[Chapter 13] Live for The Righteousness of God
Romans
13:1 states, “Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities.
For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that
exist are appointed by God.”
We
must live within the boundaries of social norms. God commanded us to
fear and respect those who have authority in both our spiritual and
carnal lives. God gives authority to the government officials for a
reason, and we therefore must not ignore them. We must remember Paul’s
saying, “Owe no one anything except to love one another” (Romans 13:8).
This is why we have been publishing free books and delivering this beautiful gospel to people all over the world.
The
Lord said, “Love is the fulfillment of the law.” People are obsessed
with the illusion that they are faithfully keeping the Law in their
religious lives.
God
gave us the gospel of the water and the Spirit that reveals His
righteousness to save us from sin. We need to believe in God’s
righteousness, shown in the gospel of the water and the Spirit.
Spreading
this beautiful gospel that our Lord has given us is truly granting
lives to others, since it saves people from all their sins. We must not
owe any debt, other than the debt of love received by the love of Jesus
Christ.
It’s time for us to wake up
Verse
11 says, “And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to
awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first
believed.” We will reign with Christ for a thousand years when our
infirm bodies are changed—that is, when our bodies are also redeemed.
We
can see the similarity between our generation and Noah’s generation. A
new wave of homosexuality has stirred up in universities. How wicked is
this world when a man stabs and kills another man for just using the
payphone for too long? Many such cruel and evil deeds are occurring in
this generation.
We
must realize that it is now time for us to wake up. The time for our
Lord’s second coming is very near. We should be keen and be able to
discern what this age is like and realize that the Lord’s second coming
is very near. But at the same time, remember that there are so many
people who are not really aware of this age.
“But
as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be”
(Matthew 24:37). Even in Noah’s time, people built houses, got married,
committed all kinds of sins, and went about their daily businesses
until the judgment of God was suddenly poured on them one day. No one
but Noah expected the heavy rain and the flood that wiped out all but
the few who found refuge in his ark. Those who perished met God’s
devastating judgment while freely eating and drinking, without any
anticipation.
This
world is exposed not only to the dangers of war, but also to the
tremendous natural disasters that are happening throughout the world
with the climatic changes. There is a serious danger lurking even in
what we eat, and we can no longer enjoy even our own meals without
worrying about them. This is why we must live wisely in this era and
remember that the salvation of our bodies is much nearer than when we
first began to believe.
Have you clothed yourself with Christ’s salvation?
You
may think that the destruction of this world has nothing to do with the
realm of faith, and that it has everything to do with secular politics
and the economy. But global disasters are warning signs for the
destruction of the world. This world will soon face extreme economical
and environmental hardships. The Bible tells us that as the Lord’s
second coming draws nearer, we must “owe no one anything except to love
one another”―helping, protecting, leading, and cooperating with each
other in love. And we must realize that our hopes are nearer than when
we first began to believe.
We are living in an era in which we need to live in hope, waiting for the return of Jesus Christ.
Where
is our hope? Our hope is found in waiting for the return of Christ who
will resurrect us and reward us to reign with Him in the Millennial
Kingdom, proceeded by the seven years of the Great Tribulation. As the
time draws nearer, we must live with hope, having the righteousness of
Christ. We must stand firmer and firmer in the gospel of the water and
the Spirit and serve it with our whole hearts. We must expand our
ministry to share the gospel with every soul in the entire world.
We must not owe anything except to love one another
I
know that there will be much suffering from natural disasters, like
earthquakes and volcanoes. Many movies are being made nowadays with the
theme of global destruction. I think that this is because the world will
possibly turn out as the Hollywood writers have imagined, and this is
the evidence that people unconsciously feel the imminent destruction of
the world.
Therefore, we should not concern ourselves with the works of the flesh but concern ourselves with the works of the Spirit.
We
must believe that a life spreading the gospel of the water and the
Spirit is the most beautiful life. People throughout the world are
astonished at our ministry. Countless people have told us how challenged
they have been by our ministry. They cannot believe how we, a group of
God’s servants from Korea, a small country, can spread the righteousness
of God so powerfully. Yes, we are indeed small and weak, but we still
spread the gospel through out the world because we believe in the gospel
of the water and the Spirit, that is, in the righteousness of God.
Romans
chapter 14:8 says, “For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die,
we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the
Lord’s.” Paul also said in the previous verse, “None of us lives to
himself, and no one dies to himself.” We exist only because of our Lord.
Since
we were born into this world by our Lord and became righteous by His
righteousness, we belong to Christ whether we live or die. We will live
and leave this world as Christ’s, having lived our lives for God’s
righteousness. God is pleased by us and has elected to use us as His
instruments to spread the joyful news all over the world. He has thus
opened the great door of evangelism for us. He has allowed us to spread
the gospel through books, without actually going to every nation by
foot.
A
series of books containing the gospel of God’s righteousness have been
translated and sent to the English-speaking world, the Spanish-speaking
countries, as well as to every country in Asia, Africa, and Europe. I am
sure that this new series of books entitled Our Lord Who Becomes the
Righteousness of God will give great spiritual blessings to every soul
in the world. It is amazing how God works to complete His will through
the believers in His righteousness.
The
world will eventually be covered with this beautiful gospel, and once
the gospel that contains God’s righteousness is spread all over the
world, God will fulfill each and every plan that He has in store for us.
This
era is on the eve of windstorms. Oil crises and global financial panic
can strike the world once more. We must be more faithful in what we are
assigned to do. We must spread the gospel of the water and the Spirit
until the end of this world comes. Let us diligently spread the gospel
of the water and the Spirit so that no one in this world is left without
hearing this gospel. We must cooperate and work for the same purpose.
We must work like Gideon’s three hundred warriors. Although we are few
in number, we are the brave soldiers of Heaven, and God is with us.
Whoever
receives the forgiveness of sins and is thankful to God can be
qualified to spread the righteousness of God. We will be victorious by
faith because we have God’s righteousness. Those who believe in this
righteousness of God always pursue the works of the Spirit and set their
goals on spiritual works.
I pray that God’s righteousness will be upon you.
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