Excerptions from "The Spirit Led Life in the Whole Counsel of God" Book

Salt & Light (pages 29-30): Long ago, a student studied well in a high school and had a lot of friends. He was the Christian stated in the Bible. He tutored language art, calculus, and physics to his friends freely. They wanted to be like him. He was a witness to Jesus before them. Some of them followed him going to church and became Christians. After high school, he went to a prestigious college and there were many friends with him. He went to a local church and did well like his high school life until a junior in college. Some of his friends were becoming Christians because of his witness to the Lord. Thereafter he failed to keep a balance between the school life and the church life since he had taken the role of senior pastor. He didn¡¯t have enough time to study in college, receiving lower grades and even a flunk grade. None of his friends wanted to be Christians and other friends were turning back from the Lord, because they were scared that they would spend too much time with the church as well that would disrupt their grades. His Christian life was not limited to a local church life but to a campus life and further his whole life. He failed the role of witness to Jesus and the role of the salt and light of the earth as Jesus says in Matthew 5:13-14, ¡°You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.¡±

Spiritual Discernment or Carnal Judgment? (pages 45-46): God says through Paul in 2 Corinthians 10:5, ¡°casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.¡± We as Christians should subject every thought to understand faithfully the knowledge of God to the obedience of Christ, while every thought against the knowledge of God should be cast down. As God says in Ephesians 6:17, ¡°¡¦ the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God,¡± through the work of the Spirit should every thought be discerned to be either accepted or cast down according to the Bible or the knowledge of God. The Bible is a discerner in Hebrews 4:12, ¡°For the Word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.¡± So the Word of God, not our thought or experience, is the standard to discern.

So at the standard of the Bible, the spiritual discernment - containing Agape love and humble heart - is necessary for us to be mature Spiritual Christians, to be set apart from the world (we are in the world, not of the world), to be one body in Christ, and to prevent spiritual blindness.

But we should avoid the carnal judgment, containing critic, hatred, jealousy, or arrogance. It could divide, discourage, or destroy us as one body of Christ. Jesus says in Matthew 7:1-3, ¡°Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. 3 And why do you look at the speck in your brother¡¯s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?¡± and also God says in James 4:11, ¡°Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge,¡± and Matthew 5:22, ¡°But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ¡®Raca!¡¯ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ¡®You fool!¡¯ shall be in danger of hell fire.¡±

Therefore, spiritual discernment is encouraged while carnal judgment is discouraged.

Calvinism? Armianism? The Bible? (pages 97-101): After reading, the thought of John Calvin should be subject to understand the knowledge of God to the obedience of our Lord. Since the 16th Century, different thoughts between John Calvin (1509-1564) and Jacob Hermann (1560-1609) have been called as Calvinism and Arminianism respectively. Both have produced denominational churches. Presbyterian and Reformed churches were influenced by Calvinism while Methodist and Pentecostal churches were influenced by Armianism. Unfortunately, historically their over-emphasis of doctrinal differences has led to the division of the body of Christ as I felt the turmoil of denominations in my early Christian life (above). Because our Christians¡¯ basis is His love, which is greater than any difference, we should not polarize the difference into division but focus on the Bible talking about the Lord Jesus Christ as Jesus says in John 5:39, ¡°You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.¡±

For Total Depravity, God says through Paul in Romans 3:23, ¡°for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.¡± I agreed with John before a man is born again upon his faith in Jesus Christ. On the other hand, God says in Romans 3:26, ¡°to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.¡± A nurse working for a physician at a clinical office treated mistakenly a patient. Then, her mistake or fault is imputed to her physician because of the relationship between an employer and employee. Likewise, a person¡¯s relationship with God the Father is restored upon his faith in Jesus. Because of the relationship, Jesus¡¯ righteousness is imputed to the person. So, because of the whole work of Jesus the justifier, he is no longer totally depraved but is justified, although he is in a spiritual warfare between his total depravity or carnality to be mortified and spirituality to be confirmed with the image of Jesus in light of Romans 7:24-8:1(KJV),¡±O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? 25I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin. 1There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.¡± Therefore, faith is the concurrent condition of regeneration because upon faith, not after faith, regeneration starts at the same time as faith.

In Unconditional Election, God says in John 3:16, ¡°For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.¡± Since everlasting life is much longer than the time to have a person¡¯s faith in Jesus during his physical life, faith is a condition for everlasting life. (1) The condition is concurrent because as long as any one believes in Jesus, he has everlasting life. (2) If a person believes in Christ, he shall have everlasting life, or just after his faith condition suffices he shall be elected or saved. That¡¯s condition precedent giving a time of his work to his salvation beyond God¡¯s sovereignty contrary to Ephesians 2:8, ¡°For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God¡±. (3) Everyone is elected, unless he rejects Christ, which is condition subsequent. Everyone who is born physically is elected or saved (universal election) but his rejection of Christ causes the loss of election. Here a historical tedious question is raised whether or not salvation may be lost. The salvation¡¯s determination is absolutely up to God. Only God knows the salvation, securing believers as known of ¡°the believer¡¯s security of salvation¡± in John 10:28, ¡°And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand,¡± but my answer is limited to the present question (discussed above in the preface), whether or not a man is saved now, as 2 Corinthians 13:5, ¡°Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you??unless indeed you are disqualified.¡± The person can exercise the free will, given by God, to believe in Jesus by hearing of Gospel. The free will is under God¡¯s sovereignty as Adam was given the free will to exercise to choose every tree and/or the forbidden tree of knowledge of good and evil in Genesis 2:16-17, ¡°And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, ¡°Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.¡± God doesn¡¯t accept a forced obedience rather than a willing obedience in 2 Corinthians 8:12, ¡°For if there is first a willing mind, it is accepted according to what one has, and not according to what he does not have.¡± The "freewill" term is stated 17 times in the KJV Bible (e.g., ¡°freewill offerings¡±), confirming it is a divine gift. I taught the Bible to a member whose faith came by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. But after she suffered Alzheimer¡¯s disease, her faith little came. A lot of portion of her free will to hear is taken away by sovereign God (Job 1:21). Even free will is almost negligible, compared to sovereign God who created earth and universe, but the free will is still existent until God takes it away. Therefore, there is no conflict between human free will and God¡¯s sovereignty because the free will is given by Sovereign God. So, I have a different thought in part from unconditional election, as man is elected by God in concurrent condition of faith in Christ.

For Limited Atonement, Christ¡¯s death with bloodshed for all the lost, not only elect but also non-elect (1 John 2:2), is given opportunity of atonement for all the lost, but man can exercise the given free will to either accept or reject Christ, which is, to either believe in Christ or not. A widow made a will to devise her 100 acres farm land in Texas to her sole son who lived in New York. Upon her death, he received the will but rejected to inherit the 100 acres farm, conveying intestate to her next kin who accepted it. Likewise, Christ¡¯s atonement is limited to man¡¯s acceptance of Christ. Christ¡¯s atonement is limited to man¡¯s faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. The opportunity of atonement given to all people upon Jesus¡¯ death with bloodshed is different from both the atonement limited to the elect (Calvinism) and universal atonement (Arminianism) known as redemption of everybody.

For Irresistible Grace, God says in Ephesians 2:8, ¡°For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.¡± God¡¯s grace is freely given unmerited favor and so God¡¯s grace for salvation solely upon faith, not any merits or work in human part. So, I have the same thought as George¡¯s thought, different from obstructable Grace (Arminianism) explained as ¡°God¡¯s grace for salvation is to all men unless absolute man¡¯s free will frustrates it.¡± Here a historical tedious question is again stated above.

For Perseverance of the Saints, no condemnation is to those who are in Jesus Christ but those may be Carnal Christians rather than Spiritual Christians as Paul sent a letter to Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 3:1, ¡°And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ.¡± So, I have a different thought in part from Calvin, in whole from falling grace (Arminianism) known as ¡°man cannot continue in salvation grace unless he continues to will to be saved,¡± but the same thought as George¡¯s. Although they are saved ones, they might experience a loss of fellowship with Jesus Christ on earth and a loss of rewards in the next, as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 3:15, ¡°If anyone¡¯s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.¡±

Every thought should be subject to the Bible itself. The Bible itself existence is not subject to Calvinism or Arminianism or any other Protestants¡¯ human thoughts which thereafter came out in the 15th century. When some points are not understood, I am waiting on the Lord¡¯s revelation. I think that Calvinism is a thought over-emphasizing the God¡¯s characteristics of sovereignty, fore-knowledge, and predestination but wiping out human free will (divine gift), while Arminanism is a thought over-emphasizing human free will wiping out the God¡¯s characteristics, although the Bible states both. Each over emphasizing portion is a man-made-frame different from all Scripture given by inspiration of God. I don¡¯t polarize but I accept as the Bible is.

Was Jesus a Part-time minister? (page 208):A minister/steward may serve the Lord and His sheep at a biblical church, or any available place including a foreign country, as an employee, an independent contractor, or a volunteer, wherever our Lord leads graciously. As a matter of world law, you as a part-time or a full-time employee, an independent contractor, or a volunteer are ministering to an employer, a church. Really, we are ministering to the Lord for our life time and so we are life-time ministers everywhere (e.g., home, working place, church, or mission fields) like Jesus or Paul. Although Jesus worked as a carpenter (Mark 6:3), he was a life time minister, ¡°the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve¡± (Matthew 20:28). Although Paul worked as a tent maker (Acts 18:3 and 1 Corinthians 9:7) not to hinder the gospel of Christ, he was a life time minister who suffered all things not to hinder the gospel of Christ (1 Corinthians 9:12). We as born-again Christians should be life-time ministers to the Lord during the Spirit Led Life in the Whole Counsel of God. A minister, a volunteer, served indigent Sheep, who were not able to support him materially. One day, he was not able to have a daily bread literally but was praying for the bread. He opened Email. A food company¡¯s manager unknown to him wanted to donate bi-weekly one bag food to a needy family. Amazingly not only he but also other 35 needy Sheep families were donated. His service was to the Lord, who took care of him and His Sheep.