"Because of God’s grace, Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, we can be justified by faith, so the thing we should do is to confess our sins and repent."
In last Sunday’s service, Rev. Zhang Yanqin, senior pastor of Beijing Fengtai Church, preached a sermon with the title "God Is Our Refuge" in Yanjing Theological Seminary, citing Romans 8:31-39.
The seminary has started a new semester on October 18.
Zhang first pointed out that the book of Romans was called a great book, as it showed the gospel clearly, which was that people could be justified if they believed in Jesus. She said nobody could be against us, bring a charge against us, or separate us from the love of Christ, as we were more than conquerors through Jesus.
"The Bible tells us clearly that God is our help and no one can resist us."
Pastor Zhang emphasized that no one could prevent God from giving us the things he prepared for us, which were his only son and all things, as He is the master in the universe.
God was unwilling to see that the people he created were charged by Satan which wanted to put them to death for their sins, so He sent His only son Jesus to be crucified for them and give his life as a ransom, leaving no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus who confessed their sins, she continued.
"In this world, we may have trouble, but we have peace in Jesus who has overcome the world. Our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be given to us, as our lives in the world are very short, and Jesus promised to give us rest."
People sometimes had weaknesses and sorrows, which did not come from God but from Satan that aimed to disturb us, but no one could accuse us with the help from God, the pastor added.
"We must be prepared to be servants of God who should be good, wise, and not lazy." Pastor Zhang reminded the seminary students to do their best to love God who defends them and never condemns his children.
"The scripture mentions seven sufferings: trouble, hardship, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger, and sword. Seven is a perfect number, which indicates that there are many sufferings in the world, but we have peace in Jesus. During the COVID-19, God keeps us safe as He is our support, " she mentioned.
"There is no fear in love, so a person will not be afraid of anything if he truly loves God. Everything belongs to God who is our help and protection, so we don’t need to fear sufferings, as long as we love Him, " she stated.
"We have to believe like children, instead of analyzing and thinking with our knowledge. In addition to love, God gives us confidence so that we are more than conquerors in all things, " she concluded.
- Translated by Abigail Wu
