Faithful During Distress

September 1, 2019 Background Scripture: Genesis 18:16 – 19:29 Lesson Passage: Genesis 19:1, 4, 5, 15 – 26, 29 During this next series of studies, our focus shifts from covenants to matters of faithfulness. If nothing else, the faithfulness of Christians should speak to our steadfastness during changing times and circumstances. Perhaps there’s no better place to start such a series than to look at Abraham, the father of the faithful. Abraham had many stressful events to unfold in his life according to the biblical record. Today’s lesson text presents one of those events. Abraham was warned by the Lord of the impending destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah because of the rampant immorality that was practiced there. Part of the distress for Abraham was the fact that his nephew, Lot, was a prominent resident of Sodom at the time. God is sovereign and omnipotent and has the right to destroy whatever He chooses whenever He chooses to do it. Abraham believed that there were righteous people living among the wicked. Abraham asked whether the Judge of the whole earth would destroy righteous people along with wicked people. To do that would count the righteous people as wicked. The Lord said that He would not destroy Sodom if He found fifty righteous people living there. Abraham suggested that the number of righteous people that should warrant a reprieve from the Lord should be less than fifty. Therefore, Abraham besought the Lord with a petition that the Lord would spare those places for the sake of the righteous who lived there—not just his nephew. The Lord told Abraham that if He found ten righteous persons living in Sodom, He would not destroy it for their sake. In the language of the Old Testament, then the Lord departed from the presence of Abraham. The Lord knew that there were not ten righteous people living in Sodom, but He would deliver Abraham’s nephew and family from the place before the destruction. Therefore, the Lord sent two angels to Sodom to bring Abraham’s nephew, Lot, and Lot’s family out of Sodom before the destruction commenced. This answered Abraham’s concern that only wicked people living in Sodom be destroyed and the righteous delivered or spared destruction. Divine justice ensued but the family of faithful Abraham was mercifully delivered out of Sodom. One would think that relocating the righteous in the face of impending doom would have been fairly simple. However, the angels had to grab Lot, his wife, and their daughters by their hands and pull them out of Sodom. The Lord’s mercy is sometimes shown when He literally drags the unwilling away from imminent disaster. We often speak of Lot as being blessed by association. Abraham’s relationship with the Lord had provided many divine benefits to him and his family. Lot was the recipient of many of those blessings. Today’s lesson is an example of it. Because of Abraham’s faith, Lot and his family were pulled from Sodom before the destruction of the city began. The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah still stands as a solemn warning that God’s mercy is great but His judgment is also sure to come. Such disasters will cause a lot of distress in the lives of those who are affected either directly or indirectly. Abraham was safe but his nephew, Lot, was in harm’s way. Abraham’s faithfulness to God became Lot’s salvation at a time of distress for Lot. Robert C. Hudson August 12, 2019

A Covenant of Love

August 25, 2019 Background Scripture: Ephesians 5:21 – 6:4 Lesson Passage: Ephesians 5:21 - 33 In the background scripture of today’s lesson, Paul gave a brief list of some characteristics of the relationship that should exist among Christians. Paul started the list by reminding the saints at Ephesus that their salvation is also a call for them to live out their lives according to the desires of God. Since Christ died for us, then we should live for him. The world is evil, but God has empowered Christians to live righteously in an evil world. Christ has broken the power of sin in the life of Christians. Therefore, how we live is a choice for Christians. Furthermore, how we interact with other Christians should be typical of actions befitting children of the same heavenly Father. Praising and worshiping God together should become part of our pattern of behavior. Put another way, Christians should seek opportunities to pray and worship God together. We are even told that we should not forsake assembling ourselves together. Beyond the assembly of Christians, we should accommodate each other by living in submission to each other. Paul’s instructions are definitely congruent with the teachings of Jesus. Jesus admonished his disciples to love one another. He went on to tell them that their love for each other would be the sign to all men that they were his disciples. These instructions would not be necessary if we naturally did these things. The truth is, we don’t do these things naturally. Therefore, we are instructed as to what it means to live as a community of believers in the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. I am reminded of a lesson I learned years ago in a secular career. Throughout the years, I have shared it with many others. The lesson was, “In this world, all we ever have to work with are real people. And each of us has flaws.” That simple lesson is sometimes extremely difficult to apply. Too often we focus on people’s imperfections and inconsistencies rather than on their strengths and personal support of our endeavors. Today’s lesson is a reminder that we should see the interactions between Christians as synonymous with the New Covenant. If we can understand and aspire to this within a local church congregation, then certainly this behavior should be no less within a Christian family. A wife who recognizes her independence in Christ should voluntarily submit to her husband as an act of obedience to God. A husband, likewise, should give sacrificially to support the welfare of his wife. Paul explained that marriage was patterned after the relationship between Christ and the church. The wife’s role is comparable to that of the church and the husband’s role is comparable to that of Christ. Christ voluntarily sacrificed himself for the church. He died a sinner’s death to pay the price for the sins of the church. He intercedes continuously in prayer for the church and continuously washes her with his word. He does this so that he can present the church as a perfect gift to himself. The church voluntarily submits to the Lordship of Christ, and over time allows herself to be conformed to the image of Christ. This is the divine description of love. Christians are united in a covenant of love. Robert C. Hudson July 31, 2019