Stanley Tavaziva

Christ has made it possible for us to go directly to God for forgiveness. But confessing our sins to each other still has an important place in the life of the church. (1) If we have sinned against an individual, we must ask him or her to forgive us. (2) If our sin has affected the church, we must confess it publicly. (3) If we need loving support as we struggle with a sin, we should confess that sin to those who are able to provide that support. (4) If we doubt God’s forgiveness, after confessing a sin to him, we may wish to confess that sin to a fellow believer for assurance of God’s pardon. In Christ’s Kingdom, every believer is a priest to other believers God uses activities of wicked people for his good purposes. God is infinite, and we are finite. No matter how great our intellects, we will never be able to understand him completely. But we can accept by faith that he is all-powerful, all-loving, and perfectly good. We can believe that he is not the cause of evil and we can trust that there are no loose ends in his system of judgment. Evil is a temporary condition in the universe. One day God will destroy it.

Even though Israel had seen the invisible God in action, they still wanted the familiar gods they could see and shape into whatever image they desired. Our great temptation is still to shape God to our liking, to make him convenient to obey or ignore. God responds in great anger when his mercy is trampled on. The gods we create blind us to the love that our loving God wants to shower on us. God cannot work in us when we elevate anyone or anything above him. God was ready to destroy the whole nation of Israel because of their sin. But Moses pleaded for mercy, and God spared them. This is one of the countless examples in the Bible of God’s mercy. Although we deserve his anger, he is willing to forgive and restore us to himself. We can receive God’s forgiveness from sin by asking him. Like Moses, we can pray that he will forgive others and use us to bring them the message of his mercy.

Everyone, no matter how holy, has sins that need to be forgiven. We should forgive our neighbor for any wrong, and then, when you petition to God your sins will be pardoned.

In times of plenty, we often take credit for our prosperity and become proud that our own hard work and cleverness have made us rich. It is easy to get so busy collecting and managing wealth that we push God right out of our lives. But it is God who gives us everything we have, and it is God who asks us to manage it for him. When we pray “Give us our food for today,” we are acknowledging that God is our sustainer and provider. It is a misconception to think that we provide for our needs ourselves. We must trust God daily to provide what he knows we need.

May your kingdom come soon is a reference to God’s spiritual reign. God’s Kingdom was announced in the covenant with Abraham and is present in Christ’s reign in us believers’ hearts and will be complete when all evil is destroyed and God establishes the new heaven and earth. When we pray “May your will be done,” we are not resigning ourselves to fate but praying that God’s perfect purpose will be accomplished in this world as well as in the next.

Jesus saw through their self-righteous acts, however, and taught that the essence of prayer is not public style but private communication with God. Jesus encourages persistent prayer. But he condemns the shallow repetition of words that are not offered with a sincere heart. We can never pray too much if our prayers are honest and sincere. Before you start to pray, make sure you mean what you say. We should praise God, pray for his work in the world, pray for our daily needs, and pray for help in our daily struggles. The phrase “Our Father in heaven” indicates that God is not only majestic and holy but also personal and loving. The first line of this model prayer is a statement of praise and a commitment to hallow, or honor, God’s holy name. We can honor God’s name by being careful to use it respectfully. If we use God’s name lightly, we aren’t remembering God’s holiness.

Paul said that his goal was to know Christ, to be like Christ, and to be all Christ had in mind for him. This goal took all of Paul’s energies. This is a helpful example for us. We should not let anything take our eyes off our goal—knowing Christ. With the single-mindedness of an athlete in training, we must lay aside everything harmful and forsake anything that may distract us from being effective Christians. What is holding you back? Paul had reason to forget the past—he had held the coats of those who stoned Stephen, Paul was called Saul that time. We have all done things for which we are ashamed, and we live in the tension of what we have been and what we want to be. Because our hope is in Christ, however, we can let go of past guilt and look forward to what God will help us become. Don’t dwell on your past. Instead, grow in the knowledge of God by concentrating on your relationship with him now. Realize that you are forgiven, and then move on to a life of faith and obedience. Look forward to a fuller and more meaningful life because of your hope in Christ.

After Paul considered everything he had accomplished in his life, he said that it was all “worthless” when compared with the greatness of knowing Christ. This is a profound statement about values: A person’s relationship with Christ is more important than anything else. To know Christ should be our ultimate goal. Consider your values. Do we place anything above our relationship with Christ? If our priorities are wrong, how will we reorder them? No amount of law keeping, self-improvement, discipline, or religious effort can make us right with God. Righteousness comes only from God. We are made righteous (receive right standing with him) by trusting in Christ. He exchanges our sin and shortcomings for his complete righteousness. Paul gave up everything—family, friendship, and freedom—in order to know Christ and his resurrection power. We, too, have access to this knowledge and this power, but we may have to make sacrifices to enjoy it fully, are we willing to give up in order to know Christ? We need to set aside a few minutes each day for prayer and Bible study. Whatever it is, knowing Christ is more than worth the sacrifice.

When Paul says that we look forward to the joys of heaven, he is emphasizing the security of the believer. Because we know that our future destination and salvation are sure we are free to live for Christ and love others. When you find yourself doubting or wavering in our faith or love, remember our destination—heaven. Paul lists five benefits God gives all believers through Christ: (1) He enabled us to share his inheritance. (2) he rescued us from Satan’s kingdom of darkness and made us his children ; (3) he brought us into his eternal Kingdom. (4) he purchased our freedom from sin and judgment with his blood. (5) he forgave all our sins Thank God for what you have received in Christ. The Colossian church had several misconceptions about Christ that Paul directly refuted: (1) Believing that matter is evil, false teachers argued that God would not have come to earth as a true human being in bodily form. Paul stated that Christ is the image—the exact likeness—of God and is himself God, and yet he died on the cross as a human being. (2) They believed that God did not create the world because he would not have created evil. Paul proclaimed that Jesus Christ, who was also God in the flesh, is the Creator of both heaven and earth. (3) They said that Christ was not the unique Son of God but rather one of many intermediaries between God and people. Paul explained that Christ existed before anything else and is the firstborn of those resurrected. (4) They refused to see Christ as the source of salvation, insisting that people could find God only through special and secret knowledge. In contrast, Paul openly proclaimed the way of salvation to be through Christ alone. Paul continued to bring the argument back to Christ. When we share the Good News, we, too, must keep the focus on Christ.

Jesus Christ was humble, willing to give up his rights in order to obey God and serve people. Like Christ, we should have a servant’s attitude, serving out of love for God and for others, not out of guilt or fear. Remember, you can choose your attitude. You can approach life expecting to be served, or you can look for opportunities to serve others. Christ’s attitude of The Incarnation was the act of the preexistent Son of God voluntarily assuming a human body and human nature. Without ceasing to be God, he became a human being, the man called Jesus. He did not give up his deity to become human, but he set aside the right to his glory and power. In submission to the Father’s will, Christ limited his power and knowledge. What made Jesus humanity unique was his freedom from sin. In his full humanity, Jesus showed us everything about God’s character that can be conveyed in human terms. Several key characteristics of Jesus Christ, however, written in the Bilbe (1) Christ has always existed with God; (2) Christ is equal to God because he is God (3) though Christ is God, he became a man in order to fulfill God’s plan of salvation for all people; (4) Christ did not just have the appearance of being a man—he actually became human to identify with our sins; (5) Christ voluntarily laid aside his divine rights and privileges out of love for his Father; (6) Christ died on the cross for our sins so we wouldn’t have to face eternal death; (7) God glorified Christ because of his obedience; (8) God raised Christ to his original position at the Father’s right hand, where he will reign forever as our Lord and Judge. How can we do anything less than praise Christ as our Lord and dedicate ourselves to his service!.

To those who don’t believe in God, life on earth is all there is, and so it is natural for them to strive for this world’s values: money, popularity, power, pleasure, and prestige. For Paul, however, to live meant to develop eternal values and to tell others about Christ, who alone could help them see life from an eternal perspective. Paul’s whole purpose in life was to speak out boldly for Christ and to become more like him. Thus, Paul could confidently say that dying would be even better than living, because in death he would be removed from worldly troubles, and he would see Christ face to face

Paul contrasts our earthly body and our future resurrection body. Paul clearly states that our present body makes us groan, but when we die we will not be spirits without bodies. We will have new bodies that will be perfect for our everlasting life. The Holy Spirit within us is our guarantee that God will give us an everlasting body at the resurrection (1:22). We have eternity in us now! This truth should give us great courage and patience to endure anything we might have to experience. Paul was not afraid to die because he was confident of spending eternity with Christ. Of course, facing the unknown may cause us anxiety, and leaving loved ones hurts deeply, but if we believe in Jesus Christ, we can share Paul’s hope and confidence of eternal life with Christ.The whole human race is on death row, justly condemned for repeatedly breaking God’s holy law. Without Jesus we would have no hope at all. But thank God! He has declared us not guilty and has offered us freedom from sin and power to do his will. The book of Revelation gives us a vision symbolic and shows us that our new home with God will defy description. We will not be disappointed by it in any way.

Paul contrasts our earthly body and our future resurrection body. Paul clearly states that our present body makes us groan, but when we die we will not be spirits without bodies. We will have new bodies that will be perfect for our everlasting life. Paul wrote as he did because the church at Corinth was surrounded by Greek culture, and many believers had difficulty with the concept of bodily resurrection because the Greeks did not believe in it. Most saw the afterlife as something that happened only to the soul, with the real person imprisoned in a physical body. They believed that at death the soul was released; there was no immortality for the body, and the soul enters an eternal state. But the Bible teaches that the body and soul are not permanently separated. We will still have personalities and recognizable characteristics in our resurrected body, but through Christ’s work, our body will be better than we can imagine. The Bible does not tell us everything about our resurrected body, but we know that it will be perfect, without sickness, disease, or pain. Jesus said, “I am going to prepare a place for you,” and “I will come and get you.” We can look forward to this eternal life because Jesus has promised us all who believe in him. Although the details of eternity are unknown, we need not fear because Jesus is preparing for us and will spend eternity with us.The life we are living today is temporary

Timothy preached and taught, that he faced suffering, but was able to endure. Paul used a comparison with soldiers, athletes, and farmers who must discipline themselves and be willing to sacrifice to achieve the results they want. Like soldiers, we have to give up worldly security and endure rigorous discipline. Like athletes, we must train hard and follow the rules. Like farmers, we must work extremely hard and be patient. We need to keep going despite suffering because of the thought of victory, the vision of winning, and the hope of harvest. We will see our suffering is worthwhile when we achieve our goal of glorifying God, winning people to Christ. Paul summarized his lifetime of suffering for the sake of the Good News. He mentioned his suffering here to contrast his experience with that of the pleasure-seeking false teachers. Paul told Timothy that people who obey God and live for Christ will be persecuted. We must not surprised when people misunderstand, criticize, and even try to hurt us because of what we believe and how we live. We must not give up. Continue to live as we know we should. God is the only one we need to please.

Most churches contain people who do not yet believe. Some are moving in the direction of belief, and others are simply pretending. Imposters, however, are not to be removed, for that is the Lord’s work alone. The Good News about Jesus Christ will save us if we firmly believe it and faithfully follow it. There will always be people who say that Jesus didn’t rise from the dead. Paul assures us that many people saw Jesus after his resurrection: Peter; the disciples (the Twelve); more than 500 Christian believers (most of whom were still alive when Paul wrote this, although some had died); James (Jesus’ half brother); all the apostles; and finally Paul himself. The Resurrection is a historical fact. Don’t be discouraged by doubters who deny the Resurrection. Be filled with hope because of the knowledge that one day you, and they, will see the living proof when Christ returns.

Paul and Aquila had been trained in tent making, cutting and sewing the woven cloth of goats’ hair into tents. Tents were used to house soldiers, and so these tents may have been sold to the Roman army. As a tentmaker, Paul was able to go wherever God led him, carrying his livelihood with him. The word tentmaker in Greek was also used to describe a leatherworker. Paul was a tentmaker, and he supported himself with this trade. Paul did not work to become rich but to be free from being dependent on anyone. He supported himself as well as others who traveled with him (he mentions this in some of his letters. These words of Jesus are not recorded in the Gospels. Obviously, not all of Jesus’ words were written down (John 21:25); this saying may have been passed on orally through the apostles. Paul was writing here about the person who is lazy. Paul explained that when he and his companions were in Thessalonica, they worked hard, buying what they needed rather than becoming a burden to any of the believers. The rule they followed was, “Whoever does not work should not eat.” There’s a difference between leisure and laziness. Relaxation and recreation provide a necessary and much needed balance to our life; but when it is time to work, Christians should jump right in. We should make the most of our talent and time, doing all we can to provide for ourselves and our dependents. Rest when you should be resting, and work when you should be working. The Corinthians had split into various cliques, each following its favorite preacher (Paul, Apollos, Peter, etc.). Each clique really believed it was the only one to have the whole truth and thus felt spiritually proud. But Paul told the groups not to boast about being tied to a particular preacher, because each preacher was simply a humble servant who had suffered for the same message of salvation in Jesus Christ. No preacher of God has more status than another.

2 In these verses, Paul answers a common objection: How could a loving God send anyone to hell, especially someone who has never heard about Christ? In fact, says Paul, God has revealed himself plainly in the creation to all people. And yet people reject even this basic knowledge of God. Also, all people have an inner sense of what God requires, but they choose not to live up to it. Put another way, people’s moral standards are always better than their behavior. If people suppress God’s truth in order to live their own way, they have no excuse. They know the truth, and they will have to endure the consequences of ignoring it. What kind of God does nature reveal? Nature shows us a God of might, intelligence, and intricate detail; a God of order and beauty; a God who controls powerful forces. That is general revelation. Through special revelation (the Bible and the coming of Jesus), we learn about God’s love and forgiveness and the promise of eternal life. God has graciously given us many sources that we might come to believe in him. People are condemned not for what they don’t know but for what they do with what they know. Those who know God’s written Word and his law will be judged by them. Those who have never seen a Bible still know right from wrong, and they will be judged because they violated those standards that their own consciences dictated. God’s law is written within them. Many people react negatively to the fact that there is no other name than that of Jesus to call on for salvation. Yet this is not something the church decided; it is the specific teaching of Jesus himself (John 14:6). If God designated Jesus to be the Savior of the world, no one else can be his equal. Christians are to be open-minded on many issues but not on how we are saved from sin. No other religious teacher could die for our sins; no other religious teacher came to earth as God’s only Son; no other religious teacher rose from the dead. Our focus should be on Jesus, whom God provided as the way to have an eternal relationship with himself. There is no other name or way!

1 God is known in his creation, and he is close to every one of us. But he is not trapped in his creation—he is transcendent. God is the Creator, not the creation. This means that God is sovereign and in control, while at the same time he is close and personal. Let the Creator of the universe rule our lives. Paul’s address were a good example of how to communicate the Good News. Paul did not begin by reciting Jewish history, as he usually did, for this would have been meaningless to his Greek audience. He began by building a case for the one true God, using examples they understood. Then he established common ground by emphasizing what they agreed on about God. Finally, he moved his message to the person of Christ, centering on the Resurrection. When you witness to others, we can use Paul’s approach establish common ground, and then move people toward a decision about Jesus Christ. Paul did not leave his message unfinished. He confronted his listeners with Jesus’ resurrection and its meaning to all people—either blessing or punishment. Most of them preferred worshiping many gods instead of just one, and the concept of resurrection was unbelievable and offensive to them. Paul did not hold back the truth, however, no matter what they might think of it. Paul often changed his approach to fit his audience, but he never changed his basic message.

Paul states presents the Substitutionary Atonement that Jesus is the Son of God, the promised Messiah, and the resurrected Lord. Paul calls Jesus a descendant of King David to emphasize that Jesus truly had fulfilled the Old Testament Scriptures predicting that the Messiah would come from David’s line. With this statement of faith, Paul declares his agreement with the teaching of all Scripture and of the apostles. All three members of the Trinity are involved in our salvation. The Father loved us so much that he sent his Son to bridge the gap between us. The Father and the Son send the Holy Spirit to fill our life with love and to enable us to live by his power (Acts 1:8). With all this loving care, how can we do less than serve him completely! When we trust in Christ, we make an exchange: He takes our sin and makes us right with God. Our sin was laid on Christ at his crucifixion. His righteousness is given to us at our conversion. This is what Christians mean by Christ’s atonement for sin. In the world, bartering works only when two people exchange goods of relatively equal value. But God offers to trade his righteousness for our sin—something of immeasurable worth for something completely worthless. How grateful we should be for his kindness to us. Jesus’s ministry is the basis for our salvation. A ransom was the price paid to release a slave. Jesus paid a ransom for us because we could not pay it ourselves. His death released all of us from our slavery to sin. The disciples thought Jesus’ life and power would save them but Jesus said his death would save them from sin, an even greater slavery than Rome’s.

Paul summarizes Isaiah 29:14 to emphasize a point Jesus often made: God’s way of thinking is not like the world’s way (normal human wisdom). And God offers eternal life, which the world can never give. We can spend a lifetime accumulating wisdom and yet never learn how to have a personal relationship with God. We must come to the crucified and risen Christ to receive eternal life and the joy of a personal relationship with our Savior. Paul was not ashamed because his message was the Good News about Christ. It was a message of salvation, it had life-changing power, and it was for everyone. When you are tempted to be ashamed, remember what the Good News is all about. If you focus on God and on what God is doing in the world rather than on your own inadequacy, you won’t be ashamed or embarrassed. The message of Christ’s death for sins sounds foolish to those who don’t believe. Death seems to be the end of the road, the ultimate weakness. But Jesus did not stay dead. His resurrection demonstrated his power even over death. And he will save us from eternal death and give us everlasting life if we trust him as Savior and Lord. This sounds so simple that many people won’t accept it. They try other ways to obtain eternal life (being good, being wise, etc.). But all their attempts are futile. The “foolish” people who simply accept Christ’s offer are actually the wisest of all, because they alone will live eternally with God. Paul was not ashamed because his message was the Good News about Christ. It was a message of salvation, it had life-changing power, and it was for everyone. When you are tempted to be ashamed, remember what the Good News is all about. If you focus on God and on what God is doing in the world rather than on your own inadequacy, you won’t be ashamed or embarrassed.

When Paul and Silas were stripped, beaten, and placed in stocks in the inner cell. Despite this situation, they praised God, praying and singing as the other prisoners listened. To us no matter what our circumstances, we should praise God. Others may come to Christ because of our example. It seems strange that a man in prison would be telling a church to rejoice. But Paul’s attitude teaches us an important lesson: Our inner attitudes do not have to reflect our outward circumstances. Paul was full of joy because he knew that no matter what happened to him, Jesus Christ was with him. Several times in the scriptures Paul urged the Philippians to be joyful, probably because they needed to hear this. It’s easy to get discouraged about unpleasant circumstances or to take unimportant events too seriously. If you haven’t been joyful lately, you may not be looking at life from the right perspective. As you near the end of a long race, your legs ache, your throat burns, and your whole body cries out for you to stop. This is when friends and fans are most valuable. Their encouragement helps you push through the pain to the finish line. In the same way, Christians are to encourage one another. A word of encouragement offered at the right moment can be the difference between finishing well and collapsing along the way. Look around you. Be sensitive to others’ need for encouragement, and offer supportive words or actions.

Timothy is the first second-generation Christian mentioned in the New Testament. His mother, Eunice, and grandmother Lois had become believers and had faithfully influenced him for the Lord. Although Timothy’s father apparently was not a Christian, the faithfulness of Timothy’s mother and grandmother prevailed. Never underestimate the effect of godly parenting on a child. Timothy and his mother, Eunice, were from Lystra. Eunice had probably heard Paul’s preaching when he was there during his first missionary journey (14:6-18). Timothy was the son of a Jewish mother and Greek father—to the Jews, a half-breed like a Samaritan. So Paul asked Timothy to be circumcised to remove some of the stigma he may have had with Jewish believers. Timothy was not required to be circumcised but he voluntarily did this to overcome any barriers to his witness for Christ. Sometimes we need to go beyond the call of duty in order to further the Kingdom of God.

Pious Jews considered all non-Jews (Gentiles) ceremonially unclean. In the new Israel the thought of ourselves as pure and clean because of their national heritage and religious ceremonies is not it. Paul pointed out that Jews and Gentiles alike were unclean before God and needed to be cleansed by Christ. In order to realize how great a gift salvation is, we need to remember our former natural, unclean condition. Paul’s letter to the Galatians boldly declares the freedom of the Christian. Doubtless these early Christians in Galatia wanted to grow in the Christian life, but they were being misled by those who said this could be done only by keeping certain Jewish laws. How strange it would be for a prisoner who had been set free to walk back into his or her cell and refuse to leave! How strange for an animal, released from a trap, to go back inside it! How sad for a believer to be freed from the bondage of sin, only to return to rigid conformity to a set of rules and regulations! If you believe in Jesus Christ, you have been set free. Instead of going back into some form of slavery, whether to legalism or to sin, use your freedom to live for Christ and serve him as he desires.

We must take God’s great message of salvation to others so that they can respond to the Good News. The only way our loved ones and neighbors hear it unless someone tells them? God calling us to take a part in making his message known in our communities? When you think of a person who needs to hear the Good News, think of something you can do to help him or her hear it. Paul said Christians must not be disappointed. There will be times when people will let you down or circumstances take a turn for the worse. Paul is saying that God will keep his side of the bargain: Those who call on him will be saved. God will never fail to provide for those who believe.

The word "grace in biblical parlance can be forgiveness, repentance, regeneration, and salvation, mean something as broad as describing the whole of God's activity toward man. The common definition describes grace as the unmerited favor of God towards man. “By grace you have been saved by faith (Ephesians 2:8). “Without faith it is impossible to please [God], for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him” (Hebrews 11:6). “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written. When someone gives you a gift, do you say, “That’s very nice—now how much do I owe you?” No, the appropriate response to a gift is “Thank you.” Yet how often Christians, even after they have been given the gift of salvation, feel obligated to try to work their way to God. Because our salvation and even our faith are gifts, we should respond with gratitude, praise, and joy.