Slavery and Bondage:Pt2

This is the second part of three blogs exploring the concepts of Slavery Bondage and Freedom in scripture.

Slavery and Bondage : Pt2 : Freedom is Deceptive

In the previous post we set up that we, humanity, in our fallen state, are incapable of defining anything. Especially a concept like freedom, in its truest form, apart from the counsel of scripture. That is to say that God is perfect, and that any error, miss-understanding or misuse of concepts in scripture like freedom, falls entirely on us. So when we try to define things without taking in what the bible says, we set ourselves up for failure, and potential, if not certain, spiritual damages. That being said, we are born sinful and under the deception of that sin. Psalms 51:5: "Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. We are unfortunately, born this way, and furthermore, this is crucial to understanding the bondage and slavery we are born into. So with that established, here are a few things about our sin....

1.You are way more wicked than you think.

The reason for this is that scripture clearly points out, that every sin is an act of cosmic treason against God. It is not just a mistake, or doing wrong, it is and act of enmity towards God. Effectively making us his enemies. Part of the deceit we believe here is that our sin is really not "that bad", but scripture makes it undoubtedly clear. Jas 2:10  For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. Now, for all of these points I could give several scriptures, but for the sake of brevity, I'll only give a few. The implication from James, is staggering. You may in fact be the best that humanity has to offer, but that one slip, and we all have more than one, that one infraction carries with it the weight of all of God's law. Why? Again, any and all sin is an act of the highest form of treason towards God. He has created everything and set it to bring himself glory, and to give us joy, and he holds it all together by his power, and we, in and with our sin, look at the holder of that power and curse him to his face.

2.You are unable to do anything about it.                                                                                              The narrative of the bible can be read old from new testament, as man trying to gain equal standing with God and failing. Laws and Judges, Kings, prophets and promised lands, and every time we swing back to the default, our sin. Essentially we all are trying to get back to Eden, to paradise, but by our own efforts, not God's, and the bible has shown that all of man's acts have only pushed us further away. Now many of us don't like this sort of teaching, but its is biblical, and I by know means want to cast any more guilt or condemnation on you than you may already be experiencing, however it is necessary to understand the seriousness of our sin. If we don't take our sin seriously, then we will never take God's answer for our sin seriously, Christ and His Cross. The great hope for this is that God finished the story. After all of our feeble attempts God made a way through the sacrifice of his son.

3.Your sin has control over you and doesn't want you to know it.

Tit 3:3  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. See that underlined word there? SLAVES! That's pretty clear, right? Hopefully much explanation isn't needed, but the implications are huge. I don't want to minimize. There is clearly in us the ability to choose to sin, this however makes our situation even worse, this makes us willing slaves to our sin. It works like this, we buy the lie, enticed by our own selfish desires, then we are snared, trapped...in need of rescue. Then after buying the initial lie, more lies come up to distract you from destroying the first. It is a trap. You are in it. 

So...
Have you ever know someone who stays in an abusive relationship, or someone addicted to unhealthy and self-destructive habits? Of course you have, if that isn't in fact you. No matter how much reasoning, or pleading from loved ones, they never seem to get out of the situation they have made for themselves. The reason is precisely this, they are in slavery to sin. They are in a bondage of their own choosing and making, but they are kept there by subtle deceptions by a cruel slave master and accuser. 2Pe 2:19  They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption. For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved. 

Bondage is made strong by belief.

What is the deal with bondage? Why is it so destructive? Why is it so powerful? Why do people in it seem unaware of it, or like they don't even care? Well lets look closer at the scripture from 2nd Peter above. 

1."They Promise", in this case freedom, but always something that God gives us anyway, and God gives us better. In the first post of this exploration, we looked at Adam and Eve's original sin. The promise given was that they could be like God, and they bought it, they believed it; but belief in something other than God requires the sacrifice of true belief in God. It is an exchange, if you want to believe this, then you have to disbelieve God. So for Adam and Eve, and us, if the promise is happiness apart from God, then in order to believe this was must stop believing in God for our happiness. In Fact, we have to stop believing that He wants our happiness, and that He knows how we can have it. We are all believers in something, but not everything we believe in is able to fulfill the promise they make. Jesus, the truth, is the only object of belief able to keep his promises, but our bondage keeps us from believing that he is. "I know God knows what is best...I know if I trust Him I could...but I'm just not ready yet....I dont feel like I should."

These are the patterns of people in bondage. "Sure God can, but..." They simply reveal that their belief is in something else, something that they believe is more powerful than God, more hopefull and true than Jesus. They have, what Romans chapter ones says, "exchanged the truth for a lie." We made the exchange, but now we are controlled by the lie, we believe the lie over the truth. Bondage is made strong by belief in the lie.

2. Not only do "they promise," but they lie. This is the natural outworking of belief in promise apart from God. They let you down, they can't fulfill whatever it is that they offer. Here is the trick. They lie more. So much so that your life and the lie become indistinguishable from each other.

2nd Peter goes onto state that we are overcame by these false promise, and as a result a slave to them. They turn your head, advert your eyes and only let you hear what they want you to hear. So that friend who in love, comes to rebuke you, to ask you to turn and repent, is now "Shoving scripture down my neck", they are just "Harassing me." When, in reality, what can be more loving than offering a solution to someone's sin? Its what Jesus did, and he loved better than anyone.


The main root of the secondary lie is to keep you from seeing your sin as the problem. Trust me, your friend, church, pastor, the bible and God, are not out to get you, but your sin is. If you sin can convince you to look elsewhere, then you never escape, you never get out. Jas 1:23  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. Jas 1:24  For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. Your sin never wants you to really look at yourself, or else you will see your bondage and you might actually cry to God for help. So it is easiest to get angry at that friend who holds up the mirror to your face, then it is to look at you reflection.

3. "Your Bondage wants you to believe this is who you are." Fallen, sinful, unable to choose good, this is who you are! And that is true, but not the whole truth, but you bondage does not want you to go any further. It does not want you to believe the whole truth, that by the death of Christ on the cross that you no longer have to be given over to your sin, that the guilt and shame and condemnation is taken away and replaced with a new heart and a new identity. If you just so happen to catch a glimpse of yourself in that mirror, it wants you to accept what you see. It also doesn't want you to remember, that even though this may be how things are, it is not how they are supposed to be. Most certainly it doesn't want you to know that Christ is redeeming everything back to himself. And it most assuredly doesn't want you to believe that you can be a part of what Christ is doing.

The deception is to make you believe that God is out there, and your sin is here. One is far, but the other is close. It wants you to see enough of God to feel more condemned, but not near enough to be set free. The truth is that this is reversed, God is very near, very close, not "out there", but everywhere. He is unlimited in his scoop, your sin however, is not unlimited. As horrible as it may be, and is, Christ has destroyed it through the cross. You sin is limited in its reach, not God!


4. All of this is made to seem like something you want. It brings you comfort, peace, happiness, satisfaction, but it is all vain and false. Unable to surpass in trial, unable to extend to eternity, unable to satisfy in a way that, as Jesus puts it, "you will be thirsty no more." It is a small taste, a dangling of the carrot, just enough, but not the whole.  It does this so that you'll keep wanting more, but eventually the supplies of that sin run out, and you are left hollow and lifeless. We see the people of Israel do this during their wandering in the dessert. At one point their bondage beckons out to them and they began to say stupid things like "We were better off as slaves in Egypt!" Egypt ended in death, but it was okay cause we got feed better.


This is the truth, you can refuse to serve Christ, but that simply means you are serving your sin. You can be bound to Christ, or to your sin. You have a master, but one is cruel and wants you to believe he is benevolent, the other is benevolent and shows you by his mercy and grace. You will be feed by either master. One will give you crumbs from his table, and every now and then you get to lick his dishes. Your sin and bondage only feeds you above starvation, but distracts by the quality of the food. No real substance, but it taste nice. He tells you how honored you should be that you got this much, and this is great and wonderful.


What he doesn't tell you is that as your master, Jesus Christ would sit you at his table as his equal, and share the fullness of his food, that your rest will be with Him and from him. Don't be fooled, you have a Master. Who is it? If what Jesus offers is unappealing to you, than you are in bondage, and maybe you are so bound that you know you are in bondage, but you don't care. Slavery to sin is death, slavery to Christ is freedom. You are by no means free, in any real meaning of the word...but you can be. You may think you are free, but you are not, your "freedom is deceptive."

Slavery and Bondage:Pt1

In the next three post I want to explore the topic of Slavery, Bondage and Freedom in scripture, not so much the actual acts, but the opposing and complimentary spiritual implications found in scripture.

Slavery and Bondage : Pt 1 : Intro

I often catch some slack approaching scripture with a primarily black and white view. Now I do believe that they're are some seemingly grey areas in scripture, but mostly in application of scripture, not so much in the principles laid out. Scripture handles most issues very clearly, and very black and white, the grey comes in when we try to discover what this means for us to live out and submit ourselves to the counsel those scriptures. This is because the imperfection of scripture application lies with us, not with the scriptures themselves. We are left, with our fallen brains, the immense task of living in obedience to God's Holy word.

Now, every so often, concepts come about in scripture that leave us with two opposing views, that through some studying, actually prove themselves to be complimentary. Such concepts as slavery, bondage and freedom are often misunderstood drastically by Christians. It is easy to see how these three elements found in scripture are related, but scripture would reveal to us that we are all slaves to something, bound to something, and what we are a slave to determines our freedom. It is a misunderstanding of what freedom actually is that causes us to often think that we are free when we are really under the bondage of slavery; slavery that we were not meant to live under. Meaning that when we think we are free, we are actually in bondage, and at other times, what feels like restraint is often really freedom. This is the meat and bones of what I hope to explore in the next two post, but I feel the need to give a little set up. The easiest illustration of this freedom into slavery, and restraint that is really freedom comes from Genesis chapter 3, the story of the fall. Summed up, Adam and Eve exercise certain freedoms and then they find themselves in the bondage and slavery of death and sin. Whereas, the restraint that were set in place by God, "do not eat of the tree...", was really the means to secure their freedom.

Like Adam and Eve, the lie fed to us is that God is taking away our freedom, when He is really securing it. In other words, Jesus knows the way that freedom works best.

There are certain parts of scripture that everyone, believer and unbeliever, all enjoy. This does not mean that they understand it by any means, and both sides would accuse the other of getting it wrong; but again we are all fallen. So both sides are right when they assume that the other has gotten it wrong. Some of the elements in scripture that we all love are things like love, charity, kindness and freedom. Just so you know, the problem in understanding these things rightfully, is always us. We bring to these concepts our own understanding, scripture would warn against "our understanding" on anything, (Pro 3:5  Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. Pro 3:6  In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. ) So we define them on our terms and not on God's terms. This is devastating to all of these concepts, but we are going to mainly focus on freedom.

Freedom, is NOT how most of us would define it. Truthfully most of us have never really pondered it, but we would say that freedom is "essentially doing what you want." Does anyone see the danger here? If everyone was "free" by this definition, then we are all in big trouble. Someone who habitually lies is merely expressing freedom, a murderer is only expressing freedom, dictators who kill millions in genocide, are expressing their freedom. This is where we try to then amend the definition. We will then say "doing what you want as long as it doesn't harm anyone else's freedom." The problem here again, is us. Every expression of you doing what you want is going to, in some way or another, impact someone else's freedom, there is no way around it. Here is the funny thing, your freedom should impact another person's freedom.

Think of it this way. Jesus is the ultimate embodiment of all concepts in scripture, so by extension, Jesus is the most "free" man who ever lived. Jesus lived so freely that his freedom secured the freedom of the world from sin and death. So for us, maybe real freedom is living in a way, that is not so much a concern for freedom in our lives, but freedom in the lives of others. Live freely in a way that encourages other's to find their freedom in Christ.

This freedom includes freedom from the bondage of slavery in sin and death. This is huge, and we all need this freedom. We are free in ourselves because Jesus took all the guilt and shame of our sins to the cross, so we no longer have to strive for our own acceptance, it is secure, and we no longer have to walk over anyone else's freedom to obtain our own Joy, because Christ, freely laying down his life, has secured it. We are then set free from the fear of losing our lives, enabling us to live freely for other's Joy.

Now the reason this is important for us to ponder and search out, is that we easily drift back to slavery of sin and death. Historically God's people have longed for the false security and fake freedom's of their former lives. This is something we will explore more in the next post. Hopefully, searching the scriptures and laying down our ideas of freedom for Christ' true freedom will help us to live our lives full of joy and lives that call others into the freedom of that same joy.

Lonely

I was recently told that leadership, is lonely. This is discouraging news for someone who one: feels called to, and aspires to lead; and two: also happens to be in a pretty lonely storm of life at the moment. Some conciliation is offered in Isaiah, a similar "lonely" picture is painted in the prophecy of Jesus. "Isa 53:3  He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. " To paraphrase, Jesus came to be our friend and we gave him "the finger."

I should not have said "some conciliation", in fact there is more than plenty offered and to be had. Scripture reveals that the last moments of Jesus' life, before the most important moment in history, where completely lonely. So lonely that Jesus even felt cut off from God, quoting a psalms of David. "Psa 22:1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Now, if I only had a minute to offer some hope to someone in a similar situation as my own, i would probably leave it off here. Saying and hopefully encouraging "Jesus knows that feeling as well." He does, and this is immensely helpful and full of truth.

However, this is a blog. I really want to dwell in my loneliness and look for hope and peace; if any at all can be found. Now I don't want to come across as some sort of martyr, my trial is my responsibility, and largely the results of my failure to live the gospel. Maybe, by the end of this blog, you and I both will be better fortified to offer love, service and sacrifice in the middle of our loneliest trials. This is undoubtedly one of the hardest, but also one of the most important ways to learn to be Christ-like.

Back to the Psalms
I always say to Christian friends in a joking but also hopefully reminding way, that "the funny thing about the bible is that it is always right." This is doubly true when it is Jesus quoting scripture. We all know the bible is "right" but to what degree we believe it, or how much we trust it, is truly shown in trial. Most would admit, and if not, you are most likely lying, that in trial and in loneliness, the bible quickly takes a back seat. I would encourage you to do whatever possible, in your heart and mind, to correct this. If Jesus, from the cross, reached into his perfect mind and spoke from his perfect lips these words from the psalms; I think we would all agree that this is well worth our attention.

If I may, the psalms (chapter 22) as a whole is completely raw, open and honest about the brutality of life and our hearts. The psalmist moves from first feelings of despair, to remembrance to confidence in hope. What I love is that this is a real picture of genuine worship. Not clean, neat, dry cleaned or dignified, but full of despair, fleeting memories that seem overshadowed by present pains, sloppy but oh so hopeful. David, is known for a phrase, among other things, "I will become even more undignified than this." 2nd Samuel 6:22 In the Pentecostal circles I grew up in, this meant to become more charismatic, and perhaps there is some merit to that; but looking at the Hebrew, some translations get closer to the actual meaning of the word by using "contemptible" or even "vile" instead of undignified. This is great news for me because I currently feel just like that, full of contempt and vile.

Now I may be going out on a ledge, but earlier in the same chapter of Samuel we see that David was in fact angry at God (v8). I would be lying if I were to say that I've never felt this way before, especially now. I don't think that David meant that he would run the aisles at the tabernacle. It seems more as if he declared that he would be more honest, more open, more truthful about his feelings with his God. "I will bare my soul before my God and he'll sort it out!" It may very well be a true form of worship to tell God honestly that you are upset with him, but to still declare your trust in Him. "I am angry with you God! I know I shouldn't be, but its there and I have no where else to go so deal with it, get rid of it, or use it! I am at your mercy!"

Nothing good comes from our anger, our only and best option is to throw that anger into the heart of God. God loves us enough to embrace even our anger. Do not let you anger keep you from God, that is a trap and a lie. I have been to many churches that would seemingly discourage you from coming to God with an attitude, but this seems to me to be anti-biblical. Even when you are lonely and distressed..."Psa 25:16  Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted. Psa 25:17  The troubles of my heart are enlarged; bring me out of my distresses." and even when you are bitter "Psa 73:21  When my soul was embittered, when I was pricked in heart, Psa 73:22  I was brutish and ignorant; I was like a beast toward you." Notice that those last verses where set entirely towards God.

How many of you have felt at odds with God, or at a distance from him because your feelings, even you desires, where less that Holy? Let me let you in on a secret...even you best intentions are less than Holy before God, and all people need the Grace and Mercy of Jesus.

Hope and Peace
I am hopeful in my storm. Jesus knows how I feel, and more over he cares about how I feel. It would seem that in scripture God wants me to plea to him in all of my feelings and emotions, that this may very well be some of the most honest worship that I may ever express. My peace is that Jesus took those feeling and those emotions to his cross and with my sin put them to death. One day there will be no more tears.

Geese. Pharisees. Jerks. Your Children.

I do too much, just sayin'... Maybe its some sort of dissatisfaction with what I currently do, or maybe its a healthy curiosity/interest in many different things...blogging just being the latest. Which ever, it doesn't really matter. I only say that to set up this little story and corresponding thought, and to let you know about my day job.

During the day I put on a uniform and work at an apartment community as a maintenance technician. It's a pretty good day job with plenty of opportunities to let thoughts role over in my mind, even small moments of silence and solitude. It has also been a place to observe many instances of natural wisdom, as hopefully you'll see in my story...

One day I was walking through some freshly vacated apartments with my supervisor, trying to determine what damages we would have to repair and charge back to the previous occupants. FYI, you're not getting your deposit back.

We have a pretty good sized property, almost 300 units and several man made lakes, and with the lakes...geese. Not ducks, I love a good duck, but federally protect, grass munching, sidewalk pooping, car stopping, hissing jerks called geese. The biblical word for geese is arrogant. Can't stand them, they just make a mess and you really can't do anything about them.

So walking from unit to unit, my manager and I came across two geese with their freshly hatched offspring; four or five cute, fuzzy little yellow hatch-lings. Too which my managers says "Oh, how cute!" And I reply "Yeah, but they're going to grow up to be jerks."

And they will, and now, some scriptures make more sense to me now. Like Proverbs 22:6 ESV "Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it." Now I know proverbs is a pretty straight forward book, and for the most part we all get it, but seeing something simple, like baby geese, just seared it into my brain. I, as a parent, will shape my children, if not careful, they will become as stiff-necked prideful and arrogant as the baby geese will one day.

Again, in general, we get this, but I don't want my kids to be geese, and here's what I mean. Geese have more in common in size and shape with a swan, and bird that is known for beauty and grace. Geese are bigger and more imposing with greater advantages over let's say a small mallard. I know this is weird, but in humans terms, this is what we are all about. Appearance, posture, advantage, whatever we believe gives us more control.

Most of us don't care, we think that these things may in fact be good values to put into our children, "survival of the fittest" or whatever. To the Christian, however, this should raise caution in our hearts, and sadly I don't think it does for most of us.

The main danger in living your life as an example for your children is that they will copy it, and most Christian parents are only concerned, like geese, with the appearance or advantages that Jesus can give their children. This doesn't work. In the long run, externally based salvation will only make your children pharisees, who Jesus didn't play well with, and they will, in the end, look nothing like Jesus in any practical way in their lives.
Now I understand wanting your kids to have all the best advantages in life, and we as parents should seek those advantages for them. To make sure they are cared for, and that we are good stewards in our time that God gives us with them. Remember this, whatever you add to your child's life is not the point.

We can hope that, and pray for, our provision stirs in them affection for Christ, and that while that affection grows, that practical measures are put in place to help them become well disciplined adults. The caution is, if you place all the value of a child's life into the things of their life and not the source of their life. That when Christ calls them to lay those lives down, they will have learned to value that life more than Christ himself.
Assuming that your kids will "get it" just by being around it, is like playing Russian Roulette with their souls, and even if your intentions are pure, it puts the emphasis on the provision, not the provider. "Well we went to a good church, spent time with good families etc." All of which is good, but external, this is not the same as living intentionally with your children.

Jesus never had children, some who are stupid disagree, but we can pull from him nevertheless by his interactions with his disciples. Oddly enough, he even refereed to them as children from time to time. We see the disciples partaking in all of the right activities, the equivalence of church functions and trips today, but I guarantee that the moments that impacted the conforming of the disciples the most, were the times spent alone with him. If you don't agree read the story of Peter and Jesus' fireside chat after Peter betrayed Christ at his death. Intense to say the least, and if you don't think that moment shaped Peter for the rest of his life, well I don't really understand why you read this blog.

In these moments we see the disciples at their most flawed, we see Jesus at his most raw, yet still so very gracious. In the garden preceding his death we see Jesus praying earnestly for his children. It's amazing, read those private moments, study and pray, see how Jesus corrects, guides, encourages, rebukes but loves them all at the same time. Then ask how does this shape how I live with, correct, rebuke, encourage, guide and love my children?

Ultimately it comes down to the Gospel and to Grace. How molded you are by the Gospel, encouraging yourself and your spouse daily in the truth of Jesus Christ, will ultimately shape how Gracious of a parent you are, even in times of discipline. One easy measure to tell how deep the Gospel has rooted itself in your life is to observe how much time do you spend as a family confessing and repenting together? That includes you owning up to your flaws as well. That is one super huge and practical step to training a child towards genuine faith as opposed to making little pharisees. In fact, pharisees didn't like repenting that much, so repentance actively combats our tendency to drift towards stiff-necked religious performance.

Its about your child's heart, thats what God wants from them, and you should pray for all the help of the Holy Spirit to help grow that heart in affection to Christ who will lead them to the Father.

So next time you see a geese think pharisee. 

Faith Hope and Love

These three elements of the Christian faith are always curiously strung together by the apostle Paul. I say "curiously" knowing full well that it makes complete sense. Faith Hope and Love, seems like a very natural order and it is, but I think, like most of scripture, this phrase was meant to be more than a mere phrase.

Unfortunately much of scripture has been reduced to coffee cups and t-shirts, not that this is wrong, but its dangerous to be sure, if our intake of God's holy word doesn't consist of much more than this. Scripture was not written in phrases and shouldn't be read that way, but this is not the focus of this little rant. Faith Hope and Love are, but how we "intake scripture" plays a huge part.

I once heard a preacher say "this is nothing but weight" while holding his bible in the air. He is correct, and we should be glad to let scripture weigh on us, even when it is uncomfortable, and it will be. The reason I point this out is because it would be to easy, like many other scriptures, to reduce a small part of scripture, like "Faith Hope and Love," to a catch phrase, or even worse a mantra, that we repeat over and over trying to work ourselves up spiritually.

To be fair, scripture does in many ways excite something in a believer, but its primary effect on us mortals should be change. The image scripture gives us is like clay on a potter's wheel, and the hands of the potter is his activity pressing in on your life...his will not yours.

So that is my "hope", to share some thoughts on faith hope and love as I have let this one little part of scripture just sit on me today.

Here is my first initial thought. Faith Hope and Love are listed together because they are supposed to be together. In fact this thought is the thought that made everything clearer for me.

Think about it, how Hopeful is your Hope with out genuine Love or Faith in the object of your Hope? How weak is Faith without the Hope of fulfilled promise and Love that can be trusted without question? Then there is Love, remove Love from anything and, well... that's the last point...

First, Faith. Faith one of Paul's three essentials, is best described ,in most applications as "fully relying on God for salvation." It is Faith or trust in God that helps keep us centered on God. Scripture will, in a very popular verse on Faith, tell us that without Faith that it is "impossible to please God." Faith is, spiritually our sight as believers. So we look to God in Faith and because of our Faith in Him. In other words "walk by Faith and not by sight."

Why is Faith so crucial, because of Hope and Love. We can rely on God for salvation, because Jesus is the Hope of that salvation, and Jesus purchased our salvation in one sovereign act of Love. This works in the reverse as well. Out of love Christ died for us giving us the Hope of new life through Faith in his sacrifice. Easy right, but powerful.

Maybe one way to read through scripture is to ponder. How does this encourage me in my Faith? What Hope is offered here? How is God's Love revealed? How does this.motivate me to Love? After all, we are only able to Love fully because He first Loved us. Or as my kids story bible puts it, and they were "Lovely because he Loved them."

So let's take Faith as it is intended to be, yolked together with Hope and Love, but let's remove Hope. See how quickly it falls apart! Why have Faith in Love if there is no Hope? If scripture is true, and it is, and Faith is the substance of things Hoped for, well we no longer have substance to our Faith without Hope. Not just any Hope mind you, but Hope in Love. That is to say hope in God. Remove Hope, and you have put your Faith in a Love without Hope, a Love without substance, and Love without Christ

Now why can't I have Faith in Love apart from Hope? Well first we don't define Love on our terms, a common mistake we make all the time, we start with us and move to God, this should be reversed, see first his holiness then you can try to share your opinions. Love is defined by God, and defined as God. The truest Love is God's Love, and you can have Faith in that Love (trust for salvation) because it is the only Love that can offer redemption, restoration, reconciliation, in one word, Hope. Faith in a hopeless Love is Faith in a false Love.

We have, unfortunately, removed Hope from our equation, so the Love you have put your Faith in is no longer complete, it no longer carries the promise of Hope. This is the false love that we are too easily swayed by. False loves are real, and really powerful, and demonic. It smells like love with all of its allure, but taste of poison. It is a false sense of security, happiness, and comfort. While it offers feelings that mimic qualities of God's true Love, in the end they can offer no substance, much less salvation. They are shallow, but feel very deep, and we are easily trapped by easily turned hearts.

Turned easily because they have no fullness, they slow feed us into deprivation and starvation, making us crave more of an empty fruit. This is why we feel such a strong and real need for these false loves, they get us hooked, and we make the mistake of assuming they are actually strong and real. We loose our appetite for real genuine and true Love after being feed dressed up cancer. They eat away at you, having mush more in common with bondage and addiction that the Love they mimic. It is the constant lie of the enemy, "trade that Love for this Love, trust me its better."

Our Hope, Christ, offers us a sweet guide through these treacherous waters that we too often find ourselves in. Jesus, who is love incarnate, offers us the right to be called sons and daughters of God through his redemption and reconciliation of the world on the cross, and by extension an easy test for true Love. It is this question. Does this Love bring you closer to the Father? If not, it is Hopeless destructive and damning, and if you have put your Faith in it, it has been misplaced. Whatever other sins this false Love may have led you into, you are first and foremost and idolator of this false Love. Then solution, taking our misplaced Faith and removing it from this false Love and placing it in a Love that is simply saturated with Hope.

Jesus came in Love to reveal to us the Father, if that Love you claim to have, or be in, does not bring you closer to your creator it is simply sinful. Honestly, how can you place your Faith in a Love as Hopeless as that? If you think about, all perversions of Love are actually Faith in a Love, but apart from Hope. A false Love, again, really powerful, really deceptive, claiming all the promise of Love, but giving you poison instead. Faith in Love, but without Hope is Christ-less and selfish, and will ultimately destroy those involved.

Now let's place Hope back into the equation, but remove Faith instead. Hope is all well and good, as discussed from the above paragraphs, important and nessecary if we are to become part of Gods love, and even partake in loving God, and having that love overflow into all of our relationships. And as we have explored, we cannot love in any right or full way that is not God's love for us and through us.

Now if scripture is right, and it is, and hope is the substance of faith, the faith can be explained as the essence of hope. Put it this way, if the substance is a fragrant oil for insense, then faith is the aroma of the oil. For us it is the gift we have been given in order to reciprocate, or send back, that love. Using the oil analogy again...
God loves us and shares with us the gift of hope, the oil, he ignites the oil with his revealed love to us, and we return with faith, the aromatic fumes. In one word, worship.

Worship may throw you off a bit, but understand it as the outward expression of inward Faith. I can tell what you put your Faith in by what you worship. Some of you would rightly point out, but Sam, we through Faith out of the equation, and you are right. The way we remove Faith is to remove worship, but we can never really stop worshiping, so we just mis-direct it. Maybe onto some of those false loves we have already talked about. Faith is, including all that we have already mentioned, the return we give back to God. This Faith, is not born in us, but given to us when God shows us His Love by Offering Hope. Faith that is not directed back to Hope and Love, is a human made hollow Faith. It's empty promises, not sincere commitment.

So remove Faith, and thus remove worship. And we are left with Hope in a Love with no return. Sure, they may fake it, but it is ultimately empty and void of trust and service. No one gives love more extravagantly than Jesus Christ. He gives and gives, knowing that he is going to be betrayed and crucified. Would you love someone and serve them if they were going to betray you? Would you die for that person after they falsely accused you and turned you over to death? This type of Love is Hopefully, and inspires Faith.

Hope in this Faithless Love id the difference between Judas, and Peter. Both Betrayers, both flawed, one spurned Faith, the other responded to Faith by offering his. How different would marriages be, if each partner, when let down or sinned against, responded by serving more, by Loving harder, by becoming more Faithful?

Lets restore the equation, and now remove Love. You have Hope (substance), you have Faith (the return, the desire to be loved and to love), but you don not have Love. Love as a noun, as a person, a place that your Faith and your Hope can rest secure. 1Co 13:1  If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2  And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3  If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. Scripture is correct once again, you have nothing.

There is Hope, however, Hope that I dare say is trustworthy and full of Faith. That is, that when we had nothing, God gave us something. Joh 3:16  "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. The most famous verse in scripture Hopefully has a little more meaning to you now. If I may, let me rewrite an little bit..."For God so loved the world, the he gave his only Son named Hope, that whoever has Faith in him should not perish but have eternal life."

This Hope, this Faith and this Love, is true and real. It does not depend on you for completion, it is complete in itself. It is free to all who would receive it. It is incomparable, steadfast and powerful. You can put your Hope here, you can put your Faith here, you will be Loved here. 1Co 13:13  So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love. 

Late Night James Chapter One Commentary

For whatever reason I’m a little wound up tonight and hope to still be of some use. So I read through James One essentially making a commentary on my initial thoughts and hope you enjoy.

Jas 1:1  James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greetings. 

With good reason we can assume that this James is James the brother of Jesus. With great humility we can see the first lesson in this immensely practical letter. What would it take for you to exalt you own sibling as God, a resurrection perhaps? Further, if you sibling was indeed the risen son of God, would you not be inclined to use this position for personal gain? Unless of course you had actually been somehow transformed by your brother’s message. Would you not also be inclined to posture yourself above your peers? What then would cause James to take the posture of a servant, when if Jesus was a king, wouldn’t his brother’s claim be that of a prince? This would all be reasonable unless you brother was actually the eternal son of God. James, who in his life doubted Jesus, now a willing servant, humbling himself to make much of Christ. Humility is the fruit of repentance, and repentance the fruit of transformation into Christ.

If the Lord ever bestows upon me a nickname, I sure hope its after his own character. “James the Just”, how do you get a name like that and remain so humble? And what kind of character does a man have to have to be described as just. Just meaning pure innocent holy and righteous, the idea of justice being making the wrong things right. Clearly we know that righteousness is imparted to all believers through Christ, but what does James reveal about himself in this book that his primary identifying characteristic is his righteousness? I too, as a believer, have righteousness imparted to me, but I’m pretty sure I would be hard pressed to find a witness to say of me “You know, the remarkable thing about Sam is his righteousness, he is so just.”

It think the answer to this is in verse 27 of this first chapter. “Jas 1:27  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. ” As a Shepard, with a Shepard’s heart, James loving and compassionately seeks to set wrongs to rights in the life of his sheep, and by extension, us. Other pastoral letters seem to be dealing with much larger and pressing issues, whereas James, being so practical and easily applied, seems to be dealing with the finer points of how these big issues and themes work themselves out. It can almost be read like a Q and A session with a pastor.

What should we do in our trials? “Count it all joy….testing produces steadfastness…let it have its full effect” What if I lack wisdom? “If you lack wisdom ask….but ask in faith, with no doubting” My context is different than Judea, what does religion look like for me where I am at compared to them? “Religion that is pure is this….” Sure, you could do this to other letters, but none lend itself so easily as the book of James. “James the Just” a loving pastor who doesn’t just set wrongs right in a Sunday sermon, but lives with his sheep, making wrongs right in their everyday lives. A skill that he undoubtedly learned from his brother. I guess he deserves the nickname.

Jas 1:2  Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 

Another great characteristic of James, honesty, “Hey guys I love you so much that I’m going to tell you that things are gonna suck, but it’s okay, I’ll tell you why…”

Jas 1:3  for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 

Jas 1:4  And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. 

Like his love for his sheep, his since of justice and humility, James pulls another lesson from his brother and presents it to us in a way that we can with some ease, place on ourselves. Joy in suffering, suffering to perfection, and endurance in suffering. All displayed in the work of Christ on the cross. Hebrews tells us that Jesus “ for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. ” that “ Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him.” Honestly easier said that done, but James is right, for the Christian this is Joy, for we are being formed into the image of Christ. Which by the way, cannot happen without suffering.

This great little adjective “steadfast” minus the “ness”, is constantly throughout scripture tagged onto love, specifically used to describe God’s love for his children. So think of it this way, by faith, through suffering you become a better reflection of God’s love. And what does 1st Corinthians tell us about love “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.  Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. ” to paraphrase “Love is Christ.” Again, there is no way we can be conformed to this character apart from suffering. In suffering we are Graced by God, to be like his son. I will say, from experience, that apart from God all suffering is in vain, in God, suffering is Joy. Salvation will not end your suffering, but it will transform it as you yourself are being transformed.

Jas 1:5  If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.

What is great about this above verse is that when we ask God for wisdom, it is either cause we feel dumb, or have done something dumb and we are trying to fix it. Which is why I am so thankful to James for assuring us that God will give generously and without reproach. Let’s Q&A again, James what should I ask from God in my suffering? Wisdom, because God has got plenty !

Jas 1:6  But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.

Jas 1:7  For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;

Jas 1:8  he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. 

A bit of a conundrum. Ask, knowing God is a God who gives generously, but don’t suppose you’ll receive anything.

Misunderstood, this passage can make God look like a jerk, and some think he is. Truthfully we all have most likely ran into this wall in our prayer lives at one point or another. God I have something I want, and I am going to ask for it, but I feel arrogant asking God for something. I would say this tension is good, but needs to be checked by other scriptures. Surely through the cross, we have the right to approach the throne of God as sons…Heb 4:16  “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. “This is great news, but undoubtedly, we from time to time feel and should feel unworthy.

Understanding your lowly state is not a bad thing, but by all means don’t let it hinder your prayer life or in your prayer, keep you from asking and making request to God. Scripture tells us that we “have not because we ask not.” It’s a simple confusion we often run into again and again, this weird need to dress up our prayers. Jesus offers great comfort saying “Mat 6:8  Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. ” Again I say the tension is good, and this is why. A sincere life of prayer will produce sincere humility. Humility is always going to produce tension in us because the default mode of our sin stricken heart is pride.

I say in these moments quickly and clearly address it. “God I feel like my motives are wrong, I don’t believe they are, but correct them is so and hear my request.” Then Trust Jesus and his words, knowing that the Father already knows. He’s a dad, you his kid, don’t forget it. This Happens with my four year old Joylynn all the time, I have to hear this long exposition an what she did that day, plus a story about her sister and an explanation to what she is about to ask for a Popsicle.

Scripture says the whole trinity is at work when you pray, the Holy Spirit interprets then intent of you messy prayer, Jesus intercedes for you and God the Father answers, and you know what. That right there should humble us. You know how I know that sincere prayer produce humility. James the Just, the author of this book, who is proven himself to be extremely humble, had another nickname… “Old Camel Knees” knees calloused by time spent in prayer.

Jas 1:9  Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, 

Jas 1:10  and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away. 

Jas 1:11  For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits. 

James is contrasting the futility of finite pursuits that may rid suffering, but cannot give what righteous suffering can produce.

Jas 1:12  Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. 

Jas 1:13  Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. 

I love Jame’s honesty. Admit it, we’ve all been there, that “Why God!” moment. And James is kind enough to address it. Don’t blame God and here’s why….

Jas 1:14  But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.

Jas 1:15  Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. 

Do you understand your sin this way, as the precursor to death? Do you understand your desire this way, as the precursor to sin? We dabble too much, and rely on God too little. I think James is addressing here objections to his exhortations thus far. “Well James I tried to suffer well, but God…”, “I asked for wisdom, but God…” There is no “buts” with God, he deals in absolutes because he is absolute.

There is however, a great flow of Jame’s love and compassion in his instruction in verse 13-15. In your suffering you will hear the most un-biblical nonsense disguised as sound possibly biblical advice, and if not careful you will be deceived. One os the most common I have ran across in recent suffering is a bastardisation of sovereignty, normally phrased like this “Everything happens for a reason.” Complete Crap! And a mockery of God and his benevolent sovereignty. Another hated favorite which has led so many astray is “Follow your Heart”, dumb idea to follow a sinful heart. Just sayin’

Jas 1:16  Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. 

Jas 1:17  Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. 

I just love that last line, it’s make a great tattoo, or coffee mug depending on your preferred legalisms.

Jas 1:18  Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. 

Practical Christ-Likeness, the hope of this Pastor for his sheep. It’s kind of like “Yeah we’re the early church, but we don’t have to wait to be useful.” And we as churches fall into a similar trap, and as individual people as well. We set these milestones in our lives, and once we reach that milestone we will then be useful. It’s “Yeah you need training, your doctrine and theology is a mess, will work on that, but you haven’t even sprouted up from the ground yet.” It reminds me of a friend I had, kind of a rough background and history, meets some new friends goes to church “get saved” and immediately, at least in my former context, you have all these well meaning telling him he’s called to preach! Now, he’s not even in church, not saying it can’t turn, but let’s learn to walk first. James, being so loving and practical would say here’s a good place to start….

Jas 1:19  Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; 

Jas 1:20  for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. 

Jas 1:21  Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. 

Jas 1:22  But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 

Jas 1:23  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. 

Jas 1:24  For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. 

Jas 1:25  But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing. 

Jas 1:26  If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless. 

Jas 1:27  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. 

Do this and then will talk about you preaching….supper practical. If the word of God is indeed like a mirror, this last bit in chapter one is so well polished that we can not hide our sin from it, in fact that pretty much what James here implies. I love James, I could exhort here and extrapolate, but it’s getting late and I’m tired, and it’s pretty straight forward.


Here is a link to a great church currently going through a sermon series on James... The Village Church