Hi, 

This is a review of the book entitled,

"The Lord Who Has Given Us Blessed Life" 

Sermons on the Gospel of John. By Paul.C.Jong

 Given the choice, I believe everyone in this world would want to receive blessings from the Lord rather than being cursed.

Even nonbelievers seek after common blessings such as health, wealth, and happiness. But such things are only temporal and cannot compare with the blessed life from the Lord.

 Even before we were born in this world, God had planned to give us the blessed life of salvation through His Son Jesus Christ, who was baptized to take on all of our sins and crucified to save us from the judgment of hell for our sin that we were all destined to receive (Romans 6:23).

His desire was for all of us to receive the blessed life rather than the cursed life that we were destined to live by inheriting sin from the first man, Adam (Romans 5:12).

 The title of Chapter 1 reads,

Live With The Hope of the Glorious Life.

It focuses on Chapter 17 of the Gospel of John, which records Jesus` last prayer before He was crucified. Jesus prayed to be glorified together with God, having glorified God on this earth and having finished the work which was given Him to do (John 17:4-5).

 The question is then posed, What is the glorious life mentioned in Jesus` prayer?

It is the hope for the Kingdom of Heaven, which the born again will enter after having faithfully done the work entrusted to them while in this world.

Despite hardships and struggles, Jesus tells us to continue serving the gospel of the water and the Spirit, remembering that we have received the blessed life from the Lord and to strive toward the hope of the glorious life in God`s Kingdom.

Chapter 2 discusses the issue of who can receive all the heavenly blessings bestowed by God. The author does this by referencing the Old Testament`s account of the two sons of Rebekah—Esau and Jacob.

While some theologians use this account to assert the false doctrine of predestination, this account actually teaches us about which type of people gratefully accept the mercy of God as opposed to those who see no need for it.

It was actually Jacob, Rebekah`s second-born child, who received the blessings of God rather than her firstborn son, Esau.

This tells us that Jacob-like people, who accept their weak and insufficient nature but trust and rely on God at the same time, are the ones who receive the blessings of God. But people like Esau, who have faith in their own power and abilities, these types of people look down on the grace of God, thinking to themselves that they have no need of it since they are already so mighty on their own.

However, if we want to be blessed by God, then our hearts must be meek like Jacob`s and confess that we are weak, lacking, conniving, and deserving of God`s judgement. We must follow the guidance of the church just as Jacob clung to his mother Rebekah`s instructions and as a result, be blessed by faith in the righteousness of God that Jesus fulfilled at His baptism by washing away all our sins. And once we have put on the grace of God, we must never think that we have become righteous through our own efforts; otherwise we will end up being cursed rather than blessed by the Lord.

The title of Chapter 3 reads, 

Do not consider it a great thing to persecute Jesus.

Those who opposed, persecuted, and condemned Jesus to death were not men of great power. Although Jesus did die on the Cross, it was not because His accusers were mighty and He was somehow powerless to their schemes that He was crucified, but it was because His death and consequent resurrection were all permitted within the will of God for our salvation.

However, just like the people in Jesus` time, many people nowadays think that persecuting Jesus and His followers is a privilege and a great gain for themselves, but they are truly wrong. 

When punishment in Hell awaits everyone who remains unwashed from their sins, it`s unwise to persecute those who preach the gospel of the water and the Spirit and even more foolish to disregard this truth and reject the blessed life from the Lord for oneself.

It`s because Jesus, in essence, is love that He washed away all our sins at His baptism, and it`s because His love is beyond our comprehension that He patiently waits for sinners to repent and return to the gospel of the water and the Spirit. But we should not take His love for granted as though this world and His grace will last forever. 

While His mercy still abounds, all people should humble themselves before the Lord, confess their true sinful nature that is deserving of His judgement, and quickly and gratefully accept the blessed life from the Lord by firmly placing their faith in the gospel truth of the water and the Spirit.

I encourage you all to read this book by Rev. Paul C. Jong. You can download any of the 68 FREE audiobooks or ebooks from the website www.bjnewlife.org

God bless you all.