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Whoever You Are You Need The Risen Christ To Save You From Your Sin
By Rev (Dr) Timothy Tow
(Preached at Life BPC, Easter Sunrise Service, 23 April 2000 )
Text: I Cor 15:55 -57
There are two kinds of people in the world. They are the rich and poor, the educated and uneducated, the wise and the foolish. Of the last category, the wise and the foolish, I would discuss them on the subject of death. The wise which are in the minority are those who know their enemy Death, and are scared. The foolish which are in the majority are those who defy Death.
These live foolishly for the present. They only care for the sinful pleasures of this life. Their philosophy is, "Let us eat and drink for tomorrow we die."
When I was in Australia I read of a group of pleasure-seeking young people who lived together and had sex together. They lived like dogs. Many contracted AIDS. The time given for them to live was five years. But they laughed it off. They didn't care how long, so long as they were indulging in their sins.
But they did not realise that there is judgment after death. The Bible says, "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment" (Heb 9:27 ). There is heaven and there is hell. Jesus three times affirms that the fires of hell shall burn forever and ever (Mk 9:43 -47). And He tells the story of two men, a beggar who believed the Gospel and went to heaven and a rich man who ate and drank but rejected the Gospel and went to Hell.
- Friend, where do you stand? Do you also laugh it off and persist in your sinful ways? Why do some Lifers attend Church for some time and never darken the Church door again? During my 50 years as your Pastor, I have counselled not a few prodigal sons who have backslided. They have been gripped by their sinful ways and it is impossible to snatch them back from "womanising, gambling, drinking, smoking," according to a Chinese proverb. Ezekiel says, "Have I pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord God: and not that he should return from his ways, and live?" When will you, prodigal son, return?
But there are those who live an apparently upright life. They think they can work their way to heaven. As Chinese Confucianists they have lived up to the teachings of the Great Sage. They measure themselves by their own standards. But God's Word says, "There is none righteous, no not one" (Rom 3:10 ). "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Rom 3:23 ). "For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all" (Jas 2:10 ). Further Jeremiah says, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" (17:9).
- The wise indeed are mindful of their greatest enemy Death. The law of after-life judgment is written in their hearts. The Chinese have many proverbs which are derived from their intuitive perceptions. "Do good and you will be blest, do bad and you will be punished." Being afraid of Death, they say, "A troubled life is better than a peaceful death."
But there is judgment after death. This is commonly expressed even by uneducated old women, "After death we must go and suffer in hell." I have known of a retired old towkay who is the cemetery warden of a graveyard in Kuala Lumpur . The older he became the more terrified he was of dying. By the grace of God he paid a visit to his son in Australia who is a Christian. His son introduced Jesus the Risen Saviour to him. He believed with all his heart. He was freed forever from the terror of death. When he returned to K.L. he became a staunch member of Calvary Jaya B-P Church .
Indeed every major religion believes in judgment in hell, whether it be Buddhism, Hinduism, Shintoism. Now I have not mentioned Confucianism, for Confucianism is not a religion but a philosophy. It deals mostly with ethics, the right relationships between king and subject, friend and friend, brother and sister, father and son, husband and wife. Confucius was a very wise man. Once when he was asked about death, he replied, "I do not know life, how can I know death." He honestly confessed he was seeking the deeper things of life. He said, "If I know the Truth in the morning, I am prepared to die in the evening." Dr John Sung commented on Confucius, "If he had heard Christ, he would become a Christian." Confucius is known to have thousands of students. He would be first to receive Christ. Though you are highly educated, do not think too highly of yourself. Seek the Truth, and the Truth will make you free.
The Apostle Paul says, "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved" (Rom 10:9). The wise are those that are afraid of Death, but the Wiser must find the Way to conquer Death, and that Way is our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who paid the penalty of our sins by death and rose again for our salvation.
How happy would Shih Hwang-Ti, the first emperor of China be if he knew Christ. For though he had conquered all of China , he tried to conquer death but he failed.
Well, I am no match to Shih Hwang-Ti, but I am one step ahead of him. I have found the Crucified and Risen Saviour. When I was a boy, I would accompany my pastor Grandfather to the funerals of members of the Chinese Presbyterian Church. My Grandfather's Church in Upper Serangoon was only half a mile to Bidadari, the Christian Cemetery . By going to the graveyard I was scared about Death. Herein comes Solomon's wisdom. "It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart" (Eccles 7:2). This drove me to Jesus. I was saved at the age of 15.
You who come to the Easter Service, I believe you are true believers, but some who come might not have fully believed. Do accept Jesus Christ now and then you can sing Hallelujah with us. Now the first thing that Jesus said to His disciples on Resurrection Sunday was, " As the Father hath sent me, so send I you." As we return home from this glorious Service, let us broadcast the Good News to our unbelieving parents, relatives and friends. Let us support all our missionaries who are preaching the Gospel to the unsaved in all the 10 ASEAN countries, even to the ends of the earth.
"O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? . . .But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (I Cor 15:55 -57). Hallelujah, He is risen. And we are also risen together with Him. Whosoever you are who believe Him are saved forever! Amen.
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