Today's Digging Deeper

Digging Deeper

Monday, Hebrews 13:1 – 25

The concluding chapter of Hebrews tells us about the character of a Chris tian, not just any Chris tian, but a Chris tian who wants to serve Jesus Chris t as his Lord every day. This goes beyond just acknowledging that He is the Savior who will grant us eternal life with God. That may sound a little like trying to impress God with one's goodness, but in reality it is what Jesus desires from us. Serving and seeking Him to be our Lord every day doesn't determine our eternity since, as sinners, we would fail miserably in that effort. The writer of Hebrews intended to impress on his readers the futility of working one's way to heaven via the Law, but he also wanted to impress upon his Christian brothers and sisters that faith should go into the realm of daily life, beyond believing that Jesus died for the sins of all. Faith is not for the pew on Sunday morning, to be forgotten at work or school on Monday. In the Old Testament it says that the righteous live by faith. Jesus and Paul emphasized this and the writer of Hebrews follows their course.

Verse 8 reminds us of the unchanging Christ. He has shown us the Father's unending love and commitment to His children. Though we may change, God never does. His plan for our world is eternal and consistent. His love for us never wavers.

Verses 9-14 speak of the futility of the old sacrificial system to which some Hebrew Christians were tempted to return, and of the new sacrifice of Christ that fulfilled all of the Law and freed us to worship and imitate Him. Our sacrifices of praise and good works to God are marks of our gratitude to Him for our free salvation in Christ.

Tuesday, James 1:1 – 27

Martin Luther called James an “epistle of straw”. Luther was nothing if not a man of both strong faith and strong opinions. In his time Roman Catholic doctrine taught men and women to work their way to heaven through penance, confession, devotion to the saints, and even payment to the Church for a shorter time in Purgatory, the “half-way house” where a Christian remained after death until he finished paying for his sins and proceeded to heaven. To Luther, James' teaching on faith and works could lead those who had come to know grace and faith back into the world of working for salvation. Today in a world where Christian faith sometimes seems all too invisible we can identify more clearly with James' words.

This James was most likely the half-brother of Jesus who headed the Jerusalem church when Paul made his appearances there. He was the one who sent the message of compromise to the Gentile Christians of Paul's flock. ( See Acts 12, 15, and 21; also Galatians 1 and 2; Matthew 13:55; and I Corinthians 15:7 for more references to James ) James was not an early follower of Jesus. Perhaps he did not really believe until his half-brother appeared to him after the resurrection. Since James was martyred around A.D. 62, his letter may be among the earliest, if not the first, of the writings of the New Testament ( perhaps even prior to A.D.50 ).

James' was definitely written to Jewish Christians, perhaps those scattered early from Jerusalem due to persecution from Jewish leaders.

As chapter one begins we see that, like Paul, James saw himself as a bondslave of Christ. This term indicated one who had been purchased by an owner and indebted to him forever.

Like the writer of Hebrews, James points out that trial produces more faith, but that God does not cause it. We manage to get ourselves into all sorts of trouble over the years, but God is not the source. He is the source only of “ every good thing given and every perfect gift .” ( NASB ) We may also suffer persecution simply because we worship God. Even this is allowed by God in order that we might draw closer to Him and seek His unending support and love.

In chapter one James also talks about seeking God without doubt, never being “ driven and tossed by the wind ” ( vs.6 ). This is an impossible task of faith if we think it our own accomplishment, but faith is a gift from God. It is His will that we be strengthened by that gift when doubt enters our hearts and minds. He invites us to cling to Him and seek His strength, and the Holy Spirit enables us to do that. A prayer sometimes in our own hearts is also found in Mark 9:24 where the father of a spirit-possessed boy says to Jesus, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief! ” ( NIV ) God is able and willing to do just that!

James, in verses 9-10, reminds us and his early readers that if we are poor we can rejoice because Jesus has lifted us up beyond our earthly circumstance and proclaimed our value in God's eyes. If we are rich we can rejoice that Jesus has assured us that the riches that do not comfort in this life have been replaced by Jesus who has purchased us and placed us in the blessed position of being bondservants to God.

Verse 12, tells us the importance of clinging to our God no matter what circumstance may come our way.

Wednesday, James 2:1 - 26           

It's easy to see why Luther must have cringed at chapter 2. This is another case in which we need to seek the meaning of James in the context of the rest of the New Testament's gospel message. He, as a true believer and leader of Jesus' church in Jerusalem , was not saying that we must do works and have faith in order to be saved.

So, what was James saying about the work of faith? The church of James ' time had all of the warts and flaws that our own churches do today. After all, every church from the beginning of Chris tianity has been fashioned of sinners—forgiven sinners, but sinners none the less.

We see one example of sin in the church in verses 2-3. Like us, the believers of James' time fell victim to classifying those who entered the church door. We would like to deny that, but don't we silently, if not verbally, slot visitors as either those whom we want to be sure to meet or those whom we hope will be gone before we leave the pew? James would ask us how we can claim to be followers of Jesus the Servant when we do this.

To James, failing to live out one's faith with works meant a wasted life. First, those unbelievers who were treated with less than Christian love would probably die in their sin, convinced that Christians were no different than the rest of the world that had already rejected them. Verses 9-13 commandingly remind us to never think of ourselves as more worthy than another, but to show mercy to all just as we have been shown mercy.

Verse 14 is tough until we realize that James is not speaking of a faith unto salvation that has been given by God. James looks at some Christians ( and in those days all adults had once been non- Christians ) and notes that though their mouths say the right words, their lives do not reflect a person who has been made new by Jesus. James is convinced that a person saved out of damnation and restored to God cannot continue to live life just as before that monumental event. He was saying, “How can you not respond to God's mercy and love by doing something!”

James is also pointing to the “faith only” Christian as one who will not expand the kingdom. Something like the poor or smelly person rejected at the church door, the one suffering in his or her life needs to hear the gospel, but also needs to be fed the food of physical life. Offering the love of Christ consists of offering the Word and also of meeting the need of the moment.

James also implies that there are false faiths. (vs.19). Note that he does not begin this verse with “ You believe in Jesus for salvation ”. James does not say that believing in Jesus is not enough for salvation. He says that acknowledging God's existence is not enough for salvation! James strongly believed that false faith was worse than no faith. He would strongly reject today's tendency to deny that Christ is the only way to salvation.  He also strongly believed that living out one's faith was the only way to fully express Christ and grow in Him, and the only way to build the church. Like a more recent theologian named Dietrich Bonhoeffer, James struggled with a difficult question—can a Christian live his faith without works, or does God use works to help grow faith within His children, and use works to spread the gospel?

Thursday, James 3:1 – 18

Which of us cannot identify with the first twelve verses of this chapter? Which of us has not at least once in our lives (or perhaps once a week or once a day!) allowed words out of our mouths that we wanted to grab back before they reached the ears of our hearers? In verse 2 we read that if one can actually control the tongue, then controlling the rest of the body would be a snap! In verse 11 and 12 we see that the nature surrounding us is more consistent than we. Only man manages to sing praise and spew garbage out of the same orifice. Verse one especially warns teachers, and we are all teachers in our own spheres. As Chris tians we set the example at work, school, church, and play. What can we do to control this tongue of both praise and revenge? Like most solutions presented by Scripture the answer is simple, but difficult. We must think before we speak. We must consistently ask the Holy Spirit to be our provider of words.

James then moves on to the source of our wisdom, and of course seeking wisdom is a great part of controlling the tongue! We often admire the strongest personalities in our realm of acquaintance, and those personalities are frequently somewhat abrupt and opinionated, if not abrasive. Isn't it interesting that James says that those who are really wise and understanding will show it by “good behavior [and] gentleness”? ( vs.13 NASB )  “Jealousy” and “selfish ambition” are not the result of wisdom. The words that mark a truly wise leader are rarely centered on their own accomplishments. Verse 17 is a good listing of those marks of character for which we should pray as we seek God's wisdom in our daily thoughts, words, and actions.

Friday, James 4:1 – 17

James says that the source of most of our personal conflict is greed. It does seem that the times we are most apt to abuse our friends and acquaintances are those in which we are stressed about various things, and those things seem to frequently focus on what we have; what we don't have; time that we want back; time that we don't have; projects that intrude on our own agendas; people that we don't especially like; money that we have used inappropriately; tasks that we have failed to complete; goals that we still haven't met. Much of our anger does appear to wend its way back to us as the primary cause.

Even in the realm of truly evil actions and crimes in our world, the cause seems to reach back to the bitterness, greed, or just plain wickedness of an individual. The robber claims that he needed the money. Abusers claim that they abused their spouse because he or she failed to meet the needs of the abuser. Murderers claim that they murdered because they were themselves mistreated as children, or that the person killed was an inconvenience. World leaders who torture their people believe that it is their right as masters of their own worlds. But, let's return to James' words to us as individual Christians.

      James speaks to “adulteresses” because his readers would have a deep understanding of the Old Testament description of God as the Husband of an adulterous wife ( the rebellious nation of Israel ). James is warning his readers that they cannot focus their goals and attention within the world's value system and please God. When Christians pray, we often add the words, “…if it be Your will”, because we know that our own wants and desires frequently try to replace God's will in our hearts. Someone has truly said that God never fails to respond to our questions and prayers. It's just that two of the answers He may choose are “No” and “Later”, and since that means that we don't get what we want when we want it, we feel like God is silent.

There are several instructions in this passage that can help us in our understanding of what we should be as God's children. They include: “Submit therefore to God” (vs.7); “Resist the devil” (vs.7); “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you” ( vs.8—James does not mean this in the context of salvation, but as a child confidently approaching his loving Father ); Repent of your sin ( a paraphrase of vs.8-9 ); “Humble yourselves in the presence of God” ( vs.10—great leaders like Moses, the prophets, and Paul were often thought arrogant, but their attitude was always one of humility before God. ); “Do not speak against one another” ( vs.11—there is a strong difference between attacking one another in hostility or through gossip, and seeking to counsel or warn them out of Christian love .)

Especially in the epistles of the New Testament, God gives us the advice and the tools to become more like Jesus every day. An even more important teaching is especially strong in the gospels where we learn that He—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—will enable us, love us, and lead us in the right direction, always forgiving us when we fail and always lifting us up to our feet to start afresh!

Saturday, James 5:1-20       

Commentators point out that the first six verses of this chapter refer not to Chris tians, but to unbelievers because of the warning in verse one of the coming “miseries” ( NASB ).  Chris tians may be trained and chastised by God, but they will not face God's judgment at the end of time. We are already forgiven for our sins, even of the sin of often placing the importance of our worldly wealth above the eternal wealth granted by our God. These verses may be directed at certain unbelievers in the midst of the Jewish Chris tian community, or they may just be a reminder to suffering Chris tians that there is often evil lurking beneath the supposed success and comfort of some.  Having said these words, James continues, “Therefore…” in verse 7.

Beginning in verse 7 James encourages his readers to endurance and patience. Remember that this letter is very early. The church was just beginning and James' readers had probably been driven from Jerusalem and even from the surrounding area by persecution. We also sense in verse 8 that James, like Paul and the other apostles, expected Jesus to return at any moment. The fact that we are still awaiting Jesus' return and wondering just when it will occur does not diminish the fact that He will come. Jesus will come quickly and without warning—there will be no time to change, or prepare, or become a believer. Perhaps Jesus was trying to advise His disciples not to seek His return too quickly when He said that even He did not know the exact time. We, too, like James' early readers need to endure with confidence and joy, waiting expectantly for our meeting with Jesus, whether it comes after our life here ends or when we are lifted into the sky to join Him tomorrow morning!

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