The Heart of Discipleship (James 1:22-27)

In the last six verses of this first chapter, James gets right down into the heart of what it means to be a disciple of Christ. “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, …”. The hearers he’s talking about are the folks we call “cultural Christians”, those whose Christianity is a social identity rather than a true change of heart. They’re the folks who go to chuch on Sunday morning, if it’s convenient and fair weather, walk out saying to each other “Wow, that was a great sermon!”, and forget what it was about by the time they get to lunch.

Hearers of the word generally feel good about themselves, spiritually, because they compare favorably to the world around them (at least in their own eyes). They don’t murder, they don’t steal (tax forms don’t count), they rarely commit adultery, or at least rarely get caught.

Hearers of the word will respond, if you ask them “Do you believe in Jesus?”, “Yes, of course I do!”. They believe in a list of facts about Jesus: he lived, he died on a cross, and he was raised to live on the third day. He claimed to be the son of God, and that resurrection thing may have happened, but it seems a bit far-fetched, so it may have been an invention of his disciples. What they do not believe is that Jesus is relevant in today’s world, or in their own day-to-day lives.

On the other hand, doers of the word are called, in today’s world, radicals, and are often judged as perhaps not playing with quite a full deck. They’re the people that most shy away from. They’re interesting for a moment or two, but not totally safe to stay close to for very long.

Doers of the word are in church whether it’s convenient or not. They also felt it was a great sermon, but they’ll keep thinking it over, and studying the relevant passages of scripture, all week.

Doers of the word feel good about themselves only because the fact that Jesus died to redeem them gives them immeasurable value. They don’t compare themselves to anything or anyone in this world; they compare themselves to Jesus, and remain acutely aware of how much they fall short.

Doers of the word follow Jesus’ commandments, not because it makes them look good to the world around them, but because they love Jesus and don’t wish to do anything to hurt or disappoint him. They don’t just believe a set of facts; they have incorporated Jesus’ commandments and principles for living into their hearts. They are re-making their own hearts to look like the heart of Jesus.

Doers of the word are considered radical because they live out their faith, not just on Sunday morning, but throughout every hour of every day. They approach the trials of life with a calm, God-centered confidence, because they know that “for those who love God all things work together for good” (Romans 8:28).

Hearers of the word think they’re heaven-bound, but they are “deceiving themselves”. They are believers in cheap grace, the kind of grace that gives everything and expects nothing. God’s not like that. He expects us to respond to His infinite and eternal grace. It’s true that we can never respond sufficiently to earn anything in God’s sight, but that’s OK; all He wants is for us to earnestly seek Him.

How can you tell if the person you’re talking to is a hearer or a doer? We’ve just listed numerous attributes of each, which you can observe, but James gives us a quick shortcut: just listen! In verse 26, he writes “If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless.”

For a genuine doer of the word, a committed disciple of Jesus, one’s whole heart is changed, and the change is frequently reflected in his/her manner of speech. For a hearer of the word, a fake pretender, no change of heart will take place, and there will be no corresponding change in speech.

James sums it all up for the doer of the word in his final verse: “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.”

There are two qualifications in this verse, and God cares deeply about both. First, God expects disciples of Jesus to care about the welfare of others. In James’ time and place in history, that meant caring for the needs of orphans and widows. That’s still true, but the range of disadvantaged people without hope is much wider in today’s world. What are we doing for the poor? What are we doing for the addicted? What are we doing for the mentally ill?

Don’t miss James’ use of the word “visit”. James doesn’t expect that Christians will solve all the problems, or meet all the needs and desires of orphans and widows. He expects that we will find a way to be God’s blessing to them, and his use of the word “visit” anticipates that we’ll be personally involved! It’s very noble to give to a relief fund, and we should do so as God has blessed us, but James reminds us that disciples of Jesus are motivated to serve the needs of others in hands-on ways, to look them in the eye, to give them our smiles along with our personal words of encouragement and our material blessings.

Second, James reminds us to remain “unstained from the world.” This world of sin is a messy place, and it’s a significant effort to stay clean, to avoid getting some of the mess on us. This world is a bit like my daughter’s spaghetti sauce … when it gets on me, it stains, and it’s hard to get out.

Unstained does not mean that we will never again sin. Jesus knows that we will, and He has already forgiven those sins. What He wants from His disciples is to be consistently looking to Him for guidance and moral strength. We will occasionally trip and fall into the mud, but the important question is, what direction were we looking when we fell? The true disciple, the doer of the Word, never wants to be a disappointment to Jesus; he/she takes sin seriously. The hearer of the Word, the cultural Christian, doesn’t make a big deal about sin. That’s old-fashioned thinking! Sin is considered negative talk, judgemental and overbearing. The hearer wants to hear more about love, peace and joy.

So my application for today is to ask myself, “What am I? Am I a hearer of the Word, or a doer of the word? Should I continue as I am, or should I repent and take my sin more seriously than I have so far? Am I looking at my life through mortal eyes, or through the eyes of Jesus?”

What questions are you asking yourself today?

Hebrews 7

“Now if perfection had been attainable through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need would there have been for another priest to arise after the order of Melchizedek, rather than one named after the order of Aaron? For when there is a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change in the law as well.” (Hebrews 7:11-12)

This chapter explains the superiority of Jesus as a high priest to the Levitical priesthood, demonstrating to New-Testament-era Jews that the time for the Jewish faith has passed, and has been replaced by Christianity. Some Jews of the day were clinging to Old Testament laws and practices, quite naturally, because that’s what was familiar and comfortable to them. This is, however, not just a problem to overcome back then, but continues to the present day. As Christians, we need to know how to defend our faith. (2 Timothy 2:15)

The argument is rather simple, actually. Jesus is a superior high priest, as compared to any of the Levitical priests, therefore the “law” of which he is high priest is superior to that of the Levitical priests. Why is Jesus a superior high priest?

Jesus is a high priest according to the pattern set by Melchizedek, because both were appointed by God as high priests. The Levites served as high priests by fortune of geneology; they were descendants of Levi.

Abraham, the forbear of all Israelites, not just the Levites, paid honor and tithes to Melchizedek, demonstrating Melchizedek’s superiority to Abraham, and through him, to all his descendants, including Levi.

Levitical priests are sinful men, and must atone for their own sins before they can offer sacrifices for the people’s sins. Jesus was both the sinless high priest, and the perfect, spotless sacrifice.

There were many generations of Levitical priests, because as mortal men, they grew old and died. Jesus needs no other priest, because He was raised from the dead and lives with God forever. He can therefore serve as a high priest forever.

As we will see a few chapters ahead, Jesus offered a superior sacrifice. The Levitical priesthood offered animal sacrifices, which served as a reminder to the people of the high cost of sin, and a foreshadowing of the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus, but these sacrifices “*can never take away sin”(https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hebrews%2010&version=ESV). Jesus’ sacrifice was the perfect sacrifice, for He was without sin of His own, and was the only Son of God. His sacrifice atones for all our sin, and therefore need never be repeated.

How do we know that Jesus’ sacrifice takes away all our sin? Consider Jesus’ statement to the Jewish leadership in John 8:58: “Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am.’” This is a statement with a double meaning, and I believe Jesus fully intended to convey both meanings.

First, compare his statement to Exodus 3:14. Jesus was clearly confirming that He IS God. Many other scriptures back this up, but for brevity, I’ll move on.

Second, Jesus’ existence, as God, is outside of time. Your sins at age 12, 45, and 78 are all “right now” to Him, and He lovingly paid the penalty for all of them. You may not have gotten there yet, but Jesus is already there.

How shall I respond to what Hebrews 7 is teaching me? First, to be prepared when needed to show from the Bible the superiority of Jesus to the Levitical priesthood, and therefore the superiority of Christianity to Judaism. Second, to find a renewed appreciation for all that Jesus has done and continues daily to do for me in His role as High Priest, “for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)

Hebrews 6

“Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God.” (Hebrews 6:1)

Let’s start with an imaginary first day in the office, on a new job. Your supervisor and mentor says “The CEO of our company has asked me to tell you that your primary responsibility in this job is to monitor and record all materials deliveries into our warehouse.” Knowing that this is a well-defined responsibility, and having been informed that it is primary to your job, and that the CEO of your employer is specifically interested in the performance of this responsibility, how much time and attention are you going to focus upon it?

Would you consider it adequate to drop in to the warehouse for an hour every week or two? How about 10 minutes every day? Or would you spend as much time there as you can, every day?

In this chapter, writing as a representative of God, the author is defining a primary responsibility for disciples of Christ Jesus, to know God’s Word in depth. Not just to read it, but to strive and struggle with it so as to fully know God’s heart, to build beyond simple knowledge to a life-changing spiritual maturity.

Many people read the Bible daily, and that’s good … that’s VERY good! They’re building knowledge, perhaps without realizing it. Many more, like me, earnestly desire to be that consistent, but fall short, and continually resolve to do better. The concern, however, is that even in regularly reading the Bible, do we take the time and effort of thought to ask ourselves “What is God telling me here? What does God want me to do with what I’ve read?” This is the beginning of Bible application. Knowing what the Bible says is foundational and necessary, but it is in allowing the Bible to change our minds and hearts that we are led to saving faith.

“It is a moral duty to grow up, and the duty involves an effort.” – James Moffatt

Let’s move on to a specific example of scripture which we must study in depth to understand the author’s meaning …

“For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt.” (Hebrews 6:4-6)

The debate over these verses centers on the meaning of “those who have once been enlightened …”. Is the author writing about people who have already been saved? Maybe he’s writing about those who erroneously thought they were saved? Or could it be those who put on a good front for others to impersonate a true Christian?

The meaning is important, because it conflicts with the teaching of many that, once a person has been saved, he/she cannot be un-saved.

My personal take on this passage is that the writer is issuing a stern and vital warning to Jewish converts to Christianity, that to return to Judaism after having been taught and supposedly receiving the gospel of Christ is to abandon their only hope of salvation. Once you’ve turned your back upon Christ Jesus, where else can you go for true salvation from your sins?

“This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:11-12)

What lessons shall we take from this? How will we apply this to our lives? It is simply that Jesus is our only means of salvation, the only way to reconcile with God for all eternity. I might apply that personally, and say that Allah will not save me; Vishnu will not save me; Buddah will not save me. I can go much further than that, however. I can apply this to all my neighbors and friends. Wealth will not save us. Temporal happiness will not save us. Acquisitions (boy’s toys) will not save us. Prestige will not save us. ONLY Jesus can save any of us.

If you’re reading this, you’re most likely depending upon Jesus to save you. Upon whom (or what) is your neighbor depending?

Hebrews 5

Hebrews chapter 5 begins with a review of the role of priests in Jewish worship, and continues to compare and contrast the Levitical priesthood to the priesthood of Christ Jesus. This is critical theology, and should be closely studied and well understood by today’s Christians.

Any other day, I would dive into great detail, as some Christians today (including myself) come from church traditions which do not recognize the role of priest in modern Christianity. Instead, I want today to focus on the writer’s lament in verse 11: “About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.”

He’s not writing about a physical sensory disability. He’s writing about a much more serious disability, the willing refusal to “hear” and delve deeply into the knowledge of God’s ways and God’s will; to re-shape their hearts to more closely align with God’s own heart.

This is not a new problem. Jeremiah wrote of the same approximately 600 years before Jesus was born. “To whom shall I speak and give warning, that they may hear? Behold, their ears are uncircumcised, they cannot listen; behold, the word of the Lord is to them an object of scorn; they take no pleasure in it.” (Jeremiah 6:10) Jeremiah was calling his people to repentance, but in chapter 6, specifically warning them of the impending siege of Jerusalem. For both purposes, he laments that most will not “hear”, because they don’t want to listen.

Six hundred years later, Jesus faced the same problem with the Jews of His day. He spoke of this when his disciples asked why he taught in parables, and quoted Isaiah: “This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says: ‘You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive. For this people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.’” (Matthew 13:13-15)

We don’t have the same problem … we like to tell ourselves! What lesson shall we take home from these scriptures?

Only the lesson of a stern and critical warning. How many times have we heard a great Bible lesson on Sunday morning, and would have struggled to tell someone about it on Tuesday afternoon? How many times have we been encouraged to make a change for the better in our behavior, our attitudes, or our thought life, only to tell ourselves, “I’ll get around to that later this week.” James wrote about us: “For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.” (James 1:23-24)

We study our Bibles at least weekly, hopefully daily, but how many times do we “commit” to turning our hearts closer to God, only to forget the lesson the next day? Are we studying God’s Word to feel better about ourselves, or to truly grow closer to God and to incorporate His will into our own hearts?

What in my life will I change, TODAY, to hide away a bit of His Word within my heart?

Hebrews 4

“Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it. For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened.” (Hebrews 4:1-2)

Once again, we encounter a “therefore”, and need to look back to chapter 3 to determine what it’s there for. “For who were those who heard and yet rebelled? Was it not all those who left Egypt led by Moses? And with whom was he provoked for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient?” (Hebrews 3:16-18)

The writer is drawing a parallel between the Israelites led out of Egypt by Moses and modern-day beleivers in Christ Jesus. I know that some, perhaps many, Christians today believe that the Old Testament is for the Jews, and the New Testament is for the Christians. Such people fail to spend much time studying the Old Testament, believing it no longer relevant. The writer of Hebrews demonstrates how the Old Testament remains quite relevant even today, for our instruction in righteousness. That’s lesson #1 for me today: Keep studying my Old Testament!

Just as the Israelites of old heard God’s message of salvation (from the Egyptians) and as Moses led them to freedom, we today hear an even greater message of salvation, leading us to an even greater freedom … from sin! The Israelites of old demonstrated, however, that hearing and knowing God’s messages wasn’t enough … they had to OBEY! God made this quite clear to them: “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you today, by loving the Lord your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules, then you shall live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish.” (Deuteronomy 30:15-18)

If you remember your Old Testament history, you’ll remmeber that too many of them did not obey, and fell in the wilderness rather than achieving the blessing God had in store for them.

The Hebrew writer had the same fear for his audience; that they would hear the message of Jesus, and rejoice in their “salvation” without ever achieving that salvation by obedience.

Let’s don’t get confused here. We cannot earn our salvation by obedience to any laws or commands. “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.” (Ephesians 2:8) It is only by God’s grace that we have any hope whatsoever of redemption from our sins. God’s grace alone is enough to save us from our sins, BUT He loves us too much to leave us stuck where we were! That’s why Jesus said “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 7:21) You cannot call upon Jesus for salvation if you’re not willing to submit to His will for your life.

Paul wrote of this in his letter to the Romans: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:2) Now that we have been redeemed by Christ Jesus, it should change the way we think and act; it should re-shape our values. If those changes are not present and discernable in our lives, we must examine ourselves and ask whether we are truly saved? Are we disciples, or are we fan-club members?

I think back to a Bible teacher I had when I was in junior high, who asked the question “If being a disciple of Jesus was a crime, would there be enough evidence to convict you?” It’s still a relevant question!

Hebrews 3

This message to the Hebrew believers was not originally written as an evangelistic outreach to unbelievers. The author makes it quite clear who his audience is as he begins this third chapter: “Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling …”. This whole chapter is an urgent warning to Christians!

He continues “… consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession, who was faithful to him who appointed him …”. Consider Jesus. Think about Him. Think about his faithfulness to His Father, and to the mission of salvation upon which He was sent from Heaven. The author continues with a comparison of Jesus to Moses. Any faithful Hebrew would have considered Moses to be a giant in the faith, and in Hebrew history. And still, Moses pales in the comparison: “Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses.”

Where do we stand? The author completes his introduction with that thought: “And we are his house, if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.” Note that our inclusion in Jesus’ house is conditional; we must first be saved, but we must then remain faithful, holding fast to what we have been taught.

He begins to make his point with another reference to Hebrew history. “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness.” If you know your Old Testament history, you know that God’s chosen people turned away from Him to idols many, many times in their long and bumpy history. Perhaps the first real rebellion is found in Exodus 32. The Hebrews were always God’s chosen people, but there were many times you’d have been hard-pressed to recognize that by their behavior.

The author applies Hebrew history to the present day as he writes “Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God.” (verse 12) How can a believer have an unbelieving heart? How can a believer fall away from what he believes? The author answers in the very next verse: “But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.”

Note in verse 13 there is both an explicit danger, and a specific solution. The danger is “the deceitfulness of sin”; that we allow our hearts to be hardened by repeated sin; by allowing ourselves to sin and convincing ourselves “it’s no big deal”. Yes, to God, sin IS a big deal! None of us would turn away from God in a moment of temptation, but we too often let ourselves be led away tiny bit by tiny bit, with one “insignificant” sin after another. The solution, given in the same verse, is to “exhort one another”. If I’m in the process of falling away inch by inch, you need to get in my face about it! I need to be watching out for you.

It’s not what we say that we believe that offers proof of our faith. It’s how our belief changes our way of living. If you had asked any one of those Israelites “Do you believe in God?”, I’m sure they would have answered with an emphatic “Yes!”. But if you stood off to the side and watched as they worshipped their golden calf, you would be forced to question their true beliefs.

What about the people around me? Are they questioning what I say that I believe, because they see how I live? Or are they more firmly convinced that I really do believe as I say I do? Will you join me in asking those questions?

Hebrews 2:1-4

“Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.” (Hebrews 2:1)

Sometimes you hear something in a sermon which you will simply never forget. I’ll never forget Pastor Jeff Walling instructing us “When the Bible uses the word ‘therefore’, look back to see what it’s there for.” So let’s do just that.

Chapter 1 reminded us that “God spoke to our fathers by the prophets”, but that now “He has spoken to us by his Son”. Now in chapter 2, the writer admonishes his readers to pay attention to what God is telling us! The danger he seeks to avoid is that we will “drift away” from God’s message of love and salvation.

His argument is twofold: God’s message is reliable (we can trust what God says), and His message is that the debt for our sin has already been paid (we are redeemed). Given those two facts, he reasons, “how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?”

Peter, speaking to the Jewish council in Jerusalem, told them “This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” It’s clear, if we reject Jesus, or if we neglect the salvation offered through His sacrifice, there is no other way in which we might be saved from the judgement of God!

From the context, we can easily discern that the writer of Hebrews was writing to (those whom he thought were) believers. In the first few verses of chapter two, he appears to be speaking to two subsets of those. First, there are those believers who are truly believers in Christ Jesus, but who don’t take it very seriously. We can say that we believe, but the test of true saving faith is the extent to which it has changed our lives.

The second group he may have been addressing is those who count themselves among the believers because they attend worship, and maybe have a Bible collecting dust on their nightstand, but whose lives remain untouched by God’s eternal truths. Some may think they are saved because they attend worship on a regular basis. Some may think they are saved because their mother and fathers professed to be Christians, or maybe it was Grandpa and Grandma.

Believers in Christ Jesus who are truly saved cannot hide the fruits of the Spirit, as Paul wrote in Galatians 5:16-26. They are kind to others, because they cannot be otherwise. Their joy and peace cannot be hidden under the proverbial basket; they are gentle and self-controlled at all times. They share their faith in Jesus, because they cannot abide the thought that someone might miss out on the chance to be with them in Heaven.

So, I’m asking myself today, does that describe me? Does that fully describe me? Where am I coming up short? When I’ve answered those questions, I get to perhaps the most important follow-up: What am I going to do about it?

Hebrews 1

“Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days He has spoken to us by his Son …” (Hebrews 1:1-2a)

What a wonderful thought! The Creator God of the Universe wants to speak to me! He first spoke to His chosen people, the Israelites, through the prophets, and having preserved that prophecy from their time until now, He also speaks to me in the same way. He has, however, spoken to me in a much more powerful way, through His Son.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. … And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:1,14)

There are many parts to God’s message to me given through Jesus, but the most fundamental message, the genesis of all else, is that He loves me! “When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.” (John 19:30) There is absolutely no more powerful, no more profound, declaration of love than that of Jesus, as He willingly stretched out His arms upon the cross, and died for MY sins, that I might be redeemed.

So the first lesson I’m taking home from Hebrews 1 is that God, through Jesus, is speaking to me, saying “Rod, I love you! I want to forgive you and redeem you!”. Am I listening? Can I slow down amid the hustle of a busy life to hear His voice, calling me into fellowship with Him? Can I will my busy, distracted mind to slow down, and to simply know that He is my God, and I am His child.

“in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.” (Hebrews 1:2) Second point: When God created the world, He did so through Jesus. The author of Hebrews is not alone in this claim; Paul wrote the same to the church in Colossae: “For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible” (Colossians 1:16a) Not only was Jesus an active participant in the creation; He also is continuously active in sustaining the world. “He upholds the universe by the word of his power.” (Hebrews 1:3) Again, Paul agrees. “And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” (Colossians 1:17) Even as I write this, Jesus is maintaining the universe about me, while powerless me can’t even get the idiot light on my dashboard to turn off!

Beside the knowledge of Jesus’ awesome power, which is no small bit of knowledge, what shall I take home from this? I believe my lesson here is that whatever problem I may think I have, it’s no problem at all for Jesus. All I need to do with my problems is to lay them at Jesus’ feet in prayer, and trust Him to take care of me as He knows best. That may not always end up with the result I’m thinking of, but that’s where trust comes in.

So, to sum it up, I’ve learned today that God loves me, Jesus loves me enough to die for me, and that He has the power to handle ALL my problems and needs.

I can indeed rest easy tonight!

Philemon

Compared to many of Paul’s other letters, Philemon is just a “quick note” to Philemon; only 1 chapter of 25 verses. There are, however, quite a few things to learn here, not just for Philemon, but for us as well.

Who was Philemon? Scholars say that he was a wealthy resident of Colosse. In Colossians 4:9 Paul describes Onesimus as “our faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you”. If Onesimus was Philemon’s slave and was from Colosse, then we can conclude that Philemon was also from Colosse. We assume he had some measure of wealth, as he (1) owned slaves, and (2) had a home sufficiently large to host a church.

Note that in Paul’s time, at least in the Roman empire, it was not at all unusual for citizens to own slaves. In most cities of the time, the slaves outnumbered the free by at least two to one! Slaves were, however, treated much more as household servants. They were property, but the were valuable property, and were rarely mistreated in the ways that American slaves were mistreated in the early 19th century.

It’s interesting here that Paul introduces himself in verse 1 as a prisoner. There are four other letters in which he refers to himself that way, but in all four, the reference is further down in the text, and he initially introduces himself as an apostle. It’s possible that, since this was a personal appeal to Philemon, Paul wanted to de-emphasis his apostolic authority and make this a personal appeal.

By addressing the letter to Apphia, Archippus, and “the church in your house”, Paul may have been calling in reinforcements, to encourage Philemon to go along with his [Paul’s] appeal.

“I thank my God always when I remember you in my prayers, because I hear of your love and of the faith that you have toward the Lord Jesus and for all the saints”. (v. 4-5)

I take two lessons from this. First, we can reasonably assume this is no simple literary flourish; Paul really did pray often for Philemon, along with an extensive list of others mentioned elsewhere. For every person for whom I pray, I can later think of ten others for whom I should have prayed! I need to be following much more closely to Paul’s example.

Second, Philemon’s life was exhibiting the fruits of the Holy Spirit, through his faith and love for the Colossian believers. Not just quietly, either. Paul was in prison in Rome, yet he was hearing about Philemon’s faith and love! This leads me to a second question for myself: Is my love for my church and for my Christian friends so active in my life as to be evident and visible to all? I must remember that my love is my greatest witness to the unbelieving world around me. My words will never attract them to Christ as powerfully as my love.

“and I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ.” (v. 6)

Paul’s use of the word “epignōsei” in verse 6 indicates that he prayed for Philemon to experience every good thing in Christ, moving beyond simple knowledge. This leads me to ask myself whether the message I share with others is coming from the (intellectual, head-only) knowledge of God’s Word, or is it coming from the experience of God’s Word working in my life and transforming me into His image?

Verses 8-16 of this short letter present the meat of Paul’s message, and appeal to Philemon to receive Onesimus back into his household, without punishment, as he would receive any other brother in Christ, for that is precisely what Onesimus had become! Many commentaries will point out in detail the elements of Paul’s argument; I’ll only say here that Paul really pours it on! He points out that Onesimus’ time away from his duties had resulted in his learning about Christ and being saved, so it was a net gain to Philemon anyway.

Perhaps the most powerful lesson here is found in verses 18-19: “If he has wronged you at all, or owes you anything, charge that to my account. I, Paul, write this with my own hand: I will repay it.” We cannot miss, indeed must not miss, the parallel between Paul’s offer to pay Onesimus’ debt, and Christ Jesus’ offer to pay our debt of sin on the cross! Satan, our accuser, stands before God and points at each one of us. “Remember the time he cheated! Remember the time he put that item in his pocket and walked out of the store! Remember all that nasty stuff he looked at online! Remember those angry words and arguments! Remember all the good things he could have done, but took a nap instead! Don’t condemn me; condemn HIM!!” Then Jesus steps forward, stands beside each of us, and says “I will repay it!”.

What debt has Jesus repaid for you? The debt of sin He has repaid for me is too vast to even try to count!! Is there anything that Jesus could ask of me that is too much?

Titus 3

“Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.” (Titus 3:1-2)

What does it mean to be a person of good character? Paul wants the Christians in Crete, led by Titus, to be well-respected by their community, so that they might have an opportunity to teach them about Christ Jesus. There is certainly more to being of good character than Paul’s brief comment here, but surely it must include having a clean record down at the police department!

To be “ready for every good work” must include being a person of good reputation. I’ve noticed that Paul did not say here that we must always agree with the rulers and authorities … only to obey them! I’m perfectly free to disagree with their decisions and policies, but I’m wise to disagree quietly, following Paul’s admonition to “speak evil of no one”, and to “avoid quarreling”.

We live in contentious times. In my own lifetime, I cannot recall a more politically divided populace than we see in the United States today. Paul, I believe, would ask me “What are you known for among your circle of friends? Are you known for your dedication to your politics, or are you known for your dedication to Christ, and to evangelism?” How would you answer that one? How would your friends answer that one for you?

Paul reminds us in verse 3 that we don’t have anything in our past to be proud of; nothing of which to boast. “For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another.” Left on our own, we could never have saved ourselves, and would never have sought to do so.

Paul’s next reminder, in verses 4-7, pretty much summarizes the whole gospel message in just 4 verses. “But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”

A few important notes we should pick up here, beginning with Paul’s description of Jesus as “the goodness and loving kindness of God”. Jesus was indeed God’s expression of love to us in physical form. Considering His ultimate sacrifice for us, how can we ever doubt His eternal love for us?

Our salvation is “not because of works done by us”. We couldn’t, and we wouldn’t even if we could. We often think that we participate in our own salvation by believing in Jesus, but even that is more than we can do on our own. It is the “washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit” that gives us the will and ability to seek Jesus and to believe.

How are we justified? It’s certainly not for anything we’ve done!! Paul says we are justified “by his grace”, and having been justified and saved, we become heirs and look forward to an inheritance of eternal life.

Having been saved, what are we to do as we wait to receive our inheritance? Paul instructs us that “those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable”. Our good works will never earn us a place in Heaven, but having been gifted a place in Heaven by God’s grace, we honor Him as we wait by our good works, seeking to always glorify Him.

Paul ends with a stern warning, which we would do well to heed in our modern-day times of strife. “As for a person who stirs up division, … such a person is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned.” Note that Paul is talking about people in the church!! Look around you in the sanctuary next Sunday morning. Every person there may believe that he/she is going to Heaven, but Paul says they are not all Heaven-bound. In Paul’s day, the division was usually centered around the application of Jewish Law within the church. Today, politics may be more of a dividing factor. It doesn’t really matter what the disputes are about; someone will always find an issue to lift themselves up and to exclude others. Paul says to give them a couple of chances to repent, and then if they don’t, “have nothing more to do with him”.

Don’t let the dividers discourage you and rob you of your peace; and don’t join them in their division-making!