This is my brother in Christ, Eugene (or his hand, at least). He and his wife and children are missionaries in Tibet. They have been there for five years. Prior to that, Eugene served as a missionary in South America, where he met his future bride. In addition to English, he is fluent in both Spanish and Chinese.One way Eugene communicated the gospel this weekend was by positioning himself in a place where people would see him as they walked by. Using a dry erase board, Eugene would sit and write out Bible verses in Chinese. The fascinating characters of the Chinese written language would catch the attention of people. When they stopped to inquire about what Eugene was doing, he would first read the verse in Chinese and then translate it into English, thus providing him with a springboard into spiritual conversations.
In the above photo, Eugene is displaying the Chinese characters for a very important word: “righteous.” Even more fascinating than the characters themselves is what each character represents.
On the dry erase board in the picture, there are characters that represent two different words, which together comprise one word. The characters are separated by a horizontal line. Many of the words in Chinese are a combination of two or more words.
The top character in the picture represents the word “lamb.” The bottom word represents the word “me.” The compound word is pronounced “ee” (as in “me”). The Chinese word for “righteous” is “lamb over me.” Amazing!
God is sovereign over His creation. In the early generations of mankind, the people tried to exert their independence from God and to engage in the idolatry of self by erecting the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1-9). In response God confused the people by creating many different languages and by dispersing them. As a result, the sovereignty of God and His plan of redemption for members of the human race can now be seen in the intricacies of the Chinese language.
The Chinese word for “righteous” is packed with biblical theology. “Lamb over me.” Do you hear it? Do you see it?
The Bible makes it clear that there is none who is righteous (Romans 3:10-12). Only God is good (Matt. 19:17). Even on our best day, all of our deeds are like filthy garments to the Holy One who created the universe (Isa. 64:6). All have sinned and have fallen short of God’s glory (Rom. 3:23). And all sin is against God (Psalm 51:3-4).
If you are reading this and you are not sure what sin is, the Bible defines sin as transgression of God’s Law (Rom. 4:15; James 2:10). And what is the Law of God? Here is a sampling. Don’t lie. Don’t steal. Don’t take God’s name in vain. Don’t commit adultery.
If you have ever lied, stolen, taken God’s name in vain, or looked at another person and had a lustful thought then according to God’s standard you are a lying, thieving, blasphemous, adulterer at heart. When you die and stand before God to be judged (Heb. 9:27), He will find you guilty of breaking His Law, and you will one-day be eternally punished when He sentences you to hell (Rev. 20:11-15; 21:8).
God has provided but one way of escape from His just and holy wrath–the wrath every person deserves for breaking God’s Law. The provision was and is a spotless, sinless Lamb (John 1:27; 1 Cor. 5:7; Rev. 5:12). Jesus Christ (fully God and fully man), the Lamb of God, suffered and died on the cross–taking upon Himself the punishment every person rightly deserves for breaking God’s Law. He allowed His blood to be shed for those who would repent and believe the Gospel. Three days after shedding his innocent blood He rose from the dead, forever defeating death.
Before going to the cross, Jesus told a man named Nicodemus the following. “Truly, truly I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). In order to receive the free gift of eternal life, in order to have the blood of the Lamb cover and wash away your sin, you must be born again. And the first fruits of that salvation, the first evidence that God has miraculously intervened on your behalf is that you will, by faith and by faith alone, repent (turn away from and forsake your sins) and receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.
“Lamb over me”: the judicial act by which God declares a sinner righteous–not on the basis of anything the sinner has done to earn or deserve God’s gracious pardon (Eph. 2:8-9; Titus 3:3-7), but because God causes the sinner to be born again (1 Peter 1:3) and thus covering and washing the sinner clean with the precious blood of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ the Righteous One.
If God, by His sovereign and perfect will, causes you to be born again then when you stand before God, instead of receiving what you deserve for breaking God’s Law (eternity in hell), you will receive what you do not deserve, which is grace and mercy and everlasting life. When you stand before God He will see you covered in the righteousness of His Son Jesus Christ, instead of seeing you clothed in your unrighteousness.
Your only hope for eternal life is to have the Lamb of God and His precious blood over you. Repent and believe the Gospel.
