|
Commentary on John 8 (2) - How to bear the cross
People who study death surveyed about 1,600 people who died and came back to life and found that their thoughts remained the same even after they died.
And even in death, there is some kind of conversation with people.
He was also able to see himself on the way to death.
There are things like this and so on.
So how can this person go to heaven if he still has thoughts of darkness?
It's hellish.
Since only those who have no thoughts of darkness go to heaven, if we want to go to heaven, we must first purify our thoughts and hearts in the light of Christ's life through the Word.
But people also say this; I have to die, I have to die.
There are many people who do not know the message of the cross and shout at us to take up the cross.
I must die, and dying is not the cross of Christ.
Even if I endure it and endure it, it is not the cross of Christ.
It's just self-discipline.
Physical training has some benefit, but the message of the cross cannot be passed beyond the cross if you decide to do so.
That is not the message of the cross that the bible speaks of.
Jesus died and rose again through the Spirit of God, who raises from the dead (Romans 8:11).
This means that even an almighty One like Jesus died on the cross and rose again through the Spirit of God, that is, through the power of the Holy Spirit.
That is why He tells us to put to death the deeds of the body through the Spirit. (Romans 8:13)
How can we who were born from the earth and have an earthly nature deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow the Lord?
It has already been designated by the word of God, so why are you trying to go on your own?
All we have to do is follow God's word by faith, to a designated place, and acknowledge and confess ourselves there.
Although we still have our old nature, as we repeatedly receive the Word, our old nature gradually disappears and we are created with the attributes of God.
The Holy Spirit puts to death the deeds of our body.
It is the message of the cross.
Forcing yourself to carry your cross is nothing but self-discipline.
There is only a small benefit from physical practice.
If you can do it yourself, it is no different from the training methods of other religions.
Many people are blackmailing(?) us to take up the cross.
They are lying.
It's purely self-discipline and self-practice.
Therefore, the results always bring glory to oneself.
So, what they always say is not that the Lord made me that way, but that I made it that way.
He says he did it himself.
They say that I endured it for my husband, and that I cried and mourned and endured it for the sake of the church.
The faith of such people will never bring glory to the Lord.
That is why the Bible does not say the cross, but “the message of the cross” (1 Corinthians 1:18).
It means the way of the cross and the method of the cross.
Then first take a look at ourselves.
If you believe in yourself in Jesus Christ, are you now before the death of the cross? are you now after his death on the cross and being raised?
Where are you?
Does our belonging lie before the cross or beyond it?
If I believe in the Lord in Jesus Christ, am baptized, and am confirmed by the Holy Spirit to be in Jesus Christ, am I in front of the cross? Am I already beyond the cross?
This is what Jesus meant when he said, “Follow me.”
The Lord said, “Follow me,” died and came back to life, went to the other side of the cross, ascended from there to heaven, sent the Holy Spirit, and became one in him.
We cannot go there on our own.
The death and being raised of Jesus did not mean that Jesus died and rose again alone, If we hear and realize through the word of the gospel that He died with me and rose again with me, and believe it, I become united with Jesus' death and being raised, believe and acknowledge that I am in Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit confirm and seal my faith.
However, the important thing is that although I am there, I brought with me the evil and evil habits that were in Adam.
The way to dispose with it is to deny yourself, and from then on, you must actively take up your cross and follow the Lord ceaselessly.
A person who passively died with the Lord and came back to life, he actively carries the cross.
As I meditate on the words of the Lord and His accomplishments, I give up and become complete by the Lord.
However, our belonging is already one with the Lord.
It has already been confirmed through our faith.
This means that there is no need to struggle or worry, ‘I would have to cross the cross, I would have to cross the cross.’
For example, let's say we are already in a church building.
But if I told you, ‘Everyone come into the church,’ everyone would think I was crazy.
Now, you are already inside the church and listening to the sermon. If I ask you to come back into the church, won't you look at me and say that I am a crazy person?
Likewise, we have already been baptized, believing in my death and resurrection according to the death and being raised of Jesus.
Baptism is like dying with the Lord.
We die in union with the Lord's death, and in union with the Lord's life, we become one with Him.
It means that it is the same fate as the Lord.
Then, of course, I am alive and with the Lord where he is.
This means that we can confirm that we are where the Lord is by following the movements of the Lord Jesus Christ with faith.
But although the Lord is glorious, we are there with our old nature.
So how can we dispose with this old self?
We who are already in a holy place are being made holy by the Word of God and the Holy Spirit.
If you continually approach the Lord while praying for it to come true, the glory of the Lord will automatically become your glory, the privileges of the Lord will be your privileges, and the assets of the Lord will become your assets.
That is the message of the cross.
You force yourself to endure, you endure, this is just self-discipline.
This is just fearing God in a way that people have taught us.
That's not how the Bible says it.
Accept Christ as Lord and learn how to actively bear the cross through the indwelling work of the Holy Spirit.
Written by Ptr. Yohan Kim.
Translated by Nancy Chung
COME AND SEE WORLD MISSION
To God be the glory.