Studies with Steve

James has commanded his readers who lack wisdom on how to joyfully respond to trials to request it from God, the ultimate source for wisdom. James draws on the common biblical theme of God's generosity to all creatures, but particularly to His people. We discuss how the emphasis is placed on the giving attitude of God, and to the universal extent of this giving. He highlights how God's giving is pure and simple, and that He will not scold us for not already having the wisdom we request. The purpose behind bringing up this attribute of God is to motivate his readers to more prayer. If God does not hesitate to give, then we should not hesitate to pray. For more biblical studies, check out my blog: In the Last Hour, or give a listen to my other podcast that I do with my friend Preston: The Informal Reformers. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

This section of James 1 verse 5 acts as the "then" statement from what James started with, "If any of you lacks wisdom." For those who do not know how to respond to trials joyfully, the answer James gives is that we must ask God for that wisdom! The logic seems to be that joy through trials is so counter-intuitive, that such an attitude must have a divine origin. James draws on the common Old Testament theme that God is the source of all wisdom. We point out that "let him" is too weak to convey the force behind this imperative, and prefer the translation "he must ask." We further discuss how James stresses the divine origin of this wisdom. For more biblical studies, check out my blog: In the Last Hour, or give a listen to my other podcast that I do with my friend Preston, The Informal Reformers. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app

In this edition of Not Your Father's Systematic Theology, we examine official Catholic documents that teach on the Eucharist. We learn from these "authoritative" writings of the Catholic church that their belief that the bread and wine literally become the body and blood of Christ leads them to worship the wafers, and believe that participation in the Eucharist saves them. We examine these dangerous doctrines in light of Scripture, particularly John 6, which shows us that "eating My body" and "drinking My blood" means to believe in Jesus' incarnation and atonement. We prove that Jesus was not speaking literally at the Last Supper. We hold firm to the foundation of the Bible, that salvation is by faith alone. For more biblical studies, check out my blog: In the Last Hour, and my other podcast: The Informal Reformers.

Having seen in the last Studies with Steve that endurance has a perfect product that it must yield, we now see what exact product James had in mind. With the conjunction "so that," we get into the intended result of this endurance, and finally complete the chain saying he started in verse 3. So the divine design behind our suffering that believers are to keep in mind if we are to be filled with joy is that God is making us perfect. James expresses this utilizing 3 different terms. This variety of synonymous terminology sums up that our Christian character will have everything good we must have, and none of the bad we are forbidden to have. Through the process of progressive sanctification, our endurance leads us toward a well-rounded Christian character. In the next Studies with Steve, we will start in verse 5. James had just said that we will be lacking in nothing. This starts him off on a tangent about when we lack wisdom regarding how to properly respond to trials. Until then, if you are interested in more biblical studies, check out my blog: In the Last Hour, or my other podcast: The Informal Reformers.

In this episode we explore the question of whether or not Christians who are not Jewish by blood can or should label themselves Jews or Israelites. This question comes to light because of the popular teaching in the church called Dispensationalism. This theological system is overly literal in its interpretation of the Bible. To them, the promises in the Old Testament that were for "Israel" are for Israel only and cannot be applied to the church. We examine several key passages from the New Testament that prove that Christians indeed are Jews spiritually. The Bible says on several occasions that we are sons of Abraham and are blessed with Abraham the believer. Other passages specifically label all believers, regardless of heritage, as "Israelites" and "Jews". Jew and Gentile alike are united into one body, the church, by faith in Christ. For more biblical studies, check out my blog In the Last Hour, or listen to an episode or two of the other podcast I do with my friend Preston: The Informal Reformers.

This study goes over the first half of verse 4. James writes, "And let endurance have its perfect result." We are continuing down the chain saying that James started in verse 3. We see that endurance is not the end goal! There is so much more God wants to do in us. The goal is not a stronger form of endurance, but it has a job to do. We examine the structure of the sentence to see that James is not giving the next step in the chain (e.g. "perfection"), but rather shows that endurance has a product that it must yield. A better translation, then, would be "And this endurance must yield/bring about a perfect product." In the next episode we are going to find out what that final step in the chain is. Until then, for more biblical studies, you can always check out my blog, In the Last Hour, or give my other podcast a listen: The Informal Reformers.

The account of Jesus' encounter with the Woman at the Well in John 4 has undergone some serious misunderstandings over the years. Some preacher long ago must have been the first to come up with these ingenuous interpretations, and since that day just about every sermon is a copy and paste of these major misunderstandings. In this episode we go over the real reason why Jesus "had to" go through Samaria, as well as the real reason that Jesus asked the Samaritan woman to fetch her husband. For more biblical studies, check out my blog (https://inthelasthour.com) and my other podcast (The Informal Reformers).

It is always helpful in Bible study to examine the purpose and occasion of each book of the Bible. Knowing who wrote it and to whom it was written, as well as the life situation that both the sender and recipients were in at the time of writing is super helpful! While joy and humility are major themes in the epistle, neither are the main reason Paul wrote it. Actually, Philippians is a Thank You letter written by Paul to a suffering yet generous church that has supported him on several occasions during his missionary journeys. He thanks them for a recent monetary gift from the church delivered by Epaphroditus, and updates them on what's going on in his life. This epistle is comparable to a missionary update letter your church might receive from one of your missionaries. Understanding the background, we can now dig into the text itself in the coming episodes. In the meantime, you can always check out my blog: In the Last Hour, or give my other podcast a listen: The Informal Reformers.