64 A.D.

• Rome was burned, and the blame was placed on the Christians.
• Therefore, being a public Christian or follower of Paul became dangerous.

War in Jerusalem - Spring 66 A.D.

• The Jewish revolt against Rome begins.
• For the next four years, war will rage between Jewish revolutionaries and Roman soldiers, beginning in Judea and spreading throughout Israel.
• There is great unrest and discord in the city of Jerusalem.
• The Christians leave the city and disperse into the Gentile churches outside of Israel.

67 A.D.

• Paul is still imprisoned in Rome.
• Priscilla and Aquila are still in Ephesus, trying to save the church from the constant threat of heresy.
• The false teachers are winning out, and there is a wholesale departure from Paul’s ministry in Asia Minor.
• Further, because Paul is imprisoned, the Christians no longer wish to associate with him out of fear that they, too, will be imprisoned.
• Two brothers in Christ that Paul trusted Phygelus (fe-jealous) and Hermogenes (Hermo-je-knees) turn away from him.
• Demas forsakes Paul because of his love for the world and returns to Thessalonica.
• Paul sends a man named Crescens to Galatia and Titus to Dalmatia (Illyricum) to work with the churches there.
• He sends Tychicus and Onesiphorus back to Ephesus to help Priscilla and Aquila.
• Paul’s preliminary hearing (primo actio) occurs, but no one is present to support him. (2 Timothy 4:16)
• Due to Paul's lack of support, the trial goes forward.
• Upon hearing this, Luke immediately visits Paul in prison.
• Some survivors from Nero’s persecution of the Roman church also visit Paul to check on him occasionally.
• Among them are Eubulus, Pudens, Linus, and Claudia.
• Paul is burdened for the future of the churches.
• He knows that his time of departure is near.
• Paul longs to see Timothy and prays for him day and night.
• He wishes to encourage Timothy in his calling, to exhort him to be optimistic and strong in the face of his opposers, to warn him of the coming apostasy (falling away), and to remind him of those intangible things that he (Paul) has deposited in him over the years.
• Nero committed suicide in June 68 A.D.

 
Date: Fall of 67 A.D.

• (4:21 - Make every effort to come before winter.)

 
Author: Paul (Prison in Rome)

• (2:9 - For this, I suffer, to the point of being bound like a criminal)
• Knew he was going to die soon (4:6 - For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time for my departure is close.)

Recipient: Timothy (Ephesus – Several references)

• 2 Timothy was written as a personal letter to Timothy to encourage him and ask him to come see him in Rome.
• Written to a friend who understood his theology.
• Not Titus: a church that didn’t understand.
• Not 1 Timothy: a church understood but chose to ignore.

GREETING
2 TIMOTHY 1
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by God’s will, for the sake of the promise of life in Christ Jesus:

•  When friends desert us, and opposition becomes intense, nothing gives Christians confidence like the assurance that we are doing God's will.

2 To Timothy, my dearly loved son.

•  This description emphasized Paul's affection for Timothy and his relationship with him as a spiritual son and protégé whom he had nurtured in the faith.

Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.


THANKSGIVING
3 I thank God, whom I serve with a clear conscience as my ancestors did, when I constantly remember you in my prayers night and day. 4 Remembering your tears, I long to see you so that I may be filled with joy. 5 I recall your sincere faith that first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and now, I am convinced, is in you also.

•  Paul voiced in his first epistle to Timothy thanks for his own salvation and ministry (1 Tim. 1:12 - I give thanks to Christ Jesus our Lord who has strengthened me, because he considered me faithful, appointing me to the ministry[1]).
•  In this second epistle, he began with thanks for Timothy's salvation and ministry.
•  His tears – Due to the separation in 1 Timothy 1:3 - As I urged you when I went to Macedonia, remain in Ephesus so that you may instruct certain people not to teach false doctrine 4 or to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies.[2]
•  How do your family members influence your faith?
•  What is it about Moms?

6 Therefore, I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is in you through the laying on of my hands.

•  Timothy received divine enablement to do the work God was leading him into.
•   It was not Paul that gave Timothy the Spirit… It was purely symbolic.
•   March 26, 1989 – I was “ordained” and had hands laid upon me.

7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but one of power,, love, and sound judgment.

•   7 God doesn't want us to be shy with his gifts, but bold and loving and sensible. (The Message)
•   7  For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline. (NAS)
•   7 For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. (NIV & NLT)
•   “us” – Encouragement to Timothy but included himself so as not to call out.
•   What did they have to be “fearful/timid” of? Nero & the Romans!
  
  

NOT ASHAMED OF THE GOSPEL
8 So don’t be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, or of me his prisoner. Instead, share in suffering for the gospel, relying on the power of God.

•   Nothing for you to be ashamed of… I’m in prison because I have been spreading the Gospel.
•   What if the same thing happens to you!?!
•   It would be worth it!
•   Just trust the Lord.
  

9 He has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began.

•   God has delivered us from the penalty and power of sin.
•   He has called us to a special purpose, not because of us but by His free choice.
•   Not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace.
•   He enables us to achieve this purpose by His sufficient grace that comes to us in Christ.
•   Which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began.
•   Our calling took place before the creation of the universe (cf. Eph. 1:4; Rom.16:25; Titus 1:2)

10 This has now been made evident through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who has abolished death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.

•   But God has revealed its full dignity only since Christ has come.
•   Jesus Christ destroyed the effects of death and made it possible for us to live with God eternally.

11 For this gospel I was appointed a herald, apostle, and teacher,

•   The gospel is the revelation of this plan, but Timothy appears to have felt ashamed of it!
•   Paul proudly acknowledged that God had appointed him, of all people, a herald (announcer), an apostle (establisher), and a teacher (perpetrator) of this good news.
•   What an honor and privilege it is to communicate the gospel

12 and that is why I suffer these things. But I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that he is able to guard what has been entrusted to me, until that day.

•   Paul suffered imprisonment and the discomforts associated with it because he preached the gospel.
•   Nevertheless, he was not ashamed of the gospel or himself.
•   His confidence lay in the person of God.
•   He believed that God is faithful.
•   God would protect something that Paul had placed with God for His protection and preserve that until the day he would see Christ face to face.
  
  

BE LOYAL TO THE FAITH
13 Hold on to the pattern of sound teaching that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

•   Timothy felt the temptation to modify his message and stop preaching it.
•   Paul urged him, therefore, to continue preaching the same message he had heard from Paul and to do so with trust in God and love for people, which Jesus Christ would supply.
•   "With his usual skillful way with words, Paul is saying in effect that as God has guarded the deposit of his life (and will guard Timothy's) so also Timothy must guard the deposit of the faithful account.

14 Guard the good deposit through the Holy Spirit who lives in us.
 

•   He should guard God's revelation that God had entrusted to him as a minister of the gospel (cf. 1 Tim. 6:20).
•   The indwelling Holy Spirit (as well as the Son, v. 13) would enable him to do so.
•   "The appeal has come full circle.
•   It began with God's Spirit and his power and ended with the Spirit's enabling power."

15 You know that all those in the province of Asia have deserted me, including Phygelus and Hermogenes.

•   The Christians in Ephesus and in the province of Asia where Ephesus stood had so thoroughly abandoned Paul that he could say all had turned from him.
•   Paul may have meant all the leaders or his former colleagues who had left him by himself in prison in Rome.
•   Probably not all these people had turned from the gospel; the statement is probably exaggerated.
•   Timothy was the last to maintain his loyalty to and support of Paul in that group, and he was now feeling tempted to abandon him.
•   Phygelus and Hermogenes' names occur nowhere else in Scripture.
•   They had been strong supporters of the apostle in the past but had eventually turned away from him as the rest.

16 May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains. 17 On the contrary, when he was in Rome, he diligently searched for me and found me. 18 May the Lord grant that he obtain mercy from him on that day. You know very well how much he ministered at Ephesus.[3]

•   Onesiphorus (lit. help-bringer) may have been dead when Paul wrote this epistle (cf. v. 18; 4:19).
•   "In the Apocryphal Acts of Paul and Thecla, Onesiphorus is spoken of as a convert of Paul's who gave him hospitality on his first visit to Iconium."
•   Onesiphorus' remaining household was an exception to the "all" above (v. 15), or perhaps they had felt differently and had later reaffirmed their loyalty to Paul.
•   In any case his family had diligently and unashamedly sought out Paul and had ministered to him during his current imprisonment.
•   For this Paul wished the Lord would show Onesiphorus "mercy" at the judgment seat of Christ (cf. "that day" in v. 12).
•   Because Onesiphorus had "found" Paul, Paul hoped that Onesiphorus would "find" mercy from the Lord.
•   Paul seems to have envisioned a scene in which all his unfaithful brethren would stand before the Lord, Onesiphorus among them, namely, Christ's judgment seat.
•   God would express displeasure with the failure of the others, but Onesiphorus would escape that shame (cf. 1 John 2:28).
•   Timothy knew about Onesiphorus' earlier faithful ministry in Ephesus.
•   Paul also referred to this to encourage Timothy to throw in his lot with Onesiphorus and his family rather than with those who had turned against the chained apostle.
•   "Moral behavior is best learned by observing such commitment in others.
•   Children learn this behavior from parents.
•   Young Christians learn it from older Christians.
•   Ultimately moral behavior cannot be taught merely by character-building courses in public schools.
•   Christians must see moral commitment as a sterling example in others.
•   "Paul was not ashamed to present himself as the initial example he gave to Timothy.
•   He did not doubt that his behavior was worth imitating.

  Christian leaders today need to have such a commitment to Christ that they are unashamed to say in humility, 'If you want an example to follow, look at me!'"

[1] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), 1 Ti 1:12.
[2] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), 1 Ti 1:3–4.
[3] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), 2 Ti 1:1–18.

Crisis in the Churches of Northwest Asia

• The Christians throughout the Empire are suffering severe persecution.
• Peter has received word that the churches in northwest Asia are suffering massive attacks.
• They are distressed and in great need of encouragement.
• The persecution has become so bad that the Gentile Christians are being tempted to revert to their past pagan lifestyles to lessen the heat.
• Some believers are rebelling against local authorities because of the mistreatment and slander they are receiving from them.

PETER WRITES 1 PETER

• Year: A.D. 65
• From: Rome
• To: The churches in northwest Asia: Pontus, North Galatia, Cappadocia, and Bithynia.[1]
• 1) Set your hope (1:13)
• 2) Be holy (1:16)
• 3) Conduct yourselves (1:17)
• 4) Love one another (1:22)
• 5) Crave spiritual milk (2:2)

 
WIVES AND HUSBANDS
1 PETER 3
1 In the same way, wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, even if some disobey the word, they may be won over without a word by the way their wives live 2 when they observe your pure, reverent lives.

• In the previous chapter Peter was talking about submitting to leaders of different types because there is no point in revolting against leadership.
• Instead, we are to love and serve our leaders.
• Likewise, Peter is recognizing that wives ought to love and serve their husbands by allowing them to lead.
• This submissive attitude then impacts men in a positive way.
• If they are not believers, then perhaps they will be won over by the love of their wives.
• If they are believers, then they will feel respected and encouraged.

3 Don’t let your beauty consist of outward things like elaborate hairstyles and wearing gold jewelry or fine clothes, 4 but rather what is inside the heart—the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.

• Peter is not forbidding the wearing of Jewelry or any clothing that is attractive.
• Peter is talking about not making beauty merely an outward attribute.
• He is against making external beauty the big deal.
• Instead, women are to seek to know Christ and live from His Spirit.
• This type of beauty never ceases, even with the coming of old age, because it is internal.
• Thus, Peter wants women to find their worth not in that which is visible but in that worth which is spiritual and precious.
• When the focus is on this inner beauty, women may choose to dress nicely or wear Jewelry, but not in order to become something more than who they are in Christ.

5 For in the past, the holy women who put their hope in God also adorned themselves in this way, submitting to their own husbands, 6 just as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord.

• The women in the Old Testament wore submission to their husbands like clothes.
• The clothing of submission is a perfect fit for children of God.
• It is completely compatible with who wives, as well as husbands, are in Christ.
• Christians can choose to wear behavior that is not fitting for saints.
• But this will never yield peace and joy.
• Only the fruit of the Spirit is fitting for Christians.
• When wives express the fruit of the Spirit to men, then men will feel honored and valued.
• The fear that women carry with this type of lifestyle is based on not wanting to become doormats to their husbands.
• But Peter is clear: Women are co-heirs with their husbands.

You have become her children when you do what is good and do not fear any intimidation.
7 Husbands, in the same way, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with a weaker partner, showing them honor as coheirs of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered.

• Husbands are to love their wives as one would love a weaker person.
• In other words, husbands are to be gentle with their wives.
• This is not a statement about women's value in marriage.
• Notice that they are fellow heirs of salvation with their husbands.
• Instead, Peter is speaking of physical strength.
• Obviously, in many marriages, the wife is the stronger person: emotionally, mentally, spiritually, morally, socially, and/or physically.
• Nevertheless, physically, the wife is usually weaker than her husband. Most men tend to choose as their wives women who are not as strong as they are.
• This pertains to physical force as well as emotional and verbal abuse.
• Peter likely also has in mind the emotional depth of women and how vulnerable this makes them.

 

• Hinder your prayers: This is a practical statement for couples who are not treating one another well.
• People will not want to pray with their spouses if they are being treated poorly.
• If, however, we express the fruit of the Spirit to one another, then nothing will get in the way of our prayer life.

DO NO EVIL
8 Finally, all of you be like-minded and sympathetic, love one another, and be compassionate and humble,

• Peter has in mind the whole church, men and women.
• Christians are to have mutual respect and love for one another regardless of gender.
• Males and females must be united under the lordship of Christ.
• This behavior verse and all others encourage Christians to live according to their new nature.
• Ultimately, these verses are timesavers.
• God simply wants us to save ourselves from turmoil which comes from choosing to live in a way that is no longer compatible with our natures.
• God has worked righteousness into us and, consequently, wants us to live in accordance with this nature.
• This will produce good days for the believer as they live from the Spirit and experience the unceasing joy Christ gave us.

9 not paying back evil for evil or insult for insult but, on the contrary, giving a blessing, since you were called for this, so that you may inherit a blessing.

• Christians are not to fight back against opponents.
• Instead, they are to know the blessing of Christ’s indwelling life and to choose to love despite any insults that come our way.
• We can choose not to be concerned about our status, instead forgive insults, and live from the inner person that we are in Christ.
• If we understand God’s opinion of us, then the opinion of humans doesn’t matter.

10 For the one who wants to love life
and to see good days,
let him keep his tongue from evil
and his lips from speaking deceit,

• The mouth determines the health of our relationships.
• Our words have the ability to sooth and edify people, or cause harm.
• Likewise, our tongues can tell truth or lies.
• Lies will always lead to distrust in relationships.
• Truth, however, always edifies.
• Speaking truth will reflect our new natures in Christ.

11 and let him turn away from evil
and do what is good.
Let him seek peace and pursue it,

•  Christians are to seek edifying relationships with one another and the world, even though it will always inherently resist the claims of Christ.

12 because the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous
and his ears are open to their prayer.
But the face of the Lord is against
those who do what is evil.

• God is not in a swivel chair.
• God’s eyes are always on the eyes of His children.
• Likewise, His ears are always attentive to our prayers.
• His face, however, is against all who have rejected the Son of God.
• God hates sin and is forever against it.

 
UNDESERVED SUFFERING
13 Who then will harm you if you are devoted to what is good? 14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness, you are blessed. Do not fear them or be intimidated, 15 but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy,

• Believers do not make Christ Lord.
• He is Lord.
• When we receive Christ as Savior, we also receive Him as Lord because we believe that He can save us and has the authority to save us.
• This is a recognition of His lordship.

ready at any time to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.

• Peter is encouraging believers to be ready to give a reason or a defense of our hope in Christ to all who ask us.
• This means that our expression of the Gospel is to be to all who engage us.
• This means that we only tell the Gospel to those who are interested.
• Notice that Peter is not encouraging Christians to walk out onto the street and be belligerent.
• This would not be gentle and respectful of unbelievers.
• Our place is to be ready to engage those who engage us simply.

16 Yet do this with gentleness and reverence, keeping a clear conscience, so that when you are accused, those who disparage your good conduct in Christ will be put to shame. 17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.
18 For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring you to God.

• Christ’s sacrifice was so perfect that He only needed to die once for all of our sins-past, present and future.
• When we believe this finished work of Christ cleanses us perfectly.
• Peter encouraged Christians to suffer for adhering to this reality, and not for doing wrong.
• Our sins have consequences, and when we treat one another poorly, these consequences impact relationships with believers and unbelievers alike.
• Instead, believers are to love people and be ready to give a reason for this love they possess.
• If we suffer for believing the Gospel, then we share in Christ’s sufferings who died for our sins.
• He suffered for being the Son of God in the midst of worldly darkness.
• Likewise, Christians too will suffer in different ways.

He was put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, 19 in which he also went and made proclamation to the spirits in prison 20 who in the past were disobedient, when God patiently waited in the days of Noah while the ark was being prepared. In it a few—that is, eight people—were saved through water.

• This is a particularly difficult passage to interpret.
• Some believe it means that Christ went to hell to preach to those who were there after the time of Noah’s flood.
• This could certainly be true; however, it is more likely that this is speaking of previous expressions of Christ throughout history.
• The passage specifically speaks of those who were alive when the ark was being built.
• So, it stands to reason, that Christ proclaimed the Gospel through Noah to those who are now currently in spiritual prison.

21 Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you (not as the removal of dirt from the body, but the pledge of a good conscience toward God) through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,

• Peter is speaking of being baptized spiritually into Christ at faith in Jesus, not a physical baptism.
• Notice Peter’s language: The baptism that saves does not remove dirt from the body.

22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God with angels, authorities, and powers subject to him.[2]

• Christ is seated at the right hand of God because His salvific work is complete.
• He has removed our sins past, present, and future.
• This means that there is no longer a sacrifice needed for sin.

His work as a High Priest is, therefore, finished. [3]

[1] Viola, Frank, The Untold Story of the New Testament Church. Destiny Image, Shippensburg, PA, 2004. 166-167.
[2] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), 1 Pe 3:1–22.
[3] Farley, Andrew. www.BibleCommentary.com. 1 Peter 3.

Crisis in the Churches of Northwest Asia

• The Christians throughout the Empire are suffering severe persecution.
• Peter has received word that the churches in northwest Asia are suffering massive attacks.
• They are distressed and in great need of encouragement.
• The persecution has become so bad that the Gentile Christians are being tempted to revert to their past pagan lifestyles to lessen the heat.
• Some believers are rebelling against local authorities because of the mistreatment and slander they are receiving from them.

PETER WRITES 1 PETER

• Year: A.D. 65
• From: Rome
• To: The churches in northwest Asia: Pontus, North Galatia, Cappadocia, and Bithynia.[1]
• 1) Set your hope (1:13)
• 2) Be holy (1:16)
• 3) Conduct yourselves (1:17)
• 4) Love one another (1:22)
• 5) Crave spiritual milk (2:2)

 
THE LIVING STONE AND A HOLY PEOPLE
1 Peter 2
1 Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all slander.

• Peter is addressing behavior that is proper for Christians.
• However, he is not giving us a behavior verse in a vacuum.
• The key is found in the text prior to this section.
• Because we have been purified by the Gospel (1 Peter 1:17-24), we are empowered to live righteously.
• Notice that this is not “thou shalt not” language.
• Instead, this is about laying aside all that is not natural for the Christian.
• In the Old Covenant, there was no ultimate victory over sin.
• However, in the New Covenant God has provided a solution to the sin problem.
• When we believe we are given a new nature (see 2 Peter 1:3-4 - 3 His divine power has given us everything required for life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 By these he has given us very great and precious promises, so that through them you may share in the divine nature, escaping the corruption that is in the world because of evil desire.[2]).
• We can, therefore, act in a manner which fits our identity.

2 Like newborn infants, desire the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow up into your salvation,

• Peter is not talking about growing through Christian activity.
• Activity does not grow a person.
• The word of God, the Gospel of grace, grows the believer.
• As we form a better understanding of the finished work of Christ, we will mature.
• But the Gospel must be pure, without man-made religion added to it, or we will not grow.
• God has not designed us to grow spiritually under spiritual law.
• Instead, we are called to know the pure milk of the finished work of Christ.
• We will grow as we become more acquainted with God’s nature revealed in Christ.
• But we cannot let false gospels taint our understanding of the true Gospel.

3 if you have tasted that the Lord is good. (Psalm 34:8)

• God’s kindness is what leads us to repentance.
• God is not mean or belligerent.
• He has kindness and gentleness towards us.
• He is a living and breathing being with infinite love and this love is directed to the world.
• Believers have tasted God’s kindness and have been changed as a result.
• And the more we embrace the kindness of God, the more we will grow.

4 As you come to him, a living stone—rejected by people but chosen and honored by God--

• Everyone on the planet looks at Jesus in one of two ways.
• He is either the most precious gift given to us, or He is the most offensive thing in existence.
• But Jesus is the same towards both groups.
• He is the living stone.
• All creation points to Him.
• Our salvation is in Him whether we believe or not.

5 you yourselves, as living stones,

• Believers are also considered living stones.
• Whatever righteousness Jesus possesses, we also possess by grace through faith (2 Corinthians 5:21).
• We are as pure and valuable as Jesus Christ Himself.
• The entire Trinity is pleased with us.
• Because He is pleased with us, He seeks to build us up using His kindness and love.
• The enemy uses legalism and judgment to tear people down. But God uses grace.

a spiritual house, are being built to be a holy priesthood

• Whereas the Old Covenant only allowed priests in the line of Aaron and Levi, in the New Covenant all who believe have been made holy or set apart as priests.
• This is due to the fact that believers have unending access to God because He lives within them.
• Therefore, there is no longer a need for the priest to enter the Holy of Holies on behalf of God’s people.
• In the New Covenant, we are the Holy of Holies.

to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

• Peter is an apostle to Jews.
• He is telling his fellow Jews that they are being built up into a holy priesthood.
• Historically, priests have been one person at a time.
• But now he’s saying that all believers are priests.
• Furthermore, he argues that sacrifices are no longer physical, as in the Old Testament, but now spiritual.
• And the sacrifice that God wants is for His children to simply present themselves as the living and holy people that they already are because of Christ.

6 For it stands in Scripture:
See, I lay a stone in Zion,
a chosen and honored cornerstone, (Ephesians 2:20)
and the one who believes in him
will never be put to shame. (Isaiah 28:16)

• Will not be put to shame: The Gospel does not disappoint believers.
• If our Christianity is disappointing, then it is not true Christianity.
• Whatever we long for and need from God, we have been given in the Gospel.
• God will never judge us, and He will never abandon us.
• Christ’s work is too perfect for this.

7 So honor will come to you who believe; but for the unbelieving,
The stone that the builders rejected--
this one has become the cornerstone, (Psalm 118:22)

• God took Jesus, the one rejected by humanity, and made Him the cornerstone of all creation.
• He is eternal life itself.
• Notice that the cornerstone of the faith is not doctrine or theology.
• It is a person. Jesus Christ is the foundation for Christianity.

8 and
A stone to stumble over,
and a rock to trip over. (Isaiah 8:14)
They stumble because they disobey the word; they were destined for this.

• Before creation, the Trinity planned to save people through Christ.
• He is the cornerstone and the only way to the Father.
• However, God also determined that all who reject Christ will face judgment.

9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, (Exodus 19:5-6) a people for his possession, so that you may proclaim the praises (Isaiah 43:21) of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

• God’s people are holy.
• We are not becoming more holy progressively.
• By one sacrifice we have been made perfectly cleansed (see also Hebrews 10:14).

 
A CALL TO GOOD WORKS
11 Dear friends, I urge you as strangers and exiles to abstain from sinful desires that wage war against the soul.

• Peter is encouraging believers to avoid sin, not in order to become more holy, but because they are holy.
• Believers are foreigners and strangers to sin now that they have been redeemed in Christ.
• These fleshly lusts wage war against our souls which are designed for righteousness.
• Believers have the mind of Christ and therefore are no longer designed for sin.

12 Conduct yourselves honorably among the Gentiles, so that when they slander you as evildoers, they will observe your good works and will glorify God on the day he visits.

• God will return and show off His precious children.
• Because we are precious and excellent, we are to keep our behavior excellent.
• The world will see this behavior and, hopefully, glorify God upon His return.

13 Submit to every human authority because of the Lord, whether to the emperor as the supreme authority 14 or to governors as those sent out by him to punish those who do what is evil and to praise those who do what is good. 15 For it is God’s will that you silence the ignorance of foolish people by doing good.

• Submission to earthly rulers is for the Lord’s sake, or for the advancement of the Gospel.
• The world is to see our living in peace with one another, and loving those in authority, and believe in Jesus as a result.
• Peter is not saying that earthly leaders are correct about every opinion they hold.
• He is saying that they are in a position in which they punish evil doers.
• This is the position we are to respect even if we have disdain for their beliefs.

16 Submit as free people, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but as God’s slaves.

• There is a spiritual freedom underlying Peter’s word.
• There is nothing that can shake the salvation of the Christian because we are completely free in Christ.
• This is the true source of freedom for the Christian.
• To be sure, this freedom can be used in a negative way, but this is unfitting for believers.
• We are to use our freedom as bondslaves of God.
• Bondslaves have a choice.
• We are slaves to freedom and righteousness in Christ, and we have a choice to express this new propensity or not.

17 Honor everyone. Love the brothers and sisters. Fear God. Honor the emperor.

• Nothing good has come from mistreating people.
• Therefore, Peter is trying to save the Christian time and energy.
• Loving people is always the right decision.
• We have nothing to lose from honoring one another.
• 1 Timothy 2:1 - First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, 2 for kings and all those who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.[3]
  
  

SUBMISSION OF SLAVES TO MASTERS
18 Household slaves, submit to your masters with all reverence not only to the good and gentle ones but also to the cruel. 19 For it brings favor if, because of a consciousness of God, someone endures grief from suffering unjustly.

• Peter is not asking believers to lead political revolutions.
• Instead, he is teaching Christians the importance of resting in their identity in the midst of whatever governmental context exists.
• The Gospel is trans-circumstantial meaning it applies in every context, but it does not guarantee a change in circumstance.

20 For what credit is there if when you do wrong and are beaten, you endure it? But when you do what is good and suffer, if you endure it, this brings favor with God.

• Suffering for doing what is right and for the sake of the Gospel is different than suffering as a result of sin.
• There are negative consequences when we sin.
• However, believers are inherently opposed to the ways of the world.
• As we live as lights we will suffer because who we are is in direct contradiction to the world system.

21 For you were called to this, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.

• Peter is not encouraging seeking out pain and suffering for being a Christian.
• There is plenty of pain and suffering that will happen simply by virtue of being a Christian in this fallen world.
• This is Peter’s point.
• If we suffer because we are opposed to the ways of the world, then we are true believers who are intimately associated with Jesus in this life.
• Titus 3:1-2 - Remind them to submit to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work, 2 to slander no one, to avoid fighting, and to be kind, always showing gentleness to all people.[4]
• Daniel
• Joseph
• Paul & Peter

22 He did not commit sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth; 23 when he was insulted, he did not insult in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten but entrusted himself to the one who judges justly.

• Just as Jesus trusted in His Father unto death, so are we to trust in God in the midst of our sufferings.
• Peter is not encouraging Christians to try and overthrow the government or change their circumstances in some forceful way.
• Instead, he is saying that regardless of whether circumstances change or not, we are to entrust ourselves to God, our Shepherd and Guardian.

24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree; so that, having died to sins, we might live for righteousness.

• Peter is speaking of the certainty of the Christians death to sin in Christ.
• Therefore, the word might is not speaking of a hypothetical outcome.
• It speaks, rather, of a promised outcome for all who believe.
• Dying to sin is not a surface level action in which we become moralists.
• Instead, it is an inner reality in which Christ has changed our nature.
• We no longer thrive under the reign of sin.
• Christians are no longer compatible with anything but righteousness.

By his wounds you have been healed.

• Peter is speaking of the spiritual healing which occurred for all in Christ.
• When we believe we are healed spiritually from sin.
• This is not a verse guaranteeing physical healing.
• Miracles of physical healing are a reality but there is a difference between God acting in a miraculous way through physical healing and what has been achieved by the death and resurrection of Christ.

25 For you were like sheep going astray, but you have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.[5]

• Peter is communicating the importance of knowing our safety in God.
• God is our eternal shepherd and guardian; he keeps us safe from the evil one and the world.
• When we believe we are forever saved and reunited with God.
• We are hidden with Christ in God and are therefore safe (Colossians 3:3).
• The Gospel, therefore, is designed to bring in rest and security for the Christian.
• False gospels promote fear which in turn encourages religious rules and regulations to be obeyed in order to earn somehow or keep God’s favor.[6]

[1] Viola, Frank, The Untold Story of the New Testament Church. Destiny Image, Shippensburg, PA, 2004. 166-167.
[2] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), 2 Pe 1:3–4.
[3] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), 1 Ti 2:1–2.
[4] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), Tt 3:1–2.
[5] Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2020), 1 Pe 2:1–25.
[6] Farley, Andrew. www.BibleCommentary.com. 1 Peter.

Review 1 John 2:15-29…
      - Believers stood secure against the false teaching of the antichrists because of three sources of strength.
      1) They had the anointing of the Holy Spirit. This provided the capacity to understand spiritual things (v. 20).
      2) They had made a personal commitment to the Christian message (vv. 24–25).
      3) They lived in union with Jesus Christ (v. 28). 
 
- Ayden Fisher – Who is his daddy? Why do you know this? What affirms this? What is Ayden going to be like when he grows up? Do we know fully what his future will be? What two parts do you, as believers, see in Ayden? (Earthsuit & spiritual being). Which one is eternal?
 
1 JOHN 3
1 See (look, pay attention to, concern oneself with, understand, experience) what great love (agape – sacrificial love, fellowship, love feast) the Father has given us that we should be called God’s children—and we are!

• Not only are we “called children of God” but we are! Claim it! Live it!
• John is writing this letter to affirm the identity of Christians as God’s children.
• All who believe in Jesus are actually, truly, children of God.
• John emphasizes our adoption as God’s children multiple times in this passage because it is such a significant reality.
• We are told to see, in faith, this reality of God’s love that has been so freely given to us. 

The reason the world does not know us is that it didn’t know him. 2 Dear friends, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when he appears, we will be like him because we will see him as he is. 3 And everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself just as he is pure.

• John is talking about behavior.
• People are not purifying themselves in their hearts.
• God has given believers a new heart and nature.
• Instead, John talks about Christians living from their new nature and identity as God’s children.
• Christians have every power to live pure and righteous lives.
• But these righteous lives come not from following rules and regulations but from trusting in the person and character of Jesus Christ.
• Romans 8:23 (NLT) - 23 And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us.[1]
• Philippians 3:21 (NLT) - He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control.[2]

4 Everyone who commits (practices – NASB) sin practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness.

• Unbelievers practice sinful behavior.
• This sinful behavior is total and complete chaos when compared to the peaceful fruit of the Spirit.

5 You know that he was revealed so that he might take away sins, and there is no sin in him.

• In contrast to the Old Testament sacrifices which only acted to cover sins, Jesus actually took away all sins by His own death.
• The believer’s sins are completely taken away.
• This means that there is no divine judgment for the believer.
• God will never bring up our sins because He remembers them no more (Hebrews 8:12).
• Therefore, Judgment Day for the Christian is not a reflection on our past sins.

6 Everyone who remains in him does not sin (keep on sinning – NIV); everyone who sins (continues to sin – NIV) has not seen him or known him.

• I John 1:8 - If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth.[3]
• The question is not, “Does he sin?” but, “Does he make sin a habit?”

7 Little children, let no one deceive you. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous.

• Why is that? It is the new nature of the redeemed.

8 The one who commits sin (practices – NASB) is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God was revealed for this purpose: to destroy the devil’s works.

• Even before Genesis 3.

9 Everyone who has been born of God does not (practice – NASB) sin (continue to sin – NIV), because his seed remains in him; he is not able to sin, (he cannot go on sinning – NIV) because he has been born of God.

• Whereas unbelievers practice sinfulness, believers practice righteousness.
• This does not mean that believers never sin.
• It does, however, mean that they are practicing how to live righteously as opposed to practicing how to sin.
• This is because we have been fundamentally changed at the cores of our beings.
• We have been set free from the old sinful nature and enslaved to the new nature of righteousness (see also Romans 6:18).
• This is what it means that God’s seed remains within His children.
• We are born of God and are no longer of the world.
• Therefore, we are not predisposed towards the ways of the world.
• There is a trend within believers that has been reversed.
• If we are in Christ, we will have trouble sinning.
• Christians are no longer good at sinning.
• When we become Christians, the battle with sin begins because of this reality.
• The fact that a battle exists within us is proof of our new natures.
• Romans 6:6 – For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be rendered powerless so that we may no longer be enslaved to sin,[4]
• Ephesians 4:22 - to take off, your former way of life, the old self that is corrupted by deceitful desires,[5]

10 This is how God’s children and the devil’s children become obvious. Whoever does not do what is right is not of God, especially the one who does not love his brother or sister.

• All who are in Christ love Christians.
• This does not mean that we like everyone, but it means that we love and affirm the Christian’s identity in Christ.

 
LOVE IN ACTION
11 For this is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another, 12 unlike Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his deeds were evil, and his brother’s were righteous.

• These are choices they made based upon what they believed.
• At this point, Abel was only credited with righteousness… similar to Abraham in Genesis
• - Abram believed the Lord, and He

 credited it to him as righteousness.

• Love does not do harm to its neighbor.
• Christians love fellow believers at the cores of their beings.
• Therefore, we are to express this love in behavior.

13 Do not be surprised, brothers and sisters, if the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed from death to life

• 2 Corinthians 5:17 - Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come![6]

because we love our brothers and sisters. The one who does not love remains in death.

• Loving Christians is a sign that we have been truly saved.
• Not only are we completely forgiven but we have been given new life.
• This new life manifests in love for fellow believers.
• Whoever does not love Christians abides in spiritual death and needs eternal life in Christ.
• This is the core issue with humanity: People need eternal life, not perfected moral living.

15 Everyone who hates his brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.

• This is an identity issue – identified with sin, Cain, Adam, death, etc.
• John is speaking of those who are inherently murderers, or those who are still enslaved to sin.
• Paul had a history of murdering Christians.
• Likewise, the thief on the cross had a rather difficult past.
•  But both experienced a nature change through the grace of Christ.

16 This is how we have come to know love: He laid down his life for us. We should also lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.

• There is no atoning value in this like Christ’s death for us, but it is the supreme proof of who we have become in Christ.
• Christians are to receive the servant love of Jesus and transmit it to fellow believers.
• This does not mean having poor relational boundaries where we never say “No.”
• But it does mean that we have the chance to love one another as Christ loves us.
• If this love is absent, then we have not crossed from death to life.

17 If anyone has this world’s goods and sees a fellow believer in need but withholds compassion from him—how does God’s love reside in him? 18 Little children, let us not love in word or speech, but in action and in truth.

• Agape love
•       The Message – 17 If you see some brother or sister in need and have the means to do something about it but turn a cold shoulder and do nothing, what happens to God’s love? It disappears. And you made it disappear.[7] (ZING)
• Love is to be tangible.
• Love is not simply words but actions.
• This loving action assures our hearts that we are God’s children and are in Christ.
• When we see love coming from us, we can know that we have passed from death to life.
• Our hearts, or consciences, can condemn us even if God does not condemn us.
• This is why John affirms that God is greater than our hearts.
• His realities transcend any negative emotion or flavor of shame that we experience.

19 This is how we will know that we belong to the truth and will reassure our hearts before him

• NIV – 19 This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence:[8]

20 whenever our hearts condemn us (pass judgment); for God is greater than our hearts, and he knows all things.
21 Dear friends, if our hearts don’t condemn us, we have confidence before God

• The Message – 21 And friends, once that’s taken care of and we’re no longer accusing or condemning ourselves, we’re bold and free before God![9]

22 and receive whatever we ask from him because we keep his commands and do what is pleasing in his sight.

• This is not naming and claiming certain things in life.
• God is answering our prayers based on His New Covenant commands: believe in Jesus and love one another (1 John 3:23).
• He wants us to believe more fully and to love relentlessly.
• He will always help us to grow and mature in our faith in these ways. This is God’s will for us in Christ.

23 Now this is his command: that we believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another as he commanded us. 24 The one who keeps his commands remains in him, and he in him. And the way we know that he remains in us is from the Spirit he has given us. [10]

• If we have believed in Christ, we are one with the Holy Spirit.
• He has poured His love into our hearts (see Romans 5:5) and has therefore made us to keep His commandments perpetually within our new natures.[11]​

[1] Tyndale House Publishers. 2015. Holy Bible: New Living Translation. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.
[2] Tyndale House Publishers. 2015. Holy Bible: New Living Translation. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.
[3] Tyndale House Publishers. 2015. Holy Bible: New Living Translation. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.
[4] Christian Standard Bible. 2020. Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[5] Christian Standard Bible. 2020. Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[6] Christian Standard Bible. 2020. Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[7] Peterson, Eugene H. 2005. The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language. Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress.
[8] The New International Version. 2011. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
[9] Peterson, Eugene H. 2005. The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language. Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress.
[10] Christian Standard Bible. 2020. Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[11] Farley, Andrew. www.BibleCommentary.com. 1 John 3.

• James 1 – Patient when in trouble.
• James 2 – Lives out who they are.
• James 3 – Controlling our tongue.
• Obviously was an issue worth repeating:
• James 1:19 - “quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger”
• James 1:26 - “If anyone thinks he is religious without controlling his tongue, his religion is useless and he deceives himself.”
• James 2:12 - “Speak and act as those who are to be judged by the law of freedom.”
• James 4:11 - “Don’t criticize one another, brothers and sisters.”

CONTROLLING THE TONGUE
James 3
1 Not many should become teachers, my brothers, because you know that we will receive a stricter judgment. 2 For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is mature, able also to control the whole body.

• James’ complaint was simply that too many believers were overly anxious to speak up and show off
• Don’t get the teachers James is speaking to vs the teachers Jesus was speaking to: New Jewish Christians vs Pharisees & Sadducees.
• Jesus spoke of great warnings against teachers who led astray (Jesus is not the Messiah).
• James is speaking to spiritually young teachers whose morals were not lining up with what they were teaching. Too many teachers.
• A teacher’s condemnation is greater because, having professed to have a clear knowledge of duty, he is all the more bound to obey it.[1]
• Not the duty of the Christian Life but the duty of the teacher position.
• “’We’ all stumble in many ways…”
• You can tell the more spiritually mature people by the public decisions they make.
• This is not the goal!!!
• This judgment James speaks about for the teaching believer is not about a heavenly judgment later.
• This judgment is by the world, both believers and non-believers.
• James concentration was on what was being said... or not being said… controlling the tongue.
• The power of speech is one of the greatest powers God has given us.
• We are not perfect in our speech… or behavior… We are perfect in who we are!

3 Now if we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we direct their whole bodies. 4 And consider ships: Though very large and driven by fierce winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs.

• During World War II they were accustomed to seeing posters that read LOOSE LIPS SINK SHIPS!
• But loose lips also wreck lives.
• A person makes an unguarded statement and suddenly finds himself involved in a fight.
• Twitter is a spark that starts a roaring fire.
• His tongue has forced the rest of his body to defend itself.
• The tongue is a small member in the body, and yet it has the power to accomplish great things.
• The sense of “guide” here is important, for it not only implies the curbing of evil action but also the directing of the body into good action.[2]
• Both the bit and the rudder must overcome contrary forces.
• The bit must overcome the wild nature of the horse, and the rudder must fight the winds and currents that would drive the ship off its course.
• The human tongue also must overcome contrary forces.
• We get thoughts through the power of sin (noun) dwells in our flesh and wants to control us and make us sin (verb).
• Sin on the inside and pressures on the outside are seeking to get control of the tongue.[3]
• Spiritual maturity says, “Know the Father (Creator), be able to hear the Spirit that lives inside of you, obey when to speak and when to listen.
• When you are listening… you will probably say “I” less.
• A runaway horse or a shipwreck could mean injury or death to pedestrians or passengers.
• The words we speak affect the lives of others.
• A judge says “Guilty!” or “Not Guilty!” and those words affect the destiny of the prisoner, his family, and his friends.
• The President of the United States speaks a few words and signs some papers and the nation is at war.
• Even a simple yes or no from the lips of a parent can greatly affect the direction of a child’s life.[4]
• This small piece of meat in your mouth has much power to direct many lives.
• The tongue is just another piece of meat that is connected to your body.
• It is not evil or good.
• It can only respond because you tell it to.
• It does what you choose to tell it to do.
• Someone controls both the horse bit and the rudder.
• The tongue is used as a metaphor for the choice you make… walk according to the flesh or to walk by the Spirit.
• The tongue gives DIRECTION.

5 So too, though the tongue is a small part of the body, it boasts great things. Consider how a small fire sets ablaze a large forest. 6 And the tongue is a fire. The tongue, a world of unrighteousness, is placed among our members. It stains the whole body, sets the course of life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. 7 Every kind of animal, bird, reptile, and fish is tamed and has been tamed by humankind, 8 but no one can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

• James just switched gears here and went from the direction of the tongue to the results of what the tongue can do.
• In a dry and barren land, there was fear of great fires.
• Fires leave a lasting impression. Fire memories?
• You always remember a fire.
• Untamed beast…
• If James would have written this letter today, he would have compared this small Corona Virus that is unseen by the naked eye as illustration of how something bad could travel so fast and infect and affect so many lives.
• Like the poison of a serpent, the tongue is loaded with the venom of hate and death-dealing gossip.[5]
• Have you ever been bitten by an animal?
• I avoid getting bit at all costs.
• You won’t ever see any snake-handling going on at Leavener… that is for sure.
• The tongue isn’t evil… the results of the tongue can be evil.
• No man can tame his tongue.
• In a circus, you can see that man has tamed elephants, bears and lions… but just get on line or watch some media for a minute or two and you will see that man struggles with taming a tongue.
• Living in your own strength, you will not be able to control that small piece of meat in your mouth.
• Living your life by another… your tongue no longer needs to be tamed.
• I have a friend who this week told me they dreaded talking to their own family members.
• It was exhausting and didn’t want to debate.
• Good! Give up the battle! Answer the phone and trust the Spirit inside of you to speak.
• The tongue can easily DESTROY.

9 With the tongue we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in God’s likeness. 10 Blessing and cursing come out of the same mouth. My brothers and sisters, these things should not be this way. 11 Does a spring pour out sweet and bitter water from the same opening? 12 Can a fig tree produce olives, my brothers and sisters, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a saltwater spring yield fresh water.[6]

• With the tongue, man can praise God, pray, preach the Word, and lead the lost to Christ. What a privilege!
• But with that same tongue he can tell lies that could ruin a man’s reputation or break a person’s heart.
• The ability to speak words is the ability to influence others and accomplish tremendous tasks; and yet we take this ability for granted.[7]
• Prov. 18:4 - “The words of a person’s mouth are deep waters, a flowing river, a fountain of wisdom.”
• Prov. 10:11 - “The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life,”
• Prov. 13:14 - “A wise person’s instruction is a fountain of life, turning people away from the snares of death.”
• Water is life-giving, and our words can give life.
• But yet we have been under flood warnings all week.
• Think about when you have been so hot and thirsty… a bottle of water never sounded so good.
• Water was used to cleanse the hands & feet of the Jews for purification reasons. It cleanses.
• Instead of contrasting what is useful with what is not, the argument stems from the natural order of living things: grapevines produce grapes, not figs; and fig trees produce figs, not olives.[8]
• James is speaking about a person’s “nature” now.
• Your nature will naturally produce the correct fruit.
• If you have a sinful nature… you will produce sin (evil).
• If you have a new nature… you produce beneficial fruit.
• What will your tree produce? It depends on the seed… How deep are your roots? Soaking up water?
• It all comes down to knowing and living out of who you really are.
• It can’t be both good and bad… It is either good or bad.
• You have to know who you are!
• The tongue gives DIRECTION
• The tongue can easily DESTROY
• The tongue has power to DELIGHT.

This is a metaphor… you know it is based upon the Holy Spirit working inside of each believer.

[1] Blue, J. R. (1985). James. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 827). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[2] Richardson, K. A. (1997). James (Vol. 36, p. 148). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
[3] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 358). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[4] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 359). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[5] Blue, J. R. (1985). James. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 828). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[6] Christian Standard Bible. (2017). (Jas 3:1–12). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[7] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 358). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[8] Richardson, K. A. (1997). James (Vol. 36, p. 159). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.