Colossians begins with Paul’s typical greeting to churches. He identifies himself, tells who is with him, tells to whom he is writing and then pronounces God’s grace and peace upon his readers.

Verses 3-8 contain a prayer of thanksgiving. Paul was grateful for the disciples of Christ to whom he was sending this inspired letter. Again, this is typical of his epistles. Not in all of his letters, but in most of them, he lets them know that he has been praying for them and why.

Paul was grateful that the gospel was bearing fruit everywhere around the world. He was especially thankful, as he expresses here, that the people of Colosse were being brought to Christ by the preaching of the gospel.

In verses 9-18, Paul deals with the preeminence of Christ. Jesus is the Head of the church (verse 18). This is true for many reasons.

He has all authority in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:18) and said He would build His church (Matthew 16:18). Christ adds those who are being saved to the church (Acts 2:47) and purchased the church with His own blood (Acts 20:28). The church is His body (Colossians 1:18),

Reconciliation (verses 19-23) is one of the many word pictures of salvation used in the New Testament.

Reconciliation refers to the process of restoring a broken friendship between two people. In the spiritual realm, of course, reconciliation refers to a reuniting between sinful man and a perfect God. Separated from a holy God because of our sins (Isaiah 59:1-2; Romans 3:23), the Lord made it possible for us to be brought back into fellowship with Him. This reconciliation was accomplished through the death of His Son on the cross.

As disciples of Christ, our responsibility is to take the gospel of reconciliation to a lost world (2 Corinthians 5:14-21). The first century Christians took the gospel to the entire known world of their day (Colossians 1:23).

The goal of all spiritual activity should be to develop “Christ in you,” that is, in every Christian (verses 24-29). Let us work toward the goal, then, of helping each member of the Lord’s church to be more like the Master in all things.

--Roger Hillis

Lord willing, on July 1, the New Testament chapter summaries will be back. For the first 12 days of the month of July, look for chapter reviews of Colossians, along with 1 and 2 Thessalonians. We hope they will be helpful and encouraging for you. Hope to see you then.

--Roger Hillis

The Parable of the Unjust Steward, in Luke 16:1-13, is widely regarded as the most difficult of the parables of Christ. But in spite of the challenges in interpreting this parable, there are important principles found here that teach valuable lessons.

The main character in the story is the steward himself. A steward is a manager or overseer of another person’s property. The master is the actual owner. Verse 1 says that the steward was accused by others of dishonesty. In the parable, the owner believed the accusations and fired the steward. Jesus did describe him as “the unjust steward” (verse 8), so apparently the charges were true.

There were two debtors. When the steward realized he was losing his job, he forgave both of a portion of their debt, one by 50% and one by 20%.

The other primary character is the master, called “a certain rich man” (verse 1).

There are several things we are not supposed to learn from this parable.

It is not recommending dishonesty. The master commended the steward for acting shrewdly (or wisely, KJV). But he did not reward him by giving him his job back. The Bible never condones dishonesty.

The parable also does not suggest that we bribe people to get them to do what we want.

And it does not tell us that if we are good managers of our money that this will secure us a home in heaven.

What it does teach us is that being wise (or shrewd) is always more beneficial to us than being dishonest.

The word translated as “shrewdly” (Greek – PHRONIMOS) means prudently, sensibly or practically wise. It is the same word used to describe the man who builds his house on the rock and the five virgins who made the appropriate preparation for the wedding.

And Jesus makes the point that sometimes “the sons of light” can learn some lessons from “the sons of this world” (verse 8). Non-Christians often behave more prudently and sensibly than some disciples of Jesus.

Christ wants us to be faithful in all areas of our lives (verses 10-11). If we are going to be loyal to the Lord, we must be side, faithful and dependable in all things. The Savior does not say it is hard to serve God and mammon (money). He said it “cannot” be done.

--Roger Hillis

As we study Luke 14:1-14, it is important to remember that two groups of people in the New Testament watched Jesus closely. One group was searching for truth and thought that He might be the promised Messiah of Old Testament history. The other group was searching for something to use against Him to justify their decision to reject Him as the Messiah (or Christ).

One group allowed the miracles of Jesus, such as healing the man with dropsy, to convince them that Jesus was truly a man from God. The other group became outraged because He healed the man on the Sabbath.

Today, some people read the New Testament and become convinced that Jesus is the Savior, while others read the same accounts and turn away from Him. 1 Corinthians 2:14-15 describe these two types of hearts as “the natural man” and “he who is spiritual.” It has been said that the same sun that hardens bricks (a hard heart) also melts butter (a soft and tender heart).

When Jesus pointed out the inconsistency of the lawyers and the Pharisees, they had nothing further to say (verses 3-6).

The Savior told this parable in response to those who “chose the best places,” apparently the seats closest to the most powerful and influential people. There have always been, and always will be, those who want to be close to the rich and powerful, not because of true friendship, but because of the advantages those people can offer.

It might be helpful to note that the invitation Jesus accepted to eat with this Pharisee was not for a wedding feast, which would not likely have been held on the Sabbath, but that is the setting for the parable He told.

Christ told His hearers not to sit in the places of prominence, when invited to a formal occasion. He described a situation where someone takes the best seat and then is replaced by the host for “one more honorable than you.” His advice was to take the lowest place and then when the host asks you to move to a higher position, “you will have glory in the presence of those who sit at the table with you.”

Then Jesus gave some specific instructions to his host, one of the rulers of the Pharisees. He told him not to invite people to a meal who could repay him by inviting him in return to their homes. Christ’s encouragement was for people to invite the disadvantaged. He specifies “the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind.”

The Lord is reminding all of us that we need to care for those who have a difficult time in life. Many don’t even have the basic necessities for survival. Helping others is more important than helping ourselves by including only those who can repay us.

--Roger Hillis

The parable of the two debtors takes place in the midst of a social interaction between Christ and a Pharisee named Simon (Luke 7:36-50). Jesus was invited into Simon’s home for a meal. It is noteworthy that the Lord often accepted offers of hospitality from others (like Matthew in Matthew 9:9-13).

While at Simon’s house, a woman from the city came into the gathering (their homes were open and most did not have doors back then) and began to wash the Savior’s feet with her tears, wiped them with her hair and then kissed his feet and anointed them with fragrant oil.

Apparently, this woman was well known in the community as “a sinner,” Simon was surprised that Jesus, a prophet, did not realize the woman’s sinful condition and allowed her to touch Him. Jesus knew Simon’s thoughts and took advantage of the opportunity to teach an important spiritual truth.

The parable deals with two men who owed the same creditor. One owed 500 denarii and the other owed 50. A denarius was an average day’s wage, so one man owed about a year and a half of wages, while the other owed about two months of salary. Both were in his debt for a substantial amount of money.

When they were unable to pay, the creditor simply forgave both men for the full amount. This is, of course, a picture of God forgiving us for our sins because we are unable to work them off our record. No amount of human effort will ever be enough to forgive even one sin.

Jesus asks, “Which of them will love him more?” The Pharisee correctly answers, “I suppose the one whom he forgave more.”

And then, Christ makes the application of the parable by contrasting what the woman had done for Him and what Simon should have done but did not. He speaks of a person whose many sins are forgiven as one who loves much. But one who has few sins is inclined to love little.

Simon didn’t see himself as a sinner. It is always easy to see the sins of others, but it is often much harder to recognize and admit our own sins and weaknesses. A person who is acutely aware of his wickedness is much more appreciative of the Lord’s forgiveness than a self-righteous person who may not even realize how God sees him.

This sinful woman was penitent (that’s why she was crying) and understood that Jesus has the power to cleanse her and make her righteous (verse 48). We must see ourselves as sinners in need of forgiveness in order to truly appreciate God’s free gift of salvation (Romans 6:23).

--Roger Hillis

This parable is recorded in Luke 14:15-34. It follows a parable about humility and the importance of not exalting ourselves (verses 7-13). We will study the humility parable in a later post.

The parable of the great supper was told in response to a man who was dining with Jesus and who heard the Master discuss the need for humility. This man stated, “Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God!”

Jesus tells the story of a man who gave a great feast and invited many people to attend. But most of the people who were invited, rather than to appreciate the great honor of being a guest of this man, began to make excuses for why they would not attend the banquet.

The primary teaching of the parable had to do with the Jews’ rejection of Jesus as Messiah. Although given the first opportunity to obey the Lord under the new covenant, the Bible tells us that “He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him” (John 1:11). The gospel is said to be the power of God for salvation, “to the Jew first” (Romans 1:16).

There is an important application of this parable to all people, however, and not just to disobedient Jews. The Savior has invited everyone to His great banquet. “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).

There is not a person who is cannot be saved by God’s grace. As we often sing, “The gospel is for all.” The death of Jesus on the cross made salvation possible for all men (Hebrews 5:8-9). We would do well to remember that God’s desire to for “all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4). He does not want any soul to perish (2 Peter 3:9).

But, of course, both in the first century and now, many souls continue to rebel against God. When given the opportunity to obey God and be saved, many people refuse to serve Him. They do not appreciate the great supper He has provided for all of the obedient, which is an analogy for heaven itself.

So many make excuses, like the third men illustrated in the parable. The excuses Jesus mentions here are not good solid reasons for disobedience (there are no such things as good reasons to reject God). But one excuse is as good (or as bad) as another.

Some non-Christians make excuses for not obeying the gospel. Some who have been baptized into Christ make excuses for not being faithful to their Lord. Some Christians make excuses for not using their talents and taking advantage of opportunities to serve God in a devoted and committed way.

This parable shows us that excuses are not acceptable to God. Period.

--Roger Hillis

There are only four parables in the gospel of Mark. The sower, the mustard seed and the wicked vinedressers are also contained in the other gospels. The parable of the growing seed is found only in Mark 4:26-29.

Several of Christ’s parables dealt with seeds.

The sower teaches us that there are different kinds of hearts into which the seed of the kingdom can be sown.

The parable of the tares helps us to see that not all that happens is the Lord’s will. Satan has an influence on the affairs of man.

The mustard seed deals with the power of the gospel to influence people to grow and develop and that the church may start small, but it will grow into a powerful spiritual kingdom.

The bottom line of this parable is that we simply do not know how the gospel works. In the time of Christ, they didn’t really know how a seed worked. Centuries later, we have made much progress in the field of agriculture. We understand the benefits of rotating crops, of fertilizing, of producing more crops on less land, of killing weeds, but we have made little or no progress in learning how a seed can grow and produce a crop.

And we don’t really know how the Bible works. It is described as “the power of God to salvation” (Romans 1:16) and we have all seen it produces change and bring about spiritual grown and development in people, but we just don’t understand how it does that. It produces a new creature (2 Corinthians 5:17). It makes a person a better father, mother, husband, wife, citizen, worker, student, etc. Unlike Shakespeare or other great works of literature, it makes people better and prepares them for eternal life.

We are taught to plant and water the seed, but it is still God who must give the increase and make the plant grow (1 Corinthians 3:6-9).

A seed must be put into the ground and, in the same way, we must receive the word into our hearts (James 1:21). By our obedience to this seed of the gospel, we are born again (1 Peter 1:23-25).

So, it is our responsibility in God’s plan to be the ones who plant the seed into the hearts of men and women. We must “preach the word” (2 Timothy 4:2) or teach it one on one to people who are separated from the Lord. And when we do that, God has promised us that the harvest will come.

--Roger Hillis

According to Luke 18:9, Jesus spoke this parable to the self-righteous (that’s always someone else, but not me, right?). And while, in the parable, both men went into the temple to pray, it is really not about prayer. The primary lesson of this parable is pride versus humility. Prayer is simply the example Jesus uses to teach us that important lesson.

The Pharisees were the strictest sect of the Jews and they sought to be righteous in all aspects of their lives. There is, of course, nothing wrong with that. As a matter of fact, we all ought to seek righteousness in our lives. That pleases God. It was their self-righteousness that the Lord condemns and their tendency to look down on others.

The tax collectors (publican, KJV) were considered traitors by most Jews, since they worked for the Roman government. They were often dishonest and often pocketed any extra money they could extort from citizens.

The Pharisee, therefore, was well respected in society and probably considered to be a religious leader. The tax collector would have hated by almost everyone (everybody, that is, except Christ).

The Pharisee’s prayer is found in verses 11-12. But, it was not really a prayer. It was a list of accomplishments reminding God of how good he was, especially when compared with others. He wanted to make certain God knew how fortunate He was to have this Pharisee on His side.

The tax collector’s prayer (verse 13) was a humble plea for forgiveness. He acknowledged his guilt before God and simply asked for pardon. He even “stood afar off,” symbolizing his separation from God because of his own disobedience. He knew he was a sinner.

The tax collector went home forgiven, because that was what he had asked for. The Pharisee did not, because he had not asked for forgiveness and, in reality, didn’t think he needed forgiveness.

This should teach us that God approves of humility and despises arrogance and pride.

You are not the center of the universe; it does not revolve around you and your happiness. The sooner we all realize that we are utterly dependent on God, the better off we will be.

Sometimes we all need to be brought back down to earth, don’t we? We can get pretty full of ourselves. “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6).

So, the choices are humility and pride. Which one would you say more characterizes your life? Be honest, because God know the truth.

--Roger Hillis

Recorded in Luke 15:11-32, the Parable of the Prodigal Son is perhaps the most famous of all the parables. It is the third parable in this chapter, following the parable of the lost sheep and the parable of the lost coin.

Luke 15 has been referred to as “the gospel in the gospel,” since it tells us of the love of our Heavenly Father for lost souls. It is a word picture describing the truth of John 3:16 that “God so loved the world that He gave us His only begotten Son.”

A man had two sons and the younger one decided he didn’t want to live at home and follow his father’s rules any more. So he asked for his part of the inheritance, which was unusual, of course. Normally, one does not inherit something from anyone until that person had died. But the Father grants his request (perhaps this is symbolic of our free will and God’s willingness to allow us to make really foolish decisions).

The young man heads off to a far country (any place away from his father). This is a parabolic picture of sin. The consequences of his choice are significant and severe. He soon wastes all of his inheritance with wild and ungodly behavior. His friends, no doubt abundant when he had plenty of money, quickly desert him. Unable to survive for long, he gets a job feeding pigs. It would be difficult to imagine a lower state of being for a Jewish male. But sometimes you have to hit rock bottom before you look up.

Brought to his senses by his memory of the things he had learned from his father, repents (“when he came to himself”), and walks home in shame and disgrace. His loving father sees him coming from afar and runs to meet him (something quite undignified for Jewish father). He welcomes him home and throws him a party.

The older brother, who has stayed at home and served and obeyed their Father, is not at all happy to see his younger sibling. He is jealous of the love the Father still has for his foolish and rebellious child. Jesus is driving the lesson home to the envious tax collectors and sinners (verses 1-2) who didn’t understand why Christ spent time with sinners.

This is usually called the parable of the prodigal son and he is an important character in the narrative. Some have rightly referred to this as the parable of the lost sons, emphasizing that the older brother was just as lost as the prodigal, although he had remained at home. But, in the final analysis, this is a parable about the loving Father.

There is no one that God does not love. Think of the worst people you have ever known. Think of those who have committed great crimes against society and their fellow man. Think of those who have hurt you the most and whose downfall or destruction would probably bring you great pleasure. By the way, while you are at it, you might think about your own sins, in rebellion to God and His love. God loves every soul.

--Roger Hillis

“Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him. And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, ‘This Man receives sinners and eats with them’” (Luke 15:1-2).

With these words, one of the most beautiful chapters in the Bible begins. Verse 3 continues on and says, “So He spoke this parable to them, saying:” Although the text says, this parable, Jesus actually delivers three parables, the lost sheep (verses 4-7), the lost coin (verses 8-10), and the lost sons (verses 11-32). While the illustration is different in each, the main lesson is the same. God loves the souls of the lost and wants all people to be saved (1 Timothy 2:3-4).

First is the parable of the lost sheep. In the story, a shepherd watching over 100 sheep realizes that one of them has wandered away. He leaves the 99 “safe” sheep and goes to search for the one which is lost. He continues to look for it until he locates it and then brings it back triumphantly and adds it back into the fold.

Verses 6-7 give us a “behind the scenes” look at heaven’s response when a lost soul returns to God. The parable is reminding us how much the Lord loves us and how much “joy” there is in heaven when “one sinner” repents.

His second example is a woman who owns ten coins and loses one of them. Some have suggested this might refer to a piece of jewelry that had ten coins in it as decoration (much like diamonds or other jewels) and that the loss of one piece makes the entire thing worthless. Or it might simply be speaking of her personal worth of ten coins. Either way, the lesson is that the lost coin meant a great deal to her and so she turned on the light, swept the house and searched carefully until she recovered the coin.

And again, Jesus lets us know that this lost coin, now found, represents “one sinner who repents.”

We should never underestimate the value of one soul. The Savior taught us, in another setting, that one soul is worth more than the whole world (Matthew 16:26).

That should cause us all to make certain that our own soul is in a right relationship with God. If it isn’t, not much else matters.

It should also help us, as Christians, to remember once again the value of the souls around us who do not know our Lord. Will we be like the scribes and Pharisees who hated the lost or like the Lord who loves all souls and want them to be saved?

--Roger Hillis