Knowledge --> Faith --> Action 📖✝️🎬

JN
May 13, 2021
6 min read

Updated: Jul 18, 2021

Ps: 我用英文学习圣经，所以有关圣经的分享，我都会用英文分享。

4 contents of the bible — Bible Lessons *

This is the first official lesson I had with Shincheonji. I used to have bible lessons with Shincheonji for 3 times a week for about 5 months, before I got kicked out unceremoniously by the teachers and told "you are not allowed to come to class again". 3 months later, Shincheonji in Singapore was exposed following the outbreak of covid-19 in the Korean church and the subsequent media attention garnered.

I wonder, did God let Shincheonji kick me out because He wanted to protect me from the subsequent persecution faced? I guess, I did face persecution from ex-"friends" that cut ties with me, but this is "mild" compared to getting questioned by authorities and having the government watch your every move because you are suspected to join a secret society. The timing of me being kicked out just seems a little too perfect.

Right now, I question what I am supposed to do in life. The waiting, just waiting, and doing nothing but waiting is hard. I don't know how long this will last. I can't go back to the church where long before my exposure to Shincheonji, I knew God's spirit is not there. I have tried without avail to contact different branches of Shincheonji to get access to their notes, or at least have the lessons to continue for me somehow, so that I get a fair shot in verifying the truth. I'm stuck in a limbo - the only thing I can do is to wait (???) and make sure I don't forget what I've learnt, to prove the "teacher" wrong when he claimed I will definitely forget everything I have learnt because the spirit within me has "changed".

Anyway, back to the first official lesson:

1. Knowledge

[Romans 10:2] 
For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge.

Fervor for God but without a proper foundation will just lead to manmade religion [Isaiah 29:10-13]. The bible becomes a set of dos-and-don'ts where Christians fall and get stumbled.

Isaiah 28:13

So then, the word of the Lord to them will become:

Do and do, do and do;

rule on rule, rule on rule;

a little here, a little there—

so that as they go they will fall backward;

they will be injured and snared and captured.

At it's worse, Christians may have such a misconception of God that they act opposite to his will, but think they are offering a service to God. [John 16:2].

The outcome is then such "Christians" will not be acknowledged by God.

[Matt 7:21-23] 
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

And this is why God says His people will be destroyed for the lack of knowledge.

Bible verses on the importance of Knowledge:

Hosea 4:6 My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. “Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you as my priests; because you have ignored the law of your God, I also will ignore your children.
2 Timothy 4:3-4 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.
Jeremiah 5:31-32 An appalling and horrible thing has happened in the land: the prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule at their direction; my people love to have it so, but what will you do when the end comes?

Refer to blog post: 6000 Years of God's History

2. Faith

There is mature faith and less-mature faith. True believers should progress from less-mature to mature faith.

Hebrews 6:1-3

Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, instruction about cleansing rites, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And God permitting, we will do so.

Basic Faith

"foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God" --> God loved us, and sent Jesus to die for our sins [John 3:16]
"instruction about cleansing rites, the laying on of hands" --> Rituals
"resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment" --> 2nd coming, where God will judge and living and the dead once and for all

Hebrews 5:12-14

In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.

Mature Faith

"by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil" --> distinguishing good from evil

We can learn to distinguish God's prophets from false prophets by the fulfilment of God's prophecies.

[Deuteronomy 18:21-22] 
And if you say in your heart, ‘How may we know the word that the Lord has not spoken?’ — when a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word that the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously. You need not be afraid of him.

Refer to blog post: What is Faith & Why We Can Forgive

3. Action

Matthew 25: 31-46

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’

“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

What does it mean to take action acknowledged by God?

It means to give

Spiritual food --> giving God's word to those who are spiritually hungry Refer to: Food @ Proper Time
Spiritual water --> giving God's word to those who are spiritually thirsty Refer to: Water of Life
Spiritual clothes --> helping others to have righteous deeds done according to God's word Refer to: Parable of Wedding Clothes
Invitation to wedding banquet --> inviting others to the place where God's testimony is shared Refer to: