The law does not provide acceptance but shows us why we must have it.

The early church in Rome was made up of believers from two very different backgrounds. Some had been brought up as Jews …… others had not. There were tensions between the two groups and so the apostle Paul wrote a pastoral letter to the church. In this letter he explains what they have in common, which is the essential thing …… both groups of believers have been made right with God by trusting in Jesus Christ.

This would have raised a question for those with a Jewish background. What about God’s Law summarized in the Ten Commandments? They had been trained to obey this Law. The non-Jews had not. Paul uses two illustrations by way of an answer. The first one is from marriage. It shows that people must be released from trying to be made right with God by how well they keep the Law (the first husband). They must only rely on what Jesus (the second husband) has accomplished for them. This is received by faith, not anything a person does or does not do.

The second illustration is about a very troubled person. This further shows that trying to obey the Law cannot make someone right with God. This is even though the Law is good and alerts people to those things in them which are wrong. They must only trust in Jesus otherwise there will be divided loyalties which cause a conflict within the person.

One of the ways God is worshipped is by resting

The fourth commandment has been widely misunderstood because of confusion over what is symbolic and what is moral. God himself lays down the pattern for it in his resting after the six days of creation. In these passages we find the outworking of this for his people both before and after the birth of Jesus.

It is important to remember that the fourth commandment, to keep the Sabbath holy, is relevant for all people because of the need for us to rest from our work. The most wonderful aspect of the Sabbath, however, is found in the rest that Jesus gives to His people through what he has accomplished in his death on the cross. The forgiveness of sins, which is received by faith alone, leads to holy living and rest from the consequences of our sins which he bore in his body at Calvary.

 Getting the priorities right is not always what we might think

The manager of a construction company was once asked about issues he was having with the workers. He said there were many but that the main one was ‘entitlement’. They were focused not on what they could give but on what they can get. We see something similar in these passages as we look at the apostle Peter.

Peter’s question to Jesus was ‘we have left everything and followed you. What then will there be for us?’ Jesus’ response was firstly to affirm Peter’s question but warns him by saying ‘many who were first will be last and the last first’.  The implications of this are explained in Chapter 20. The workers who came last to the vineyard and only worked for part of the day were paid first and received the same amount as those who had worked hard all day.

The point of all this is that through what Jesus Christ has accomplished on the cross every disciple has received an abundance of good things in their salvation from sin. It is not about comparisons with others or what I do but about God’s rich grace. The disciples, especially Peter, needed to be warned about the danger of seeking ownership of God’s vineyard instead of resting humbly and contentedly in their privileged position of being the workers.

Our expectations of leaders need to be understood in light of the accomplishment of a very special King

In this passage king Saul reacted badly to a stern message he had received from the prophet Samuel. People must not quit like he did when things don’t work out to please them. Saul needed to learn that, as the King of Israel, everything must be done for God’s glory. If Jesus, the King of kings, had been proud He would never have gone to the cross.

Saul’s son, Jonathan, however, did not quit but went into battle against the Philistines. Jonathan acknowledged God’s power rather than his own. He trusted in God and won a great victory. When people trust in Jesus for forgivenesss they find that His blood, shed on the cross, stops them from wanting their own way.

  A deeper perspective on the story of the Good Samaritan … THE gracious ‘neighbor’

The story of the Good Samaritan is very well known at a general level. The three questions which follow, however, help us to look deeper to find a most wonderful truth. The first question is: ‘What shall I do to inherit eternal life?’ The passage is really about salvation … not what we have done but what has been done for us.

The second question is: ‘Who is my neighbor?’ The lawyer tries to justify himself by asking this question. Jesus proceeds to tell the story. It is about who really helped the beaten man when those who seemed most likely to show love for him passed him by. The lawyer starts to find that the parable is showing him personally there is nothing he can do to inherit eternal life.

The third question reveals the most important point of the parable: ‘Whose neighbor am I?’ The requirement of love is far greater than mankind is able to perform. We are like the beaten man ourselves … broken down by our sins. We are the ones who need the ‘Neighbor’. Jesus is the one who has paid the enormous price at the cross to bring about ‘healing’ for all who trust in Him.

                   

There is a priceless special gift which can only be received without strings attached.

In early New Testament times there was a matter of concern for those with a Jewish background. What about their religious heritage? The Jews placed confidence in the fact that they were Abraham’s descendants. The implication being that they were automatically right with God. The apostle Paul’s teaching in this letter did not sit well with their misunderstood privileges and practices.

In this passage Paul takes time to show them that although Abraham had plenty of good works, this was not the basis of his standing before God. Rather, he “believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness”. Jesus said that Abraham “rejoiced to see My day.” Like Abraham, many people, before Jesus came, looked ahead by faith to Him as the promised One whose life would be an offering for sin. Paul’s teaching was not new.

The very thing that causes a loving reverence in some creates rejection in others

People are either for or against Jesus … no-one can avoid Him. The writer H. G. Wells said: “ I am an historian, I am not a believer, but I must confess as a historian that this penniless preacher from Nazareth is irrevocably the very center of history. Jesus Christ is easily the most dominant figure in all history.”

In this passage we find how people responded to His predecessor, David.  Jonathan, king Saul’s son, recognized him as the Lord’s anointed. The people loved David because he fought  their battles for them … that’s how it should be with Jesus … He fought and won THE  great battle at the cross. The death He died was not for His own sin but for others … all those who love and trust in Him.

With David we find that the very thing which evokes love from Jonathan evokes hatred from Saul.  Jonathan was for David …. Saul was against him. When it comes to Jesus people can be like Jonathan or like Saul but eventually everyone will acknowledge Jesus as King. The outcome is either life with Him or slavery to sin and death.

The importance of distinguishing between rulers themselves and the One who keeps them in their position.

How we see God affects how we see people. In this passage we find that king Saul’s actions were the opposite of what he should have been doing. His heart was against the Lord. The reason for this is that he had forgotten something.  That something is that all people are to be valued because they are made in the image of God. 

By way of contrast, David, even though he had not killed the priests, felt that he was indirectly responsible for the deaths of the priests. This was because of the circumstances involved. David’s willingness to accept the blame showed that his heart was for God.

In a way that is not often considered though, there is a sense that everyone has caused the death of a priest. Jesus, the Great High Priest, died on the cross for the wrong things His people have done. He however can never be destroyed. He was brought back to life so that we could have a heart for God.

An important lesson in understanding the beauty of grace

The manager of a construction company was once asked about issues he was having with the workers. He said there were many but that the main one was ‘entitlement’. They were focused not on what they could give but on what they can get. We see something similar in these passages as we look at the apostle Peter.

Peter’s question to Jesus was ‘we have left everything and followed you. What then will there be for us?’ Jesus’ response was firstly to affirm Peter’s question but warns him by saying ‘many who were first will be last and the last first’.  The implications of this are explained in Chapter 20. The workers who came last to the vineyard and only worked for part of the day were paid first and received the same amount as had been promised, when they were hired, to those who had worked hard all day.

The point of all this is that through what Jesus Christ has accomplished on the cross every disciple has received an abundance of good things in their salvation from sin. It is not about comparisons with others or what I do but about God’s rich grace. The disciples, especially Peter, needed to be warned about the danger of seeking ownership of God’s vineyard instead of resting humbly and contentedly in their privileged position of being the workers.

Those who hope in the King of kings will never be disappointed

In this psalm we learn that praise comes from having a relationship with the Lord. It is about obedience and making good choices by putting God first in both our words and our works. The example of Jesus, who followed His Father out of love, is a good one.

We are not to trust in mortal man. People of power and influence will one day die. They cannot save us from our bondage to sin. To whom should we look in these troubled times? The answer is to look to God who has revealed Himself in and through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Prayer is the way we show our dependence on Him.

Those who are trusting God, in and through His Son, have a blessed hope and will never be disappointed because He is risen from the grave and ascended. He now reigns in heaven and is the everlasting King of kings.