Persecution to Proclamation

Paul was born in Tarsus of Cilicia (Acts 22:3; Phil 3:5). He was a Roman citizen by birthright (Acts 22:28). At the age of 12, he became the disciple of Gamaliel (Acts 22:3), a Pharisee “who was honored by all the people” (Acts 5:34) and had considerable influence among the Sanhedrin (Acts 5:38-40). Even the Jewish historian Josephus lauded Gamaliel for his knowledge. Under his tutelage, Paul became an expert in the Hebrew Scriptures.

As the disciple of Gamaliel, Paul was also a Pharisee (Phil 3:5). This fact is very important if we are to understand who Paul (Saul) was and what he did before his conversion. The origin of the Pharisees may be traced during the intertestamental period (the in-between 400-year period between Malachi and Matthew) or the so-called Second Temple period, referring to the time when the temple rebuilt under the leadership of Zerubbabel stood since the end of the Babylonian exile to the end of the Jewish revolt in AD 70. After the Babylonians conquered Palestine came the Persians, then the Greeks, then finally the Romans. The Jewish people were under colonial oppression for a long time. The Jews, having realized that they were being punished by God for their sins, desired to return to the covenant that God instituted by obedience to the Law. In short, they learned from the errors of their ancestors and wanted to live holy lives.

Along with the Sadducees, Essenes, and the Zealots, the Pharisees emerged as a holiness movement in Israel. The Pharisees were unique in that they devoted themselves to a detailed observance of the Law and brought it to all spheres of everyday life. They were so religious in keeping the Law that they would rather die than disobey. Because of this, they were very legalistic. They imposed the Law to its every letter. This was why they questioned Jesus about not washing His hands before He ate (Mark 7:1-5) and attacked Him when He healed on Sabbath day (Mark 2:23-26). Moreover, they tended to separate themselves from sinners for fear of contamination. Their whole agenda includes political aspirations. They believe that the Romans (or Gentiles) occupying the promise land were polluting or defiling it. Hence, they wished for the defeat and expulsion of the Romans so that the land would be holy again.

All of these values were inherited by Paul from Gamaliel. Since one of the goals of the Pharisees was to obey the Law to the letter and to expel contaminating powers in the land, Paul was very zealous in persecuting New Testament Christianity. He believed with all his heart that he was doing God a favor by uprooting a new blasphemous group in Israel. He allowed (or maybe even instigated) the stoning of Stephen (Acts 7:58; 8:1). He admitted that he was a persecutor of the church (Phil 3:6). According to Luke, “a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria… Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison” (Acts 8:1-3). Again, for Paul, he was doing the right and godly thing. He hated the gospel for godly reasons.

By God’s grace and providence, Paul was transformed. He was given a new beginning by the Lord Jesus Christ. He was converted on the road to Damascus, recorded in Acts 9:1-15, NIV

Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest ² and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. ³ As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. ⁴ He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”

⁵ “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. ⁶ “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” ⁷ The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. ⁸ Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. ⁹ For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.

¹⁰ In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!” “Yes, Lord,” he answered. ¹¹ The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. ¹² In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.” ¹³ “Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. ¹⁴ And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.” ¹⁵ But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel.

God asked Paul, “Why do you persecute me?” (Acts 9:4). This question can be asked of us as well. Notice that Saul’s life was transformed on the road to Damascus. He was given a radically new beginning. He was a persecutor, but God called him. God referred to him as: “This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel” (Acts 9:15). This was what he had truly become! After his eyes were opened, in just a few days, “at once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God” (Acts 9:20).

The change was so sudden that even people did not believe it! “All those who heard him were astonished and asked, “Isn’t he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? And hasn’t he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?” (Acts 9:21). Even the disciples did not believe him: “When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple” (Acts 9:26). They probably that it was a conspiracy so that he can further penetrate the church.

Here are few observations about the transformed life of Paul:

First, from being a persecutor, he now became the persecuted: “the Jews conspired to kill him” (Acts 9:23); “they kept watch on the city gates to kill him” (Acts 9:24); and “they tried to kill him” (Acts 9:29). Change in Christ does not guarantee a life in a bed of roses. Godly transformation upsets the world and its ungodly rulers. There are no magical protection properties when we live the life that we are called to have. Paul’s life bears testimony to this. He was threatened, arrested, imprisoned, beaten, flogged, tossed by winds and waves, persecuted, oppressed by his fellow Jews, falsely accused, and so on. He did not get wealthy. He no longer enjoyed a great position among the religious leaders. He did not even have a home for his own. He worked as a tentmaker in order for him to eat. He experienced a lot of suffering because he was transformed. His new beginning was from a life of socio-political favor to hostile marginalization. The same goes for us. As Mark 4:35-41, we will face frightening and deadly storms even when we have jumped on the boat with Jesus.

Secondly, the transformed life may contain years of silence or inactivity. Immediately after his conversation, Paul evangelized (Acts 9:20). But he was met with violent opposition too, so he fled to Tarsus. This was not a shameful thing to do. No one accused Paul of cowardice. Sometimes the best response is to retreat in order to be come back later for more fruitful work. According to scholars, the length of time between Acts 9:20 and 11:25 is nine years! He was mightily introduced in Acts 9 only to fade to almost non-existence until Acts 13. We may have these years too. Perhaps we are even in these years right now. We have started as passionate workers of the kingdom, then because of oppositions and personal doubts, we have fled to our own Tarsus, the place of our births and comfort zones.

Thirdly, even transformed men and women need an encourager. Paul fled to Tarsus, and he stayed there until someone looked for him. This was the role of Barnabas, “the son of encouragement” (Acts 4:36): “Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch” (Acts 11:25-26). Even God’s called servants can be discouraged. Even the most zealous church worker can run away. Paul needed someone to bring him back and assist him as he re-integrates himself again in the community. Not all of us are Pauls in the church. Not everyone truly love to go out and evangelize. But we can be Barnabases to the Pauls that we know. Instead of stifling their passion with our criticisms, would it not be better if we tap their backs once in a while?

Fourth, people who encountered Jesus become proclaimers. This was the life of Paul. He was a passionate proclaimer of the gospel. He braved winds and forests, angry mobs and protesting opponents, dangerous seas and open roads, because he took upon himself the task of making Jesus Christ known. The New Testament offers many stories in which the first response of the people to their encounter with God is proclamation: the shepherds who spread the word about the birth of Jesus (Luke 2:17), the Samaritan who spread the word about Jesus (John 4:28-30), the healed leper who praised God in a loud voice (Luke 17:15), and the disciples filled with the Spirit “declaring the wonders of God” (Acts 2:11). Our encounter with God, the transformation we experience, and our proclamation and witness of the gospel are interrelated. God forbid that the transition we experienced in life are from alienation from God to a gradual detachment from God, from a passionate rejection of God to an impassionate relationship with God, from opposition to neutrality before God, from being recipients of the gospel to being further recipients of the gospel, or from a critical observer to an appreciative observer.

We should all have Paul’s attitude: “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile” (Rom 1:16). We proclaim the gospel to our own Jews, our own people and family members; then to the Gentile, our neighbors and schoolmates and workmates. We do this together, as a church. Peter’s description of the church is apt: “You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light” (1 Peter 2:9). This is who we are as believers and what we are as the body of Christ.

We may conclude this article by highlighting the three stages of Paul’s life after he was given a new beginning by God, and evaluate ourselves and see where we are right now in our Christian lives. The church is filled with people in the different stages. First, some are in the Acts 9:20 stage. These are the newly transformed and are on fire to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. There are probably only a handful of these in our churches. Secondly, some are in the Acts 9:30-11:25 stage. This is the stage of silence and inactivity. Because of fear or just plain disobedience to the call of God, we have run away back to our Tarsuses, where we are comfortable and safe. These are the nine years of fading into non-existence, as if God has never called us in the first place. Majority of church goers are in this stage. Thirdly, some are in the Acts 11:26 stage, where people begin to be involved back in the mission and ministries of the church. Because of a Barnabas who encouraged us, we have renewed our commitment to God and His call. My hope is that all of us come to this stage. However, this stage is only temporary. Our goal is to be at the Acts 13:2-3 stage, where we are sent from and by our local churches to proclaim the gospel of salvation with boldness and authority in our Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8).


(This is the fourth manuscript in the New Beginning sermon series. The first, second, third, and fourth are also available in this blog.)

Greed to Generosity

One of the most important topics of our time is our relation with money. Commenting on our human situation today, Dewi Hughes is spot on in saying that “the widespread  consumerism and materialism of the culture—expressed above all in our incessant advertising—seduces many people into making extravagant decisions about major purchases like houses and cars and smaller things like recreation, eating out, vacations, etc.; and the result is that most families are financially pressed in spite of enormous wealth.”[1] Everywhere in the world, money is increasingly becoming more accessible to many people and families. The abundance of malls, shopping centers, restaurants and entertainment places indicates that investors believe that we have money to spend. The problem is that even though we are earning more money than ever before, we still feel hard-pressed and may be under huge debts.

In one of the episodes of the television series The Big Bang Theory, Rajesh Koothrapali got a new girlfriend who was more in love with his money than with him. His parents learned about it and gave him a video call. His father, exasperated by his son’s stupidity, asked him to choose between his girlfriend and his allowance. Rajesh’s response is this: “You’re going to make me choose between the woman I love and the money I have very strong feelings for?” Like Rajesh, we all have strong feelings for money. This is not a problem only for modern humanity. In the first century, Paul already warned Timothy: “The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. By craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows” (1 Tim 6:10). But there is hope for us. God is able to transform His people. Our inappropriate love of or concern about money may be replaced by lavish generosity.

This was what happened to Zacchaeus, and this can happen to all of us as well. His story was recorded by the historian Luke:

Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. ² A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy.³ He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. ⁴ So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-figtree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. ⁵ When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.”⁶ So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. ⁷ All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner” (Luke 19:1-10, NIV).

There was no profession in the New Testament that was more disdained than being a tax collector. The attitude of the religious leaders toward these people was negative, and they were very vocal about it. In fact, several times in the Gospels, the terms “tax collector” and “sinners” went together (Matt 9:10-11; 11:19; Mark 2:15-16; Luke 5:30; 7:34; 15:1). In several other passages, tax collectors are grouped together with other heinous sins. The Pharisee at the temple prayed: “God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector” (Luke 18:11). Jesus lumped the sins of unbelieving pagans or Gentiles together with tax collectors (Matt 18:17). Elsewhere, Jesus grouped tax collectors with prostitutes in terms of the difficulty in entering the kingdom of God (Matt 21:31-32).

Why was there such a negativity against tax collectors in the times of Jesus? First, tax collectors were Jewish people working for the Romans, the enemies of the Jews. Therefore, they were considered as traitors to their own people. Instead of fighting against the Romans, they were helping them and were becoming rich in the process. Secondly, nobody wanted to pay taxes to the Romans, especially because they were oppressive. Thirdly, it was common knowledge that tax collectors cheated the people they collected from. They would collect more than what was required and keep the extra for themselves. When Jesus gave an advice to a tax collector, he said: “Don’t collect any more than you are required to” (Luke 3:13), signaling that it was common knowledge or assumption that they are cheaters. So finally, tax collectors were resented because they were extremely wealthy and enjoying lavish lifestyles at a time of oppression. Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector, so imagine the even greater amount of animosity the people felt about him. Zacchaeus himself confessed that he indeed cheated people (19:8).

However, was Zacchaeus always a cheat? I am inclined to say NO. The nature of his work gave him the opportunity to cheat. Perhaps he was like many godly men and women who started in their work with no intention to abuse their positions at all. No one applies to a job with the intention of cheating. Rather, when we apply for jobs, we earnestly desire to be productive and helpful. Perhaps Zacchaeus was like a young Filipino who zealously aspired to become a policeman with the goal to help his fellow citizens. Perhaps he started as a tax collector with a vision to be a different kind of tax collector. Perhaps he started with a vision to change the image of tax collectors in the minds of people by staying godly. I don’t believe that people are naturally evil from the beginning. People progress from being good to being downright evil or callous in their ways. I think Zacchaeus started cheating in small scales because of fear. After all, he was still a God-believing Jew. But the more wealth he accumulated, the more he wanted more; and the more he wanted more, the more he became steeped in his greedy deeds.

The nature of humanity is that we want more. John D. Rockefeller, an American oil industry business magnate and industrialist in the early 1900s, was once considered the wealthiest person on earth. He was once asked “How much is enough?” and his response was a very short: “Just a little bit more.” Discontent seems to be a part of our fallen human DNA. Greedy people will always think that they lack abundance, no matter how much money they are receiving in comparison to the past. There is always something better to buy, something bigger to accumulate, something grander to own. The irony is that the more money we have, the more things we think we should buy.

Leo Tolstoy once wrote a story about a successful peasant farmer who was not satisfied with his lot. He wanted more of everything. One day he received a novel offer. For 1000 rubles, he could buy all the land he could walk around in a day. The only catch in the deal was that he had to be back at his starting point by sundown. Early the next morning he started out walking at a fast pace. By midday he was very tired, but he kept going, covering more and more ground. Well into the afternoon he realized that his greed had taken him far from the starting point. He quickened his pace and as the sun began to sink low in the sky, he began to run, knowing that if he did not make it back by sundown the opportunity to become an even bigger landholder would be lost. As the sun began to sink below the horizon he came within sight of the finish line. Gasping for breath, his heart pounding, he called upon every bit of strength left in his body and staggered across the line just before the sun disappeared. He immediately collapsed, blood streaming from his mouth. In a few minutes he was dead. Afterwards, his servants dug a grave. It was not much over six feet long and three feet wide. The title of Tolstoy's story was: How Much Land Does a Man Need?[2]

Greed has two interrelated forms: it takes and it withholds. In the case of Zacchaeus, it was primarily taking other people’s money. Christians may not be struggling with stealing. If there are Christian thieves, their number is certainly small. However, the sin of withholding is probably something that many of us are still struggling with. In the book of Malachi, God’s complaints against the Israelites were precisely because they were withholding from God:

“Cursed is the cheat who has an acceptable male in his flock and vows to give it, but then sacrifices a blemished animal to the Lord” (Mal 1:14)

Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me. “But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’ “In tithes and offerings. ⁹ You are under a curse—your whole nation—because you are robbing me” (Mal 3:8-9)

We may not be cheating our neighbors, and therefore think that we are not struggling with greed and the love of money. We may not be taking people’s money for our own sake or stealing them like tax collectors. But we are no better than tax collectors who steal from others if we are withholding from God what belongs to Him in tithes and offerings. My hope is that we experience a new beginning like the one experienced by Zacchaeus. The story continues to narrate:

But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” ⁹ Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. ¹⁰ For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19:8-10).

The transformation that happened in Zacchaeus’ life is astonishing. Looking closely at the story, Jesus actually did nothing apart from entering Zacchaeus’ house. Jesus did not preach a sermon. He did not rebuke the tax collector. He did not quote the Scriptures in order to teach Zacchaeus. Jesus did nothing. He just entered the house. But lo, and behold, Zacchaeus spontaneously stood up and made statements that would have shocked everyone in the house. He became a completely different man, totally transformed.

What happened? I think the answer is simple. He was touched by grace. He experienced the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. He experienced what it meant to be a recipient of grace. He knew that He did not deserve to have Jesus in his house. He knew that he did not deserve the attention Jesus gave him. He was always a man condemned by the religious leaders. He was always shunned by everyone. But from Jesus, he felt received. Although there were no utterances of forgiveness from Jesus, the fact that Jesus entered his home was a mighty evidence for Zacchaeus that he was accepted by Jesus. Zacchaeus was transformed from being greedy to being generous. If being greedy means both taking and withholding, being generous means not taking and not withholding. This was precisely the transformation that happened to Zacchaeus. Like him, we have already experienced God’s lavish grace and the acceptance of our Lord Jesus Christ. The question that remains is: Have we already been transformed like him too?


(This is the fourth manuscript in the New Beginning sermon series. The first, second, and third are also available in this blog.)

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[1] Hughes, “The Whole Church as a Transformed and Transforming Society,” 50.

[2] http://www.sermonillustrations.com/a-z/g/greed.htm

Faulty to Forgiven

David’s life was a series of ups and downs. His story in the Bible begins in 1 Sam 16, when he was anointed by the prophet Samuel to replace Saul as the king of God’s people (1 Sam 16:1-13; Ps 78). This did not mean that he was immediately crowned as king. He was probably 10-12 years old when he was anointed. Two years later, he served as the king’s musician (1 Sam 16:14-23). Five years after he was anointed, he defeated Goliath (1 Sam 17:1-54). Ten years later, he was appointed by Saul as a commander of his army and was very successful in battles, earning Saul’s daughter Michal in marriage and also Saul’s jealousy (1 Sam 18:6-30; 19:9-17; 2 Sam 6:20-23). He was almost killed by Saul so he fled, hiding and pretending to be a crazy man in order to stay alive (1 Sam 21).

He became king, finally, thirty-two years after his anointing. He was named king of Judah (2 Sam 2:1-7), then of Israel (2 Sam 5:1-5; 1 Chron 11:1-3). Then he re-conquered Jerusalem from the Jebusites (2 Sam 5:6-16). As king, he accomplished many great things. After defeating the Philistines, David brought the ark back to Jerusalem (2 Sam 6:1-19; 1 Chron 13:1-14; 15:1-16:43), which earned him God’s wonderful promises (2 Sam 7:1-29). Second Samuel 8:1-18 lists his victories and officials. He is portrayed as a just and merciful king, pardoning and befriending Saul’s son Mephibosheth (2 Sam 9:1-13). Then he defeats the Ammonites (2 Sam 10:1-19). For 13 years, from the time he was made king (from ca 993-980 BC), his life was filled with victories. However, this rose-colored history changed in 2 Samuel 11. The story is tragic:

In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king’s men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem. ² One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful,³ and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, “She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.” ⁴ Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (Now she was purifying herself from her monthly uncleanness.) Then she went back home.⁵ The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, “I am pregnant.”

¹⁴ In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. ¹⁵ In it he wrote, “Put Uriah out in front where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and die.” ¹⁶ So while Joab had the city under siege, he put Uriah at a place where he knew the strongest defenders were. ¹⁷ When the men of the city came out and fought against Joab, some of the men in David’s army fell; moreover, Uriah the Hittite died (2 Sam 11:1-5, 14-17, NIV).

The unthinkable happened. The man of victory over armies was defeated by his own self. It seems unfathomable that he would fall in such a dramatic way. But the honesty of the Scriptures is unmistakable. Good and godly men and women are not temptation-proofed. Even the most faithful lover of God can sin. David, full of wisdom as a military strategist, was also stupid, thinking with his penis. David’s lips that were full of praises were also full of deceit.

In fact, David’s story is so shocking because he is not only portrayed as having one fault. The story reveals that David had many faults. First, he was not where he should be (11:1). It was the season of war and he was in his palace, getting up from bed in the evening! Secondly, when he saw naked Bathsheba he stared too long. Like a hot-blooded male member of human species, he was deeply attracted to beauty and wanted to possess her. Thirdly, he abused his power as king to summon Bathsheba to his palace (11:4). She did not really have a choice but to comply to the summons. It was either obedience or death for her. Fourthly, David slept with her and sent her away after purifying herself (11:4). He did not realize that their one-night affair led to her being pregnant (11:5). So, fifthly, David schemed against Urriah twice. He wanted to cover up his sin and shift the responsibility of impregnating Bathsheba to Urriah. When his plots to make Urriah sleep with Bathsheba failed, David ordered his general—Joab—to send Urriah to his death. David committed both adultery and murder.

Also, the story is full of irony because David is portrayed in the Bible as one possessing a godly heart. When Samuel went to the house of Jesse to choose the king, David was chosen by God because of his heart: “The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Sam 16:7). God Himself testified concerning David: he “a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do” (Acts 13:22). Unfortunately, it was also David’s own heart that was attacked by the tempter. No matter how good his heart was, it was still vulnerable to temptations.

David also thought that he had covered his tracks very well. However, God knows everything. God is smarter than we are. He sent His prophet Nathan to confront David:

This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. ⁸ I gave your master’s house to you, and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you all Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more. ⁹ Why did you despise the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites (2 Sam 12:1-9, NIV)

           

Nathan’s direct confrontation forced David to make a decision. He could have birthed another sin—the sin of denial—but he chose to utter the most gallant statement of his entire life: “I have sinned against the Lord” (2 Sam 12:13). In Hebrew, David only said two words: hatati Yahweh. These two simple words would have the biggest impact in his life. Here lies his difference from king Saul, who sought to rationalize with God and defend what he did (1 Sam 15:20-21). Unlike Adam, David offered no excuses, no alibis, no blaming of Bathsheba. He dealt with his own self and sin—with boldness—and faced the reality that he was at fault. His heart is portrayed vividly in Psalm 51 (NIV), a psalm he wrote after Nathan confronted him:

Have mercy on me, O God,
    according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
    blot out my transgressions.
² Wash away all my iniquity
    and cleanse me from my sin.

³ For I know my transgressions,
    and my sin is always before me.
⁴ Against you, you only, have I sinned
    and done what is evil in your sight;
so you are right in your verdict
    and justified when you judge…
⁷ Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
    wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
⁸ Let me hear joy and gladness;
    let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
⁹ Hide your face from my sins
    and blot out all my iniquity.

¹⁰ Create in me a pure heart, O God,
    and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
¹¹ Do not cast me from your presence
    or take your Holy Spirit from me.
¹² Restore to me the joy of your salvation
    and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me…
¹⁷ My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit;
    a broken and contrite heart
    you, God, will not despise.

The immediate response of Nathan to David’s confession was surprising: “Then David said to Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord.’ Nathan replied, ‘The Lord has taken away your sin’” (2 Sam 12:13). After all of Nathan’s passionate speech and God’s denunciation of David’s sins, Nathan’s response was quite unexpected. I would not have been surprised if Nathan said that it was already too late and that God had already abandoned him like his predecessor Saul. David would have readily accepted if this were God’s punishment for him. After all, he knew that he had sinned against God big time.

David did not even ask for forgiveness. He only confessed what is truth and what both God and Nathan already knew. Then he was forgiven just like that. The immediacy and unexpected forgiveness that happened to David was precisely what happened to Jacob and Isaiah as well. Jacob asked the man of God to bless him, but the man asked him, “What is your name?” (Gen 32:27). This sounds like a simple question, but it was actually a question that deals with the core of Jacob’s identity. Jacob means “deceiver,” and the man of God wanted him to admit who he is, a deceiver who victimized his own family: his brother Esau, his father Isaac and his brother-in-law Laban. When Jacob said his name and therefore admitted his faults, the man responded: “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel (Gen 32:28). The story of Isaiah in the presence of the holy Lord narrates the same confession-forgiveness sequence.

“Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.” ⁶ Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. ⁷ With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for” (Isaiah 6:5-7, NIV)

In relation to what we are required to do, does God’s forgiveness sound cheap? I am grateful that it is. Otherwise, no one can afford it. I am grateful that God’s forgiveness is just a prayer away, that a contrite heart is all that God wants, that confession of what He already knows is enough, and that God is willing to restore me in His loving embrace. This was what the apostle John wrote about much later: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). The whole point of Nathan’s fiery charge against David was not to punish him, but to bring him to his senses. God confronted David not for him to be left feeling extremely guilty and ashamed.

We can find parallels between our lives and that of David. We all have faults (plural). David may have struggled with lust, but others might be struggling with food, desire for attention, and other things. Everyone has weaknesses and vulnerabilities. We may be strong against naked men or women, but we may be weak regarding gossiping, judgmentalism, slander, apathy and other attitudes that destroy other people. The good news is that people who have faults can receive forgiveness. God’s healing, restoring grace is available for those who are willing to face God with the same painful honesty about ourselves. This is the greatest step towards a rebuilt life.


(This is the third manuscript in the New Beginning sermon series. The first and second are also available in this blog.)

Wandering to Winning

Joshua was first mentioned in the Bible in Exodus 17, when the Amalekites attacked the Israelites in the wilderness on their way to Mount Sinai. In the story, Joshua was already portrayed as Moses’ trusted assistant: “The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. Moses said to Joshua, ‘Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekite’” (Exo 17:8-9). Moses seemed to have been fond of Joshua that he actually took Joshua with him up to Mount Sinai on his sixth climb to meet God: “Then Moses set out with Joshua his aide, and Moses went up on the mountain of God” (Exo 24:13). Joshua stayed with Moses at Mt Sinai for forty days, and went down with Moses: “Moses turned and went down the mountain with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands. They were inscribed on both sides, front and back. The tablets were the work of God; the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets. When Joshua heard the noise of the people shouting, he said to Moses, ‘There is the sound of war in the camp’” (Exo 32:15-17). It seems therefore that Joshua was with Moses when Yahweh inscribed the law in stone tablets.

Joshua served Moses’ young aide all throughout Moses’ leadership: “Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent” (Exo 33:11). He was very protective of Moses’ role leadership over the Israelites and was jealous for Moses’ sake (Num 11:29). As Moses’ assistant, it was proper that he was a member of the 12-man scouting party Moses sent to Canaan (Num 13:16-14:38). When Moses died, he succeeded him as the leader of the Israelites (Deut 31:7-9; 34:9). This is not surprising because Joshua was actually a very remarkable man of God. He was described by God as “a man in whom is the spirit of leadership” (Num 27:18) and one who “followed the Lord wholeheartedly” (Num 32:12).

What fascinates me in Joshua’s life is the fact that even though he was great in the eyes of God, he still suffered a lot with the people of Israel. He was there in Egypt as a slave. He was there the very day the Israelites left Egypt. He was a part of the wandering people of God in the wilderness. He experienced the difficulties and scarcity of the desert. He experienced the scorching sands of the wilderness, and its lack of resources necessary for human survival. He experienced eating manna for 40 years, every day. He experienced and saw with his own eyes God’s blessings and punishments. He saw, and probably buried, thousands of people in the wilderness. As Moses’ assistant, he knew how rebellious and ungrateful the Israelites were to God. Like

Joshua, with all his good credentials, was a wanderer for forty years. His life may be the mirror of ours. We may be good men and women but still in the desert, not because of our own fault, but because we belong to an ungodly group of people. We might be suffering and stuck in scarcity because of our own families. We might be experiencing the death of our own spirits because of our friends. We might be experiencing a lot of toxicity because of our workmates or school mates. We might be experiencing an asphyxiating pressure because of our loved ones. Our potentials might be being suppressed because of our leaders. We might be feeling discouraged because of others. We can be like Joshua, the righteous man of God among a crowd of mockers, pulling us down with them in their steady descent to the cradles of hell. Even righteous people wander in the wilderness—not by their own choice—but as the consequence of their belongingness to a group.

Nothing is more depressing than to realize that you are doing the best you can only to be dragged down by your group. This was the life of Joshua for 40 years. He was suffering as an innocent. He was wandering in the wilderness of death, surrounded by people whose expertise was in grumbling. The journey was already exhausting, but being with nasty people added to the suffering. The journey from Goshen to the promised land is only about 900 miles, which they could have walked in four months, maximum. In fact, they reached Mt Sinai, which was about than halfway through, in just 44 days. But the journey lasted for forty long years, not while eating ice cream in the desert, but in suffering and death. For Joshua and the Israelites, they could almost see their destination. It was just right in front of them, but they could not move forward. They were trapped in their hellish routine.

Never in his entire life would Joshua have expected to experience victories. The odds were against him. Although he was the new leader of the Israelites, the Israelites were still the Israelites. They were the same rebellious, stiff-necked, doubting grumblers like in the time of Moses. If I were Joshua, I would not be expecting much from the same people who were the very reason for his 40-year wandering. It was not as if he joined another group of more reliable and godly people. He was basically in the same place, surrounded by the same group of people who weighed him down. He knew the Israelites very well that the task given to him was challenging. He saw how the people regarded God and Moses, and he was most probably not optimistic about his dignified new leadership role.

But the miracle of miracles happened. After 40 years of wandering in defeat, Joshua tasted two victories immediately after taking the leadership from Moses. They were able to cross the Jordan river and defeat Jericho without much effort. They have been trying so hard to enter the promise land in the last 40 years, and the land seemed almost impenetrable. But Joshua and the people crossed the Jordan river and defeated their first city within a month’s time. In the span of one month, Joshua experienced a change from being a defeated wanderer to a winning warrior.

How did this happen? What changed? What was different? We can observe two things.

First, in both crossing Jordan river (Josh 3:14-17) and conquest of Jericho (Josh 6:2-7), the priests holding the ark of the covenant were leading the way. Gone were the days when the Israelites relied on their own wisdom and strength. Gone were the days when the scouts led the way. It was a new era: one characterized by unreserved (and even foolish) trust and confidence in God. Can you imagine how foolish it was to send priests carrying the ark of the covenant to walk ahead while crossing a river? Can you imagine how foolish it was to send priests carrying trumpets to lead the way in sieging a fortified city? They allowed God to lead them, and this gave them victories.

Secondly, immediately after entering the promise land, Joshua led the people to be circumcised in Gilgal and celebrate the Passover (Josh 4:19-5:12). Circumcision was the sign of the covenant between God and the Israelites, so Joshua was leading the people to renew their covenant with God. Most of the people who entered the promised land were not there when the Israelites made the covenant with Yahweh at Sinai forty years ago. They have broken their covenant of worship and faith in Yahweh in their repeated disobedience and grumbling in the wilderness. One of the first things Joshua did was to renew the covenant between the people and Yahweh. The way forward is to return to covenant relationship with God.

These two things are what we should do today if we want to transition from being a wanderer to a winner. We must make sure that our covenant with God is renewed every day. We must make sure that we are in relationship with Him. This is the foundation of all that we are as Christians. Also, we must allow God to lead the way for us. We must renew our faith in God and be confident in His wisdom and grace that will carry us through life. In the words of Proverbs 3:5-6, we must

Trust in the Lord with all your heart
    and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him,
    and he will make your paths straight.


[This is the second sermon in the series New Beginnings. The fist sermon is here.]

Forget the Past; Forge the Future

If we are to describe our last year in one word, what would it be? Would it be success, failure, busy, lazy, challenging, joyride, stressful, chill, change, constant, love, sorrow, heartbreak, excitement? The thing is that whether we have had a good or challenging year, we are all going to leave last year behind. Last year is already the past. This is both a scary and a beautiful prospect. For some of us who have had a good year, there is no assurance that we will have another abundant 2018. For those of us who have had a difficult year, we are looking forward for a better one.

The common image in Filipino comics that describes the changing of the year is an old man being replaced by a new baby. There is a new beginning, almost from nothing. The new year affords great opportunities to start again. The apostle Paul, reflecting about his life as a missionary of the gospel, has written one of the most important set of verses in the whole New Testament about what it means to put the past behind as we look forward to the future. This is one of my favorite passages: Philippians 3:4-14 (NIV)

If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: ⁵ circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; ⁶ as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless.

⁷ But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. ⁸ What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ ⁹ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. ¹⁰ I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, ¹¹ and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.

¹² Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. ¹³ Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, ¹⁴ I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Our primary verse is this: “But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead” (3:13). These two complement each other. When we look at the life of Paul, the message is very clear.

Forget the Past

Paul’s first advice is to forget what is behind. Typically, Paul’s advice is interpreted from a negative perspective. Paul is thought to be admonishing that we should leave our experiences of troubles behind and forget all of these. We should forget both the offenses of others against us and our own self-inflicted failures. To a certain degree, Paul was probably thinking of these when he was writing the letter. He had the right to say these things, because his past was not a rose-colored story of righteousness and success. He was once a blasphemer, violent, and persecutor of the church (1 Tim 1:13). People persecuted him. People stoned him. He was undeservedly punished. He was a recipient of envy and scorn, even from those he ministered with (the Corinthian believers). He was tossed and battered by the angry sea. He was accused of all sorts of things, arrested, and beaten.

So Paul’s words may be understood as a challenge that if we have been violent blasphemers of our faith, defiling the name of God in the process, we should leave that behind in the coming year. If we have experienced suffering because of persecution, misunderstanding, envy, and others, we should forget about these things and leave them behind. We may have been criticized, talked about negatively, pushed aside, neglected, offended, not respected enough, rejected, or whatever, we are being asked to forget and let go. We should let go of the thoughts of vengeance or bitterness or unforgiveness. We are to leave behind the sufferings of the past year, both self-inflicted and caused by others.

However, I think Paul’s main thought in the passage is about forgetting our sufferings. In fact, when we go back and read verses 4-6, Paul enumerated a few things that he can boast about himself. He was talking about his achievements. It seems to me that Paul’s primary message in Philippians 3 is that if we are to forget something, we must concentrate on forgetting our past achievements. We are entering the new year. We may have accomplished this and that, we may have achieved this and that, we may have received this and that, we may have done this and that, but it is time to forget them and move on. We may be tempted to live in the glories of the past and lose sight of the greater work that is in front of us. We might become conceited about what we have accomplished in the past and develop spiritual pride and superiority complex over others. Paul says in verse 7: “I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless” (NLT). Let go of the past, and strain toward what is ahead, because as Paul wrote, “I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it” (3:13). There is so much more to do. We have not even reached half of our task and goal.

Forge the Future

When Paul wrote his letter to the Philippians, he was in prison. He was probably aware that he was almost at the end of his life. He had an inkling that the Roman empire would not leave him alive. We can sense that he was torn:

“Now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. ²¹ For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. ²² If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! ²³ I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far” (Phil 1:20-23).

Whatever the outcome of his imprisonment would be, Paul’s attitude was exemplary. He was discerning that the end for him was very near, but he still admonished that we should all strain toward what is ahead. What is ahead might be death and other many forms of suffering for the sake of the kingdom, but Paul says, strain toward it anyway!

We must forget about our past accomplishments and consider everyday as a new start, because our goals are yet to be achieved. We cannot be content with our past victories. We cannot be content with our historical record, but must strive to break them. We must move toward even more victories, more accomplishments, and more labor. There is no time to be complacent. Our victories in the past should pale in comparison to the victories of tomorrow, so that when we look back, we can laugh and scorn our old selves and say, “How foolish of the old me, thinking that this was the meaning of success.”

However, and more importantly, we should learn why Paul talked about forgetting what is behind and straining toward the future. Why should we forget our past accomplishments behind? What is the goal that we should strain toward? The answer is found in verses 7-10:

But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. ⁸ What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ ⁹ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. ¹⁰ I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death.

Let us leave our victories behind. What truly matters is our deepening relationship and knowledge of Jesus Christ. So what if we have earned more money last year? So what if we have been promoted at work? So what if we have served a thousand hours in our ministries? Paul says that these are garbage, because what we should really gain is Jesus Christ (Phil 3:8). He is the goal that we should strain toward. All our efforts should be concentrated on knowing Him, in experiencing the power of his resurrection, in participating in his suffering, and becoming like Him in his death (Phil 3:10). Forget the past, leave it behind, and strain toward our goal, Jesus Christ. He is the true crown of righteousness for us. Our destiny and purpose is not predicated on what we do, but on who we are with. Our desire for this new year must therefore be to get closer to God, to know Him more, and to have Him manifested in our lives.

This is what our 2018 as disciples of Jesus Christ should look like.


[This is first of the sermon series entitled New Beginnings.]