Gadfly's Muse

3 John: Watch Your Walk

Image:  Narrow Crossing, 2017, Tanger Family Gardens, Greensboro, NC

3 John 3–4 For I rejoiced greatly when brethren came and testified of the truth that is in you, just as you walk in the truth. 4 I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.

3 John 6–8 who have borne witness of your love before the church. If you send them forward on their journey in a manner worthy of God, you will do well, 7 because they went forth for His name’s sake, taking nothing from the Gentiles. 8 We, therefore, ought to receive such, that we may become fellow workers for the truth.

3 John 11 Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. He who does good is of God, but he who does evil has not seen God.

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Perhaps nothing brings the apostles home to us as clearly as their very human expressions of affection.  Imagine how John's warm greeting, "To the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth", would resonate in our hearts if it was our name there.  Gaius must have treasured this letter throughout his life.

John writes often of our need to love our brothers and sisters in Christ and I think we could do a lot worse than to take this as an example of how we ought to love them also.  God desires our Christian fellowship to be held in the bonds of love.  We must recognize that we really are family and as such, our love for each other must be real and not in words only.  I know this is possible from personal experience and it is one of the great treasures in my life to be able to say of some that I "love them in truth" as John did Gaius.

We must also see this short epistle as conditioned by that love.  Gaius was most likely an elder or leader in his church and John is sending not only warm greetings but also some brotherly encouragement and perhaps even admonition.

He commends Gaius for the love he has shown "strangers."  We must not assume here that he is talking about anybody and everybody that happens to appeal for aid or alms though that is certainly one aspect of our Christian witness.  John is speaking of traveling Christians who depend on the local churches for refreshment, rest, and security in the hostile lands through which they journey.  Gaius' church may very well have met in his house and therefore Gaius' hospitality was directly putting himself and his family at risk.  But he did receive them as itinerant evangelists seeking to spread the good news of Jesus Christ.  It was good for such to not be dependent on the "Gentiles" (vs. 7) so that they would be free of worldly shackles to their message.  Obviously, some of these very travelers have come to John's acquaintance and it is from their report that he commends Gaius and implicitly, his church.

But there is a caution also.  This fellow Diotrephes was not walking in truth as did Gaius.  He was vainly seeking "preeminence" (vs. 9) and perhaps undermining Gaius' as well as John's leadership.  On the other hand, John, as a good pastor, commends Demetrius thus pointing Gaius toward a dependable ally in the continuing spiritual struggle that is inherent in the church in every age.

What should we take from this?  John is teaching Gaius and us that we must be wise as serpents even as we are "harmless" as doves.  We are to love our brothers and sisters but we must also, quite consciously, know that a simple profession of Christ does not always warrant loving a person as a true brother.  There is a narrow pathway or dividing line (to mix metaphors a bit) that serves to help us in this.  If we are to put our lives on the line, as Gaius was doing, we must ensure that the people we accept, encourage, and perhaps, sacrificially aid, are in fact walking in truth and not just speaking vain words.

This will always require some awareness of their habitual walk.  We must look for the fruits of the Spirit in some concrete manifestations before our love is fully offered.  There must be a genuine devotion to Jesus as the Risen Son of God that is obvious in their ordinary speech, activities, and especially in the way they treat other Christians.  There must be a zeal for truth in both content and adherence.  Christians sometimes say that "you must not just talk the talk, you must walk the walk" and this is true.  If either the talk or the walk is not readily discerned then we have to be cautious that we may be dealing with Diotrephes rather than Demetrius.

So, what about the so-called "unconditional love" we are supposed to exhibit?  It is unconditional going out from us as it was unconditional being received by us.  We love without expecting a positive reward.  We expect our love to be received freely as it was freely offered.  But as our Christ taught us, we must always be alert to recognize whom God is calling us to love.  This means we look for the signs of the Holy Spirit working in the other person.  If we are confident that God loves him or her, then we are to love them also... without holding back.

 

 

 

 

1 John 1: Light and Life and All Things

Image: "Morning Colors", 2021, Severna Park, Md

1 John 1:1–2 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life—2 the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us—

1 John 1:5 This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.

1 John 1:7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.

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Every serious photographer knows that it's all about light.  Everything about the subject will be affected by how the light falls on it, the color of the light, the relative softness of it, etc.  Often, as in a Classical Dutch Master's painting, the play of light becomes the primary subject and the actual object/person is almost there just to provide the space.  Morning light is my preferred time for shooting because the rising sun imparts more of a golden tone to the light.  The evening light is bluer.  The pansies above did not transfer well in posting to this blog but the original image closely matched the rich yellow-orange of the flower as the morning sun deepened its saturation.

That's a fairly long-winded introduction just to make the point that the "Light of God" shining through Jesus Christ, has something of a similar effect on us.

John says that "God is light" (vs. 5) and we are to walk in His light and not walk in darkness.  John is an extraordinarily deep thinker and his meaning here requires some pondering.  What is it that he is driving at?

We have to think in terms of contrasts or dualism.  John leans heavily on the "light/darkness" contrast as describing real life in the real world.  This is not some mystical, other-worldly, speculation.  John uses these terms to describe how life itself is lived.  Think of these flowers.  The sun blesses them with warmth and nourishment and encourages growth and beauty.  If those same flowers were transported into my basement they would soon wither and die, no matter how much fertilizer and water I fed them.

People are the same way.  Think of the flower's healthy blossoms as being analogous to a person's humanity.  God designed human beings to be beautiful... to show forth the beauty of His own image... the more a person grows in the qualities of being truly human the more that person will show forth beauty and bring glory to God.  If a person cuts himself off from the light, if he goes down into the basement of human depravity and lives there, then that person's "human-ness" will diminish and may wither entirely and die.  

John calls for us to "walk in the light" which is to walk in and with God Himself.  This means that, like the flower petals themselves, we need to turn our faces to God and allow His goodness and love to flow into our lives.  This is done by consciously seeking God as an integral part of our daily lives.  We strive to see things as He sheds "light" on them.  His light illumines our lives and becomes precious to us.

There is some spiritual discipline required here because, in this sin-soaked world, we are constantly being invited to go down into the basement.  The harping pressure is great indeed and therefore we must build structure into our lives to keep our eyes focused on God.  The more consistently we do this the more it becomes habitual and the conscious structure is not as critical but it never can be completely taken away.

What kind of "structure" do I mean?  Of course daily, or more than daily Bible reading and meditation, is essential.  Think of it this way.  We really don't have time to "not read our Bibles."  It is truly amazing to hear the testimonies of Christians who make daily readings a priority, about how their lives become more efficient.  They see things more clearly when walking in the light and thus avoid time-wasting diversions.

Prayer is another structural element.  We need to weave prayer into the fabric of our day.  We shouldn't think of it in terms of some extended pious activity where we get down on our knees in our office.  There's nothing wrong with that but what is needed is an attitude of prayer that governs how we approach any task or activity.  It is more like a conversation with God.  "Lord, what am I looking at here?" is a wonderful prayer that builds on our need for "more light."  Consciously turning to God in the midst of stressful interactions has a very calming effect and brings fruit in seeing problems more clearly.  It "makes for peace", to use Scriptural terms.

Now, imagine an entire community of people who seek to "walk in the light as He is in the light", who have "fellowship with one another!"  We all know how dimly a single candle glows in the darkness.  But when a hundred or more candles are lighted, the darkness flees and all things become visible.  This is God's plan for His Church.  He intends for the fellowship of believers to be a conduit for His light to illumine the entire world.  In such a fellowship the assurance of God's love is absolutely experienced.  We grow in our own knowledge of having been cleansed from all sin (vs. 7) by the reinforcing synergy of fellow believers who are walking in the light.

This is light... and life... and all things.  John's words are simple but profoundly deep.  We need to take them to heart and bloom in our turn.

 

 

 

 

1 Peter 5: Humble Opposition

Image: "Humility", 2020, Hofskirkja Turf Church, Öræfi, Iceland,  (Link) Photo credit: Dave Johanson

1 Peter 5:2–4 Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; 3 nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; 4 and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away.

1 Peter 5:5–7  Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.” 6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, 7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

1 Peter 5:9–10 Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. 10 But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.

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Two main themes are readily apparent in these verses: the call to humility and the exhortation to resist.

Peter's readers are living at risk.  They know it and he knows it.  The world, under Satan's hidden reins (vs. 8), is always looking for an opening, an opportunity, to rip the little churches apart.  This, as Peter well knew, is what it means to "embody Jesus" or "walk in His footsteps."  The more Jesus and His message took root in ancient Palestine, the more enraged and jealous were His enemies.  They were constantly watching Him, seeking to entrap Him, catch Him in an indiscretion.  They feared Him because they could not control Him.  They were terrified of Him because it was clear, by His teaching and example, that they should submit to Him.  This was intolerable to them... as it always is intolerable to pride-soaked mankind and its aspirations for autonomy.  Peter knew that the Church, as the continuing ministry of Jesus, was also the focus of Satan's continuing hatred.

So Peter called his first readers, even as he is calling us, to follow Jesus in dealing with this opposition.  Right in the center of this chapter, signaling emphasis, we find Peter's exhortation to humility.  He calls us to be "clothed with humility" (vs. 5)  He began this verse speaking to the younger folks but he expands his scope to "all" in the requirement to be "submissive to one another."  Then, after quoting Proverbs 3:34, he calls on us to "humble" ourselves "under the mighty hand of God." (vs. 6)  

Here again, our thoughts are drawn to the comparison with Jesus.  Did He not exhibit humble submission in the face of all His enemies?  Did He not clearly see that, like Joseph, though those enemies meant their efforts for evil, yet God meant them for good?  Did He not rebuke Peter himself for suggesting that God surely would not want Jesus to suffer?  Peter points through the rolling battle drums of the enemy hordes bearing down on the little church and shows them the sovereign Hand of God in the background.  This "mighty hand of God" (vs. 6) was supervising the course of history in general and the particular expressions of trials that the church must face.  There was a necessity to it.  As the Christ had to suffer unto the end of God's glory (vs. 10,11), so the suffering ahead of Christ's church was necessary also.

This is the core of Christian humility.  It is the exact opposite of downcast defeatism and despair.  Christian humility is the willing and even energetic embrace of God's purposes for our lives.  It is always characterized by a certain acceptance that those purposes are hidden from our view.  We don't know the "why" of our situation but we readily recognize the "what."  God leads us to face perils, particularly those arrayed in the battle colors of the enemy, and calls on us to trust Him.  There is no place here for self-pity.  Christian humility understands the privilege we have been accorded.  We have been called, along with untold thousands of other brothers and sisters across the world (vs. 9), to suffer... for a while... unto the end that we may be exalted in due time. (vs. 6)

Here is the apparent paradox.  Willing submission to the hand of God in the face of enraged enemies is opposition to those evil men and the demonic powers behind them.  It is God who is actually fighting and it is He who is resisting the proud. (vs. 5)  He is not absent from the conflict but rather is present to give grace to the humble.  He is not like a callous general throwing his soldiers into battle as so much "cannon fodder."  Rather, He cares for us. (vs. 7)  It is His intention to carry us through our struggles and then usher us into "eternal glory" after our short while of suffering, and, through those trials, perfect and establish us in His Kingdom and His blessing.

Christian humility is realizing and accepting that we are God's "pawns" if you will, to be used as He sees best, to attain His ultimate victory.  However, unlike pawns in a chess game, our sacrifice does not mean we are removed from the board and cast aside.  It means that, as would happen with a pawn advancing to the last row, we will be elevated to royalty as part of God's eternal family.

Christian humility is grounded in the conviction that "it doesn't get any better than this."

 

 

 

 

1 Pet 3-4: Godly Wives - The Beauty of Christ's Church

Image: "Purity", 2013, Severna Park, Md

1 Peter 3:3–4 Do not let your adornment be merely outward—arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel—4 rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God.

1 Peter 3:8–9 Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous; 9 not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing.

1 Peter 4:11 If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

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My favorite moment at any normal wedding is that instant when the groom sees his bedecked and gloriously arrayed wife for the first time.  Usually, the wedding march has started and everyone is standing and facing the door where she will appear   But not me.  I look at her second.  My attention is first focused on the groom for the fleeting instant of shocked appreciation and delight.  It's worth all the trouble and preparation for me.  This was especially true when it was my own sons who were standing there at the altar.

It becomes obvious from scripture, that God uses the special metaphor for marriage as revelatory of His relation, as a husband, to His wife, the church.  There are too many passages to even scan for this teaching.  But within today's passage,  (3:1-4 in particular) we get a glimpse of the quality of this relation.  Peter calls for wives to be "adorned" for their husbands unto the end that they might be "won" over to Christ (if she had previously married as an unbeliever to an unbelieving husband).  And what was the nature of this "adornment" that so grabbed the husband's attention and like the young groom, filled him with deep respect, appreciation, and gratitude?  It was the "incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit which is very precious in the sight of God!"  Here we find the true, unfading beauty which is worth far more than any "gold" which might adorn her hair. 

What God is here telling us is that this is the "beauty" that He sees in His Church.  We can think of Him as we think of the young groom, delighting in exuberant joy at the vision of His bride.  The beauty of Christ's Church which furnishes our God so much joy is that very inward, hidden, incorruptible, gentle, and quiet spirit.  What Peter here exhorts godly women to attain is absolutely incumbent upon all men also.  We, along with them, comprise God's "Wife", His bride, and therefore we must not somehow think that this teaching is for women only.  It is not.

If any further proof is required then the remaining sections of this chapter furnish it in abundance.  

Is not the love that Peter commends in vs. 8 just this same, quiet, gentle spirit reaching out to others as a loving wife opens her arms to her husband?  We must remember that when God created man and woman that both were created in the image of God and, to a very large extent, that image was their corporate nature.  The created differences in the two genders are not only complementary but are designed to be mutually assimilated.  Husbands are to learn from their wives to value life and all things through that special feminine insight God gives to women.  Women are to learn from their husbands an appreciation for distinctly masculine perspectives on such things, for example, as vocation and external calling.  Becoming "one flesh" is both a declared status established by God at the moment of formal marriage and a process that happens as the couple jointly undertake their life together.  When husbands "dwell" (vs. 7) with their wives with understanding, then that husband cannot help but be impacted by the special perspectives and wisdom that she displays.  The same is true for the wife.

Thus it is how God wants us to understand Him and His relationship to us, His Church, through this Scriptural ideal of marriage.  Our affections within marriage, if we cultivate them in the manner God has commanded, will more and more grow to reflect God's affections toward us.  We understand Him better and more deeply when we understand the love and affection that can and should exist between men and women.

What we must also understand is that God already sees us as beautiful.  His Bride has already been purified, washed in the shed blood of Jesus Christ, and therefore without spot or blemish in His eyes.  You and I, as members of that elected community, have been sanctified and dressed in the spotless white robes of His Bride.  All Peter is here exhorting is for us to appreciate this metaphor and then to so direct our steps as to bring our present lives into conformity with what is already true.  We are eternally beautiful, like a Godly Wife.  So, let us act like it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 Peter 1: Our Short Stay Here

Image: "Contemplation", 2021, View from the parking lot, Charlotte, NC

1 Peter 1:2 ...elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace be multiplied.

1 Peter 1:13–15 Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 14 as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; 15 but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct,

1 Peter 1:17 And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear;

1 Peter 1:22 Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart,

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Two emphatic points are readily discerned in this chapter.  First, there is the impending reality of the Lord's return, and secondly, the imperatively, urgent call for obedience in the light of the shortness of time.

"The revelation of Jesus Christ" (vs. 7) is obviously that yet-to-occur revelation which Jesus will bring at His return.  Peter points our eyes toward the glorious truth that an earthshaking event is in our future and every day brings it closer than before.  It is the prospect of a "better world coming" that Peter holds before his readers' eyes as an incentive to "rejoice" now, even in the face of "grievous trials." (vs. 6) 

When this prospect fills our souls, taking full account of the perfect, purifying work that Jesus did on the cross (vs. 2), then our hearts must respond in love for Him. (vs. 8)  We cannot help but love Him for the awful price He paid for our redemption and the great love He has for us which will finally bring Him back to us for the full and final salvation of our souls.  Peter tells us that we are already "saved" in that we have been elected to membership among those who receive "sprinkling" of His blood. (vs. 2)  But in a very real, complementary fashion, we will be saved in the future when Jesus returns to rip the shackles of sin off His beautiful creation and fully sanctify us to perfect holiness.

This sets the stage for the second point.

God's eternal plan is to rejoice in fellowship with a people that He has sovereignly called into being, that exhibit a derivative but corresponding holiness to His own holiness. (vs.16)  The earth will one day be filled with the purified human race, the telos or purpose for which the first Adam was created and for which the second Adam was incarnated.  God is glorified most by the living reality of a people who perfectly love and perfectly obey.  In that great salvation yet to appear, those two aspects of our being will be innate.  We will not have to discipline ourselves to obedience nor stir up our love.  Those two attributes will reflect the image of God in us through the "regeneration" / "second birth" (vs. 23) which the Holy Spirit accomplished in us.  In other words, we will finally be perfect in what we already are - the spiritual children of God.

What Peter is urgently commanding us is that we are not to wait for our final glorification.  Our time in this world is short.  Therefore we must now, stir up ourselves to love and obedience.  Three times in this short chapter, in so many words, Peter calls us to obey.  The outworking of saving faith and love is obedience.  It is the inevitable fruit of love and faith.  It is the expression of love and faith.  

And, the great joy of Christianity is obedient faith.  It consists in the earnest expectation of our Lord's return and the sincere desire to make the most of the short time we have remaining.  This should be our greatest goal.  Nothing else in this world should approach it in importance.  We could say that this sense of urgent impulse to love and obey define the new worldview that is the sphere of saving faith.

Peter presumes we have been born again.  He calls us to the perfectly natural exhibition of that reality.  Let us love and obey for the rest of our short stay here.

 

 

James 5: What Are Friends For?

Image: "Friends", 2017, Tanger Family Gardens, Greensboro, NC

James 5:8 You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.

James 5:9 Do not grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be condemned. Behold, the Judge is standing at the door!

James 5:16 Confess your trespasses to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

James 5:19–20 Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, 20 let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.

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Friends are not optional... they are essential.  

No matter how romantically the American myth of the lone cowboy/mountain man facing the vastness of the western plains or the awe-inspiring reaches of the Rocky mountains is painted, yet it remains that those who chose such a solitary life paid a price for it.  Extended solitude can warp a man's mind and living at constant risk of life and limb, with no one to help, is not good for the soul.  "Man" was created in the image of God, not as a rugged individual, but rather in "community" as the Triune God Himself is Community.  Thus man and woman were created in the image of God, together, and designed to provide overlapping support for each other.  They were mutual helpmates.  They were, first and foremost, friends.

Sin made this necessary relation even more critical.  Our spiritual battles are just too overpowering to be faced alone.  In 1 Corinthians Paul told his readers that prolonged abstinence between a man and a wife would lead to temptation and certainly that is true.  However, it goes beyond that.  Men and women need help facing all kinds of temptations as well as discovering the deeper treasures of human life.  Humans are designed to flourish, as humans, in relationships.  We need other people to bring out the best in us even as, in God's providence, others need us to do the same for them.  

Throughout history, men and women developed and treasured special "friends."  Montaigne devoted an entire essay to it, Dr. Johnson valued his Boswell, and our Lord Christ valued His disciples whom He called "friends."  

The point of this extended introduction is that in this Facebook era, the term and the concept of "friends" have suffered greatly.  We may elevate some people to BFF status but even then there is a superficial quality to the relation.  God intends more for us because the question: "what are friends for?" is not trivial at all.

Notice how, in this chapter, James situates his readers within a web of relationships that are far more intimate and trusting than mere acquaintances.  

He calls on us to recognize, like the old mountaineers, that we live at risk every day.  The entire world is teetering on the brink of the Lord's return. (vs. 8)  He is "standing at the door" as our Judge.  James points to this reality and says that we need patience and endurance.  To develop these things we need "friends" around us to encourage us and to be encouraged by us.  He specifically warns against "grumbling" against one another because that undermines the whole web of organic support that we need.

Rather than grumbling, we should be praying.  Nothing so seals a relationship as committed mutual prayers.  To effectively pray for another person (vs. 16) we have to possess some degree of intimate knowledge of the other person's weaknesses and needs.  This requires a trusting relationship that goes far beyond superficial disclosures.  James calls on us, as friends, to confess our sins to one another (vs. 16) as well as to be honest about our "suffering" (VS. 13).  I do not think that this means that we bare our souls before the entire congregation as a common practice.  That would promote gossip as well as hypocrisy.  What James is exhorting is, that as our Lord Christ with His inner circle of three disciples, that we have a smaller group of brothers/sisters who have proven trustworthy and are transparent about their lives also.

Friendship is equally mutual or it is not friendship.

It is within the sphere of friendship that James' closing statements have the clearest impact.  It is love that pushes a person to reach out to their brother or sister who has become ensnared by Satan. (vs. 19-20)  It is only when a bond of trust has been previously established that a man, often already deeply ashamed, is open to listening to exhortation and admonishment.  It is only when a deep affection is already present that words that may cut to the bone can be received as loving.  How much more can the office of friendship be promoted than to know that, within it, a multitude of sins can be "covered."

We can think of Christian "community" as a ladder of godly friendships.  Marriage/family is the foundational order.  Then comes the brotherhood (Biblically called "koinonia") and the structured community of elders/lay leaders who have been given authority to facilitate godly relationships both vertically and horizontally in God's kingdom.

It is a beautiful thing to live in a web of friendships... you would think that God designed us that way!

 

 

James 4: Choose Your Friends Wisely

Image: Textures, 2021, Greensboro, NC

James 4:4  Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

James 4:7–10  Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.

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It's pretty hard imagining a modern pastor speaking these words, using this tone, to his congregation.  Now, that's not necessarily a good thing.  Jesus certainly didn't shy away from "firing for effect" when the situation demanded it.  He turned to Peter, after his somewhat condescending comments regarding Jesus' future, and soundly rebuked him:  "Get behind me Satan!"  Talk about being set back on your heels!  Jesus was actually showing mercy to Peter.  He was awakening him to the subtlety which Satan can use to lure us away from right thinking.  James is doing nothing less here.

James is worried about his people.  His central concern is "double-mindedness" ( ch. 1:7, 4:8), the deadly trap of trying to live with one foot in each world: the world of Christ's Kingdom, or the world of the flesh and the devil.  We must not think that this circumstance is unusual.  Every church is infected with this plague to some degree and, truth be told, perhaps the majority of so-called Christian congregations are dominated by it.  Again, like with Peter, the essential problem is the subtlety of the sin.

Every time a Christian gathers with his brothers and sisters, he brings worldly thinking to the gathering.  Christians live the majority of their lives engaging the world.  They live in secular neighborhoods among very worldly neighbors.  They work in the fiercely competitive economy for people and among people, who are actively devoting their lives to Mammon.  They cannot escape the political environment and they have been mostly educated in institutions that sneer at the Christian faith.  The most common coping mechanism Christians employ is to "bifurcate" their worldview.  They put their Christianity in a little box marked "private" and they only open that box when gathering with their brothers and sisters in the church. 

Necessarily this results in "double-mindedness".  Keeping their faith "private" means that Christians actively "make friends" with the world. (vs. 4)  When the world is "at ease" with a person it is because that individual poses no threat to it.  There are no points of friction.  There are no distinctions made within the group.  The Christian, though perhaps unconsciously, is influenced by the worldly values, opinions, and priorities that control his worldly circle.  Since in normal practice, he spends much more time in that world than in Christian fellowship, he is deeply impacted by worldly thinking.  This is what he brings to the Christian fellowship.  This is how an entire Christian congregation can, and not uncommonly, does become dominated by worldly thinking.

How else can it happen that a church can be ripped apart by "wars and fights" within it? (vs. 1,2)  There can be no unity where worldly thinking predominates.  Look at the world itself!  Is there unity there?  Do we see peace in the sphere of the flesh and the devil?  Of course not.  Thus we can be certain that when Christians are dominated by impulsive passions ("pleasures", vs. 3), of whatever type, rather than sober consideration grounded in a thorough submission to God and His Scriptures, then Satan not only has a foothold, he may be in their master.

That is why James calls on his flock to "draw near to God."(vs. 8)  They must "resist the devil" (vs. 7) because he is certainly present.  They must choose: either to be friends with God through Jesus Christ, or friends with Satan and enemies of Christ.  There is no middle ground and James cuts them no slack at all. (vs. 4)  No sane person would consciously choose Satan as a friend over God.  But that's the whole point.  It is seldom "conscious" and it is always insane.  We must be awakened to our deadly peril.  "Double-mindedness" is so common as to be just part of the air we breathe.  Like the proverbial frog in a pot that doesn't sense the rising temperature of the water in which he is immersed, we are imminently at risk of spiritual death.  

Therefore we must heed James' admonition.  We must awaken to the tokens of worldly thinking in our individual and corporate lives.  We must resist the temptation to "judge" in the sense of negative assessments of other Christians' worth.  We must actively pray for humility even while trembling at how God might answer the prayer.  But most of all, we must take Christian thinking and Christian teachings into our secular precincts.  It may cost us a few "friends" but we can bet that those were the very ones who had been leading us astray.  Christ deserves our entire person and His church deserves our utmost concern for her purity and peace.  Let us put away "double-think" in all its forms and serve our Christ in single-minded devotion.

 

 

 

 

 

 

James 3: Wisdom and Its Fruits

Image: "Desiring Wisdom", 2012, Garden near Great Wall, PRC

James 3:13  Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom.

James 3:15–18 This wisdom does not descend from above but is earthly, sensual, demonic. 16 For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. 17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. 18 Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

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There are "smarts" and there are "street smarts."  Someone may be "really smart" in academics and yet not very "savvy" in their everyday life.  Most of us readily accept that intelligence does not necessarily equate to wisdom.  We don't think about it often but we acknowledge that truth when it comes up.

We are less and less precise in the use of language as time goes on.  We blur meanings and attach names to things and situations so as to sound more sophisticated or, all too often, to obscure some events.  "Illegal immigrants" become "undomesticated workers."   "Freedom of choice" shifts the conversation away from the "right to abort."  Language takes on a "dulling" effect as we lose conceptual and analytical tools.  In this environment "wisdom" suffers.

James and the other Biblical authors go to some lengths exhorting us to desire and attain "wisdom."  There was little confusion about that term in those times.  "Wisdom" was not at all isolated to what we would call "book learning."  A person was not "wise" because they had attained comprehensive knowledge of a subject leading to a Ph.D.  "Wisdom", as classically understood by the ancients, from the Israelite prophets through Plato and Aristotle and carrying through to the middle ages, is the "art of living well."  It included practical skills, such as how to fix a plumbing problem, to astute business practice.  The ancients, far more than we, understood this in terms of "going with the flow" in nature.  All the great religions, including ancient Israel, understood all aspects of life through an "ethical framework."  This was not entirely a question of "right and wrong" though the idea of "justice" was never absent.  Rather it was a question of "you reap what you sow."  This is because there was a moral law inherent in nature.  If a person aligned themselves with that moral "flow" then the prospect of a good outcome was greatly enhanced.  We see this in the Pagan ideas of "fate" and "karma" as well as the Biblical teachings.  The difference, of course, was in the Judeo-Christian revelation that all "ethics" were grounded in a Personal God Who governed His creation with equity and justice and required His people to conform to His righteousness or live in peril.

With those ideas before us, we can generalize about "wisdom."  We can say that it is the "art of living well."  It is an "art" not a skill because it is a conditioned achievement.  It requires practice, discipline, and discernment.  "Wisdom" is developed in Christians by the inworking Holy Spirit guiding us in the pathways of wisdom and, beyond question, it is the "art of living well" in whatever our circumstances, no matter how dire or difficult, because it is the pathway of blessing.

James expands our understanding by distinguishing two types of "wisdom": "earthly" and "heavenly."  Now proponents of each type of wisdom would agree with the above, at least to some extent.  Those who align themselves with "earthly" wisdom will argue that it is exactly the way to live "well."  The way to flourish in a "dog-eat-dog" culture is to be the top dog.  Money may not buy everything but it makes "not having everything" a lot better than otherwise.  The fundamental idea of earthly wisdom is that it is grounded in "pleasure" and therefore hearkens back to Epicurus and his followers.

But let's scan what James says are the actual fruits of earthly wisdom.  He says that it harbors or produces "bitter envy... self-seeking... boasting... lying against the truth... confusion... and 'every evil thing'."  Quite frankly, if we detach ourselves from our passions and lusts, this kind of life doesn't sound like "living well" at all.  In contrast, James teaches that the "wisdom that is from above" is "pure... peaceable... gentle... full of mercy... good fruits... without partiality and without hypocrisy." (vs. 15-18)  While we readily acknowledge that a person who is filled with heavenly wisdom might very well be suffering persecution, or hunger, or ill-treatment that would not be the case if they pursued "earthly wisdom", yet, we must see that this is the entire point.

"Living well" means being at "peace" in the world.  Heavenly wisdom produces the "fruit of righteousness" which sows peace in the world... its practitioners "make peace."  (vs. 18) It is the earthly wisdom that breeds all the chaos, confusion, pain and suffering in the world.  Those who earnestly pursue heavenly wisdom are the "peacemakers" whom Jesus promised would receive peace.  

How does a person seek and attain "heavenly wisdom."  It is found in Jesus Christ as He is revealed in the Scriptures.  "Wisdom" is a Person.  When we open our eyes and our minds to embrace Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ of God, as the incarnation of heavenly wisdom, then we start seeing things differently.  We live more and more each day "in Christ" which means that we live and move and have our being in the sphere of Christ.  We see the world through His eyes as it were.  We begin to understand the forces that impact us and bear down on us, both for good or ill, more accurately.  We undertake to align ourselves with God's will so that it is done on earth as it is in heaven.  In doing so, as the Psalmist sang, we are led in "green pastures" and by "still waters."  "Our cup overflows" as "peace" rises to encompass our souls.

This is not some esoteric, mystical mind-game.  This is living in the real world as God, through Christ, has revealed the real world exists.  

 

 

 

 

 

James 2: It Takes Work(s)!

Image: "Ready to Work", 2012, Scene at a gas station near the Great Wall, PRC

James 2:1 My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality.

James 2:4 have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?

James 2:9–10 but if you show partiality, you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. 10 For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.

James 2:21–22 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? 22 Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works, faith was made perfect?

James 2:26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

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It is pretty much useless to try to convince people that James, in this chapter, is not contradicting Paul.  You either get it or you don't.  Paul is addressing one set of issues - the idea of meritorious works earning God's blessings and justification.  James, the hardworking pastor, is addressing another - the sinful dispositions found in many professing Christians who want God to save them without having to change.  We sometimes hear Christians say: "God loves you just the way you are!"  No... God may love you... but if He does He intends to change you from the way you are.  James teaches this under the principle: "a man is justified by works, and not by faith only." (vs. 24)

James starts off by addressing a common issue: the worldly practice of giving deference to the rich, powerful, or famous people.  Though we don't often admit it, most of us naturally and sinfully equate success with merit.  People who "make it" are more worthy of our admiration than those who do not.  I am not saying that we should not seek to emulate some people who have done great things.  I personally consider John Calvin to be imminently worthy as a role model.  But the sin comes in when we are in social contact with successful people and we show deference to them in such a manner as to demean others who have not had worldly "success."  

James here speaks of the "poor" and how, especially in the Church of Jesus Christ, we are not to show "partiality" toward the rich over the poor.  Here is the pastoral crux of the matter.  James wants us to see that often, in the Kingdom of God, it is the poor who are "richer" in faith than those who are rich in worldly goods.  Jesus taught His disciples that it was the poor widow who went away justified, having deposited only a few pennies, rather than the rich hypocrites who gloried in showing off their "generosity."  

This teaching is not separate, at all, from James' focus on "works."  What he teaches here are the types of "works" that true faith must demonstrate.  Where there is saving faith, a faith that corresponds to justification, there must be a heart change so that worldly success does not blind us to the things of the Spirit.  It would be a "good work" to ensure that a poor brother or sister received an extra measure of welcoming love and hospitality to help offset their culturally imposed sense of unimportance.  Sometimes we have to go an extra mile with people to further the witness of God's Presence with us.  James here gives us a grand illustration of how we must be transformed from worldly thoughts and opinions and how we must act on a different basis.  

James hammers this home with further examples such as Abraham's willingness to sacrifice Isaac and Rahab's courageous actions in hiding and protecting the Israelite spies. (vs. 23-25)  The important thing is seeing how "otherworldly" these actions were.  Abraham would be considered insane by today's standards.  Rahab, similarly, was guilty of treason, and for what reason?  Giving aid and comfort to "bloodthirsty enemies?"  These actions went against the grain of "common sense" as it was understood in those times. 

So it is with "good works" in every age.  There is and must be, an element of risk in living out true faith in Jesus Christ.  It has to place us "out-of-step" with the world around us.  If we are not acting "strangely", to some degree, then James says that it is highly possible our faith is dead also. (vs. 26)  

In our modern, chaotic, society, the true Christian faith will be ridiculed and scorned.  True Christians will go against the grain in most of the prevailing social currents.  Our families, the education of our children, our attitudes about gender and gender roles, our adamant stand for the value of life, our insistence that national laws are subservient to God's laws, will all stand as highly visible tokens of our alien status.  What James is here telling us is that if we are not being noticed then it is probably because we are not doing "works" that correspond to a "true and lively" faith.

God does not save us to remain "one" with the world.  He saves us to be "one" with His Triune Self.  As good "works" naturally flow from God's Person so good "works" must naturally flow from those united to Him.  James here says nothing about which Paul would disagree and it is a lesson we need to learn very well.

 

 

James 1: The Path To Perfection

Image:  "Patience", 2017, Tanger Family Botanical Garden, Greensboro, SC

James 1:4–5  But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

James 1:12 Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.

James 1:17–18 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. 18 Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.

James 1:27  Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.

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James is a pastor, ... period.  His concerns are immediate, direct, practical, and serious.  His daily ministry is the real-life world in which his congregation lives and which bears down on them daily with powerful temptations and pressures.  This is the ordinary, not the extraordinary circumstances of dedicated pastors and their flock.  It is the world in which we live.

Knowing this and motivated by a passionate desire to equip his people with the tools and "wisdom" they need to stand against the constant pressures.

First, they must understand just how ordinary it is to be tempted.  Satan is always pushing, seeking to undermine the witness of God's people.  They are "light" and he loves the darkness, so he incites anger, resistance, lust, jealousy, dissension, etc.  Whatever works he will push.

Therefore God's people must not be surprised when they encounter "various trials." (vs. 2)  The scope of temptations facing God's people is daunting in the extreme.  Pastors become entangled and trapped by passions or discouragement.  The congregation includes many who lead secret lives.  There is often a large difference between the external facade and the internal reality.  

God's people must be equipped to face this reality.  When Satan gains the upper hand within the community they must not despair, nor should they throw up their hands and believe that Christ's Church is just a sham.  What all of us need is wisdom and James knows this exactly.

He points his people and us to God and simply says "ask for it."  (vs. 5)  From personal experience, I can affirm that God's supply of wisdom does not suddenly burst into our possession through some mystical infusion.  Rather He guides us in the pathway which grows wisdom within us.  Wisdom comes from living... it is the conscious recognition of God working in the circumstances, opening up possibilities to us, and then affirming, through His word, that these "doors" are the ones we should enter.

Thus, the corollary to "wisdom" is "patience."  This truth brings us back, almost full circle, to "trials."  It is God's way of causing all things to work together for good. (Rom. 8:28)  This is the world view that reveals the pathway to perfection.  God's people can all grow in this.