The word reconciliation is a relational word. It means a restored relationship after having gone through a breakup. To be reconciled means to be in good terms once again after a good relationship was somehow broken or destroyed.
Already Reconciled
My elder daughter when she little.
When Paul said that God has reconciled us back to him, it means that God has already done something to restore that relationship. In Christ, God was reconciling the whole word to himself. Paul said that God has already forgiven our trespasses and he no longer counts our sins against us (2 Cor 5:18-19). From God’s side, in so far as God is concerned, he has already made the first move and he has already extended his right hand of fellowship and friendship to us. The good news is all about relationships. The good news is that through Jesus Christ as our Mediator and High Priest we already have access and can enjoy life and love together and in communion with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Our Participation and Response
Will we accept God’s offer of reconciliation and restore our relationship with him? In a relationship, our response to God’s love is important to him. This is not about contracts but about love, loving relationships.
Paul made an appeal and implored the believers in Corinth to be reconciled back to God (2 Cor. 5:20). Paul used relational words like “appeal” and “implore” as he convinced them to respond accordingly. Other Bible translations use the words: “beseech”, “pray” (KJV), “entreat”, “beg” (NAS), “urge”, “appeal” (NJB). Responding to God’s call is something that a loving father would love to see and hear from his children. He would love for his children to respond back to him in love.
God is Love Not a Contract-God
My younger daughter when she was little.
The gospel is not about a transaction or a contract. It’s about relationship and reconciliation. If we think that God is dealing with us like in a legal contract, then we would wrongly think that our response is a condition or requirement before we get reconciled back to God. We would think that we earned our salvation because we “repented and believed” — just like in a transaction or legal contract. We will think that repentance and faith are “requirements for salvation.” But that is not true. God is not a contract-God. Rather, we should think of God’s commands as imperatives of grace in view of the fact that God is love (indicative of grace), our obedience that comes from faith (Rom. 1:5. 16:26).
Yes, God is love (1 John 4:8). That’s who the triune God is. God loves us and he wants to have a relationship with us. Whether we will accept God’s love or not, whether we repent and believe or not, he will continue to love us unconditionally just the same. He is our loving Father. And of course, fathers would love their children to respond with love in return. It’s a loving relationship that God is after. It’s not about legal requirements like in a contract in order to be saved. This is the true gospel. This is good news!
I had the opportunity to visit Ipil in Zamboanga Sibugay this past weekend and I was impressed by what the Lord is doing in this area. Although small in number, our local congregation in Ipil is participating in the Lord’s work in a unique way. Their worship service hall is also at the same time, part of a radio station. They are involved in radio ministry.
Pastor Danny, a partner of Pastor Geoffrey in their radio ministry to the whole community of Zamboanga Peninsula.
Their radio ministry will have been seven years old this coming August. It all started with Pastor Geoffrey Balatero’s desire to participate in the Lord’s work by starting a radio ministry to share the gospel in the community. He began by placing two trumpet speakers in his rooftop. Then he got permission from the government to purchase a 10-watt transmitter. Then it was increased to 30 watts and presently, they now have a 1,000-watt transmitter able to reach the provinces of Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga Sibugay, Zamboanga del Sur and even Basilan and Jolo.
The local congregation of Grace Communion Ipil with some of the pastors from other denominations who are partners in the radio ministry.
It was inspiring to see our church members participate in the Lord’s work and even though they are a small church, but they are reaching out to so many. Their Sunday evening worship services are aired live every week. Isn’t that amazing?
Here’s a video of my interview with Pastor Geoffrey below:
There’s an old Philippine folk song I learned during my Boy Scouting days back in the 60s which says, “Don’t you go, don’t you go to far Zamboanga, where you may forget your darling far away.” But that’s exactly what I did this past weekend.
From Manila to Zamboanga: Flying on a stormy day, turbulence along the way.
I flew to Zamboanga on a stormy day and what did I get? Turbulence up in the sky along the way. What a “joy ride” it was haha! A little child kept crying for background music as well. Poor little kid.
Surprisingly, it was not raining when we touched down at the Zamboanga International Airport after about an hour and 20 minutes or so. In some parts of the tarmac though, there’s an indication that it did rain before we touched down.
The air traffic control tower and the Air Transportation Office at the Zamboanga International Airport.
The very first thing I did when the plane taxied to the terminal was to look for the air traffic control tower as I usually did in my previous visits to Zamboanga. It brought back memories as I looked through the plane’s window.
Pastor Nilo Belarmino
I used to go there, beside the tower every time I was in Zamboanga. Or should I say, my dear friend Nilo would always bring me there — right there in his office right beside the tower. He used to work at the Flight Service Station of the Air Transportation Office (ATO) at the Zamboanga International Airport. He worked there for many years before he went to the US where he died a year or so ago. He was also our senior pastor back then for our local congregation in the city — the reason for my once-a-year visit to him and our local church in the city.
As a pastor, he was well-loved by the people he served. He was a loving dad to his children and a loving grandpa to his grandkids. And of course, a loving husband to his loving wife.
I also remember that he started a Day Care Center in Barangay Labuan, Zamboanga City called “Little Friends Learning Center.” Pastor Nilo invited me as a guest speaker at one time during their church anniversary and graduation ceremonies at Barangay Labuan. It was reported to me that currently, the school now has two groups of pupils: Little Friends A with 44 children and Little Friends B with 60 children. The school has grown big and has been serving the local community for a good number of years now. Thanks to Pastor Nilo and his family, the pastoral team and the local congregation behind this ministry to the community.
Pastor Nilo used to work at that brown building with brown fascia board below the tower. That’s part of the Air Transportation Office.
The last thing I did also before I left Zamboanga was to take a photo again of that air traffic control tower. It reminded me of my dear friend Nilo who dearly loved God, his family and the people he served with dedication. That tower also reminds me of another dear friend, Macky who also worked there but is now retired. We met again and we had a great reunion with family and friends! I felt like I was part of their family. I felt loved and appreciated in Zamboanga!
The love they have shown me made me feel like Zamboanga is not really that far away anymore. Although I don’t have a granddaughter of my own, but I guess I now have one — an “adopted granddaughter” — who loves me because she remembers her grandpa Nilo whenever she sees me. She’s the first grand child of Pastor Nilo. She was just a little girl (about 3 or 4 years old) whom Pastor Nilo and I enjoyed playing with back then whenever I visited them in Zamboanga. She is now a teenager.
Macky, a quiet, humble man of God enjoying his retirement years and has continued serving in the local church. Behind us is Pastor Nilo’s second son with his family.
Traffic in Metro Manila is not only on its streets but also up above it. We were Plane Number 14 to land at the the Manila airport. Before the plane could take off in Zamboanga, it has to get clearance first from Manila. That’s the reality of life nowadays in Metro Manila.
Zamboanga is no longer too far away really. The old folk song, “Don’t you go to far Zamboanga” is really a thing of the past. Times have changed. It’s just an hour and a half or so away by plane.
I arrived in Manila safely despite the turbulence (once again!) due to a typhoon passing through up north. It was kind of a nostalgic trip going back to “far away” Zamboanga and meeting old time friends including my dear old friend Geoffrey in Ipil — but that’s another story for me to tell the next time I feel like writing.
For more photos of my visit to Zamboanga, please visit this link and this link. I also visited Ipil and here are photos at this link.
“Perhaps the severest forms of judgment we see in the gospel are out of the lips of Jesus. He was absolutely frank. When we look at the cross, we might belittle our sins. We might think it doesn’t matter. I say to people, ‘You look at the cross, you look at the fact that sin was so serious it took everything that God himself had got, to remove our sin and deliver us.’ I think of that great cry, ‘My God, my God why have you forsaken me?’ There you see the depths and the horror of sin. Sin is very real, but thank God that we’re delivered from it. Our church needs to be cleansed, I pray every day that we will be cleansed. We thank God that there is complete cleansing, complete deliverance.” –David Torrance
Below are my sermon notes which I shared in my home local church last July 8, 2018.
Do you know where in the Bible where it says, “God is love”? Yes, that’s in 1 John 4:8. The apostle John explains what godly love is all about. It is not left to us to define what love is.
But do you know also where it says, “sin is the transgression of the law”? It’s also in 1 John, chapter 3, verse 4. What did John mean by sin being the transgression of the law? What is sin anyway? What is the context here? What was the apostle John really saying in this passage?
In today’s world, there’s much talk and emphasis on love – “what the world needs now is love sweet love.” Churches too realize the importance of giving emphasis on love but in the process, some have downplayed, and they no longer talk about sin and evil as if these are not spiritual realities.
I’d like to show you today that God is not soft on sin (and evil)
What is God’s love?
God through John defines to us what godly love (agape) is. John 3:16 says, “”For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
1 John 4:7-11 7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
Can you see how God through John defines and shows his love? The Father gave his Son to die. And the Son willingly died for us. That is agape love.
And why did Jesus die? Because of sin! Here we see right away that God is not soft on sin. Sin is something serious that must be dealt with.
And what did John tell the early Christians of his day? Read verses 7 and 11. We ought to love one another. This is talking about church members loving one another. And this is not a suggestion. This is a command, an obligation – we ought to love one another.
If we are not loving our brothers and sisters, then we are missing the mark. And as we know, “missing the mark” is in Greek, hamartia which is translated as sin.
But let’s now proceed to the next question…
B. What is meant by “sin is the transgression of the law in 1 John 3:4?
That statement comes from the 1611 King James Version of the Bible. That is not actually what John meant when he wrote his letter. Modern translations like the NIV translates it as “lawlessness.” In Greek, the word translated as “transgression of the law” (four words) in the KJV is only one word in Greek which is, anomia. And it really means, lawlessness or wickedness. In other words, Sin is lawlessness or sin is wickedness.
1. John Talking About a Lifestyle of Sinning Not Just a One-time Sin
John here is not talking about one sin being committed – a transgression of one point of law. Rather, John in context is talking about a way of life – a life of lawlessness or wickedness. This is talking about a lifestyle of sinning – a life of habitual sinning. God is against that.
1 John 2:28 – 3:11 28 And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming. 29 If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him. NIV 1 John 3:1 How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 3 Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.4 Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. 5 But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. 6 No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him. 7 Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. 8 He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. 9 No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. 10 This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are:Anyone who does not do what is rightis not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother. 11 This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another.
2. Christians Are to Live a Life of Love Continuing to Purify Themselves
Christians are to live a life of love. They are to love one another. They are not to live a life of habitual sinning. That is the message of God through John to all of us.
God is not soft on sin. He is reminding us today through John’s letter. Let’s us life a life of love instead of living a life of habitual sinning which is lawlessness or wickedness. We are reminded to continue in this lifetime while we are waiting for Christ’s return to purify ourselves.
3. Sin distorts the image of God in man
God’s purpose is to make man in his image. A man a woman both in the image of God who also loves just as God is love. But sin distorted that image of God in man. Sin corrupted man’s thoughts towards evil. Sin corrupted our hearts and minds.
That is why we must continue to purify ourselves until the return of Christ because we are not totally rid yet of sin. We continue to commit sin by not loving our neighbors. But God knows our hearts, if we sin we have an Advocate who covers our sins. No worries. If our hearts are right, and if we stumble and fall along the way, that is okay just like a baby learning how to walk. God will understand. That is not a sin that leads to death as John says in the same letter. Just continue to purify ourselves by loving God and loving our neighbor as we ought to and are commanded to do so.
4. Sin Destroys Relationships
As I keep on saying, “it’s all about relationships.” How does God deal with us? Does he deal with us contractually or is God dealing with us relationally?
We will continue to have a problem understanding what obedience, commands, or rules are in the Bible if we look at it from a contractual point of view. But if we look at “rules, commands or obligations from the perspective of a loving family – thinking relationally in Godly love, then God’s commands will not become a harsh imposition on us but a loving reminder for us to do what is right because God is righteous.
We must begin to think always that God deals with us relationally and not contractually.
Sin is serious matter to God. He is not soft on sin. Christ died because of our sins. Let’s live a life of love instead of a lifestyle of habitual sinning.
Yes, we are children of God right now, but if we continue habitually to sin – living a lifestyle of sinning, then it is as if we are not children of God. Di ba?
C. Evangelism: How do we share the gospel?
In view of all these instructions, how are we to share the gospel to others? Here’s is my suggestion:
Tell people that they 1) belong. God loves them. Tell them to 2) believe the gospel. Tell them to 3) become who they are in Jesus Christ.
D. Reward for Being in Christ
Daniel 12:2-3 2 Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt. 3 Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever.
NIV Matthew 13:43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.
NIV 1 John 3:1 How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 3 Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.
Conclusion:
Brothers and sisters in Christ, through the apostle John, God has reminded us today to live a life of love. 1) Let us continue to love God with all our hearts, minds, soul, and with all our might and 2) let us also continue to love one another as brothers and sisters in Christ and 3) let this love overflow to others in the community.
As we have seen, God is not soft on sin so neither should we be soft on sin! When John wrote this, Jesus already died for our sins, rose from the dead and went back to heaven some 40 or 50 years later. Christ has finished the work and yet, John tells us to continue to purify ourselves and get rid of sin our lives! Yes, God has assured us of his love. He will never leave us nor forsake us. Let’s us therefore live a life of love and not a life of habitual sinning and breaking God’s heart and God’s image in us.
We have a glorious life now and we have a glorious future also! And because we have this hope of future glory in Christ, we cannot but purify ourselves until the day that Christ returns or until our dying day.
May this message today be a blessing to all of you today, in Jesus’ name, Amen!
Last June 17, I was invited to preach on Father’s Day at Grace Communion Crossway, a local congregation of Grace Communion International meeting at D’Cup Coffee Republic in Mandaluyong City, Metro Manila. Since it was Father’s Day, I decided to talk about appreciating and knowing our Father on that day. Aside from the video, here’s also my notes below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEdMJYp2p-s
Knowing Our Father
Happy Father’s Day! Thanks to Pastor Aron for inviting me to speak to you again.
Every day there are around 4,500 Filipinos who leave the country and work abroad. This is roughly 12.5 million Filipinos currently working or are residing abroad. This is about 10-11% of the total Philippine population. This is according to the data of POEA as of September 23, 2017 – last year.
It’s sad that in our Philippine society today, many fathers (including mothers) are far away from their families due to the need to earn money in a far country. It is a challenging and difficult situation.
Many children of OFWs are growing up without really knowing who their fathers are. For many of them, they long to be with their dad. They long to get to know their dad. It’s a sad situation for many – not all.
Let me focus our attention today on knowing our fathers. Let us get to know and appreciate our Father today.
Our relationship with our human fathers
More and more children worldwide are growing up without the blessing and presence of a loving father. Even here in the Philippines, we have a lot of children whose fathers (including mothers) are away from home working as OFWs. And that can be a challenging situation for some of us affected by this.
Make the Most and Appreciate our human fathers
But let’s make the most out of our present situation and celebrate, be thankful that many of us have experienced or are experiencing a father’s love. Many of us are enjoying the presence of and knowing our fathers.
We are all familiar with many sad stories of broken families due to this OFW phenomenon. A teenage son or daughter, without the guidance of parents may sometimes resort to drugs and end up in deep trouble. Without the guidance of loving parents, some resort to crime and wrong habits destroying their young lives. That’s the national situation now. But let’s talk closer to home.
Absentee father, overbearing father or ungodly father
Most fathers love their children. But in our fallen world, some fathers do not act like loving fathers as they ought to be. Some of you may have experienced or are experiencing a father that – a father who is cruel, unloving or worse, maybe a child molester. That can be very devastating for a young child. That’s a sad thing that could happen to a child. But that is the real world we live in – in this “present evil age” which Paul mentioned.
Reminder for fathers – do not exasperate
Here’s a good reminder for all of us who are fathers. This is how we ought to treat and deal with our children: NIV Ephesians 6:4 – Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.
ESV Ephesians 6:4 – Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
Paul repeats the same reminder in Colossians: ESV Colossians 3:21 Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.
Sometimes as fathers, we can be so overbearing, annoying, demanding, utos dito utos doon, becoming like a dictator forgetting that our children need our love and affection. If we are a hot-tempered dad, let’s cool down and not forget this reminder from Paul.
Father’s responsibility – training and instruction of the Lord
It is our responsibility as dads according to Paul bring up our children in the training, discipline and instruction of the Lord. Let’s not become so permissive such that the child becomes a rebel and a brat as he or she grows up. Have some time to study God’s Word together or pray together especially when they are young, so they will learn early on.
As fathers (and mothers too) let us not exasperate or provoke our children that leads him or her to eventually hate us – the parents. Let us not discourage our children but instead boost their morale, train them, discipline them and give them instructions about the Lord in a loving environment.
This is how we human fathers ought to be. A timely reminder for all of us parents from time to time I believe.
For children: Honoring our parents – despite their human faults and weaknesses
This is so important that it’s part of the commandments given to us. Honoring our parents, not disrespecting them, loving them despite or no matter how evil our parents might be, that is the right thing to do.
Children let us never disrespect our parents. We are told to obey our parents in the Lord.
NIV Ephesians 6:1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 “Honor your father and mother”– which is the first commandment with a promise– 3 “that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.” 4 Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.
Now we have been talking about our human fathers up to this time. We have been talking about how we, the children ought to obey, love and honor our fathers and mothers and in return we fathers are reminded not to exasperate, discourage and shatter the spirits of our children.
Now let’s talk about our relationship with our heavenly Father.
Our relationship with our heavenly father
Distorted View of the Father due to bad experience with human fathers
Some have distorted view of the Father because of their bad experience with their human fathers. In such cases, it can be challenging to relate to God the Father. It can be a hindrance to knowing our father. But Jesus shows us who the Father really is and hopefully we can learn to love the Father more and more as we get closer to him through prayer and study of his Word daily.
Just last night I read this from one of my Facebook friends: “My Papa is the most selfless person I know! Always there to help, share and serve. <3 Happy Father’s Day Papa! It wasn’t difficult for me to understand God’s love because of you. Thank you, Papa Dear!”
In this example of a loving human father, the child will not have a hard time understanding who our heavenly Father is. The child can easily connect that God the Father must be very loving too because of his or her wonderful experience with his human father. The child will have no difficulty in knowing the Father.
Distorted view of the Father due to bad theology.
We are all familiar with what Jesus said on the cross when he was about to die at about 3pm. He said, “My God, my God why have you forsaken me?” From this verse, many have assumed that God the Father has abandoned his Son for a moment because Jesus became sin for us. The Father is pictured as being a harsh God of the Old Testament while Jesus is pictured as the loving God of the New Testament. We had that view before. Sad to say, that is the view of many. Maybe that’s your view too.
But that is a misunderstanding of the passage. It is quoted from Psalm 22:1. According to Jewish tradition, it was the title of the song or psalm. Literary context is important in Bible interpretation. When the title is mentioned, everybody knows what the message of the song is trying to convey. In this particular case, if we will read the whole of Psalm 22, we will find out that God the Father has not actually forsaken and has not abandoned his Son not even for one second. The Father and the Son are one as Jesus said. The Father has not actually abandoned the Son.
Who is God the Father?
Let’s pick out a few passages to show to us who our heavenly Father is. Let’s being knowing our Father more and more.
Psalm 68:5 5 A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling.
If we no longer have a human father, we must remember that we always have a heavenly Father we can turn to all the time for all our cares and concerns.
Matthew 7:11 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!
We can ask God’s provision and intervention in our lives when we are in trouble anytime.
Ephesians 1:3-6 — 3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will– 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.
Romans 8:15 15 For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. {15 Or adoption} And by him we cry, “Abba, {15 Aramaic for Father} Father.”
We can call our heavenly Father as “Abba” or in our dialect, Tatay, Papa, Daddy – these are endearing words of a child who loves his dad. This is not blasphemy. We can call God the Father with an endearing word like the Aramaid word, Abba or in our dialect, Ama or Tatay!
Romans 8:38-39 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, {38 Or nor heavenly rulers} neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
It’s good to know that we have a loving and caring Father in heaven.
God is love. He is interested in a relationship with us – father and son.
Romans 8:35-39 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
NIV 1 John 3:1 How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 3 Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.
Conclusion
Our God is a God who is interested to have a relationship with us. From the foundation of the world he has already predestined us to be adopted as his children. And that is already our status now. Let us continue knowing our Father. He is already our loving Father – our Abba, our Papa or Daddy in heaven. Let us be thankful that he has given us our human fathers and let us be thankful that he has given himself as our loving, heavenly Father.
