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timewithgod.blog-city.com — April 2009
James 2 -- Faith, Works, and God's Will
About verse 12, my commentary says that James is saying, "As believers, you are no longer under the law of bondage, but you are under the law of liberty -- liberty to do what is RIGHT. The Law of Moses required you to love your neighbor bu
About verse 12, my commentary says that James is saying, "As believers, you are no longer under the law of bondage, but you are under the law of liberty -- liberty to do what is RIGHT. The Law of Moses required you to love your neighbor but did not give you the power, and condemned you if you failed. Under grace, you are given the power to love your neighbor and are rewarded when you do it. You don't do it in order to be saved, but because you are saved. You do it, not through fear of punishment, but through love for Him who died for you and rose again."
Speaking about verse 20, it also says, "When a person truly believes on the Lord, it involves a commitment of spirit, soul, and body. This commitment in turn results in a changed life. Faith apart from works is head belief, and therefore, dead belief."
James talked of Abraham's faith and Rahab's faith being evidenced in what they did. My commentary said, "To summarize, then, James tests our faith by our answers to the following questions. Am I willing like Abraham to offer the dearest thing in my life to God? Am I willing like Rahab to turn traitor to the world in order to be loyal to Christ?"
Those are heavy words to ponder. And they zeroed me back in to something I read about verse 9: "Sin is any lack of conformity to the will of God, a failure to meet His standards."
Wow, Father. Even those words test my faith. I love You, and over the past day or so I've sensed You directing me to a specific task, but not yet to a specific person. Please show me through Your answer how I can demonstrate my faith by my actions in conforming to Your will.
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
Gary Ford
James 3 -- Untrue, Unloving, And/Or Unnecessary?
The tongue seems to be connected to the body at the point farthest from the "wisdom centers" of our brains, and unfortunately that is proven out in daily life. The importance of controlling what we say is first mentioned in verse 2:&n
The tongue seems to be connected to the body at the point farthest from the "wisdom centers" of our brains, and unfortunately that is proven out in daily life. The importance of controlling what we say is first mentioned in verse 2: "If people never said anything wrong, they would be perfect and able to control their ENTIRE selves, too." We cannot presume to be able to control the rest of our bodies if we don't have control over what we say.
It's no wonder that James wrote of true wisdom and controlling our tongues in the same chapter. He connects "living right and doing good things with a gentleness that comes from wisdom" to what we say. As my commentary added, "James tests a person's spiritual health by his or her conversation. Self-diagnosis begins with sins of speech."
Sadly for us, our human nature doesn't have the ability or the strength to control what we say. Only God does. A good starting place, after praying to God for help, is to stop and ask ourselves if what we are about to say is true, if it is kind, AND if it is necessary. Absent any one of these, we probably should choke the words off in our throats, according to my commentary. Also, it brought out a real test of our character: "Do I habitually tell the truth, even if it means loss of face, friends, or finances?" Wow...
"Martin Luther told a story of two goats that met on a narrow bridge over deep water. They could not go back and they did not dare to fight. After a short parley, on of them lay down and let the other go over him, and thus no harm was done. Luther thought the moral was easy: be content if your person is trod upon for peace's sake; your person ... NOT your conscience."
Father, help me to filter everything I say through Your wisdom, before I say it. Help me to see when anything I'm tempted to say is untrue, unkind, or unnecessary, then stifle it before I say it. Help me to apply Your wisdom in everything I say and do. Never let me be unloving to anyone.
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
Gary Ford
James 4 -- For Himself Alone
I imagine that there are church people who read this and say, "I'm certainly glad that I don't have to struggle with this!" No one wants to admit that they have "selfish desires that war within us", but we all do.&nb
I imagine that there are church people who read this and say, "I'm certainly glad that I don't have to struggle with this!" No one wants to admit that they have "selfish desires that war within us", but we all do. And these desires are constantly struggling to be satisfied.
My commentary lists them as the lust to accumulate material possessions, the drive for prestige, the craving for pleasure, and the gratification of bodily appetites. The unfortunate result is, "We are never satisfied. We always want more. And yet it seems we are constantly frustrated in our desire to get what we want."
In verse 4, "James condemns the inordinate love of material things as spiritual adultery," my commentary says, because we are choosing something else over God. "Coveting, or wanting what someone else has", is a form of idolatry. It means that we strongly desire what God does not want us to have."
Unlike unbelievers, we aren't left to deal with these lusts of the flesh in our own strength. We have the Holy Spirit.
Once we find that we have harbored such thoughts in our lives, James lists six steps to true repentance:
1) Submit to God, ready to listen and obey
2) Resist the devil
3) Draw near to God in desperate, believing prayer
4) Cleanse our actions and purify our motives and desires
5) Feel deep sorrow for sin
6) Humble ourselves in God's sight.
Verse 5 pleas, "The Spirit that God made to live in us wants us for Himself alone." There's no room for our selfish desires and lusts. Guess which has to go....
Father, to truly know You, I must be willing to do what You ask of me. In moment by moment connection with You, I need to examine my spending and my schedule and ask the hard question, "Am I doing this for myself or for You?" A mix of the two just won't do.
Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford
Gary Ford
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