Why does God warn strongly His Children

God's grace is a gift that saves sinners and transforms them. Divine warnings are important because they remind believers of their responsibilities and the consequences of not following God's commands. The parable of the unforgiving servant teaches that forgiveness is essential, and if we refuse to forgive others, God may revoke his forgiveness of our sins. Christians have the assurance of salvation, but they also have a role to play in their own spiritual growth. The return of Jesus is certain, but the question is whether believers will persevere in their faith until the end. Welcome to our weekly exhortation. Thank you for joining me. Thank you for your precious time. I know you are always there. I'm so thankful. My name is Gila Miura, Servant of God, Servant of Jesus Christ. Today, we are wondering, why does God strongly warn His children? Praise the Lord. Grace, in Christian theology, is the unmerited gift of the divine favor in the salvation of sinners, and the divine influence operating in individuals for their regeneration and sanctification. The definition of grace tells us this. Grace is not simply an abstract concept but God Himself working in the lives of His children. This is the point I want to emphasize in this message. If, according to the Apostle Paul, in Galatians chapter 2 verse 20, believers are crucified with Christ, and that Christ lives in them, and that the Lord keeps watch over us, Psalm chapter 131 verse 8, what then is the importance of divine warnings? In fact, the Bible teaches us this. The world was so corrupt in the sight of God because of sin that humanity was about to be condemned to death. But in His pity and love, God sent His only begotten Son to be lifted up so that whosoever believes within Him have eternal life. Some reject this truth, but to all who believed Him and accepted Him, they were given the right to become children of God, John chapter 1 verse 12. What grace! What gifts! What a wonderful Lord! Hallelujah! Friend, being sons of God, we have a lot of privileges with the Father. He assures us of our protection, our well-being, and even of securing our salvation. In John chapter 10 verse 28 to 29, the Lord Jesus says, I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all. No one can snatch them out of My Father's hand. Praise the Lord! This verse means the risk that any power whatsoever will take you from the hand of God is zero. Zero risk. You know, this possibility does not exist with God. The possibility that someone snatch you out of the hand of God does not exist with God. The apostle Paul added, When God starts a work, He finishes it. Philippians chapter 1 verse 6. God is sanctifying His children from the time they came to Him. In addition, God is always ready to protect His children from sin, even if, if for some time, He delivers us from being defiled. Paul says again, Where I sit abounded, grace did abound more exceedingly. Romans chapter 5 verse 20. Furthermore, the apostle Paul says something interesting in 1 Corinthians chapter 1 verse 7. He says, Therefore, you do not lack any spiritual gifts, as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. Our divine grace has been bestowed richly on the church. The Lord Jesus will also confirm them to the end so as to be blameless. Praise the Lord. Through this verse, we see the manifestation of the love and the grace of God. We do have the assurance that all the children of God have these promises. However, sonship in the New Testament is not merely a matter of status. Sonship in the Bible is a matter that finds expression in our conduct, in what we are and how we behave. The fact is that we often think of sonship as a status, as a position. We tend to think, for example, that because I am the son of a particular person, I have automatically access to that person, regardless of the context, regardless of my behavior. This is not sonship in the biblical sense. In the scriptures, sonship is tied up inseparably to conduct. If our conduct and our thinking do not correspond to the character of God, then we are simply not His sons. I will repeat. If our conduct and our thinking do not correspond to the character of God, then we are simply not His sons. To this end, please let me tell you something that's happened in the scripture that can help us understand what sonship is actually. I do like using this biblical passage to describe what I'm saying because it contains many lessons. In fact, in the parable of the unforgiving servant, Matthew chapter 18, verse 21 to 35, the servant owed his martyr 10,000 talents. This was a huge amount of money. Since the servant could not pay the 10,000 talents he owed, the king ordered that he sold along with his wife, his children, and all his possessions. When the servant heard the verdict, he fell upon his knees before the king and begged for mercy. Be patient with me, and I will pay back everything, he said. The king took pity on the servant. Remember this word. He took pity, compassion, right? So the king canceled the debt completely and let the servant go. Surprisingly, when it was his turn, this servant refused to forgive his fellow servant who owed him money and had his debtor thrown into prison. When the king was informed he was so upset that, this time, he turned the unforgiving servant to jailers to have him tortured until all of his original debt was paid. Friend, remember this. The king turned the unforgiving servant to jailers to have him tortured until all of his original debt was paid. But this servant was forgiven already. He was forgiven. The shocking aspect of this behavior is his failure to exercise toward his fellow servant even a little of the generosity with which he himself had been treated. This man received forgiveness. The servant received forgiveness, but does not show such forgiveness. What this parable is saying is this. The servant received forgiveness, but he does not want to show such forgiveness toward his fellow servant. Then the king, filled with anger, decided to put the debt of ten thousand talents he forgave him back on the shoulder of the servant. The man was handed over to the torturer until the debt was fully paid. The Apostle James brings out this reciprocal relationship between man's mercy and God in James chapter 2, verse 3. There it is written, For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy. This means the person who is not merciful cannot expect to receive mercy and rejudgment. Praise the Lord. So according to this parable, if the debt represents our sins, if the king stands for God, and if the servant symbolizes the disciple, then the conclusion has to be this. As the martyr revoked the earlier consolation of his servant's debt, so too God will revoke his forgiveness of a disciple's sin if that disciple, like the first servant in the parable, refuses to forgive the sin of another disciple. Question. Was the servant in this parable a true believer? Of course yes. He is a true believer. Why? Well, because the martyr was moved with compassion for him. The martyr took pity on the servant and counseled his debt and let him go. This stands for forgiveness, for mercy. He was forgiven. He was saved. He was cleaned of his debt. And this servant, he sincerely believed that only God can save him, can forgive him. That's why he fell upon his knees before the martyr and begged for mercy. You cannot beg for mercy, someone who cannot give you mercy. The servant recognized that the only person who can forgive him was the martyr. That's why he fell upon his knees. So this servant was forgiven. He was a true servant. And yet, later, the martyr revoked the earlier counselation of his debt. The martyr decided to put the debt of ten thousand talents back on his shoulders. This means simply that God will revoke his forgiveness of a disciple's sin if that disciple, like the first servant in the parable, refuses to forgive the sin of another disciple. The disciple will lose the grace of forgiveness. In Matthew 18, chapter 27, it's written, And the Lord of that slave felt compassion and released him and forgave him the debt. If Jesus didn't forgive our sins, we are not saved. We will not be his children. And you see, this servant too, he was forgiven. The Lord of that slave felt compassion and released him and forgave him the debt. Then in Matthew, chapter 18, verse 32, it is written, Then someone in him, his Lord said to him, You wicked slave, I forgive you all that debt because you intrigued me. So first we saw that, that means he was completely free from his sins. That's the proof of being a true slave, a true believer. But then, his salvation, his grace was revoked. This is explained by Matthew, chapter 18, verse 32, Then someone in him, his Lord said to him, You wicked slave, I forgive you all that debt because you intrigued me. But now, the master decided to put the bag on his shoulders, ten thousand talents. The master said, Okay, since you could not forgive your fellow servant, I am retrieving, I am withdrawing the forgiveness that I gave you. So this servant was a true believer. He was born again. So, the servant was forgiven. I don't see how we can deny it. He did get a complete remission of debt. This being the case, does it not follow that he represented Christians who have truly experienced God's forgiveness? And because this believer has provoked himself unworthy of God's mercy by refusing to forgive others, the initial forgiveness was withdrawn. You give the healing and grace our hearts always hunger for. I will conclude this message by saying that the return of the Son of Man is certain. It will happen as surely as the first time. However, the doubt concerns the faith of Christians. Will we all persevere to the end in keeping the faith? You know, in many places, the Bible talks about the believer's assurance of salvation. God has called His elect to be conformed to the image of His Son and to participate in His glory. There is no power in the universe that can stop that. On the other hand, many exhortations in the Bible are addressed to the children of God which imply that they also have their part to play in their salvation. What do I mean? Well, God's grace is a free gift of life to us, to His children. It is a source of power that changes the heart of a man and causes him to grow spiritually. The growth is sure, but it doesn't happen by force. Therefore, one and only one condition is essential. It requires the cooperation of the person. That person must have an earnest and good heart. Like we read it in Luke chapter 8 verse 15. And this is what we emphasize in this passage about the unforgiving servants. The need for this kind of example shows that there is a possibility for a Christian, for a son of God, to fall away. You know, God's grace does not operate in a mechanical manner. Where the believer, where the son of God is inevitably carried on to perfection, it cooperates with his free will. Friends, we must keep the grace of God by obeying God day by day. The believer who commits himself to the grace of God in this way can be certain that nothing will separate him from the love of God. He can rejoice right now in the hope of final salvation. But the fact that you have been set free doesn't mean that you will automatically remain free. Remember Matthew chapter 12 verse 43 to 45. The return of the evil spirit. So, those are the reasons why God warns His children and reminds them of what they should do and what they should not. The warning of God to His children is to bring them back on track. You know, the gift that each disciple of Christ received was not made to be used only as we please. It engenders responsibility, that of putting it at the service of God. Yes, it is true. Mercy triumphs over judgment. But as son of God, we must give opportunity to the grace of God to triumph over judgment. We are the one to give that opportunity to the grace of God. That's where the will of man is important. Grace is so powerful. Grace is God Himself. Hallelujah! But human will is necessary. Without the will of man, grace could not do anything. When a believer allows the spirit of the Lord to take full possession of his heart, he progresses and grows inevitably from one stage of glory to a higher stage. That's what sonship is about. Praise the Lord. Question. Was the servant in this parable a son of God? Obviously, yes. He was a true believer. He was a son of God. Why? Well, because the Master was moved with compassion for him. The Master took pity on the servant and canceled his death and let him go. This stands for forgiveness, for mercy. But he didn't show by his conduct dead. He was forgiven. As a result, after the judgment, this disciple will be stripped of his sonship. Friends, it was a pleasure to be with you again today. Thank you for your time. I hope you enjoyed listening to this message. In God's will, we'll be together next week. Shalom.