Stylos is the blog of Jeff Riddle, a Reformed Baptist Pastor in North Garden, Virginia. The title "Stylos" is the Greek word for pillar. In 1 Timothy 3:15 Paul urges his readers to consider "how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar (stylos) and ground of the truth."
Image (left side): Decorative urn with title for the book of Acts in Codex Alexandrinus.
For the sun is no
sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withereth the grass, and the flower
thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth: so also shall
the rich man fade away in his ways (James 1:11).
James works upon the
consciences of the rich by reminding all men of the brevity of this life. See
v. 10b: “because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away” (cf. Isaiah
40:80).
He continues in v. 11
to describe how the rising sun with its burning heat soon withers the grass and
its flower fades “and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth.” Go to any
nursing home, yeah, to any cemetery, and you see the condition of the youth of
yesterday. All the beauty queens, all the athletes, all the intellectuals, all
the successful businessmen, statemen, and captains of industry have gone the
way of all flesh. James speaks directly to the rich: “so shall the rich man
fade away in his ways.”
Those words remind me
of General MacArthur’s famous speech in which he said, Old soldiers never die.
They just fade away.” But MacArthur was wrong. They do die, and then they fade
away from memory. And what is more, even their death is not the end. As Paul
said in Hebrews 9:27: “and it is appointed unto man once to die, but after this
the judgment.”
All the richest men of
past generations have already discovered this, whether Nelson Rockefeller,
Howard Hughes, or Steve Jobs. And all the wealthy of the present generation,
whether Bill Gates or Jeff Bezos, will find it out soon enough.
Christ ended his parable
of the barn builder in Luke 12:20 with the rich man hearing the Lord say to
him, “Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee.”
The apostle Paul wrote
to Timothy in 1 Timothy 6:7: “For we brought
nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.”
The truth also is that
you do not need to be a fabulously wealthy to be the rich man who is addressed
here. You simply have to be a man who rests in himself and his own ability and
who falsely thinks that everything is going to keep going just as it is now
forever and ever. It will not.
James challenges us to
ask ourselves: Where do I find my greatest contentment and consolation in life?
In Christ or in the things of this world?
Image: Bust of Maxentius (AD 276-312; Roman emperor 306-312). Pushkin Museum, Moscow.
This is an occasional series of readings from and brief notes
and commentary upon Eusebius of Caesarea’s Book 8, chapter 14-15.
Notes and Commentary:
These chapters describe political
turmoil that arose during the decade long Diocletian persecution, which
included the rise of two tyrants: Maxentius in the West (Rome) and Maximin in
the East. This volatility would lead ultimately to the rise of Constantine as
emperor.
Chapter 14 describes
the rise of Maxentius, son of the deposed Maximin, as the tyrant of Rome. Not
only did he persecute Christians, but he lived a life of gross moral
debauchery, which included forced adultery and rape. He put many Romans,
including senators, to death. Worst of all he engaged in witchcraft and magical
practices, including ripping up pregnant women to explore the entrails of their
fetuses. He is described by Eusebius as a Caligula-like figure.
Meanwhile, another tyrant arose in
the East named Maximin (aka Maximinus Daia). He also practiced magic and was
filled with superstitions. He energetically persecuted Christianity and attempted
to restore paganism, including ordering pagan temples to be built in every
city. He engaged in drunken excesses, riotous living, and the sexual assault
against women.
The only ones who opposed him were
the Christians, who suffered greatly under his persecution. Eusebius notes how
a Christian lady [Dorothea, according to Rufinus] of Alexandria rebuffed
Maximin in order to maintain her modesty.
He then notes how a woman of Rome
[Sophronia, according to Rufinus] was likewise attacked by Maxentius but took
her own life by the sword.
Chapter 15 notes that
during the remainder of the ten years of persecution there was no respite from
the plotting and warring of the two tyrants. Even travelers on the sea were not
safe, as they might be accused of siding with the enemy and made subject to
torture, including death by crucifixion or fire.
Conclusion:
These chapters again describe the
disorder within the empire and the rivalry among the tryants Maxentius and
Maximin, which would eventually lead to the rise of Constantine, who would end
persecution and bring peace to the church.
I recently heard an anti-Protestant pundit claim that Protestantism
commits the error of Nestorianism in Christology. I thought of this as I
happened to be reading a few sections of Calvin’s Institutes yesterday and ran
across these statements:
“Away with the error of Nestorius, who in wanting to pull
apart rather than distinguish the nature of Christ devised a double Christ….
Let us beware also, of Eutyches’ madness; lest, while meaning to show the unity
of the person, we destroy either nature” (Institutes, 2.14.4).
“I have testified that we do not agree at all with Nestorius,
who imagined a double Christ” (Institutes, 2.14.7).
You can listen above to an audio version of my book review of Jeffery Smith, The Rich Man and Lazarus: The Plain Truth About Life After Death (Evangelical Press, 2020).
You can also read a pdf of my written review which appeared in Puritan Reformed Journal, Vol. 12, No. 2 (July 2020): 244-245.
I got a package of books in the mail a couple of weeks ago from Pastor Poh Boon Sing of Damansara Reformed Baptist Church in Kuala Lampur, Malaysia.
Pastor Poh has been been redeeming the time during the quarantine by reformatting some of his old books (I had read his book on The Christian in the Chinese Culture a few years ago and found it to be an excellent resource) and producing some new works from his teaching ministry on various topics.
Image: Martyrdom of Anthimus of Nicomedia and others, Miniature from the Menologion of Basil II, c. AD 1,000.
This is an occasional series of readings from and brief notes
and commentary upon Eusebius of Caesarea’s The
Ecclesiastical History: Book 8, chapter 13.
Notes and Commentary:
This chapter begins by listing the
various rulers of the churches who became martyrs during the Diocletian persecution.
First in the list is Anthimus, bishop
of Nicomedia, who was beheaded.
Others include the presbyter Lucian
of Antioch;
Tyrannion, bishop of Tyre;
Zenobius, presbyter of Sidon;
Silvanus, bishop of Emesa;
Silvanus, bishop of Gaza, beheaded
at the copper mines at Phaeno, one of 39 martyrs there;
Peleus and Nilus, bishops of Egypt;
Pamphylius, presbyter of Caesarea,
whom Eusebius describes as “the most marvelous man of our day”;
Peter, bishop of Alexandria;
Phileas, Hesychius, Pachymius, and
Theodore, bishops of Egypt.
To these could be added “countless
other famous persons as well.” Eusebius promises to write more in another work.
The chapter then turns to discuss
the Roman government. This is typical of Eusebius, to parallel descriptions of
church and imperial leaders.
He notes that before the time of
persecution, the Christians had enjoyed peace and prosperity.
Reference is made to the so-called
Tetrarchy, set up by Diocletian, in which power was shared between Diocletian
and Maximin, as emperors, and Galerius and Constantius Chlorus, as Caesars.
It was under the Tetrarchy that the
persecution had begun in 303, and which would last a decade till 313.
Eusebius notes that Diocletian fell
under a “fateful disease” and became “deranged”, and this resulted in him
resuming life as a private citizen in 306.
According to Eusebius, of the
Tetrarchs, only Constantius (father of Constantine) lived “in a manner worthy
of his high office” and did not persecute the Christians or tear down their
churches, but even protected them.
His son Constantine was made emperor
(one of the Tetrarch) after his death “by God Himself, the King Supreme.”
The chapter closes with reference
to the later struggle for power between Constantine, Licinius, and Maximin,
which resulted in the deposition and death of Maximin and the removal of his
public monuments and memorials.
Conclusion:
In this chapter Eusebius honors the
church leaders who died as martyrs during the Diocletian persecution (303-313).
He also describes the rise of Constantine to imperial power, providing a
perhaps overly positive portrayal of Constantine’s father Constantius, and
noting the rise of Constantine as divinely orchestrated.
A
double minded man is unstable in all his ways (James 1:8).
In
James 1:6-8 the Apostle describes the type of person who does not ask for
wisdom from God as “wavering” (v. 6a). He then adds: “For he is like a wave of
the sea driven with the wind and tossed” (v. 6b).
The
sea is an image of inconsistency. If you go to the ocean you will see the waves
crashing on the shore, but they do not do so uniformly. They are shaped by the
circumstances. The waves of the sea are an image of instability, of that which
is ever erratic and chaotic. James here says that the wavering and inconsistent
man is like this.
Paul
uses the same analogy in Ephesians 4:14 when he urges believers not to be like
children “tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by
the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to
deceive.”
We might say that a consistent and fruitful
Christian life requires, to use a phrase borrowed from a philosopher, “a long
obedience in the same direction.”
What would happen if we tried to plant a tree,
but every week we dug it up and transplanted it to a new location? Would it
ever put down deep roots and grow downward and upward to a magnificent height?
James says that the unstable and wavering man
shall not receive anything from the Lord (v. 7). He will depart from the Lord’s
presence with empty hands.
The Apostle then adds a final observation: “A
double minded man is unstable in all his ways.” The word for “double minded” in
Greek is di-psychos, literally double-spirited, or even double-souled. Bunyan
has a character like this in Pilgrim’s Progress named “Mr.
Facing-both-ways.”
There is a warning for us here. Do not be like
this man.
What is the opposite of such a person? It would
be a single-minded man, a consistent man, aman who fixes his affections on Christ, who forms a core convictional
and doctrinal framework based on Scripture, and who holds fast to those
commitments, without wavering, not blown about here and there by every passing
fancy.
Let us be consistent, single-minded men and women,
rather than double-minded.
This is an occasional series of readings from and brief notes
and commentary upon Eusebius of Caesarea’s The
Ecclesiastical History: Book 8, chapter 11-12.
Notes and Commentary:
These chapters continue to report
on the godly martyrs who laid down their lives during the Diocletian
persecution.
Chapter 11 begins by
describing an unnamed small town in Phyrgia, where, Eusebius, says all the
inhabitants were Christians, including the city officials. The Roman soldiers set
fire to the town and burned the inhabitants alive, including young children and
women.
It next notes the martyrdom of a
certain Audactus, “a man of illustrious Italian birth,” who at the time he was
put to death was serving as a magistrate and minister of finance in some
unnamed locality.
Chapter 12 traces the
gruesome sufferings of other Christians throughout the Roman world.
In Arabia they were slain with the
axe.
In Cappadocia, their legs were
broken.
In Mesopotamia, they were hung over
smoking fires.
In Alexandria, they were mutilated.
In Antioch, they were roasted on the
gridiron.
Eusebius notes that some in Antioch
took their own lives by jumping off lofty houses before they could be seized.
As another example of this he describes
a noble woman of Antioch and her two unmarried daughters who were captured in a
foreign country and were being transported back to Antioch. At risk of being
violated by the soldiers, in the midst of their journey, they threw themselves
into a river and drowned thus becoming “their own executioners.”
He also notes another pair of maidens
at Antioch who were also thrown into the sea.
In Pontus, Christians suffered
various cruel tortures, like having reeds driven under their finger nails, having
melted lead poured on their backs, and having their private parts abused. Eusebius
says it was as if the tormenters tried to outdo one another in the novelty of their
tortures.
Worn out with their bloodlust
against the Christians, Eusebius says they rulers determined to promote more
supposedly “humane” punishments, liking gouging out the right eye and crippling
the left foot of believers before sending them slave labor in the copper mines.
These martyrs, he concludes, were “conspicuous
throughout all the world.” To name each one would be impossible.
Conclusion:
This chapters note the universality
and brutality of the Diocletian persecution. It took place across the Roman
world and included a variety of unspeakable tortures. Eusebius even praises those
who took their own lives in these situations, without seeming to pass judgement
on the suicide as sinful. Many of those not to put to death were maimed and
enslaved. He stresses that the sufferings of the Diocletian persecution were
not only universal but incalculable.
James 1:2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into
diverse temptations; 3 knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh
patience. 4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and
entire, wanting nothing.
Last Lord’s Day we began our pilgrimage of exposition through
the epistle of James by considering James 1:1-4.
These opening verses introduce one of the
key themes of James: the necessity of perseverance in the faith.
James 1:2-4 reminded me of Paul’s teaching in Romans 8:29-30,
which we sometimes refer to as the “golden chain of redemption.” In Romans
8:29-30 Paul describes a “chain” of events related to salvation: Those whom God
foreknew, he predestinated; those whom he predestinated, he called; those whom
he called, he justified; and those whom he justified, he glorified.
We might call the teaching James provides in James 1:2-4 the
“golden chain of perseverance.”
The first “link” in the chain: James says that believers will
face “diverse temptations” that result in the “trying” or testing of our faith
(vv. 2-3a).
Notice that the temptations are diverse. It is not one thing
or necessarily the same thing over and over, but temptation is multi-faceted,
creative, and diverse. When Satan tempted Christ in the wilderness, he made
three different attempts to deceive him, not just one (cf. Matt 4:1-11).
The second “link” is patience (longsuffering). James says that this “worketh” or results
from the endurance of these diverse temptations (v. 3b).
The third “link” is the attainment of the state of being
“perfect and entire” (v. 4). This is parallel to the final state of glorification in
Romans 8:30.
This is why the believer meets all these diverse temptations
with joy. He knows that the Lord permits these for his own good end and purpose
in our lives.
Every athlete knows that when the coach makes you run wind-sprints
till you can barely breathe or lift weights till your arms and legs feel like
spaghetti, he is not doing this because he is a sadist. He is training you,
strengthening you, preparing you, so that you can be more than you ever
imagined.
If that is what a coach is doing, think of what the Lord is
doing right now in and through you!
In last Sunday's introductory sermon in our new series on James, I suggested that the following six key themes in this epistle:
First, James
was part of the Jewish mission to the church and was likely originally directed
primarily to Jewish Christians, though now it is relevant to all Christians
whatever, Jew and Gentile, male and female, slave and free.
Second,
James assumes that those who read this letter already know the basic facts
about the life of Jesus, including his death, burial, and resurrection. The
words “cross”, “resurrection,” and “gospel” do not appear in James.
Third, James
is a practical book that focuses on ethics or the proper living out of the
Christian life. James knows the ethical teaching of Christ including the
command to love one neighbor as oneself (cf. 2:8), and he knows the teaching of
Christ from the Sermon on the Mount (cf. 4:12: “who art thou that judgest another?”
and Matthew 7:1: “Judge not, that ye be not judged.”).
Fourth, James is a wisdom book. This theme begins early (1:5: “If any of you
lack wisdom, let him ask of God….”) and continues throughout (cf. e.g., 3:17).
It is like the book of Proverbs in the OT with many wise saying to instruct us
how to live our lives skillfully to the glory of God and to avoid foolishness
and failure.
Fifth, James
focuses on the importance of good works in the Christian life. One of its clear
themes is that faith without works is a dead faith (see 2:17, 20). This is one
of the most controversial aspects of James. How can it be reconciled with
Paul’s teaching in Galatians 2:16 that “a man is not justified by the works of
the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ”?
Perhaps
you’ve read somewhere how Martin Luther once expressed some concerns about
James, even calling it a “right strawy epistle, and that some radicals even
wanted to remove James from the NT. But Luther eventually came to see that
James was not at odds with Paul and the wiser men acknowledged that “It is
dangerous to loosen foundation stones” (Manton, 9).
The Puritan
Thomas Manton noted the core of James’s message on this point as follows: “But
in Christ there are no dead and sapless branches; faith is not an idle grace;
wherever it is it fructifieth in good works” (9). More contemporary preachers
are fond of saying that though we are saved by grace alone through faith alone
in Christ alone, the faith we have is never alone. It is accompanied by good
works as the sign of spiritual life in us. Or perhaps you have heard it said
that works are the fruit but not the root of our faith.
Sixth, James
stresses the importance of perseverance in the Christian life in the face of
struggles, setbacks, frustrations, and trials. We get some
sense of what many of these early Jewish Christians suffered when we look at
Paul’s letter to the Hebrews when he writes about those who after they were "illuminated" suffered "a great fight of afflictions", including being made a "gazingstock", while taking "joyfully" the "spoiling" of their goods (Hebrews 10:32-34).
In WM 169 I explore the question of who wrote the epistle of
James, in connection with my commencement of a new sermon series through James
on Lord’s Day mornings at CRBC. Last Sunday I preached the first message in the
series on James 1:1-4 (listen here).
In that introductory message I necessarily spent some time
teaching on the question of authorship. In v. 1a the author is identified: “James,
a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ….”
“James” is the anglicized form of the Hebrew name Jacob.
He describes himself as a “servant [doulos, slave] of
God” and a servant/slave of “of the Lord Jesus Christ.”
But the problem is, Who is this James?
The Gospels tell us that that there were two disciples of the
twelve apostles who were named James (see the lists of the twelve in Matt 10;
Mark 3; and Luke 6; cf. Acts 1).
The first was James, the brother of John and the son of Zebedee.
He was one of the closest friends and companions to the Lord Jesus, along with
Peter and John. This James is sometimes called James the Major or Greater.
The second was a disciple named James the son of Alphaeus, who
is mentioned much less frequently in the Gospels, and has sometimes been called
James the Minor or Lesser.
In addition, however, there is mention made in the Gospels of
one who was a brother of Jesus named James (see
Matthew 13:53-58; Mark 6:3: “Is not
this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of
Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended
at him.”).
It is sometimes suggested that this was a third
James, the brother of the Lord. It was said of some early writers that he has
been among the seventy sent out by Christ (Luke 10) and that he was sometimes
called Oblias and “James the Just.” It was he, they suggest, who is the James
became the leader of the early church in Jerusalem, who stood up to speak in
the Jerusalem Council (Acts 15:13).
I might add that there is what we could call a
fourth James, the brother (or father?) of the apostle Judas (literally “Judas of James”) (Luke
6:16; Acts 1:13; this is the Judas “not Iscariot” of John 14:22). Note: For the view of this person as a "fourth" James see D. E. Hiebert, James, 27. The traditional Protestant orthodox view (reviewed below) would see this James as James the son of Alphaeus and the Judas (Jude) here as the author of Jude and the brother of James son of Alphaeus (Jude 1:1).
Which James wrote this epistle?
Here are some observations that help us make a
judgement:
First, notice that the author does not identify
himself as James the brother of John, or James the son of Alphaeus, or as James
the brother of Jesus. He does not identify himself as an apostle but simply as
a slave.
Second, we know it is not likely that the author
was James the brother of John, because that James died very early on as a
martyr, the first among the apostles to die for his faith, at the hands of
Herod (Acts 12:2).
Third, it is possible that James the apostle, the
son of Alphaeus, and James the brother of the Lord were the same
person, so that there were not three prominent men among the early
Christians but only two.
So, how can we say that James the son of Alphaeus
was also the brother of the Lord?
The key here would be to understand the word “brother”
not with the nearest sense as “sibling” but more broadly as a kinsman or “cousin.”
Those who hold this view say that this James was the son of the sister of Jesus’s
mother, also named Mary, the wife of Cleophas (another name for Alphaeus). See:
John 19:25: Now there stood by the cross of Jesus
his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary
Magdalene.
Matthew 27:56: Among which was Mary Magdalene,
and Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee’s children.
Mark 15:40: There were also women looking on afar
off: among whom was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the less and
of Joses, and Salome;
Mark 16:1: And when the sabbath was past, Mary
Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices,
that they might come and anoint him.
Luke 24:10: It was Mary Magdalene and Joanna, and
Mary the mother of James, and other women that were with them, which told these
things unto the apostles.
This view that the author of James was the
apostle James, the son of Alphaeus, who was also the brother (kinsman) of Christ,
was held by many ancient men in the church, including Jerome (see his Lives
of Illustrious Men, chapter 2) and of many of the early Protestant exegetes.
The Protestant men, in particular, pointed to Galatians
1:19 where Paul wrote of his early trip to Jerusalem, “But other of the
apostles saw I none, save James the Lord's brother.”
Then they look to Galatians 2:9 where Paul refers
to James, Cephas, and John “who seemed to be the pillars” and conclude that
this James must have been an apostle, otherwise, he would not have been
accepted as a “pillar” alongside Peter and John.
Here is the conclusion reached in Matthew Poole’s
commentary (1685):
“It is not certain that there were three Jameses,
two of them apostles and the third (called Oblias and James the Just) one of the
seventy disciples; the scripture mentioning but two, one the son of Zebedee, the
other of Alphaeus, called the brother of the Lord (Gal 1:19), as being of
kin to his family; and said to be a pillar (Gal 2:9), and joined with
Peter and John. And though some have thought the James mentioned here to have been
the third James, called Oblias, and one of the seventy; yet it is more probable
that he was indeed no other than the son of Alphaeus, and one of the twelve; nor
is it likely, that one of the disciples should be numbered as one of the three
pillars, and therein preferred above so many apostles. This James, therefore, upon
the whole, I take to be the penman of this Epistle….”
Thomas Manton in his commentary on James (1693):
“For indeed there were but two Jameses, this
latter James being the same with him of Alphaeus; for plainly the brother of the Lord is
reckoned among the apostles (Gal 1:19); and called a pillar (Gal 2:9); and he
iscalled the brother of the Lord,
because he was in that family to which Christ was numbered…. Well then, there being
two, to which of these is the epistle ascribed? ….Well, then, James the Less is
the person whom we have found to be the instrument which the Spirit of God made
use of to convey this treasure to the church” (12-13).
And Matthew Henry’s commentary (expanded upon and
published after his death in 1714):
“The writer of this epistle was not James the son
of Zebedee; for he was put to death by Herod (Acts 12) before Christianity had
gained so much ground among the Jews of the dispersion as is here implied. But
it was the other James, the son of Alphaeus, who was cousin-german to Christ,
and one of the twelve apostles (Matt 10:3). He is called a pillar (Gal
2:9), and this epistle of his cannot be disputed, without loosening a foundation
stone.”
I must note, however, that in John Calvin’s
commentary on James of 1551 he concluded that whether James was written by James
the son of Alphaeus or another James who was “the rule of the church at Jerusalem,”
“it is not for me to say.” He prefaced this conclusion by saying, “It is enough
for men to receive this Epistle, that it contains nothing unworthy of an Apostle
of Christ.”
Though Manton is much firmer in his convictions that
James the son of Alphaeus and “brother of the Lord” is author, he nevertheless refers
to the human author as “the subordinate author or instrument.” His point being
that whoever wrote it, whether an apostle or not, the true author was the Lord himself
by his Holy Spirit.
This consensus of the Protestant orthodox appears
out of step with the view of most contemporary Protestant evangelicals who see
the author of James as the “third” James, not James the son of Alphaeus, but James
of Jerusalem.
Here, for example, is the discussion of authorship
from the introduction to James in the MacArthur Study Bible: “Of the 4
men named James in the NT, only two are candidates for authorship of this
epistle. No one has seriously considered James, the Less, the son of Alphaeus (Matt.
10:3; Acts 1:13), or James the father of Judas, not Iscariot (Luke 6:16; Acts
1:13). Some have suggested James the son of Zebedee and brother of John (Matt.
4:21), but he was martyred too early to have written it (Acts 12:2). That leaves
only James, the oldest half-brother of Christ (Mark 6:3) and brother of Jude
(Matt. 13:55), who also wrote the epistle that bears his name (Jude 1)” (1924).
The Introduction to the ESV Study Bible
also makes this assumption and makes no mention of the possibility that the author
was the apostle James, son of Alphaeus: “The title of this book derives from the
name of its author, James the Just (as he was called), the brother of Jesus
(Matt. 13:55) and leader of the Jerusalem church (Acts 15)” (2387).
The older Protestant men seemed more intent to
settle James as an apostolic work (written by an apostle: James of Alphaeus). They
were not apparently troubled by suggesting that James was not a sibling of Christ
but a kinsman, nor did they attempt to defend the proposition that Mary had
other children after the birth of Jesus.
Modern Protestants and evangelicals seem to rush
past the idea of James as directly apostolic, in favor of the suggestion that
the letter was written by one who was not an apostle (James the Just).
Though ultimately in agreement with Manton that
the most important thing is the fact that God himself is the primary author and
that the human author is only “subordinate,” at this point I am persuaded by
Poole, Manton, and Henry that James the son of Alphaeus is the likely author.
Addendum: At the close I noted the commentaries I
am reading as I preach through James: two older (pre-critical) works: Calvin and
Manton, and one contemporary work by Edmund J. Hiebert. For Hiebert’s
intriguing bio on theopedia, look here.
Image: David Larlham (left) at the Lynchburg RB Mission, September 2019.
I received the note below today from a friend with news of the passing of David Larlham:
Just a quick email to let you know that we have received the sad news that our esteemed brother David Larlham was called home suddenly this morning following a heart attack. But we rejoice that he is now “with Christ; which is far better” and has heard those blessed words “Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.”
I know that all our hearts will go out in deepest sympathy to Monica, the immediate and wider family, and to David’s “church family” at Camberwell, who we know he loved so dearly.
Further details concerning the funeral will follow as they become available.
It was my pleasure to meet David and his wife Monica last September while they were on vacation in the area and attended worship at CRBC.
I did the interview below as WM 131 with David in which he gives his testimony and tells of his career as a banker and then his second career as Assistant to the General Secretary of the Trinitarian Bible Society:
The interview makes clear David's love for his family, his church, and the Bible as the Word of God. Most importantly, it provides a clear testimony to his faith and hope in Christ.
"absent from the body ... present with the Lord" (2 Corinthians 5:8).
This is an occasional series of readings from and brief notes
and commentary upon Eusebius of Caesarea’s The
Ecclesiastical History: Book 8, chapter 10.
Notes and Commentary:
This chapter features a first-person
report from Phileas, bishop of Thmuis, a town in lower Egypt, on the tortures
and martyrdoms that took place in Alexandria during the Diocletian persecution.
Phileas is described as “a true lover both of wisdom and of God.” He wrote this
while he was himself imprisoned, and it was reported in the previous chapter
(8.9) that he himself had eventually suffered martyrdom by beheading.
Phileas expressed his admiration
for the “Christ-bearing” martyrs for their ability to remain steadfast despite undergoing
various gruesome tortures and sufferings for their faith. He draws upon the example
of Christ from the Servant Song of Philippians 2:5-11.
After cruel torture some were
placed in stocks, while others thrown to the ground. Some died under torture,
others later died from wounds suffered, while still others recovered and “gained
confidence.” When those in this last category were given the choice either to
go free and unmolested, if they offered abominable sacrifices, or to face death
if they remained steadfast, they chose death.
Conclusion:
This chapter continues the account
of the sufferings of Egyptian Christians during the Diocletian persecution. It
is striking in that it comes from a first-hand report from an imprisoned bishop
who would himself suffer martyrdom. Again, the courage and steadfastness of the
Diocletian martyrs is remembered with admiration.
