Your Gospel Is Too Small

 

 

As a Christian, a pastor and a professor, the gospel is at the heart of what I do. It defines not only the message I share to people, my students, and my congregation, but it also defines my life and my vocation. The gospel is the single news or that one thing that affects everything in my life—my past, my present, and yes even my future. This is why I have given serious thoughts and studies about this one thing. Am I willing to lose all things for this one thing? As Paul writes,    

But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in^[a] Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. (Philippians 3:7-11).

Why the gospel? It is because it is this gospel that has given me Jesus and and the kingdom God offers to those who believe in Jesus.

I grew up believing that this gospel offers me salvation inclusive of forgiveness from all my sins and, most of all, a slot in heaven. Who wouldn’t want salvation? Indeed, we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). I was taught that I needed to surrender all of my sins to Jesus, who is my Savior—the one who died for my sins. At 14 years of age, I decided to give my life to Jesus and surrendered all my sins to him, at least the ones I knew. That was the beginning of my journey with the gospel.

            I felt called to the ministry and so decided to go to the Bible College, and there I began my serious engagement with in-depth studies of the Bible and likewise the sacred task of doing theology. My time at the Bible college confirmed what I have been taught about the gospel and my need for freedom from sin. I loved our denominational distinctive that puts emphasis on the possibility of being freed from sin. I have gained more knowledge and grew more in my faith. As a result I decided to go further in my ministerial preparation and took Master of Divinity. This time I have become a minister and preacher of the word. I have learnt the “gospel” and how to preach it to people and my congregations. I saw how my gospel knowledge affects not only life but also the ministries I do. I faithfully called on people to seek forgiveness and freedom from sin.

            My desire for knowledge continued to grow especially when I was asked to teach at Bible Colleges and Seminaries. I needed more knowledge to be fully equipped for the opportunity of teaching. But this time, my studies were more focused. Since I had excelled in learning the New Testament Greek, I decided to just go ahead and study the New Testament. My studies had led me to more in-depth knowledge of the message of the New Testament. The narrower I got in my studies the broader the subjects have become to me. I had to study not only the New Testament but also the Old Testament and even the things in between like the Second Temple Judaism. Added to this was my growing desire to know more about theology, which also led me to study philosophy.  

            It was during these higher studies that things began to change. My understanding of the gospel got broadened, deepened, and widened. Slowly I began to discover that the gospel is more than forgiveness of sins and more than freedom from the power of sin. So, I asked, “What is the gospel?” The gospel then has become the subject of my rigorous studies. I did lots of readings and researches on the gospel.  

            To cut the story short, I discovered that the gospel I had known and had been preaching was too small. Of course, the gospel that I have discovered does not negate the reality of sin—both forgiveness and freedom from sin. It is just that it is too small. If we are to be faithful to the gospel as presented to us in the Holy Scriptures, then we need to reframe our gospel. I began doing a reframation of the gospel one step at a time. I engaged in discussions with scholars through books and seminars. My sermons and lessons began to change toward the the cosmic grandeur of the biblical gospel.

            But in order to offer this discovery or rather rediscovery to more people, I needed to write it down. I did and began sharing it to churches through seminars. Some of those who saw what I saw have asked me to write a book on it and make it available to the body of Christ. In fact, the subtitle, “Reframing the Gospel Toward Its Cosmic Grandeur,” came out of our discussion with the facebook group I am a part of. The title came as borrowed one from the book of J. B. Philip’s entitled, “Your God Is Too Small.”

This book is a product of my life’s journey with gospel itself. The knowledge I have received and its evolution in and through my theological education have brought me this far and have given birth to this book. May my joyful rediscovery of the good news of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom give you also that joy and realization that the gospel we have known is too small and that it needs a reframing toward its indeed cosmic grandeur. I invite you journey with men and to rediscover the gospel we have accepted and loved as Christians and as ministers of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

 

You Are Holy (Numbers 5:1-31)

 

Introduction

Laws are not about restrictions, but about redemption—freedom from self-centered living to God-centered living. In and through obedience, every law is holiness in action. Holiness is not just a relation—a union between God and man—it is also a responsibility—a life of obedience.

As He is, God wants His people to be likewise holy in life. Such is the whole purpose of the laws of God. In this passage, we are given three commands to keep the people holy.

 Keep Your Camp Holy (5:1-4)

The presence of God is not limited to the Tent of Meeting; it is extended to the camp of Israel. The camp includes not only the place but also the people that dwell in the camp—Israel. To us Christians, the camp is the church. As a church, we are holy. God is with us. We do have the responsibility to keep the body of Christ holy as the Head is.

 God demands that His camp be holy. The Lord said to Moses, “Command the Israelites to send away from the camp anyone who has an infectious skin disease or a discharge of any kind, or who is ceremonially unclean because of a dead body. Send them away male and female alike; send them out the camp so they will not defile their camp, where I dwell among them.” God’s holiness is perfection. There is no impurity or uncleanness in Him. He is absolutely perfect. Anyone who comes near him must be holy. The holiness of the Israelites is a gift, but it is also a responsibility. They must keep themselves holy. They must send away unholy people among them.

 In the same way, we Christians must keep ourselves holy. Our fellowship must be holy. We must get rid of unholy people in our fellowship. We must discipline those who violate either their holiness or the holiness of our fellowship.  

 If we don’t send away unholy people, God’s presence will sure leave our fellowship—a costly consequence indeed.

Keep You Community Holy (5:5-10)

Holiness is not only personal, but also communal. The community is likewise holy. You are holy also in relation to the community. And we also have the responsibility to keep the community holy.

 In community, there will always be conflict. God is not naïve to ignore the possibility or more likely the reality of conflict in community. As humans, we always have that natural tendency unless controlled by the Spirit, to wrong people—to injure even those that are closed to us. God provides a legal solution to the perceived problem or threat to the holiness of the community. The law demands restitution.

 Social wrongs must be restituted. The people who wrong their neighbors or anyone must seeks restitution. Failure to do so has consequences. Such is an expression of ‘apodictic’ and ‘casuistic’ law—if you do this, that happens; if you don’t do this, that happens too.

The law is intended to keep the community whole. Holiness is wholeness. The church is a community. It is an important part of our lives as Christians. We must learn to live right with one another. Jesus commanded us to love one another.

 Keep You Covenant Holy (5:11-31)

The remaining verses talk about the holiness of marriage covenant. Marriage is a covenant; it is sacred. It is holy and must be kept holy. Husband and wife have the responsibility of keeping the holiness or sanctity of their marriage. There is a serious consequence to the breaking of vows.

The case here does not suggest that women must be dealt with more severely than men. The Bible treats men and women as equally responsible. The offenders—they be the husbands or the wives, will suffer the consequence of their infidelity if found guilty.

 The case given is about jealousy. The husband can bring his wife before the priest for a ceremonial test. But the test is done not for the unfaithfulness of the wife, but for the jealousy of the husband.

 Jealousy is a serious case. If the wife is guilty as suspected, God shall punish her. But if not, then she keeps her status as holy. There is a strong provision for women to confess their holiness before the priest by saying “amen” to the curse pronounced for unfaithful women. Jealousy cannot just be the reason for the judgment, there must be a committal of the accusation against the wife.

 Conclusion

We are holy. Holiness is a responsibility. We must indeed keep our holiness pure. We must be willing to protect ourselves from uncleanness, our community from being contaminated, and our covenant relationship from being violated. Our holiness keeps God’s presence among us.

  

   

DOES GOD REALLY ALLOW EVIL?

"When a good God allows evil," says someone on Facebook. I was wondering what that statement means. Does it mean that God is responsible for everything that happens either by His perfect will or permissive will? Is this permissive will the logical conclusion to divine sovereignty?

Divine sovereignty does not necessarily mean divine letting. The laws of nature set by God takes effect in this life. Consequences of human actions do not make God responsible for them through what some call divine letting. God can definitely do something in His own sovereignty either by natural laws or by his new covenantal laws. God's sovereignty takes in effect in and through both laws.

This is where prayer becomes meaningful. It calls on God to action based on the new covenant governing the new creation engendered by grace in Christ Jesus. But God doesn't allow evil to happen. He can act on it in His sovereignty and by His power change the situation. But far be it for God to allow it.

Evils happen as consequences of human actions in general. While there are instances when God personally and volitionally allows evil to happen, but such is not the norm. The thinking that God allows all evils to happen stems from a wrong notion of divine sovereignty.

Whether God allows evil to happen or not, God remains sovereign. Nothing is negated of God and His sovereignty when evils happen. For everything falls within His given laws, where outside them absolutely nothing happens. It is outrageous of us to say that God allows evil to happen, when he does not.

IS READING A MUST?

 I have learnt reading since the day I set foot on school. From learning my ABC to reading philosophy. It has been a long way of reading for me. Of course, I admit that I had not loved reading the way I do now. It was a long journey. I should rather say that it was a roller coaster ride. There were days, and many of them, when reading felt like a burden to bear. The best option was of course to skip reading. But how many precious times and lessons I have lost when I didn’t read? I think I have lost countless ones.

Can I redeem the past? Or can I redeem reading-time lost? Of course, there is always a new beginning. You can pick up a simple book now that you can easily finish in a short period of time, then enjoy your journey from there.

But why should you read? Let me give you at least three important reasons for you to think seriously about reading and make it your priority in life. First, reading helps you know your story. Life is a story, and so is yours. You did not come into this world from nowhere. You are part of a grand story of life. Your story is what shapes your life now. It is how you perceived the world around you. You may not know it, but you do what you do because of your story, be it good or bad. There are things in your story that you need to understand and deconstruct for a better life and a better tomorrow. You cannot just remain from where you are. But the way to progress is to know your past.

Second, you now live in a world of vast information. There is so much information out there. In fact, you can be lost in a vast ocean of information if you don’t know your way. People become victims of wrong information for their lack of knowledge. As the Bible rightly says, “People perish for lack of knowledge.” Knowledge is important to life. To live effectively in today’s world, you must be a man or a woman of reading.

Third, reading helps you think. It is amazing that this activity of reading has the capacity to stimulate our mind to think. We are thinking beings. But thinking needs discipline. It needs exercise as our body does. You won’t be able to think best if you don’t know how. When you don’t know how to think, somebody will do the thinking for you. Believe me, as you are reading this, somebody is thinking for you. Well some think for your good just as I hope I do, but countless out there think to take advantage of you. I cannot be there for you all the time. You have to learn how to think yourself.

So, is reading a must? It is. Pick up a book and read. Have fun with your new life.

WHAT HAPPENED TO PEACE?

The message of peace is at the heart of Jesus’s life and ministry. The angels announced it to the people: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rest.” (Luke 2:14). Jesus preached a message centered on peace—that wholeness of life that is found only in God. He likewise demonstrated it to people. He went around bringing peace to men and women. Thousands upon thousands gathered to listen to his words of peace. He taught people about God.  

Jesus was not an advocate of violence. Yes, he got angry in His temple in Jerusalem but he did so for the zeal of his house desecrated by the religious leaders who turned the house of prayer into dens of robbers. But beyond that Jesus was a man of peace. He never taught his disciples to raise arms against their enemies. He rebuked Peter for striking a man’s ear.

When arrested and tried, he never called on His angels to fight for him. He did not open his mouth. He willingly took all the injustices done to him. He took the pain brought upon His body. He was humiliated the worst possible way, but He took it all. All for the sake of peace. A peace that the world neither knows nor understand. For there at the cross, bearing the sins of men and women, He made peace with God.  He is our peace!

At His resurrection, Jesus never commanded his disciples to go and take vengeance. He asked them to preach forgiveness and to forgive people. Jesus was indeed a man of peace.

Today, the same Jesus calls His church to peace.  The ethics of the kingdom is non-retaliatory: “If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn him the other also.” Jesus taught his disciples to love and not to hate. It is love that will mark them as Jesus’s true disciples. It is never about our fight for justice, nor our fight for equality or prosperity, but our love for one another and others that will tell the world who really are—Jesus’s disciples.

Yet we turn it into a fight for human causes—justice, equality, and prosperity. What happened to peace? Have we lost the message of peace? Are we to conquer the world by rallies and riots? Should we really go to Caesar’s palace and call for justice and peace? Can today’s Caesars give us what the kingdom of God offers? Isn’t our message of peace Jesus himself? Is he not our peace? Yes, He remains to be our peace! We know of no other peace but Jesus. Men and women will only have real peace when they come under the kingship of Jesus and the kingdom of peace. Peace is not the absence of troubles or pains, or sufferings, or injustices; it is wholeness, completeness of life without anything lacking. What is lacking in men and women is not really the things of this world or the quality of earthly living. Men and women lack God. Hence, we are not complete. Jesus is our peace. As Paul declares in Colossians 1:15-20 Jesus is the exact representation of God. In Him we experience God. He is our peace.  

I AM NOT A POLITICIAN

I admit that what I am and what I do as a Christian has political implications. But I am not a politician. Politics is not the same thing with what I do in the context of my identity as part of the Kingdom of God. I don't seek justice, peace and prosperity in the language of politics or even of economics. They involve them yes, but they are far greater than the rhetoric of politicians.

The kingdom of God speaks of righteousness, peace, and joy. But these are not defined from the perspective of humanism. Man is not the center of the Kingdom. God is. We cannot have righteousness, peace, and joy independent of God. Man's wholeness is not achieved by the mere presence of justice, peace, and prosperity. We must be naive to think so. We have so many examples of men and women who live such lives. But they never possess real peace and joy. I could not even talk of them being righteous. That is just unthinkable.

The righteousness, peace, and joy of the kingdom is received only through the person of Jesus Christ. Such relationship brings us to the reality of divine-human relation necessary for having the maxims of the Kingdom of God. Paul never had his eyes on what Caesar could offer. He was in Rome not to proclaim a political manifesto. He went there to proclaim Christ as the Lord of creation and nations. Jesus is the new King that invites men and women into the new creation.

It is in this context that I as a Christian speak of justice, peace, and prosperity in the language of the kingdom of God that offers me more than what politicians or even this world could afford to give. Hence, let me make it very clear, I m not a politician. I am a Christian. I serve the King and His kingdom. Our message is righteousness, peace, and joy in Jesus my only Lord and King.

A PERSONAL LETTER

 Greetings!

Let me introduce to you my new book REFLECTIONS: COVID-19, BIBLE, AND THEOLOGY available on Ebook and Softcopy/Paperback. It is a book I have written during the pandemic in dialogue with the Holy Scripture and the sacred task of doing theology. The 43 reflections are personal and prayerful ones I have done in light of what I believe as a Christian. It is my prayer that it will help you address some of the issues pause by this pandemic that affected us all, and challenge you to do your own personal and prayerful reflections of circumstances that come our way.

I have decided to have it published for three main reasons in addition to what I said above:

1.      To help the families of those who have lost their loved ones in the fight against Coronavirus.

2.      I want to put up a scholarship for women Bible College students.

3.      I want to fund 'trainings' and activities that would help young people write and publish.

I pray that you would be my partner in making these prayers answered. May I therefore humbly and prayerfully ask you the following:

1.      That you purchase your own copy (Ebook or Softcopy/Paperback)

For Ebook please buy at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1027311

For Softcopy/Paperback you can just email me or message me with my messenger

2.      Give your friends this book as a gift

3.      Endorse it to your friends through ways that you are comfortable with like the social networks.

4.      You can endorse it to an organization or organizations that would be interested in the book and in my advocacies.

Thank you for giving me this opportunity to serve the Lord, you and others.

 

With prayers and blessings,

 

Jason Valeriano Hallig, Author  

REFLECTIONS: COVID-19, BIBLE, AND THEOLOGY

Let me introduce to you my new book entitled, 

REFLECTIONS: COVID-19, BIBLE, AND THEOLOGY

T

HIS BOOK BEGAN AS a reaction to what people were saying on Facebook about Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the Bible, and theology. There was a disconnect in what people say about the situation and the Christian faith. Some were quick to dismiss the idea that God has anything to do with the COVID-19. Based on their belief that COVID-19 has nothing to do with God.

As a student of the Bible and a theologian, I refuse to engage in speculative interpretation not only of the Bible but more so of various circumstances in relation to the Bible. While I do not disregard and dismiss other interpretations, I also don’t want my students, some of my colleagues and my congregation to be left at the mercy of biblical and theological ideas that are either imaginative speculations - with neither explicit nor implicit support from the Scripture - or hyper spiritualized assertions.

As a Christian, I believe that COVID-19 and what is happen-ing as a consequence are not independent of who God is and what He is doing. Life is a correlation of beings or an intersect of realities happening in space and time. What life is and who God is have an effect on who we are. Hence, there is a need for reflection—an activity that brings life’s questions such as “What [it] is,” “Who God is,” and “Who we are” to the discourse of life. It is best to do such a dynamic or interactive reflection in the midst of the situation itself.

In this book are 43 reflections on the many issues touched by this pandemic concerning life and faith. Each entry is written through the Christian worldview as shaped and influenced by the Holy Scripture and takes on the sacred task of theology.

I wrote about the topics as they came to my attention in my daily life, activities, and interactions with people in the middle of the pandemic. I originally shared them with my Facebook friends, who would give me some feedback in the form of affirmations, criticisms, and suggestions. These reflections have been tried, tested, and edited for the final versions that you now have in this book.  I kept them short for further studies and deeper reflections because these are not the final thoughts on the subjects I have written here because I believe that theology as a task is an on-going and growing prayerful reflection of the Holy Scripture or a personal reflection of life’s circumstances in relation to the Holy Scripture. Further theological reflection will lead to a more mature understanding of our faith as Christians, but it will never arrive at its final conclusion. I hope that these 43 REFLECTIONS will lead you to hunger and thirst for more of the word of God and its theological insights. I hope that you would not only read these entries but may be encouraged to also do your own prayerful and personal reflections on COVID-19, the Bible, and theology as it would lead us to a deeper understanding of who we are, what is wrong in this world, what is happening right now and what is the future going to be.