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Category: Epistles – Is his letter to our church?

Epistle of Paul to the Romans 1 - the Apostles sends a church letter to Rome and the local saints of area churches
Epistle of Paul to the Romans

Epistles ἐπιστολή or Letters

I charge you by the Lord that this epistle be read to all the holy brethren.

Paul’s First Letter to the Thessalonians 

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JUNE 2024 – 2025 —

1 CORINTHIANS 

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Letters – Is he writing to me?
The short answer: YES.

In their epistles or 1st century church letters the Apostles and other men sent out by Jesus build up the saints [small – ‘s’] or members of local first century churches.

A Disciple or other witness of JESUS would write it. Messengers then delivered these church letters to many isolated worshipers.

Followers of Jesus Christ receive these letters as a major encouragement to their personal faith. Then leaders read them to worshipers of their church.

Although the Epistles 0r Letters to the Church were originally written to churches of the first century,

Romans through Jude will seem like letters to your 21st century church.

  • What do Peter, Paul, John and others tell us we must do?
  • Is he talking about an issue in your 21st c. church as well?
  • How does the writer’s advice, warning, or encouragement to the 1st c. believers apply to you as well
  • Is the writer of this letter talking about something you need to address in your 21st century ‘christian’ life?

Contemporary Application of the Letters (Epistles)

Most New Testament writers take on specific issues confronting faithful followers of Jesus Christ. These same issues continue to confront believers until the Lord’s coming again in these last days.

Certainly Christ our Lord will come again to those God has chosen for eternal life.

Believers currently suffer more than most of you who know Christ in your local church can imagine.

In other lands Christians continue to suffer by the hand of the ungodly.
Go into all the world

A 21st century Common Era church can see and hear nearly any atrocity of man or artificial imagination of sinful man’s mind, yet ‘christians‘ dare not speak of any absolute truth of the Lord God or talk of JESUS CHRIST.

Will YOU comment on Scripture and share the Gospel?

I invite you to read the inspired word of Scripture written in these LETTERS TO THE CHURCH.

YES, He IS writing to YOU.

Beloved brother or sister in Christ Jesus,

Will you read this ‘CHURCH LETTER’ and talk of JESUS through your comment, sharing and email to me about this ‘Letter to you?”

Roger@talkofJesus.com

  • Jude – Now I will praise the Lord

    Jude – Now I will praise the Lord

    Who is Jude?

    The first thing I want to know about any letter I receive is who sent it to me. So as a leader or member of one of several churches we would want to be certain of the identity of the author of Jude and the authenticity of Jude’s message.

    Jude, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James

    Letter of Jude 1:1a NKJV

    To fully understand the identity of the man who’s name is translated in English as ‘Jude” we must look to both the original Greek text and the common name of its Hebrew origin in first century Judea and Galilee.

    Ἰούδας

    Pronounced: ē-ü’-däs — Most translations of the Greek use Jude, the Latin Iudas and Yehudah in the Hebrew Names Version. The root word of the Greek name is Yĕhuwdah from the Hebrew יְהוּדָה meaning “praised” and translated at Judas. (We understand why after Jesus’ betrayal no man wanted to be known by this name now synonymous with ‘betrayer.’)

    In James – Witness of a Converted Brother we learned that Roman names derived from local languages had become Hellenized. James could be Jim, but Judas and Judah easily become, Jude.

    Some fathers named their sons after a forefather of their tribe like Judah or Israel. Judah יָדָה is the familiar Hebrew root of both the Greek and English.

    Brother of James

    Jude means: he shall be praised.

    The author of our letter identifies himself as the brother of James.

    Jude refers to James, head of the church of Jerusalem, leader of the first century churches who exchanged letters throughout Asia minor, Greece, Palestine and other areas receiving the Good News of Christ. Most Biblical commentators agree that like James, Jude is is also a half-brother of Jesus.

    Both James and Jude identify themselves as servants of Jesus, rather than claiming their biological relationship to the Lord. Most kings come to power via their family connection and install relatives in high positions.

    One of the great Jewish controversies Jesus would take no part in was that of the legitimacies of kings and followers of certain political traditions. These political/family controversies had progressed and preceded Jude, James and Jesus by several generations back to the second century B.C.

    Maccabees

    Source: BibleHub.org (a hammer), This title, which was originally the surname of Judas, one of the sons of Mattathias, was afterward extended to the heroic family of which he was one of the noblest representatives. Asmonaeans or Hasmonaeans is the Proper name of the family, which is derived from Cashmon, great grandfather of Mattathias. The Maccabees were a family of Jews who resisted the authority of Antiochus Epiphanes king of Syria and his successors who had usurped authority over the Jews, conquered Jerusalem, and strove to introduce idolatrous worship.

    Judas, one of the sons of Mattathias generally called in English the Maccabees, a celebrated family who defended Jewish rights and customs in the 2nd century B.C. (1 Maccabees 2:1-3 {from the Apocrypha, for those unfamiliar with extra-Biblical texts.}

    Herodians

    The end of the era of the Hasmoneans is probably the most turbulent time in Jewish history. It is hard to imagine a “Jewish” government more antithetical to Jewish principles and ideals than that of Herod and his successors, whose murderous, tyrannical ways would eventually lead to the destruction of the Temple and the beginning of the long exile that Jews find themselves in. – Source: JewishHistory.org

    Herod the Great, born in Rome around 70 B.C and known as Herodes Magnus, was appointed a governor at around age 20 (along with his brother) and appointed King by the Roman senate in 37 B.C. He became known as Judah’s great builder and built the Temple in Jerusalem.

    During the time of Jesus, James and Jude and continuing into the years of the early church, the Herods wielded much power. Rome finally turned on Jerusalem and their client king appointed to help Rome defend the Empire against enemies east of Palestine. The Herodians failed to control the “Jewish problem,” which caused trouble throughout the Empire.

    Bondservant of Jesus Christ

    The brother of James could have begun his letter to the church as a ‘brother of the King and Messiah,’ implying his authority of position via his family. The Herodians or Maccabees made familial claims to kingdom leadership, but not these half-brothers of Jesus who had not even followed the Lord prior to His resurrection.

    James begins his letter (ἐπιστολή epistle, in greek): ‘James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.’ Jude chooses to identify in the same way as a bondservant of Christ.

    Jude would have been known to his readers as the brother of James, leader of the church in Jerusalem, both related to Jesus the Messiah.

    Understanding the Servant of Christ

    The Bible uses the word ‘servant‘ almost 500 times. A few English translations use the word ‘bondservant,’ a concept we no longer use or understand. Furthermore, many contemporary christians resist this concept of sometime voluntary compliance.

    I am the LORD your God, which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, that ye should not be their bondmen; and I have broken the bands of your yoke, and made you go upright.

    Leviticus 26:13 KJV

    עָבַד עֶבֶד – A slave or servant; to work, serve. Also used as form of address between equals.

    Genesis 18: KJV

    And the LORD appeared unto him [Jacob] in the plains of Mamre: … three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground, And said, My Lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant:

    Jacob served the LORD. We serve the LORD. Jude served Christ, the Lord.

    Malachi 4:

    About four centuries before Christ (and Jesus’ half-brothers) the prophet Malachi writes:

    “Remember the instruction of Moses my servant, the statutes and ordinances I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel.

    Malachi 4:4

    The closing verses of Malachi clearly point back to Moses and the Law with the Lord calling Moses, “my servant.” James and Jude are servants of Jesus just as Moses was servant to the Lord at Horeb.

    עֶבֶד – `ebed

    Are you, beloved follower of Christ, first a servant of the Lord?

    διάκονος – diakonos

    “If anyone serves me, he must follow me. Where I am, there my servant also will be. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.

    Command of the Lord Jesus – Gospel of John 12:26 CSB

    The servant (from the Greek context) is ‘one who executes the commands of another, esp. of a master.

    1. the servant of a king
    2. a deacon [diakonos], one who, by virtue of the office assigned to him by the church, cares for the poor and has charge of and distributes the money collected for their use.
    3. a waiter, one who serves food and drink

    “The greatest among you will be your servant.

    The word of the Lord – Matthew 23:11

    Abraham was a servant of the Lord. Moses was a servant of the Lord. And like their forefathers in the faith, Jude and James became servants of the Lord first and servants of the Lord’s followers second.

    Paul, referring to the church writes to the church at Colossae:

    I have become its servant, according to God’s commission that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known …

    Jude writes to the church

    Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James:

    To those who are the called, loved by God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ.

    Jude 1:1b CSB

    Are you a fellow servant of Christ Jesus? If so, know that you are loved by God the Father. Know that by His grace you are kept for Jesus Christ at the day of His victorious return.

    2 May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you.

    To be continued

  • James – Above all – 9

    James – Above all – 9

    But above all things, my brethren, swear not…

    James 5:12a KJV

    You had begun to count the barrage of important words to the congregation. “FINALLY,” says the preacher after a lengthy sermon, as our dull ears and glassy eyes slowly return, “point number nine.”

    Peter, Paul and others frequently conclude with ‘finally,’ James closes his letter, ‘above all.’

    In conclusion

    Before we examine this specific closing of James and the concluding nine verses, consider a few closing points of other pastoral letters.

    • Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice. Become mature, be encouraged, be of the same mind, be at peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you. – Paul, in his second and final letter to the church at Corinth.
    • Finally, be strengthened by the Lord and by his vast strength. – Paul’s brief closing to his church at Ephesus
    • Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable ​— ​if there is any moral excellence and if there is anything praiseworthy ​— ​dwell on these things. – Paul’s closing to the church at Philippi

    James closes: Above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear… so that you won’t fall under judgment.

    Other first generation church leaders also include similar phrases as if to say, ‘last, but not least.’ Their letters also emphasize some of same points to remember as does James.

    • Above all, put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. – Paul’s letter to the church at Colossae
    • Above all, maintain constant love for one another, since love covers a multitude of sins. – First letter of Peter to the church, echoed by James’ concluding sentence.
    • Above all, be aware of this: Scoffers will come in the last days scoffing and following their own evil desires – Second letter of Peter to the church. Early in his letter James makes a similar point:

    James 5:

    Oaths

    12 Above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. But let your “yes” mean “yes,” and your “no” mean “no,” so that you won’t fall under judgment.

    James does not prohibit oaths; rather he calls out those who take oaths, vows or solemn promises lightly.

    If a Christian’s oath is the fruit of God, then our words must convey pure truth. NO guarantees by god, as unbelievers see the Lord, and NO guarantees by earth and NO oaths by any other authority outside your own true word.

    Yes equals yes and your no equals no. Simplicity. And truth by your own personal guarantee of your own words. Does this not go back to the opening point of James’ letter to the church?

    My dear brothers and sisters, understand this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger, for human anger does not accomplish God’s righteousness.

    James 1:19-20 CSB

    Don’t get God involved in your words to another. By your words you will be judged. – Matthew 12:37

    Prayer

    13 Is anyone among you suffering? He should pray…

    What believer in Christ does not suffer? All sometimes suffer hardship, sickness, troubles and many evils.

    Pray, beloved brother, James urges in his letter. Pray, beloved sister. Yet he also points to the encouragement from others in our church family, because their joy reflects the Lord to us.

    Are you cheerful? Then sing praises to the Lord.

    (Are you? Then do you?) Those brothers and sisters who suffer hardship feel your joy in Christ. At times you also need to hear the joy of beloved brothers and sisters in Christ.

    14 Is anyone among you sick? He should call for the elders of the church, and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.

    Here James points to leadership roles of encouragement by our local church. His corporate letter tells all who are sick to seek the anointing and prayer of our local leaders, the elders who shepherd us. Though the anointing oil does not heal the unknown mysteriously; the Lord, in answer to prayer, may heal the one who believes, if it is His will.

    Mark relates good news of such results by those sent out into surrounding towns by the Lord Jesus.

    So they went out and preached that people should repent. They drove out many demons, anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.

    Mark 6:12-13 CSB

    Once again, before the Lord’s half-brother repented of his disbelief, James most likely knew some of these who experienced miraculous healings. James continues:

    The prayer of faith will save the sick person, and the Lord will raise him up; if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.

    James 5:15 CSB

    Jesus forgives a lame man

    Perhaps you recall a healing by Jesus in a public event where James may have been among the crowds outside the house.

    Luke 5:

    17 On one of those days while he was teaching… sitting there … from every village of Galilee and Judea, and also from Jerusalem. 18 Just then some men came, carrying on a stretcher a man who was paralyzed… because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on the stretcher through the roof tiles into the middle of the crowd before Jesus.

    20 Seeing their faith he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”

    … Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

    23 Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’?

    24 But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he told the paralyzed man, “I tell you: Get up, take your stretcher, and go home.”

    25 Immediately he got up before them, picked up what he had been lying on, and went home glorifying God.

    James 5: Do you need healing?

    photo of man wearing t-shirt "PRAY" JAMES 5-16
    James 5:16

    Above all, remember that God judges and that the Lord answers prayer.

    16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is very powerful in its effect.

    James points to Elijah, whose prayers God heard and answered because of his righteousness.

    Are we not cleansed of our sin in Christ Jesus, dear brother?

    Confess your sins and be cleansed by the righteousness of Christ. Pray for the sick among you.

    Community

    19 My brothers and sisters, if any among you strays from the truth…

    James closes with this: IF any among you.

    He does not begin by asking us to judge others, our neighbors or the world, but simply points this directly to application to the community of our church by saying, ‘if any among you.’

    Christians tend to be quick to speak and slow to listen, as James cautions earlier in his letter.

    strays from the truth

    This closing call to truth is not to the grey-edged truths of the world which are not truth at all. His pastoral call to us is to that higher absolute truth of Christ Jesus.

    Do not stray from truth. But if you do — and some of you will — bring your brother or sister back into the love of our church community.

    and someone turns him back…

    We all know the Way, the Truth and the Life. To bring someone back to Jesus will require their repentance.

    But who will go to a brother in the Lord asking for his repentance?

    It is not an easy thing to confront another in truth and love. (All the more reason we should limit this to the community of our church.)

    20 let that person know that whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.

    James’ question to those of the church is really more like:

    Do you care at all if your brother (or sister) in the church will go to hell?

    Go to him seeking his repentance and ask him to return to the Lord.

    We all have many sins in need of covering by our works of grace.

    see James 5:20

    No Post Script

    James writes to the church corporately, perhaps with certain individuals in various churches in mind.

    He could have closed with a few personal greetings or asked for a personal messenger to come to him with help of some sort, but he does not. And James could have appealed to the authority given him as one of the brothers of Jesus, son of Mary the same mother. Again, he does not.

    Rather, he appeals to all as brethren and himself humbly as a fellow servant of the Lord. James and the church at that time identify themselves as Jews.

    Christians are no different than Jews to Rome and the world. Cause any trouble and you are not welcome in this city.

    map major Jewish cities of Roman Empire - Rome Antioch Damascas Jerusalem Alexandria

    James writes to encourage several congregations throughout the region of the eastern empire of Rome.

    Most hearers of his letter are poor, some very poor. Trials of life test your faith in the Lord.

    Persist — show the fruit of your joy in the Lord, the evidence of your faith.

    Count it all JOY, dear brothers and sisters, whenever you face the challenges of your faith in Christ Jesus!

    HOW?

    Any trial is an outward circumstance which could challenge your faith. Temptation always lurks inwardly as an enticement to sin. Here is one good way to resist:

    …let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.

    James 1:19b KJV

    Do what the Law of God says and allow the Lord to judge others. Those rich who dispersed you to hard circumstances in difficult places will also be judged. Do not allow them to lead your church or you into sin.

    All must show their works of their faith, bringing each other into repentance before the Lord. God commands peace between believers. Repent and love each other, for the sake of Christ Jesus.

    Do you, beloved believer to whom I write, hear the Lord Christ Jesus in our appeal?

    James writes to many churches, asking us to build community and faith by our works of faith in Jesus.

    Above all, hear the heart of James.

    For he was once the unbelieving brother of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now he asks us to show our faith by our works.

  • James – Come now, brothers – 8

    James – Come now, brothers – 8

    Our church receives a pastoral letter from James by messenger. We know James and trust his wisdom and leadership. He addresses us familially as brothers, opening with encouragement, ‘count it all joy when you experience trials.’ Come now, brothers, James urges, be wise, repent and do what the Lord wills.

    Unlike the church nearer the end of these last days, those who received James’ letter know well their trusted pastor who writes from Jerusalem.

    James knew Jesus as a brother for many years, then finally repented of his sin and disbelief after the resurrection when the Lord appeared to him. Now James and the church must live with the controversies of the day or possibly die for their witness of Jesus.

    He addresses these men as brothers (although some contemporary translations include ‘sisters’). Culture dictates that women are included in the church, yet the Lord authorizes only men to lead its course. Also, men address only men and their family as leaders serving the Lord, while women lead other women and children as the Lord wills. All serve Christ.

    All leaders of the church, James, the Apostles, Elders and other men must look to the Lord, through Christ Jesus and the Holy Spirit for works of the Lord’s will.

    After beginning with his encouragement, ‘count it all joy,’ James calls on the church to seek wisdom from God.

    Men who judge

    James has pointed to God as One. The Lord God is the only lawgiver. Only our Creator, Almighty God has the complete power to destroy. The Lord also has the merciful power of grace — forgiveness of our sins — and also forgiveness of the sins of all those we tend to judge.

    Who are you to judge the Law, James asks? Why would you judge another believer?

    Perhaps some disciples of Jesus had judged the half-brothers of Jesus or thought that Saul of Tarsus could never be saved by the Lord. So James asks us to use the wisdom of God with men and allow God to judge.

    James 4:

    8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Be miserable and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

    11 Don’t criticize one another, brothers and sisters.

    Of course James had heard Jesus’ teachings before His crucifixion and resurrection. Surely James knew the comforting beatitudes Jesus taught frequently. Blessed are you when…, but also ‘woe to you’ when… (you turn from the Lord God.) James will address some woes as well.

    Blessed are those who mourn,
     for they will be comforted.
    Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
     for they will be filled.

    Blessed are the pure in heart,
     for they will see God.

    Woe! -אוֹי

    James reminds us of blessing from God, but warns of the coming woes to the worldly. This same pattern of warning from Jesus and the Prophets resonates with more familiarity to the church then than now.

    Woe! alas! oh! passionate cry of grief or despair

    Many first century hearers of the word would have been more familiar with these cautions from Isaiah:

    Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him: for the reward of his hands shall be given him.

    Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

    Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!

    Isaiah 3:11, 5:20, 5:21, KJV

    Jesus taught this same wisdom of God known through the Prophets.

    James warns the church against the woes of the worldly among us, even in the church. He will add more specific woes of the Lord’s opponents to our letter before its conclusion.

    Brothers and sisters, do not complain about one another, so that you will not be judged. Look, the judge stands at the door!

    James 5:9 CSB

    The Vapor of this Life

    For what is your life? It is even a vapor thar appears for a little time and then vanishes away. photo of man standing in mountains facing a fog
    —what your life will be!

    Thy will be done.

    What would James have learned from Jesus about expectations for this life?

    Our mortal life is a vapor, a passing mist.

    For prior to His crucifixion James and others had expected a Messiah quite different from the brother with whom he grew up.

    Jesus died as a man of only about thirty-three years, not as an aging conquering king (like David or Herod the Great). Joseph had also died when James was quite young.

    James must have recalled, ‘we both had an earthy papa who raised us for a time; but my brother, the Lord taught us to pray only to our Father in heaven, for ‘His Kingdom will come.’

    Now, after the resurrection James must have recalled Jesus’ words about prayer.

    “Our Father…,” Jesus taught. 

    Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
    Give us this day our daily bread.

    So James writes to the church:

    James 4:

    13 Come now, you who say,

    “Today or tomorrow we will travel to such and such a city and spend a year there and do business and make a profit.”

    14 Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring—what your life will be!

    God knows, James implies, and we all must realize.

    Most of the church commutes to work; we trade with the world as merchants of the Lord’s work. Yet what profit to our heavenly treasure from those of the world with whom we trade?

    So where will we go? Who should we see and how must we make our plans every day?

    Instead, you should say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.”

    James 4:15 CSB

    Why does James address the church in this way?

    Because some merchants become rich in commerce and poor in spirit.

    16 But as it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.

    Woe to those who boast!

    James equates our business braggings as evil. And worse, because you know Christ, you know what is good. Yet for some to whom he writes, James warns, ‘your works are evil.’

    17 So it is sin to know the good and yet not do it.

    Rich Oppressors Will Be Judged

    Do you know sin? And does the fruit of your salvation blossom into right works as the Lord requires?

    Jesus and others warn that the wolves of the world cunningly watch the sheep of the Shepherd. Although it is their place to watch over us, some oppress us.

    The rich (who may even employ or trade with us) sometimes oppress others of the church, he writes. And James’ implied question to the ‘saints’: ‘Are you one of these, brother?’

    Even the world opposed to Christ sees your works and wounds His bride the Church by the false witness of the hypocrite.

    James 5:

    Come now, you rich people, weep and wail over the miseries that are coming on you.

    James 5:1 CSB

    There it is again, ‘come now,’ James implores directly.

    Is he talking to me — a Christian, an upstanding financial supporter of our gathering?

    James is not addressing the world here, only the worldly of the church who would claim Christ Jesus.

    Once again his tone will reflect that of familiar prophets of old.

    2 Your wealth has rotted and your clothes are moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have stored up treasure in the last days.

    Some indictment!

    A few hearing James’ letter may think:

    Perhaps Pastor James had best back off some, so as not to offend other rich supporters of our church who make our work possible. Did Jesus ever talk to His followers like this?

    Jesus said to his disciples,

    “Truly I tell you, it will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven.

    Matthew 19:23 CSB

    But what of their tithe to the church? (At least I think all of that money more than I can imagine must be a tenth of their income.)

    These are the business owners, the merchants of our church, respected by the businesses and communities we serve.

    “But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your comfort.

    οὐαί – Woe to you, warns Jesus. – Luke 6:24

    ‘What do you who are bosses say to yourself, brothers,’ James would ask the hearers of his letter? Don’t you realize that you cannot treat your brothers or your neighbors of the world in a worldly manner when you continue to claim Christ Jesus?

    4 Indeed the wages of the laborers … which you kept back by fraud, cry out…

    …and the outcry of [your employees] has reached the ears of the Lord of Hosts.

    I take some liberties here contemporizing & combining English translations and authoritative commentary.

    5 You have spent your years on earth in luxury, satisfying your every desire.

    Your glutinous heart feasts, as in the day of slaughter for an ox unaware of its last day, its blood destined for the altar of judgement.

    You have condemned.

    The just man you murder.

    A righteous man from whom you claim compassion does not resist you when you show him no mercy.

    You have heaped up treasure in the last days.

    Your gold and silver … will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire.

    James 5:3c,ab excerpt NKJV

    The Harvest Approaches

    “Now concerning that day and hour no one knows ​— ​

    Matthew 24:36a CSB 
    “Then two men will be in the field; 
    one will be taken and one left. 
    “Two women will be grinding grain with a hand mill; 
    one will be taken and one left.
    “Then two men will be in the field; 
    one will be taken and one left. 
    “This is why you are also to be ready, 
    because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
    --- Matthew 24:40-42,44 CSB

    “Blessed is that servant whom the master finds doing his job when he comes.

    “But if that wicked servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delayed,’…

    Matthew 24:46-48a CSB

    Of course, James preaches the same warnings to the rich as he certainly heard his brother Jesus teach.

    “He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. – Matthew 24:51

    Therefore, be patient

    James preaches to the faithful, ‘Woe to the rich.’ Do not count yourself with them. We will all face the judgement when Jesus returns. Now he encourages the most faithful, most worshipers of Jesus who suffer at the hands of many in this brief life.

    7 Be patient, therefore, brethren, until the coming of the Lord.

    The farmer waits for precious fruit. He waits first for rain and endures to wait for the late rains before the harvest.

    8 You also must be patient. Strengthen your hearts, because the Lord’s coming is near.

    The fruit of patience in the church

    9 Brothers and sisters, do not complain about one another, 
    so that you will not be judged. 

    Look, the judge stands at the door.

    10 Brothers and sisters, take the prophets who spoke in the Lord’s name as an example of suffering and patience.

    11 See, we count as blessed those who have endured.

    You have heard of Job’s endurance 
      and have seen the outcome that the Lord brought about
    —the Lord is compassionate and merciful.

    Come now

    James’ letter to the church about our works sounds so much like Jesus.

    For what is your life? It is even a vapor thar appears for a little time and then vanishes away. photo of man standing in mountains facing a fog
    —what your life will be!

    “Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will … do this or that…’”

    How do you know that the Lord will give you more time?

    “Come now, you rich,

    Weep and groan with anguish .. because of all the terrible troubles ahead of you.

    It’s an invitation, a forceful rebuke to some in the church:

    “Come now, repent and receive our Lord’s mercy.”

    Make your covenant with the Lord and He will accept you through the sacrifice of Christ Jesus.

    “Come now, let’s make a covenant, you and I. Let it be a witness between the two of us.” – Genesis 31-44

    As Laban, father-in-law to Jacob, reached out in peace, so does your Father in Heaven reach out to the lost sheep of Israel. James, half-brother of the Son of Man, the Messiah Jesus, writes to the church from Jerusalem.

    Come now, —the Lord is compassionate and merciful. Count it all joy when the world tries your patience.

    To be continued...