Necessary Changes

We know Psalm 51 as written by David after being confronted by Nathan over the sin with Bathsheba. He calls upon God, numerous times in the psalm, to cleanse him, to make him whiter than snow, to heal his broken spirit. He promises, in return, to teach others of God’s mercy and His forgiveness, and He praises God for that forgiveness working in his life. David is aware of a change that has to happen in himself to bring himself closer to his God.

Acts 3:20 talks about this change as repentance, and Romans 12 emphasizes this change as a transformation. Paul goes on to talk about how this change manifests itself in our lives, in our morality, in humility, and in our treatment of others. Time and again in Christ’s teachings and those of His apostles, we are instructed to change ourselves, and there are many areas in which we can strive to change and improve ourselves.

Improvement Through Change
We need to change our ignorance into knowledge. Hebrews 5:11 warns us against becoming “dull of hearing,” for such dullness leads to spiritual immaturity. I Timothy 1:7 warns that spiritual ignorance leads to false teachings, but Hebrews 5:14 reminds us that experience and exercising our knowledge is what develops spiritual maturity, helping us discern between good and evil.

This leads us to our second necessary change. I Corinthians 3:1-3 warns against maintaining spiritual immaturity, and they remained worldly-minded because of this immaturity. Hebrews 6:1 calls on us to push on to perfection, full growth in Christ, but this comes with more than time. Our conduct, our attitudes, our spiritual knowledge – these tell others how spiritually mature we are.

Romans 13:11 calls on us to wake out of sleep. He admonishes us to change our laziness into zeal. If we are simply drifting along, we have to awaken and take an active role in our spiritual growth. In verse 14, Paul calls on us to adorn ourselves in Christ and abandon the cares that cause us to languish in worldliness. Also, I Corinthians 15:34 encourages to awake to righteousness, to awake to knowledge, and to sin no more. Ephesians 5:14 merely calls upon us to awake.

Our lack of reverence must then be turned into true worship. In Mark 7:6, Jesus quotes from Isaiah: “This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me…” In Luke 18:9-14, Jesus reinforces this point with a parable of a tax collector and a Pharisee going up to pray. The Pharisee honors God with his lips while praising himself where the tax collector, in his humble confession, truly approaches God in reverence, awe, and humility. Our worship must not only please ourselves, but it must also please our God.

We must furthermore turn our weariness into gladness. We must not let our fatigue do us in. Galatians 6:7-10 and Ephesians 2:10 remind us that we are here to do good works. Look to Jesus as an example. How tiring His ministry was! How discouraging to face opposition time and again! Yet, He never abandoned His mission. He never ceased in doing good for others. Likewise, we must always look for opportunities to serve others.

Giving All
We must stop making excuses. We must stop giving less than our best. We must change our minimums into maximums. In all of these things – our knowledge, our service, our worship, our reverence, our maturity – it comes down to just how much we’re willing to give to God in our lives. We have many necessary changes to make, and we can accomplish them all by giving our all to serving and honoring our God in every aspect of our lives.

lesson by Tim Smelser

Looking Upon the Cross

What do we see when we look at the cross? Do we see the sadness of the cross? Do we see the joy beyond the sadness? Do we see a definition of true sacrifice? Do we see the graphic nature of the violence of sin? It seems we never run out of material when speaking about Christ’s sacrifice or about the memorial of that event. Understanding the cross is more than seeing only the death, burial, and resurrection; for we see many things in that event. So too did the people witnessing that great event.

Those At the Cross
Matthew 27:36 records, in context of the guards dividing Jesus garments, that they “sat down and watched him.” What did those soldiers see? Did they see enjoyable violence that fed the thirst for cruelty embedded into them by a Roman military upbringing? These were trained torturers and killers; these were conditioned in the power trip that comes with inflicted violence. What did the crucifixion mean to them?

What of the rulers who time and again plotted against Jesus and had been anticipating an opportunity to rid themselves of this rabble-rouser? Did they see victory over an enemy? Did they see a culmination of plans and conspiracies? Did they see the elimination of an annoyance and a threat to their comfortable statuses? Did they take joy in His suffering and death?

How did Jesus’ fellow convicts see His death? One of those, a thief, saw a miscarriage of justice in Luke 23:39. This one recognized the justice in his own punishment but saw the injustice in that of Jesus. That single thief then makes a plea for Jesus to remember him to the father. This one saw his own worthy condemnation while recognizing Jesus’ blamelessness.

What did the apostles see? Did they see hopes and dreams dashed to pieces? Did they see the end of their movement? In Luke 24:17, two ask a resurrected Jesus if He is ignorant of the events surrounding Jesus of Nazereth, saying, “We hoped he would be the one…” They had pinned their hopes upon Him, but now He was gone, and they saw little hope.

What Do We See?
What do people see today? Do we see the entertainment value of the violence of the occasion? Do we see the crucifixion as an excuse for racial hatred? Do we see no more than an interesting historical note – one of the better documentations of Roman crucifixion? Do we simply see a man willing to die for his ideologies? We must be careful when looking at the cross, for we should be seeing much, much more than this.

When we look at the cross, we should see our sin and our need. In Acts 2:22-23, Peter lays the death of Christ at the feet of his audience while proclaiming God’s exultation of the same Jesus. Verse 37 records that the crowd was cut to their hearts. Likewise, we should see ourselves and our culpability in Jesus’ death. We should see our own helplessness. We should see our own sin putting Him on that tree. We too should be cut to our hearts when we look upon the cross.

We should also see and be grateful for the sufficiency of the New Testament over the Old. Hebrews 10:1 begins a detailed overview of the inadequacy of the ancient sacrificial system, how those sacrifices could never truly clean us of sin; but Jesus’ death can and does. Through the cross, God provides us a better and more complete way for us to reach salvation.

We should see separation from God in Jesus’ cry, “My God, why have you forsaken me?” Isaiah 59:1-2 reminds us all that Jehovah’s hand is not so short that He is unable to save, but that our own sins block us from Him. My sin and my iniquity separates me from God, but Christ became cut off for my sake. God is just, holy, and upright, and sin cannot exist in His presence. The cross removes that barrier and allows us to draw to Him so we may be with Him.

Finally, we should see the majesty of the cross. Romans 3:23-24 reminds us that all have fallen short of God’s law, but Christ has been raised up as our propitiation – as our Mercy Seat – being both just and the justifier of those who have faith Him. In this is contained the extent of His love and His graciousness. Remember Romans 5; while we were unworthy, while we were set at enmity with Him, while we were yet sinners, Christ died on our behalf.

Conclusion
When we put all of these things together, we see not only the agony of the cross, but we truly come to an understanding of the agony of true conversion. Romans 6 speaks of conversion in terms of death. We have talked about the torture and violence of crucifixion, and Paul says we approach Him in the likeness of that death, our former selves crucified and our new selves dead to sin. These parallels are no accident. True conversion, a true changing of the heart, is difficult; it is heart-wrenching; it is life-altering.

To die to sin, to change who we are, to crucify self – these are challenges that will cause pain and agony before we reach the joy that comes afterward. When we look at the cross, we should see so much more than the surface details. We should see the seriousness of sin and the weight of our separation from God, and we should see the effort it takes for us to come to God. We should see ourselves, not only responsible for the cross, but hanging on that cross – dead to the world and alive to Christ.

lesson by Tim Smelser

Esau's Calamity

In Jeremiah 41, we are in the middle of God affirming His sovereignty over all nations, and He is proclaiming judgment upon various Gentile nations. During the prophecy against Edom, God, in verse 8, speaks of the “calamity of Esau.” It is from Esau that the nation of Edom descended, and it is a calamity like his own that befalls the nation. What is this calamity of Esau?

In Genesis 25:23, the Lord tells Rebecca that she had two nations struggling within her, and that the older would serve the younger. This prophecy begins to gain form in verses 27-34 when Esau sells his birthright to Jacob in exchange for physical sustenance. In this, verse 27 says Esau despised his birthright.

Rejecting His Birthright

God sees this event as a calamity in Esau’s life.

• Esau despised his birthright. Not only was Esau rejecting all of the material blessings of the birthright, but he was also rejecting God’s promises to Abraham and Isaac.
• Esau had the wrong priorities. Jacob and Esau were old enough to understand what the promises of that birthright meant. He was old enough to understand the import of those words, but he saw those as doing him no good in the face of immediate hunger.
• Esau repented too late. Hebrews 12:15-17 speaks to this, that Esau could never recapture what he had lost, having recognized the significance too late.

Avoiding Our Own Calamity

There are lessons for us in the life of Esau. We cannot be guilty of the same errors made by this man. Esau had, through his birthright, a spiritual heritage, and we also have a great spiritual heritage in Jesus Christ. We are part of a spiritual family that goes all the way back to the cross and God’s plan for our salvation. In Hebrews 11:39-40, as the author wraps up example after example of great faith, we are told that what we have in Christ completes their heritage.

III John 4 records John calling those with whom he has shared the gospel as spiritual children. They are our spiritual forefathers, and we fulfill those promises in which they had faith. When we reject that heritage, we affect not only ourselves but those who will come after us, those who will not know of God’s promises because we rejected them. We cannot and must not view God’s birthright as common or disposable.

We must also avoid Esau’s priorities. Colossians 3:1-2 and Matthew 6:19 call on us to set our minds on the things above because the things of this life do not last. How long did Esau’s bowl of stew last him? How long was it until he was hungry again? I Peter 1:5-9 calls us to work on our spiritual growth and to avoid being nearsighted, forgetting what is truly important. So much in this life can crowd out our spiritual heritage, but how much of it will benefit us eternally as God’s gifts will?

Finally, we cannot wait too long to accept God’s gifts. In Luke 16:19-31, Jesus speaks of a rich man who waited too long until nothing more could be done for him. Felix, in Acts 24:25, wanted to wait until a more convenient time, and King Agrippa, a couple of chapters later, says he was “almost” persuaded to respond to the message of Christ. Matthew 25:41, after a parable of unprepared wedding guests, warns of the consequences of waiting until it is too late. We have a strong tendency to put things off, but we cannot procrastinate accepting our spiritual heritage.

Conclusion

In contrast to all of this, Luke 17 tells a parable of another child who wastes his birthright. In contrast to Esau, this prodigal son came to recognize the worth of what he had lost. He realigned his priorities, and he returned to his father for forgiveness and restoration. Who will we be more like? Will we fall into the calamity of Esau, or will we avert disaster by humbly coming to God and accepting the heritage and birthright offered by His grace?

lesson by Tim Smelser

True Conversion

To be converted is to turn away from one thing to deliberately turn toward another. It is a decisive change. To what then were you converted? We preach, “hear, believe, repent, and be baptized,” which is not a bad approach to take. The problem may be, however, that our approach converts people to ideas and teachings rather than to Christ.

Conversion is a familiar term in the New Testament. Acts 15:3, we see Paul and Barnabas telling the brethren of the conversion of the Gentiles. In Matthew 18:3 records Jesus calling on his followers to be converted as little children. In Luke 22:31-32, Jesus speaks of a future conversion of Peter. In Acts 3:19 records Peter and John calling on their audience to repent and be converted.

Conversion to Substitutes

Sometimes, we convert people to the idea of salvation. While this is a gaol, it is not the center of one’s spiritual foundation. Mark 10:17 shows us a man coming to Jesus, seeking salvation. Unfortunately, that concept of salvation was not enough for him to turn from materialism. Also, in Acts 8:13, a sorcerer named Simon hears, believes, repents, and is baptized, but he had not yet truly made a turn from his past to a new life in Christ. Matthew 13:20-22 speaks to those who immediately respond to the message of salvation but whose faith do not endure without a stronger foundation.

We might also be converted to the idea of blessings. We want to become children of God for the good things we feel should come from that conversion. This is exactly what Satan challenges in the beginning of the book of Job, when he accuses that Job will turn away form God should his blessings crumble. In John 6:25-26, Jesus addresses this problem with the crowds, seeing they followed him for the food they ate more than for his message. Do we pray for our daily bread while forgetting to hallow and honor God as the core of our faith? Remember what Paul says in Philippians 4:11-13; contentment comes from God, not from material blessings.

Sometimes, we are converted to the idea of outward appearances – pleasing others, peer or familial pressures, valuing the social aspects. In Matthew 23:3-5, Jesus criticizes the Pharisees for this exact motivation, using religion for the perception and respect. This is also the case in Matthew 6:2-4. In Acts 5, Ananias and Sapphira contribute to the church for appearances. II Timothy 4:9 speaks of one who loved this present world, forsaking God’s work. Being members of the right faith, of the right church, having the right stances – these are not the objects of our conversion.

Were You Truly Converted?

Rather than asking, “To what was I converted?” perhaps a better question would be,”Was I really converted in the first place?” In Matthew 28:19-20, Jesus commands his followers to make disciples, to make followers, from the nations. If we are converted to Jesus, we are followers of Him. We do not follow ideas, philosophies, or blessings. We simply follow Him. The only thing that can cleanse us, make us pure, wash us from sins, is Jesus’ sacrificial blood. It takes a deliberate change in our lives to reach that sacrifice. We must sacrifice self, turning away from everything that holds us to this world, so we can reach forward to the next.

lesson by Tim Smelser

Changing Hearts, Changing Direction

Repentance is more than something God requires of us. It is something He desires from us and something He helps us come to. In Leviticus 26:14-16, God begins a passage about the consequences the children of Israel would pass should they not uphold the law He set before them. Verse 40, however, changes tone, and God begins speaking of the forgiveness available to those that confess their sins and repent. Their humility has the ability to turn God’s judgment from them.

Repentance in the Old Testament

II Samuel 14, Absalom having killed his half-brother for sexually assaulting his sister, we have a wise woman speaking to Joab and David. She tells a story of two sons, one murdering the others, and she pleads for the bloodshed of vengeance to stop. She says, in verse 14, that God does not always exact justice, but instead seeks ways to restore the outcast. It is a lesson forgiveness, and it is a lesson about the repentance God desires from us.

After Joshua and his contemporaries die, we see the children of Israel turn aside to adultery in Judges 2:11. They sin in God’s eyes, but, time and again, God would raise up a savior to reconcile those who turned from Him. Yes, God’s word is full of warnings of the consequences of sin, but we also see a God who always wants His people to return to Him. He longs for us to repent, and He longs to forgive us.

In Amos 4, the prophet condemns the blatant idolatry in Israel. He goes through the signs and miracles as well as the consequences they have seen for their abandonment of God. He enumerates these things, revisiting a common phrase: “Yet you have not returned to Me.” He has given time, reason, and opportunity to repent, but His people continue to reject Him.

Understanding Repentance

In context of these Old Testament passages, we can understand Acts 17:30, where Paul says God now calls all to repent. Also, Luke 3:8 records John the Forerunner calling on the people to bring forth “fruits of repentance.” Luke 13:3-5 has Jesus reinforcing the imperative nature of repentance, and II Peter 3:8-9 reassures us that God wishes for all mankind to come to repentance. From His dealings with the people of Israel to the New Covenant under Christ, God’s foremost desire remains the same – that all of us abandon our sins, turn from them, and be reconciled to His love.

Repentance, however, is not simple fear. It’s not stopping doing something because we fear the consequences. Repentance is not sorrow over those consequences, nor is it necessarily only reformation. In II Corinthians 7:9, Paul expresses joy for the congregation’s repentance – not only because they felt sorrowful, not only because they stopped. He is filled with joy by their true repentance from those sins. He sees their desire to abandon their sin and truly, fundamentally change their lives. It is an action of mind, a function of our will, that resolves to quit sin.

Repentance in the New Testament

We see this in Acts 8 when Simon the Sorcerer offers money to obtain the gift of the Holy Spirit. He believes and is baptized in verse 13, but he slips back into his old ways in verses 18-19. He finally truly changes his heart in verse 24 when faced with having to change his heart and mind, leading to a change in direction.

In Matthew 21:28, Jesus asks His audience about two sons asked to work by their father. One refuses but later repents, going to work. One affirms that he will work but does nothing. The first was initially rebellious, but he changes. He changes his heart and mind, and he determines to do the work set before him.

Finally, Luke 15 records the parable of a son who demands his inheritance. He wastes this inheritance on frivolous living, but verse 15 shows him coming to his senses. He changes his heart and mind, and he returns to the father he once rejected.

Conclusion

Repentance is a change of heart and mind that results in a change in directions. We can all look at our own lives and see reasons and opportunities for repentance. We have seen the consequences of our own sins. He has opened doors of repentance for us, but we seldom recognize these opportunities for what they are. Back in Amos, the prophet calls on His people to prepare to meet their God. They were not prepared, but we can be. We can change our hearts and minds. We can change the directions of our lives, repenting from our sins, wholly abandoning them, and leaning of God for our salvation.

lesson by Tim Smelser

Asa's Reforms

In I Kings 15 and II Chronicles 15-16, we learn of a king of Judah named Asa. You might remember that the kingdom of Israel split after Solomon because of his idolatry – ten tribes are given to the servant Jeroboam and two tribes to Solomon’s son Rehoboam. Neither Jeroboam or his son Abijah are considered good rulers in God’s eyes, but Asa stands in contrast to his predecessors. He begins a spiritual revolution among his people – one that even draws some from the northern kingdom to worship Jehovah with him.

In I Kings 15:9 and II Chronicles 15:8, Asa begins to reform Jehovah worship in Judah. He repairs the altar and the temple of Solomon. He tears down many of the idols in and around Jerusalem. He banishes the fertility worship of the pagan religions. He even removes his grandmother from public service due to her sinful influence over the people. These are wicked times, but Asa serves as a point of light despite the environment in which he is raised.

Positive Lessons from Asa’s Reform
Asa stands as testament to the difference one person can make. He enters service to a faithless nation where idolatry and immorality had been propagated by his own family. He sets himself to the task, and sets an example to us. His spiritual revolution

• Reform starts at home. Asa begins by removing the idolatrous influences of his own grandmother. Much like Gideon, his reforms begin at home. He sends a message that he holds himself and his loved ones to the same expectations he would hold the people. In our lives, Jesus has to come first as in Matthew 10:37-39, even if that means correcting our homes first.
• Reform necessitates morality. I cannot give lip-service to holiness. We have to reform our moral influences to truly reform our spiritual lives. In Matthew 12:43, Jesus uses an example of an evil spirit to encourage us to fill ourselves with good influences after the sinful influences have been purged.
• Reform necessitates change and repair. Just as Asa repairs the altar and temple, there are some things in our own lives – attitudes, priorities, commitment – that we will have to restore. Luke 13:3-5 emphasizes the need for repentance in reforming ourselves, and Peter reinforces this need in Acts 2:38. We repair our souls through the change of repentance.

Learning from Asa's Errors
Asa is one of only eight kings described as doing right in Jehovah’s eyes. Unfortunately, we must also learn from the shortcomings of his efforts, so we do not make the same mistakes.

• What is God’s cannot be used for selfish purposes. I Kings 15:16 begins recording Asa stripping silver and gold from the treasures of God’s house to but off a king allied against him. He takes things devoted to God and gives them over to man. I Corinthians 6:19-20 reminds us that we have been purchased, that we now belong to God.
• We should trust in God more than self. II Chronicles 16:7-10 records a prophet warning that Asa’s faithlessness will lead to more wars in his time. He reminds Asa of other times God has helped him, but his actions with Ben-hadad lead to an end of peace during his reign. Our plans cannot supersede God’s plans.
• We need to be able to ask for God’s help. II Chronicles 16:11-12 records Asa being diseased, but he does not call on God for help. He instead relies on the wisdom of man. Peter tells us we can cast all of our care and anxiety on Him in I Peter 5:7, for our God cares about us.

Conclusion
We see the type of effort true spiritual reform takes in the life of Asa – a willingness to start at home, to restore our sense of morality, and to repair the sin in our lives. Reform takes time and effort. Once we reform ourselves, we should be careful to remember that we can always ask for God's help, trust in Him more than ourselves, and keep ourselves dedicated to His service. Doing this, we can ignite a spiritual revolution in our own lives.

lesson by Tim Smelser

Spiritual Spring Cleaning

Note: This lesson was actually delivered back in May, but I was absent from services that day. The speaker sent me his notes a while ago, and I'm finally getting this one up.

Whenever the months of April and May roll around, we start looking at ways we can do some spring cleaning. When do we take the time, however, to spring clean our spirits? While you’re cleaning out closets, sweeping under the furniture, think about this – spring cleaning, while certainly worth the effort, is temporary, but spiritual cleaning could have an eternal influence. Don’t only dust behind those book shelves, then. Dust off those spiritual goals, and get ready for a spiritual spring cleaning.

Steps to a Cleaner Spirit

Step 1 – Cleanse Our Hearts

The Bible encourages us to draw close to God & allow our hearts & bodies to be cleansed. This is the 1st step in our spring cleaning project. Psalm 51:10 calls on God to clean our hearts and renew our spirits, and Hebrews 10:22 encourages us to draw near to God, with hearts and bodies cleansed of guilt. We can’t clean ourselves. Instead we must draw near to God & ask him to do the cleansing.

Step 2 – Clean Out Our Mouths

I have had to work on my mouth editing since my days on the radio – not so much with coarse language – but with long years of untactful speech. Spiritual cleansing requires deep cleaning – it is housekeeping that goes beyond what others see and hear. It’s a cleansing from within – inside & out. As our hearts gets clean, our language should follow.

This is not only talking about our language, but also about negative conversations and pessimistic thoughts that can contradict the Word of God. This includes challenging ourselves to stop complaining, and this starts with our attitude. Luke 6:45 reads that we produce whatever is stored in our hearts, and Philippians 2:14 exhorts us to do everything without complaining or arguing. That can be tall order, but we can do it if we fix our attitudes.

Step 3 – Renew Our Minds

One of the biggest challenges in this spiritual cleaning is removing the garbage of this world. We must feed our minds & spirits the Word of God instead of the garbage of this world. Romans 12:2 discourages us from conforming to the world. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of our mind. II Corinthians 10:5 calls on us to make every though we have obedient to Christ.

Step 4 – Repent from Hidden Sin

Hidden sin will destroy our life and your peace. The Bible encourages us to confess our sins, and, when our spiritual closets are clean, the heaviness from hidden sin will lift.

Remember Psalm 32:3-5:

When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day & night our hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Then I acknowledged my sin to you & did not cover up my iniquity. I said, I will confess my transgressions to the LORD – and you forgave the guilt of my sin.

Step 5 – Release Grudges & Bitterness

When we refuse forgiveness, when we bear bitterness and grudges, it is like old baggage in the attic you just can’t seem to part with. We are so familiar with it, we don’t even realize how it is hindering our life. Hebrews 12:1 reminds us to cast aside anything weighing us down, and Ephesians 4:31-32 calls on us to rid ourselves of all bitterness, instead being as forgiving as our Savior.

Step 6 – Involve Jesus In Our daily Lives

What God wants from us most is a relationship – friendship. He wants to be involved in every moment our lives. Through him, we can experience a continual refreshing of our spirits. According to I Corinthians 1:9 – God is the one who invited us into this wonderful friendship with his Son Jesus, and Psalm 56:13 assures us we can walk in God’s presence, trusting Him to keep us from falling.

Step 7 – Enjoy the Journey

Some of us take life to seriously, or we take ourselves too seriously. Jesus want us to enjoy ourselves, and learn to have some fun. God made us for his pleasure. In Psalm 28:7 we see the psalmist leaping for joy and singing praises to His God. He can have the same effect on us.

Conclusion

Cleaning ourselves spiritually begins and ends with our attitude. If our attitudes are strong, then we will be able to commit ourselves to the preparation and work involved in the process. We can choose now whether or not we will continue living in our pasts of sin and regret or push forward to a better future in Christ. Like Paul, we can put our pasts behind us and reach for the upward calling of Jesus’ grace. We just have to take a moment and clean ourselves spiritually. If we even have one day to live, there is good work we can do. We just have to continue pressing forward.

lesson by Mike Mahoney

Our Heavenly Father

Our children will find a father in their God if they can see God in their fathers. Our heavenly Father is our model for earthly fatherhood. In the four gospels, Jesus uses the expressions “our Father” and “you Father” some sixty-eight times. He wants them and us to see in God all of the characteristics and attributes we look for in an earthly father. In this lesson we’re going to look at the way God’s fatherhood is portrayed in a few of Jesus’ parables; how He responds to us and how we should respond to Him.

The Prodigal Son’s Father

In Luke 15, Jesus tells three parables to those who trust in their own righteousness and look down upon those they view as spiritually unworthy. He speaks of one sheep lost of a hundred, one coin lost of ten, then, finally, one son lost of two. We know the parable of the prodigal son who leaves his home to live foolishly and wastefully. We know how the son returns in humility and how the father responds in love as well as the jealous reaction of the brother. We see God reflected in the father’s reactions to both of these sons.

At various times, we are both the younger son and the older son to our heavenly Father. The Father loves both of these sons and longs to see them both reconciled. He is constantly vigilant in seeking the one who is lost – even seeing the returning son from a great distance. He wants his sons to walk in truth. III John 4 expresses joy in spiritual children walking in truth, and II Timothy 1:2-3 records Paul’s joy and thankfulness for Timothy’s (one like a son to Paul) spiritual growth.

This father in Luke 15 is quick to forgive his son’s transgressions. I John 1:9 reminds us that our heavenly Father is as quick to forgive us when we turn from our own transgressions. Then, he encourages the older son to be as forgiving. He demonstrates the love and patience he would have that older son demonstrate. Though he deals with his sons differently, one needing forgiveness and the other encouragement, his standard of goodness remains the same. Through this father, we see a reflection of God.

The Fathers of Matthew 21 and 22

Matthew 21:28 tells of a father with two sons. The father asks both to work the vineyard. One refuses, then repents and works. The second says he will work but does not. Jesus compares these sons to the sinners who respond to God’s word versus those who consider themselves spiritual while ignoring God’s word.

Then Matthew 22:1-14 pictures a Father preparing a wedding feast. He invites friend and family who refuse to come, some even murder the messengers. These invite destruction upon themselves. Finally, the father invites any who would come from the streets. We see immediate generosity in this father toward anyone who accepts his invitation, but he is also executes justice against those who abuse those who are his and those who remain unprepared.

Finally Matthew 21:33-41 illustrates a father who leases his vineyard to farmers. It is a well-prepared vineyard with a fence around it, an on-site wine press, and a tower for defense. He entrusts this vineyard to others who refuse to honor him. These farmers beat and kill servants sent by the father to collect homage. Finally, he sends his only son, but these farmers kill the son as well. This father is patient with those tenants, even sending his own son to correct them. The implications of the parable are clear.

Conclusion

Our heavenly Father sacrificially sent His innocent Son so we may lose our guilt and become His spiritual children. He has blessed us generously. He has prepared a place for us and seeks for us to come to Him. He loves us, and He diligently seeks our love in return. He is always waiting for our repentance. He is always waiting for us to return to Him. He is patient with us. He is the epitome of fatherhood, and we can be His simply by coming to Him on His turns.

lesson by Tim Smelser

Forgiven But Unforgotten

II Samuel 13-14 provides some difficult material concerning Absalom, Tamar, and Amnon. Amnon attempts to court Tamar and ends up sexually assaulting her. David does nothing about this for two years until Absalom (Tamar’s brother and Amnon’s half-broter) kills Amnon for his crime against Tamar. Abaslom is indeed guilty of murder, but some of the blame falls on David. Remember, according to II Samuel 13:23, David neglected justice for two entire years.

Absalom flees to Geshur, and David desires to destroy Absalom for Amnon’s death according to verse 39. (The Hebrew word translated as “go out to” in most English translations, more literally means “to consume.”) In chapter 14, however, Joab sees this preoccupation growing in David, and he puts a plan into action to restore David’s family. He hires a wise woman of Tekoa who relates a story very similar to the events of his own life, begging for mercy for her son’s life. David acquiesces to mercy, and, in II Samuel 14:12, she begins to lead David into making application of her story to himself and Absalom. In verse 14, she reminds Him that God shows mercy and does not always require life for life. David should be so merciful.

Forgiving Without Forgetting

This message applies to David on multiple levels. Not only does it apply to his current conflict with Absalom, but David himself is worthy of death for his sin with Bathsheba and murder of Uriah. He sees God’s mercy in his own life, recognizes his life being spared, and decides to do likewise with Absalom. The story, unfortunately, does not end here, though.

In chapter 14:24, David orders Absalom to come back, but David keeps him in a state of household exile for another two years. His punishment is not physical exile, but he treats him as such. From the point of Absalom fleeing until he sees David again, five entire years pass. Is it any wonder Absalom begins to conspire against his father? Do you think David’s actions do not weigh on Absalom’s heart?

Mercy, Forgiveness, and Reconciliation

These chapters are really about mercy, forgiveness, and reconciliation. David had been forgiven by and reconciled to God in His mercy. David does not do the same for Absalom. This chain of events begins because David ignores Amnon’s wrongdoing, prodding Absalom into taking matters into his own hands. We cannot let our own past sins prevent us from addressing wrong as David’s history with Bathsheba clouds his judgment with Amnon.

Finally, we should be as merciful with others as we hope God would be with us. We cannot “forgive” and continue to punish after repentance. Remember the adulterous relationship Paul condemns in I Corinthians. Once the issue is resolved, Paul writes in II Corinthians 2:7 that the repentant sinner’s brothers and sisters should comfort him and confirm their love for him. David’s perpetual punishment makes room in Absalom’s heart for sin. Paul says we should never allow that opening to form. We cannot continue to punish after we forgive. DOing so is detrimental to our relationships and our souls, and it is not how we would want God to treat us.

When we repent, God shows mercy, forgiving us and reconciling us to Him. We should be so merciful when those close to us repent of their sins.

lesson by Tim Smelser