Living in Faith

March 24, 2024 Background Scripture: Acts 6 Lesson Passage: Acts 6:7 - 15 Growth is often accompanied by unforeseen challenges. Oftentimes it has been stated, "If only I knew from the start what I know now, I might have stayed where I was at." Growth can be wonderful, but it has its challenges! Chapter six of the Book of Acts twice describes the Jerusalem congregation of Christians as multiplying. It is fitting that the first real challenge for the congregation came from within. All the original Christian disciples were converts from Judaism. Among which were residents of Palestine and residents of the Grecian nations. Diversity also kindles challenges within a group. When the Hellenists (Grecian Jews) began to complain about the Palestinians, the apostles stepped in to resolve the dispute. The problem involved using the congregation's treasury to take care of the needs of the members. The apostles' solution was to identify Grecian Jews to take responsibility to oversee the physical needs of the entire congregation. This can be seen by noting the Grecian names of the seven men chosen by the congregation for this work. One of the seven, Stephen, quickly outgrew his assignment. The remainder of the chapter is about Stephen's evangelistic ministry. God used him to work miracles in the presence of others. Adherents of the Law confronted Stephen to prevent his ministry from prospering. Stephen was treated in much the same way the religious leaders of the Jews had treated Jesus during His ministry. First, they confronted him with religious arguments. When that didn't stop him, they encouraged others to tell lies about his ministry. The lies were enough to get Stephen arrested by the Jewish authority. However, Stephen's appearance before the Jewish council reflected the aura of a righteous person. Bear in mind that Stephen did nothing wrong—certainly nothing that would have warranted his arrest and trial! This all happened because Stephen was a man of good reputation who was full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom. These qualifications were given at the beginning of the chapter and used by the congregation to identify Stephen and the other six men. His persecution came because he chose to live as a person of faith. Living the faith of Jesus Christ causes a person's light to shine. The forces of darkness strive to eliminate light by using persecution. Much has changed in the approximately two millennia since the days of Stephen and the first Christian congregation. What does it mean to live in faith today? The phrase "living in faith" is seen very differently today. Rarely are righteous people persecuted for their righteousness today. We are more likely to think about "name it and claim it" as living by faith than we are to think of persecution. Christians are more likely today to be harassed by other Christians concerning their church attendance than to be persecuted by other religious faiths for their evangelism, Today, we are free to advertise publicly who we are without fear of retribution or persecution. Christians who made their religious faith known in the first century did so to their own peril. Today, we are free to advertise and recruit others to join us, and yet we don't feel compelled to do so. The Jerusalem congregation clearly expected Jesus to return in their lifetime. As a result, they followed Jesus' teaching to make disciples even in the face of danger. To them, it was a divine mandate. After two millennia, Jesus has not returned, and the local church sees weekly attendance as more a mandate than making disciples. Weekly attendance does not threaten the forces of darkness. If making disciples for Christ were seen as a divine mandate by the local church today, then living in faith would likely cause persecution. What does "living in faith" mean to you today? Robert C. Hudson March 18, 2024

Testing Our Faith

March 10, 2024 Background Scripture: 2 Corinthians 13: 1 - 11 Lesson Passage: 2 Corinthians 13:5 - 11 As a student, I hated tests in all forms: quizzes, exams, midterms, finals, etc. Somehow tests appeared to be judgmental from my perspective as a student. I can be okay with "thinking" I have learned a lot. Tests, on the other hand, can show me that I have not learned enough to move beyond this series of lessons, or lectures! However, my perspective about tests is different as an Instructor. As an instructor, I love all forms of tests. From an instructor' s perspective, tests are a means to evaluate the effectiveness of our teaching. If many of the students do poorly on a test, perhaps the instructor did not convey the information effectively. Tests are a means to evaluate healthy growth in a learning environment. Tests can be healthy for both instructors and students. Likewise, spiritual tests have very targeted objectives that are uniquely beneficial to children of God. But we should remember that God is omniscient. There is no information that God is not fully aware of before, during, or after the spiritual tests of a person. The potential for growth is only available for the student who is tested spiritually. In today's Lesson Passage, Paul encouraged the Christians at Corinth to grade their own paper. He admonished them to examine, or test, themselves. He did so because some in that congregation questioned his calling as an apostle of Jesus Christ. This lesson's passage was indeed a sharp rebuke of their criticism of him, Paul suggested they first check to be sure Jesus had saved them before they seek to judge whether Jesus had called him as an apostle. If they did find they had the faith of Jesus Christ in them, that faith is proof of Paul' s ministry among them. If they were born again, it was the result of Paul's evangelistic ministry among them—they were begotten again through Paul's preaching of the gospel. A true assessment of themselves would show plainly if they were of the faith of Jesus Christ or not. Eternal salvation is too important for a person not to be certain about their spiritual status. It can be easy to be religious and claim such religion to be a manifestation of one's faith. Evil actions are not of God. Contrariwise, the Spirit of Christ within a person will cause that person to live honorably. No person is in a better position to judge this than the individual. There are benefits to grading one's own paper. The word of God speaks of the trying of one's faith as giving birth to patience. Patience will lead to spiritual maturity. Christian character that exhibits patience engenders hope in the believer. Hope sustains us through the trials of life. In other words, the testing of our faith produces Christian character that is prepared to endure anything. So, why did Paul write about this subject of testing one's faith? Simply put, some of the members of the Corinthian congregation were behaving as though they were not saved. Schisms, or cliques, had formed in the congregation. Again, some even questioned Paul's authenticity as an apostle of Jesus Christ. Paul had contacted them twice prior to this letter. Each time Paul offered spiritual guidance to correct wayward behavior within the congregation, and to help the congregation grow spiritually. They continued to encounter difficulty because of their lack of spiritual maturity. They could not achieve being of one mind with worldly behavior. As the apostle sent by Jesus to win them to eternal life, Paul had the difficult task of teaching them so they could mature spiritually. An important aspect of Paul's teaching was for them to learn the discipline of testing their own faith. When we feel the urge to criticize another's ministry, that may be a cue that it is time to grade our own paper! Robert C. Hudson February 23, 2024