“I was found by those who did not seek me,
“I have revealed myself to those who did not ask me” (Romans 10:20).


The 'Nampo Church 30th Anniversary Sermon Collection' is being presented with a revised text and a new cover.
In a letter to the congregation, Pastor Park Young-sun said, “As we approach the 30th anniversary of the founding of the church, I feel the weight and depth of glory that comes from participating in God’s work on all of our faces and in our lives.
“I would like to express my gratitude and hard work over the past 30 years in this book and make it our pride,” he confesses.
Through this book, he emphasizes that the God revealed in Romans is a God who is found by those who do not seek Him and who appears to those who do not ask Him.
It also emphasizes God's will and zeal for salvation, extending His hand all day long to a people who constantly reject, oppose, and betray Him.
Furthermore, the world poses no threat other than death, so we are encouraged to walk the path of faith without fear, believing in God who can turn our lives around and bring us victory.

I grew up in a conservative Presbyterian church.
Looking back, I realized that the faith I grew up in was a Reformed faith, rooted in biblical revelation and steeped in a great historically proven legacy of faith.
My theological foundation is rooted in the themes of God's absolute sovereignty and the calamity of humankind due to sin.
I owe much to Pastor Lloyd Jones for helping me understand the importance of this topic.
We can also learn from Him how narrow the Bible becomes and how confusing it can be when we approach revelation from a human perspective.

In this way, I can be said to be a descendant of the traditional Christian heritage.
It is no exaggeration to say that the faith I learned from childhood has shaped my existence and identity.
However, in the course of my religious life, I encountered a problem.
It was beginning to appear that there were aspects of the inherited faith that were realistically difficult to accept.
My concern was not that I could not agree with the legacies of faith.
I learned it well and took it to heart, but I was unable to put the faith I had learned into practice.
For example, knowing what is right and living rightly are two different things.
Even when reading Romans, I understood the gospel, but the question was always how the gospel connected to reality.
Looking back now, I realize that my concerns arose because I still didn't clearly understand the role time plays in my journey of faith.

We live in time.
Life is a process with a before and after.
So even if you know what is right, it takes time to become right.
If we fail to take this time difference into account, faith becomes reduced to a mere pretext or ethical virtue, failing to encompass life.
As I encountered Paul Achtmaier's commentary on Romans, I became more aware that faith unfolds panoramically within the context of time.
Faith is more than just memorizing and asserting, it is something we confirm with our lives.
It is a concrete truth that we live and experience in time and space.
The religious heritage we have received was also created over time.
In reality, experiences accumulate and become traditions, forming a history that cannot be ignored.

Romans explains salvation and calls for a life of faith.
These are not two separate topics, but one coherent, continuous stream.
So, Christian ethics is not something that just occupies a part of life, like some cause or virtue.
It is the honor of living a saved life.
The life of a believer is not about external evidence to be shown to others or a task to be performed competently.
It is the greatness granted to the saints, enjoyed in the ongoing reality of life.
It is also a blessed invitation for us to experience what Jesus has accomplished.

Life is painful because the circumstances of life always go against the text, Jesus, and threaten to make us believe in him.
But any painful reality of life makes the text even more brilliant.
In any context, Jesus comes and shows us deep grace.
Knowing this, the believer's life can transcend anger, resentment, and pride, and finally become one of gratitude and praise.
Can you believe it?
Now let's check it out together.
January 2015
Park Young-sun

---From the "Preface"