Jacob The Supplanter

Esau said, "Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has cheated me these two times. He took away my birthright, and behold, now he has taken away my blessing." Then he said, "Have you not reserved a blessing for me?" (Genesis 27:36 ESV)

Has it ever occurred to you why did God allowed Jacob to cheat his brother Esau's birthright and blessing? Why didn't God just made Jacob the first born? Then Jacob would just inherit Isaac's birthright and blessings legitimately.

And not only so, but also when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad - in order that God's purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls - she was told, "The older will serve the younger." (Romans 9:10-12 ESV)

The Sons Of Jacob

The sons of Leah: Reuben (Jacob's firstborn), Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. The sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin. The sons of Bilhah, Rachel's servant: Dan and Naphtali. The sons of Zilpah, Leah's servant: Gad and Asher. These were the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Paddan-aram. (Genesis 35:23-26 ESV)

These sons of Jacob, other than Joseph, were no exemplary characters. The Bible wrote these about the sons of Jacob:

1. Reuben slept with his father's concubine Bilhah (Genesis 35:21-22).
2. Simeon and Levi are violent characters who killed men in anger (Genesis 34:25-26) and tortured animals for fun (Genesis 49:5-6).
3. Judah looked for prostitutes after his wife passed away (Genesis 38:15-19).
4. Jacob's sons also sold Joseph to the Midianites (Genesis 37:28) and took part in looting Shechem (Genesis 34:27-29).

What can we learn from all these bad examples?

The first thing we learn is that God's will cannot be stopped by the sin of men. The success of Israel is never dependant on the goodness of Israel, but on the faithfulness of God.

For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. (Malachi 3:6 KJV)

The next thing we can learn from these bad examples are there is no one is so bad that he cannot be saved. Hell is reserved for those who think that they are good, not for those who know that they are bad. Whosoever who know that they are bad and believed that Jesus can save them 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)

True Versus Provable

Can something be true and yet not provable? We look at the following is a quote from "What is Gödel's proof? - Scientific American"

QUOTE
Kurt Gödel's incompleteness theorem demonstrates that mathematics contains true statements that cannot be proved. His proof achieves this by constructing paradoxical mathematical statements.

To see how the proof works, begin by considering the liar's paradox: "This statement is false." This statement is true if and only if it is false, and therefore it is neither true nor false.

Now let's consider "This statement is unprovable." If it is provable, then we are proving a falsehood, which is extremely unpleasant and is generally assumed to be impossible. The only alternative left is that this statement is unprovable. Therefore, it is in fact both true and unprovable. Our system of reasoning is incomplete, because some truths are unprovable.
UNQUOTE

I said in my haste, All men are liars. (Psalm 116:11 KJV)

Believe And Be Saved

Peter's words pierced their hearts, and they said to him and to the other apostles, "Brothers, what should we do?"

Peter replied, "Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. This promise is to you, to your children, and to those far away - all who have been called by the Lord our God." (Acts 2:37-39 NLT)

Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. (Mark 16:16 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)

Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. (1 John 5:12 ESV)

Other religions said do good and be saved. Jesus said, "Believe me and be saved."

Not Fulfilling Lust

But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. (Romans 13:14 ESV)

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. (Galatians 5:16 ESV)

Visible Act Of God

So I will show my greatness and my holiness and make myself known in the eyes of many nations (גּוֹיִ֣ם). Then they will know that I am the LORD. (Ezekiel 38:23 ESV)

God has not intervened in the world in such a manner that the world recognize His action for a very long time. At this moment, God's will is driven through forces of nature, acts of humans, social forces and random chance. It is the will of God, but it is not recognized as such.

But the prophet Ezekiel mentioned that an event will happen and God will make Himself known to all the nations of the world. Please keep watch for this event.

Why is Jesus Qualified to be the Savior?

And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne. And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying,

"Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth."

Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice,

"Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!" (Revelation 5:6-12 ESV)

Good works cannot cancel out sin. But can one be punished on another's behalf?

Suppose a man killed another and he has to pay for the sin by his life. Can he get someone to die on his behalf? No. The person who sins is the one who will die (Ezekiel 18:20).

Suppose a man committed an offence and was fined a huge sum of money. He was unable to pay. Can someone pay the fine on his behalf? Yes. Since only money is required so justice is satisfied.

Money is a creation of men. When money is needed, who can come up with the money? The creator of money, man.

Life is a creation of God. When life is needed, who can come up with life? The creator of life, God.

So what qualifies Jesus to die for the sins of the world?

1. Jesus is God and the creator of the world. Through Him all things were made (John 1:3).
2. Jesus came in the likeness of sinful flesh (Romans 8:3), thus fully human, to fulfill the Law (Matthew 5:17) and was sinless (Hebrews 4:15).
3. The wages of life is death (Romans 6:23) but because Jesus is sinless (2 Corinthians 5:21), He paid for our sins once by His death (Romans 6:10) and was able to be resurrected because He was sinless and death cannot hold Him (Acts 2:24).

For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. (Romans 8:3-4 ESV)

For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. (Hebrews 2:17 NIV)

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)

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin. (Hebrews 4:15 CSB)

Good Works Cannot Cancel Out Sin

Recently a convicted undergrad molester escapes jail time because the judge cited that his academic results showed he had the "potential to excel in life" and "He was 22 years old when he committed the offences... and the nature of the acts (is) relatively minor." But Singaporeans were outraged that the offender can get lighter sentence because of good grades.

If a person who drove for forty years without breaking any traffic offence, can he be pardoned if he is caught dashing through a red light for the first time?

If a person was involved in a charity that saved thousands of lives, is he entitled to murder one person?

It is strange that some people think that it is just if God will put good works and bad works on a scale and then reward according to which is heavier. If this is justice, why are people angry that the NUS undergraduate molester got a lighter sentence? The judge put his good grades and molesting deeds on a scale and found his good grades heavier than his molesting act.

Good works cannot cancel sin. Justice demands that every sin has to be punished. God is just and is obliged to punish every sin. Otherwise God would be unjust. But God is merciful. How can God pardon the sinner without being unjust?

God does not pardon sinners for free. He sent His only begotten Son Jesus to "the propitiation for our sins (1 John 2:2)" so that God can now freely pardon any sinner that turn to Him for mercy. Thus justice and mercy can be reconciled and God can be "just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. (Romans 3:26)"

Consequences Of Rejecting Truth

For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth. (2 Corinthians 13:8 ESV)

What happened if you refuse to accept the truth? Pastor Yeow Koon Tin, former senior pastor of Pasir Panjang Christ Church, gave two outcomes. Either you become a victim of the unbelief or you become a liar that spread falsehood.

If we reject truth, we will get lies. There is no such thing being neutral to both truth and lies.

How Do We Know The Bible Is True?

How do we know that the Bible is the true? Pastor Yeow Koon Tin, former senior pastor of Pasir Panjang Christ Church, gave four reasons:

1. The Bible is the only 2000 year old book today that is readily available;
2. The Bible is the only book that is translated into more than 1200 languages and is still being translated;
3. The Bible is the all time best seller;
4. The Bible is the only book tell us the beginning (where we came from), the present (we are now) and the future (where we will be).