James 1
Readers of the letterverse 1
James – a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ
to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad
GREETING
Endurance necessary for the Christian lifeverses 2-4
My brethren – count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations
knowing this – that the trying of your faith works patience
but let patience have her perfect work
that you may be perfect and entire
wanting nothing
Wisdom necessary for the Christian lifeverses 5-8
IF any of you lack wisdom – let him ask of God
that gives to all men liberally – and upbraids not
and it shall be given him
BUT let him ask in faith – nothing wavering
for he that wavers is like a wave of the sea driven with the
wind and tossed
FOR let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord
a double-minded man is unstable in all his ways
Proper attitude toward wealth necessary for Christian lifeverses 9-11
Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted
but the rich – in that he is made low
BECAUSE as the flower of the grass he shall pass away
FOR the sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat
BUT it withers the grass and the flower thereof falls
and the grace of the fashion of it perishes
so also shall the rich man fade away in his ways
Crown of life promised to those who overcome temptationverses 12-15
Blessed is the man that endures temptation – FOR when he is tried
he shall receive the crown of life
which the Lord has promised to them that love HIM
Let no man say when he is tempted – I am tempted of God
for God cannot be tempted with evil
neither tempts HE any man but every man is tempted
when he is drawn away of his own lust
and enticed
THEN when lust hath conceived – it brings forth sin – and sin
when it is finished – brings forth death
Christ gives us giftsverses 16-18
Do not err – my beloved brethren
every good gift and every perfect gift is from above
and comes down for the Father of lights
with WHOM is no variableness
neither shadow of turning
Of HIS OWN will begat HE us with the word of truth
that we should be a kind of firstfruits of HIS creatures
Watch out for angerverses 19-21
Wherefore – my beloved brethren
let every man be swift to hear – slow to speak – slow to wrath
for the wrath of man works not
the righteousness of God
Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness
and receive with meekness the engrafted word
which is able to save your souls
Be doers of the Word and not just hearersverses 22-25
BUT be you doers of the word – and not hearers only
deceiving your own selves
FOR if any be a hearer of the word – and not a doer
he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass
Fr he beholds himself – and goes his way
and straightway forgets what manner of man he was
BUT whoso looks into the perfect law of liberty
and continues therein
He being not a forgetful hearer – BUT a doer of the work
this man shall be blessed in his deed
True Christianityverses 26-27
IF any man among you seem to be religious
and bridles not his tongue but deceives his own heart
this man’s religion is vain
Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this
to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction
and to keep himself unspotted from the world
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. (3007 “wanting” [leipo] means lacking, be destitute, be in need, to fall short, unfinished, or to be without)
DEVOTION: James was the half-brother of Jesus. He and his brothers didn’t believe in Jesus before HE died on the cross. They became followers after HIS resurrection. We have two half-brothers who were born of Mary and Joseph that wrote books of the Bible. Here we have James and the book of Jude was written by a half-brother of Jesus.
He seems to be the bolder of the two. He wants us to realize that if we let patience do its work in us we will be able to be mature in the faith lacking nothing.
Too often we are in a hurry to become mature in Christ. We sometimes think we have arrived at it only to find out that we have not arrived but have been tempted of the devil to think we have arrived and become prideful.
Once we are in proper relationship with Jesus we will have need of nothing because we will realize we have all we need. HE has promised to never leave us or forsake us, so we have HIS presence with us every moment of every day. HE has promised to provide for our every need because HE has provided for the needs of the birds of the air and we are more precious to HIM than them.
Our responsibility is to recognize our standing with the LORD and accept what comes each day into our life as coming from HIM. HE gives us open doors to go through each day.
If we can convince ourselves that we have need of nothing we are truly secure in HIS presence. The one telling us that we need more is our enemy.
CHALLENGE: Go through the open doors the LORD allows in our life and be content with them. HE will continue to bless us because of our willingness to be content
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavers is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.(1252 “wavering or wavers” [diakrino] means doubt, to separate thoroughly, to withdraw from, to discriminate, hesitate, to be at variance with oneself or stagger)
DEVOTION: Here we have one of the sons of Mary, Jesus’ mother. HIS brothers didn’t believe on HIM when he was alive. That is one of the reasons that the LORD gave HIS mother to John at the cross. After HE died his brothers became believers. Two of them wrote books in the Bible. This book and the book of Jude are the books.
What are we to ask God for? This passage tells us to ask God for wisdom. Not the wisdom of this world but the wisdom that can only come from God.
How often should we ask for wisdom? Daily!! God doesn’t want us to be uncertain of HIS help on a daily basis. HE is always with us and promises to never forsake us. When we ask for something that, in our mind, is HIS will for our lives, we should step out in faith. God doesn’t want us to hesitate to ask HIM for wisdom. HE knows that we need it on a daily basis to fight the battle we are fighting against the world, the flesh and the devil. There are arrows flying at us from all directions.
Without the wisdom from above we will not be able to fight a good fight. Without the wisdom from above we will not be able to be a great doer of the Word. Without wisdom we could be lead in the wrong direction. Without wisdom we would not be able to discern between good and bad.
One of the enemies we face in our Christian walk with the Lord is doubt. Doubt is a real problem in our lives. We sometimes doubt that God really wants to bless us. This thought is coming from the enemy. Don’t stagger!!!
This word also means hesitation. If the Holy Spirit is directing us to do something for the LORD we should do it without hesitation. This is the sin of omission described in other places in Scripture. There are sins of omission as well as sins of commission. We don’t want to be guilty of either.
CHALLENGE: Daily go to the Word of God for direction for the day. Don’t hesitate to do what the LORD tells you to do for HIM each day.
: 9 Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted. (5011 “low degree” [tapeinos] means humble, base, cast down, of low estate, inferior in station or quality, meek, of no account, or modest)
DEVOTION: We tend to be produces of our society. We tend to think that the only way to get ahead in life is to have a lot of money. We think that those who have a lot of money are happier than those who have a little money. That is not true.
Each group has their own problems. Those with a lot of money have a hard time trusting the LORD for their every need. They tend to depend on their own ability to get ahead in life. Sometimes they would rather get ahead than honor the LORD. This is not true of some of those who are rich but many think that what is happening in their life is because of the fact that they are smarter than most people with their money.
The poor have another problem. There are some who think that if they just had a little or a lot more money they could really serve the LORD better. They think if they could win the lottery or something they would be better off then they presently are and that is wrong thinking.
God knows those who are HIS servants who can be trusted with ten talents and those who can be trusted with just one talent. Jesus gave that illustration to HIS disciples while HE was here on this earth.
Each person gives an account for what he does with the money the LORD gives him. If we are not wise with our one talent HE knows we won’t be wise with ten talents.
We have to come to the point in our life that we can be satisfied with what we have been given. If the LORD sees that we are handling the amount HE is presently giving us, HE might decide to give us more. If we are not content with what HE is presently giving than HE knows we won’t be content if HE gives us more.
CHALLENGE: Learn to be content with what you have been given by the LORD. It is a hard lesson but one that needs to be learned.
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 14 But every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. (1828 “drawn away” [exelko] means to be or become enticed, to lead away, to lure away to, to seduce, hurry away, or drag out)
DEVOTION: We have a tendency to blame others for our problems. We can blame our parents for not raising us right. We can blame our teachers for not teaching us right. We can blame the church for not giving us the right instructions regarding how to live the Christian life. We can blame society for not giving us a break in life. We can blame the government for taking more of our income than they need and wasting it. The blame game can go on forever.
James wants each of us to realize that we are accountable to God for each decision we make in our life. There is no one to blame but ourselves. We make wrong choices and have to pay the consequences for those choices.
When we sin it is because we want to sin. We think that sin looks good and if we commit it there will be no consequences but that is not what the Bible teaches. There are always consequences to our sins. We don’t like them but we understand that they happen.
Sometimes we might even think that God is unfair to us because HE allows us to sin. HE gives us the choice of which way to go. We can go the straight and narrow road or we can take the wide road. Each has its own destination.
Ask HIM to help you to make the right choice. Ask HIM for wisdom to stay on the right path. Follow HIS lead.
CHALLENGE: Never blame God for the wrong choice you make!!! I’ve tried but it never works.
:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. (3883 “variableness” [parallage] means variation, change. [Strong, J. (1995). Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon. Woodside Bible Fellowship].)
DEVOTION: Did you ever count on something (maybe a promise that someone had made to you) only to find out that it did not come true? You thought that you could depend on that person, only to find out that they had changed their mind. In a positive light, change is possible for us when we repent of our sins (wanting to change and being sorry for the way we have lived in the past).
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow (Hebrews 13:8). He is not capable of change because it is impossible for Him to get any better (He is perfect), and it is impossible for Him to get worse (He is infallible). What God says He promises to do (Numbers 23:19).
Some question whether or not God’s plans depend on our obedience in order for them to get accomplished. God knows perfectly from the beginning whether we will choose to obey Him in any given situation, and therefore does not make His plans contingent on anything. God never has a “plan B” for anything that He does or wills.
This is what ultimately makes the LORD so trustworthy. What He tells us about Himself in the Bible is absolutely true. Plus, what He promises us will never fail. The only thing that changes in our relationship with Him is our fellowship with Him based on how closely we choose to follow His commands.
CHALLENGE: God is still on His original plan started in Genesis 1. Realize that everything that happens to you is part of that plan! (MW)
DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Ask of God for wisdomverse 5
Ask in faith without waveringverse 6
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
Word of Truthverse 18
Engrafted wordverse 21
Perfect law of libertyverse 25
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
Godverses 1, 5, 13, 20, 27
Servant of Godverse 1
God gives wisdom liberallyverse 5
God does not upbraid those who askverse 5
God cannot be tempted with evilverse 13
God doesn’t’ tempt any manverse 13
Every good gift comes from aboveverse 17
Fatherverses 17, 27
Father of lightsverse 17
No variablenessverse 17
No shadow of turningverse 17
HIS creaturesverse 18
Righteousness of Godverse 20
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead –God/man, Messiah)
Lordverses 1, 7, 12
Jesus verse 1
Christ verse 1
Lord Jesus Christ verse 1
Lord promisedverse 12
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Rich man fade awayverse 11
Manverses 13, 14
Natural faceverses 23, 24
Worldverse 27
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Praying with waveringverse 6
Double-mindedverse 8
Unstableverse 8
Say tempted of Godverse 13
Evilverse 13
Lustverses 14, 15
Enticedverse 14
Sinverse 15
Wrath verse 20
Filthinessverse 21
Superfluity of naughtinessverse 21
Hearers of the word onlyverses 22, 23
Deceiving selfverses 22, 26
Forgetter of needverse 24
Forgetful hearerverses 24, 25
Not a doerverse 25
Religiousverse 26
Bridle not his tongueverse 26
Deceives selfverse 26
Religion is vainverse 26
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Servantverse 1
Joyverse 2
Divers temptationsverse 2
Faithverses 3, 6
Patienceverses 3, 4
Perfectverse 4
Entireverse 4
Wanting nothingverse 4
Wisdomverse 5
Ask of Godverse 5
Exaltedverse 9
Blessed if enduring temptationverse 12
Crown of lifeverse 12
Promisedverse 12
Love Christverse 12
Good giftverse 17
Perfect giftverse 17
Begotten by word of truthverse 18
Firstfruitsverse 18
Swift to hearverse 19
Slow to speakverse 19
Slow to wrathverse 19
Meeknessverse 21
Save verse 21
Doers of the wordverse 22
Hearer of the wordverse 23
Perfect law of libertyverse 25
Continues in perfect law of libertyverse 25
Doer of the workverse 25
Blessed in deedverse 25
Pure religionverse 27
Undefiled religionverse 27
Visit the fatherless and widowsverse 27
Unspotted from the worldverse 27
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Twelve tribesverse 1
Church (New Testament people of God)
Jamesverse 1
Servant of God
Brethrenverses 2, 16, 19
Brother of low decree rejoiceverse 9
Rich made lowverse 10
Kind of firstfruits of HIS creaturesverse 18
Beloved brethrenverse 19
Pure religionverse 27
Undefiled
Visit the fatherless and widow
Keeps unspotted from world
Last Things (Future Events)
Crown of lifeverse 12
Result of sin is deathverse 15
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QUOTES regarding passage
27 We would badly misunderstand these verses were we to think that James is intending to summarize here all that true worship of God should involve. As Calvin says, “[James] does not define generally what religion is, but reminds us that religion without the things he mentions is nothing.” James is not polemicizing against religious ritual per se but against a ritual that goes no further than outward show and mere words. He is probably somewhat dependent on a widespread pagan and Jewish tradition that emphasized that proper cultic worship must be accompanied by ethical conduct.80 Specific and concrete actions are needed to demonstrate the reality of one’s claim to “have religion.” The matters that James mentions in these verses were undoubtedly problems among the Christians to whom he is writing. But they are also frequently mentioned in Scripture as key components of a biblical lifestyle. “Looking after widows and orphans” picks up a frequent OT refrain. In the ancient world, with an absence of money-making possibilities for women and any kind of social welfare, widows and orphans were helpless to provide for themselves. A mark of Israel’s obedience, therefore, was to be a special concern for these helpless people. The Lord commanded the people: “Do not take advantage of a widow or an orphan” (Exod. 22:22), and the law specified that the people were to go out of their way to provide for the widow and the orphan (Deut. 14:29, passim). Isaiah, in a passage similar in many ways to these verses in James, announces that God will no longer recognize the worship his people offer him; they must repent and “seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the cause of the widow” (Isa. 1:10–17). In these actions, the people of Israel were to imitate God himself, “a Father to the fatherless and defender of widows” (Ps. 68:5). It is probably for this reason that James describes God here as the “Father.” One test of pure religion, therefore, is the degree to which we extend aid to the “helpless” in our world—whether they be widows and orphans, immigrants trying to adjust to a new life, impoverished third-world dwellers, the handicapped, or the homeless.
The third mark of true religion is more general than the other two and also less concrete: to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. James is careful not to give the impression that religion pleasing to God consists simply in outward acts or in social action. The “world” is a common biblical way of referring to the ungodly worldview and lifestyle that characterize human life in its estrangement from the creator. Christians who have ended that estrangement by accepting the reconciling work of God in Christ must constantly work to distance themselves from the way of life that surrounds us on every side—to keep themselves “spotless” (a literal rendering of the Greek word here) from the world’s contaminating influence. (Moo, D. J. (2000). The letter of James (pp. 96–97). Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: Eerdmans; Apollos.)
27 The kind of “religion that God our Father accepts” is the kind that exerts a positive influence on one’s life. Notice that this verse does not give us a definition of religion. Instead, it presents a concrete way of insisting that genuine religion is a life-changing force. One’s religion, then, should be more than external; it must spring from an inner spiritual reality that expresses itself in love to others and holiness before God. James next describes a specific example of love—the care of “orphans and widows.” The verb episkeptesthai also appears in Matthew 25:36, 43 with reference to visiting the sick, not merely to make a social call, but in order to care for their needs. This is “faith expressing itself through love” (Gal 5:6). One whose religion is genuine will also avoid “being polluted by the world.” “World” describes the total system of evil that pervades every sphere of human existence and is set in opposition to God and to righteousness.
To summarize, vv. 22–27 insist that a person’s religion must consist of more than superficial acts. It is not enough to listen to the statement of spiritual truth (vv. 22–25), nor is it sufficient to engage in formal religious activity (v. 26). The person whose religious experience is genuine will put spiritual truth into practice, and his life will be marked by love for others and holiness before God. (Burdick, D. W. (1981). James. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Hebrews through Revelation (Vol. 12, pp. 176–177). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)
Pure religion and undefiled (θρησκεια καθαρα και ἀμιαντος [thrēskeia kathara kai amiantos]). Numerous examples in papyri and inscriptions of θρησκεια [thrēskeia] for ritual and reverential worship in the Roman Empire (Moulton and Milligan’s Vocabulary; Deissmann, St. Paul, p. 251). As Hort shows, this is not a definition of religion or religious worship, but only a pertinent illustration of the right spirit of religion which leads to such acts. Before our God and Father (παρα τῳ θεῳ και πατρι [para tōi theōi kai patri]). By the side of (παρα [para]) and so from God’s standpoint (Mark 10:27). Ἀμιαντος [Amiantos] (compound verbal adjective, alpha privative, μιαινω [miainō] to defile), puts in negative form (cf. 1:4, 6) the idea in καθαρα [kathara] (pure, clean). This (αὑτη [hautē]). Feminine demonstrative pronoun in the predicate agreeing with θρησκεια [thrēskeia]. To visit (ἐπισκεπτεσθαι [episkeptesthai]). Epexegetic (explaining αὑτη [hautē]) present middle infinitive of ἐπισκεπτομαι [episkeptomai], common verb to go to see, to inspect, present tense for habit of going to see. See Matt. 25:36, 43 for visiting the sick. The fatherless and widows (ὀρφανους και χηρας [orphanous kai chēras]). “The natural objects of charity in the community” (Ropes). Ὀρφανος [Orphanos] is old word for bereft of father or mother or both. In N. T. only here and John 14:18. Note order (orphans before widows). Unspotted (ἀσπιλον [aspilon]). Old adjective (alpha privative and σπιλος [spilos], spot), spotless. This the more important of the two illustrations and the hardest to execute. To keep (τηρειν [tērein]). Present active infinitive, “to keep on keeping oneself un-specked from the world” (a world, κοσμος [kosmos], full of dirt and slime that bespatters the best of men). (Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (Jas 1:27). Nashville, TN: Broadman Press.)
1:27. A clean and undefiled religion is one in which one’s conduct and character are disciplined in accordance with God’s Word. The Greek word thrēskeia (religion) appears only four times in the New Testament and two of those occurrences are here (cf. Col. 2:18; Acts 26:5). It is apparent that God’s emphasis is not on religious ritual but on right living.
James outlined what God the Father (cf. “Father” in James 1:17) stresses: look after orphans and widows—referring to one’s conduct, and keep oneself from being polluted—referring to one’s character. “From being polluted” translates one word aspilon, “spotless” (cf. 1 Tim. 6:14; 1 Peter 1:19; 2 Peter 3:14), in contrast with moral filth (James 1:21). A believer with God-pleasing “religion” helps others in need—and thus is faultless (lit., “pure, undefiled”), and keeps himself pure (lit., “clean”). This is not a definition of religion but rather a contrast to mere acts of worship and ritualistic observances that are commonly called “religion.” Again, the goal is a mature Christian walk and practical holiness. What does it take to achieve that goal? The first step is to stand with confidence. Trials or temptations will not topple one who is anchored in God’s truth and is applying that truth to his life. (Blue, J. R. (1985). James. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, pp. 823–824). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
Service (v. 27a). After we have seen ourselves and Christ in the mirror of the Word, we must see others and their needs. Isaiah first saw the Lord, then himself, and then the people to whom he would minister (Isa. 6:1–8). Words are no substitute for deeds of love (James 2:14–18; 1 John 3:11–18). God does not want us to pay for others to minister as a substitute for our own personal service!
Separation from the world (v. 27b). By “the world” James means “society without God.” Satan is the prince of this world (John 14:30), and the lost are the children of this world (Luke 16:8). As the children of God, we are in the world physically but not of the world spiritually (John 17:11–16). We are sent into the world to win others to Christ (John 17:18). It is only as we maintain our separation from the world that we can serve others.
The world wants to “spot” the Christian and start to defile him. First, there is “friendship of the world” (James 4:4), which can lead to a love for the world (1 John 2:15–17). If we are not careful, we will become conformed to this world (Rom. 12:1–2), and the result is being condemned with the world (1 Cor. 11:32). This does not suggest that we lose our salvation, but that we lose all we have lived for. Lot is an illustration of this principle. First he pitched his tent toward Sodom, and then moved into Sodom. Before long, Sodom moved into him and he lost his testimony even with his own family. When judgment fell on Sodom, Lot lost everything. It was Abraham, the separated believer, the friend of God, who had a greater ministry to the people than did Lot, the friend of the world. It is not necessary for the Christian to get involved with the world to have a ministry to the world. Jesus was “unspotted” (1 Peter 1:19), and yet He was the friend of publicans and sinners. The best way to minister to the needs of the world is to be pure from the defilement of the world. (Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, pp. 349–350). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books
FROM MY READING:
(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)
In the whirlwind of moral balancing as the globe reacts to Coronavirus, we face pressing questions, from if and how to triage patients in the face of limited medical supplies, to how long we ought hobble the economy to curb the spread of the disease.
These immediate questions are essential, but there are others, too: eternal and existential questions endemic to our humanity that tend to emerge in times like these. Why are we suffering? How can we deal with suffering? What does suffering mean?
At this time, as the world deals with the spread of the Coronavirus, Christians have an opportunity to share one of our faith’s most unique pillars: Suffering is shocking, but it’s meaningful. Suffering is viewed quite differently within other religions, and it’s important to know that difference since every religion and every worldview must explain the world as it is.
A fundamental premise of Buddhism, for example, is that life is suffering. As creatures of desire, we attach ourselves and tend to cling to things such as stuff, health, youth, love, and even life itself. Thus, in Buddhism, we are only delivered from suffering by ridding ourselves of the attachments of our desire.
Not only does such a view deny any real distinction between what’s good and what’s bad—such as health and sickness, love and loneliness, or even life and death—it necessarily denies two things Christianity affirms: The goodness of creation and the possibility that the creation will be, as St. Paul put it, set free from corruption.
While many westerners play around with a sort of pop-Buddhism, the secular view of suffering is far more common here. In this view, suffering is real, and we certainly don’t like it, but we don’t really have the worldview foundation to make sense of it. Suffering interrupts our pleasure and happiness, but in a world without purpose or design, we can’t really say that’s wrong or bad or that it shouldn’t be. We believe, as those with the most resources in human history to avoid sickness and disaster and certain sufferings, that we somehow have a right not to suffer or, for that matter, to feel dissatisfaction or distress of any kind. But why would that be so, if the world is, as Richard Dawkins once put it, a place of “blind, pitiless indifference” and we are, as he also put it, merely “dancing to our DNA”?
As Dr. John Lennox pointed out on a recent BreakPoint Podcast, suffering is utterly meaningless for a true atheist. It’s not good. It’s not bad. It’s just there.
What about Christianity? Unlike Buddhism, Christianity doesn’t deny the objective goodness of the world, the objective nature of our suffering, nor the objective potential of restoration. St. Paul, in 1 Corinthians 15, called death “the last enemy,” which will be destroyed at Christ’s return. The author of Hebrews called the fear of death the means by which Satan enslaves men. And, most of all, Jesus seemed to identify with human suffering as something He literally felt in His guts. He entered the suffering of others, such as the mourning sisters of Lazarus in John 11, and He prayed to avoid suffering Himself in the Garden of Gethsemane.
The Bible is clear, as is the example of Jesus, that suffering is bad and avoiding it isn’t possible. At the same time, suffering is not seen as meaningless (unlike in secularism). On both the personal and cosmic levels, suffering points to the realities of higher truths and greater goods but is ultimately not the story of creation.
The One through whom all things were made drank from the same cup of suffering and death as all of us. The author of Hebrews says that He “tasted death for everyone.” And yet, rising from the grave three days later, Christ shows us that while suffering and death are real, they do not have the last word.
As John Lennox writes in his marvelous new book “Where Is God in a Coronavirus World?”, a Christian “is not a person who has solved the problem of suffering, but one who has come to love and trust the God who has suffered for them.” Christianity teaches neither resignation to suffering nor detachment from the world. Christianity neither denies the realities of suffering nor gives it more than its due. And so, Christianity alone offers a basis for hope, a true and firm “anchor for the soul.”
We’ve compiled a set of resources offering a Christian view of suffering and hope, including the recent BreakPoint Podcast interview with Dr. John Lennox. We’ll also send you his outstanding new book, “Where Is God in a Coronavirus World,” with a gift of any amount to BreakPoint and the Colson Center this month. And you can see the video of a recent Facebook Live presentation by my friend and mentor, Dr. Bill Brown, on “How Can a Good God Allow Suffering?”
Publication date: April 21, 2020
John 12
After the triumphal entry, the multitudes herald Jesus as their Messiah.
INSIGHT
It is easy to get someone to talk about God, but try to talk about Jesus, and it is not so easy. People will often talk about “feeling close to God.” But mention Jesus, and people start to get uncomfortable. Say that Jesus is the only way to God, and people get downright offended.
But Jesus says that if you accept Him, you accept God; and conversely, if you do not accept Him, you do not accept God. When someone talks about being close to God but wants nothing to do with Jesus, you can be sure he is not yet close to God.
Regardless of anyone’s unbelief, here is the simple truth: Jesus is God the Son, and He is the only way God has provided for sinners’ reconciliation with Himself. (Quiet Walk)
WHO DOES THE CROSS INVITE?
Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Matthew 11:28
To whom does the invitation of this cross come? It comes to failures, the people who know they have gone wrong, the people who are filled with a sense of shame, the people who are weary and tired and forlorn in the struggle. “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” You know He is talking about people who are laboring to live a good and clean and straight life. That is what He means by laboring and being heavy-laden—by the law of God, the commandments, moral ideals. You have tried and sweated and fasted. You are laboring, like Martin Luther before he saw the truth, like John Wesley before he saw it. Like all these people before they saw it, you are laboring, trying to live the good life, but failing; we are miserable failures, weary and forlorn.
The hymns of the church have always expressed this.
I heard the voice of Jesus say,
“Behold, I freely give
The living water, thirsty one;
Stoop down, and drink, and live.
I came to Jesus as I was,
Weary, and worn, and sad…
Horatius Bonar
That is how they have come. The invitation is to such—the weary and worn.
A Thought to Ponder: The invitation of the cross comes to failures.
(From The Cross, pp. 167-168, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
Christ Our Substitute
“So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.” (Hebrews 9:28)
There are two specific references in the New Testament to Christ “bearing” our sins as He died on the cross. In addition to our text above, the other is 1 Peter 2:24: “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree.”
However, the same word (Greek anaphero) is also used with a similar thrust in Hebrews 7:27, where it is translated “offer up”: “Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people’s: for this he did once, when he offered up himself.”
When Christ died, He died as a substitutionary sacrifice, “offering up” our sins for judgment and punishment by a holy God, as He simultaneously “offered up” Himself as the One who would submit to that judgment and bear that punishment. He was able to do this because He was both the infinite Creator and the one sinless man, who needed not to offer a sacrifice for His own sins. He was willing to do this because He loved us and wanted to save us.
This doctrine of substitutionary sacrifice is central to the gospel of salvation, and therefore precious to the saint. But its central importance likewise means that it is profoundly offensive to the natural man. Many acclaim Him as a great martyr or a great teacher but deny either His deity or His humanity, and certainly deny the universal efficacy of His shed blood in substitutionary sacrifice for the sin of a lost world.
Nevertheless, He did bear the sins of “the many,” and He did completely settle our account with God. In both Hebrews 7:27 and 9:28 (as cited above), the word “once” means, literally, “once for all.” He did have to die once—but only once—as our sin-bearing substitute. Thus, when He comes again, it will be “without sin unto salvation.”
(HMM, The Institute for Creation Research)
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