“…[W]hat woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it? And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbours together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost.” Luke 15:8-9

We all lose things from time to time, but the woman in this parable shows a firm resolve to find her lost coin that highlights God’s desire for man’s repentance.  She does not say to herself, “Oh, it will turn up sooner or later.”  Instead she goes to all manner of pains to find her lost silver coin. Just as the shepherd would not stop searching until he found his lost sheep (v.4), the woman in this parable is set on recovering her coin.  Palestinian dwellings were often of mud-brick construction with no windows and earthen floors; thus, it was possible for a coin to fall, be trodden underfoot and become embedded in the floor.  The search was painstaking.  She had to light an oil lamp, which shed roughly the same amount of light as a candle.  With her dim light in hand she swept and searched until she found the small coin.

At last when the lost coin was found the woman was so overjoyed that she threw a party.  No doubt some will demur that this celebration probably cost the woman more than the coin she found was worth, but that is exactly the point.  These parables in Luke 15 show the joy in heaven over sinners who repent.  They are not lessons in economics, but rather in the joy of God when a soul returns to Him (v. 10).  Upon the return of the lost son, the father does not concern himself with the money that was wasted in the younger son’s prodigal living, but rather celebrates that he has returned (vv. 22-24).  The one who questions such a celebration is more like the older brother (vv. 25-32).

The Pharisees and scribes thought that “sinners” were not worthy to be received (v.2).  Unlike the woman in this parable, they would not so much as waste the oil to light a lamp to search for the lost, much less rejoice over them.  In that sense they would remain in the dark; their inner darkness blinding their eyes to the truth as Jesus explained earlier in the book of Luke (11:33-36). They had an evil eye toward Jesus for associating with those who were called “sinners.” Similar to how Saul eyed David with envy (1 Sam. 18:9), the Pharisees, moved with envy, were not putting forth effort in understanding Jesus’ sayings, but rather in plotting His death (Mk. 3:6; 15:10).  They would never consider that they would be lost; never would they place themselves in this parable and see themselves as a lost coin.

Jesus is the light of the world, that all may come and see the light of God (Jn. 8:12).  If it were not for His light shining into the world we would have remained lost in the darkness of sin.  He did not come to save and enlighten people who are just like you and me, but people of every background.  Do we see our need for salvation?  Are we searching for souls to save?  Are we searching our own souls? Can we place ourselves in Jesus’ parables, becoming engaged in what He has to say and weighing the meaning in our own lives?  Or do we, like the Pharisees, wear masks of hypocrisy, professing to be enlightened while never considering our own spiritual destitution?  Does the light of Christ shine in us?

– Mark Day

The year 2016 has now passed and we have stepped into a new year, 2017. Many have made New Year’s resolutions, several of which might actually make it to April 1^st. Surely it is fitting that we make some Biblical “new” year’s resolutions to direct us into the future.

Let Us Resolve To Study Our New Testament. We live under the New Testament (Covenant) today.  Matthew 26:28, “For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” The reference to the New Testament is to the New Covenant which God had promised in the Old Testament He would establish. See Jeremiah 31:31-34. This indicates a change of His law. This New Testament is sealed by the precious blood of Christ. Since such a great sacrifice was made to bring about the New Covenant which we live under, and since it will be the standard of our Judgment (Romans 2:16) we should desire to be diligent students of the New Testament.

Let Us Remember As Christians We Are New Creatures. Upon our obedience to the Gospel we are new creatures. 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” When a person Hears the message of the New Testament (The Gospel), Believes that message, Repents of sin, Confesses the name of Jesus Christ, and is Baptized into Christ, that person is a new creature. See also Romans 6:3-6. That is, a new creature in Christ has been born again (John 3:3, 5), forgiven of sin (Ephesians 1:7), is focused on spiritual things (Colossians 3:1), and seeks to live right in this life (Titus 2:11-12). We are new in Christ; the old sinful self has been put to death (Romans 6:6), in Christ we are new people!

Let Us Look For The New Heavens And New Earth. 2 Peter 3:12-13, “Looking for and earnestly desiring the coming of the day of God, by reason of which the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? But, according to his promise, we look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.” (ASV)  Learning the Plan of Salvation from the New Testament, obeying it, and living according to it, the faithful Christian can look forward to, the time when he or she will enter into the new heavens and new earth; that’s heaven my friend. “Peter speaks of the new heavens and new earth only in the sense of a new habitation for the saved, one prepared by the Lord and wherein dwells righteousness. It is a place new in quality, one that has never before been used by men. He does not intend that we think of this old sin-scarred earth with its millions of sinful memories, but tells of a special place that is new and fresh in quality, specially made and prepared by the Lord.” (Bob Winton, Commentary on 2 Peter)

As we begin this New Year, let us seek the “new”. “If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.” Ephesians 4:21-24

-Jerry Sturgill