Christ in James -- Our Joy, Our Wisdom

James, the half-brother of Jesus, the son of Joseph and Mary, wrote his letter to the Jewish Christians probably before any of the rest of the New Testament was written.  His letter, written only about 10 years after the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, was circulated throughout Jerusalem and the surrounding areas.  In the early days of the church, Christians were being persecuted in much the same way as they are today in the middle-east.  The Jewish establishment hated them just as much as the Roman government did.  James, the brother of Peter and John had been beheaded. Another of Christ’s disciples named James, the son of Alphaeus, had been stoned, as had Steven.  Paul had not been converted and was still actively persecuting the Christians.  Many of the believers had left Jerusalem because of the persecution they faced there.  So James wrote his letter to give these persecuted believers some practical advice about how to live out their faith.  Many people criticize the book of James, saying that it contradicts the doctrine of salvation by grace alone, through faith.  However, nothing could be further from the truth.  This letter was written to those who had already received the gift of salvation.  It was not intended to tell them how to receive something they already had, but rather to instruct them about how their lives should demonstrate that gift.  Even though our lives are quite different from theirs, there are still very many similarities.  The instructions James gave are still very relevant to us today.  I will not attempt to summarize the entire book here today.  It is only 5 chapters, and I encourage you to study it for yourself.  Instead, today we will focus on the first instruction that James gave, because if we can apply that first instruction to our lives all the rest will follow.

The very first instruction James gave almost 2000 years ago was that we should not allow our circumstances to overwhelm us, but rather we should find joy in knowing that God will use our circumstances to mature us and to grow our faith:

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything (James 1:2-4).

Joy in persecution?  Joy in pain?  Joy in unemployment?  Joy in sickness and death?

YES!  James wrote that we are to choose JOY, “whenever you face trials of MANY KINDS!”

I can hear the sighs now, as though my computer is tapped into yours.  “You don’t know what you are talking about!”  “You don’t know what I am going through.”  “You must be crazy!”

I get it.  I HAVE been there, done that, got the scars (not the t-shirt) to prove it.  I won’t re-write my book here, but after you have studied the book of James, you might want to read my book, “I Choose Joy!”  There is a tab at the upper right hand corner of this page where you can order it.  I say that, not to try to sell more books, but to assure you that I know what I am talking about. 

First of all, you need to understand that there is a huge difference between joy and happiness.  Happiness is dependent upon circumstances.  James did not instruct the persecuted Christians of his day to “be happy.”  He knew there was much to be unhappy about.  People were being tortured and killed.  Families were being torn apart.  Fortunes were being lost.  Hard-working, honest people were being oppressed.  In spite of all the unhappiness, James was teaching his friends to “count it all joy.”  That phrase was a business term, one that was used in accounting to keep track of debts.  We can keep track of all the bad circumstances, making a list that might be titled, “Reasons to be Angry,” or “I’ll Get Even Someday,” or “Everyone Should Feel Sorry for Me Because. . .”  Or we can place each circumstance on a list we might entitle, “For Jesus to Handle.”  We can give each circumstance over to Him.  We can ask Him to bear our burdens, we can thank Him for loving us in spite of our failures, we can trust Him with our future, and we can trust Him with our past.  We can know, without a doubt, that He will never leave us or forsake us, no matter what:

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls (Matthew 11:28-29).”

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:38-39).

In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus (Philippians 1:4-6).

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you (1 Peter 5:7).

Once you learn the habit of living in JOY rather than in worry, regret, pain, sorrow, anger, or bitterness, then the rest of the teachings of James will fall into place much easier.

Secondly, James taught that we should ask God to give us wisdom.  Not the kind of wisdom that the world might offer, but the kind of wisdom that God gives.  Worldly wisdom is based on being puffed up, learning for the sake of learning, or learning so that one can feel superior to others.  Some Christians fall into the trap of a worldly form of wisdom – they go from one Bible study to another, learning more and more about the Word, but never putting what they have learned into action.  Some would say that they “sit and soak and sour.”  Instead, James tells us that if we have true wisdom, along with the joy that Jesus gives, it will be reflected by our attitudes toward others, as well as by our actions.  We will be stable, not wishy-washy in our faith; we will be humble, impartial, and merciful:

If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you (James 1:5).

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says (James 1:22).

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world (James 1:27).

My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts (James 2:1-4)?

Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead (James 2:15-17).

Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth.  Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.  For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.  But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.  Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness (James 3:13-18).

I hope that you will remember what James said about prayer and praise:

Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective (James 5:13-16).

I promise that I will pray for you this week, as I pray for myself, also.  My prayer is that we will choose joy and God’s wisdom and that we will sing songs of praise to Him, no matter what circumstances we find ourselves in this week.

All scripture is from the New Living Translation.

Christ in Hebrews -- Our Eternal High Priest

We don’t know who wrote the book of Hebrews, but he was almost assuredly Jewish, a friend of the Jewish Christians, a friend of Timothy, and possibly one of Jesus’ apostles.  The book was a letter to Jewish Christians, probably in or near Jerusalem, but we don’t know where it was written.  We do know that it was written about 68 – 69 A.D., because of the reference to Timothy having been released from prison (13:23), and because of the references to the ongoing sacrifices being made in the temple.  The temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 A.D.

The purpose of the book (letter) was to warn the Jewish Christians to remain steadfast in their faith in Jesus, and to warn them against returning to the Jewish sacrifices and traditions.  It is clear by the date of the writing and from the admonition in chapter 5 that these people had been believers for quite some time.  By this time, they should have been mature Christians, growing in faith and in number, reaching others for Christ, and making disciples in their area and all over the world.  But instead, many of them were still attending the temple and offering sacrifices there.  Apparently they had lost their urgency to grow in their faith and understanding of the gospel:

We have much to say about this, but it is hard to make it clear to you because you no longer try to understand. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil (Hebrews 5:11-14).

The first chapter of the book of Hebrews is a beautiful work of praise and adoration.  I hope you will read it and study it for yourself.  Place a bookmark in your Bible at Hebrews, chapter one.  Anytime you are discouraged, worried, hopeless, depressed, doubting, weak . . . anytime you need to be reminded who Jesus is, read this chapter!  For a quick summary, Jesus is:

The radiance of God’s glory
The exact representation of God

The sustainer of all things by His powerful word
Purification for sin
Seated at the right hand of God
Superior to the angels
Rules forever with justice
Loves righteousness and hates wickedness
Anointed with joy
Creator of the foundations of the earth
Creator of the heavens

 Jesus will:

Remake all of creation

Remain the same, even after all creation is remade
Always be
Use his enemies as His footstool

Chapter two of this book built on what was taught in chapter one.  The writer said to pay attention to what we know so that we will not be deceived.  So anytime the deceiver (Satan, the world, guilt, insecurity) tries to drag you down, go back and read chapter one.  Remember who Jesus is, do not be deceived, and do not drift away from your faith:

We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away (Hebrews 2:1).

The writer of this book took a lot of time and space to teach, once again, about Jesus’ sacrifice for our sins.  The Jewish Christians understood the sacrificial laws that were given to their forefathers and were still in practice at the temple in Jerusalem.  But those sacrifices were only a picture of what Christ did for us on the cross, and His perfect sacrifice eliminated the need for any further sacrifice.  That is why the veil in the temple was torn, from top to bottom, at the time of His death on the cross:

And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split (Matthew 27:50-51). 

The sacrifices in the temple were made by the High Priest, a man who was also sinful.  So the priest had to first make a sacrifice for his own sin, then he could offer the sacrifices that the people brought for their sins.  He was to instruct the people and to gently lead them in living according to God’s laws, knowing that he, too, was a sinner, falling short of the glory of God.  He did not aspire to the position, but was appointed by God:

Every high priest is selected from among the people and is appointed to represent the people in matters related to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray, since he himself is subject to weakness. This is why he has to offer sacrifices for his own sins, as well as for the sins of the people. And no one takes this honor on himself, but he receives it when called by God, just as Aaron was (Hebrews 5:1-4). 

In the same way, Jesus was appointed to be our High Priest: 

In the same way, Christ did not take on himself the glory of becoming a high priest. But God said to him, “You are my Son; today I have become your Father.” And he says in another place, “You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek (Hebrews 5:5-6).”

High Priests served until they died, then another man would be elevated to that position until his death.  The position was not a permanent one.  However, Jesus lives forever, so His priesthood is eternal:

Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them (Hebrews 7:23-25).

Not only is Jesus our Eternal High Priest, but He is also our Perfect High Priest.  Although He was tempted just as we are, He never sinned.  Not once.  He understands our weaknesses, and He empathizes with us, He hurts for us, His heart breaks for us.  He offered Himself, the perfect, spotless sacrifice, taking away our sin, even all the sin of all the world:

Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need (Hebrews 4:14-16).

Such a high priest truly meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself (Hebrews 7:26-27).

So how does this apply to us today?  There is no more temple.  It was destroyed by the Romans over 1945 years ago.  There is no more sacrifice, at least not as it was practiced in those days by the Jews.  But some people believe we have to sacrifice by doing good works, or by taking communion, or by being baptized, or by paying tithes and offerings.  If you ask most people why they should be allowed into God’s holy heaven, they will answer by saying, “Well, I was a good person,” or “I lived a good life” or “I did my best.”  Well, God says our best is not good enough.  As a matter of fact, His word says that there MUST be a sacrifice, and it must be a blood sacrifice:

“Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone (Mark 10:18).

In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness (Hebrews 9:22).

Well, the GOOD NEWS is, our Perfect, Eternal High Priest, Jesus Christ, took our judgment.  He died in our place.  He sacrificed Himself to take away our sins and to give us life eternal with Him:

Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many (Hebrews 9:26-27a).

Once we agree with God that we deserve punishment, and as soon as we acknowledge the sacrifice Jesus made on our behalf, He promises that He will forgive us and remember our sin no more.  No more sacrifice is needed:

For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy. The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says: “This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.” Then he adds: “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.” And where these have been forgiven, sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary (Hebrews 10:14-18). 

Now having heard this Good News, we are obligated to act on it.  We have a choice to make – we can either accept the perfect sacrifice of Jesus and live eternally with Him, or we can reject it and face judgment:

If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge his people.” It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God (Hebrews 10:26-31).

I hope that you will choose wisely.

My prayer for you and for me this week is the benediction found in Hebrews 13:20-21:

Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen

All scripture references are from the New Living Translation.

Christ in Philemon -- Our Redeemer Who Paid Our Debt

Paul wrote his note to Philemon at about the same time he wrote the letter we call the book of Colossians, about 60 – 61 A.D.  As a matter of fact, he may have sent the two letters together since Philemon lived in Colossae.  But the note to Philemon was intended just for him and the church that met at his home, not necessarily for all the Christians in that city.  Philemon must have been a wealthy man since his home was large enough for the followers of Christ to gather there for worship, and since he was a slave-owner.

Slavery was commonplace in those days, not just in Rome and Colossae, but all over the known world.  Jesus even spoke about slavery as a fact of life, neither condoning nor denouncing it. (See Matthew 18:21-25, the parable of the unforgiving debtor; Luke 12:42-47, the parable of the faithful servant and the foolish servant.)  It was accepted, and even expected, that runaway slaves were to be harshly punished if they were found and brought back to their owners.  Under Roman law, slaves were not considered to be human, but were property, without any civil rights at all.  They were completely subject to the whims of their masters who could sell them, give them away, beat them, and even kill them.  Even though Jesus didn’t condemn slavery, he did teach that all people are equal in the sight of God, whether slave or free, male or female, Jew or Gentile.  This was a revolutionary idea in the culture of that day and age.

It was out of that teaching that Paul wrote this letter to Philemon.  For you see, Philemon had a slave named Onesimus.  Onesimus ran away, perhaps even stealing from Philemon to finance his getaway.  He made his way to Rome where he met the Apostle Paul.  Whether that was by the providence of God or whether Onesimus had met Paul when he was teaching in Colossae we do not know, and it has no bearing on the lesson God wants us to learn.  No matter how their paths crossed, they did.  Onesimus heard Paul’s preaching while he was in Rome and became a believer in Jesus Christ.  Paul sent Onesimus back to Philemon with the note, asking Philemon to show mercy to his slave.  That required a lot of faith on the part of Onesimus, since Philemon had every right as a Roman citizen to punish him severely.  It also showed a lot of faith on the part of Paul who trusted Philemon to do the right thing according to what he had been taught as a follower of Christ.

As I read this short note, only 25 verses in all, I couldn’t help but think of how Paul’s pleading on behalf of Onesimus parallels the way Jesus Christ’s sacrifice pleads to God on our behalf.  Consider the following points:

• Paul asked Philemon to be kind to Onesimus, rather than demanding it.  Jesus asks us to come to Him; He does not impose His will on us:

That is why I am boldly asking a favor of you. I could demand it in the name of Christ because it is the right thing for you to do. But because of our love, I prefer simply to ask you. Consider this as a request from me (v. 8-9a).

“Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends (Revelation 3:20).”

• Onesimus sinned against Philemon, his master, by running away and perhaps by stealing from him.  We have all sinned against God:

Onesimus hasn’t been of much use to you in the past (v. 11a).

For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard (Romans 3:23).

• Paul was willing to pay for any loss that Philemon may have incurred because of the behavior of Onesimus.  Jesus paid for our sin by dying on the cross in our place:

If he has wronged you in any way or owes you anything, charge it to me (v. 18).

He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world (1 John 2:2).

• When Onesimus became a follower of Christ, he became a brother of Paul and of Philemon.  When we accept Jesus’ sacrifice for our sins, we become brothers with Him:

He is no longer like a slave to you. He is more than a slave, for he is a beloved brother, especially to me. Now he will mean much more to you, both as a man and as a brother in the Lord (v. 16).

So now Jesus and the ones he makes holy have the same Father. That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them his brothers and sisters (Hebrews 2:11).

• The relationship that was once broken between Philemon and Onesimus was restored.  Our relationship that was once broken with God due to sin is restored when we trust Jesus:

So if you consider me your partner, welcome him as you would welcome me (v. 17).

There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you (Galatians 3:28-29).

• Paul looked forward to returning to Colossae one day and asked Philemon to prepare a room for him.  Jesus is coming again and He wants us to be prepared for His return:

One more thing—please prepare a guest room for me, for I am hoping that God will answer your prayers and let me return to you soon (v. 22).

“So you, too, must keep watch! For you don’t know what day your Lord is coming. Understand this: If a homeowner knew exactly when a burglar was coming, he would keep watch and not permit his house to be broken into. You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected (Matthew 24:42-44).” 

My prayer for you and for me this week is that we would treat our brothers and sisters – whoever they are and whatever they have done to us – in the way that Paul was asking Philemon to receive his brother, the slave, Onesimus.  My prayer is adapted from verse 6 of Philemon:

Heavenly Father,
I am praying that (we) will put into action the generosity that comes from (our) faith as (we) understand and experience all the good things we have in Christ. Amen.

All scripture references are from the New Living Translation.