Pastoral Messages (Page 3)

Honesty is not merely a social virtue but a reflection of one’s character and relationship with God. It is one of the marks of a true follower of Christ. As the apostle Paul said, those who have been raised to new life with Christ must “put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within…

Our Lord Jesus says in John 14:6 that He is the way, the truth and the life. He embodies not just the truth, but the truth of who God is. He is always faithful and true. In Him, love and justice meet. And He changes not. Heaven and earth will pass away, but His word will remain. Hence, He is the…

Holiness is the characteristic of God’s nature that is at the very core of His being. It is expressed in trisagion – “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty” (Isaiah 6:3, Revelations 4:8). Nothing of God’s character is emphasised thrice, other than holiness. Because God is holy, He never compromises on anything that is evil or wicked. Therefore, a…

“Wah! How can a Christian be like that?!” Have you ever heard such remarks? Even while the Bible calls us saints, and we honestly vouch that we are really sinners saved by grace, we understand how jarring the juxtaposition of sin and holiness is—a saint should act like one. In his letter to the Romans, the apostle Paul contends powerfully that the abundant grace of God we…

As the image of that person drifted into Jim’s mind, his heart palpitated; his inner being became wrenched and hurt swelled in his very soul. That person has hurt him grievously and Jim cannot forget… Then a question sprung to his mind, “How should I respond to this person after what he has done?” As a child of God, he knew what the bible says. Verses came to his mind:…

A number of years ago, it was very common for people to tag their social media posts with #blessed. And it was used when you feel blessed, when you got something that you really really want, or even just unexpected good news that gave you joy. For a while, it was even used by Christians as a way to say that these were blessings from God. What was interesting, however, is…

Galatians 5:22-23 says the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. They are not some selectable traits but a single whole-person character that reflects Jesus in thoughts, attitudes, feelings, words, and behaviours. Paul…

Tim LaHaye in his book, You and Your Family, writes about the family trees of two men who lived in the 18th century. One of them was Jonathan Edwards, the great puritan preacher who shook new England for the Lord Jesus Christ. The other was Max Jukes, a contemporary of Jonathan Edwards. The latter was a godless man who married a godless woman. He had 1026 descendants of…

If you are worried enough to ask this question, chances are you shouldn’t worry about being saved! Why? Because in our Presbyterian understanding of election, we recognize that God saves sinners who do not in themselves even want to be saved. As Paul writes, we were once dead in our transgressions and sins (Ephesians 2:1), living under the dominion of darkness (Colossians…

“You Christians are very lucky! For you, salvation is easy. For me, it is very hard!” so exclaimed a relative from a different religion. Is his statement true? Mankind, which includes you and me, are in dire straits. We are all sinners and have fallen “short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Therefore, all of us need to be saved from sin and death. But by the grace of…