The Story of Young Jacob

     Jacob was one of at least seven children born into a relatively poor family. He was the second oldest, with a significant age gap between him and his older brother. Their father was a hard-working man who took good care of the family but apparently died when Jacob was just a young boy. Jacob and his brothers and sisters were now fatherless, and their widowed mother was left to care for the children on her own.¹

You Can’t Choose Your Family

     By default Jacob’s older brother was now the head of the house, with the responsibility of providing for, protecting, and caring for his mother and younger siblings. Under normal circumstances this would have been feasible, but there was a problem. The older brother wasn’t “normal.” He started hanging out with the wrong crowd and developed a questionable reputation. He also had extreme views about religion and politics, consistently going against the flow, rocking the boat, and making people uneasy and often angry.²

     This put a lot of pressure on young Jacob and his family, and they suspected that the older brother might be mentally unstable. He appeared to be trying to make a name for himself, more concerned about his own selfish agenda than about his loved ones and their needs. In fact, it got so bad that the people in their home community threatened his life and ran him out of town, which meant that Jacob and his mother and siblings had to go with him. Through no fault of his own, young Jacob was forced to leave his friends and the only home he had ever known. They ended up living far away in a tiny fishing village, where Jacob didn’t know anyone. His little world had been turned upside down, and it didn’t get any better.³

     The older brother seemed to be getting more radical, generating further controversy and conflict. When Jacob and his family confronted him, letting him know they didn’t accept his unorthodox views or support him in any way, it was to no avail. The family had to move yet again, this time to a big city, which was even more unsettling and traumatic.⁴ It was here that Jacob’s world came crashing down.

The Life-Changing Event

     Late one afternoon Jacob’s mother came home observably distraught, crying and heart-broken. She brought the tragic news that her oldest son had been violently murdered. Jacob had not only lost a brother, but now he was the oldest among his siblings, which meant that the responsibility of taking care of the family fell on his young shoulders. Since he was still not old enough, they ended up living with a friend of the older brother, who was known for his volatile disposition and bad temper.⁵ 

     While it never got any easier for Jacob, one day something extraordinary happened that changed his life and his perspective forever. He saw his brother – the one who had been killed – alive! How could this be? His own mother had watched him die. But Jacob saw him walking, living, and breathing! It finally occurred to him that his brother wasn’t a freak, a nut case, or as fanatical as so many had assumed. He was exactly who he professed to be all along. Though biologically related through their mother, they didn’t have the same father. As it turns out, Jacob’s older brother was none other than the Son of God!⁶

     From that day onward Jacob was a loyal disciple, and as he got older he became a prominent leader in the movement his brother had started. He married a believing wife and stayed in Jerusalem for the rest of his life, faithfully teaching and ministering around the region.⁷ He also produced an inspired manuscript that has been preserved in our New Testament, sandwiched between Hebrews and 1 Peter.

Jacob’s Writing

     The document, originally written in koinē Greek, begins with the author’s self-identification: Ἰάκωβος (Iakōbos) – the Graecized form of the name “Jacob.” This name, however, has been modified through the centuries. The Late Latin Iacomus was a variant form, which passed into Old French and then into English as “James.”⁸

     In the opening verse, Jacob identifies himself as “a bondservant [doulos] of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ” (Jas. 1:1 NKJV). While it would have been legitimate to call attention to the fact that he was a brother [adelphos] of the Lord Jesus Christ, apparently his spiritual relationship was more important to him than his physical connection. Jacob’s younger brother Judas also contributed an inspired manuscript to the New Testament, where he too humbly identifies himself as “a bondservant [doulos] of Jesus Christ ...” (Jude 1).⁹

     Jacob admonishes his readers: “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience” (Jas. 1:2-3). Notice that he uses the term adelphoi (“brethren” = “brothers and sisters”) to address his reading audience. Seeing that Jacob was the younger brother of Jesus, and he regards his readership as brothers and sisters, in God’s family the Lord Jesus Christ is our older brother too (cf. Heb. 2:9-18).

     From his earliest years Jacob was all too familiar with the “various trials” that accompany living in an imperfect world, so from personal experience he offers a seasoned outlook. One can “count it all joy,” he insists, not because of the unpleasant circumstances but in view of the outcome. Life’s inevitable adversities that test our faith help to produce the perseverance [hupomonē] necessary to face the challenges of this world as dedicated bondservants of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Lessons from Young Jacob’s Life

1. Jesus loves all the children of the world, and Jacob appears to have been the first, even though he didn’t always appreciate it. While there are still many around the globe who don’t know about or care about the love Jesus has for them, this in no way diminishes the fact of his love. Surely everyone deserves a chance to hear about the love of Christ and an opportunity to respond (John 15:13; Mark 16:15).

2. Jacob had a hard life, full of uncertainty and fear. From his youth he was unsettled and displaced, acquainted with hardship and loss. Nevertheless, he eventually learned to “count it all joy” because these various trials produced in him the patient endurance he needed. He now invites us to share this godly perspective (Jas. 1:2-3, 12; 4:10; 5:7-11).

3. There was a period in young Jacob’s life when he was skeptical about his older brother, and at times antagonistic. Nagging doubts are understandable, as long as we remain open to the evidence God has provided through his creation and through his word. “Ask, and it will be given to you, seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you” (Matt. 7:7).

4. Jacob reached a point in his life that he couldn’t deny the evidence any longer, compelling him to acknowledge his brother as the Lord Jesus Christ. “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:29b-31).  

5. While Jacob spent the rest of his life as the Lord’s faithful bondservant, think of all the opportunities he missed during his years of unbelief. The longer one puts off accepting and obeying and serving Christ, the more he/she misses out on what is truly worthwhile (2 Cor. 6:1-2).
     According to tradition, Jacob (a.k.a. James) was killed in the year 62 by hostile Jews who threw him off the pinnacle of the temple and then stoned him (Josephus, Ant. 20.9; Clement of Alexandria, Hist. Eccl. 2.23). “Therefore submit to God …. whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away” (Jas. 4:7a, 14). 

--Kevin L. Moore

Endnotes:

     ¹ Matt. 1:24-25; 13:55-56; Mark 4:31; 6:3; cf. Luke 2:22-24.

     ² Matt. 9:10-11; 11:19; Mark 3:22; Luke 4:28; 6:11.

     ³ Mark 3:21, 31-35; Luke 4:29, 31; Matt. 4:13; John 2:12.

     ⁴ John 7:1-10; Luke 9:51; cf. Acts 1:14.

     ⁵ John 19:25-27; cf. Mark 3:17; Luke 9:54.

     ⁶ Matt. 1:18-25; 1 Cor. 15:3-7; Jas. 2:1; cf. Rom. 1:4.

     ⁷ Acts 1:14; 12:17; 15:13; 21:18; 1 Cor. 9:5; Gal. 1:19; 2:9.

     ⁸ See The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th ed, s.v. “James.”

     ⁹ See The NT Epistle of Judas.

*Prepared for the Kaitoke NZ Christian Camp 6th June 2016.

Related Posts: The Son of Mary, The Epistle of Jacob 

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New Testament "Believers"

     The New Testament was initially written in a language that is generally more expressive than English tends to be, and sometimes our English versions do not fully convey the depth or the clarity communicated in the original Greek text. This is not always a weakness of translation as much as a limitation of the English language itself.

     One of these translational challenges concerns the pisteuō word group. The standard rendering of the verbal form in most English versions is simply “believe,” which effectively limits the sense to an intellectual assent to a perceived fact. It fails to communicate, however, the wider range of nuances the term would normally express to a Greek speaker in the Hellenistic world.   

     The verb pisteuō has various shades of meaning, including the following: to believe in or be convinced of something (Acts 13:12; 1 John 4:16), give credence to (Luke 1:20; John 2:22), have confidence in (Matthew 8:13; 9:28; 21:22), be assured of (John 9:18; Acts 9:26; Romans 14:2), accept either tentatively (1 Corinthians 11:18) or without doubt (John 5:38, 46), assent with conviction (Romans 10:10) or without conviction (James 2:19b), trust in and/or rely on (John 6:29; 8:31; 2 Timothy 1:12), and entrust to (Romans 3:2; Galatians 2:7). Even though the same Greek word appears in all of these passages, it is clearly not employed in the same way and its usage must therefore be determined by the context.     

     Closely related to the verbal form is the articular participle ho pisteuōn. Although typically rendered “he who believes” (denoting one’s mental assimilation), the expression is more precisely translated “the believing one” (identifying who the person is). In other words, the participial form describes more than just someone who has accepted something in his heart. It categorizes a person who is receptive to the will of God, with the attendant requisites of commitment and obedience.

     Consider John 3:16 as an example. Does this frequently acclaimed “golden text of the Bible” include or exclude an obedient response to the Lord? The passage reads in English: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (ESV). It is not uncommon in today’s religious environment to hear this verse cited in an attempt to establish the widely held Protestant doctrine of salvation by “faith alone” and to further discount the essentiality of associated acts such as baptism. However, is it legitimate to separate a single verse from its context in order to constitute one’s entire system of faith? 

     If we take the time to read the whole paragraph (of which verse 16 is only a small part), it is hard to divorce obedience, including baptism, from the discussion. Jesus had already stated in verse 5, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” There is a twofold condition here for entering God’s kingdom, and the very next reference to water in this chapter is in relation to baptism (v. 23). Moreover, if we keep reading beyond verse 16, we see that the same Jesus, speaking to the same person, goes on to affirm in verse 21: “But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his deeds have been carried out in God” (emp. added KLM). Is fulfilling the divine will contingent upon merely believing without doing, or is saving faith inclusive of an active, obedient response? By reading the Lord’s entire discourse, the answer is clear.

     The statement in John 3:16 does not actually employ the verbal form “believe” (as in most English translations) but rather the articular participial form: “all the believing ones in him.” The focus here is not on what these believing ones have done (as in v. 21) but rather on who they are in relation to where they are. They are believers, as opposed to the unbelieving world, viewed within the redemptive sphere of God’s Son (compare Galatians 3:26-27).

     Further, if one is willing to read even more of the text, John goes on to declare at the end of the same chapter: “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him” (v. 36). Although some English versions fail to disclose this fundamental distinction, the contrast here is between the believer (literally “the believing one [who is] in the Son”) and the one who does not obey (literally “the one disobeying the Son”). Note that believing and obeying are not mutually exclusive in the Bible but are inseparably linked.

     Elsewhere in the New Testament this teaching is equally clear. In Acts 2:44 those simply described as “all the believing ones” are in fact the penitent baptized believers of verses 37-41. Obviously these so-called “believers” had done more than just “believe” in their hearts. Their internal acceptance of the truth was accompanied by and demonstrated through outward, observable action. 

     Who are “the believing ones” in Hebrews 4:3 who enter the heavenly rest? They are contrasted with those who are characterized by disobedience (vv. 6, 11). In fact, since “unbelief” and “disobeying” are synonymous in the context of this discussion (see 3:18-19), it follows that saving faith, as biblically defined, is more than a mere intellectual acquiescence to something but also entails one’s active compliance to the Lord’s directives (compare chap. 11; also James 2:14-26).

     Biblical faith is no more devoid of associated action than the Bible’s recurring emphasis on obedience can be understood apart from faith (see Romans 1:5; 6:16, 17; 15:18; 16:19, 26; 2 Corinthians 10:5, 6; Galatians 5:6; etc.). The concept of “believers” in the New Testament is indicative of much more than what these persons have done, i.e., they have done more than just believe. Rather, the descriptive terminology signifies who Christians are as distinct from the unbelievers who resist God and reject his will (cf. 1 Corinthians 14:22; 1 Peter 2:7; 1 John 5:10). In other words, believers are those who have accepted and obeyed the gospel and continue to faithfully adhere to the teachings of Christ – citizens of God’s kingdom and members of the household of faith. 

--Kevin L. Moore

First appearing in the Gospel Advocate 152.8 (2010): 26-27. 

Related Posts: A Closer Look at John 3:16, Are You Sure the Thief on the Cross Wasn't Baptized?

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Questions About Baptism (Part 4 of 4)

     Abraham, having been justified by faith before his circumcision, was later circumcised as a ‘sign’ or a ‘seal’ of his justification and is ‘the father of all those who believe’ (Romans 4:9-12). Since baptism replaced circumcision under Christ’s new covenant (Colossians 2:11-12), doesn’t it follow that a person is justified by faith before he is baptized and his baptism is simply an outward sign of the justification he has already received?  

     Remember that Paul’s epistle to the Romans was written to believers who had already been baptized (6:4). In the context of Romans chapters 2, 3, and 4, Paul was establishing the fact that the Jews now have no advantage over the Gentiles -- all are guilty of sin and stand before God on equal terms (cf. 2:6-11; 3:9, 22-23, 29-30). There was no need for Gentile Christians to be circumcised (or obey any other requirement of the Law of Moses), and the Jewish [circumcised] Christians needed to understand that works of the Law (3:20), including circumcision (2:25-29; 3:1), could not save them. To illustrate, in chapter 4 Paul showed that Abraham was not saved by the Law of Moses (v. 13) but by faith. And yet Abraham’s faith was an obedient faith (cf. Hebrews 11:8-19; James 2:21-24), and all of Abraham’s spiritual descendants exhibit the same kind of faith (Romans 10:17; 6:16-18; Acts 10:34-35; Hebrews 11:6; 5:9). To be “Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise” now requires an obedient faith which includes baptism (Galatians 3:26-29). Any conclusion to the contrary is a misapplication of Paul’s teachings.

     It is true that Abraham was justified prior to his circumcision (Romans 4:10), but circumcision was not a requirement at the time of Abraham’s initial justification and he was never under the Law of Moses (Deuteronomy 5:1-3) wherein circumcision was a fundamental element. However, for the Jews who were amenable to the Law of Moses, as long as the Law was in effect, circumcision was essential (Genesis 17:9-14; Leviticus 12:3). 

     The purpose of Romans 4 was to show Jewish Christians that we are no longer bound to the Law of Moses (including circumcision), but this has nothing to do with gospel obedience in general or baptism in particular. And Paul addresses an entirely separate issue in Colossians 2, so to indiscriminately mix these two passages together in an attempt to prove a point is to distort Paul’s arguments. In Romans 4 Paul was addressing physical circumcision under the Law of Moses. In Colossians 2:11, Paul talks about spiritual circumcision, “made without hands,” under the law of Christ. While Paul links baptism with spiritual circumcision (Colossians 2:11-12), nowhere does the Bible suggest that baptism was a replacement for physical circumcision. Baptism is for all accountable persons who believe (Matthew 28:19; Acts 16:15, 33), while physical circumcision was only for male Jews (Genesis 17:2). The only similarities between OT circumcision and NT baptism are: (1) each was/is deemed essential for those amenable (Genesis 17:14; Mark 16:16); (2) each was/is considered necessary to be in a covenant relationship with God (Genesis 17:9-14; Galatians 3:27-29); and (3) failure to obey result[ed/s] in condemnation (Genesis 17:14; 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9; John 3:5).

     Paul affirms in Colossians 2:11-13 that “faith in the working of God” is demonstrated when we are buried and raised with Christ in baptism, by which we put off “the body [of the sins] of the flesh,” become dead in our trespasses, and are made alive with Christ through forgiveness of sins. We cannot be saved in our sins (Romans 6:16, 23). We can only be saved, by God’s grace, when our sins are forgiven and removed. This takes place when we exhibit our obedient faith through belief, repentance, and water baptism (Acts 2:37-47). We have this new life, free from sin, after (not before) we are buried and raised with Christ in baptism (Romans 6:3-5; Acts 22:16). The Bible never describes baptism as an alleged “outward sign of the justification already received.”

--Kevin L. Moore

Related Posts: Thief on the Cross, Questions About Baptism (Part 1), Part 2, Part 3

Questions About Baptism (Part 3 of 4)

     Isn’t the Bible filled with verses which teach that people are saved without baptism (e.g. John 1:12-13; 3:15-18, 36; 5:24; 6:35, 40; 8:24; 11:25; et al.)?  

     The Bible is filled with verses which emphasize the necessity of faith in the salvation process, but none of these excludes baptism. There are just as many verses in the Bible which underscore the necessity of obedience (e.g. John 3:21; 7:17; 8:12, 51; 14:15, 21-24; 15:10, 14; et al.), including baptism (John 3:5; Matthew 28:18-20; 1 Peter 3:21; et al.). Salvation is not a matter of either faith or obedience, but is rather the result of both faith and obedience, i.e. obedient faith. ALL of the biblical information must be considered and harmonized before final conclusions are reached about God’s will. 

     Mark 16:16 says that ‘he who does not believe will be condemned,’ but it doesn’t say that a person who isn’t baptized will be condemned, so how can baptism be so important?  

     In this verse Jesus gives a formula for salvation and a formula for condemnation. The salvation formula contains two prerequisites: “He who believes and is baptized will be saved.” To remove baptism is to eliminate one of the Lord’s conditions. The condemnation formula is: “he who does not believe.” This one condition is sufficient to be condemned, because a person who does not believe the gospel is not going to be baptized or do anything else the Lord requires. To illustrate, consider the following statement: “He who eats food and digests it will live; but he who does not eat food will die.” The condition of food digestion is irrelevant if the condition of food consumption is not met, but if food is eaten, then it must be digested in order for a person to live. The condition of baptism is irrelevant if the condition of belief is not met, but according to Jesus’ statement, if one believes the gospel, baptism must necessarily follow in order to be saved. On the textual validity of Mark 16:15-16, see Ending of Mark Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4.

     When the Philippian jailer asked what he needed to do to be saved, he was simply told, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household’ (Acts 16:30-31). Why was baptism not included in this statement?  

     Although there is only one system of faith (cf. Ephesians 4:4-6), different people are told to do different things depending on where they are in the salvation process. Bear in mind that the jailer at Philippi was a pagan who did not believe in Jesus and in all probability had never even heard of Jesus. Without the initial step of simple faith he could not go any further in the process of salvation. Thus Paul and Silas “spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house” (v. 32). After this family had heard the gospel and obviously believed, what was the next step they needed to take? Having exhibited repentance by washing the wounds of his ex-prisoners, “immediately [the jailer] and all his family were baptized” (v. 33). It was not necessary for Paul and Silas to give more information in v. 31 until this man and his family had heard and believed the gospel. 

     In Acts 2:37-38, when the Jews had asked the apostles the same question, they were given a different answer -- not because there was a different pattern for them to follow but because they had already heard about and believed in Jesus. In other words, they were further along in the salvation process than the Philippian jailer initially was, and so they were told to repent and be baptized for the remission of sins. In the end, they all followed the same pattern: hearing, believing, repentance, and baptism. To be saved, what must unbelievers do? They must hear the gospel and believe (Acts 16:31). Once they become believers, what must they do? They must repent (Acts 2:38; 3:19). Once they are penitent believers, what must they do? They must be baptized (Acts 2:38; 8:12; 22:16). And once they are penitent baptized believers, what must they do? They must continue in the faith (Acts 2:42; 14:22).

     It is interesting to note that in Acts 2:44 the disciples are simply described as “all who believed” [lit. 'all the believing ones'], even though they had just been baptized (v. 41). The Philippian jailer is merely described as one “having believed in God with all his household” (Acts 16:34), even though he and his household had just been baptized (v. 33). Obviously it is not necessary for the word “baptism” to be mentioned in every verse that talks about salvation since the Bible clearly includes it in the process.

-- Kevin L. Moore

Related Posts: A Closer Look at John 3:16, Thief on the Cross, Questions About Baptism (Part 1), Part 2, Part 4