Only One Way

All have sinned.
Indeed, there is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and who never sins. (Ecclesiastes 7:20 NASB)
For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; (Romans 3:23 KJV)

But God is merciful.
Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord GOD, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live? (Ezekiel 18:23 ESV)

But God is also just and will by no means leave the guilty unpunished.
The LORD is slow to anger and great in power, And the LORD will by no means leave the guilty unpunished. In whirlwind and storm is His way, And clouds are the dust beneath His feet. (Nahum 1:3 NASB)
Then the LORD passed by in front of him and proclaimed, "The LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations." (Exodus 34:6-7 NASB)

In demonstration of His love and in order to reconcile mercy and justice, God sent His only begotten Son Jesus to die for our sins.
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8 NASB)
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21 ESV)

That whosoever who believes in Him will be saved.
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16 KJV)

Those who believes not will be condemned.
Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. (Mark 16:16 ESV)
Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. (John 3:18 ESV)
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him. (John 3:36 ESV)
If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day. (John 12:47-48 ESV)

For he has (1) trampled on the Son of God, (2) regarded as profane the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and (3) insulted the Spirit of grace.
Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, "Vengeance is mine; I will repay." And again, "The Lord will judge his people." It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. (Hebrews 10:28-31 ESV)

There is only one way.
"And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12 NASB)
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. (John 14:6 KJV)

Wrong Perception Leads To Wrong Conclusion

For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. (Romans 12:3 KJV)

If we think we are good, we will think that God is petty. The larger we are, the smaller God become. Our view of ourselves will have an impact of how we view God.

Here are some gaps between our perception and the Bible's perception:

Holiness of God
We can hardly appreciate the holiness of God, His goodness and His purity. We map our goodness onto Him, thinking that He is just a perfect version of us, some kind of superman.

Sin
We do not have the correct perception of what sin when we do not have the correct perception of who God is. The dreadfulness of sin can only be seen in the context of a infinitely holy and perfect most high God. Sin leads to eternal damnation. But we cannot understand why the punishment of sin is so severe if we do not have the proper perspective of the holiness of God.

Sinfulness of man
When our perception of sin is faulty, we will perceive ourselves as are good enough. That makes God's sending Christ as an atonement for our sins stupid. Why should God send His only begotten Son to suffer such a horrible death when we are quite good, almost there, just a little bit imperfect?

Love of God
The love of God must be seen in the context of the sinfulness of men. The wrath of God against sin must be seen in the context of what sin is. If we think that we are quite good, our sins are quite harmless, just some small lies and a bit of selfishness here and there, then we have little gratitude and love for God.

Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little. (Luke 7:47 KJV)

Three Types of Convictions

And he told them many things in parables, saying: "A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear." (Matthew 13:3-9 ESV)

How convinced are we of the Bible and its teaching? This morning at JSM Sunday Service, Rev Gerard spoke of three types of conviction:

Public Conviction
King Herod asked the wise men to go to Bethlehem to search for the child Jesus and tell him where Jesus was found so that he could also go and worship him (Matthew 2:8). Herod publicly confessed his conviction, but his real intention was to kill Jesus.

Private Conviction
Peter told Jesus that even if everyone ran away, he would never run away (Matthew 26:33), even if he has to die (Matthew 26:35). This was Peter's conviction but it could not withstood the test of reality. In the end, he denied his Lord three time (Mark 14:66-72).

Core Conviction
Finally, there is a conviction in us where we know that it is true. For example, the Law of Gravity. We would never walk at the edge of a high building if there are no railings. We know we may fall and kill ourselves.

Then Abraham said to his young men, "Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you." And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son. And he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together. And Isaac said to his father Abraham, "My father!" And he said, "Here I am, my son." He said, "Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?" Abraham said, "God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son." So they went both of them together. (Genesis 22:5-8 ESV)

It was by faith that Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice when God was testing him. Abraham, who had received God’s promises, was ready to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, even though God had told him, "Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted." Abraham reasoned (λογισάμενος) that if Isaac died, God was able to bring him back to life again. And in a sense, Abraham did receive his son back from the dead. (Hebrews 11:17-19 NLT)

Abraham believed that God is true (like the Law of Gravity) and truth never contradict. Based on this conviction, Abraham was able to offer up Isaac as a sacrifice. Now, this is what I would call hard core conviction.

It is an irony that we have such strong convictions about the Law of Gravity, which will pass away when this current creation passes away (Peter 3:10; Revelation 21:1), but less conviction in the Word of God, which shall never pass away (Matthew 24:35; Mark 13:31; Luke 21:33).

Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. (Matthew 24:35 ESV)

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. (Revelation 21:1 ESV)

Warning From Egyptian Christian

The following is a quote from this article "What Arab Christians Think of Wheaton-Hawkins 'Same God' Debate" from Christianity Today.

QUOTE
Magdy Gendy, retired dean of the Evangelical Theological Seminary in Cairo, is appreciative of the ministry of those active in interfaith affairs. But he’s not interested in identifying the God of Islam.

"I worship the triune God. The God they worship is none of my business," he said. "To say otherwise is a political statement."

He offered a warning for America even as he encouraged love and respect toward Muslims.

"There is a huge difference between Islam as a minority and as a majority," he said. "Study Egyptian history and you will see."
UNQUOTE

Why Do You Do Right?

If ye love me, keep my commandments. (John 14:15 KJV)

There are those who do right because it is right, like the Stoics. They looked admirable, because they are willing to do right and even suffer for it.

But when we do right without knowing the true standard of righteousness, it can be dangerous.

There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. (Proverbs 14:12 KJV)

Then there are those who do right because they love righteousness. When we love someone, we love to be like that person in everyway, in looks, in behaviour, in action. There is this guy from Philippines, Herbert Chavez, who idolized Superman. He spent money and risk his health to have 23 surgeries just to look like Superman. That is love, but the object of love is wrong.

We are told to love God and to imitate Him. When we love God, we will love His standard of righteousness. We will do right because we love it.

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma. (Ephesians 5:1-2 NASB)

Wrong Object of Faith

But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. (James 2:18 ESV)

Faith is action, or inaction.

My daughter needed only 5 "O" Level passes to qualify for the course she intended to take in polytechnic. I have full confidence that it is something she can achieve easily. I did not pray for her. This is inaction in faith.

My daughter is full of confidence that she can achieve the 5 "O" Level passes she needed. She did not really study too hard and she also bought an insurance costing $200 per month. She believes that she will qualify for her course and also a scholarship of $800 per month that comes with the course. This is faith in action.

But our object of faith, which is my daughter herself, is fallible. She did not achieve the required results and could not qualify for the course. She did not put too much effort to study and she got the results she deserve. This is justice.

The Glory of God Benefits Us

He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; (Romans 4:20 KJV)

In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. (Ephesians 1:4-6 NASB)

John Piper said, "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him."
I would like to put that from another perspective, "We are most blessed when God is most glorified in us."

For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones. (Isaiah 57:15 KJV)

We are blessed when we glorify God and humble ourselves because God is with the humble and contrite.

Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. (John 14:13 ESV)

God answers our prayers to glorify Himself. When our prayers are answered, we benefited.

And now Father, glorify Me in Your presence with the glory I had with You before the world came to be. (John 17:5 NASB)

The Foreknowledge of God

Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood:
May grace and peace be multiplied to you. (1 Peter 1:1-2 ESV)

We live one moment at a time. Have you ever try to comprehend how it would be like if you are able to live simultaneously yesterday, today and tomorrow? It is incomprehensible. We do not have the channels to accept and respond to such data.

Try explaining to a blind man what the rainbow it like. Try to explain to the deaf how beautiful a certain song is. They cannot understand you. They have to take what you told them by faith.
God, who can live simultaneously in the past, present and future, tell us in the Bible that everything happened according to the foreknowledge of God, but we have free will. Let us accept that by faith.

Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to those with knowledge, but time and chance happen to them all. (Ecclesiastes 9:11 ESV)

Motivated By Grace

And He died for all so that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for the One who died for them and was raised. (2 Corinthians 5:15 HCSB)

The grace of God should spurred us into action.