hanks

6. Why do some people have struggles being around poor people? What are the difficulties we face in giving to the poor? I know I struggle sometimes with giving to the poor, because I’m not always sure that anything I give will be used to relieve the pressures of poverty, but rather used to serve an addiction, or even a gambling problem. I refuse to give street beggars money; I always buy them food. I think another difficulty may be that we are overwhelmed with the problem, and don’t know where to begin. This does not show a lack of compassion, but is a genuine concern. God does not expect us to neglect our family while providing for others. However, He does expect us to help and reach out when we see an individual in need.

5. Is Jesus teaching justification by works in this parable? If not, what IS He teaching? Jesus is teaching us that there are two and only two eternal destinies. Every person that ever lived will spend eternity either in heaven or hell – heaven for the saved person and hell for the lost person. Where we go when we die is determined by what we do in this life with Jesus Christ and our obedience to His Word. So, the choices we make here on earth will determine our eternal destiny, and once we die, that destiny is fixed. There is a great chasm separating the saved from the lost making it impossible to cross over from one side to the other (16:26). The rich man knew what God’s Word said about concern for the poor and needy, yet he chose to ignore the man at his gate. He did not want to inconvenience his comfortable lifestyle in order to care about this poor man. We are not to live like the rich man in this parable, who did not repent of his sin of squandering his riches on himself. Rather we are to use our wealth/money as God would have us do, that is to make friends for eternity (16:9). Today we need to recognise that we are sinners in need of a Saviour. We are to repent of our sins and put our faith in Jesus Christ as our Saviour, if not our eternal destiny will be hell, and not heaven.

4. What does the Old Testament teach about helping the poor that the rich man was responsible for knowing and obeying? (See Exodus 22:25-27; Exodus 23:11; Leviticus 19:9-10; Leviticus 23:22; Leviticus 25:25-28; Leviticus 25:35-37; Leviticus 25:39-43; Deut. 14:28-29; Deut. 15:2-14; Deut. 24:12-21; Deut. 26:12-13; Neh. 8:10; Psalm 37:21; Psalm 37:26; Psalm 41:1-3; Psalm 112:4-5; Psalm 112:9; Proverbs 28:27; Proverbs 29:7; Proverbs 31:9; Proverbs 31:20; Isaiah 1:17; Isaiah 16:3-4; Isaiah 58:7; Isaiah 58:10; Ezekiel 18:1-32; Daniel 4:27; Zech. 7:10) I don’t think the rich man had any excuse, there was an opportunity for him to show compassion and to help the poor man, every time he went in or out of his gateway. But he simply went his own way completely ignoring Lazarus – how cold and callous. Being Jewish he would have been well aware of his responsibility towards the poor and to the man at his gate, as stated in the Old Testament. Using the KJV, I counted 170 times the word poor is mentioned in the Old Testament, and in the Pentateuch alone 23 times. So he was without excuse, and it is obvious he was living a most selfish life, with no love or concern for those in need. I think Proverb 28:27 says it well, “Those who give to the poor will lack nothing, but those who close their eyes to them receive many curses”. God will reward those who show mercy to the poor. Generosity will be rewarded, but the man who turns his eyes away from genuine cases of need will have many a sorrow – will receive many curses.

3. In this parable, why was the rich man punished? The rich man is punished because of his selfish lifestyle – a self-centred lifestyle. He was enjoying the best that life had to offer, living only for himself, with no thought or consideration for the needs of his fellow man. We see this in his attitude towards Lazarus. He shows the man no love at all, no sympathy for his situation, and no compassion toward this suffering beggar. No interest in him at all – none. He was living for this life only, with no view to eternity. His sin was not the fact that he was rich, but that he failed to lay up treasures in heaven. He had every opportunity to do so since the poor man lay at his doorstep every day. He had neglected the true message of Moses and the Prophets of helping the poor, and was as such not living in true obedience to God’s Word.

2. What word brush strokes tell us that the rich man was rich? Which tell us of Lazarus' poverty? The rich man enjoying all the benefits of his wealth, dressing magnificently in the most expensive purple robes, and the finest Egyptian linen, eating well, the choicest gourmet foods money can buy, living happily in the most luxurious lifestyle, catering to bodily pleasures and appetites, tells us he is extremely wealthy, life was good to this man, and by all accounts (Deut 28) he would be going to heaven when he died. In contrast we have Lazarus the beggar, living in absolute poverty, fighting off wild dogs from licking his sores, laying and sleeping outside the rich man’s gate, starving and hoping to eat the scraps from the rich man’s table, relying on and trusting others to provide for his needs as he is unable to help himself. He was precisely the kind of person that the Pharisees would brand a “sinner,” a man whom, in their minds, was worthy of hell.

1. Jesus has been teaching about money in chapter 16. What has been the essence of His teaching up to this point in the chapter? Up to now our Lord Jesus has been teaching us about the right and wrong use of wealth, and one day He will ask us to give an account of what we have done with all that He has given to us. The amount of money we have is not as important as the way we use it. What is our attitude toward our money and possessions? Do we hoard them selfishly, or do we use them to help others? Jesus had a great deal to say about money/material wealth, and since we are all aware of the corruption and **** the love of money can cause, we need to listen carefully. Jesus was fully aware of the needs of the poor, and by His example and teaching, He encouraged us to share what we have with others. As true believers we are to invest our lives for the good of others and for the glory of God. He teaches us that life is a stewardship and we are to use our God-given opportunities faithfully.

6. How can we both press fervently towards perfection and at the same time have peace and contentment in Christ? Aren't these mutually exclusive? Romans 12:11 tells us, “Do not lack diligence; be fervent in spirit; serve the Lord”. This means serving our Lord Jesus hastily, eagerly, promptly, with earnestness and zeal. The Holy Spirit puts this desire in the hearts of believers. We deny self, to work, to labour, to toil, so that we may please and serve God and honour Christ. “This zeal is good for a Christian’s soul; it will help mightily to promote inward feelings of joy, peace, comfort, and happiness” (J.C. Ryle). We read in 2 Peter 1:2: “Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord”. The more effort we put into getting to know our Lord better, the more we will experience grace and peace – it will be given in abundance. With grace comes mercy, love, and forgiveness. Peace flows forth from grace and is man's internal happiness – contentment. The more we press fervently towards perfection - the more we become like our Lord Jesus Christ. Absolute peace and contentment.

5. Why do we need to "force" our way into the Kingdom of God? Why should it be so difficult? Shouldn't salvation be easy? We are saved by grace, but living the Christian life involves force/effort/energy, it is not a time to sleep or be idle. We are called to live the Christian life and have been given the Holy Spirit to help us achieve this. Entrance into the kingdom requires genuine self-denial, self-control, earnest endeavour, untiring energy, utmost exertion. It takes courage, unwavering faith, determination, and endurance because of the growing opposition levelled at us as believers. There is no other way. Jesus had previously told us to “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to (13:24). To Live the Christian life, there’s a battle in our hearts, as we thirst after righteousness. There is a new morality, a new goal, a new zeal, and a new priority to deal with. We try to maintain purity, to remain humble, to help and love our neighbour. There is all this labouring in good deeds, not to earn acceptance into His loving family, but because we are already His children, and these are chores our loving Heavenly Father has given us to do. To do these properly we have to be seriously active.

4. Is it possible to hold a high view of the sanctity of marriage at the same time as we love as Christian brothers and sisters those who have been divorced and remarried? Jesus gave divorce as an example of the Pharisees not living according to the Law. Rather it was a perfect example of them justifying themselves in the eyes of men but not being justified before God (16:15). A Pharisaic school had Rabbi Hillel allowing divorce for many reasons including something as trivial as a wife burning the meal. Jesus pointed out the importance of the Law (Luk 16:17), which showed that the people should live by it. Marriage is a covenant of both husband and wife not only with each other but also with God, and to break that covenant for any reason at all constitutes adultery in the eyes of God. I believe in the sanctity of marriage and that divorce was never God's intention for man. His ideal is that one man and one woman remain married until their union is broken by death (Rom 7:2-3). In our times today marriage, divorce, remarriage are so complex that it not for me to judge any one of my brothers and sisters. I love them all the same as all true believers, and trust they have sorted things out with the Lord.

3. Why do you think Jesus was accused of doing away with the Law? Did He? Jesus who knew what was going on in the hearts of the Pharisees, exposed their hypocrisy and greed, which led to them sneering at Him (16:14) in contempt. They had also accused Him of not obeying their interpretation of the Law, which by this time was a confusing mass of homemade/manmade rules. What Jesus was trying to accomplish was for the people to return to the original purpose of the Law – which was pointing out their sin. He was not doing away with the Law, but was speaking against the abuses and excesses to which it had been subjected.

2. Just what is the "good news of the Kingdom of God"? Put in your own words what this good news is. The Kingdom of God is good news because it offers us freedom, justice, and hope through Jesus Christ our Lord. Freedom from the power of sin. Justice in that God declares believers to be just in His sight. Hope in the future when Jesus will return to reign over a perfect Kingdom where sin and evil no longer exist. The good news is that the Kingdom of God is also here now with the Holy Spirit living in the hearts of believers. The good news is that God loves us (John 3:16).

1. Extra Credit: How did John the Baptist's message (3:3, 16) differ from the prophets who came before him? The central message of the Law and the Prophets, the entire Old Testament, pointed to the good news of the coming kingdom of God, and it was John the Baptist that prepared the way for the Messiah, and His Kingdom. In both Isaiah 40:3-5 and Malachi 3:1, he was prophesied as the messenger who was to prepare the way for the Lord. The Law given through Moses commanded people to obey, but if they failed they were condemned to death. It was given to show them that they were sinners, but it could not save them from their sins. John the Baptist’s ministry can be seen as the link between the Old Testament and the New Testament. He was the last of the Old Testament prophets, and he called upon the nation of Israel to repent of its sins in order to receive forgiveness, and thus be prepared for the coming of the Messiah. Baptising people as an outward sign that they had truly repented. This is a new era in the history of redemption. John’s message was different from the prophets who came before him in that he preached that all are sinners and salvation cannot be earned by good works, but only by repentance and trust in the Messiah. That grace and truth came through Jesus Christ (John 1:17). This is a new era - the good news of the Kingdom of God had come. The same God who worked through Moses was working through Jesus.

9. Extra Credit: Jesus states that high human values tend to be the things most detestable to God. How can we know that we have really conformed our lives to God's values rather than just kidding ourselves? The warning signs are seeking the approval of others, instead of the approval of God. We are so self-righteous that we see no need for repentance and trust in Jesus for our salvation. Instead, we put our trust in our wealth. Using it to justify ourselves before others, and even buying ourselves positions of honour in the church. There is no love in our hearts, no love for others, only love for self. Our hearts are filled with pride and hypocrisy which God hates. We as true believers do not have to impress others with how spiritual we are – it should be visible to all. We live openly in the sight of God, seeking always to please Him. It is all about submitting ourselves to His authority and not to following a bunch of outward standards.

8. Why is it so difficult to try to serve both God and Money? We have to make a choice, the one we choose will have priority in our live. Either we put God first and reject the rule of money, that is love the one and hate the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. 1 Tim 6:9-10 teaches us a lot about the many griefs and destruction that can occur when we choose money. There is no sin in being wealthy, but the desire to be rich leads us into temptation, and all sorts of trouble. This desire becomes a trap which we cannot easily escape. Besides when is enough, enough? Greed takes over. The result can be total destruction and the total ruin of happiness, of virtue, of reputation, and of the soul. 1 Tim 6:17 warns us, who are wealthy, not to put our hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put our hope in God. This is a false sense of security because of the “uncertainty of riches”. The only sure thing in this world of ours is the Word of God. Bishop J. C. Ryle summarizes: “Money, in truth, is one of the most unsatisfying of possessions. It takes away some cares, no doubt; but it brings with it quite as many cares as it takes away. There is trouble in the getting of it. There is anxiety in the keeping of it. There are temptations in the use of it. There is guilt in the abuse of it. There is sorrow in the losing of it. There is perplexity in the disposing of it. Two-thirds of all the strife’s, quarrels, and lawsuits in the world arise from one simple cause - money!”.

7. In what ways are we not property "owners" but property "stewards" of what God owns? What are the implications of this for our lives? The wealth of the world is His. There needs to be a different mindset. Instead of thinking it’s my money, my car, my house, my possessions – it is ALL MINE. We need to know it all belongs to God, His money, His car, His house, His possessions - it is all HIS. The implications for us are that since it is not ours, and we are only His stewards, there is a greater responsibility on us to manage His wealth with honesty, with truth, with wisdom, with integrity, with pure motives, with an attitude of worship to God, and with service to the body of Christ. Bringing glory to our Heavenly Father. To sum up, nothing that we possess on earth is our own, it is entrusted to us for temporary use (1 Chron 29:14), and we shall be rewarded by real and eternal possessions (1 Peter 1:4).

6. Why are giving alms and tithing (or sacrificial, generous giving to God's work) so difficult for money-obsessed people? (Let's not debate tithing, but look to the heart issues instead that are the focus of Jesus' teaching here.) It is difficult because of their love for money, and the control money has over their life. I also doubt there is any love in their heart. They tend to be very self-centred, not having any compassion for those in need. They are tight fisted, money-obsessed, lonely, unhappy, and miserable people. They neglect spiritual things, and we might doubt whether they had ever been saved. There will the fear of meeting Jesus and giving an account of their stewardship.

5. In what kinds of experiences does Jesus test and seek to mould our trustworthiness with money? Is it possible for a money-obsessed person to become a committed disciple of Jesus? If not, how might this occur? Jesus gives us the responsibility of managing our (very little) earthly wealth, to determine how faithful we are in handling what He has given us, and if He can trust us with (much) kingdom riches. These verses look at this life as a proving ground for heaven. God is seeing where our priorities are and with what He can trust us. Our wealth, our possessions, and our ministry to others must demonstrate faithful stewardship, and this will determine what is ours in heaven. If we have successfully managed earthly wealth, which is not really ours, but belongs to God, then He will entrust to us true heavenly riches, our own possessions. Yes, if the money-obsessed person is obsessed with the way he manages this money. Knowing that it is not his money or possessions, that all belongs to God. And he is a faithful steward using it all shrewdly to bring glory to God.

4. Extra Credit: In what ways should we use money to secure our eternal future? (16:9) (This is a difficult verse for most of us. Study the exposition for clues to the answer.) God’s ways are higher than our ways (Isa 55:9), especially when it comes to money matters. Perhaps we need to change our attitude toward money. We need to follow God’s way to true riches rather than the world’s way to deceptive wealth and ultimate, eternal poverty. To secure our eternal future we should be using our money helping others, winning souls for our Lord Jesus. Someone once said: “Money can be used to buy Bibles, books, tracts and thus, indirectly, the souls of men. Thus, what was material and temporal becomes immortal, becomes non-material, spiritual and eternal”. This is the exact opposite of what the world does. In this world we battle to get ahead by earning/taking everything we can get our hands on. The more we have, the more we are admired. But, we have seen earlier in Luke that our possessions are God given, and are to be used to benefit others more than self (6:20-26; 12:13-21). And here, Jesus tells us that we need to use our worldly possessions to “gain friends for yourselves” (16:9). Meaning that the people we have helped will be in heaven to welcome us there. They will be our heavenly reward. Everything we spend helping others is immediately banked in heaven waiting for us to arrive to collect the rewards we have earned. The steward had only temporary rewards and a temporary home, but ours is eternal. We are to be shrewd stewards of our wealth, now while here on earth, before it is taken away from us when we die. Death comes, then … eternity. Prepare for eternity.

3. What about the steward's actions does the master commend? What is the point that Jesus draws from this parable? The steward was not commended for his dishonesty but rather for the way he acted shrewdly, and for his foresight in providing for his future. The Lord said, “The sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light.” The point Jesus is making is that we can learn a valuable lesson from this unfaithful steward, who is wiser than many “sons of light,” in that he saw what was coming and he used what had been entrusted to him while he could to prepare for the future. Meaning that ungodly, unregenerate people show more wisdom in providing for their future in this world than true believers show in laying up treasures in heaven. A faithful steward (believers) must use their Master’s (God’s) money shrewdly to provide true riches for eternity. In other words, there is a way we can take it with us, namely, by wisely investing the resources that God has entrusted to us now in things that matter for eternity.

2. In what way did the steward use money to secure his future? The steward was not told to leave immediately. Bad decision. This gave him time carry out a plan to get on the good side of his master’s debtors, and hereby secure his future. He calls them in one by one, and gets them to changes their I.O.U’s to his master, reducing them substantially. By doing this he makes these debtors personally indebted to him, knowing that they will not complain or refuse him hospitality – even perhaps employing him. The debtors did not suspect the steward of being dishonest. They must have assumed that he had talked the master into reducing the amounts. This was sometimes done, for example, in bad weather conditions. The master eventually realises what has happened. What his steward has done is unjust and dishonest, yet legal. But, already the debtors are celebrating their good fortune with the people of the village, praising both the manager and the owner. To save face, he cannot change the figures back to the original amount, disclosing that the steward had made a fool out of him. But he does admit that his steward was very shrewd, indeed.

1. Why was the steward in Jesus' parable (16:1-8) being fired? What in the passage displays his character? The steward was to manage the estate for his master and see that it made a good profit. The master had heard a rumour that this was not the case and immediately asked for an inventory of his goods and an audit of his books. He also fired the steward. We find that he was not acting in his master’s best interest and was squandering and wasting the master’s possessions. I don’t think there was fraud involved, because the master would have had him immediately arrested. It is more likely incompetence and mismanagement; he had become too lazy and carefree, enjoying the good life on his master’s estate. A main requirement of stewards is that they be faithful (1 Cor 4:2) which is not the case here. He was an unrighteous manager; Jesus even calls him dishonest (16:8).

Q3. (Acts 1:14) While we know that individual prayer is powerful (James 5:16b), Jesus indicates that group prayer is even more powerful (Matthew 18:19). How would you describe what was happening with this "Fellowship of the 120"? Have you ever been part of a group praying like this? Do you value prayer enough to gather with others to pray? How much of your church's "prayer meeting" is spent in actual prayer? A fellowship of disciples had got together to choose a replacement for Judas Iscariot. To be chosen he had to have accompanied them during Jesus public ministry, and had been with them witnessing Jesus’ resurrection. The names of two men were put forward as possessing the necessary qualifications, Joseph caked Barsabbas, and Matthias. They then prayed asking God for wisdom and guidance to help them make the right choice. Ultimately Matthias was chosen by lot. While the apostles waited, they were doing what they could - praying, seeking God's guidance, and getting organized. Being careful not to run ahead of God, but wait for instructions as He commanded. When we face a difficult task, an important decision, or a baffling dilemma, don't rush into the work and just hope it comes out the way it should. Instead, the first step we take should be prayer asking God for wisdom and guidance. We know that if we ask anything according to God's will, He hears those prayers and will answer them. And the only way we can know God’s will is by studying His Word. “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us - whatever we ask - we know that we have what we asked of Him” (1 John 5:14-15). When we pray together it creates unity, we encourage one another, and it helps us to be there in love for each other in time of need.

Q2. (Acts 1:8) What kinds of power does Jesus offer us in the Holy Spirit? In what ways does Acts 1:8 function as an outline or blueprint of the Book of Acts? Where do you and I fit in to fulfilling Acts 1:8? Once we have put our trust in Jesus Christ as our Saviour, we can experience the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives. And the kinds of power Jesus makes available to us, through the Holy Spirit, includes boldness, confidence, courage, insight, ability, and authority. Jesus had instructed His disciples to witness to people of all nations about Him (Mat 28:19-20). The way this is to be done is by the power of the Holy Spirit. That is why the disciples were told to wait first for the Holy Spirit (1:8). Once having been empowered by the Holy Spirit they are to declare the gospel in ever expanding areas throughout the world. This was the method used in the book of Acts. We need God’s timing and power to be truly effective. Instead of running ahead of His plans, we might need to wait and listen first for God’s complete instructions. As disciples of the Lord, we too are to spread the gospel of good news throughout the world, and to do this we will need the power of the Holy Spirit as well.

Q1. (Acts 1:4-8) Why aren't Jesus' disciples to leave Jerusalem and return to their homes? In what ways does the Spirit's coming represent a filling? A coming upon? A baptism? I can just imagine having spent another 40 days, after His Resurrection, with Jesus and being taught by Him, the disciples must have been full of enthusiasm to go out into the world, and minister in their own strength. But, Jesus tells them not to be in such a hurry to leave Jerusalem and return to their homes. Instead, they are to remain in Jerusalem, because the coming of the Spirit would take place in the very city where our Lord had been crucified. And the disciples would receive the Holy Spirit in the same city where they themselves had forsaken the Lord and had fled to save their own lives. They would be made strong and fearless in the place where they had shown themselves to be weak and cowardly. In the baptism of the Spirit, the Holy Spirit unites us in the body of Christ, and in the coming upon the Holy Spirit empowers us to perform the work of Christ. This is the new birth and happens only once. But the filling is different, it is a continuous process. Some examples of how to be filled with the Spirit are: Confess all known sin in our lives, since we cannot work efficiently/freely in a life where sin is overlooked (1 John 1:5-9). We surrender of our will, our intellect, our body, our time, our talents, and our treasures to His control (Rom 12:1-2). Let the Word of Christ dwell in us richly by reading the Word, studying the Word, and obeying the Word. We must be emptied of self, be filled with Him (Gal 2:20).

6. How should we celebrate the repentance of sinners in ways that we are not already doing? Our self-righteousness can make us angry and resentful towards God for forgiving people who are worse sinners than we have ever been. We remind Him that we live a clean life in obedience to His commands and we serve Him faithfully, yet there are others who receive blessing upon blessing. What about us Lord? Pride and our self-righteousness gets in the way of rejoicing when others come to our Lord Jesus. God has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister (1 John 4:21). When they show true repentance, we must forgive those who sin, and we should seek to restore them in grace and humility (Gal 6:1–5; Eph 4:32). If we loved our neighbours as ourselves, and were more interested in truly celebrating their salvation, sharing in their joy rather than being jealous, there would be less bickering and strife among believers – what peace would result.