All’s Well That Starts Well

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All’s Well That Starts Well

Matthew 4:1-11

Dr. Jim Denison

We’re all salespeople in life. We all have something we want others to “buy” or believe.

According to Newsweek, Andrew Fischer is selling his forehead. The 20-year-old Nebraska man decided to auction it as ad space for 30 days, and received more than 100 bids. The winner is a snoring remedy named “SnoreStop,” which will pay him $37,375 to display their logo. He says he’ll use the money to pay for college. With a son in college myself, I’m wondering what a pastor’s forehead goes for.

Last week, two men robbed a pizza delivery woman. Then one of them called the victim on his cell phone to apologize, and asked her for a date. She declined, gave his cell phone number to police, and they arrested the man. What he was selling, she wasn’t buying.

My father sold electronic components to oil companies. I’m a salesman as well, with a specific product to sell you this morning. I’ll show you why you need it, how to use it, and what happens when you do. Then I hope you’ll buy what I’m selling–not for my sake, but for yours.

Why to live by the word of God (vs. 1-4)

As our story opens, we catch up with Jesus after he’s spent 40 days in solitude with his Father. He’s in the wilderness area between Jerusalem and the Dead Sea known to the locals as “the Devastation.” It is desert, full of rocks and sand, parched, cracked, dusty hills and valleys, “Death Valley” in our country. No wonder he’s able to be alone with God.

He has just fasted 40 days, abstaining from everything and everyone but his Father. No one could be closer to God than him, right now. Just then Satan appears out of nowhere with his first of three temptations. The Greek reads, “Since you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread” (v. 3).

The wilderness surrounding Jesus is covered with small, round, sun-bleached rocks which look amazingly like the bread baked in his day. Imagine you have not eaten for 40 days, and you have the ability to turn a tennis ball into an orange or a sandal into a steak. You would have to rely on yourself rather than your Father for your needs, using your powers for your purposes rather than the One you have come to serve. But you would be tempted.

Here’s how Jesus responds. Here’s what to do the next time Satan comes calling: live on “every word that comes from the mouth of God” (v. 4).

Jesus quotes a statement made by Moses to the children of Israel after they learned to trust God for the manna which kept them alive in the wilderness (Deuteronomy 8:3). The point is simple: we do not live on our ability but God’s provision. Not on our resources and experience and education, but on the word and grace of God. Your next breath is his gift. Your abilities and opportunities come from his hand. You didn’t deserve to vote in America and not Iraq. It all comes from the grace of God.

So before you begin your next day or make your next decision, go first to his word. Go to Scripture before you go anywhere else–to your own education and ability, the advice of friends, the counsel of worldly wisdom. Seek Scripture first. Ask what God says on the subject, and choose to do it. Live by the words of God.

Why trust the Bible with your life?

Because it is literally the “word of God”: “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16).

Because it has been accurately transmitted to us. “Textual critics” are scholars who compare ancient manuscripts to produce a copy as close to the original as possible. Whether they are Christians or not, they know that the Old and New Testaments we possess today are virtually identical to the originals. The only questions which remain affect matters of spelling, punctuation, and isolated verses; none relates to essential doctrines or practices of the faith.

Because archaeology confirms the accuracy of Scripture. For instance, the Pool of Bethesda (John 5:2) was once dismissed as non-historical. Now tour guides in Jerusalem point groups to its location in the northeast quarter of the Old City. I’ve seen the ruins myself. We have a stone inscription documenting the life and office of Pontius Pilate; the ossuary (coffin) of Caiaphas, the High Priest of the crucifixion; an inscription found at Delphi which describes the work of Gallio, proconsul at Corinth (Acts 18:12-17); and scores of other artifacts which document the accuracy of biblical history and description.

Because the Bible keeps its promises. A mathematician once investigated the statistical probability of one man’s fulfilling eight of the 61 major Old Testament prophecies regarding the Messiah, and calculated the odds as one in 10 to the 17th power (one followed by 16 zeroes). That number of silver dollars would cover the state of Texas to a depth of two feet.

Because the Bible changes lives. I once owned a 1965 Ford Mustang, and found myself under its hood as often as I was behind its wheel. Chilton’s Car Repair Manual became my constant companion. I learned to trust its advice because it worked.

In a postmodern world which believes truth is relative, a book must be relevant to be accepted. Try living by the word of God, making its truths the guideposts of your life. Go to Scripture first. See what God says on the subject you’re considering, the decision you’re making. And you’ll learn for yourself that you can rely on “every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

How to live by the word of God (vs. 5-7)

Now Satan, seeing that Jesus is going to fight his temptations with God’s word, uses Scripture himself. Taking him to the highest point of the Temple in Jerusalem, 450 feet above the Kidron Valley, he challenges him to throw himself down since the Bible promises God will protect him (Psalm 91). Then the crowds will see and be amazed, and he can be their Messiah. He can avoid their rejection and the cross it will bring.

But Jesus knows that Satan is misusing the word of God. He left out the condition for the promise: “If you make the Most High your dwelling–even the Lord, who is my refuge” (v. 10). In other words, if you do what God says, following his direction and will, then he will protect you according to that will. The promise Satan quoted is no guarantee that God will protect us whatever we do–it is God’s assurance that he will enable us to fulfill his will in our lives.

In response, Jesus quotes Scripture accurately: “Do not put the Lord your God to the test” (v. 7, quoting Deut 6:16). Do not make God prove himself to you, for the Creator of the universe has nothing to prove to his creation.

Here’s the point for us: live by God’s word, as you interpret it correctly. Don’t misuse or misquote it as Satan did–know its intended meaning as Jesus did. How?

We’ve reprinted a pamphlet I wrote on that subject a few years ago, and placed copies where you can take one today. The pamphlet is a very short version of a book I published some years ago on biblical interpretation, and the class I taught on the subject at Southwestern Seminary.

Here’s the even shorter version: know the author and setting of the text you are studying. Learn what the words mean, and discover the historical circumstances which affect its meaning. Now restate the text in your own words. Then discover the theological truth the passage intends to teach–what it says about God, humanity, the future, sin and salvation, etc. Apply those principles to your life in practical ways.

Start today, where you are. Buy a study Bible–I recommend the NIV Study Bible, though there are other good options available. Get a notebook. And make an appointment to meet God in his word every morning. Schedule time for Scripture just as you would for any other person or subject. Begin reading the Bible systematically. If you don’t have another place in mind, start with the Gospel of John. Decide how many verses you will read each morning, and keep to your schedule. Ask the questions we just discussed, and write down what you learn. Day by day, God will feed your soul from his word. And you’ll have the tool you need to defeat Satan and live in spiritual victory.

When you live by the word of God (vs. 8-11)

We’ve asked why and how to begin every day in the word of God, and to live by what we learn there. Let’s close with this question: what happens when we do? Here’s the answer.

Satan doesn’t give up on Jesus. He takes our Lord to a “very high mountain” and shows him “all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor” (v. 8). He offers all this to our Lord, if he will forsake his call to be Messiah and worship the enemy. One more time, he can avoid the cross and its pain, if he will refuse God’s word and will for his life.

Once more Jesus quotes Scripture in response: “Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only” (quoting Deuteronomy 6:13). Then Satan left him, and “angels came and attended him” (v. 11). When Jesus stood on Scripture, the enemy could not stand against him. The same will happen for us: though Satan is a roaring lion looking for someone to devour, we are to “resist him, standing firm in the faith” (1 Peter 5:8-9). With this command and assurance: “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God, and he will come near to you” (James 4:7-8).

Now the decision is yours. You should expect Satan to tempt and attack you, whether you’re a follower of Jesus or not. You should know that your only sure defense is the word of God. If the perfect, sinless, omniscient Son of God did not attempt to defeat temptation in his own wisdom and strength, but spoke only the word of God, should we do anything else?

And you have only today to be ready. Jesus didn’t know when Satan would show up–neither do you. He doesn’t give us a time out to go pray and read and get ready. That’s why we need to begin the day with God, before anything else happens. We put gas in the tank before we start the journey; musicians warm up before they play or sing; athletes lift weights before the season begins, and stretch before the game. Today is the day to decide that you will begin tomorrow with God, in his word.

Conclusion

If you started today with God in his word, let this message encourage you. If you didn’t, let it invite you. As simple as it sounds, there is no more important practice in spiritual growth and victory. No more important tool in winning the battle against temptation and fulfilling the perfect will of God for your life. Don’t expect the enemy to make it easy–you’ll be distracted, scheduled, and busy. But the harder it is to begin the day in God’s word, the more you need to.

In 1990, at the Moscow International Book Fair, religious publishers were allowed for the first time to give away Bibles. In earlier years they could exhibit them, but they could not distribute them. Taking advantage of this new opportunity, publishers passed out more than 10,000 copies of the New Testament in contemporary Russian. Soon the Bible exhibit became the most popular at the fair. Russians stood in long lines to get their copy of a book which most had never owned and many had never seen.

Nearby was the exhibit of the American Atheist Press, headed by Madelyn Murray O’Hare. In a country steeped in atheism for most of a century, we would expect her display to be popular. But we would be wrong. My friend Johnnie Godwin was there, and took a now-famous picture of the scene. In the foreground hundreds of people are standing in line for their Bibles. In the background, Mrs. O’Hare sits in her booth alone.

Tomorrow morning, which line will you choose?

Faith At Work

Written by

[email protected]

Who’s in charge today?

Dr. Jim Denison

James 1:1

Who was James?

The book of James names its author in its first sentence: “James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ” (1:1). But which James? The NT uses the name 42 times, of which 38 identifications are certain:

19 refer to James the brother of John and son of Zebedee

4 refer to James son of Alphaeus

3 refer to a son of Mary

2 refer to a half-brother of Jesus

8 refer to an unspecified James, a pillar of the Jerusalem Church

2 refer to “Judas son of James.”

James the son of Zebedee is the most prominent James in the Gospels.

He was among Jesus’ first disciples (Mark 1:29).

His mother was probably Salome (Matthew 27:56: among those at the cross were “Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons”; Mark 15:40: “among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome”).

John 19:25 lists these women at the cross: “his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.” Unless John omitted his own mother from his listing of the women at the cross, it is likely that she is one of these four and thus the sister of Jesus’ mother Mary. As a result, her sons James and John were Jesus’ cousins.

James was so important to the first Christian movement that Herod chose him for execution (Acts 12:2).

His early death (AD 44) makes it very unlikely that he is the author of our letter.

James son of Alphaeus, while a disciple of our Lord (Matthew 10:3; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:15), is not otherwise known to the apostolic record.

He is likely mentioned in Mark 15:40, “Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses”; and Luke 24:10: “Mary the mother of James, and the others with them” who told the apostles about Jesus’ resurrection.

His mother is likely the wife of Clopas (John 19:25), so that Clopas is usually identified as Alphaeus.

He may be the brother of Jude, the author of the letter bearing his name; or that Jude may be a half-brother of Jesus (Matthew 13:55).

Most scholars believe the author of our letter to have been a person of greater stature in the early church than James son of Alphaeus, and question whether this man could be known to a wide audience by the simple identification “James.” However, the Catholic tradition does not accept the thesis that Mary had children after Jesus, and thus denies that our letter could be written by his half-brother. Catholic theologians thus consider him to be the author of our epistle (see #6 below).

The James whose son is Judas (not Iscariot; Luke 6:16; Acts 1:13) is even less known to Scripture, and thus even less likely to be the author of our epistle.

We are left with James, the half-brother of Jesus. Here’s what we know about him from the Gospels:

He is named with Joseph, Simon, and Judas as Jesus’ brothers (Matthew 13:55; Mark 6:3); he was likely the oldest of the brothers, as he is listed first.

He and his brothers did not believe in Jesus at first: “even his own brothers did not believe in him” (John 7:5).

Note the Roman Catholic doctrine that Mary maintained her virginity, so that James could not be her child. Two theories are proposed to support this assertion:

The Epiphanian theory (after Epiphanius, ca. AD 370): James and his brothers were the sons of Joseph from a previous marriage. But nothing in the text indicates such a previous family; and the flight to Egypt (Matthew 2) would surely have mentioned this other family if it existed.

The Hieronymian theory (proposed in AD 383 by Jerome, whose Greek name is Hieronymius): Jesus’ “brothers” were his cousins. Paul describes “James the Lord’s brother” as one of the “apostles” (Galatians 1:19); Jerome insists these are only the Twelve. He thus identifies him as James son of Alphaeus (Matthew 10:3) and asserts that Alphaeus was married to Salome, the sister of Mary, making James the cousin of Jesus. But “brother” does not mean “cousin” in family relationships; and the “apostles” were more than the Twelve (cf. Romans 16:7, where Andronicus and Junia are “outstanding among the apostles”). Nonetheless, this is the official position of the Catholic Church today.

Nothing in the biblical text suggests that James was anything other than Mary’s son and Jesus’ half-brother. This fact will become important in the applications which conclude this week’s study.

After the resurrection, Jesus made a special visit to his half-brother. He visited Peter and the Twelve (1 Corinthians 15:5), more than 500 of the “brothers” (v. 6), and “then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles” (v. 7). The second-century Gospel according to the Hebrews adds that Jesus shared the Lord’s Supper with James at this time (Martin, James xliv).

This distinction between James, the “Twelve,” and the “apostles” makes clear that this person is not James the brother of John or the son of Alphaeus (see also Galatians 1:19, where Paul says he met with “none of the other apostles–only James, the Lord’s brother”).

And it demonstrates that this James was important enough to warrant a specific visit from the risen Christ, and special mention by Paul.

Most interpreters believe that this event led James to faith in his half-brother as the Messiah.

Eventually, the other brothers came to the same faith commitment. By the time Paul wrote his first letter to the Corinthians, Jesus’ brothers are among the believers: “Don’t we have the right to take a believing wife along with us, as do the other apostles and the Lord’s brothers and Cephas?” (1 Corinthians 9:5).

Following this life-changing encounter, James became one of the most significant leaders of the Jerusalem church:

From the death of James the brother of John, the book of Acts refers to “James” as if there is only one person known widely by this name.

After his miraculous release from prison, Peter told the believers to “tell James and the brothers about this” (Acts 12:17), placing him in prominence over the other leaders of the church.

James spoke for the Jerusalem council in their decision to accept the conversion of Gentiles to faith in Christ (Acts 15:13-21).

When Paul visited the Jerusalem church three years after his conversion, he met with Peter for 15 days but “none of the other apostles–only James, the Lord’s brother” (Galatians 1:19).

Paul listed “James, Peter and John” as the “pillars” of the early church (Galatians 2:9).

He described a delegation coming from Jerusalem to the Gentile church at Antioch as “from James” (Galatians 2:12).

When Paul brought the Collection to Jerusalem at the conclusion of his third missionary journey, Luke records that “Paul and the rest of us went to see James, and all the elders were present” (Acts 21:18). This is the last mention of James in the New Testament.

Clement of Alexandria (born approx. AD 160), in the sixth book of his Hypotyposes, states that “Peter and James and John, after the Saviour’s ascension, though pre-eminently honoured by the Lord, did not contend for glory, but made James the Just, bishop of Jerusalem” (Ante-Nicene Fathers 2:579).

Jerome (AD 492) adds that “he ruled the church of Jerusalem 30 years, that is until the seventh year of Nero” (Lives of Illustrious Men ch. 2; Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers 3:362). Nero ruled Rome from AD 54-68, so that James died in AD 62.

From the third century, the large majority of interpreters have identified the Letter of James with James the Just, half-brother of Jesus.

Origen (AD 185-253), Eusebius (c. 265-340) and Jerome (c. 340-420) all favored this position.

The vocabulary of James’s speech (Acts 15:13-21) and the letter it inspired (vs. 22-29) is similar to that of the epistle:

The salutation “greetings” (chairein) is found in the NT only in Ac 15:23, James 1:1, and Acts 23:26

James 2:7, “the noble name of him to whom you belong,” is paralleled in the NT only at Acts 15:17, “who bear my name”

“Name” in James 2:7; 5:10, 14; and Acts 15:14, 26 is not used elsewhere in the NT in the same sense

James’ allusions to the OT (Acts 15:14, 16-18, 21) are consistent with the epistle

“Brothers” is common to the epistle (James 1:2, 9, 16, 19; 2:5, 15; 3:1; 4:11; 5:7, 9, 10, 12, 19) is found also in Acts 15:13, 23

Note James 2:5, “Listen, my dear brothers” and Acts 15:13, “Brothers, listen to me” (Oesterley, Expositor’s Greek Testament 4:392).

James’ authority (Acts 15:13; 21:18) coheres with the authoritative nature of the epistle (with its 46 imperatives).

Jerome (AD 492) states of him, “after our Lord’s passion at once ordained by the apostles bishop of Jerusalem, wrote a single epistle, which is reckoned among the seven Catholic Epistles” (Jerome 361).

What happened to him?

We have no record of James after Paul’s visit in Jerusalem (Acts 21:18). But he is mentioned prominently in the post-biblical literature. His character was known and admired:

Hegesippus, writing a commentary near the time of the apostles, calls him “the brother of the Lord” and identifies him further: “as there were many of this name, was surnamed the Just by all, from the days of our Lord until now” (Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 2:23).

He then describes his character: “This apostle was consecrated from his mother’s womb. He drank neither wine nor fermented liquors, and abstained from animal food. A razor never came upon his head, he never anointed with oil, and never used a bath. He alone was allowed to enter the sanctuary. He never wore woolen, but linen garments. He was in the habit of entering the temple alone, and was often found upon his bended knees, and interceding for the forgiveness of the people; so that his knees became as hard as a camel’s, in consequence of his habitual supplication and kneeling before God. And indeed, on account of his exceeding great piety, he was called the Just” (ibid).

He may have been a mentor to Stephen, the first martyr.

Ignatius (A.D. 30-107), in his letter to the Trallians, asks, “what are the deacons but imitators of the angelic powers, fulfilling a pure and blameless ministry unto him, as the holy Stephen did to the blessed James, Timothy and Linus to Paul, Anencletus and Clement to Peter?” (ch. 7).

We know James the Just to have been an important figure in the Jerusalem church, though James the brother of John was still alive at Stephen’s death (cf. Acts 12:2). So we cannot be sure of the identity of “the blessed James,” though it is likely that he was James the Just.

His martyrdom (AD 62) was the subject of extended interest as well:

Josephus describes his death: the high priest Ananus “was a bold man in his temper, and very insolent; he was also of the sect of the Sadducees, who were very rigid in judging offenders, above all the rest of the Jews, as we have already observed; when, therefore, Ananus was of this disposition, he thought he had now a proper opportunity . . . so he assembled the Sanhedrim of the judges, and brought before them the brother of Jesus, who was called Christ, whose name was James, and some others, and when he had formed an accusation against them as breakers of the law, he delivered them to be stoned” (Antiquities 20:9:1).

The circumstances which led to his death are noted by Hegesippus: as a Passover neared, the Jewish leaders positioned James on a wing of the temple and asked him to persuade the crowds “not to be led astray by Jesus.” His response: “‘Why do you ask me respecting Jesus the Son of Man? He is now sitting in the heavens, on the right hand of great Power, and is about to come on the clouds of heaven.’ And as many were confirmed, and gloried in this testimony of James, and said, Hosanna to the son of David, these same priests and Pharisees said to one another, ‘We have done badly in affording such testimony to Jesus, but let us go up and cast him down, that they may dread to believe in him'” (Eusebius, ibid).

Hegesippus then describes his martyrdom: “they began to stone him, as he did not die immediately when cast down; but turning round, he knelt down saying, ‘I entreat thee, O Lord God and Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.’ . . . And one of them, a fuller, beat out the brains of Justus with the club that he used to beat out clothes. Thus he suffered martyrdom, and they buried him on the spot where his tombstone is still remaining, by the temple. He became a faithful witness, both to the Jews and Greeks, that Jesus is the Christ” (ibid).

Jerome adds that he “was buried near the temple from which he had been cast down. His tombstone with its inscription was well known until the siege of Titus and the end of Hadrian’s reign” (Jerome 362). Titus destroyed Jerusalem in AD 70; Hadrian was emperor of Rome from AD 117-138.

His integrity was recognized even by those who arranged his martyrdom:

The injustice of James’ death was noted even by the Jewish leaders: “as for those who seemed the most equitable of the citizens, and such as were the most uneasy at the breach if the laws, they disliked what was done; they also sent to the king desiring him to send to Ananus that he should act so no more, for that what he had already done was not to be justified.” Eventually his behavior cost him the high priesthood after only three months (Josephus, ibid).

Eusebius adds that many of the Jewish leaders believed the Roman destruction of Jerusalem “happened to them for no other reason than the crime against him” (Eusebius, ibid).

What does his life teach us today?

James calls himself “a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ” (1:1a). “Servant” translates doulos, the Greek word for “slave.”

His self-description as the “slave” of God also places him in an Old Testament line of spiritual leaders and prophets:

Moses was the doulos of God (1 Kings 8:53; Daniel 9:11; Malachi 4:4)

Joshua and Caleb wore this title (Joshua 24:29; Numbers 14:24)

Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were the “slaves” of God (Deuteronomy 9:27), as was Job (1:8)

The prophets were known as the doulos of God (Isaiah 20:3; Amos 3:7; Zechariah 1:6; Jeremiah 7:25; Barclay, James 35-6).

And his self-characterization as the “slave of the Lord Jesus Christ” suggests these facts:

James was unconditionally surrendered to Jesus Christ as his Lord. A slave was owned by his master. He had no rights of his own. There was no segment of his life which was not completely yielded to the one who owned him. To be the “slave” of Jesus is to be his entirely. In addition, his description of Jesus as “Lord” shows his surrender to his Emperor and King.

He was absolutely obedient to his word and will. A slave is allowed no will of his own. He must do what his master says to do, without question or qualification. James would obey his Master’s leading, wherever it took him–even to a martyr’s death.

He was humbly loyal to his Master. James nowhere identifies himself as Jesus’ half-brother, a fact which causes some commentators to question whether or not he wrote this epistle. Why would he not use such authority for his ministry? Because those who read his letter already knew his life and faith. They knew his family relation to Jesus. He would not take pains to remind them of his human connection with the Christ, only his spiritual devotion to him. No person has ever refused so lofty an honor as this.

Such humble submission is God’s will for us all:

“What does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8).

“The greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves” (Luke 22:26).

“By the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you” (Romans 12:3).

James knew who he was: the slave of God and the Lord Jesus Christ, completely committed to their will and Kingdom alone. This identity motivated his life, forged his character, and made his martyrdom an easy choice. He would live and die for the One who died and lived for him.

Why is humble submission so crucial to a life-transforming faith?

The word of God requires such surrender: “be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18); “take my yoke upon you” (Matthew 11:29). We cannot live in God’s word and will unless we surrender to Jesus as our Lord.

Living a surrendered life is the most reasonable way we can respond to the divinity and authority of Jesus Christ. He possesses “all authority in heaven and on earth” (Matthew 28:18), meaning that we possess none. And his resurrection demonstrates his divinity. As a result, we can serve no person who deserves our submission as much as the Lord. If he allows us to serve another master, he permits idolatry. The first of the Ten Commandments and the Two is therefore the same: to love God so much that we have no other gods before him (Exodus 20:3; Matthew 22:37). We were created to worship our Creator; our lives can find fulfillment in no other purpose. Such a decision is warranted rationally.

Submitting to Christ as Master is warranted experientially as well. Christians across 20 centuries of faith can agree with William Booth, the Salvation Army founder who asserted, “The greatness of a man’s power is the measure of his surrender.” Believers in every generation have learned that the road to joy is paved with humble submission to Christ as Lord.

Our hearts long to serve something or someone. As Pascal observed, there is a God-shaped emptiness inside us all. The earliest art known to man was painted as an act of worship. Every society known to history has worshipped God or the gods. We were made to serve Christ, and our hearts are restless until they rest in him (Augustine).

God will not share his glory: “Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness” (Psalm 29:2). He intends to bring all nations to glorify his Son (Philippians 2:9-11). And so he can use our lives only to the degree that we advance his Kingdom and honor his Son.

Surrendering our lives to his will is in our best interest. He can lead only those who are willing to be led. His will is “good, pleasing and perfect” (Romans 12:2), but we must surrender to it before we can experience it. He wants to meet all our needs according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19), but he can give only what we will receive.

Such commitment unites spirit and flesh, Sunday and Monday, the “secular” and the “sacred.” Since the time of Orpheus, six centuries before Christ, the Western world has divided the soul from the body. When we make Jesus our Master and ourselves his slave, we experience the fullness of his abundant joy (John 10:10) in every dimension of life.

Our surrendered obedience to the Lord is our best witness to a relativistic, pluralistic post-modern world. In a culture which believes absolutes do not exist (itself an absolute assertion), our faith must be relevant before it can be considered to be right. We show others that Jesus should be their Lord only when he is our Lord. We must possess what we mean to share, and our lives must demonstrate the truth of our words.

Conclusion: how do we live the surrendered life today?

Believe personally, making Christ your King.

Commit daily, beginning each morning.

Make a moral inventory, asking the Holy Spirit to show you anyplace in your life which is not submitted to the will of God. Confess these sins in genuine contrition, claiming his forgiving grace (1 John 1:9).

Develop the habit of beginning each morning in submission to the will of God. Learn to pray first about every decision of the day. Go to God as your Master, remembering always that you are his slave. This hymn can be your prayer:

O Jesus, Lord and Savior, I give myself to Thee,For thou in thine atonement didst give Thyself for me.I own no other Master; my heart shall be Thy throne;My life I live henceforth to give, O Christ, to Thee alone.

Faith At Work

Written by

[email protected]

Who’s in charge today?

Dr. Jim Denison

James 1:1

Who was James?

The book of James names its author in its first sentence: “James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ” (1:1). But which James? The NT uses the name 42 times, of which 38 identifications are certain:

•19 refer to James the brother of John and son of Zebedee

•4 refer to James son of Alphaeus

•3 refer to a son of Mary

•2 refer to a half-brother of Jesus

•8 refer to an unspecified James, a pillar of the Jerusalem Church

•2 refer to “Judas son of James.”

James the son of Zebedee is the most prominent James in the Gospels.

•He was among Jesus’ first disciples (Mark 1:29).

•His mother was probably Salome (Matthew 27:56: among those at the cross were “Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons”; Mark 15:40: “among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome”).

•John 19:25 lists these women at the cross: “his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.” Unless John omitted his own mother from his listing of the women at the cross, it is likely that she is one of these four and thus the sister of Jesus’ mother Mary. As a result, her sons James and John were Jesus’ cousins.

•James was so important to the first Christian movement that Herod chose him for execution (Acts 12:2).

•His early death (AD 44) makes it very unlikely that he is the author of our letter.

James son of Alphaeus, while a disciple of our Lord (Matthew 10:3; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:15), is not otherwise known to the apostolic record.

•He is likely mentioned in Mark 15:40, “Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses”; and Luke 24:10: “Mary the mother of James, and the others with them” who told the apostles about Jesus’ resurrection.

•His mother is likely the wife of Clopas (John 19:25), so that Clopas is usually identified as Alphaeus.

•He may be the brother of Jude, the author of the letter bearing his name; or that Jude may be a half-brother of Jesus (Matthew 13:55).

•Most scholars believe the author of our letter to have been a person of greater stature in the early church than James son of Alphaeus, and question whether this man could be known to a wide audience by the simple identification “James.” However, the Catholic tradition does not accept the thesis that Mary had children after Jesus, and thus denies that our letter could be written by his half-brother. Catholic theologians thus consider him to be the author of our epistle (see #6 below).

The James whose son is Judas (not Iscariot; Luke 6:16; Acts 1:13) is even less known to Scripture, and thus even less likely to be the author of our epistle.

We are left with James, the half-brother of Jesus. Here’s what we know about him from the Gospels:

•He is named with Joseph, Simon, and Judas as Jesus’ brothers (Matthew 13:55; Mark 6:3); he was likely the oldest of the brothers, as he is listed first.

•He and his brothers did not believe in Jesus at first: “even his own brothers did not believe in him” (John 7:5).

Note the Roman Catholic doctrine that Mary maintained her virginity, so that James could not be her child. Two theories are proposed to support this assertion:

•The Epiphanian theory (after Epiphanius, ca. AD 370): James and his brothers were the sons of Joseph from a previous marriage. But nothing in the text indicates such a previous family; and the flight to Egypt (Matthew 2) would surely have mentioned this other family if it existed.

•The Hieronymian theory (proposed in AD 383 by Jerome, whose Greek name is Hieronymius): Jesus’ “brothers” were his cousins. Paul describes “James the Lord’s brother” as one of the “apostles” (Galatians 1:19); Jerome insists these are only the Twelve. He thus identifies him as James son of Alphaeus (Matthew 10:3) and asserts that Alphaeus was married to Salome, the sister of Mary, making James the cousin of Jesus. But “brother” does not mean “cousin” in family relationships; and the “apostles” were more than the Twelve (cf. Romans 16:7, where Andronicus and Junia are “outstanding among the apostles”). Nonetheless, this is the official position of the Catholic Church today.

Nothing in the biblical text suggests that James was anything other than Mary’s son and Jesus’ half-brother. This fact will become important in the applications which conclude this week’s study.

After the resurrection, Jesus made a special visit to his half-brother. He visited Peter and the Twelve (1 Corinthians 15:5), more than 500 of the “brothers” (v. 6), and “then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles” (v. 7). The second-century Gospel according to the Hebrews adds that Jesus shared the Lord’s Supper with James at this time (Martin, James xliv).

•This distinction between James, the “Twelve,” and the “apostles” makes clear that this person is not James the brother of John or the son of Alphaeus (see also Galatians 1:19, where Paul says he met with “none of the other apostles–only James, the Lord’s brother”).

•And it demonstrates that this James was important enough to warrant a specific visit from the risen Christ, and special mention by Paul.

•Most interpreters believe that this event led James to faith in his half-brother as the Messiah.

•Eventually, the other brothers came to the same faith commitment. By the time Paul wrote his first letter to the Corinthians, Jesus’ brothers are among the believers: “Don’t we have the right to take a believing wife along with us, as do the other apostles and the Lord’s brothers and Cephas?” (1 Corinthians 9:5).

Following this life-changing encounter, James became one of the most significant leaders of the Jerusalem church:

•From the death of James the brother of John, the book of Acts refers to “James” as if there is only one person known widely by this name.

•After his miraculous release from prison, Peter told the believers to “tell James and the brothers about this” (Acts 12:17), placing him in prominence over the other leaders of the church.

•James spoke for the Jerusalem council in their decision to accept the conversion of Gentiles to faith in Christ (Acts 15:13-21).

•When Paul visited the Jerusalem church three years after his conversion, he met with Peter for 15 days but “none of the other apostles–only James, the Lord’s brother” (Galatians 1:19).

•Paul listed “James, Peter and John” as the “pillars” of the early church (Galatians 2:9).

•He described a delegation coming from Jerusalem to the Gentile church at Antioch as “from James” (Galatians 2:12).

•When Paul brought the Collection to Jerusalem at the conclusion of his third missionary journey, Luke records that “Paul and the rest of us went to see James, and all the elders were present” (Acts 21:18). This is the last mention of James in the New Testament.

•Clement of Alexandria (born approx. AD 160), in the sixth book of his Hypotyposes, states that “Peter and James and John, after the Saviour’s ascension, though pre-eminently honoured by the Lord, did not contend for glory, but made James the Just, bishop of Jerusalem” (Ante-Nicene Fathers 2:579).

•Jerome (AD 492) adds that “he ruled the church of Jerusalem 30 years, that is until the seventh year of Nero” (Lives of Illustrious Men ch. 2; Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers 3:362). Nero ruled Rome from AD 54-68, so that James died in AD 62.

From the third century, the large majority of interpreters have identified the Letter of James with James the Just, half-brother of Jesus.

•Origen (AD 185-253), Eusebius (c. 265-340) and Jerome (c. 340-420) all favored this position.

•The vocabulary of James’s speech (Acts 15:13-21) and the letter it inspired (vs. 22-29) is similar to that of the epistle:

a.The salutation “greetings” (chairein) is found in the NT only in Ac 15:23, James 1:1, and Acts 23:26

b.James 2:7, “the noble name of him to whom you belong,” is paralleled in the NT only at Acts 15:17, “who bear my name”

c.”Name” in James 2:7; 5:10, 14; and Acts 15:14, 26 is not used elsewhere in the NT in the same sense

d.James’ allusions to the OT (Acts 15:14, 16-18, 21) are consistent with the epistle

e.”Brothers” is common to the epistle (James 1:2, 9, 16, 19; 2:5, 15; 3:1; 4:11; 5:7, 9, 10, 12, 19) is found also in Acts 15:13, 23

f.Note James 2:5, “Listen, my dear brothers” and Acts 15:13, “Brothers, listen to me” (Oesterley, Expositor’s Greek Testament 4:392).

•James’ authority (Acts 15:13; 21:18) coheres with the authoritative nature of the epistle (with its 46 imperatives).

•Jerome (AD 492) states of him, “after our Lord’s passion at once ordained by the apostles bishop of Jerusalem, wrote a single epistle, which is reckoned among the seven Catholic Epistles” (Jerome 361).

What happened to him?

We have no record of James after Paul’s visit in Jerusalem (Acts 21:18). But he is mentioned prominently in the post-biblical literature. His character was known and admired:

•Hegesippus, writing a commentary near the time of the apostles, calls him “the brother of the Lord” and identifies him further: “as there were many of this name, was surnamed the Just by all, from the days of our Lord until now” (Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 2:23).

•He then describes his character: “This apostle was consecrated from his mother’s womb. He drank neither wine nor fermented liquors, and abstained from animal food. A razor never came upon his head, he never anointed with oil, and never used a bath. He alone was allowed to enter the sanctuary. He never wore woolen, but linen garments. He was in the habit of entering the temple alone, and was often found upon his bended knees, and interceding for the forgiveness of the people; so that his knees became as hard as a camel’s, in consequence of his habitual supplication and kneeling before God. And indeed, on account of his exceeding great piety, he was called the Just” (ibid).

He may have been a mentor to Stephen, the first martyr.

•Ignatius (A.D. 30-107), in his letter to the Trallians, asks, “what are the deacons but imitators of the angelic powers, fulfilling a pure and blameless ministry unto him, as the holy Stephen did to the blessed James, Timothy and Linus to Paul, Anencletus and Clement to Peter?” (ch. 7).

•We know James the Just to have been an important figure in the Jerusalem church, though James the brother of John was still alive at Stephen’s death (cf. Acts 12:2). So we cannot be sure of the identity of “the blessed James,” though it is likely that he was James the Just.

His martyrdom (AD 62) was the subject of extended interest as well:

•Josephus describes his death: the high priest Ananus “was a bold man in his temper, and very insolent; he was also of the sect of the Sadducees, who were very rigid in judging offenders, above all the rest of the Jews, as we have already observed; when, therefore, Ananus was of this disposition, he thought he had now a proper opportunity . . . so he assembled the Sanhedrim of the judges, and brought before them the brother of Jesus, who was called Christ, whose name was James, and some others, and when he had formed an accusation against them as breakers of the law, he delivered them to be stoned” (Antiquities 20:9:1).

•The circumstances which led to his death are noted by Hegesippus: as a Passover neared, the Jewish leaders positioned James on a wing of the temple and asked him to persuade the crowds “not to be led astray by Jesus.” His response: “‘Why do you ask me respecting Jesus the Son of Man? He is now sitting in the heavens, on the right hand of great Power, and is about to come on the clouds of heaven.’ And as many were confirmed, and gloried in this testimony of James, and said, Hosanna to the son of David, these same priests and Pharisees said to one another, ‘We have done badly in affording such testimony to Jesus, but let us go up and cast him down, that they may dread to believe in him'” (Eusebius, ibid).

•Hegesippus then describes his martyrdom: “they began to stone him, as he did not die immediately when cast down; but turning round, he knelt down saying, ‘I entreat thee, O Lord God and Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.’ . . . And one of them, a fuller, beat out the brains of Justus with the club that he used to beat out clothes. Thus he suffered martyrdom, and they buried him on the spot where his tombstone is still remaining, by the temple. He became a faithful witness, both to the Jews and Greeks, that Jesus is the Christ” (ibid).

•Jerome adds that he “was buried near the temple from which he had been cast down. His tombstone with its inscription was well known until the siege of Titus and the end of Hadrian’s reign” (Jerome 362). Titus destroyed Jerusalem in AD 70; Hadrian was emperor of Rome from AD 117-138.

His integrity was recognized even by those who arranged his martyrdom:

•The injustice of James’ death was noted even by the Jewish leaders: “as for those who seemed the most equitable of the citizens, and such as were the most uneasy at the breach if the laws, they disliked what was done; they also sent to the king desiring him to send to Ananus that he should act so no more, for that what he had already done was not to be justified.” Eventually his behavior cost him the high priesthood after only three months (Josephus, ibid).

•Eusebius adds that many of the Jewish leaders believed the Roman destruction of Jerusalem “happened to them for no other reason than the crime against him” (Eusebius, ibid).

What does his life teach us today?

James calls himself “a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ” (1:1a). “Servant” translates doulos, the Greek word for “slave.”

His self-description as the “slave” of God also places him in an Old Testament line of spiritual leaders and prophets:

•Moses was the doulos of God (1 Kings 8:53; Daniel 9:11; Malachi 4:4)

•Joshua and Caleb wore this title (Joshua 24:29; Numbers 14:24)

•Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were the “slaves” of God (Deuteronomy 9:27), as was Job (1:8)

•The prophets were known as the doulos of God (Isaiah 20:3; Amos 3:7; Zechariah 1:6; Jeremiah 7:25; Barclay, James 35-6).

And his self-characterization as the “slave of the Lord Jesus Christ” suggests these facts:

•James was unconditionally surrendered to Jesus Christ as his Lord. A slave was owned by his master. He had no rights of his own. There was no segment of his life which was not completely yielded to the one who owned him. To be the “slave” of Jesus is to be his entirely. In addition, his description of Jesus as “Lord” shows his surrender to his Emperor and King.

•He was absolutely obedient to his word and will. A slave is allowed no will of his own. He must do what his master says to do, without question or qualification. James would obey his Master’s leading, wherever it took him–even to a martyr’s death.

•He was humbly loyal to his Master. James nowhere identifies himself as Jesus’ half-brother, a fact which causes some commentators to question whether or not he wrote this epistle. Why would he not use such authority for his ministry? Because those who read his letter already knew his life and faith. They knew his family relation to Jesus. He would not take pains to remind them of his human connection with the Christ, only his spiritual devotion to him. No person has ever refused so lofty an honor as this.

Such humble submission is God’s will for us all:

•”What does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8).

•”The greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves” (Luke 22:26).

•”By the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you” (Romans 12:3).

James knew who he was: the slave of God and the Lord Jesus Christ, completely committed to their will and Kingdom alone. This identity motivated his life, forged his character, and made his martyrdom an easy choice. He would live and die for the One who died and lived for him.

Why is humble submission so crucial to a life-transforming faith?

The word of God requires such surrender: “be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18); “take my yoke upon you” (Matthew 11:29). We cannot live in God’s word and will unless we surrender to Jesus as our Lord.

Living a surrendered life is the most reasonable way we can respond to the divinity and authority of Jesus Christ. He possesses “all authority in heaven and on earth” (Matthew 28:18), meaning that we possess none. And his resurrection demonstrates his divinity. As a result, we can serve no person who deserves our submission as much as the Lord. If he allows us to serve another master, he permits idolatry. The first of the Ten Commandments and the Two is therefore the same: to love God so much that we have no other gods before him (Exodus 20:3; Matthew 22:37). We were created to worship our Creator; our lives can find fulfillment in no other purpose. Such a decision is warranted rationally.

Submitting to Christ as Master is warranted experientially as well. Christians across 20 centuries of faith can agree with William Booth, the Salvation Army founder who asserted, “The greatness of a man’s power is the measure of his surrender.” Believers in every generation have learned that the road to joy is paved with humble submission to Christ as Lord.

Our hearts long to serve something or someone. As Pascal observed, there is a God-shaped emptiness inside us all. The earliest art known to man was painted as an act of worship. Every society known to history has worshipped God or the gods. We were made to serve Christ, and our hearts are restless until they rest in him (Augustine).

God will not share his glory: “Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness” (Psalm 29:2). He intends to bring all nations to glorify his Son (Philippians 2:9-11). And so he can use our lives only to the degree that we advance his Kingdom and honor his Son.

Surrendering our lives to his will is in our best interest. He can lead only those who are willing to be led. His will is “good, pleasing and perfect” (Romans 12:2), but we must surrender to it before we can experience it. He wants to meet all our needs according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19), but he can give only what we will receive.

Such commitment unites spirit and flesh, Sunday and Monday, the “secular” and the “sacred.” Since the time of Orpheus, six centuries before Christ, the Western world has divided the soul from the body. When we make Jesus our Master and ourselves his slave, we experience the fullness of his abundant joy (John 10:10) in every dimension of life.

Our surrendered obedience to the Lord is our best witness to a relativistic, pluralistic post-modern world. In a culture which believes absolutes do not exist (itself an absolute assertion), our faith must be relevant before it can be considered to be right. We show others that Jesus should be their Lord only when he is our Lord. We must possess what we mean to share, and our lives must demonstrate the truth of our words.

Conclusion: how do we live the surrendered life today?

•Believe personally, making Christ your King.

•Commit daily, beginning each morning.

Make a moral inventory, asking the Holy Spirit to show you anyplace in your life which is not submitted to the will of God. Confess these sins in genuine contrition, claiming his forgiving grace (1 John 1:9).

Develop the habit of beginning each morning in submission to the will of God. Learn to pray first about every decision of the day. Go to God as your Master, remembering always that you are his slave. This hymn can be your prayer:

O Jesus, Lord and Savior, I give myself to Thee,

For thou in thine atonement didst give Thyself for me.

I own no other Master; my heart shall be Thy throne;

My life I live henceforth to give, O Christ, to Thee alone.

Faith at Work

Written by

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Are you where you’re supposed to be?

Dr. Jim Denison

James 1:1

For many in our society, place = success.

Janet and I moved to Atlanta in 1994 to pastor Second-Ponce de Leon Baptist Church. The church is located in “Buckhead,” a strange name for a residential area. The name comes from a tavern opened in the vicinity in 1837, whose owner mounted a buck’s head to attract interest. The area is today considered the most exclusive in Atlanta; living in Buckhead means you’re a success.

When we moved to Dallas, we discovered the same success/place identity. The area where you live is important to people, and even the street; and even the block on that street. Our house on Marquette is in the Highland Park school district, but is a Dallas address. Move the house one block west, and it is in University Park, and worth another $100,000, I’m told.

Where do you identify success with place? If you could change your “place” in life, how would you? A newer, larger house? Area? Address? Office location? “Place” in life–job, title, salary, social strata?

We are right: there is a “place” which defines success. Today we’ll learn where it is, and how to get to it this week.

What kind of literature is this?

A letter: the book of James is addressed “to the twelve tribes scattered among the nations: Greetings” (1:1b).

“Greetings” demonstrates the epistolary nature of this book.

This was a formal way of opening correspondence, found in the NT only here; with the opening of the letter from James and the Jerusalem Council to the Gentile Christians (Acts 15:23); and in the opening of the letter regarding Paul sent by Claudius Lysias, a Roman centurion, to Governor Felix (Acts 23:26).

A pastoral letter: James is “a quasi-prophetic letter of pastoral encouragement and, no less, of pastoral rebuke, proceeding from an unquestioned right of pastoral vocation and authority. It was most natural that James, as first ‘Bishop’ (or whatever we may style him) of Jerusalem, should address his charges, not only in Palestine but also in their many and great centers elsewhere” (Adamson 20).

Wisdom literature, like Proverbs and Ecclesiastes (thus less systematic than Romans and similar literature):

James often uses a proverbial style: “he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does” (1:8); “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says” (1:22); “Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins” (4:17).

He juxtaposes good and evil (cf. 3:13-18).

He uses “wisdom” with emphasis (1:5; 3:13-17).

He quotes Proverbs. 3:34: “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (4:6).

Other parallels can be cited (cf. 1:5 with Proverbs 2:6; 1:19 with Proverbs 29:20; 3:18 with Proverbs 11:30; 4:13-16 with Proverbs 27:1; 5:20 with Proverbs 10:12; Burdick 164).

A treatise on the Sermon on the Mount:

Rejoice in trials (1:2; Matthew 5:12)

Ask and it will be given to us (1:5; Matthew 7:7)

Be perfect and complete (1:4; Matthew 5:48)

Be peacemakers (3:17-18; Matthew 5:5, 9)

Show mercy or be judged (2:13; Matthew 5:7; 6:14-15; 7:1)

Refuse oaths (5:12; Matthew 5:33-37)

Be meek (3:13; Matthew 5:3)

Refuse to hoard (5:2-3; Matthew 6:19)

Deal with anger (1:20; Matthew 5:22)

Be honest (2:14-16; Matthew 7:21-23)

Refuse divided loyalty (4:4; Matthew 6:24)

Refuse slander (4:11; Matthew 5:22; 7:1-2)

Claim the blessing of the poor (2:5; Matthew 5:3)

Follow the example of the prophets (5:10; Matthew 5:12; Martin lxxv-lxxvi).

A sermon: the book displays an amazing coherence with typical preaching methods in the first century (see Robertson 6-7, Barclay 27-30). Parallels with Greek sermons:

Began with a paradox which would capture the attention of the listeners (1:2)

Carried on imaginary conversations with opponents (2:18f; 5:13f)

Introduced transitions with questions (2:14; 4:1) and used rhetorical questions frequently (2:4, 5; 2:14-16; 3:11, 12; 4:4)

Fond of imperatives (nearly 60 in James’ 108 verses)

Personified virtues and vices (1:15; 2:13; 5:3)

Used figures of speech (the bridle, rudder, and forest fire were standards; 3:3-6)

Used the examples of famous men and women (2:21-23, 25; 5:11, 17)

Often concluded with a vivid antithesis, setting the right way beside the wrong (2:13; 2:26).

The Jewish sermon possessed an additional characteristic: it was deliberately disconnected. Speakers were instructed to jump quickly from subject to subject, so as to keep their hearers’ attention. Such preaching was called charaz, which means “stringing beads.” The letter as sermon would explain its lack of systematic theology, as James was speaking on the subject of practical Christianity.

Perhaps a sermon by James, later transcribed as a letter in the best Greek in the NT (with the possible exception of Hebrews). Some hold that James wrote the transcribed letter himself: “James both writes and thinks in Greek better than any other NT author” (Adamson 52). Others suggest that the letter was written by an amanuensis who recorded his sermon in excellent Greek (Barclay 33).

Inspired revelation, despite Luther’s assessment.

Luther’s Preface to the New Testament concludes: “the gospel and the first epistle of St. John, St. Paul’s epistles, especially those to the Romans, Galatians and Ephesians; and St. Peter’s first epistle, are the books which show Christ to you. They teach everything you need to know for your salvation, even if you were never to see or hear any other book or hear any other teaching. In comparison with these the epistle of James is an epistle full of straw, because it contains nothing evangelical.” Luther thought that James ascribes salvation to works, criticizes him for mentioning Jesus only twice, and considered the work non-apostolic in value.

But the date of the letter (see below) precludes the possibility that James contradicts Paul. The two wrote to very different audiences, for very different purposes.

When was it written?

Some believe the letter to have been composed before AD 50, and consider it perhaps the first book of the NT to be written. Evidence:

Jesus’ return is expected quickly: “Don’t grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!” (5:7). Some scholars consider this assertion to argue for an early date, believing that the expectation of Jesus’ imminent return faded somewhat as his Coming was delayed (an assertion I would dispute; cf. Revelation 22:20, “He who testifies to these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming soon'”).

The letter does not mention the Jewish/Gentile controversy, perhaps indicating that it was composed before Acts 15 and the Jerusalem Council. This suggestion would date the letter before AD 47/48 (Moo 26).

The meeting place of the church is still identified as the sunagoge (2:2, translated “meeting” in the NIV). Later the church gathering would be called the ekklesia, dropping the Jewish “synagogue” identity.

Elders are mentioned (5:14), but no bishops or deacons, perhaps indicating a very early stage in the church’s development.

The famine in Judea of AD 46 (Acts 11:28) is a likely backdrop for James’ discussion regarding the poor and the rich.

Others believe the letter to have been composed later in the life of James, for these reasons:

There are only two references to Jesus, suggesting to some scholars that the letter was composed in an era when the early, evangelistic preaching about the Lord had become more didactic, assuming knowledge of his life and work.

The rich are discussed often (1:9-11; 2:1-3; 5:1-6). In the earliest church there were apparently few wealthy members: “Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth” (1 Corinthians 1:26). Thus some believe the letter to have been composed during a period when more influential people had joined the church.

I accept a very early date for the letter (perhaps the mid-40’s), and believe James to be the first book of the NT to be written.

I believe that James’ lack of references to Jesus is a function of the letter’s purpose, and do not accept the assertion that the relative poverty of the Corinthian church precludes the existence of wealthy members in the Jerusalem congregation.

People from across the Roman Empire had gathered in Jerusalem at Pentecost (Ac 2), families with enough means to make such a journey.

Many who trusted Christ that day apparently stayed in the city to compose the Jerusalem church, providing the social and cultural variety which James reflects.

Who are its recipients?

The letter is sent to “the twelve tribes scattered among the nations.” The Greek literally translates, to the twelve tribes in the dispersion. The “twelve tribes” reminds us immediately of the people of God in the OT, the descendants of Jacob’s twelve sons (Exodus 1:2-5).

Diaspora means “scattering” or “dispersion.” The term indicates one who is living in a foreign country (Rienecker 375); cf. 1 Peter 1:1, “To God’s elect, strangers in the world, scattered (diasporas) throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia.”

Some have interpreted this “scattering” as spiritual or metaphorical in nature, but it is most likely a geographical reference (Adamson 49-50).

The ten northern tribes of Israel were scattered into Assyria (ca. 922 B.C.), never to return; their descendants continued a Jewish presence in that land.

The southern kingdom of Judah was exiled to Babylon (586 B.C.); many never returned, but established a thriving Jewish community in that land which continued when Persia later conquered Babylon. Cf. Haman’s description of the Persian Jews to the Persian king Xerxes, “There is a certain people dispersed and scattered among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom whose customs are different from those of all other people and who do not obey the king’s laws” (Esther 3:8). They lived in all 127 provinces of Persia (8:9; 9:30; 10:1).

In 63 B.C., Pompey took thousands of Jews to Rome as slaves, but they were soon freed and lived in that city in large numbers.

As many as a million Jews lived in Alexandria, Egypt in the first century, and multiplied thousands more in Antioch and Syria. Strabo, the Greek geographer, records, “It is hard to find a spot in the whole world which is not occupied and dominated by Jews” (Barclay 40).

By the first century, Jews numbering more than four million had scattered across the entire Empire and known world, as the question asked of Jesus made plain: “Will he go where our people live scattered among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks?” (John 7:35).

Note that at Pentecost, Jews were present from Rome and Crete to the west, Asia Minor (including Phrygia and Pamphylia), Pontus and Cappadocia to the north, Egypt and Cyrene (in northern Africa) to the south, the Parthian empire to the east (including Medes and Elamites), and Arabia to the southeast (Acts 2:9-11). Presumably, converts at Pentecost carried their faith back to these lands, bringing the gospel across the world.

The persecution which followed Stephen’s martyrdom further scattered these early believers: “On that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria” (Acts 8:1; “scattered” is the same Greek root as in James 1:1).

They spread as far as Phoenicia (to the north), Cyprus (to the west), and Syrian Antioch (to the northeast) by Acts 11:19.

The literary style of the book indicates a wider audience than Palestine, where the people were mainly agriculturalists who spoke Aramaic. The koine (common) Greek of James’ letter was the typical language of those Jews who lived in Gentile lands (Robertson 10).

Given that many of them had been members of his church in Jerusalem, James would naturally feel a spiritual responsibility for them and wish to continue his pastoral ministry in their lives. Thus he writes with a note of authority which indicates his previous status as their spiritual leader (Burdick 162-3; Moo 50; Stulac 30-2).

The “twelve tribes in the dispersion” would likely have included those living in Jerusalem and Judea as well.

The rabbis typically saw the “twelve tribes of Israel” as representing all Jews everywhere; cf. Paul’s statement, “this is the promise our twelve tribes are hoping to see fulfilled as they earnestly serve God day and night” (Acts 26:7; Adamson 50).

Hebraic customs abound in the letter. For instance, we find numerous examples of repetitive alliteration in the Greek (“you fall into various trials” [1:2] in the Greek is peirasmois peripesete poikilois; see also 3:5, 3:8; 4:8). Parallelism is also common (1:9, 10; 15; 17; 19, 20; 22; 3:11, 12; Oesterley 394-5; 406).

James speaks of the readers’ place of worship as a synagogue (2:2), and uses the Hebrew title kyriou sabaoth (“Lord Almighty” or “Lord of hosts”; 5:4).

His reference to the “early and latter rain” (5:7), hot winds (1:11), sweet and bitter springs (3:11), and figs and olives (3:12) indicate a Middle Eastern context (Lea 9). It seems likely that his readers had once lived or known of the Palestinian climate and culture, even if they are scattered beyond it now.

The internal linguistic evidence indicates that James was writing principally to Jews living in Greek lands and culture. But James does not confine his letter to those who are scattered outside Israel, but means it for those living wherever Israel has been scattered, including Palestine.

Is James addressing only Jewish Christians; only Jews; or both? Internal evidence makes clear that his audience are believers:

He is a “servant of God and the Lord Jesus Christ,” writing to people he calls “my brothers” (1:2).

He later calls his readers “believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ” (2:1).

He mentions Jesus only twice and never explains the gospel of salvation, omissions explainable only if his readers are already believers (think of a pastor addressing a group of deacons or Sunday school teachers).

Peter likewise addresses his first letter to readers who are “scattered” in the world (1:1). But he makes clear that they are “God’s elect” (v. 1), and that they “have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, by obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood” (v. 2); clearly Christians can be “scattered” or “dispersed” as were the Jewish people.

What is its purpose?

Practical: the letter sets out the essentials of life lived according to God’s Law, to help the sincere live up to their faith and refuse conduct unworthy of a follower of Jesus (Adamson 20).

Pastoral: James wishes to continue his ministerial relationship with Jewish Christians who have been scattered from Jerusalem by persecution. He preaches his sermon/writes his letter to guide and encourage their continued faithfulness to God.

Apologetic: James knows that Christians are the best (and worst) arguments for Christ. He wants the followers of Jesus to live so faithfully that others will see their faith at work and want to join their commitment to their Master. In this sense, James is the most post-modern book of the NT, with the most thoroughgoing emphasis on relevance and praxis.

What is its structure?

Some have seen the letter as disjointed thematically. At first reading, the epistle does indeed jump from topic to topic with little or no transition or apparent overarching structure. But further investigation reveals an underlying pattern very typical of ancient Jewish rhetoric.

The author begins and ends with the same emphases: the need for patience (1:2-4; 5:7-12) and prayer (1:5-8; 5:13-20). The body of the letter centers in the Christian’s spiritual birth (1:13-19a), growth (1:19-25) and development (1:26-5:6). Such development can be measured by the use of the tongue, care for the needy, and personal purity in life (1:26-27), themes which will be developed in detail.

This thematic development can be outlined as follows (remember that the chapters and verses were added centuries later, and can be misleading):

Introduction: patience (1:2-4) and prayer (1:5-8)

Spiritual birth (1:13-19a)

Spiritual growth (1:19b-25)

Spiritual development (1:26-5:6)

–control of the tongue (1:26; 3:1-12)

–care for the needy (1:27a; 2:1-16)

–personal purity in life (1:27b; 3:13-5:6; Motyer 11-13).

Theological truths

We are the people of God, wherever we find ourselves.

These Jewish Christians are now far from their Holy Land, their Temple, their pastor and church. Since they entered the Promised Land under Joshua, they have historically identified their faith with their place.

However, displacement is not new for the people of God (cf. Joseph in Egypt, Daniel in Babylon and a lion’s den, John on Patmos).

As Christians, nothing can separate us from God’s love (Romans 8:35-39). David was right: “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast” (Psalm 139:7-10).

The question is not where we are, but whose we are. Paul said it well: “To all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi” (Philippians 1:1). We are “in” Christ spiritually and eternally, no matter where we are “at” physically.

God will meet our spiritual needs, wherever we live.

He used James, their “home church” pastor, to deliver revelation which addressed their specific spiritual problems and opportunities. They received theological teaching and encouragement which was more divinely inspired and enduring than anything they had learned while in Jerusalem.

In addition, they are the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cointhiansr 3:16), the body of Christ on earth (1 Corinthians 12:27-30). He will use his people to minister to each other, to encourage and guide to the abundant life of Christ, as he meets our needs by his grace (Philippians 4:19).

God cares about every dimension of our lives, “secular” and “sacred.”

The Hebrew people typically disparaged those who lived in Gentile lands (cf. the problem in Acts 6 with the widows). They would have considered these people to be “secular,” and would have given little attention to their lives and faith.

But James will speak to every part of their lives, not just their Sabbath religion and spiritual observances.

Apologetic issues

Why did God allow his people to be “scattered”?

Free-will theodicy: their persecution was the result of misused freedom on the part of the Jewish authorities, not the prescriptive will of God.

Soul-building theodicy: God used their dispersion to advance his Kingdom, bringing the gospel to those we encounter (Acts 8:1 fulfilled 1:8).

Eschatological theodicy: they would one day see the ways their scattered witness advanced the cause and Commission of Christ.

Existential theodicy: they learned to rely on God’s word and Spirit, not their geographical place and former religion.

How do we know we are God’s children even when we are far from home?

Nothing can take us from God’s hand (John 10:28).

Our children are still our children, wherever they live.

Concluding applications

Commit daily to his Lordship and will.

Invest eternally, using your resources where they can best serve the Kingdom.

Serve effectively, utilizing your gifts where you are placed in ministry.

Are you in the will of God today? Baker James Cauthen: “The only ‘place’ that matters is the center of the will of God.”

Are you faithful to serve God where you find yourself? We all have seen the poster or heard the saying: “Bloom where you are planted.” Mother Teresa says it better: Success = faithfulness in love.

Are you close to God spiritually, wherever you are located physically?

Happiness Where You Least Expect It

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Happiness Where You Least Expect It

Matthew 3:1-17

Dr. Jim Denison

I’d like us to begin with a survey. Time magazine recently explored the subject of happiness, and included in its report a tool devised in 1980 by a psychologist named Edward Diener. It rates your happiness compared with the rest of us. Answer these questions on a scale of one (not at all true) to seven (absolutely true):

In most ways my life is close to my ideal.

The conditions of my life are excellent.

I am satisfied with my life.

So far I have gotten the important things I want in life.

If I could live my life over, I would change almost nothing.

What did you score? 31 to 35: you are extremely satisfied with your life; 26 to 30: very satisfied; 21 to 25: slightly satisfied; 20: neutral; 15 to 19: slightly dissatisfied; 10 to 14: dissatisfied; 5 to 9: extremely dissatisfied.

Now, how can you raise your “happiness” score? Here’s an answer which will surprise our culture. According to Time, “Studies show that the more a believer incorporates religion into daily living–attending services, reading Scripture, praying–the better off he or she appears to be on two measures of happiness: frequency of positive emotions and over all sense of satisfaction with life. Attending services has a particularly strong correlation to feeling happy, and religious certainty–the sense of unshakable faith in God and the truth of one’s beliefs–is most closely linked with life satisfaction” (p. A46).

As we will learn this morning, Christianity was meant to be a public relationship, not a private religion. The more we divorce faith from life, the further we step from joy. The more we make Jesus Lord of Monday as well as Sunday, the more he is able to bless both. So let’s consider the third Covenant of Grace value–worship publicly–and what’s in it for God and for us today.

How did John go public with his faith?

We’ll walk through our story, then learn its lessons. As it begins, “In those days John the Baptist came” (v. 1a).

Luke tells us that this was the fifteenth year of Tiberius’s reign (Luke 3:1), AD 26. John is around 30 years of age, as is our Lord (Luke 3:23).

John’s parents were elderly when he was conceived. It is likely that he has lived most of his life in this “Desert of Judea,” a region east of Jerusalem. He spent these years in seclusion, far from the crowds and culture of his day. But then he “came,” a word which means that he chose to appear in public. He could have stayed in seclusion, but chose a public ministry instead.

His message was public, and counter-cultural: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”

“Repent” in the Bible means a change of heart which results in a change of life. It is not the Greek word for “feel sorry,” but the word for “turn” or “change.” The rabbis said, “The true penitent is he who has the opportunity to do the same sin again, in the same circumstances, and who does not do it.”

The “kingdom of heaven” is the place where God is King. To be in his Kingdom, turn from serving yourself to serving him.

He dressed exactly like Elijah the Old Testament prophet (2 Kings 1:8): “John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist” (v. 4). These were the poorest clothes he could wear, like tattered blue jeans and a t-shirt to us.

His food was “locusts and wild honey,” still common food for poor people in Palestine today. He did not seek to impress the people with his message and appearance, but only the Lord. His priorities were on display for all to see.

His sermon and lifestyle led to public response: “People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan” (vs. 5-6). Jerusalem, the city sophisticates; Judea, the country folk; the whole region turned out. They were “baptized,” something no Jew had ever done in all of Hebrew history. This act was reserved for Gentiles who became Jews. Now these people started their lives over, washing away their past, in a public act of confession and repentance. Nothing private, all before the world to see.

And his ministry led to public confrontation: “he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing” (v. 7).

These were the wealthiest and most powerful people in their society, the CEOs, big-church pastors and political authorities. But they too must “produce fruit in keeping with repentance” (v. 8).

Racial ties to Abraham are not enough (v. 9)–their trees must bear spiritual fruit for all to see. Otherwise they will be “cut down and thrown into the fire” (v. 10).

This judgment will be public, when Jesus will “clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire” (v. 12).

Now comes the climax of the story: Jesus “came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John” (v. 13). Like John, he has been living in seclusion far from the beaten path of his culture. But no more. It is more than 60 miles from Nazareth to the place where the baptism probably occurred; can you imagine walking from Weatherford to Dallas to be baptized today?

John’s reaction demonstrated his understanding of Jesus’ divinity: “I need to be baptized by you” (v. 14).

But Jesus wanted to make public his own commitment to his Father, so John consented. And the Father blessed his public proclamation with his own: “this is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased” (v. 17).

Why should we?

Here’s the point: Christianity is a public faith. It is not a private commitment reserved for Sundays at church. It is not a personal, individual, subjective belief best kept to ourselves. Our faith has always been public in nature. Jesus’ baptism was public, not the private ceremony he could have arranged with John. His ministry was done in public, and his disciples followed him in public, not in private closed-door meetings. He died in public, even though a private execution would have paid for our sins. He appeared in public for 40 days after his resurrection, and ascended to heaven in public.

He still calls his disciples to follow him publicly. We are to “take up our cross,” a public display of personal commitment. The early disciples served in public, at great personal risk. Their writings were made public to as many as possible. They gave their lives to win as much of the public to Christ as possible.

By contrast, religion is now supposed to be a private experience in America. Keep it to yourself. Don’t offend or judge others. Don’t discuss religion in public. On a television show I saw last week, one character said to another: “I know your secret: you go to church.”

Four factors have privatized faith for our culture, each of them a mistake.

One: centuries before Christ, Western thinkers separated the spiritual from the physical. Plato believed this world to be a “shadow” of the real world of ideas. Sunday and Monday are separate realities. However, God created this world, and pronounced it “good.” Jesus wore flesh, proving that the “secular” is not unspiritual. God created Monday before he created Sunday, and is equally interested in both.

Two: in the medieval world, “spirituality’ was defined in monastic terms, as withdrawal from the “real” world. The more you live in the church and not in the world, the more spiritual you are. However, our Lord told us to go and make disciples, not retreat into Baptist monasteries. Salt is no good in the saltshaker, or light under a basket. We must touch the world to transform it.

Three: our founding fathers separated church and state. Religion is not supposed to affect our public lives, we’re told today. However, the founders intended that church and state not control each other, but they never meant that faith and life are separate. Many of them were outstanding, public Christians. They would want us to be the same.

Four: “truth” is personal and subjective today, and religious truth most personal of all. “Intolerance” is the great sin of our day. Don’t force your beliefs on others. Keep your religion to yourself. However, “truth” is still true, whether we believe it or not. To deny absolute truth is to make an absolute truth claim. As Martin Luther King, Jr. Day reminded us this week, racism is wrong no matter what anyone thinks personally.

It was counter-cultural for John to go public with his faith, for the crowds to join him, for Jesus to leave Galilee to stand publicly for his Father. But the results were lives filled with significance on earth, and reward in heaven.

Conclusion

Would you like to join them? Would you like your faith to be more meaningful than it is, your life to be more joyful, exciting, and purposeful? Would you like your “happiness score” to be higher? Your Father to be glorified by your life?

First, make public your faith. Join the crowds who did what Jesus did. Tell the world about your commitment to Jesus. While most of you have, some have not. Some of you have trusted Christ as Savior, but never told anyone; never followed him in believer’s baptism as a Christian; never told family or friends about your commitment. Like the character in the television show, your faith is your secret. But you can change all that today.

Then make public your story.

We live in a post-Christian culture in desperate need of the story we know. I learned this week that seven out of ten American adults have no clue what “John 3:16” means. Nine out of ten cannot identify correctly the “Great Commission.” Barely one-third know the meaning of the expression “the gospel.” This despite 320,000 churches, 800,000 ordained ministers, $200 million spent on religious television broadcasting, $100 million religious radio, and 5,000 evangelistic parachurch organizations.

What will reach them? A survey recently asked 14,000 Christians how they came to the faith. Five to six percent credited a pastor; four to five percent the Sunday school; five-tenths percent an evangelistic crusade or television show; and 75-90 percent a friend or relative. Who do you know who needs the story of God’s love to be made public?

Is this “intolerance,” forcing your faith on others? No more so than a doctor who operates a free health clinic, offering medicines to those who are sick. Is this being “holier than thou?” No more than a beggar who tells another beggar where he found bread.

Last, make public your worship. Baptism is done in worship, as an act of worship. Be that public with your worship of God today. Prepare before you come, asking God to bless the service, my message, your experience. Join in our praise, share our prayers, study with us, commit your life to Christ each week.

George Gallup: “While representing only 13 percent of the populace, highly spiritually committed persons are a ‘breed apart’ from the rest of society. We find that these people, who have what might be described as a ‘transforming faith,’ are more tolerant of others, more inclined to perform charitable acts, more concerned about the betterment of society, and far happier. (These findings, in my view, are among the most exciting and significant that we have recorded in more than a half-century of polling).”

Missionary martyr Jim Elliot said it this way, in my favorite one-sentence faith statement: “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.

Do you agree?

How to Hear From God

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How to Hear From God

Matthew 2:19-23

Dr. Jim Denison

A friend recently sent me some questions I couldn’t answer: Why do we wash bath towels? Aren’t we clean when we use them? If not, what was the purpose of the bath? What is the point of brick wallpaper? Is there ever a day when mattresses are not on sale? Is it true that the only difference between a yard sale and a trash pickup is how close to the road the stuff is placed?

Other questions are more practical. Business Week began the new year with articles abounding in investment advice for 2005. It identifies such economic “wild cards” as fluctuating oil prices, inflation, the housing market, global growth, and of course terrorism. But the magazine doesn’t tell us what will happen, because it doesn’t know.

Closer to home, where do you most need advice for the year ahead? What decision is weighing on your mind and soul today? Where would you most like to hear from God? He guided Joseph in the clearest terms–will he guide us as well? Will he speak to us as fully as he spoke to Abraham, Moses, and Paul? If so, how can we hear from him this morning and this year?

Understand your place in God’s purpose

Before we get specific and practical, we need to remember some general facts about the will of God. The first is that God has a universal purpose for us all, to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19). God will measure our success this year by how many people we helped follow Jesus. Our jobs, possessions, school experiences, and relationships are a means to this end. This is his purpose for every one of us.

Second, God has a unique purpose for your life: “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me” (Matthew 11:29). Jesus has a “yoke” for you, a will for your life as you help people follow Jesus.

Third, it is critical that we know and live out this unique purpose each day of our lives.

Annie Dillard is right: how we spend our days is how we spend our lives.

Your 85 or so years on this planet are just a dot compared to the line of eternity. Consider life as a fraction. Put the 85 years of your lifespan in the top, the numerator. Now put eternity in the bottom, the denominator. 85 over infinity is the very small fraction of your existence which you will spend in this world. It only makes sense that you should live your brief life in the numerator, for the sake of the denominator.

Fourth, God has given us three keys to unlocking his unique purpose for our daily lives: the pragmatic, the intuitive, and the rational. I know those terms are not familiar to most of us, and strange language for a sermon. But stay with me–they are the most important and practical advice I have ever encountered for knowing and doing the will of God. I want to show you how they worked in Joseph’s life, and how they work in ours.

Look for God’s open doors

God’s will has led Joseph to marry the pregnant Mary, to adopt her son as his own, and then to flee his homeland with his family for Egypt. Now, after Herod died, an angel of the Lord led Joseph to return from Egypt to Israel, “for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead” (v. 20). But when Joseph returned and found that “Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there” (v. 22). And so he and the family ended up in Nazareth, a village which became Jesus’ hometown.

There are pragmatic, practical factors all through this story. Herod was a vile ruler who slaughtered anyone he considered a threat to his throne, a kind of Saddam Hussein or Adolf Hitler. If someone tells Herod that your adopted son is the King of the Jews, it makes good practical sense to take your child out of his jurisdiction until he dies.

Archelaus wasn’t much of an improvement. Immediately upon assuming power, he put down unrest in Jerusalem by slaughtering 3,000 Jews at the Temple during the Passover. He ruled only ten years before Emperor Augustus removed him for incompetence. Like his father, he might consider Jesus a threat to his power. If you’re a Christian exiled from Cuba by Castro, and you learn that he has died but his brother Raul rules in his place, you’re not sure whether you should return or not. Joseph was being pragmatic and wise.

So he took his family to Nazareth, the town he and Mary had left before Jesus’ birth. Why there? For several practical reasons. Sepphoris was nearby, a cosmopolitan city with excellent educational resources. Jesus could climb the hills of his valley, look west, and see the blue Mediterranean and ships going out to the ends of the earth. The great trade route from Damascus to Egypt and from Rome to the eastern borders of the Empire circled his town. Nazareth was a perfect place for the Savior of mankind to study and prepare to reach the world he was called to save.

God reveals his unique purpose and plan for our lives in pragmatic, practical ways–open and closed doors; circumstances and events; opportunities and disappointments. As you wrestle with something about God’s will you need to know today, ask him to guide you practically. Pay attention to your gifts and abilities, your passions and opportunities.

Frederick Buechner says, “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.”

William Barclay got a call one day from a friend who served on the publishing committee of the Church of Scotland. He said, “Willie, do a commentary in a hurry on one of the books of the Bible. This will give us time to look around for someone really good.” Barclay quickly wrote a commentary on Acts. It was an immediate success, and Barclay was asked to write another volume. His Daily Study Bible became the most popular in Christian history. I read from it each week.

God speaks to us pragmatically, through our gifts, circumstances, and opportunities. Ask him to guide you in this way, and he will.

Listen for his intuitive voice

In our study of Matthew thus far, we have encountered five dreams given to Joseph. Here he is told to return to Israel, then “warned in a dream’ to withdraw to Galilee (v. 22). God speaks to us practically, in our circumstances and opportunities; but also intuitively, in our inner spirit and soul.

God spoke to the first biblical Joseph in dreams. He spoke to the prophet Elijah in a “gentle whisper” (1 Kings 19:13-18). He spoke to Paul through the vision of a man of Macedonia (Acts 16:6-10). Listen for his intuitive voice, for it is as real today as then.

How can you hear his Spirit speak to your spirit? Make sure you are close enough to God to hear what he wants to say. Guidance is first a relationship with the Guide. Radio and television waves fill this room, but we don’t hear their sounds or see their images because we don’t have a receiver present. The church marquee asked a good question: If you don’t feel close to God, guess who moved. Sin blocks the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, and keeps us from hearing what God is saying.

Stay close to God, and stay surrendered to what he says. He will not reveal his will as an option to consider, but an order to obey. Decide beforehand that you will do what he asks, that you will follow where he leads. Janet and I had no peace about coming to Dallas, until we surrendered our lives to whatever God wanted. I still remember the public library a few blocks north of our church in Atlanta where I went one Monday afternoon to wrestle with God. He won. So did I.

When you are in his will, you have his “peace that passes understanding” (Philippians 4:7), a peace which understanding cannot produce, the intuitive calm and inner joy of the Spirit. Stay close and surrendered, and God will guide you through his intuitive voice.

Seek his rational word

Last, seek his rational word. God speaks to us practically in our circumstances, intuitively in our spirits, and rationally in our minds. He does this most fully through Scripture.

Joseph chose Nazareth for Jesus’ hometown. No intuitive dreams this time, or pragmatic circumstances–Joseph made this decision “so that was fulfilled what was said through the prophets: ‘He will be called a Nazarene'” (v. 23). “So that,” for the purpose that the word of God might be fulfilled.

There is no specific Old Testament prophecy with these words. But Joseph knew that the Scriptures foretold a suffering Servant (Isaiah 53; Psalm 22:6; Psalm 69:11-12, 19). He knew that Nazareth was a humble place, despised by other Jews.

And he knew the Messianic prediction of Isaiah 11:1, “A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.” The Hebrew for “Branch” and “Nazareth” is the same root. He knew rationally that Nazareth would fulfill the word of God regarding the Son of God. And he was right.

Such obedience is the key to the blessing of God. No good father will bless the disobedience of his child, knowing that its results are dangerous and damaging. God can bless most fully those who are most fully obedient to his word.

So as you seek his will, consult his word. Be sure your life is consistent with Scripture. Look for texts which speak to your situation or decision. As you “love God with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37) through his word, he will guide your life.

Conclusion

This week we focus on the second Covenant of Grace value, “commit daily.” Surrender each day to the will of God for your life. Know that he has a unique purpose for your life as you help people follow Jesus. He will guide you through pragmatic circumstances, an intuitive sense and peace, and rational obedience to his word. Use each to test the other. If you have a sense of something you should do, check pragmatic factors and the word of God. If a door is opening or closing, seek the peace and word of God. If a decision makes sense rationally, test it pragmatically and intuitively.

And know that God’s will is ultimately an issue not of knowledge but obedience. He wants us to know the next step to take, more than we want to know it. Choose now the will to obey, and you will know what to obey. Missionary Finlay Graham lived by this motto: “God’s will: nothing more, nothing less, nothing else.” Do you agree?

It is vital that we begin this new year by committing to God’s will for today, because none of us knows if there will be a tomorrow. Last Sunday, the Rev. Jack Arnold was preaching at the Covenant Presbyterian Church in a suburb of Orlando, Florida. He quoted John Wesley, “Until my work on this earth is done, I am immortal. But when my work for Christ is done, I go to be with Jesus.” He then said, “And when I go to heaven…” In mid-sentence, standing behind the pulpit, he collapsed and died of an apparent heart attack. His work for Christ was done.

If this Sunday were that day for you as you sit in this service, would you be ready?

Theology for Tsunamis

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Theology for Tsunamis

Dr. Jim Denison

Matthew 2:13-18

On December 26, scientists at the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Honolulu forecast a massive tsunami within 15 minutes of the Indonesian earthquake, but did not have phone numbers to call to warn those in Southeast Asia. None of the countries most severely affected had a tsunami warning system or tidal gauges to alert people to the wall of water that followed the massive earthquake.

So in Sri Lanka, crowds came to the beaches to watch the sea after word spread that it was producing larger-than-normal waves. Thousands of children watched. People collected fish brought in by the waves. Then the worst natural disaster in recent history struck. Most of those who died in the floods could have been saved, if they had been warned.

Does God know the future? No one blames me for the tsunami–I could neither predict nor prevent it. Could God? If he could, why didn’t he? If he could predict and prevent your problems and pain and suffering, why doesn’t he? This morning, what causes you to ask God, “why?” Here’s how our text answers your question.

Did God know this would happen?

Joseph’s experience with God’s providence proves three facts beyond question. Let’s set them out, then see how they relate to our questions today.

First, God knows what we should do.

The Lord is clear: “Get up, take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt” (v. 13b). God has a will for our lives, and it is “good, pleasing and perfect” (Romans 12:2).

He knew what Adam and Eve should do in the Garden of Eden; what Noah should do with the approaching Flood; what Abraham should do to find the Promised Land; what Moses should do to lead his people there; what Joshua should do to cross the flooded Jordan and capture fortified Jericho; what David should do to defeat Goliath; what the fishermen should do to “fish for men”; what Paul should do to take the gospel to the Gentile world.

Second, he knows when we should do it.

“When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream” (v. 13). The same night the Magi left, the angel came. God brought his word to Joseph when he needed it. If he had given this word to Joseph earlier, he might have left before the Magi arrived. Then the Gentiles would not have worshiped the Christ, and Joseph would not have received the gifts he would need to support his family in their exodus to Egypt. God never reveals his will before we need to know it.

“So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt” (v. 14). Joseph wasted no time in obeying the command. It is well that he did so. It is only five miles from Jerusalem to Bethlehem. The Magi left that night, and did not return to Herod the next day. Herod sent messengers to inquire, which reported that the Magi were gone and the child missing. Herod then gave his murderous order the same day.

“Where he stayed until the death of Herod” (v. 15). God knew what he should do, and when he should do it.

Third, he knows why we should do it.

“Herod is going to search for the child to kill him” (v. 13). The threat was very real. When Herod came to the throne, he slaughtered 300 court officers, his wife Mariamne, her mother Alexandra, his eldest son Antipater, and two other sons, Alexander and Aristobulus.

God was right: “He gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under” (v. 16). With this result: “Rachel [was] weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more” (v. 18). Most historians think 20 or 30 children were massacred that day, the first martyrs of the Christian era.

So it is clear that God knows the future:

“I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come” (Isaiah 46:10).

“Your Father knows what you need before you ask him” (Matthew 6:8).

He is the Creator and Lord of the universe: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (Matthew 28:18).

He knows the future, and has the power to do whatever he wills to do. So we must ask: why does tragedy occur? If he is all-knowing, he knows a tsunami is coming before it appears. If he is all-loving, he would want to prevent such disaster. If he is all-powerful, he could. So, why did he allow this tragedy? Why has he allowed your pain?

Why does God allow tragedy?

We live in a fallen world. Our planet is not the way God intended it to be, or the way it was in Eden.

“God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways” (Genesis 6:12).

“Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return” (Genesis 3:17-19).

“The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time” (Romans 8:19-22).

Now we live in a world where four hurricanes can strike Florida in a single season, and Mt. St. Helens can explode, and an earthquake can strike Southern California, and a tsunami can devastate Southeast Asia. Not because God caused it–because this is a fallen planet. Is this the case for your pain?

We are fallen people. Some of our suffering is the result of our misused freedom. Other suffering is the result of the misused freedom of others, as with Herod and the murdered children. Evidence is growing that tsunami warning systems were not in place because governments and wealthy individuals chose not to spend the necessary funds. Of course they did not know what we know now. But some of the pain we experience in life is the fault of fallen people. Is this the case for you?

Our enemy is real. Satan was behind Herod’s attempt to murder the Son of God, and didn’t give up until he led Judas to betray our Lord to his death. Jesus warned us that Satan “was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44). He afflicted Job, hates God and his people, and is still a “roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). Is Satan involved in your suffering?

God uses suffering to refine our faith.

“I have refined you, though not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. For my own sake, for my own sake, I do this. How can I let myself be defamed? I will not yield my glory to another” (Isaiah 48:10-11).

To learn the flavor of tea, we drop it into hot water. To discover the contents of a bottle, we put it under pressure.

God uses suffering to bring us to himself, to teach us: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). How would God use your pain to grow your faith?

God uses suffering to reveal our witness.

“For a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith–of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire–may prove genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed” (1 Peter 1:6-7).

We prove our faith is real in the hard places. A couple I know and love who lost their little baby and trusted God anyway; a woman who died of cancer but thanked God for the years he gave her to live; a seminary student whose wife left him and his handicapped little girl, but who serves the Church today. How could you use your pain to honor Jesus?

Conclusion

On the basis of these theological facts we ask: What do we do when the tsunami comes?

Determine the source of your suffering. If there is sin to confess, do so immediately, claiming the forgiving grace of God (1 John 1:9). If the sin belongs to someone else, choose to pardon and forgive, for their sake and yours.

Turn to God in faith: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7). God can give us peace which understanding cannot produce. But we must trust in him.

Claim his presence in the pain: “We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are–yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:15-16).

Know that he will give you the strength to endure: “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Ask him to redeem this suffering: “we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).

Claim a better future: “our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:17-18).

One day there will be a new heaven and a new earth, and no more death or mourning or crying or pain (Revelation 21:1-5). One day there will be no more sin or terror or war or tsunamis. There will be a day with no night, joy with no pain, victory with no defeat, light with no darkness.

The Lord’s Supper is God’s presence and promise in bread and cup. The sin which crucified Christ is here; the peace God gave Jesus in the Garden and on the cross is here; the presence of God in the pain is here; the strength to endure is here; the redemption of suffering is here; the future at his table in paradise is here.

There will always be a Herod, a tsunami, a cross. But Friday leads to Sunday, death to life, Calvary to Easter. This is the promise of God.