Faith That Escapes Corruption

November 24, 2019 Background Scripture: 2 Peter 1 Lesson Passage: 2 Peter 1:1 – 15 Peter’s second letter differs markedly from his first; starting with the intended recipients. Whereas in the first letter Peter addressed the believers who were dispersed, in the second letter he addressed all who have obtained the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ. It is easy to conclude that the first letter was addressed primarily to the Jewish believers who were dispersed from Jerusalem because of the persecution that came against the Jerusalem church. Likewise, it seems clear that the second letter is intended for all believers in Jesus Christ, Jews and Gentiles. God had brought Peter to the point of accepting everyone that He would save by sending him to the home of a Gentile believer, Cornelious. Until this encounter, Peter was steadfast in his view that the world was divided into two groups: Jews and everybody else. Likewise, his behavior, as recorded in scriptures, suggests that he felt that Jews were above all other people. As it is with us, quite often, so it was with Peter that one occasion was not enough to completely convince him to change his mind about something he believed. After the visit to Cornelious house, Peter was still trying to satisfy the Jewish believers by separating from the Gentile believers in Antioch. God rebuked Peter through Paul for that incident. The salutation of this letter is a clear indicator that this was no longer an issue for Peter at the time he wrote this letter. At that time, Peter openly embraced all believers in Jesus Christ and recognized that our salvation is a common salvation to all believers. It is this common salvation that is our assurance that we will be made partakers of the divine nature. This is the promise God makes to all believers in Christ. The world is filled with corruption as a result of the presence of sin and the lustful desires of the flesh. As long as we are in the world, we are either caught up in the corruption of it or constantly fighting to overcome it. Through faith, we know that the promises of God will all come to fruition. As the song goes, “Trouble don’t last always”. We thank God that this life is temporary and that eternal life will be lived with the divine nature where the lust of the flesh will no longer exist. In the meantime, we should continue to grow in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. This will allow us to gain self-control and perseverance that lead to brotherly kindness and love. With these attributes, Christians can live a victorious life in this world in spite of the corruption that is all around us. This growth towards Christian maturity is based on the faith we have in the precious promises of God. In essence, our walk in this world should be a foretaste of the life to come when we are made partakers of Christ’s divine nature. Our faith will give us the strength to overcome the challenges we will face. When Christians become entangled in the cares of this world, it causes us to stumble in our walk. We cannot stumble and be fruitful at the same time. Our increasing knowledge of Jesus Christ should help us be fruitful servants of God while living here. Peter sent this as a reminder to believers to encourage the recipients of the letter as well as others. This encouragement was intended to extend even beyond Peter’s death. Looking at this letter today is a reminder that Peter’s encouragement to Christians has continued for almost two thousand years after his death. Robert C. Hudson October 30, 2019

Faith That Is Focused

November 17, 2019 Background Scripture: Galatians 5:22, 23; 1 Peter 1 Lesson Passage: 1 Peter 1:13 – 25 Our lesson passage begins with the preposition “therefore”. Because of this, we understand that our lesson passage is a conclusion drawn from the evidence of the background scripture that precede the lesson passage. In the background scripture, Peter addressed this letter to the believers who had been scattered. This is descriptive of the Jewish believers who were scattered as a result of the persecution of the church that was in Jerusalem. They were pilgrims because they were away from their homeland. Peter reminded them that their salvation was according to God’s foreknowledge, and therefore, they were the elect of God. The finished work of faith that God had wrought in and through Jesus Christ was the foundation of their salvation. Their salvation was not to be seen as a present or temporary status, but rather as an eternal inheritance in Christ. God had previously given His plan of salvation through the Old Testament prophets who gave explicit details about the suffering savior. The angels desired to know what God was going to do about the spiritual condition of mankind. The first-century apostles, who laid the foundation of the church, were eyewitnesses of the unfolding revelation of God’s plan. It was through their proclamation of this “good news” of God’s salvation that so many first century saints came to receive Jesus as their personal savior. It was because of this that Peter exhorted the recipients of his letter to be vigilant in their spiritual walk in this world. They were admonished to be holy in their living rather than imitating others who had not received Christ as savior. The assurance of their salvation should rest totally on the grace of God. The salvation God offers can only be received as an unmerited gift from God. In essence, there is nothing anyone can do to earn God's salvation or become deserving of it. We must simply trust God—which is to say, we must focus our faith in God and God alone. Our lives should reflect our faith in God. As we understand more and more about our eternal salvation in Christ, then we should all begin to see ourselves as pilgrims in this world. We have not been saved so that we can enjoy the sins of the world. We should no longer live life as though this temporary life is all there is. God has revealed to us the hope that is to come because of Jesus’ sacrificial death and resurrection from the grave. The sufferings of this world are all temporary. Christians are admonished to show fervent love for fellow Christians. With all that Christians endure in this life, being assembled with fellow Christians should be a time of great joy because of the common faith. No one is perfect, but Christians do share a common faith and that should cause us to care about each other differently. This message would have come across totally different to the recipients of Peter’s letter. They were dispersed because of an unrelenting persecution against the church. Christians only experience this in isolated situations around the world today. Today, we sometimes appear to embrace ecumenical fellowship just as much—if not more than Christian fellowship. This was not the case for the first century saints. They understood that Christianity was the exclusive way to salvation. Perhaps if our faith was similarly focused, then evangelism would never be seen as an option—especially for our family and friends. Robert C. Hudson October 30, 2019

Faith That Sets an Example

November 10, 2019 Background Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 1:2 – 10 Lesson Passage: 1 Thessalonians 1:2 – 10 Paul arrived at Thessalonica after he was officially asked to leave Philippi during his second missionary journey. Luke recorded in the book of Acts that Paul met with a group in the synagogue there for three sabbaths. During those three weeks, Paul preached and taught from the scriptures (Old Testament of the bible) the truths concerning the Messiah of Israel coming into the world as a suffering savior rather than a military hero as many expected. Luke recorded that many of the Jews believed as well as many of the Grecians. The unbelieving Jews sought to take Paul and his companions by force but did not find them but apprehended one of the local converts and brought him before the city officials on the charge of inciting a rebellion against the Roman Empire. Once again, Paul and his traveling companions were forced to leave the city where he had been making strides in the ministry. However, their departure did not extinguish the spark that had been ignited by the reception of the gospel by the gentiles of Thessalonica. The faith of these new converts continued to grow even after Paul’s departure. It was to this group that Paul sent two letters. In his first letter, Paul acknowledged their faith in the saving power of Jesus Christ and their strong belief in Jesus’ imminent return. They were not idly sitting around waiting for the return of Christ. They were actively engaged in the work, labor, and ministry of the word of God, as it pertained to their faith. The strategic location of Thessalonica as a port city on a busy trade and travel route caused the activity of this group of Christians to become known well beyond that region as travelers would carry their testimony forward. Paul was greatly encouraged as he heard about the continued spiritual growth of the Thessalonians. Whenever God allows our faith to be tested publicly, it becomes more than just a testimony for us. Our tested faith will become an example for others. This was the case for the congregation of saints in Thessalonica. Paul applauded them in his letter for their example that was being spoken of in many places beyond Macedonia and Achaia. Paul referred to their work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope that was in, or through, Jesus Christ. Because of it, Paul prayed for them. As one who planted churches, Paul had a tremendous burden of hope. In many cases, he could not remain with them or the persecution against him would possibly imperil the infant congregation. Therefore, Paul depended on God to sustain the churches. The Thessalonians had been witnesses of God’s movement among them through the power of the preached gospel. The Holy Spirit had given them assurance and joy in spite of the afflictions that some of them suffered. This example of their faith in God could not be contained locally, but resounded throughout the region and beyond. This encouraged others who had not known them personally. This was important for the New Testament church whose foundation was still being laid through the work of the apostles in the first century. Paul was an important part of that work and the Thessalonians had become a true victory for him in his work. The Thessalonian example showed the power of the preached gospel to turn the hearts of people from the worship of idols to the worship of the true and living God. The movement of God in Thessalonica was so powerful that not even afflictions could stop it. No doubt, that congregation was viewed by many as heroes of the faith. However, their joy would have been in knowing that the person of the Holy Spirit was with them as they endured persecution. Robert C. Hudson October 11, 2019

Faith That Is Tested

November 3, 2019 Background Scripture: 2 Corinthians 13:1 – 11 Lesson Passage: 2 Corinthians 13:1 – 11 Someone once opined, A faith that has not been tested is a faith that cannot be trusted. I don’t know if that is true or not. But what I do know is, once you have been through a trying situation, one in which you had to depend on God, you learn something about yourself and what true faith in God is all about. I am convinced that God can always be trusted—with small things and large ones. However, I am also convinced that as human beings, we like to use our brain to solve our own problems. Even when we know that we are not well-informed about a specific situation, we would rather “figure it out” than depend on God for help. That is what I believe is in mind when the scriptures speak of “boastings of the flesh”. We put too much confidence in ourselves. Human flesh seeks to live by its own moral code in opposition to the just laws of God. In today’s lesson, Paul challenged the Corinthian congregation to examine themselves to be sure they were living in faith rather than ignoring Christ in them. Paul stated clearly that he was addressing the issue of some of them living in sin and yet professing to be believers in Christ. He also acknowledged that some of them considered him to be weak because of how he presented himself to them in the past. The proof of Paul’s strength would be seen through Christ speaking to them through him. Paul would seek to justify himself to them in no other way than to allow Christ to speak through him. The real question was not his strength or weakness but whether Christ was truly in them. To this, Paul stated that they would have to examine themselves for the answer. The only proof that a person has been qualified for eternal life is the indwelling spirit of Christ in them. His prayer for them was that they would live lives of righteousness. Even if Paul appeared to some of them to not be approved by God, he did not want that to hinder them. They should live honorable lives in spite of how he appeared to them. Paul found joy in seeing their spiritual growth even if he appeared to be weak to them. Paul wanted his ministry to be one that built up rather than rebuked them. Paul had been entrusted with great power as an Apostle of Jesus Christ. He did not want that authority to be used in a negative way because of the stubbornness of some of them. Apostles were given authority that would cause heaven to honor their decisions. If an apostle remitted people’s sins, then heaven accepted it. If an apostle caused people to be judged for their sins, then heaven would honor that. Paul was clear that he would rather humble himself than cause a person to suffer. He was seeking their spiritual growth, which would lead to spiritual maturity in them. The end being singleness of mind within the congregation, lives of peace, and the continuous presence of God with them. This passage of scripture should challenge believers today. Are we living lives today that exhibit faith towards God? Or, are we simply going through the motions and not growing spiritually at all? Are congregations today moving towards singleness of mind and lives of peace? Depending on how we answer these questions, it may be time to examine ourselves—individually. Has your faith been tested lately? Robert C. Hudson October 11, 2019