Triumphant Faith in Trying Times
Rev Dr Jeffrey Khoo
Christians are not spared the trials and hardships, the pains and sufferings of life. Many a time, believers of Jesus Christ who wish to live godly and faithfully in obedience to the Holy Scriptures are persecuted by the ungodly and the wicked, even by those who call themselves “Christian.” This should come as no surprise to believers because the Apostle Peter had already warned, “But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of” (2 Pet 2:1-2).
When we see or face such evil, what should we do? We should know and search the Scriptures for divine counsel and comfort. Read and study the first epistle of Peter which was written to Christians who were going through persecution because of their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. In 1 Peter 2:1-3, we are told, “Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.”
In times of persecution, can a Christian truly be happy? 1 Peter 1:3-4 tells us that the Lord by His grace has gotten for us a lively hope and not only a lively hope but also an inheritance that is incorruptible. That is why as Christians we can be very and truly happy. We rejoice in the Lord because of the certainty of our faith; we are being preserved and kept by God and cannot lose our salvation. We will be with Christ one day and enjoy the blessings of heaven forever—100% guaranteed!
Some of us may be going through a very tough time because we desire to live a life of faith and obedience, which is pleasing to the Lord. The world does not appreciate this, and opposes us. We are unjustly treated, slandered against, and deprived of our rights. In times like these, we just need to endure and persevere in the faith, trusting the Lord. It is a spiritual battle. The evil forces are dark and destructive, but the Lord is good and all-powerful, and He will grant us the grace to fight the good fight of faith to the glory of His Name. The Lord permits such trials to come our way in order to purify us in the faith. Know that our affliction is but for a season. The things of this earth are only temporary, they only last for a short time, and will one day pass away. But the things of heaven, our salvation and rewards in Christ, are forever.
The Lord promised in Matthew 5:10-12, “Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.”
Let us continue to trust in the Lord, not just in good times but also, and more so, in bad times. May the forever infallible and inerrant words of God be our comfort and our counsel in these perilous days of great unbelief and wickedness.
God’s Perfect Gift
(A sermon preached by Rev Dr Jeffrey Khoo at the Christmas Eve Gospel Service of True Life BPC, December 24, 2008)
John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
Besides all the festive eating and drinking, one common feature of the Christmas season is shopping and giving. However, all the eating, drinking and shopping at Christmas time have distracted people from what Christmas truly means. The loud and noisy Christmas of the world has all but drowned out the good news that Jesus Christ was born to save the world from sin. Christmas is not about what man can do for man, but about what God has done for man, and how man must get right with God.
This is what we want to do tonight as we commemorate and celebrate Christmas, which is to recapture the message and meaning of Christmas which is John 3:16, God’s Perfect Gift to man. What is God’s Perfect Gift to man? How can it be described? From John 3:16, we find that the Gift of God:
Is Wrapped with Love
You may have received many gifts from men, but have you received the gift of God? God has given, and His gift is wrapped with His love. When we give to others, we usually will wrap the gift with colourful and attractive gift papers. People somehow find it important to wrap their gifts. I see long queues in shopping centres or department stores which offer a gift-wrap service to their customers. It is a nice thing to do, to make sure the gift is presented nicely wrapped; makes the gift personal and thoughtful. Well, God also gives us His gift all wrapped up. Wrapped up with what? Wrapped up with His love. “For God so loved the world, that He gave ….” This tells us that He gave out of His heart—His heart of love. He was moved by love, pure love, true love, unconditional love.
Do we give like this? Usually when man gives, he gives from somewhat selfish reasons; he gives expecting something in return. When we give someone a present, how many a time have we expected that someone to give something back to us? And when that does not happen, we get upset and we blacklist that person for life—he is no longer on my gift list. When God gives, He gives unconditionally, with no strings attached. He gave selflessly Himself for us sinful and selfish people in order that we might be saved from our sins.
Required His All
What do we give to our family and friends? Do we give things that are useful and meaningful? In today’s hard economic times, people are not spending on luxury but practical goods, and buying useful stuff like kitchen ware or home equipment etc as presents. But were there times when we give away the things people give to us because we have no use or need of them? Were there times we just do not know what to give to people, or give away things what we ourselves do not want? We are just not very thoughtful and careful in our giving.
What did God give to us? “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, ….” God gave us His all, His best, His beloved and only begotten Son—the Lord Jesus Christ—to save us from our sins. God loved the world so much that He gave to us someone and something we all need badly—a Saviour and salvation. Jesus was born to die for our sins. He died on the cross, He shed His precious blood for the remission of sin, He was buried, and on the third day rose from the dead as He promised so that we might live through Him.
Not only did God the Father give us His all, God the Son also gave us His all, yes, even His life to save us from our sins. “For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom 5:6-8).
Lasts Forever
The gifts that we receive year after year do not last very long. I wonder how many of us remember or still have the gifts of yesteryear. The earthly gifts of man come and go, but the heavenly gift from God remains forever. That is because of the infinite worth of God’s gift. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” God does not wish for man to die but to live. John 3:17 says, “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.”
If we are suffering from a deadly disease, and a doctor comes along and say, “I have the skill and the knowledge to cure you. Be my patient, and I will treat you for free until you get well,” we will be so happy, and immediately entrust ourselves into his care, hoping for the best. But do we not see that we are all suffering from the most deadly disease of all which is sin? We were born with it. It destroys our body and our soul. Jesus Christ comes to save both our soul and body from sin’s destruction. He is the Great Physician, and will heal us for sure. He says, “Trust me, I will heal you, and it is totally free of charge.” The Lord does not want us to die but to live, and not only live for a while but forever. I plead with you tonight to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. You might have received many presents already, but do not miss out on this present from God, His gift of love, of His Son, of eternal life.
If you will accept the Lord Jesus Christ tonight as your Saviour, then just say this simple prayer, “Lord Jesus, please save me.” You will have eternal life—the gift of gifts—that only Jesus can give; a gift that is wrapped with His love, which required His all, and lasts forever.
