Some Words for Wednesday - A Picture of a Church Community (James 5)

We've reached the final part of the letter of James, and next week we'll be finishing the series with a summary of the letter's main themes.  In this final section of chapter 5, we are given a picture of what a church community should look like.

1) In a church community, people should be reliable.  James writes about swearing oaths (5v12), and we find a very similar passage in Matthew 5v33-37 where Jesus deals with the same issue.  Religious people appeared to think that if they swore an oath by a less important name than God's, it didn't matter so much if they then broke that promise.

But James says this isn't so.  Instead, Christians are to be reliable.  We're not to make vague promises that we don't really intend on keeping, but instead we're to keep our word - "yes" should mean "yes", and "no" should mean "no"; otherwise, James says we will be "condemned".

For example, you may know someone to whom you've lent something, and they didn't return it.  Then they borrowed something else, and they didn't return that either!  Eventually, they become "condemned" - you know that they cannot be relied on to return something.  So James writes, if you don't keep your word, you will be condemned in the sight of others.

In order to be reliable, though, you might need some practical help.  For example, I use Google Calendar to remind me to ring my parents each week!  You might also need to reconsider your limitations.  Being reliable doesn't mean always saying "yes" when someone asks for help; sometimes, people need more knowledgeable help than you're able to provide.

2)  In a church community, people should be expressive.  Suffering can be expressed in prayer, and joy can be expressed in song (5v13).  James clearly considers the sober prayer and the praise-filled song are both reverent ways of approaching God, and are not activities for a select few, but for all the church.  Whenever the church gathers, it is appropriate to provide opportunities for open prayer and corporate singing.

James then describes a process by which an ill person can receive prayer from the elders (5v14-15).  The individual is to call for the elders, and the elders are then to pray for God to heal.  They anoint the person with oil, a symbol of God's blessing which the disciples had used previously when healing (Mark 6v13).  There is also an opportunity for repentance and forgiveness (5v15).

What is "the prayer of faith" (5v15)?  It is a prayer that combines a conviction of God's ability to heal with submission to His will.  The only type of effective prayer is the prayer of faith - without faith, we should not expect to receive anything from the Lord (1v6-7) - and this faith in God is expressed through the words "if the Lord is willing" (4v15).

This private scene of healing and forgiveness is then developed further, as James instructs the church to confess their sins and pray for each other's healing (5v16).  Here is a good reason for church communities to meet in different contexts during the week, rather than only once on a Sunday morning.  Large public meetings aren't the easiest situations for people to be open about their struggles and to ask for prayer.  Smaller groups (especially in someone's home), where people have grown to know and trust each other, provide more appropriate and safer opportunities for confession and heartfelt prayer for healing.

James emphasizes the power of prayer (5V16-18).  He has already said that faith and works will be found together (2V17), and so I believe the "prayer of a righteous person" is the same as the "prayer of faith".  Faith and holiness will grow together.

3) In a church community, people should be gracious.  James closes his letter by highlighting the importance and blessing of bringing back believers who have wandered from the truth (5v19-20).  Jesus Christ is our greatest example of this, as he came to find the lost sheep and bring them home.  Just as he prayed for Peter (Luke 22v32), so he also prays today that his people will not fall.  When we see fellow believers begin to wander, rather than behaving as judges (5v9), we should behave as brothers and sisters, and seek to bring them back into the church family.

Some Words for Wednesday - Not many of us should become teachers (James 3)

James is writing to "the Dispersion" - believers who had been scattered by persecution.  They had left their homes, and were now poor and vulnerable to exploitation.

James begins chapter 3 by stating: "Not many of you should become teachers" (3v1).  Within a church, there are recognised roles, often called "offices".  One of those roles was elder or teacher.  The elder was recognised by the church community as having been gifted by God to teach the whole church.

James writes that not many of the believers should become teachers in the church.  Why did people want that role?  Perhaps they wanted to make the church more like the one they had left behind.  Perhaps they didn't want the church to change with the arrival of new believers.  Whatever the reason, James clearly felt he had to discourage people from taking this role.

James gives three reasons for his statement.

1) The high level of scrutiny (v1-2)

James writes that teachers will be "judged with greater strictness" (v1).  He mentions being judged a couple of other times in his letter, and both times involve people making negative comments.

A teacher/elder is scrutinised because if he teaches it, he should live it!  Hence James says that if you have perfect doctrine, you should have a perfect life (v2)!  After all, how can you expect to persuade others if you haven't persuaded yourself?

But everyone stumbles in some way, and it will always be possible to find faults in a teacher.  You'll always be able to find some way to judge or criticise a church elder.

So how does a teacher respond to that?  By toughening up?  Of course not!  The apostle Paul writes that if you speak like an angel, but you don't have love, you're no more useful than a clanging cymbal (1 Cor.13v1)!  A teacher must love the people - he must have a tender heart.  If his heart is armour-plated, how can he speak the truth in love?

A teacher's heart will not be covered with armour, but with scars.  Hence James writes: "Not many of you should become teachers."

2) The high level of difficulty (v3-5)

A small bit controls the direction of a horse.  A small rudder directs a huge ship.  In the same way, a few words can have a massive impact on a situation.

As an illustration, think of the canal in Welshpool.  If you sat in a boat on one side of the canal, and someone asked you to row to the other side, you would probably be able to do it.  It's not a huge distance, and a slight error in your direction won't have a big effect.

However, if you sat in a ferry at Dover, and someone asked you to direct the ferry to Calais, you would probably panic!  You would know that if there's a slight error in your direction, you'll end up in completely the wrong place!  The further the distance, the greater the impact if you get it slightly wrong.

It's the same with the role of teaching a church.  Over the course of a lifetime, getting it slightly wrong will have a bigger and bigger affect upon the church.  A small flame can cause massive damage (v5)!  To avoid causing that damage, a teacher must study hard like a labourer (2 Tim 2v15).  

He must learn how to handle different texts correctly.   He must sacrifice time praying and meditating over the Scriptures.  He must teach to help rather than harm.  In Ephesians 6, the Word of God is a sword.  But this sword is not to be used to hurt people, for "we do not wrestle against flesh and blood" (1 Cor. 15v50).  Instead, it should be used to liberate people from untruth.  

A teacher must train in spiritual swordsmanship, and the training is costly.  Hence James writes: "Not many of you should become teachers."

3) The high level of responsibility (v6-12)

Our words can harm like a fire.  They can affect a person's reputation, their "whole body", and words can affect someone's future, the "whole course of life" (v6).  A teacher must handle his words carefully, not recklessly, and James tells us how difficult this is (v7-8).  Careless words can make the teacher a hypocrite, a source of blessing and cursing (v9-12).

So consider carefully if you want the role of a teacher or elder.  I remember my pastor from Bristol, Mr. Clarke, saying this about becoming an elder: "If you can do anything else, do that instead."  He considered the calling to eldership was such a responsibility, you should consider every other option first.

So James writes: "Not many of you should become teachers."  However, just as there is a fire that harms, so there is also a fire that heals.  When the resurrected Jesus meets his followers, and helps them to understand the gospel, their response is: "Did not our hearts burn within us as he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?" (Luke 24v32).

There is a fire that harms, and a fire that heals: a fire that wounds, and a fire that warms.  The teacher must seek to ignite the fire that heals and warms; that only burns away the impurities; that inspires, motivates and equips the listener for ministry.  It is a difficult task, and only possible with the help of God's Spirit, but it is the only fire worth kindling.

So how do we recognise who should become a teacher?  We will consider that next week, as James answers the question: "Who is wise and understanding among you?" (3v13)

Some Words for Wednesday - The Talking Dead: A Survival Guide (James ch.2)

In the US, the TV show with the highest ratings is "The Walking Dead", gathering 18.4 million viewers for its season 6 finale a few months ago.  The gruesome series is about a world overrun by zombies, and tells the story of a small group of survivors and their struggle to remain alive.

In James 2v12-26, we read about a different kind of threat which I call "The Talking Dead", and this blog post is James's survival guide.

Question:  Who are The Talking Dead?

Answer:  They are people with a lifeless faith

James tells us of those with dead faith (2v17, 26).  They are people who say they trust God and sound like believers, but there is no evidence in their actions to confirm the truth of their words (v15-16).  What they say is denied by what they do.

As an illustration, I worked for Shropshire Council for 15 years, and during that time I learned that there were people who could interview for jobs really well, but it would turn out that they weren't able to do the job.  They could say all the right things, but they couldn't actually do the work.  If you've worked in the same place for a long time, you've probably met people like that, too.

James says there can be people like that in the church.  They say the right things, but their faith is dead.  They are the talking dead.

Question:  How do I check that I'm not one of the talking dead?

Answer:  My faith should be partnered with holiness.

In James 2v12, he writes that we must speak and act as those judged by the "law of liberty".  That is what a living faith looks like.  But what is this law, and how does it bring freedom?

James writes of the law of liberty in chapter one.  We look into this law when we hear the word (1v22-25).  It is through the Bible that God reveals this law to us and tells us what a living faith and true freedom look like.  If faith without works is dead, faith with works is freedom.

Active submission to the law of liberty is what we call "holiness".  Holiness is to be a part of our private lives and our relationships - in his letter, James gives emphasis to relationships and acts of loving kindness.  Holiness is a vital sign of a living faith.

Some might say we shouldn't be so demanding - that some people have an active faith, and others "just believe" (2v18).  But James says that is not enough - even demons just believe (2v19)!  

He gives two examples of people who had an active faith - Abraham and Rahab (v21-25).  In different ways, they both put their futures at risk by faith (Hebrews 11v17, 31).  They were justified because they believed God's promises and behaved accordingly.  Their faith was made whole by their actions (v22).

Remember, Christians are in a loving relationship with God, their Father in heaven, and loving relationships always have boundaries.  Often, the closer the relationship, the stricter the boundaries.  However, we recognise that those boundaries provide a framework within which relationships flourish.

Holiness is the framework within which my relationship with God flourishes, and it is the evidence of a living faith.

Question:  Why are the talking dead so dangerous?

Answer: They stop the living from thriving.  

If you ever watch a zombie movie, you'll always find the small band of survivors are struggling to get by.  It's almost impossible to thrive when you're surrounded by the undead.

In a similar way, the talking dead are a danger to the church community.  They will stifle love and discourage meaningful fellowship.  By their very nature, they want things to be superficial, and will influence the church so that they do not need to put their lives on the altar (Rom 12v1).

One type of defense many churches use against the talking dead is to have a process by which people become members of the church, usually overseen by the church elders.  Although not foolproof, it's a way of checking that those involved in church decision-making have an ongoing testimony of a living faith.

Question:  Are the talking dead dangerous in other ways?

Answer:  They discourage people who are looking for life.

Unbelievers can be very good at spotting the talking dead.  I'm sure we all have met people who have been discouraged from seeking the Lord because they went to a church and met hypocrites.  

Question:  Who else is in danger from the talking dead?

Answer:  The talking dead are a danger to themselves.

Unless something fundamental changes, the only future for the undead is decomposition.  Their time is always running out.

So what should we do?  We should behave mercifully because we have received mercy (2v13).  Our aim should be to put the talking dead out of their misery by helping them find new life in Jesus Christ.

Notice that James finishes his letter by telling the church how wonderful it is to bring back those who are wandering (5v19-20).  He wants people to find God's mercy.  What does that "bringing back" look like?  Sometimes it looks like rebuke (4v4) and sometimes it looks like encouragement (5v7).  James' tone is very different in these two verses, but his aim is the same - to make sure these people are in the land of the living.

We must pray for wisdom, so that we will know the most appropriate way to reveal to the talking dead their need of a living faith.

Some Words For Wednesday - Warm Welcomes and Cold Shoulders (James ch.2)

(Here are some notes from the message shared last Sunday when we gathered as a church.)

We've recently started a new series in the letter of James.  James is writing to "the Dispersion" (1v1) - a group of believers who had been scattered from their homes because of persecution.  They had left everything, and now were poor and vulnerable to exploitation.  

In chapter one, James writes about wisdom and having a faith that is visible.  James now begins chapter 2 by stating that there should be no favouritism within a church community.

What situation is James dealing with?  The wealthy were being given preferential treatment regarding seating (2v1-3).  The message being given was: "If you look pretty neat, you get a good seat.  If you look pretty poor, you sit on the floor!"

James initially deals with this favouritism by giving the church a God's eye view of things.  He has already done this in chapter 1 verses 9-10.  Now he reminds the church that God has chosen the poor to be heirs of the kingdom (2v5).  By discriminating against these poor Christians, they were making judgments contrary to God's judgments - hence James describes them as "judges with evil thoughts".  Their thoughts were evil because they were contrary to God's thoughts.

Within a church community, Christians are to treat each other as members of a spiritual family.  It isn't appropriate to give some a warm welcome, and others a cold shoulder.  In the church James is writing to, favouritism was related to social status, but there can be many other causes.  

Sometimes we overlook people because they're needy, just like the disciples who wanted to send away the hungry crowds (Matthew 14v15).  Sometimes we tut at those who are noisy, just like the disciples who wanted to stop mothers bringing their little children to Jesus (Mark 10v13).

Sometimes we treat believers differently based on their theological slants.  Perhaps they like songs we don't like, or they wear something on Sunday we don't like, or they raise their hands during corporate worship, or they never raise their hands during corporate worship.  For whatever reason, we think that we have an appropriate excuse to stop treating them as a brother or sister in Christ.

Sometimes we give some believers preferential treatment over others because they've been in the church for longer, or because they belong to a certain family.  I remember hearing a minister, in a public meeting, referring to "the core membership" of the church.  There was the membership, and then within that was a "core membership": what some might call the "inner circle".

There are many reasons why we might start to think it is acceptable to show favouritism.  But James says it is never appropriate within a church family.

Of course, not showing favouritism does not mean treating everyone in the same way all the time.  First, we are to show discernment in regard to people's gifts.  The church is a body made of different parts - there are Holy Spirit-intended ways we are meant to be different.  The apostle Paul writes that if we say that all Christians are basically the same, there is a sense in which the church ceases to exist! (1 Cor.12v17)

James himself writes that "not many of you should be teachers" (3v1).  In other words, only a few are meant to have that level of spiritual responsibility within the church.  It is appropriate for us to discern where people's gifts do or do not lie.

Secondly, it is appropriate to discern different needs in the church, and treat people differently in that respect.  For example, James tells us that true religion is not to visit everyone, but to visit "widows and orphans in their distress" (1v27).  In Acts 4v34-35, those who are wealthy give more than others, and what they give is not distributed evenly among the church, but to those who had greatest need.

So, we are not to show favouritism, but we are to be discerning in the area of gifts and needs.  In the church that James is writing to, it is clear that everyone equally needed a seat, and should therefore have been treated equally.

But why does favouritism matter so much?  Aren't there more important issues to worry about than seating?

James doesn't think so.  He writes that it breaks a law that is as important as royalty - "love your neighbour as yourself" (2v8-10).  Jesus clearly teaches that we are to treat all people as our neighbours, both the people we live next to and the people we would never live next to!  Favouritism breaks this law, and that is significant.  Sin has a rippling effect, and breaking one law is like breaking them all (2v10).

The big problem with favouritism is that it undermines the gospel message.  It implies that salvation isn't for all kinds of people.  The gospel teaches us that we must come to God as we are.  Favouritism teaches that we have to reach a certain standard before we can enter the inner circle or join the "core membership".

The challenge for the church is clear.  It's true that the church is a community where people make friends.  However, more importantly that that, the church is a community where God grows a family.  

We have to lay aside our personal preferences.  You are not to love and serve your brother or sister because they are from the right background or because they have the same theological leanings or because your personality clicks with their's.  You are to love and serve them because Christ first loved and served them by giving his life for them.  He did that "while we were still sinners" (Rom.5v8) - we did not win his approval.  Instead, we were won by his grace.

Jesus gives the same welcome to all who trust in him - none are ever turned away (John 6v37).  How can we judge differently to our Lord?