Title: The Debtor of Love!
Contents
Sunday day sermon
Text: Matthew 18:21-35
Title: The One Indebted to Love!
When he met Jesus, he realized that he was the chief among sinners, and he felt so grateful that he forgave and saved him without sending him to hell. When I saw that my life, who would go to hell, was forgiven of my sins, I could only see tears coming out of my emotions. In this regard, Paul expresses that he owes Christ a debt of love.
Paul, who owed a debt of love to the Lord, overcame the crisis of death and devoted himself to preaching the gospel of Christ regardless of whether he was a Jew or a Greek. If Paul had not been born again at that time, he would have been busy with the Pharisees, burdening the people with the burden of the law, and condemning tax collectors and prostitutes who did not lift a finger without lifting a finger. It is for this reason that Paul thinks he is also indebted to all who hear the gospel.
What we need to realize while looking at Paul is that under the law, no matter how hard we practice our faith for a long time, unless we are born again into Christ, we are nothing. Paul was from Gamaliel, the most prestigious seminary of his time. They are from the tribe of Benjamin, which has nothing to do with pedigree. He was said to be blameless even in the law. From a worldly point of view, Paul was a person who was pursuing a perfect Christian life without any blemish. After he met Jesus, he completely changed 180 degrees.
If Paul had not met Jesus, he would have realized that he was a sinner, and he would not have found a reason to come before Christ because he did not realize his sin, and if he had not come before Christ and had his sins forgiven, could he have loved others? . If we look at the lives of the Pharisees who were not born again into Christ at that time, we can clearly see through the Bible how far they were from Saul.
What we can understand through Paul is that the religious life before the forgiveness of sins through the Son sent by God is only a model, no matter how glamorous it may be. In other words, the fact that it is only a process, that is, a form. More specifically, it is the fact that the religious life before that was only a process to meet the Son. This is because, if Paul had not been forgiven for his sins because he did not meet the Son sent by God, all of his religious life would have been in vain.
So, is the Christian life perfect today? Currently, Christians believe that all have been born again into Christ because they called on the name of Jesus, which the Jews did not believe in, and received the Holy Spirit. Then it is necessary to test whether they have really been born again into Christ or not. A person who has been regenerated into Christ, like Paul, has two characteristics that stand out. The first is to be able to put the love of Christ into practice. And the second is to be able to forgive everyone. In other words, we must be able to give love across sects and races. A person who does not exhibit these characteristics can never be said to have been born again into Christ.
Look at Paul! When he was not born again into Christ, he only knew that he was a righteous person (salvation), and did not realize that he was a heinous sinner who broke the law. This is also true of Christians today. They only know that they have been saved because they believed in Jesus and received the Holy Spirit, but they are unaware that they are sinners who have disobeyed the Holy Spirit.
If you do not realize that you are a sinner who has broken God's law, you will never be able to approach the Son whom God has sent, and you will not be able to understand the grace of receiving forgiveness of sins through the Son because you do not know that you are a sinner. will be. Because they have never had their sins forgiven by the Lord, they only consider themselves righteous and unconditionally condemn and view those who are inferior to them. In the end, they become the standard of good and evil, and they distinguish between the righteous and the sinners. This is to express that the devil wearing a thick seal is sitting on the seat of God and is judging.
And the most striking characteristic of unregenerate people is that they know nothing but themselves. Even at the time of Jesus, there were the Essenes and the Zealots, including the Pharisees. They served the same God, but they were the only ones who were orthodox and refused to admit to other factions at all. Among them, the Pharisees were the most influential, so there are many stories of the Pharisees in the Bible. Because they knew only themselves so thoroughly, it was probably natural for them to treat strangers as dogs and pigs.
However, since Jesus came as a high priest before all people, he accepted all those who came with his sins without distinction, and forgave their sins. After being born again as Christ, Paul also preached the gospel transcending sects and denominations, and furthermore, he preached the gospel of Christ without discriminating between nations and races. This is the life of those who are truly born again as Christ.
Like Paul, if they know that they are sinners who have disobeyed the law (the Holy Spirit) and have been forgiven for their sins of going to hell through Christ, how can they disparage others so harshly? When Paul lived as Saul, he could do anything like that, but he could never do it if he lived under the grace of Christ. But today, those who believe in Jesus and claim to be born again by the Holy Spirit do not hesitate to condemn others and know only their own denomination and their own church. In short, he is righteous and everyone else is going to hell.
How can we say that these people are born again of Christ? Those who realize the grace of Christ first come to know that they are sinners to be destroyed who have disobeyed the Holy Spirit, and because they have been resurrected from their perishable sins by the grace of Christ, such a person cannot freely condemn others and, apart from sects and sects, It is to spread the gospel of the kingdom of heaven transcending national borders and races. In other words, even unbelievers or those who have been involved in heresy, all those who hear the gospel of the kingdom and come out after realizing their sins must lead to salvation (forgiveness of sins).
Now, if there is one last thing that Christians need to realize, it is urgent not to realize how I have lived my life of faith so far, but to realize how much I have disobeyed the Holy Spirit and lived my life freely. If you don't realize this, as in the example of the Jews, everything you've done before going to the chapel to pray for death will eventually be in vain. It is because those who do not realize their sins will never meet the Lord who will come like a thief (spiritual) before Christians in the future. -Listen with ears and understand-