HEB 13:15 Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise--the fruit of lips that confess his name. 16 And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.

Continuing from the session last week, Dr Tong reminded the people that our destiny is not upon this temporal world since it does not have an enduring city. We are living for the world to come although we are still on earth. The early historian Josephus wrote that he witnessed the early Christians dying under persecution. They were torn apart by lions, burned on the stake, but Josephus wrote that they were all joyous and singing hymns till the very end. These people exhibited extra-ordinary courage simply because they knew about their faith, and their physical problems could not stop them from being thankful to God for the things that are to come.

Dr Tong said that in the world today, there are many, many people who had received God's grace. But very few people could understand this grace, or even detect it. We often take God's grace simply for granted. Among those who understand this grace, few would appreciate it. Among those who appreciate it, few would give thanks for it. And finally, among those who give thanks, even fewer would lift high the cup of salvation and share this grace with others. We only become aware of grace only when God suddenly decides to take it back. Only then would we realise that we could not have received the things we did via our own strength or effort.

By coincidence, the newspaper reported on the same day that Singapore Airlines could very well be expecting a loss this year. If someone were to suggest that just a year ago, no one would have believed it. This is the best run airline in the world, and everything seems to be so smooth and efficient. But when the grace of God is taken away, nothing we do has value. This is why the psalmist says that Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain (Psalm 127:1).

The psalmist and the church reformers understood the grace of God especially well. In the reformed understanding, four main tenets of faith exists. Among the four are sola scriptura, Latin for 'By the Word alone', soli deo gloria (Latin for 'Glory to God in the highest'), sola fide (by faith alone), and sola gratia (by grace alone). Christians ought to understand all these great principles, and understand that grace is the basis for our existence. When we truly understand about grace, we would have realised that nothing we do in life would be good enough to repay God for what He has given to us. Even the things we give back to Him came from Him. So it is really abnormal for a Christian not to be a thankful person, and it certainly grieves the LORD.

The verses from Hebrews 13:15,16 tell us that there are three things that the LORD is pleased with. The first would be for the Christian to give thanks. The second is for the Christian to do good. The third would be for the Christian to give and share. All these three items came from our understanding of the significance of grace. The great theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer coined the term 'cheap grace', in that he pointed out correctly that while God's grace is free, it is certainly not cheap. So the extent to which we understand this would determine our devotion to Him. Dr Tong said that on Good Friday, his church saw an attendance of 2500, twice as much as usual because they placed great emphasis on the preaching on the suffering of Christ and the grace of God, not on entertaining the crowd. Our response to God must be a natural response that came about because we are the only created being that can respond back to God and His grace. This is similar to how a parent would even sacrifice his life for his child. All the parent would want is for the child to respond back to that love and appreciates it; not simply pay back in material terms.

Dr Tong then spent some time illustrating three parables and biblical incidents that we are all familiar with. The first was the healing of the 10 lepers (Luke 17). Out of the 10 who were healed, only one returned to thank the LORD, and he was a Samaritan. The other was the parable of the Good Samaritan, showing us that sin pervades everyone regardless of race and status. The third was the miracle of the fish and loaves. Dr Tong said that the little child with the fishes and loaves moves him greatly. By giving away what he had, he became the blessings to millions when he gave of his all to the right person, our LORD. Dr Tong shared of his own experience as a person who was orphaned at 3, but gave of himself to the LORD while he was still a child. In the end, the LORD used him to reach millions around the world. Dr Tong said that the LORD enabled him to be bold and courageous, always going to the most dangerous places and places of crisis to preach. He said that he has never witnessed anyone becoming a destitute because of the work of the LORD when they follow His will.

The second thing to do is to do good. Many people do good for the wrong reasons. Before the French revolution, the philosophers of the French enclopaedic school debated about what doing good is all about. They believed that any philanthropist who do good in order to gain commercially was not really doing good. The Latin word 'summan bonum' refers to the highest good. If we do good for a particular purpose, like gaining fame in order to advance commercial causes, then that good is not of the highest good. The highest good must be of God, which was why the apostle Paul said that whatever we do, we need to do it for the glory of God (Col 3:23).

We need to understand what good is. When we say that our God is good, there are three things that this goodness encompass. Firstly, our God is kind/good. Secondly, our God is holy. Thirdly, our God is just. These are all encompassed within the laws of God. No definition of the ultimate good can depart from the attribute of God being the ultimate good. Dr Tong said that the best description of good comes from Micah 6:8 "He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." To act justly is the first requirement of goodness. To have mercy, to have humility, and to walk with your God would be the next requirements.

These are very important principles. If we are afraid of the rich, but bully the poor, we are not just. A just person would treat all consistently using the principle of justice. We need to express our goodness toward those who are in more need than ourselves, and show mercy towards them. Both justice and kindness are attributes of God. To do good therefore is to follow along what God would do as well. Dr Tong pointed out that many of us do good by giving away our excesses, or things that we do not need, as if the church is a secondhand dealership of unwanted goods.

The great church father Augustine was once asked about the fundamental principles of spirituality. Augustine replied that there are three things that are important in spirituality. The first is humility. The second is humility. The third is also humility. Dr Tong said that humility is not weakness, or passiveness. It is not a simple outward expression of courtesy. A truly humble person would seek after the truth all his life without ceasing, always not being satisfied with his own achievement. It is also always accommodating those who are weaker than we are, and always treating others as being better than we are. In the end, the truly humble gives all glory to God, and this is what doing good is all about. An arrogant person cannot be said to be good.

Micah also wrote that we are to walk with God. Isaiah 1:10 reminds us that God is not pleased with sacrifices, no matter how much we have given to Him. He wants us to be obedient and to learn to do good, rather than drown ourselves in rituals and religious practices.

The third thing mentioned by the author of Hebrews was for us to share and give. In Greek, the word 'koinonia' was used, signifying fellowship. We are to share not only materialistically, but also in sharing their suffering. When we give, we ought not to give as if we are great benefactors and despise the beneficiaries. Instead, we need to have an attitude of sharing and caring. Dr Tong related an incident when he was invited to preach in Manila. He went to visit a refugee camp, filled with Chinese who fled from Vietnam during the seventies. These were not poor people, as they each had to pay 400 gram of gold to get onto a small boat, braving the dangers of open sea where many drowned. In the end, these people reached a place named Bataan in the Philippines, and were housed in a very crowded refugee camp awaiting adoption by western countries. Dr Tong asked the LORD for wisdom to know what to say to them, and ended up encouraging them to cast their burdens upon the LORD and have His peace in their hearts.

The sad part of the incident was that there was an elderly woman from the church who brought old clothing and old sandals to distribute to the refugees. Before she distributed the items, she yelled loudly at them and threatened not to give them anything unless they were orderly. Dr Tong said that he was deeply saddened when he witnessed that. He emphasized that we are not to give and have a mindset that we are better than the recipients. We are to share with them their sufferings, and behave as if we were on the same boat of suffering.

In the end, what does the LORD requires from us? Now that the altar in the temple had been destroyed in AD 70 by general Titus, there is no longer any physical sacrifice. What the LORD wants from us today is a spiritual sacrifice, when we give our very being to the LORD as living sacrifice (Romans 12:1). This sacrifice is marked by our constant fruit of praise upon our lips, our doing good, our sharing and giving to others. Let us all remember that and strive to be a pleasing sacrifice to the LORD.

Disclaimer: This summary does NOT represent the official position of STEMI (Stephen Tong Evangelistic Ministry International), and is the personal opinion of the author, expressed without prejudice. Expressed opinions are meant for academic discussions only.