Christian Character
May 16, 2021 is the day my
grandfather passed away. During his funeral service, the pastor preached the
word based on today’s scripture (v. 16) and 1 Corinthians 11:1: “Imitate me,
just as I also imitate Christ” (NKJV). After reading the scripture, the pastor
said about my grandfather something like this, “I am not sure how many
Christians are able to say it with confidence like Paul did. But I know pastor
Whang is one of the few that could say that.” Indeed, my grandfather lived a
life of "congruence" - congruence between preaching and living,
congruence what is on the inside and what is lived on the outside. He was a good
husband, a good father, a good pastor and most of all he was a good Christian.
He is my hero I want to imitate.
There is one more person whose example I want to
follow – my father. When I think
about my dad, the first word that comes to my mind is “faithfulness.” He was
always there for his family, he was always there for his church, he was always
there for me. Surely he reflects God’s faithfulness through his life. Both my
grandfather and my father are good preachers. But it was not only their
preaching that helped me grow in faith, it was their Christian character that
deeply touched me and shaped me.
When we think about the Apostle Paul, a great portion
of his life was to simply persevere.
He had to hang in there in prison for
about five years during his ministry. He endured
many hardships and sufferings. In today’s scripture Paul said he was ridiculed,
hungry, thirsty, homeless. He was brutally treated like dirt (vv. 11-13). Paul
was well aware that our spiritual battle is not much about aggressive attack
but faithful defense. So he says to
the Corinthians, “It is required of stewards that they be found faithful” (v. 2). And he continues, “I
urge you, imitate me” (v. 16).
Corinthian Church
To have a better understanding of
where Paul is coming from, it’s important to understand some of the Corinthian
church background. Corinth was a Greek city and had many very intelligent
citizens. It was a commercial seaport. It had its academics and the places
where they discussed philosophy and tried to understand the problems of life
and of living. Paul had been there and had preached the Gospel, and a church
had been established. But then, Paul had to move on to preach the good news to
the unreached in other places. In the meantime, certain people came in and
started to criticize Paul and to challenge his apostleship. They were experts
in Greek rhetoric, language, and philosophy. They said, “Paul’s presence is
weak,” “His manner of speaking is not eloquent,” “His teaching is so simple and
childish.” Paul’s answer to them is this: “I will come to you soon, if the Lord
wills, and I will find out not the talk of these arrogant people but their power. For the kingdom of God
depends not on talk but on power”
(vv. 19-20)
Power
Christianity is a power! Where there is the kingdom of
God, God’s reign, God’s rule, there is a power. When Paul says the kingdom of
God is in power, he is speaking it from his own experience. On the way to
Damascus he encountered the risen Christ, saying, “Saul, Saul, why are you
persecuting me? It hurts you to kick against the goads” (Acts 26:14). That day
Paul experienced the power of God – power to bring a conviction of sin, power
to open the eyes of his heart, power to give him new life and new heart. In
today’s scripture Paul says, “When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we
endure; when slandered, we speak kindly” (v. 12b-13a). This is the power of God
– power to overcome evil with good, power to face trials and tribulations in
life, power to persevere. This power is the supernatural work of God. With man
this is impossible, but with God all things are possible!
William Temple used to illustrate
the point in this way. It is no good giving me a play like Hamlet or King Lear, and
telling me to write a new play just like it. Shakespeare could do it; I can’t.
And it is no good showing me a life like the life of Jesus and telling me to
live a life just like it. Jesus could do it; I can’t. But if the genius of
Shakespeare could come and live inside me, I would then be able to write plays
like he did. And if the Spirit of Jesus could come and live inside me, I would
then be able to live a life like he did. Christianity is not about trying
harder to become more like Jesus. But it is about allowing him, by the power of
his Spirit, to come and change us from the inside. The kingdom of God is not a
matter of mere talk, but it’s an empowered life.
Our Part
Although an empowered life is all
God’s work, we must be sensitive and obedient to the promptings of the Holy
Spirit. Let me share the story of Pyongyang Great Revival in Korea back in
1907. At that time, along with other missionaries, Pastor Gil Sun-Joo was a
leader of the Korean church. In January 1907, new year’s prayer meeting was
held. Although many people came for the meeting (1500), Pastor Gil felt like
something hinders the work of God. He felt like the whole church was covered
and suppressed. But he didn’t know what it was. He even rebuked his
congregation to repent. But nothing happened. While he was praying, the Holy
Spirit convicted of his unconfessed sin. In fact, he had promised his dying
friend to look after his estate because his wife was unable to, but in the
process he had taken one hundred dollars for himself. Thankfully, Pastor Gil
obeyed the promptings of the Holy Spirit. In front of 1,500 people he confessed
his sin of Achan. The next day he gave the money back. Then the revival
began. After that, the prayer turned to
weeping. Missionary Graham Lee wrote: ‘Man after man would rise, confess his
sins, break down and weep, and then throw himself to the floor and beat the
floor with his fists in perfect agony of conviction.’ Another missionary Jonathan
Goforth wrote: ‘Day after day the people assembled now and always it was
manifest that the Refiner was in His temple’ Writing about Pastor Gil’s
confession he wrote: “It hindered the Almighty God while it remained covered, and it glorified Him as soon as
it was uncovered; and so with rare
exceptions did all the confessions in Korea that year.” Soon Pyongyang
became known as the “Jerusalem of the East.”
The kingdom of God is a power –
power to cleanse us, power to bring a conviction of sin, power to lead us to
repentance, power to draw us closer to God. Have you had the similar experience
that Pastor Gil had – convicted by the Holy Spirit? I do. When I came to the US in
2006, I had my own plan. It was to earn a doctoral degree as soon as possible
and become a pastor of a large church. So it was very important for me to get
good grades. I studied very hard and was able to earn good GPA. One day the
Holy Spirit convicted my sin. He reminded me that I had submitted the reading
reports of some of the classes not in
good conscience. Although the reading report instruction says, “Skimming is
not counted as reading,” I had just skimmed through part of the required
readings in a hurry but checked them off as 100% completion. I had good grades.
Not only that, I borrowed other people’s ideas and pretended that it was mine.
But the Holy Spirit exposed all my sins – plagiarism, dishonesty, and ambition
deep in my heart. I knew what was right thing to do. But I struggled for
several days. I was afraid that I might be expelled from seminary. Then, I heard
the voice saying, “I can use you without degree, but I cannot use you if you
are not clean.” So finally, I confessed my sins before my professors, some of my friends and students, and my church
family. Thankfully, I was not expelled. But the grades of the four classes were
significantly reduced. And it became very
difficult for me to pursue further study. But instead, God restored to
me the joy of my salvation. I was able to see God once again.
Follow Me
The kingdom of God is not in talk
but in power. Paul has known this power – power even to look into the face of
death and to smile at it. He says to Timothy, his spiritual son, “I am now
ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a
good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there
is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous
judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also
that love his appearing” (2 Timothy 4:6-8)
Have you known all this? Have you known
the power to turn from darkness to light, from the kingdom of Satan to God? Have
you known the power to give you blessed assurance and to cry out to God, “Abba
Father”? Have you known the power to believe, to understand, to rejoice in His
Word and to say, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of
God for salvation to everyone who believes”? If you have, I don’t need to
exhort you to praise God. If you have not, then go to Him, seek his face humbly
and cry, “Have mercy on me a sinner.” “Seek the Lord while he may be found,
call upon him while he is near” (Isa 55:6).
Now is the time. Today is the day
of salvation. My prayer is that all of us in this room may believe in the
gospel of Jesus Christ, know the power of God, be transformed and found
faithful to the end, and that we may be able to say to our spiritual children
at the end of our life, “See, I have fought a good fight, I have finished my
course, I have kept the faith. Imitate me, and follow me.” Amen.
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