Justice and Obedience

December 5, 2021 Background Scripture: Deuteronomy 5; 10; 27; 28:1 - 2 Lesson Passage: Deuteronomy 5: 1b - 3; 10:12, 13; 27:1 - 10 Deuteronomy means "second Law". The Book of Deuteronomy is not an additional law, but rather a repeat of the Law given to the people of Israel almost forty years earlier at Mt. Sinai. In essence, it was the second giving of the Law. God gave the Law to Moses for Israel not long after He had delivered Israel out of Egyptian bondage. It was not just a list of "do's" and "don'ts" concerning the expected behavior of people who have been delivered by God. The Law defined righteousness—or what it means to live in right standing with God. Put another way, the Law describes holiness as a state of being, or character. The Law allows us to understand some aspects of God's character that we would otherwise not know. In addition to helping us understand some aspects of God's character, the Law also allow us to understand much about the fallen state of humanity. Mankind was created in a state of holiness, in the image and likeness of God. After receiving the Law at Mt. Sinai, Israel spent forty years in the wilderness complaining and falling short of the righteousness of the Law. The Law allowed them to gauge their own spirituality. They made it clear on numerous occasions they did not trust God to look out for their best interest. As a result of them not trusting God, God allowed a generation to perish in the wilderness. All the adults who came out of Egypt, except two, died in the wilderness prior to going in to take possession of Canaan. Even Moses was not allowed to go into Canaan. While camped on the east bank of the Jordon River, Moses was preparing the new generation of adults to go into Canaan. If they were going to be successful, they needed to understand what God expected of them. This could not be done without sharing the elements of the Law with them. Moses instructed them to set up two things after they entered Canaan. They were to erect an altar and offer burnt offerings to God. And they were to whitewash large stones and write all the words of the Law on them. The righteousness that God defined in the Law would be on display on Mt. Ebal in Canaan as a reminder to them. Moses charged Israel to live to serve and please God. If they would commit to live in accordance with God's instructions, and to rejoice before God, God promised that blessings would overtake them. Literally, they would not be able to get out of the way of blessings from God. The Law God provided for Israel, was guaranteed to transform them into unique people in the world if they obeyed the instructions. They would become God's peculiar treasure. Not only would the Law transform the people of God to be in right standing with God, obedience to the Law would also make them collectively a just society. Laws transform societies only when people obey the laws. All persons within the society must be obedient to the laws or justice will not prevail. The first generation of adults in Israel who died in the wilderness did not live in obedience to the Law. To make matters worse, they exhibited an open distrust of God. Therefore, Moses warned their children against repeating the errors of their parents. Their parents' faithlessness caused them to not be allowed to enter Canaan. It takes faith for one to believe that God's instructions are for his good. Without faith in God, they would not embrace God's instructions. The Law shows the fallen nature of mankind. It does not correct it. But with the knowledge of the Law and faith in God, they would establish a just society and their hearts would be predisposed towards obedience to God. Robert C. Hudson November 11, 2021

Good News for All

November 28, 2021 Background Scripture: Acts 10:34 —47 Lesson Passage: Acts 10:34 —47 I believe it is a rare opportunity when one can declare that something is good news for everybody. Over the years, people have recorded songs to remind us that "somebody's gotta win and somebody's gotta lose". To a large extent, many people adopted that as the norm. We live in a society where there seems to be opposition to everything that is proposed. This is not a new phenomenon. In today's text, Peter preaches an unlikely sermon to an unlikely group in an unlikely place. Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, took great pride in his Jewish heritage. Peter's pride caused him to maintain social separation from non-Jews, or Gentiles. As a devout Christian, Peter might have felt justified in doing so since Jesus was a Jew. All of that changed when God sent Peter to the home of a Gentile— Peter even told the Gentiles at the house that it was not lawful for him to be in their house; more on that later, Peter took his separation from Gentiles very seriously. Yet, Peter acknowledged that God told him to go to the house and to not consider anyone common or unclean. Meanwhile, God had sent a messenger to Cornelius to tell him to summon Peter to his house. This is another example of God being in total control of the circumstances. (We should remember this when we pray. Not only does God's hand guide us, but He also guide others who we interact with—or avoid interacting with.) The divinely arranged meeting in Cornelius' house was not going to be a one-on-one meeting. Cornelius had invited his relatives and close friends to join him for the meeting, When Peter observed the crowd in the house, he reminded them that Jews were not supposed to socialize with non-Jews. Peter acknowledged that God had rebuked him for his self-righteous attitude; so, he came to the house without objection. The question Peter asked was, "Why have you sent for me?" Cornelius shared the testimony of his encounter with an angel God sent to him as he was fasting and praying. The angel told Cornelius to send for Peter and he would speak to him. Therefore, Cornelius gathered his family and friends together to hear what God would say to them through Peter. Peter summarized for them the person, ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Peter also told them that the apostles of Jesus were witnesses of what happened and had eaten and drank with Jesus after his resurrection from the dead. The good news: Jesus sent them to preach to people and declare that Jesus is the one who will judge the living and the dead. And whoever believes in Jesus will receive remission of sins. Before Peter could finish talking, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard Peter and they spoke with tongues and glorified God. Peter and the Jews who traveled to the house with him were astounded that God had poured out the gift of the Holy Spirit on the Gentiles. Peter declared that they should receive water baptism to acknowledge that God had saved them from their sins. They baptized them in the name of the Lord Jesus as new converts into the Christian faith. Many people today, like Peter and the Christian Jews then, relish being part of something exclusive. We like being part of a select group that's set apart from the masses. True evangelism never seeks to maintain this status, but rather to constantly reach others for Christ. We, like Christians of the first century, have been given a mission to carry the gospel to the ends of the earth so that all people will have the opportunity for the remission of their sins. And that's good news for all! Robert C. Hudson October 27, 2021