Sapate Ma‘asi 4,
2018
Ko ‘etau talangofuá,
ko e fakahaa‘i ‘o ‘etau hounga‘ia
(
our obedience to God; an act of gratitude)
Fehu‘i #34
Kapau kuo huhu‘i
kitautolu ‘i he kelesí ‘ata‘atā pē ‘o fou ‘ia Kalaisi tokotaha pē, ‘e kei
fiema‘u ai pe ke tau fai ha ngaue lelei mo tau talangofua ki he Folofola ‘a e
‘Otuá ?
‘Io, he ko hono huhu‘i kitautolu ‘e Kalaisí ‘aki hono
ta‘ata‘á, na‘e fakafo‘ou ai kitautolu ‘e hono Laumālié; koe‘uhí ke fakahaa‘i
atu mei he‘etau mo‘uí ‘a e ‘ofa mo e hounga‘ia ki he ‘Otuá, pea ke tau pau‘ia
‘i he‘etau tuí pea hā sino ‘i he fuá;
pea ‘e lava ‘i he‘etau to‘onga faka-‘Otuá ke ma‘u ai ha ngaahi laumālie ma‘a
Kalaisi.
Since we are redeemed by grace alone,
through Christ alone, must we still do good works and obey God's Word?
Yes, because
Christ, having redeemed us by his blood, also renews us by his Spirit;
so that our lives may show love and gratitude to God so that we may be assured
of our faith by the fruits; and so that by our godly behavior others may be won
to Christ.
1 PITA 2:9-12
Ka ko kimoutolu ko e ha‘a fili, ko e tu‘unga taula‘eiki fakatu‘i, ko e
kakai tapu, ko e fa‘ahinga ‘oku ma‘ane me‘a tonu, koe‘uhi ā ke mou ongoongoa
atu ‘a e ngaahi lelei ‘o ‘Ene ‘Afio, ‘a ia na‘a ne ui mai kimoutolu mei he
po‘uli ki he maama fakaofo ‘a‘ana: ‘a kimoutolu ‘a ia ko e ‘ata‘i kakai ‘i
mu‘a, ka ko eni ko e kakai ‘a e ‘Otua; ko e kakai na‘e ‘ikai fai ha meesi ki
ai, ka ko eni kuo ma‘u meesi. Si‘oku ‘ofa‘anga, ‘oku ou enginaki atu, ke mou
fai ‘o ngali mo e ‘āunofo mo e muli, ‘o mou faka‘ehi‘ehi mei he ngaahi holi
fakakakano; he ko e fa‘ahinga me‘a ia ‘oku fai tau ki he laumālie. ‘O mou ‘ai
ke taau ho‘omou fakafeangai ki he Senitaile; koe‘uhi, ‘i he me‘a ‘oku nau
lau‘ikovi ai kimoutolu, tokua ko e faikovi, ke nau mamata ki ho‘omou ngaahi
ngāue lelei, pea langa‘i ai ‘enau fakahīkihiki‘i ‘a e ‘Otua ‘i he ‘aho ‘o e
‘a‘ahi.
1 PETER 2:9-12
But you are a
chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own
possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of
darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are
God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of
the flesh,
which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles
honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your
good deeds and glorify God on the day of
visitation.
Commentary - LIGON DUNCAN
(cont…)
So
what is the role of obedience to God's Word, of God's law in the
Christian life? Gratitude, assurance, and witness.
In
the Christian life all of our obedience is an act of gratitude to God
for the grace that he has shown us in Jesus Christ. Remember what Paul says in
Ephesians 2: "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" (vw. 8-10). Now, did you hear what Paul said there? He
didn't say that we were saved by good
works. In fact, he explicitly excluded that. But he did say that we were saved to
good works, for good works. So the role of works in the Christian life is
not to save us. It's not to get God to love us. It's to express our gratitude
to God for the prior love that he's shown us in Jesus Christ and for the
salvation that he's freely given us in Jesus Christ. And so all of our
obedience to God's Word in the Christian life is an act of gratitude.
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