Join us as we delve into heartfelt Christmas memories from 1945, when anticipation filled the air and decorations transformed our homes. Our speaker fondly recalls the story of his childhood in England, where a fishing family awaited their father’s return and the magical arrival of Santa Claus. Through engaging anecdotes, experience the delight and simplicity of early Christmas traditions as well as the surprise revelations brought on by a unique family recipe, Christmas tree rituals, and the thrill of Christmas morning. As the narrative unfolds, we explore a transformative journey of faith, invoking a personal realization of the spiritual essence behind the festivities. The episode captures a poignant moment in time, when the speaker encountered a message that brought unending joy, contrasting the fleeting moments of happiness felt during childhood. Discover how understanding the core meaning of Christmas brings a sense of fulfillment that transcends the short-lived excitement of presents and festivities, offering a lasting peace that endures throughout the seasons.
Christmas. I guess we all have very different memories of Christmas, and I have mine, and I'd like to share some of them with you. Back then in, my goodness, can you imagine, 1945, when I was five years old, we were just young kids, the three of us, in my hometown in England. There was my sister, who was four years older than I was. and her name was Pam, and my brother was one and a quarter years older than I was, Charlie, and we used to get so excited about Christmas. My dad was an industrial fisherman. That means that he was a fisherman that stayed out for 10 days at a time in a ship that he was captain of. Actually, they called him a skipper. skipper of the boat, and there were about 17 men on board that boat. They would ply the North Sea for fish every 10 days, then he'd be home for two days or three, mostly two, and then he'd go back to the sea. But Dad would always make sure he came home for Christmas. And oh boy, what an anticipation Christmas was. I think we could hardly hold ourselves together for about six weeks before Christmas. Mum would buy a tree, a Christmas tree. We didn't have a big house, but it fitted somehow into the living room. And we used to, and she would collect over the years all of these, what we call Christmas toys in England. They're not toys, but they're baubles and shiny things. And over the years, she had so many of these bright and beautiful things that there was hardly room for any more. You could hardly see the tree. And I remember as well that after a certain time, we bought an artificial tree. But it wasn't an artificial evergreen. It was a white one made of feathers so that it looked like a snow-covered tree. And we had that all through the rest of my young days in my hometown before I went to college. And then we'd put up trimmings. Now, trimmings were, oh, how shall I say it? Anyway, these various colored crepe long tassels stretching across the room from the light to each corner of the room. And then we draped that crepe paper with tinsel. So it was quite a Christmassy atmosphere in our house. And then we had this little ritual. You know, various families have various rituals, of course. But the one we had was that Dad, when he came home from sea, he and Mom would put out some Christmas cake and a little glass of wine for Father Christmas, who we call Santa Claus over here. By the way, the Christmas cake was really a Christmas loaf. It was made by Mom, who never told us the recipe, and I begged her to let me know what the recipe was, but she said, oh, I just put this and that together. It was made of various fruits, apples, oranges, and various nuts and flour, of course, but it wasn't soggy. It was like a fruit loaf. and you'd spread butter on that, and then a nice slice or two of sharp cheddar cheese on top. And you'd have that with a cup of tea, and boy, was that delicious. I can just taste it now. But Mom never shared that recipe, and so I've never been able to know how to make that cake. But anyway, they'd put a slice out on a plate, and have this glass of wine, and they'd say, now this is for Santa Claus, and I would be looking up, just a little boy of four or five, and I could hardly reach the top of the table, and I would look at this cake and wine, and then the next morning, wow, Christmas morning, it had gone. So Santa Claus had been. He actually came down the chimney, how he ever got down our chimney, a real chimney with a fireplace that we warmed the house with, how he ever got down there, I'll never know. But anyway, in the morning I was filled with awe that Santa Claus had arrived and brought all these presents. Now, of course, Pam and Charlie and I were so utterly excited by all this that we simply had to go to bed early. I mean, we kids made ourselves go to bed early on Christmas Eve because we couldn't stand the excitement of waiting for Christmas morning. So we went to bed about 6 o'clock. And as far as I can recall, we actually slept early. until about 2 or 3 or 4 in the morning. But that was the very time Mom and Dad were filling our stockings. Well, actually, they were not stockings. I know this sounds terribly decadent, but they were pillowcases. We had pillowcases of Christmas gifts. And mom and dad were wrapping the presents and filling the pillowcases from about two in the morning till four. And they were just about ready to go to bed when Pam or I or Charlie would call out, mom, can we get up now? And she said she'd say, oh, no, wait a little longer, and maybe 10 or 15 or 20 minutes or half an hour later we'd call out, can we get up now? So that's how it was. But she finally relented, and the three of us rushed downstairs in our pajamas, and we started ripping open these presents. And, you know, we ripped open those presents before Mom and Dad even got up, and all they saw when they got up was a whole pile of paper strewn all over the floor, and we just looking at and loving and enjoying our presents. Yeah, it was a high time. And it was an exciting time. And my mom and dad, I give thanks to God for them. They were solid parents, really good parents, although I missed dad a lot and didn't bond with him well because he was away. Ten days out of 12 at sea. And before that, he was in the Second World War as an acting lieutenant, minesweeping the Nazi bombs. What do we call them? I've forgotten the floating devices in the sea. so that the food supply could continue to come from the United States to England and not be blown up by these mines. So Christmas was an incredibly beautiful thing. But, of course, it was all kind of pagan, wasn't it? Mom and Dad were not churchgoers, although they were in some limited ways believers in God, in Jesus. They only went to church for births, marriages, and deaths, what we call in England hatches, matches, and dispatches. although they did send us to Sunday school. I remember hating the whole experience of Sunday school, and when Charlie, my brother, went to the next class, I cried my eyes out and didn't want to go to Sunday school anymore because my brother wouldn't be there. But she arranged it, and so I was able to go to Charlie's class. So it was all very strange and awesome and wonderful because I still believed in the mystery of Santa Claus and still believed in the awesomeness of Christmas and the excitement of it. I do remember, you know, I think I couldn't have been more than three years old, sitting in my cot, I think it was at that time, on Christmas night, not Christmas Eve, realizing that it was all over. Christmas was over. We'd waited for six weeks for it, and now it was gone. And it seemed so empty to that little boy that I can even see now, sitting in his cot, with all the presents strewn around him and no more left to open. How strange life is that it can leave us with emptiness after all the excitement, with nothing left. Actually, I remember one, well, I don't remember it, but my mum told me about it, about the time when, after about an hour of Christmas morning opening all our presents, we were found in the bathroom, my brother and I, playing with paper ships in the bathtub. and all the toys were left downstairs waiting later to be played with. It was when I became a Christian at 15, I went to a meeting that I thought was a meeting on flying saucers. I've told you that many times, I think. But in fact, it was a lecture by a preacher on the second coming of Christ called Man from Another World. And it caught my heart and turned me around on a dime and brought me to Jesus and gave me the joy that Christmas had only for a day before it left me empty. I found joy, joy, joy. non-stop joy for six months when I first became a Christian. Night and day I woke up with joy in my heart, with the thought that Jesus was coming again and was going to make the earth all new again, and there would be no more death or sorrow or tears or crying or pain, and that the children would... play over the nest of a viper, and a lion and a lamb would dwell together, and there would be no hurt in God's holy mountain. And then I began to realize that, oh, I had completely misunderstood Christmas. that Christmas was, yes, happy times with family, yes, happy times with Christmas cake and Father Christmas coming, supposedly, and all the lovely Christmas decorations, the Christmas tree and the trimmings, but it was about the greatest gift of all, Jesus. Jesus, God among men, giving himself as a gift to the world, a gift to the world to take away all the emptiness of our souls, all the emptiness of the after-Christmas present opening. all the emptiness that life brings as we go through experiences that excite us for a while and then bring us disappointment. Jesus had come to take away all our sins. He had come to bring the presence of God to the world. And he had come to take this kingdom back to his own Father so that one day he will return again and everything will be colossally beautiful, beyond description. Our joy will be complete. It will never end. We will find joy in his presence forevermore. So in the midst of all the gifts, in the midst of all the family gatherings, in the midst of all the mince pies, as we call them in England, in the midst of all the Christmas dinners and the family gatherings and the presents, the one present is what is important, Jesus and his gift of eternal life. Thank you so much for listening, and I wish you a happy Christmas and a prosperous new year. And if you're alone... You're not alone. The angels, the Holy Spirit, Jesus are with you on Christmas Day. So thank you. See you next time. God bless.
Colin Cook teaches you how faith-training in the Gospel of Christ can help you to intercept your addiction, whether it’s alcohol, drugs, food, sex, or obsessive worry.
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Join us as we delve into heartfelt Christmas memories from 1945, when anticipation filled the air and decorations transformed our homes. Our speaker fondly recalls the story of his childhood in England, where a fishing family awaited their father’s return and the magical arrival of Santa Claus. Through engaging anecdotes, experience the delight and simplicity of early Christmas traditions as well as the surprise revelations brought on by a unique family recipe, Christmas tree rituals, and the thrill of Christmas morning. As the narrative unfolds, we explore a transformative journey of faith, invoking a personal realization of the spiritual essence behind the festivities. The episode captures a poignant moment in time, when the speaker encountered a message that brought unending joy, contrasting the fleeting moments of happiness felt during childhood. Discover how understanding the core meaning of Christmas brings a sense of fulfillment that transcends the short-lived excitement of presents and festivities, offering a lasting peace that endures throughout the seasons.
Christmas. I guess we all have very different memories of Christmas, and I have mine, and I'd like to share some of them with you. Back then in, my goodness, can you imagine, 1945, when I was five years old, we were just young kids, the three of us, in my hometown in England. There was my sister, who was four years older than I was. and her name was Pam, and my brother was one and a quarter years older than I was, Charlie, and we used to get so excited about Christmas. My dad was an industrial fisherman. That means that he was a fisherman that stayed out for 10 days at a time in a ship that he was captain of. Actually, they called him a skipper. skipper of the boat, and there were about 17 men on board that boat. They would ply the North Sea for fish every 10 days, then he'd be home for two days or three, mostly two, and then he'd go back to the sea. But Dad would always make sure he came home for Christmas. And oh boy, what an anticipation Christmas was. I think we could hardly hold ourselves together for about six weeks before Christmas. Mum would buy a tree, a Christmas tree. We didn't have a big house, but it fitted somehow into the living room. And we used to, and she would collect over the years all of these, what we call Christmas toys in England. They're not toys, but they're baubles and shiny things. And over the years, she had so many of these bright and beautiful things that there was hardly room for any more. You could hardly see the tree. And I remember as well that after a certain time, we bought an artificial tree. But it wasn't an artificial evergreen. It was a white one made of feathers so that it looked like a snow-covered tree. And we had that all through the rest of my young days in my hometown before I went to college. And then we'd put up trimmings. Now, trimmings were, oh, how shall I say it? Anyway, these various colored crepe long tassels stretching across the room from the light to each corner of the room. And then we draped that crepe paper with tinsel. So it was quite a Christmassy atmosphere in our house. And then we had this little ritual. You know, various families have various rituals, of course. But the one we had was that Dad, when he came home from sea, he and Mom would put out some Christmas cake and a little glass of wine for Father Christmas, who we call Santa Claus over here. By the way, the Christmas cake was really a Christmas loaf. It was made by Mom, who never told us the recipe, and I begged her to let me know what the recipe was, but she said, oh, I just put this and that together. It was made of various fruits, apples, oranges, and various nuts and flour, of course, but it wasn't soggy. It was like a fruit loaf. and you'd spread butter on that, and then a nice slice or two of sharp cheddar cheese on top. And you'd have that with a cup of tea, and boy, was that delicious. I can just taste it now. But Mom never shared that recipe, and so I've never been able to know how to make that cake. But anyway, they'd put a slice out on a plate, and have this glass of wine, and they'd say, now this is for Santa Claus, and I would be looking up, just a little boy of four or five, and I could hardly reach the top of the table, and I would look at this cake and wine, and then the next morning, wow, Christmas morning, it had gone. So Santa Claus had been. He actually came down the chimney, how he ever got down our chimney, a real chimney with a fireplace that we warmed the house with, how he ever got down there, I'll never know. But anyway, in the morning I was filled with awe that Santa Claus had arrived and brought all these presents. Now, of course, Pam and Charlie and I were so utterly excited by all this that we simply had to go to bed early. I mean, we kids made ourselves go to bed early on Christmas Eve because we couldn't stand the excitement of waiting for Christmas morning. So we went to bed about 6 o'clock. And as far as I can recall, we actually slept early. until about 2 or 3 or 4 in the morning. But that was the very time Mom and Dad were filling our stockings. Well, actually, they were not stockings. I know this sounds terribly decadent, but they were pillowcases. We had pillowcases of Christmas gifts. And mom and dad were wrapping the presents and filling the pillowcases from about two in the morning till four. And they were just about ready to go to bed when Pam or I or Charlie would call out, mom, can we get up now? And she said she'd say, oh, no, wait a little longer, and maybe 10 or 15 or 20 minutes or half an hour later we'd call out, can we get up now? So that's how it was. But she finally relented, and the three of us rushed downstairs in our pajamas, and we started ripping open these presents. And, you know, we ripped open those presents before Mom and Dad even got up, and all they saw when they got up was a whole pile of paper strewn all over the floor, and we just looking at and loving and enjoying our presents. Yeah, it was a high time. And it was an exciting time. And my mom and dad, I give thanks to God for them. They were solid parents, really good parents, although I missed dad a lot and didn't bond with him well because he was away. Ten days out of 12 at sea. And before that, he was in the Second World War as an acting lieutenant, minesweeping the Nazi bombs. What do we call them? I've forgotten the floating devices in the sea. so that the food supply could continue to come from the United States to England and not be blown up by these mines. So Christmas was an incredibly beautiful thing. But, of course, it was all kind of pagan, wasn't it? Mom and Dad were not churchgoers, although they were in some limited ways believers in God, in Jesus. They only went to church for births, marriages, and deaths, what we call in England hatches, matches, and dispatches. although they did send us to Sunday school. I remember hating the whole experience of Sunday school, and when Charlie, my brother, went to the next class, I cried my eyes out and didn't want to go to Sunday school anymore because my brother wouldn't be there. But she arranged it, and so I was able to go to Charlie's class. So it was all very strange and awesome and wonderful because I still believed in the mystery of Santa Claus and still believed in the awesomeness of Christmas and the excitement of it. I do remember, you know, I think I couldn't have been more than three years old, sitting in my cot, I think it was at that time, on Christmas night, not Christmas Eve, realizing that it was all over. Christmas was over. We'd waited for six weeks for it, and now it was gone. And it seemed so empty to that little boy that I can even see now, sitting in his cot, with all the presents strewn around him and no more left to open. How strange life is that it can leave us with emptiness after all the excitement, with nothing left. Actually, I remember one, well, I don't remember it, but my mum told me about it, about the time when, after about an hour of Christmas morning opening all our presents, we were found in the bathroom, my brother and I, playing with paper ships in the bathtub. and all the toys were left downstairs waiting later to be played with. It was when I became a Christian at 15, I went to a meeting that I thought was a meeting on flying saucers. I've told you that many times, I think. But in fact, it was a lecture by a preacher on the second coming of Christ called Man from Another World. And it caught my heart and turned me around on a dime and brought me to Jesus and gave me the joy that Christmas had only for a day before it left me empty. I found joy, joy, joy. non-stop joy for six months when I first became a Christian. Night and day I woke up with joy in my heart, with the thought that Jesus was coming again and was going to make the earth all new again, and there would be no more death or sorrow or tears or crying or pain, and that the children would... play over the nest of a viper, and a lion and a lamb would dwell together, and there would be no hurt in God's holy mountain. And then I began to realize that, oh, I had completely misunderstood Christmas. that Christmas was, yes, happy times with family, yes, happy times with Christmas cake and Father Christmas coming, supposedly, and all the lovely Christmas decorations, the Christmas tree and the trimmings, but it was about the greatest gift of all, Jesus. Jesus, God among men, giving himself as a gift to the world, a gift to the world to take away all the emptiness of our souls, all the emptiness of the after-Christmas present opening. all the emptiness that life brings as we go through experiences that excite us for a while and then bring us disappointment. Jesus had come to take away all our sins. He had come to bring the presence of God to the world. And he had come to take this kingdom back to his own Father so that one day he will return again and everything will be colossally beautiful, beyond description. Our joy will be complete. It will never end. We will find joy in his presence forevermore. So in the midst of all the gifts, in the midst of all the family gatherings, in the midst of all the mince pies, as we call them in England, in the midst of all the Christmas dinners and the family gatherings and the presents, the one present is what is important, Jesus and his gift of eternal life. Thank you so much for listening, and I wish you a happy Christmas and a prosperous new year. And if you're alone... You're not alone. The angels, the Holy Spirit, Jesus are with you on Christmas Day. So thank you. See you next time. God bless.
In this episode, we dive deep into the teachings of Romans 5, an exhilarating scripture that guides us through the reconciliation of the world to God. Discover how God's judgment is transformed into a profound act of love through His Son, Jesus Christ. We explore how Christ's death was not just for believers, but for the entire world, demonstrating God's unwavering love and ultimate plan for redemption. Join us as we break down these verses and uncover the universal significance of Christ’s sacrifice.
So Romans 5 is about the reconciliation of the world to God. God has made a judgment, and that judgment is in his Son, that his Son is the righteousness for the world, and the Son's death is on behalf of humanity, so that Jesus has taken that judgment. And so God's judgment against sin has been taken by himself. That's why the Bible speaks of Jesus being the propitiation, that is, appeasing God's judgment, appeasing God's wrath against sin, so that you and I are brought back into the Father's fold. That's what this section that we've been reading or studying together is all about, Romans chapter 5, verses 6 to 11. And I want to emphasize it again today. Even though we've gone through it, it is so big, so expansive, that we need to hear it again and again in order to grasp it. For it says here, in chapter 5, verses 6, 8, and 10, Here they are, these verses, for when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. And verse 8, but God demonstrates his own love towards us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. And verse 10, For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. Now, I pointed out last time that verses 6 and 8 and 10 are parallel. They're parallel thoughts or parallel ideas that are expressed in different ways. First of all, notice that Jesus is referred to as dying for us in verse 6. And in verse 8, Christ died for us. So there's a parallel. Christ's death was for sinners, for the ungodly, for the people without strength, for sinners. And the parallel in verse 10 of Christ died in verse 6 and verse 8 is that Christ reconciled us to God through the death of his Son. That is stupendous, because what it's telling us is that Christ's death is not simply, as I mentioned last time, provisional. That is, he provided his death, provided you do your part, which is to believe and to repent and obey. That's not what these verses are saying. It is saying that while we were still enemies, We were reconciled to God through the death of his Son. So the death of his Son is not provisional. It is absolute. God has reconciled the world through the death of his Son. Now, that doesn't mean to say there are not judgments that come upon us and disciplines and punishments, but all in the context of salvation. If there's judgment coming upon the world, it is not that the world is going to be lost, but those judgments are the process of God drawing the world to himself, because Christ has died for us, and Christ's death means that God has reconciled himself to the world. Now, I mentioned something just now that expands on the picture. I started talking about the world. Paul talks about us here. When we were still without strength in due time, Christ died for the ungodly. Verse 8. But God demonstrates his own love towards us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. And verse 10. And if for if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. So what Christians tend to do with these verses is to think of them, and quite rightly so, in a personal way. This is Jesus going to the cross on our behalf in a very intimate and personal way. But one thing that Christians, generally speaking, throughout the centuries have failed to realize is that Paul is not only speaking about Jesus dying for us in a personal way, he's talking about Jesus dying for us for the whole world, which is also personal, of course, but it includes everybody. Well, how do I know that? Well, first of all, who are ungodly? All the world. Who are without strength towards God? All the world. Who are sinners? All the world. And verse 10, who are enemies? All the world. And so these verses are talking about what God is doing and has done for all the world. So he has died for all the world, verse 6. He has died for all the world, verse 8, and he has reconciled to God through the death of his Son all the world, verse 10. Now you say, well, that's a bit iffy, Colin, are you sure about that? Well, we're going to come, although I don't want to start it now, we're going to come to the latter part of verse, of chapter 5 of Romans, where Paul does speak of all the world. Therefore, as through one man's offense, that's Adam's, judgment came to all men resulting in condemnation, Even so, through one man's righteous act, the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. That's 5 verse 18 of Romans. And so Paul is definitely moving the whole argument towards God's redemption of all the world. Now look, I know this is a very questionable teaching among many Christians. Some consider it total heresy. But if you take the Scriptures all together and not just parse them and separate them and put a group of texts over here and another group of texts over here and say, well, I accept this group of texts and not that group of texts. If you begin to integrate them, you will see that the teaching of Scripture is that God has sent his Son into the world to be the propitiation, for believers, and not only for believers, but for all the world. And he is going to, Jesus is, going to redeem the world recapture it for the sake of his Father, and return the kingdom, according to 1 Corinthians 15, back to the Father. This is why God the Father says, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear him. So, we need to get a totally new look at our God, don't we? to realize that God is not some vicious, cruel tyrant who's going to burn people in hell endlessly, the majority of the world, because they did not accept him. Rather, Jesus said, I, when I am lifted up from the earth, that is, when I am crucified and lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself. That's John 12. 32, I think it is. God has sent his Son to redeem his creation. His creation is groaning. It is under a tremendously heavy load of sin and death. People have got so used to this situation that they think it's normal. that death is normal, and then, oh, well, we go to heaven, and that will be the nice ending to the story. No, that's not it. Yes, heaven exists. Yes, men and women will go to heaven, but the kingdom of God, according to the book of Revelation, is going to be brought down to earth again, and God will make all things new. There will be no more death, no more sorrow, no more tears or crying, no more evil and sin. Everything will be wiped away. The lamb shall dwell with the lion. The lion shall dwell with the lamb. Actually, we say the lion dwells with the lamb, but it's actually the wolf shall dwell with the lamb. The lion comes in a bit later. That's Isaiah 11, I think, verse 26 says, But the point is, God has a plan to love his creation that he made and bring it all back to him. You see, this implies that we can trust God fully. There is, among many, many Christians, a sneaky suspicion of God. We don't like to talk about it, but it's there because we're thinking, well, I could never throw people into hell and have them burn forever. How come God can do that? And I have to tell you, that is a heresy doctrine. It never is in the Scripture. The word hell does not occur when Jesus speaks about it. He's talking about Gehenna, which is that discipline that the Israelites went through, described in the book of Ezekiel. When those people who had done evil and burned their children in the fire and sacrificed to pagan gods, the Molech, and Baal, God says, I will remove them and I will throw them into that very place that they had burned children in. But is it to destroy them forever? No, it is not. Did you know that the book of Ezekiel talks about the restoration of Sodom and Gomorrah? That they will be brought back and given to Israel as daughters, and Israel will be called upon by God to take care of them. and he's referring to the Sodom and Gomorrah in Abraham's day, not some nice, sweet, righteous people later on inhabiting those cities. No, it is precisely the people in Abraham's day, because God is going to use them as an example to humble Israel, who thought that they were better than everybody else, No, they are going to have to take care of the children of Sodom and Gomorrah, the people of Sodom and Gomorrah whom they despised. It's right there. It's right there in Ezekiel chapter 16. Read it for yourself. What we learn from this then, and other passages of course, is that Sodom and Gomorrah, that fire and brimstone are a symbol or a figure of speech for teaching, for all the world to be faced with the revelation of God. What happens is that God's glory will be seen and his face will be seen, it says in Ezekiel, and in that moment the world will throw away its idols. In that moment the world will see its enormous sinful condition, and it will bow before the Lord God. Remember Isaiah 45? Before me, says the Lord, before me every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that he is God. And that verse is repeated in the book of Philippians as describing every knee bowing to Jesus Christ himself. What a wonderful thing is going to happen. So lift up your heart. God is reconciling his enemies. And if you feel an enemy today, just come before God and say, Oh God, even though I feel and me in my heart, I thank you that you have taken away my judgment. Thanks. I'll see you next time. Cheerio and God bless.
Join us as we navigate through Romans 5 and unravel the powerful message of reconciliation with God. Discussing verses 6, 8, and 10, we illuminate the concept of being saved not by our merit but by God’s divine initiative. This episode invites you to ponder on the idea that while we were still sinners, Christ's love was poured out for us, and how this realization can lead to a profound change in our spiritual journey.
We're about to move into one of those amazing passages of Scripture in the book of Romans, and one of the amazing passages, of course, in the book of Romans itself. Romans chapter 5, verse 6. Paul, having said that now hope does not disappoint us because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who has been given to us, then says, for when we were still without strength... In due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die, yet perhaps for a good man one would even dare to die, but God demonstrates his own love towards us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more so then, Now here's some remarkable talk. He says that Christ died for us while we were still ungodly. And that doesn't mean that he just died and hopes that we'll accept him. It means, because these verses are parallel with one another, that when Christ died for us, he reconciled us. Because you see, verse 10 says exactly that. For if when we were enemies, we were reconciled to him. How can it be then that people who are sinners are already reconciled by the death of Jesus? People who are enemies are already reconciled. Well, Paul is beginning to introduce the reality of Christ, who is our representative. He's going to develop this very, very thoroughly from verse 12 through to verse 21. I would recommend that you read it and ponder it as best you can before we continue this in the next broadcast. You see, Paul's talking about more than an individual here. You and I and the ones who come to Jesus. There's something bigger going on. What is happening is that God is creating a new head of the human race, Jesus Christ. When we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. Now you may feel without strength. You may feel that you're powerless in regard to sin and addiction. You may feel that you just don't have what it takes to be a strong Christian. And so you tend to walk away from God because you just don't have the stuff that a Christian is made of. But this verse and verse 8, this is 6, 8 and 10, allows you to forget all that nonsense. When we were still without strength, you can come to Jesus Christ and you can say, Oh Lord God, I feel I have no strength whatsoever. I just don't have the willpower to serve you. I don't have strong desires to love you and serve you. I am without strength. And so, you see, you say that in despair, but what you need to do is to say that in faith and to say, Father, I am without strength. And that reminds me that Jesus died for people without strength. You took my sins upon yourself when I was without strength. You took my whole inhumanity, all of its ungodliness, when I was without strength. You see, verse 8 says a similar thing. That's why these verses 6, 8, and 10 are parallel. But God demonstrates his own love to us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. He didn't wait for us to become saints. He didn't wait for us to overcome drugs or alcohol or pornography or terrible food addiction. He didn't wait for us to be sanctified enough before he died for us. He died while we were still in this state of being sinners. Now again, this may not get home to you until you realize that verses 6 and 8 are parallel with verse 10. Well, what's in verse 10 that makes it all clear? Let's read it. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God. Now, you see, the phrase reconciled to God there is parallel to verse 8, where it says Christ died for us, and where it says in verse 6, Christ died for the ungodly. So this means that when Jesus died on that cross, he reconciled us. My goodness, do you realize what that means? So many people, so many Christians, you see, assume that Christ died, well, provisionally, conditionally. I died for you, but you'd better accept it, and if you don't, my death is of no effect. That's a provisional death. It is a death based upon certain provisions. And those provisions are that you must accept it and repent and be sanctified. But that is not what the teaching is right here. Because if Christ died for us in verse 6, Christ died for the ungodly, is parallel to verse 8, where Christ died for us, then verse 10 explains to us that that death is more than a provisional death. It means that we are reconciled before we ever knew it. Let's read the whole passage now to get the parallels. Are you ready? For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die, but perhaps for a good man one might even dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love towards us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. Now, you see, verses 6, 8, and 10 have two verses in between them. There's verse 7 between 6 and 8, and there's verse 9 between 8 and 10. So let's just leave those two verses in between out so you get the parallelism clearer. For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. But God demonstrates his own love towards us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more having been reconciled we shall be saved by his life. Now I'm going to dig in a little bit further and omit those clauses that are additional to the parallels. So let's look at it again. In due time Christ died for the ungodly. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. When we were enemies, we were reconciled. Okay, do you get it? You and I have to have a revolution in our faith based on these verses. These verses do not tell us that if we repent, if we are earnest, if we are sincere, if we are surrendered, if we have discipline, if we have willpower, if we have faith, then Christ's death will be effective. No. That's not what it's saying. It's saying God reconciled all the world How do I know all the world? Well, because all the world are enemies of God. All the world are sinners. All the world are ungodly. Christ reconciled to himself, brought to himself the whole world while the whole world were still enemies. Well then, you come before God with your struggles, and you say, Father, I am so tempted to believe that my problems and struggles separate me from you, that unless I get rid of these problems and temptations and sins and addictions, then you will not accept me. I feel, Lord, there's a big barrier between me and you, and that is my addiction. But Father, I will resist that feeling because you tell me that I am reconciled to you even while I'm an enemy, even while I'm ungodly, even while I'm powerless. And so I'm thanking you, dear God, for your reconciliation, that I've been brought into your house. Do you see how this passage demonstrates once again that the chapter 5 is all about reconciliation? freedom from wrath, because wrath is to hand over and to send away to the powers of sin. But if I'm freed from wrath, I am reckoned, I'm brought back, you see. And this is what these verses are saying. And so what you do is start this wrestle of faith in your heart, and you say, Dear God, I feel alienated. I feel I'm out of sorts. I feel I desire sin and I don't desire you. I desire my addiction more than you, and it's coming in between me and you. But by faith I am saying to you that you have told me I'm reconciled even while I'm an enemy, even while I'm ungodly, even while I am without strength, and I thank you for it, dear Father. Now, you see, do you see what this is doing when you do this? You are already in a state of repentance by having faith that you are reconciled. What these verses tell you is that God's the one who takes the initiative, not you. Salvation is not about you coming to Jesus. Salvation is about Jesus coming to you. Salvation is about you. You being on the road to Damascus, being quite happy with your righteousness, thank you very much, and God knocks you off your horse, as he did Paul on the road to Damascus. He thought he was just fine. He thought he was altogether righteous. He thought he had everything it takes to be saved. And then he sees the light and the glory of God, and he's absolutely bowled over. blinded for three days, stunned by what is taking place, figuring it all out in silence for three days. What is this Jesus? Who is this Jesus? How come he overcame me like that? This is what God does with our salvation. I want you to see in these verses the utter revolution that we're talking about. Modern Christianity is corrupt because it has put you where Jesus should be. You and I have put the cart before the horse when in fact our Jesus, the great white stallion, he's first pulling the cart. And so, you are reconciled. Now, in whatever state you are, come before Jesus and say, Lord God, I am going to thank you for this because this is massive. Thank you for joining me today, everyone. Colin Cook here, and you've been listening to my program, How It Happens. I urge you to read this passage that I just shared with you, chapter 5 of Romans, verses 6 to 11. Read it and ponder it. And also, please listen to my broadcast any time of the day or night on your smartphone. Simply download a free app, soundcloud.com or podbean.com, and key in How It Happens with Colin Cook when you get there. Consider a donation, too, would you? It's Listen Supported Radio. Please send your donation to Faith Quest, P.O. Box 366, Littleton, Colorado, 80160. Thanks, see you next time. Cheerio and God bless.
Join us as we navigate the complexities of faith, disappointment, and the enduring love of God. Discover how faith acts contrary to human logic and emotions, setting up a war zone in the mind but leading to eternal hope. We emphasize that the love of God, although not always apparent, is unconditionally poured into our hearts, transforming trials into victories and strengthening our spiritual journey.
So we are looking at this passage in Romans chapter 5, that we have peace with God, now that we have been declared innocent by Christ, who took our judgment upon himself, and we have access to the Father. through the grace, into the grace in which we stand. So we've entered this wonderful room, this dome of grace, this home, if you like, of our Heavenly Father. And all that happens to us now is now in the kingdom of grace, not in the kingdom of sin and death. And that's why we can glory or give praise and thanks and congratulate ourselves, even in trouble, knowing that trouble produces life in us. And as we exercise our faith, we are drawn closer to God by faith. Now, those are the details. Let me remind you, though, of the overall picture. This is a chapter on freedom from the wrath of God. Well, how does that all fit in? Well, you see, as you recall, God's wrath is motivated by love. God does not suspend his love in order to be wrathful. Well, what is he wrathful about? He's wrathful about the world's suppression of him. And so what does God do? We saw this in chapter 1. He hands people over to the powers of sin. Why? Because he's abandoning them? No. So that we can see that when God hands us over to our alternatives of him, remember when he hands us over, he's handing us over to what we choose instead of him, our idols in other words. He does that so that ultimately we see that our idols are come to nothing. They have no life in them. They have no supply of grace and mercy and love and support and help. We are worshipping empty vessels. That's all we're doing. And so God does this because he loves us. He has handed us over in this way. Now then, when we come to our emptiness and realize it, we call out for mercy. and God supplies that mercy in Jesus Christ. And thus, what this does is to bring us back to the Father. Jesus Christ's death and resurrection are our reconciliation, our return to the Father. So do you see then that the passages here, the verses here, are talking about the very opposite of wrath— Because Christ has brought us back into the Father's home, therefore we are no longer under his wrath, which is to send us away into the powers of sin. So now verse 5, now, so as I said, verse 3, not only that, but we also re-glory in tribulations, we congratulate ourselves in trouble, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance, perseverance character, and character hope. Now hope does not disappoint us. That's verse 5, at least the first part of verse 5. Remember what this hope is. It's not a wistful hoping and wishing that something will happen, but you're not sure it will. The hope that we have is an absolute certainty. God, Jesus has said, I, when I am lifted up from the earth, that is when I am crucified, shall draw all men to myself, all people to myself. He begins that drawing of all people to himself on this earth, and he completes it in the final judgment. When people see their true brokenness and the glory of God and the mercy of the one slain upon the throne, then they are drawn to him. All people will be drawn to him. So we have a certain hope, and this hope, this certain expectation does not disappoint us. But you say to me, Colin, I have met many disappointments in my life. And so have I. But we're talking about the ultimate. And what about that disappointment anyway? Is it a disappointment because God has let us down? Or is it a disappointment because we had certain dreams that weren't fulfilled, but God's plan is continually being fulfilled? So, you see, we have to be willing to look at our disappointments and say, okay, God, I understand that my visions, my dreams, my goals may not have been the ones that were best for my life. But I do know that your goal for me, your dream for me, your destiny for me is the best thing that could possibly be. And I am therefore going to affirm by faith that I am not disappointed in my life. Now that's a tall order, let me tell you. not to be disappointed in our lives. If you've lived long enough, you have oodles of disappointments. You have a number of dreams shattered. You have sickness that got in the way of your intentions and plans, or financial difficulties that prevented you from fulfilling your dreams. These are all disappointments. Can we bring these before God and say, Father, I want to give thanks to you that these things that happened to me that were keen disappointments were actually blessings in disguise, for they trained my faith, they led me on a different course, they enabled me to walk closer to you, and I'm thankful for it this day. It doesn't mean that everything is now prosperous in your life. The most important prosperity you and I have is faith in Jesus Christ, even though we may be poor and our dreams may be shattered. The most important prosperity we have in our lives is faith, as I say, in Jesus Christ our Savior. Because then we know we have an eternity ahead of us. Then we know, then we do not fear death. Then we expect great and glorious things in the green pastures. It's a marvelous thing. In God's presence is fullness of joy. At his right hand are pleasures forevermore, according to Psalm 16. So then, we are training our faith. Now, I want to say something about that in relation to how contrary faith is to the mind. You've heard me say this many times. It needs repeating quite often. Faith is a contradiction to your mental logic. Faith is a contradiction to most of your emotions. Faith has set up an antagonism in your mind. When we have faith, we are running opposite the stream. The stream of our minds is downward, downward to depression and death. But the stream of faith is upwards. It's upwards towards God. And therefore, there is a major contradiction. And this is crossing our emotions. We get tired of it. We don't want to be contradicting our minds. We want to flow with the flow. We want everything to be smooth. But faith is a war zone. Faith has set up barriers. a force of resistance, an island of resistance in our dark mind. So, are you ready for it? Are you willing for it? When we have faith in Jesus Christ, when we say, thank you, Lord, for all the things that you are taking me through, Do you think we're emotionally happy when we say that? No, we're not. Are you willing, therefore, to contradict your mind by faith? Lord God, I feel depressed. I feel disappointed. I feel sorrowful. I feel anxious. And yet I thank you that these feelings have no power to separate me from you. And I thank you that what I'm going through is to my benefit. You know, when I was a young lad, my dad would say something sometimes. It was a bit of a joke. He would say, keep going, son. Everything in our favor is against us. And it was, as I say, a bit of a joke. We'd laugh here and there. But in fact, when I became a Christian and thought about that, I realized it was the very opposite of the truth, because the real truth is that everything against us is in our favor. Not everything in our favor is against us, but everything against us is in our favor. Now, how can that be? Because Jesus Christ has gained victory over the forces of evil. He has defeated Satan already. Satan in this world, even though he tempts us and makes us fall or tries to, is a defeated foe. He cannot lift a finger, as I said the other day, without permission from God. He cannot do anything to harm us without God allowing the protection force around us to be removed for a moment, for Satan's activity to get in. And so when we are thanking God, we are actually… saying to God, I know Satan, Lord, is trying to attack me, but I'm not going to give him the time of day. You have given him permission to break through only to bless me by my resistance of him by faith. And I thank you for that reality, dear God. There are some Christians who talk so much about the devil. Oh, the devil attacked me today. Oh, the devil's doing this. Oh, this is from the devil, you know, and so on. And they want to say this. I don't know why really they want to say it. I think they think it gives them more clarity to realize this is an attack from the devil. Yes, okay, but does that help you? Or does it help you far more to say, God has gained victory over Satan, and he cannot do anything to me that God does not give him permission to do, and therefore this thing that has come upon me is from God, not from Satan. Yes, it's from Satan, but God has allowed it and given him permission, and therefore it is from God to bless me. In this way, you see, your heart gets lifted up. You get buoyant. You are recognizing that nothing can be against us. Everything against us is in our favor. This is how faith works contrary to the mind. Now, hope. as it says in verse 5, does not disappoint us because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. Now listen, you will not always experience the feeling of that love. You will not always experience the emotion of love from God. Sometimes you will. You'll be full of joy and peace and happiness in Him. But there are many times when God's love will not appear to you, be apparent to you in your emotions. Nevertheless, you can say, now hope does not disappoint us because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. And so we say, Father, you feel blessed. So far away from me right now, I feel so far away from you. I don't feel that you are present. I feel like Jesus on the cross who said, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? But because of what he went through, I know that what I am going through is not your abandonment. I know your love is with me. I know that you have poured out your love into my heart. and I thank you for it. You see, faith sees the invisible. That's in Corinthians 1 or 2. We'll go to that next time. Faith sees what is invisible, and that is why it is contrary to the mind. But don't be troubled by that. Thank God that faith is contrary to your mind, because your mind won't give you hope, but faith will certainly pour hope into your hearts and love from God. Thank you very much. If you would please consider a donation, it's listener supported radio. Send your donation to Faith Quest, P.O. Box 366, Littleton, Colorado, 80160. See you next time. Cheerio and God bless.
