke 13:3)

Change of heart, mind and actions

a.       not a good work or an effort from man’s side but a gift as well (Acts 5:31)

b.      It is a deep remorse for having offended God; God-centered remorse/sorrow (Psalm 51:4)

c.       Does not attempt to excuse or justify oneself for sins committed

d.      Confesses to God specific and not general sins

e.      A willingness to make restitution whenever possible (Luke 19:1-9)

f.        A strong resolve to turn away from sin and acts it out (Acts 19:18-19)

A dying to self

-total submission to the Lordship of Christ and renouncing one’s self to
     follow and obey Jesus

a. John 12:25

“…hates one’s life in this world…”

“counts nothing in this world too dear to be given up in obedience to the
     will of God (Lk 14:26)”

b. Mark 8:34-36

“deny himself and take up his cross and follow me”

“no to self; yes to Christ”

“the attitude to self is that of crucifixion… everyday he renounces the sovereignty to his own will… and renews his unconditional surrender to Jesus”

“I cease to live for my sake in order that I might live for His sake”

Note: Dying to self does not mean that a person needs to practice it consistently in his life before he can be saved—this is good work. Instead, it points to the one time but sincere commitment a person makes in giving himself to God at the time of his conversion.

B.      Faith (Ephesians 2:8-9)

-not simply knowing and believing basic facts about Jesus, but makes a moral demand on the lives of the sinners

-it is also a gift from God (Ephesians 2:8-9)

-it is an attitude where man abandons all reliance in his own efforts to obtain salvation

-casting oneself unreservedly on the mercy of God

-relying entirely on the finished work of Jesus Christ on the Cross

-opposite of human works

Elements of Saving Faith

1.       Knowledge (intellectual conviction)

-hears and understands the complete Gospel (Romans 10:17)

-mental assent

2.       Personal trust and reliance on Jesus Christ as the only Savior (John 14:6)

3.       Wholehearted surrender to Jesus as Lord (Matthew 10:37-39)

-Faith is a commitment to Jesus to love the things He loves (righteousness) and hate the things He hates (sin)

-it also does not mean that a person has to consistently practice faith before he can be saved. Rather, it points to the one moment when one truly entrusts his life to Jesus

Note: all these happen—faith and repentance—only by the grace of God

: pray that we be able to exercise genuine faith and repentance, by appealing to God’s grace and mercy

*My heart-felt thanks goes to the Soli Deo Gloria Church in Davao for their discipleship materials

Exposing god the mother (part 1)

Does Genesis teach the existence of god the mother?

The Church of God (god the mother church) says,

“Gen. 1:26-27 『Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness,". . . So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.』

Both males and females were created in the image of God, and thus it is clear that God has two images: a male image and a female image.”

In order to understand this statement better, we need to go back to the original Hebrew to find out if the word “image” here, pertains to physical image or not.

The word in Hebrew, the original language of the Old Testament, is “Tselem.” According to Strong’s Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries, this word has an unused root meaning “to shade,” like a “phantom.” Figuratively it means an “illusion” or a “resemblance,” thus this word is also used for “a representative figure, especially an idol.”

To be true to the original intention of the word, we have to admit that when the author of Genesis used the word “image (tselem)” he meant we resemble God. But this resemblance was not categorically stated as physical. The only time we can use this line of thought is when we can determine that God does have a physical body which we human beings supposedly resemble.

If we cannot prove that He has a physical body, we then, need to look further and examine what aspect or part of God do we resemble.

Having said this, it is unfair to use the creation and existence of man and woman as basis for saying that God has male and female images. The Church of God already ascribed to this conclusion without first determining if God has a physical body like that of a man and a woman.

Let us search the Scriptures to see if God does have a physical body.

·         John 4:24 “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

See how Jesus, the Son of God, contrasts a physical being with a Spirit:

·         Luke 24:39  “See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have."

If God is spirit, He doesn’t have flesh and bones and so it is illogical to use the physical man and woman to describe God’s image.

·         1Timothy 1:17 “To the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.”

·         Colossians 1:15 “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.”

God is indeed invisible that’s why Jesus needed to incarnate in order for us to have a way to the Father. Anything invisible cannot be represented by something visible like our physical bodies.

·         Exodus 20:4  "You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.”

The Second Commandment sprang from the very idea that God is Spirit and invisible. God was categorical, nothing from the heaven above or the earth beneath or the water under the earth can stand and represent Him; not even our physical bodies can represent God.

How about the verses in the Bible that seem to show that God has physical body parts?

−       “…finger of God (Deuteronomy 9:10)”

−       “…face of God (Genesis 33:10)”

−       “…hand of God (Job 19:21)”

−       “…under his feet… (Exodus 24:10)”

−       “The eyes of the Lord…(Psalm 34:15)”

We must understand that even the Bible uses literary devices in conveying God’s message. The specific device employed in these verses is called, “anthropomorphism.”

The Encarta Dictionary defines this figure of speech as the “attribution of human characteristics to non humans.” Pastor William Girao in his book, “How to Understand the Bible Correctly,” adds, “Anthropomorphism is a metaphor where bodily parts and physical bodily activities are attributed to God.”

Thus, these verses do not imply that God has hands, feet, fingers, eyes or face. Instead, they use our field of experience as human beings with physical bodies and use it with the activities of God so that we can understand our experience of Him better.

From these discussions, we can see that God does not have a physical body. Thus, it is illogical to say that through the word “image (tselem)” we can argue for man and woman’s physical resemblance of God. If we be more honest, the logic of this argument is actually in the reverse—it is arguing for the physical resemblance of God with His created beings! Needless to say, this is still unbiblical.

So far we see that the argument of having a female and male God based on the presence of man and woman in creation fails. The main hindrance? God has no physical body to begin with.

But even if we do not know the Hebrew word, “Tselem,” we can still find a flaw in the logic of the argument. Notice that God used the singular form of “image” and “likeness” signifying that though He uses the plural pronoun “us,” there appears to be a single image and likeness of God.

Again this appears in verse 27 where it is written “God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”

So, it is more logical to say that the man and woman here were created from a single image. And because we have just seen that God does not have a physical body, we must move further and seek which aspect of God do we resemble?

In explaining the verse in question, the MacArthur study Bible says, “[Being created in God’s image] defined man’s unique relation to God. Man is a living being capable of embodying God’s communicable attributes. In his rational life, he was like God in that he could reason and had intellect, will, and emotion. In the moral sense, he was like God because he was good and sinless (sinless pertains to the initial condition of Adam and Eve in creation).”

Matthew Henry adds, “Christ only is the express image of God's person, as the Son of his Father, having the same nature. It is only some of God's honor that is put upon man, who is God's image only as the shadow in the glass, or the king's impress upon the coin.”

Thus, we see that man and woman are after God’s image and likeness in that they have reason, intellect, will, emotion, morality and some of God’s honor. The idea that man and woman bear the physical image of God is foreign to the teaching of the Bible.

The single strongest proof of the existence of a male and female God is utterly shattered. What remains, however, is the fact that there appears to be more than one God in the Genesis account. Just look at the plural pronoun “us.” To dispel any remaining shred of doubt, we can explain this by appealing to the Trinitarian nature of God.

Now, it is not my goal to explain trinitarianism in detail. It will suffice to say that even in the Old Testament, we have clues that God exists in three persons—the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The facts indicated by the Church of God in its argument about the existence of male and female God are some of them.

The plural Hebrew word “Elohim” for God, used in the Genesis account speaks, albeit indirectly, of the three persons of the Godhead. In addition, the plural pronouns are also indirect proofs of God’s three persons.

Finally, when we look at Genesis 1:1, God and the Spirit of God (the Holy Spirit) are present at creation. Cross reference this with John 1:1, 14 and you will also see that the Son (Word) is also present at creation. With these, it is more plausible to say that the Triune God—His three Persons—were talking at Creation and not god the mother and god the Father.

If we admit to the existence of a female god, we will have to contend with the inevitable questions that will arise. What is this female god’s role in the redemption story? Is she a co-mediatrix? If so what do we do with Jesus’ exclusive claims as the only way to the Father (John 14:16) and the only giver of salvation (Acts 4:12)?

If we have a female god, how many God is there? One? Two? How do we deal with the clear Old Testament shema that the Lord is one God (Deuteronomy 6:4)?

Before we give our affirmation to any teaching, it is prudent to pause and examine the Scriptures like the Bereans to see if these teachings were so (Acts 17:11).

May God bless you all!

Do not keep it for yourself

(Matthew 9:35-38)

35 Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

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I am troubled by our apparent lack of zeal to reach out to people. I have heard so many reasons and excuses that discourage me and, to some extent, appall me.

I often wonder what can move us to really go to people and be intentional Christians, never lacking in zeal to proclaim Jesus Christ and what He has done for humanity?

I am tempted to tell stories of missionaries, preachers and evangelists who went out of their way to fish for souls, but I need not venture that far. Jesus, our Lord Himself, went to people. He was with the high and mighty as well as the low and powerless always preaching, teaching, healing and directing people’s eyes to the Living God.

He taught a learned religious leader  about the kingdom of God (John 3:1-2). He broke centuries-old tradition and enmity by talking to a Samaritan woman  about the Living Water (John 4:1-42). He dined with tax collectors and “sinners” , the scum of society, that they may be healed by the Great Physician (Matthew 9:9-13). And even on the cross, Jesus spoke to a dying criminal , promising him paradise be-cause of his change of heart (Luke 23:40-43).

Jesus went to where people were—to towns and villages—because everyone is precious to Him. People needed to hear the “good news of the kingdom (v.35)” because “faith comes from hearing the message… (Rom 10:17).”

Paul emphatically wrote, “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? (Romans 10:14-15)”

Though God can use anything to draw people to Himself—dreams, visions, circumstances—this is not a license for us believers to keep quiet. Jesus intentionally went to where people gathered like in synagogues to teach and preach.

Statement of Faith

The Trinity

We believe in one True and Living God (Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 45:5-7; 1 Corinthians 8:4) eternally existing in three Persons: the Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19; Corinthians 13:14)

The Person and Work of Jesus Christ

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is coequal, consubstantial, and coeternal with the Father and the Holy Spirit, and was virgin born through the supernatural intervention of God. He is God incarnate, God manifest in the flesh—the God-Man possessing all essential qualities of divinity and humanity in indivisible oneness. At incarnation, He surrendered only the prerogatives of deity but nothing of the divine essence, either in degree or kind. He lived a sinless life. In His death He made full vicarious atonement for sins. He rose again from the dead on the third day and ascended bodily into heaven. He is coming again to receive His Church (John 1:1-14; 10:30; 14:9; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; 2 Corinthians 5:2;1 Philippians 2:5-8 1 Thessalonians 4:14-17; 2 Corinthians 5:21).

The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit

We believe that the Holy Spirit is a divine Person possessing all the attributes of the deity. He is coequal, consubstantial and coeternal with the Father, and with the Son, and is of the same nature. He convicts the unbelieving world of sin and is the sovereign agent of regeneration. He baptizes all believers into the Body of Christ and sanctifies, seals, indwells, infills, guides, teaches and sovereignly bestows them with Spiritual gifts for the glory of Christ (John 14:16-17; 15:26; 16:4-9,13-14; Acts 1:8; Romans 8:9; ;1 Corinthians 12:4-11; 2 Corinthians 3:18 Ephesians 5:18; 1 John 2:20, 27).

The Holy Scriptures

We believe that the Bible is the inerrant, inspired Word of God, His revelation to man, the supreme and final authority in all matters of doctrine, faith, and life (II Timothy 3:16-17; John 17:17).

Man and the Fall

We believe that man was originally created good by God, having a perfect fellowship with Him, but by his free will and voluntary transgressions, he fell from this state, in consequence of which all men are now sinners and therefore under just condemnation to eternal ruin without defense or excuse (Romans 3:22-23).

Salvation

We believe that salvation of sinners is wholly by grace through the mediatorial work of Jesus Christ. It is wholly apart from works and is upon the sole condition of repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; that in order to be saved, the sinner must be born again, being regenerated by the power of the Holy Spirit and becoming recipient of a new nature; that having exercised personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the believer is completely justified and in possession of a salvation. All the justified experience an ongoing sanctification into Christlikeness by the Holy Spirit, awaiting a day of glorification when Jesus Christ returns.  We believe that all the redeemed, once saved, are always saved,  kept by God’s power and secure in Christ forever (John 3:3-7; 5:24; 6:37-40; 10:27-30; Romans 5:21; Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5).

Evangelism

(1)     We believe in the Great Commission of spreading the Gospel of Jesus in words, deeds and lifestyle, and in discipling people to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. Biblical evangelism refers to the spreading of the Good News about Jesus Christ; that He died on the cross to pay for humanity’s sins and was raised from the dead after three days according to the Scriptures; in so doing He made a public spectacle of the powers of darkness. As the reigning Lord, He now offers the forgiveness of sins, eternal life, reconciliation with God and the liberating gifts of the Spirit to all who repent (turn away from sin) and believe in Him (put his/her trust and faith in Jesus Christ).

(2)     We believe that there is only one Gospel Message spread through various Scripture-grounded strategies, excluding deceptive and manipulative means, as well as watered-down, man-centered and prosperity gospel messages. In issuing the Gospel invitation, we have to be responsible in showing and counting the cost of following Christ—denying oneself  and taking up one’s cross daily (Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 8:34; Mark 10:43-45; Luke 14:25-33;  John 20:21; Acts 2: 32-39; 40,47; 1 Corinthians 1:23; 15:3,4; 2 Corinthians 4:5; 5:11,20;).