Title: Yesterday, Today and Forever
The early faith of the Korean church was a series of economic hardships, persecution through refusal to perform ancestor sacrifices, and political and ideological tribulation under the Japanese colonial rule. Naturally, we would have faith for heaven in the afterlife, and our faith in that hope would grow stronger.
The development of heavy industry in the wave of urbanization since the 1970s, the interest in material blessings since the 1980s, and changes in society and the church from around 2000 years to appearanceism make us reflect on what the Christian faith is.
Faith changes according to the circumstances at that time, and the content of the change sometimes deviated from the essence and completely deviated from the truth. People do not realize that even if the church is secularized by abandoning the original Bible ideology due to so-called humanistic ideology.
8 “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever”
1. Yesterday's People and Money
Until people meet God, they do not know where their lives come from and how they live their lives. Moreover, we do not know where the afterlife is going. After receiving Jesus, we come to know yesterday's me, today's life, and the eternal future after death.
If there is a character of life that is represented by the person of yesterday, it can be seen that it was a being who bought the world with money. Of course, money is a way of life. It can be interpreted in any good way. By the way, the text teaches money in a very simple and powerful tone.
5“Do not love money, but be content with what you have, for he himself said, ‘I will not leave you, nor will I ever leave you.
There is a funny saying that the heart has been reborn, but the wallet has not. But there is a reason. The money-loving Jewish lawyers had a knowledge of God, but forgot that money was for God.
Luke 16:14 “The Pharisees were lovers of money, and when they heard all this they laughed at them.”
Matthew 6:24 “No man can serve two masters; either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other, for you cannot serve both God and money.”
However, when Zacchaeus accepted Jesus, his heart changed, and his conception of the economy suddenly changed.
Luke 19:8 "Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord, I will give half of what I have to the poor; and if I have extorted anyone, I will repay you fourfold."
The Bible received a cultural mission when people lived in the global village and had to work hard. This is where the economic means of money came from.
Genesis 1:28 "God blessed them and said to them, Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves on the earth."
2 Thessalonians 3:10 “Even while we were with you, we commanded you, If anyone does not want to work, let him not eat.”
It is to create economic value as a result of work. This is also a criticism of religion that goes into the mountains without working. If you are born as a human, you have to work and achieve economic value. However, it becomes a problem when the economy does not know where it will ultimately come from and where it should be used.
Haggai 2:8 “The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the LORD of hosts.”
Romans 11:36 "For all things come from the Lord, and through the Lord and to the Lord, to whom the glory is forever, Amen."
We are well aware of how much trouble we have caused when we try to live in this world only on money. I know that many people who commit suicide are frustrated because they have more money than because they are poor, or because they have trouble with affluence.
Ecclesiastes 5:10 “A lover of silver is not satisfied with silver, and a lover of abundance is not satisfied with income. This is also vanity.”
Faith must first triumph over the economy of the world. We need to have a good understanding of this offering, which is to give tithes and thanks to God and to take care of our neighbors.
When money is scarce, faith does not grow. In general, people who do not grow in faith and complain a lot about the church do not do well in giving. There are many reasons not to do so and many are dissatisfied with church donations.
1 Timothy 6:10 “The love of money is the root of all evil, and those who long for it have been deceived and have erred from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.
Matthew 4:4 "Jesus answered, "It is written, Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God."
2. Today's Faith and Realism
Church members have slightly different dimensions of faith. The Bible encourages us to acknowledge these differences and encourage them to grow at the same time. Romans 14:1 『Receive him who is weak in the faith, but do not judge his doubts.』
When you say you believe in Jesus, you must believe in the Lord who saved me, who was in the past without Jesus, a sinner, a person who did not know where I was going when I died, and who had to live and die without knowing the true way of life.
6 “Therefore, we boldly said, The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can a man do to me?”
John 16:33 “I am saying these things to you, that you may find peace in me. In the world you will have tribulation, but take courage, I have overcome the world.”
However, while focusing on reality and turning into a belief of ups and downs, I was faithful to today's faith, but recently a problem with my Christian faith arose. There is the Jesus of the past and the Jesus of the present, but the Jesus of the future is disappearing. I try to speak the church's thoughts only too realistically. The church is going outwardly driven by the values of the world. Like the churches in Europe and the West in the past, it is changing to a large ecclesialism, and it pays more attention to the number and building of the church than to the actual church.
3. Belief in the afterlife with an eternal reward
In today's church, the God of hope, the God of reward that will be given to us in the eternal future, is being forgotten without emphasis.
Romans 15:13 “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in faith, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
When Jesus gave important messages about the eight blessings on the mount, He spoke of the most important blessings last. Of all the blessings, it is the most important blessing the saints have received.
Matthew 5:11 “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.
12 “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in this way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
Living a life of faith while looking at the table in heaven is the culmination of Christian faith. There is no faith more important, noble, and beautiful than the faith that hopes for a reward in the afterlife.
We have met God who knows where life comes from, how we live, and where we will go. Even when we believe in Jesus, we believe that He is the unchanging Lord who will guide us in the past, present, and eternity. You must believe in the Lord who will give you.
The Christian faith is eternal life.
John 6:40 “For my Father’s will is that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him has eternal life, and will raise him up on the last day.”
You should have a lot of interest in the glory you will receive there along with eternal life. Is there no reason to pile up everything in the situation of a stranger in this world like a rented room? Shouldn't there be a lot of things to buy when you go to the house where you'll live forever?
In the Christian faith, the reward and joy of entering the eternal kingdom are more important.
Romans 8:18 “I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed in us.”
Lately, people's minds are following the fast-paced world, and they're missing important things. I forgot the eternal reward while I was living while comparing my religious life too realistically with relative thinking.
God's work is always in the future. It is a miracle, not history, that only appears here today. God reconsider our faith and the blessings that God distributes at the right time are being considered.
That's why we call it revelation. The blessings that God will give us are not something we can all count, but we live according to the Lord's will for free and we only pray, but when the time comes, we get the blessings that come true.
And the reward that cannot be obtained in this world will surely be given to you in the next life.
Hebrews 11:16 “They now long for a better homeland, which is in heaven; therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, but has prepared for them a city.”
So, the text tells us to imitate the past deeds of people of faith and their words, that is, those who lived and died by faith.
7 “Speak to you the word of God, remember those who led you, and pay attention to the end of their conduct, and imitate their faith.”
9 “Do not be drawn to many different doctrines, it is beautiful to be strengthened by grace…”
A gracious heart is the heart of a saint.
Today, we must live together with Jesus who saved us in the past and Jesus who helps us overcome today's difficult times. At the same time, let us live today with the hope that we will hold on to the eternal and immutable Lord and live in the eternal kingdom. So, I pray that you and I will overcome the history of the world by winning over my sinful appearance in the past, winning in reality, and having a philosophy of hope into the future.