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Page 8 .1 he P o rtla n d O b s e rv e r...A p r il 22, 1992
• P o r tla n d O b s e r v e r
Scripture o f the ‘Week.
RELIGION
Matthew, Chapter 7
Insight on the Word: What Makes the Christian’s
Hope a “ Lively Hope"?
the Lord invented for Christians; it rep
resents the new relationship we have
“ in C hrist,” a relationship in which we
share both the cleansing o f his death
and the victory o f his resurrection. As
a result, G od’s people, “in C hrist,” re
ally have a new life at work in us—just
as if we had been physically resurrected
ourselves. (For more on this teaching,
study Romans 6:1 -10; 2 Cor 4:13-14.)
Second, as a result of this new life
now, we have a “lively” or “living’
hope through Christ’s resurrection. That
is a lot different from the hope (Greek
elpis) that the pagans had in Peter’s
lime. The Greek religion taught that the
future was governed by capricious gods
and goddesses, by Fates and Destiny,
all of which was ultimately beyond the
control o f humanity. Their “hope” was
a desire to achieve greatness or immor
tality, despite the fickleness of the pow
ers they w orshipped; it was little more
than wishful thinking. I think this must
have been a most desperate and frus
trating sort o f hope, for those who really
thought it through.
But Peter declared that we have a
“ living hope through the resurrection of
Jesus Christ” (NIV). N ot onlv do we
have the sure prom ise of glory, but we
have many “great and precious prom
ises” for this life as well (2 Peter 1:4-8).
Peter shares several benefits o f our
hope in the Scripture: (1) the “inherit
ance incorruptible, and undefiled,”
which is our rewards and glory in heaven
(1 Peter 1:4); and then (2) protection by
the pow er o f God, which is like a guard
or shield around us (1:5); also (3) the
purification o f our lives as we go through
“manifold tem ptations” (1:6-7); as well
as (4) “joy unspeakable and full o f
glory” (1:8), the beautiful result of an
ever-closer com m union with the Lord
himself. Finally (1:9), Peter reiterates
the wonderful blessing o f “salvation of
your souls,” which is something as sure
as the promises of God.
So trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ
is not just “pie in the sky, bye and bye.”
On one hand, the promise of heaven and
its glory is a sure thing (for believers in
BY MICHAEL LINDSEY,
Dean of North Portland Bible College
The Bible text for next week's Sun
day School lesson is 1 Peter 1:3-9,13-
21. This is the first o f six lessons taken
from 1 & 2 Peter. We encourage all
Christians to join in the study o f God’s
Word in their churches each Sunday,
and hope these commentaries will help
students and teachers alike to under
stand the Bible and apply it to our lives.
isrcally appropriate that we move
directly from a brief survey of the G os
pel o f Mark into the Epistles o f Peter.
According to early Church historians,
Mark was a special assistant to the
Apostle Peter, and he wrote down Peter’s
preaching and remembrances about the
earthly ministry of the Lord Jesus. So
in a real sense, we have been studying
the teaching o f Peter already. Careful
scholars have noted a host o f sim ilari
ties betw een the Gospel ot Mark and the
Epistles (letters) written by Peter. Per
haps you will be able to spot some of
these as well.
The theme of 1 Peter is well-suited
for Christians in A m erica’s cities to
day: Christian believers can live a life
o f hope and holiness, despite the trials
and opposition they will endure. As I
look around me today, I see many Sa
tanic attacks on the believers’ hope, and
on our holiness. If we meditate on the
whole book of 1 Peter, and take its
truths to heart in our lives, we will be
fully prepared to stand up strongly
against the devil, and to help one an
other live righteous lives.
O ur text this week emphasizes the
hope of the Christian life. Peter begins
Il
by blessing the Name of God the Father,
because he “hath begotten us again unto
a lively hope by the resurrection o f
Jesus Christ from the dead.” (1:3) We
have ju st celebrated the resurrection in
our churches during the so-called Eas
ter season. But do we fully realize the
importance of the resurrection for our
faith? First, we are given a “new birth”
(NIV) through the resurrection. Being
bom again was not just a catchy phrase
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M e n ’s Training Leadership
W o m en ’s Bible Class
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Evening Worship
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RESTORING
NEW TESTAMENT CHRISTIANITY
I j & L J î a u l T H ts s tim a rc i
^ B a p tis t ( ü fjn r d }
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Portland, Oregon 97203
Sunday Service
10:45
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Study Phene: 2 89 *1 91 1
Pastor. Rev. James C E Faulkner
Them e: W h atever you're going to do
fo r th e Lord, do it now
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Fellow ship S ing-A -R am a - 2:45-5:00 p.m .
I Peter hr.11
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M allory Avenue
Christien Church
Mallory C hurch of C hrist
3908 N.E. Mallory (503) 28 8 -1 0 9 2
E v a n g e list, C h a r le s C o lem a n
P ittsb u rg, C alifornia
D
G reg F o b b s, L ocal M inister
•"’“ "I
Jesus Loves You!
A llen Temple
Skidmore)
Portland, Oregon 97211
(503) 287-0261
l e
s
S u n d a y S chool
M orn in g W o rsh ip
T u e s d a y B ib le
S tu d y o n d P rayer
In te r-ra c ia l C o n g r e g a tio n
D e n is e P B ell, P o s to r
1 2 6 N.C. R lb erta t P ortland, O R 9 7 2 1 1 t ( 5 0 5 ) 2 3 Ö - 5 1 7 3
Phillip 5. Nelson Pastor
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P o w e r th r o u g h J e s u s Christ In
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w e a r y a n d h e a v y la d e n a n d I
w ill g i v e y o u r e s t ”
Psalm 34:3
(corner of 8lh
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Bible C la s s A ssem b ly - 9:3 0 -1 0 :3 0 a.m .
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NE M A L L O R Y
Bible Study
J e ffe r s o n H igh S c h o o l A uditorium
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C hrist
SUNDAY SCHEDULE
May 2-6, 1992
J -r t
.
3908
of
Church Rho.ie: 2 8 9 -0 1 4 7
H om ecom ing D ay S u n d a y - M ay 3, 1992
also served in the capacity of Youth
M inster, Chorus Director, and New
Converts Minister.
Bro. Coleman has served the church
by way of teaching classes, home stud
ies and Sunday School. He has preached
in various congregations throughout the
Bay Area and outside, including South
ern C alifornia and in Illinois. Bro.
Coleman also worked alongside Bro.
T.O. Jackson o f Oklahom a in the Evan
gelism department for the 1985 San
Francisco Crusade for Christ.
Bro. Coleman later placed m em
bership at the Church o f C hrist at
MacDonald Avenue in Richmond, CA
where he served as m inister of Personal
Evangelism and Care Group Director
for four years alongside Evangelist’s
J.C. Thom as Jr. and Rolland Jackson.
O n S e p te m b e r 30, 1990 Bro.
Coleman became the Evangelist o f the
Diane Avenue Church of Christ in the
City of Pittsburg, CA. There under his
direction the following programs have
been set up: a Substance Abuse Pro
gram, Literacy Program, Child Abuse
Awareness Program, and a local net
work television program cntitlcd“ Righ-
teousness Exalts a N ation.” This pro
gram is aired weekly and can be viewed
in P ittsb u rg , W est P ittsb u rg , and
Antioch, California.
allory
C hurch
RENEW AL
Profile of Brother Charles Edward Coleman I
Evangelist Church of Christ
Pittsburg, CA
College.
Bro. Coleman was added to the
body o f C hrist in 1976, under the teach
ing o f Evangelist Joe O. Pitts, Sr. serv
ing the 13th Avenue Church o f Christ in
O akland, CA. C harles’ mem bership
remained at 13th Avenue for ten years,
during which time he began preaching
and tcachm gG od’s word. Bro. Coleman
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FREE READING BY PHONE
5 2 1 0 N. Kerby
Charles Coleman was bom D e
cem ber 4, 1955 in O akland, CA to
M e lro se an d E rn e stin e C o le m a n .
C harles com pleted 14 years of his ed u
cation in O akland, w hich included
M cOlymonds High School and Merritt
/ ’Vu*
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G u a ra n te e d R e su lts in 24 H ours
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Since 1954
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Has moved Sunday services to
DON’T GIVE UP!!
u
• *. • .
•*
habits of sin, such as drug addiction,
sexual impurity, pornography,alcohol
ism, thievery, violence, and also such
evils as envy, filthy speech, gossip and
slander (compare 1 C or 6:9-11). We
need to com pletely break with these
sins, and even with the pattern o f life
that involved us in these sins. This will
mean changing the places we go, or the
close friends we hang out with, or the
magazines and movies we choose. It
will often mean seeking support from a
trustworthy Christian brother or sister.
But don’t give up and keep wallowing
in sin! God has the power to break those
old patterns, but you have to make up
your mind to let his pow er work in you.
(3) “ be holy in all manner o f con
versation” (1:15-16). That literally
means, “be set apart, be dedicated to
God, in all you do.” We who know the
Lord must be distinctive enough that
no-one would mistake us for sinners.
No doubt people will think some of our
views arc foolish, or impractical, or
out-of-date. We have to use our mind
(# 1 above) to determine what the Lord
wants us to do or say, and then choose
to fear God instead o f conforming to the
expectations of the world (1:17; Rom
12:2). Tim e will prove the Christian
right.
(4) “ that your faith and hope might
be in G od” (1 Pet 1:21). We need to
center our attention on our Father and
his glory and m ajesty. We need to
worship him, both in church meetings
and in private “quiet tim es.” As we
seek to know God better, w e’ll have less
problem coping with the trials here
below. W e’ll know G od’s mind about
the difficult issues we face, and w e’ll
have faith to follow his way. Most o f
all, we will have a “lively hope” to carry
us through with great joy— a hope based
on the reality of C hrist’s resurrection,
and our new life in him.
Christ!) and it is a wonderful hope. The
prospect o f seeing my Savior face to
face gives me a reason to keep on in my
faith; without that hope, Paul said, “we
arc to be pitied more than all m en” (1
Cor 15:19, NIV).
On the other hand, the hope we
have in the Lord makes our life here and
now all the more wonderful. All too
ol ten Christians arc attacked as narrow
minded, bigoted, uncaring and intoler
ant. Such attacks are simply not true o f
the vast majority of those who share the
Christian hope. Those who know the
Lord Jesus have been in the forefront o f
every effort to relieve human suffering,
to promote human dignity and equality
o f all races and both genders, to respect
human life created in the image o f God,
whatever handicaps or outward lim ita
tions we might sec. But the stereotypes
o f passive or unloving Christians per
sist.
We shouldn’t be surprised at this.
It’s part o f the trials of our faith (1 Pet
1:7), and G od’s truth has a way o f
winning out in the end. But we still
have responsibilities to our God, as a
part of that “lively hope”— responsi
bilities which will help us fully experi
ence the joy of the Lord in our lives.
Let’s list some of these for our
mutual encouragement: (1) “gird up
the loins o f your m ind, be sober” (1:13).
The long robes and cloaks o f their fash
ion greatly restricted rapid, purposeful
movement. So when a man needed to
run, or to work hard in farming or
loading a ship or something, he would
“gird up his loins” by picking up the
loose ends o f his clothes and tying them
around his waist with abelt. In asim ilar
way, wc really need to get busy in the
work of the Lord today, preparing our
minds for hard work in study, prayer,
witnessing, confronting
evil in our
society. I dare say that a lazy Christian
will never be a joyful, attractive C hris
tian.
(2) “ not fashioning yourselves ac
cording to the former lusts” (1:14).
Many who now love the Lord Jesus
were once involved in very destructive
1
MT OLIVET
baptist C hurch
-