9. Are you too proud to receive eternal life?
Illustration:
Naaman was commander of the army of the king of Aram [Syria – an enemy of Israel]. He was a great man in the sight of his master and highly regarded, because through him the Lord had given victory to Aram. He was a valiant soldier, but he had leprosy [a terrible, contagious skin disease].
Aram had...taken captive a young girl from Israel, and she served Naaman's wife. She said to her mistress, "If only my master would see the prophet [of God] who is in Samaria [Israel]! He would cure him of his leprosy."
So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and stopped at the door of Elisha's [the prophet's] house. Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, "Go wash yourself seven times in the Jordan [River in Israel], and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed."
But Naaman went away angry and said, "I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of leprosy."
[He continued,] "Are not the Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascas [Syria], better than any of the waters of Israel? Couldn't I wash in them and be cleansed? So he turned and went off in a rage.
Naaman's servants went to him and said, '...If the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, "Wash and be cleansed'!"
So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy.
Then Naaman and all his attendants went back to the man of God. He stood before him and said, "Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel."
II Kings 5:1-3, 9-15
Manga Vol. 3, page
Are you like the old Naaman or the new Naaman?
The old Naaman had leprosy.
We all have spiritual leprosy.
We all have sins that separate us forever from Creator God.
The old Naaman did not like God's method for curing his leprosy.
Naaman was a very proud person –
He was angry that the prophet Elisha didn't even come out to see him, the great commander –
Elisha just sent his messenger to tell Naaman what to do.
And he thought that his own country was better than Israel –
its rivers were better!
Of course, he would have done something great to earn his healing –
but he was not willing to do something extremely humble.
But, is it our place to decide how God should cleanse our sins and give us eternal life?
Or, is it Creator God's place to decide that?
Is it our place to decide which country God's salvation should come from?
Or, is it Creator God's place to decide that?
We have only one choice:
• We can accept the method that Creator God offers us.
• Or we can reject it.
But the new Naaman humbled himself.
He accepted God's method for healing –
and he became completely clean.
Question:
What is keeping you from accepting God's method?
What is blocking you from being healed of your spiritual leprosy?
What is blocking you from receiving Creator God's gift of eternal life?
Is it your pride in your culture –
Or pride in yourself? – in your:
• status?
• strength?
• goodness?
• reputation?
Or is it simply your opinion that your way (or your culture's way) is better?
Or maybe you just don't want to let go of what is familiar to you?
[Jesus said:] "Whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me...will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?"
Mark 8:35-37
What do you plan to offer Creator God in exchange for your soul?
There is only one thing that can be given in exchange for one's soul –
It is the death and blood of Jesus Christ.
It is the blood that makes atonement for one's life.
Leviticus 17:11
10. Or, are you too afraid to receive eternal life?
The cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars––their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.
Revelation 21:8
Notice the first thing on the list!
Is this not surprising?
Did you know that fear and cowardice can keep us from receiving eternal life?
[Jesus said,] "If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this…generation, the Son of Man [Jesus] will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels."
Mark 8:38
Are you so afraid of what the people in your country or culture think that you won't believe in Jesus Christ?
11. Would it surprise you that an eastern perspective can make it easier to understand parts of the Bible – but a western perspective can make it more difficult?
An important example:
You are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.
I Corinthians 12:27
[Christ] is the head of the body.
Colossians 1:18
All who believe in Jesus are:
Connected to Jesus because we are his body.
Connected to one another because we are each a part of Christ's body.
You are all one in Christ Jesus.
Galatians 3:28
The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body.
I Corinthians 12:12-13
How Japanese view this:
Japanese traditionally view their identity as linked to the group to which they belong. They live within this mind-set. They think and act in relation to the thoughts and actions of their group – such as family, school, company, church. Because they identify themselves as part of the group, they tend to see their group’s decisions and welfare as their own decisions and welfare. So it is more natural for Japanese believers in Christ to live out the important truth that we are all part of Christ’s body.
How westerners view this:
On the other hand, westerners typically view themselves first and foremost as individuals. They don’t experience life as someone whose identity is substantially defined by and absorbed into the identity of the group. They are much less likely to see their decisions and welfare as tied to the group’s decisions and welfare. So they may intellectually grasp the concept of the unity of the Body of Christ, but living it out comes less naturally for them because it runs counter to their cultural experience. So it is harder for them to internalize the fact that they are part of Christ’s body.
Both easterners and westerners need a change of perspective:
In addition, the Bible describes our relationship to Creator God primarily as a relationship – not as a religion. In the 1000-plus pages of the Bible, the word “religion” is only used about 3 times to describe how we relate to God. But God is called “Father” over 260 times! This means that when we believe in Jesus Christ we join God’s family. This is very important because many people, westerners and easterners, view “religion” primarily as a personal or private matter. But God the Father describes our relationship to him as a family matter – as joining the body of Christ.
Japanese, like many westerners, do tend to see religious belief as a private matter, yet they have the cultural background to instinctively understand what it means to join a group. Therefore it is essential that they shift their understanding of believing in Christ and place it in the category of “relationship” and not in the category of “religion”. They will receive great benefit from viewing their belief in Christ as a "relationship" with God the Father, Jesus Christ, and God's family of fellow believers.
This perspective would also greatly benefit westerners, especially the younger generations, who have a strong yearning for meaningful relationships. But their problem is that they have lost interest and trust in institutions – and, unfortunately, they view the church as an institution. They would greatly benefit from taking the Bible's perspective, which does not describe Christ's church as an institution, but as a body, a family.
Of course, this means that it is important for the church to act like a family, a body, rather than as an institution. And it is important for the church to emphasize relationship with God and one another over empty religious activity.
Illustration:
There was an American young man who believed in Christ. He understood about having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and even about being mutually encouraged in a small group of believers. But he didn’t grasp the idea of being part of Christ's larger body in a tangible way. He lacked a sense of how belonging to “the body of Christ” should work out in practice. Then he moved to Japan and attended a Japanese church for over 10 years. The Japanese believers, by their attitudes and actions, showed him what it meant to become one mind in decision-making, to embrace the group's decisions as one's own decisions, to help others do their tasks even if they weren't designated as his to do, and to work toward shared goals – operating in the way a “body” would operate. This enabled him to actually experience the Bible's crucial teaching about Christ's body – something that he had not previously understood because of his American mindset.
12. Surprising hints of the Bible in Japanese culture:
Why does a ship have 8 mouths?
If you were inventing the character for "ship," would you include the components "8" + "mouths?"
Does this make logical sense to you?
Yet the character for "ship" is...
boat + 8 + mouths = ship
舟 + 八 + 口 = 船
There is this interesting story in the Bible.
As you read it, count the number of people in this story.
Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth. Now the earth was corrupt in God's sight and was full of violence. ...So God said to Noah, "...I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life." ...The Lord then said to Noah, "Go into the ark, you and your whole family." ...Noah (1) and his sons (3) and his wife (1) and his sons' wives (3) entered the ark to escape the waters of the flood.
Genesis 6:10, 17; 7:1, 7
1 + 3 + 1 + 3 = 8
There were 8 mouths on the ark – a huge ship!
How would you write "righteousness?"
If you were inventing the character for "righteousness," how would you choose to write it?
Would you write "sheep" over "me"?
羊 over 我 = 義
Does this make any sense? Can you explain why it is written this way?
Consider these statements in the Bible:
John [the Baptist] saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!"
John 1:29
Christ Jesus...[is] our righteousness.
I Corinthians 1:30
Regardless of the reason why the character "righteousness" came to be written as "sheep" over "me," it could not be a more accurate expression of the only way for "me" to be "righteous" in God's eyes.
I can only become righteous if I come under Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, who shed his blood for my sins.
The "Lamb" of God, over "me", makes me "righteous".
13. This world is not my home.
Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.
I Peter 1:18
14. I am a citizen of the Kingdom of Christ.
Our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Philippians 3:20
[Jesus said to God the Father:] “The world has hated them [my disciples], for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. …As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world.”
John 17:14-15, 18
15. Seek the prosperity of the place where you live:
[God says to Israel:] “Seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you… Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.”
Jeremiah 29:7
For Christ’s sake, be the best Japanese you can be! Contribute to your family, church, neighborhood, school, company, city, nation.
You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
Matthew 5:14-16