Sunday School Lesson for November 26, 2023 - Freedom to Edify: Printed Text: 1 Corinthians 10:23 - 11:1 NLT, Background Scripture: 1 Corinthians 8; 10:23 - 11:1, Devotional Reading: James 1:19-27 NLT

Unit 3: Christ Frees, Law Enslaves

Key Verse:

1 Corinthians 10:23b NLT

23b You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is beneficial.

The Lesson

1 Corinthians 10:23 NLT

23 You say, “I am allowed to do anything”—but not everything is good for you. You say, “I am allowed to do anything,”—but not everything is beneficial.  

Let’s give the Corinthians some credit. They were willing to push the envelope in regard to the Grace that God gives. From beginning to end, the letter to the Church at Corinth reveals that the Corinthians were … testing the limits of God’s patience. Isn’t that what children do? What any student of Scripture comes to appreciate is that the Corinthians touched many different areas in their error. Appreciate? Is that what you meant? Yes. Aside from the sin of legalism, the Church at Corinth touched so many areas in their error that they generated a wealth of practical advice from the Apostle Paul. That advice, this epistle, provides the Church today with invaluable guidance in most every facet of Christian life.

Corinthians 10:24 NLT

24 Don’t be concerned for your own good but for the good of others.

Verse Twenty-four provides what is the central focus of the entire epistle: A call to selflessness. Earlier this week, a brother posed a question to me based on 1 Corinthians 10:23. The question posed by the leaders of the Corinthian Church was, “ I am saved by Grace? Isn’t everything lawful to me? I’ve accepted Christ. I’m free. My brother framed the question from the viewpoint of many young believers who don’t feel the need to attend church regularly or at all. You see, when we believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ , we are saved! Why should we be required to attend Church? Verse Twenty-Four informs us that we fellowship, not only for our own spiritual growth, but for the encouragement and spiritual benefit of others. Selflessness.

1 Corinthians 10:25-26 NLT

25 So you may eat any meat that is sold in the marketplace without raising questions of conscience. 26 For “the earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.”

Here is one of those places where the Corinthians were exploring the boundaries of God’s great Grace. “Can we buy meat from the marketplace that had previously been offered to idols?” Paul’s answer was an emphatic “Yes!”  In fact, Paul writes that they can do so with a clear conscience because “the earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.” Yes, they were free. Free to live without fear.

1 Corinthians 10:27 NLT

27 If someone who isn’t a believer asks you home for dinner, accept the invitation if you want to. Eat whatever is offered to you without raising questions of conscience.

That same freedom is to be exercised when invited to the home of a non-believer, but with a condition…

1 Corinthians 10:28-30 NLT

28 (But suppose someone tells you, “This meat was offered to an idol.” Don’t eat it, out of consideration for the conscience of the one who told you. 29 It might not be a matter of conscience for you, but it is for the other person.) For why should my freedom be limited by what someone else thinks? 30 If I can thank God for the food and enjoy it, why should I be condemned for eating it?

Thus, Paul entreats his readers not to eat that same meat in the presence of a host who informs them that the meat was previously offered to idols. Do this for conscience sake. Not the conscience of the believer but the conscience of the non-believer. In Romans 14, Paul includes the brother or sister in Christ whose conscience might be similarly affected in a detrimental way. For Paul, Grace covers a multitude of sins. The only consideration we are required to hold to is the spiritual well-being of our neighbors, whether they are Christian or not.

1 Corinthians 10:31 NLT

31 So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

I know what you’re thinking, “If it doesn’t bring God glory, don’t do it.” Beloved, look a little deeper. In order to make an informed decision, maturity is required, spiritual maturity. That can only occur in the fellowship of other believers. As believers, we have a responsibility before God to grow. Creation awaits our ‘appearing’ (Roman 8). We are to be bright and shining lights in the midst of a wicked and perverse generation. That doesn’t just happen. We grow when we allow our minds to be renewed by the Word of God. 

1 Corinthians 10:32-33 NLT

32 Don’t give offense to Jews or Gentiles[f] or the church of God. 33 I, too, try to please everyone in everything I do. I don’t just do what is best for me; I do what is best for others so that many may be saved.

Paul sums it up in this way: he seeks to offend no one; Jew, Gentile, believer, non-believer. He seeks the best for others so that they might know Christ in the power of His resurrection.

1 Corinthians 11:1 NLT

1 And you should imitate me, just as I imitate Christ.

So then, in closing, I would like to encourage young Christians who might not see the value in regular fellowship with other believers. I’ll just speak for myself here. If I am to imitate Paul, or any other leader in the Church, I must be in the company of believers. Regular Bible study under inspired leadership is necessary for the growth that God desires for the body of Christ.

Selah!

wb

Acts 17:11-12 NLT

11 And the people of Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica, and they listened eagerly to Paul’s message. They searched the Scriptures day after day to see if Paul and Silas were teaching the truth. 12 As a result, many Jews believed, as did many of the prominent Greek women and men.

Faith: Printed Text: Galatians 2:11-21 NLT, Background Scripture: Galatians 2:11-21 NLT, Devotional Reading: Galatians 2:1-10 NLT

 

Unit 2: Faith Triumphs, Law Fails

Key Verse:

Galatians 2:20b NLT

20b So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Prelude:

Galatians 1:8 NLT

8 Let God’s curse fall on anyone, including us or even an angel from heaven, who preaches a different kind of Good News than the one we preached to you.

Serious question: How long was it before you understood the truth of the concept of Grace?

The Lesson

Galatians 2:11 NLT

11 But when Peter came to Antioch, I had to oppose him to his face, for what he did was very wrong. 

Interestingly, this first verse of the lesson holds important clues to the tone that should be considered in the remainder of the text. Peter was considered the leader of the Church. The head of the Apostles. And then there is Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles. Singularly responsible for the organizational matrix that supported the growth of the missionary outreach to the Gentiles. Leaders don’t normally make their private grievances public, but Paul made an exception in this case. What had Peter done? One more thing: this happened in Antioch, headquarters for the Gentile Church. This was the place where Christians were first called “Christians.” There is a lot to take away from this setting. Antioch would have ranked as the Mother Church to most of the Gentile Christians, but in the hearts of the Jewish believers, Jerusalem was the centerpiece of the Church. Paul made a very public scene on a very big stage because the outcome would have eternal consequences for millions of believers up to the present day and beyond. 

Galatians 2:12 NLT

12 When he first arrived, he ate with the Gentile believers, who were not circumcised. But afterward, when some friends of James came, Peter wouldn’t eat with the Gentiles anymore. He was afraid of criticism from these people who insisted on the necessity of circumcision.

This is pretty straightforward. Peter was sometimey. Sometimes, he acted this way, sometimes, that. Peter, who was taught by Jesus, walked in the truth when he was around Gentile believers, but when he was in the company of Jewish believers, he shunned the same Gentiles that he had previously supped with. With his timidity, Peter was endangering the foundational message of the Gospel: Salvation by Grace through Faith. One more thing. It is entirely possible that the Jewish believers that Peter encountered at Antioch were sent there by the Church leaders from Jerusalem. Did their presence signal an attempt by the Church at Jerusalem to exert undue influence over the Church at Antioch? That is most likely the case. I say all this to try to express the gravity of the situation that was unfolding at Antioch.

Galatians 2:13 NLT

13 As a result, other Jewish believers followed Peter’s hypocrisy, and even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy.

Think about what’s happening here. Until the Jerusalem Church contingent showed up, Antioch had a blend of Jewish and Gentile believers who were actively working toward a singular goal; life in Christ. Stop. When using the term Gentile, consider the thought that Gentiles were not a singular group of people. The term Gentile means ayone who is non-Jewish. Careful examination of Scripture reveals that believers in Antioch were from a variety of countries, nations and ethnicities. Antioch was truly a multiracial Church. Peter’s hypocrisy threatened to create division sown by outsiders. In fact, even Barnabus, known for his conciliatory spirit (he was called ‘the Son of Consolation’), was being led into this spirit of division. This division would have been poison to the fledgling Church.

Galatians 2:14 NLT

14 When I saw that they were not following the truth of the gospel message, I said to Peter in front of all the others, “Since you, a Jew by birth, have discarded the Jewish laws and are living like a Gentile, why are you now trying to make these Gentiles follow the Jewish traditions?

Antioch was a large city in Syria, north of Jerusalem, by more than 300 miles. This may have been the farthest Peter had ventured away from Jerusalem in his own named missionary outreach. However, the Scriptures document Peter’s travels to Joppa, where he stayed with a skin tanner named Simon. It was in Joppa that Peter received the call by God to go to Caesarea, the home of Cornelius, a Captain of the Roman army, to preach the Gospel to Cornelius’ household. Joppa was some forty miles northwest of Jerusalem, on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Caeserea was forty miles due north further up the coast. In Joppa, Peter would have been in strict violation of the law of Moses by staying in the house of Simon, a man who made his living surrounded by the carcasses of dead animals. Everything about that scenario screamed, “Unclean!” But it was there that God opened Peter’s heart and eyes, revealing to him that nothing that God called clean could be deemed unclean. Nothing. It was then that Peter went to the home of a Gentile oppressor to deliver a message of ultimate freedom: peace with God through Jesus Christ! Peter knew the truth of the Gospel. He had been convinced!

I’m uncertain what Peter’s purpose was in visiting Antioch. Maybe it was simply to extend the right hand of fellowship to the church there, a diverse body of believers from regions as far away as Ethiopia and Niger in Africa, as well as Greece and various places throughout Asia Minor. History records that the church at Antioch was the first Gentile church. The Bible informs us that Antioch was where the followers of Christ were first called ‘Christians.’ 

Whatever the reason, it had been demonstrated that Peter had left behind the meticulous observance of the Law of Moses in previous encounters with Gentiles. Additionally, he had witnessed God’s grace shed upon the Gentiles. Peter knew better. Surrounded by all of the other members of the church, Paul publicly reminded Peter that he (Peter) had abandoned the strict observance of the law years ago. Peter knew better than anyone that…Jesus had fulfilled the Law. Why, then, would Peter push dead tradition upon the Gentiles?

Galatians 2:15 NLT

15 “You and I are Jews by birth, not ‘sinners’ like the Gentiles…”

Paul continues his chastisement of Peter by reminding him of their shared heritage. He and Peter are Jews. They are God’s chosen people. They have Abraham as their progenitor. This clearly distinguishes them from the Gentiles who are standing there listening. Oh, and what is the ‘sin’ of the Gentiles? Simple. They are not Jews. Paul continues…

Galatians 2:16 NLT

16 “…Yet we know that a person is made right with God by faith in Jesus Christ, not by obeying the law. And we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we might be made right with God because of our faith in Christ, not because we have obeyed the law. For no one will ever be made right with God by obeying the law.”

Now, Paul clearly and concisely declares the message of the Gospel. We are made right with God by faith in Jesus Christ. Faith in Christ has saved us. Faith alone. He goes on to tell Peter… and us what does not save. Obedience to the law of Moses does not save. It never could. It was only a placeholder until God’s true salvation could be revealed. Let me say it again. The law could not save. It never could.

Galatians 2:17 NLT

17 But suppose we seek to be made right with God through faith in Christ, and then we are found guilty because we have abandoned the law. Would that mean Christ has led us into sin? Absolutely not!

Paul then poses the question of the ages. Has Christ led us into sin? Even the sound of the question spoken out loud sounds preposterous. Has Crist led us into sin? Can Christ lead us to sin? Has Christ ever led anyone into sin? Will Christ ever lead anyone into sin? See? Preposterous. So then, the argument that Paul poses around this question is this. He and Peter placed all of their faith in Christ. In so doing, they had abandoned the law of Moses. Because of this, they were now guilty before God (of breaking the law of Moses). Subsequently, they should have been eternally condemned. Eternally! And the question remains. Would Christ have led them into this sin? Really a rhetorical question. There can only be one right answer: No! Emphatically! No!

Galatians 2:18 NLT

18 Rather, I am a sinner if I rebuild the old system of law I already tore down.

Now, Paul turns the tables with a second rhetorical argument. If he or anyone else were to try and rebuild a flawed system that could never provide salvation, would that not make them a sinner? I mean, no matter how well intended they might be, if what they preached was less than adequate for the provision of eternal life, would they not then be…guilty of sin? Now, the obvious answer to this rhetorical argument is an emphatic… yes! Any attempt to rebuild a works-based path to salvation was sin!

Galatians 2:19 NLT

19 For when I tried to keep the law, it condemned me. So I died to the law—I stopped trying to meet all its requirements—so that I might live for God.

Paul adds one final piece to his argument. He makes a personal confession. He had come to realize that the very law he had tried in the past to keep had condemned him. I can’t tell you when this may have occurred. But allow to make a hypothetical argument. Could his understanding of his own guilt before God have been what fueled his well-renowned zeal? Could his own self condemnation have been what caused him to persecute Christians with ruthless dispassion for their lives? Thinking back to Jesus’ many contentious encounters with Pharisees and Teachers of the law, would not their own realization that they missed the mark in their own lives have eventually led them into a space of self delusion whereby they deemed one another saved by others within there circle of influence? See how that works?

Allow me to bring this into a modern day application. Or, can you see it already? Listen, every Sunday, we assemble in churches with other people who look just like us. They act like us. They dress like us. They are us. That’s why we go to church with them. When we join their church, we elevate …us, I mean, each other. We institute certain rules and traditions within the confines of our church that everyone must follow. Our clothes, hats, music, all of that. And sometimes, we insinuate that those who do not follow our traditions might not be saved. C’mon y’all. Amen or…Ouch!

Paul gave it up. He gave it all up. Christ was the best news he had ever heard! Christ provided him a way out. Or rather, a way in. His feelings of hopelessness had finally been lifted. With Christ’s intrusion into his life that day outside of Damascus, Paul could finally be free from the anchor that was the law of Moses. It’s no wonder Paul accepted God’s gift so eagerly. For the first time, may be in his whole life, Paul would be free. Free to live for God. Can you see this? All of you reading this right now should be shouting. Shouting!

Galatians 2:20 NLT

20 My old self has been crucified with Christ.[e] It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

(A Personal note: I have taken this verse as my own personal confession, kind of the shingle on the door of my heart. It’s also sometimes a very harsh reminder…)

Paul’s personal confession is remarkable. He took his own fervor and killed himself with it. From the moment of salvation, he reckoned himself dead to his old life and alive in Christ. He was free. Christ made it so. Since that day on the road to Damascus, the only work that Paul was guilty of was trusting Christ and what Christ had done for him. “Wait!”, you’ll argue with me. “Didn’t Paul respond to the call of the Lord by spending the remainder of his life working to build the Church?” There is an old saying that goes something like, “If you can find an occupation that you love, you’ll never work a day in your life!” That’s what Paul found when Christ found him. All Paul did was respond in love to love.

Galatians 2:21 NLT

21 I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die.

Beloved. One word: Grace. Put that word at the top of your lexicon, or thesaurus, or little black book. We are saved because of God’s unmerited favor toward us through Christ Jesus. It is the greatest gift of God to mankind. Paul reminds his readers that to regard Grace as less than sufficient for salvation is to regard the death of His Son as unnecessary and without merit. Allow me to close with this final question. Which side of God do you want to be on? Was the death of His Son enough for you? See how this works?

Selah!

wb

Galatians 1:8 NLT

8 Let God’s curse fall on anyone, including us or even an angel from heaven, who preaches a different kind of Good News than the one we preached to you.

Sunday School Lesson for October 8, 2023 - Old and New: Printed Text: Romans 7:1-12 NLT, Background Scripture: Romans 7:1-25 NLT, Devotional Reading: Jeremiah 7:1-15 NLT

 

Unit 2: Faith Triumphs, Law Fails

Key Verse:

Romans 7:6 NLT

6 But now we have been released from the law, for we died to it and are no longer captive to its power. Now, we can serve God, not in the old way of obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way of living in the Spirit.

Prelude:

Romans 6:4 NLT

4 For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.

. This week’s lesson in Chapter 7 of Romans is an illustration of an argument that Paul has been making since Chapter 2. Paul has made two key points clearly. First, “All have sinned have fallen short of God’s glory” (Romans 3:12). Paul has built his argument to include both Jews and Gentiles. Secondly, he has argued that, for both Jews and Gentiles, God has provided righteousness through His Son, Jesus Christ (Romans 5:8-11). 

Now that Paul has demonstrated to his audience their formerly shared unrighteousness, as well as the righteousness they now share through Christ, he encourages them to live holy. Furthermore, he argues and will argue that they have the power (the Holy Spirit) and the freedom to decide for God. They no longer are under an obligation to follow their sinful nature. Paul uses the illustration of marriage according to Jewish custom to make his point clear.

The Lesson

Romans 7:1 NLT

1 Now, dear brothers and sisters[a]—you who are familiar with the law—don’t you know that the law applies only while a person is living?

Just a reminder. Paul is writing primarily to Jewish Christians in Rome. His secondary audience is Gentiles, Romans who have become Christian converts. Why? It is important to Paul that he helps all of the Christians in Rome to come to a place of understanding concerning their unity in the faith so as to quash the dissension between them. They are now brothers and sisters in Christ.

Writing to Jews, he reminds them of contractual law. Contractual law of any kind only applies when the parties involved in the contract are alive. The exception exists in the case of a will, where, at the time of death, the will of the deceased is enforced so as to execute the last wishes of the deceased. Among the many purposes that the law of Moses served, the establishment of the civic law of Israel was integral in their establishment as a nation.

Romans 7:2 NLT

2 For example, when a woman marries, the law binds her to her husband as long as he is alive. But if he dies, the laws of marriage no longer apply to her.

One of the few commonalities that every culture shares is the rite of marriage. Every culture recognizes the spiritual sanctity and the legal gravity that accompanies the marriage ritual. Though the customs may vary, every culture honors the marriage bond. By invoking the custom of marriage as an example, Paul provides an example that all Jews can recognize. A woman is bound to her husband for as long as he lives. But, when he dies, the woman is no longer bound to him. Give me a minute.

Romans 7:3 NLT

3 So, while her husband is alive, she would be committing adultery if she married another man. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law and does not commit adultery when she remarries.

Matthew 19:8 NLT

8 Jesus replied, “Moses permitted divorce only as a concession to your hard hearts, but it was not what God had originally intended.

Malachi 2:16 NLT

16 “For I hate divorce!”[c] says the Lord, the God of Israel. “To divorce your wife is to overwhelm her with cruelty,[d]” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “So guard your heart; do not be unfaithful to your wife.”

In ancient Israel, according to the law, divorce occurred at the purview of the husband. If he was dissatisfied with his wife, he could request a writ of divorce and absolve the relationship. However, for the woman, the issue was not so cut and dried. In the case of divorce, if she remarried, she was considered to have committed adultery. In essence, though she was no longer married to her first husband, she was associated with him by marriage for as long as he was alive. 

Let me make note of the fact that divorce was permitted under the law, but it was never God’s will. Also, in ancient Israel, the stigma of divorce did not abide with the man as it did with the woman. The stain on her reputation was indelible. Allow me to make a couple of final points. First, while it is clear from Scripture that divorce was not intended by God, it is also clear that in the case of divorce, God bore no ill will toward the woman. In fact, in the Book of Malachi, God holds the husbands responsible for divorce and accuses them of cruelty to their wives in the case of divorce. Jesus confirms this by noting that divorce was allowed because of the hardness of the hearts of the men who submitted these ‘writs of divorce’. Wives were to be loved and cherished by their husbands, not crushed or abandoned by them. Peter seems to align with this concept when he admonishes husbands to ‘honor their wives … so that their prayers would not be hindered’. Secondly, Paul is not giving us inspired instruction in regard to marriage and divorce in this passage in Romans. He’s teaching about the diminishing power of sin in the life of the believer. This is not a treatise on divorce. We will do that some other time.

2 Peter 3:7 NLT

7 In the same way, you husbands must give honor to your wives. Treat your wife with understanding as you live together. She may be weaker than you are, but she is your equal partner in God’s gift of new life. Treat her as you should so your prayers will not be hindered.

______________________________________

Romans 7:4 NLT

4 So, my dear brothers and sisters, this is the point: You died to the power of the law when you died with Christ. And now you are united with the one who was raised from the dead. As a result, we can produce a harvest of good deeds for God. 

Paul now returns to his primary topic: our permanent separation from sin and the power therein. In the same way that a woman in ancient Israel could not be separated from association to her husband, except by the death of the husband, we could not be separated from sin, except by death. Through our death in Christ, we are no longer bound to sin. Rather, we are free to live for God and to exemplify that life to others as Christ’s servants.

Romans 7:5 NLT

5 When we were controlled by our old nature,[b] sinful desires were at work within us, and the law aroused these evil desires that produced a harvest of sinful deeds, resulting in death.

In the same way that a divorced woman was indelibly associated with her first husband, before Christ, we were indelibly associated with sin. From birth, we were held captive to sin. Sin has taken residence in our old nature and controls our thoughts and actions. In fact, the law condemns us by revealing to us the depth of our evil desires and our powerlessness to overcome them.

Romans 7:6 NLT

6 But now we have been released from the law, for we died to it and are no longer captive to its power. Now we can serve God, not in the old way of obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way of living in the Spirit.

But when we accepted Christ as Lord and Savior, we died to sin. That death separated us from the power and penalty of sin… permanently. Eternally. That separation is as final for the believer as it was for the woman whose husband had died. That woman was free from any perceived legal association with her now-deceased husband.. Beloved, in the same way, we are now free from any legal association with sin. In that it is contractual, it is eternal before God, the Judge of all creation. That’s really good news, Beloved!

Romans 7:7 NLT

7 Well then, am I suggesting that the law of God is sinful? Of course not! In fact, it was the law that showed me my sin. I would never have known that coveting is wrong if the law had not said, “You must not covet.”

Beloved, be reminded that the Law of Moses was given by God at Mount Sinai. The law originated with God. The law is holy and just. The law cannot be sinful. Rather, the law is the standard by which all men are judged. The law serves as a mirror to reveal to us our sins. The law stands between us and Heaven and justly declares us unrighteous by our own will or our own acts of self-righteousness.

Romans 7:8-10 NLT

8 But sin used this command to arouse all kinds of covetous desires within me! If there were no law, sin would not have that power. 9 At one time, I lived without understanding the law. But when I learned the command not to covet, for instance, the power of sin came to life, 10 and I died. So I discovered that the law’s commands, which were supposed to bring life, brought spiritual death instead.

Before we became aware of the law, we were still guilty of sin, we just weren’t aware of how wretchedly evil sin was. Then, even when we were exposed to the letter of the law, we set about trying to justify ourselves by creating various caveats to the law that justified our behavior while condemning the behavior of others. Rather than admit our covetousness, we justified our lusts and desires while condemning the shortcomings of our neighbors. Paul personalized this epithet with a damning revelation: by the power of the law, ”...sin came to life, and I died.” The law revealed God’s standard. We all fall short. We are all worthy of death.

Romans 7:11-12 NLT

11 Sin took advantage of those commands and deceived me; it used the commands to kill me. 12 But still, the law itself is holy, and its commands are holy and right and good.

Paul closes by commending the law for exposing our sins. Remember, Paul is writing to Jews. His argument has not been to denigrate the law but to expose the real purpose of the law. It is God’s standard, revealed to the Jews first and then to the Gentiles. Sent from Heaven to reveal all unrighteousness of mankind, leaving us without hope. Beloved, the law could never save. But it reveals to us, our need for a Savior, Jesus Christ, the Lord.

Selah,

wb

Romans 1:16-17 NLT

16 For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile.[g] 17 This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.”