God's Sovereignty

 

『Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) 』(Ephesians 2: 5), 『For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:』(Ephesians 2: 8) Comparing the two sentences, we say that we are saved by grace (in 2: 5), and that you are saved by faith for grace (for 2: 8). "Faith is the gift of God."

 

It is the order of grace, faith, and gift. God does not give grace to anyone, but gives grace to those who are in Christ as in 2: 7. So, before God's grace, "to say that man believes in God" is false. The people of the church pray for grace from God. If their problems are solved, they experience miracles, and their quality of life improves, they will say, "We have been favored by God." But the reason God gives grace is not human, but God himself. God's grace for humans depends not on human effort and dedication but on God's will and sovereignty.

 

Everyone is placed under the wrath of God. Human righteousness is worse than dust on God. But God gives grace to those who repent. This is the sovereignty of God. God does not give grace to those who do not repent. So, as Jesus and his disciples went along the road, they saw that "the tower of Siloam fell and many were dead." Jesus metaphorically said in Luke 13: 4-5, "If you do not repent, you can die."

 

『Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. 』 Jesus spoke of the fruit of repentance in Luke (13: 6-9).『 He spake also this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none. Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground? And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it: And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down.』

 

The grace of God is connected with the repentance of sinners. Repentance is the way into God's grace. So repentance is to the cross of Jesus Christ. Nowadays, many church people are not united with Jesus on the cross, but speak of God's love. And they say, "He who receives Jesus receives the grace of salvation." God tells sinners to "die," but humans seek God's love.

 

The Hebrew people who fled Egypt blamed God for lack of water in the wilderness. So God sent serpents, causing them to die. The reason why God sent a serpent to the people was not to realize and repent, but to be bitten by a snake. God is angry, but human beings do not understand the will of God. God commanded the making of serpentine copper, hanging it high, and watching the people. The moment they look at the copper snake, the snake's poison is gone. God helped them realize that when they looked at the copper snake, "the snake's poison spread to their bodies, and they were fallen as snakes." God tells them to repent.

 

These days, the world's situation is becoming the worst in history. The order of creation is being destroyed, and humanity is disappearing. Homosexuality is spreading like an epidemic. All of this is due to Satan. After Satan enters the human mind, Satan causes humans to think badly. Violence, adultery, lying, idolatry, etc. So, the Bible says: These are all children of Satan. 2000 years ago, Jews who believed in God came to Jesus. They saw Jesus work miracles and believed that Jesus was the Son of God. But Jesus said to them: Your father is Satan, not God. Jesus said so to them because they did not know what God wanted. Jesus said to his disciples: "Tonight, you will all forsake me." The disciples strongly denied. But when Jesus was crucified, the disciples ran away.

 

Today, there may be children of the devil among those worshiping in the church. Those who are far from Jesus' cross and seek God of love are the children of Satan. Self-assurance is not salvation. Self-confidence disappears like a bubble in some situations.

 

We are saved because we have faith because of God's grace. God's grace is not given because of our faith. God's grace is not given because of man's good works and efforts. God has no interest but Jesus Christ, who died on the cross. Human beings under God's wrath are the object of God's judgment, not the object of God's mercy. Thus, if we do not enter into Jesus Christ, who died on the cross, we will be judged by God with fire, just like Noah's flood. This is the miserable state of man. If we do not realize this, there is no way to know how precious the shedding of the blood of Jesus Christ died on the cross. Only those who repent can find love in Jesus Christ. Repentance is death with Jesus.

 

We must find that there are two beliefs. First is the faith that God gives to those who repent. This is a gift. Before faith comes from God, all are in sin and are not saved from God. Galatians 3: 22-23 says: 『But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.』

But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.
Second is the belief that human beings think with knowledge and experience and believe in God. This faith is one's own faith. This is the belief of most people. If we have this faith, we run away from the cross like Jesus' disciples.

So God gives faith as a gift to those who repent. Repentance must first realize that we were living in iniquity, and second, to die with Jesus in ourselves. Dying is the baptismal service. Water represents death. So God gives birth to man (who died with Jesus). This is grace.