Tag Archives: James

Unknown's avatar Rev. David J. Schreffler 4:44 am on September 26, 2015
Tags: , James   

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 21, 2015
Tags: , James   

Pruning — Rev. David J. Schreffler

 

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September 21, 2015

“Who is wise and understanding among you? Show by your good life that your works are done with gentleness born of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not be boastful and false to the truth. Such wisdom does not come down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, devilish. For where there is envy and selfish ambition, there will also be disorder and wickedness of every kind. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace for those who make peace.”
James 3:13-18

“The harvest of our life’s efforts is really no different, as the author of James makes clear in this week’s epistle lesson. Just as the effort of the grower and pickers is reflected in the bins of lovely, fragrant fruit, so are the works of our life reflected in the fruits of our deeds. If we sow seeds of dissent in soil laden with envy and selfishness, our fruit will end up bruised and rotten from the core. Conflict and disputes leave unsightly pocks and blemishes. Slavish attention to wants and unbridled covetousness are pests every bit as damaging, ugly, and annoying as the common stink bug, infesting our lives and distracting us from the work at hand. I doubt any of us would make it past the “seconds” bin.

In welcoming and serving the weak, the marginalized, the poor, and the outcast, we grow toward a righteous harvest where all have a place at the table and an open invitation to enjoy God’s plenty. Getting there—from seed to mature harvest— is not easy; it is simple, but not easy. It is much more difficult to yield to others and put aside one’s own wants and desires. It is more difficult to sacrifice a branch or discard excess fruit that will crowd out the good. Yet we must prune our selfishness and greed if we are to grow, if we are to produce mature fruit for the table. It is tough and it hurts, but it is a necessary part of the process that will yield fruit full of mercy and a harvest of peace.” Rev. Sharron Blezard A Righteous Harvest  September 19, 2012

Selfish ambition. I have been struggling with selfish ambition this summer. Some of my feelings come from my own personal experiences with how I view my ministry, and other feelings come from what I see in the church today. If there is something in my life that I feel needs to be pruned, it is selfish ambition. “Why do I do the things that I do?” This is the question I need to ask myself constantly, and the question we all need to ask ourselves as we move about this world trying to live out our faith.

Recently my wife and I were pruning branches off a tree that stands in our front yard. We were pruning the branches because the tree was growing unevenly, out of control, and was interfering with strangers who wanted to walk on the sidewalk in front of our house. These are the reasons we prune certain behaviors from our lives. Sometimes we step back and see that our lives have become uneven and out of control because personal decisions and behaviors are impeding with our own progress in life and faith.

Pruning is tough — and as Sharron Blezard states, “it hurts” — but it is always necessary in the life of faith.

Pastor Dave