We Are Saved Not Only by The Blood of the Cross But by the Gospel of The Water and the Spirit
<
Galatians 6:11-18 >
“See with
what large letters I have written to you
with my own hand! As many as desire to
make a good showing in the flesh, these
would compel you to be circumcised, only
that they may not suffer persecution for
the cross of Christ. For not even those
who are circumcised keep the law, but
they desire to have you circumcised that
they may boast in your flesh. But God
forbid that I should boast except in the
cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom
the world has been crucified to me, and
I to the world. For in Christ Jesus neither
circumcision nor uncircumcision avails
anything, but a new creation. And as many
as walk according to this rule, peace
and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel
of God. From now on let no one trouble
me, for I bear in my body the marks of
the Lord Jesus. Brethren, the grace of
our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.
Amen.”
The
Wrath of Paul
I would like
to share spiritual grace with the Word
of God in Galatians 6:11-18 this evening,
and I would like to finish this book with
this sermon.
As we could
see throughout the previous chapters and
this chapter, we know how the Apostle
Paul had suffered from the circumcisionists
in the churches of Galatia. There were
some Jewish Christians who insisted that
they also had to receive physical circumcisions,
and we can notice how much they spiritually
confused God’s Church. That is why Paul
burst with rage.
Paul mentioned
three things to such Jewish Christians
who were advocating physical circumcisions:
First, they wanted to be recognized by
the Jews who were also advocating physical
circumcision. Second, they wanted to avoid
persecution from their tribe. Third, they
wanted to be boastful of their faith.
By advocating physical circumcision, they
wanted to avoid persecution from people.
We can verify this fact through the passage
of Galatians 6:12-13: “As many as desire
to make a good showing in the flesh, these
would compel you to be circumcised, only
that they may not suffer persecution for
the cross of Christ. For not even those
who are circumcised keep the law, but
they desire to have you circumcised that
they may boast in your flesh.”
I assume that
there is no one among today’s Christians
who tries to be circumcised after believing
in Jesus Christ. If anyone wishes to be
physically circumcised, he can be operated
on at a hospital. However, the Jewish
Christians emphasized physical circumcision
at the time of the early churches. We
can perceive that it was of grave importance
whether a man had received a circumcision
or not. The reason why they had emphasized
receiving physical circumcisions was that
they believed they could be approved as
the descendants of Abraham by doing so.
This is why the Apostle Paul blamed their
evil intentions, saying that they tried
not to suffer persecution by being circumcised.
The gospel
that the Apostle Paul had preached in
the Early Church Era was the gospel of
the water and the Spirit. And those who
received the remission of sins by believing
in this gospel were the people who had
already received spiritual circumcision
in their hearts. Since God already recognized
them as His children, they did not need
to be physically circumcised. Put differently,
those who had received the remission of
sins by believing the gospel of the water
and the Spirit had no reason to receive
physical circumcision.
In the Old
Testament, God promised Abraham that “I
will make your descendants as numerous
as the stars in the sky.” The reasons
for this promise were to make Abraham
the father of faith, bless us to be saved
from the sins, and allow us to be the
people of God by the faith of believing
in the Truth. What does the Scripture
say? “Abraham believed God, and it
was accounted to him for righteousness”
(Romans 4:3). Abraham was recognized
to be righteous by God with his faith
itself because he trusted the Word that
God had said to him. And God promised
to Abraham and his descendants, “Abraham,
you and all your descendants shall be
circumcised. Then I will recognize them
as My people.” In fact, this was the foreshadowing
of God's salvation that enables us to
cut off our sins once and for all and
to become His people by believing in the
Word of God
For that reason,
the Apostle Paul said in Romans 2:29,
“Circumcision is that of the heart,
in the Spirit, not in the letter.”
Paul said that circumcising is not on
the flesh but in the heart. The spiritual
circumcision here refers to the cutting
off of one’s sins by believing in the
gospel of the water and the Spirit. The
faith of spiritual circumcision and spiritual
salvation is the faith of believing in
the Truth that Jesus Christ has saved
us from all our sins by taking over the
sins of humanity. By the laying of John
the Baptist’s hands on Christ, Him dying
on the Cross for all our sins, and by
shedding His blood, Jesus Christ has saved
us. The spiritual circumcision is executed
on us when we believe that Jesus Christ
came to this earth and saved us with the
gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit.
This means that Jesus has cut off all
our sins and blotted them out by receiving
the baptism, dying on the Cross, and rising
again from the dead. It also means that
God has saved those who believed in this
Truth by making them His sinless people.
This is the faith of spiritual circumcision.
But then, those
who claimed the importance of physical
circumcision attempted to be recognized
of their faith by being circumcised, even
though Jesus Christ had already come to
this earth and saved all the sinners from
their sins. Because of this, we can see
how serious the problem of the circumcisionists
in the Early Church Era was, who were
trying to be God’s people by receiving
the physical circumcision and keeping
the law.
The belief
that they had to be circumcised was so
emphasized that it seemed to prevail the
faith of believing in Jesus Christ, who
came by the water and the Spirit. Because
of that, the gospel of the water and the
Spirit was close to being deteriorated.
That is why the Apostle Paul said, “We
must not do that.”
That was all
futile faith. We have to think spiritually
about our lives of faith. Jesus Christ
came to this earth and saved us by the
gospel of the water and the Spirit once
and for all. Jesus Christ came to this
earth to release people from all the curses
of the Law so that they would not be under
the Law anymore. He has made us the believers
perfectly sinless by coming to this world,
receiving the baptism, dying on the Cross,
and rising again from the dead.
The Apostle
Paul rebuked the legalists. Therefore,
we also have to examine the faith of today's
Christians to lead them to take heed of
the erroneous faith that prevails in today's
Christianity.
The
Apostle Paul Did Not Fear the Persecution
The Apostle
Paul said that receiving physical circumcision
made a good showing in the flesh and prevented
persecution from the Jews because of the
Truth. The faith of the circumcisionists
who insisted upon physical circumcision
is just like the faith of today's Christians
who believe only in the blood of the Cross
without believing in Jesus Christ who
came by the water and the Spirit. Today’s
Christians attend church meaninglessly.
They think it is okay to believe only
in the blood of the Cross. But, they think
it is weird to believe in Jesus, who came
by the water and the Spirit. Their faith
is the same as the faith of those who
claimed that one had to be physically
circumcised to be a people of God.
In today’s
Christianity, you may suffer persecution
if you believe in the gospel of the water
and the Spirit, but if you believe only
in the blood of the Cross, no one mocks
you. “I believe in the blood of the Cross.
Jesus died hanging on the Cross for me.
Therefore I am one of God’s people for
I believe in Jesus Christ as my Savior.”
The first effect of saying this is that
we may not suffer persecution in body
and spirit. But, if one professes that
he believes in the gospel of the water
and the Spirit, he will be detested by
other Christians in no time. So, many
Christians say, “I believe in Jesus and
that He saved me by hanging on the Cross,
shedding His blood for my sins.” This
is how they try not to suffer spiritual
and physical persecutions.
As the circumcised
people were recognized as the descendants
of Abraham in the Early Church Era, today’s
people, who believe only in the blood
of Jesus, when they profess Jesus as their
Savior, are also recognized as the people
of God. In addition, there is no occasion
for them to suffer persecution from nonbelievers.
Therefore, if one believes only in the
blood of the Cross, one could make a good
showing in flesh and be recognized as
having the religious faith. Then, don’t
you think that everyone will believe as
such?
It is like
this when we apply today’s Scripture passage
to Christians these days. “That person
is the believer of Jesus. That person
is a believer of a proper faith. That
person is not a heretic, but an orthodox
Christian.” They might win such a reputation.
These days, everybody praises the Christians
who say they should believe only in the
blood of Jesus. And if you wear a cross-shape
pendant, it appears genuine and you are
also recognized as a Christian. At this
present time, you would never be persecuted
as long as you say that you believe only
in the blood of the Cross.
But, you would
experience persecution if you say that
you believe in Jesus through the gospel
of the water and the Spirit, and that
you are sinless by that faith. Since it
is different from the religious beliefs
of today’s Christianity, it is frowned
upon. We are truly the people of God and
the righteous who have received the remission
of sins before God by believing in the
gospel of the water and the Spirit.
We are telling
people: “You must also believe in the
gospel of the water and the Spirit. The
water in the Bible symbolizes the baptism
of Jesus, with which He took all our sins
through John the Baptist’s hands during
the baptism. So to speak, the Son of God,
Jesus, saved us by coming to the earth
in the flesh of man, receiving the baptism
from John the Baptist, being crucified
for our sins and rising again from the
death.” But, we are hated by many people
if we say that we believe in this gospel
Truth of the water and the Spirit.
People commonly
have a general prejudice that the selection
of a majority can never be wrong. Therefore,
the faith of the majority that believes
only in Jesus’ blood of the Cross is recognized
by most Christians and even by nonbelievers.
They say, “Religion is freedom. That is
good for you to believe.” But I surely
say that the faith of believing only in
the blood of the Cross is not right. It
is because God recognizes the faith of
those who profess, “I believe in the gospel
of the water and the Spirit.”
As the people
who advocated physical circumcision caused
anxieties in the early churches, at this
age, the spiritual eyes of the Christians
have been getting bleary because of the
people who believe only in the blood of
the Cross and rely on prayers of repentance
for their remission of sins. The faith
of the circumcisionists in the Early Church
Era and the faith that believes only in
the blood of the Cross at this age is
the same. They are legalistic faiths.
People recognize
the faith of those who believe only in
the blood of the Cross. They are not persecuted
or hated. These people are recognized
by all the religious people in this world:
“Oh, that person is a believer of Jesus.
He does not believe in Jesus in a strange
way, but normally.” So, some people who
believe only in the blood of Jesus profess
their faith like this: “Jesus saved me
from my sins by being crucified and shedding
His blood. He saved me by taking all the
judgment on the Cross for my sins. Therefore,
I do not have any sins for I believe in
that Jesus.” Those who testify like this
are not hated by nonbelievers and other
Christians. Rather, they are recognized
for their faith. Therefore, people who
don’t want to suffer persecution are prone
to follow such faith.
Did the Apostle
Paul say that we have to receive physical
circumcision after believing in Jesus?
Did the Apostle Paul say that our salvation
would be lost if we did not receive physical
circumcision? No, he did not. In the Pauline
Epistles, how many times did he mention
the legalistic faith to warn the circumcisionists?
Why was the Apostle Paul saying that repeatedly?
It was because there were circumcisionists
who claimed that one had to receive physical
circumcision after believing in Jesus
to be a people of God. The Holy Spirit
could not work because this kind of faith
was mixed with the untrue teachings in
the sight of God. That is why the Apostle
Paul prohibited the circumcisionists from
diffusing that physical circumcision.
The Apostle Paul emphasized very much
on the part that physical circumcision
was not a necessity to be the people of
God.
We have to
understand the mind of the Apostle Paul.
We have to listen carefully to what the
author of the Bible is talking about here.
Paul wrote, “See with what large letters
I have written to you with my own hand!”
(Galatians 6:11) He wrote a letter
to the churches in Galatia with the large
letters to point out how erroneous the
advocating of circumcision was. The passage,
“As many as desire to make a good showing
in the flesh, these would compel you to
be circumcised,” (Galatians 6:12)
means that the circumcisionists tried
to be recognized physically and avoid
suffering persecutions from the Jews.
It was very
hard for Paul to correct the faith of
Galatians once it had been deteriorated.
He had not only to rebuild the gospel
of the water and the Spirit again in their
hearts, but also to correct the erroneous
teachings of the circumcisionists. It
was wrong for them to try to add something
physical to the gospel of the water and
the Spirit to be the people of God. We
become God’s people by believing in the
gospel of the water and the Spirit before
God. We do not become God’s people by
being circumcised like the Jewish believers
in the churches of Galatia. But then,
it was common in the early churches.
We have to
point out such erroneous faith even in
current Christianity and correct it with
the Word of Galatians. At this age, many
wear the cross-shape pendants, regardless
of their religions. Even the prostitutes
in the red-light districts wear cross-shape
pendants. I wonder if women in general
prefer the cross-shape pendants. Of course,
there are many Christians who also like
cross-shape necklaces. On this account,
people wearing cross-shape pendants recognize
each other, “Oh, that person is a Christian.”
They all believe only in the blood of
the Cross to be saved from their sins.
For this reason, we have to take heed
of the faith of such people who say that
they have received the remission of sins
by believing only in the blood of the
Cross.
Some people
misunderstand Paul’s saying, “Only
that they may not suffer persecution for
the cross of Christ” (Galatians 6:12),
as mentioning only the blood of the
Cross. But, what was the faith of the
Apostle Paul like? The Apostle Paul’s
faith was like this, “But God forbid
that I should boast except in the cross
of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the
world has been crucified to me, and I
to the world” (Galatians 6:14).
What
Is the Faith of Paul That Says, “I Have
Been Crucified to the World”?
The Apostle
Paul said that the world had been crucified
to him. This means that all the sins of
the world have been crucified with Jesus
Christ because He had taken all the sins
of the world through His baptism. Like
him, all of us, the believers of the gospel
of the water and the Spirit, have also
been crucified with Jesus Christ. If Jesus
did not take our sins by receiving the
baptism from John the Baptist, we would
have nothing to do with His Cross because
all our sins would’ve never been transferred
to Him.
However, Jesus
was crucified by taking our sins through
the baptism from John the Baptist, so
we have to believe that He was crucified
for our sins after taking our sins through
His baptism. Because Jesus was crucified
after taking all the sins of humanity,
those who believe this also have been
crucified with Jesus. It is to say that
the world has been crucified to us and
we were also crucified to the world with
Christ. The Apostle Paul himself has been
crucified with Jesus by passing his sins
through Jesus’ baptism. We have the same
faith. Owing to the everlasting sacrifice
of the Lamb of God, The world has already
died in Jesus Christ, and we have been
condemned for all our sins.
So, the Apostle
Paul said in Galatians 6:17, “From
now on let no one trouble me, for I bear
in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.”
What are the marks of the Lord Jesus?
They are the carved evidence that the
Apostle Paul has died and been brought
back to new life with Jesus Christ by
believing in the gospel of the water and
the Spirit. Therefore, the Apostle Paul
was always professing his faith in the
gospel of the water and the Spirit.
When the Apostle
Paul mentioned “the Cross of Christ,”
he always professed his faith of the gospel
of the water and the Spirit on the assumption
that Jesus, the Son of God, was baptized
as our Savior to atone all our sins by
being crucified to death. However, when
we profess that the baptism of Jesus is
the prior condition of “the Cross of Christ,”
we are surely hated by the majority Christians
who believe only in the blood of the Cross.
We can understand the mind of Paul on
this occasion. If we don’t want to suffer
persecution, we just need to say that
we believe only in the blood of Jesus
Christ. Then, both nonbelievers and the
believers will not persecute you; rather,
you will be recognized by them. Thereupon,
doesn’t it sound wise? However, we shouldn’t
do that.
We have to
know that Paul’s saying, “The world
has been crucified to me, and I to the
world,” was possible on the assumption
of the baptism of Jesus. Jesus Christ
was crucified because He took our sins
by receiving the baptism. By His baptism,
the world was crucified and we, the believers
in Him, have also been crucified. The
resurrection of Jesus Christ was to bring
us to life.
The gospel
of the water and the Spirit is the Truth,
and the people who believe in the gospel
of the water and the Spirit in their hearts
are the ones who have the marks of faith
in Jesus Christ. Knowing and believing
that Jesus has taken over all our sins
through the baptism from John and has
been crucified are the marks that were
carved in our hearts. And we are preaching
the gospel of the water and the Spirit,
even though we are persecuted because
of this faith.
How do Christians
believe in Jesus? They believe only in
the blood of Jesus who was crucified.
Hence, if we talk to the people about
the gospel of the water and the Spirit,
they would scold us directly and say that
we are talking about weird things. But
if we say that we are saved by believing
only in the blood of Jesus who was crucified,
people take it as nothing special. Because
they have believed only in the blood of
the Cross since they first heard of Jesus,
if we preach them the gospel of the water
and the Spirit and the baptism, they do
not understand and feel unfamiliar.
How are you
going to answer if someone tells you,
“Even though you believe in Jesus, you
must receive physical circumcision to
be a people of God”? Are you going to
answer, “It is not difficult at all, why
not to be circumcised”? I am sure you
won’t. You will propose to look into the
Bible, how it is recorded, and answer
to them that the Lord told us that we
have to be born again of water and the
Spirit. He did not tell us to be circumcised.
We can make people aware of the Word that
if one adds something to the gospel of
the water and the Spirit or subtracts
from it, one will be excluded from the
grace of salvation. And God will curse
those who want to make good showing in
the flesh and who try to avoid suffering
persecution.
We can say
boldly with courage to such a person,
“Are you afraid of being persecuted if
you talk about the gospel of the water
and the Spirit? The blood of the Cross
and the baptism of Jesus are in the gospel
of the water and the Spirit. The gospel
of the water and the Spirit has perfectly
saved us. Now, can you be sure that Jesus
could atone for all our sins only with
His blood on the Cross without His baptism?”
Because the invisible Satan is standing
against the Truth, people might be threatened
in their hearts if we talk about the gospel
of the water and the Spirit.
However, we
have to know that we will be cursed and
not be able to receive the remission of
sins if we shrink back to surrender to
Satan, and continue to be afraid of the
threats and persecutions. In fact, if
we profess publicly that we believe in
the gospel of the water and the Spirit,
the Devil Satan will bow to us.
If we are
willing to give up to follow the gospel
to avoid persecution, Satan the Devil
will have power over us. We have to know
that we will be cursed and not be able
to receive the remission of sins if we
shrink back to surrender to Satan, and
continue to be afraid of his threats and
persecutions. However, if we profess publicly
that we believe in the gospel of the water
and the Spirit, the Devil Satan will surrender
to us. Put differently, if we become courageous
with the faith, our opponents will crouch
to us.
We should not
try to avoid persecution while we believe
in Jesus. We have to preach exactly about
the faith of the gospel of the water and
the Spirit, whether or not we are persecuted
because of that faith. The Apostle Paul
said, “Be circumcised if you wish, but
that does not make you the people of God.
You should believe in the gospel of the
water and the Spirit. For in Christ Jesus
neither circumcision nor uncircumcision
has any value.”
The Apostle
Paul said in Galatians 6:15-16, “For
in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor
uncircumcision avails anything, but a
new creation. And as many as walk according
to this rule, peace and mercy be upon
them, and upon the Israel of God.”
He pronounced
a benediction upon those who believed
in Jesus as the true God, "May the
peace and mercy be upon you," regardless
of their circumcision or uncircumcision.
Those who have received the God-given
salvation also have received peace and
mercy from Him. We, who cannot help but
to die for our sins, have received the
remission of sins and become the people
of God by believing in the gospel of the
water and the Spirit.
“From now
on let no one trouble me, for I bear in
my body the marks of the Lord Jesus” (Galatians
6:17). The Apostle Paul preached the
gospel of the water and the Spirit even
while he was suffering persecution and
being hated. He was a Jew. Therefore,
he had received physical circumcision
on the eighth day from his birth (Philippians
3:5). The law of circumcision is as follows:
“He who is eight days old among you
shall be circumcised, every male child
in your generations, he who is born in
your house or bought with money from any
foreigner who is not your descendant”
(Genesis 17:12).
But then, there
were the converted Gentiles in the churches
of Galatia. They were not circumcised
when they started believing in Jesus at
their late ages because the Gentiles did
not have the custom of being circumcised
when they were newborn children. The circumcisionists
urged that they believe in the gospel
of the water and the Spirit and also receive
the physical circumcision. Then as a result,
there came a formula like this: The gospel
of the water and the Spirit + circumcision
= salvation. Thus, the man-made gospel
of false salvation came to exist.
For that reason,
the Apostle Paul said that they didn’t
need to compel the Gentile believers to
be circumcised. Circumcision in Jewish
society may have been natural for them,
but for the Gentiles believers, it was
an improper teaching. One has to believe
in the gospel of the water and the Spirit
to be saved. But, if we preach to the
Gentiles that they can only be saved with
the circumcision, then the circumcision
would be an essential part of salvation
to them. We shouldn’t preach to them that
way because then the circumcision would
be considered as a necessary merit for
their salvation. To think about the situation
at that time, those words may have meant
nothing to some, but death to others.
The Protestant
Episcopal Church and the Roman Catholics
of our nation permit their congregations
to perform the ancestral sacrifices to
the dead ancestors. But strictly speaking,
making such a sacrifice is a grave sin
before God. Bowing down during the ancestral
sacrifices to the dead ancestors is the
same as bowing down to the evil sprits.
It is good to just respect ancestors,
but bowing down and offering food is similar
to worshiping the devils. Therefore, it
is a grave sin because God told us not
to have other gods before Him. It is permissible
to respect living people, but bowing down
to dead people is the worshiping of departed
spirits. It is a grave sin to worship
other gods. But then again, I didn’t mean
to hate or speak ill of them. The act
of bowing down to them is to commit a
grave sin.
Christians
should never do that because that is very
evil. You may think and justify your deed,
saying, “I don’t do that with my heart,
but I am just being formal.” But, it is
still fatal to the nonbelievers. “Look
at the person who goes to church and believes
in Jesus, yet bows down before the sacrifice
table. Oh, believing in Jesus and believing
in a superstition are the same. They are
both just as unclear.” Nonbelievers would
think this way, and then not receive the
remission of sins. They consider Christianity
as the same as other religions, and they
believe that they will go to Heaven whatever
religion they believe in. Then, they do
not need to believe in Jesus particularly,
and Jesus cannot be the only Savior in
their hearts. How grave is this sin? We
have to understand that it is a serious
sin.
We should not
bow down to dead people at any cost. If
a Christian bows down to other gods, he
is killing the faith of those who can
otherwise earn their eternal lives. That’s
really terrible. Is there any reason for
us Koreans to be persecuted by worshipping
our dead ancestors and consulting in fortunetellers
after believing in Jesus? By doing these
things, we would not be persecuted because
that is the same thing as mingling in
with the people of the world. However,
real Christians do not offer the ancestral
sacrifices to their dead ancestors even
though they may suffer severe persecution
because of their refusal to offer such
sacrifices. The reason for this is because
they do not believe in superstitions.
The Bible says,
“You shall not permit a sorceress to
live” (Exodus 22:18). God said in
more detail, “There shall not be found
among you anyone who makes his son or
his daughter pass through the fire, or
one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer,
or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer,
or one who conjures spells, or a medium,
or a spiritist, or one who calls up the
dead” (Deuteronomy 18:10-11). In the
Old Testament days, Israelites killed
these people directly. The shamans were
the demon-possessed people. These people
were under the command of the Devil. In
the Old Testament days, such people had
to be killed.
We cannot do
the same at this age, so we must keep
these people away from us. Put differently,
we should not permit such people to influence
our spiritual realm. But, it saddens me
that we can find so many shaman-like Christians
in today’s Christian communities, especially
among the Pentecostalists. By the way,
if someone asks you to bow down to worship
your dead ancestors, you have to reject
such a demand by saying, “I am a Christian.
How can you ask me to bow down?” It is
better not to believe in Jesus than to
bow down.
In some Asian
countries such as India and Japan, having
multiple religions seems to be a common
phenomenon. We should have one kind of
faith, and should not have multiple faiths.
If you believe in the Buddhism, you have
to follow what the Buddhist scriptures
say and if you believe in the Christianity,
you have to know, believe, and obey the
Word of the Bible. No one can force Christians
to bow down before anything other than
God. We have to talk to our parents about
our beliefs even though they are our parents.
You have to say that you cannot bow down
because your conscience does not allow
you to do that as a Christian. And if
a Christian bows down before the sacrifice
table to the dead ancestors, it is the
same as showing people that he is a false
believer.
What
Is the Faith of Believing in the Gospel
of the Water and the Spirit?
My fellow believers,
it is not right for someone among the
believers of the gospel of the water and
the Spirit to profess that he was saved
by believing only in the blood of the
Cross. If one claims that he received
the remission of sins by believing only
in the blood of the Cross, it is to merely
avoid persecution from people. What is
the result of such faith? What will happen
if we believe that Jesus saved us only
by shedding His blood on the Cross? The
baptism of Jesus would not be needed.
Hence, we would only need to preach about
the blood of the Cross without mentioning
the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
Then, we would not be persecuted by the
majority Christians of this world.
But, if one
believes only in the blood of the Cross
and says he is sinless even though he
has sins in his heart, he only becomes
a religious man. To have a religion means
to believe in a man-made god. It is to
believe in its own god and doctrines that
are all created by man. Buddhism, Roman
Catholics, and superstitions are all religions.
However, believing
in Jesus Christ who came by the water
and the Spirit is not a religion. It is
the true faith in God. The essence of
this true faith lies in the salvation
that God has promised to humanity and
fulfilled as he promised. True faith is
to confirm this God-given salvation and
believe in it. That’s the true faith.
But, on the contrary, worldly religions
worship the man-made gods, and are established
by the man-made doctrines that explain
fabulous blessings and curses of their
gods. That is why a religion is conceptual,
or it is made by thoughts. But, the Bible
is not of human thoughts. It is the truth.
We, the believers
of the gospel of the water and the Spirit
can tell that it is wrong to say that
one has to receive physical circumcision
to be a people of God and to be saved.
That is why Paul says, “Why are you making
a fuss over the issue of circumcision?”
He had mentioned a lot about the circumcision
in all of the Pauline Epistles. As Paul
said that he had the marks of Jesus, he
would not be persecuted if he did not
believe in and preach the gospel of the
water and the Spirit. If then, God did
not use Paul, the Word of the truth that
he wrote might not have been delivered
to us; God might have used other person.
If there is no persecution, there is no
glory as well. If we try to avoid persecution,
our salvation can be deteriorated.
This evening’s
sermon will be the closing sermon on Galatians.
The conclusion is very important in everything.
There is no one who advocates physical
circumcision nowadays, but in today’s
Christianity, there are many people who
say that they can receive the remission
of sins by believing only in the blood
of the Cross. So, there are sins in the
hearts of most Christians these days.
Then, are they persecuted? They do not
suffer persecution. Is there any persecution
because you just believe in Jesus? The
persecutions for the Christians in the
world might come from whether or not they
attend the ancestral sacrifices for their
dead ancestors. And someone might be asked
to convert his religion of Christianity
to Buddhism, according to his family tradition.
All family members might threaten to delete
his name from the family register unless
he converts to the family religion.
However, the
Apostle Paul’s saying was not that level.
The difference between Paul’s faith and
that of the circumcisionists is great.
The Apostle Paul didn’t say that one had
to be circumcised. The Apostle Paul said,
“For not even those who are circumcised
keep the law, but they desire to have
you circumcised that they may boast in
your flesh” (Galatians 6:13). What
did the circumcisionists boast in their
flesh? They made the distinction with
physical circumcision and boasted it as
the proof of their superiority, saying,
“I am one of the God’s people. I am a
descendant of Abraham. I am His faithful
one.”
But, was there
anything in their flesh that deserved
to be respected? How is the true faith
in our minds expressed? It is expressed
when we profess our faith in the gospel
of the water and the Spirit. But, the
circumcisionists among the Jewish Christians
expressed their faith in God through their
physical circumcision. Put differently,
they recognized one’s faith by seeing
whether or not the person had received
the physical circumcision.
These days,
people recognize those who believe only
in Jesus’ blood of the Cross. Many people
nowadays show their faith with a cross-shape
pendant on their necks. However, they
say that they cannot tell if a person
is a Christian or not if he is not wearing
a cross-shape pendant. We, the born-again,
can discern whether the people are born
again or not by believing in Jesus when
we see them preaching the Word of God.
When we preach, testify, and emphasize
the gospel of the water and the Spirit,
they would say that we believe in Jesus
strangely. And they say, “What they are
talking about is right, but their faith
is somehow different from that of the
other Christians. It might be dangerous.
There might be some problems with their
faith. Therefore, we have to watch out
for them.” If this happens, the believers
of the gospel of the water and the Spirit
will be persecuted from other Christians.
Have
You Ever Been Persecuted Because of Your
Faith in the Gospel of the Water and the
Spirit?
Have you ever
been persecuted because of saying, “I
believe in Jesus. I believe in the crucified
Jesus. Jesus saved me by shedding His
blood.” If you believe in this way, you
will not be persecuted. Rather, you will
be recognized. However, we are persecuted
because we are preaching the gospel of
the water and the Spirit after receiving
the remission of sins by believing in
the true gospel. They say, “How can you
say that you are sinless by believing
in Jesus? We commit sins everyday. Therefore
I am a sinner. And I will be a sinner
forever. I will go to the Lord as a sinner.
I will go to Him as a sinner because He
said that He will come to call the sinners.”
These believers
recognize their faith and say to each
other, "Oh, you have the same faith
as me!" However, they disregard the
true gospel and persecute the believers
of the gospel of the water and the Spirit
when these born-again saints profess their
faith in Jesus like this: "Jesus
came to this earth and all the sins of
the world have been passed onto Him when
he was baptized by John the Baptist, and
I died with Him when He was crucified.
I also rose again from the dead when He
was resurrected." If we say that
we are saved from all our sins by believing
in the Lord Savior who came by the water
and the Spirit, people become alert and
say, “They believe strangely. They seem
to be heretics.” Haven’t you ever experienced
such antagonism? I think you may have.
As Isaac was persecuted by Ishmael, we
the believers of the gospel of the water
and the Spirit are also persecuted by
those who do not believe in the true gospel.
But, it doesn’t matter.
As you well
know, all our sins were blotted out by
believing in the gospel of the water and
the Spirit. Because the Lord already blotted
out all our sins, we can be recognized
by our faith in the gospel of the water
and the Spirit. There is no other way
but to believe in this true gospel because
Jesus blotted out all our sins through
this gospel. On that account, we have
received the remission of sins through
the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
The gospel
of the water and the Spirit is the only
Truth of salvation, which God gave us.
Therefore, the people who are preaching
only Jesus’ blood of the Cross believe
in Him partially, and as a result, they
have sins in their hearts. How do they
take care of the sins that they commit
after believing only in Jesus’ blood?
They try to wash away all these sins by
offering prayers of repentance, with their
sins still intact in their consciences.
One cannot receive the remission of sins
if the person cannot find the proof of
passing all of one’s sins onto Jesus Christ
when John the Baptist baptized Him, because
the conscience of man is just and honest
like a mirror. Those who do not believe
in the gospel of the water and the Spirit
cannot help but to confess that they have
sins in their hearts. We can never deceive
our conscience.
Man becomes
a sinner before God for he does not believe
in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
One goes to hell as a grave sinner for
rejecting the love of Truth that He gave
us. Believers of the gospel of the water
and the Spirit receive the remission of
sins, become the righteous, and go to
Heaven, while those who only believe and
preach the blood of the Cross have sins
in their heart and will eventually go
to hell. Therefore, if one believes only
in the blood of the Cross and relies only
on the prayers of repentance, it is the
same as deceiving one’s conscience, because
such a person surely has sin in his heart.
Those who are led by such a sinner cannot
but become sinners themselves for they
also believe only in the blood of the
Cross, the half-gospel. They cannot but
avoid condemnation of their consciences
for their sins, because the condemnation
in the preacher’s conscience has been
passed on to them.
So, when we
preach the gospel of God, we must deliver
two essentials clearly for the salvation
of sinners: The baptism of Jesus and His
blood on the Cross. We have to believe
and preach the Truth, which obviously
is that the Lord has blotted out our sins
with the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
By explaining how to offer a sacrificial
lamb in the Old Testament, We have to
preach that all our sins had passed onto
Jesus when He was baptized in the form
of "the laying on of hands."
We have to teach them about Jesus' blood
on the Cross, too: He atoned for all our
sins by shedding all His precious blood.
He took all our sins onto His body through
His baptism. We also have to teach them
that every one of us is a born sinner
destined to hell.
Therefore,
all of us have to believe like this: “All
of us were born sinners. And we became
separated from God because of our sins.
A deep canyon was made between God and
us because of these sins, but He made
a bridge with His love through the gospel
of the water and the Spirit, which enables
us to cross the canyon of sin to God.
However, today’s Christians substitute
the gospel of the water and the Spirit
with the blood of the Cross, and say,
“The Cross connects a human to others
horizontally and a human to God vertically,
as its shape is.” But it does not restore
our broken relationship with God. We would
have an erroneous faith if we believe
that the Cross enables us to go before
God by blotting out all our sins that
made us separate from God, and that we
can be saved by accepting Jesus on the
Cross in our hearts. Put differently,
if we preach only about the blood of Jesus
Christ, excluding His baptism that was
performed in the form of “laying on of
hands” in the Old Testament, we are preaching
a man-made religion.
The Lord came
to this earth and saved us by the gospel
Truth of the water and the Spirit once
and for all. The Lord neither saved us
only by the water nor only by the blood,
but he saved us by both the water and
the blood. The Lord had to be hanged on
the Cross because He had taken all our
sins through His baptism, received from
John the Baptist. And He brought us back
to new life when He resurrected from death.
The Lord saved us by the gospel of the
water and the Spirit once and for all.
So, we Christians
should not believe only in the blood of
the Cross. When we preach the gospel of
God, we have to explain it clearly, reasonably,
and evidently on the biblical basis. And
before we preach the gospel of the water
and the Spirit, we have to believe in
it first. As it is written in 2 Corinthians
4:13, “And since we have the same spirit
of faith, according to what is written,
‘I believed and therefore I spoke,’ we
also believe and therefore speak,”
it is very important for preachers to
have faith in His Word first.
When we preach
the gospel of the water and the Spirit
to a person, and the person does not accept
it at first, we have to explain it in
detail again and again. If we do not preach
the gospel of the water and the Spirit,
and we only preach the blood of the Cross,
the listeners cannot be saved, no matter
how hard they wish to believe. Paul said
in Romans 10:14, “How then shall they
call on Him in whom they have not believed?
And how shall they believe in Him of whom
they have not heard? And how shall they
hear without a preacher?”
How can people
be saved from their sins when the preacher
does not preach the true gospel properly?
Can people be saved by their own interpretations?
It is written in Romans 10; 17, “Faith
comes by hearing, and hearing by the word
of God.” How can other people
receive the true salvation when the preacher
who preaches God’s Word does not preach
the gospel of the water and the Spirit
that is written in the Bible? It is impossible.
My fellow believers, this is why the preachers
of the gospel of the water and the Spirit
have to keep their faith and preach this
gospel to the world. If we give up our
faith of believing in the gospel of the
water and the Spirit, this world will
naturally be ruined.
I am telling
you this because I believe in the gospel
of the water and the Spirit. It is never
true that man can be saved whether or
not he believes in the gospel of the water
and the Spirit. It is never the case that
people are saved whether we preach the
gospel of the water and the Spirit or
not. The listeners of the gospel of the
water and the Spirit will receive the
remission of sins when the preachers first
believe in the true gospel and then preach
it. But if a preacher does not preach
the gospel of the water and the Spirit,
the listeners will never receive the remission
of sins.
Many people
testify from abroad that they received
the remission of sins through our Christian
books. What kinds of testimonies do they
testify? They testify that they have been
saved by the baptism that Jesus received
from John and the blood of the Cross,
and that they are now sinless by that
faith. The baptism of Jesus and the blood
of the Cross are interrelated with each
other.
The gospel
of the water and the Spirit, which is
written in the Bible, is different from
the gospel of only the blood of the Cross.
The gospel of the water and the Spirit
is not something that we have assembled.
We cannot tell a lie or deceive people
because all of us have the conscience
of faith in our hearts. Believing in the
gospel of the water and the Spirit is
a matter of conscience. It is a matter
of your conscience whether or not you
accept the gospel of the water and the
Spirit when you hear it. We cannot deceive
our own consciences. An honest conscience
will obey the Word, while a cunning conscience
refuses to accept it.
We can be free
from our sins when our consciences know
and accept the gospel Truth of the water
and the Spirit. The Lord has taken all
our sins that are recorded in our consciences
when He received the baptism. If He even
left 0.01% of our sins at that time, our
conscience could never say that we are
sinless. Those who deceive their consciences
are deceiving themselves. God created
us according to His image, externally
as well as internally. God gave each of
us the conscience inside of us; then this
conscience is the justice of God. Therefore,
we can never deceive this conscience.
So, the Bible
says that we shall give account to God
who is ready to judge the living and the
dead on the Judgment Day (1 Peter 4:5).
Those who have sins in their hearts will
give account to Him truthfully, “I have
sins in my heart. I have to go to hell.”
But the conscience of the born-again will
say, “I believe that the Lord blotted
out all my sins by the gospel of the water
and the Spirit. Therefore, I do not have
sins. I believe in the Lord who came to
this earth and took all my sins when he
was baptized, died on the Cross, and rose
again from the dead.” That is why this
is called the faith of conscience. The
gospel of the water and the Spirit is
the faith of the Truth, as is written:
“And you shall know the truth, and
the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32).
The truth means
conformity to fact or actuality. Our faith
is factual belief. It is not an invented
one. That is why the Apostle Paul kept
on saying repeatedly from the beginning
that his faith was “not from men nor
through man” (Galatians 1:1). This
means that the true gospel is not from
man, but from God. We are saved conscientiously
by believing in the Truth.
What is the
Truth of salvation? It is the gospel of
the water and the Spirit. All your sins
and the sins of the world have passed
onto Jesus when He received the baptism
from John. At that time, Jesus fulfilled
all the righteousness.
Have all the
sins of humanity been passed onto Jesus
when He was baptized by John the Baptist,
or not? They have passed. Jesus came to
the earth to save us, and He said to John
in the Jordan River, “Permit it to
be so now, for thus it is fitting for
us to fulfill all righteousness” (Matthew
3:15). Jesus has fulfilled all the
righteousness of God by being born to
this earth, being baptized at the age
of 30, dying on the Cross after three
years, and by rising again from the death.
God did the righteous work for us. He
sent His son to the world and passed over
all our sins by allowing Jesus to be baptized.
We have to believe in this Truth with
our conscience.
We had sins
and we were destined to hell according
to our consciences. But Jesus received
the baptism from John the Baptist to take
all our sins. Have our sins passed to
Jesus when He was baptized, or not? They
were passed to Him. At that time, did
my and your sins pass on to Him, or not?
I mean to say that we should talk truthfully
with our consciences. All the sins of
the world have passed to Him (John 1:29).
Jesus has been crucified and died on the
Cross by shedding His blood for the sins
of the world because He had taken all
the sins onto His body. And He became
our eternal Savior by rising again from
the dead in three days after death.
The gospel
of the water and the Spirit is not the
salvation, which cannot be recognized
even by our consciences. Our consciences
recognize that God saved us by the gospel
of the water and the Spirit. What do you
think? Does your conscience also recognize
the gospel of the water and the Spirit,
and are you actually sinless by receiving
the remission of sins?
We are the
people of conscience. The Apostle Paul
says in Galatians 6:18, “Brethren,
the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be
with your spirit.” This passage means
that he wished that the grace of Jesus
Christ would be with our honest consciences.
Then, what is the grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ? It is the gospel of the water
and the Spirit, which saved us from all
our sins. He said that it would be in
our spirits. The gospel of the water and
the Spirit should be in our minds. Knowing
the Word of Truth with our brains, professing
it with our mouths, and putting it into
action—this is true faith.
Do you believe
in this with your heart? Do you recognize
the gospel of the water and the Spirit
with your conscience? The gospel of the
water and the Spirit is the Truth. This
is the Truth that the Apostle Paul has
witnessed. All the 6 chapters of Galatians
talk about this.
The Apostle
Paul tried so hard to correct the disordered
churches in Galatia at that time. Thanks
to the Word of Galatians, we can learn
a lot spiritually: We can read this Epistle
full of truth; we come to know that claiming
only the blood of the Cross confuses today’s
Christianity just like the circumcisionists
did in the early churches; we come to
believe that Jesus had to die on the Cross
because He had borne all the sins of the
world by the baptism that He received
from John the Baptist; we come to believe
that Jesus has become our perfect Savior
by being baptized, dying on the Cross,
and resurrecting from the dead. The world
has been crucified to us when Jesus was
crucified. And we rose again from the
dead with Jesus. We have to have this
faith. Paul’s faith was just the same
as this. I bet you know it well already,
but I would like to repeat it once again
for sure.
How hard would
it be for the Apostle Paul to preach the
gospel to the Gentiles? Eventually, the
Gentiles came and believed in the gospel
of the water and the Spirit through his
endeavor. The Apostle Paul preached about
Jesus Christ, who had come by the water
and the blood, to the Gentiles, and there
were some who believed in Him. “I was
destined to hell, but the Son of God came
to the earth for me and died on the Cross
after receiving the baptism, and saved
me by rising again from the death.” Some
Gentiles believed in the gospel of the
water and the Spirit in their minds like
this.
But, someone
among the Jewish Christians said to them,
“You have to be circumcised. Be circumcised.
Let me see if you have been circumcised
or not. You are not God’s people if you
do not receive circumcision.” Then, how
could the Gentiles believe in Him properly?
That extremely hindered the spread of
the gospel. It ruined the Truth that Jesus
had fulfilled His promise by coming to
the earth and completing the gospel of
the water and the Spirit to save us. Advocating
physical circumcision was one of the most
serious obstacles for the Apostle Paul
to preach the gospel to the Gentiles.
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What do we
have to do at this present age? We have
to believe in and preach about Jesus Christ
who came by the water and the Spirit.
We also have to defend the gospel of the
water and the Spirit. We must not claim
only the blood of Jesus. We have to claim,
testify, and believe in Jesus, who has
blotted out all the sins of the humanity
by coming by the water and the Spirit.
Do you comprehend this?
There is no
result if there is no cause. There must
be causes and results; how can there be
a result without a cause? When God created
the universe and created you on this earth,
did He say, "I made these impromptu
without any plans"? God told us that
He planned to save us before the creation
of the world; and He allowed us to be
born on this earth to make us His people
in Christ, and He actually saved us by
sending Jesus Christ. When God created
the universe and every thing in it, He
had planned and executed His creation
so elaborately in order to fulfill all
His motives. Then, how much more elaborately
had He done for us to accomplish His salvation?
Do you think that He had saved us only
with a sudden conclusion of the so-called
"blood of the Cross?" How can
a proper faith be established without
the Truth that explains the whole gamut
from the cause to the result?
We have to
know the Truth correctly, and believe
in it correctly. As long as I know, you
are well aware of the gospel of the water
and the Spirit and believe in it well.
We have to understand Paul’s heart well,
and let us preach as he has done. My fellow
believers, do you understand what I am
saying? Do not fight against each other
for useless glory, instead, believe purely
in your mind what the Lord has given you,
preach it purely, and thank Him with your
heart purely.
I wish the
blessings of God who came by the water
and the Spirit to be with you all.