by Pastor Patrick Cho

In my previous entry, I was prompted to look at 1 Peter 5:1-4 and the responsibility of shepherding the flock of God, thanks to my attendance at the recent Shepherds’ Conference. Just being in that setting with all those men was truly humbling, even though it was my thirteenth time going. It served as a helpful reminder of the daunting but joyful task of preaching God’s truth as well as the great and awesome responsibility of caring for His people.

The work of being a faithful pastor requires discipline, patience, and especially perseverance. Too often have I heard of pastors contemplating quitting to pursue other vocations. One fellow pastor once quipped, “I haven’t met a single pastor who hasn’t at one point in their ministry thought about quitting.” It was with these sorts of thoughts in my mind that the Lord led me to 1 Peter 5:1-4, which details who God has chosen to provide leadership for His church and how that leadership is to be carried out. Last time, we looked at the person for the work, and I thought it would be helpful to consider further the work itself.

The Apostle Peter begins by saying that the work of shepherding should be done “not under compulsion, but willingly.” In one sense, all believers are driven by an inner compulsion. Paul wrote to the Corinthians that the knowledge of the true gospel and the love of Christ compel us as believers to persuade others about Christ (2 Cor. 5:11-15). But at the heart of what pastors and elders are called to do, nothing other than a sincere devotion to Christ should ultimately motivate their ministry. Leaders in the church should not be driven by the fear of men, the desire for personal glory, or a sense of dutiful obligation as if God needed us. It is willing service because of a sincere devotion to Christ.

The text continues, “not for shameful gain, but eagerly.” The Apostle Paul always made it clear that he wasn’t simply peddling the gospel for money (cf. 1 Thess. 2:8-9). He took great care to ensure that others could not reasonably accuse him of preaching the gospel for financial gain. Instead, he worked with his own hands even though he was entitled as an Apostle and preacher of the gospel to receive compensation. God’s leaders are not to be driven by a love of money (cf. 1 Tim. 3:8; Titus 1:7). They are to minister for the Lord with eagerness. This word is used in other contexts in the New Testament to denote desire in generosity (cf. 2 Cor. 8:11-12). Paul said that he was eager to preach the gospel (Rom. 1:15). The one who is called to pastoral ministry is eager to perform the work because of God who calls him.

Finally, Peter writes that the leader is not to be domineering, but an example to the flock. Jesus pointed out that the Gentile authorities lorded over their people and that His disciples were not to lead in this way. A godly leader should be the servant of all (Matt. 20:25-28). It is such a sad thing to hear of ministries that are falling apart because of a pastor’s heavy-handed and domineering style of leadership. Too often, leaders do not accept criticism well and refuse to be crossed and exact vengeance on those who would oppose them. Too often we hear of ministries seeking to micromanage people’s lives and determine life decisions for their members. Paul sought to be parental in his care for the church. He treated them gently like a nursing mother while exhorting them as a loving father. Because of his style of ministry, he could instruct the church to “Be imitators of me” (1 Cor. 4:16 and 1 Cor. 11:2; cf. 1 Thess. 1:6). Needless to say, the qualifications of elders listed in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 are all about leading an exemplary life.

How will elders be rewarded for their faithful service? Peter encourages shepherds to remember that the Chief Shepherd will give the reward (v. 4). One of my dreams as a child was that perhaps some rich relative would die and leave for me some large inheritance through his will. Peter promises that the Creator of the universe and the God of all would be the one to richly bless those who faithfully serve as his “under-shepherds.” Jesus is going to come again and judge the shepherds for their faithfulness. Faithful leaders will receive the unfading crown of glory that will never wilt, rust, or break. For all of eternity these shepherds will be known for their faithful, excellent, and self-sacrificing service. They will be known for following in the example of the Chief Shepherd who came not to be served but to serve and give His life a ransom for many.

This is all a humbling reminder of how I need to do things better and how my ministry could be marked by greater care, discipline, and diligence. Praise God for the faithful men at the Shepherds’ Conference who serve as a huge example for me, men who have been faithful for many years and have endured tremendous trials and suffering. And praise God for sending Jesus our Chief Shepherd who cared for His flock enough to lay down His life.

by Pastor Patrick Cho

Earlier this month, a number of the men of the church attended the Shepherds’ Conference hosted by Pastor John MacArthur and Grace Community Church. Each year, the conference proves to be a wonderful time of equipping and encouragement. It is always a blessing to attend the conference because of the nature of the gathering. This year, over 3500 men registered, and the atmosphere was electric as always. Imagine thousands of men singing praise to the Lord at the top of their lungs! The keynote speakers presented urgent challenges to the pastors and leaders in attendance and skillfully delivered soul-stirring exposition of God’s Word. There were hundreds of volunteers seeking to make the week as pleasant as possible for the men who came. This was my thirteenth year going to the conference and each year has been special and well worth the time.

One of the passages that continually came to mind throughout the three days we were there was 1 Peter 5:1-4. This is the instruction the Lord gives to elders of the church to shepherd the flock of God. It is an interesting metaphor since shepherding was not held in high esteem in Jesus’ day. Shepherding was a dirty business and sheep were dirty animals. But the metaphor is certainly appropriate given the relationship of sheep to their shepherd. Sheep are utterly dependent upon the shepherd. They need the shepherd to lead them to pasture and water, and they depend on the shepherd’s protection from thieves and wild predators. This finds obvious parallels to pastoral ministry as elders are called to nourish God’s flock with the sustenance of His Word, and they are to protect the sheep from spiritual wolves who would seek to lead them astray and destroy them.

Three different words are used in the passage to describe pastoral ministry. The first is “elder” (Gr. prebuteros). The word simply means elder, as opposed to younger, but came to be used as a title for leadership. Back in the Old Testament, God would appoint the elders of the tribes of Israel to provide leadership for His people (cf. Exod. 19:7). The qualification had more to do with one’s character than one’s age. This is evident in that Paul refers to Timothy as a young man (1 Tim. 4:12). The qualifications of spiritual leadership really have more to do with the kind of person you are than the abilities or skills you possess as evidenced in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9. In 1 Peter 5:1, Peter identifies with the leaders of the church as a “fellow elder.”

The second word used is the verb “shepherd” (Gr. poimaino). This word speaks more towards the function of elders and can be translated “pastor.” Paul uses the noun form of the word in Ephesians 4:11 to speak of those who help provide teaching in the church. God is understood in Scripture as a shepherd (Ps. 23) and Christ the Good Shepherd (John 10:11, 14). As Christ is the chief Shepherd, those in pastoral leadership serve as under-shepherds tending to the flock. It is important to recognize that Peter refers to the people as “the flock of God” (1 Pet. 5:2). This is Christ’s church (cf. Matt. 16:18) and so ministry ought to be conducted His way. They are His people, so they ought to be cared for in the way He desires. God does not leave it to pastors to get cute with His ministry. Pastors are called to shepherd His flock according to the instructions and principles set forth in His Word.

The final word is “oversight” (Gr. episkopeo). The word literally refers to the spiritual leadership the elders give to the church. This is the official title given to elders in 1 Timothy 3:1, the office of overseer (cf. Phil. 1:1). This is a delegated authority (Acts 20:28) and those who serve in this role are to submit to the Chief Overseer, who is Christ (cf. 1 Pet. 2:25).

1 Peter 5:1-4 is a helpful passage to study to understand God’s plan for providing leadership for His church. Watching 3500 leaders of the church come together to worship God in one place was a wonderful reminder of the awesome responsibility we have to care for the flock of God. Please pray for the elders of this church, that we would be faithful to the task and able to persevere by the strength of the Spirit. Ministry has its share of difficulties and challenges, but we know that by leaning on the Lord and depending upon Him, He will carry us through to the end.

“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” (Hebrews 10:24-25)

by Pastor Patrick Cho

The Bible uses several different metaphors to describe the church. In 1 Corinthians 3:9-10, Paul calls the church God’s field and God’s building. In Revelation 19:7-8, the church is pictured as the bride of Christ (cf. Eph. 5:22-33). But there is one metaphor that helps illustrate the way the church functions perhaps better than any other. In Colossians 1:18 and Ephesians 5:23, the church is referred to as the body of Christ, and Christ is called her head.

This is a fitting picture for the church because it illustrates how different people with different gifts and abilities can gather and work together in unity. Just as the human body has various members with varying functions, so the spiritual body of Christ possesses many different members with different personalities, backgrounds, skills, and interests. No two members are exactly the same, and yet with Christ as the head, all the members can work together to build up the body to maturity (Eph. 4:11-13).

Every person who trusts in Christ as their Lord and Savior is baptized in the Spirit and made a part of the body (cf. Mark 1:8; 1 Cor. 12:13). This is one of the great blessings and benefits of becoming a follower of Jesus. He not only forgives our sin, but He gives us the Holy Spirit to lead and direct us to live for His glory. The Spirit serves as our seal and guarantee that we are His and that He will come again for us (2 Cor. 1:22; 5:5).

Baptism in the Spirit is not only reserved for some believers, as some churches might teach, but is an experience that is common to everyone who trusts in Christ as Lord. This is why Paul writes that we were “all” baptized into one body (1 Cor. 12:13). The baptism of the Spirit occurs at the moment of conversion when a person is saved by God’s grace. Since all believers share in this common experience and are led by the same Spirit and trust in the same Lord, they are called together into one body (Eph. 4:4-6). This is the church – the body of Christ saved by one Lord through the one true gospel message by the work of the one Spirit in their lives.

We gather together as believers because of our common confession of faith that Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins and was raised again on the third day. We come to worship God together because of our common understanding that He alone is worthy of all our praise. We study the Scriptures together because we know that it gives life and reveals to us the will of God. We do this corporately because of our shared experience of God’s grace to forgive us and rescue us from the punishment of hell.

Because of these truths, there is a fitting major emphasis on unity in the New Testament. As a result of what we know about the gospel, God calls us to live at peace with one another. We are to be humble and forbearing in our dealings with each other because God has called us as one body. When we persist in our personal conflicts, we live not as though there is one God, but two – the God you serve and the God of the other person you don’t want anything to do with. We live not as though there is one gospel, but two – the gospel that saves you and the gospel that saves the person with whom you are in conflict. We live as though there are two bodies – the one you belong to and the one for your rival. While we might profess orthodoxy, when we stubbornly hate our brothers and sisters, our practice is blasphemy.

The church in Corinth was riddled with all sorts of issues. There were people abusing spiritual gifts. Some members were abusing communion and even getting drunk at their feasts. There was an incestuous relationship that even the immoral pagan citizens of Corinth frowned upon. Believers were taking each other to court in order to defraud each other. But with all these problems, isn’t it interesting that Paul opens the letter by addressing the issue of divisions and disunity? It was the first thing on his mind.

Positively, in the Book of Ephesians, the first three chapters are devoted to explaining our position in Christ. God has saved us and made us alive with Christ even though we were dead in our sins and trespasses. The last three chapters are devoted to our practice in Christ – how are we supposed to live in light of who we are in Him? Again, isn’t it interesting that the section on the Christian’s practice begins with the issue of maintaining unity in the church?

This is how important a matter the unity of the church is to God! Our conflicts and divisions are no small things in God’s sight. Since we are Christ’s representatives on earth, His name is at stake in the way we behave. Any pagan society and organization can have conflicts and divisions. It is our unity as a church body that really causes us to stand out. When people come together to worship God, who have absolutely no business congregating for any other reason, it demonstrates that God is doing something in that assembly.

There is so much emphasis in the church today on our personal walk with Jesus. We speak about a personal relationship with our personal Lord and Savior. We pursue personal growth and develop our personal disciplines. But the Bible’s overwhelming emphasis is on our corporate identity in Christ. God saved us to be a part of the body.

When we gather to worship on Sunday mornings, it isn’t about our personal time and experience. We sing together. We fellowship together. We pray together. We study God’s Word together. What we do, we do as a body in unity because that is what God has called us to do. It isn’t just about having an uplifting time for yourself. It is about worshiping God with one voice and one heart in the unity of the Spirit. We are there for the Lord, but we are also there for one another, to be a blessing and encouragement to our brothers and sisters through our speech and service. This is something to keep in mind the next time we gather for corporate worship. Take a moment to look around and appreciate why we are gathering and what God is doing through us.

by Pastor Patrick Cho

I’m so thankful for a good start to the New Year! Midweek Bible studies are back in session, Sunday School classes are meeting up again, and Sunday worship services are continuing as always. It was particularly good to begin the first weekend of the year by celebrating communion together with the church body and being reminded of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. The New Year always brings a sense of excitement. Some take the moment to think back on their blessings and lessons learned from the previous year. Others look forward to new opportunities for self-improvement and growth. However you treat the New Year, as believers in Christ we ought to consider how we might continue to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ (2 Pet. 3:18).

Some of you will endeavor to read God’s Word this year. This is such a helpful commitment for spiritual growth. You cannot overemphasize the importance of being in God’s Word regularly to learn about Him and understand His ways. I hear people say all the time that they are not good at reading, but growth apart from God’s Word simply doesn’t happen. If you are not a good reader, you should work to become one. This would be worth every minute of investment. I believe many people simply use the excuse to justify their laziness and lack of discipline.

Others will seek to improve some other spiritual disciplines such as prayer or evangelism. These too are precious goals that every believer ought to strive to improve in their lives. With the New Year, we were able to look at James 4:2-3 and the topic of failure in prayer. We need to be honest with the truth that our prayerlessness is more than just a lack of discipline. It is a serious sin for which we need to repent. Our lack of prayer reveals a problematic attitude of the heart, one that ventures to live without God’s strength, provision, and grace.

Likewise, we should all strive to make opportunities to share the gospel. Considering the great need for the truth and how many continue in life completely blind to the light of Christ, we have an obligation to tell others about the hope of the gospel. Understanding this, some of you will seek to be more strategic in your conversations and relationships. We need to have the courage to broach the topic with others and to help them understand the meaninglessness and dreadfulness of life without Jesus. We worship and serve a God of mercy and grace who is full of love. Perhaps He will use some of our conversations this year to change people’s hearts and cause them to turn to Christ in faith.

Regardless of how you seek to grow, the greatest issue underlying these disciplines and practices is the motive behind them. We do not seek to grow merely for personal improvement. We certainly shouldn’t seek to grow for the esteem others give us as a result of our successes. At the heart of what we do should be a desire to see God magnified in our lives. We live for a glorious and great God, and we have the distinct privilege of knowing Him and living for Him. We can reflect His greatness and honor Him with our lives, or we can sadly live as though He is insignificant or even absent.

How big is your God? He is the one who created the universe and sustains it by His wisdom and power (Gen. 1:1; Acts 17:28). He is the one who knows the beginning from the end and is sovereign over all history (Isa. 46:9-10). He is the one with the wisdom to invent math, science, and logic such that all truth is ultimately His and there is no ultimate truth apart from Him (Ps. 18:30; Prov. 30:5; cf. Rom. 3:4). He is morally pure and not stained even by the hint of evil (1 John 1:5). The fact is that God is infinitely great.

As believers we can know Him, and His greatness is the greatest motivation for us to grow in Him. We can pursue Him with all our time and effort, and even be aided by His Spirit, and we will not exhaust what there is to know of Him. We could give Him every ounce of strength for every minute of every day and it would not be enough to match His infinite worth. It is always good to consider the greatness of God and to have an acute understanding of His attributes and character. We live in obedience to His will because He is worthy of all praise, honor, and glory.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7)

by Pastor Patrick Cho

Prayer is one of the greatest blessings God has bestowed on men. Growing up in San Diego, I always appreciated the friendships that were developed over the years. This is especially true of the relationships I have built at Lighthouse. One of my favorite things to do is just to sit around and chat with my friends, sometimes talking about nothing significant at all. It’s the company that is so enjoyable, the time spent together. That is the great thing about prayer. There are many things we do to direct our attention and service to God, but prayer is God’s way for us to enjoy intimate communion with Him. How awesome is it that we can talk with the God of the universe without dread (cf. Heb. 4:16)!

I love to teach God’s Word. There are few things that exhilarate me more than to open up the Bible with others and dive into its depths. I know that I should also have this same excitement for prayer, but sadly for whatever reason it isn’t always there. I know that many believers struggle with the same thing. While our times of prayer should be the most precious moments of our day, too often we as Christians struggle in our prayer lives and only have sporadic times alone with God.

I’m certain Satan is pleased with the believer’s struggle to pray. There are all sorts of reasons for our failure in this. Sometimes we don’t pray because we don’t feel like we need to. A sense of self-sufficiency guides our thinking and we believe we can handle things on our own. Because of this, we only go to God when our circumstances become extremely dire. Of course, we would never admit that we don’t need God, but our actions betray us and bring this attitude of self-sufficiency to light.

There are other times we fail to pray because of our lack of faith. We simply don’t believe it will accomplish anything. Perhaps we have been too discouraged by what we would perceive is a lack of response from God. Maybe we have asked for things in the past only to be disappointed. We know from what we read in Scripture that God is eager to answer prayer. Jesus taught His disciples to ask, seek, and knock (Matt. 7:7), and though we would perhaps never admit it, we sometimes wonder, “What good will it do?”

These attitudes truly reveal the sinfulness of our hearts. Not only does this demonstrate how little at times we trust God, but it also reveals our general lack of true wisdom. Like Christ’s disciples, we need to ask God to teach us to pray (Luke 11:1). The Apostle James makes it clear that we don’t have because we don’t ask, and that we ask and don’t receive because our motives are wrong (James 4:2-3).

The Bible promises us that God works through the prayers of His people. Certainly our prayers don’t change God (cf. Num. 23:19; Mal. 3:7), but our prayers do change things (cf. James 5:17). Perhaps more importantly, our prayers help change us, molding and shaping us to think more like Christ (cf. Phil. 4:6-7) and make His desires our own (cf. Ps. 37:4). Because of how important prayer is for the believer, God instructs us not to cease in it but to persevere (Eph. 6:18; 1 Thess. 5:17).

Our struggle to see prayer accomplish much in our lives usually comes from our lack of understanding God’s will. God answers our prayers according to His purposes for our lives. This is why the Apostle Paul draws a close relationship between Scripture and prayer (Eph. 6:17-18). We are to take the Word of God praying, because it is through God’s Word that we can understand what He desires for us. When we pray according to the will of God as Jesus did (Mark 14:35-36), God is sure to hear and answer us.

Think of what an awesome resource is at our disposal that we can talk to God and that He desires to hear from us! Especially when we consider our sinfulness and from what Jesus saved us, how comforting to know that God is eager to hear from us (cf. Ps. 8:4). Prayer needs to be our constant lifeline to the Father. We must not grow weary in it. Is it any wonder we fail and falter in our walks of faith as often as we do when we do not pray as often as we should?

by Pastor Patrick Cho

Editor’s Note: The FOF series will return, but in the meantime, Pastor Patrick wanted to share this article on integrity.

“And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, to be with you forever.” (John 14:16)

by Pastor Patrick Cho

There are many unique aspects of biblical Christianity. Perhaps you’ve heard of the simplistic cliché that all other religions teach “do,” while Christianity teaches “done.” In other words, other religions teach that we need to do good things in order to have any hope in the life to come, whereas Christianity teaches that Christ has done it for us. It may be that the most unique aspect of Christianity has to do with God Himself. Certainly ours is not the only monotheistic religion in the world, but the Bible teaches that God is in three Persons.

You won’t find a verse that uses the word “Trinity,” per se. It is not a biblical term, but the evidence is clear. There are verses that speak about God the Father (John 6:27; 8:41; 20:17). There are verses that refer to Jesus Christ as God, but distinct from the Father (Matt. 4:7; John 1:1-2; Titus 2:13; 2 Pet. 1:1). There are also verses that speak of the Holy Spirit as God, but distinct from God the Father and God the Son (Gen. 1:2; Ezek. 11:5; Acts 5:3-4; 2 Cor. 3:17-18). Still there are verses that clearly teach that we worship and serve one God (Deut. 6:4; 1 Tim. 1:17; James 2:19).

While there is a lot of attention given to the first two Persons of the Trinity, sadly in comparison, very little good material is written about the Holy Spirit. This is most likely the reason there is so much misunderstanding about who He is and what He is like. Some people think of the Holy Spirit as some impersonal force (perhaps similar to the force in Star Wars). They refer to the Spirit as “it.” “It” is everywhere and does its thing, but we can’t really get to know it. But the Bible teaches that the Spirit is a Person of the Trinity. Jesus Himself referred to the Spirit as “He” (John 14:16-17).

The Holy Spirit is said to have a mind (Rom. 8:27), and He searches everything, even the depths of God (1 Cor. 2:10). The only way we can come to know divine things is because the Spirit knows the thoughts of God (1 Cor. 2:11). The Spirit is also described as experiencing emotion in that He can be grieved (Eph. 4:30). And there are passages in Scripture that teach of the Spirit’s will. He sets apart Barnabas and Saul for ministry in the first missionary journey (Acts 13:2). He even intercedes for believers according to the will of God (Rom. 8:27).

The Holy Spirit is particularly involved in the salvation of sinful people. He is the one who works in our hearts to bring conviction about our sin, the righteousness of God, and our impending judgment (John 16:7-8). And Jesus teaches that it is by the Spirit that believers are born into God’s kingdom (John 3:5-8). The believer is then sealed by the Spirit, which means that the believer’s salvation is secure, and the Spirit Himself serves as the believer’s guarantee of eternal glory (Eph. 1:13-14).

Besides all this, it is in the power of the Spirit that every believer lives. Without the assistance of God, we would still be powerless to live for Him and bring Him glory, but the Spirit of God dwells within the believer (Rom. 8:9). As Christians read and study God’s Word, it is the Spirit that brings true understanding (1 Cor. 2:12-13). As believers yield themselves more and more to the Spirit’s control (Eph. 5:18), they will see more spiritual fruit in their lives (Gal. 5:22-23).

So, biblically, the Holy Spirit is very significant. It is definitely worthwhile to take time to learn as much as possible about the third Person of the Trinity. In fact, you can even pray to the Spirit to help you understand God’s truth! Not to live according to the Spirit is to live according to the flesh. Our goal as believers is to live in dependence upon Him in obedience to His Word to the glory of God.

by Pastor Patrick Cho

This was a big weekend for Lighthouse Bible Church as Pastor J. R. Cuevas of LBC San Jose underwent his ordination exam for pastoral ministry. Many people from San Diego remember that Pastor J. R. served on staff before moving up with the church plant team about two and a half years ago. He and his wife Kathy have been faithfully serving alongside Pastor John and Angela Kim to provide leadership for the church plant.

The exam began on Saturday morning. It not only consisted of an intense four hour oral examination, but Pastor J. R. was also asked to put together a personal systematic theology project which ended up being about 350 pages! The ordination council consisted of Dr. Paul Felix of The Master’s Seminary, Pastor John Kim of LBC San Jose, Pastor Jim Kang of LBC East Bay, and me from LBC San Diego, and we were all pleased that after many months of diligent preparation and study, Pastor J. R. passed the exam with flying colors.

The exam was broken up into four parts: 1) personal life and testimony, 2) general Bible knowledge, 3) systematic theology, and 4) practical theology. In the first section, Pastor J. R. was asked to share about his Christian testimony and calling into ministry. He was also given an opportunity to talk about his family life and personal spiritual growth. In the second section, he was asked general questions about the Bible including key themes, outlines, chapters, verses, and people of all sixty-six books of the Bible. The third section covered the entire spectrum of systematic theology including Theology Proper (the study of God), Christology (the study of Christ), Ecclesiology (the study of the church), and Eschatology (the study of end times). The final section quizzed Pastor J. R. in the areas of biblical counseling and practical church ministry.

Some of the members of LBC San Jose were in attendance, and I’m sure being there was a great encouragement to them as they were able to witness Pastor J. R. walk through each section skillfully. Not only could they see that he was well-prepared and competent for the ministry he performs, but everyone on the ordination council confidently affirmed him as well. I’m sure when the exam was completed, Pastor J. R. felt like an enormous burden was lifted from his shoulders! But he wasn’t quite done.

On the following evening, LBC San Jose hosted an ordination ceremony on Pastor J. R.’s behalf. It was encouraging to see so many people come out to support him, including a good number of people who travelled up from San Diego. During the ceremony, the council walked Pastor J. R. through a condensed version of the exam. For half an hour, everyone could get a taste of what he had to endure the morning before. As we all expected, he did remarkably well once again. After several people shared a word of encouragement, Dr. Felix gave a solemn charge for ministry from Ephesians 3:8.

It was a tremendous blessing and privilege to be here this weekend for Pastor J. R. As Lighthouse Bible Church continues to push forward in ministry by the grace of God, we are blessed to have faithful and able men of God to help lead the way. Praise God for an encouraging weekend of worship and fellowship experiencing God’s continued goodness and grace. Congratulations to Pastor J. R. Cuevas for his ordination for pastoral ministry!

“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. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:8-10)

by Pastor Patrick Cho

Chapter 5 of Fundamentals of the Faith dealt with the work of Christ on the cross and what His death accomplished. As sinners before a holy God, we were desperately in need of someone to save us. Because of sin’s effect on our lives, there was nothing we could do to save ourselves. Our lives apart from Christ are lived in abject rebellion against Him. Our hearts are so tainted by sin that it affects everything we say, think, or do. We needed help if we were going to have any hope to stand before a holy God. When Jesus came and died on the cross, He satisfied the righteous demands of God. His death paid in full the penalty we deserved. He died in our place so that we could live. By rising again from the grave, Jesus proved that He accomplished this salvation. The Bible tells us that the curse of sin is death, but Jesus beat death by rising from the grave.

Chapter 6 goes on to explain this salvation more fully. In particular, it looks at salvation from past, present, and future perspectives. From a past perspective, it helps us to understand that God is absolutely sovereign in salvation, choosing who among men would be saved even from eternity past. From a present perspective, the chapter helps us to see that the person who truly is saved is converted into a new person at the point of their salvation. Everything is different for the person who trusts in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. From a future perspective, it gives us the evidences of true conversion. How can a person know he or she is a genuine Christian? They can see the radical transformation that took place in their life when God worked in their heart.

One of the more controversial topics in the church today is the sovereignty of God in salvation. Does God choose people to be saved according to His sovereign will, or does He give the choice to people to decide whether they will accept that salvation or not? Some would argue that God wouldn’t be a God of love if He didn’t give all men the freedom to choose Him for themselves. Others argue that God would not truly be God at all if He wasn’t completely sovereign over all things including the salvation of men.

It is most important to consider what the Bible says because the Bible is the Word of God. Scripture teaches that when a person comes to know Jesus as Lord and Savior, it is ultimately the work of God in that person’s heart according to His predetermined plan. In Ephesians 1:3-6, Paul tells the church that it was God’s choice of love to predestine them according to the purpose of His will. While this may seem offensive at first, when you consider our sin condition apart from Christ, it becomes necessary. This is because our sin affects us in a radical way to the core of who we are. Because of our depraved condition, even if we were given the choice to follow God, we wouldn’t. Our minds apart from Christ are dead set against Him. If our hearts are going to be changed to choose Him, He must by necessity do the changing. If God didn’t choose us, we would be lost forever.

But when God saves us, He saves us radically from the core of who we are. He changes us from the inside out. As Ezekiel 36:26 describes, He removes the once dead heart of stone and replaces it with a living, beating heart of flesh. At that point, everything changes for the one who trusts in Jesus as Lord and Savior. Their outlook, direction, and purpose in life takes a 180. Before, everything about their lives was dead set against who God is, but now everything is about knowing God more and more and living for Him more faithfully. The conversion to Christianity involves a complete transformation within a person – from death to life (Eph. 2:1-5), from slavery to freedom (John 8:34-36), from old to new (2 Cor. 5:17). When God saves a sinner, He forgives that individual of the sin that taints their life, but He also transforms that person so that they can fight against the sin that once enslaved them.

This is the best proof of a person’s salvation. As they look at their lives, they can see in a demonstrable way that their life is different because of what God has done to them and in them. They see that they are no longer blind to the truth of the gospel but that God has opened their eyes to see. They experience that they are no longer powerless in the fight against sin, but that God mightily works within them to fight against that sin. They no longer place their hope and trust in the things of this world, but believe that one day their Savior will come again. This gives them all the motivation they need to endure patiently until the end even in spite of severe trials and difficulties.

I’m so thankful that Fundamentals of the Faith devoted an entire chapter to consider the glorious truth of salvation. The gospel is the message that all people need to hear and heed. It is the message that God provides a way of salvation for sinful men. Any true hope we have in this life is only made possible because of the gospel. Our God is a gracious God who is willing and eager by His love to save sinners.

“For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4)

by Pastor Patrick Cho

The most central idea to all of Christianity is that Jesus Christ died on the cross and rose again after three days to save sinners. Still, it saddens me (though it no longer surprises me) that we frequently meet professing Christians who grew up in the church never hearing the gospel in its entirety, and some who are confused about the most basic ideas about it. A number of years ago, when I was still the college pastor at Lighthouse, I announced to the collegians that we would take an entire year to examine the doctrine of salvation. We broke down the gospel and studied it weekly with different emphases in mind.

When I first announced this to the collegians, some rolled their eyes at me as if to say we could spend our year better by looking at a wider range of topics or the “meatier” portions of Scripture. By the year’s end, however, most agreed it was a truly helpful study that revealed how little they knew about the gospel. By God’s grace, many realized through that study how shallow their understanding of the cross really was, and some even told me later that God used that study to rescue them from their sins and lead them to Christ.

We have learned over the years not to assume that someone who professes to be a Christian really understands the gospel. Even if a person has grown up in the church, we want to make sure they know what the Bible says about God, their sin, the cross, and the response of faith. We don’t do this simply to get people to question their salvation. We do this because we’ve found that oftentimes their behavior gives them reason to question the genuineness of their faith (cf. 2 Cor. 13:5) or at least they have some need to fine tune their knowledge of the gospel and what Jesus accomplished on the cross.

Any true and lasting hope a person has in this world must be found in Christ. There are many things that people turn to when they are in trouble. Some turn to their friends to find comfort, encouragement, or counsel. Others call upon their family members to lend support or help. There are many things that people turn to for refuge and escape when they are going through difficult times – exercise, sleep, food, alcohol, etc.

But the Bible tells us that our refuge should be Christ. Nothing else can deliver in an ultimate sense. Regardless of how difficult our circumstances or situation, there is no greater problem for us than our sinful souls. Our sin nature is a deeper problem than any failing marriage, unemployment, or natural disaster. The reason for this is that sin and its consequences are at the root of every problem we face. If we don’t deal with our sin problem, we are simply addressing symptoms and not the root cause of our problems.

Every person deserves to be condemned by God because of our sin. We have offended a perfect, holy, and infinite God, so the Bible teaches that the punishment for sin is an eternity in hell. “Why not simply change and stop sinning?” someone might reason. The problem is that we don’t have what it takes in ourselves to make things right. This is because our sin affects the totality of our being. Every word, every action, every thought is tainted by our sin. If we do “good” things, we do them with wrong motives (cf. Heb. 11:6; 1 Cor. 10:31). So even if we wanted to do something about our sin, it’s our sin that stands in the way of our ability to do anything about it. Ultimately, we spend our lives living for things that are less than God and each day is lived in opposition to who He is and what He desires of us.

Our sin renders us guilty and God is a perfect judge who doesn’t allow sin to go unpunished. The penalty incurred because of sin must be paid. When Jesus came into the world, He lived a perfect life. He never had a single evil thought or motive. He never spoke an evil word or committed an evil action. His life was completely unstained by sin. At the end of His earthly career, though, Jesus shed His blood and died on a cross. The Bible teaches that He did this as our substitute – “for us” or “on our behalf” (Rom. 5:8). But God took Him who knew no sin and made Him sin (2 Cor. 5:21). This doesn’t mean that Jesus became an immoral person or that He became wicked. It means that when He died on the cross, He stood in the place of sinful people. He died in our place so that we would not have to bear the punishment for sin. The justice of God demanded that sin needed to be paid for, so Jesus paid it all for us.

The one who trusts in Jesus as their Lord and Savior can be forgiven of their sins and have this salvation granted to them. The Bible talks about your need to repent and believe in the gospel (Mark 1:14-15). By God’s grace, you need to turn from your sin and turn in faith to Jesus, trusting in the work He did on the cross. You have to confess that you are a sinner who has offended a holy God and that you cannot do anything about your sin. You have to trust that Jesus died on the cross in your place and made it possible for you to be right with God.

By placing your faith in Jesus, the Bible says that God will rescue you from judgment and transform your life. He will change you from the inside out. The Bible says that He will give you a spiritual heart transplant (Ezek. 36:26), He will raise you from spiritual death to life (Eph. 2:1-9), and He will heal you of your spiritual blindness and give you sight (John 8:12; cf. Acts 26:18). Everything is different for the person who lives for Jesus – there is a new outlook on life with a new ultimate purpose. You don’t just try to be the best person you can be, but you try to live your life in the ways of God for His glory and honor.

All of this is made possible because of what Jesus did on the cross serving as our substitute. He died in our place and bore the punishment for our sin so that we could have life. Even though He never sinned, God treated Him as the sinner so that He could treat us as sinless. This truly is amazing grace! It is a gift that is completely and utterly undeserved, but one that was completely and utterly needed. God rescued us from our sin because He knew we would be hopeless on our own. So praise God for the salvation He offers us in Christ!