As stated in the James 1 and 2 blogs, James is a topical study. There are two topics in James 3.
1 The Tongue Vs 1-12 James had already spoken of the need to control the tongue in James 1: 26 If anyone thinks himself to be religious, yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this person’s religion is worthless.” But then he devotes almost an entire chapter to the tongue in chapter 3. He warns against many becoming teachers since many cannot control their tongues. Teachers who can’t control their tongues can cause a lot of damage. He says that someone who can control his tongue can control his whole body (but no one can!). He gives 3 simple analogies. He says that the tongue is like: 1) small bits that control very powerful horses; 2) the small rudder that can control a very heavy, large ship; 3) a small fire that can set an entire forest on fire. James says that we can control all species of animals but no one can control the tongue. The tongue is full of poison. Sadly, some use the tongue to both bless God but also curse God at times. Again, 4 simple comparisons to that: 1) a spring doesn’t send out both fresh and bitter water; 2) a fig tree doesn’t bear olives; 3) a grapevine doesn’t bear figs; 4) salt water cannot produce fresh water. James gives so many simple comparisons in this chapter.
So what are the most common sins of the tongue?
Lying/Deception: Blatant falsehoods, half-truths, exaggerations, or intentional omissions to mislead. “The Lord detests lying lips, but he delights in people who are trustworthy (Proverbs 12:22)”. Gossip: Spreading true but private faults of others without a good reason, harming their reputation. “He that goes about as a tale-bearer reveals secrets; therefore, keep no company with such a one (Proverbs 20:19).” “A gossip betrays a confidence; so avoid a man who talks too much (Proverbs 20:19)”. “Thou shalt not go up and down as a tale-bearer among thy people (Leviticus 19:16)”. “A dishonest man spreads strife, and a whisperer separates close friends” (Proverbs 16:28). Backbiting: Speaking ill of someone when they aren’t present, often to wound them. “He does not slander with his tongue, nor do evil to his neighbor, nor bring shame on his friend (Psalm 15:3)”. Flattery/Pride: Excessive praise or boastful talk that seeks self-glory rather than God’s. “May the Lord silence all flattering lips and every boastful tongue (Psalm 12:4).” “Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses (Proverbs 27:6).”
Harshness/Bickering: Using biting remarks, insults, or constant complaining (nagging). “Be not rash with your mouth, and let not your heart be hasty to utter anything before God (Ecclesiastes 5:1).” Sowing Discord: Words intended to create division in families, churches, or communities. “There are six things that the Lord hates, Seven that are an abomination [j]to Him: 17 Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood, 18 A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that run rapidly to evil,A false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers (Proverbs 6:19)”.
Idle Chatter/Overuse: Talking excessively, leading to foolishness or revealing faults (Matthew 12:36). “When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent (Proverbs 10:19)”. Matthew 12:36 – “But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.”
Cursing/Profanity: Using impure or vulgar language, blasphemy. “Whoever curses his father or mother, his lamp will be extinguished in deepest darkness (Proverbs 20:20).” Exodus 20:7 – “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.”
Quarrelsome: Always arguing with others. “Fools’ words get them into constant quarrels; they are asking for a beating (Proverbs 18:6).” Proverbs 15:1 – “A soft answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger.”
Psalm 141:3 – “Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; Keep watch over the door of my lips.” Psalm 19:14 Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.” Ephesians 4:29 Let no unwholesome word come out of your mouth, but if there is any good word for edification according to the need of the moment, say that, so that it will give grace to those who hear.” Let us all examine our speech. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you know what to say and to keep you from saying the wrong things.
2 Wisdom From Above Vs 13-18 This last section in chapter 3 follows up on the tongue, specifically the use of the tongue among teachers and leaders in the churches. “Who among you is wise and understanding?” That is, who are the wise teachers among you who can control the tongue. They are humble and gentle and do not have bitter jealousy or selfish ambition in their hearts. The sins of the tongue come from evil hearts. Matthew 5:18 But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and those things defile the person. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, acts of adultery, other immoral sexual acts, thefts, false testimonies, and slanderous statements.” The leaders and teachers with evil hearts use their tongues to cause division, discord, gossip, slander, and all the other sins of the tongue. The wise leaders have the wisdom that is from above. James 3:17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peace-loving, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial, free of hypocrisy.” Many teachers and leaders claim to be wise but their actions show otherwise. Many congregations have been split by leaders with proud, divisive hearts.
Another topical study by James that is badly needed in the church today.
There are two main types of sermons or Bible lessons: topical where a topic is studied and expository where a text is analyzed in depth as to meaning and application. The book of James is definitely a topical study. James, the half-brother of Jesus was a key leader or pillar in the church in Jerusalem. He was not a believer in Jesus until after the resurrected Jesus appeared to him (1 Corinthians 15:7).
One incident that tells us about the mindset of James is found in Galatians 2. AI: ” in Galatians 2, men sent (to Antioch) from James in Jerusalem caused Peter (Cephas) to stop eating with Gentile Christians in Antioch, leading to a public confrontation with Paul, who accused them of hypocrisy and compromising the gospel’s truth that justification comes by faith, not works of the Law. Peter’s fear of those insisting on circumcision led him to withdraw, influencing other Jewish believers and Barnabas to do the same, creating a division and effectively compelling Gentiles to live as Jews.” At the Jerusalem conference in Acts 15, James had actually agreed that the Gentile Christians did not have to be circumcised or keep the Law (although he specified 4 things they should not do in order to not offend their Gentile brethren). Surely James would have agreed that salvation is by grace through faith and not works, but in Galatians 2 why is he telling Jewish Christians in Antioch not to eat with Gentile Christians. Jewish Christians continued to keep the Law up to 70 AD, but did the Law actually prohibit Jews from eating with Gentiles? AI:”Under Jewish Law (Torah), there wasn’t a direct prohibition against Jews eating with Gentiles, but Second Temple era rabbinic traditions developed strong customs, like avoiding Gentiles’ bread, wine, or food cooked by them, to prevent intermarriage and assimilation, creating social barriers that early Christians like Paul strongly challenged as contrary to the Gospel’s message of unity. While the written Law didn’t forbid it, the oral traditions and customs made communal dining a significant issue, as seen in Acts 10 and Galatians 2, where Peter and Paul debated the practice.” Well said, AI (no doubt information taken from an unknown article without credit which keeps me from giving credit to a source). So James is pushing Jewish oral tradition which Paul says that he should not have done and that was causing division among the believers. Paul himself kept the Law as a Jewish Christian, so Paul would not have opposed James if James was simply demanding that Jewish Christians keep the Law, if indeed the Law forbade eating with Gentiles which it did not actually do. But obviously Paul did not consider that to be part of the Law, and said that pushing that oral tradition was binding of tradition on others. A sign of legalism (trusting in works and not grace) is when someone binds tradition or opinions on others in non-essential doctrines. Paul taught strongly against such legalism when it came to circumcision of Gentile Christians, and he defended Christian liberty in the incident in Galations 2 in reference to Jewish Christians eating with Gentile Christians.
All that to say that James’ mindset was to speak against what he perceived to be sins in the church among the scattered Jewish Christians across the Roman Empire (the diaspora). In the book of James, he does that topic after topic. Back to the 2 main topics in chapter 2. AI: “James chapter 2 outlines two main points or topics: 1) believers must reject favoritism (partiality) towards the rich and powerful in the church, as it violates God’s law of love, and 2) true, saving faith must produce works, proving it’s alive, not just a dead, verbal profession, as shown by examples like Abraham and Rahab.”
1 The Sin of Partiality Vs 1-13 He had apparently seen or heard of the poor being discriminated in the churches. I wonder how James was so familiar with the sins of scattered churches and Jewish Christians. The rich with their bright clothes and jewelry were given special treatment in the assemblies, while the poor were seated off to the side out of view. James accused them of breaking the Law which said, “you shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18). He said that to break the Law in one point was to be guilty of breaking the whole Law and would bring judgement on them if they were still judged by the Law. Fortunately, Christians are under and will be judged by the new covenant law of grace not works. But new law of grace requires that we show the same grace or mercy to others that God shows to us in the new covenant in sending His Son to die for us. We don’t have to be perfect under the new covenant. But if you don’t show mercy to others, then this new covenant mercy will not be shown to you. James 2:12 So speak, and so act, as those who are to be judged by the law of freedom. 13 For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.
We know the long history of racial and social prejudice and discrimination in society. I was raised in the Jim Crow South with its separate schools, transportation, and water fountains. But has that existed in the church? Yes. Many Christians used the Bible to defend slavery even though most slaves were mistreated, even Christian slaves. Black Christians were either seated in separate areas of assemblies or forced to start their own black churches as the AME did. European colonization claimed to have missionary zeal for converting foreigners but treated them harshly and unfairly, stealing their countries’ resources and excluding them from equal social standing even if they were converted, considering them to be inferior. Many churches are still controlled by the rich and powerful in the congregation b/c they are the main ones who support the budget Let a smelly beggar come into the assembly and watch how he is treated. Many churches would show love to him, but many would give hypocritical concern to him while hoping he wouldn’t come back. It’s not just about how we treat someone in an assembly. Many congregations are doing very little to reach out to the poor and social outcasts right around their church buildings. They do lip service to “love your neighbor as yourself” but they spend almost all their contributions on themselves (building and staff) and a small percentage on helping the poor worldwide. Thankfully there are many churches that are trying to help the poor, but even those still spend most of their money on themselves.
2 Faith and Words Vs 14-25 This topic is still connected to loving your neighbor and loving the poor. True, saving faith must do more than just wish a poor person well. It must give him food and clothes if he needs them. James says that faith without works is dead. He points out that even the demons believe, and of course they are not saved. He gives the example of Abraham whose “faith was perfected by his works (by being willing to offer up Isaac, Genesis 22)”. It is interesting that James quotes Genesis 15:6 which states that Abraham was given saving righteousness b/c he believed (not that he did works). So Abraham was saved by faith but his faith was “perfected” by his works. The Greek for perfected is teleioó: To complete, to perfect, to accomplish, to bring to an end. True, saving faith will only be brought to its intended end when it is manifested in works. The same with Rahab whose new found faith in the God of Israel was manifested by hiding the two spies.
James even says that Abraham and Rahab were “justified by their works” (Vs 21, 25). James then makes a general, controversial statement: James 2:24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.” Does this contradict what Paul said in Romans 3:28 “For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from works of the Law“? Or what he said in Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast”? Or Titus 3:5 He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we did in righteousness, but in accordance with His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, 6 whom He richly poured out upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life”? We should point out that Paul emphasized good works even while maintaining that we are not saved on the basis of our works: Titus 3:8 This statement is trustworthy; and concerning these things I want you to speak confidently, so that those who have believed God will be careful to engage in good deeds.?
But the bottom line is that Paul and James are just coming at salvation from different perspectives. Paul is saying that the “basis” or reason that God saves us is not our works. James would surely agree with that, but James says that even though we are saved by faith that true, saving faith must be manifested by works or else it will not be acceptable to God to save us. Yes, James says that we are justified by works, that we will not be justified (saved in the future) without works, but he is not saying that we will be saved on the basis of or because of our works. But James’ comments did create controversy, especially with Martin Luther as he promoted salvation by faith not works (the ritualistic works of Catholicism). AI:”Martin Luther famously called the Book of James an “epistle of straw” because he felt it contradicted Paul‘s doctrine of justification by faith alone, emphasizing “faith without works is dead”. While he strongly disliked it and questioned its apostolic authority, he never formally removed it from the canon.” BTW Lutherans do not formally reject the book of James today. I did have one Bible student many years ago who said that James should not be in the Bible!
Application: How active is your faith? Is your life filled with doing good works for Jesus, for helping the less fortunate? Is your faith mainly just going to church? Is your faith a very selfish, emotionally stimulating experience each Sunday without any follow up works? How involved are you in local good works like feeding the poor? How much of your income do you use to help the poor worldwide, to drill wells for those who don’t have clean water, as opposed to spending almost all of your income on your own pleasures and wants? Write down no a piece of paper all of the good works that you are doing for Jesus? I realize that no one can do enough good works, and there is not a number of good works that will show true, saving faith, but examine that piece of paper with your good works on it. Would an outsider say that you have true, saving faith?
James 2. What a great, needed chapter for Christians today.
The first chapter of the book of James might be one of the most challenging portions of the New Testament. Here is a simple outline of the chapter with a few (my wife says I don’t have the ability to keep it short) comments!
Greetings and trials. Vs 1-4 James the. brother of Jesus is the author. He was not a believer in Jesus until after the resurrected Jesus appeared to him. He was a pillar in the church in Jerusalem. His letter is full of condemning a lot of the sins that Christians commit. He was writing to Jewish Christians scattered over the Roman Empire. His first topic was trials that many of them were suffering through at the hands of their non Christian Jewish brethren and the Roman pagan society. Eventually Rome started severely persecuting Christians under Nero in the 60’s. James tell them to consider it joy when they have these trials. How so? He says that trials can produce patience and tested, prove spiritual completeness and maturity. You might go through a lot of pain as you undergo a very serious surgery and recovery, but you can actually rejoice that you are having the surgery b/c it will make you whole and well again. It’s the same with trials. You have to be able to look at the light at the end of the tunnel.
Wisdom and doubt. Vs 5-8 James says that God will give us wisdom to handle difficult trials and persecution. “Understanding why the trial is happening (growth, testing, discipline) and its source (God, self, enemy). Believing God is in control and good, even when things are difficult, and asking Him for help without doubting. Staying steadfast and not giving up, recognizing that growth comes through hardship. Choosing courses of action that remain honorable and pleasing to God, even when it’s hard. Using God’s wisdom to make wise choices, speak wisely, and serve others better. Find wise, godly advice to help navigate difficult decisions.” (AI) But we must ask God in faith, believing that He will give us that wisdom. Look for answers to your prayer for wisdom.
Humility and riches. Vs 9-11 James tells the poor Christians to glory in their exalted spiritual position as the children of God, rich spiritually even if destitute physically. No doubt many had lost property as a result of persectution as Hebrews 10:34 says (“you accepted joyfully the seizure of your property”). He tells the rich Christians to glory in that he should realize that there are no social classes among believers and that he should not trust in his riches but instead share them, especially with persecuted brethren. It is humbling for a rich Christian to realize that his riches will not last.
Temptation and God’s goodness. Vs 12-18 James tells them that they will receive the crown of life if they persevere under their trials and not give up their faith. But he warns them to accept accountability for failing to persevere. Some might blame God when they give in to their trials and sin when tempted. But God does not “tempt” us. That is actually the same Greek word that can simply mean “test”. peirázō (from peíra, “test, trial”) – “originally to test, to try which was its usual meaning in the ancient Greek and in the LXX” (WP, 1, 30). “The word means either test or tempt” (WP, 1, 348). Context alone determines which sense is intended, or if both apply simultaneously.” (Biblehub.com) God does test us. He tested Abraham when he told him to offer his son. Abraham could have been tempted to disobey God and fail the test, but he didn’t. James’ point is that, while God does test us with trials, God does not create the inner temptation to sin when we are tested. James says that comes from our lusts, so don’t blame God if you sin when under trials. God doesn’t force anyone to make wrong, sinful decisions. He may allow us to have a trial, or even give us a trial or testing, but how we handle it is up to us. God only gives good things or gifts, even if that is disguised in a difficult trial, since a trial can make us better.
Hearing and doing. Vs 19-25 James gives great but harsh advice: Be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger. There might be times for “righteous anger” but most of our anger is just when we lose our patience with our circumstances or when we just don’t get our way. Selfish anger will not bring about God’s righteousness. We must clear our hearts of the weeds (sinful thoughts and desires) before we plant the word of God in our hearts. We must be “not just hearers of the word but doers of the word”. The “hearer only” Christian is like a person who gets up in the morning, looks in the mirror and sees his hair all tangled up, but then goes off to work without combing his hair. It is the same when we read or hear the word read to us that exposes our faults but then we do nothing to correct those faults. But when we look into the “law of freedom” we not only see our spiritual faults but the grace of God that covers our faults. That encourages us to try to correct those faults and be “an active doer and not a forgetful hearer” and we will be blessed.
Pure and undefiled religion. Vs 26-27 James says that one’s “religion” is worthless if he can’t bridle his tongue. Apparently James considers the tongue to be the main source of many sins. Chapter 3 is totally devoted to sins of the tongue and bridling the tongue. The one who doesn’t bridle his tongue might be “religious” but God does not accept his religion, it is worthless in the eyes of God (thréskeia: Religion, Worship). He is deceiving himself if he thinks that external religious acts or rituals make his religion acceptable to God. “Thrēskos was used in Hellenistic Greek for a person devoted to cultic practice, emphasizing outward religious observance—rituals, ceremonies, and visible acts of worship. Classical writers applied it to followers who scrupulously fulfilled the requirements of their gods, while Hellenistic Jews employed it for those meticulous about temple or synagogue duties.” (Biblehub.com) Most religions do come from worship fales gods or the one true God, and “pure religion” might involved rituals like taking the Lord’s Supper or baptism. But James says that “pure religious worship” of God must go a lot further than that and must involve two things: 1) taking care of widows and orphans in their distress. God has always had a special place in his heart for the widows, fatherless, and strangers. Psalm 68:5 A father of the fatherless and a judge for the widows, Is God in His holy dwelling. 6 God makes a home for the lonely; He leads out the prisoners into prosperity.” Isaiah 1:17: God commands Israel to “learn to do good; Seek justice, Reprove the ruthless, defend the orphan, plead for the widow”. Deuteronomy 10:18: States God “defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner”. Many widows have good income in the U.S. (my mom did not need money donations in her old age) but they still need Christians to visit and show love to them. Many Christians foster or even adopt children (my daughter adopted 3 children and my son adopted 2 children). The greatest needs for widows and orphans might be in foreign lands. Many charitable organizations provide medical, food, and education for children in 3rd world poverty stricken areas and could use any contributions. They also take care of the elderly and widows who are often neglected, just as they were in the Roman society in the first century when James wrote his letter. Of course, Paul goes into much greater detail about the church caring for widows “indeed” in 1 Timothy 5. 2) The other thing James says we must have for pure and undefiled religion is to keep oneself unstained by the sinful world around us. The Greek for “pure” is katharos: Clean, pure, clear: “clean” (pure) because unmixed (without undesirable elements); (figuratively) spiritually clean because purged (purified by God), i.e. free from the contaminating (soiling) influences of sin.” Jesus said “Blessed are the pure in heart” (Matthew 5:8). Many religious people have sinful hearts and insincere motives in their religious pursuit. The Greek for “undefiled” is amiantos: Unstained, undefiled, pure. Jesus gives us new white suits and dresses (spiritually) and getting too close and involved with the worldly sins stains our Christian garment. Too many religious church going Christians’ lives are dominated by the worries, riches, and pleasures of this world. Many church members watch porn. Too many churches spend almost all of their money collected on themselves (buildings and staff, about 75% of the budget) and very little on taking care of the poor, the widows, the orphans, persecuted Christians, etc. Even our assemblies become more about attracting new members with bands and great speakers rather than focusing on repentance and pure, undefiled lives in the members.
That’s a lot but I thought it was a neat way to study James 1.
Paul planted, Apollos watered, and God gave the increase. Sunday, December 28, 2025 was a special day for my wife and me. A church in Siparia, Trinidad, West Indies had their 50th anniversary. My wife and I helped plant, along with a couple of other missionaries, that church when it first began 50 years ago during the 3rd year of our work in Trinidad. We moved to Siparia and lived there that 3rd year before moving eventually to Colombia, South America. We began the church by having a “crusade” (gospel meeting) in the community center in Siparia. We baptized only a few but one of those was a lady who had several younger children. She has been a faithful rock of that church for 50 years. Her children have become strong Christians with Christian families. They all helped the church grow in Siparia.
To be honest, I actually was pretty discouraged after that year in Siparia. The church was not growing as it had in several of our other church plantings in Trinidad. I did not have an optimistic view of the future of the church after we left. The church continued after we left, survived, and over the years grew. They started meeting in a member’s house with 30 or so members. They eventually received a plot of land and built a building. I’m not sure how many members they have now, but they had over 100 people at the 50th anniversary Sunday. I was able to zoom and we could see each other and I spoke for a few minutes. My wife spoke and talked about our first child who was born during that last year that we were in Siparia.
Well the members were all thanking me for helping plant the church in Siparia, but the whole time I’m thinking, “I really had almost given up on that church after working with it for that year. So I should get very little credit. Instead, others watered. A few men from the School of Preaching that our 4 missionaries started and worked with preached for and worked with the church over the past 50 years. Christians from other congregations helped the church attain stability over the years. But God gave the increase. God gets all the credit and glory.”
What’s the point? Sunday was a great day for me and my wife. Paul said that his converts were his joy and crown. 1 Thessalonians 2:19 For who is our hope, or joy or crown of pride, in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His coming? Or is it not indeed you? 20 For you are our glory and joy.” Those whom we directly or indirectly converted to faith in Jesus are our joy and crown. As I look back over my 76 years, what really matters? What can I look back and really take great joy and pride in? My savings accounts, my house, my cars (I love my Prius), my career as a teacher and principal? Not really. The only thing that really matters is how many people I can lead to Jesus. The only memories that I will cherish as I die are memories made with my family and memories of those we helped lead to Jesus.
Are you seizing upon the opportunities God gives you to reach souls for Jesus? I’m so glad that we went to Trinidad. I can’t imagine what our life would have been like if I had just continued to work with my engineering degree at Alabama Power instead of going to a school of preaching in Louisiana which led to us going to Trinidad. There are other converts and congregations we worked within Trinidad. I have memories of working with them. I will have this memory of the 50th anniversary celebration Sunday in Siparia. I can’t imagine not having these memories which would be the case if we had never gone to Trinidad. Again, God gets the credit and glory. I believe that He had a plan to get us to Trinidad to do what we did in our 3 years there.
God will give you opportunities if you will look for them. There is someone that you will see today that perhaps God wants to use you to help them to come to know Jesus or to grow closer to Jesus. Don’t be shy and timid. “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 1:7, KJV) Share your faith with anyone that you can.
Maybe you can’t do mission work and convert others in foreign countries as we did. Then find an organization or some missionaries that are evangelizing and planting churches in foreign countries and support them financially. My wife and I support EEM (Eastern European Missions): they print and distribute Bibles in over 30 different languages in 30 countries. We send some support for a couple of our graduates of the school that we have taught in as they work in Muslim countries in Asia and Africa. A long time friend of ours is working with Baja Missions to plant churches over that long strip of Baja, Mexico next to the Pacific Ocean, and we send support there. That’s not bragging. If anything, I am ashamed that I didn’t continue to work as a foreign missionary these past 50 years. I might have had many more memories like the one we enjoyed this past Sunday. Of course, God has a plan. He gave us other opportunities here in the U.S. and maybe we seized upon some of them and have converts here also. Some of my students over the years are my joy and crown also.
But this is not about me. This is a challenge to you. Maybe God has you are where you are right now for a reason. Mordecai told Queen Esther about Haman’s plot to annihilate all the Jews and told her to go to the king and plead for saving the Jews. Esther was fearful and not willing to do so at first. Even the queen didn’t approach the king without being invited. But Mordecai told her, “who knows whether you have not attained royalty for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14) She found the courage to go to the king and eventually saved the Jews and foiled Haman’s plot. So maybe God has you where you are for a reason. Looking for that reason gives excitement to the daily work grind. It gives you a reason to reach out to the less fortunate, to reach out to strangers at church. You have financial resources. Enjoy them, but also maybe God has given you financial resources that allow you to support missionaries and help the poor worldwide instead of just buying things for yourself that you don’t really “need”.
I have never looked at my McDonald’s App to see how many points I have. We checked it this morning and I had 27,000 points! I have never used any points in the past. They expire periodically and I had lost thousands that I had never used. Of course it takes 5,000 points to get a Egg McMuffin, so it’s not like I lost a lot of money from unused points, but I’m cheap and it still irritated me to find out all that!
So, what’s the cute little blog spiritual comparison to this? Probably not much, but I’ll give it a go. A saved believer in Jesus can know that he is saved. He can go to McDonald’s (church) and pay for his breakfast (give money, maybe even tithe) and kinda “earn” his way to heaven by going to church and doing good works. But he can miss out on the extra “free” blessings that come with the “abundant life”. John 10:10 “I came so that they would have life, and have it abundantly.”
So how can we describe this abundant life? AI: “An abundant life in Christ, from John 10:10, means a spiritually rich, full life, not necessarily material wealth, characterized by God’s love, joy, peace, purpose, and fellowship, found through a restored relationship with Jesus, daily reliance on the Holy Spirit, obedience, prayer, and living to glorify God, even amidst life’s trials. It’s a life “beyond measure,” filled with divine blessings, not worldly possessions.” So how many Christians, even church going Christians, punch the clock but don’t have the joy, peace, love, prayer life, Spirit led life, or “purpose driven life” (Rick Warren’s book)? In other words, they have all those extra spiritual points that they never use. And if you don’t use them, you lose them. Past missed opportunities expire and you can’t get them back.
Probably a stretch with the McDonald’s points comparison but I gave it a try. BTW I’m going to use some of those 27,000 points at my next visit to McDonald’s before they expire! Maybe I will use my spiritual points to enjoy the abundant life in Jesus more!
I begin my daily prayer with “A” (Adoration) in the “ACTS” (Adoration, confession, thanksgiving, supplication) prayer model that I use. I use the throne scenes in Revelation 4 and 5.
In Revelation 4 John is shown the throne scene with Father God represented by precious, bright stones on a throne, 24 elders on their thrones, 4 living creatures, 7 lamps, lightning and thunder, and a rainbow. The 4 living creatures worship 24/7, saying “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come.” The 24 elders bow down and worship, saying “11 “Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.”
So I begin by worshipping the Father on the throne. But there’s more in Revelation 5. Father God on the throne in chapter 4 has in His hand a sealed scroll that predicts the events to happen soon but no one is found worthy to open the scroll except the Lamb, the Lion from the tribe of Judah, the root of David. Then the Lamb appears by the throne, standing but as if slaughtered (apparently bloody). The Lamb takes the scroll from the Father and will presumably open the scrolls one by one. The 4 living creatures and the 24 elders sing a new song (the song of Moses and the Lamb) and worship the Lamb: “Worthy are You to take the scroll and to break its seals; for You were slaughtered, and You purchased people for God with Your blood from every tribe, language, people, and nation.You have made them into a kingdom and priests to our God, and they will reign upon the earth.” Then thousands of thousands of angels join the 24 elders and the 4 living creatures in worship: “Worthy is the Lamb that was slaughtered to receive power, wealth, wisdom, might, honor, glory, and blessing.” Then every living creature in heaven, earth, or sea begin to worship both the one on the throne (the Father) and the Lamb by the throne: “To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be the blessing, the honor, the glory, and the dominion forever and ever.” The 4 living creatures say “Amen” and the 24 elders bow and worship.
So I hope this will help you with your daily worship of the Father and the Son. A couple of notes:
The song of Moses and the Lamb. AI: “The Song of Moses and the Lamb is a biblical hymn from Revelation 15:3-4, sung by the redeemed in heaven, combining praise for God’s deliverance (like Moses at the Red Sea, Exodus 15) with recognition of Jesus, the Lamb, for His ultimate victory and salvation, uniting Old and New Testament themes of God’s mighty, just deeds. It praises God as Almighty and King of nations, acknowledging His holy, marvelous, and true ways, and serves as a hymn of triumph over evil. ” Well said, AI, no doubt taken directly from a great article somewhere!
The church is those purchased with the blood of the Lamb who are the new kingdom of God, a spiritual kingdom. All Christians are spiritual priests who offer up to God spiritual sacrifices (1 Peter 2:5-9). Christians are reigning with Christ in this spiritual kingdom now. We are not waiting for Jesus to return to set up a physical kingdom. He never intended or planned to set up a physical kingdom. John 18:36 “My kingdom is not of this world”. Revelation 1:5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood— 6 and He made us into a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.”
The Gospel of Philip says that Jesus loved Mary Magdelene more than the other disciples and that Mary was a “companion” of Jesus and that he kissed her on the (and the rest is missing from the text). The word “companion” does not necessariy mean “spouse” but even if it did, why would we believe that the Gospel of Phiilip was an authentic inspired gospel just like our 4 gospel (Mt, Mk, Lk, Jn)? The Gospel of Mary Magdelene also says that Jesus loved Mary more than the others, but was it an authentic inspired gospel? When were these 2 gospels (Philip and Mary) written? Most scholars think they were written in the laste 2nd century. The Gospel of Philip was in the Coptic Nag Hammadi books found in Egyypt in 1945 and the Gospel of Mary was also found in Egypt in the late 19th century.
They probably were around in the late 2nd century because the church father Irenaeus “fiercely condemned them, along with other Gnostic writings, in his work Against Heresies, arguing they were heretical, illegitimate, and contrary to the four canonical Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John), which he championed as the only true witnesses to Jesus, established by apostolic tradition and reflecting creation’s order. He saw these Gnostic books as undermining the true Church’s faith, promoting secret knowledge, and challenging the apostolic succession, viewing them as dangerous fabrications.” Irenaeus lived in the 2nd century AD.
Now we can’t trust everything Irenaeus said. He believed in chiliasm (that Jesus was going to come set up an earthly kingdom), which I disagree with. Jesus said that his kingdom was not of this world (John 13:36) and that some of those he was speaking to would be alive to see Him coming back in His kingdom (Matthew 16:27-28). He also said that Jesus’ ministry lasted 20 years and that he died at age 50. But his comments about the gospels are compelling: “In his central work, Adversus Haereses Irenaeus denounced various Christian groups that used only one gospel…as well as groups that embraced the texts of new revelations.…Irenaeus declared that the four he espoused were the four pillars of the Church: ‘it is not possible that there can be either more or fewer than four’ he stated, presenting as logic the analogy of the four corners of the earth and the four winds (1.11.8).”
So was this an isolated opinion of just one of the early church fathers? No. The following chart shows how many times the early church father (2nd-4th centuries AD) quoted or cited the gospels (and the rest of the New Testament).
Justin Martyr lived from 100-165 AD; Clement was 150-215 AD; Irenaeus was 125-202 AD; Origen was 185-254 AD; Tertullian was 155-220 AD; and Eusebius was 260-339 AD. So we have almost 19,000 quotes of the 4 gospels by the early church fathers by the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD. So around the 2nd century AD (about 100 years after the original gospel were written) we have all the church fathers quoting the 4 gospels as inspired writings of the apostles. I believe that these early church fathers living in the 2nd century knew very well which gospels that had been passed down by the church were authentic inspired writings.
In contrast to that, the early church fathers never quotred from the gospels of Philip, Mary, or Thomas (the gospel of Thomas was another gospel found in the Nag Hammadi books. Irenaeus’ comment about the gospels of Philip and Mary shows that those books were around by the late 2nd century but that they were clearly considered to be uninspired, heretical gospels. Therefore, it doesn’t matter if the gospel of Philip suggested that Jesus was married (his “companion”) to Mary or not. It wasn’t an inspired gospel so it just doesn’t matter what it says. The Dan Brown Da Vinci Code book and movie throws in a comment that the gospel of Philip said that Mary was the wife of Jesus, but, again, that is taken from an uninspired gospel that the early church rejected. A great movie with Tom Hanks, but entirely fiction.
Maybe this article is more about the trustworthiness of the 4 gospels (Mt, Mk, Lk, Jn) that we do have in our Bibles than it is about the gospels of Philip and Mary. The early church father quotes should give us confidence that we can trust the 4 gospels as being written early and written by those 4 men. If we can’t trust our 4 gospels, then we can’t trust the miracles and resurrection of Jesus that they record.
AI: “Bart Ehrman says the four Gospels (Mark, Matthew, Luke, John) were written anonymously, with names added later, but generally dates them as: Mark (c. 70 CE), Matthew & Luke (c. 80-85 CE), and John (c. 90-95 CE), acknowledging the consensus among critical scholars that they weren’t eyewitness accounts but emerged decades after Jesus, long after the apostles’ deaths, to gain authority.” I believe that all the gospels were written before 70 AD. How do we know that? Because all 4 gospels quote Jesus predicting the destruction of Jerusalem that he said would happen within the generation of those he was speaking to (Matthew 24:34) and yet none of the 4 state that the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD had already happened at the time of writing. What if we found an old, old book about persecution of the Jews in history but we didn’t know when it was written? What if that book told about many events where the Jews were persecuted but stopped without mentioning the holocaust? When would you say that book was written, before or after the holocaust? It was written before the holocaust. It is the same with the 4 gospels and the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. If that event had already happened at the time of writing the gospels then the gospel writers would surely have used that fulfilled prediction to show that Jesus was truly a Prophet. If the gospels were written before 70 AD, then early Chrisitans would have been able to verify that the writers really were Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Also, if the gospels were written before 70 AD, then that would be within about 30 years of the resurrection of Jesus and people could be able to check out the veracity of the gospel claims. If someone claimed a resurrection from a local cemetary 30 years ago, then we are living close enough in time to check out that claim. The early church rejected many spurious gospels and other books, so they knew which books were authentic that had been passed down to the early church.
Who was the “man of sin or man of lawlessness” in 2 Thessalonians 2? Who was the antichrist in 1 John 2? Was the antichrist one person? Was the antichrist the same person as the man of sin? Who were the many antichrists going out mentioned in 1 John 2?
First, the man of sin. That “man of lawlessness or man of sin” was predicted by Paul in 2 Thessalonians 2 that he would come before the 2nd coming.
Let’s focus on the “man of sin” first. 2 Thessalonians 2:1 Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, regarding the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, 2 that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit, or a message, or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. 3 No one is to deceive you in any way! For it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, 4 who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God. 5 Do you not remember that while I was still with you, I was telling you these things? 6 And you know what restrains him now, so that he will be revealed in his time. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is removed. 8 Then that lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will eliminate with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; 9 that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and false signs and wonders, 10 and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not accept the love of the truth so as to be saved. 11 For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, 12 in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.
The Thessalonian Christians could identify who man of sin would be if they followed the events happening in their times. Even if they weren’t sure who it would be, a few facts stand out. 1) Someone was restraining the man of sin, keeping him from fully implementing his evil, and that process was “already at work”. That means that the restrainer was a person living at the time Paul wrote to them, and thus that the man of sin whom the restrainer was restraining would be someone living in their near future. This letter was written about 50-52 AD. So this prediction would be fulfilled in their lifetime.
2) Who could this man of sin be then? Paul said that the man of sin would sit in the temple of God and display himself as God. Many commentators think that was Nero, who would indeed be an evil killer of Christians in the near future, but Nero never sat in the temple of God. But the emperor Titus did in 70 AD when he destroyed Jerusalem and the temple. AI: “Historical accounts, primarily from Josephus, state that Titus did enter the inner sanctuary (Holy of Holies) of the Second Temple in Jerusalem just before its complete destruction in 70 CE, finding it empty, and then ordered soldiers to loot its treasures, including the Menorah, which was famously depicted on the Arch of Titus in Rome. He entered with his commanders amidst the fiery chaos, was awed by its beauty but found it deserted, and then the Romans plundered it for the triumphal procession.” Titus also was an emperor who claimed to be God, so he fits the bill completely. I believe the man of sin was Titus. The temple has not been rebuilt since then. If some future antichrist appears, the temple would have to be rebuilt first.
3) This man of sin would be “eliminated” at the coming of Jesus. Since the man of sin was someone living at the time Paul wrote, then that means that this coming in 2 Thessalonians 2 would also have to be in their lifetime. Even if you are not a full preterist who believes that that all predictions of the 2nd coming were fulfilled in 70 AD when Jesus came in judgment on the Jews, it would seem that this coming would be in their lifetime.
4) There would be an “apostasy” that would happen before the man of sin came. The Greek word for “apostasy” is apostasia: Apostasy, rebellion, defection, falling away. Since the word can mean, rebellion, some have thought this to be the rebellion of the Jews against the Romans in 63 AD which led to the wars of the Jews and the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. Usually the word refers to a falling away from the faith, as in 1 Timothy 4:1 (the word apostasy is not used there however). Jesus also predicted a falling away of many from the faith that would happen before the temple was destroyed (Matthew 24:10). Jesus predicted false Christs to come before 70 AD (Matthew 24:23 Then if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the Christ,’ or ‘He is over here,’ do not believe him. 24 For false christs and false prophets will arise and will provide great [t]signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect.” All these predictions would come true before that generation that he was talking to would pass away (Matthew 24:34 Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.)
Bottom line, the man of sin would be someone living and dying in the first century. I believe it was Titus. But even if that is not correct, we can know that it was not someone living after the first century, that it was not one of the many people put forth to be the man of sin in the last 2,000 years.
Now let’s focus on the “antichrist”. 1 John 2:18 Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour. 19 They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be evident that they all are not of us. 20 But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know. 21 I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it, and because no lie is of the truth. 22 Who is the liar except the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. 23 Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also.”
Was John predicting that a certain individual would be “that antichrist” who is coming? If so, the man of sin of 2 Thessalonians 2 could be the antichrist that Paul is speaking of. That has been the most common view of Christian commentators. AI: “the Antichrist is widely understood in Christian eschatology as a specific, powerful individual who will appear before Jesus’ return, embodying ultimate evil and opposing Christ. Throughout history, figures like Nero, the Roman Papacy/Catholic Church (especially during the Reformation), and more recently political leaders like Hitler, Stalin have been identified as the Antichrist. Luther left no doubt where he stood concerning the Papacy when he wrote, “This teaching [of the supremacy of the pope] shows forcefully that the Pope is the very Antichrist, who has exalted himself above, and opposed himself against Christ, because he will not permit Christians to be saved without his power”.
So maybe John was predicting an individual to be the Antichrist. He added “just as you have heard”, so some prophecy or prediction had been made of an Antichrist arising. Was this a reference to Paul’s prediction of the man of sin, thus equating the man of sin with some Antichrist? So was the Antichrist in 1 John 2:18 Titus?
But for sure, the term also applies to any person or movement denying Jesus, as “many antichrists have already come” (1 John 2:18). So, it could be both a singular figure (also called the “man of lawlessness”) and a general term for Christ-opponents.
So what was the error taught by the generic antichrists when John wrote 1 John? First notice that John said that it was already the “last hour” at the time he wrote. That would have to be the last hour of the last days. The last days referred to the 40 years from AD 30 to AD 70, the last days of the Jewish Age, the last days of the old covenant before it “disappeared” in 70 AD (Hebrews 8:13), the last days of the Jewish kingdom being God’s chosen people (Matthew 21:43). The phrase “last hour” indicates that John is writing at some time near the end of the last days. Otherwise, “last hour” would make no sense. Now that means that John wrote 1 John before 70 AD. Some might object to that view since most think that John lived to the age of 100, wrote 1,2,3 John and Revelation in the 90’s, and died a peaceful death at the age of 100. But a very early church father, Papias (60-130 AD), said that John died a martyr’s death at the hands of the Jews just as Jesus predicted that the brothers James and John would die a martyr’s death in Mark 10:35-40. That would have be some time before 70 AD since the Jews did not have the power to kill anyone by the end of the 1st century. So if John was martyred before 70 AD (his brother James was killed by Herod in Acts 12), just as James the brother of Jesus was martyred by the Jews before 70 AD, then John must have written 1,2,3 John and Revelation before 70 AD. So the phrase “it is the last hour” makes more sense that it refers to writing 1 John at some time close to 70 AD. BTW if John lived till the age of 100 and died a peaceful death as many claim, then Jesus’ prediction of his martyrdom is a failed prediction and Jesus is a false prophet.
It is interesting that the antichrists of 1 John 2 “went out from us (i.e. us apostles) but were not really of us”, so they were false teachers who once were part of the Christian fellowship. So what error were the antichrists teaching that John was condemning. They were denying that Jesus was the Christ (the Greek translation of the Hebrew word Messiah). 1 John 4:22 Who is the liar except the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ?” 1 John 4:1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; 3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming, and now it is already in the world. 1 John 5:1 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves the child born of Him.” We don’t know the nature of their arguments against Jesus being the Messiah.
John adds another teaching that the antichrists were probably denying. 1 John 5:5 Who is the one who overcomes the world, but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? 9 If we receive the testimony of people, the testimony of God is greater; for the testimony of God is this, that He has testified concerning His Son. 10 The one who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself; the one who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given concerning His Son. 11 And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. 12 The one who has the Son has the life; the one who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.” At Jesus’ baptism, God declared “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased”. John’s gospel is full of declarations that Jesus is God’s Son, equal to the Father in essence. If the antichrists were denying that Jesus was the Christ (Messiah), then surely they were also denying that he was the Son of God.
There are so many antichrist religions in history and today that teach these same errors that the antichrists of John’s day taught. The Jews deny that Jesus is the Messiah. Many groups deny that Jesus is the Son of God. The Jews tried to stone Jesus for claiming to be equal with the Father (1 John 5:18). Mohammed in the Koran said that God did not have a Son. Many groups deny the deity of Jesus, such as Jehovah’s Witnesses, Christian Scientists, and Unitarian Universalists (and many smaller Christian groups). Notice that, like in 1 John 2, these are “Christian” groups and not non-Christian beliefs. We don’t have to fully understand how Jesus can be fully God and fully man at the same time, but we must believe that Jesus is the Son of God in order to be saved. There can be no compromise on that doctrine.
So there is no prediction of some powerful world leader in our future who will be the Antichrist just before the 2nd coming, but there are many false teachers of the antichrist spirit today.
What about the antichrist in the book of Revelation? AI: “While the specific word “Antichrist” isn’t in Revelation (it appears in John’s epistles), Revelation 13 describes a powerful, deceptive figure known as the “Beast” from the sea, widely interpreted as the Antichrist figure, who rises to global power, demands worship, persecutes saints, and is associated with the number 666. This beast embodies the spirit of antichrist described by John, opposing Christ and leading people to worship him instead.” That might be true, but there is no certainty that the Beast in the book of Revelation is the Antichrist of 1 John 2. Luther and the Reformers definitely taught that the beast and Antichrist were the same in Revelation and that it referred to the papacy.
AI: “A blog article should aim to genuinely help readers by solving problems, answering questions, or sharing valuable insights, while establishing your authority and building trust within your niche, all presented in an engaging, scannable, and SEO-friendly format with a clear call-to-action (CTA) to guide them further. It needs to attract, engage, and convert readers by being informative, authoritative, and readable.” “Provide genuine solutions, guides, tips, or insights that address reader needs. Understand who you’re writing for and what they care about.”
But how can a blogger know the needs of his readers and understand his readers and what they care about? Impossible. He can only hope that most of his readers agree with some of his beliefs, opinions, even rantings at times. Otherwise he assumes that a disagreeing reader would simply quit reading the blogs and unsubscribe, which I think a couple of atheists have done that with my blog and that is their right to do so. I would like to think that all readers are open to studying even things they might initially disagree with, like my teachings on full preterism (go back and read some of early blog about that if you wish). Or my condemnation of LGBQT although I think that is an absolutely critical topic today and one that I can’t compromise with.
But hopefully, many of my blogs are just expository examination of Scriptures. I think I got the following from Allister Begg:
Expository preaching should allow the text to do its convicting work rather than relying on human persuasion. • Counseling must present Scriptural proof that exposes sinful patterns while offering the substantiated hope of the Gospel. • Evangelism should appeal to the Spirit-wrought certainty that the resurrection of Jesus is “proof to all men” (Acts 17:31).
“Expository preaching is a method of preaching that seeks to “expose” the meaning of a specific biblical text by carefully explaining its original context, meaning, and message. It should include possible application of truths discovered from the text. Paul said of his preaching: 1 Corinthians 2:4 and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of mankind, but on the power of God.” Too much preaching is based on the cleverness of the preacher and his speaking ability to persuade listeners. A lot of stuff from the internet that keeps your attention but is shallow in Biblical exposition. Why do we think that we have to add so much human persuasion to exposition of Scripture? The Spirit works through the Word and is powerful and we should rely on that power to persuade people. Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, even penetrating as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” Expository preaching and teaching is simply trying to dig into what the Spirit is saying in each text and then allow the Spirit to do His work on listeners and readers. That should be sufficient.
Someone might say, “Well why not just read the Scriptures and add nothing?” That might not be a bad idea at times. Paul told Timothy: 1 Timothy 4:13 Until I come, give your attention to the public reading, to exhortation, and teaching.” The Jews had a scheduled reading of the Law in the synagogues. AI: “Jews have a long-standing tradition of scheduled Torah readings in synagogues, following a yearly cycle where the entire Pentateuch (first five books of the Bible) is read aloud, divided into weekly portions called parshiyot (singular: parsha) read every Shabbat (Sabbath). This custom, deeply rooted in Jewish life, involves reading a portion from the Torah followed by a related passage from the Prophets (haftarah), with the whole cycle completed annually.” I’m sure Paul would include the public reading of any New Testament books as they were written, circulated, and copied. Paul told the Colossians: Colossians 4:16 When this letter is read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans; and you, for your part, read my letter that is coming from Laodicea.”
But in 1 Timothy 4:13 Paul added exhortation and teaching to the public reading of Scripture. That’s what happened when Ezra read the Law to those who had returned from Babylonian captivity. Nehemiah 8:1 And all the people gathered as one person at the public square which was in front of the Water Gate (not the Nixon water gate!), and they asked Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses which the Lord had given to Israel. 2 Then Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly of men, women, and all who could listen with understanding, on the first day of the seventh month. 3 And he read from it before the public square which was in front of the Water Gate, from early morning until midday (try doing about a 6 hour sermon in your church this Sunday), in the presence of men and women, those who could understand; and all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law. 4 Ezra the scribe stood at a wooden podium which they had made for the purpose (so that’s where preaching podiums started?). 5 Then Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was standing above all the people; and when he opened it, all the people stood up. 6 Then Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God. And all the people answered, “Amen, Amen!” with the raising of their hands; then they kneeled down and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground (does the reading of the Word evoke such a response from you and your church?). 7 Also Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites explained (bin: To understand, discern, perceive, consider) the Law to the people while the people remained in their place. 8 They read from the book, from the Law of God, translating (parash: To declare, to explain, to make distinct) to give the sense (sekel: Insight, understanding, prudence, wisdom) so that they understood (bin) the reading.”
Ezra and the Levites read from the Law, explained the text to the listeners could understand the meaning, and then encouraged the listeners to obey the Law. Ezra made the 2nd return from Babylon b/c the people had rebuilt the temple (the 1st return) but had not been keeping all the Law like they should. Nehemiah 8 goes on to tell “the rest of the story” (Paul Harvey). The people were weeping when they heard and understood some of the laws of God that they had not been keeping since they returned from Babylon. The 2nd return from Babylon under Ezra occurred in 458 BC and the 3rd return under Nehemiah to rebuild the walls occurred in 445 BC. Nehemiah joins in with Ezra and the Levites to encourage the people to quit weeping but instead to go get ready to celebrate a “great feast” that they had just understand that they weren’t keeping properly based on the reading of the Law by Ezra. So Nehemiah 8 occurs after the 3rd return and Ezra is still in Jerusalem leading the people. Ezra 7:10 For Ezra had firmly resolved to study the Law of the Lord and to practice it, and to teach His statutes and ordinances in Israel.”
This “great feast” that they began to celebrate was the Feast of Booths. Nehemiah 8:14 And they found written in the Law how the Lord had commanded through Moses that the sons of Israel were to live in booths during the feast of the seventh month. 15 And that they were to proclaim and circulate a proclamation in all their cities and in Jerusalem, saying, “Go out to the hills, and bring olive branches and wild olive branches, myrtle branches, palm branches, and branches of other trees with thick branches, to make booths, as it is written.” 16 So the people went out and brought them and made booths for themselves, each on his roof, and in their courtyards and in the courtyards of the house of God, and in the public square at the Water Gate, and in the square at the Gate of Ephraim. 17 The entire assembly of those who had returned from the captivity made booths and lived in the booths. Indeed, the sons of Israel had not done so since the days of Joshua the son of Nun to that day. And there was very great rejoicing. 18 He read from the Book of the Law of God daily, from the first day to the last day. And they celebrated the feast seven days, and on the eighth day there was a festive assembly in accordance with the ordinance.” AI: “The Feast of Booths or Tabernacles (Sukkot) commemorates two main things: the Israelites’ 40 years of wandering in temporary shelters (booths or sukkot) in the wilderness after leaving Egypt, and the final fall harvest, celebrating God’s provision and blessing. It’s a week-long Jewish holiday where people build and live in temporary huts, remembering their ancestors’ journey and God’s faithfulness while also giving thanks for the year’s agricultural bounty.”
The Spirit of God wrote the Law of Moses through Moses. Ezra, Nehemiah, and the Levites explained the readings to the people, but the power was in the Word of God. The people were humble and open to doing what the Spirit was telling them to do through His Word in the Law. Later that same month they celebrated the Feast of Booths they made a great confession of sin. Nehemiah 9:1 Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the sons of Israel assembled with fasting, in sackcloth and with dirt upon them. 2 The descendants of Israel separated themselves from all foreigners, and they stood and confessed their sins and the wrongdoings of their fathers. 3 While they stood in their place, they read from the Book of the Law of the Lord their God for a fourth of the day; and for another fourth they confessed and worshiped the Lord their God.” All the leaders of the people then signed a document stating all the things they were going to do as repentance for their sins (like not buying and selling on the Sabbath and eliminating marriages to non Israelites).
Wow! That’s revival! It does seem that there is a global revival happening today. AI:”Churches are experiencing revival, particularly among young adults (Gen Z), with growing interest in Jesus, increased prayer/worship/baptism, and rising Bible/Christian app usage, signaling a spiritual awakening despite some Gen Z church withdrawal. This movement is seen globally, often involving fervent prayer, repentance, and new life, with many churches holding special revival meetings to foster this spiritual hunger and unity, reflecting historic patterns of renewal in Christianity.” Just one example: “Significant Christian revival events have occurred at Auburn University, especially starting in September 2023, centered around the “Unite” movement led by figures like Tonya Prewett, featuring large gatherings (5,000 showed up), powerful worship, and spontaneous mass baptisms of hundreds of students (over 200) at local spots like the Red Barn lake, leading to increased local church attendance and a broader campus spiritual shift.” My granddaughter is a student at Auburn and witnessed that night of baptisms at the lake. The Asbury University Revival (2023): Sparked a national wave of spiritual interest after students refused to leave a worship service. Other such college revivals at FSU where 4,500 showed up and 350 were baptized. This is happening on many other college campuses and may God be glorified.
I realize there is a lot more to “discipling” those baptized and hopefully those who are being baptized will continue in fellowship with other believers and continue in their study of the Word. These mainly Gen Z revivals are encouraging however. Only time will tell if these revivals really change our nation.
But I say that churches need such revival. Too many churches are content with running the “church business”. They do a lot of good and meet a lot of needs. But are the members rededicating themselves to keeping the commands of the Word that is preached to them. Are men getting off of porn. Barna research shows that 68% of church-going men and 75% of Christian men view it regularly or at least occasionally, with even higher rates among young adults. Over half of pastors have struggled with porn use at some point. More than half of Christians who use porn are comfortable with it, though many experience guilt and isolation. That’s a spiritual and moral epidemic in the church. Are the preachers and the leaders really trying to deal with that or do they just accept that and preach their nice little sermons and take their pay checks. The divorce rate among church going Christians is 20-30%, which is lower than the 33% for the general population, but that still means than about 1 of every 4 marriages in church goers will end in divorce. That needs to be addressed. From baptist.org “The new normal in churches today is that people are struggling with drug addiction in unprecedented numbers. Opioid abuse in all its forms is epidemic. The reality is that in the confines of any church, someone is suffering in silence, enslaved to some addictive substance or behavior.” Are churches addressing that problem? Many are trying to and have help available for addiction.
When will churches and church leaders take a hard look at how they spend church money? This was a post from an atheist: “Churches only spend an average of ~3% of their budgets on “Charity”, with over 60% going to “employee” costs, 20% on building/facility, 10% on “programs”. Those stats may vary a lot from church to church, but are about true for most churches who spend about 75% of their collections on buildings and staff and less than 10% on benevolence in general. When will churches look at the need to use the money collected for helping the poor globally, disaster relief, refugee care, care for children globally in poor countries who don’t have good medical care or education, drilling clean water wells, helping persecuted Christians in foreign countries, and printing and distributing Bibles worldwide in the “heart language” of the people so that the Spirit can do His work in conversion? When will churches say, “We are going to make whatever changes we need to make to start using the vast majority of our money collected on the things God would want us to use the money for”? Instead of paying a preacher 100k plus, we will use talented Bible teachers as our speakers (for free) and use that preacher salary to do those things listed above. Instead of paying so many salaries for staff and secretaries, we will challenge our deacons to take charge of the different ministries (for free) and use that money per above.
I realize that what I am saying is radical, opinionated thinking, but is it valid? Do we need a revival among churches? Some churches like the LGBQT churches need a revival to just getting back to even believing that the Bible and Paul’s teachings on homosexuality are the Word of God and not the word of men. Unfortunately I don’t see that happening and millions of dollars given to churches is being used to support such false churches. But maybe all churches really need to sit down and evaluate themselves.
So, let us pray for revival in general. Our country and churches need revival. Our country has gotten periodic “spiritual shots in the arm” to spur moral and spiritual reform over the past 200 years (about every 50 years). AI:”Major revival movements in the U.S. include the First Great Awakening (1730s-40s, sparked by Edwards & Whitfield), the Second Great Awakening (1800-1840, fueling camp meetings, social reforms like abolition), the Businessmen’s Prayer Revival led by Jeremiah Lamphier (1857-58, a lay-led prayer meeting explosion), the Azusa Street Revival (1906, birth of Pentecostalism), the 1905 Student Volunteer Movement on many collge campuses, the 1950’s campus revivals led by men like Billy Graham in Campus Crusades for Christ, and the Jesus Movement (late 60s-70s, impacting youth culture). These movements significantly shaped American Christianity and culture by promoting evangelicalism, social reform, and new denominations.” Many thought that 9/11 would bring about such a grass roots revival, but the moral and spiritual decline in America since that tragic event don’t show much of a revival, if any.
Again, join with me to pray every day for revival. Thanks for reading.
My last blog laid the groundwork for the special collection for the poor saints in Jerusalem that Paul was taking up from the mainly Gentile churches on his 3rd missionary journey, so please read that before you get into this blog. I intended to send this tomorrow but couldn’t wait.
I want to summarize what he told the church in Corinth about that special collection. AI: “Paul wrote 2 Corinthians around AD 55-57, most likely from Macedonia, possibly Philippi or Thessalonica, during his third missionary journey, shortly after a difficult visit to Corinth that prompted a more painful, lost letter before the 2 Corinthian letter which expresses relief and defends his apostolic authority.” Paul had been in Ephesus for 3 years, from where he made that difficult visit and from where he wrote 1 Corinthians. “After the 3 years he left Ephesus for Troas, grew anxious waiting for Titus (who was bringing news from Corinth and was supposed to meet him in Troas but was late), and then traveled to Macedonia where he finally met Titus, receiving good news about the Corinthian church’s repentance after receiving Paul’s letters (the severe lost letter and the 1 Corinthians letter).” Titus probably delivered both these letters to the Corinthians, but for sure he delivered the 1 Corinthians letter.
2 Cor 8:16 But thanks be to God who puts the same earnestness in your behalf in the heart of Titus. 17 For he not only accepted our appeal, but being himself very earnest, he has gone to you of his own accord. 18 We have sent along with him the brother (some early church fathers thought that this “brother” was Luke but we really don’t know who it was),whose fame in the things of the gospel has spread through all the churches; 19 and not only that, but he has also been appointed by the churches to travel with us in this gracious work, which is being administered by us for the glory of the Lord Himself, and to show our readiness, 20 taking precaution so that no one will discredit us in our administration of this generous gift; 21 for we have regard for what is honorable, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of other people. 22 We have sent with them our brother (some think this was a 2nd unnamed brother; Trophimus has been mentioned as a possibility) whom we have often tested and found diligent in many things, but now even more diligent because of his great confidence in you. 23 As for Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker among you; as for our brothers, they are messengers of the churches, a glory to Christ.” What a great compliment to Titus. We know that Timothy was Paul’s special “child in the faith” but Titus is highly praised by Paul here. Later Paul will trust Titus as an evangelist to stay in Crete and correct false teachers there and to teach sound doctrine.
There are so many lessons about giving in 2 Cor 8 and 9. I really enjoyed re-studying those 2 chapters.
1) The Macedonian churches had already given liberally out of their poverty, according to their ability and beyond their ability, toward this special collection. They gave voluntarily and begged Paul for the favor of participating in this collection. Reminds you of the widow’s 2 mites, doesn’t it? They even first “gave of themselves” before they gave their contributions. I imagine there a lot of church goers that still give out of guilt without giving themselves to the Lord.
2) Paul encouraged the Corinthians to fulfill their pledge they had made toward this special collection one year earlier. They were the first to make such a pledge and now they needed to finish what they pledged. Titus had apparently helped them make that pledge a year earlier and he would take this 2 Corinthian letter to Corinth (while Paul was still in Macedonia waiting to go visit Corinth one last time) to make sure the Corinthians fulfilled their pledge. Paul said that their pledge should be a proof of the sincerity of their love and according to their ability.
3) Paul had boasted about the Corinthian pledge to the Macedonian churches (Philippi, etc.) and about the Corinthian zeal from a year earlier that had stirred up the Macedonian churches to give liberally (which they did). So he sent Titus and 2 other brothers to make sure that the Corinthians fulfilled their pledge lest his boasting be in vain. He sent them from Macedonia ahead of his last visit to Corinth to arrange for the Corinthian collection to be ready for him to pick up when he would visit (1 Corinthians 16:1-4). But Paul is quick to point out that he did not want this generous gift they had pledged to be reluctant or under compulsion (one made by a greedy person but who feels compels to make the contribution under force almost or out of guilt or even to grudgingly fulfill their pledge). He wants them to be cheerful givers. It is interesting to note that Paul used the example of the churches in Galatia giving toward this collection to motivate the church in Corinth (1 Cor 16:1-4), and then he used the Corinthian generosity to motivate the churches in Macedonia. The power of the example of sacrificial giving. Quite often I read of someone basically donating all his/her assets to a great work of the Lord somewhere, usually in some poor country overseas. That inspires me to look at my assets and make generous donations. Still working on that!
4) Paul then gave a great principle on giving. God will supply “seed for the sower” is he/she gives liberally, generously, and cheerfully. He will supply more “seed money” for the one who gives like that. God will multiply your seed money for sowing. If you sow sparingly, you will reap sparingly, but if you sow generously, you will reap generously. God will be glorified by generous, cheerful giving. I don’t believe this giving has to be to a church budget fund. Churches spend about 75% of the money they collect on buildings and staff. I like the giving habits of the early church. The only collections they took up were for benevolence and the spreading of the gospel. They did not have buildings to pay for and staff salaries, etc. They met in house churches. Acts 2:44 And all the believers were together and had all things in common; 45 and they would sell their property and possessions and share them with all, to the extent that anyone had need. Acts 4:34 For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales 35 and lay them at the apostles’ feet, and they would be distributed to each to the extent that any had need.” AI: “Justin Martyr, in his First Apology (c. 155 AD), describes 2nd-century Christian communities collecting voluntary offerings during Sunday meetings, managed by the church president (bishop) for communal welfare, specifically helping orphans, widows, the sick, imprisoned, and needy strangers, showing a system of communal care funded by voluntary, generous giving from the wealthy and willing.” Why are churches not using all that money they collect to feed the poor, drill clean water wells, and print Bibles to spread the gospel?
4) Paul says that the motivation for all our giving is what God has given us by sending His Son to die and save us from our sins. 2 Cor 8:9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich (i.e. rich spiritually). There is no “prosperity gospel” that if you give liberally you will be blessed materially for your own selfish use although it is true that you might be blessed with more money to share with others if you give liberally but there is not guarantee of even that. 2 Cor 9:15 Thanks be to God for His indescribable (anekdiégétos: Indescribable, inexpressible: properly, inexpressible (beyond words); indescribable (inexplicable), impossible to estimate (used only in 2 Cor 9:15) ) gift!”
One of my favorite movies is “The Ultimate Gift”. Great movie. Jason, the protagonist, is a spoiled young adult who never had to work. HIs grandad, whom he resents, dies and gives him a list of gifts which are actually chores and lessons for him to learn in order to get finally “the ultimate gift” and he has no clue what that ultimate gift. I won’t spoil the movie for you if you haven’t seen it, but in the end he truly receives the ultimate gift. God blesses us with so many physcial blessings and spiritual blessings every day. It is my 76th today and I sat with my 3 grown children (no spouses or grandchildren present) at my favorite breakfast place, McDonalds for my usual egg McMuffin and Sr Coffee and I sat as they laughed and laughed and made fun of each other and told stories about their kids and some of our trips. For about 45 minutes, non stop laughing and fun and memories. I thought, I could not get a better material present on my birthday than that! Thank you Lord. That will be a memory I cherish till the day that I die. I wish many such happy memories for you.
Every day thank God his His indescribable, inexpressible, words that cannot express gift in sending His Son to die for us. Imagine a situation where someone in on death row and you are told that if you swap your son to die instead that the death row inmate can go free. Could you give such a gift?
I don’t know what troubles you will face today, but that gift makes it all bearable as you wait for the day when you can leave this trouble filled life and start enjoying eternal life with Jesus, and hopefully with your loved ones someday.
Nicky's Notes 