Like a chestnut tree

  • John 17 (3) God’s righteousness in His mercy

    But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, but it is the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus, whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in God’s merciful restraint He let the sins previously committed go unpunished; for the demonstration, that is, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. (Romans 3:21-26)

    Paul emphasized the cross of Christ all his life as we clearly see in his letters. It is easy to think that faith is a condition to gain righteousness. Many Christians claim that they have faith but do not have the knowledge of God. God does not accept a person who merely says, “I believe”, without knowing Him. Jesus Christ taught His people who God is with the authority given by the Father. And it is the Holy Spirit who gives the understanding of the words of God. Therefore, true faith and true knowledge of God are inseparable.

    Many Christians think that righteousness has to do with the law. The NT says that we are freed from righteousness from the law. The law was given for people to seek Jesus Christ. Because the righteousness of God is revealed in the cross of Christ, anyone who does not believe in Him is unrighteous.

    And in that day it will be said, “Surely this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He has saved us. This is the LORD for whom we have waited. Let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation.” (Isaiah 25:9)

    The devil is constantly trying to enslave us again just as the Egyptians went after the Israelites in the OT. He and his followers use two ways to achieve their goal. Firstly they encourage people to sin. They use ‘freedom’ to lure people. Secondly, they use the law to enslave people. The law is good but it was not given for us to gain righteousness through it.

    God’s glory is closely related to His kingdom. And chapter 17 tells us how God is glorified. The kingdom of priests requires each member to be born again from above. This rebirth is connected to adoption as children of God. It is also related to eternal life and righteousness.

    Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. (John 3:5)

    Christ is represented as water and blood. He is water turned into blood as we read John 4. Water is the Word and Truth. He revealed the Father to us. His knowledge of God became ours because He made us born from above. He made us one with God. This He achieved on the cross. He obeyed the Father fully because He knew His will.

    The foundation of the kingdom is self-sacrificing love. It is the love that a father has for his son. Love is the fulfillment of the law. Christ fulfilled the law and prophecies. He died on the cross and was resurrected to life so that we would become God’s children.

    The glory which You have given Me I also have given to them, so that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and You loved them, just as You loved Me. Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. (John 17:22-24)

    We reject the Covenant Theology and the Active Obedience of Christ because they give the wrong understanding of the law and obedience to people. They shift our attention from the cross of Christ to the law. Their interpretation of the law is the Mosaic law, not self-sacrificing love. Those people who support these theories typically show little respect for the law as I witnessed in the Reformed church. They look pious outside but they serve themselves, not God. The devil and his followers use the law to enslave others and yet despise the law. They promote sinning.

    “My covenant with him was one of life and peace, and I gave them to him as an object of reverence; so he revered Me and was in awe of My name. True instruction was in his mouth and injustice was not found on his lips; he walked with Me in peace and justice, and he turned many back from wrongdoing. For the lips of a priest should maintain knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth; for he is the messenger of the LORD of armies. But as for you, you have turned aside from the way; you have caused many to stumble by the instruction; you have ruined the covenant of Levi,” says the LORD of armies. “So I also have made you despised and of low reputation in the view of all the people, since you are not keeping My ways but are showing partiality in the instruction.” (Malachi 2:5-9)

  • John 17 (2) Sanctification within

    Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. Just as You sent Me into the world, I also sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, so that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth. (vv. 17-19)

    Justification and sanctification can be distinguished but cannot be separated. For the elect, they are not difficult to understand. However, the description of justification and sanctification is too wordy and philosophical because theologians have been trying to convince the unbelievers with their words. The mystery of God is hidden until God opens the eyes of His elect children. This is not revealed to the reprobate no matter how much they try to understand.

    Turning to the disciples, He said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see the things you see; for I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see the things that you see, and did not see them, and to hear the things that you hear, and did not hear them. (Luke 10:23-24)

    Many theologians and ministers have been using the words of philosophers to know and explain God and His will. But their efforts are useless because their heart is not in God but in people. This error of using the words of unbelieving philosophers is quite common. I think that Augustine, Luther, and even Calvin were not free from this error.

    Justification and sanctification are closely related to righteousness. In earlier posts, I mentioned that only God is righteous. And those who are united with God through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit are righteous. The narrow meaning of righteousness is being morally good. But it is more like uprightness which Job had (Job 1:1). The righteousness that is imputed to the saints is bigger than that. And it has to be bigger than that.

    Our Lord, Jesus Christ, was accused of breaking the law and morally wrong by the scribes and the Pharisees while He was on the earth.

    The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and a heavy drinker, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ And yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds. (Matthew 11:19)

    For this reason therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God. (John 5:18)

    In many ways, the Pharisees were more righteous than any other Jews. However, our righteousness must exceed their righteousness. This righteousness is not from works but from being one with God. It is not from works of the law or obedience. It is directly from God. We receive it by becoming His children. This righteousness comes through faith in God.

    For I say to you that unless your righteousness far surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:20)

    It appears that the Jews at the time of Jesus believed that the rich were more likely to enter the kingdom of God because they could do good works using their money such as helping the poor. It could be that richness was interpreted as a blessing or reward from God. The Pharisees loved money and had money. Churches around the world also love money. But Jesus spoke what was contrary to their belief.

    And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God. (Matthew 19:24)

    When explaining justification and sanctification, theologians use words like imputation, infusion, extra nos, intra nos, etc. John 17 explains them more simply and more accurately. Jesus Christ justified and sanctified His people by being salt and light inside the leavened dough. I mentioned that salt and light kill bacteria (leaven). In the same way, Jesus Christ has sanctified His church by becoming a human just like her. And the church stays sanctified because Christ is one with her. God is always with us (Immanuel). Christ entered the corrupt world as salt and light to remove leaven. Anyone who is outside this (sanctified) dough does not belong to Him. Again, the mystery lies in the person of Jesus Christ. Although His works represent Who He is, the mystery is found in the person of Christ with two inseparable natures.

    … but if I do them, even though you do not believe Me, believe the works, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in Me, and I in the Father. (John 10:38)

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  • John 17 (1) The whole Bible is summed up in this chapter

    I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and You loved them, just as You loved Me. (v.23)

    The Gospel of John has been loved by many Christians. But not many know that this book explains all the core Christian doctrines. In this book, the doctrine of the Trinity, TULIP, Christ’s two inseparable natures, God’s absolute grace, the meaning of the law, the covenants, the last judgement, etc. Without this book, Christians may struggle to fight against God’s enemies. By describing what Christ did and said, this book defines what Christianity is about.

    The Gospel of John was my grandmother’s favorite. And it is also my mother’s. I tried to understand this Book for a long time. But only in 2017, I started to understand it. There are many Christian books to aid people’s understanding of the Bible. For example, the Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan and the Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis are loved by many Christians. But I do not praise them. In fact, those books have great potential to misguide people. You cannot understand Christ by reading Christian books. You cannot make someone a Christian by telling them a man-made fable. Similarly, you cannot understand Christ by studying the words of Plato or Aristotle. Therefore, it is abominable to mention their names when we talk about God. We must not become a disciple or follower of a person.

    When the NT was written, I believe the Books were translated into Greek, which was a common language in the Eastern Mediterranean then. Jesus and His disciples spoke in Aramaic. Similarly, my first language is not English and yet, I write in English. Some people may say something very different from what I intended from what I wrote. We must remember that the one who interprets the texts determines the readers’ understanding. The only legitimate interpreter is the Holy Spirit, God Himself. The Bible texts did not remain unscathed. The Bible scholars studied different sources of the texts for us to have the Bible. That does not mean that the Bible is unreliable. Even if some evil people deliberately change a text or two, the truth is found in the Bible. It is God who interprets the Bible. The reason why I am saying this is that we do not use human philosophy or logic to interpret the Bible. We do not interpret each text literally. Our interpretation starts from the knowledge of God, which is given to each elect through the Holy Spirit. I do not doubt that evil people will misuse what I write and say that I support people to interpret the Bible as they like. I do not support people to make their own interpretations.

    But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture becomes a matter of someone’s own interpretation (2 Peter 1:20)

    I wrote a few times that the Trinity doctrine is the foundation of Christianity. The Three Ecumenical Creeds help us to understand the doctrine. So do the Three Forms in Unity. Upon this core doctrine, we understand why God has made the world and will destroy it in the end. We must understand the differences between Adam and Christ and between Adam and the saints. This is where the reformers in the 16th and 17th century have failed. And it was God’s will because the knowledge of God and His will was gradually revealed over a long time. Therefore, I do not doubt that the last generation will have the most knowledge of God.

    One of the errors of the reformers lies in their understanding of obedience. God could have forgiven Adam in the Garden of Eden. But He did not. The reason was not because justice and righteousness were His unchangeable attributes. Adam’s fall was necessary in God’s plan. The first human was a mere servant who could not share the inheritance with the only begotten Son of God. Adam and Eve rebelled because they wanted to become like God by their own will and effort. Their action was rebellion. They did not know God.

    No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, because all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you. (John 15:15)

    Our first humans were not great as many theologians and ministers want to believe. They did not have the freedom that we have in Christ because they simply could not understand God as we do now in the Holy Spirit. Theologians and ministers insist that Adam and Eve were holy and righteous and had the Holy Spirit. But even children know that they speak lies. How can one without sin and with the Holy Spirit rebel against God? Does God oppose Himself? One must interpret Romans 5 with this in mind. Mere external obedience to God’s commands can never satisfy Him but only the begotten Son of God who is one with the Father. Adam and Christ were not given the same condition to fulfill as theologians and ministers insist. Adam’s fall was for us to know ourselves. For the same reason, the law was given to the Israelites.

    However, the reformers chose external obedience over the truth. Churches are full of hypocrites who praise Adam (people) just as the Greek philosophers. Democracy works only in this world. God’s kingdom is a monarchy. Churches praise people who are loved by the world and earn much money. Theologians and ministers love Aquinas and Anselm who loved human philosophies and denied absolute grace. I once warned the minister of the reformed church I went. He said that I would find that what Aquinas had written was mostly true. I saw in my dream that this minister did not have legs and was on a wheelchair. He could move only when the elders wheeled him. I saw this even before I met any of them. I do hope that he receives legs from God.

    Evil theologians are the most cunning. False theologians mix 90% of truth with 10% of lies. They all get a warning from God in their lifetime as we find in the Bible. But they do not repent. They will not have any excuse at the end. No one can escape God’s judgement. We also sometimes speak what we do not know. And all of the elect can be judged by what we said and wrote. But we believe in the mercy of God. By that faith, we are saved because we completely rely on God’s absolute grace. Salvation requires our adoption as the children of God through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. Our adoption is not from our works. If so, no one can be saved. Adam and Eve could not earn adoption by their works because God had planned to give the church to His Son as His bride before the foundation of the world. Obedience does not change our status. Only through the Son, we are made the children of God.

    How blessed is he whose wrongdoing is forgiven, whose sin is covered! How blessed is a person whose guilt the LORD does not take into account, And in whose spirit there is no deceit! (Psalm 32:1-2)

    Jesus’ high priestly prayer shows us that His death led to our salvation/adoption and eternal life. No where in this prayer we find that Jesus kept the law perfectly to earn our eternal life. Being one with the Son and having the knowledge of God is our eternal life. Only through the Son’s death and resurrection, we stand before God. And we will see Him face to face.

    … they will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads. (Revelation 22:4)

    And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. (John 17:3)

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  • John 16:23-33 When we pray

    “These things I have spoken to you in figures of speech; an hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech, but will tell you plainly about the Father. On that day you will ask in My name, and I am not saying to you that I will request of the Father on your behalf; for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me and have believed that I came forth from the Father. I came forth from the Father and have come into the world; again, I am leaving the world and going to the Father.” (vv. 25-28)

    I received the baptism in the Roman Catholic church as an infant and went to many different churches. I grew up thinking that I know God. But I realized seven years ago that I had wrong ideas about God. I was taught in my youth that I must pray at meal times, at bedtime, and whenever I needed help. I did not even know who to call among the three persons of Godhead when praying. The answer was in Matthew 6:9:

    Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father, who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. (Matthew 6:9)

    Christians and unbelievers around the world pray without knowing who they pray to. They just utter things that they wish to happen or gain. Things they utter may come true. But they think that they are just lucky. They pray just for their peace of mind. Even people who call themselves Christians use the word, ‘luck’. Luck is men-made. It is not real. The frequent use of this word proves that only few people acknowledge the existence of God of the Bible. Only few know God.

    For many are called, but few are chosen. (Matthew 22:14)

    Praying is not something difficult to do. But it is accepted by God only when the elect pray in the Holy Spirit. Pray requires us to be the adopted children of God through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. Basically it requires us to be one with God.

    Ministers and theologians write about how to pray or how to make your prayer be heard by God. I hope they just shut up and stop writing. They often treat God as a pagan god. Christians around the world go to certain places to pray as if God would hear them better there. The Bible rebukes them because that was what the adulterous people did in the OT. God showed us repeatedly throughout the history that He does not dwell in a certain place. Jerusalem in the OT is only a symbol of the real Jerusalem, the invisible church. God left Jerusalem as written in Ezekiel 10 and 11.

    I was planning to travel to Jerusalem in 2020. The pandemic came and I could not go. God did not want me to waste time and money because He is not there. That place is full of false Christians who think God loves the land and the Israel nation and can hear their prayer better there.

    Without knowing God and His will, our prayer is just meaningless words. God does not hear better when a person prays for a long time or repeatedly.

    Do not be quick with your mouth or impulsive in thought to bring up a matter in the presence of God. For God is in heaven and you are on the earth; therefore let your words be few. (Ecclesiastes 5:2)

    But I tell you that for every careless word that people speak, they will give an account of it on the day of judgment. (Matthew 12:36)

    I do not think I pray better than others. But God answers my prayer at an appropriate time and reveals His will. God does not put an unnecessary burden on me by giving me excessive wisdom or tasks that I cannot handle.

    What each church needs to teach is the meaning of the Lord’s prayer. I think the Lord’s prayer is despised even in the Reformed denominations because they focus on worshiping people. Believing God is not from men’s will or effort. You cannot become a child of God by following the Apostles or the reformers or Adam. Becoming a child of God is God’s free gift.

    What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one. (1 Corinthians 3:5)

    Our Lord has already taught us what prayer God is pleased with. Pagans pray to their gods for their health and wealth. We must not pray to God as pagans do.

    Pray, then, in this way:

    ‘Our Father, who is in heaven,
    Hallowed be Your name.
    Your kingdom come.
    Your will be done,
    On earth as it is in heaven.
    Give us this day our daily bread.
    And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
    And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.’     (Matthew 6:9-13)

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  • John 16:16-22 Our joy in the cross of Christ

    Therefore you too have grief now; but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one is going to take your joy away from you. (v. 22)

    Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain, your faith also is in vain. Moreover, we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified against God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then not even Christ has been raised; and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If we have hoped in Christ only in this life, we are of all people most to be pitied. (1 Corinthians 15:12-19)

    Jesus Christ saved us from the eternal wrath of God that will be poured onto those who hate Him on the last day. All humans are born dead and are destined to perish. By believing in Christ, we are reborn as children of God. No one can choose to believe in God because everyone is born dead. Therefore, faith is the gift of God.

    We live forever as Christ lives forever. John the Apostle tells us that there are two things Christ did. Christ is represented as water and blood. But these are not separate. They are united in Christ. Water symbolizes the knowledge of God. Blood symbolizes the death of Christ for the salvation of His people.

    As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; By His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, For He will bear their wrongdoings. (Isaiah 53:11)

    God is not pleased with any human, even Adam. God’s plan has always been in the kingdom of heaven. Through the Son, the Creator and the creation become united in love. In this union, the Holy Spirit plays a vital role. Therefore, speaking against the Spirit is unforgivable.

    And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come. (Matthew 12:32)

    Our adoption required the Son of God to become the Son of Man. Adam could not make us children of God because he was a slave. Therefore, it is wrong to say that obedience gives us eternal life. Only those united completely with God can live with Him. Starting from Adam’s fall, we learn that God’s plan of creation has always been in the kingdom. When Paul mentioned obedience in Romans 5, he did not mean that obedience to the law saved us. He emphasized the death and resurrection of Christ as our salvation. Anyone who is not a child of God will perish.

    Theologians and ministers say that people need to be obedient to their church authorities because Christ gave them eternal life by keeping the law perfectly. They say that they can now keep the law because of the Holy Spirit. Many people are persuaded to believe that they have the Holy Spirit and are chosen. These people think that they can make their country a Christian nation and participate in political activities. They think they are better than others. I tell you again that the kingdom of God is not visible in this world. Our morally good life is nothing but rubbish to God. We are not different from unbelievers. However, we try to uphold the law because God is not pleased with immoralities. We have nothing to boast about but the cross of Christ because our life depends on it. No one is righteous by relying on the law.

    But far be it from me to boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. (Galatians 6:14)

    In the last post, I mentioned that the Reformed and the Presbyterian churches are the most treacherous. I want to add that the Baptist churches are worse than them because they pretend to be orthodox and yet preach false doctrines. Their wrong understanding of the covenants is evident in their understanding of baptism. In their Confession, both the Covenant of Works and the Active Obedience of Christ appear. No wonder the Baptists are involved heavily in politics because they want to make their kingdom.

    We need to remember that God revealed His plan of the kingdom gradually and yet the plan was set before creation. We must understand that God is the builder who designed and planned the kingdom before He started creation in Genesis 1. Everything was carefully planned and is being fulfilled according to the plan. Hence, the temple has the exact measurements.

    Then there was given to me a measuring rod like a staff; and someone said, “Get up and measure the temple of God and the altar, and those who worship in it. Leave out the courtyard which is outside the temple and do not measure it, because it has been given to the nations; and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months. And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.” (Revelation 11:1-3)

  • John 16:5-15 The Holy Spirit convicts the churches around the world

    But I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I am leaving; for if I do not leave, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. And He, when He comes, will convict the world regarding sin, and righteousness, and judgment: regarding sin, because they do not believe in Me; and regarding righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you no longer are going to see Me; and regarding judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged. (vv. 7-11)

    Federalism was born when theologians and ministers tried to convince everyone that they were the elect. They wanted to make their country a Protestant Christian nation. We can see this clearly by reading about the history of England. And the Protestant church became just like the Roman Catholic church. There have been many Protestant ministers who actively participated in political activities. Abraham Kuyper, who was a great admirer of John Owen, could become the prime minister of the Netherlands because of wrong doctrines preached within Protestant churches. People interpret the Bible as they like. No Christian with a right mind would try to become a politician. The elect are always a minor group and suffer greatly in this world. If any church or denomination becomes a politically powerful group, we know that it is a false church. The orthodox doctrines of Christianity prevent us from becoming powerful in this world because they are rejected by the majority. The Covenant Theology and the Active Obedience of Christ are popular theories because they deny Sola Gratia. They focus on free will and obedience to church authorities. We believe that they lead people back to slavery. Theologians and ministers who support these theories typically have a wrong understanding of the Holy Spirit and free will. They tell others that they can now please God with their free will because of the Holy Spirit. They invent new ways of worshiping God and praise men-made worship songs. They tell people to prove that they have the Holy Spirit by doing certain things. Therefore, they make others slaves to churches. This has been prophesied a long time ago by the prophets in the OT.

    And the LORD said to me, “Faithless Israel has proved herself to be more righteous than treacherous Judah. (Jeremiah 3:11)

    Also, bear your disgrace in that you have made judgment favorable for your sisters. Because of your sins in which you acted more abominably than they, they are more in the right than you. Yes, be also ashamed and bear your disgrace, in that you made your sisters appear innocent. (Ezekiel 16:52)

    For this is what the LORD says: ‘Your broken limb is irreparable, And your wound is incurable. (Jeremiah 30:12)

    I wish I could speak and write in better English. English is not my first language. But there must be a reason that God chose me to write all these. I am not writing to convince people with elaborate and fluent English. I am not writing to persuade people by human logic and philosophy. Every Christian with the right mind knows that Christ did not give us righteousness by perfect keeping of the law. Christ is the law because only He truly understands and does God’s will.

    Christians are taught that righteousness comes from obedience to the law. Christ has been the one with the Father from the beginning and did not need to gain righteousness by obeying the law either for Himself or the church. I do not think that Romans 5 supports Federalism. Many believe that the Book of James supports work before faith. When I read the Book, I understood why James wrote it that way. We must understand the Bible as a whole.

    In this passage (John 16:5-15), we understand how the Holy Spirit convicts false churches in the world.

    regarding sin, because they do not believe in Me (v.9). Christians often think that the Mosaic law in the OT is God’s will. But it is not always the case. Christ was accused of breaking the Sabbath law but He was innocent because He did exactly what the Father wanted. Sin is about not knowing God or His will. Believing in Jesus Christ is God’s will. But Christians think that they became righteous because of the perfect keeping of the law. They say that Christ did it for them. But they believe that the root of righteousness is the law.

    and regarding righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you no longer are going to see Me (v.10) Federalism teaches people that the cross of Christ is not enough for us to gain eternal life. However, verse 10 clearly tells us that our righteousness is from the death and resurrection of Christ.

    and regarding judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged. (v.11) Federalism was used by people in authority to make others obedient to their authority. Most of the people in authority did not have the desire to look after the poor. England, America, and other Christian nations have many people who do not have food or a place to live. Churches are interested only in activities that look good to the world. They gather money to build a beautiful church building or a university/seminary. But poor people can’t enter their churches because they do not have money to contribute.

    Two thousand years ago, our Lord convicted the world. And the Holy Spirit continues to convict. The elect witnesses all the wrongdoings done by the churches around the world. Churches are one with the world. Among all the Protestant churches, the Reformed and Presbyterian denominations are the most treacherous. They think they keep the law better than others. But, they openly preach Federalism which takes people back to slavery. There is no grace in the house of grace. If anyone speaks against what the Holy Spirit says through the Bible, he/she is a lawbreaker.

    Then Paul said to him, “God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! Do you sit to try me according to the Law, and in violation of the Law, order me to be struck?” (Acts 23:3)

  • John 16:1-4 Jesus’ warning

    They will ban you from the synagogue, yet an hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering a service to God. These things they will do because they have not known the Father nor Me. (vv. 2-3)

    God gave the church system as a tool to nurture His people. However, the system fails because false believers take hold of it. The root of its corruption is false teaching. When the Reformation happened in the 16th century, the message was clear and simple – we are not to go back to slavery. However, the new church system adopted false teachings in the 17th century and led people back to slavery.

    I know that 99% of people in the Protestant churches will hate me when I speak against Arminianism and Federalism. Not many people understand that Federalism supports Arminianism.

    True liberty is found only in the words of God. The Word became flesh. But people rejected and still reject Jesus Christ. If we continue to sin, we remain as a slave to sin. Only the Holy Spirit frees us from slavery because He teaches us about the Father and the Son. He enables us to understand the Bible. He gives us faith. He gives us God’s wisdom to fight against temptations. Through Him, we are one with the Father and the Son.

    I have always thought that the third Reformation is only for the saints. The world goes as destined without knowing God’s will or plan. That was my thought. But now I think that the third reformation may affect the whole world just as the second Reformation did. The pandemic was a start.

    Since the pandemic, I heard the news about many people leaving their jobs and having mental issues. I think people feel that there is something wrong with the world. We live as slaves. Some psychologists say that the issues of our present world are from Puritanism. I am not interested in psychology. And I think that most (if not all) psychologists have little understanding of Christianity. But I found it interesting that some people realized that they have been living as slaves. America was known as a country of freedom for a long time and gave many people false hope. We need to understand that its foundation is Federalism. The country is founded on slavery based on the false doctrine. So are all people affected by false Christianity. Even when I had little understanding of the Bible, God showed me that many people were going back to Egypt. He also showed me that Covenant Theology (Federalism) did not have any root.

    The elect will find true freedom in the words of God. There will be riots and social and/or political movements. I once said that there would be extreme immorality after the pandemic. All the things happening in this world may cause anxiety. We must hold onto the words of God. God, who is faithful, will fulfill all His plans. His kingdom will surely come. All who try to build a temple or kingdom on the earth will fail because God does not dwell in the house built by humans.

    Therefore Jesus also suffered outside the gate, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood. So then, let us go out to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach. For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come. (Hebrews 13:12-14)

    The God who made the world and everything that is in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made by hands… (Acts 17:24)

  • John 15:18-27 “I am a stranger on the earth”

    If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. (v.19)

    I am a stranger on the earth; Do not hide Your commandments from me. (Psalm 119:19)

    There are many Christians in the world. But I think there are only a few who truly know and love God. I know that there have been many theologians and ministers who were and are loved and praised by people. It is difficult to consider them as strangers on the earth because the world loves them. Anyone who has much fame and money tries to get more. They speak what people want to hear.

    When Christ came and spoke truth that frees people, He was hated by people. Many people followed Christ. But there were more people who tried to kill Jesus than those who loved Him. It is still the same today. When we speak truth, we are hated. We are strangers on the earth. This feeling of loneliness is stronger when we are surrounded by people who call themselves Christians.

    King David wrote Psalm 119 for the Israelites to hear and sing. He called himself a stranger on the earth. We all are strangers on the earth. David’s greatness is not from his military achievements, wealth, or virtues. God loved him because of Jesus Christ. David followed God wholeheartedly because he came to know God by the power of the Holy Spirit and experienced God’s absolute grace.

    As a stranger on the earth, David openly praised God. As a prophet, he spoke and wrote what God told him. We speak of God and His words so that others would come to know God and be saved. Preaching the gospel is God’s will because it saves the elect and also leaves the reprobate without any excuse. We do not go back the way we came in. Therefore, our life is like the wind.

    If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin. (v. 22)

    The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it is coming from and where it is going; so is everyone who has been born of the Spirit. (John 3:8)

    Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I. Send me!” And He said, “Go, and tell this people: ‘Keep on listening, but do not understand; And keep on looking, but do not gain knowledge.’ “Make the hearts of this people insensitive, Their ears dull, And their eyes blind, So that they will not see with their eyes, Hear with their ears, Understand with their hearts, And return and be healed.” (Isaiah 6:8-10)

  • John 15:12-17 True love

    No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, because all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you. (v. 15)

    Federalism focuses on what Adam did not do, which is keeping God’s command. However, the new reformation focuses on what Adam did not know and what he could not do consequently. It focuses on Adam’s limitations. The new reformation is about knowing what Jesus Christ has fulfilled – our adoption. Our adoption has always been God’s ultimate plan. We are the body of the church. Christ is our head. And the one and only invisible church is the kingdom of God. The Holy Spirit plays a vital role in uniting us all.

    Many churches in the world have gone astray. I hate Federalism because it supports legalism. Legalism is as bad as antinomianism because it leads to antinomianism. The law of God is not the written code in the OT. The law is God’s will. Therefore, only the Son of God fulfills the law because only He knows the Father. God’s ultimate will is self-sacrificing love. It is the foundation of the kingdom of God. If we love one another, we speak the truth of God. And we put all our hope in God’s promise of the kingdom.

    Concerning bearing fruit, I grew up hearing from people that I must do something to please God. Now I think that fruit is not something that we can see and touch. Only God sees our fruit. There are people in every church who put much time and effort into church activities. They are proud that they bear much fruit. But only God is the judge. God sees each one’s heart.

    “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood and began praying this in regard to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, crooked, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’ 13 But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to raise his eyes toward heaven, but was beating his chest, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other one; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 18:10-14)

    I once suffered from a mental illness for about five years. I prayed to God and read the Bible. But it did not go away. Every morning I woke up feeling defeated because I knew I could not overcome the illness. But my illness was miraculously cured when I confessed that I could not overcome it. I thought that the only way to end this was to kill myself. I realized that my will could not overcome the temptation. That night Jesus appeared and touched me. When I woke up, I knew that I was freed. I know my story is not for everyone. If you have a mental illness, I’d advise you to seek professional help. I was too scared to seek help. But it was a lesson for me to realize that my will cannot fix my problems. Many Christians think that we only need to put effort to achieve something. Theologians and ministers say that we can now please God with our works because the Holy Spirit helps us. But I think God wants us to confess that our will is rubbish. Our will to sin is much stronger than our will to do good. When we feel weak and helpless, we ask God for mercy. And God shows us grace.

    And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. (2 Corinthians 12:9)

  • John 15:1-11  Holy Spirit before faith and works

    Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Remain in Me, and I in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself but must remain in the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; the one who remains in Me, and I in him bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. (vv. 2-5)

    “Listen then to the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one sown with seed beside the road. The one sown with seed on the rocky places, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution occurs because of the word, immediately he falls away. And the one sown with seed among the thorns, this is the one who hears the word, and the anxiety of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. But the one sown with seed on the good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces, some a hundred, some sixty, and some thirty times as much.” (Matthew 13:18-23)

    There have been many discussions over faith vs. works. Many people think that the Book of James is about works before faith. But James was simply talking about true vs. false faith. Many think that faith is some kind of condition for salvation. But it is not a condition. It is a result of receiving the Holy Spirit. Christ explains about the role of the Holy Spirit in John 14, 15, and 16. And we all know that chapter 17 is about the union with God. No one can generate faith. No one can please God with their own works. There is one condition for us to become the children of God. That is the Holy Spirit. No one can earn this grace. Grace is freely given. We are all born dead because of Adam’s rebellion. Obedience is not a means to become God’s children. Obedience to the Father is a result of being one with the Son. This obedience is not based on the relationship between a master and a slave. It is from love between the Father and the Son. It is from the union of the Father and the Son. In this union, the Holy Spirit plays a vital role.

    For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, THAT HE WILL INSTRUCT HIM? But we have the mind of Christ. (1 Corinthians 2:16)

    God is always with us because of the Holy Spirit in us. Those who have received the Holy Spirit produce God’s fruit continuously. Some people think that they have the Holy Spirit because they had some mysterious experiences in the past. But they go back to their old ways and continue to be rebellious. They typically deny Sola Gratia and support strange doctrines. They may appear to keep God’s laws, but all their works are evil to God.

    Verses 9 and 10 may appear to support works before faith. But we must understand verse 8 first.

    8 My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. 9 Just as the Father has loved Me, I also have loved you; remain in My love. 10 If you keep My commandments, you will remain in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and remain in His love. (vv. 8-10)

    Being one with God produces faith and other fruits of the Holy Spirit. Having much fruit is proof of the presence of the Holy Spirit. God commands that we bear fruit. We tend to think that we must do something to please God and earn His love. But it is God who does all the work.

    … for apart from Me you can do nothing. (v. 5)