How Blunt Were James and John?

I was recently reading the books of James (Ya’acov) and 1 John (1 Yohanan) and I couldn’t help but notice the type of wording and phrasing they were using. They were loving but frank and blunt. When it came to living the life that Yeshua (Jesus) expected people to live, they were upfront about their beliefs. Either you lived it or you didn’t. They weren’t asking for perfection, they just wanted you to live your life completely for Yeshua.

How blunt were James and John? Look at these verses (bold type added):
“If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself and your religion is worthless.” James 1:26 (New Living Translation – NLT)

“What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? James 2:14 NLT

“You adulterers! Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God?” James 4:4 NLT

“Don’t grumble about each other, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged, for look-the Judge is standing at the door.” James 5:9 NLT

“If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth.” 1John 2:4 NLT

“If anyone claims, “I am living in the light,” but hates a brother, that person is still living in darkness. Anyone who loves another brother or sister is living in the light and does not cause others to stumble. But anyone who hates another brother or sister is still living and walking in darkness. Such a person does not know the way to go, having been blinded by the darkness.” 1John 2:9-11 NLT

Their attitude is similar to Yeshua’s statement in the book of Revelation. In that letter, Yeshua told the congregation in Laodicea to make a choice, be white hot or completely cold. By the way, while we are on the subject, Yeshua and His disciples expect you to be honest about where you stand – no pretending please. The very concept of calling yourself a disciple of Yeshua and not living completely for Yeshua was ridiculous to James and John, an oxymoron. The emissaries (apostles) of Yeshua considered the outcome of repentance and salvation to be a life lived radically and totally for Yeshua.

“Now therefore, fear the Lord, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord! And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24: 14-15 (NKJV)

A Good Foundation (aka The Kingdom on the Pea)

“Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Messiah Yeshua himself. We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord.” Ephesians 2: 20-21 (New Living Translation – NLT) adapted with Messianic Jewish terms

We live in a complicated society. The Media is constantly bombarding us with many types of messages. Live this way. Believe this person. Try this philosophy. On and on it goes. How many of us, I wonder, simply absorb and believe what we see and hear without spending a few moments to think about it. If we don’t think it through, then we may find ourselves building our lives on principles that are either shallow or meaningless.

A ministry can fall into the same trap. With a wide range of philosophies, ideas and paths out there, it becomes all too easy to follow the latest wind of “doctrine”. One person has a good idea about children’s ministry; another has a congregational growth strategy. Yet another person thinks the sanctuary should be painted green. Many of these ideas or strategies can be good and used by the Lord to build His kingdom.

It is just that in the process of growing, whether as an individual or a congregation, we may become caught up in too many things. Suddenly our lives or ministries become just as complicated and shallow as the world around us. Even worse, other people may look at you or your congregation and not see anything different from the world. One day you may find yourself looking at your life or ministry and realize that you somehow lost your way.

Do you remember the Hans Christian Anderson story of the “Princess on the Pea” (That is the actual title translation into English). The prince, desiring to get married, was looking for a special person. He came across many princesses but was not satisfied. One day a rain soaked women came to the castle and claimed she was a princess. To test the women’s claim the Old Queen devised a plan. She put a pea underneath 20 feather beds and 20 mattresses. Only a princess with delicate skin could feel the pea under all that bedding. The princess passed the test.

Sometimes, as followers of Yeshua, we inadvertently bury the Kingdom of God under 20 feather beds and 20 mattresses. We add layer upon layer of things to do, places to go, things to believe. We run the risk of getting so caught up in the layers that we forget that the test is in fact to hear the voice of God. In the story, the pea was the focus of the test; the bedding was simply part of the process of testing. In our walk with the Lord, the “still small voice” is the focus of the test. Everything else is a part of the process of testing.

One day we will be judged by what we do with the layers. However, if we lose sight of the foundations and the cornerstone we may find that the cornerstone is saying to us; ‘I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me. . .”

For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have-Yeshua the Messiah. 1Corinthians 3:11 (NLT -adapted)

Grow Up!

“Dear brothers and sisters, when I was with you I couldn’t talk to you as I would to spiritual people. I had to talk as though you belonged to this world or as though you were infants in Messiah. I had to feed you with milk, not with solid food, because you weren’t ready for anything stronger. And you still aren’t ready, for you are still controlled by your sinful nature. You are jealous of one another and quarrel with each other. Doesn’t that prove you are controlled by your sinful nature? Aren’t you living like people of the world? When one of you says, ‘I am a follower of Paul,” and another says, “I follow Apollos,” aren’t you acting just like people of the world?” 1 Corinthians 3:1-4 (New Living Translation – NLT) adapted

Saul (Paul) first visited Corinth during his second journey when he was setting-up and building congregations in the Roman Empire. When Saul wrote this letter to the Corinthians, he was at the end of his third journey. Therefore, when the Corinthian congregation received this letter, most likely several years had passed from his first visit. By this time, the Corinthian congregational community had deteriorated significantly.

Some of the issues Saul was dealing with in the letter include:

• People were bragging about following the teachings of specific people instead of following Messiah. They became proud of certain leaders at the expense of others without realizing that we are all part of the body of Messiah.
• They tolerated gross immorality. It was so bad that they were allowing things that even pagans wouldn’t tolerate. Making matters worse, they were proud of themselves instead of hanging their heads in shame.
• Members of the congregation were suing one another in civil court. Saul stated that when followers of Yeshua do this they are already defeated.
• They seemed to be inconsiderate, insensitive and thoughtless of other believers. It may have been so bad that they seemed oblivious to the fact they were destroying the faith of others.
• Their congregational worship was chaotic at best and so was their taking of the Lord’s Supper (Seder).

Simply put, they were not walking in love (1Corinthians 13) and they were not following scripture. In short, they were ignoring God.

In the midst of all this daily chaos comes a lengthy letter from Saul. It had been several years since they had seen him. They must have gathered as a group to hear what Saul had to say in his letter. Among many other things, they also heard something along these lines:

When I visited you for the first time you were new believers in Messiah. I couldn’t tell you about the deep things of the Lord. You were not ready for that. However, it has been several years and you should be acting like grown up people, mature followers of Yeshua. Instead, you are divided and fighting amongst yourselves, full of sin, pride and arrogance, inconsiderate and thoughtless to others. All I can say to you is: YOU’RE ALL STILL BEHAVING LIKE A BUNCH OF BABIES! SO GROW UP!”

The thing that keeps me sober when I read about the Corinthian congregation is how they so thoroughly slid into gross sin and didn’t even realize it or give it a second thought. They most likely started out making small compromises in their walk with the Lord. One compromise here, another one there. Each one may have seemed innocuous at the time, but a bunch of small compromises adds up to one giant compromise. Like the analogy of the boiling frog, they were killing themselves slowly but surely. Then one day the Lord Yeshua walks into the “room” and yells out: BY NOW YOU SHOULD BE MATURE DISCIPLES BUT YOU’RE ALL STILL BEHAVING LIKE A BUNCH OF BABIES!

Ouch! That hurts! It should.