Title: Those of Earth and Those of Heaven!
Contents
Sunday day sermon
Text: John 3:31-36
Title: The Earthly and the Heavenly One
When we distinguish between those who go to heaven and those who do not, we call all those who attend the church as those who belong to heaven, and those who belong to other religions except Christianity and those who do not believe are those who belong to the earth. However, this is a very wrong idea. A person who attends a church is still only an earthly person if he has not yet been born again into Christ. And even an unbeliever, if he is born again as Christ, he becomes one of heaven.
Let's see why! It will be much easier to understand if we look through the Israelites who lived under the law before us. The Israelites were all descendants of Abraham. So they took pedigree very seriously. For that reason, he allowed them to live by applying all the laws to the flesh. They did this so that they could realize their sins through the law.
However, they thought that being born of the lineage of Abraham, the father of faith, and living by keeping the law were salvation. However, even if one is born from a line of faith, that faith is not passed on to the next descendants, and moreover, the law is a dream-like story to keep the law and lead to salvation because if you do it right 10 times, you will commit a sin even if you do it wrong just once.
The Israelites had this wrong view of salvation and went to the temple in Jerusalem to offer sacrifices to God for about 2,000 years. They misunderstood that if they only called on the name of Abraham, the father of faith, and lived according to the law, all their sins would be forgiven and they would have eternal life. To them, who had fallen into such a delusion, Jesus said, “Let us say that slaves to sin cannot live in their father’s house forever”. did it
But they were completely unaware of the fact that no one could come before the Father except through the Son whom God had sent. Why can't we approach God except through the Son of God? The reason is that human beings born as sinners cannot come before God without the forgiveness of sins through the Son of God. Being born in the blood of Abraham does not eliminate sin, nor is it because the works of the law do not blot out human sins.
The Old Testament clearly records the fact that the Messiah is coming through the mouths of the prophets. They too knew that the Messiah was coming. However, due to their wrong view of salvation, they did not know exactly what the Messiah was coming before them.
To those who believed that they had already been saved, they only knew that the Messiah was coming to solve their frustrating problems. So they believed that he would drive the Roman soldiers who were oppressing them from the land of Israel and free them from Roman oppression.
However, when Jesus, who came as the Messiah, did the opposite of what they thought, they ended up committing the mistake of nailing the Son of God to death. When you misuse the law that was given to you to realize your mistake, this absurd thing happens. Christians who are calling on the name of Jesus today must also be alert to avoid repeating this.
We must not forget that Christians today, like the people of Israel at that time, are still a people bound by the law. Just as the people of Israel slaughtered cattle and sheep and offered sacrifices to God every day, their sins do not go away. .
Just as the sins committed by the Israelites under the law disappear only when Jesus forgives them, Christians today also commit daily sins of their own accord only by believing in the Son God sends to the Gentiles in the name of Jesus to receive forgiveness for their sins. there will be Therefore, Jesus, who came to the land of Israel, came only to take responsibility for the sins committed by the people of Israel who lived under the law.
It was through the shedding of his blood that the Gentiles who did not know God were able to call on and receive the name of Jesus who came to the land of Israel came to know God the Holy Spirit. God the Holy Spirit gave the law to the Gentiles who believed, so that they would know how to live the church life, and he made them aware of the corrupt nature of human beings who want to sin every day in the hearts of believers. Therefore, a person who has lived a proper life of faith will come to know that he is a corrupt human being through the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit acts like the law to the Gentiles who believe. About sin! About Righteousness! Because you know about judgment. The greatest purpose of God's sending the Holy Spirit to the Gentiles who believe is to make them realize their sins in their hearts. That is why God poured out the Holy Spirit freely on all the Gentiles who called on the name of Jesus. When Gentiles who believe come to realize their sin through the Holy Spirit, such a person can be seen as a person who has lived a valuable life of faith.
However, just like the Israelites, if you call on Abraham's name, you will know that everything is over and do not believe in your son. It is clear that he will not trust his son.
In order for Gentiles who believe not to follow the footsteps of the Jews, they have lived their faith by calling on the name of Jesus, who came to the land of Israel. If you knew that, you would have to lead a humble life of faith that lowers yourself.
Just as the people of Israel went to destruction because they did not believe in the Son God sent due to their wrong view of salvation, so if the Gentiles also believe that they are saved now, the Gentiles will also not believe in the Son of God whom God sends in Jesus name because of their wrong view of salvation in the future. It is as clear as seeing fire.
In order for the believing Gentiles to have their sins of self-criminal (sin hidden in their hearts) resolved, they must believe in the Son God will send to the Gentiles in the future. If the Son of God who came to the land of Israel came in the flesh so that people could see it, the Son of God who comes to the Gentiles is coming spiritually (the Word) because he has to find and solve the sins hidden in the hearts of the Gentiles.
To come spiritually means that the outward appearance is the same as ours, but the word that comes out of his mouth is the Lord. We must believe in the Son of God who comes like this. Only then will we be able to solve our daily self-crime and enter eternal life.
And those who have their sins resolved through Christ will no longer have to go to the chapel to worship before the Lord because they are no longer bound by the law. If the Lord is in your heart, why should you gather in a building made by human hands and do such an act? Also, those who have Christ in their hearts need not be directed by anyone in this world. Because Christ is Lord of everything in this world.
The heavenly one refers to those who have been reborn as Christ in this way, and refers to those who are not bound by any law. However, since earthly people are still bound by the law, they must perform all kinds of worship according to the law of the Holy Spirit. Just like the people of Israel who lived under the law, they went to the temple every day to make sacrifices.
How long should it be? It must do so until the Lord enters into his heart. Otherwise, the Holy Spirit will set them on the judgment seat of the law. Those who are under the law must live a life of faith in accordance with the law every day. Otherwise, the harsh judgment of the law will be unavoidable. It is in the same vein when Christians today gather in a chapel every week to worship.
But those who are born again of the Spirit of Christ are not subject to the law. The main reason he is not governed by the law is that he is one with Christ. It is easy to understand what I mean when we recall that Jesus came to the land of Israel and was not governed by the law from the beginning of his public life. Even God recognizes such a person as a son who has received the spirit of adoption.
At present, the time has not yet come before the Gentiles, and God has not sent His Son. However, it is said that there are already about 30 Jesus in Korea alone. It is simple to determine whether these are true or false sons of God. The Son sent by God comes with the authority and power to forgive man's sins.
Those whose sins are forgiven through the Son should not have any worries or worries in their hearts. And there should be no greed or regret for this world. However, if you hear the words of a person called Jesus and live your life as they are, but you still can't get rid of your regrets about the world, that person is almost always a fake.
In preparation for the time of meeting the Lord who is to come in the future, we must realize more of our sins through the Holy Spirit and live a life of lower humility.