Title: Similarities Between Jews and Christians!
Contents
Sunday day sermon
Text: Genesis 6:1-8
Title: Similarities Between Jews and Christians!
The Jews who lived under the law at that time and the Christians who live under the spiritual law (the Holy Spirit) today are all alike. Look-alike is a term used to describe people who are in the same situation. It may be difficult for Christians who slander Jews as legalists to accept these words readily, but when they know God's providence of salvation, Christians will eventually have to accept it.
God's plan to judge the devil who has disturbed the spiritual realm of heaven on this earth and to save humans from their sins was already planned long before humans were even born. In order to take away the evil of the devil, who was cast out from heaven to the earth, God molded human beings out of dust in His image in the Garden of Eden and made them dwell there, but the devil tempted humans at once and made them his servants. As a result, the devil has revealed to the world that he is the incarnation of the evil that opposes God.
After that, all humans will become slaves of the devil. As human beings prosper, sins also prosper together, thus violating God's providence of creation. When people's sins became pervasive, God lamented the creation of mankind and, in order to wipe out all human beings, he destroyed all human beings through a great flood except for Noah's family at that time. Even in Noah's flood, the devil remains in the human heart and never leaves the human side.
Noah's family, who barely survived the flood by God's grace, seemed to live well together for a while, but as the years went by, their families gradually increased, and they too could not shake off the selfish thoughts and greed that the devil puts in them. They were scattered and divided into different ethnic groups today. At that time, Noah had three sons. The eldest son Ham became the ancestor of the present-day African region, the second son Japheth became the ancestor of the European region, and the third son Shem became the ancestor of the Asian region.
The Asian region we live in today can be said to be the descendants of Shem. God established Israel through Abraham, a descendant of Shem, and revealed God's specific plan of salvation through them. God gave Isaac to Abraham, who had no children, and Isaac begot Jacob again, and Jacob begot 12 sons again, giving birth to the Israelites. In God's plan, not only did he simply want to save the Israelites, but he also included the whole process of salvation for the Gentiles.
Although Noah was given the title of righteous man in his day, his children are still under the control of the devil. Likewise, even though the Israelites were born of the lineage of Abraham, the father of faith, humans live under the feet of the devil anyway. God gave them the law to help them realize their sins more and more through the law. This is so that when God finally sends His Son as a type of Isaac, the Israelites who have broken the law can have their sins forgiven and enter into eternal life through His Son.
However, they already considered them to be a holy people (without blemishes) just because they were born of Abraham's lineage, and if they offered only sacrifices (the act of slaughtering sheep and cattle) through the law that gave them the ability to realize their sins, it would be the same as their original sin. He had mistakenly thought that all the self-criminals had been blotted out. The Son of God who would wipe out their true sins in front of those who were immersed in such thoughts came, but no one acknowledged their sins and came out to the Son. This is the reason why the more zealous of the faith, the more they rejected the son.
However, it is ironic that the tax collector who worked as a Roman agent at the time and the prostitutes who sold their bodies and put their mouths on them rather acknowledge their mistakes and have their sins forgiven from their sons and entered into eternal life. are throwing
So, what is the resemblance of Christians to Jews? Christians today believe that they are all saved because they believe in Jesus. This is the same meaning as saying that the people of Israel are without any blemish (sin) because they were born of the lineage of Abraham, the father of faith. And just as the Jews at that time became more and more righteous through the sacrificial system of the law, Christians today are also more and more convincing themselves that they are saved through the Holy Spirit.
Since the Bible clearly states that the religious life of the Jews is already wrong, we do not need to discuss it any further. Now, we need to check whether Christians really believe in Jesus and receive the Holy Spirit leads to salvation.
Gentiles were originally people who had no idea that God existed. However, through an event that took place in the land of Israel (Jesus died on the cross), he came to believe in the name. When they believed in the name of Jesus, God poured out the Holy Spirit (the Spirit of God) on all Gentiles. Through the Holy Spirit, the Gentiles finally came to know that God lives.
Just as Jews do not unconditionally get rid of their sins just because they were born of Abrahamic lineage, Gentiles also do not have all their sins blotted out just because they unconditionally believed in the name of Jesus. The Gentiles who believed in the name will be forgiven of their original sins. However, just because original sins are forgiven, this cannot lead to eternal life. This is because the sins of our daily eating and drinking remain.
Man's original sin is the merit of the blood shed by Jesus, and anyone can receive it free of charge as long as they believe in the name of Jesus. It is for the same reason that God sent His Son as a type of Isaac to the Jews who lived under the law. In the same vein, to the Gentiles who lived under the Holy Spirit, God will send His Son in the same way as Jacob, so that their sins may be forgiven.
Only when Christians believe in the Son of God who comes in this way can they be forgiven of their sins (sin against the Holy Spirit) and enter eternal life. Jews do not believe in the name of Jesus, so they think that all their sins will be wiped out if they just go to the temple every week according to the law and slaughter cows or sheep and offer sacrifices to God in order to have their daily sins resolved. did it However, as the Bible says, the blood of animals does not take away human sins, and such actions are a model for something better.
In contrast, Christians at least all believed in the name of Jesus and received the Holy Spirit. To say that the Gentiles who lived without knowing God believed in the name of Jesus and received the Holy Spirit means that all original sins were forgiven. But the problem is that he commits suicide every day. Foreigners with corrupt hearts cannot live without committing their own crimes. God's pouring out the Holy Spirit on the Gentiles is for the purpose of making God known, but rather, the Gentiles themselves, through the Holy Spirit, should shine on their corrupt hearts.
Before the Holy Spirit came into the hearts of the Gentiles, there was the law of conscience. However, the law of conscience cannot determine the standard of sin because each person feels differently. For example, it is impossible to accurately measure the weight of a crime because their consciences are different when they steal 10 won and when they steal 10,000 won. However, according to the law of the Holy Spirit, even stealing 1 won is a sin, and stealing 10,000 won is a sin, so humans cannot escape. God has given this law of the Holy Spirit to the hearts of those who believe in Jesus so that they can realize that human beings cannot live without committing a sin the size of a fingernail. The purpose of giving the law to the Jews is the same principle.
You will also know that when a man realizes his sinfulness, he soon leads to death. It is calculated that when Gentiles realize their sins through the Holy Spirit, which they have received through faith in Jesus, they will soon find a savior who can save them from their sins. However, the devil stopped people from thinking that way and deceived them with the sweet word of salvation if they immediately believed in Jesus.
Just as God sent His Son as a type of Isaac at the end for the purpose of saving Jews who realized their sins through the law, so He also sent His Son to Gentiles through the Holy Spirit for the purpose of saving Christians who realized the sins hidden in their hearts. This time he will send your son as a type of Jacob. God's process of salvation is equally given to both Jews and Christians. That's why he says that God is fair.
The problem, however, is that Christians are becoming more like Jews. What are you resembling? Just as Jews were born of Abraham's lineage and were solidified as a holy people (saved people) through the sacrificial system of the law, Christians today also believe in Jesus' name and have their sins forgiven, and the delusion that they have received the Holy Spirit and become God's children. is unable to get out of it. If this happens, even if God sends His Son before the Gentiles, it is clear that Christians will not believe in him and reject him.