Killing two birds with one post.

First "bird" - I just always find it interesting when part of what we discuss in class lines up with Buddy/Richard's sermon for the week. Mostly, it's because I can't decide if it is serendipitous or divinely supervised :) This was the message on Sunday, and was also touched on by James in chapter 3 and in chapter 2. The "deeds" that some think Christians can't be saved without need to come from a willingness and love in our hearts, not from obligation. James' words were, "in the humility that comes from wisdom." I found a verse that speaks to this in 1 Thessalonians. Paul writes this:

2 "We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers. 3 We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Thessalonians 1:2, italics emphasis added by Nick) whole chapter here.

Second "bird" - This week we will be reading James 4:1-12. There is a lot in this passage but one section that always used to give me trouble was verse 9. The "grieve mourn and wail" passage didn't make sense but makes more sense now than it used to. This week I want to challenge you to read this passage daily, but also to dive deeper with verse 9 (and the verses on either side of it, really). What does being commanded to "grieve, mourn and wail" mean to us as Christians today? Does this contradict other scripture about being joyful? Think and pray on the passage this week and ask God to reveal Himself to you through it.

"Faith and Deeds" expanded

The debate between faith and deeds as a means to salvation is one that theologians have debated over for ages. There is a seeming contradiction between James', "you gotta walk the walk" stance (Jas 2:17) and Paul's stance in Romans that no amount of actions can change the fact that we are sinners in need of grace. This week in class (10/31) we will be looking at James 3:13-18. I'd like to key in on verse 13 for some food for thought. It says, "Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom." Compare this to 2:14-26. I find it hard to read this and think that James is saying that certain actions need to be marked of a checklist in order for us to be saved. What do you think? Compare it to Jesus' words in Matthew 23:23-24. What is the importance of faith vs. deeds? Is it a balancing act between the two? is one more important than the other? 

Such Amazing Examples!

If you are looking for some devotional reading this week and don't know where to turn, try turning to Hebrews 11. The NIV heading for this section is "By Faith." The term, "by faith" is mentioned 20 times in this one chapter, and some form of the word, "faith," is used 26 times in all throughout the chapter. This collection of accounts starts early in the Old Testament and walks through several examples of servants living by faith. There is a formula to almost every one of the accounts:

• BY FAITH, So-and-so (DID). In parentheses could be inserted any number of verbs and actions.

The stories that are summarized in this chapter are ones that required God's people to choose allegiance to Him rather than to themselves, their safety or even their nation, in some cases. Happy reading!

A Little Background Never Hurts

This week we are looking at James chapter 2:14-26. This is a pretty loaded chapter and its study will be enhanced by looking at other scripture for understanding. We'll examine these on Sunday, but if you have a few minutes to spare you may want to look at and start digesting the following scripture:

• Romans 3:21-31 - Compare this to James 2:18. Is there a conflict in teaching?
• Genesis 22 - This is the story of Abraham that James refers to in 2:20-24. Even if you are familiar with this story it's always good to refresh and make sure you recollect correctly.
• Joshua 2 - This is the story of Rahab in Jericho that James refers to in 2:25-26. Again, it's good to refresh. Not only was Rahab spared but she became part of Jesus' genealogy. 

I can't wait for the discussion this week. I think it's going to be a really good one.

Legalism - Go deeper.

Scripture References NT and OT (in order of use in this post)

The question arose in class this week about legalism and what that term means. Legalism in the Biblical context is an unbalanced focus on rules and behaviors as a means to salvation. The Jewish community in the first century were highly legalistic in their practices and we see that throughout the New Testament. Pharisees tried to "catch" Jesus breaking all kinds of rules so that they could persecute him for false teaching (Matt 9:11-15; 12:1-3; 15: 1-3; Mk 7; Luk 6:1-11, to name a few). The pharisees got so wrapped up in piety (dutiful devotion to god and observance of religious principles -- Thank you, Dictionary.com!) that they had no relationship with God. They had no heart for holiness, but only a daily to-do and not-to-do list that they checked off as they went about their business.

The idea that God is after a willing heart is not one that is exclusively New Testament. Genesis tells us "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness" (Gen 15:6). David was called a man of God's own heart and, as history would have it, became the greatest king Israel had. There is an interesting illustration of this idea in 1 Samuel 15. In this story we have Saul, the anointed king of the Israelites and Samuel, the priest and judge over the nation, responsible for the spiritual health of the people. God, through Samuel, gave the orders to Saul to completely destroy his enemies, the Amalekites, and, "...destroy everything that belongs to them. Do not spare them. Put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys" (v. 3). Saul destroyed the Amalekites, but did what he thought the religiously right thing to do would be. He plundered and kept the best sheep, cattle and livestock for the purpose of sacrificing them to God. But he missed the command, "Destroy everything." When Samuel heard this his response speaks to this topic clearly:

"Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord? To obey is better than to sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams" (1 Sam 15:22-23)

God wants obedient hearts. The sacrifice here is a practice that was created out of the disparity caused by disobedience! What God would have preferred is that Saul would have listened, as Mal and I tell our 4-year-old niece, "the first time."

The tie-in to our study in James is that we will begin to see much language dealing with behavior. James' message, however, is that we show the world our heart with the outpouring of markedly different behavior. The behavior must come from the heart and then be reflected outwardly. That's my challenge for you. Have a blessed week!

Parallels between NT and OT

Here is the scripture used in today's post!
Today's post will be short, but I thought it to be very relevant to what we discussed this week. Sunday we discussed how the whole first chapter of James paints the picture that all sin is the same. At the heart of all sin is the desire to lord over our own lives and make choices for ourselves. That is the desire implied in James 1:14. As I was reading for my Old Testament class this morning I came across a passage in the text book that points to a very similar concept way back in Genesis 2 & 3.

"Eating fruit may appear innocent enough! But the action itself displayed something immoral below the surface: rebellion against God's command (Gen 2:17 - "...except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat this fruit you will surely die."). Temptation always entails a challenge to God's Word (Gen 3:1, 4, 5), which he speaks for our eternal good. God alone understood the full danger of disobedience. He always knows what is best for us." (Arnold & Beyer, Encountering the Old Testament, p. 83)

As we go through our weeks, we ought to pray for God to reveal the ultimate Sin in our lives and deal with it, rather than all the specific actions that grow out of it. That is surely a big part of the wisdom and spiritual maturity that God desires for us!

Joy & Wisdom vs. Happiness & Knowledge

Here are the scriptures referenced in today's post.

In the first part of James' letter to Israel, he talks about wisdom and joy. We sometimes make the mistake of using these words synonymously with knowledge and happiness, respectively. There is an important distinction between these sets of words.

James starts of by saying that we should consider trials of many kinds pure joy. That can be easier said than done, but the usage of Joy here is so important. Joy is the overarching contentment that we find in our lives and our eternal situations as we entrust God with the protection of our souls. Trials of many kinds, if we view them the right way, develop our perseverance and our ability to rely on God in any circumstance. The more we put into this "spiritual savings account" the easier it becomes to face anything because you've got the resources (perseverance of faith) to overcome. Happiness is an emotion. it comes and goes with each event and each day. We may not always be happy that we are going through tough times, but we need to be joyful that those tough times will develop our faith.

Some of this can be hard to implement. We know what the Bible says, but when faced with trials we are to be joyful? How? The answer is in verse 5 of this passage and in James' use of the word wisdom. Knowledge is great but if it is not used it becomes worthless trivia. To know what the Bible says about a topic is totally different than to do what the bible says about the same topic. While it is good to know that trials bring perseverance, they only develop it if you are persevering. The ability to view your trials through this lens takes wisdom that only comes from asking God.

The cliffs-notes version of this post is that spiritually mature Christians do not allow their moment-to-moment emotions trump their over-arching faith in the supremacy of God.

And the SAT version of this post is
Happiness : temporary : : Joy : permanent
Knowledge : trivial : : Wisdom : experiential

Have a joyful week!
Nick

James 1:9-12

These four verses are for Sunday 8/29.

 ⁹The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position. ¹⁰But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wild flower. ¹¹For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich man will fade away even while he goes about his business.

 ¹²Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.

Click Here for the full chapter

New Study: The book of James

This week is a transitional week for our group. We are moving away from the book of Acts, hopefully with a better understanding of what our church should look like. Our next study will be in the book of James and we will stay with this short epistle through the weekend before Thanksgiving (an epistle is a writing, usually formal and usually in letter form, that is focused toward a specific person or group of people as an audience).

The Bible says that Christ will reveal Himself to us. His will is not something that we can necessarily find on our own through searching hard enough and reading enough academic/theological essays. His will must be revealed to us. The following scriptures demonstrate this (links are to the given chapter in its entirety):

Numbers 12:6 - He said, "Listen to my words: 'When a prophet of the Lord is among you, I reveal myself to him in visions, I speak to him in dreams.

1 Samuel 3:7 - Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, the word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him.

Matthew 11:25-27 - At that time Jesus said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. ²⁶Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure. ²⁷"All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

Since God tells us that He must reveal Himself to us in order for us to understand, we should approach Bible study with this in mind. We should meditate on the Word and not just fly through it. We should give God an opportunity to speak and ourselves the opportunity to listen. 

So here's my challenge for this week: Read James 1:1-8 as often as you get a chance. Carry it with you in some way. Read it every morning or every night, but at the very least read it once daily. See how God will show the meaning of this passage to you in a very real and personal way over the next week.