You Have Died

Reminder: your Old Man is dead!

Dead Old Man (4)

You have died!

I am not kidding you.  If you have scarcely given it a thought it’s high time you do so; it will change your life for good. Not just a thought, let this fact sink in and grab hold of you, and be absolutely sure about this: your Old Man is dead. You can live by it.

There can hardly be better news than this. Imagine one day Mr. Sin wakes up and wishes to dispatch his slave to run some errand – inevitably something bad: to steal; to worry; to get sick; to condemn a cell group member because she failed to turn up in cell group (mind you, all these and more the Old Man used to faithfully comply) – but alas, the slave is no more. He is dead! Mr. Sin has just lost the instrument to propagate darkness in your life and in the world around you.

What Jesus has done on the cross is not only to put your sins on Himself so that He could pay the penalty on behalf of you. More than that, He put you – your Old Man the sinner, Mr. Sin’s slave – in Himself so that you were crucified together with Him.

Do the following scriptures mean anything to you? These should do in convincing you that you have been crucified with Christ and died with Him.

… our old man was crucified with him… (Rom 6:6, NKJV)

 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me… (Gal 2:20, NKJV)

For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. (Col 3:3, NKJV)

How God managed to do so I don’t know, but the result is far-reaching. Mr. Sin used to have a legal right over you – your Old Man. But because your Old Man died, even if you are alive now Mr. Sin has no right over you. His relationship was with your Old Man. He knows that your Old Man is dead.

The problem is that many believers don’t know. Perhaps I should put it this way: many believers are not sure what it means that their Old Man is dead and they act as if he is still alive. They do things only meant for the Old Man. They pull out God’s Law and try to become righteous by trying to fulfill the Law. They get miserable when they cannot. They try to become righteous when they are already righteous. They try to become wealthy when they are already rich. They try to become healthy when they are no more sick.

It’s vitally important that you realize your Old Man is dead. Don’t try to do anything to him. Don’t try to resurrect him! Be very glad that he is dead.

Photo Credit: renjith krishnan on FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Get the Old Man Killed

Dead Old Man (3)

How God solved the sinner problem?

The sinner was the old “you” – called the “Old Man” - before you became a born again believer. The Old Man was a slave to sin, to the extent one might say he could be expected to sin. Anyway, being a slave meant he’s bound to heed the bidding of his master, to do what his master wanted even if he didn’t like it.

When you read Romans you cannot fail to notice that most times “sin” takes on personality. That is to say it is quite alright to regard “sin” as a “he”. This “Mr. Sin” was the master of the Old Man. Mr. Sin is a tyrant. He loves to dominate and wants things his ways. If he is a good man than it’s still okay, but the fact is that he is evil personified. His very nature is evil and he is not capable of good. All that he could think of and all that he could do are opposite to what’s good.

Now, imagine what it’s like to be a slave under Mr. Sin. That was the lot for the Old Man. Sad, isn’t it? How could our Old Man be freed from this miserable state? How could we be separated from Mr. Sin?

In the first century slavery was commonplace. Paul expected everyone to understand what it meant to be a slave. Bonded to his master, a slave could only be free when either of two conditions was met. First, a ransom was paid. Second, the slave died.  According to Paul, God did work by way of the second. He said that we must know this:

that our old man was crucified with him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that  we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin. (Rom 6:6-7, NKJV)

So that’s how God solved the problem for us: get the Old Man killed!

Somehow, when Christ was crucified our Old Man was crucified with him and we died with him. It’s only logical that once the slave has died his master has no more claims over him. He is now free. In the same manner, we are now free from our old master Mr. Sin. He can no longer command us to do this or do that. Sure he would still want to boss us about but we have the liberty to say no to him and he can’t do a thing.

This is a most liberating truth: we don’t have to listen to Mr. Sin any more. He could yell or holler all he like, but the man who was bound to obey him is dead. The Old Man is no more.

Have you ever said no to Mr. Sin? Of course, if you didn’t know that the Old Man was dead and thought that you were him you would obey Mr. Sin. But now you know. If Mr. Sin comes around and ask you to do this or to do that, tell him off like this:

You got the wrong man, the Old Man is dead!

Paul Scholes, Football and Kingdom Living

Have a most blessed Lunar New Year! I want to wish all my Chinese readers a happy time at family reunions and may the Lord prosper you much more all the year round. I also pray that you have a good rest in the midst of all the festivity.

In the last few days I found some time to read. I managed to get hold of a copy of Paul Scholes’ autobiography at the Borders. Finally, on the fourth attempt! I have been on the look-out for it since its release late last year. It certainly does not disappoint me. It is truly enlightening - not only on his life, but life in general.

Probably you would not have heard of his name without you being an ardent football (soccer) fan. Paul Scholes is my all-time favorite player playing for my all-time favorite football team Manchester United.  A low-profile guy and a man of few words, you seldom hear any news about him although he has played for United for some twenty years. He retired from football at the end of last season but came out of retirement recently when his team needed him.  Click Here if you want to find out what world-famous footballers have to say about him.

But what Scholes has to say about himself and about his life?

The following words are as defining as any you can get from his book:

The God-given ability to make a football do more or less what I want it to – though not always, obviously! – has given me a standard of living that I could never have dreamed of had I left school to take up any other job accessible to me. What might that have been?  I haven’t got the faintest idea because it never entered my head that I would be anything else but a footballer. That said, I didn’t even dwell on a future in the game. The truth is that I didn’t agonise over anything as a kid; I just got on with life and, incredibly fortunately for me, it led me to Manchester United.

This is how a footballer assessed his own life after living it out to the full. Not just any footballer, but the distinguished Paul Scholes, for not every well-paid footballer lives like he does. There are some important truths our young people – no, actually everyone young or old – could learn from these words about life, and about Kingdom living: 

We don’t have to worry about life (Matthew 6:25), just as Scholes “didn’t agonise over anything as a kid” - he “just got on with life”. Needs could be legitimate, but to worry about them is not God’s way of getting them met.   We also don’t have to worry about tomorrow (Matthew 6:34), just as Scholes “didn’t even dwell on a future in the game”. Our business is to live today, and let God take care of tomorrow.

God has given each of us unique ability. He will lead us to the right place at the right time where and when our ability is needed. A rival manager, Jose Mourinho, said that Manchester United are lucky  to have Scholes; Scholes said that he was “incredibly fortunate” to be led to United. This is Grace - it’s all God’s doing.

Any time we look at our circumstances and try to make the best out of them ourselves, we unwittingly steered away from what God is doing for us. Give your entire attention to what God is doing and don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met (Matthew 6:33-34). Scholes said that “it never entered my head that I would be anything else but a footballer” and what he got as a result? “A standard of living that I could never have dreamed of had I left school to take up any other job accessible to me.”

You might think that it is too much to equate playing football with seeking God’s Kingdom. You might think that it’s because I idolize Scholes that I see the parallel in all these. No, certainly not. Mind you, this is Kingdom living at its best - whatever people would have you believe about Matt 6:33.

What Made You a Sinner?

Dead Old Man (2)

The fact that Jesus has wrought for us much more than the forgiveness of sins is clear from this verse: For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life (Rom 5:10, NKJV). Through His death we have forgiveness from our sins, so that we are reconciled to God – restored to fellowship. But the verse clearly states that that’s not all. After this His life also saves us. Saves us from what? It is like this:

His death saves us from our sins. His life saves us from ourselves – the sinner.

How one is constituted a sinner? Is it because of anything he does? Actually, we are not accorded the “honour” by the Bible.  The Bible says it’s because of Adam’s disobedience that we become sinners. So, we were made sinners quite apart from anything we did: For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners… (Rom 5:19, NKJV). Contrary to popular opinion, we don’t become sinners because we sin, not according to the definition in the New Testament. “It’s not my fault!” - Probably there’s more truth in this statement than we realise.

So, what about the condition we inherited from Adam our forefather? What have we become as a result? What kind of nature did we inherit from him?

The sinner is one prone to sins. He cannot help it. To sin is his nature. Before one comes to Christ, he carries this nature. There is one verse that never fails to amaze me, it is astounding:

For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. (Rom 6:20, NKJV)

Let me give you some orientation. Paul was speaking in term of conversion. He calls those who have not come to Christ “slaves of sin”. We were all once slaves of sin because of Adam’s disobedience. Because of Jesus’ work we are no more. But we really need to take in the full impact of the above verse to begin to understand the condition we were in.

According to Paul, we were “free in regard to righteousness”. I don’t know about you, I find his language rather peculiar. Normally we use the word “free” to denote exemption from bad things. Free from debt, free from sickness etc. But “free in regard to righteousness”? Paul really wanted our attention! He was essentially saying that we were excluded from the state or position of righteousness and thereby exempted from the acts of righteousness. In a sense, we were imprisoned in sin. When we were in such a state, we were not expected to be good or to do good. In fact, we were expected to sin! Slaves of sin can only sin! The following verse (Rom 6:21) states that only bad fruit can come forth from such a state: a sinner can only sin.

There you have it: the problem of the sinner. Now you know what made you a sinner, and a sinner cannot help but sin, do you know how God solve the sinner problem for you?

Stay tuned …


Scripture Link: BibleGateway.com

Sins and the Sinner

Dead Old Man (1)

Overheard somebody evangelizing his friend:

“You will agree with me that everyone has sinned,” said the evangelist.

“No. I don’t steal or kill; I don’t drink or womanize. I have done nothing that will put me in jail. I am a good man, not a sinner,” replied the non-believer.

“But you do lose your temper on your wife; and you couldn’t quit smoking though you wanted too,” the evangelist pressed.

“Well… I admit to that, but who could be perfect?”

“Jesus said you must be perfect like God. His standard is very high. Elsewhere – in Rom 3:23 – the Bible says all have sinned and fall short of God’s standard. That’s why you need Jesus; He can wash away all your sins."

…                             …                             …                             …                             …                         ...

Can you see through the simple technique? Most people like to think of themselves as being good, no matter if they believe in God or not.  You agree with them that they are no big sinner but press them to admit to their “little” sins. Play with their conscience, it is always more than happy to back you up. When they say no one can be perfect, you go along with them but stress that God has a different standard that He requires of us. There you have them cold. If they are still with you, bring out Rom 3:23 – memorize it if you need to. What about Matthew 5 where Jesus claimed that so much as you gaze at a sexy girl you committed adultery? Nudge them in that direction and before long you’ll have them confessing.    Since the non-believer admitted he has sinned, and that makes him a sinner, it follows that he needs a savior - here comes Jesus. Job done; give yourself a pat at the back.

Before, I would be elated if I manage to pull this off. I reckoned even Jesus would have been proud of me. I don’t mind telling you I’ve tried this many times over. But now I know better.

The problem with the above presentation is that it speaks only half the truth. And if we are not careful, we could find ourselves propagating a lie. What is true is this: Jesus could wash away all your sins – all the wrongs you’ve committed. What is not true is this: because you sin – commit wrongs - that constitutes you as a sinner. The truth is that because you are a sinner you sin; it’s not because you sin that you become a sinner.

Hold your fire if you feel like shooting me, I can prove to you what I say rather easily. But just think for a moment the implication of my proposition. If it’s true that because one is a sinner thereby he sins, then it’s not enough that Jesus only takes away his sins. The sinner will still sin. There are essentially two problems: the problem of sins (related to our actions and behavior) and the problem of the sinner (related to our nature and identity).

The question to ask is this: Does Jesus’ finished work provides for the forgiveness of sins only, or does it also deal with the problem of the sinner?

Make no mistake about it; I think the forgiveness of sins is most important. If we only have this it is still fantastic. It is still very good news. But if Jesus has also dealt with the problem of the sinner, then many have only heard half the truth. There is much more.

Photo Credit: chanpipat at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Favor Comes, Suddenly

Mei Wan's Christmas deco 2011

Christmas is upon us, suddenly.

Many of us are like that, so busy living life that we wouldn’t notice if Life has crept up on us. Whatever keeps us busy has a way of sucking us into its system, enticing us to look at things only from its perspective. This is especially so when we try to eke out a living. Our work becomes our life, and we have a great excuse to be complacent keep on going on. Even when good things are happening around us and for us, we are oblivious of them. We actually run the risk of losing our life trying to find it.

Perhaps this was the case also with the shepherds out in the field the night Jesus was born. They were minding their own business, unaware of the greatest blessing that has come upon them. That is, until the angels turned up. (Read the shepherd's story here)

And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them…(Luke 2:9, NKJV)

The night the shepherds found themselves in speak of the night in their hearts and in their lives; maybe yours and mine too. With our meagre effort, we could never hope to escape this darkness however hard we try. In fact our eyes would soon get used to the darkness.

But the good news is this: God is very eager to let His light shine on us and all around us. No matter what we are going through in life it’s never God’s will for us to get used to the darkness. He will do something. He will bring a bright and glorious morn.

This is what God’s messengers essentially said to the shepherds, “Do not be afraid, God has sent you His son Jesus to bring you peace and favour. His light has come.” (Luke 2:10-14) Today He says the same to us.

The shepherds put down their work and ran to find Jesus. They celebrated the first Christmas. Perhaps we should also lay down what we are doing to go into His presence. We will see what He is doing and receive from what He is doing. Then we’ll find:

His favor has come upon us, suddenly.

Merry Christmas!

Photo Credit: Mei Wan
Scripture Link: BibleGateway.com 

God’s Joy and God’s Providence

Charissa and her piggy-bank

In August, I left the job where I had been working for six and a half years. Leaving the company was easy; I had asked the Lord for the permission to move on since 2007 and the very moment I had a confirmation from Him I didn’t look back. It was a step of faith though, as I didn’t have any offer at the time I resigned.

I handed in my resignation on the last day of June and worked till end of July. Initially I didn’t actively look for a job, but explored the possibility of some business ventures with a few friends. Nothing concrete came of them. I had plenty of free time, so I took the opportunity to start my three-year-old daughter in a kindergarten, driving her to and fro and spending much time with her. I really enjoyed the time I could spend with her.

However, as the days wore on, I became more and more anxious. My reserve was dwindling, and it seemed that none of the business ventures was working out.

All I could take heart of was the fact that I could spend more time with my little girl. In the course of time we have formed a habit – everyday I would give her a fifty-cent coin for her piggy-bank. Every time she received it from my hand she would beam a hearty smile and said, “Thank you, daddy.” It was lovely. I truly enjoyed seeing her so happy.

One day, as I was about to hand Charissa her fifty-cent coin, a thought came to me that I should keep it instead. But then I thought how could this small amount make any difference to my financial condition? There and then I resolved not to allow any change into this gesture of love between father and daughter. Indeed I want to be able to provide for my family all that they need and desire. As I handed her the fifty-cent coin, I uttered a simple prayer in my heart to my Father God that He would see to it that my desire be fulfilled. Charissa smiled and said thank you as usual, but this time with her smile I heard God’s voice speaking in my heart:

Son, as much as you take pleasure in the smile of your daughter, so do I take pleasure in your smile. If you know how to give good gifts to your child, how much more do I know how to give good gifts to you?  I will provide.

That was some time in August. In mid September, I went for my first formal job interview since 2007. Before the interview was over, I was offered a job, with a substantially better pay than my last one.

As my Father in heaven says, I will provide.