Confucius and the Covid Virus

June 7, 2020                 NOTES NOT EDITED
Confucius and the Covid Crisis

Matthew 10:28

SIS—The Crazy Covid Crisis has placed the emphasis of our society on the wrong question, that is, “How am I going to die,” when we should be much more focused on “Where I will go after I die.”

Confucius has been reported to have said, “The beginning of wisdom is to ask the right questions.”  Another version of that is, “The beginning of wisdom is to call things by their proper names.”  Socrates was another brilliant and ancient philosopher who saw the value of “asking questions.”  His way of teaching by asking “right questions” is called the Socratic Method.  A modern philosopher, whose name is almost universally recognized, is Albert Einstein.  Most people know him as the world’s most famous genius and scientist.  He was also an astute philosopher.  He said this about questions, “If I had an hour to solve a problem and my life depended on the solution, I would spend the first 55 minutes determining the proper question to ask… for once I know the proper question, I could solve the problem in less than five minutes.”

If Confucius were alive today during this Crazy Covid Crisis, I wonder what advice he might give.  I wonder if he would be as stressed out as so many are.  So, I gathered up some “supposed sayings” of the Great Muse, Confucius, whose Chinese name was Kong Fuzi.  Some of these sound like maybe Confucius didn’t really say them.  You be the judge.

*"Man who makes mistake in elevator is wrong on many levels."

*“Man with one chopstick go hungry.”

*“A bird in hand makes hard to blow nose.”

*“If something happen but nobody post it on Facebook, did it really happen?”  Here’s one that is very relevant for this Covid Crisis:

*“Man who sneezes without tissue takes matters in his own hands.”

*“War not determine who is right, war determine who is left.”

*“Man who have clear conscience usually have bad memory, too.”
Here’s one for you musicians:  “Man who pushes piano down mineshaft get tone of A flat miner.”

And I’ll conclude with this bit of wit from the Bearded Bard of Wisdom:  “Give a man some fire and he’ll be warm for the rest of the day. Set a man on fire and he’ll be warm for the rest of his life.”
Well, some of those sounded like they might not really be from Confucius, but there was still some deep thinking in them. 

As I said, scholars are not sure if Confucius said this or not but it is still true, “The beginning of wisdom is to ask the right questions.” 

I am not sure that the “experts” or even the “man-on-the-street” is focusing on the right questions during this Crazy Covid Crisis.  The question driving everything is “Will I die of Covid?”  That is NOT the most important question we should be asking.  This question deals with the “physical body and this temporal existence on earth.”  The question does not deal with the MOST IMPORTANT matters of our spiritual selves and eternal destinies.  Let’s stand and read Mat. 10:26-31.

²⁶ “Therefore, don’t be afraid of them, since there is nothing covered that won’t be uncovered and nothing hidden that won’t be made known.  ²⁷ What I tell you in the dark, speak in the light. What you hear in a whisper, proclaim on the housetops.  ²⁸ Don’t fear those who kill the body but are not able to kill the soul; rather, fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.  ²⁹ Aren’t two sparrows sold for a penny?  Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s consent.  ³⁰ But even the hairs of your head have all been counted.  ³¹ So don’t be afraid therefore; you are worth more than many sparrows.

Let me paraphrase verse 28 to give it a “modern impact”:  ²⁸ Don’t fear the Covid virus that can kill the physical body but fear unrepented sin that will kill the eternal soul.

The question of “Will I die from Covid” is completely the wrong question to focus on during this crisis or at any time.  It focuses on “temporary matters.”  The MOST IMPORTANT questions deal with “eternal matters.” For that, I’d like to suggest three much more important questions to ask during this Crazy Covid Crisis, or any other time for that matter:  WHO is Jesus?  WHY did He have to die for “our” sins? And, WHERE will I go when I die?

1.  WHO is Jesus? (Mt. 16:13-20)

¹³ When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi,  ^k He asked His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” ¹⁴ And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” ¹⁵ “But you,” He asked them, “who do you say that I am?” ¹⁶ Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God!” ¹⁷ And Jesus responded, “Simon son of Jonah,  ^p you are blessed because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father in heaven.  ¹⁸ And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the forces of Hades will not overpower it. ¹⁹ I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth is already bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth is already loosed in heaven.”

Verse 13 is often overlooked as general information, necessary to carry along the narrative of the life of Jesus.  That is far from the truth.  Jesus strategically chose this site to ask the most significant question He’d ever posed to His disciples.  This region was known in the Greek period as, “Caesarea Paneas.”  It was so-named for the idol of Pan carved into the mountain in what was known as, “Pan’s Grotto.”  People worshipped Pan as the “god of the wild,” or the “god of shepherds and flocks.”  Jesus chose this spot to contrast Himself as the True Shepherd of shepherds and Guardian of flocks with the false idol Pan.  Jesus knew that the entire Plan of God’s Redemption being carried forward after His death and resurrection depended upon people knowing WHO He was.  The identity of Jesus as Almighty God is the most critical question anybody could ever ask.  You will notice that what happened when Jesus asked that question of His disciples, is the same thing that happens today.  People are confused about the identity of Jesus Christ as Almighty God, the Second Person of the Trinity.  If a person misses the answer to the question, “WHO am I,” in regard to Jesus, they miss eternity.  Notice the answers the disciples offered:  verse 14, “Some say John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”  Please note two important characteristics of these answers.  ❶ One, they are all “religious.”  ❷ Two, they are all WRONG!  It doesn’t matter how sincere a person can be in their religion.  If you don’t know ‘WHO’ Jesus is—and by that I mean, “know” in the sense of having a deep and abiding, life-transforming relationship with Him, then you will die in your sins and a horrible hell will be your eternal home.  Notice how Jesus rebuts these wrong answers.  ¹⁵ “But you,” He asked them, “who do YOU say that I am?”

I have never met a single person who did not have some “opinion” about the identity of Jesus, even if that opinion is, they don’t care.  You ask a sincere and devout Mormon.  He or she will tell you Jesus is the Brother of Lucifer.  If you ask a sincere and devout Jehovah’s Witness, they will tell you Jesus is “a” God, but not Almighty God.  If you ask a typical professor of religion in a typical university, they will like tell you Jesus is at best a religious guru, and at worst a figment of the imagination created in the mind of a primitive people.  All these answers, no matter how sincere they are, are “sincerely wrong” and bear the eternal consequence of spending eternity in hell. 

The world would be well served, eternally well served to consider carefully WHO IS JESUS?  A Pentecostal Brother dug this up a while ago and it describes beautifully the “Identity” of Jesus Christ.

Who is Jesus? In chemistry, He turned water to wine; In biology, He was born without the normal conception; In physics, He disproved the law of gravity when he ascended into heaven; In economics, He turned a meager investment of a biscuit and two sardines into a restaurant empire feeding thousands; In medicine, He cured the sick and blind without administering a single dose of drugs; In history, He is the Beginning and the End; In government, He said that He shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Prince of Peace; In religion, He said no one comes to the Father except through Him; Jesus had no servants, yet they called Him Master; Had no degree, yet they called Him Teacher; Had no medicines, yet they called Him Healer; He had no army, yet kings feared Him; He won no military battles, yet He conquered the world; He committed no crime, yet they crucified Him;

He was buried in a tomb, yet He lives today!!!

The first important question to ask during this Crazy Covid Crisis, or any time, is “WHO is Jesus Christ.”  Next, we NEED to ask,

2.  WHY did He have to die? 1Cor 15:3-4

³ I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. ⁴ He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day.

That is the entire doctrine of salvation summarized in two verses.  It describes clearly what Jesus did and in three words answers the important question of “WHY” did He do it?  Jesus died “for our sins.”  Jesus paid the debt of sin we could never pay for ourselves.

I guess it would be natural to ask, “what is sin, or the debt of sin.” I think most people “think” they know what sin is, but they really don’t.  For most people sin means, “making a mistake.”  Now, some mistakes are worse than other mistakes, but sin is a mistake nonetheless.  The idea of sin as a mistake is inadequate of course, because some people just do bad things on purpose, like robbery, rape, or murder. So for some people, sin is an intentional act to do something bad.  Of course, trying to figure out when something is “bad” enough to be a sin, well that isn’t as readily agreed upon in society.  For example, not all murders are considered “sins” in our society.  A baby is murdered in the womb every 90 seconds and society doesn’t call that sin.

So, what is sin from the Bible’s perspective, and WHY is it so bad?

Sin is any lack of conformity to the moral character of God or the law of God. We sin by thinking evil, speaking evil, acting evil or omitting good.  Even more simply sin is “doing what God said not to do or not doing what God said to do, or not even caring to know what God says in the first place.  Sin is disobedience to God by either commission of an offense or omission of a command.

Maybe this will help you understand what sin is.

Man calls it an accident; God calls it an abomination.

Man calls it a blunder; God calls it blindness.

Man calls it a chance; God calls it a choice.

Man calls it a fascination; God calls it a fatality.

Man calls it an infirmity; God calls it an iniquity.

Man calls it a luxury; God calls it a leprosy.

Man calls it a liberty; God calls it lawlessness.

Man calls it a trifle; God calls it a tragedy.

Man calls it a mistake; God calls it a madness.

Man calls it a weakness; God calls it willfulness.

So what’s the big deal about sin?  God understands.  The old adage goes, “To err is human; to forgive is divine.”  Won’t everybody get to heaven in the end?  A loving God would never send anybody to hell, would he?  Well, the big deal is that the consequences for our sin is “eternal death.”  Rom. 6:23: For the wages of sin is DEATH, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord

ETERNAL DEATH means spending eternity in hell totally separated from God in darkness, loneliness, and pain for all eternity.  That’s the unavoidable consequence of sin.  Just like the law of gravity means that if you drop something from the top of a building it will fall toward the ground, so the law of sin dictates that if you sin you WILL spend eternity in hell.  That’s not a choice God makes for anyone, but a choice one makes for himself or herself.  The Bible says very clearly, “God does not wish for anybody to spend eternity in hell.”  In fact, the “wages for sin, which is eternal death” has already been paid for on your behalf when Jesus died on the cross.  You don’t have to pay the penalty of an eternal death for your sin because the Eternal Son paid it once for all. 

So, that brings us to another important question we must ask.  How we are going to die or will we die of Covid is not a really important question in the eternal scheme of things.  You are going to die.  You may die of Covid.  You may not.  You may die tomorrow.  You may not.  But you ARE going to die.  So a more important question to ask is not “how or when I will die,” but

3.  WHERE will I spend eternity?  (Mt. 10:28-33)  Back to Mt. 10.

²⁸ “Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell. ²⁹ What is the price of two sparrows—one copper coin? But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. ³⁰ And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. ³¹ So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows. ³² “Everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. ³³ But everyone who denies me here on earth, I will also deny before my Father in heaven.

Many people are in great fear of dying from the Covid virus.  It is indeed a serious threat and it most certainly can end your physical life; but the real question is not “How am I going to die, or even when,” but the most essential question is, “Will I spend eternity in hell, or will I spend it in heaven.”  Covid can kill the “body,” but God’s wrath upon sin will destroy both the “body and soul” in hell—that means eternal torment in a terrible place that never ends. 

So, WHERE will you spend eternity is a much more important question than, “Will I die from the Covid virus?”

And, Jesus is clear as to how the determination is made between whether you spend eternity in heaven or hell.  Look again at verses 32-33:  ³² “Everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. ³³ But everyone who denies me here on earth, I will also deny before my Father in heaven.

It’s not your choice how or when you will die but it is your choice as to whether you spend eternity in heaven or in hell.  It is your choice to acknowledge Jesus Christ as the Lord of your life by repenting—turning away from your sin—and devoting yourself to serving Him.  Or, it is your choice to continue in your sinful living, denying God’s rightful place in your life, and going to hell.  Many people are confused as to how simple it is to invite Jesus Christ into your life.  He said in Revelation 3:20: “Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends” (NLT).

Now, in Revelation He was actually talking to church people, in the town of Laodicea.  These were “religious people,” but they had never invited Jesus to be the Owner and Operator of their lives.  They denied Jesus access to their lives.  Their hearts were closed doors.  And the only doorknob on the door of a human heart is on the inside.  We must open that door and invite Jesus in.  That is the only way to gain heaven and escape hell.  WHERE will you spend eternity after you die?  It all depends on whether you say “yes” to Jesus and “no” to sin, or “yes” to sin and “no” to the free offer from Jesus of eternal salvation.  It’s one way or the other way.  WHERE you spend eternity is a choice that is completely in your control.  Either you OPEN the door to Jesus, or you keep Him out of your life.

Are you sure you know where you will spend eternity when you die?

THIS CRAZY, COVID CRISIS has most people asking, “Will I get the Covid virus and die.”  This one question has led to so much fear it literally shut down the entire economy of the United States and most of the world.  But, it isn’t really an important question at all.  WHO is Jesus, WHY did He have to die?  WHERE will I spend eternity after I die?  These are infinitely more important questions.

REMEMBER HOW the Quintessential Philosopher, Socrates, emphasized the importance of asking good questions?  Remember how the Venerable Sage, Confucius said that “The beginning of wisdom is to ask the right questions?”  And, even the genius scientist Einstein put a premium on asking good questions. 

Let me take just a moment to conclude my message by introducing you to another “genius.”  I’ve already mentioned Einstein.  Let me introduce you to, “Bob.”  Like Socrates, Einstein, and Confucius, Bob learned a valuable lesson about the “power of good questions.”  His name is Bob.  We all know someone like Bob.  He’s kinda’ obnoxious—a know-it-all type.  The other day Bob said, “Hey Jack!  I just found out I am actually a genius.”  I said, “Oh really?”  Bob said, “Yea, I took a simple test the other day on FaceBook and it determined my IQ is 205!”  I was really curious and said, “Well, what kind of test was it on Facebook.”  Bob replied almost ecstatic.  “It was three simple questions:  Today I scored a 175 on an IQ test with just 3 simple questions!

1. What is your credit card number
2. What is your social security number
3. Can you upload a scan of your birth certificate

Well, Bob certainly is a genius—but he is now a genius who owes $50 K on his credit card!

Getting the right answers to the wrong questions can be as big a disaster as getting the wrong answer to the right questions.  Today, we have examined three important questions, and we have discovered the correct answers to those questions.  The only thing left to consider is will you respond to what you have learned?  Will you surrender to the Lord Jesus Christ who died for your sins so you would be able to spend eternity in heaven?  It’s your choice.  Will you turn from your sins today.  Tomorrow might be too late.  Let me share a little prayer you can pray today—where ever you are.  Maybe here in our church, maybe in your home listening to this message.  But, here’s what a prayer for salvation might sound like.  The words are not important. What is important is you have a heart broken over realizing you have “sinned against Almighty God and Jesus had to die to pay the horrible penalty for your sin.”  I’ll lead you in a beautiful little prayer that, if you sincerely believe these words as you repeat them after me, you WILL be saved and you WILL spend eternity in heaven with God.

SINNER’S PRAYER:  Dear God, I know that I am a sinner and there is nothing that I can do to save myself. I confess my complete helplessness to forgive my own sin or to work my way to heaven. At this moment I trust Christ alone as the One who bore my sin when He died on the cross. I believe that He did all that will ever be necessary for me to stand in your holy presence. I thank you that Christ was raised from the dead as a guarantee of my own resurrection. As best as I can, I now transfer my trust to Him. I am grateful that He has promised to receive me despite my many sins and failures. Father, I take you at your word. I thank you that I can face death now that you are my Savior. Thank you for the assurance that you will walk with me through the deep valley. Thank you for hearing this prayer. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

If you prayed that prayer today, would you contact us at FBCTO and let us rejoice with you that no matter “how” you die, you know “where” you are going—that is, heaven.