Monthly Archives: September 2015

Unknown's avatar Rev. David J. Schreffler 4:44 am on September 26, 2015
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By Faith Alone – But a Faith That is Never Alone — Rev. David J. Schreffler

 

image    September 26, 2015

“But be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves. For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror; for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like. But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act—they will be blessed in their doing. If any think they are religious, and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.”
James 1:22-27

“The book of James is something of an enigma in NT literature.  Is it from the very earliest stratum of the church — the Jewish Christians who looked to Jesus’ brother James as their leader, even before the Gentile mission — or a later, second- or third-generation group who struggled to keep the faith amid stress and persecution? Why does this material bear so many similarities to the teaching of Jesus, yet mention him by name only twice (1:1, 2:1)? Is it written in opposition to Paul’s teaching on faith, or does this author simply understand “faith” differently? Is the text a series of loosely connected teachings strung together, or is there an underlying structure? The preacher of James probably will not need to raise and answer all of these questions in the sermon, but will need to consider them as she or he decides how to interpret the text.”         Sandra Hack Polaski, Commentary on James 1 (Working Preacher)

If you are a Lutheran, most likely you have heard your pastor say something derogatory about the book of James. Although this book of the bible has a message we all need to hear, James will probably not get the respect it demands because of one line of text. That verse comes in chapter 2:24 which reads, “You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone”.

However, James is using the word justified in a different way than Paul. For Paul, the word justified meant “to be made right with G*d.” For James, however, justification meant “being demonstrated and proven.” Here is how one person tried to explain it:

“The 2011 NIV provides an excellent rendering of James 2:24: “You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone” (emphasis added). Similarly, the NLT translation of James 2:24 reads, “So you see, we are shown to be right with God by what we do, not by faith alone” (emphasis added). The entire James 2:14-26 passage is about proving the genuineness of your faith by what you do. A genuine salvation experience by faith in Jesus Christ will inevitably result in good works (Ephesians 2:10). The works are the demonstration and proof of faith (James 2:18). A faith without works is useless (James 2:20) and dead (James 2:17); in other words, it is not true faith at all. Salvation is by faith alone, but that faith will never be alone.“

So, do you still think James is an “Epistle of Straw”? Or, does James have a point about “demonstrating our faith through Good Works”?

Pastor Dave

Unknown's avatar Rev. David J. Schreffler 4:44 am on September 25, 2015
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The Power of the Resurrection — Rev. David J. Schreffler

 

image   September 25, 2015

“I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:10-14

“St. Paul knew that it meant, or might mean, a solemn reality. It was this inward power of Christ’s Resurrection, in its ever-increasing fullness, that he chiefly desired to know. Of this power of Christ’s Resurrection lodged in the recesses of the Christian soul, of this moral and spiritual resurrection which issues from, and corresponds with, the literal resurrection of Jesus Christ from His grave, G*d grant to all of us that St. Paul’s desire may be fulfilled, alike in our convictions and in our lives, and that we may know something of what the power of Christ’s Resurrection really is.” A Sermon, “The Power of the Resurrection, Henry Parry Liddon (1829 – 1890) “For All The Saints” volume II (p. 875)

Christ’s Resurrection means something especially important to the Christian — new life now and the possibility of eternal life. The translation I used in August for “eternal life” was “Life Age-Long”. It brings to mind the reality that the Resurrection of Christ means that we have new life in this age and in the age to come.

The catch is this — will you look into your soul each and every day to try to tap into the power of the resurrection? How can you do that? Well, it begins with waking up and thanking G*d for another day. Then as you go about your day, as you continually thank G*d for the blessings G*d has blessed you with, you look for ways to thank G*d in your actions, and in your interactions with others. You see, tapping into the power of the resurrection means that death no longer is something to fear. Death has no power over us because of the power of the resurrection. This, then, should free us to do all kinds of things in the name of Jesus Christ — because we fear nothing.

Pastor Dave