Day 86 - James 3:13 - 3 John 14

In today’s section, we read:

The last two chapters of James
Peter’s first letter – the hope we have, even though we may have to suffer when we stand firm in it in this world
Peter’s second letter – an exhortation to stay true to scripture and reject false teaching
John’s first letter – Jesus is light, life and love, and we should live in these three, especially love
John’s second letter – an exhortation to hold on to the truth that has been taught
John’s third letter – an exhortation to show hospitality to teachers of the truth

Some thoughts that occurred to me today:

In the earlier chapters of James, we saw how the author stressed the importance of works to demonstrate the vitality of faith – “faith is dead without good works” (2:26). In today’s chapters, we see a more positive side to what a living faith can produce. “God gives us even more grace to stand against such evil desires” (4:6); “humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come close to God, and God will come close to you” (4:7-8); “humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honour” (4:10); “such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven” (5:15).

Reading James is a welcome antidote to anodyne, wishy-washy, let’s-not-offend-anyone Christianity. You are left in no doubt of the seriousness of slander, gossip, bitchiness, selfish motives and quarrels, and that God will judge us for what we have done. However, there is the assurance of 2:13that, “if you have been merciful, God will be merciful when he judges you” and that “the Lord is full of tenderness and mercy” (5:11).

An outline of the structure of 1 Peter might be:
However tough our current situation is, we have hope in the good news of the priceless inheritance in Jesus →
We should live lives that demonstrate that we are looking forward to receiving that inheritance, the eternal life in Jesus. In the meantime →
We should live as reflect out status as living stones in God’s house, a royal priesthood and temporary residents and foreigners in this world. One way we demonstrate this is →
Submission to authority, be it to Jesus, political authorities, slaves to masters, wives and husbands. In brief →
We should follow Christ’s example and never sinned in spite of persecution. We may well suffer for following Christ, but we should live like he did. In the end, →
If he stand firm, Jesus will reward us on his return.

The first chapter is great motivation, as Peter reminds of what is waiting for us if we stay the course – “we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see” (1:4-5); “when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honour on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world” (1:7); “the reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls” (1:9); and “your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God” (1:23). Peter also has an eternal perspective, as he looks forward to the end of the world when Jesus returns, but also reminds his readers that this promise was what the Old Testament prophets were looking forward to. “It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. God chose him as your ransom long before the world began, but he has now revealed him to you in these last days” (1:19-20).

There is great encouragement in the midst of suffering that must come to those who follow Jesus. We have these wonderful but slightly strange names relating to our new status – “living stones” (2:4), presumably with a hint of irony since the author had been named “rock” by Jesus, “royal priests, holy nation, God’s very own possession” (2:9) and “temporary residents and foreigners” (2:11). Then we read in 3:14, “even if you suffer for doing what is right, God will reward you for it”. 3:18, “Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God. He suffered physical death, but he was raised to life in the Spirit.”

4:8 – “continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins.”

5:4 – “When the Great Shepherd appears, you will receive a crown of never-ending glory and honour.”

An outline of the structure of 2 Peter might be:
God has given everything we need to live a godly life, even in the hardest of circumstances. One of the keys is scripture →
Which is not a load of clever stories, but truth, attested by eye-witnesses such as Peter. However →
There is an ever-present danger of false teachers, who will however be condemned by God’s judgment. Their lives prove that they have no part in God’s truth. →
God’s judgment will arrive in His own timescale, not ours, so we should remain vigilant until the time comes.

As in Rom 5:3-5, 2 Pet 1:5-7 gives us a wonderful progression, where we can see how the Spirit in us helps us to mature into greater Christ-likeness if we persevere – “Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone.”

Peter refers to the transfiguration in 1:16-18, the only event he recounts of all the things he was witness to.

I love the imagery in 1:19 – “[the prophets’] words are like a lamp shining in a dark place—until the Day dawns, and Christ the Morning Star shines in your hearts.”

2:9 – “Lord knows how to rescue godly people from their trials, even while keeping the wicked under punishment until the day of final judgment.”

Chapter 3 is very helpful in our current climate of scoffing. God’s plan has been perfect hitherto, and we can be utterly confident that it will be for all eternity, even if we are impatient. “You must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day. The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent. But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief.”

An outline of the structure of 1 John might be:
The author has seen and touched and heard himself the Word of life, Jesus, who is also light →
If we do not live lives that reflect this light and life we are denying the truth, but by coming to the light and confessing our sins, we can receive God’s forgiveness. Consequently →
We should live as Christ does, and love one another. By doing this, we prove we belong to Jesus, and through Him to the Father, and the Holy Spirit in us helps us in this →
God has sent Jesus to destroy the works of the devil and to welcome us into His family as his sons. All the obstacles have been removed by Jesus, so →
We must love one another, and the Holy Spirit helps us in this, and also to have confidence in our salvation through Jesus

This was such a joy to read, from start to finish pouring out God’s love. John starts by pointing out that he is talking from first hand experience, and is completely overwhelmed by it. Then there is the wonderful description of Jesus as light in 1:5-7, followed by, “If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.”

2:1-2 – “if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world.”

2:24-25 – “you must remain faithful to what you have been taught from the beginning. If you do, you will remain in fellowship with the Son and with the Father. And in this fellowship we enjoy the eternal life he promised us.”

3:16 – “We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters.”

3:21-22 – “Dear friends, if we don’t feel guilty, we can come to God with bold confidence. And we will receive from him whatever we ask because we obey him and do the things that please him.”

3:24 – “Those who obey God’s commandments remain in fellowship with him, and he with them. And we know he lives in us because the Spirit he gave us lives in us.”

4:7-8 – “Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.”

4:16-17 – “God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world.”

4:18 – “Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. We love each other because he loved us first.”

5:3-5 – “Loving God means keeping his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome. For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith. And who can win this battle against the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God.”

5:13-15 – “I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life. And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for.”

5:20 – “we know that the Son of God has come, and he has given us understanding so that we can know the true God. And now we live in fellowship with the true God because we live in fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the only true God, and he is eternal life.”

2 Jn 6 – “Love means doing what God has commanded us, and he has commanded us to love one another, just as you heard from the beginning.”

2 Jn 9 – “anyone who remains in the teaching of Christ has a relationship with both the Father and the Son.”

One verse from today – “Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions. Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God. Even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feelings, and he knows everything” (1 Jn 3:18-20).