Faith With Wisdom DJ Price

Since the Reformation in the 16th Century the teachings of the Apostle Paul and the Elder James have often been portrayed as being at odds with each other. Much time is spent by theologians and New Testament scholars trying to conclude whether there is a real conflict between the writings of these leaders or not.

It seems to me that there is not really a conflict present, but the topic of faith is approached from a different perspective. This is probably because the supposedly contradictory pieces of writing are addressing different audience needs at the time of their writing. Meaning that the focus of the authors’ messages shift in order to highlight the needs they are addressing. This happens even within Paul’s own New Testament writings, so it is not really surprising that this happens between two different New Testament authors.

We should acknowledge that there is much more of Paul’s writing recorded in the New Testament and so we hear his perspective on many more issues than we do that of James. This is part of the reason why it seems a bit impetuous to judge James and Paul’s writings as being at odds when there is so little of James’ writing to be able to compare with Paul’s. Certainly there seems adequate other examples within Paul’s work of his being in agreement with James on the importance of good works by professing Christians, even if he does not use always these labels. Paul then, unlike James, has much more opportunity to address the fact that salvation is not through works simply because of the volume of his writings available to us. Because of this we are able to see that Paul’s own good works are his way of expressing gratitude to God for the graceful salvation provided through Jesus Christ. Paul’s works, like the traditions of his Jewish heritage, are a response to God’s grace.

James also saw good works as a way of living out God’s grace, and as such he concludes that these grace inspired works are the evidence that a person is living in Christ. The problem seems to arise though in the assumption that James is addressing salvation when he discusses works. It is true that our modern English translations record him using the phrase, “Can such faith save them?” (James 2:14b). The NIV’s wording here is important, because it uses the word ‘such’. It refers back to what James as described previously, that is a person who claims to know Jesus Christ, but does not act like it at all. To James, and Paul is very likely to agree with James on this: this was not the mark of genuine salvation. So a careful reading of the context shows that this then is likely a remark which is almost sarcastic, and is possibly even a comment made in exasperation with people who are not serious at all about the sacrifice Jesus Christ had made for them yet they are quite happy to pretend they are. If this comment had been written in English when first recorded we would probably have put the word ‘faith’ in parentheses to show that James is not referring to genuine faith, but instead to the person’s own imitation ‘faith’. “…such faith…” then is not the same as the faith that James and Paul are both so passionate about people receiving and both James and Paul show a real lack of tolerance for people who display this imitation ‘faith’. And so James’ letter is most likely not discussing works as a way to salvation, but is instead addressing how Christians should live as representatives of Christ after their salvation experience.

Historical studies show us that James was probably writing his letter before Paul’s work was recorded. James, who was more than likely the brother of Jesus Christ was older than Paul and they may not have met till after James had written this letter. They were addressing different congregations, however, both authors may have had reason to believe their letters would be read widely by early believers. While the initial audiences’ locations and circumstan

We are entering one of the most dangerous times of the year for families. Christmas is approaching and unfortunately the reason for the season gets lost as retail marketing ramps up. Christmas is an important holiday, it is the day we mark the birth of Jesus Christ. There is no greater cause for celebration than the entry of the Son of God into the world. Without Christ’s birth there would be no death on the cross and no resurrection, which would mean no salvation for us, no eternity to look forward to, no future hope for humanity. Christmas is therefore a good season to give gifts, but only because it is in remembrance of the greatest gift of all. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).







For businesses it is a time of hope also, as many small retailers finally look to get out of the red and enter the black. On a financial balance sheet red represents running at a loss, not selling enough to meet all the costs associated with running a business and hence failing to break-even. It represents stress, worry and oppression because businesses can’t survive by being constantly in the red, especially small businesses. So “giving seasons”, of which Christmas is the greatest, represent an opportunity to get back into the black, that is to go beyond break-even and start to record profits in their earnings. Some retailers only make a profit over the Christmas season and so have to make enough to survive for the rest of the year on the seasonal profits ahead. It is becoming even harder for small retailers as we all go to the big stores to get our shopping done all at once, or logon to the online giants to avoid risking catching the pandemic at the local mall. Some of this is the reality of life, not everything we want to buy is available locally, however, lets face it, some of it is, if we take the time to look.







Moving from business to people though this is a season of great danger to families. Futures and destinies are affected by what people do with their money as we enter this season of sales. This is because debt-based poverty is a form of enslavement, if you have ever been truely poor you will know that poverty places restrictions on people’s abilities to make choices and live their life to the full. Debt-based poverty increases this to even more severe levels. “…the borrower is the slave of the lender” (Proverbs 22:7). One of the ways that poverty and especially debt-based poverty enslaves people is by taking away their hope. As an extreme example of this: for the person earning less than the repayments on their loans the mountain is only growing, and their ability to climb it is decreasing by the day. At which point will they decide it is better to simply jump off the edge into the abyss?







Hope deferred makes the heart sick (Proverbs 12:12), and for many the marketing season of Christmas is the living out of this process: ads create false hope of a longing being fulfilled, but the resulting debt is a deferral of the real longing, and as scripture warned us, this makes the heart sick. You see hope is stirred in this time of intense advertising and serious bargain bashing, which seems to start earlier every year! We see the messages portrayed to us in the flashy brochures, the screen ads, the highway billboards and we start to believe we can have all the material possessions we want! We can even give them away to others! It is in this time that our eyes take over from our God-given common sense. Our personal finances move from the positive black to the negative red, debt climbs higher as our desires grow greater. Even our generosity becomes a stumbling block as our use of credit well exceeds our bank balance. We want to get the best gifts, and we want to give the best gifts. Our motivation isn’t purely selfish,

“There you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place.” Deuteronomy 1:31







Father’s Day has just been, here in New Zealand. Yesterday, thousands of fathers like myself received gifts, and much treasured homemade cards and pictures, from our children and spouses. It is a day when people are thankful for the people God has put around them. For myself I am very blessed and grateful for my family. Thankful for the unexpected “Happy Father’s Day!” text from my eldest son who was on a camping trip, for the colourful picture of the family drawn by my daughter, and for the clever flag and boat gift wrapping my younger son made for the cup he gave me. We started the day with a delicious breakfast of pancakes made by the children with help from my lovely wife, and its not just my generation we celebrate on Father’s Day, my brothers and sisters and their families came for lunch, along with my parents, so that we could celebrate Grandpa on this day as well.







Father’s Day this year was a great time with family, but it had some sad moments too, as I remembered my children who have already passed on into glory. Tears came to my eyes as I heard the song about the dad whose daughter is getting married today. This songs always makes me think about what it would be like if my other little girl (who went home to Heaven many years ago now) was here. And, then the tears become a flood as I see the picture of my teenage son (who passed just over a year ago now) on the sideboard. There is sadness, yes, but there is also hope, because I know for certain that we will be reunited with these two loved ones beyond the veil. It is the separation of waiting that is hard.







Looking ahead to the future awakens a longing to see loved ones again, but I know the present time needs me now. As a father, my children who are here in this world with me need guidance, they need encouragement, they need an example – even an imperfect one. As parents, both fathers and mothers, we don’t need to be perfect to fill the vital role we play in the lives of our children, whether they are related by blood to us or not. Proverbs 22:6 says, “Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.” When we read this proverb from the start we see that it is the moral education of the children which is being referred to here, and that this is the responsibility of parents. Some children don’t have their own parents to teach them about life and doing the right thing, these children need someone to step in and pick up that mantel for them. Maybe this is something you can do for a child near you?







God is gracious and he provides opportunities for people to come into his presence throughout their life, but the initial and primary way that God intends for children to learn about him is through the parents he gives them. Parents have the God-given role of passing on the knowledge of eternity to their children. The parents of a child set the first, and potentially most lasting and powerful example, of what Christian faith is. We can show our children how living for God is the ultimate purpose of every person on this earth, regardless of what that life looks like as a unique individual.







Sometime ago I was listening to a speaker called Jeff Benner and he pointed out that the Hebrew word for Father (אָב), originally meant “strength of the tent,” which in practical terms describes the “tent pole” holding the shelter up. Within this word the Hebrew letter א (aleph) represented an ox and the letter ב (vet) a tent. The resulting term “strength of the tent,” is a visual picture of the role of a parent. Tough times come to every family, and the job of a father is to help the family through it,

If you have ever been through sustained turmoil, whether it be the loss of those you love, poverty, lengthy sickness, consuming fear, or any other of life’s troubles, you will understand the sense of hopelessness that people experience in these times. The overwhelming shadow of oppression is like a net that traps its victim, it tangles them up and hems them in restricting their every attempt to believe that things can once again be better than they are now.







The authors of a number of Psalms write of circumstances similar to these, but perhaps even through their writing, they are able to encourage themselves and convince themselves again of God’s goodness. It is a process we see repeated several times in the Psalms, where the author of a passage begins to describe their situation and show how vulnerable they are to the dangers around them. Yet, through the process of reflection, time and again we see that they are able to remind themselves of God’s graceful sovereignty and his willingness to bless them.







Reflecting on their knowledge of God, and his scriptures they are able to calm their mind and see the eternal reality of their situation. This is often a very different view from the one their sight, hearing, touch and emotions are showing them. This knowledge, that God is for them, becomes both a comfort and a shield to them. Their mind and their resolve is strengthened as they place their trust again in the hand of our living God.







For this reason the writer of Psalm 27 is able to say, “I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD” (Psalm 27:13-14).







Sometimes the sheer pressure of being in a difficult situation can cause us to act impulsively, but sometimes the opposite happens; we become so burdened and trapped that it seems we cannot do anything. The sense of hopelessness suffocates us into immobility. The psalmist addresses both these reactions with the advice to, “Wait for the LORD…” and, while waiting, “…be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.”







This is what the psalmists do, they wait on the LORD. They do this by honestly detailing the situation, acknowledging that they cannot deal with the situation themselves, asking God for help and then allowing him to act in whatever way he chooses. Voicing this process, whether it be on paper, in silent communion with God, or out loud does not matter as much as doing it. For this process gives them the chance to be encouraged; for their deep feelings of oppression to start to turn to hope. It also allows God himself to intervene perhaps mostly poignantly by ministering to the heart of the person.







Acting to get oneself out of difficulty is not always possible, but waiting on the LORD is, even when we don’t feel like it. Waiting on Him is a very worthwhile and wise thing to do. Trusting God may be the last thing you feel like doing in these most challenging of situations, but if you will allow him, God will help give you the strength to trust him. Sometimes we simply have to allow ourselves to wait for the LORD, so that he himself can help us get to the point where we are able to say, ““I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.”







So today I recommend taking the time to prepare for the difficult times in your life by tucking away in your mind the simple process for trusting God, and that is recorded in the verse: “Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD” (Psalm 27:13).

As Christ is preparing to die on the cross he leaves his disciples with a number of encouraging statements. These are recorded in John chapter 14. One of them is, “…the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” John 14:26-27.







You may have noticed that the dove is the symbol of both the Holy Spirit and of peace, but have you ever wondered why they both have the same image? The answer is found in the passage above, and here we see that the Holy Spirit, and peace, are both intricacy linked together. In these verses John relates to us how Jesus told his disciples that not only was the Father sending the Holy Spirit to guide them as believers, but Christ also gave his own gift of peace to his followers. This peace was given through collaboration of the triune Godhead, that is; God the Father sent the Holy Spirit, who in turn became the conduit of the peace that flows from Christ, the Son of God, to those who believe in him.







When this happened Jesus Christ was preparing to go to the cross in humanity’s place. The only begotten Son of God was about to take upon himself the penalty of sin which was weighing on us as fallen people. When this was completed Christ rose again. Then, after appearing to many of his followers, he ascended to Heaven. The third person of the Trinity, God the Holy Spirit, then continued Jesus’ ministry on earth and is still doing so today. The Holy Spirit took up the roles of advocate and teacher that Christ had fulfilled in his earthly days. And, one of the most potent realities of the presence of the Holy Spirit with us is the peace that is given in direct fulfilment of Christ’s gift to us.







This peace is a gift. It is a constant that remains for us to receive as often as necessary whenever we acknowledge the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Jesus knew that we would have trouble in this world (John 16:33), and his response to that was complete. He has gone ahead to prepare a better place for us in the presence of the God the Father (John 14:3), but he has also given us the gift of peace in the present through divine collaboration with the Father and the Holy Spirit.







God is taking care of the future and He is looking after us in the present. The question is whether we are prepared to accept the presence of the Holy Spirit and the peace he can bring into our daily lives?

Lots of money and effort is being spent on trying to find a vaccine for the COVID-19 virus. A vaccine would certainly be beneficial and physically save lives. The vaccine alone though is not the cure for the crises we face both now and on the road ahead.







Crises of health, hunger, poverty, loneliness, and depression abound around the world. The true cure for this and future crises to come also involves compassionate acts on our part. Intentionally reaching out to help others in their time of need and loneliness.







Until we care, feed, give, befriend, and encourage those in need, a vaccine for many will simply be a way of prolonging life’s miseries. But a vaccine delivered alongside the practical meeting of people’s needs will change lives for good. Bringing hope and blessings to all creation by the uplifting of humanity around us.







This is being God’s children in the world, and to those who do this,  “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’” Matthew 25:40