A Key Theme of the Bible

Well, good afternoon, everyone. Brethren, the Bible is one unit. From beginning to end, there is a consistency throughout the Bible. You and I can identify a number of key themes that run consistently from the beginning to the end of God's Word. For instance, right at the beginning, we see the Tree of Life. And right at the end, we see finally mankind having life eternal and the example they have shown of the Tree of Life. One key theme in the Bible is described in 2 Corinthians 6, starting in verse 16. So let's look at 2 Corinthians 6, verse 16. And there we read, And what agreement has the temple of God of idols for you and the temple for you are the temple of the living God? As God has said, I'll dwell in them and I'll walk among them. I'll be their God, and they shall be my people. Therefore, come out from among them. Be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I'll receive you. And I will be a father to you, and you shall be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty. A key theme of the Bible is that ultimately you and I will be sons and daughters of God in glory in his family. Or put it in one simple word, a key theme of the Bible is salvation.

In Ephesians chapter 2, verse 19 and 20, he says, Now therefore you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God. We are members of God's family, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone. So you and I are part of God's family. We're not yet what we will be, and Christ is the cornerstone in this great spiritual building, which is God's family. That is a theme of the Bible for us to be in God's family. However, there is an enemy, and the enemy is our sins. Of course, Satan is our enemy. We know that. He's stirring us up to sin even further. But our weaknesses and our frailties are that sin is an enemy. And in Romans 6, verse 23, you know the wages of sin is death. And so, when we die, that's the end. Therefore, it's required to be a Redeemer. Christ, the cornerstone, that is going to buy us back from death. That is going to justify us. In other words, make us just before God. And so, Christ's sacrifice serves as a propitiation. Or what does that word mean? Christ serves us as an act of repairing that relationship. Propitiation is an act of repairing that relationship, appeasing that relationship between us and God. And through that, he leads us to reconciliation. That's why we have a ministry of reconciliation. God, through Christ, has done the first step. And you and I need to return that favor, that step, by striving to be reconciled to him. And so, the key theme of the Bible, or one of the key themes of the Bible, which is salvation, from beginning to end, so that you and I can be children of God in his family, it requires a redeemer, one that is going to pay for our sins. And that was prophesied right at the beginning in Genesis 3 verse 15. When Adam and Eve listened to Satan's subtleties and deceptions mixing truth with lie, as that's always, by the way, he's tactic, mixing truth with lie, and they were punished by being put away from being able to have access to the tree of life, Christ is now redeeming us so that ultimately we may have access to the eternal tree of life. That theme runs through the Bible. And in Genesis 3 verse 15, he says, I'll put enmity between you and a woman. And Yah, as we elevate us to a spiritual context, meaning you, Satan, and a woman, symbolizing also God's church, God's people. Between your seed, that is Satan's seed, in other words, Satan, a people in a world that follow Satan's way, that are, yes, deceived, but follow that worldly way, satanic way, and her seed, the seed of Christ that came through the woman, and therefore that seed is Christ.

So there is that enmity between Satan's seed and Christ, and in fact, us. And he says, he, that is Christ, shall bruise your head, which is Satan's head, and you, Satan, shall bruise his heel. That's Christ's heel. And yes, there will be a lot of pressures and a lot of difficulties on all of us and in the church, because that's prophetic. But as the prophecy says, Christ will come and he is, according to this, Genesis 3.15, this is the first messianic prophecy, the very first hint that there will be a messiah to redeem us. In Acts 3 verse 18, in Acts 3 verse 18, Acts 3 verse 18, you see, but those things which God foretold by the mouth of all his prophets, that the Christ would suffer, he has thus fulfilled. So there were messianic prophecies, there will be a messiah, namely Christ, he would have to suffer, and that has been fulfilled in Christ's first coming. And then we read in verse 21, whom heaven must receive, so Christ is now in heaven, until the times of restoration of all things.

So ultimately, the restoration of all things is that we will be saved and we'll be in the family of God, because that's God's ultimate intent. That's the ultimate fulfillment of that scripture, that we will have eternal life, we'll have access to the tree of life. You see, so the Bible is a unit, all even though there's been, and it has different books written by different people, they were all breathed by God's inspiration, and it's one unity. It is a complete, beautiful story from A to Z.

Not separate parts, even though they are different books, but they all fit together beautifully. And we live in a world present today, right at the time of the end. This is the time of the end. Many of the prophecies of the end time will be fulfilled in this generation.

And that means we'll go through difficult times, and the world today, society today, is ripe, is ripe to be deceived. There's great deception in the world today. You read in Isaiah 5, if I'm not mistaken, people call right wrong, wrong right. It's just all upside down. And so, you and I have this promise from God.

And God does not lie. He wants you and I to be in his family as his children. And so, what is the starting point for you and I on this journey? What is the starting point for you and I on this journey? And if you and I turn to Hebrews 11, Hebrews 11, verse 6. Hebrews 11, verse 6 states, without faith, it is impossible to please him, to please God. The starting point in our journey is that you and I have to have absolute faith, absolute trust in what God says.

For he who comes to God, in other words, you and I to come to God, must believe that God is, in other words, that God exists. And brethren, today, so-called science, through theories like evolution, challenge that God exists. That's a lie. Evolution is a lie. God exists. And we gotta believe that God exists. That he is. And that he's a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. The implication behind the word reward is that he's the judge that rewards us for good and bad. He's the judge, and he judges us for Jesus Christ. All judgment has been placed on Jesus Christ's hands. We know, we read elsewhere. And he's the rewarder of those who diligently seek him. So the basic starting point in our road is that we gotta trust God. We gotta believe in him, and therefore, follow his way in complete faith, in complete trust of what he says. In verse 1 of Hebrews 11, he explains this a little bit more. He says, faith is the substance of things hoped for. Faith is the realization of things hoped for. The word for substance is the Greek word upostasis, which means a setting under, a support. So figuratively, it could be concrete essence, or assurance, or a firm foundation as it is translated in some of the Portuguese Bibles. A firm foundation. So faith is the substance, is the concrete essence of what we hope for. And what you and I hope for is for the promises of God to be children, sons and daughters of God in his kingdom. And faith is the substance, is the evidence, as it says in the next phrase, the evidence of things not seen. It is the proof to you and I of what we don't see. It's that hope. It is that evidence.

So what is our hope? What is our hope? Well, I've explained that it is to be sons and daughters of God in the kingdom of God to have eternal life. And Titus chapter 1 verse 2 says the same thing in pretty straightforward words. Titus chapter 1 verse 2 says, in hope of eternal life. That's our hope, eternal life, to have the tree of life, to live eternally as his children in his family as sons and daughters of God in words in glory, which God who cannot lie promised before time began. And so there's two witnesses here. One, God cannot lie and second, his promise.

That's our hope. And faith is the absolute assurance, the concrete essence, the realization of that hope that we will be the sons of God in his family living eternally, saved from this sick world. That faith is the evidence, even though we're not there yet.

And so let's put it in a slightly different way. What is our ultimate goal? Okay, we said it's eternal life. We said it's to be sons and daughters of God. But what is our ultimate goal? Our ultimate goal is to be like God. And God is 1 John 4 verse 8. 1 John 4 verse 8. 1 John 4 verse 8. God is love. A need that does not have outgoing concern for others does not know God because God is love. Verse 16, still in 1 John 4. And we have known and believed the love that God asked for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God and God in him. So the ultimate goal for you and I is to be like God and to have the character like God has of genuine love. And so what is the process to get there? What is the process you and I have to go through to get there? Now we know God has done his part. He sent Christ. He gave his life for us. Now the ball is in our court. Yes, God is there to help us through his Spirit. But what is our part? What is the process that we're going to go through? And Romans 5 explains that very nicely. So let's start by reading Romans 5 verse 8. Romans 5 verse 8. Because in Romans 5 verse 8 tells us what God has done through Christ.

As I said, God has done his part. And Romans 5 verse 8, but God demonstrates his own outgoing love, care, really genuine grace towards us, graciousness towards us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. And we know that. And so that God has done his part. The question is, what is our part? Well, that is explained in the first few verses of Romans 5. Therefore, having been justified by faith, you and I are made right with God, justified, means made just in front of God, made right with God through Christ. And therefore, we have peace. It says, therefore, having been justified by faith, by absolute faith, trust. And then it says, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

The starting point is faith. You and I have to have absolute trust in God, or absolute faith. And that means it's not just kind of a shallow belief, but it's a deep, profound confidence, evidence that it will be so undoubtful, no doubts, no question marks, nothing. That's what God wants you to be. He wants you there. And he gave his son for it while we're still sinners.

Verse 2, through whom also we have access by faith, by the same trust, into his, into this grace. Now, this grace, the word grace, has been so misused in today's religious world that I need to explain a little bit more, because grace is not just an unmerited pardon. Yes, it is, but it's more than that. It's his divine favor towards you and I. It is just, it just cares for you. It just wants the best for you. God's grace is the manifestation of God's Holy Spirit, of his love, of his concern, of his care, that he has for you and I, for us, even though we're sinners, his care and his love and also our kind concern for his creation. And it is by his grace, by his divine favor towards us, that we have access to this final outcome to have eternal life in his family. We have access. Now, this is a great mystery. The world doesn't get it. The world doesn't get it. That we will truly be part of God's family. That we will truly be God's children.

That is the hope of glory. The hope of glory. Quite often we don't even say we're afraid of saying because people say, well, what do you mean? You know, you're going to be like God? Yes, we are. Does it mean we're going to be at his level? No, we'll be much slower. But we be of that kind of beings in that kingdom, God kingdom, that domain of God beings, which is higher than domain of angelic beings, which is even higher than the domain of human beings. We will be elevated by his favor. Not because I have done anything or you have done anything special, because you and I look at ourselves and say, I don't deserve it. We all say that, I hope. We just don't deserve it. But that's God's grace towards you and I. The hope of glory, the hope of being completely in his image and likeness. Let's finish reading then verse two, and then we'll read verse three. Through whom we also have accepted by faith into this grace in which we stand and rejoice. Do you and I rejoice in the hope of the glory of God?

I think sometimes we get caught by the problems and stresses and difficulties and the pains and the illnesses instead of rejoicing.

And verse three, and not only that, but we also glory in tribulations. Oh wow! Ah! Glory! Kaohramai, Greek word 2744, which means boast, rejoice. We rejoice, we boast in suffering, in pain, in illnesses. Do we? Do we? It is so difficult, it is so difficult when we go through pain and suffering to say, I rejoice. Isn't it? Of course it is. We're all human beings, but it has to say, we must not doubt in the outcome. We must not question the process that God has. You see, there's a process. That's why I'm going through this process, because there is certain steps we've got to go through, because Christ also had to suffer, just like he had to suffer.

He did nothing wrong, but he had to suffer. That's what he says here in verse three. We also rejoice in tribulations, knowing that tribulation, knowing that the suffering produces perseverance. The word perseverance, some Bibles translated as patience, but the Greek word is hupamone. Cheerful endurance. Cheerful endurance. We have to enjoy it cheerfully. That is difficult. When you and I are going through trials and difficulties, and we have to endure it cheerfully, it's not easy. Verse four. And perseverance produces character. Some translations translate as proven or tested character. Documentary, tested character. You see, it's like gold tried in a fire. The fire purifies the gold. The tribulations, the sufferings purify us. It's not easy to go through fire, through tribulation, but it produces godly character. It produces godly character. We have to develop godly character. How do you and I develop godly character? By everything always going sweet, lovely, no problems? The process requires us to go through suffering.

And character produces hope. That hope, verse five, does not disappoint us. You see, because that hope helps us to have faith. Because faith is the concrete, the substance, the realization of what we hope for. To be the sons of god, to have eternal life, to have the glory of god. And so, hope does not disappoint because the love of god, which is what we want to become and put on in our lives, the love of god is being poured in our hearts by God's Holy Spirit, who was given to us after baptism. And so, God's Holy Spirit, then, as we live and we go through these trials and these stresses and difficulties, we just become more like God. We develop godly character. We have God's love coming into us, and we become more like God.

But you see, this process, this process of trusting or having faith, it has some, let's call it, enemies. What are the enemies of faith? Now, some of you, and I'm going to use an example in the industry, are sales reps. And one of the techniques of salesmanship is to use what I learned when I was in the industry called FAD. F-U-D. FAD. Do you know what FAD stands for? It stands for fear, uncertainty, and doubt. So, you as a salesman, you have to put in the prospect's mind the fear of what he has and uncertainty of what he has, a doubt of what he has, and then show that your product is better.

FAD. And so, let's look at Matthew 8, verse 23. Matthew 8, verse 23. In Matthew 8, verse 23, we have the story about the disciples were in a boat, and there was a wind and waves, and there was a great tempest. You can see in verse 24. And then they say, the disciples came to Christ and woke him up and said, Lord, save us! We are dying! We're perishing. And then Christ, verse 26, says to them, why are you fearful? There's fear, a destroyer of faith, fear, a great enemy of faith. He says, why are you fearful, O you of little faith?

And then he rebuked the wind and the sea, and it was a great calm. God is not sleeping. God knows the situations that you and I go through. You and I go through, so we should not have fear. The next one that I talked about is uncertainty. F-U-D. Uncertainty. Look at Matthew 6, verse 28. Matthew 6, verse 28. And now we see the story that people were worrying about what they had or didn't have. You know, uncertainty is worry. It's anxiety. Are you anxious? Oh, you have anxiety. You have uncertainty. You have these worries. And it said in verse 28, why do you worry about clothing and this and that?

And then it says, at the end of verse 30, O you of little faith. Verse 31, therefore do not worry. Do not have uncertainty. And then it says, for your heavenly Father knows at the end of verse 32, what you need, that you need all these things. Therefore seek the kingdom of God first and His righteousness. And verse 34, therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. So don't have uncertainty about tomorrow. Don't have anxious care. Don't have anxiety about things. Now, we're all human beings. I'm not saying that we're going to be superman and superwoman, but we need to keep in mind that God cares for us and loves us.

And then the last one, if you d, d is doubt, look at Matthew 14 starting in verse 22. Matthew 14 verse 22. And now we have the story about Jesus walking in water or on the sea. And then we have the story of Peter walking on water as well. You remember that. And then we have the situation when Peter said in verse 28, and Peter answered to Christ and said, Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you and on the water.

And Christ said, Come. And then Peter came out of the boat and he walked on the water. But verse 30, when he saw the wind was boisterous, he was afraid. Fear. And beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. And look at what Christ said.

Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him and said, Oh, you of little faith, why do you doubt? So we've seen fear, uncertainty and doubt are destroyers of faith. But there is one other component in a spiritual context. And that's what I call human reasoning apart from God's Word.

Human reasoning apart from God's Word. Oh, yeah, human reasoning. There's nothing wrong with it. But when it is apart from God's Word, there is a problem. In Matthew 16, starting from verse five, we see what is called the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees. That was their human reasoning apart from God's Word. And that became a problem for them. You see, when tests, trials, difficulties come, which are part of this process, these enemies of faith, fear, uncertainty and doubt, and human reasoning apart from God's Word, they break down our absolute trust in God.

In James chapter one, verse two through six, he says, My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials. Isn't that difficult? Of course it is. How can you say, well, I'm so happy that I'm going through this trial. I'm so happy that I'm going through this health issue or whatever the trial is. But he says, count it when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience, endurance, steadfastness, produces what we need to grow. Produces character.

And then he says, but let patience have its perfect work that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. Lacking nothing. A complete action that you will not be deficient in any way.

You see, God is faithful, brethren. No matter what happens, God will help you. Doesn't say when, but he will help you. And we have to have faith and absolute trust that he will. He's allowing us to go through this fiery trial for us to develop godly character and to develop more love. And then, as we read here in verse five, it says, if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and will be given to him. For many years, I wonder what has that got to do with, you know, you having trials? So let it have its perfect work. And then look in verse six, but let him ask in faith, with no doubting. So what has this lacking wisdom verse in the middle? What has got a lot to do? Because you and I cannot understand at the level of God's wisdom. You and I don't have God's mind, and God in his greatest wisdom knows that it's better for you for this short time in this physical life, maybe to go through this trial. It's his wisdom. So if you can't see it, if you don't understand, and you say, why God, why God, ask God for wisdom.

But let him ask in faith, with no doubting. For you doubt is like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. And maybe as we get that wisdom, we may see, oh, I can see now that I can see a speck of dastya, of impurity in my character, that I've got to get out, and I can see what it is, and I can see God's wisdom in it. Maybe.

You see, brethren, through this process, God's love is poured into our hearts through his Holy Spirit. And that's out of Romans 5, as I mentioned to you a little while ago. But look at Romans 4. Let's look at Romans 4. Romans 4. We're going to read verse 18. Romans 4, verse 18. Who, contrary to hope, in hope, believed. It sounds like a contradiction of terms, doesn't it? Because against all logical human hope, we hope at a spiritual level where logically, physically seems impossible, but in God's way it's not impossible, because everything is possible to God.

So that's what happened to Abraham, because his wife was 90 years old, and she had passed men or pawns long ago. How could she have a child? But he believed in hope contrary to physical hope.

And so he became the father of many nations through Isaac, which was born when his wife was long past men or pawns. And not being weak in faith, that's Abraham. He did not consider his body, or obviously it's not just his body, but him and his wife are one. So that unity of one flesh, husband and wife, of one flesh, husband and wife of one flesh. So Abraham and his wife, Sarah, were one body, his body, that body, could not bear children anymore because it passed men or pawns through that marriage union. And so do not consider his own body, although dead since he was about 100 years old and the deadness of Sarah's womb, which was she was already 90 years old. And it did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, through lack of faith, through doubting, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God that he's able to do everything. And being fully convinced that what God had promised, he was also able to perform. Therefore, it was accounted to him for righteousness. That act of faith, of belief, was accounted to him for righteousness. Now, it was not written for his cycle now that it was imputed to him, but for us, for you and I, because it shall be imputed to us. What righteousness? That's what it says. Righteousness. Who believe, who trust in him, who have faith in him, who raised up Jesus, our Lord, from the dead. So, brethren, salvation begins through faith. That is the first step in God's plan of salvation from our side. Christ has already done, and God has already done, a great part of the step, which is giving up Christ's life for us. Yes, he is now our eye priest, and he's now helping us through the power of his Spirit, helping us and encouraging us that God's Holy Spirit is the helper, is helping us, is doing the work of sanctification of the Spirit for obedience, to change us to be more like God. So that, ultimately, we'll be like God. In other words, we'll be loving and caring and gracious towards others like God is. And that will be saved as children of God in the family of God having eternal life. That is one of the key themes of the Bible. Salvation. The starting point from our side is absolute trust in God, and we have to maintain that trust through our lives.

And that means we have to respond, obeying, living an obedient life and pleasing God, and putting on the love of God in us, in other words, changing the old man into the new man. A key theme of the Bible, brethren, is salvation, and it begins with faith.