On January 10, 2021, the second Sunday of the new year, a sermon was given in Shanghai on the topic of the "basic necessities of life" for Christians.
Pastor Shen Dong of Fitch Memorial Church took clothing as the main concern of the sermon that day as people's basic necessities also includes food, housing, and transportation.
He said that important to everyone, basic necessities of life were not the whole of our life, but the basic needs of our life.
Most of one's life is spent in it, but from the perspective of the Christian faith, each of these has multiple meanings, the pastor added.
Quoting the words of Galatians 3:27, Pastor Shen said, the meaning of clothing is not only the cloth usually worn by the believer but also refers to the inner life of the believer
“To explore the origin of clothes and why people wear clothes, you have to go back to the beginning of mankind, that is, the garden of Eden created by God,” the pastor shared.
He stated that at the beginning of the creation, God made man naked, and the husband and wife were not ashamed. But from Genesis 3, the man committed a sin, generating a sense of shame to cover himself. Because of sin, the weather became cold, so he had to weave clothes to keep warm. Because of sin, the man was afraid to see God's face and had to hide himself. After the sin, he had three changes: shame, covering, and hiding. And then the man used fig leaves to weave clothes and wear himself.
The pastor mentioned, “This passage is often called a prophecy, which indicates the eternal covering of Jesus' blood.” The clothes woven from fig leaves are worn out easily. Similarly, the clothes people wear today would also wear out one day. There was no way to complete what people make despite that people always wanted to make up for their sins through their own efforts. However, it did not help, only the blood of Jesus Christ can cover the sins.
Reverend Shen continued, "For everyone, clothes are also a symbol of a person, this is especially true from the perspective of the inner life of believers. In addition to the daily clothes in the world of faith, we also wear the clothes given by God - Jesus Christ. This dress is not just what we call an invisible sign, but a life commensurate with the grace of the call."
The pastor added that those who believe and are baptized wear the clothes God gave them. They symbolize the changes in a person's identity and status, according to Colossians 3:9-10. This also changes your status from servant to son of God.
He said, “But today, many people don't want to take off their old clothes and just want to put on new ones, and this is not good... Old clothes will not just refer to our bad habits, they may also refer to our hobbies.”
The pastor gave a personal testimony of getting rid of a hobby. Shen used to be so crazy about playing chess that he would study chess with books or play chess self versus self. Regarding it as his hobby, he thought that it did not affect others or harm society. However, he gradually found that this hobby had occupied him too much time after becoming a Christian. The hobby had influenced his relationship with God because he spent most of his time playing chess, eventually, he gave it up.
The pastor encouraged the congregation, “God has given us new clothes today. Don't wear one inside and another outside, it would be good to take off your old clothes and be crucified with Christ .”
- Translated by Joy Zhang
上海基督教鸿德堂主日证道：基督徒的衣食住行---衣2021年1月10日，新年的第二个主日礼拜，上海基督教鸿德堂沈东牧师以“基督徒的衣食住行——之衣”为题证道。
衣食住行对于每一个人来说都很重要，它不是我们生活的全部，却是我们生活的基本需求，人一生大部分时间都是在这里面度过。但从信仰的视角来看，这每一个都有多层含义。
引用加拉太书3章27节，沈牧师说道，其衣，不仅是指信徒平时所穿的衣服，也指信徒的内在生命。“你们受洗归入基督的都是披戴基督了。”（加3：27）
“探讨衣服的来源以及人为何要穿衣服，就要回到人类伊始，也就是起初上帝创造伊甸园的时候，”牧者分享。
上帝起初创造人是赤身露体，夫妻二人也并不觉得羞耻。但从创世记3章这段经文的记载可知，因为人犯了罪，有了羞耻感，为自己遮盖；因为犯罪，天起了凉风而编制衣服保暖；因为犯罪，怕见神的面隐藏起来。人在犯罪后有了羞耻、遮盖、躲藏这三方面的变化，人就用无花果树的叶子编织成衣服穿了起来。
讲到这里牧者提到：“这段经文常被称为预言之语，预表耶稣宝血永久的遮盖。”无花果树叶子所编制的衣服很容易坏掉，又会显露出来，同样今天世人所穿的衣服也终究会有破碎的一天，人所制作的没有办法得以完全。人在犯罪后总想通过自己的努力来弥补，但都无济于事，唯有耶稣基督的宝血才可以遮盖。
沈牧师继续说：对每个人来说衣服也是一个人的标志，从信徒内在生命来看更是如此。信徒除了日常所穿的衣服，在信仰的世界里也穿着上帝所赐给的衣服——披戴耶稣基督，这衣服不只是我们所说的无形的标志而是要有与蒙召的恩相称的生活。
牧师补充道，信而受洗的人穿的是上帝赐给的新衣，这象征着一个人身份和地位的改变，因此在穿上新衣前要先脱去旧人的衣服（歌罗西书3：9-·0），从为仆身份变成了神儿子的身份。“但是今天有很多人不愿意脱去这旧衣就想直接穿上新衣，这是不行的。旧的衣服不仅仅是指我们那些错误的行为习惯，可能也有我们的兴趣爱好。”
者在这里举了一个亲身经历。牧师曾经对下棋非常痴迷，他会拿着书专研，自己与自己对下也会隔空下棋，他觉得这只是他的兴趣爱好，没有影响他人，也没有危害社会。但信仰后他渐渐发现这个兴趣爱好占据了他太多的时间，已经影响了他与神建立关系，因为他把大部分时间都放在了下棋上，因此他戒掉了棋瘾。
最后牧者劝勉信徒“今天上帝已经给我们新的衣服了，不要在里面穿一个外面再套一个，要脱去旧有的衣服与基督同钉十架。”
上海基督教鸿德堂主日证道: 基督徒的衣食住行--- 衣
On January 10, 2021, the second Sunday of the new year, a sermon was given in Shanghai on the topic of the "basic necessities of life" for Christians.
Pastor Shen Dong of Fitch Memorial Church took clothing as the main concern of the sermon that day as people's basic necessities also includes food, housing, and transportation.
He said that important to everyone, basic necessities of life were not the whole of our life, but the basic needs of our life.
Most of one's life is spent in it, but from the perspective of the Christian faith, each of these has multiple meanings, the pastor added.
Quoting the words of Galatians 3:27, Pastor Shen said, the meaning of clothing is not only the cloth usually worn by the believer but also refers to the inner life of the believer
“To explore the origin of clothes and why people wear clothes, you have to go back to the beginning of mankind, that is, the garden of Eden created by God,” the pastor shared.
He stated that at the beginning of the creation, God made man naked, and the husband and wife were not ashamed. But from Genesis 3, the man committed a sin, generating a sense of shame to cover himself. Because of sin, the weather became cold, so he had to weave clothes to keep warm. Because of sin, the man was afraid to see God's face and had to hide himself. After the sin, he had three changes: shame, covering, and hiding. And then the man used fig leaves to weave clothes and wear himself.
The pastor mentioned, “This passage is often called a prophecy, which indicates the eternal covering of Jesus' blood.” The clothes woven from fig leaves are worn out easily. Similarly, the clothes people wear today would also wear out one day. There was no way to complete what people make despite that people always wanted to make up for their sins through their own efforts. However, it did not help, only the blood of Jesus Christ can cover the sins.
Reverend Shen continued, "For everyone, clothes are also a symbol of a person, this is especially true from the perspective of the inner life of believers. In addition to the daily clothes in the world of faith, we also wear the clothes given by God - Jesus Christ. This dress is not just what we call an invisible sign, but a life commensurate with the grace of the call."
The pastor added that those who believe and are baptized wear the clothes God gave them. They symbolize the changes in a person's identity and status, according to Colossians 3:9-10. This also changes your status from servant to son of God.
He said, “But today, many people don't want to take off their old clothes and just want to put on new ones, and this is not good... Old clothes will not just refer to our bad habits, they may also refer to our hobbies.”
The pastor gave a personal testimony of getting rid of a hobby. Shen used to be so crazy about playing chess that he would study chess with books or play chess self versus self. Regarding it as his hobby, he thought that it did not affect others or harm society. However, he gradually found that this hobby had occupied him too much time after becoming a Christian. The hobby had influenced his relationship with God because he spent most of his time playing chess, eventually, he gave it up.
The pastor encouraged the congregation, “God has given us new clothes today. Don't wear one inside and another outside, it would be good to take off your old clothes and be crucified with Christ .”
- Translated by Joy Zhang
Sunday Sermon: Christians Should Take off Old Clothes, Wear New Clothes of Jesus Christ
