Practicing Justice

August 26, 2018 Background Scripture: Ephesians 4:25 – 5:2; Colossians 3:1 – 17 Lesson Passage: Colossians 3:5 – 17 “Dead man walking!” is an expression that was made popular by the movie of the same name. The expression is a description of a prisoner on “death row” who knows that there is an imminent date/time when the state will execute him for the crimes for which he has been convicted. The expression describes what is to soon be the actual state of the person. They are alive at the time of the expression, but there is an imminent execution. Christians, on the other hand, have already died “in Christ” on Calvary. We truly fit the description “Dead man walking!” By faith, we reckon that Christ’s death for sin on Calvary was in our stead. Therefore, we died with him. Just as Christ was raised to life on the third day, we are to walk in the newness of life in him. It is this “new” life that we are to understand and endeavor to live out according to the will of God. It may seem strange that a letter was written to a church admonishing Christians to stop lying, live honestly, keep their tempers in check, stop stealing, and start working to earn an honest living, watch how they talk to people, and start forgiving people. This is by no means an exhaustive list but there should be enough on the list to get the point across. The point is to not allow the lifestyle they lived before they accepted Jesus as their Savior to contaminate the new life they received in him. The list answers the question “How should the new life be lived qualitatively to please God?” This is not the same as a “thou shall” and “thou shall not” list of commandments. Rather, this is an explanation of the difference between the life the person lived before being saved and the expectation of the new life the person has received in Christ. This is akin to preparing a person to spend some time in a foreign country. There is usually a briefing that covers some everyday customs of the foreign society—including what is considered acts of courtesy versus what may be perceived as rude behavior. It is important for the person to understand that what they are accustomed to at home is not the same as what they are about to experience in another society. This is not to just “fit in” with that society, such as, “When in Rome, do as the Romans.” But it is to allow persons to present themselves as model citizens in a foreign society as an expression of goodwill on behalf of their society. Christians are citizens of Heaven. We should represent Heaven while we are here in this world. We should be model citizens in this world because of the society we represent. This behavior displays the characteristics of our calling in everyday living. That brings us back to forgiveness. Christians should be examples of compassion and peace. There is perhaps no better display of that than in acts of forgiveness. Our forgiveness should be a natural outgrowth from the forgiveness we have received from God in Christ. Christian forgiveness is a way of passing on the blessing we have received from God. We can only be saved because God forgives us for our sin as we put our trust in Jesus’ sacrifice in our stead. We cannot earn the forgiveness of God, and neither can we repay God for forgiving us. We cannot thank Christ enough to make up for his sacrifice. We can, however, pass the blessing of forgiveness on to others. Robert C. Hudson August 8, 2018

Loving and Just Behavior

August 19, 2018 Background Scripture: Romans 12:9 – 21 Lesson Passage: Romans 12:9 – 21 Our salvation in Christ affects our relationship with others both in the church family and those who are without. Certainly, the relationship with those in the church family is the first priority. Christians are to show preference for each other. We are to exhibit brotherly love. Our business dealings with each other should always be tempered by our mutual love for Christ. We are admonished to freely give in support of the needy among us. Beyond that, our hospitality should be indicative of a benevolent love for strangers in need. We should show empathy and sympathy to others—rejoicing with those who are rejoicing and mourning with those in mourning. We should set the example in our interactions with our fellow man. If their actions are evil, we are to counter those actions by showing honest behavior. We should not be peace breakers. If we cannot live in peace with or around others, it should never be because of us. Getting even is not an option for Christians seeing that God is the avenger for His children. The Bible teaches us that God is always aware of what’s going on with us and He will not allow us to be burdened by more than we are able to bear. We are to walk in love so that others who are living in darkness can see the light of Jesus Christ in us. Our capacity to do good should always overshadow others’ capacity to do evil. Our greatest tool for evangelism, other than the aid of the Holy Ghost, may very well be the righteous example we set in the midst of ungodly people. Just as a tree is known by the fruit it produces, Christians are also known by the spiritual fruit we produce in the midst of others. Our actions should exhibit a model of patience, kindness, gentleness, faith, and benevolent love towards others—regardless of their disposition or attitude. Our success is not measured by the reactions of others toward us but by how close we come to emulating Jesus in all situations. All that has been said can be great when witnessed by others, but it can seem miles away from the thoughts, attitudes, and feelings we have when faced with the reality of difficult people and situations. None of us are saved into the spiritually mature person that has been described in these notes. We are saved and given the capacity to grow into such a person in Christ. Spiritual growth begins with the renewal of our minds. It behooves us to renew our minds so that we can grow spiritually. Saturating our minds with the word of God, meditating on that word, and praying are all necessary for spiritual maturity. The Bible encourages us to grow spiritually so that we can be instruments to be used by God. No matter how much teaching we are exposed to, nothing changes until learning takes place. Quoting scriptures is not spiritual maturity if our actions don’t align with the word of God. When a person studies, assembles materials for teaching, and delivers a lesson to at least one person, teaching has taken place. The only indication that learning has taken place is behavior change. When we shall have learned the spiritual principles taught by Jesus, it will be evident in our loving and just behavior. Robert C. Hudson July 7, 2018

Giving Justly

August 12, 2018 Background Scripture: 2 Corinthians 8, 9 Lesson Passage: 2 Corinthians 8:7 – 15 The psalmist asked a pertinent question: What should a child of God give? More specifically, the question was: What shall I render unto God for all of His benefits towards me? Put another way, how do I know when I am giving justly. When we are left to our own devices, many will give the bare minimum that is required while others will give above and beyond that which is reasonable. And there are people all along the spectrum between these two extremes of people who purposely give. To be clear, our lesson today is about giving financially to support others who are struggling. Often those who don’t like to give financially like to muddy the waters by throwing in all of their time and physical help as evidence of their stewardship. But today, the lesson is about giving financially. I believe we can learn a lot about giving from the church at Corinth as we consider today’s lesson. The Corinthian church had received so much from God that the Apostle Paul could boast on how they were made to abound in everything—except in their giving. We know from Paul’s first letter to the Corinthian church that they were richly blessed with all of the spiritual gifts. Much of the first letter was devoted to instructing the Corinthians about the proper use of their manifold spiritual gifts that God had bestowed on them. Whereas today it is rare to recognize or see very many spiritual gifts in any congregation, the Corinthian church teemed with spiritual gifts such that they had to be taught the proper way to use them. What a blessing for any church to have such a distinction! Now, let’s get back to the matter of giving financially. It is clear from the lesson text that the church had pledged to give to support the relief of the Jerusalem church just as other local congregations had already done. As we know all too well, there can be a world of difference between pledging to do something and following through to give as pledged. As one elderly deacon so properly put it: “The time is over for making pledges. It is time to start writing checks!” A year had passed since the Corinthians had pledged to give but no apparent effort had been made to fulfill the pledge. Paul reminded them in a gentle way so that their response by giving would lead to their being further blessed. Paul could have demanded that they comply, but that would not have accrued to their benefit to give as a result of such apostolic demand. They needed to give willingly and cheerfully as an act of faith rather than responding to a demand. Paul previously cited the giving of the impoverished churches of Macedonia as an example for the Corinthians to consider. If others who had little could give out of their poverty, surely the Corinthians could give out of their wealth. Paul went on to cite the example of Jesus. Jesus was eternally wealthy, but he became poor to provide spiritually impoverished mankind the opportunity to become spiritually rich. Paul used the act of giving as an application of the spiritual principle that the strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak. The Corinthians were strong at that point, but it may be that the time would come when others would have to come to their rescue. In their strength, they were requested to give justly. Robert C. Hudson July 5, 2018