God’s People

Posted on October 12, 2018 by Pete

Never been a nomad, always had a place to hang my hat, a fixed address to go home to every night. Can’t really say I understand what it’s like to be an exile, a stranger in a foreign land–not even if you count my move to the U.S. (not that strange a land . . . most times) from Canada 15 years ago. But I’m thinking that for those Peter was writing to, being “strangers and sojourners” (YLT) in an increasingly hostile environment might have been enough to fill one’s plate.

But instead of Peter spurring on these weary and targeted travelers with gentle encouragements to keep on keep on sojourning, and to hang in there through each day’s pilgrimage, he instead lays on them a list of commands to obey.

Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.

(1Peter 2:11-14, 17 ESV)

Not enough that they would have to wander around in some strange world with all its strange customs, but they were to keep in check any desires to embrace that culture in order to satisfy their sensual desires or perceived physical needs. Not enough to endure the hostility of those with a drastically different worldview, but they were to accept the challenge of living in such a way that, while they might be opposed, there’d be no grounds to be accused. When it came to the crazy big kahuna in Rome who was increasingly targeting them for persecution, they weren’t told to do everything they could to oppose him, but instead be subject to him. And to honor his people. While they committed to actively loving one another.

That’s a lot to take on!

Like I said, you’d think it’d be enough just trying to be a sojourner and an exile without having to say, “No” to the flesh, “Watch me” to the world, and “I yield” to the government.

So how come Peter adds these commands to obey onto a journey that’s already pretty demanding to embrace?

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

(1Peter 2:9-10 ESV)

They were more than just pilgrims in a foreign land. More than just wanderers trying to find the next place to wander to. More than just a nomadic band with no flag to pitch and nowhere to pitch it. Though once they were not a people, now they were God’s people.

And that’s what I’m chewing on this morning, our identity as God’s people.

Called out of darkness. Translated into light. Given heavenly citizenship, but for now left to travel in a world not our home, we are God’s people. A chosen race. A royal priesthood. His very own, blood-bought possession. That’s who we are. So that’s how we should act.

Our circumstance doesn’t define us. The prevailing culture around us can’t label us. The darkness no longer has any claim on us. Rather, we are God’s people.

Thus, says Peter, by God’s enabling, live like it. By God’s power, be who you are. For God’s kingdom, be ambassadors during your sometimes barren wandering.

Lot of things I don’t know, but this I do know, I’m a child of the King. A living stone in His spiritual house. A member of His holy priesthood.

I am God’s people.

By His grace. For His glory.

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The Hour is Now Here

Posted on October 11, 2018 by Pete

They persecuted Him because He was healing on the Sabbath (John 5:16). But they were seeking all the more to kill Him because He was making Himself equal with God (5:18). And, let there be no doubt, that He did.

Jesus was clear. They weren’t misunderstanding Him . . .

. . . whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise . . . (5:19)

. . . as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom He will . . . (5:21)

. . . the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son also to have life in Himself. (5:27)

. . . that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father . . . (5:23)

And I’m in wonder this morning as I think of their rejection in light of my belief.

They sought to kill Him, I long to worship Him. The wanted to string Him up, my inclination is to go facedown. They sought an end to His audacious claims, I long to hear His voice. They were bent on doing what had to be done to get rid of Him, I’m moved to cry, “Even so, Lord Jesus, come!”

How come? How come those religious elite of that day and this church-going guy of this day are so different? And it’s not so much, how come they aren’t more like me? No, I wonder at how come I’m not more like them and didn’t follow in their footsteps?

For the first third of my life, I was more like them. Rejecting the claims. Despising the Christ. Driven by self interest.  Condescending towards those who pursued heaven’s call.

So how come I’m reading John 5 this morning in awe of the Son of Man, the One in whom “the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily” (Col. 2:9), and not instead seething at the claims of some wannabe son of God? How come?

Because the hour is now here.

“Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.” ~ Jesus

(John 5:25 ESV)

Once blind, now I see. Once deaf to heaven’s call, now given ears to hear. Once an enemy of the King, now claimed not only as His servant, but as a joint heir. So much so that He is not ashamed to call me brother and friend. Once His name used in vain, now His name no sweeter name. And all this and more because, though I was once dead in trespass and sin, now I have been made alive in Christ. And that, because the hour is now here.

The hour of redemption. The hour of restoration. The hour of regeneration. The hour of resurrection.

No way I’m sitting here this morning, thinking what I’m thinking, worshiping who I’m worshiping, unless the Father had determined to give me life through the Son by the Spirit. Because no one says, “Jesus is Lord,” except in the Spirit (1Cor. 12:3). And because flesh and blood cannot reveal that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God–only the Father who is in heaven is able to do that (Matt. 16:16-17).

A reminder that the hour is now here. And that this is eternal life.

And a reason to worship.

Only by His grace.

To Him be all the glory.

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Stay

Posted on October 10, 2018 by Pete

“It was the worst of times, it was the worst of times.” No Dickens, but surely it was the tale of one city, Jerusalem.

Because King Zedekiah has decided to take a stand against the Babylonians, Jerusalem had fallen. After butchering the king’s sons before his eyes and then putting out those eyes, the Chaldeans turned their wrath upon the city. They burned the king’s house, they burned all the peoples’ houses, and they burned the house of the LORD. They broke down the walls which had defined the city, and carried into exile the inhabitants which had given soul to the city (2Kings 25:8-11). It was the worst of times.

And even after the dust had settled, for those left the political landscape continued to be uncertain. The governor that Babylon had set in place to watch over the Chaldean’s interests in the land was murdered by the Ammonites as the Ammonites sought to increase their interests in the region at Babylon’s expanse. And though the insurrection was squelched by those living in the land, it was anybody’s guess as to how the ruthless Chaldeans would react to a dead governor in their newly acquired territory. And so, because they were afraid of the Chaldeans, the people were intending to go to Egypt (Jer. 41:17-18).

So, you wanna go back to Egypt? The land of original bondage. A type of the world system.

Since the Exodus, so often when the going got tough, God’s people have been tempted to thinking that they could find refuge in the place from which they had been delivered. Whether it was thinking that the harshness of desert dwelling could be alleviated by “the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic” (Nu. 11:5), or that the possible consequences of the unpredictable Babylonians could be avoided by taking refuge in Pharoah’s courts, Egypt has often seemed like a good “Plan B” for those called to sojourn to, and stay in, the promised land.

So the people go to Jeremiah and say, Pray for us! . . . “that the LORD your God may show us the way we should go, and the thing that we should do” (Jer. 42:3).

And Jeremiah prays. And God says, Stay.

“Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, to whom you sent me to present your plea for mercy before Him: If you will remain in this land, then I will build you up and not pull you down; I will plant you, and not pluck you up; for I relent of the disaster that I did to you. Do not fear the king of Babylon, of whom you are afraid. Do not fear him, declares the LORD, for I am with you, to save you and to deliver you from his hand. I will grant you mercy, that he may have mercy on you and let you remain in your own land.”

(Jeremiah 42:9-12 ESV)

And though they asked, and though God answered, they still weren’t convinced. Though they had sought a word and received not only a word but a warning as well, that going to Egypt would result in disaster (42:18-22), they disobeyed. Because they feared the uncertain circumstance before them, even though they were exactly were God said they should be, they sought certainty in the world.

And so, when God fulfilled His purposes for Egypt, that Nebuchadnezzar would strike their land too, the people of disobedience found only more retribution when refuge was what they sought (Jer. 43:8-13).

“Remain in this land . . . do not fear . . . do not fear,” says the Lord.

Fear can be a great destabilizer of faith. It can short-circuit our Spirit-directed internal GPS and, before we know it, the screen is flashing, “Re-routing.” And the world becomes an option. Its lies, believable. Its pleasures, desirable. Its pseudo-promises of rest, persuadable.

But God through His Spirit says, “Stay!” Remain in the land. For I am with you . . . to save you . . . to deliver you.

So Jesus said to the Twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that You are the Holy One of God.”

(John 6:67-69 ESV)

To be sure, in the worst of times fear might very well whisper, “How ’bout goin’ back to Egypt?” Might we be ready to respond, “No way! For we have come to know the Holy One of God . . . the Word of eternal life!”

By God’s grace. For God’s glory.

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That Grace That Is Yet To Come

Posted on October 9, 2018 by Pete

Peter writes to the “elect exiles”–those driven from their homes by persecution. They were those of “the Dispersion”–the going had gotten tough and it had forced them to get going. They were on the run for their faith. They were cut off from their families, friends, and livelihoods. And it certainly sounds like Peter may be understating their situation a little when he says, “Though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials” (1Peter 1:6).

Oh! Is that what they were experiencing? Temporary and various trials? “Opportunities” for testing their faith (1:7)?

Felt more like their lives had been turned upside down. With no going back, they had no idea where they were going. They were on the opposite side of popular opinion. Even worse, they were on the wrong side of the rulers who should not have been governing as “a terror to good conduct, but to bad” (Rom. 13:3). Instead their good conduct was being declared bad. Their “right” was officially being legislated as wrong. But, these were just “various trials” for a “little while.”

Why would Peter say that? Because he knew that dealing with the here and now is so dependent on keeping focused on the there and then.

Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

(1Peter 1:13 ESV)

“The grace that will be brought to you.” That’s what I’m chewing on this morning.

Far from minimizing the harshness of their suffering, Peter is led by the Spirit to remind them of the fullness of their salvation.

They were abundantly blessed because they, by God’s great mercy, had been “born again to a living hope” (1:3). Though they had been forced to flee and leave everything behind, Peter reminded them of the promised inheritance yet to come, one “that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you” (1:4).

Though it often felt like they were on their own, in fact they were ever being guarded by God’s presence and power. Through faith, they were being kept and protected “for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (1:5). And when that salvation, which at present seemed so veiled, was laid bare, then they’d know grace like they had never known grace before. The grace that is yet to come.

Doesn’t that mean that the grace we know today is but a sampling of the grace we will encounter at the return of Jesus? That as amazing as the grace that saved a wretch like me is, we ain’t seen nothin’ yet? That as sufficient as His grace is for our current weakness, it pales in comparison to the grace that will enable us to stand when we stand before His throne. That as sustaining as His grace is for our current storms, trials, and testings, it is but a sneak preview of the bright and shining grace that will envelope us when we fully enter into our inheritance.

The best is yet to come. Might sound cliché, but it’s a true cliché.

That’s why Peter says to these exiles of the Dispersion, prepare your minds for action. I like the more literal margin rendering, “gird up the loins of your mind.” Take every thought that is distracting, every introspection that is discouraging, and every reflection that is depressing–take all that head-game stuff that is hanging around your ankles ready to trip you up, and pull it up and tuck it into the belt of truth. Take every consideration that impedes you from keepin’ on keepin’ on and bind them up within the reality of the Savior, and the salvation, yet to be revealed.

In various trails, through the testing of your faith, set your minds on the grace that is yet to come.

Possible because of the foretaste of grace that is now ours.

For His glory alone.

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The Sovereign and The Sinner

Posted on October 5, 2018 by Pete

That He had even spoken to her shook the foundation of the current day’s social ethic of appropriateness. But not only did Jesus speak with the woman, He engaged her in discussion. They talked about satisfying physical and spiritual thirst. And they talked more about the right way to worship.

And what really grabs me this morning as I hover this “chance meeting” at the well, is not just the cultural dichotomy associated with Jesus being a man and she being a woman. Not the cultural taboo of Him, a Jew, speaking with her, a Samaritan. Not that she had a need that He was willing and able to meet.  Or even, that He had a need which He asked her to meet. But what’s peaked out the awe-o-meter this morning is that He engaged her even though He was the The Sovereign and she was but a sinner.

The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ). When He comes, He will tell us all things.” Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am He.”

(John 4:25-26 ESV)

That last word, He, isn’t part of the original text. The actual words of Jesus were, “I who speak to you am.” And in using the words “I am” Jesus was claiming as His own one of the names which God applied to Himself in the Old Testament. In essence Jesus said to the woman, “I AM is speaking to you.”

What?!?! Not only was Jesus revealing to this nobody in the middle of nowhere who knew nothing that He was the Messiah she was looking for, but He also announced the startling truth that He was God Himself. “Jehovah is the one who is speaking to you.” Like I said, What?!?!

The Creator goes eyeball to eyeball with His creation. God, the self-Existent, condescends to talk to this woman, the self-condemned.

She didn’t need to climb some mountain in order to find God, He came to her while she was going about her daily business. She wasn’t required to first clean herself up, He was more interested in her heart anyway. She didn’t even need to remove the sandals from her feet because she was standing on holy ground, for He had already divested Himself of His majestic glory so He could approach her on her turf.

Instead, The Sovereign, at just the right time and in just the right way, purposed to engage the sinner. No thunder and lightning, only tenderness and illumination. No flames of judgment burning around her, just the burning of her heart within her. That was her story.

Isn’t that the same story for all of us who have encountered the Savior? Less about us finding Him and more about Him seeking us. No so much about what we think we knew, instead wooed into the kingdom by what He chose to reveal. And in that revelation, an encounter of the divine kind. Man meets Maker.

The Sovereign speaks to the sinner.

What grace! What amazing grace!

To Him be all the glory!

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Be Patient

Posted on October 4, 2018 by Pete

The “brothers” thrice addressed in James 5:7-12 are the righteous poor of James 5:1-6 — that’s what the “therefore” is there for in verse 7.

They are James’ fellow believers who have been defrauded by the rich who have withheld their fairly earned wages. They are the harvesters who have cried out against those who, at the expense of their workers, have lived in luxury and in self-indulgence on earth. They are the children of God whose cries, as James reminds them, have also been heard by the Lord of hosts in heaven. They are those unable to stand against the oppressive elite, yet called to stand firm in their faith.

Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.

(James 5:7-8 ESV)

Be patient. That’s the command to obey in this passage. Be patient.

Be of a long spirit. Don’t lose heart. Bravely persevere. Keep on keepin’ on.

Establish your hearts. Stabilize your emotions. Firmly set your mind. Constantly fix your gaze. Lock on your source of hope.

I’ve never been a laborer in the field.  Well, actually I have . . . one summer after high school . . . sorry to the owner who thought we were burning down his hay barn . . . but I digress.

Never had wages unjustly withheld by a greedy boss. Never been overtly oppressed or defrauded or taken advantage of to the point where it impacted the ability to feed my family. But, have I known circumstance which seemed overwhelming? Encountered what I thought were no win situations with no way out? Grown weary? Been discouraged? Thought that the Elijah plan of retreating to a cave and curling up in a fetal position made sense? Hmmm . . . maybe. Who hasn’t to some degree or another?

And so, for the weary pilgrim, for the guy who’s been dealt a bad hand, for the gal who’s been served up lemons for way too long and is tired of trying to make lemonade, the indwelling Spirit says through the living word, don’t lose heart. And how come?

. . . for the coming of the Lord is at hand.

Sometimes you need to focus afresh on the long game in order to stay in the game. You need to be reminded of the destination in order to continue to endure the journey. See a glimpse of the prize to keep running the race.

The Lord is coming, so we keep going. His promises are sure–and so, with holy determination and Holy Spirit enabling, we press on steadfastly.

We commit again and move forward, if only feebly, and the Lord is compassionate and shows mercy (5:11b).  We persevere patiently, and He remains faithful. And we keep on keepin’ on, because Jesus, perhaps soon and very soon, is coming back.

And it’s gonna be worth it all.

By His grace. For His glory.

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Content to be a Friend of the Bridegroom

Posted on October 3, 2018 by Pete

You gotta love John the Baptizer. Sure, maybe his attire was a little unorthodox. And I’m not sure I would run out and buy a new breakfast cereal that he created with his own “secret ingredients.” But spend just a little bit of time considering him, and he’s pretty inspirational.

Easy, perhaps, to overlook John, though. Maybe because that was his whole purpose. He didn’t draw attention to himself but to Someone else. His mission wasn’t to be in the limelight but to shine the spotlight on Another.

But I think there’s some value to noodling on this guy a bit. After all, Jesus said of him, ” I tell you, among those born of women none is greater than John” (Luke 7:28).

Here’s what caught my attention this morning . . . John was content to be a friend of the Bridegroom

John answered, “A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven. You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before Him.’ The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. He must increase, but I must decrease.”

(John 3:27-30 ESV)

Context? Some of John’s disciples come to him with a problem they’re picking up on. John’s losing his following as they go to Jesus to be baptized. The ministry’s coming to an end. The flash mobs are fewer and far between. The people are going to Someone else. And so John’s disciples are asking, “What are we going to do about it?” And John’s response, in essence?  Rejoice!

When it came to Christ becoming the focus, John was more than content to step to the side. After all, he says, the wedding isn’t about the wedding party, it’s about the bride and groom. The wedding attendants stand aside as witnesses of “those two crazy kids” coming together to unite their lives. The friends line the platform while the happy couple takes center stage. They’re lost to themselves, completely focused on the union about to be formed.

And even the friend standing next to the bridegroom knows that he’s not really “the best man.” He gets that the best man is actually the guy next to him offering the ring to his blushing bride. The friend doesn’t want to do anything to attract attention to himself. Instead, he does everything he can to ensure that the focus is duly placed on the one whose voice people need to hear.

John was thrilled to be part of the wedding party and to be able to get close enough to stand next to the Bridegroom. He rejoiced, his joy being made complete, just to be near enough to hear the Bridegroom’s calling, “Will you be mine?” And then to see people respond, “I will,” as they came to Jesus–even if it meant that John’s “day job” was drying up.

How often do I fall into thinking that the wedding is about me?

Oh, maybe it is to some degree if I’m remembering that I’m the bride. But even then, my place “at the altar” is all because of the price He paid for my sin as the Lamb of God. It’s all about His persistent pursuit of me, a wayward sheep, as the Great Shepherd who came to seek and save the lost.

I might do well, however, to think of myself more as the friend of the Bridegroom. There for Him. There but to serve Him. Fully prepared to fade into the background. Not desiring to draw attention to myself but asking only to be a magnifying glass through which Jesus is brought into clearer view by those who need to see Him.

Instead of my joy being dependent on how much recognition I get, or the amount of blessing I think I’m getting by being at the wedding, my joy, instead, should be made complete when Jesus is exalted. When Jesus alone is the object of attention. When people, as it were, turn their back on me because they’re longing to look into the face of the glorious Bridegroom.

Truly, He must increase, I must decrease. If only in my own eyes. If only as part of my own agenda.

It should be enough to just be standing there with Him. My eyes too fixed on Him alone. Doing nothing that would distract others from setting their gaze upon Him.

Content to be a friend of the Bridegroom.

By His grace. For His glory.

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Making Sense of the Ups and Downs

Posted on October 2, 2018 by Pete

At first read, you give your head a shake and then go back for a second read. And then you realize this guy is flip-flopping like a fish outta water. Or, as my friend used to say, emotionally he’s up and down like a toilet seat. But that’s Jeremiah’s reality.

In Jeremiah 20, the prophet suddenly goes from giving a “thus says the Lord” to a corrupt priest who has been persecuting him (1:6), to giving the Lord a piece of His mind for the lame ministry that’s been placed on him (7-18).

O LORD, You have deceived me, and I was deceived; You are stronger than I, and You have prevailed. I have become a laughingstock all the day; everyone mocks me.

(Jeremiah 20:7 ESV)

“You pushed me into this, GOD!” That’s how Peterson puts it in The Message. You set me up for this no-win ministry and I let You. But then again, who can resist You? And the result? “I’m a public joke. They all poke fun at me.” (MSG)

And so Jeremiah goes off. He rails on the personal impact of his offensive ministry. So offensive, in fact, even his close friends plot against him, having had enough of his endless doom and gloom, supposedly prophetic word (v.10). He wants to stop delivering the unpopular message of Babylonian captivity, but he can’t. And that because the word of the LORD burns in him like a fire “and I’m weary of holding it in, and I cannot” (v.9).

But then there’s a but.

But the LORD is with me as a dread warrior; therefore my persecutors will stumble; they will not overcome me. . . . O LORD of hosts, who tests the righteous, who sees the heart and the mind, let me see Your vengeance upon them, for to You have I committed my cause.

(Jeremiah 20:11a, 12 ESV)

All of sudden, Jeremiah flips from focusing on his lot in life and looks up to the LORD of life. He remembers that the awesome One (NKJV)–He who is a mighty and dreaded warrior, He who knows all things, the One to whom Jeremiah has committed all things–that the LORD of hosts is with him. He refocuses, turning his gaze from himself and his circumstances, and sets his mind on things above where He sees afresh the LORD of hosts reigning. And it’s enough of a redirect that Jeremiah breaks forth in spontaneous praise.

Sing to the LORD; praise the LORD! For He has delivered the life of the needy from the hand of evildoers.

(Jeremiah 20:13 ESV)

But then, just as suddenly, He flops again.

Cursed be the day on which I was born! The day when my mother bore me, let it not be blessed! . . .Why did I come out from the womb to see toil and sorrow, and spend my days in shame?

(Jeremiah 20:14, 18 ESV)

One moment he’s confident of victory, next he wishes he’d never been born. He knows he’s walking in the path God has set for him, but he feels as if he’s gonna explode if he stays on that path. When he fixes his eyes on the Lord, praise can’t help but come from his lips. But when his heart again weighs the burden of his life circumstance, he’s not sure he even wants breath any longer coming from those lips.

Like my friend used to say, up and down like a toilet seat!

And I sit back and say to myself, “Self, what am I to make of this?” How do you make sense of the ups and downs? To which comes to mind,

But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.

(2Corinthians 4:7 ESV)

Fragile, cracked pots called into service by the Potter. Weak and weary soldiers enlisted by the Commander of the Army of the Lord. Feeble servants told to occupy until His return by the Master. And there’s gonna be times when we’re feeling, “Enough’s enough!” And those are the times to look up . . . to look waaaayyy up . . . and see Jesus (Heb. 12:2-3). Those are the times to remember the Word of God, to recount the promises of God, to reaffirm the presence of God, and to reenlist by the grace of God.

Jeremiah, was not some super-hero called to some super-human task but, like Elijah, “was a man with a nature like ours” (James 5:17). And that nature has a tendency to flip flop like a fish out of water. And that too, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.

So we do not lose heart. Instead we keep on keepin’ on. Looking up when we’re down. Getting up, knowing that we may very well stumble again. Confident that these things are transient and are preparing us for an eternal weight of glory (2Cor. 4:16-18).

And that, by His grace. And only for His glory.

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More Grace

Posted on October 1, 2018 by Pete

His letter is written to “the twelve tribes in the Dispersion.” So James’ epistle was penned for believers but with a particular Hebrew flavor. Maybe not surprising given that it’s thought this could be the first NT book written, and thus written to a church that was still largely Jewish.

So it’s for those who are born again. Those who are new creations in Christ. And maybe that’s what makes the opening verses of chapter 4 a bit disturbing.

What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

(James 4:1-4 ESV)

What? Quarrels? Fights? Murder? And all this among the believers?!? Say it ain’t so!

What happened to “and all who believed were together and had all things in common” (Acts 2:44)? Or, “Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own” (Acts 4:32)? Even if you understand that James isn’t referring to murder in the literal sense but in the Sermon on the Mount sense, that of intense anger towards someone (Mt. 5:21-22), you’re still asking yourself, what’s going on?

What could so corrupt the unity of the Spirit believers were born again into (1Cor. 12:13, Eph. 4:1-3)? What could so mar the testimony of love for one another that Jesus said would mark His disciples (Jn. 13:35)?

Two things, apparently. Passions at war within us, and love for the world around us. Evidently a lethal combo for the church being the church.

The nature of the flesh is to want. To desire what it thinks it must have to be satisfied. What it feels it needs in order to experience pleasure. And when someone else has that something, there can be a tendency to turn on that person. Either out of jealousy, or of trying to compete for it. Cue a catalyst for conflict.

And what feeds the flesh? The world. The system of values, priorities, and prizes that man has built up for themselves in order to satisfy “the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions” (1Jn. 2:16). The world feeds the flesh. And flesh wars against others driven by flesh. And then you have quarrels, and fightings, and murders . . . oh my!!!

What’s the answer? Stop it!!!

It’s that simple, says James. Stop coveting and start praying, asking for what you think you need. And if you don’t get it, then know that you ask amiss.

What’s more, stop befriending the world (by the way, that’s not BFF type of befriending, that’s getting into bed with type of “friends” . . . you adulterous people). For to befriend the world is to set yourself up as an enemy of God. Why would believers hang the enemies flag in front of their homes? Oh yeah, the flesh!

Ugly mirror to be looking into this morning. Bitter food to be chewing on. But thank God for the word but.

But He gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

(James 4:6 ESV)

More grace. Greater grace. Larger grace. Stronger grace. That’s the grace our God dispenses . . . and dispenses freely and abundantly.

And it’s available to the humble. To those who look in the mirror of Scripture and see their own reflection in the twelve tribes of the dispersion. Who refuse to say, “Not me! That’s someone else,” but know the battle between the flesh and the Spirit is their daily reality. Who, by the Spirit’s enabling power, say, “No!” to the flesh, and “Forgive me” to God. Who preach the gospel to themselves — the blood’s power to forgive and cleanse, the empty tomb’s power to allow those once in bondage to the flesh to live in newness of life. To believe in, and avail themselves of, “but He gives more grace.”

Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you.

(James 4:10 ESV)

Yes He will.

Because of more grace. And that for His glory.

Amen?

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Justified By Works

Posted on September 28, 2018 by Pete

Context is everything. And that there are two sides to the salvation coin needs to be grappled with. Such is the paradox created by one three-word phrase in what Luther referred to as “a right strawy epistle.”

By “strawy” Luther had in mind 1Corinthians 3:12 and the letter he was referring to was the letter of James. At one point at least, Luther thought that James’ letter, as material for building on the foundation of the gospel, was more akin to “wood, hay, and straw” than it was to “gold, silver, and precious stones.” And you get where he’s coming from if only from considering how James uses the three-word phrase, “justified by works.”

Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God. You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?

(James 2:21-25 ESV)

Justified by works. For those of us who are not ashamed of the gospel, the instinctive response when reading that is akin to hearing fingernails dragged across a chalkboard. What’s more, it creates a sort of systematic theology whiplash as you do a double-take when you recall what Paul has written:

For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due.

(Romans 4:2-4 ESV)

. . . yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ . . .

(Galatians 2:16 ESV)

Holy tension, Batman!

No away around it, though. When you read the latter part of James 2, verses 14 though 26, you need to give it some serious consideration. There’s some wrestling to be done with the dichotomy created by this portion of Holy Writ. And, even encountering it year after year as you go through your reading plan, there’s serious re-consideration and some wrestling again that seems necessary.

From what I know, Luther had no issue with James as part of the canon of Scripture. And I believe that all Scripture is God-breathed, profitable for teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness (2Tim. 3:16). So I can’t just blow by it. I need to hover over it and let it continue to equip me for “every good work” (2Tim. 3:17).

You can’t get away from it. While James might be somewhat blunt, the assertion is crystal clear, “faith apart from works is dead” (2:26b) . . . it is a non-faith.

Both James and Paul assert that we are saved, that righteousness is imputed to a person, by faith alone. And both use Abraham as the great example.

But James is lead by the Holy Spirit (something else true of all Scripture) to highlight the facet of faith that says where true saving seed is sown, real fruit is evident. That a profession of salvation apart from some evidence of sanctification does not compute. That the reality of regeneration is manifest in some objective display of righteousness. That real belief eventually bears right behavior.

James does not contradict the essence of the gospel, instead he contends for his brothers and sisters to live out the gospel. A living faith should be evident by how we live for the kingdom. Evident in who and what we worship. Evident in our moral compass. Evident in how we assume our ambassadorship for the kingdom. Evident in how we pursue gospel community. Evident in how we steward our resources. Evident in how we prioritize our calendars. Evident in how we make our way on mission.

Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.

(James 2:18b ESV)

Justified by faith alone in Christ alone? Absolutely!

Justified by works, too? Really? Yeah . . . really.

A mysterious dynamic of grace. A manifest reality for the glory of God.

Amen?

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