The Impossible Exam
“There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who don’t walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus made me free from the law of sin and of death. For what the law couldn’t do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God did, sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh; that the ordinance of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” (Romans 8:1-4 WEB)
There was once a teacher who punished his badly-behaved class of students by giving them an examination full of the world’s hardest questions spanning across all subjects and disciplines.
“Class, if any of you want to be dismissed from class, you must get full marks in this exam. If not, you will have to stay back for detention every day. To give you all an advantage, you may discuss the questions with your fellow classmates.”
Everyone in the class attempted the exam, but even the smartest students had many mistakes. It seemed impossible.
The classmates were all frantically flipping through all the textbooks in the classroom, but it was no use. The questions were just way out of their level.
Just when it seemed that all hope was lost, the teacher said, “Class, I see that you are all trying your very best to work together to do well on the exam. Tell you what—I cannot cancel the exam, but I will join your class as a student and attempt the exam with you. There is no rule against me joining as a student in your class.”
Since the teacher had set the exam based on the knowledge he had, he easily answered all the questions correctly. To whoever wanted to refer to his answers, the teacher allowed them to see and write the same answers.
The students were all overjoyed. One by one, they copied the answers, and handed in their exam papers, scoring full marks. They were finally able to go home. They had learnt their lesson, and decided to be more studious in the future.
——
God gave the children of Israel the Ten Commandments—an impossible exam for mankind. The Law is perfect, holy, and good, but it was weak through man’s sinful flesh.
Whoever wants to be justified through the Law must keep the Ten Commandments perfectly in both word and deed. Anything short of perfection is considered unrighteous. Everyone fails this exam.
Then, God revealed His master plan: Yahweh the Son became a man to take the impossible exam on our behalf.
He lived a sinless life for thirty-three and a half years, and offered up Himself as our atoning sacrifice for sins. The blood He shed at the cross and His death perfectly fulfilled the Law for everyone.
Whoever wants to refer to His answers can just take His answers as their own and get full marks on their exam. When we place our faith in Jesus as Lord, we share in Jesus’ death, resurrection, and become a new creation in Christ. We are finally eligible to go home to our Abba God in Heaven!
It takes humility for a person to admit that he is a sinner that has no hope of deserving salvation by his own works. God is so holy that even one sinful thought can make you unrighteous. Perfection is needed. The way to be saved is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ as Lord!
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law of creation bible 在 Milton Goh Blog and Sermon Notes Facebook 的最讚貼文
God’s hand is all over Esther’s story of promotion from an ordinary Jewish orphan girl, to the queen of the mighty Persian empire.
To replace Vashti, a beauty pageant was to be prepared and conducted, to see which young woman would win the king’s heart.
“So it came about when the king’s command and his decree were proclaimed and when many young women were gathered together in the citadel of Susa into the custody of Hegai, that Esther was taken to the king’s palace [and placed] in the custody of Hegai, who was in charge of the women. Now the young woman pleased Hegai and found favor with him. So he quickly provided her with beauty preparations and her [portion of] food, and he gave her seven choice maids from the king’s palace; then he transferred her and her maids to the best place in the harem.” (ESTHER 2:8-9 AMP)
Many young women were entered into the pageant, the competition was intense. With so many beautiful women gathered together in the same space, tensions, jealousy and envy must have burned at an all-time high.
However, the Bible does not depict Esther as being caught up in any drama or palace politics.
It feels like she just minded her own business and was restful about the whole thing.
The favor that she received from the eunuch Hegai appears to be supernatural too—God’s hand in this is evident in the “seven choice maids”, as 7 is the number of God’s perfection.
Are you in a situation where there are lots of competitors, many of them just as talented as you, and you need an edge over them?
Rely on God to grant you favor like He did for Esther.
God can turn the heart of a person of influence in your favor if you will trust in Him.
I personally believe that Esther was a believer in the God of Israel, that she would have prayed for her needs.
She would most likely have prayed for God’s favor in the beauty pageant, and her faith in His provision can explain why she never seems to participate in any scheming or politicking.
Look at the opulent way in which each young woman in the beauty pageant was prepared for the king:
“Now when it was each young woman’s turn to go before King Ahasuerus, after the end of her twelve months under the regulations for the women--for the days of their beautification were completed as follows: six months with oil of myrrh and six months with [sweet] spices and perfumes and the beauty preparations for women-- then the young woman would go before the king in this way: anything that she wanted was given her to take with her from the harem into the king’s palace. In the evening she would go in and the next morning she would return to the second harem, to the custody of Shaashgaz, the king’s eunuch who was in charge of the concubines. She would not return to the king unless he delighted in her and she was summoned by name.” (ESTHER 2:12-14 AMP)
12 is the number of covenant relationship (twelve tribes of Israel, twelve disciples of Jesus) and 6 is the number of man (Man was made on the sixth day of creation, and 666 represents a man [antichrist] in his most depraved form, alienated from God’s nature).
In our covenant relationship with God (12-month beautification process), we depend on His favor, but that doesn’t mean that we do nothing and just sit there waiting for God to drop what we need from the sky.
There’s still a part where we have to walk, believing that His favor will flow in our lives as we are on the go.
His favor causes what we do to prosper and succeed.
Hence, the 6 months of oil of myrrh and 6 months of perfume.
Depending on God’s favor doesn’t mean that you only wait for the supernatural and miraculous and totally abandon the natural.
Esther still went through the beautification process like everybody else.
I’m sure she didn’t say “God is on my side and will grant me favor to win even without all this. I’m not even going to bathe or brush my teeth to prove that it’s all God’s favor!”
No, God can also use natural things to accomplish His purposes. The key is to be led by the Holy Spirit—do what He tells us to do. That’s godly wisdom.
So please carry on brushing your teeth, using moisturizer, whatever beauty products, and if your doctor has prescribed you medicine, carry on taking it unless God has clearly spoken to you that you don’t need to.
Now, read the following passage carefully because it reveals Esther’s secret of receiving God’s favor:
“Now as for Esther, the daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai who had taken her in as his [own] daughter, when her turn came to go in to the king, she requested nothing except what Hegai the king’s eunuch [and attendant] who was in charge of the women, advised. And Esther found favor in the sight of all who saw her. So Esther was taken to King Ahasuerus, to his royal palace in the tenth month, that is, the month of Tebeth (Dec-Jan), in the seventh year of his reign. Now the king loved Esther more than all the other women, and she found favor and kindness with him more than all the [other] virgins, so that he set the royal crown on her head and made her queen in the place of Vashti.” (ESTHER 2:15-17 AMP)
The name of Esther’s father Abihail means “The Father is Might”.
Esther relied on God as her might. She didn’t request for anything except for what Hegai the king’s eunuch advised.
In this part of Esther’s story, the eunuch represents the Holy Spirit.
True sons of God are led by the Holy Spirit and not by the Law which requires their own strength and ability.
Esther didn’t rely on her own smarts or understanding, but fully trusted in God to grant her favor:
“Trust in and rely confidently on the LORD with all your heart And do not rely on your own insight or understanding. In all your ways know and acknowledge and recognize Him, And He will make your paths straight and smooth [removing obstacles that block your way].” (PROVERBS 3:5-6 AMP)
By submitting to God’s authority, she was demonstrating true humility, qualifying her to receive grace:
“Surely He scorns the scornful, But gives grace to the humble.” (Proverbs 3:34 NKJV)
Esther’s original name is “Hadassah” which means myrtle. The myrtle flower is star-shaped, having five petals.
The name she received later on, Esther, means star.
By relying on God’s favor, the star on earth (myrtle) was elevated to the heavens—from a common foreigner, to royalty in the palace!
In Chinese culture, we love to hear palace stories about how the protagonist goes through storms in life with lots of drama, using his or her intelligence and skills to defeat evil and attain happiness.
Such stories inspire us and make us feel like that person truly deserves the happiness that he or she received in the end.
This is fleshly because it champions man’s own abilities and methods. Oftentimes, such protagonists use underhand strategies that God would frown upon.
However, Esther’s story shows us that it is still possible for a story to be restful, smooth-sailing and still wonderfully inspiring.
It was none of her own smarts or efforts, and all of God’s favor.
You may begin as a star-shaped flower on earth, but when you rely on God’s grace (unmerited favor), the Lord will greatly exalt you in the sight of all—you become a rising star in the heavens to shine for His glory!
This devotional is just one issue from my ongoing Bible Study series for patrons on Patreon.
It’s called “New Beginnings with God” because the Holy Spirit wants to show us how to navigate this new year to go from a small beginning to a greatly increased end.
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Additionally, my new ebook “Messiah’s Miracles—The Power of Having Faith in Jesus Christ” is almost ready. All GEM tier and above patrons will receive it too once it’s ready.
Here’s what a beta reader said about it:
“Thank you, Milton for the anointed sharing of the 37 Miracles of Jesus. Right from the 1st miracle, God dropped fresh revelations of His heart to me. It wasn't head knowledge that I experienced, I felt His personality, His loving heart's intents towards me. On top of that, there's also revelation of His healing power. Praise Jesus for transforming my heart and bringing me closer to Him through Milton's sharing.” - Ann Tan, GEM tier patron from Singapore
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law of creation bible 在 Milton Goh Blog and Sermon Notes Facebook 的最讚貼文
No One is Saved by Default
“So then as through one trespass, all men were condemned; even so through one act of righteousness, all men were justified to life. For as through the one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the one, many will be made righteous.”” (Romans 5:18-19 WEB)
Those who believe that Jesus’ death at the cross paid for everyone’s sins and therefore everyone is saved whether they place their faith in Him or not, often point to the passage above to support their view.
They would say that “all men are justified to life.”
Actually the context is important. Look at the verse after that. It says “many”—not “all” will be made righteous.
Therefore what the apostle Paul meant is that everyone who is born is condemned because of Adam’s sin, and there is only one way for every person—no matter who he/she is, to be saved, and that is by faith in Jesus and His finished work at the cross.
Everyone who wants to be justified to life can only receive it through Jesus’ atoning sacrifice at the cross—not through obedience to the Law, other pagan gods, or an abundance of good works.
“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me.” (John 14:6 WEB)
Paul was just agreeing with Jesus’ own words. There is no way to eternal life with God except through faith in Jesus Christ—He is the way, the truth and the life.
Is there a Hell and an eventual lake of fire torment for sinners?
Yes, although Jesus did carry all the sins of the world upon Himself at the cross and was punished for every sin, that payment is only credited to those who place their faith in Him as Lord.
If they choose not to accept that payment, God respects their free will, but they will still have to pay for all their sins in full—an eternity in the lake of fire still cannot purge away that immense sin debt.
That’s why the following verse still calls these sinners by their individual sins:
“But for the cowardly, unbelieving, sinners, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their part is in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”” (Revelation 21:8 WEB)
If the only sin that God can punish sinners for is unbelief in Jesus, then John wouldn’t call them by their individual sins. He would have just said “the unbelieving”.
Paul and John don’t contradict each other. Both agree that many will be made righteous through faith in Jesus, but those who remain unbelievers will spend an eternity paying for their sins in the lake of fire.
Jesus affirms this truth as well—there are sheep (believers) and goats (unbelievers). They each have different eternal fates. Believers enjoy eternal life, while unbelievers are destined for eternal torment in the lake of fire:
“Then he will say also to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels;...These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”” (Matthew 25:41, 46)
Jesus the Son of God became a Man not because He has no choice—He could have stayed as Yahweh in Heaven, forgetting about mankind and creating a new race of creature who would obey Him perfectly.
It is easy for Him to create—just speak.
But He chose to set aside His divine glory, to suffer the most cruel torture and humiliating death on earth just to redeem you and me.
Jesus’ love for you kept Him hanging on that cross, loving you until the very end, when every trace of sin had been completely punished in full.
If you don’t receive Him as your Lord, then you’re just trampling on His sacrifice for you, having made Him suffer needlessly for your sins.
So how to be saved? It’s simple:
“that if you will confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart, one believes unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Romans 10:9-10 WEB)
You only need to believe that the Gospel is true and confess that Jesus is your Lord. The moment you do that, you pass from death into eternal life, being born-again in your spirit to become a new creation in Christ.
Take note that many times the New Testament scriptures refer to your spiritual ears, heart, eyes and mouth.
Your body is not you—you are the spirit living inside the body (your earthly tent).
For those who are mute, language-impaired, in a coma or on their deathbed who are so physically weak that they can’t speak, in their eternal spirit they can still confess Jesus as Lord with their spiritual mouth and believe in their spiritual heart to receive salvation.
At this link you can read more Christ-centered Bible Studies, devotionals, sermon notes and find ways to partner with our ministry to help us reach even more people with the Gospel ===> https://smart.bio/miltongohblog
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