Column-Let Us Fear the Lord Immanuel(1)

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Column - Let Us Fear the Lord Immanuel (1)

“She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins. All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel" which means "God is with us." (Matthew 1:21-23)

1. The name Jesus is the name revealed to Joseph by an angel through a dream. Jesus is the one who will save his people from their sin.

Recently, many have emerged rebuking Christianity, which is currently advocating only for atoning salvation, calling it spiritual fraud.

There is no such thing as the “Gospel of the Cross.”

One who died due to sin in Adam must believe in and accept Christ, who is the resurrection, to have new life, and then become righteous.

This is Paul’s Gospel (Romans 1:4).

I say this emphatically: speaking of salvation without going through the Book of Romans is truly the result of ignorance.

One must receive salvation according to the Book of Romans to have righteousness and attain glory (Rom 8:30).

It would be easier for an old man in the countryside to study AI on a smartphone than for someone who knows only Jesus to understand God’s foreknowledge and predestination.

Once you are found in Christ, you will automatically know why you were predestined to be chosen.

2. Jesus testified to the Gospel of the kingdom of heaven, not the forgiveness of sins (Matthew 4:23).

He commands us to repent in a way that turns toward the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 4:17).

The ones who need to repent are those who sit in darkness, sitting in the land of death and shadow (Matthew 4:16). It is to return to Christ, who is the light.

The first person to hear Jesus' words and follow him was Simon Peter.

He left behind the nets to catch fish for profit and followed the Lord who said, "Follow me" (Matthew 4:18-20).

Next, He called James and John, who were mending nets for their income, and they too left their father and nets behind to follow Jesus (Matthew 4:22). This was the first repentance for the kingdom of heaven.

Since only the repentance for the forgiveness of sins is emphasized, people do not realize that this act is repentance.

However, it is clearly repentance.

Later, Peter accurately describes the formula of repentance—the path he took to return to the Lord, which involves repentance, baptism, the forgiveness of sins, and the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38). 

It is a textbook on repentance.

3. Jesus taught, preached the gospel of the kingdom, and healed every disease and weakness among the people. As the news spread, those suffering from various illnesses, those possessed by demons, and the paralytic were brought to him, and he healed them.

Because of this, a large crowd followed him (Matthew 4:25).

However, they did not follow Jesus up the mountain.

Only the disciples came up the mountain to him(Matthew 5:1).

Therefore, the Sermon on the Mount was given only to the disciples.

Yet, no one grasped the meaning of these words; astonished by the Lord's teaching, they merely remarked that it was a great message distinct from the scribes (Matthew 7:28-29).

Because the Spirit of truth had not yet come, no one could become a true disciple.

When pastoring a church, there are unbelievers who desire signs and wonders, and those who boast that their pastor's sermons are good.

As a pastor, dealing with both sides is a headache.

If people who do not know me spread the word that my sermon is good, I might be grateful, but these people are merely tourists hoping for heaven; they are not disciples.

It is not that their righteousness is superior to that of the scribes and Pharisees, making him capable of entering the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:20).

One falls for Christian charlatans who claim that to enter Heaven, one must faithfully pay off remaining installments and save up good deeds.

This is the reason why Christianity is in such disarray.

4. How much time will it truly take to reach the faith of Immanuel, which is found in Christ through Jesus’ atonement?

It must feel very uncomfortable to equivocate that Jesus is Immanuel and Immanuel is Jesus.

Salvation from sin is salvation from sin, but Immanuel is the salvation where humans, having lost God, receive God and dwell within him.

Just as one cannot diately receive Jesus, saying that Jesus is Immanuel is merely repeating the ministry of Jesus found in a black-and-white photo album of memories.

The name Immanuel may be correct, but He is not the One who is Immanuel within them.

After Jesus came, died on the cross, and rose again to transfer us from sin and death into the kingdom of righteousness and life that is in Him, the Holy Spirit makes this known.

The Spirit of truth comes in us and makes known that we are in Christ and Christ is in us.

Furthermore, by approaching God the Father in Christ, who is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6), we are finally acknowledged for his love and become God's dwelling place.

Finally, the Lord Immanuel stirs within us.

From that moment on, we leave behind the place of judging the preacher's word and the faith of signs that bear weakness and disease from the outside, and come to revere the Lord Immanuel.

The Bible speaks to me, and the Bible guarantees me.

Christ becomes the life, bearing my weakness and carrying my disease (Matthew 8:17).

Through this, I greatly realize why the prophet Isaiah prophesied Immanuel 700 years before the Lord (Isaiah 7:14).

Since Mary conceived God, she must be the first model of Immanuel.

It is only by receiving Christ, who is God, that Immanuel is realized.

Christ says to the spirits of some, “Here I am, here I am,” and to others, He knocks at the door (Rev. 3:20). 

Written by Pastor. Yohan Kim 

Translated by Missionary Sookyung Chung 

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