The faith of the Syrophoenician woman
The faith of the Syrophoenician woman
The woman was a Greek, a Syrophenician by nation; and she thought him
that he would cast forth the devil out of her daughter. But Jesus said unto her,
Let the children first be filled: for it is not to meet to take the children's
bread, and to cast it unto the dogs. And she answered and said unto him, Yes,
Lord: yet the dogs under the table eat of the children's crumbs. And he said
unto her, For this saying go thy way; The devil is gone out of your daughter.
And when she was come to her house, she found the devil gone out, and her
daughter laid upon her bed.
This is the conversation between Jesus and the Canaanite woman. A
Canaanite woman said her daughter was possessed by a demon, and she begged
Jesus to heal her. However, in Matthew 15:24, Jesus described the Canaanite
woman as a dog, saying, “But he answered and
said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” The Canaanite woman knew that Jesus was the Messiah. In Matthew 15:22,
“And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the
same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of
David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.』
In the words, “Son of David,” we can discover the meaning that
Jesus is the Messiah. Nevertheless, Jesus intentionally ignores the woman. But
the Canaanite woman said, “yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.” ’ she responded. Here we see that
salvation is spread from Jews to Gentiles. A dog means a stranger.
When the
Bible refers to a dog, it refers to the habits of a dog. In Proverbs 26:11, 『As a dog returns to his vomit, so a fool returns to his folly.』 These words apply to the people who lived under the law when God
gave the Israelites freedom from the law. Apostle Paul said in Galatians 5:1, “Stand fast
therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not
entangled again with the yoke of bondage.” Paul said, “The people
will again be subject to the yoke of bondage.”
God led the Israelites out of
Egypt and performed the amazing miracle of the Red Sea parting, and the people
tried to return to Egypt from the wilderness. In the eyes of God, this is as
foolish as carrying a yoke of slavery. In Philippians 3:2, 『Beware of
dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the precision.』
Injuring the body means
circumcising the body according to the law. “Dogs, evildoers, and those who are circumcised in the
flesh” refer to those who think they
are saved by believing in Jesus Christ, but still cannot escape legalism. Jesus
was crucified under the law, and those in Christ have all died to the law. If
they try to apply the law again, they will become like dogs in God's eyes,
ignoring what Jesus accomplished.
In 『Do not give
what is holy to dogs』, the holy thing is the word of
God. Holiness means the gospel that “those who repent and enter into Christ will be saved.” In other words, there is no need to give this gospel to
those who say they believe in Jesus but say they must follow the law. God
forbids those who came out of Egypt and try to return to Egypt from entering
Canaan.
Although a
believer has received forgiveness of sins through Jesus Christ and is free from
the law, if he still tries to follow the law and enter into sin, the Bible
calls them dogs and pigs. Although all sins of a believer have been forgiven in
Christ, if a believer tries to become a holy person by judging whether or not
he will sin again based on the law, he will become a dog or a pig before God.
So, 『Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither
cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and
turn again and rend you..』The legalists (dogs and pigs)
are damaging the church. will be. Those who follow the law trample and hurt the
saints in Christ. In the early church, legalists tried to persuade believers
within the church to return to Judaism. They harassed the believers through
persecution and cajoling.
In 1 John
5:16, “If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall
ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death.” There is a
sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it.』
Sin unto
death means not believing in what Jesus Christ accomplished. Jesus Christ died
under the law, and those in Christ also died with Jesus under the law. So,
Jesus died to all the sins in this world. Those in Christ believe that Jesus
took all the sins (past, present, and future) in the world. Because those who
are in Christ are dead to the world. However, if a believer says that he is
saved by believing in Jesus, but that he must repent of his sins every day and
receive forgiveness, he does not believe in what Jesus Christ has accomplished.
People like
this commit sins that lead to death. Instead of daily asking God for
forgiveness of his sins, he must first check whether he is dead to sin, to the
law, and to the world. Since the believer is not dead to sin, but thinks he is
in Christ, he considers repentance for forgiveness of sins necessary. In Romans
6:7, “For he that is dead is freed from sin.”
In Matthew 12:31, “Wherefore I say unto you, All
manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy
against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.”
Because Jesus died
on the cross, all the sins of believers were resolved. However, when these
words are testified, those who do not believe them are blaspheming the Holy
Spirit. This is because when the gospel is preached, the Holy Spirit testifies
to it. So, anyone who does not believe these words of Jesus commits the sin of
blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.
Even though Jesus
Christ took all the sins of the world for those who are in Christ, If a
believer still tries to repent of his sins and achieve sanctification, and
thinks that he must do something to achieve salvation, he is committing the sin
of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Instead of a believer trying to achieve
something, he must check “I die every day.”
Therefore, anyone
who commits the sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit becomes like the dogs
and pigs mentioned in the Bible (Matthew 7:6). If a believer is under the law,
he or she becomes a slave to sin, and anyone who commits a sin while trying to
keep the law becomes a slave to sin. Those who are slaves of sin are those who
do not abide in the words of Jesus. However, if a believer escapes the law, he
becomes free from sin and becomes the sons of God. Those who had ears to hear
Jesus heard, but those who had no ears to hear did not listen. Tax collectors
and sinners believed what Jesus said, but they did not believe the Pharisees.
The same would be true today. In the church today, if a believer does not stop
trying to keep the law, he or she is not in Christ.
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