by tascha
Still in James 1…
verses 17-18
17 ~ Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
18 ~ Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
After having just learned that our Lord will not tempt with evil -but He can use those times to work good in our lives and Patience continues her perfect work, maturing us, challenging us to desire Wisdom without wavering in our faith – we are now reminded that anything good in our life is from God.
ANYTHING good:
Are your children relatively healthy? If not, has God given you the grace and strength to learn from their illness?
Do you and your husband share a loving relationship with each other?
Has it been a while since you’ve been in an accident?
Do you have something to eat more than once a day?
Does your home have a sturdy roof which keeps out the elements?
Do you have clothing and shoes? Beds and blankets?
These are all things that none of us deserve… yet, for the most part, I think most people reading this have several, if not all, of them.
And I am reminded of verses in 1 Thessalonians 5:
16 ~ Rejoice evermore.
and 18 ~ In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
God has no variableness… He does not change. He gave good before. He gives good today. He will continue giving good with no shadow of turning–can you imagine the shadow that would fall if God turned His back on us? [I’m thinking the study of Revelation would give a glimpse!] Hebrews 13: 8 ~ Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.
And God begat us {gave us His eternal life} with the Word of Truth [His Word: the Bible]… that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
He wants us to be set-apart [as the first fruits were], consecrated to Himself.
He wants us to WANT to be separated from the evil of this world.
He wants us to desire and learn and grow in Him, to change us from what we were to be more like THE Firstfruit: Jesus.
1 Corinthians 15: 20 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. 21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. 23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.
Just a few thoughts about these verses… I’d love to hear how something in them spoke to you!
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by tascha
still in James 1…
The next several verses have thoughts that flow… this is a letter after all, and I am unsure exactly where to separate my thoughts… so, this one’s going to be a little longer than usual.
verses 19-27
19 ~ Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:
20~ For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.
21~ Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.
22~ But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
23~ For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:
24~ For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.
25~ But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.
26~ If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain.
27~ Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.
These verses quite plainly spell out the HOW of growing and becoming Spiritually Mature.
Previously we’ve been instructed that Patience needs to be allowed to do her perfect work… and this is accomplished through trials and temptations. We are learning to run to God through those difficulties.
We are learning to ask for wisdom… without our faith wavering. Sometimes I find myself repeating this particular lesson more frequently than I’d like. 😉 I am, ashamedly, often tossed about like a wave of the sea.
We learned that we succumb to temptation when are drawn away by our own lusts…
We know that nothing we have or accomplish in this life will effect out standing in Heaven–any and all rewards will be because of God’s good gifts… one of which is helping us endure the temptations that bring a Crown of Life {that we will then cast at Jesus’ feet!}.
Here, verse 19 is fairly plain words:
Wherefore: because of all the previous we’ve talked about…
be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: I really think this does not need explaining. I just need to remember it! {as maybe you do, too?}
How often do I jump to a conclusion [speak quickly] without hearing all the facts [disregarding the hearing part] {just ask my husband—way more frequently than I care to admit}.
How often do I allow myself to become frustrated, just because -to be perfectly honest- I am thinking of myself and what I want, the next thing I want to do, see, etc. Instead, I should be more patient… allow Patience to work her work.
Because, you see, our anger [the wrath of man] does NOT work the righteousness of God.
It just doesn’t.
And another wherefore… because of these things: we are supposed to lay apart [put aside, throw away]: all filthiness [just what it sounds like: dirty & defiling] and superfluity of naughtiness [excessive or in abundance malice, evil, wickedness].
It sounds as though our Lord is equating our swiftness to wrath and speaking and evasion of listening to being filthy and naughty… not exactly what I want to hear.
So often I choose not to hear this. What about you?
And continuing: receive [take to yourself] with meekness [mild disposition, gentle spirit] the engrafted word [learned by instruction], which is able to save your souls. When we take to heart and heed this instruction, it is able to save our souls!! {This is not salvation, but saving us from the heartache that comes from the consequences of our sin.}
Though the rest continues, it slightly pivots to another thought.
We are to hear the Word.
This is plain… and our speech and our emotions [anger/wrath] should come more slowly.
But we should ACT on what we hear from The Word…. or we will deceive ourselves into thinking… well, that just knowing what God says is enough.
And it isn’t.
22 ~ But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
23~ For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:
24~ For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.
If we hear only and never do…
but do what? [to be perfectly blunt: strive for Holiness… perfectness of God’s work in our hearts]…
…if we only hear and never do, it is as if we woke up and saw our crazy hair and whatever else might look a little out of place straight out of bed and just let it go…. [I think, personal appearance DOES mean something to God, just not in the way some people try to teach, but that’s another post for another time 🙂 ]…
Would you leave the house without changing into clean clothing and at least brushing your teeth and straightening up your hair? Some days require a little more work than others… and some days I care less than others… but that doesn’t make it appropriate to walk out of my house in a dirty and unkempt manner . [no matter what society is trying to tell us!!!]
When I see my natural face [sinful nature] in the mirror [Scripture], I am supposed to DO something about the dirtiness I see…
so I can be blessed in my deeds:
25~ But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.
One last thought… Religion is not bad. It is simply one facet of showing the Love of God to others.
BUT… and this is a big one: if I cannot control my tongue {speech},
my religion is vain and I have deceived myself…
26~ If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain.
27~ Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.
Have you ever met someone who fits that?
I know I’ve BEEN one that fits that description.
Have you?
Sometimes growing up is hard… 🙂
I’m so glad he addressed this to his “beloved brethren” or I might have felt I was being attacked by a judgmental person…
And the next post will begin chapter 2!
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by tascha
On to James 2!
This passage I’m walking through today is a little lengthy. I am going to talk through it a little differently than some of my other posts. There are also several cross-references, but I will only list a few. I suggest deeper personal study! 🙂
James 2:1-13
1 ~ My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.
Our faith does not mix with partiality.
We are called to love all men {people} with Christ’s love. [John 13:34; 15:12; Romans 13:8; 1 John 4:7, 11-12, and more]
This passage is not specifically in reference to our treatment of fellow believers. We must treat the wicked and unsaved with the SAME love… None of us are better than they.
Our ONLY righteousness IS Christ, and only because He gave Himself for us! [John 3:16; Romans 5:6, 8; 1 Corinthians 15:1-11]
He died for ALL, equally.
2 ~ For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment; 3 ~ And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool: 4 ~ Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?
When we begin preferring people that dress well or look a certain way based on our own thoughts, when we look at those who visit our assembly [church services] and straightly judge them based on their appearance, we can know our thoughts are become evil and we are judging in a way we are not meant to.[John 7:24] …with evil thoughts… evil. Evil is a strong word.
5 ~Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him? 6 ~ But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats? 7 ~ Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called?
The only “riches” that matter are faith and being an heir of the kingdom God which are promised to those that LOVE HIM… not those that have pretty clothing or pleasing manners.
8 ~ If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: 9 ~ But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.
And the ROYAL LAW is to love our neighbor [anyone with whom we come in contact] as ourself…
And James points out that often, those that appear in goodly apparel with a gold ring are the same that oppress and blaspheme God’s name. WHY would we wish to impress them? Only when our focus is off of our Lord: But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.
10 ~ For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. 11 ~ For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law.
All men are transgressors.
All men….. ALL MEN. [Romans 3:23]
12 ~ So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty. 13 ~ For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.
We will be judged according to the law of liberty {liberty -our freedom in Christ- has a law?}… it appears that judgement will contain the amount of mercy that OUR judgement contains.
We must speak and act in mercy towards those who come seeking God, those that enter our church seeking, those that are coming to God under whatever circumstances!
Truly, this Spiritual Maturing process hurts. But that is because God wishes to purge self from within us so that He can fill us with His Spirit. [Galatians 5:13-25]
Remember that Patience is working…
And we must be confident and unwavering in asking God for Wisdom.
Another place where we notice our equality in coming to God and in receiving rewards.
No one is above being drawn into sin… it comes from our own lusts.
Anything good and perfect that enters my life is ONLY a gift from a gracious God... not a result of anything I have done!
We must learn [allow God to teach us] how to control our anger, act in obedience to His Holiness, and show His love for others…
Several themes seem to be reoccurring in just the first 2 chapters.
I think that means I should probably pay attention! 🙂
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by tascha
Continuing in James 2:
14 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?
15 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,
16 And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?
17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?
22 Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?
23 And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.
24 Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.
25 Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?
26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.
[bold emphasis added]
I think these verses are hard for us to swallow sometimes. [At least, I’ve had difficulty on occasion… 🙂 ]
{And there’s a bit of Old Testament here… because it’s just as relevant today as it was then! But that’s another post…}
Is James telling these Jewish Christians to maintain keeping the law in order to be saved?
NO. He isn’t.
But he is telling them, and us, that after we have confessed Jesus there WILL be a mark of works that show our faith to a lost world [and even to other Christians].
There is not really any explanation necessary:
We show our Christianity to others by
the works we do in our daily lives.
It’s that simple…
~ ~ ~ ~ and it’s that hard.
I’d love for you to share your thoughts on these verses!
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Let’s connect on FACEBOOK!
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I’m also on Instagram!
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and I’m on Twitter!
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