An Excellent Standing and Great Assurance

Bible verse: 2nd Thimothy June. 20. 2021.

Topic: An Excellent Standing and Great Assurance Sunday Morning Service

In 1885, the first missionary Horace Newton Allen came to Joseon(the old name of Korea between 15th to 18th century). As a medical missionary, he came to Joseon and established the first modern hospital of Joseon, Yonsei Severance Hospital which had been called Gwanghyewon back then. Missionary Allen established Gwanghyewon and treated patients which led Joseon Royal Family to trust him. Based on that support, Missionary Henry Gerthard Appenzeller was able to come to Joseon as well and institute Baejae Hakdang, the first secondary school in Korea.

Gospel was spread in all around in Joseon after missionaries came to Joseon to establish hospitals and schools. However, there were many difficulties in spreading God’s words since Joseon was used to Confucianism and quite a big number of people believed in Budda, superstition, shamanism and so on, not to mention worshiping idols.

Despite the difficulties, with the grace of God, the gospel was passed on to more people and there was revival in churches. With those revival, there was a need for baptizing the saints and having people who can be faithful to their duties. Nonetheless, churches back in Joseon were very cautious with those needs. The eligibility for baptism was very demanding. If you want to be baptized today, it is required for you a 6 months attendance to get faith training. After 6 months of the faith training, the person can be baptized. People who are baptized are obligated to read the entire Bible once, and tithe, do a thanks offering, and remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

However, during the Joseon Dynasty, when the gospel was delivered for the first time, the conditions, or eligibility for baptism were way more tough. There were 8 conditions. A person can be baptized in the following conditions:

1) First, the intention to be baptized should be pure. The purpose of the baptism should not be for a personal profit nor business.

2) Second, the person must attend public service. These days, public services are referred to Sunday morning and afternoon services.

3) Third, the person must be a good example of doing offerings.

4) Fourth, home worship service should be done in the morning and evening. Start the day and finish the day with worships.

5) Fifth, no drinks, cigarettes, and drugs are allowed. At that time which was an agricultural society, drinks, cigarettes, and drugs are regarded as indulgent products. Forbidding them made people almost impossible to be baptized.

6) Sixth, ancestral rites are not allowed. Confucianism was dominant in Joseon Dynasty where Samgangorum(three basic rule and five principles in Confucianism) must be obeyed. Ancestral rites, worshiping ghosts, were mentioned in the bible as worshiping idols. However, during the Joseon Dynasty, prohibiting, not allowing, ancestral rites is as if telling people to be disrespectful to their ancestors which was very shameful.

7) Seventh, the wife you are living with shall be your first wife. Monogamy was normal in Joseon Dynasty; keeping concubines are general was well.

8) Finally Eighth, there should be evidential changes in live after attending church. It could be proven by self-testimony or statements made by neighbors. There must be differences after going to church.

However, if a person cannot satisfy all of the 8 conditions, the person shall forfeit his(her) baptism. Hallelujah, we have very sincere ancestors of faith.

Furthermore, it is extremely hard to perform one’s duty without being baptized. Only when a person is baptized, the person can serve Hallelujah.

Therefore, looking back the conditions for baptism back in Joseon Dynasty, we can see that believing in Jesus, being baptized and, fulfilling one’s duty have very significant meanings and our ancestors cherished christening.

Moreover, providing evidence for changes after believing in Jesus is a really heartwarming part. I thought, focusing on today’s bible verse, missionaries who came to Korea for the first time to share the words of God and established the foundation of the gospel are very precious. We shall follow their faithful guidance, and faith, learning from and treasure them.

I prepared today‘s chapel, not only with hopes to succeed the faith of our ancestors who established the great biblical foundation, but also with hopes of making fruitful future in our next generations who will receive good faith as inheritance and God’s goodness to protect through the gospel in this day we are living in.

I pray that you who came before God this morning have grace in the name of the Lord. Let’s read verse 13 together.

Hallelujah Amen.

How are the values of good faith formed for saints? A set of values of good faith starts from good minds and thoughts. Great minds and thoughts can settle and root as a value of good faith when a person changes one’s thoughts and minds in a way presented in the bible.

If you carefully look at the today’s bible verse, it starts with a phrase “Those who have served well”. Those who have served well... why would apostle Paul empathize the words “Those who have served well” through his spiritual son, Thimothy?

Saints get salvation through God’s grace. In other words, God gives salvation with his grace, which is why Ephesians 2:8 and Titus 3:5 emphasizing “we are saved because of his mercy”

On the other hand, in John chapter 3, God proclaimed he already made a judgment on the world, then what is the God’s judgment? The judgment is “giving people over to a depraved mind” and “letting unjust to be unjust continuously”. Namely, it is being neglected in a sinful state.

The reason why it is hard to evangelize, no matter how we tell others to believe in Jesus, is because we gave them over to depraved mind. But what about the people who have been blessed with salvation? They are joyful and worship and praise the God always all the time. Because blessed them with grace, they can praise and worship the Lord and be loyal and dedicated to him. Hallelujah!! How amazing, surprising, and grateful it is.

Paul encourages to be royal, with a premise to be those who faithfully served, which is one of the positions in church, through his spiritual son Timothy. He recommend to be devoted. Why? for the reward in heaven. Let’s read Philippians 3:14 together.

Hallelujah.

The letters Paul sent to the Christian church in Philippi were written in a prison in Rome. However, look that his testimony. It was written a person who faithfully served, which means to be royal with a given duty. It means to be devoted with a calling given. I hope you could be royal in the Bible Forest Church to get the big reward in heaven later when you stand before God. It’s Metthew 25:20-23.

Hallelujah

If we look at the parable of the talents, it is a record of two people, one received 5 talents and the other 2 talents, getting complements form their master. Both are told, in a exactly same way, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things’. If you read the verse carefully it says ‘ you hae been faithful with a few things’.

What does ‘a few things’ mean? These are something we can do by ourselves. What are the things that are given to us? Maybe something they might to regarded to be very trivial, small. Still, the master said that he will put them in charge of many things since they have been faithful with a few things. We can find a bit different details in Luck 19:15-19. Let’s read the verses together.

Hallelujah

In the bible, it is said that those who served well gain “an excellent standing”. However, if read them carefully, it did not say people who served gain authority(authoritative standing), but ‘an excellent standing’. Think about those two, authority(authoritative standing) and an excellent standing.

In ‘an excellent standing’, the word ‘carlos’ in Greek has been used to describe ‘excellent’. Carlos has a meaning of kind, or valuable, or virtuous. Matthew 25:20-21 describes the meaning of excellent in the phrase ‘an excellent standing’.

Hallelujah.

If you see the verse 21, it says ‘come and share your masters happiness’. It used the word ‘master’ instead of the word ‘God’, which then the verses becomes ‘come and share the God’s happiness’. What exactly is happiness of God? Let’s read Psalm 16:3 together.

Hallelujah.

Where can we find the delight of God? It says it is ‘in the saints who are in the land’. Nonethelss, reading it more carefully, you can see that the saints are described as ‘the glorious ones’, though it is sure that the delight of the God is in the saints.

It described the saints as ‘the glorious ones’. Glorious in Hebrew is ‘Adeart’ which has meaning of precious, noble, and priceless. Another meaning of Adeart is powerful almighty which is used only to describe God. However, in his expression ‘the saints who are in the land, being glorious ones’ is deeply related to the death of the saints in Psalm 116:15. Let’s read the verse together.

Hallelujah.

The most crucial reason why God see the stains glorious is death. The death of saints goes beyond the meaning of just death. The writer of Revelation wrote ‘blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on’. The reason why death is precious and blessed is that through death of saints holy glory, the salvation is completed in a way that God has planned and intended. The expression ‘your masters happiness’ is used because the eternal life God has planned is accomplished.

Moreover, it says that those who served well gain “an excellent standing”. This is joining God’s banquet where his special plan is being accomplished. What an elegant and indescribable banquet where there is nothing to compare with and full of joy being able to shout salvation.

Dear members of Bible Forest Church(교회 이름이 말씀숲 교회인 것 같아서 이렇게 표현했습니다만, 혹시 아니라면 Dear family members라고 하셔도 괜찮으실 것 같아요!), we cannot be silent when we have learned God’s amazing plan for salvation to complete our salvation. How could be pay back his amazing grace?

Dear members of Bible Forest Church, we shall be people who serve well. Not only that, it is said in the Second declaration that those who have served well gain ‘great assurance in their faith in Christ Jesus’.

Assurance is parrhesia in Hebrew which is described in the bible in as the following; let’s read the verse together.

Hallelujah.

Great assurance in faith is described as great boldness in the faith in the newly revised bible(or in King James Version). Assurance is a state of being determined. In case of tenants who are renting a lease a house on a house with a deposit or on a monthly basis, it is recommended to report on the day you are moving in and make sure with the date written on the lease contract. Once the date is clearly mentioned in the lease contract, there is no need to worry of not getting the deposit back. Also, even in the case where the building you have moved in is put up for auction, you can get a reimbursement regarding your deposit above all. In short, the fixed date on the contract is a very safe system where you could be fully guaranteed.

Let’s look at the case where Abraham was in. Let’s read Romans together.

Hallelujah

It is said that Abraham in hope believed against all hope. What did he believe? He believed in becoming the father of many nations, despite of the fact that he was an one hundred years old man and his wife’s womb was also dead. Verse 21 describes this belief of Abraham as a state of ‘being fully persuaded’.

Those who have served well gain great assurance in their faith in Christ Jesus. Hallelujah. Then how could we serve well? It is not easy to serve well and there could be struggles as well. Patience is key. Despite of difficulties, you should try to overcome them. When you become loyal and devoted, you will be able to get great assurance and the great boldness in the faith.

Dear members, you gain faith through process you becoming loyal and devoted to serve. Your faith will grow bigger, big as a mountain, a tremendous one. You will gain great assurance of faith, being assured of your faith.

Abraham believed in hope against all hope. He was 100 years old and his wife Sarah was not able to pregnant anymore. Still he was not weakened in faith. He sincerely believed in God’s promise. Rather his faith became more solid and got great assurance and the great boldness in faith. Hallelujah. Hope you can learn something from today’s chapel and have grace and peace in the name of the Lord.