10 Tips on German Culture

If you are planning on spending some time in Germany, HERE are 10 things to avoid so as not to offend people. I think I may have broken all 10 out of ignorance.

Healing in James 5

Recently I finished writing a thesis related to the Epistle of James. After examining the structure and purpose of James, I then examined James 5:13–18—the passage promising healing to the sick. I concluded that this promise relates to spiritual healing for the spiritually sick, i.e., for those who are in sin. In this post I would like to explain what led me to this conclusion.

 

My analysis of the letter as a whole was critical for my study of chapter 5. In analyzing the Epistle, I noticed these important themes and facts:

• James belongs to the category of ancient epistle; chapter 1 serves as the Epistle’s intro, 2:1–5:8 as the Epistle’s body, and 5:9–20 as the body’s conclusion. This will be important later in our discussion.
  
• James addresses believing brothers in his Epistle (e.g., 1:2, 16, 19; 2:1, 5, 14; 3:1; 5:7, 12, 19), implying that the Christian community is his sole focus even when James issues strong rebukes.
  
• James regularly alludes to the Greek version of the OT prophets. For example, in the very first verse of the Epistle (1:1) James calls himself “a servant of God and of Jesus Christ.” Repeatedly in the Old Testament the prophets were referred to as “servants of God” (e.g., Jer 7:25; 25:4; 44:4; Ezek 38:17; Joel 3:2; Amos 3:7; Jonah 1:9; Zech 1:6; Mal 3:24). James’s reference to prophetic tradition in 1:1 establishes this as a contextual background for his message (Jobes, “Minor Prophets,”135). When addressing the problem of favortism (2:1–9), James alludes to the prophets who used similar terminology when discussing the oppression of the poor (e.g., Jer 7:6; 22:3; Ezek 18:7, 12, 16; 22:7, 29; 45:8; 46:18; Amos 4:1; 8:4; Micah 2:2; Hab 1:4; Zech 7:10). The paragraph located in 3:13–18, which many argue to be the heart of the Epistle, is one of James’s clearest allusions to the prophetic OT. One author notes that the question in 3:13, “Who is wise and understanding among you?” echoes Hosea 14:10, which in summary of the prophet’s entire message asks, “Who is wise and will understand these things?” (Jobes, “Minor Prophets” 138). James’s term “fruit of righteousness” in 3:18 occurs in the OT prophets (e.g., Amos 6:12; Hos 10:12). In 4:4 James calls the readers “adulteresses,” which is an allusion to Hosea and other Minor Prophets, where Israel’s unfaithfulness is likewise compared to adultery, implying that James accuses his audience of the same kind of unfaithfulness to the new covenant in Christ as was condemned by the prophets. James borrows heavily from the language of the OT prophets in his stern rebuke (4:1–10), and in his calls to the merchants (4:13–17) and landownders (5:1–6). Not surprisingly, the prophetic language will appear in 5:13–18.
  
• The theme of repentance from sin runs throughout the Epistle. In the very first paragraph, James commands, “count it all joy when you face temptations of many kinds” (1:2, although, in many English Bibles this is translated as trials). James continues the topic of temptation in the next paragraph using the exact same terminology, “No one being tempted should say ‘I am being tempted by God’” (1:13). Then in 1:21 James challenges the readers to put aside all filth and the abundance of wickedness. In 2:9 James argues that believers’ favortism makes them sinners who are guilty of breaking the whole law. James 3 teaches that believers stumble in many ways because of the tongue, which is the world of iniquity. The Epistle’s strongest rebuke is found in ch. 4, where the readers are chastised for desiring and envying, murdering and waging war, and after not getting what they want, finally turning to God in prayer (4:1–3). Rather than being called “brothers” here, James calls them “sinners,” “double minded,” and “adulteresses,” and then blasts them with 10 imperatives in vv. 7–10 to call them to repentance. Sin is defined 4:17 as knowing the good to do but not doing it. The Epistle closes with a call to turn sinners from their wandering (5:20). We will see that the topic of sin is also prominent in 5:13–18.
  
• Related to the theme of sin is the recurring theme of Judgment. Judgment appears throughout the Epistle (e.g., 2:12–13, 3:1, 4:11, 5:9, 12).
  
• Throughout the Epistle, James compares righteousness to fruitfulness. While the rich are compared to a scorched flower (1:10), believers are said to be God’s firstfruits (1:18). Righteousness is compared to fruit in 3:18, while the farmer is pictured in 5:7 eagerly awaiting fruit. Finally, the prayer of the righteous is effective in bringing forth fruit (5:18). The theme of fruit will appear in our paragraph (5:13–18).
  

 

How do these observations relate to James 5:13–18, and what other evidence is there that this passage speaks of healing from spiritual sickness?

• The view that James speaks of healing from spiritual sickness is supported by the strongest historical evidence. There is not a single piece of evidence from the first three hundred years of church history indicating that this passage was understood to speak of physical sickness and healing. One author explains that during this period “there is no actual rite or form known to us which gathers the presbyters round the bed of the sick and provides a text for their use” (Halliburton, Oil of Gladness, 89). Halliburton points out that during this period the church associated anointing with the baptismal pool instead of the bedside. The first theologians to comment on James 5 were Origen and John Chrysostom of the 3^rd and 4^th century, who interpreted the passage to speak of the forgiveness of sins and not as a warrant for the practice of anointing the sick.
  
• Part of the difficulty with understanding James 5:13–18 is that each of the terms for sickness and healing can refer to physical or spiritual matters. How then can we know which James had in mind?
  
• One of the key words to grapple with is in v. 14, which is translated in English Bibles as “Is anyone among you sick?” This word “sick” is very challenging because of its many different meanings. It is often used in the NT for physical sickness, especially in the Gospels and Acts where individuals are miraculously healed (e.g., Matt 10:8; 25:36, 39; Mark 6:56; Luke 4:40; John 4:46; 5:3, 7; 6:2; 11:1, 2, 3, 6). Paul, however, uses the term to refer to spiritual weakness, as in 2 Cor 12:10, “my power is perfected in weakness.” Weakness or sickness, which does James have in mind?
  
• In seeking to understand the word’s meaning in this paragraph, we must consider the context of the letter. The immediate context surrounding this paragraph deals with judgment (5:9, 12) and with turning wandering sinners (5:19, 20). And, as was previously mentioned, these themes may be traced back not only to the rebuke that begins in ch. 4, but also to the beginning of the book.
  
• The context also shows how often James borrows language from the OT prophets. For example, James’s terms in chs. 4 and 5, including “adulteresses,” “cleanse your hands,” “draw near to God,” “be wretched,” “mourn,” “weep,” and “rain,” are meant to direct the readers’ attention to the OT prophetic language. Commenting on these deliberate allusions, one author noted that “James employs the elaborate symbols for repentance in the prophetic tradition” (Johnson, James, 289). Even James’s two “come now” paragraphs mirror typical OT prophetic woe oracles (see, e.g., Isa 5:8–23; Amos 5:16–20; 6:1–7; Hab 2:6–19).
  
• This is extremely significant for determining the meaning of sickness/weakness in 5:14 because the term also happens to be a favorite in the OT prophetic books, where it refered to those who had fallen spiritually. One author notes that “the words are used [by the prophets] in the great majority of cases in the specific sense of ‘stumble,’ or ‘fall.’ . . . This meaning is attested chiefly in prophecies announcing the judgment of God upon those who have rebelled against Yahweh and who, therefore, will ‘stumble and fall.’ . . . Indeed, the expression ‘the ungodly shall fall’ in Zeph 1:3 is a convenient designation of the entire OT conception of spiritual judgment” (Black, Astheneia, 14). This implies that 5:14 can be translated as “is anyone among you sick/weak/spiritually fallen?”
  
• The possibility that James in this paragraph is promising spiritual healing to the spiritually fallen fits the context of the book and the remaining details of the passage. In James 5:14 this fallen one is anointed by the elders with oil, which symbolizes God’s favor and mercy. The examples are plentiful in the prophets where repentant sinners were anointed with oil as a sign that God had heard and forgiven them (e.g., Joel 2:12, 16–23). Similarly, these in James are told to be anointed as a sign of God’s readiness to forgive them.
  
• James then says “the prayer of faith will save/heal” this fallen one. Does James have physical healing or spiritual restoration in mind? The term he uses is σώζω (sōzō), and this occurs four other times in the Epistle—each time refering to spiritual salvation or to rescue from trouble:
  

1. 1:21—”receive the implanted word that is able to save your souls”
   
2. 2:14—”can such faith save him?”
   
3. 4:12—”there is one law-giver and judge, the one able to save and to destroy”
   
4. 5:20—”the one who turns a sinner from his wandering ways saves his soul”
   

• Most notably the fourth occurrence above is closely related to the present passage, occuring a mere few verses later in context. It seems most likely, then, since every other occurrence of this word in James refers to salvation rather than physical healing, that the word continues to carry the same connotation in 5:15. The remaining terms for sickness and healing in this passage can likewise speak of physical or spiritual matters; I am going to skip over these for the sake of space.
  
• But if James promises spiritual healing to the spiritually fallen, what about the phrase in v. 15 that says, “And even if he has sinned, he will be forgiven”? James has written this phrase in such a way as to highlight an aspect of the verb for the reader. James is not saying that even the person who sinned will be forgiven. Rather, he uses an emphatic form of the perfect tense—a tense that focuses on the state or consequences resulting from an action. Thus, James speaks of sin in the past whose effects continue to be felt in the present, or, as Greenlee states, “The perfect tense refers to a state resulting from having sinned” (Exegetical Summary, 225). What kind of sin, then, is James emphasizing? A specific kind of sin—sin whose consequences continue to linger, perhaps the type that plagues those seeking repentance, the seemingly terrible, unspeakable sins that one would never dare confess. Lange explains that James thinks of “one who is as yet burdened with the guilt of those sins” and whose continuing guilt will be removed (Lange, James, 139). James has rebuked believers for some awful sins—murder, adultery, and hatred towards God—but here he reassures the reader that no matter the sin or the state that has resulted from the sin, God’s offer of forgiveness remains. Attempting to capture James’s thought, one author translates the clause, “Even if the sick be suffering the consequences of his sins” (Plummer, James, 354). The phrase might also be translated “even if he is a notorious sinner, he will be forgiven” or “even if he carries a burden of guilt over his sin, he can trust in God’s forgiveness.”
  
• In 5:16 James says, “Confess your sins to each other so that you may be healed.” The word for healing is in the plural, meaning something like, “so that you all may be healed.” James seems interested in the health of the community, which comes about as sin is dealt with.
  
• The prayer of Elijah in 5:17 illustrates that the healing is from spiritual sickness. Out of all the episodes in Elijah’s ministry involving prayer—and there were plenty—Johnston astutely draws our attention to which of these James chose not to quote (A Pattern? 172–73). Specifically, James does not refer to Elijah’s prayer for the widow’s son that brought physical life and healing (1 Kings 17:7–24). Such an example would have fit James’s argument perfectly if he were talking about the physical healing of the sick. Instead, however, James selected the passage in 1 Kings 17–18 (where prayer is not even specifically mentioned) because the passage focuses on the withholding of rain due to Israel’s wicked sinfulness during Ahab’s reign. Such drought was in accordance with the words of Deuteronomy 11:13–17, that Israel’s disobediance would bring lack of rain, and that repentance would usher rain back again.
  
• The rain in 5:18 also points to James’s spiritual focus. The withholding of rain came to signify judgment (as in 1 Kings 18:18); the giving of rain signified forgiveness and the end of judgment. “One could say that the mention of the shutting of heaven and the theme of drought/rain carried with them an entire series of other themes such as sin, prayer, calling upon the name of God, conversion, pardon for sins, the correct way of life, etc” (Bottini, La preghiera, 172).
  
• If James promises unconditional healing to the physically sick, then this is the only place such an unqualified promise is found in the NT.
  
• This passage focuses on prayer for spiritually fallen believers. Such a conclusion is in line with other New Testament teaching, such as that of Galatians 6:1–2: “Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ” (NASB). Similarly, 1 John 5:16: “If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask and God will for him give life” (NASB). These passages, like James, occur at the Epistles’ conclusions.
  
• As we noted, 5:13–18 is located in the conclusion of the Epistle. Those who study ancient epistles note that authors devoted extra attention to conclusions, which were to recapture the whole writing and finalize the author’s motives. Conclusions were, therefore, seen as one of the most important parts of an epistle. One author explains that conclusions serve as the hermeneutical spotlight, highlighting the central concerns of the letter: “Epistolary closings are to be seen as intimately related to the concerns addressed in the bodies of their respective letters. . . . The letter closing functions a lot like the thanksgiving, but in reverse. For as the thanksgiving foreshadows and points ahead to the major concerns to be addressed in the body of the letter, so the closing serves to highlight and encapsulate the main points previously taken up in the body” (Weima, Neglected Endings, 22). Thus, in an epistle’s conclusion one should expect to encounter the primary themes of the discourse, the final opportunity for the audience to change or modify its thinking and attitude, and a recapitulation of the argument.
  
• If James were to conclude his letter by mentioning physical healing, he would end with a theme that was random and disconnected from his letter. One author explains that “the sudden emergence of instruction dealing with a ministry of divine healing for the sick at the end of a book stressing solely matters of spiritual concern seems somewhat incongruous” (Hayden, “Calling the Elders,” 259).
  
• By ending, however, with a promise of spiritual healing to the spiritually fallen, James 5:13–18 effectively recapitulates the argument and themes of the Epistle. While the body of the Epistle employed prophetic rebuke and warning, James’s conclusion employs prophetic words of hope, reconciliation, and consolation—offering sure forgiveness to the spiritually fallen. While the body chastised the brothers for their various sins, the conclusion assures these fallen brothers of God’s readiness to forgive. While the body emphasized fruit-bearing, the conclusion likens the community’s healing to rain that brings about fruit (5:17). This paragraph, proclaiming a message of healing to the spiritually fallen, fits seamlessly in a letter calling sinners to humble repentance for their sins.
  

 

So, these are my reasons for concluding that James promises healing from spiritual and not physical sickness. I have tried to be as brief as possible, so naturally I had to omit many points that are found in my thesis, including a fair, balanced summary of opposing arguments. If you have further questions I would be glad to discuss them with you.

Believe in Tebow?

What to make of Tebow? That is a loaded question. Tebow has been the focus of a lot of attention recently, both for his outspoken faith and for his uncanny football style. Let me share some thoughts about Tebow from the perspective of a fellow believer:

1. Tebow is modeling how faith in Jesus affects every aspect of one’s life. He is refusing to compartmentalize or fragment his life into neat categories such as “football” and “personal life” and “faith in Jesus.” Instead, Tebow is showing that faith in Christ spills over into the nitty-gritty aspects of life — including the football field. In the process, I’m challenged to see if Christ is affecting every aspect of my own life in such an obvious way.
2. Tebow is demonstrating that faith in Christ is vocal. Christ is not to be kept in some secret closet, but rather, like the disciples in Acts, Tebow is finding it impossible to keep silent about what he’s seen and heard. Am I speaking about Christ with every opportunity I get?
3. Tebow is demonstrating that faith in Christ is seen in action. Just take a look here or here. Am I demonstrating my faith in word and in deed?
4. Tebow is willing to be faithful in his witness despite the fact that this makes him a controversial figure. He is shrugging off the status quo that would have him be just another nice guy, or simply “religious.” Instead he is making it plain that Jesus is what he’s all about, and people do not like that. Am I willing to be faithful to Christ, despite the fact that it’ll arouse controversy?

With all the Tebow hype, I can’t help but wonder if his desire to stand for Christ is perhaps a source of conviction or motivation for other believing sports figures. Perhaps Tebow is causing some soul-searching as people ask themselves, “I believe . . . why am I not so outspoken for Jesus?”

Melody pictures

My little girl is getting bigger. Check out my wife’s blog for recent updates (click HERE).

Reading Scripture with Character

Bruce Longnecker offers these insights about reading Scripture as it relates to Galatians:

At the most basic level, problems have arisen in Galatia due to a defect on the part of those whose Christian character was being compromised . . . This defect of Christian character has resulted in a compromise of the gospel itself, fuelled first and foremost by an unwise handling of Scripture. In Paul’s view, the ‘hermeneutical debate’ between himself and the agitators was not simply about which scriptural passages are normative and which are not, but about Christian character. The agitators read Scripture incorrectly not simply because they prefer some passages of Scripture that differ from those preferred by Paul. Instead, their errant interpretation arises from a perversion within their character, a character that has not been continuously nurtured by the Spirit. The compromise of Christian character jeopardises reading Scripture for Christian edification . . . The development of Christian character through the power of the Spirit is the prerequisite for the proper reading of Scripture in the Galatian communities. Without a mature, Christian character nurtured by the Spirit, Paul knows that Scripture can be read to support and justify ways of life that oppose the gospel . . . For this reason, his hermeneutical programme is rooted in the more fundamental issue of character, with Christ-like, cruciform character as a presupposition for proper reading of Scripture (The Triumph of Abraham’s God, 170).

Bibliography of James and James 5:13–18

Listed below are some important sources relating to the epistle of James, most of which I have found very helpful for my thesis. I have included monographs, commentaries (both English and foreign), and journal articles. I have also included several early church Fathers who made important comments on certain passages of James. I hope you find this helpful.

Adamson, James B. James: The Man and His Message. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1989.

 ———. The Epistle of James. New International Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1976.

Albl, Martin C. “‘Are Any Among You Sick?’ The Health Care System in the Letter of James.” Journal of Biblical Literature 12 (2002): 123–43.

Althaus, Paul. “Bekenne einer dem anderen seine Sünden: Zur Geschichte von Jak 5, 16 seit Augustinus.” Pages 165–94 in Festgabe für Theodor Zahn. Leipzig : A Deichertsche Verlagsbuchhandlung, 1928.

Amphoux, C. B. “L’Emploi du Coordonnant dans l’Épître de Jacques.” Biblica 63 (1982): 90–101.

Armerding, C. “‘Is any among You Afflicted’: A Study of James 5:13–20.” Bibliotheca Sacra 95 (1938): 195–201.

Aquinas, Thomas. The Summa Theologica. Third Part (18). 2d ed. Translated by the English Domincan Province. London: Burns Oates & Washbourne, 1928.

Baker, William R. Personal Speech-Ethics in the Epistle of James. Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament. Tübingen: J. C. B. Mohr, 1995.

Bauckham, Rickard. James: Wisdom of James, Disciple of Jesus the Sage. New Testament Readings. New York/London: Routledge, 1999.

Bede the Venerable. Commentary on the Seven Catholic Epistles. Translated by David Hurst. Kalamazoo, MI: Cistercian, 1985.

Blue, J. Ronald. “James.” Pages 815–36 in The Bible Knowledge Commentary. Edited by John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck. Wheaton: Victor Books, 1983.

Burchard, Christoph. Der Jakobusbrief. Handbuch zum Neuen Testament 15/1. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2000.

Calvin, Jean. A Harmony of the Gospels Matthew, Mark and Luke Volume III and The Epistles of James and Jude. Calvin’s Commentaries. Translated by A. W. Morrison. Edited by David W. Torrance and Thomas F. Torrance. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1972.

Cantinat, Jean. Les Èpitres de Saint Jacques et de Saint Jude. Sources Bibliques. Paris: Gablda, 1973.

Cargal, Timothy B. Restoring the Diaspora: Discursive Structure and Purpose in the Epistle of James. SBL Dissertation Series 144. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1993.

Carson, D. A. “James.” Pages 997–1013 in Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament. Edited by G. K. Beale and D. A. Carson. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2007.

Chaine, J. L’Épître de Saint Jacques. Études bibliques. Paris: Gabalda, 1927.

Chrysostom. ΠΕΡΙ ΙΕΡΩΣΥΝΗΣ (De Sacerdotio) of St John Chrysostom. Edited by J. Arbuthnot Nairn. Cambridge: University Press, 1906.

Collins, C. John. “James 5:14–16a: What is the Anointing for?” Presbyterion 23 (1997): 79–91.

Condon, Kevin. “The Sacrament of Healing (Jas 5:14–15).” Scripture 11 (1959): 33–42.

Davids, Peter H. The Epistle of James: A Commentary on the Greek Text. New International Greek Testament Commentary. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1982.

Dibelius, Martin. Der Brief des Jakobus. Edited by Heinrich Greeven. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1964.

———. Commentary on the Epistle of James. Edited by Heinrich Greeven. Translated by Michael A. Williams. Philadelphia: Fortress, 1976.

Dudley, Martin, and Geoffrey Rowell, eds. The Oil of Gladness: Anointing in the Christian Tradition. London/ Collegeville: SPCK/Liturgical Press, 1993.

Eisenman, Robert. “Eschatological ‘Rain’ Imagery in the War Scroll from Qumran and in the Letter of James.” Journal of Near Eastern Studies 49 (1990): 173–84.

Elliott, J. H. “The Epistle of James in Rhetorical and Social Scientific Perspective: Holiness-Wholeness and Patterns of Replication.” Biblical Theology Bulletin 23 (1993): 71–81.

Francis, Fred O. “The Form and Function of the Opening and Closing Paragraphs of James and I John.” Zeitschrift für die Neutestamentliche Wissenschaft und die Kunde der älteren Kirche
61 (1970): 110–26.

Frankemölle, Hubert. “Das Semantische Netz des Jakobusbriefes: Zur Einheit eines umstritenen Briefes.” Biblische Zeitschrift 34 (1990): 161–97.

———. Der Brief des Jakobus. Vols. 1 and 2. Ökumenischer Taschenbuchkommentar zum Neuen Testament 17. Edited by Erich Gräßser and Karl Kertelge. Würzburg: Gütersloh, 1994.

Friesenhahn, Hans. “Zur Geschichte der Überlieferung und Exegese des Textes bei Jak V,14f.” Biblische Zeitschrift 24 (1938/39): 185–90.

Greenlee, J. Harold. An Exegetical Summary of James. Dallas, TX: Summer Institute of Linguistics, 1993.

Halliburton, John. “Anointing in the Early Church.” Pages 77–91 in The Oil of Gladness: Anointing in the Christian Tradition. Collegeville/London: Liturgical Press/SPCK, 1993.

Hart, George and Helen. A Semantic and Structural Analysis of James. Edited by John Banker. Dallas: SIL International, 2001.

Hauck, Frederick. Die Briefe des Jakobus, Petrus, Judas und Johannes (Kirchenbriefe). Das neue Testament Deutsch 10. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1954.

Hayden, Daniel. “Calling the Elders to Pray.” Bibliotheca Sacra 138 (1981): 258–65.

Howard, J. Keir. Disease and Healing in the New Testament: An Analysis and Interpretation. Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 2001.

Jeffrey, John. “Anointing in the New Testament.” Pages 46–76 in The Oil of Gladness: Anointing in the Christian Tradition. Collegeville/London: Liturgical Press/SPCK, 1993.

Johnson, Luke T. The Letter of James: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary. Anchor Bible 37. New York: Doubleday, 1995.

———. Brother of Jesus, Friend of God: Studies in the Letter of James. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2004.

Johnston, Wendell G. “Does James Give Believers a Pattern for Dealing with Sickness and Healing?” Pages 168–74 in Integrity of Heart, Skillfulness of Hands. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1994.

Kaiser, Sigurd. Krankenheilung: Untersuchungen zu Form, Sprache, traditionsgeschichtlichem Hintergrund und Aussage von Jak 5, 13–18. Wissenschafliche Monographien zum Alten und Neuen Testament 112. Neukirchener Verlag: Neukirchen-Vluyn, 2006.

Karris, Robert J. “Some New Angles on James 5:13–20.” Review & Expositor 97 (2000): 207–19.

Kennedy, G. A. The Art of Persuasion in Greece. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1963.

Kilmartin, E. J. “The Interpretation of James 5:14–15 in the Armenian Catena on the Catholic Epistles: Scholium 82.” Orientalia Christiana Periodica 53 (1987): 335–64.

Konradt, Matthias. Christliche Existenz nach dem Jakobusbrief: Eine Studie zu seiner soteriologischen und ethischen Konzeption. Studien zur Umwelt des Neuen Testaments 22. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1998.

Kuske, David P. “Exegetical Brief: James 5:14—’Anoint Him with Oil.’” Wisconsin Lutheran Quarterly 102 (2005): 125–27.

Lange, J. P. The Epistle General of James. Translated by J. Mombert. New York: Charles Scribner, 1867.

Laws, Sophie. The Epistle of James. Black’s New Testament Commentaries. Peabody: Hendrickson, 1980.

Manns, Frédéric. “Confessez vos péchés les uns aus autres.” Revue des sciences religieuses 58 (1984): 233–41.

Martin, Ralph P. James. Word Biblical Commentary 48. Waco: Word, 1988.

Mayor, Joseph B. The Epistle of James. Grand Rapids: Kregel, 1990.

McCartney, Dan G. James. Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament. Edited by Robert W. Yarbrough and Robert H. Stein. Grand Rapid: Baker, 2009.

Meinertz, Max. “Die Krankensalbung Jak 5.14f.” Biblische Zeitschrift 20 (1932): 23–36.

Meyer, Arnold. Das Rätsel des Jakobusbriefes. Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft und di Kunde der älteren Kirche 10. Gießen: Alfred Töpelmann, 1930.

Miller, David W. “The Uniqueness of New Testament Church Eldership.” Grace Theological Journal 6 (1985): 315–27.

Mitton, C. L. The Epistle of James. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1966.

Moo, Douglas J. The Letter of James. The Pillar New Testament Commentary. Edited by D. A. Carson. Grand Rapids/Cambridge: Eerdmans, 2000.

Mussner, Franz. Der Jakobusbrief. 4thed. Freiberg: Herder, 1981.

Origen. “Homily 2 on Leviticus.” Pages 39–51 in Homilies on Leviticus: 1-16. Translated by G. W. Barkley. Washington D.C.: Catholic University of America Press, 1990.

Penner, Todd C. The Epistle of James and Eschatology: Re-reading an Ancient Christian Letter. Journal for the Study of the New Testament Supplement Series 121. Sheffield: Academic Press, 1996.

Pickar, Charles H. “Is anyone Sick among You?” Catholic Biblical Quarterly 7 (1945): 165–74.

Plummer, Alfred. The General Epistles of St. James and St. Jude. New York: Hodder & Stoughton, 1899.

Popkes, Wiard. Adressaten, Situation, und Form des Jakobusbriefes. Stuttgart: Verlag Katholisches Werk, 1986.

———. Der Brief des Jakobus. Theologischer Handkommentar zum Neuen Testament. Leipzig: Evangelische Verlagsanstalt, 2001.

Porter, J. Roy. “Oil in the Old Testament.” Pages 35–45 in The Oil of Gladness: Anointing in the Christian Tradition. Collegeville/London: Liturgical Press/SPCK, 1993.

Reicke, Bo. The Epistles of James, Peter, and Jude. Anchor Bible 37. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1964.

Richardson, Kurt A. James. The New American Commentary. Vol. 36. Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 1997.

Robertson, A. T. A Grammar of the Greek New Testament in Light of Historical Research. Nashville: Broadman, 1934.

———. Studies in the Epistle of James. New York: George H. Doran, 1915.

Ropes, James Hardy. A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Epistle of St. James. The International Critical Commentary. New York: Scribner’s Sons, 1916.

Sailer, J. “Jak 5, 14 und die Krankensalbung.” Theologisch-praktische Quartalschrift 113 (1965): 347–53.

Schneider, Johannes. Die Briefe des Jakobus, Petrus, Judas and Johannes. Die katholischen Briefe. NTD 10. Göttingen, 1967.

Shogren, G. “Will God Heal Us? A Re-examination of James 5:14–16a.” Evangelical Quarterly 61 (1989): 99–108.

Seifrid, Mark A. “The Waiting Church and its Duty: James 5:13–18.” Southern Baptist Journal of Theology (2000): 32–39.

Taylor, Mark Edward. A Text-Linguistic Investigation into the Discourse Structure of James. Edited by Mark Goodacre. Library of New Testament Studies 311. London/New York: T & T Clark International, 2006.

Thayer, Joseph H. Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Coded with Strong’s Concordance. Peabody: Hendrickson, 2005.

Thomas, J. Christopher. “The Devil, Disease and Deliverance: James 5:14–16. Journal of Pentecostal Theology 2 (1993): 25–50.

Varner, William. The Book of James: A New Perspective, A Linguistic Commentary Applying Discourse Analysis. The Woodlands, TX: Kress Biblical Resources, 2010.

Soden, Hermann von. Die Briefe an die Kolosser, Epheser, Philemon, die Pastoral Briefe, der Hebräerbrief, die Briefe des Petrus, Jakobus, Judas. Hand-Commentar zum neuen Testament. Vol. 3. Freiburg/Leipzig: Mohr Siebeck, 1893.

Vouga, François. L’Epître de Saint Jacques. Commentaire du Nouveau Testament. Genève: Labor et Fides, 1984.

Wall, Robert W. Community of the Wise: The Letter of James. The New Testament in Context. Valley Forge, PA: Trinity Press International, 1997.

Wallace, Daniel B. Greek Grammar beyond the Basics: An Exegetical Syntax of the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996.

Ward, R. B. “Partiality in the Assembly: James 2:2–4.” Harvard Theological Review 62 (1969): 87–97.

Warrington, Keith. “The Significance of Elijah in James 5:13–18.” Evangelical Quarterly 66 (1994): 217–27.

———. “Some Observations on James 5:13–18.” EPTA Bulletin 8 (1989): 160–177.

———. “Anointing with Oil and Healing.” EPTA Bulletin 12 (1993): 5–22.

Wilkinson, John. “Healing in the Epistle of James.” Scottish Journal of Theology 24 (1971): 326–45.

Windisch, Hans. Die katholischen Briefe. Handbuch zum Neuen Testament 15. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 1951.

Wuellner, Wilhelm H. “Der Jakobusbrief im Licht der Rhetorik und Textpragmatik.” Linguistica Biblica 43 (1978): 5–66.

The church and the nation

I’m reading a VERY thought-provoking book right now entitled The Drama of Ephesians: Participating in the Triumph of God, by Timothy Gombis. I hope shortly to post a review/synopsis of the book, but for now I thought I’d offer a challenging quote, one to consider especially with July 4th right around the corner:

The church is always being tempted to blend and confuse its identity with that of a specific nation. This has happened predominantly in the Christian West, where European nations envisioned themselves as Christian nations, furthering the kingdom of God on earth as an inevitable part of their national agendas. Many Christians in the United States today make a similar mistake, envisioning an originally Christian nation that has been hijacked by secularists and liberals. The agenda of the church, then, must orient itself toward “taking America back” and getting it “back on track.” Paul, however, does not tie the history of God’s people to any national identity; our history goes back to eternity past, where God set of on a mission to rescue God’s people and make them a source of life for the world. . . . We do not rightly understand ourselves if we go back to a day when our ancestors came to America.

The priesthood of believers in the book of Joel

I am reading through Joel and came yesterday to 2:28-32, a passage often quoted in the NT. Joel writes:

I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, and your young men see visions. And also upon the men-servants and maid-servants I will pour out my Spirit in those days.

What struck me was the promise about the servants receiving the Spirit. Commenting on this, Keil and Delitzsch write,

the outpouring upon slaves (men-servants and maid-servants) is [signified by the original Hebrew] as being something very extraordinary, and under existing circumstances not to be expected. Not a single case occurs in the whole OT of a slave receiving the gift of prophecy. Amos, indeed, was a poor shepherd servant, but not an actual slave. And the communication of this gift was irreconcilable with the position of slaves under the OT. Consequently even the Jewish expositors could not reconcile themselves to this announcement. The LXX, by rendering it ἐπὶ τοὺς δοὺλους μου καὶ ἐπὶ τὰς δοὺλας μου have put servants of God in place of the slaves of men; and the Pharisees refused to the ὄχλος even a knowledge of the law (Jn 7:49). The gospel has therefore also broken the fetters of slavery.

The gospel has broken the fetters of slavery, but has it broken the fetters of my own mental limitations, which say that some are more qualified to minister than others? Joel is emphasizing that the Spirit is given to all flesh. The spirit is poured out in abundance on . . .  the nursery worker at church, the simple farmer, the old man who repeats himself every week. Do I view other believers as equally spirit-empowered and fully qualified to minister, or do I fall on the side of the Pharisees, who, according to Delitzsch, just could not reconcile themselves to this announcement?

Christ does not return on May 21 (A lesson in hermeneutics)

There have been a lot of reactions to yesterday’s doomsday prediction. I think this whole scenario offers us a great learning experience in hermeneutics (hermeneutics is simply a fancy term for how to properly interpret Scripture). The following offers some thoughts about lessons we students of God’s word can take away from this:

1. The May-21-Movement (be sure to read their WEBSITE) had a carefully developed, systematized, well crafted, logical way of interpreting and reading Scripture. I strongly urge you to browse their website and follow their argumentation. They clearly walk readers through their method of arriving at their May 21^st date. On their web-site, they state that their method of interpreting the Bible is to systematically align Scripture with Scripture. As to how they arrived at May 21, click HERE. They genuinely attempt to rest all of their conclusions on Scripture. They succinctly responded to objections in their argument by pointing to scripture. Everything about their argument was backed by Scripture.
2. They were passionately convinced about their position. They were so sure of their conclusions that they were willing to “go public” with them and risk their reputations, ministries, and even their life-savings to get the word out.
3. They were terribly wrong. After scanning their website, I feel a strong twinge of remorse and pity for them. All of their wrong literature is still available, you can still order bumper stickers and listen to sermons and order their books. At the top of the website is a countdown-clock reading “0 days, 0 hours, 0 minutes.”

What can we take away from this:

1. We as believers all hold to carefully developed systems that we have arrived at after careful study of Scripture. We have poured over the pages of Scripture, only arriving at conclusions after years of study.
2. We are passionate about these issues, and utterly convinced that we are right.
3. Some of us are so passionate about these biblical systems that we have honestly made them our “hills to die on”, just as the May-21-Movement did with theirs.
4. In light of this, we should be willing on a regular basis to scrutinize any and every aspect of our theology, and never arrive at the point where we think we have it all figured out.
5. We are all wrong about certain aspects of our Theology. Think about it, no one has arrived with the perfect system.
6. We should hold to our positions with an attitude of humility, willing at any point to be corrected, to learn, and to admit that we might be wrong.
7. There is little room for bombastic language, such as “The Bible can’t be interpreted to say anything other than [insert your system here].”
8. Be careful of making any secondary issue in Scripture your primary issue. And be careful also, because most people feel so strongly about certain secondary issues that, in their minds, they classify them as primary issues.

Living as a missionary in a small, southern town

I can still remember how I felt when I first heard that believers in other countries were coming as missionaries to the States. My first thought: That means that in some way we as Christians in the States are failing to reach our own culture. My second thought: Why don’t I live like a missionary every day? Does being a missionary mean I must live in some foreign land, or is it possible to be a missionary right at home? And then I thought about the mindset of those who were coming to the States to serve as missionaries, whose sole purpose is to tell people about Jesus. They have left their homes, families, careers, moved to this strange country and learned our difficult language. For them, each trip to Food Lion is an opportunity to share the gospel, each walk in the neighborhood is a chance to meet neighbors, each breakfast at Bojangles is a cross-cultural experience. In short, the insight that such missionaries were living in my neck of the woods was a stinging revelation that filled me with a measure of guilt. Such news showed me that in some way other I had failed, believers and churches across the country had failed, to reach my own neighbors and communities and cities. For if we had effectively lived as missionaries in our own culture then Christians from other lands would not have needed to come and help us reach our communities. Yes, I was both challenged and reminded to begin living as a missionary right here and now. I want it never to be said that someone else had to finish the job that I could not or would not do, or that I so consistently failed to share the gospel that someone from another country had to come and do it in my place.

So in the next couple of days I plan on sharing a couple insights about living as a missionary in one’s local community. Since I live in a small, southern town, some of these may be peculiar to my own unique setting. What follows will be a series of posts related to this topic.

1. Eat where the locals eat
   

In Louisburg, this will mean eating breakfast biscuits at Bojangles and at the Sunrise Biscuit Kitchen. There is a lot of interaction that goes on at the biscuit joints in the mornings. In the Fall (during hunting season), men sip coffee and chat about their hunting adventures as their hunting dogs wait outside in the pick-up trucks. Throughout the year, the biscuit/breakfast joints are THE place to eat, enjoy a leisurely breakfast, socialize, and get to know the locals. I guess on some mission fields you might eat fermented cabbage or raw duck, and on others you might eat greasy bacon-biscuits.