Joseph and The Birth of Christ

This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. Joseph, to whom she was engaged, was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly. As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. "Joseph, son of David," the angel said, "do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." (Matthew 1:18-21 NLT)

A friend told me that his Wesley Methodist church pastor had once preached the Christmas story through the eyes of Joseph.

Joseph was a troubled man. First, he thought his wife was unfaithful and an angel had to appear in a dream to convince him otherwise. Then the birth of Jesus coincided with the census and he had to bring his family back to his hometown in Bethlehem and there was no lodging available and Jesus was born in a manger. Later the family had to flee to Egypt to avoid the wrath of king Herod. While so much were happening, Joseph was definitely doing God's will.

So you can be in the centre of God's will and still be full of trouble.

And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. (Luke 2:7 KJV)

When the Magi had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. "Get up!" he said. "Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the Child to kill Him." (Matthew 2:13 BSB)

Vanity

For to the one who pleases him God has given wisdom and knowledge and joy, but to the sinner he has given the business of gathering and collecting, only to give to one who pleases God. This also is vanity and a striving after wind. (Ecclesiastes 2:26 ESV)

What do workers gain from their toil? (Ecclesiastes 3:9 NIV)

Everywhere on earth I saw violence and injustice instead of fairness and justice. (Ecclesiastes 3:16 CEV)

There is something else meaningless that occurs on earth: the righteous who get what the wicked deserve, and the wicked who get what the righteous deserve. This too, I say, is meaningless. (Ecclesiastes 8:14 NIV)

Are You Envious Because I am Generous?

"For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard.
About the third hour he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. 'You also go into my vineyard,' he said, 'and I will pay you whatever is right.' So they went.
He went out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour and did the same thing.
About the eleventh hour he went out and found still others standing around. 'Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?' he asked.
'Because no one has hired us,' they answered.
So he told them, 'You also go into my vineyard.'
When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, 'Call the workers and pay them their wages, starting with the last ones hired and moving on to the first.'
The workers who were hired about the eleventh hour came and each received a denarius. So when the original workers came, they assumed they would receive more. But each of them also received a denarius.
On receiving their pay, they began to grumble against the landowner. 'These men who were hired last worked only one hour,' they said, 'and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the scorching heat of the day.'
But he answered one of them, 'Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Did you not agree with me on one denarius? Take your pay and go. I want to give this last man the same as I gave you. Do I not have the right to do as I please with what is mine? Or are you envious because I am generous?'
So the last will be first, and the first will be last." (Matthew 20:1-16 BSB)

Everyone has a certain idea of justice. If I put in more effort, I expect more reward. If I do not get it, I feel wronged. How do you feel when someone who put in less effort than you get the same reward as you?

However, when we face God, we may not want to talk about justice. We will prefer that God to be merciful. But some feel that they are good and demand justice from God. Since all have sinned, justice from God means hell for men.

Grace is unfair. We do not get what we deserve. We deserve hell but Christ died for our sins. Whether we sin more or sin less, we get the same pardon from God if we believe that Jesus had died for our sin.

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8 NASB)

Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. (1 Corinthians 1:22-24 NIV)

How then can I answer him or choose my arguments against him? Even if I were in the right, I could not answer. I could only beg my Judge for mercy. (Job 9:14-15 CSB)

David's Reaction to Nathan's Parable

So the Lord sent Nathan the prophet to tell David this story: "There were two men in a certain town. One was rich, and one was poor. The rich man owned a great many sheep and cattle. The poor man owned nothing but one little lamb he had bought. He raised that little lamb, and it grew up with his children. It ate from the man's own plate and drank from his cup. He cuddled it in his arms like a baby daughter. One day a guest arrived at the home of the rich man. But instead of killing an animal from his own flock or herd, he took the poor man's lamb and killed it and prepared it for his guest."
David was furious. "As surely as the Lord lives," he vowed, "any man who would do such a thing deserves to die! He must repay four lambs to the poor man for the one he stole and for having no pity." (2 Samuel 12:1-6 NLT)

Two things we can learn from David's reaction:

1. We judge more harshly for other people's sin.
David's reaction to Nathan's story was the rich man must die; the rich man must repay. He was very judgemental because he did not know he also committed the same sin.

2. We may not be aware of our own sin when we are not told directly.
David was totally unaware that he had committed the rich man's sin until Nathan pointed out to him explicitly. That is why sometimes when we are too shy to call a spade a spade, the sinner may think that he is just a regular good guy.

Why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but fail to notice the beam in your own eye? (Matthew 7:3, Luke 6:41 BSB)

And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. (2 Samuel 12:7a KJV)

Ordo Salutis

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. (Romans 8:28-30 ESV)

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)

Order of Salvation

1. Foreknowledge
2. Predestination / Election
3. Call
4. Justification
5. Glorification

I cannot find any Biblical basis for the Arminian order of salvation, which is 1) outward call 2) faith / election, 3) repentance, 4) regeneration, 5) justification, 6) perseverance, 7) glorification.

Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. (Romans 8:33 ESV)

For he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless in love before him. (Ephesians 1:4 CSB)

I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. (John 17:9 ESV)

Job Did Not Believe in Karma

Then the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? No one else on earth is like him, a man of perfect integrity, who fears God and turns away from evil. He still retains his integrity, even though you incited me against him, to destroy him for no good reason." (Job 2:3 CSB)

Don't you know that ever since antiquity, from the time a human was placed on earth, the joy of the wicked has been brief and the happiness of the godless has lasted only a moment? (Job 20:4-5 CSB)

Zophar the Naamathite believed in karma. He said that Job was suffering because he had done something wicked and he was now suffering the consequences.

Job said that karma was not true. He said the wicked continue to prosper even though they were wicked and he was suffering even when he did nothing wrong. So he wanted to take up his case with God.

Why do the wicked continue to live, growing old and becoming powerful? Their children are established while they are still alive, their homes are secure and free of fear; no rod from God strikes them. (Job 21:7-9 CSB)

"Rabbi," his disciples asked him, "why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents' sins?" (John 9:2 NLT)

The Subtlety of Faith - God vs Works

But someone will say, "You have faith, and I have works." Show me your faith without works, and I will show you faith by my works. (James 2:18 CSB)

There is a subtle difference between having faith in our works and having faith in our God.

A friend shared with me that some troubles happened to him. He had taken some action which he thought was right but now it went wrong. His action is very logical. If I were in his shoes, I would do exactly the same thing. And he added that before taking action, he had prayed about it.

I may be wrong, but he gave me the impression that he expected right results because he had done the right actions (i.e., praying to confirm that is God's will). Thus now he is very confused and upset.

While it is true that following God is right, it may sometimes lead to unexpected results. We have to make sure that our faith is in God and not our right actions. We should just do the right thing and leave the results to God.

Jesus's disciples followed Him, but they ran into a storm. Right action, wrong result.

And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but he was asleep. (Matthew 8:23-24 ESV)