Blogging the Bible

For some reason in the reading schedule this week was left out. So it is a time of grace. For me, no blogging to do! For you, catch-up reading time! Blogging will resume DAY 337 on September 1 for our sprint to the finish on September 30th when we will have completed our reading through the bible in one year. Back at you in a week!

Very interesting little book. More heresy and more warnings. Sobering warnings, indeed! Jude remindes the readers, who are being enticed away from the Gospel by false teachers, of the judgement of God. He reminds them about Israel. They were delivered from Egypt but when they distrusted God they were destroyed. He makes reference to “fallen angels” who have been disobient and are “chained up” for the final judgment day. Then he reminds them of Sodom and Gomorrah which experienced the firey judgment of God for thier sexual sin and inhospitable treatment of strangers. Then Jude mentions names–Cain, Balaam, and Korah.

Jude warns but he also encourages. If they pay attention to the Gospel and God’s word delivered to them, God is able to keep them from falling and to present them blameless on the day of judgment. However this “blamelessness” is only theirs if they continue to cling to the finished work of Christ–his sacrifice for them on the cross and his resurrection from the dead. This is the Gospel, once again, proclaimed as the ONLY way to secure eternal life. Only judgment is possible for those who refuse God’s grace in Christ.

Third John is short and sweet. Again, the theme is the truth and walking in it. But there is trouble in the church, not just outside of it. Even at this early stage when you would think the aura of the first hand witness of the death and resurrection of Christ would still be fresh in their hearts and minds, the church is embroiled in arguments and factions. How would you like to be Diotrephes?! Mentioned in Scripture for all of time as “one who puts himself first, not acknowledging spiritual authority (the apostles), and spreading false charges, and not welcoming friends.” Wow! That is a major indictment.

I wonder how I would be described in a letter about my church? What would my leadership be characterized by? How does my life match up against apostolic authority–for me the written word of God? And what kind of word am I “spreading?” This is a question every believe ought to ponder because some day we will give an account (2 Cor. 5:10). It will not be recorded in a book. It will be given before the living and ready-to-reign-forever Christ. I pray that the Holy Spirit will work in me so that I will be found faithful.

The letters of John all address a strong challenge to the early church that came from false teachers. They were Gnostics and their teaching was compromising the Gospel. Their main error was in denying that Jesus came in the flesh. Secondly they taught that humans had two distinct parts–body and soul– and that what a person did with one part (the physical) had no bearing on the other part (spiritual). This was a form of dualism that is violently antithetical to the Christian way of life. And third, the Gnostics taught that only formally initiated Gnostics had the truth. (Gnostic means “knowledge.”) All three are serious errors and departures from the Gospel.

The second letter of John, seems to be addressed to a “lady.” But the Greek allows for several interpretations, including that the letter is addressed to the church, which in the Greek has the feminine gender and is described as the “bride” of Christ.

1:7 specifically mentions the error in teaching about Jesus coming in the flesh. John goes beyond the admonition to not believe such teaching. He advises not to allow such a teacher in your house or welcome such a teacher. Why would John be so “inhospitable”? Because the Gospel was at stake. The early church was in its infancy and needed a lot of protection against such heresy so that the message of the Gospel would be rooted and preserved for future generations. This was so that as God promised Abraham from the beginning, that in Abraham (through the Promise of God regarding salvation) ALL the nations of the world would be blessed. Salvation through the Jews is for all people. Throughout the centuries heresy after heresy has been put forth to challenge the simple truth of the Gospel. Jesus is God come in the flesh to save humankind. Believe in Jesus and be saved. Don’t believe and judgment awaits.

One of the clearest explanations of the Gospel is found in the first letter of John, chapter 5, verses 6-13. God himself has born witness to Jesus as his only Son. Those who believe in Jesus have the testimony in their hearts. Those who do not believe make God a liar! And THIS is the testimony: “God gave us eternal life and this life is in his Son.” Here it is a plain as plain can be: “Whoever has the Son has life. Whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.” Then John says, “I write these things to you that believe so that you may KNOW that you have eternal life.”

For the peson who believes the testimony of God regarding Jesus it is not a matter of wishful thinking. Nor is it a matter of betting on the odds. It is a matter of God’s word and the truth. Those who believe will inherit eternal life. Those who do not will not. Even a child can understand that. Interesting enough, it is not children who doubt. It is adults who acquire complicated arguments and patterns of life that exclude God’s word and then question its truth. 1 John states the truth without exception the same way Luke says it in Acts 4:12. “There is no other name given among men whereby we might be saved.” This is the Gospel, simple and sweet!

Yes! I am off on the dates and the readings, but not the DAY. It is Day 323 of our year long reading through the bible. And in the last week I posted twice on two different days so the posts show the same DATE even though they were intended for different days. And, in my vastly limited mental capacity, I somehow lingered longer on a passage and got one day behind on the the reading schedule. Such is the life of a pastor who is limited in mental capacity to keep details straight! So today, I blog on first and second Peter… you guessed it… containing a couple more of my favorite passages!

1 Peter 1:3-12 first. Look at all the thing that are ours in Christ! By the mercy of God in Jesus Christ we have:

1. new birth into a living hope
2. an inheritance that is:
imperishable, undefiled, unfading, kept in heaven
3. protection by the power of God for a salvation to be revealed

And in these things we rejoice, even if for awhile we suffer various trials! Then chapter ones says something most remarkable. Knowing these things are ours causes us to rejoice “with indescribable and glorious joy.” Hmmmm. I don’t see too many Christians walking around indescribably and gloriously joyful! What is wrong with us? Perhaps we really don’t understand or believe these things are ours. The outcome will be the salvation of our souls–for eternity–that ought to get us going!

Then Peter says that concerning this salvation the prophets made careful search and inquiry and wanted to know! But they were told, “It is not about you!” Can you beleive it?! The Prophets were told that what they were longing to know was going to be revealed later to us! We have the privilege of seeing and understanding things the Prophets desparately wanted to know! And then the bomb! Angels longed to know it, too! I can just see it. The angels in heaven going around trying to “peak” at what God was up to! Gathering in groups and sharing all sorts of speculation about how and when God would save us! Amazing! It was not revealed fully to the prophets and it was not revealed fully to the angels. It was revealed to us! this is why we should be rejoicing uncontrollably and it is also why we should be able to put up with “various trials” because of the living hope that we have been given.

2 Peter3 :1-13 second. (Remember, two favorite passages in these letters.) Scoffers will come, Peter says. Scoffers who make fun of the idea that Jesus will return. They ask, “Where is the promise of his coming?” They say, “All things continue as from the beginning!” They are ignorant–they ignore some very important truths. They ignore the truth that the same word (the word of God) that formed the earth and the heavens will also destory it. They also ignore the truth that with God (who is eternal) one day is as a thousand years and a thousand years as a day. We (our lives and life spans) are just a drop in the bucket! Then Peter closes up by saying, IF these things are really true, what kind of people ought we to be? Well, duh! If this creation is going up in flames we had better be putting our hope in the new one that is coming! But that one is one centered on righteousness and the glory of God not on ourselves and our needs and wants. So we had better be about transforming our lives with the help of the Spirit of God so that we are getting “practice” in living holy and righteous lives and in giving glory to God. We have our work cut out for us!

The opening of chapter five is a sober and stern warning to “rich” people. In the end, riches will be “rotted” and “rusted.” What will remain is our character–how we got rich. James says that these treasures laid up for the last day will actually be evidence against us! And then James gets painfully specific AND frighteningly relevant. What example related to riches does he use? The wages paid to laborers and the harvesters have been “kept back” by fraud and their cries have reached the Lord. When was this written? In the first century? Sure sounds like today! It is clear we will be held accountable for making our lives better (more money and things) on the backs of others (cheap labor that results in greater profit and lower prices). And lest we think we are somehow not included in this warning, we need to remember that our lifestyles are significantly subsidized by the cheap labor of immigrants who harvest our fruits and vegetables which directly impacts the price we pay at the market. And what percentage of homes in Southern California are manicured by these laborers, again, resulting in increasing our standard of living significantly?

Increasingly we are learning that many other industries and businesses benefit from laborers who have no access to protection from employment law and yet are contributing disproportionately in a way that increases the standard of living for many. James says this is wrong and that the Lord hears their cries.

I realize that immigration issues are contraversial and there are arguments on all sides. However, the scripture trumps all arguments with the law of love and justice especially for the “alien” among us, as the scripture calls all outsiders. We are to treat every person the same, without partiality and show them the love and grace that has been shown to us. This is where living the scripture gets much more difficult. When the culture around us is heading in one direction, gaining momentum, going against the flow is very difficult and holds risks. It takes careful and prayerful discernment to know how to be faithful to God’s Word when it is not the “popular” way to go. May God help us to be willing to struggle and risk in order to be faithful.

The tongue is a world of evil among the parts of the body says James 3:6 and set on fire by hell. Tell us what you really think, James! Okay. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison, he says. The power of the tongue–the words we speak–is unequivocally proclaimed. It is a very small part of the body but like a rudder of a great ship it determines the direction and destination of the whole body.

With our tongues we can praise or curse, encourage or dishearten, build up or tear down. Thank goodness the evil power of the tongue can be turned for good but not by human effort. It is, according to James, untameable. But what is impossible with humankind is possible with God. By the power of the Holy Spirit the tongue can praise God, encourage others, and build up the body of Christ. It requires serious discipline and submission to the Spirit of God hour by hour. Words slip out so quickly and we cannot take them back. When it doubt, don’t let it slip out. Think before you speak. If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all. We all know the sayings. It is practicing and living them out that is so hard.

Consider it pure joy? You have got to be kidding? Consider it pure joy when you face trials of all kinds is what the opening verse of chapter 1 says. What? Are these authors of the bible in cahoots? Did we not just hear this from the author of Hebrews? Yes, indeed. The bible is very consistent in its message.

We are to consider it pure joy when we face trials because of what it produces in us–it develops patience that makes us mature, complete, lacking in nothing says verse 4. If you reverse the verse it is easier to respond positively. Ask yourself the question, “Do I want to be mature, complete, and lacking in nothing?” “Of course,” anyone would answer! Then, says James, when you encounter trouble of all kinds, think about it, act on it, believe it as pure joy. This is the route to mature and complet faithful living that lacks nothing.

Hmmm. I wish it were different. I wish the consistent biblical message was, have faith and there will be no trouble. Believe in Jesus and all your problems will go away. That is not the biblical message. Consistently the bible teaches that faith is tested and purified through trouble and that we are accomplishing the exact purpose of God when we face trial and trust him through it. I can do “tolerate trouble.” I am still working on “consider it pure joy.”

I know I have said it A LOT of times. Until now when I have read through the entire bible again, I did not realize how many “favorite” passages I have. But the llth chapter of Hebrews, particularly verse 32-40, is definitely another one of my favorites.

After the long list of “by faith” people in chapter 11 (called the bible’s “faith hall of fame”), the author of Hebrews summarizes by asking the question in verse 32, “what more shall I say?” Then the author goes on to list more names of people of faith. Verses 33-35 describes all the ways these people of faith triumphed in life. Then there is a remarkable change of tone and tenor. The author now says “others were” and then describes incredible trouble and torture, and even death, that some faithful people experienced.

Then comes the amazing conclusion in verse 39-40. “These were ALL commended for their faith.” Those who triumphed as well as those who suffered are examples of faith’s greatest mentors. Many TV preachers today teach that if you have faith then all will go well. You can be healed of every disease and ailment, accomplish any goal you have, and fill your bank account with millions. It is called the “health and wealth gospel.” The bible describes a very different kind of faith. “All of these”–the people who experienced triumphs and the people who experienced tragedies–verse 38 says, the world was not worthy of! Triumph in the world’s terms is NOT the ultimate measure of a person’s faith. Endurance of faith through suffering, even to the point of death (remind you of anyone??!!) is also a sign of a very faithful person. And it is through all these things, triumph and tragedy, that TOGETHER (vs. 40) we are made perfect and receive the promise of God!

If you are experiencing trials, if you are suffering, do not think God has abandoned you. Through our most difficult days God is able to accomplish his purposes in our lives. Our faith can be strengthend and the joy (not happiness) of our lives significantly deepened even through tragedy if we have Jesus in our sights, the “author and finisher of our faith who for the JOY set before him endured the cross (12:2).”