Tag: gain

2 Peter 2:3 – Snake Oil Preaching

Posted on by Will

And by covetousness, with deceitful words they will use you for gain, whose judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction does not sleep

Truth to Learn

Not every message delivered from the pulpit comes from God.

 

Behind the Words

The word translated “covetousness” is the Greek word pleonexia, which means, “fraudulent practice driven by greed.”

The next expression is, “deceitful words.” This comes from the Greek words plastois logois. We have seen the word logos before, meaning “a word or a message.” The other word here is plastos, from which we get our English word “plastic.” This Greek word means “molded” or “purposely shaped.” Today we refer to this kind of language as “spin.”

The verb “will use you for gain” comes from the Greek word emporeuomai, which means “to travel about as a merchant or trader.” The way it’s used here it means “to make merchandise of people.”

 

Meaning Explained

We have been talking about false prophets of the past and false teachers of the present. Peter now tells us what is driving their actions and how they operate. His imagery is that of a snake oil salesman traveling about, taking advantage of uneducated people by way of well chosen but intentionally misleading words so as to make the message sound the way people want it to sound for the purpose of taking their money. These false teachers that Peter is talking about are presenting messages that will inspire and comfort people so that they will give to the ministry and meet the selfish desires of the false teachers.

Their deception is as old as sin itself, driven by the same selfishness that drove Satan to deceive Eve with molded words that may have sounded good but lead to destruction. Peter tells us (literal translation of the second half of today’s verse):

their long standing judgment is not idle and their destruction is not dozing-off

In other words, the same judgment that has been given concerning this type of deception from of old will be applied to these false teachers of today without fail. They may think that they are getting away with something, but their destruction is sure.

These false teachers are occupying many of our church pulpits today, delivering homilies and sermons that bless the hearts of the hearers, while leading them straight to Hell. Their messages are soothing and even inspiring, but they are not the messages that God wants delivered. The messages are intended to please the people rather than to proclaim the message of sacrifice, commitment, and submission. These are the deceptive messages that church members are willing to pay for. How sad!

 

Application

The next time you hear your pastor preach a message that is straight from The Word, one that pricks your heart, causing you to once again submit yourself to the God of all creation, tell him thank you for taking the road less traveled and being God’s instrument of righteousness.

But, perhaps you go to church on Sunday to be soothed and comforted. If so, you may be buying snake oil!

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2017 Will Krause. All rights reserved

James 2:16 – Are You Rich?

Posted on by Will

and one of you should say to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled," but you would not give to them the things which are needed for the body, what is the gain?

Truth to Learn

True faith in Christ is made evident by what we do, not what we say.

Behind the Words

A form of the word legō is translated here as “should say.” It is expressed in the subjunctive mood indicating an action that is possible or probable.

“Go” is from the Greek word hupagete, which is made up of hupo, meaning “under,” but used here to denote a covert or secret action, and agō, meaning “to go.” Hence, this word means “to go away secretly” or “to get out of sight.” It is expressed here in the imperative mood indicating that the person talking (you) is giving a command.

The word translated “be warmed” is thermainō, meaning “to be heated or warmed.” And, the word translated “filled” is chortadzō, meaning “to be completely filled with food” or “to be gorged with food.” Both of these words are expressed in the middle voice (action done to the subject) and the imperative mood (command).

“Would … give” is from the Greek verb didomi, meaning “to give of one’s own accord and with good will.” This word is also expressed in the subjunctive mood indicating an action that is possible or probably.

“Things which are needed” is translated from “epitēdeios,” which refers to “the things which are necessary.” This is the only place in the New Testament where this Greek word in used.

“Gain” is the word ophelos which we looked at in verse fourteen. It refers to that which is heaped up, that is, the excess or the gain.

Meaning Explained

This is a continuation of the previous verse which said:

If a brother or sister is naked and should be lacking daily food,

James is saying that sending someone away with a blessing, someone who has needs that you can fill, is not an act of faith. James is making a case in these and the following verses that if you don’t put your faith into action then its lifeless faith.

I was in Chicago one evening walking down Michigan Avenue. There I was approached by a homeless woman asking for some food money for her and her two children. In the past I had not given money to street beggars because you never know if they are in need because of laziness or because of unfortunate circumstances, and who knows what they are really going to do with the money. So, I politely declined this young woman’s request for help and, as I walked away I thought, “I’ll just pray for her that her needs will be met.” Boy, did God ever convict me of that! Though I don’t have a lot, I am rich compared to her, and yet I was unwilling to help her out just because I didn’t want to possibly be taken advantage of. James would have been ashamed of me!

Sometime later I was in Portland, Oregon, sitting in my car in a parking lot. There, a man approached my car, so I rolled down the window. He said that he was on his way to Vancouver, Washington (about 30 miles away), that he had run out of gas, and had no money to buy gas. I readily gave him enough money to get well past Vancouver. Did I know for a fact that he was out of gas? No, but I didn’t have to deal with the convicting work of the Holy Spirit for being selfish and judgmental. I think James would have been proud!

James’ point, in these few verses, is that it’s easy to talk about how spiritual we are, but a living faith is faith in action.

Application

Unless you live below the poverty line, you have more riches than 95% of the world’s population. The problem with having money is that we never think we have enough. Compared to many others, however, we have great riches. One way of demonstrating our faith is by sharing our abundance with someone who has a lot less. Let’s not just talk about our faith, let’s put it into action every chance we get.

In God's service, for His glory,

Copyright © 2015 Will Krause. All rights reserved

James 2:14 – Profitable Works

Posted on by Will

What is the gain, my brothers, if someone should say he has faith and not have works? Is that faith able to save him?

Truth to Learn

There is no evidence of saving faith unless it is demonstrated by works.

Behind the Words

“Gain” is translated from the Greek word ophelos, which is the noun form of the verb ophellō, meaning “to heap up.” James’ question “what gain?” is a rhetorical question as if he is a little impatient with his readers.

The word translated “brothers” is from adelphos which is made up of a as a connective participle and delphus, meaning “the womb.” Hence it literally means those who have the same mother. It is used throughout the New Testament to refer to those who are brothers and sisters in Christ.

The verb “should say” is translated from legō which literally means “to lay forth.” It is used to express a discourse between two people. The word is used here as part of a conditional clause. This is what in Greek is referred to as a third class condition where the if statement (the protasis) is possibly true but not assumed to be either true or false.

James uses the word “works” for the first time in this verse. It is translated from the Greek word ergon, which refers to “toil or work.” This word, as used here, refers to any action which is done for religious purposes.

Meaning Explained

What may appear here to be an abrupt change of topic is really a logical transition. James started out this chapter talking about not showing favoritism based on someone’s appearance, then moved on to telling us that we should love others as ourselves and that our actions should be a demonstration of our position in Christ.

Several verses back James introduced the notion of keeping the law. The actions done to satisfy the law are works and he alluded to the Judgment Seat of Christ where the works of Christians will be judged. So it is a very natural transition for him to now elaborate on Christian works.

But one might then argue that it is not our works, but faith that is central to our salvation. This is what the Apostle Paul teaches us in the book of Ephesians:

For by the grace of God you are, having been saved through faith, and this not of yourselves; it is the gift of God; not of works, that no one should boast (Ephesians 2:8,9)

James is not arguing against salvation by faith alone, as it might appear if this verse is taken out of context. He is saying, as we shall see in the coming verses, that our works are the evidence of our salvation, rather than the source of it.

Application

The idea that we are saved by works apart from faith is nowhere taught in the New Testament. We cannot earn our salvation, because we can never measure up to God’s righteousness without faith. But salvation by faith in Christ does not entitle a Christian to live however he or she pleases. Our manner of life (our works) is the evidence of the saving faith that has already occurred.