James 3

     Now James begins to meddle. Taming the tongue. When I was a lad I learned the popular jingle that was supposed to help us resist the onslaught of insults and barbs. You know the jingle, it goes: "sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me." The cold bitter truth is that this jingle is a lie. Although the wounds of "words" may not be visible like being clubbed with a stick or hit with a rock, they are wounds none the less. What we say and how we say it truly matters. With our words we can build up and encourage others or we can tear down and discourage others. With our words we can speak words of blessings or we can curse. The point James makes so poignantly is that both tearing and building, blessing and cursing, should not come from the same source. If we are disciples of Jesus Christ we are children of light and children of day and darkness should not come forth from our lips.
     Let me put it another way. In Genesis 12:2 father Abraham is called by God and told that God will bless him "so that you will be a blessing." Abraham was blessed so he could be a blessing. I believe this is the essence of the spiritual life. God does not pour out his blessings TO us but THROUGH us. This being the case we have the opportunity with what we do and what we say to others to speak words of grace and hope and blessing. Could it be possible the ultimate example of a Christan's progress is how they control their language?
     We curse others through negative words, through "put-downs", through dismissive language and through gossip. When we speak about others behind their backs with malicious intent that is gossip. All too often, in faith communities, gossip reigns supreme under the disguise of "sharing prayer concerns" and similar forms of sharing. Be careful to not "over share" -- remember that God is omniscient (God already knows everything) and so when I pray for someone I don't need to know all of the intimate details, permutations, possibilities and how it will impact the rest of the known universe. Anything more than pray for Uncle Bob's cancer becomes TMI (too much information) and begins to border on gossip.
    Here's a challenge. Try to get through a day speaking a word of blessing (or a prayer of blessing) on everyone you meet. See if we can't clear out the brackish water around our tongues and speak the sweet water words of healing and grace. 

James 2

     For Judgment will be without mercy to anyone who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment (2:13) . . . to do justice, LOVE mercy and walk humbly with God is the life Micah calls us to. I believe judgment without mercy is tyranny but mercy without judgment is wishful thinking. Without judgment there can be no mercy. Judgment and mercy are flip sides of the same coin. Is there mercy for the unmerciful? Jesus teaches us to pray "forgive us our sins (debts, trespasses) AS WE forgive those who sin (debtors, trespass) against us". That sounds like conditional grace. Is it possible that the evidence of a life in the spirit -- the first evidence that we actually Christ's followers -- is when we begin to extend mercy and forgiveness to others that God has extended to us?  Is it possible that mercy (like love and spiritual gifts and so much more) is not given to me for me to keep but is given to the world by God through me? I heard someone say once: "Salvation only comes to you on the way to someone else: if it stopped with you it wasn't real." I would apply the same to mercy and forgiveness. There is judgment without mercy for those who show no mercy!
     I love the "you believe in God? even the demons believe and tremble" in verse 19. It is not what I say it is what I do that truly matters. All too often Christians are criticized, sometimes justifiably and sometimes not so, by the wider world for being judgmental. How many times does the media portray the Christian who is declaring the love of Jesus and salvation through Christ in one moment and in the very next breath condemning all those other miserable sinners who "haven't got what I got." When all the church preaches is judgment there is no mercy and the world turns a deaf ear to our message. Jesus saved his most judging comments for the RELIGIOUS people and spoke to those who knew they needed grace with words of love, grace and forgiveness. I can profess that I believe and still belong to the devil.
     James: show me your faith apart from you works (your life, your attitudes, your judgmental ism) and I by my works (my life, my attitude, my championing of mercy) will demonstrate my faith in Jesus.

James 1

     The style of James' letter is a preaching style called "stringing pearls". This missive (letter) is a series of comments, advice, correction, encouragement and teaching from one of the earliest Christian leaders:
     Verse 13 -- we are never tempted by God. The line "lead us not into temptation" from the Lord's prayer is a long standing poor translation. Many modern translators render it "save us in the time of trial" which makes more sense in the context of the rest of the prayer. God does not tempt me, I am perfectly capable in my normal broken self to be drawn away by various and divers temptations. How I handle those temptations is another story. Hebrews reminds us that Jesus was "tempted" in all ways just as we are yet without sin. The temptation is not the problem . . . how we respond can be the problem.
   Verse 19 and following shows that the Wesleyan understanding of the Christian Faith (that personal holiness must be lived out as social holiness) is rooted and grounded not only in the Old Testament prophetic tradition but is the main stream of the New Testament as well. It is not enough to hear the word of God and it is not enough to say we believe the word of God. It is only when we apply the word of God to our lives and take action on it that we are living as Christ called us to live.
    Verse 26/27 -- religion (faith) the life to which we are called is: care for the orphans (powerless) and the widows (powerless) in their distress.
     Protestant reformer, Martin Luther, did not like the book of James. He called it an "Epistle of Straw". The reason for this is that Martin Luther saw in James a "works righteousness" assuming that the focus on deeds was replacing the New Testament principle of Salvation by Faith (Grace) alone. The misunderstanding has to do with James and Paul using the word "Faith" differently. Paul uses the word faith to mean trust and rely on. James appears to be using the word "faith" to mean a belief in a set of principles. Paul does encourage believers to be passive in their lives: he speaks of "faith working through love" and other expressions that show that once we get the language use on the same page they are very much in agreement, indeed.

James Introduction

We begin reading the Epistle of James on Tuesday, March 6, 2012. Below is the brief introduction I wrote for the Nexus Biblical and Theological primer.

James is traditionally attributed to Jesus’ half brother James, a younger son of Joseph and Mary. Matthew reports four brothers of Jesus: James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas in Matthew 13:55. The traditional author is the same James who presided over the Jerusalem Council reported in Acts 15 and was identified as the head of the church in Jerusalem. If James was the author, the letter is dated in the AD 60’s; if not, it could have been written late in the first century. James is a “general epistle”; it is not written to a specific church or person but to the Christian movement as a whole. James is a practical document, not interested in theological speculation but in the practical application of the teachings of Jesus to a normal Christian life. 

     Key Learning: Personal holiness must be lived out in social holiness. Faith without works is dead. Personal holiness that does not see and help people in the real world is not Biblical Christianity.

1 Timothy 6

    Paul concludes his letter to his young protege with some closing teaching and advice. The famous "the love of money is the root of all evil" (10) reminds us that having things is not the problem, it is when our things have us that we run into difficulty. Verses 3-10 is sound teaching on the importance of the teaching ministry in the church and how easy it is to stray into things that are not harmful.
     Persue righteousness godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness -- fight the good fight of the faith (11/12) is Paul's advice to his younger colleague. I used to have a poster that was a communion table laden with a broken loaf of bread and a full chalice of wine. The caption read "Jesus of Nazareth invites you to a banquet held in his honor." This was followed by the middle of verse 12 "take hold of the eternal life to which you were called!"
    His final note is to the "rich". I preached on this passage last Sunday.

1 Timothy 5

     The early Christian church, like the modern Christian church, has both internal and external missions. It is important to not get hung up on the regulations spelled out here in chapter 5 but to focus on the principles outlined. In most of the ancient world women could not hold office, vote or even own property. A woman who had no children and had lost her husband would be totally destitute. The most vulnerable people in the first century were widows, orphans and sojourners (travelers and new comers to a community). The widow because she had no husband to protect her; the orphan because there was no father to protect him/her; the sojourner because there was no family to defend them. The fair treatment of these widowed women was a critical ministry issue in the first century. Notice that the institution of the office of deacon (see Acts 6) was over the issue of the food distribution to the widows in Jerusalem. The church must care for its own -- in 1 Timothy 5 we have this extensive conversation about defining which widows should be cared for by the church. Those widows that have families should be cared for by their families. Those widows who do not have families are cared for under the umbrella of the church. The early Christians did not stop there but were always extending their caring outside the walls. One of the great accusations from extra biblical literature of the first century is a complaint by a Roman official that the Christians not only took care of their own in need but the rest of the village as well (he seemed to think it made the Romans look bad). For the modern world, we have to ask: "who are the completely destitute and powerless in our society, in our churches, in our communities?" How then should the church respond?
     The rest of chapter 5 is practical advice for community living -- treat elders with respect, don't ordain hastily, keep yourself pure. There is even a bit of practical first century medical advice (v 23).

1 Timothy 4

     The Gnostics taught that matter was evil and that only spirit was good. Because of this teaching many were led to "deny" the flesh entirely. They promoted abstinence from marriage and prolonged fasting. Some of these groups, on the extreme edges, practiced "self mortification" a practice that involved whipping oneself to deny any stronghold to the flesh. Paul's sensible response (v 4) "for everything created by God is good and nothing is to be rejected, provided it is received with thanksgiving" reminds us, once again, everything in creation has a use and a purpose when utilized appropriately, in moderation and in the right context.
    The rest of the chapter is a series of words of encouragement for his young disciple.
    1. Keep your wits about you and don't go chasing after "profane myths and old wives tales" (6) -- I was once told by a friend of mine to "never wrestle with a pig -- the pig will enjoy it and you'll just get dirty."
    2. To train in godliness -- spiritual disciplined living is the mark of a leader and a disciple of Jesus (7/8)
    3. Don't let people despise you because you are young -- apparently Timothy is a much younger man -- he is told to set an example. A word to the wise for all of us but especially to younger Christians who may feel slighted or overlooked by their elders -- keep at it, keep fighting, use your gifts, do the work.
     4. Do the work of  ministry -- read the Scriptures publicly; exhort, teach -- use the spiritual gift that God has given you -- good advise for any and all Christ followers.
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