2013년 11월 3일 주일 영어예배 설교
시편 119:9

(Psalms 119:9)

 It seems that the society we live in today is not that interested in ‘keeping pure’. Sometimes, older people could recognize the meaning and the value of ‘keeping pure’, but it doesn’t attract young people nowadays. However, this is not only the problem of 21st century. Regardless of regions and centuries, humans, especially young people who begin to open their eyes to the world and lead active lives, have not been and will continue not to be interested in the ‘keeping pure.’ However, this phenomenon is attributed to their ignorance of the true, biblical meaning of ‘keeping their way pure’. In addition, they don’t know the blessings given to the young people who try to keep their way pure.

Today, we are going to be appreciating the true meaning of ‘keeping one’s way pure’, and the reason why we have to keep our ways pure.

In verse 9, ‘a young man’ doesn’t mean a specific age or appearance. This term here means the prime of life that a man can be most vigorous and passionate for his or her life. So this is the time when men can not only use their ability most effectively but they can also fall into sin easily. Verse 9 tells “how can a young man keep his way pure?” It is questioning about the matter of how a young man can keep his way pure. Here the word ‘way’ is ‘ohra-h’ in Hebrew symbolizing ‘the way to live, course of life, and a value and a principle to control a life’. The expression ‘keep pure’ is ‘ja-kah’ in Hebrew meaning ‘righteousness’. Particularly this word is used to mean ‘righteous before God.’ So that is, it means “what life principles and values must young people in the prime of life have to be accepted as ‘a righteous man’?”

Do we have to be recognized as righteous before God? Yes, we do. We absolutely have to be recognized righteous before God. It is because there is never a twilight zone according to the Bible’s teaching. One who is accepted righteous and one who is not, the sheep and the goats, the good seeds and the weeds, the chosen and the unchosen, good and evil, the heaven and the hell. It is no use to men to clamor that he is neither on God’s side nor on the evil side. Regardless of human’s noble bearing that religions should renounce the black and white way of thinking, and religions need to reach harmony with each other by being open-minded, and religions should embrace all people on the earth, God already set His will clearly and revealed it to us. The Bible teaches us that the fact that God divides the world into the two parts obviously is the result of God’s love and the expression of His love. God who loves all the people on the earth universally and wants to make all the people on the earth His children, as many religion and intellectuals proclaim, is neither the God of the Bible nor the God of Christianity. God wants to segregate definitely His loved people from the others. The revelation is that God tries to show His infinite grace and love through the fact that the only chosen, loved people smell of being loved by God, and there is the world of difference, the heaven and the hell, after people’s death. So we must be accepted righteous standing on God’s side. If not, there is nothing but to be doomed. All of the values, principles, and standards of our lives should be focused on God. There should be an earnest desire to be recognized righteous in our hearts before God.

As we confirmed, there is the necessity of being accepted righteous before God. Now today’s text promptly gives us the answer to how we can do that. The answer is to guard it ‘according to your word’, that is ‘God’s word. Here the word ‘word’ refers to His will that God revealed to men. So the only way for young people to be accepted righteous before God is to live according to the Word. To be more exact, young people must show trust in God’s word and live being based on God’s word. Then what does the Word say about living according to the Word as the very first, final, and ultimate way? How can a man be righteous? What does the Word suggest as the unique way to be righteous, or pure? Yes, only by faith! Literally by faith. Can a man be righteous if he never commit a crime from a legal standpoint and in all conscience? If he devotes his life to helping lots of people dying of hunger in the Third World? Can a man be righteous when he helps the needy without anyone knowing? What do you think about a man who spends his time praying for several hours a day and a man who recites bible phrases very well as the Roman Catholics who have been so called “saints” in those far off days? Is establishing or joining social organizations or political organizations considered as doing many good things for this world? It is obvious that these things are really valuable and admirable. However, men can never be righteous by these kinds of things. The Bible declares that men can be forgiven of their sins and be righteous only by the faith in Jesus Christ. The human sins brought about a death in this world. The way to be forgiven of the sin and finally be called the righteous is to believe Jesus Christ who is the expiation for our sins. It is to believe the Cross of the Calvary and the effect of the shedding blood. And the Bible says that this faith is the gift from God. So men can be righteous by God’s grace, God’s total unilateral selection.

Then what are the behaviors to be righteous before God in today’s text? They are the result of justification. That means, those who are reborn and have secured their salvation by justification cannot simply put their ticket to heaven in their pocket and go their own way. As a result of the salvation and justification by God’s grace, they always willingly try to live the life of the saved and the righteous life. The Bible repeatedly declares this critical principle. In 1 John 2:4~6, “Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.” Of course, even believers can tumble. They can have their doubts about the faith. However, the people who are declared righteous by God’s grace ultimately, essentially live the righteous life. They never fall away from the justification. So the Bible always tells us to believe and look at Jesus Christ who finished everything for forgiving our sins and our futures, and rise again and continue to follow Him whenever, no matter what. As is generally known, the righteous, or rather, the man who was declared righteous continually tries to keep his behavior righteous and also must do that. That is to say, that is right, duty, and willingness. Then how can a young man do that? He can do that ‘according to God’s word.’ We always have to contemplate the word, and think, behave, and plan our lives based on the word, and hand this over to our offspring. Our salvation, the heaven and the hell, the Incarnation of Jesus Christ, the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, the End of The World that the Bible declares, the life for the glory of God, the visible church on the earth including the invisible church, a church and its organization as an earthly organization that has continued to carry on God’s plan and its function, me as the church member and so on. These very basic principles should firmly lie at our whole lives as the bases. Otherwise, every week, we come to and leave church and a new week begin without knowing a real meaning of ‘keep our lives pure’, ‘live according to God’s word’ just saying “ah…. we should be a good and nice man, and live hard…Oh… Jesus always will be with me….everything will get better and better….” like building castles in the air. That kind of psychological auto-suggestions and incantation is not the way of Christian life. That kind of cult is not Christianity at all. Christian gospel is realistic.

Another point of today’s text is the fact that blessed are those who keep their ways pure. What’s more, the Bible continually talks about the blessings of ‘a man who keep his way pure according to God’s word’ throughout the bible. Those blessings are not only the fundamental blessings that one is forgiven sin and saved, but also the earthly blessings. Of course, the earthly blessings are never the aim of our faith. However, God promised such people such blessings. These blessings mean that during our wild journey to heaven, we use and enjoy those material things in order to perform their mission as Christians, and function as members of a church. With money, health, and wisdom given to us by God, Christian people must perform their duties as God’s people. Therefore, things like self-realization, a good position and a high salary, a house, a spouse, children, a health, a leisure, well-being, or what you have should not be the aim of the life, but the means of the life. The purpose is only Jesus Christ. These material things, incorporeal things, and environment are the earthly blessings that Bible promised those who keep their way pure. This is for encouraging us to keep going and do better. I hope that you try to keep their way pure according to God’s word.

Everyone, we must always note how the bible defines a life. It tells us that if someone had been reborn, he would try to keep his way pure, and also the Bible asserts that if someone argues himself the reborn and doesn’t have a desire to keep his way pure at the same time, he lies. The way to keep one’s life is to live according to God’s word. Especially, with the expression ‘a young man,’ it urges young men to do so. We must take a serious look at ourselves whether we are the reborn or not, we have the desire to keep our way pure even a little or not. If you are sure you were reborn and have a desire to keep your own way pure before God, you should give attention to God’s word and behave according to that. I really long for that you all become such persons, and enjoy the blessings given to such persons.