How It All Goes Down
James
Hey, James here!
He's a member of Jesus' inner circle, and he's writing this letter to Jewish-Christians all throughout the Roman Empire. He's got some important things to tell them—mainly that there will be tough times, but that it's all good. Being arrested and out on trial for your faith may be a bummer, but God will bring some good stuff out of it. Guaranteed.
James also has a major beef with rich folks. He thinks that they'll pay big time for all the perks they enjoyed in life. Those golden parachutes don't look so good now, huh? He also has some strong thoughts on the power of words: don't praise God one day and then badmouth fellow Christians the other—God really gets annoyed with all the double-speak going on. Finally, Christians have to keep the faith and stay strong because Jesus is coming back real soon.
Seriously…any day now.
1 Peter
This time, we hear from Peter, Jesus' right-hand man in the gospels. Yep, that Peter. He pretty much agrees with James on a bunch of things. These guys must have been tight.
Here are his thoughts:
- Suffering can be good. It's all part of God's plan, so no worries.
- Whatever you do, don't start sinning just because times get tough. God will not be amused.
- Christians should act like the newborn little babies they are (metaphorically speaking, of course). They need spiritual milk to feed them…and clean diapers.
- They also need to keep their behavior in line. That means listening to authority figures (anarchy is out). Slaves should obey their masters (um, what?). And wives? Well, you know your husband is in charge, right gals?
It's important for everyone to stay in line because Jesus will be coming back to judge everyone very shortly. For real this time.
2 Peter
Peter again with a couple more reminders for Christians before he bites the dust.
Watch out for false teachers. These are folks who claim to follow Jesus but spread all kinds of lies about him instead. Mainly, they've been saying that the world isn't gonna end so it doesn't really matter how we act. Well, that is just nonsense, says Peter. God may be a little slow getting this plan off the ground, but that's only because he doesn't wear a watch. Jesus will come again and judge all the baddies.
So keep your eyes peeled for anyone descending from Heaven on a cloud of glory.
Jude
Last but definitely not least, we get to hear from Jude. He's James's brother and he has a lot in common with his bro…and with Peter. He also doesn't think much of those false teachers: they're bad news and they're going down big time. When Jesus comes back—which he totally will—he'll deal with anyone who doubted him. And it is not gonna be pretty.