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Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Todays reading: Romans 4:9-12
4:9 Is this blessedness only for the circumcised, or also for the circumcised? We have been saying that Abraham's faith was credited to him as righteousness.
4:10 Under what circumstances was it credited? Was it after he was circumcised, or before? It was not after, but before!
4:11 And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still circumcised. So then he is the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them.
4:12 And he is also the father of circumcised who not only are circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.
You probably ever heard illustration called “ The Barbecue Chicken in Oven “. I am going to use it to get the picture of Jews people life in Paul's time. This illustration may not be a perfect example, and I also don't expect you to remember this illustration more than Bible and its truth. Therefore, before explaining Romans 4:9-12, allow me to tell you this illustration.
One little girl has witnessed her mom cut the throat of a chicken, cut the tail, threw them and put the rest of it to the oven. What are you staring at, my daughter?” says the mother watching her daughter face. The daughter asked, “Mom, why did you cut that chicken's throat and the tail?”. The mother said:” This is what your grandma did and this is what she taught me before”. To cut the story short, the little girl grown up and she became a mother of one little girl as well. At the same activity in the kitchen, the little girl asked the same question: “Mom, why did you cut the chicken's throat and the tail? Isn't it the meat from the throat and tail part can also be eaten ?”. The mother said: “I don't know my daughter, that's what your grandma did and this is what she taught me before. And according to her, our ancestors have done this many many years ago”.
Time was passing by, where generation to generation born, then there was invention of the writing about family history or notes saying that the custom of cutting the throat and tail of chicken were necessary to be doing because at that time the oven was to small, people can not put the whole body of chicken inside the oven. After that invention, the little girl family was not anymore doing that because the ovens in the next generations were better and bigger.
I discovered three main mistakes from this illustration:
1. The mother didn't know what was the real reason, background or basic of why she's doing that.
2. The mother didn't even try to find out about that, and she keep following her mother's customs and even teaching that to her daughter.
3. The mother did the same thing in different time with different oven.
These are things that happened to the Jews in Paul 's time, where they didn't know the real reason, background, or basic of doing circumcision and Torah. Faith is the reason. The nation did not try to find out the truth but instead only following what their ancestor customs and teaching it from generation to generation. They keep practicing circumcision, Torah's law included offering for cleansing the sin in the new testament time where Christ is the perfection of Torah's law (Colossians 2:16-17).
In fact, that truth were not only appear through Abraham's story but also explicitly saying in the old testament in Habakkuk 2:4b:
Christians in this century can also take valuable lessons from the story, to not only following the acts or cultures that is not according to the Christian faith or word of God. Even though that customs can be seen as sacred and great, the Christians don't necessarily have to do that or even teaching them to the next generation..
Word of Prayer:
God thank you for this morning lesson, give me ability to be always following the acts or culture that according to Christian's faith or your word. In the name of Jesus. Amen.
Todays reading: Romans 4:9-12
4:9 Is this blessedness only for the circumcised, or also for the circumcised? We have been saying that Abraham's faith was credited to him as righteousness.
4:10 Under what circumstances was it credited? Was it after he was circumcised, or before? It was not after, but before!
4:11 And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still circumcised. So then he is the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them.
4:12 And he is also the father of circumcised who not only are circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.
You probably ever heard illustration called “ The Barbecue Chicken in Oven “. I am going to use it to get the picture of Jews people life in Paul's time. This illustration may not be a perfect example, and I also don't expect you to remember this illustration more than Bible and its truth. Therefore, before explaining Romans 4:9-12, allow me to tell you this illustration.
One little girl has witnessed her mom cut the throat of a chicken, cut the tail, threw them and put the rest of it to the oven. What are you staring at, my daughter?” says the mother watching her daughter face. The daughter asked, “Mom, why did you cut that chicken's throat and the tail?”. The mother said:” This is what your grandma did and this is what she taught me before”. To cut the story short, the little girl grown up and she became a mother of one little girl as well. At the same activity in the kitchen, the little girl asked the same question: “Mom, why did you cut the chicken's throat and the tail? Isn't it the meat from the throat and tail part can also be eaten ?”. The mother said: “I don't know my daughter, that's what your grandma did and this is what she taught me before. And according to her, our ancestors have done this many many years ago”.
Time was passing by, where generation to generation born, then there was invention of the writing about family history or notes saying that the custom of cutting the throat and tail of chicken were necessary to be doing because at that time the oven was to small, people can not put the whole body of chicken inside the oven. After that invention, the little girl family was not anymore doing that because the ovens in the next generations were better and bigger.
I discovered three main mistakes from this illustration:
1. The mother didn't know what was the real reason, background or basic of why she's doing that.
2. The mother didn't even try to find out about that, and she keep following her mother's customs and even teaching that to her daughter.
3. The mother did the same thing in different time with different oven.
These are things that happened to the Jews in Paul 's time, where they didn't know the real reason, background, or basic of doing circumcision and Torah. Faith is the reason. The nation did not try to find out the truth but instead only following what their ancestor customs and teaching it from generation to generation. They keep practicing circumcision, Torah's law included offering for cleansing the sin in the new testament time where Christ is the perfection of Torah's law (Colossians 2:16-17).
In fact, that truth were not only appear through Abraham's story but also explicitly saying in the old testament in Habakkuk 2:4b:
“............but the righteous will live by his faith”.
Christians in this century can also take valuable lessons from the story, to not only following the acts or cultures that is not according to the Christian faith or word of God. Even though that customs can be seen as sacred and great, the Christians don't necessarily have to do that or even teaching them to the next generation..
Word of Prayer:
God thank you for this morning lesson, give me ability to be always following the acts or culture that according to Christian's faith or your word. In the name of Jesus. Amen.
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