James explains how God’s curriculum for spiritual growth involves trials and the testings of our faith.

Sheridan Voysey of Our Daily Bread Ministries writes that “A woman once told me about a disagreement that was tearing her church apart. ‘What’s the disagreement about?’ I asked. ‘Whether the earth is flat,’ she said. A few months later, news broke of a Christian man who’d burst into a restaurant, armed, to rescue children supposedly being abused in its back room. There was no back room, and the man was arrested. In both cases, the people involved were acting on conspiracy theories they’d read on the internet.” He concluded that “Since such information can split churches and put lives at risk, checking facts is an act of loving our neighbor. When a sensational story comes our way, we can verify its claims with qualified, accountable experts, being truth seekers—not error spreaders. Such an act brings credibility to the gospel.” On both the progressive left and the paranoid-laden right, conspiracy theories abound.

The gospel of justification by faith produces a life of service.

Evangelicals and Catholics Together (ECT) is an ecumenical group founded in 1994 by Richard John Neuhaus and Chuck Colson. This organization periodically publishes papers and hosts conferences dealing with important biblical issues as they relate to culture and the Christian faith. Prominent scholars and church leaders are a part of this movement. Recently, I came across a paper published by ECT in 2009 on children as gifts from God. In addition to the postmodern pursuit of personal autonomy, modern birth control methods and abortion have made it easier for women to avoid having children. The result is the diminishing importance of children in terms of personal fulfillment and the additional consequence of the diminishing importance of the family as a viable and robust institution of Western Civilization.

Does the Bible help us to think clearly and plainly about economic issues? About socialism? About capitalism? The 8th commandment as an ethical absolute establishes the sanctity of private property (“You shall not steal,” Exodus 20:15). The Old Testament affirms this ethical absolute in the Levitical code (see Lev. 25:10): Neither the government nor society owns property; individuals do. The Mosaic covenant was based on laws that defined punishment for stealing and the restitution for damage to another person’s animals, fields, etc. Deuteronomy 19:14 even affirmed the importance of boundaries for privately owned land. This ethical standard is also affirmed in the New Testament (e.g., Romans 13:9; 1 Corinthians 6:10; Ephesians 4:28, etc.). The New Testament also states that individuals have the right of ownership of money, possessions and are to use them wisely, as a stewardship from God (e.g., Romans 12:8; 1 Corinthians 16:2; 2 Corinthians 9:7; Ephesians 4:28, etc.).

Paul contrasts walking by the Flesh and walking by the Spirit.

The conservative communist David Brooks recently made a series of poignant observations about the emotional state of America at this point in the 21st century: “One well-established finding of social science research is that conservatives report being happier than liberals. Over the years, researchers have come up with a bunch of theories to explain this phenomenon. The first explanation is that conservatives are more likely to take part in the activities that are linked to personal happiness—like being married and actively participating in a religious community. The second explanation is that of course conservatives are happier; they are by definition more satisfied with the established order of things. The third explanation, related to the second, is that on personality tests liberals tend to score higher on openness to experience but also higher on neuroticism.

Paul defends the freedom believers have in Christ against the legalists and grace-killers in the church.

On 26 June 2015, the US Supreme Court ruled in Obergefell v. Hodges that the 14th Amendment requires that all states license marriages between same-sex couples and recognize all marriages that were lawfully performed out of state. We have the ability to now evaluate the effects of this decision over the last eight years. Indeed, Matthew Schmitz, editor of Compact, has done just that. In an important article in First Things, Schmitz itemizes several ways that this decision has changed America.

Paul concludes his defense of justification by faith with a personal appeal and an allegory.