Week of Transfiguration - February 3 thru 9, 2008

Seasonal Note: I’m beginning a new Three-Year Lectionary based on the Lutheran Book of Worship 3-year lectionary (for public worship), "Prayers of the Day..." (Propers), p. 13-41, Augsburg Publishing House, Minneapolis, 1978. It is based, with only minor variations, on the Revised Common Lectionary, used by many denominations, including the Episcopal, Lutheran, Presbyterian, and Methodist churches:

http://www.commontexts.org/

and:

http://www.commontexts.org/rcl/usage.html

The daily readings are the Propers (Lections) for the following Sunday, so that the daily devotions can prepare us for worship. Additional lections are from Common Service Book of the Lutheran Church, "Scripture lessons for Matins and Vespers," United Lutheran Church of America, General Rubrics VIII. Scripture lessons for Matins and Vespers, p. 299 - 304, Philadelphia, 1918.

The previous 2- year Bible Study based on the Lutheran Book of Worship, Daily Lectionary for personal devotions p.179-192, Augsburg Publishing House, Minneapolis, 1978, is available at:

http://shepboy.snow.prohosting.com

Please Note: I will post weekly by Saturday, noon, (with God's help), Pacific time (UTC-8:00) for the week of the Church Season which begins on Sunday. Please scroll down for the desired day, or save the week to your desktop/hard drive.

Transfiguration - Sunday
February 3, 2008

Exodus 24:12, 15-18 Moses receives the Law
Psalm 2:6-13 The King Enthroned
2 Peter 1:16-19 (20-21) Peter Testifies to the Transfiguration
Matthew 17:1-9 The Transfiguration

Exodus:

The Lord commanded Moses to ascend to the top of Mt Sinai (Horeb) where the Lord would give him the Ten Commandments on tablets of stone. The glory of the Lord descended upon the mountain top and stayed for six days. On the seventh day God called Moses, who entered the cloud on the mountaintop, and remained there for forty days and nights.

Psalm:

The Lord declares that he has established his king on Zion (the temple hill). The Lord has declared the king his son (his Son the king), begotten by God. The Lord will give the nations his inheritance and the entire earth as his possession. The King will have authority over them as a rod of iron over a clay pot.

God warns the kings and rulers of earth to serve the Lord with fear and trembling; let them humble themselves before the Lord, to avoid perishing by his wrath, for it is quickly aroused. Those who take refuge in him will be glad they did.

2 Peter:

The Christian Gospel is not a myth cleverly devised by mankind but eyewitness testimony to the power, majesty and manifestation of the Lord Jesus Christ. When God glorified and honored Jesus (on the mountaintop at Jesus’ transfiguration), Peter, with James and John, were eyewitnesses to Jesus’ heavenly splendor, and heard and testified to the voice of God declaring Jesus to be his beloved Son, who was well-pleasing to God. They were eyewitnesses to the fulfillment of prophecy. So believers are well-advised to take heed of this (the apostolic testimony to the Gospel of Jesus Christ) until the (spiritual) day dawns and “the bright morning star” rises in their own hearts (through the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit). The Bible isn’t to be subject to personal interpretation because it is not mankind’s word, but the Word of God inspired by the Holy Spirit.

Matthew:

Jesus took Peter (Cephus; Simon), and brothers James and John to a mountaintop, and there Jesus’ appearance was supernaturally altered. Jesus’ face became bright like the sun, and his clothing was radiant as light. Moses and Elijah appeared with Jesus and were talking with him.

Peter suggested to Jesus that the three disciples should build three booths, one each, for Jesus, Moses and Elijah. While Peter was saying this, a bright cloud overshadowed them and a voice said that Jesus was God’s beloved Son who was well-pleasing to God, and that they should listen to Jesus.

When the disciples heard the voice they were afraid and prostrated themselves. Jesus came to them and touched them, telling them to get up and not to be afraid. When they arose, they saw only Jesus.

Coming down from the mountain, Jesus told them to tell no one what they had seen “until the Son of man is raised from the dead” (Matthew 17:9).

Commentary:

The manifestation of God to the people of Israel at Mt. Sinai is called a “theophany,” a visible manifestation of God. (Epiphany means “manifestation.”) At Mt. Sinai, only Moses was allowed to go up the mountain and enter into the presence of God.

Moses received the Ten Commandments, the basis of the Old Covenant of Law, and the beginning of the Bible, the collected Word of God. The people of Israel had heard the voice of God at Mt. Sinai (Exodus 19:16-20) and it had so terrified them that they asked Moses to be their intermediary (Deuteronomy 5:22-27). Moses was to hear God’s Word and then relay it to the Israelites.

When Moses had been in God’s presence his face was supernaturally radiant when he returned to the people to relay God’s Word. The people saw his face and were afraid, but Moses called them to him. Moses’ face would be uncovered as he proclaimed God’s Word (so that they knew he had been in God’s presence and was speaking God’s Word) and then he would cover his face with a veil so that the Israelites would not see the fading splendor (Exodus 34:29-35).

Psalm 2 was composed for use in coronation of Israel’s kings. The Lord was the true intended king of Israel, but Israel asked for a human king, like the surrounding nations (1 Samuel 8:4-9). The Lord allowed them to have a human king, but warned them that there would be disadvantageous consequences for the people (1 Samuel 8:10-18). The king would assess taxes, conscript armies and servants, and take possession of resources. Saul was the first king of Israel, chosen by God, who arranged for Saul to be “anointed” with oil by Samuel, the Prophet (1 Samuel 9:15-10:27).

Psalm 2 was used to enthrone Israel’s human kings but it is also Messianic prophecy. The Messiah is the fulfillment of God’s plan to provide an eternal Savior and King, God’s own Son. Jesus Christ is the ultimate fulfillment of the prophecy. Jesus is God’s “anointed” eternal Savior and King (Christ and Messiah each mean “anointed” in Greek and Hebrew, respectively). Jesus Christ has been God’s plan from the very beginning of Creation, and has been designed into the very structure of Creation (John 1:1-5, 14; see God’s Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right).

John the Baptist testified that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God. God had told him that the one on whom John saw the Holy Spirit, manifested as a dove, descend and remain was the Christ. John testified that he had witnessed this sign (John 1:31-34) and also that he heard a voice from heaven declare that Jesus was [God’s] beloved Son, “with whom [God] is well pleased” (Matthew 3:16-17).

Jesus took the three disciples of his inner circle to the mountaintop where they witnessed Jesus transfigured in heavenly glory, and his meeting with Moses, the “Law-receiver,” and Elijah, the greatest of the Old Testament prophets. Peter suggested building booths to Moses, Elijah and Jesus, and while Peter was speaking, a voice from heaven declared that Jesus was God’s beloved Son, with whom God is well pleased, and to listen (hear and obey) Jesus.

Booths were temporary shelters set up during the harvest season as part of the Feast of Tabernacles (Booths). Booths commemorated the nomadic life of Israel in the wilderness, but had become religious symbols; even shrines. Peter was proposing that they establish three shrines, one each for Moses, Elijah and Jesus. Moses and Elijah were patriarchs of Judaism, but they were only humans; Jesus is God’s only begotten Son. Jesus' teaching takes precedence over Jewish Law and the Prophets (the Old Testament scriptures; the Old Covenant of Law).

Moses’ face had glowed after being in God’s presence but it was the reflection of God’s glory; Jesus’ face glowed with a greater magnitude of glory, and not only his face but his clothes as well. His radiance was not only God’s glory but his own (2 Peter 1:17).

Moses was a human mediator between God and humans. Jesus is the new divine eternal mediator of the New Covenant (Hebrews 8:6-13; Matthew 26:26-29, RSV note “g”) of Grace (unmerited favor; free gift) through faith (obedient trust in Jesus; Ephesians 2:8-9). Jesus speaks the Word of God in a way that is not terrifying to people. Jesus is the new “Moses,” who leads us out of slavery to sin and death in Egypt, through the “Sea” of Christian Baptism, through the wilderness of this sinful world, through the “River” of physical death and into the eternal Promised Land of God’s heavenly kingdom.

Jesus told the three disciples not to tell what they had witnessed on the mountaintop until after Jesus had risen from the dead. Jesus wanted people to be free to decide for themselves who Jesus is.

The three disciples asked Jesus why the scribes (teachers of scripture) said that Elijah would come before the Messiah, and Jesus told them that prophecy had been fulfilled by John the Baptist (Matthew 17:10-13). Jesus declared that John the Baptizer was the greatest of the Old Testament prophets (Matthew 11:2-15). But the three disciples had also witnessed the fulfillment by Elijah’s presence on the mountaintop.

The New Testament is the Biblical record of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the testimony and teaching of the Apostles (including Paul) who had received it directly from Jesus Christ. Peter testified that the Gospel was not a clever myth devised by humans. It was the fulfillment of the prophecy of Old Testament Scriptures, and the New Testament is the testimony of the eyewitnesses to that fulfillment. Peter testified that he was there on the mountain of transfiguration, and he saw it and heard God’s voice from heaven.

Peter was fulfilling Jesus’ Great Commission to his disciples to make (born-again) disciples of Jesus Christ (Matthew 28:19-20), after they had been “born-again” (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4-5, 8; Acts 2:1-21). Peter was a “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) disciple and Apostle (messenger; of the Gospel) of Jesus Christ, discipling new believers, teaching them to seek and receive spiritual “re-birth” through the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit. New believers are well-advised to give heed to the whole Bible as a lamp in the darkness, until the spiritual dawn and the rising of “the morning star” (Revelation 2:27-28; 22:16) within their hearts. Spiritual re-birth is the dawn of eternal life and personal fellowship with Jesus and God the Father.

Every “Christian” is a “new believer” until they have read the entire Bible and been “born-again” by the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Only Jesus gives the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit (John 1:31-34), only to his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17). The Holy Spirit is the seal and guarantee that one is in Christ and has eternal life (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9b, 11, 15-16).

Peter also taught that we must not interpret the Bible to suit ourselves! Faith is not getting whatever you believe if you believe “hard enough.” There are a lot of false beliefs and false teachings in the world today (see “False Teachings,” sidebar, top right). The standard by which to discern truth is the Word of God, the Bible. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the Biblical Apostolic Doctrine, as received personally from Jesus by his Apostles (including Paul, the first “modern,” “post-resurrection” “born-again” disciple and Apostle), taught by them, and recorded in the New Testament.

Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus’ disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first truly believed (Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?

Transfiguration - Monday
February 4, 2008

Joel 2:12-19 Return to the Lord
2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:2 Be Reconciled with God

Joel:

‘“Yet even now,” says the Lord, “return to me will all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments”’ (Joel 2:12). Return to the Lord, your God, and receive grace (unmerited favor) and mercy (undeserved forgiveness) for he is patient, forbearing, and abounding in unwavering love, who does not delight in punishing. Who knows? Perhaps he will have pity on us and bless us when we present right offerings to the Lord.

“Blow the trumpet in Zion; sanctify a fast; call a solemn assembly; gather the people. Sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders; gather the children, even nursing infants” (Joel 2:15-16). Don’t let even wedding celebration interfere with this fasting.

Let the priests weep before the altar of the Lord, and intercede for God’s mercy on behalf of the people. Let God’s heritage not become a reproach and an epithet among the nations. Why should worldly people have reason to say that God has abandoned his chosen people?

Then the Lord will remember his land and have mercy on his people. The Lord will answer his people and promise to return prosperity and fertility to the land and remove the reproach from his people.

Corinthians:

“We beseech you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God (2 Corinthians 5:20b). For our sake, God placed the burden of our sin upon his sinless Son, so that we could become the righteousness of God. Working in harmony with the Lord’s purpose, we beg you not to receive God’s grace in vain. God declares that at the right time he has heard his people and has helped them on the day of salvation (Isaiah 49:8). Note well: today is the right time; today is the day of salvation.

Commentary:

In Joel’s time, Israel was suffering a plague of locusts, which Joel realized was a “wake-up” call to Israel to return to obedient trust in the Lord. In one sense, America is the “New Israel,” the “New Promised Land,” and we are in a similar position today. How much crime and violence does it take to wake us up to the spiritual illness of our people? How many weather-related disasters will it take to convince us that we have drifted far from the Lord, and that he has lifted his protection from us?

We need to hear the prophet’s call to repent and return to obedient trust in the Lord. We need to repent and change our ways in our innermost being, not just go through the outward motions of religious ritual. We need to present right offerings to the Lord: our obedient trust, our commitment to do what is right according to God’s Word, and to work for justice for all people (compare Micah 6:8).

Will we allow the blessings God has given us to become a reproach and an epithet in the world? Are we glorifying the Lord by what we do and say, or are we bringing reproach and scorn upon his name?

God has designed this creation for his purpose. He has always intended to create an eternal kingdom of his people who willingly trust and obey God. We are all eternal beings (John 5:28-29). This lifetime is our opportunity to seek and come to know God (Acts 17:26-27) and learn to trust and obey him. This lifetime is our only opportunity to be spiritually “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8). This lifetime is our opportunity to determine where we will spend eternity.

Jesus Christ is God’s one and only provision for us to be saved from God’s eternal condemnation, and restored to fellowship with God which was broken by sin (disobedience of God’s Word; John 14:6; Acts 4:12; see God’s Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right). We have all sinned and fall short of God’s righteousness (Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8-10). Jesus came to become the one and only blood sacrifice acceptable to God for the forgiveness of our sins.

God’s Word declares that the penalty for sin is eternal death (Romans 6:23). Jesus took the burden of our sins upon himself, so that we could have his righteousness attributed to us by faith as a free gift (Ephesians 2:8-9).

God knew from the beginning of Creation that we were going to need a Savior, and Jesus has been designed into the structure of Creation (John 1:1-5, 14). Jesus died for our sins while were sinners (Romans 5:8), before we realized that we were sinners. God’s plan was fulfilled at the perfectly right time.

Jesus’ mission was to bring forgiveness and peace with God to a spiritually lost and dying world. We are living in the “day” of grace (unmerited favor). As sinners we are all under the sentence of eternal death, unless and until we accept God’s grace through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus. Jesus’ “born-again” disciples are to carry on Jesus’ mission of forgiveness and reconciliation until Jesus returns on the Day of Judgment at the end of time and this age of grace.

Those who accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior, who begin to trust and obey Jesus, receive the indwelling Holy Spirit, which only Jesus gives (John 1:31-34), only to his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17). It is the Holy Spirit within us which gives us true spiritual eternal life. The Holy Spirit is the seal and guarantee that one is in Christ and has eternal life (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9b, 11, 15-16).

Today is the day of grace; today is the day of salvation. Forgiveness, salvation, peace with God and eternal life are freely given, but we must accept and receive them through obedient trust in Jesus Christ.

Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus’ disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first truly believed (Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?

Transfiguration - Tuesday
February 5, 2008

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-20 True Repentance

Jesus warns us that religious ritual done to impress other people is worthless. God sees the inner condition of our hearts and our motives, and will not reward such behavior.

When we give charitable donations we should not be like hypocrites (people who make an outward pretense of religion) who announce their charitable giving so that others will be impressed and praise them, because then that is all the reward they will receive. Instead we should give so quietly and unpretentiously that our left hand doesn’t know what our right hand is doing. The Lord knows what we are doing secretly, and he will reward us.

When we pray, we must not be like hypocrites who like to be seen and heard by others, who pray publicly in church and on street corners, making long prayers with eloquent words. The praise of men will be their only reward. When we pray we should pray privately in our room, with the door shut, so that our prayer will be between ourselves and God, and God will reward us, because he knows our inner attitude and motive.

When we fast, we should not be like hypocrites who elaborate the outward signs of fasting and make long faces to impress others, since that is the only reward they will receive. We should not fast outwardly but inwardly instead, so that only God knows that we are fasting, and then he will reward us.

Commentary:

God desires sincere repentance and obedient trust, not religious ritual. Ostentatious display may impress other people but not God. The Lord’s nature is truth. His Word is true. Jesus is God’s truth in human form (John 14:6), and those who seek the Lord must do so in sincerity and truth (John 4:23-24).

The Lord cannot be deceived; he already knows all about us (John 1:48; 4:29. The Lord knows how to reward those who are humble and obedient, and his reward is eternal. Those who make pleasing the Lord their goal experience his reward now in this lifetime, as a foretaste of the reward to come in God’s eternal kingdom. Only unbelievers would be willing to exchange God’s promise of eternal reward for the praise of other people.

This season is our opportunity to repent of our straying from true obedient trust in the Lord, to return to him and recommit to serve and please him with our whole heart, soul, mind and strength.

Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus’ disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first truly believed (Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?

Ash Wednesday
February 6, 2008

Psalm 51:1-13 Penitential Psalm

The superscription of this Psalm attributes it to David when he was confronted by Nathan after David’s adultery with Bathsheba and his murder of her husband Uriah (2 Sam. 11:2-12:24).

Let us seek God’s abundant mercy and steadfast love. May he blot out all our transgressions, wash away our sins, and make us spiritually clean.

Let us realize and confess our sins to God. Our sins are ultimately against God, and we are accountable to his judgment. God’s judgment is justified and faultless. We acknowledge that we were conceived and born into sin.

The Lord desires our truthfulness in our innermost being, so may he teach us true divine wisdom in our secret heart. Lord, purge our sins from us like hyssop (an aromatic herb used for ritual purification) so that we may be truly spiritually clean. Wash the stains of sin from us so that we are purer than new-fallen snow. Fill us with joy and gladness; even the bones which you have broken (in punishment) will rejoice. Avert your eyes from our sins and blot them all out.

Create clean hearts within us, and fill us with a new and right Spirit. Don’t cast us away from your presence, and don’t take your Holy Spirit from us. Restore us to the joy of your salvation, and uphold us with your willing Spirit. Then we will be able to teach other sinners your ways, so that they can be restored to you.

Commentary:

We are all born with a sinful nature. Sin is disobedience of God’s Word. God has designed this Creation and ourselves to allow the possibility of sin, so that we can freely choose whether to trust and obey God or not, and so that we can learn by trial and error that God’s will is our very best interest.

God has given us his Word, in the Bible, and in the "living Word," fulfilled, embodied and exemplified in Jesus Christ (John 1:1-3, 14), so that we can know God’s righteousness and our sinfulness. We need to be honest in examining ourselves according to God’s standards in God’s Word, so that we can realize and confess our shortcomings and receive mercy and forgiveness.

Jesus is God’s one and only provision for our forgiveness and salvation from eternal condemnation and destruction in God’s judgment (Acts 4:12; John 14:6; see God’s Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right). Unless we recognize our sinfulness and our need of forgiveness and salvation, we won’t be able to confess and receive them.

When we are willing to agree with God that his ways are best and that we have come short, he will cleanse us spiritually and make it possible for us to receive the Holy Spirit, through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ. Only Jesus gives the gift of the Holy Spirit (John 1:31-34), only to his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17).

The Holy Spirit is the new and right Spirit of God; the Spirit of Christ (Romans 8:9) within us who makes it possible to live according to God’s Word and to have eternal life. The Holy Spirit gives us a clean heart and conscience in God’s presence. We are restored to fellowship with Jesus and God the Father that was broken by sin, through the Holy Spirit. Through the indwelling Holy Spirit we experience the joy of salvation in Jesus Christ, and we are taught and upheld by the Holy Spirit. Only then are we able to lead others to Christ, to teach them God’s Word so that Christ’s mission of forgiveness and salvation can be carried on in this lost and dying world.

David was the shepherd boy who became the great human king of Israel. God’s Word says that David was a man whose heart followed God’s will (Acts 13:22; Psalm 89:20). But David yielded to temptation and committed adultery with Bathsheba. She became pregnant while her husband was away from home serving with the Israeli army.

David tried to trick Uriah into sleeping with Bathsheba during leave, but Uriah was too honorable to accept the opportunity, since his fellow soldiers were enduring separation from their families. So David conspired to have Uriah placed in the front lines, and then left exposed so that he was killed by the enemy.

David didn’t acknowledge his sin until Nathan the prophet, led by the Holy Spirit, confronted David. Then David confessed, was forgiven and restored (although he had to endure unhappy consequences as a result of his sin; 2 Samuel 12:13-18a). Because of David’s sin, the Lord’s name was dishonored among the enemies of God (2 Samuel 12:14).

Are you willing to be confronted by God’s Word? Are you willing to recognize and confess your sins? Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus’ disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first truly believed (Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?

Lent - Thursday
February 7, 2008

Genesis 2:7-9, 15-17; 3:1-7 Fall of Mankind
Psalm 130 Prayer for Redemption

Genesis:

The Lord formed man from the dust of the earth and breathed life into him, and the man became a living being. The Lord prepared a garden in Eden (in the east). In it God planted all the trees which are beautiful to see and good for food, and the tree of life, in the middle of the garden, and also the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

God placed man in the garden, to take care of it and maintain it. The Lord told the man that he could eat freely of the fruit of every tree in the garden except from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. God warned the man that the day he ate of the tree of knowledge he would die.

The serpent was more devious and cunning than any other creature which the Lord had made. He asked the woman, who God had made to be a companion for man (Genesis 2:20-25), whether God had told them not to eat of any tree in the garden. The woman replied that God had permitted them to eat of any tree of the garden except of the tree of knowledge. The man and woman were not to eat or even touch it or they would die.

The serpent told the woman that they would not die; God knew that their eyes would be opened and they would be like God, knowing good and evil. When the woman realized that the “forbidden fruit” was beautiful to look at, good to eat, and desirable to make one wise, she ate, and she gave some to the man and he ate. Then their eyes were opened and they were aware that they were naked, so they fashioned aprons out of fig leaves to cover themselves.

Psalm:

Out of the depths of anguish and despair let us cry to the Lord. May his ears be attentive to our cries for help.

If the Lord were to punish every iniquity, none of us would be unpunished. But the Lord is forgiving so that he may be feared (respected for his power and authority to judge and punish).

Let us wait for the Lord. May our souls be patient and hope in the Lord. Let us hope in the Lord even more than a watchman waits for the dawn.

People of God, hope in the Lord! The Lord’s love is unwavering and his redemption is inexhaustible. He will surely redeem his people from all their sins.

Commentary:

The world that God created was good, an unspoiled paradise (Genesis 1:31), but God gave us the freedom to choose whether or not to trust and obey God. The serpent is the tempter, Satan, the one who opposes and contradicts God’s Word.

The serpent cast doubt on God’s Word that mankind would die on the day they disobeyed God’s Word, and lied, saying that they would not die. Mankind didn’t die physically but spiritually. We were created as eternal beings; we are born physically alive, but are dead spiritually, because we have all sinned and fall short of God’s righteousness (Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8-10). The penalty for sin (disobedience of God’s Word) is eternal death (Romans 6:23; see God’s Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right).

Adam and Eve were tempted to eat the forbidden fruit in three areas of vulnerability: the lust of the eyes (it was pretty to look at), the lust of the flesh (it was good to eat), and the pride of life (to be like God; to be wise). Jesus was tempted by Satan in the wilderness in each of these areas, but without sinning, by resisting Satan’s temptations by the Word of God (Matthew 4:1-11).

We all share the fallen human nature of Adam and Eve. If God were to punish us for our sins none of us could be saved from eternal condemnation and death. But God loves us and doesn’t want us to perish eternally (Romans 5:8; John 3:16-17)

God has intended from the beginning of Creation to establish an eternal kingdom of his people who willingly choose to trust and obey him. God knew we would sin if given the freedom, and that we would have to learn by trial and error to trust and obey God. He designed Creation with his only provision for our salvation, Jesus Christ, built in (John 1:1-5, 14).

God freely offers the complete forgiveness of all our sins, restoration to eternal life and fellowship with the Lord to all who are willing to receive it by faith (obedient trust) in Jesus Christ.

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10a, Ps 111:10). Adam and Eve wanted to be wise and knowing, but they didn’t fear the consequences of disobeying God’s Word. As a result they lost eternal life in paradise, and got kicked out of the garden.

The people of God are disciples of Jesus Christ, who trust and obey Jesus. They will be “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) by the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit, which only Jesus gives (John 1:31-34), as they trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17). The Holy Spirit is the seal and guarantee that one is in Christ and has eternal life (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9b, 11, 15-16).

Adam and Eve trusted in the serpent and in their own judgment, without realizing their spiritual blindness. They tried to get their spiritual enlightenment somewhere other than God’s Word. They wound up seeing their sinfulness and experiencing their expulsion from God’s presence in paradise. This is a parable and a metaphor of warning of God’s judgment.

There is a Day of Judgment when everyone who has ever lived will be accountable to the Lord for what they have done in this lifetime. Those who have accepted Jesus as their Savior and Lord (master) will receive eternal life in God’s kingdom in heaven (paradise). But those who have rejected Jesus and have refused or failed to trust and obey him will receive eternal condemnation and destruction in Hell with all evil (Matthew 25:31-46; 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10).

God’s Word warns us to wait for and hope in the Lord. The coming Day of the Lord is just as certain as the sunrise. Our only hope is in the Lord and his unwavering love, his inexhaustible power and willingness to redeem his people from their sins if they will wait on him and trust in his Word.

Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus’ disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first truly believed (Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?

Lent - Friday
February 8, 2008

Romans 5:12 (13-16) 17-19 Grace in Christ

Adam is contrasted with Jesus. Adam introduced sin (disobedience of God’s Word) and (spiritual) death (the penalty for sin; Romans 6:23) into the world, and sin and death spread to us because we have all sinned (Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8-10). Sin has existed in the world before the giving of the Law, but sin is not punished where there is no law. But death reigned over mankind from Adam to Moses, even though their sins were not like Adam’s, who is a symbol and example of sinful mankind, contrasted with Christ (who is the symbol and example of the righteous, trusting, and obedient servant and Son of God).

The free gift (grace: God’s unmerited favor; eternal salvation) is unlike sin. Through Adam’s sin we are all subject to death, but through Jesus Christ the free gift of eternal salvation is abundantly available to many. Comparing trespass (sin) with grace, whereas one trespass brought condemnation, grace following many trespasses brings justification (the opposite of condemnation; satisfying the demands of the law). So if death reigned over us through Adam’s sin, life will much more surely reign in us who receive the abundance of grace and righteousness which is through Jesus Christ.

As Adam’s trespass resulted in condemnation for all mankind, so Christ’s righteousness results in acquittal and life for all (who are willing to receive it). Adam’s disobedience made us all sinners, but Jesus’ obedience makes many righteous.

Commentary:

Adam is our earthly patriarch, through whom we inherit our fleshly nature. People are sinful, but were not held accountable until Moses received the Law from God. Adam’s sin was disobedience of God’s Word (the definition of “sin”).

Now God has revealed his Word, in the Bible, and in the “living Word,” Jesus Christ who is God’s Word, fulfilled, embodied and exemplified in human flesh (John 1:1-3, 14). Adam is the example of what we are without Jesus; Jesus is the example of what we can be through faith (obedient trust) in Jesus.

Disobeying God’s Word in any instance brings eternal condemnation (James 2:10), but God’s free gift of eternal salvation through faith in Jesus gives the forgiveness of all our sins, and restores us from death to eternal life. We were enslaved and condemned to eternal death through Adam, but we are freed and governed by the power of eternal life through the abundant gift of righteousness through Jesus Christ (see Hebrews 2:14-15).

We have all been created as eternal beings. We are all like our father, Adam; we have lost eternal life through sin (disobedience of God’s Word). We cannot plead ignorance of God’s Word because God has made his Word known through the Bible and through Jesus Christ.

Jesus came into the world to reveal God’s Word, to be an example of God’s Word, lived out in this world in human flesh, and to make it possible for us to fulfill God’s Law and be saved from eternal condemnation and death. Jesus’ death on the Cross is the one and only blood sacrifice acceptable to God for the forgiveness of all sin for all time and all people who are willing to receive it (Acts 4:12; John 14:6; see God’s Plan of Salvation, sidebar, top right).

Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross made it possible for us to be spiritually cleansed and receive the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Only Jesus gives the gift of the Holy Spirit (John 1:31-34), only to his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17). We are “born-again” (John 3:3, 5-8) spiritually, to eternal life, through the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the seal and guarantee that one is in Christ and has eternal life (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9b, 11, 15-16).

Through Jesus Christ we become the adopted children of God and become the righteous obedient sons and daughters of God, as Christ is our example, through his indwelling Holy Spirit within us.

Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus’ disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first truly believed (Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?

Lent - Saturday
February 9, 2008

Matthew 4:1-11 Jesus’ Temptation

After his baptism by John the Baptizer, Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness where he was tempted by Satan. After Jesus had been fasting for forty days and nights he was hungry, and Satan tempted him to turn stones in the wilderness into bread, “if Jesus was the Son of God.” Jesus quoted Deuteronomy 8:3b, saying that man does not live only by bread, but by every Word of God.

Satan took Jesus to the roof of the temple in Jerusalem and told Jesus to jump off, “if he were the Son of God,” quoting Psalm 91:11-12 which says that God would provide angels to catch Jesus, so that he would not be injured. Jesus replied by quoting Deuteronomy 6:16 which says that we are not to tempt the Lord our God (see also Colossians 2:8-9; John 20:28).

Satan took Jesus to the top of a mountain and showed Jesus all the kingdoms of earth and their glory. He offered all of them to Jesus if Jesus would worship Satan. Jesus replied that we are to worship and serve only the Lord God, quoting Deuteronomy 6:13. Then Satan left and angels of God came and attended to Jesus.

Commentary:

As Israel had been tested by God in the wilderness for forty years, Jesus was tested for forty days in the wilderness at the beginning of his public ministry. Fasting was an appropriate and traditional Jewish form of spiritual preparation. At the end of the fasting, Satan tempted Jesus.

Satan tempted Jesus in the three areas of human weakness: the lust of the eyes (covetousness), the lust of the flesh (physical desire) and pride of life (self-centeredness). These are the same temptations which the serpent used on Adam and Eve in the garden (Genesis 3:5-6).

Satan tempted Jesus in Jesus’ most vulnerable moment. In each instance Jesus resisted temptation by quoting God’s Word. Notice that Satan knows God’s Word also, and will try to pervert it to suit Satan’s purpose (Matthew 4:6). If we don’t want to be enslaved by sin (disobedience of God’s Word) and eternal death, which is the penalty for sin (Romans 6:23), we need to know God’s Word. Jesus was demonstrating the truth of God’s Word (Deuteronomy 8:3b) that life is not just physical survival or physical gratification; true, eternal life is only by the whole Word of God, applied in our circumstances daily, and not just certain parts that suit our purposes, as Satan was doing.

The Lenten season began with Ash Wednesday. It is forty days, not counting Sundays, until Easter. It is an opportunity to “fast in the wilderness,” examining ourselves and spiritually preparing ourselves for the Easter season, which brings new spiritual life.

The Easter season, from Easter until Pentecost, the fiftieth day of Easter, begins with Jesus’ resurrection from death to eternal life. As we believe Jesus’ resurrection and believe that we will also share in his resurrection as we trust and obey Jesus, we are individually “reborn” to spiritual eternal life, now, by the promised indwelling Holy Spirit, which began to be fulfilled in the Church on the Day of Pentecost after Jesus’ resurrection (Acts 2:1-18).

Only Jesus gives the gift of the Holy Spirit (John 1:31-34), only to his disciples who trust and obey Jesus (John 14:15-17). The Holy Spirit is the seal and guarantee that one is in Christ and has eternal life (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9b, 11, 15-16).

Is Jesus your Lord? Are you Jesus’ disciple? Are you trusting and obeying Jesus? Have you received the indwelling Holy Spirit since you first truly believed (Acts 19:2)? Are you making disciples of Jesus Christ and teaching them to obey all that Jesus commands (Matthew 28:18-20)? Do you know with certainty where you will spend eternity (1 John 5:11-13; Ephesians 1:13-14)?