Nashik Baptist Church

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Judgment Day

lies fearSuppose you were caught for stealing money from a bank and had to appear before a judge in a court of law for the sentencing of your crime. As you approach the judge’s bench you realize that you know the judge as a good friend of your father. You start to appeal to the judge for mercy. You say to him “Uncle, remember me, you know my father! You even came to my 11thbirthday celebration. Please uncle, I know you are a good man, please would you forgive me and let me go free?”

Do you think the judge would say “Yes, you are free to go”? No, of course not, he would have to follow the course of justice if he was a good judge. He would have to punish you for your crime, as the law of the country dictates. Or suppose you were the victim of a terrible crime, and the criminal was allowed to go free, without any punishment or retribution. What would you say? What would your family say? There would be an outcry for justice.

This illustration is no different to the judgment we will all face one day when we all will appear before God (Heb 9:27).  Because God is holy He has to punish our sins, we all stand guilty before him, condemned in our sins (Rom3:23).   We have all offended a holy God and broken his laws (Exodus20), and justice must be done!

There is great news however for the one who sees God as just when he judges; for while God is eternally holy, righteous and just, he is also eternally loving and forgiving (1 John1:9). In love he provided the only possible means of forgiveness in his son (John3:16). Jesus, himself being God, became a man and lived as a man (John1:14). Jesus obeyed and loved God perfectly in the place of sinners who have never loved or obeyed perfectly.

Further, Jesus went to the cross to stand in the place of rebels as our advocate, to pay the punishment of our sins. Jesus paid the price of our sins in order to serve the justice of God and to demonstrate the love of God (Romans3:25). On the cross, being the eternal son of God, Jesus offered up himself as an eternal sacrifice to God for the sins of rebels (2Cor5:21). On the cross God treated Jesus as if he was judging sinners like us (even though he was sinless), that he might treat sinners like they were perfect like Jesus (even though they were sinful). Jesus paid that penalty for us so that we could be accepted by God.

This forgiveness is not automatic like voting when we are 18 however. It comes by recognizing Jesus as king and ruler over your life. In doing this you turn from rebellion (sin) and turn to Jesus (submission). It is this attitude of submission to Jesus as King and following him as Lord, that characterizes the Christian life and gives God pleasure.

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The Power & Pretence of Faith

One of India’s biggest Hindu festivals, Kumbh Mela, began on Tuesday morning here in Nashik. The last Kumbh Mela in Nashik saw 7,5 crore (75 million) pilgrims and sadhus travel to Nashik to take a holy dip in the sacred Godavari River. This Kumbh Mela is the most sacred of all the Hindu pilgrimages and is regarded as more auspicious than the annual Diwali and Holi festivals. They believe that dipping themselves in this river will wash a person clean from all their sins and recognise this Kumbh Mela to be a “golden” opportunity to “liberate” themselves from all the “miseries and sufferings of life”.

Thousands of holy men and women (sadhus) are seen clad in saffron sheets with Vibhuti ashes dabbed on their skin as prescribed by ancient traditions. Some, called naga sanyasis, may not wear any clothes even in severe winter. The right to be naga, or naked, is considered a sign of separation from the material world. These Sadhus travel to the Kumbh Mela to make themselves available to much of the Hindu public. This allows members of the Hindu public to interact with the Sadhus and to take “darshan” (respectful visual exchange). Pilgrims are able to “seek instruction or advice in their spiritual lives.” Darshan focuses on interaction with a Hindu religious deity and the worshiper believes he is able to visually “‘drink divine power.”

Kumbh Mela is celebrated every third year in four different locations (Nashik being one of the four locations). Nashik hosted their last Kumbh Mela twelve years ago. The pilgrimage is held for about 2 months, when Jupiter and the sun are in the zodiac sign Leo alignment (Simha Rashi). Hinduism teaches that drops of nectar fell from the kumbha(vessel) carried by gods after the sea was churned. One of these drops spilled into the Godavari river making it “divine”. According to Hindu mythologies, the Kumbh Mela is the only time and place in the world where a person can “disburden” his sins and achieve ‘Nirvana’ from the vicious cycle of birth and re-birth. The Hindus believe that by taking a holy dip in the sacred water they will be able to wash away all the sins they have committed in the past and pave way for attainment of Moksha.

After visiting the Kumbh Mela in 1895, Mark Twain wrote, “It is wonderful [scary], the power of a faith like that, that can make multitudes upon multitudes of the old and weak and the young and frail enter without hesitation or complaint upon such incredible journeys and endure the resultant miseries without repining. It is done in love, or it is done in fear; I do not know which it is. No matter what the impulse is, the act born of it is beyond imagination..”

THE POWER OF FAITH

The “power of faith” can indeed be a wonderful as well as a scary experience. Without a doubt these pilgrims coming to the Kumbh Mela have faith. It takes an extra-ordinary faith to believe that your soul has to travel through 8 400 000 species before it reaches a human body. And only once your soul is in a human body, (Hindus believe) can you then start working on your own “karma”(good works) in order to achieve Moksha. As you watch these pilgrims perform these “pujas” and rituals you cannot help yourself but to agree with Mark Twain, that this faith born from this act (or this act born from this faith) is indeed beyond imagination. But, as millions of devotees gather, the question remains, is this type of faith enough? Will all this devotion, sacrifice, good works, self denial, suffering and effort “disburden” our sins and liberate us from the “miseries and sufferings of life”?  If you take poison (thinking its medicine) all the faith in the world (no matter how powerful) won’t bring you back to life. So this question is of eternal significance. The destination of our eternal soul requires us to make the right choice and to have the right type of faith.

Here is what the Bible has to say about faith:

“the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. ” Rom 3:22-28

While many people will try to justify themselves before God on the basis of their religious activity or their good works, the Bible clearly teaches that the only way to come to God is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone. The object of our faith is the key. Too often, faith is misunderstood. The New Testament Jews misunderstood it, sending Jesus to his death and so do all other religions, like that of Mahatma Gandhi. Fifteen years before his death, Mahatma Gandhi wrote: “I must tell you in all humility that Hinduism, as I know it, entirely satisfies my soul, fills my whole being, and I find a solace in the Bhagavad and Upanishads.” Just before his death, Gandhi wrote: “My days are numbered. I am not likely to live very long—perhaps a year or a little more. For the first time in fifty years I find myself in the slough of despond. All about me is darkness; I am praying for light.”

Mahatma Gandhi’s faith failed him at the end of his life. He had been searching for light in all the wrong places. He rejected the one and only true light. Jesus said in John 8:12, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” Sadly the Mahatma believed that Christ was just another way. His object of faith was in his own works (karma). Even though he believed in and respected Jesus Christ, it was not enough. Even Satan and his demons believe in the true God (James 2:19), but they don’t love and obey Him. Their faith is misplaced and not genuine.

So the question remains, what type of faith do you have? Is your faith in your works (karma)? Ephesians 2:8,9 says “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast“. Is your faith a cultural faith dependent on works like the faith of the devotees at the Kumbh Mela. Is your faith in a person, swami, guru, prophet or priest? Or is your faith rooted in family or heritage or a religious ritual like baptism, or even church membership? Is your faith in a profession you made or a covenant you signed? Or is it temporary faith, like the Jews, who turned away from Christ once they understood their need to bow their knee to the Sovereign Lord Jesus Christ? Is it a faith in faith, instead of a faith in the resurrected Christ of God, Jesus of Nazareth?

The “power of faith”, as enchanting as it is, like that of the devotees at the Kumbh Mela does not save, and never will. Only the power of the gospel will save sinners from their sins. The question of salvation is answered in the object of your faith. So I ask you, in whom do you trust and why? Jesus himself said that he is the only source of salvation (John 14:6). Jesus said it clearly: “The one who rejects me rejects him who sent me” (Luke 10:16). People and religions that reject Christ reject God. Do other religions know the true God? Here is the test: Do they reject Jesus as the only Saviour for sinners, who was crucified and raised by God from the dead? If they do reject this, they do not know God in a saving way. According to Jesus any other ‘way’ is not a way at all but a deception; Jesus claims nothing less than exclusive authority and ability to save sinners. (Jn. 14.6; Mat. 7.13-14)

The good news of the gospel is that no one else but Christ died for sinners like us. And he rose physically from the dead to validate the saving power of his death and to open the gates of eternal life and joy (1 Corinthians 15:20). In Christ alone, God extends the perfect blood and righteousness of Jesus as the only suitable payment for our sin, “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” 2 Corinthians 5:21. Our faith needs to be in the person of Jesus Christ and His work (sacrifice) alone for us and our salvation.

Please contact us or click on this link if you would like to know more…

 

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Lies, Fear & the Great Commission.

lies fear“When I left England, my hope of India’s conversion was very strong; but amongst so many obstacles, it would die, unless upheld by God. Well, I have God, and His Word is true. Though the superstitions of the heathen were a thousand times stronger than they are, and the example of the Europeans a thousand times worse; though I were deserted by all and persecuted by all, yet my faith, fixed on the sure Word, would rise above all obstructions and overcome every trial. God’s cause will triumph.” ― William Carey

One of these obstacles to the gospel, that Carey mentions must no doubt be the sin of lying. Erik Raymond from The Gospel Coalition wrote “Gossip is the RPG that blasts holes in the fabric of the church”. This last week we have again been at the receiving end of this RPG (Rocket Propelled Grenade). Anti-Christian journalists had maliciously and intentionally smeared Emmanuel Gaikwad’s (Kolhapur Bible Church) name in a Mumbai newspaper in an attempt to sell more copies. Emmanuel, who is a director of AGAPE Total Medicare (an NGO helping HIV infected and effected persons), was directly accused by the media of trafficking children and indirectly accused of abusing them.

Lies and gossip are not new threats that the church has had to face, but they are still just as damning and destructive if our hearts and eyes are not “fixed on the sure Word”. Jesus said to the Pharisees in John 8:44 “You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” I am convinced that the end goal of all lies is to make us afraid and to doubt and waver in our faith. Living in fear looks very much like believing lies. Fear can paralyse us, make us useless and cause us to sin, just like it did to Gideon hiding away in a winepress. What we believe inevitably is what we will act on. Our belief always affects our behaviour.

Roughly 2460 years ago Nehemiah faced the same strategy of Satan. The infamous Sanballat and Tobiah were spreading malicious gossip and lies in an attempt to stop the work of the Lord. Their threats against the Israelites to stop building the walls of Jerusalem backfired and instead motivated the children of God to work harder and faster. Nehemiah’s wise counsel to the Jews was simply “Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome”. In spite of their threats, the good work had advanced. The enemy had tried mockery; and failed. Attempted force; but learned to their dismay, that the Israelites were ready to resist unto blood to complete the work of the Lord. So when these strategies failed, Sanballat and Tobiah turned to deception, lies and even gossip. The enemies of God called Nehemiah to a meeting in a village with intentions of killing him. But Nehemiah recognised the deceptive plot and answered them in this manner, “I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down: why should the work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down to you?”

After four further invitations were denied, Sanballat sent an open letter to Nehemiah. Nehemiah 6 verse 5, tells us specifically this was an “open” letter. Official letters were normally sealed so the public could not read the contents. Obviously, Sanballat wanted people to read this letter while enroute, so that gossip would spread. This was the beginning of the smear campaign. Not much has changed in our modern age with “open letters” that are posted on facebook and other social media, with the same intentions and in Emmanuel’s case, an article that is posted in an e-paper. New technology, same strategy of Satan.

Sanballat’s intentions where to create fear and distrust among the Jews as all gossip and lies are designed to do. His accusations against Nehemiah were clearly false and malicious, accusing one of the godliest men alive at that time, of selfish ambition and rebellion. Nehemiah’s response is recorded in verse 8, “No such things as you say have been done, for you are inventing them out of your own mind.” We don’t have to imagine where some journalists get their information from!

The enemies of Nehemiah continued their malicious course. After realising they could not entice him to the village, they now hire a corrupt, false prophet to offer Nehemiah safety in the walls of the temple, so they can kill him in the sanctuary of Jehovah (so much could be said about that!). Nehemiah’s God given wisdom, teaches us an inspired lesson in verse 13 “For this purpose he was hired, that I should be afraid and act in this way and sin…”(cf. v14; v19).

Nehemiah makes the connection between lies, fear and sin. Fear causes us to behave in such a way, we forget the promises of God and rather than trusting His character, we sin. The Westminster Confession says that the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy him forever. I think the chief end of Satan is to cause us to sin by being fearful because of his lies. The apostle Paul said in 2 Timothy 1:7-8 “for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord…but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God.” Paul explains the serious threat that fear is to the gospel itself.

Nehemiah refused to believe the lies that Satan was propagating and believed the promises of God. Instead of being fearful he became fruitful in his work for the Lord. Our job is not to build physical walls, but to be involved in the Great Commission by building the kingdom of God. Lies, and gossip are tools the devil uses to make us afraid so that we will “come down from the walls” and hinder the work of “making disciples”.

As one commentator said “shame is the child of doubt as well as the child of fear!” Fear will always keep us hiding away in the darkness of winepresses instead of shining our lights on a hill for the world to see the glory of God. Let’s never forget that Christ is not just a teacher, but the Saviour! How will lost sinners come to the Saviour unless someone tells them about Him? Our fears cripple us and shame us, as we live with regrets of not taking opportunities God has given us to share Christ with others at school, at work or home. But more than that, they rob God of all the glory that He deserves. Think about the last time you were too afraid to share the gospel of He who took you out of darkness into His marvellous light. If we believe lies and fear man and what they will think of us for declaring the praises of the living God, we hinder the work of the gospel!

As William Carey reminds us, we have God, and His Word is true. Satan does not care what we believe as long as it is not the Truth. Let’s resolve to fear God, worship Him alone who is Truth, and to not believe the lies of the devil and sin against God. Let’s not be distracted from the task the Lord has given us, by believing lies. As John Piper says “Don’t Waste Your Life!” For the sake of the gospel, let us “fix on the sure Word, rise above all obstructions and overcome every trial. God’s cause [Great Commission] will triumph.”

Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”