Focused Solely on Christ

February 3, 2013 Background Scripture: Colossians 1 Lesson Passage: Colossians 1:12 – 23 Religious opinion can be a dangerous philosophy when placed in the hands of someone who desires to teach. Teachers can always find a group willing to absorb nonsense when it differs from accepted doctrine. Isn’t accepted doctrine also just a religious opinion? It’s not quite the same. Accepted doctrine has stood the test of time and has been confirmed over and over many times through signs and wonders and answered prayers. Accepted doctrine also has been tested against the entirety of the Holy writ and found to be sound and in accordance with all revealed scripture. If this is true then why do religious opinions keep popping up all over the place? People have itching ears and they are constantly seeking to be a part of some great learning experience that sets them apart from others. When religious opinions outside of accepted dogma begin to raid the ranks of established congregations then heresy is in full bloom. Unfortunately, this has been the case since the inception of the first century church. All biblical authors of the New Testament epistles addressed heresy in one form or another. This seems to be the central theme or topic of Paul’s letter to the church at Colosse. Historical evidence from the early church supports the belief that Paul was not the one who founded or organized the Colossian church. Rather, it was a disciple or convert of Paul’s by the name of Epaphras—who he mentions in this letter. Since much of what Epaphras taught would have been secondhand, it is possible that this provided an opportunity for heresy to creep into that congregation. This can also lead teachers to limit their teaching to their own personal experience as though it were the entirety of the revealed truth in the word of God. It is a dangerous position to take to assume something is not true simply because one has not experienced it for himself. The greatest heresy is to teach Christians that Jesus is not all-sufficient. This type of teaching is still prevalent today. There are some that will tell you today that you must believe in Jesus and confess him as your Lord and Savior as a first step. But then they will go on to suggest that something else must be done if one is to be saved. Some may suggest that you are only saved if you have been given the gift of speaking in tongues. Others will insist that you cannot be saved without water baptism. Of course, both of these heresies are refuted quite clearly in the New Testament scriptures although the proponents of these heresies never seem to refer to those scriptures when they are defending their doctrinal position. In no other writing outside of the Colossian letter does Paul so clearly denounce such heresy. He reminded the Colossians that “For it pleased the Father that in him (that is in Jesus) should all fullness dwell.” To be full is to suggest that there is no room for anything else. Salvation is solely the work of God through Jesus Christ. Salvation is received when the believer puts all of his faith (or trust) in the “finished” works of Jesus on Calvary. No other works on the part of sinful mankind can add or subtract from God’s plan of salvation. What a saved person does will either help or hinder their spiritual growth in grace. Our salvation is attained, assured, and secured solely by Jesus Christ. As far as salvation is concerned, our focus should be solely on Christ. Robert C. Hudson January 23, 2013

Standing Firm in Christ

January 27, 2013 Background Scripture: Philippians 3:12 – 4:1 Lesson Passage: Philippians 3:12 – 4:1 Children of God are always confronted with choices. We must choose God’s way or our own way. Adam was given this choice in the Garden of Eden in the beginning. Abel, Enoch, Noah, and Abraham all had to choose between God’s way and their own. Anyone who has been called of God to do something on His behalf has many choices to make along the way. Jacob, Joseph, Moses, and Joshua all had choices to make. One of the most often quoted passages of scripture come from the text where an aging Joshua challenged the nation of Israel after they had come into Canaan to choose between God and the idols their ancestors once worshiped. Taking a stand for right is not new for God’s children. In fact, it is part of our new way of life. It is never one choice and then all is well. You take a stand and overcome one obstacle and it seems as if you are immediately confronted with another choice that has to be made. What complicates this even more is that it appears to be a choice that goes against what we really deep down inside would rather do—or in some cases, rather not do. Nevertheless, we must choose and stand firm on our decision. Christians are continuously being challenged to make a choice. We can choose to stand firm on our commitment to be Christians or we can take a stand with those who are not Christians. This is not a one-time decision as far as sanctification is concerned. We must constantly affirm our position through our daily walk. Our behavior from day to day is a reflection of the choices we make. Satan will attack us from every conceivable angle. He will entice us with the desires of our fleshly minds. He will threaten us with the insecurities of our hearts. He will attempt to shame us with the failures of our past. Satan’s attack is relentless. He never appears to grow tired although we sometimes wonder if we are going to be able to stand up after we are knocked down again. Paul reminds the Christians at Philippi that standing firm is an indicator of our spiritual maturity (or perfection as used by the King James Version of the bible). We are not to act as if we have overcome all obstacles and now we live life on cruise control. None of us have arrived yet. We still have many struggles in this life. Paul suggested that we focus our energy on working towards goals in our future and not to be entangled with worrying about the past. Paul makes this statement after boasting about his own pedigree as a Jewish leader. No amount of glorying about our past will help us to stand firm today or move us closer to our goal for the future. Wallowing in sorrow about yesterday’s disappointments and failures will not help us either. Both personal praise and pity parties are ineffective when it comes to preparing us for the future. If we are going to move forward, then we must let go of the past with its triumphs and defeats. We must depend on God to lead us forward. He often does so by giving us role models to model the things that He commands of us. We must believe that our future reward is worth the rigors of today’s labor. We must see that the hope that God places before us is greater than anything that is behind us. Robert C. Hudson January 14, 2013

Knowing Jesus Christ

January 20, 2013 Background Scripture: Philippians 3:1 – 11 Lesson Passage: Philippians 3:1 – 11 How awkward it is to be thoroughly known by someone you are meeting for the very first time. You feel disadvantaged when they state how much they have heard about you and yet you have never heard about them. After the normal cordial exchanges, then the next order of business is to get to know something about this person you have just met. Why were they so interested in knowing about you? Why did they bother to remember what someone else might have said about you? And most importantly, HOW MUCH DID THEY REALLY HEAR ABOUT YOU??? These one-sided encounters can become quite uncomfortable. All who come to know Christ are confronted with exactly this type of encounter. We discover that Jesus knows EVERYTHING about us and we are just learning a few basic things about him. In fact, most of what we know about Jesus comprises the lyrics of children’s songs used during Sunday School and Bible Class. (There is that awkward moment again.) Yet those who know him far better than we do assure us that Jesus knows all about us—and still he loves us! It is being convinced of his love that prompts us to take up the next order of business; how do I come to know more about him? What kind of person is this that knows everything about us and loves us anyway? What kind of person would graciously help us in our time of need while knowing that we will soon forget about it and ignore him later on? When we hear about his great deeds, we try to imagine being around for those encounters that others testify about. What did the fish and bread really taste like? Did it taste funny and was it the best they had ever had—like the wine at the wedding in Cana of Galilee? Note that all of these questions put us in a position of observation rather than in a close intimate encounter. Jesus does not beckon us to come and watch him. He does not call for spectators but disciples who will learn of him and follow him. To follow him involve walking where and as he walked and doing what he did. We are not required to figure this out. Jesus wants us to come to know him in such a close way that he can speak to us and direct our actions. How do we know when Jesus is speaking to us? We can only know that after we come to know him. Afterwards, we will readily recognize him not by the sound of his voice but by what he says. When we know Jesus, we know when he is speaking by the content of what is being said. This means that I will need to know something about his mind and his heart. This cannot be learned from a spectator’s position. I must spend some time alone with him. I must talk to him and also listen and hear his response to me. If I am to know him, then we must talk about more than just church. We need to have a sincere talk about life and, whether I like it or not, death. I need to share with him my insecurities about my mortality and ignorance of eternal life. I need to listen so he can give me assurance and tell me about things that are beyond my finding out on my own; such as death, resurrection, and eternal life. What is my greatest insecurity in life? Is it death? Well, Jesus died and rose again to live forever. If death is conquered, then what is there in life to fear? Oh! That I might know him, and the power of his resurrection… Robert C. Hudson January 3, 2013

Imitating Christ

January 13, 2013 Background Scripture: Philippians 2 Lesson Passage: Philippians 2:1 – 13 I am convinced that there are only a few originals in the world today. It seems as though everything and everybody are clones or copies of others. Even knock-off brands often outsell the originals. People remind us of other people. They sound like, walk like, or act like someone else. If you come up with a great theory, you are not unique. You are just “another” Einstein. If you create unique music, then you are another Beethoven. This all reminds me of a very old movie called “Imitation of Life”. Although this can seem disheartening, yet it can also be encouraging. It was great growing up with four older brothers and what seemed to be an endless supply of older cousins. I could imitate their success and avoid their failures fairly risk free. Imagine having the perfect role model to imitate so that every step you take and every decision you make will always be the right ones. This would take a lot of confusion and guess work out of life. This is precisely what the Apostle Paul urged the Christians at Philippi to consider. The perfect role model that Paul suggested was Christ Jesus. Jesus’ example showed exactly how to have a perfect relationship with God. He demonstrated the disposition that was needed to come into right relationship with God, i.e., a disposition of humility. In fact, Paul challenged the believers to consider Jesus’ thinking pattern or mindset. God did not humble Jesus but rather Jesus humbled himself. The result of his self-imposed humility was subsequent exaltation by God. Jesus did not apply for a higher position than the one he already had. Instead, he abased himself rather than fight to maintain his previous status. Jesus put himself at God’s disposal for God to work through him however He chose to. Jesus paid an enormous price for his obedience. He submitted himself to the most humiliating death known to man at that time. Although Jesus is the author of life, he submitted himself to crucifixion that the judgment of God against humanity could be satisfied. In return, God exalted him high above everything and gave him a name that has unsurpassed power. Every creature whether of the earth or heaven will submit to the name of Jesus and pay homage to him. No one else will ever achieve such a thing but there is still the opportunity to be the best we can in this life and be rewarded throughout eternity in the life to come. To receive this, we have to have the mind of Christ and clothe ourselves in humility and submit to the Lordship of Christ. This is more than studying his example and trying to retrace all of his steps. We are to submit to the will of God and allow God to direct our steps in all that we do. The mind of Christ will cause us to seek to have God be glorified in our lives through submission to His will and following His directions. Like Jesus, we need to develop a continuous relationship with God and be ever listening to His voice. Then we will say as Jesus said, My Father works and therefore I do too. Robert C. Hudson December 27, 2012