Faith in Jesus

December 3, 2017 Background Scripture: Acts 3 Lesson Passage: Acts 3:11 – 21 There is power in the name of Jesus. Today, that statement has been used so casually that hearers may well assume that it hardly has real meaning any more. I believe it is a good thing that the Jews reverence God so highly that they dare not mention His name. Christians should be so careful. Instead of being careful, we throw around the name of Jesus haphazardly as a general expression or a sigh of frustration. When the first century apostles used the name of Jesus, they saw miraculous results ensue. They were witnesses of the bodily resurrection of Jesus from among the dead. Because of this, they did not doubt that every word Jesus spoke to them prior to his death were words of God. Jesus’ resurrection from among the dead gave them assurance that every other promise he made to them would be fulfilled. It was with this living faith that Peter and John went about their accustomed ritual of going into the temple at the hour of prayer. At the gate where they were about to enter sat a man who had been a paraplegic from birth. He was brought to the gate of the temple daily to beg for handouts. It could be that the three times the Jews went up to the temple to pray that this was the gate Peter and John would have normally entered. Whether this was the gate they normally entered or not, things were about to change for this man on this occasion. Peter—no doubt prompted by the Holy Spirit—offered this man something superior to a handout. Peter offered this man healing in the name of Jesus. Through faith, this man accepted the offer and immediately began to walk, leap, and praise God. Toddlers stumble around for months before they learn how to walk steadily and then progress to jumping or leaping. God healed this man so thoroughly that he began to walk and leap immediately although he had never walked in his life. Praising God was a natural response to the supernatural healing. This man’s actions, and perhaps praises, inside the temple drew the attention of many. They recognized that he was the paralyzed beggar they had seen daily begging outside the temple. The crowd quickly grew seeking to understand what had taken place that would have caused this. Peter, recognizing the crowd’s response, provided the much needed and desired explanation. This man was not standing there because of Peter’s ability or power. Neither was it the result of Peter’s holiness. Faith in the name of Jesus to give healing power led to the healing. This was the same Jesus who had been ill-treated just a few days earlier by a Jewish crowd and their leaders. Peter acknowledged that the crowd had mistreated Jesus out of ignorance but God was willing to forgive them if they would repent and turn to Him and accept Jesus as their savior. Faith in the name of Jesus had brought healing to the paraplegic. Faith in the saving power of Jesus brings salvation. Robert C. Hudson November 3, 2017

Remembering the Covenant

November 26, 2017 Background Scripture: 1 Corinthians 11; Jude 3 Lesson Passage: 1 Corinthians 11:23 – 34 The Lord’s Supper observance is a time of remembrance to reflect on and celebrate the New Covenant that was put into effect and secured by Jesus’ death. Great care should be taken to ensure that all who participate in this observance do so with biblical understanding so as to not offend God. This sacred ritual should never be taken lightly. The New Covenant is a one-sided arrangement that is of great value to its beneficiaries. All of the provisions for the covenant have been provided by God. The beneficiaries have only to receive the benefits as a gift from God. Christians are the beneficiaries of the New Covenant. Some of the members of the church at Corinth were guilty of abuse and misuse of the celebration of the covenant. The Lord established this ritual using the simple elements of unleavened bread and wine—which he also referred to as the fruit of the vine. Rather than accept the simple elements described by the Lord for celebrating, some of them were bringing what in essence were potluck meals to the assembly. To this was added the transgression of eating in the presence of the poor who had nothing. People who have been welcomed into the New Covenant are undergoing a change of heart and should exhibit benevolence towards those who are lacking. They also went beyond the observance as a solemn assembly and made it a party for satisfying the desires of their flesh. Many of them drank wine to the point of inebriation. This was not a celebration of the New Covenant as they advertised but was rather a flesh-gratifying behavior that showed no respect or regard for the New Covenant. Their behavior prompted the Apostle Paul’s rebuke of them. It should be noted that some churches reportedly engaged in fellowship meals that came to be known as “Love Feasts” without intending for those meals to represent the Lord’s Supper observance as the Corinthians were apparently attempting to do. But apparently some “Love Feasts” had moved beyond a sincere fellowship where all shared everything to a selfish display of piety. This feast started in the Jerusalem church where all members shared everything in common and no one owned anything individually. This made sense for a group that was expecting Jesus to return for them within their lifetime. As local churches began to develop outside of Jerusalem, Judea, and Palestine, those local churches struggled to define themselves as a body of believers. All were expected to observe the ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Autonomous congregations made it tempting for the groups to not adhere to the apostles’ doctrine. False teachers became prevalent and the local churches began to stray from the apostolic teachings that established them. Even today, local churches have many practices that are preferences of those congregations. However, as Paul instructed the church at Corinth, how we observe the Lord’s Supper is not left up to local preferences. Jesus gave the instructions for that observance and those instructions have been preserved and passed on by the apostles so that local churches need not error concerning this ordinance. Jesus taught that baptism is a ritual that the church should continue to practice and he also instructed his followers to observe the Lord’s Supper until he returns for his church. We should reverently remember the covenant. Robert C. Hudson October 26, 2017