THE SHEPHERD’S CORNER

In his book, Yesus Kristus: Juruselamat Dunia, (Jesus Christ: The Savior of the World), Pastor Stephen Tong shares a unique experience he had while visiting someone in prison: He was required to take off his clothes and don a prison garb. He felt uncomfortable not only because he had never been subjected to that kind of treatment before but also because he was afraid someone might spot him in there and thought that he had been arrested and put in jail. I am sure we’re all smiling. ?

In this book Pastor Stephen Tong writes that he now understands what Jesus Our Lord went through when he became not only a man but a sin itself, as Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:21, “God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” Yes, not only did Jesus the Son of God identified Himself with sinners, He also became sin. On the cross, Sin was crucified once for all, as stated so succinctly in 2 Peter 2:24, “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness.” Thank you, Lord.

Sin is a serious matter; we should never treat it lightly. It is a serious matter because Jesus the Son of God had to give His life on the cross for our sin. But there is another reason why sin is a serious matter: sin separates us from God. In my ministry I have met many whose lives have been separated from sin because of the Bible. I am one of those people. I began to be separated from sin when I started to read the Bible. But there are also many whose lives have been separated from the Bible because of sin in their lives. Rightly Evangelist Dwight L. Moody concludes, “The Bible will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from the Bible.” So, don’t ever neglect to read the Bible and to obey it; it’s truly our salvation.

Pastor Paul