Reconciled to God

May 19, 2024 Background Scripture: Romans 5: 1 - 1 1 Lesson Passage: Romans 5:1 - 11 Reconciliation is a response to an out of order situation. The objective of reconciliation is to restore a previous condition. In fact, it is difficult to appreciate reconciliation without understanding the previous situation. In the beginning, God created mankind to fulfill two requirements. Man was created in the image of God and according to God's likeness. Man was the part of the physical creation that was to reflect the image and likeness of God. Before the creation of man, God looked at the physical creation and said it was good. However, God did not see in the physical creation a reflection of Himself. Reflecting God was man's role. God is holy and the only way to reflect an image of God is with holiness. Therefore, mankind was created in holiness to fulfill his role. God is in His very essence a free moral agent. For man to be a free moral agent, he must have the power of decision. Adam was given one major decision he could make, and he was told what the right decision was, Adam chose to do the opposite and it became a sin for him. Holiness departed from Adam when sin entered him. Sin passed from Adam to all who are born into this world of man and woman. Many are unaware of the absence of holiness in mankind because it is the norm for us. God reveals to us what holiness is through His word. Sin in our flesh rebels against the commandments of God. Indeed, if there were no commandments from God, we would not know what sin is. God's anger will be directed towards all unholiness and unrighteousness. It is God's patience that has held back this gruesome punishment which will last throughout eternity. The solution to mankind's hopeless situation is to be reconciled with God. However, there is no way for man to reconcile his sin with holiness. Jesus was born into the world in holiness and lived as such. He was delivered to the executioners as a sacrifice for our sin. He became sin on Calvary's cross that sin might be judged and condemned by God in Him. It was the judgment of sin in Jesus that God makes available for us that we might be reconciled with Him. God raised Jesus from the dead on the third day for our justification. In Jesus Christ we become holy. There is no more separation between God and us in Jesus. God's wrath is satisfied because our sin has been forgiven in Jesus. It was the great benevolent love of God that made Jesus available as the savior for sinful mankind, In Jesus Christ, we are reconciled with God. When God places us in Jesus, then we receive the righteousness that is in Him. It is the righteousness of Jesus Christ that reconciles us with God's holiness. The Lesson Passage is a summary statement concerning justification by faith. After carefully considering Abraham's example, Paul then applied the same principle across all who are saved through faith in Jesus. Such salvation makes available three things. First, God's wrath is satisfied therefore we have peace with Godi Because of reconciliation, we are no longer God's enemy. Secondly, we have access to God's grace in which we are kept by God. We are immersed in the unmerited favor of God. Finally, we have the hope of God's glory in us. Because of the promises of God, we will one day experience and share in His glory throughout eternity. When we were without hope and destined for eternal damnation, God sent Jesus to die a sinner's death for us. In Jesus, we have the capacity to submit to God, to be led by God, and to be in right standing with God. None of this is of ourselves. It is the grace of God that has saved us from our hopeless situation and made us partakers of His righteousness. God was in Jesus reconciling the world to Himself. Robert C. Hudson May 11, 2024

Justified by Faith

May 5, 2024 Background Scripture: Romans 3 - 30 Lesson Passage: Romans 3:21 - 30 Today's lesson focuses on the Apostle Paul's brilliant presentation of a Christian's moral and legal standing before God. To reach the conclusion that is presented in the Lesson Passage, Paul began by writing about the wrath of God against all unrighteousness and unholiness in people. As divine creator and Lord of everything, God is the only judge of the entire universe. Spiritually speaking, the Jews viewed people as partitioned into two groups. The first group consisted of Jews and non-Jews who adhered to the Law of God that was given to the Jews through Moses. The second group consisted of Gentiles, or non-Jews and non-adherents to the Law. The Jewish people received the oracles of God through Moses before they were an independent nation. Their covenant relationship with God began with Abraham and passed down through Isaac and Jacob. The Jewish nation was composed of the descendants of the twelve sons of Jacob, who was renamed Israel by God. The Jews were given the written Law of God. The Law gave them an understanding of God's holiness and expectations of mankind. God's law described holiness in terms of human behavior. In addition to describing God's holiness, the Law was like a spiritual mirror for mankind. It shows our spiritual shortcomings without fixing them. Many Jews attempted to become holy by trying to live according to the precepts found in the Law, On the other hand, the Gentiles, according to Paul's observation, knew about God through observing nature and the natural order of things. Nature reflects a powerful and intelligent designer/creator. The universe could never have developed its perfect order and balance absent an intelligent creator. In other words, they knew God exists because of the things that are. Therefore, both groups were aware of God and His holiness. Their awareness of God did not make anyone holy, Jews nor Gentiles. Attempting to live by the precepts of the Law of God did not make anyone holy. People continued to be born and live in this world in sin. Sin as an affront to the holiness of God. Paul argued that this has been understood by all people throughout time. God revealed His divine wrath against all people because of human ungodliness and unrighteousness. As a result of God's wrath, humanity was condemned to be destroyed by God so that only holiness will exist throughout eternity. The Jews were condemned because the Law reveals their unholiness, but it provides nothing to take it away from them. The Gentiles were condemned because they knew of God's wrath but continued to live in ungodliness. God provided the solution to humanity's dilemma by sending One who could fulfill the righteous requirements of the Law for everyone. Jesus is the person God sent to bring deliverance to all who will accept Him by faith. Jesus was born under the Law but without sin. He lived a perfect life according to the Law. He fulfilled the righteousness of God by living a sinless life. Jesus' life on earth reflected the holiness God expected to see in mankind. Man was created in God's image and according to God's likeness. Man was to be a physical reflection of a holy and invisible God. God's reflection in man was marred after Adam sinned. Jesus, the second Adam, was born without sin and demonstrated holy living before God. Jesus' life Satisfied God's desire for holiness in mankind. God makes Jesus' holiness available to all who accept Jesus as their savior by faith. Once a person accepts Jesus as their savior, that person's faith is counted as righteousness by God. As a result, they are seen as justified by God from the punishment of eternal damnation. There is no other offering for sin that provides that for mankind. Justification is by faith alone. Robert C. Hudson April 20, 2024

Faith of a Canaanite

April 28, 2024 Background Scripture: Matthew 15:21 - 28 Lesson Passage: Matthew 15:21 - 28 Our Lesson Passage describes an incident that occurred during the time when Jesus' ministry in Galilee was growing rapidly. Large crowds quickly gathered when they learned of His whereabouts. They brought the sick from throughout the area to be healed by Him. Matthew and Mark record that as many as touched the hem of His garment were healed. During that same time, Jesus was constantly confronted and challenged by the Jewish religious leaders concerning His personal claims and teachings. They even complained about His disciples not washing their hands before eating. In what appears to be an effort to leave the area and get some physical rest, Jesus and His disciples went to the Phoenician coast away from Galilee. The Gospel recorded by Mark states that He did not want it to be known that He was in Phoenicia, so He entered a house. However, even in Phoenicia His reputation preceded Him, and some residents were aware that He was there in the house. A Gentile woman came to Him and begged Him that He might cast a demonic spirit out of her daughter. Although the woman is identified as a Gentile, she addressed Him using the Jewish messianic title, Son of David. It is worth noting that many of the Jews He encountered were not addressing Jesus as such. Many Jews believed Jesus was a prophet sent by God because of the miracles. However, not many acknowledged that they believed He was Israel's promised Messiah. That makes the title the Gentile woman used to address Jesus even stranger. How would she have known about a promised Jewish Messiah? Despite her reference to Him as Messiah, Jesus ignored her. His disciples asked Him to send the woman away because she agitated them by following and begging Jesus. (I always chuckle when I read this passage of scripture. The disciples were following Jesus and yet they were agitated that this Gentile woman began to follow Him.) Jesus rebuked her by stating that His ministry was first and foremost to the Jews. He said it was not right to give what was intended for the Jews to the Gentiles. Jesus used the analogy of taking the children's food and throwing it to the dogs. The woman, using Jesus' analogy, said that even little dogs under the table eat crumbs that are being dropped by the children. Her response to Jesus is unmistakable. She was not there to take away the blessings God was sending the Jews. The Jews were being blessed to overflow, and she wanted some of the overflow that was not important to them. Now, that's faith! In fact, Jesus said the woman had great faith. As a result of her faith, He said she was granted the petition she desired. When she returned home, she found her daughter healed. How did she know Jesus was descended through the lineage of King David? How did she know the significance of that? Being a prophet of God does not require one to be a descendant of David. Somehow, she knew things about Jesus that were beyond the miracles. Apparently, she was aware of what Jesus was teaching the multitudes. Even the disciples who followed Jesus daily didn't understand He was the Messiah until after His resurrection. The scriptures teach that faith comes from hearing the word of God. Somehow, this Canaanite woman heard the word of God that Jesus taught the multitudes and believed. When she came to Him begging for relief for her daughter, she was acting on what she already believed. Her actions revealed her faith. Because she asked the Lord in faith, she received the petition she desired. Robert C. Hudson April 17, 2024

Faith of an Anointer

April 21, 2024 Background Scripture: Luke 7:36 - 50 Lesson Passage: Luke 7:36 - 39, 44 - 50 The custom for diners in first century Palestine was to lean in towards the table with their feet protruding outward. Most travel was on foot and footwear, if worn, was not enclosed. Guests would arrive at a host's house with dusty or dirty feet. Leaning in towards the table made it convenient for a household servant to wash the feet of the host's guests as they reclined at the table. Jesus was reclining at the table as a guest in the home of a Pharisee named Simon in today's lesson. The central figure in the lesson is a woman of that city who was known as a sinner. The Bible does not specify what her sin was, but apparently, she had a reputation because of her sin. As Jesus' reputation as a prophet spread, people began to seek Him for their needs. This woman heard that Jesus was a guest at Simon's house, and she went there and stood behind Jesus. She cried and her tears fell on His feet. She dried His feet with her hair and then poured an expensive perfume on Jesus' feet and kissed them. Jesus was silent. Simon questioned Jesus' authenticity as a prophet because He did not react or respond in the manner the Pharisee thought was appropriate to a sinful woman touching Him. What did it say about Jesus for Him to let such a person touch Him? And this was all happening in public! Although Simon's thoughts were not openly expressed, yet Jesus addressed Simon with a short parable concerning his thoughts. The parable presented a situation where two individuals would show gratitude because of having their debts forgiven. Jesus compared Simon's lack of common hospitality for his guests to the woman's actions. A good host would have had a household servant to wash the feet of his guests and to pour oil on their heads. Simon had provided neither. Meanwhile, the woman had washed Jesus' feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. Then she had poured expensive perfume on His feet. She did not do it as a household servant but as a worshiper of Jesus. Despite her reputation as a sinner in that city, she came to a Pharisee's house and publicly worshiped Jesus. Few of us go through life with others knowing about our sins. Our sins are private indiscretions between God and us. We acknowledge that we are sinners, but we don't confess all our sins publicly. Jesus did not tell the woman that her "sin" was forgiven as though she only had one. He said that her "sins" were forgiven. Jesus had explained to Simon that just as the woman's sins were many, so too was there an abundance of love shown by her. Perhaps Simon didn't have as much to repent of as the woman. But neither did he show the abundance of love towards Jesus that the woman had shown. Jesus explained her actions by alluding to her faith. She believed in Jesus as a Servant of God. She believed that Jesus was worthy of an extravagant personal and public worship. Just as her sins were publicly known, so too would be her worship of Jesus. The fact that she brought the flask of fragrant oil with her when she knew that Jesus was at Simon's house suggests that she came there to worship and anoint Jesus. We don't know if she came seeking forgiveness of her sins. It requires a different kind of faith to worship Jesus without knowing whether one's sins will be forgiven or not. That degree of worship is because Jesus is deserving of it whether we receive anything from Him or not. Sometimes public worship is difficult even when our sins are not public. But to worship publicly with the reputation of a sinner requires a special faith. This was the faith of an anointer. Robert C. Hudson April 6, 2024

Faith of a Centurion

April 14, 2024 Background Scripture: Luke 7: 1 -10 Lesson Passage: Luke 7:1 -10 "Say the word, and my servant will be healed." That was a centurion's request of Jesus. A centurion was a military leader for the Roman Empire. The title, or position, suggests he was a leader over a squadron of one hundred soldiers. A centurion is the focus of our lesson scripture. His reputation, as described in the Lesson Passage, suggests that he was what we today would refer to as a "people person". Although he had a large squadron and was the top security officer in the area, he had won the respect of the local Jewish community for his humanitarian work. It was reported to Jesus that this centurion had built a synagogue for the Jews. Respecting a person's religious beliefs and practices by providing a meeting place for them is a notable act of charity. But we also see his compassion for a servant of his who has fallen ill. Jesus' reputation as a healer had spread such that even Gentiles were aware of it. Upon hearing that a Jewish prophet named Jesus was healing the sick, the centurion sent a delegation of Jewish elders to find Jesus and beg Him to come and heal his servant. When the elders came to Jesus, their respect for the centurion showed in that they begged Jesus to come and heal the servant. They told Jesus that the centurion was worthy of the request because of the kindness he had shown to the local Jewish community. In the words of the elders, the centurion "loves our nation". Jesus agreed to follow them to the centurion's house. As they approached, the centurion sent some friends to ask Jesus not to come under his roof because he did not see himself as worthy of such a visit. Perhaps the Jews taught him that it was not lawful for a Jew to enter a Gentile's house. So, he sent this request to Jesus, "Say the word, and my servant will be healed." He explained his request as a person with authority over others. As a person of authority, he could give orders to others to go or to come, and they would comply because of his position of authority. The centurion expected Jesus' words to be obedient to Him. Jesus did not have to go or to come because His words would do that for Him. Jesus was amazed at the centurion's analysis of His divine power over words. That centurion believed Jesus could do whatever He wanted to do simply by speaking it into existence. I don't know if it was divine revelation or he had been taught this by the Jews, but his statements were theologically sound! God said, "I watch over My word to perform it." God also said, "I will send My word and it will accomplish what I sent it to do. It will not return to Me void." The centurion did not feel worthy of Jesus' presence in his house. He just wanted Jesus to demonstrate the power of healing by speaking the word from a distance. Jesus said He had not seen this type of faith among the Jews—yet they were the recipients of the word of God that declared God's power over His words. Jesus responded to the centurion's faith by healing his servant without entering the house. Today, we have the entire Bible. It is filled with God's words and His promises. We have it because God has sent His word into this world for us. The word of God is not to replace God's presence but rather to draw us nearer to Him. Spiritual growth begins when we understand that God's word is filled with promise and power. We embrace it by heeding it and living according to the precepts and promises of it. If God said it, we embrace it because His word will not return to Him without accomplishing what He sent it to do. Robert C. Hudson 4, 2024

The Resurrection: Key to Faith

March 31, 2024 Background Scripture: Mark 16 Lesson Passage: Mark 16:1 - 8 In my opinion, there is nothing that sets Judaism and Christianity apart from other religions that compares to bodily resurrection. Believing in being raised to life with a physical body absolutely depends on faith in the word of God. This is a long-held belief in Judaism as can be attested by the statement made by Job during the time of the patriarchs. Job said, "For I know my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand at last on the earth; and after my skin is destroyed, this I know, that in my flesh I shall see God, Whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another." After Jesus' resurrection, Paul stated it differently, "For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life." We yearn for life that does not fade away. Doctors, specialists, and medications are indications of a physical life that is fading. Part of God's promise is an eternal body that is made to last without fading. There are other religious faiths that believe that people will live eternally as disembodied spirits. Resurrection is not needed for a disembodied spirit. I believe the spirit in people is an eternal spirit; otherwise, there would be no eternal punishment in the Lake of Fire for an unrepentant person. If that is not the case, then the old saying is true, "When you're dead you're gone!" However, Jesus demonstrated in two situations the absurdity of that thought. First, Jesus demonstrated resurrection power when He called Lazarus from the grave. Note, this was not like the other cases where Jesus raised the dead back to life. The widow's son in Nain and Jairus' daughter are two such cases. Both had apparently died just prior to Jesus raising them. Lazarus ' situation was totally different. Jesus waited until four days after Lazarus' death to raise him. In the ninety-six hours that transpired, Lazarus' body would have begun the process of decomposition. That's why those standing outside the tomb complained when Jesus said remove the stone. They said his body would be stinking by that time that's one of the signs of decomposition! The process of decomposition had to be reversed in Lazarus' body for life to be viable in it. This was one of the reasons the people celebrated Jesus on Palm Sunday. Because of that miracle, many of the people had confidence in Jesus' power as a prophet of God, But what happens when the prophet dies? Who will raise him back to life? Jesus declared that He had the power to lay His life down and the power to pick it up again. This was based on His declaration that He is the Son of the living God. If eyewitnesses in Bethany could believe in Jesus as a prophet of God because of Lazarus' resurrection, then I absolutely confess my faith in Him because He raised Himself from the dead. The resurrection is a key to my Christian faith. I expect to live in a glorified body in the presence of God throughout eternity. Christianity is not about living a "good life" in this world which is itself fading away. The gospel message declares the fact of Jesus' bodily resurrection and His promise to likewise raise those who believe in Him. A person must open their heart and believe the report of the eyewitnesses who saw the risen Jesus to be saved. After that, being saved becomes a reality and the recognition of God's presence is sometimes overwhelming. If one is saved, it is because you believe in the bodily resurrection of Jesus from the tomb on the third day after He died for your sins. Robert C. Hudson March 23, 2024