Bible Reading Challenge Blog

Well, that sure was a long break.  Sorry for the interruption there.  Here we find ourselves in I Peter 2.  I encourage you to read Psalm 34:8 which is lifted up directly here in vs.3.  Taste and see that the Lord is good.  What a great image, to be able to actually taste and see that the Lord is good.  

As you read through this chapter there is one recurring thought that keeps coming up for me.  It is unsettling and it doesn’t provide comfort, this thought, but rather it makes me wonder how do I apply this as a person who is supposed to interpret Scripture?  The issue at hand is found in the build up to vs.23.  If one were to take this Scripture out of context we would find ourselves encouraging women who are in abusive relationships to stay.  We would find ourselves telling young people to just take what people give to you even if it is harmful to them physically or emotionally.  That is not consistent with the messages of Scripture that we have seen throughout.  

Jesus absolutely was led to the slaughter as a lamb.  I think of those innocent lives which were just recently taken in Las Vegas.  I can’t see a God who says just accept it as an event and move on.  In the end God will win out.  But what about now?  How do we deal with the death, the loss, the questions that surround an event like this?  I absolutely agree that we are witnesses to the greater community so we must act in a way that those who do not believe would be able to say with conviction that they are curious as to what we believe.  But to accept and put our head down in the face of abuse is simply not our way.  But it was the way of Jesus.  

Peter, the apostle that we know from Scripture, calls us stones, living stones.  This is significant because his name, Peter, means rock, or stone.  He calls Jesus the cornerstone, the one upon whom all things are built.  

The background to this book of the Bible is that it was written by the Apostle Peter.  Now Peter is a super interesting figure.  You know, Peter, the disciple who was the spokesperson of the disciples and the one that Jesus relied upon to teach others and the one who was the leader of the early church.  Peter is a huge figure in the church and especially in the early church and in the modern day church as well.  This is Peter below as depicted over history.

Throughout history Peter has been depicted as holding the keys to the kingdom of God.  This is because of Jesus’ words in Matthew 16:18-19 where Jesus calls Peter, Peter and says that upon this rock (Peter) he would build his church and that he would hold the keys to the kingdom.  Throughout church history there has been a tradition of apostolic succession where men have been given the ability to be ordained into clergy roles and women not so much.  Presbyterians believe in the priesthood of all believers which means not only does every person have a viable and important call, but we also believe that men and women can be called into the ministry.  It may not seem important, but it is.

So Peter wrote this letter while he was in Rome (he calls it Babylon much like the author of Revelation calls Rome Babylon) and probably was writing to the early church in Rome.  That makes sense since he was a leader of the entire Christian Church which found its center in Jerusalem.  Remember that Peter was also a very flawed figure.  He was the one to whom Jesus said: Get behind me Satan.  Not a stellar moment in Peter’s life.

Now on to the first chapter of this letter.  It is obvious that this letter is written by someone who understood and probably had undergone intense suffering.  I want to focus on how he speaks about our faith which has been refined through our trials.  I am currently in Pittsburgh at the Presbyterian Russian Mission Network.  I know, that is a mouthful, but it is a gathering of Presbyterian Churches that have a connection to Russia in some form or fashion.  We heard about the 100 anniversary of the Bolshevik revolution which is this year.  Funny how no one is celebrating that.  It was in this revolution that hundreds, no thousands of Orthodox priests were martyred because of their faith.  The goal of the Bolsheviks was to eliminate the church entirely.  That didn’t happen.  Not by a long shot.

The church is able to be refined through persecution.  The mainline church, of which the Presbyterian church is one, has not really faced persecution in our society.  In fact, it has had a favored status in our history, and I believe the denomination is paying a price as a result of that.  We do not know what it means to face persecution.  If we did, then our faith could be refined in such a way that our future would be one where we would know with certainty what we believed and our faith would be strengthened.  I do not wish for persecution, but we do need something that makes our faith real and refined. I believe that James gave us the answer in the last book that we looked at.  Our faith can be refined by the works that we do.  What we do in the community allows us to be real in our faith.

Look at vs. 13 and you see Peter say the same thing: Prepare your minds for action.

We already spoke about cursing and the waste of time that really is.  James in vs.12 tells us that our yes should be yes and our no should be no.  This speaks directly to a need that many of us feel to add to our statements words which might provide emphasis, when in reality they just provide a lack of class.  Remember that.

Do you believe in healing?  The Scriptures that we have in front of us certainly do.  We see Jesus heal people in a whole variety of ways.  We see him not make any effort and a person just touches the hem of his robe and she is healed.  We see Jesus use the method of spitting on mud and rubbing it on a person’s eyes and the man is healed.  Here we see another method which is where Jesus’ brother calls upon the elders to gather together and to pray over those who are sick.  We read the prayer of faith will save the sick.  It is a wonderful vision of what the church should really look like with the elders of the church reaching out and going to people’s homes and healing.  

There is also a strong verse found in vs.20 that whoever brings back someone to the faith who were wandering away shall be called blessed.  Actually, we read that it will cover a multitude of sins.  There is some great motivation there.

Let’s start at vs.4 where we hear that if we are too closely aligned with the world then we become an enemy of God.  There really is no middle ground here from James.  He sounds a lot like his big brother Jesus who tells us that unless we are willing to leave that which is most precious to us, but is of this earth, then we are not worthy of the kingdom of God.  Go ahead and look at Matthew 10:37 and cringe.  Does Jesus really mean we have to be willing to give up even our own families?  Both James and Jesus are identifying that our relationship to the almighty God has to be our primary focus and nothing, no not even our family, can get in the way of that.

The verse that sums this up most concisely is vs. 8 where we read that if we get near to God then God will get near to us.  I had forgotten about this verse.  This is so true.  When we draw near to God, God will draw near to us.  Now, it is not as if God draws away from us, but when we move away from God then he will always draw us back, but we will feel that God is further away from us than we want Him to be.  All of this is of our own doing.  

So raise your hand if you are a teacher.  It doesn’t matter what kind of teacher, any kind of a teacher.  Then read vs. 1 with your hand raised.  Oh, oops.  My official title is “teaching elder”.  So I read this verse and I think, Oh.  Not may of us should become teachers because if you are a teacher you will be judged more severely, more harshly than others because it is your responsibility to teach, to guide and direct, to help people along their way in life.  Isn’t it interesting that after this warning we read about how dangerous the tongue is?

The tongue is a fire.  It sets a forest ablaze.  I’m fortunate that I have not been the victim of tongues of fire, of rumor, of negative words directed at a person which in the end hurts not just them but hurts all around them.  But I have seen pastors whose character has been assassinated and brought down simply because they were not willing to tow the line on a certain issue.  It is amazing how one little statement can shade a person to think certain things about certain people even if they aren’t even close to being true.  

James tells us that it is impossible that we can use our same tongue to bless God and to curse people.  I’m writing to those who might use curse words as pretty commonplace vocabulary.  One simple question: why?  What benefit do we get from using those words?  Anyone can line up the negatives, but I really wonder what is the benefit that we get from using words which would scandalize many of us.  I don’t get it.  

The last part of this chapter speaks about how we can see if wisdom is a part of our life.  Listen to the attributes which describe a wise person and you will see that they really do track with someone who is able to tame their tongue.  A wise person is: pure, peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy.  Oh, and by the way, they will reap peace because they will be a sower of peace.  I like the concept of being wise.

God has always said show no partiality and we have taken that to mean a whole variety of things in regards to partiality based on race, partiality based on gender, partiality based on religion, partiality based on … you fill in the blank.  But here James is very specific when we talk about partiality dealing with socio-economic class.  Or if we want to say it in a different way, partiality based upon wealth.  Do we treat those who are wealthy any differently from those who are poor?  If a person comes into the church during the week and is a bit disheveled and has a “poor” look about them do we assume that they have come to the church for the food bank?  Or do we relegate them to a one-time service and don’t expect/want them to come back?  

James says that Scripture tells us to love our neighbor as ourselves.  In this day and age it is such an important message for us to hear.  We have to love our neighbors, all of them, as ourselves.  Even if James is addressing economic disparity, we can take that message and apply it to some of the issues which we mentioned before.  

He ends the chapter by saying very clearly that faith without works is dead.  Isn’t it interesting the Scriptural hero that he points out?  He speaks about Rahab who lied to the king’s soldiers so that the Israelite spies would be protected.  It was an act, a work, which may or may not have been paired with faith, but it did provide an opportunity for the people of God to enter the promised land.  It is this concept which made Luther’s skin crawl.  Show me your faith apart from works and I will show you my faith through my works.  To underline this fact the author states: faith without works is dead.

While Luther said that this book does not belong in the Bible,  Bronkema says it is one of the most powerful and motivating books in the Bible.  Luther probably has the clout on this one, but I also see from what angle he is coming.  Remember, Luther was all about salvation by grace through faith.  If there is any hint that we can in any way work to gain our salvation, then he is going to react very negatively to that concept.  The book of James is full of that concept.   Let’s learn a bit about this book of the Bible.

It is generally agreed that James was written by the eldest brother of Jesus.  You can see the list of Jesus’ siblings in Matthew 13:55.  It was thought to have been written in around the year 50 and  was written to the 12 scattered tribes (James 1:1).  Who those scattered tribes are may not be too difficult to figure out.  They are either Christians who were scattered all over the Mediterranean, or Jewish Christians who were living lives of covert worship.  I think it is important to understand that this letter was written not by Paul, but rather by someone who knew Jesus first hand, someone who grew up with Jesus, someone who had not believed that Jesus was whom he said he was (John 7:2-5), someone who eventually took a leadership position in the church and in fact led the Jerusalem council (Acts 15).  James knew Jesus and grew up with him.  Let’s look at chapter 1.

I think we have three statements that we need to analyze more closely.  The first is found in vs. 13.  In the verses preceding we see James speak about persecution and how persecution is a blessing from God because it produces faith.  It is the old “builds character” or “what does’t kill you makes you stronger” argument.  He then makes a general statement which for the most part is ignored by Christians.  He says: “No one, when tempted, should say ‘I am tempted by God’ for God cannot be tempted by evil and he tempts no one.”  We are never tempted by God.  It is our own sin which places us in temptation.  It is the sin of others that places us in temptation.  This is a key principle to remember.  We are tempted and we do fall into persecution but it is not God who creates these “opportunities”.  He is able to help us get out of them, but he does not create that.  Remember that the next time you want to ask: “Why is God tempting me?”

Another verse that is rich is vs. 19 where we read: “Let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger.”  Are you following the mess that is happening around sports in our country?  I love sports and I think it is a great platform to speak out, until someone tells you that you should be quiet and know your place.  I think those who say that should read vs.19 and be chastised by it.  

The next verse which is crucial to not skip is vs.22 which tells us to be not hearers of the word but doers.  That verse is then matched with what perfection religion is.  It is a religion which does.  Go to vs.27 and you will see what it means to be a doer of the word and not just a hearer.  It is a great chapter with many, many important nuggets to follow.

There are some nice nuggets in this Scripture.  Look at vs.2 and then let me redirect you to Genesis 18:1-15 and you will see that this is the reference to which the author is referring.  

The author tells us that we are called to be hospitable, but even more than that, we are called to welcome strangers in our midst, because you never know, those strangers just might be angels.  So this statement is incredibly controversial today.  It takes us directly to the controversy around immigration.  We can’t surely base national policy on Scripture, can we?  I can’t imagine doing it any other way.  How can a Christian argue that allowing people into our country is wrong?  But it isn’t safe, you would be letting terrorists into the country.  Just in case we are aware of the reality of what it was like to live in the day of Paul and especially in the day of Abraham.  There were no boundaries and you never knew who was friend and foe.  If you invited a stranger in your house they could be foes who only wanted to take your property and claim your wife and children as their own.  It was much more dangerous in the days that this Scripture was written than today.  Yes, we can base immigration policy on Scripture, but it would take a revolution.  That’s what Jesus and the Gospel are all about.

There are more powerful nuggets in this chapter.  Let’s just go down the list of what the author states: 1) remember those who are in prison, 2) hold marriage in honor, 3) keep your lives free from the love of money.  There is nothing controversial in any of these statements.  We can say yes, we should visit prisoners, we should hold marriage in honor, and yes we should not value money as anything more important than a gift from God.  We should always be content with what we have.  What a statement.  

Finally, look at vs.8 which reminds us that Jesus is the same today, yesterday, and forever.  This is to sway us away from any thinking that maybe, just maybe, as times change so does God and so does His holy Word.  No, it is the same just as God has remained the same.  The comfort that we find in vs.6 finds its residence smack dab in vs. 8.  God never changes so His love for us is unfailing.  

The author just laid out for us in chapter 11 the saints that went before us and encouraged us to live up to their faith which is a great marker for us.  He then begins in chapter 12 by encouraging us to run the race with perseverance while looking to Jesus as the one who makes our faith perfect.  But he prefaces that remark with this great statement: “Since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses.”  I take comfort in that statement.  Remember, he named those witnesses by name in chapter 11.  But I have other witnesses that I call out and name in my heart and in my mind: Dr. Frederick Bronkema, Rev. Frederick Bronkema, Alice Henry, Marguerite Bronkema, “Big” Al Syversten, Rev. Gus Feather, and others who have influenced me and been significant in my life as witnesses to the faith.  

We all have a cloud of witnesses who were responsible for teaching us the faith and for putting us on the right path to salvation.  Some are still living, others are no longer on this earth.  The author of Hebrews lifts up those who have left the earth.  He goes from speaking strongly and with much hope in regards to these witnesses to describe a life which is one of persecution and oppression.  Those witnesses went through it, so when we go through it, we should be able to shoulder the burden as they did, but with faith.  

He speaks to these persecutions as discipline from a parent to a child.  We are the child and God is the parent.  What is crucial to me is that he states in the midst of describing the fact that persecution is inevitable, that even while we are being persecuted…look at vs. 14: “Pursue peace with everyone.”  That is a goal after which we ought to move forward.  Let us make our goal one of pursuing peace with everyone.

I also like the words of vs.28 especially in these days when worship has become a topic of conversation at session: “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us give thanks, by which we offer to God an acceptable worship with reverence and awe.”  It is our responsibility to offer God an acceptable worship with reverence and awe.

Let’s rest for a minute in verse 1.  Have you ever wondered what faith is?  If you have, vs.1 gives us the answer.  Listen to it again: “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”  Skip then to vs.3 and you will see that it is by faith that we believe that God created the heavens and the earth.  We are not going to get into a creationist vs. evolution debate, but let’s just say that I believe that God created the heaven’s and the earth.  It is much less important in how many literal days and if God created in such a way so that the earth and its inhabitants would evolve.  I believe all of that is true.  The earth is more than a few dozen thousands of years old, and it is proven that species do evolve.  But the primary point, which vs.3 addresses, is that God created.  

From here we have a listing of men of faith.  Actually, strike that.  Look at vs.23 and you will find that it was by faith that Moses was hidden in the bulrushes by his parents.  They trusted that God would take care of him.  God did.  Wait, strike the men part again.  We find Rahab who is mentioned as a pillar of the faith.  

We come to the end of this chapter, again, another long one, thanks for hanging in there, and the author gives us a summary.  Look at vs. 39, all of these people who are mentioned between verses 3-39 were faithful to God, and yet they did not receive the final prize which is promised to all of us while they were still living on this earth.  They would not inherit eternal life until they were passed from this earth to the next. They were not able to taste the new covenant until the day that Jesus walked upon the earth.  

The encouragement that we receive from this chapter is that we are able to receive and understand the definition of faith.  But another encouragement is that in the next chapter we hear that these men and women of faith serve as a model for each one of us.  Let’s hold onto that thought until we get to the next chapter.