Month: November 2019

Today, we move to 2 Corinthians.  While we would assume the letter follows 1 Corinthians, most biblical scholars believe Paul wrote another letter to the Corinthian believers that we no longer have.  It would fit between the first and second letters.  Their reasoning is Paul seems to address matters that go beyond what we would assume from a reading of 1 Corinthians if 2 Corinthians were, indeed, the second letter.  In this “second” letter, Paul invests much time defending his apostleship and his ministry, which has come into question by the Corinthian believers.  While we often assume the first century church was purer than the church in our day, people have always been people.  The “flesh” continues to struggle with the Holy Spirit for leadership in our lives. The Corinthian believers show us even with a leader such as the Apostle Paul, we can still assume we know better than our leaders.  That ought not surprise us, because the disciples sometimes thought they knew better than Jesus, and He is God!

In 2 Corinthians 1, Paul’s salutation reminds the Corinthian believers of the hardships he has faced for the gospel, and that they have shared in his sufferings. After this “pleasant” introduction, Paul moves to engage the Corinthians over the reason he did not come to visit them as he had planned originally.  He points out his “Yes,” is not “Yes and no,” but “Yes.”  This is the same for Timothy.  This defense of himself continues as we move to chapter 2.

In 2 Corinthians 2, Paul becomes more direct in defending himself by saying he didn’t come when he planned, because he didn’t want to grieve them, or be grieved by them.  He goes on to tell the Corinthians it is time to forgive one of the brothers, because he had suffered enough.  Paul reminded them when they forgave anyone in Christ’s name, those forgiven also received Christ’s forgiveness, and the same was true when Paul forgave someone. In the closing portion of the chapter, Paul reminded the Corinthians they were the “aroma” of Christ.  This is a powerful image, and particularly so, because Paul told them that aroma was either an aroma of life or a stench of death, depending on whether the person breathing it in was following Jesus or perishing.

In 2 Corinthians 3, Paul offers a reminder he didn’t commend himself to the believers there, but his commendation is the Holy Spirit.  He also pointed out the surpassing glory of the Spirit’s presence and power.  He compares it to the glory of God demonstrated in Moses’ life when his face radiated after meeting with God.  He said the present glory would be much greater, because it comes from the power of the New Covenant, not the covenant of Moses, which had passed away.  What a crucial reminder for us.  We must always remember we live on the resurrection side of Easter.  God has done a new thing in and through Jesus.  Therefore, we must always live in that resurrection power through the Holy Spirit.

As we return to Matthew 22, Jesus tells the Parable of the Wedding Feast, followed by the religious leaders offering three “tests” to Jesus.  The chapter ends with Jesus raising a question for them about the Messiah’s relationship to King David.  In the Parable of the Wedding Feast, the master invites guests to come to his wedding, but no one will come.  The excuses offered by the invited guests are ridiculous.  In anger, the master invites those no one would expect, so his wedding party will be full. Jesus’ point is clear: Those one might expect to be part of His kingdom might not be, while many no one would expect to be there will.  The first “test” Jesus faced dealt with the relationship between our commitment to follow God and Caesar.  In that test Jesus responded we must give to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s.  This wasn’t an answer in the basic sense of the word, because it left open for all to interpret what Jesus meant.  What it did, though, was show the religious leaders, they had their hands full.

The second “test” came from the Sadducees, who didn’t believe in the resurrection.  They offered a scenario where one woman was married to eight brothers, one at a time.  Each of the brothers died, and finally the woman died.  The Sadducees’ question was, “Whose wife will she be in the resurrection, because each of the men were married to her?”  Jesus’ response clears up some matters for us.  He said the Sadducees were wrong, because in heaven we are neither married nor given in marriage but are “like” the angels.  He also reminded the Sadducees when God appeared to Moses in the burning bush, He told them, “I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,” meaning those patriarchs were alive, because God is the God of the living not the dead.

In the final “test,” Jesus was asked which commandment in the Law of Moses was greatest.  He responded quickly: to love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. This would have been expected.  Jesus added a second commandment, which He said was like the first: Love your neighbor as yourself.  This would have surprised the religious leaders, but they couldn’t argue with it.

Finally, Jesus asked the religious leaders how the Messiah could be the descendant of David, when David wrote in the Psalms that the Messiah was his Lord?  No one had an answer for the question, and the religious leaders decided not to ask Jesus any more questions.

In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul offers one of the longest and most helpful accounts of Jesus’ resurrection and its implications for us as His followers.  Paul reminds us it is the resurrection on which our faith stands.  If Jesus has been raised then He is the Son of God, and our true Savior and Lord.  If He has not risen, as Paul puts it, “We are of all people the most to be pitied.  As the chapter continues, Paul talks about how important it is for us to understand the power of the resurrection, and to live our lives in purity before the Lord.  He also tells us about the new bodies we will receive when we rise from the dead.  1 Corinthians 15 is a chapter worth reading again and again, because of the rich information, and the rich promises it provides. 

1 Corinthians 16 closes Paul’s first letter to the Corinthian believers, and Paul commends certain leaders to the Corinthians for their acceptance and for them to follow.  Paul was never a “one-man-band.”  He constantly and consistently equipped other leaders and gave them both the authority and responsibility to carry out their ministries in ways that would best advance God’s Kingdom.  It is vital for us as Jesus’ followers to follow this model of equipping leaders who will share the good news of Jesus and continue to equip leaders for the following generations.  In this way the church will grow stronger, and the Kingdom will advance.

As we return to Matthew 21, we find Jesus’ ministry coming to a climax.  He enters triumphantly into Jerusalem on what we call Palm Sunday, and the crowds praise Him.  He drives the money changers out of the Temple for making it a “den of thieves.”  Then, the religious leaders press Him wanting to know where He derives the authority to do the kinds of things He does.  Jesus turns the tables on them and asks them where John the Baptist derived His authority?  They realized if they said it was from heaven, Jesus would ask why they didn’t believe him, but if they said it was human authority the crowds would turn on them, because they thought John was a prophet.  As a result, they said, “We don’t know.” Jesus then responded, “Neither will I tell you where I derive my authority.”

The chapter closes with Jesus telling two parables, each of which points out flaws in the religious leaders.  The first was the Parable of the Two Sons.  In the parable a man had two sons, each of whom he asked to go work in the fields.  The first said he would, but then he didn’t, while the second said he wouldn’t but then he did.  Jesus asked which of the sons did their father’s will?  The reasonable answer was the second, the one who said, “No,” but then went and worked in the field.  Jesus compared the first son to the religious leaders and the second son to the tax collectors and other sinners.  In the second parable, the Parable of the Tenants, Jesus told of a landowner who rented his vineyard out to tenants.  When it came time for the harvest, the landowner sent servants to get his share of the revenues, but the tenants mistreated them, and even killed some of them.  Finally, the landowner sent his only son, thinking they would treat him well.  Instead, they killed him, thinking they would keep the proceeds for themselves with the son out of the way.  The religious leaders realized this parable was about them, they were the tenants, and Jesus was the son.  This caused them to be more eager to be rid of Him. 

[A Happy Thanksgiving to you! God’s richest blessings on your lives.]

As we turn to 1 Corinthians 12-14, we read a unit the covers many matters regarding the Holy Spirit. First in 1 Corinthians 12, Paul tells us about spiritual gifts.  He tells us each person who is part of the body of Jesus Christ (One of Paul’s favorite images for the Church!) has been given a spiritual gift or gifts for the common good.  He reminds us as a part of the body we can’t say we don’t belong because we aren’t the part we want to be.  Nor can we exclude someone else, because they aren’t the part we want them to be.  Paul reminds us as a body, when one member suffers, we all suffer.  He also reminds us when one part is honored, the whole body rejoices.  This illustration is so powerful.  While as Americans, we tend to focus on the individual, as the body of Jesus Christ, we are to focus on how we work together.  At the end of the chapter Paul tells us to seek the “greater” gifts, but then tells us he will show us a more excellent way.

That way is revealed in 1 Corinthians 13. That way is the way of love.  Paul reminds us no matter what spiritual gifts we might display in our lives, without love we are nothing.  Paul offers a beautiful description of what the love of God in Jesus Christ is and isn’t.  He closes the chapter by reminding us we don’t have the full picture now, but we must not act as children.  We must live in love as fully as we can, and when Jesus returns, we will understand the fullness of His love.

1 Corinthians 14 starts with Paul’s explanation of the importance of tongues.  Many have misunderstood the importance of tongues, some overemphasizing their use as a sign that a person is a “true” believer, while others say tongues was only for the apostolic age.  Paul makes a powerful statement by saying he wished everyone spoke in tongues as he did, and then adding, but in worship he would rather offer five intelligible words than a thousand words in tongues.  This is crucial: tongues are for the building up of the individual in his or her relationship with God, unless the message offered is interpreted and can be used to benefit the body.  As Paul concludes the chapter he talks about propriety in worship. He offers an example of how worship ought to look. One aspect of His explanation has been misinterpreted down through the centuries. In quoting what had been sent to him by the Corinthians, Paul wrote, “As in all the congregations of the saints, ³⁴women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the Law says. ³⁵If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church.1 Corinthians 14:33a-35 (NIV) Only the King James Version offers an accurate translation of the next verse. It starts, “What?” As in “Are you kidding?” As we read the remainder of the passage, Paul makes it clear what he has taught about women in worship is what needs to happen.  Back in chapter 11, Paul said women must have their heads covered in worship when they pray or prophesy.  That certainly means they were permitted to speak, so it makes no sense that most English translations leave out the “What?” that starts verse 36.  When we add it, it becomes clear Paul was not prohibiting women from speaking in worship but clearing up the Corinthians’ misunderstanding.

As we return to Matthew 20, Jesus tells the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard.  In the parable, a vineyard owner hires workers at various times throughout a day, telling the first ones he would pay them a denarius, and those whom he hired later he would pay them what was fair.  At the end of the day, he paid the workers, starting with the ones who had only worked an hour. He gave them a denarius.  When he got to the workers who had worked all day, he also paid them a denarius.  They were upset, because he was “unfair.”  The vineyard owner pointed out he was giving them what they agreed as their wage at the beginning of the day.  He added if he wanted to be generous to those who worked less, what was that to them?  The story points out that some will only serve in the Kingdom of heaven a short time, and yet will receive eternal rewards.  That is because of the generosity of our Master.

Jesus then told the disciples a third time he was going to be crucified.  This time the mother of James and John came and asked Jesus if her sons could sit at his right and left in His kingdom?  What a question!  When the rest of the disciples heard about it, they were furious.  Most likely their fury came because they hadn’t thought of asking, and because they wanted a better position.  Jesus ended the conversation by reminding them all the greatest in God’s Kingdom are those who serve the most.

The chapter ends with Jesus healing two blind men.  Jesus told the men it was their faith that healed them.  As we have noted before, sometimes Jesus heals based on the faith of those being healed, sometimes based on the faith of others, and sometimes as a gift and demonstration of His Kingdom power and authority.  Whatever the reason, His miraculous works demonstrate the reality of God’s Kingdom coming to the earth.

In 1 Corinthians 10, Paul starts by “reminding” the people from Israel’s history the great detriment of sexual immorality.  I put “reminding” in quotes, because the Corinthian believers were mainly from a pagan background.  Paul was incorporating Jewish history into their collective memories and pointing out that as in the past when God’s people had turned to sexual immorality and it ended badly, so would it in the present day.  He concluded this discussion with a reminder God always provides a way out for us when we are tempted.  Next, Paul moved on to comment on the importance of not indulging in idolatry.  He related his comments to the importance of maintaining the purity of the Lord’s Supper, and to being certain we don’t combine it with elements of idolatrous or demonic worship.  Finally, Paul reminded us that our freedoms in Jesus ought never be used to cause another believer to stumble.  Paul reminded us consistently to think of the response of our brothers and sisters to our actions.  Not that we ought to base our actions on what they think, but our actions ought not lead them away from Jesus.

As 1 Corinthians 11 begins, Paul offers a conclusion to his words in chapter 10: Follow my example as I follow the example of Christ.  What a powerful truth.  When we watch other Jesus followers, it is crucial for us to examine whether they are, indeed, following Jesus’ example.  If they are, then we are to follow them.  If they are not, then we must not follow their example.  As the chapter continues, Paul speaks about propriety in worship.  While his comments might seem strange to us, because he tells women they need to have their heads covered in worship, and when they pray and prophesy in worship.  He tells men not to cover their heads.  He then relates all that to the order of creation, and the roles of men and women.  While the details are for the culture of that time, the principle remains: When we lead in worship, we are to be prepared to honor God in what we do and how we do it.  The chapter closes with Paul’s correction of the Corinthian’s behavior in participating in the Lord’s Supper.  Their practices had been shameful.  Because the Lord’s Supper was combined with their eating a meal together, and this took place in meetings in their homes after work, some were arriving early and eating all the food and drinking all the wine, leaving the latecomers without anything.  Paul reminded the Corinthian believers their practices were dishonoring God, and when we dishonor God by eating the bread and drinking the cup in an unworthy manner, the result can be illness and even death. 

As we return to Matthew 19, the religious leaders come to Jesus and ask Him about divorce.  Jesus makes it clear divorce was not part of God’s original plan but was permitted because of human hardness of heart.  He went on to say, the only legitimate reason for divorce is adultery.  He also added, “What the Lord has joined let no one separate.  Next, Jesus had to admonish the disciples for trying to keep parents from bringing children to Him to bless them.  Finally, a rich young man comes to Jesus seeking His answer for how one obtains eternal life.  Jesus tells the man to obey the Law of Moses. The man tells Jesus he has done that since his youth.  Jesus then tells the man he lacked only one thing–he needed to go and sell everything he owned, give it to the poor, and he would have riches in heaven.  Then he could come and follow Jesus.  The man wouldn’t do it.  He went away sad, because he was extremely wealthy.  As the chapter closes Jesus uses this experience to remind the disciples the Kingdom of heaven works on different economics than the world.  When we give up worldly goods, we multiple our blessings in the Kingdom of heaven.  Only when we put God first does that happen, so the best place for us to be is in the will of God, because when we are, He promises to care for our ultimate needs. 

1 Corinthians 7 offers us the Apostle Paul’s “short course on marriage.”  His bottom line is: Jesus is coming soon, so it’s better if you don’t get married.  He then goes on to talk about those who are already married, those who are married to unbelievers, and those who aren’t married, but are going to sin if they don’t get married.  In it all, Paul tells us if we get married, we “will have trouble.”  Paul’s honesty is always apparent, but never more so than in this exposition of marriage.  Paul gets quite practical in saying a husband and wife are not to deprive each other sexually.  He says a believing husband or wife “sanctifies” their children.  He concludes by once again reminding us that being unmarried assures of having more time and energy to focus on serving Jesus.

In 1 Corinthians 8, Paul deals with a matter that was quite important in his day, but not so much in ours: the eating of food sacrificed to idols.  While the situation is different, the principles involved are instructive.  Paul starts with an overarching principle:  Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.  In other words, we can become proud when we put the pursuit of knowledge before our practice of love. In the pursuit of truth, we must never forget to live it out in love.  The next principle is: Don’t do anything that will cause a weaker brother or sister to stumble.  In Paul’s day when a believer ate food sacrificed to an idol, a weaker brother or sister could see that and assume it was okay to not only eat the food but worship the idol.  In our day, an example might be consuming alcohol.  While there’s nothing wrong with having a glass of wine with a meal, or a beer while we watch a football game, a weaker brother or sister might see that and assume it’s okay to consume alcohol in excessive amounts. Having worked with so many people who are in recovery from the abuse of alcohol and other drugs, I maintain Paul’s advice and don’t consume alcohol at all.  I don’t want to be a stumbling block for them, and I want them to know someone who goes through life voluntarily without using alcohol. While each of us will apply these principles in different ways, the key is to help those who are “weaker” to become stronger in their faith, by the way we live out our relationship with Jesus.

In 1 Corinthians 9, Paul offers a defense of his ministry.  We don’t have the letter the Corinthians wrote to Paul, but he is defending himself from those who attacked his integrity.  First, Paul offers a defense of his “right” to be paid for his ministry.  He offers a number of examples of why he holds the right.  But then he tells us he didn’t exercise the right.  He didn’t receive a salary from the Corinthians. He paid his own way.  Then he talked about his methods in ministering to Jews, Gentiles, the weak, and others.  His method was to become like them to the degree he could to win them to Jesus, but he would not break the law of Jesus in doing so.  The model is so important and so powerful.  We must always become like those with whom we are ministering to the degree we can without sinning, to bring them to the Lord!

As we return to Matthew 18, we find the disciples arguing over who was the greatest among them. Jesus pointed out this was the wrong question to ask, because in God’s Kingdom the greatest are those who serve the most, those who are like “children.” Jesus then went on to warn us against causing others to sin. He then told us how precious we are to God by telling the Parable of the lost sheep.  Next, He told us how to address those who have sinned against us.  The method put simply is confront in love and call the brother or sister to repentance.  Finally, Jesus offers an extended parable about how God shows us His forgiveness and expects us to forgive others.  The parable ends with a strong condemnation of those who will not forgive, because of how much God has forgiven us.

In 1 Corinthians 4, Paul makes a case for his authority as an apostle, and for the Corinthian believers not to think so highly of themselves.  They have elevated themselves above their original leaders–Paul and Apollos. He reminded them they might have “10,000 guardians, but not many fathers.” That is such a key point for all to remember: we need leaders whose investment in us is more than as teachers or preachers, but who care about us as sons and daughters.

In 1 Corinthians 5, Paul takes a strong stance against those in the church who are practicing sin as a way of life.  He gives the example of a man who was committing sexual sin.  He then reminded the Corinthians not to associate with those who are sexually immoral.  Then he makes sure they understand he means those inside the church.  Those outside the church aren’t subject to the same standards.  As I’ve said so often, “I don’t expect non-believers to act like believers.” I got that from Jesus and Paul.  They didn’t either.  But when we are believers, our actions must change, because we now have the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us.

In 1 Corinthians 6, Paul speaks about the absurdity of believers suing one another in secular courts. He points out we will judge angels, so why would we need a secular authority to judge each other.  He points out it would be better to be wronged than to go to court.  How much that has to say to our modern litigious world, which undoubtedly includes Christians suing each other.  Paul then goes on to underline how important it is to avoid sexual sin.  He points out we are the “temple” of the Holy Spirit, and therefore we must be holy.  To commit sexual sin is to stain the temple.  He reminds us we are not our own, and we have been bought with a price.  He doesn’t mention the price, but we all know it is the price of Jesus’ blood shed on the cross.  That’s the highest imaginable price, which is why we must never forget it.

As we return to Matthew 17, we read of Jesus being transfigured with Moses and Elijah.  The experience was overwhelming to Peter, James, and John who were with Jesus.  When the experience ended and they went down the mountain to rejoin the crowds, a man had brought his son to be healed by the disciples.  They were unable to cast a demon out of the boy, and Jesus demonstrated some frustration.  When the father said he had faith, but needed Jesus to increase his faith, Jesus healed the boy. 

At the end of the chapter, Jesus sends Peter to catch a fish, in which is a coin that enabled Peter to pay the Temple tax for him and Jesus.  That’s as close as Jesus ever came to performing a miracle for Himself, but He didn’t overpower nature to do that.  Peter just had to catch the right fish!

Today, we turn to the Apostle Paul’s first letter to the church in Corinth.  Corinth was Paul’s “problem child.”  The city of Corinth was as pagan as any city could be.  Idol worship and sexual immorality ran rampant in Corinth.  As we will see through both 1^st and 2^nd Corinthians, Paul often responded to questions and problems among the people, and with the people of the church challenging his authority.  How difficult it must have been for Paul when someone from Corinth came with a letter filled with questions and challenges to which he had to respond.  That’s what each of these letters are: responses to questions from a church Paul had planted but had then left to move on to plant other churches.  Remember, in Paul’s day information had to be transmitted from person to person.  While both the Corinthian Church and Paul could write letters to each other, they couldn’t “drop them in the mail,” and expect them to be received in a few days.  Someone had to hand deliver the letters.  With Paul traveling all over the known world, and without any means of updating where he was, the process of sending letters back and forth was difficult at best.  In fact, most biblical scholars believe Paul probably received and wrote an additional letter between his writing of 1^st Corinthians and 2^ndCorinthians, but it didn’t survive to be included in the Bible.  As we turn to 1^st Corinthians, let’s thank God for the amazing process that was undertaken to ensure it was included for us!

1 Corinthians 1 includes a brief greeting, which includes Paul’s gratitude for the church, but the greeting is shorter than in many of his letters.  He gets to the point fairly quickly: He has heard about divisions in the church.  Some are claiming to follow Paul, others Apollos, others Christ.  Paul points out he didn’t save them. It was Jesus Christ.  No one can be part of any “party” in the church except the Jesus party!  Paul goes on to remind them his message was that of Jesus and Him crucified.  He reminds them they weren’t all that impressive as a group of people, when Jesus called them to Himself.  Paul exhorted them to follow Jesus and Him alone.

In 1 Corinthians 2, Paul reminds the believers there when he came among them, he didn’t teach or preach with convincing words, but with the Spirit’s power.  In other words, Paul’s message about Jesus was backed up with signs and wonders.  This has often been the case when new ground was (or is) being broken for the Lord.  Signs and wonders accompany the message, because Jesus is the power of God, and in His name mighty signs and wonders can be done.  Paul wanted the Corinthian believers to understand the mysteries of God had been revealed in Jesus Christ through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit.  This is the heart of our lives as Jesus’ followers: We must live in obedience to Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit.  Anything less than that is merely religion.

In 1 Corinthians 3, Paul addresses the matter of divisions in the church once again.  He reminds his readers that when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another “I follow Apollos,” they are already severely off track.  After all Paul and Apollos were simply instruments used by Jesus.   Paul, “planted,” and Apollos “watered,” but it was God who gave the growth.  We must always remember that.  We may be in the debt of the person who first told us about Jesus.  We may have been influenced greatly by a pastor or teacher along the way, but it is Jesus Himself who gives us growth.

In verses 10-15, Paul offers us an important reminder about the purpose of our lives after we are saved.  He tells us Jesus is the “foundation,” of our lives.  Using the image of our lives as a “house,” he tells us once the foundation is laid, we build on it using gold, silver, and precious stones, or we use wood, hay, and straw.  The former are solid building blocks that will survive the test of time and fire, but the latter are not.  The gold, silver, and precious stones are faithful, righteous works done in the name of Jesus and in the power of the Holy Spirit.  The wood, hay, and straw are sins, actions that won’t stand the tests of time and fire.  When we face Jesus, the judgment will come, the fire will be applied.  The good news is even if we built our houses with nothing but wood, hay, and straw, which will be burned away, we will be saved–as ones escaping through the fire, but our “house” will be gone. On the other hand, if we live according to Jesus’ plan and purpose, if we live faithfully and righteously in the power of the Holy Spirit, then we will not only survive the flame, but we will receive a reward.  This passage helps us to see it isn’t about our efforts when it comes to salvation, but our efforts do matter, because they bring us a reward or reduce our reward.  My thought has always been, “When I stand in front of Jesus, I don’t want to have to apologize, or blush, or be ashamed.  I want to show Him love, honor and praise through what I have done.”

Paul closes the chapter by reminding us we don’t belong to Paul, or Apollos, but to Christ and to God.  That reminder helps us to keep our focus clear and lives headed in the right direction.

As we return to Matthew 16, the religious leaders demand a sign. How strange given Jesus has just fed 4,000 men along with women and children with a few loaves of bread and fish and healed multiple people.  In any case, Jesus tells them they won’t be given a sign.  As Jesus and His disciples travel, Jesus tells them to beware of the “leaven,” of the Pharisees.  This was a metaphor, but the disciples missed it.  They thought Jesus was reprimanding them for forgetting to bring bread.  Jesus reminded them how small a challenge that would be, given He had already fed thousands of people with a few loaves of bread and fish. They finally realized Jesus was talking about the Pharisees’ teaching.

After this, Jesus asked the disciples who the crowds said He was, and who they said He was.  Jesus was wanting them to consider His identity, because He was moving toward His crucifixion and they needed to understand what was ahead.  God gave Peter the correct answer:  Jesus is the Christ the Son of the living God.  Jesus affirmed Peter and told Him it would be upon this truth that Jesus would build His Church.  Shortly after that, Jesus told the disciples He was going to be crucified.  Peter rebuked Jesus for saying this.  Then Jesus rebuked Peter in the strongest possible terms calling him “Satan,” for having a worldly attitude instead of a godly one.

Jesus then turned to the crowds and reminded them if anyone wanted to follow Him, they would need to deny themselves “take up their crosses” and follow Him.  Jesus reminded them, and us, if we lose our lives for His sake and the sake of the Kingdom, we will find them, but if we keep them, we will lose them.  This is 180º the opposite of the world’s way of thinking, and that’s precisely the point: Following Jesus will bring us in opposition with the world but will gain us eternal life.

Romans 15 closes out Paul’s letter, while Romans 16 offers a long list of personal greetings to specific believers, as well as Paul’s reminder not to have anything to do with those who cause trouble, and that God will soon crush Satan under His feet.  In Romans 15 Paul reminds us to be watchful of our weaker brothers and sisters, and to help them grow in their faith.  He reminds the Roman believers he has been sent by God as the minister to the Gentiles.  While we take that for granted, the reality of God giving salvation to the Gentiles nearly split the early church (See Acts 15) and was an incredible task for a man who had been a Pharisee, and still considered himself to be one.

As we return to Matthew 15, we find Jesus again at odds with the religious leaders.  They started the discussion this time by condemning Jesus’ disciples for not following the handwashing rituals.  Jesus responded by condemning them for breaking the Law of God so they could keep their traditions. Jesus went on to say it isn’t what goes into the body that makes a person unclean, meaning no food or lack of washing our hands can cause sin in our lives, but it is what comes out of a person that makes the difference.  He meant it is the attitudes and desires of our hearts that determine whether we are “clean” or “unclean.  In the chapter, Jesus also performs a number of miracles.  The first one might be the most significant, because he healed the child of a Gentile woman.  Remember, Jesus came only to the “lost sheep of Israel.”  His stepping across the ethnic boundary to heal the woman reminds us His commission to the apostles would be to take the Gospel to the entire world.  This was a foreshadowing of that moment.  Matthew tells us Jesus healed “many” people after the healing of the one child.  The chapter ends with Jesus feeding four thousand men along with women and children.  Again, Jesus shows us the Kingdom of God offers the fulfillment of all our needs whether spiritual, emotional, or physical.  As we minister to people in Jesus’ name, we must always remember He cares about the whole person, and not only the spiritual aspect.

In Romans 12, Paul starts with the word “Therefore.”  Pastor Arthur Pace, the pastor I served under in my first year in the ministry, used to say, “When you come to the word ‘therefore’ in a biblical text, you need to stop and see what it’s ‘there for.” Paul was summing up the entire first half of Romans.  He was saying, “Therefore, because we’re all sinners who are redeemed by the incredible love of God, and because He has empowered us to live new lives in the power of the Holy Spirit, we are to offer God our bodies as living sacrifices.  We are to be transformed by the renewing of our minds.  Finally, we are to live as members of the body of Jesus Christ by going all in for Him.  Whatever our gifts and skills, we are to use them for Him, and invest our lives in serving God’s Kingdom.

Romans 13 offers us Paul’s command to obey the governing authorities.  As I have often written regarding this passage, Paul tells us to obey the governing authorities, and yet church tradition tells us he was executed for disobeying the governing authorities.  The conclusion we draw from that is: We must obey the governing authorities except when to do so is to go against the clear word of God.  The rest of the chapter focuses on our responsibility to love one another.

Romans 14 focuses on how we are to respond to those around us who are “weaker” in the faith than we are.  Following Jesus was a new matter in Paul’s day, and some believed you had to follow the Jewish law to follow Jesus.  Others believed you couldn’t eat anything that had anything to do with idols, if you were following Jesus.  Paul simplified it: Nothing we eat is a problem.  However, if what we eat causes a brother or sister for whom Jesus died to sin, then we ought to be more concerned about the brother or sister’s well-being than our own comfort.  I have used these words of Paul to take a position of not drinking alcohol.  The Bible doesn’t say a believer can’t drink alcohol, but if someone who is “weaker” than I am sees me drinking alcohol, then they might assume, “If it’s okay for Pastor Chris, then it is for me, too.”  That person might end up addicted to alcohol.  That might seem an extreme position to you, but having worked with 100’s of people recovering from addiction, one of the questions I’ve asked is, “How many people do you know who don’t drink any alcohol?”  The answer is always the same, “None. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t drink or do drugs.”  I raise my hand and say, “Now, you know one.”  I want people to know no one has to smoke or drink alcohol, and I never want to be the one who causes a person who is “weaker” in the faith to stumble, because of me. 

As we return to Matthew 14, we read of King Herod’s execution of John the Baptist. As we know he did it because of his wife’s cruel request, and because He didn’t want to appear to go back on his words in front of his dinner guests.  After this, Matthew records the feeding of the 5,000, Jesus walking on water, and Jesus healing people in Gennesaret.  Each of these events was powerful and in its own way impacted the lives of many people.  John’s death shows us those who are righteous don’t always receive justice in this life.  Jesus feeding the 5,000 shows us He is not limited in any way by “limited” resources.  His walking on water shows us He was not limited by the laws of nature.  His healing people in Gennesaret shows us, He was concerned for more people than the local Jews with whom He grew up.  He was concerned for everyone.  While Jesus never ventured beyond Israel during His time on the earth, He did help people who weren’t Jews.  The world-wide mission to offer salvation to everyone was left to His disciples and to us, but Jesus’ love for the world knows no limits.

In Romans 4, Paul offers Abraham as an example of a man who lived by faith.  He even tells us Abraham “never” wavered in his faith.  We know Abraham did, at times, waver in his faith.  He didn’t trust God’s promise to give him and Sarah a son.  He lied to protect himself when he told leaders of other places Sarah was his “sister.”  But Paul’s words are true, so how can that be? Max Lucado offers the explanation Paul’s words about Abraham are an example of “the editing of grace.”  Abraham was not perfect, but Paul presents him that way, because through grace he was.  We see this happen in our own lives, when one we love dies.  Over time, the bad memories seem to fade, and the good ones become more vivid.  Through this editing of grace, our memories of the loved one grow fonder, and our own faith increases.

In Romans 5, Paul offers one of the most amazing truths in all of Scripture: Jesus died for us while we were still sinners.  Throughout the chapter, Paul shows us how different Jesus, whom he refers to as the “second” Adam, was from the first Adam.  Adam introduced sin into the world, but Jesus redeemed us from sin and death.  His love for us didn’t come because we were good, or after we demonstrated improvement in our lives.  Jesus loved us while we were still sinners.  What amazingly good news.

In Romans 6, Paul raised a vital question, “If we are saved by grace, should we go on sinning so God’s grace may abound?”  It sounds reasonable.  If we love to sin, and God loves to forgive sin, why not sin more so God’s grace can come to us in even greater measure?  Paul’s response is as strong as it gets.  In the Greek, he wrote “Me genoito!” We could translate it “God forbid.”  It’s the strongest, possible way to say, “No!” in the Greek language.  Paul’s point is clear:  Jesus died to free us from sin.  Why would we continue to live in it?  Paul goes on to point out we are “slaves” to whatever masters us.  We can either be slaves to sin or to Jesus, but not both.  Jesus reminded us no one can serve two masters. It isn’t possible.  Jesus bottom-lined out to no one can serve both God and money.  Paul bottom-lines out to we can serve sin or righteousness.  Both remind us how crucial it is to put God first, and to live in His ways!

In Romans 7, Paul offers an illustration of how we overcome sin in our lives: we die.  While that sounds extreme, and it is, Paul meant we die to sin and the law.  He offers an illustration from everyday life, of a woman who is married to a stern husband.  Until the husband dies, the woman is obligated to her husband.  But if the husband dies, she is free to remarry.  In the illustration, we are the wife, the Mosaic Law is the husband, and Jesus is the new husband.  The Law instructed us in the ways of righteousness, but we could never live up to its standard.  In the second half of Romans 7, in which Paul tells us how he struggled with sin, not doing what he ought and doing what he didn’t want to do.  Some biblical scholars assume this was Paul’s pre-conversion testimony.  In other words, he lived this way before trusting Jesus as Savior and Lord.  But I find Paul’s words ring true in my life now. When I attempt to follow the rules, I fail.  Paul concluded by telling us the solution, “Thanks be to God–through Jesus Christ our Lord!”  It is Jesus, and what He did on the cross that frees us from sin, and it is His empowering Spirit who frees us to live new lives.  We’ll see that tomorrow as we turn to Romans 8.

As we return to Matthew 12, Jesus tells the religious leaders He is “Lord of the Sabbath” as a result of His disciples “working” on the Sabbath, by picking some heads of grain to eat.  Jesus was attacking the religious leaders’ trivialization of the Sabbath, through their efforts to make it attainable through human efforts.  Jesus further demonstrated His power over the Sabbath, by healing a man on the Sabbath.  This only caused the religious leaders to go out and plot how they could kill Jesus.  Jesus withdrew from that place as a result.  The religious leaders accused Jesus of performing miracles by the power of the devil, to which Jesus responded, “A kingdom divided against itself cannot stand.” Jesus condemned the religious leaders for their unwillingness to see the power of God at work.  Jesus went on to tell them He would offer them no sign of His authority, but the sign of “Jonah,” which was a reference to His death and burial.  The chapter closes with Jesus being sought by His mother and brothers. He reminds the people that anyone who does the will of His Heavenly Father is His mother, sister, and brother.  What a powerful reminder to us that we who trust Jesus as Savior and Lord, are a family, which is called to love and serve one another, and to offer Jesus’ salvation to the world.