The Triumphant Gospel

"The greatest opposition lies with you. If you have no desire to seek Him, God’s perfect salvation plan will elude you. But if you seek the Lord Jesus for help, you will understand clearly God’s triumphant plan available to you." 

 



2 Corinthians 2: 14

Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place. 

In this short passage of the scripture, the Apostle Paul burst out in jubilation despite his earlier worries over the state of the Corinthian Christians. He was worried that his earlier letter of reprimand may have a negative response from the church. We learn that when he is worried or down in spirit, he strengthens himself in the knowledge of his victory in Christ who permeates all things.  


This Bible passage was selected because we are likewise in a dismal state with the pandemic ravaging the world. We are daily inundated with terrible news and as if there is no light at the end of the tunnel. We  really need some good news to motivate ourselves. As a Christian, when I am troubled, I can similarly use the Apostle’s exclamation of his thanks to God which cause us to triumph in Christ!  


If you listen diligently, you’ll be able to also receive the sweet savour of the knowledge of Christ. We hope our friends who have not accepted Jesus Christ as their saviour this morning can be partaker of this sweet news. 

The sin pandemic 

Before I became a Christian, one of the hindrances over my acceptance of the Gospel of Christ is the little knowledge that I was a sinner. When I was told that I must be saved, I was not much affected because I don’t know what I must be saved from.  


Today we have the UN declaring that Covid 19 is a pandemic. This declaration catches our attention to the dangers and we must be vaccinated to be safe from the virus. Since a pandemic is defined as a world-wide problem, it would do this world a lot of good if sin is declared as a pandemic. However, due to the need to be politically correct in the world, even the so-called “Christian nations” are afraid to declare that we have a sin pandemic. 


The truth is we have a sin pandemic and the Bible fearlessly declared that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God (Rom 3:23). Even in babies, we see the human kind display the sin characteristic of greed and envy among their siblings. Once people accept the fact that they are not as good as they think of themselves, then we can seriously examine how to be delivered from sin.  


The sin solution 


When Adam (the first man sinned), his relationship with God is severed. Sin results in an eternal separation from God our Creator.  Interestingly, in the Bible the meaning of the word death is not a cessation from everything  — but a separation. If you die in your sin, you are eternally separated from God. The only way for a sinner to be reconciled with God is to repent and make restitution. God teaches the descendants of Adam to offer a sacrifice to Him if a person wishes to seek reconciliation with God. 


In Gen 8:21, Noah made a sacrifice to God and the sweet savour appeased God’s wrath. The word savour means a pleasant taste or smell. However, the sacrifice of animals was not able to totally appeased the wrath of God and what man cannot do to appease God’s wrath permanently, He himself sent His beloved Son —Jesus Christ — to die on the cross as a sacrifice for mankind’s sins.  


The death of Christ makes a way for us to escape the penalty of death and be reconciled to God. The process of reconciliation is encapsulated in the beautiful verse in Jn 3:16, “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.” Therefore, our solution to sin is not to make further sacrifices, but to believe in Jesus Christ, who is the perfect sacrifice for our sins.  


TRIUMPH!


Triumph has a meaning beyond our understanding of being just success or victory. The word was used by the Romans to describe  their military victory procession. This triumph procession is the highest honour given to a general. It can only be accorded if the following criteria are met. The criteria illustrated here are not exhaustive but is enough to drive home the point that triumph means  a total success: 

  • It must be a completed victory 

  • The foe must be a foreigner; civil wars victory is not considered 

  • There must be an enlargement of the Roman territories after the victory 

  • The campaign is fully ended. 

How wonderful is the word used in our victory in Christ! 

Before I end, I would make a brief comparison between the world’s covid 19 plan and God’s salvation plan. 

Covid-19 plan 

  • Vaccination with 2 shots — better to have 3 and next year take another booster

  • No guarantee to prevent covid 100%, offers only a better protection 

  • Side effects unknown 

  • All Governments have made the vaccination free now but may not be free in the future 

  • Cannot give eternal life as sins cannot be eliminated by the vaccination. 


Christ’s salvation plan 

  • Need to repent of your sins and be baptized 

  • No side effects 

  • Always free 

  • Guaranteed eternal life  


My recommendation 

Although the world’s covid plan is a bit pathetic, it is the best available. I recommend you to take the shots and follow the plan. God’s salvation plan is superb and everyone should go for it. Unfortunately, many have not accepted the Lord Jesus as their saviour yet.  


There is genuine opposition from evil spiritual forces to prevent people from accepting this good news; even this meeting has very little response from those we invited. In the world’s covid plan, there are anti-vaxxers who want to hid the benefits of vaccination. Similarly in God’s salvation plan there are “anti- gospel elements” casting doubts to prevent you from accepting God’s salvation.  


However, the greatest opposition lies with you. If you have no desire to seek Him, God’s perfect salvation plan will elude you. But if you seek the Lord Jesus for help, you will understand clearly God’s triumphant plan available to you.  


1 Chron 28:9 

And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the LORD searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever. 


I hope you will accept the Lord Jesus today with all your heart.  


With God’s blessings,  

CL 

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