Title: Peace Through Christ / Romans 5:1-11
Contents Peace through Christ / Romans 5:1-11
During the Chinese Qi Dynasty, people were fighting and a man fell on the road and died. Officials arrested a brother who was fighting a dead man at the scene. During interrogation of the two, the older brother and younger brother confess to each other that they committed the crime. The person in charge of the interrogation was perplexed. They couldn't help thinking about who to punish by arguing that it was their fault. Finally, the news reached the king. The king called the brother's mother and asked. “Which of the two brothers killed a man? You will know which of your children is good and which is evil. Who will you kill and who will you save?”
Then the mother sobbed and cried. “Kill the little one.” Then the king was puzzled and asked. “Most mothers love their youngest child more, so how can you tell them to kill their younger son without hesitation?” My mother answered with tears in her eyes. “Actually, the little one is my child, and the big one is my ex-wife’s child. When the child's father passed away early, he asked me to take good care of the older one, so I promised him that I would. It is breaking promises, breaking trust, betraying and dishonoring a dead husband. Although the situation of the little guy is pitiful, he said that I also killed a person, so what should I do? I have to believe what my son says.” Truly, she cannot be a righteous mother. The king was so moved that he forgave the sins of his sons.
Saints! What do you think? Don't you think there is a story about saving children who will die like this because there was a mother who knew righteousness between the king and his sinful sons? Had this mother betrayed her trust and tried to take care of my children first, one of her sons would have been killed in the end. In this regard, I argue that “Confucius must die for the nation to live”, and Confucianism’s morals are not morals for people, but morals for politics, morals for men, morals for adults, and morals for established people. There are authors of books who criticized Confucianism sternly, but I think that only the spirit of Confucianism should be imitated. Confucius is still a great iron man who understood that the quality of life can be improved by correcting human-to-human relationships.
Among the various human virtues discussed in Confucianism, the most important is the idea of 'humanity'. If you look at this Chinese character for ‘in (仁)’, you can see that it is a combination of the two letters ‘i (二)’ on the side of the person ‘in’. So, ‘in’ literally means the relationship between two people. What is the relationship between people and people? right? don't you wear it? In the end, Confucianism is concerned with how a loving relationship can be formed between you and me.
Therefore, the spirit of ‘filial piety’ is emphasized in Confucianism, and ‘loyalty’ and so-called ‘forgiveness’ are especially emphasized in human relationships, which is not much different from the spirit of Christianity. It is a beautiful aspect of life that can be seen in the attitude of a mother toward her children who have sinned in the past, and the image of a king who forgave her children after seeing a mother who knew what was right, or perhaps even a Confucian tradition and culture. .
The limitation of Confucianism is that it tried to solve the relationship between you and me in a flat relationship. Can a right relationship between you and me be established only with human-relationship and morality? There are clearly limits to studying abroad here. Our Christianity emphasizes that the restoration of a vertical relationship must be a prerequisite before a right human relationship, that is, a horizontal relationship. The horizontal relationship between you and me is closely related to the vertical relationship between you and God, so Christianity is fundamentally different from Confucianism in that it regards human relationships as three-dimensional relationships. As believers, we believe that human relationships cannot be established properly unless we first establish a right relationship with God.
In today's text, God is speaking through the Apostle Paul. “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (verse 1). We said that we may have peace with God in and through Jesus Christ. When we say that we are justified, we mean ‘considered righteous’ or ‘justified’.
This means that we are never justified of ourselves, nor are we sanctified, but that God justifies us by our faith. We need to know that our justification is entirely by the grace of God. Looking at the death and resurrection of “Jesus Christ, who was delivered for our sins,” and believing in Him, the righteousness of God comes upon us. So, we receive forgiveness of our sins from God, and now we can enjoy peace with Christ through Christ.
Saints! As you know, the first parents of mankind, Adam and Eve, sinned as a result of disobedience to God's Word. Disobedience to the authority of God's Word through greed was the beginning of sin. As a result, humans suffered death and suffering because of this sin. The order and harmony of the Garden of Eden created by God was broken. When the relationship between the Creator and the creature was broken, the relationship between husband and wife also shifted to a relationship of shifting responsibility to each other, and Adam had to work hard until he died, and Eve had to endure the pain of childbirth.
And the ground produced thorns and thistles, and without sweat and toil, it became impossible to obtain food. And in the east of Eden, where they were expelled, the first murder in which Cain stoned his brother Abel to death took place. When the relationship with God was broken, all the relationships between humans and humans and between humans and nature were broken, and it is recorded in the book of Genesis that humans were forced to go down the path of death. It is still the same. Those who are outside of Jesus Christ will kneel before God in repentance, refusing to kiss Jesus Christ and disobeying Him. This is the reason why divisions, strife, and strife do not cease in this world.
However, God's love has not changed since the foundation of the world. Humans chose the path of rebellion with the free will that God gave them as a gift, and the only result was the despair of death. However, God did not leave mankind to death, but opened a new way for us to receive forgiveness of sins and move from death to life. In today's text, the Apostle Paul testifies of the love of Christ, who came into the world and died for the weak people who live in the constant possibility of transgression.
Verse 6 says, “As promised, while we were still in our weakness, Christ died for the ungodly.” You say. Human beings who have sinned have turned away from God, and humans who have departed from God have become unable to overcome evil on their own and live a life of godliness toward God. It has become impossible to live a godly life without God-given power. Therefore, they fell into the swamp of weakness and became a being that had no choice but to die.
But God did not give up on such a human being. The life of Christ, who sent his only begotten son Jesus to this earth for the sake of ungodly humans and lived for God in the will of God without a moment's shaking, became an example of faith that enlightens mankind. The stubbornness of man committed the rebellion of crucifying the Son of God, but the death of the Lord became a new link between God and man. Through this, weak human beings received the power to live as God's godly people.
In the process of living together, people have no choice but to fight and get hurt for various reasons. You should know that there can be no peace between you and me just because another third person intervenes. If you really think about it, the reason why there is a gap in your relationship with God is because your relationship with God has been broken or loosened. If you do not realize God's true love, or if you do not realize that your life itself is the grace of God, you will never have any gratitude or joy. Only those who have made peace with God are simply happy and thankful for everything.
Even at the moment of being stoned to death by the Jews, Deacon Stephen sees a vision in which the heavens are opened and Jesus is at the right hand of God. Even at the moment of martyrdom, I look up to heaven and see Jesus Christ. The eyes of Christ and Stephen meet. Stephen is looking into the world of glory. Even at the moment Stephen was stoned to death, he could have the face of an angel and rejoice and pray for his enemies.
That's right. Even now, those who look to Christ will find peace and joy through Christ.
Saints! Are you still experiencing pain and suffering in your relationships? Throw yourself into the world of grace through Jesus Christ. True peace and joy await you there.