Blog 16

THE OTHER TWIN TOWER

( Rom 1:16-20 )

                                                            By Ps Nelson Koh

Introduction

You may wonder what the text has got to do with the Twin Towers. If you recall the message I shared entitled “A Resolution for the New Year”, it was on the theme of LOVE – a foundational truth about God.  That was the first tower. But that’s only half the story for here is another important twin tower!

It is so common for us especially in the context of the gospel today to hear that GOD is LOVE – full-stop! The trouble with it is that we can go over-board and forget that it is not the full story. In fact, there’s more to it – another twin tower. But first let us look at the first tower:

The Tower of Love

There is also a commonly used phrase called the ‘unconditional’ love of God. Actually, nowhere is that word found in the bible…hence we have the case of a homosexual couple who approached a pastor to marry them. The implication is that since God is love and God is not judgemental, therefore you must marry them! Also, we often have lyrics of songs which suggests that we can come to God, “just as you are”.  A further suggestion is that we are ‘special’ so God loves us. Wrong! He doesn’t love us because we are special but rather we are special because He loves us!

In short, there can be an over-emphasis on GOD is LOVE especially when there is no mention that God hates sin and He is disgusted with such as immorality, injustice and every form of malice, evil and idolatry. Questions then like “How can a good God send anyone to hell?” arise…as though there is no judgement or hell itself.

There are several possible results when there is an over-emphasis on GOD is LOVE, especially when shared with unbelievers, as follows:

1.    We become de-sensitized to the evil around us

We become tolerant of sin, indulgent, compromising, permissive and we might even say “boys will be boys!” No, that is certainly not the kind of God we worship.

2.    There becomes a lack or loss of reverence for God

Reverence means an ‘awe’ or ‘fear’ of God.  Today, this has been largely lost in some churches. If we have lost it, is it any wonder then if the world has lost it too. Heb 12:29 quoting from Deut 4:24 describes God as a consuming fire! And we know in Ps 111:10and Pr 9:10 that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom (or understanding in Pr 1:7). This is a challenge to the church – that God is not some kind of ‘lovey-dovey being’ or ‘good old chum’! No, God who is a consuming fire must be taken as a whole.

3.    There is a lack of or no repentance

Many come to the altar to accept (or assent) but few repent. The bible says “Repent and be baptized… for the forgiveness of sins!”(Acts 2:38) We must always take the whole meal and understand that there can be no forgiveness of sins without repentance. Many go through a confession of faith only but one needs to show proof of repentance. No, you can’t come as you are.

So, the question arises as to how can we be more effective in bringing the gospel to the nations? To be more effective we would require something more than just the message of GOD is LOVE. It requires the other half of the story – the Other Twin Tower and that is that “GOD is RIGHTEOUS”.

The Tower of Righteousness (The Other Tower)

The text speaks of the gospel as the power of God unto salvation. Paul is not ashamed of this gospel because it can convict and move hearts unto repentance so that the sinner can be forgiven and saved. This gospel reveals a righteousness from God, a righteousness that is by faith. So God is righteous (Ps 11:7, 119:137, 145:17, Is 45:21, Zec 9:9, 2 Ti 4:8, 1 Jn 2:1) and demands the quality of righteousness among his people.

A righteous God is a holy God, one who is completely right and perfect in all his ways. To be righteous or having righteousness is to be ‘right with God’ or of ‘right standing’ with God or to be approved by God. It is interesting that in the OT, the word righteous or righteousness appears 402x and in the NT, together with the word Just, it appears 214x.

There are different kinds of righteousness. The first one that is mentioned in Ro 1:17 is a righteousness that is by faith and is called Positional Righteousness. Martin Luther zeroed in on this verse to declare it as the ‘heart of the gospel’ – that there can be no other way that all men can be saved accept by grace through faith. This brings to believers a sense of security.

However, we need not only to be ‘covered’ or ‘clothed’ with righteousness but for righteousness to ‘grow’ in us. Remember – we are under construction and we need to be continually sanctified daily unto holiness and righteousness.

The other forms of righteousness include, ‘Moral Righteousness’ which is essentially what Paul addresses in v18-20. Moral righteousness has to do with personal integrity, purity, character and ethical (or right) living. Then there is Social Righteousness which speaks of identification with and helping such as the poor, the oppressed, disadvantaged, disabled etc. And then there is Devotional or Religious Righteousness which covers matters such as giving, tithing, prayer and fasting.

How then does a knowledge of the truth that God is righteous and demands righteousness among his people help us in our daily living in particular, the proclamation of the gospel? Well, firstly…

·         Because he is righteous, it means that he can be completely trusted to do what is right. We often hear questions like what happens to ‘innocent’ new-born babies who die…do they go to heaven? Well, the bible doesn’t reveal to us the answer. But what we can be sure is that God who is righteous will do the absolutely right thing. The question is do we trust him enough to do all that is right?

 

·         Because he is righteous, he will judge the living and the dead (2Ti 4:1, Acts10:42). God is described as the Righteous Judge in 2 Tim 4:8 and there will be a day when he will judge the world (Acts 17:31).

One day, all of us will have to give an account before God of what we have done or not done before God’s Great White Throne (Rev 20:11-15) and all our secrets will be laid bare (Ro 2:16). Nothing and no one will escape him. Those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life will be judge according to what they have done based on rewards while those who evil doers, immoral, idolaters will be cast into the lake of fire. The good news is that all evil will be punished.

We may ask “Why not punish and get rid of these evil doers now”? Well, the parable of the wheat and weeds is a good illustration of why God has not removed evil doers immediately because if he does so the ‘good’ (potential believers) and evil alike will be removed. As believers, we therefore have a responsibility to bring the gospel to the unsaved for only when the gospel has reached the far reaches of the whole world and the times would have reached its fulfilment will the end come.

·         Because he is righteous, he disciplines those whom he loves (Heb 12:5-11). This can come in all forms – through hardship, opposition from sinful men or persecution…that we may share in his holiness( v10) and afterwards produce a harvest of righteousness and peace…v11.

God’s intention is that through discipline, we may produce a harvest of righteousness and peace. His intention finally is that there will be a new Heaven and new Earth made up of righteous people to dwell in. His intention is to mould, shape and refine us that we may be presented as a radiant bride pure and holy before the bridegroom. Hence he will do what it takes to chide, rebuke and correct us to produce a righteous people as it was from the beginning.

Close

The cross proves the righteousness of God. Why? It is because he has dealt with sin and death by paying a price. Likewise, if sin is to be dealt with in our lives, there must first be repentance before there can be forgiveness. For there to be repentance there must be conviction of sins and for there to be conviction of sins the gospel of truth and righteousness must preached to unbelievers. Not just that God is Love but God is Righteous!

So let us keep in balance these twin towers of Love and Righteousness. We need a sense of security that God is love but also a healthy fear and reverence of God so that the unbeliever will hear, repent and receive the forgiveness of sins and then live in the love of God and grow to be like him through bearing and growing in fruits of righteousness.

            Amen.