James 5:19-20 My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, 20 remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.
It's one of the worst feelings that a parent can have: one of your children is missing. I recall a terrifying 20 minutes not long after our family had moved into the parsonage when suddenly we couldn't find one of my sons anywhere. We scoured the house and garage. We ran through church and opened every classroom and closet, shouting his name. Nothing. We were seconds from calling the police when he came walking out of a neighbor's house, safe and sound. Now some might say that our behavior was an overreaction, but experts say the first 48 hours are critical because a missing person can be in serious danger. Moreover, this wasn't just ANY missing person, it was OUR SON. When a family member is unaccounted for the level of concern gets kicked up a notch.
James closes his letter with a note of spiritual concern. He gives a hypothetical but realistic scenario: someone among the family of believers has "gone missing" and wandered off, but in this case what they have strayed from is not the playground or their backyard but the truth. Here "the truth" certainly includes the truth of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. If this truth is obscured, denied, or lost, so is eternal life. "The truth" could also include other clear teachings of Scripture, which Jesus calls the Father's Word of Truth (John 17:17).
Straying from the truth is a serious matter, one that is best and most easily addressed in the beginning when initial doubts and questions arise. Sometimes people deceive themselves; they get it into their heads that they are smart enough or good enough or strong enough, and they don't need God anymore. Other times false teachers lure souls down the path of error. In any case, any deviation from God's truth puts souls in spiritual danger as it opens us up to the devil's lies and temptations. All wandering begins with a single footstep, but if left uncorrected, we can find ourselves so far distanced from the Lord and his Word that we can't find our way home again and our faith dies lost in unbelief or sin.
Something else that's true about missing persons is that there are few things that will unite and galvanize a community more than searching for someone who is lost. The news media, law enforcement, bloodhounds, and helicopters are allocated to the case. Throngs of volunteers form human chains to comb through miles of muck looking for any trace of the individual. As I said before, if someone in our immediate family was lost, we'd have no hesitation about doing whatever it takes to find them and bring them back home. Christians and Christian congregations need to ask themselves if they have the same commitment and concern for their fellow-Christians? If someone in our church family suddenly changes their worship habits or goes down a dark self-destructive path, do we deliberately, compassionately, and gently intervene, or do we just wait on the sidelines, imagining they'll find their own way back in time? Most congregations, like ours, have elder boards or shepherding committees that are tasked with reaching out to the wandering, but this is not only the duty of the spiritual shepherds. Every Christian shares the responsibility of caring for their brother and sister in faith. God give us the compassion and the courage to reach out to our family and friends, who have wandered from the truth, just as we would want someone to search for us if we were lost. We go out with the goal of saving souls, turning them back to the forgiveness of sins and retrieving them with the Word so we can continue rejoice and walk together in the truth.
Questions / Personal Reflection:
1.) Consider the times in your life when you wandered from the Lord and his way. Who did the Lord use to bring you back? How did they reach out to you? If you haven't ever done so, thank that person for being God's instrument of bringing you back to his fold.
2.) In his grace God has sent concerned brothers and sisters in faith to bring you back and keep you close to him. Identify the fellow-Christians in your own circle of family and friends, who need your concern, encouragement, and gentle redirection. While such conversations may be awkward at first, you can never go wrong by leading with, "I love you and I'm concerned about you because..." Who knows where the Spirit may lead the conversation from there!
Prayer: Lord Jesus, Good Shepherd of the Sheep, thank you for sending pastors, teachers, family, and friends, who loved me enough to reach out to me and warn me when I was wondering from you. Give me and all your people the grace and the courage to do the same so that we may be a forgiven family gathered around your truth and devoted to one another. Amen.
The Power of Prayer
September 4, 2024 • James 5:13–18
James 5:13-18 Is anyone among you suffering? He should pray. Is anyone cheerful? He should sing songs of praise. 14 Is anyone among you sick? He should call the elders of the church, and they should pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer offered in faith will save the sick person, and the Lord will raise him up. If he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 So confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, in order that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is able to do much because it is effective. 17 Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. 18 Then he prayed again, and the sky gave rain, and the land produced its harvest.
What numbers are on speed dial on your phone? Likely it's the people you call most often, who are most important to you, standup family and friends whom you can count on to be your first line of defense in an emergency, because in a real emergency help can never come soon enough. You may have heard that now Amazon has made it even easier for us to get help (provided you already own an Alexa). You need only shout out and an operator will send emergency response personnel right away. But while it's smart to seek assistance in trouble, danger, weakness, and injury, James would argue that all human sources of help and healing are in fact one step removed from the ONLY ONE who gives success to any intervention: the Lord our God. Impossible as it seems, God's children can get ahold of him in prayer faster than Alexa--as fast as you can shout and cry, as fast as you can think--God has heard, he's there, he's answering and working according to his will.
It is faith in Christ that drives us to seek God first in adversity because faith relies on God's great love and infinite power. God's perfect control of even the most complex situation calms our anxiety and his undeniable love evidenced at the cross means we can rest our bodies and souls in his safekeeping. He won't let anything happen to us that is not in our eternal best interest.
Yet much as God wants to be the first one that we call in every distress, he is equally insistent that we be persistent in our prayers. In the original Greek language many of the injunctions to pray in these verses could be more accurately translated as, "Keep on praying!" without stopping. In this way we also put our faith into action, refusing to rest until God intervenes on our behalf. James encourages us to bring everything to the Lord in prayer—our troubles and our joys—because he graciously weaves them into his grand design so that they actually change the outcome of events—if not always in the way we expect.
In response to our prayers God rescues the person who falls into misfortune. At the request of his people, he enabled the oil that was applied as a home remedy in ancient times to heal, and he still allows the medicine and medical treatment we receive to be effective. God forgives sins and lifts the spirits of the penitent. And when he deems it necessary, he can still respond to our petitions by performing miracles—just as he did for the prophet Elijah, sealing up water from the heavens for three and a half years and returning it at his request.
So, whether a prayer is for yourself or for someone else; whether it's only one person or many voices, never forget that your prayers are effective. They alter the course of events in the physical and spiritual realms because of the One who is on the other end of the line. We cry out to our almighty heavenly Father, who delights to hear us and promises to come to our aid. He will do what is right and best for his beloved children. Our God deserves to be the first and favorite on the speed dial of our prayers.
Questions / Personal Reflection:
1.) Take a moment to write down some occasions when God affirmatively answered your prayers or perhaps gave you something even better than you hoped for. Thank and praise him for his kindness and faithfulness.
2.) Sometimes we pray for something or someone earnestly and incessantly, but our request goes unanswered. It might even turn out that the opposite ends up happening. Rather than getting frustrated or full of doubts, what confidence can we still have in God—his love, his goodness, and in his eternal foresight of our lives?
Prayer: Lord God, I confess that I often fail to make use of your gift of prayer and thereby miss out on the blessings you have for me. Forgive my neglect and lift me up. May the promise of your faithfulness, power, and grace motivate me to seek you first in every adversity
Less Is More
August 28, 2024 • James 5:12
James 5:12 Above all, my brothers, do not swear—not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. Just let your “yes” be “yes” and your “no” be “no,” so that you do not fall under judgment.
They say that sometimes less is more. For example: If you want to accentuate a piece of art or jewelry, it may be best to keep things simple and not clutter it with all kinds of gaudy surroundings. Less is more. When a friend has suffered a terrible loss or is enduring great pain, it can be better to silently stand by their side and hold their hand than to ramble on with words that cannot make things right. Less is more. In this Scripture James tells us that when it comes to swearing and giving our word, less is more.
Here we have another one of those instances where the translation of a Bible term and the popular definition of that same word are at odds with each other and can result in some confusion. Typically, when we speak of “swearing,” it involves using profanity, which God certainly counts as unholy. God doesn’t want any unwholesome talk or perverse language to be found on our lips (Prov. 4:24; Eph. 5:4), but in this case "swearing" signifies taking an oath to bolster the truth of what we're saying. Think of the fisherman who stretches his arms wide and says, "I swear I caught a fish THIS BIG!"
Now some may wonder, "What's the big deal? What's the harm in such swearing?" James gives us two reasons why not to swear. Let’s start with the latter. While our mouths can easily cinch up the concept of taking an oath down to a single word, "swear," the weight behind that word is quite significant. Swearing is asking God to serve as our witness and for him to judge, curse, and condemn us if our words are in any way untrue. When you think of it that way, the size of that monster fish starts shrinking rapidly! Do we really want God to strike us down for all the times we swore about how many pieces of pizza we ate or how late we stayed up? Too often we casually use swearing to boast, brag, exaggerate, or outright lie. Most events in life are so trivial and mundane that there’s no need to call God as our witness.
However, there are times when the seriousness and solemnity of an occasion demands an oath, such as when husband and wife are wed or when someone's guilt or innocence hangs in the balance in a court of law (cf. 8th Commandment; Matt. 26:63). In these high stakes scenarios it is proper to swear and implore God's help in speaking and holding to the truth.
We’ve devised all kinds of inventive ways to swear without invoking God directly. The people of Jesus’ day were no different. Rather than swear by God himself, they hoped to sidestep divine scrutiny by swearing by heaven or the earth instead. Others would swear by the Temple or by the hairs on their head (Matt. 5:34-36; 23:16-22). But God is not fooled by our clever word games! He sees the heart that speaks the words! His divine power has made and sustains his whole creation from heaven above to earth below, and he accounts for every hair on our heads (Matt. 5:36; 10:30)! For that reason, it's best not to swear at all!
Secondly, James says, Just let your “yes” be “yes” and your “no” be “no.” The sad irony is: if I’m in the habit of swearing all the time, I'm actually undercutting my own credibility and reputation. If I need to swear about every word I say or promise I make in order for you to believe me, then I am telling you, "You can’t trust me unless I swear about it!" As with all sin, swearing is self-defeating and self-destroying! For us Christians, it is particularly important that we are trusted and considered credible and reliable in what we say and do. Because our faithfulness reflects on our Savior and impacts how people will regard our witness for Christ.
We praise God that Jesus’ lips never lied nor swore a frivolous oath. Instead, his mouth only spoke grace and truth. God himself had promised that he would send a Savior to take away our sins of mind, body, and mouth, and he sealed that oath with the precious blood of Jesus shed on the cross.
By being simple “yes/no people,” who follow through on our word we give glory to God and gain opportunities to witness for Jesus. Because sometimes when it comes to our words, less is more.
Questions / Personal Reflection:
1.) What are some other important occasions in secular and religious life when it would be appropriate to make an oath?
2.) It is often said that trust must be earned. When someone has broken our trust, we can unintentionally drive them towards swearing by holding them in perpetual disbelief. May God give us the grace to give others the chance to rebuild their trust and reputations again.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, guide my heart and guard my lips so that I speak words of truth and love. Help me to recognize my own limitations and to set proper priorities so that I don’t overextend myself and so bring shame upon you with promises that I cannot keep. Amen.
Patient Anticipation
August 21, 2024 • James 5:7–11
James 5:7-11 Therefore, brothers, be patient until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the valuable harvest from the ground, patiently waiting for it, until it receives the early and late rain. 8 You be patient too. Strengthen your hearts because the coming of the Lord is near. 9 Do not complain about one another, brothers, so that you will not be judged. Look! The Judge is standing at the doors! 10 Brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord as an example of suffering with patient endurance. 11 See, we consider those who endured to be blessed. You have heard of the patient endurance of Job and have seen what the Lord did in the end, because the Lord is especially compassionate and merciful.
We've all experienced how we can put up with a lot of junk and frustration and even plenty of pain so long as we have something good waiting for us on the horizon. A student can slog through those last couple weeks of school knowing that summer break is only days away. A mother patiently endures the discomfort of the last month of pregnancy and suffers through labor pains because she knows she'll soon be cradling God's gift of new life in her arms. ...So what are you anticipating and holding onto for the hope of joy and some future relief? Is it a birthday party, a vacation, retirement? These are all blessings from God, but their luster fades away and in this sinful world every blessing includes additional frustrations of its own.
Here James invites us to lift our eyes and set our heart's expectation on what is best and lasting: the eternal joy and endless rest that the Lord Jesus will bestow on believers when he comes again on the Last Day. The anticipation of unending bliss and glory empowers us to extend our patience beyond our limits and stake down our hearts, strengthening them with hope, through the storms of life. The timeless God promises that the certainty of heaven is soon to come. Already 2000 years ago James pictures Jesus as standing on the verge, standing at the door—how much nearer he is today! That close proximity gives us the courage and resolve to endure the disappointments, trials, and pains of this temporary existence.
The Apostle provides us with two examples of patient anticipation: that of a farmer waiting for the rains and that of the prophets of old. Israel is a very arid place with only one freshwater lake and one river, neither of which are well-suited for irrigation. So agriculture there is completely dependent upon predictable rainfall—namely the early rains that soften the ground and allow plants to germinate and grow, followed by the latter rains, which give the plants the additional moisture they need to produce fruit. If either of these doesn't happen, that season’s harvest will fail, but thankfully the spring and autumn rains come like clockwork in Israel. The farmer needs only wait patiently for their inevitable arrival.
Likewise, we know from Scripture how the prophets and people of God suffered persecution, loss, and pain as they clung to God in faith and looked to him in hope, trusting that God is gracious and compassionate. Since he knows our slightest pain and deepest sorrows and feels them in the depths of his being, we believe he also has a good purpose for every trial we go through and will finally give us relief from all suffering and sadness. In Job's case the faithful God gave him a tiny taste of relief in this life by giving him additional children and restoring his wealth after everything had been taken away. But whether in this life or the next, relief from the Lord IS surely coming!
Lastly, James warns us about what can happen when the days get long and the pressures and pains don't seem to let up. We can easily lose sight of our hope and start to take our frustrations out one another, "complaining (or grumbling) about each other." When we get short-tempered and get at each other, may God send another fellow-Christian, like James, to rebuke us so that we repent of our attitude, words, and actions, and refocus our eyes and fortify our forgiven hearts with the patient anticipation of his coming.
Questions / Personal Reflection:
1.) Make a list of the things that are most frustrating you right now. How will Christ’s coming and the enjoyment of heaven thereafter minimize, correct, and entirely erase these troubles?
2.) Pick one of your favorite prophets (such as Abraham, Job, Moses, David, Daniel, or Isaiah). Read through and review the record of their lives in Scripture, and take note of their sufferings, God’s compassion and faithfulness, and finally their blessed end. Meditate on their example, and take heart that the Lord will likewise lead and guide you through life.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, you are coming soon to remake your perfect creation and make me strong, joyful, and sin-free in your presence. In the meantime help me to trust that whatever hardships of body, mind, and soul you allow to come into my life come from your compassionate heart for my eternal good. Increase my endurance of troubles and let me be patient and loving towards the people you have placed in my life. Amen.
What About the Profit Motive?
August 14, 2024 • James 5:1–6
James 5:1-6 Come now, you who are rich, weep and cry aloud over the miseries that are going to come upon you. 2 Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. 3 Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have stored up treasure in these last days. 4 Listen, the wages that you failed to pay the workers who reaped your fields are crying out! And the cries of the harvesters have entered the ears of the Lord of Armies. 5 You have lived for pleasure on the earth and led a life of luxury. You have fattened your hearts on the day of slaughter. 6 You condemned and murdered the Righteous One. Does he not oppose you?
Every so often you will hear pastors, theologians, or politicians claim that capitalism is the economic system that is God-sanctioned. In Economics 101 you're taught that the basis for capitalism is the profit motive--that is maximizing profit while minimizing expenses. And while it’s generally true that this system produces the most and greatest variety of goods at the lowest cost, this does not mean that capitalism is inherently moral. By itself it is morally bankrupt because it is driven by and feeds on selfish motives, and if left unchecked, results in greed, exploitation, and eternal self-destruction. In this word of God James turns slightly aside from addressing his fellow-Christian readers, whom he's been referring to as his brothers (and sisters), and aims a Spirit-inspired warning shot across the bow of a specific segment of the population—whether they claim to be Christians or not. He writes, "Come now, you who are rich..."
As with our previous devotion on boasting, where the issue was not our making plans but rather bragging about them, so too here the sin is not and cannot be merely being rich. Scripture abounds with examples of incredibly wealthy believers whose lives of faith we would do well to imitate—Abraham, Job, and King David among them. So long as one is not taking advantage of the poor or denying the basic necessities of life to those in desperate need, Scripture does not condemn making a reasonable profit on one's sale or work (cf. Lev. 25:35-37; Prov. 14:23; 31:18; Eccl. 5:9). Therefore, the matter at hand is not the number of zeroes in one’s bank account. It is how that wealth was and is being acquired, and how it is currently being used. Is it being employed as an expression of one's faith and an extension of God's providential generosity, or as a personal status symbol and an excuse to indulge one's carnal appetites?
Any who put their hope in hoarding up wealth will finally find themselves bitterly disappointed. Money and fine clothes do not last and are of this world only. As Jesus once said, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal” (Matt. 6:19-20). Nor will any amount of riches be able to shield anyone from the judgment to come. The uber wealthy will not be able to evade God's courtroom summons, and James says that one of the prime evidences of faith (or lack thereof) that God will be looking for is how a person has used the money and resources the Lord has given them. All who have hoarded up riches for themselves will find their glitter melted away and their own stockpile will testify against them, burning through the illusion of their morality like an acid spill. In this closing act of the world prior to Judgment Day, they have stored up treasures to no good purpose as these will all be burned to ash in the end (cf. 2 Peter 3:7-8).
The profit motive not only seeks to maximize income, but to minimize production costs, often at the expense of worker compensation. Without mandating amounts or percentages, the Bible repeatedly insists that workers (and even one's working animals) deserve a fair and livable wage in keeping with the work performed (cf. Deut. 24:14-15; 1 Tim. 5:18). It is callous, criminal, and ungodly to pay one's workers a pittance just because you can or because market forces ensure that they have nowhere else to go. While the deliberately underpaid may have no legal recourse in this world, their cries for relief and justice will rise into the ears of God Almighty, and he will not forget. Like oxen being fattened for slaughter, all whose unbelieving hearts are clogged up with the drive to exploit their workers for the sake of lavish self-indulgence, will find themselves meeting the sword of the general of angel armies on the day of judgment. They will have Jesus, the Righteous One, the Defender of the Innocent, as their enemy, and they will not escape. In contrast, the righteous are generous towards their workers and open their hands to the needy (cf. Deut. 15:11; Prov. 14:31), knowing that all are equally loved by God and one's material circumstances have no bearing on their worth (cf. John 3:16; Ps. 145:13b).
When capitalism is abused and blindly followed, the devil can use it to sow the seeds of division, pitting owners and workers against each other. Instead, Jesus reminds us that the godly use of worldly wealth includes “gain[ing] friends for yourselves“—that is using our God-given riches to build relationships that aid and expand the reach of the gospel—"so that when [your wealth] is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings" (Luke 16:9). Our Lord Jesus is the prime example of this compassionate mindset: he willingly gave up the "good life" of heavenly riches and glory. He lived, suffered, died, and rose so that through the gospel he could freely dispense the wealth of his righteousness to us and all who believe. All for our maximum and eternal profit!
Questions / Personal Reflection:
1.) It is an ever-present temptation to rely on money and what we imagine it can do for us rather than on the Lord. List some of the physical, emotional, social, and spiritual needs we think money can provide for us. How does each of these really come from the Lord?
2.) Being "rich" is surely a relative term. Most of us in America live a life of ease and luxury hitherto unknown in world history. Whether you consider yourself "rich" or not, how do you (or can you) use the money God has given you to better serve and express your faith and love in Christ?
Prayer: Lord God, you are the giver of all things. You supply my daily bodily needs. In Christ Jesus you have supplied my forgiveness and eternal salvation. Open my heart and mind so that I use your wealth towards what is eternally profitable for me and the people you have placed in my life. Amen.
[1] From the Evangelical Heritage Version.
Boasting About the Future
August 7, 2024 • James 4:13–17
James 4:13-17 Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” 14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15 Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil. 17 Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins.
Do you ever feel sorry for the weatherman? When you think about it he or she has an almost impossible job to perform: to predict what tomorrow and next week's weather will be! Sure, they have any number of gizmos and data sets to aid in their calculations: satellite radar, dew point, humidity, air pressure, and wind speed, but in the end, they put themselves and their word on the line by giving their personal, professional prediction of what the weather will be. Usually they're pretty close, sometimes they're way off, but that's the nature of tomorrow, isn’t it? We literally never know what it will bring.
Ever since Chapter 3 James has been going round and round with how dangerous and destructive our untamed tongues can be. Today he continues with that "tongue trouble" theme by pointing out yet another way that our words entrap us and cause us to sin: by boasting about tomorrow.
Now let's be real about how naturally we slip into this mode of speaking. In our everyday conversations we ask each other, "What are your plans for next week?" "Where’s your next vacation destination?" "What's the business forecast look like?" We may wonder, "Well, what's wrong with responding that I'll be going to the football game on Friday, or taking a Caribbean cruise in January, or that third quarter profits should be $1.2 million?" …The issue is not in our making plans for the future. Again and again the book of Proverbs praises those who make careful plans and wise use of their time and God-given resources. James says the problem is what our answers so often betray about the basis for our future success: ourselves and our own efforts.
Whenever we think that WE are going to make things happen, and WE'RE in control, God and his gracious rule and eternal glory are not only left in the dust, we not-so-subtly elevate ourselves and our power to god-like proportions. When we boast and brag about tomorrow and what we will do and accomplish, we are guilty of putting ourselves in God's place and ignoring our moment-by-moment dependence on him for life, breath, and everything else (cf. Acts 17:25). As King Solomon writes in Psalms 127, "Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over a city, the watchmen stand guard in vain" (v. 1). Without God's will and blessing, all our big plans and efforts come to nothing because we have as much muscle and staying power in this world as the mist you breathe out on a cold January morning. Moreover, when we brag about the future, we are sinning by trespassing into God's domain by imagining we can effectively orchestrate the future and correctly predict what will happen (cf. Isaiah 41:26). In addition, we're puffing up our own egos relative to another over something that hasn't even happened yet! How insecure must we be to boast about what we suppose might happen? Only a fool would do such a thing! But such is what we are by nature!
Instead, the apostle exhorts us to cut out the boating and rest our plans entirely in God's hands, where all is truly and eternally secure and the best outcome is already guaranteed us through God’s almighty love in Jesus Christ (cf. Romans 8:28). The Lord assures us through Jeremiah, “I know the plans I have for you… plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (29:11). By God’s grace our final destination will be his glorious presence in heaven forever! In the meantime, rather than boast of ourselves and our big plans for ourselves, may God help us plan carefully, wisely, humbly, committing our projects to the Lord in prayer, and putting his kingdom first, and then give God free reign and all the glory to make of us and our future what he will.
James redirects us that as Christians we don’t need to be “tomorrow people,” but we can refocus our efforts on what is before us, what we can do right in the Lord today: “Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins.” Let’s not get so future obsessed that we overlook the infinite opportunities to do good that are right under our noses now. Voicing predictions about tomorrow is probably best left to the weatherman. Let’s do the good God has set before us today.
Questions / Personal Reflection:
1.) What big plans are tempting you to lose sight of the good God would have you do today?
2.) How does God’s promise of heaven to come put all our earthly plans in a new perspective?
3.) Reflect on your own life. How have God’s plans for you compared with your own plans for yourself?
Prayer: Heavenly Father, you are the Lord of all my days. I trust and believe that my today and tomorrow are entirely in your loving, almighty hands. Forgive me for boasting about my big dreams and let me yield my future to your better, blessed plans for me. To you be all glory and praise! Amen.
If You Don’t Have Anything Nice to Say…
August 2, 2024
James 4:11-12 Do not speak against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother is speaking against the law and judging the law. But if you judge the law, you are not one who does the law, but a judge. 12 There is one lawgiver and judge. He is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?[1]
Complete this proverb: "If you don't have anything nice to say then ...don't say it at all!" That's sage advice in keeping with Scripture and especially James' exhortation to believers here. Earlier in Chapter 3 the Apostle had laid down the metaphor that our flapping tongues are like untamable beasts and destructive wildfires. In classic near-eastern fashion James "circles back" on this subject once again, here confronting how we use our words as weapons when we make uncharitable judgements about each other. When it comes to "speaking against each other," we sinners have a wide assortment of wickedly pointed words to wield: gossip, spreading unflattering rumors, sarcasm, questioning people's motives, bald-faced lies, and slander. Of course, we come up with any number of reasons to justify our verbal attacks. We might insist we have the right to retaliate against someone for how their words or actions have hurt us. Perhaps someone's ego is getting a little overinflated so we use our words to "trim them down to size" or "put them in their place." Other times we feign innocence as if our malicious talk is nothing more than harmless chitchat. After all, if we can't talk about others, what else is left to talk about?
But God's law leaves our tongues no wiggle room of any kind! We are not to speak against each other period, and if you're wondering if the words coming out of your mouth qualify as "talking against" another person, ask yourself if you would want the same things said about you. James would have us realize that any time we defame each other we are sinning by ruining our neighbor's reputation and setting ourselves up as unauthorized judges. In an actual courtroom the accused has a chance to defend themselves, but here we are putting their words, actions, and motives on trial in the court of public opinion, without any opportunity for self-defense. We are guilty of "speaking against the law"—as if it is our duty to interpret and apply the law, as if we know what the person should have done right instead. If you've ever been the victim of a smear campaign in your family, school, or workplace, you know not only how much it hurts and the permanent damage it can do to your psyche, your reputation, and your career, but also how impossible it is to combat or do anything to stop it.
All such judging is lawless and evil because there is finally only ONE judge before whom we will each stand, the Lord Jesus Christ. As Paul told the Corinthians, "We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad” (2 Cor. 5:10). In the end God will bring every deed and motive out into the open (1 Cor. 4:5). For all the rumors we’ve passed on and lies we’ve told, for all the times we've self-righteously judged our neighbor's motives, words, and actions, we should cringe and cower at the thought of appearing in the courtroom of judge Jesus, but he is the one who has power both to save and to destroy. He is the Innocent One who shed his blood to pay for our sins and is so authorized to grant full pardon and forgiveness to every penitent sinner. His judgment is the only one that will stand for all eternity, and by grace alone his verdict for all who look to him in faith is, "Innocent!" Because we are declared innocent at Jesus’ cross, we seek the Spirit's help reigning in our tongues so we refrain from condemning our neighbor or speaking against them. We will let Jesus be their judge.
On a side note, moral relativism is quite popular in our society. It is the notion that no one dare judge another's behavior as morally right or wrong. Some even claim support from Jesus when he said, "Do not judge, or you too will be judged;” (Matthew 7:1) James here also says, "Who are you to judge your neighbor?" But neither Jesus nor James are denying objective standards of right and wrong as clearly stated in Scripture. Instead, rather than talk ABOUT what a fellow-believer is doing right or wrong, we should (in line with Matthew 18 (v. 15ff)) talk TO them, privately confronting them with the goal of saving their soul and protecting their reputation.
Questions / Personal Reflection:
1.) We cannot really know anyone's motivations unless they reveal them to us. In his explanation of the 8th Commandment, Martin Luther advises us to "take our neighbor's words and actions in the kindest possible way." What would be some loving, positive, and productive courses of action to take when our neighbor does something we don't agree with or understand?
2.) How can you be salt and light in your family, workplace, or school that changes or challenges a culture of people talking against each other?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, you know me as I really am—my sin, my self-righteousness, and my malicious words. You have every reason to speak against me, but I praise you for your great mercy that instead of speaking for my condemnation you speak words of forgiveness and love over me. Amen.
[1] Taken from the Evangelical Heritage Version (EHV)
Tug of War
July 31, 2024 • James 4:4–10
James 4:4-10 You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think Scripture says without reason that the spirit he caused to live in us envies intensely? 6 But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
Have you ever been caught between two rival friends that can't stand each other, but yet, both want you exclusively for their own? It can feel like you're a rope trapped in a tug of war, having your allegiance and emotions pulled back and forth between one and the other. That is something of the picture that James places before us today with the two opposing sides being the evil world on the one hand and the Lord God on the other. There is no hope and zero chance of these two sides ever making up or getting along. They are mortal enemies. Nor so long as we live and breathe will either of them ever give up and let us go to the other side without a fight.
The evil unspiritual world, ruled by Satan (cf. John 16:11), pulls at us, at our sinful flesh. It tugs at us with temptations and thunders at us with threats. It desires for us to retreat into the darkness and unbelief in which we were born and become enemies of God once again. The Lord, on the other hand has created a new life and a new identity in us by his Spirit, and he draws that new man to the cross and empty tomb of Jesus, who gave his whole self for us so that we are fully forgiven, completely loved, and entirely his own. James says there are no two ways about it. Just like we can't turn in two directions. We cannot have both. To be a friend of the world is to be an enemy of God and vice versa. But between these two, only God has proven that he really cares about us. To the devil and the world we are just pawns to be used, but to the Lord we are his beloved and beautiful bride with whom he longs to be united forever.
Now I’m sure you’ve noticed that this tug of war is an agonizing struggle day by day, and perhaps you wonder how you are ever going to make it without being pulled apart at the seams? What is God's plan? What is his end of the rope anchor to keep us with him? James says it's GRACE. God just loves you and me even though each and every day we stumble towards sin. What a wonder, the Apostle Paul tells us that God's grace is always greater than our sin (cf. Romans 5:20.)! And it's only in that grace—secure, immovable, eternal, and undeserved—that we can be honest and humble, contrite and grieving about our double-mindedness, our delight in impurity, and the times we’ve played friends with the devil. This turning to God in combined confession and trust is what the Bible calls repentance, submitting that we are all dead weight and God is our only help and salvation. Satan cannot tolerate this. He cannot stand before God’s almighty grace, and he must flee. Then the Lord promises to lift us up, scoop us in his arms, and set us safely at his side. Exactly where we want to be. Where we belong. Where we are beloved.
Questions / Personal Reflection:
1.) Identify the situations you face or specific areas in your life where you’re tempted to believe the lie that you can “have it both ways”—both be God’s child and be worldly at the same time. Secure in God’s grace describe what it would look like to be entirely the Lord’s in that scenario. Pray that God would give you his Spirit to make it reality.
2.) James instructs us to both resist the devil and come near to God. Since we come into contact with God and his powerful grace in his Word, what are some practical ways that you can incorporate God’s Word into your regular routine?
Prayer: Holy Spirit, give me a single-minded heart that mourns over my sin and resists the pull to be friendly towards this sinful world. Do not forsake me because of my weakness and many sins. Continue to revive my spirit through your Word of grace whereby you promise to keep me as your own until the struggle with sin ceases and I am only yours forever in heaven. Amen.
Craving Pleasure Causes Conflict
July 24, 2024 • James 4:1–3
James 4:1-3 Where do conflicts and quarrels among you come from? Don’t they come from your cravings for pleasure, which are at war in the parts of your body? 2 You want something but do not get it, so you murder. You desire something but cannot obtain it, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask, and yet do not receive, because you ask wrongly, so that you may spend it on what gives you pleasure.
If you put two kids in a room with only one toy or one piece of candy, what will you get? You’ll get the same result that we saw on the nightly news during the COVID lockdown when otherwise mild-mannered adults got into shouting matches and fistfights over the last remaining rolls of toilet paper or can of baked beans. Why all the ruckus? In a word: hedonism. Hedonism is a philosophy that proposes that the best and most fulfilling life is the one directed towards pleasure. This is the person who says, "If it feels good, do it!" and "Don't let anything or anyone stand in the way of your happiness!" While incredibly self-focused, inherently subjective, and terribly nearsighted, the hedonistic outlook is the driving force behind many people's daily decisions, and it thrives in our materialistic, buy now pay later, instant gratification culture.
But in truth hedonism owes its popularity to the fact that it speaks the same language as our sinful nature. The flesh within each of us contends, "I'm most important! MY desires and MY happiness need to be fulfilled before anyone else's." Evolutionists take this innate drive for self-preservation to its rational brutal conclusion with their mantra of "survival of the fittest." If there's only one loaf of bread left on the store shelf and two people reach for it, it's both expected and morally acceptable for the one who is quickest, strongest, or meanest to take it out the door. So much for compromise and compassion, I guess. But all that evolution has done is normalize and give a gimmicky name to a problem that is as old as humanity. James notes that the unbridled quest to fulfill one's pleasures is the root cause of envy, strife, conflict, and murder, which are present not only in the unbelieving world around but also “warring in the parts of YOUR body”—that is within you and me—his Christian readers.
Clearly God cannot reward a hedonistic mindset among us because it is both sinfully self-serving, and it makes pleasure into one’s idol. For these reasons, we should not be surprised when our pleasure-seeking prayers go unanswered. Otherwise, God would be encouraging rotten motives and promoting our own self-destruction. It would be like a teenager asking a parent for money to spend on drugs or alcohol or wondering if they could borrow the car to go street racing. No parent who loves their child would fork over $20 or hand them the keys! Much less could God, our heavenly Father, who only gives good gifts to his children (cf. James 1:17; Matt. 7:11), ever bring himself to do the same, no matter how we might beg and kick and scream!
In his infinite grace and wisdom, God knows perfectly well when and which of our desires to leave unfulfilled. He does this so that with James here and King Solomon in Ecclesiastes we would discover just how fleeting and empty worldly pleasures are (cf. Eccl. 2:1ff). Thankfully, our Father always has the long-game in mind. He intends for us to find our deepest desire and the fulfillment of our purpose, dreams, and eternal hopes in him alone. As St. Augustine once wrote, “You have made us, O Lord, for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.” In this way God nudges our faith towards the same attitude that was exhibited by Jesus Christ and drove him to be our sinless substitute. The Messiah says in the Psalms, “I desire to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart” (Psalm 40:8). Although he was tempted in every way, just as we are (cf. Heb. 4:15), Jesus was not pulled into sin by the pursuit of earthly pleasures because he knew the joy and fullness that was awaiting him in heaven. We too have eternal joys being prepared by Jesus for us, so we can put our current cravings on ice and make our Father’s will our life’s purpose and purest pleasure.
For Personal Reflection:
1.) The next time you get into an argument or sense a conflict coming on, pause to examine your own underlying motives. Is it simply another instance of wanting what you want for yourself? Confess it to the Lord, and apologize to your adversary. Then strive together for God’s will and your neighbor’s good.
2.) Take note of what pleasures you do you find particularly enticing and difficult to resist and go to God acknowledging the pull they have on you. Seek his strength and the companionship of other caring Christians in this fight.
Prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, you refused every worldly pleasure that could lure you from fulfilling your mission to live a selfless, God-centered life to save me. Forgive my envy, anger, and fights that arise from the vain pursuit of pleasure embedded within my sinful flesh. Keep my eyes fixed on the heaven you have won so that doing your Father’s will is always my heart’s delight. Amen.
Comparing Godly Wisdom to Worldly Wisdom
July 17, 2024 • James 3:13–18
James 3:13-18 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. 14 But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. 15 Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. 16 For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. 17 But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. 18 Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.
How might you identify a wise person? Are they someone who has great intelligence and is on the cutting edge of their field? Someone who can solve difficult problems? Someone who is well-versed, traveled, well-rounded in the things of the world? We might include all of these in a definition of wisdom, but when James kicks off this section wondering about wisdom we need remember that from a Biblical point of view true wisdom always begins with and is founded on "the fear of the Lord" (Prov. 1:7). In other words, godly wisdom is primarily spiritual and moral in nature and only secondarily a matter of intellect. It begins with faith, respect, knowledge, and obedience towards God and then branches out into all different areas, applications, and fields of study in which wisdom is demanded. This means that the first glimpse of wisdom you'll find in a person is not in their spouting off how much they know, but rather in how they live their life. Theirs is a life directed towards the Lord as evidenced by goodness and humility.
What a marked contrast this is from the way the world and our own sinful flesh look at wisdom! These say that one's wisdom and intelligence are their own personal possession to be used for self-advancement. Why do most people get degrees?--very often so they can move up the pay scale and climb the ladder of authority. As Solomon says in Ecclesiastes, "I saw that all labor and all achievement spring from man’s envy of his neighbor. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind" (4:4). Likewise, James has no praise for this "one-up" brand of self-seeking wisdom that is aimed entirely at earthly matters, calling it "earthly, unspiritual, and demonic."
But we Christians should not be so naïve as to think that we do not or cannot fall into the same foolish traps because we do! Every time we boast about ourselves and how great we are and what we have accomplished, we reveal what we are really looking for: praise from people and being a notch above the rest. And if we do not confess our envy and oust our ambition, it will rot our souls and eat away at any organization, and especially the church, from within. As with all our sins, the only remedy for envy and ambition is the grace and forgiveness of God in Christ that “resets” our worldview and brings us back to zero where we realize that God is greatest and everything we are is a gift to be used in his service and for the benefit of our neighbor, what James describes as "sowing in peace."
When such is our spiritual foundation and motivation we have accessed "the wisdom that comes from above" into which is incorporated godly qualities of every kind: purity, serenity, a supple willingness to bend towards others’ points of view, mercy, impartiality, and sincerity. The goal of heavenly wisdom and the truly wise person is not self or fame or money or power or even knowledge for knowledge's sake, but everything is aimed at promoting the righteousness of God made known and sins forgiven in ourselves and the world around. THAT is true wisdom!
Reflection Questions:
1.) Think of the smartest person you know. If they lack faith in Jesus and acknowledgement of God, how can it be said they are still lacking real wisdom?
2.) Personally reflect on your own pursuits. What are your goals and your measures of "success"? How might you bend your drive for advancement towards the Lord, righteousness, and peace?
Prayer: Lord God, we praise and thank you that in your mercy you have made us wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. However you have gifted us, keep us humble in heart so that we may always strive to maximize our abilities with the goal of righteousness and peace. Amen.
Danger! Wild Animal!
July 12, 2024 • James 3:1–12
James 3:1-12 Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. 2 We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check. 3 When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. 4 Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. 5 Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. 6 The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. 7 All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, 8 but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. 10 Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. 11 Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? 12 My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.
If you've ever been to a national park, you'll inevitably notice that there are signs everywhere warning you not to feed and to keep your distance from wild animals. Very likely the visitor’s center will have several videos on loop showing people being attacked or tossed in the air like ragdolls for not heeding these instructions. Likewise, wild animal trainers at the circus or zoo need always respect their unpredictable nature. Such beasts may be well-conditioned and well-trained, but you cannot count on them being perpetually tamed. For the animal's instincts can kick in in an instant, sometimes with deadly consequences. In these verses James says our mouths should likewise come posted with a warning label: "Danger! Wild animal!"
To be sure, the muscle of our tongues is on the smaller side among those in the human body, but it is the most difficult, even impossible, to control. In fact, James postulates that if one would be able to keep their tongue in check and not be at fault in anything they said, they would also be a perfect person. But with the exception of our Lord Jesus, no such person exists. Not a day goes by when our mouths don't get us into trouble and let others down. The words are already out there boasting, bashing, lying, cursing. We wish we could take them back, but it's too late. We know the words we say are so important. They can determine the course of our lives and relationships and reputation, but while we all know there's so much on the line, riding on what we say, we still can't reign in our mouths and bring them under control. Our mouths are a raging wild animal that poisons like a viper and can consume lives and livelihoods as certainly as a forest fire!
But why do we struggle so mightily and fail daily to keep these muscles under wraps? It's because our sinful flesh, our sinful hearts, from which our tongues often speak is itself set on fire by hell. We snarl at one another with slander and put-downs because the sinful nature in you and me is and ever remains an untamable beast. Jesus once put it this way, " The things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man ‘unclean.’ For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander” (Matt. 15:18-19). So our tongue problem is only a symptom of our deeper heart problem.
Our society encourages us to shoot off our mouths and speak our minds without restraint, but as children of God, whose whole selves have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus, we do not get to say whatever we want. More than anyone else we should realize how important words are. Through the Word God made in the heavens and the earth. It's words with which we praise our God and proclaim the good news of Christ. God wants us to repent of our wild words and realize that what we say matters for ourselves and for all those we hope to witness to. After all, if we don't use our words with love and truth and restraint and respect, how can the world around us trust that we are speaking to them straight about the gospel? It would be as incongruent as a thorn bush bearing apples, or fresh water bubbling up from a salty spring!
Praise God that we have a Savior who always and only used his tongue to heal and build up and speak the truth and proclaim the good news of God's salvation to all! Through faith in Jesus God gives us his perfect mouth and his holy heart. By baptism he puts a new spirit inside of us that is calm, controlled, and peace-loving. Granted, that does not permanently slay or tame the wild animal of our tongues, but it does strive to drive them back into their cage, freeing up our mouths to be God’s instruments of good.
Reflection Questions:
1.) When we've realized that our tongues (or instant messages) have trapped us or lashed out, the best way forward is not silence, but in repentance to use that same mouth to confess our sin and ask for forgiveness.
2.) How can you use your words for God's glory and your neighbor's good today?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, I confess to you that too often my tongue is untamed and out of tune with your love and truth. Forgive me according to your words of promise. Cleanse my mouth by your Spirit so that it may be an instrument of your praise and glory today. Amen.
Faith and Works Go Hand-in-Hand
July 10, 2024 • James 2:20–26
James 2:20-26 You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? 21 Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23 And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. 24 You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone. 25 In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? 26 As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.
There are some things that naturally go hand-in-hand with each other, where you can’t have one without the other: fire and heat, smiles and laughter, teenagers and flat-screens. Here James adds one more inseparable pair to the list: faith and works. But the order here is essential—faith comes before works, or put another way works flow from faith. Faith without good deeds is an oxymoron—it doesn’t exist. As before, James gives us some Scriptural evidence that his premise is true that of two well-known Biblical characters, who at first glance couldn’t have been more different: Abraham and Rahab.
First, a quick synopsis of Abraham’s life as recorded in the book of Genesis. The Lord told Abraham to leave his family and homeland in Babylonia and move to Canaan. He promised to be with him, to bless him, make him into a great nation, and be the ancestor of the Savior through whom all nations would be blessed. Abraham believed God and went with his wife, Sarah, and nephew, Lot, and all he had, but when he arrived in Canaan, he found that the land was packed with people and cities—so much for any thoughts of settling the wide-open west. Furthermore, Abraham and Sarah had a serious problem: Sarah was barren, and they were already 75 years old when they left for Canaan. As the years ticked away, you can understand that Abraham became anxious and wondered when and how this “great nation” promise would ever come about, but God appeared to him one night and told him to go outside and count the stars. So would Abraham’s offspring be. And then comes one of the impost important verses of the entire Old Testament: “Abra[ham] believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness” (15:6). With that simple phrase God declared that all of Abraham’s many good works didn’t make him holy in God’s sight, rather his faith and trust in God counted as righteousness before God.
Finally after 25 years of waiting, God miraculously allowed Sarah to conceive a son named Isaac, but then God did something strange, unheard of: he asked Abraham to sacrifice his only son. This was a test to prove to Abraham that he really loved the LORD above all things, even more than his one and only son. Abraham did just as God commanded. He took Isaac to the mountain God requested, built an altar, tied up his son, took out the knife and was set on sacrificing him, but before he could bring down the blade, the Angel of the LORD intervened and provided a ram in substitution of Isaac. Then God repeated the same promises he had made back in Babylonia decades earlier, and concluded that he would do all this, “Because you have obeyed me” (Gen. 22:18). Now we know that God does not change his mind, nor does he suddenly make his gracious promises conditional upon our obedience for their fulfillment (Num. 23:19). So why include the last phrase? James says it was to show Abraham and us that justifying faith, by which we sinners are declared righteous before God, is always accompanied by action. While it is faith that saves, faith must go hand-in-hand with godly actions. In this way the unseen faith of the heart inside is brought to completion—made real and visible on the outside.
The Biblical account of Rahab proves the same. Rahab was a prostitute in the city of Jericho as the invading Israelites under the command of Joshua were encamped on the opposite side of the Jordan River. Joshua sent two spies to get intel on Jericho and while they were there the king got word and tried to catch them, but they took refuge in Rahab’s house. She hid them safely on her roof and told the soldiers that the spies had already left. Naturally we wonder why she would so risk her life. She tells us why: it was because she was convinced that Israel’s God was the LORD of heaven and earth, who would give them this land, and although she was an enemy, she sought protection under his mighty wings. Despite her disreputable past, Rahab was spared and incorporated into the nation of Israel and ultimately included in the line of the Savior. Rahab’s fledgling faith in this foreign God instantly sprang into action for the sake of these Israelites, who were now her fellow-believers.
Abraham’s life. Rahab’s life. Your life and mine ought to be living testimonies that faith and good deeds go hand-in-hand. So much so that just like you can’t have a living body without a soul, so too you can’t have a living faith without godly works.
Reflection Questions:
1.) What do you find personally relatable or encouraging about the examples of Abraham and Rahab?
2.) Take five minutes to list some of the things that faith in your heart prompts you to do that you wouldn’t do otherwise—not as a self-righteous pat on the back, but as evidence for yourself that faith in Jesus really does change how you live.
Prayer: Lord God, thank you for declaring me righteous in your sight by faith in your crucified and risen Son, Jesus. Now put my sinful flesh to death in me and lift my spirit to new life that my faith and confession of you may go hand-in-hand with my deeds of love. I ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Is Your Faith Alive?
July 3, 2024 • James 2:14–19
James 2:14-19 What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? 15 Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. 18 But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. 19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
Imagine you find a ball of fur. How do you know if it’s alive? A kindergartner might say, “You poke it with a stick.” That’s not a bad rule of thumb. If you poke the fur, and it moves or makes a noise all on its own, you know there’s life there, however small or weak it may be. How do you know if faith in Jesus is alive in someone’s heart? While you can’t poke faith with a stick, James says you can see if it moves, if the new spirit within causes new movements on the outside. Simply put, does my faith demonstrate its presence by redirecting what I say and do towards the object of my faith: Jesus Christ, his grace and glory, and his will for my life?
God's goal is to keep his people in humble, living faith. That means fighting against pride and self-righteousness in one direction and licentiousness—using God’s grace as an excuse to live however I want—in the other. In his letters the Apostle Paul is often fighting against the former, anyone who would say that our good works are either necessary for or contribute to our being saved. Over and over again Paul says we are saved by faith in Christ's sacrifice and merits alone. In this letter James is fighting for the truth in the opposite direction, against those who would say, “I believe in Jesus and my sins are forgiven, and therefore I can live however I please and however is most convenient for me!” In other words, they claim faith in their hearts but have no deeds of love and obedience to show for it. This is the person who nominally claims to be a Christian but whose Christianity has no effect whatsoever on their thoughts, actions, and daily decisions. It doesn't affect where they go, what words they say, how they spend their money, or how they treat people. These are Christian in name only. Theirs is a faith that may possess much knowledge of God and his Word but does not put that knowledge into practice. James grants that even the devil and his demons have encyclopedic knowledge of Scripture, but they rage against God and do the exact opposite of what he decrees. They now cringe beneath his wrath.
Again, James supplies us with a practical example of the matter at hand: suppose you come upon a fellow Christian who is naked and has no food. How should faith respond in that situation? One could save face and maintain a degree of dignity in the eyes of the world by saying, "I'll pray for you! I hope that God gives you clothes and food! God bless you!" But if you refuse to care for their immediate physical needs, what good is it? As the Apostle John says in his First Letter how can the love of God be in that person’s heart (1 John 3:17)? Their words may be warm, but their actions show that their faith is stone-cold dead!
There's no way around it, living faith shows itself in what we do. After all “even a child is known by [their] actions” (Prov. 20:11), and Jesus says, "By their fruits you will recognize them” (Matt. 7:16). To be sure, the degree of sanctification in your life and mine is different, and it fluctuates from day to day, up and down as we struggle against sin in ourselves and in the world. Often our lives can look as much a sin-twisted mess as the next person’s, but were an impartial person to observe the video footage of our lives, there should be undeniable visible evidence that our faith in Jesus determines what we do, because faith works.
For Personal Reflection:
1.) Rejoice as you struggle to do what is right—it is a sign your faith is alive!
2.) Reflect on your daily decision-making process. Consider how should faith in Christ govern and show itself in your family and friend relationships and your encounters with strangers; in how you spend your money, in your choices of entertainment?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, you lived your whole life for me, intent on earning my salvation. Now help me to live each day in thanks and faith in you. By your Spirit and your Word empower and direct me in every situation to speak and act in line with your holy will to your glory alone. Amen.
Favoritism Is a Senseless Sin
June 28, 2024 • James 2:1–13
James 2:1-13 My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don’t show favoritism. 2 Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. 3 If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” 4 have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? 5 Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? 6 But you have insulted the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? 7 Are they not the ones who are slandering the noble name of him to whom you belong? 8 If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right. 9 But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. 11 For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker. 12 Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, 13 because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!
Like Mary Poppins in The Sound of Music, we all light up when it comes to our "favorite things"--whether it's a sports team, a vacation destination, or a pair of shoes. And so long as we receive them with grateful hearts and don't get too attached to them, it's fine to have favorite things, but today James warns us that once we start playing favorites with people, we have crossed the line into sin. Note that in this context James is not talking about having best friends, whom you are more naturally drawn to, he's talking about favoritism based solely on outward appearances. In the Greek language “favoritism” literally means, "to receive someone's face."
James proposes a not-so-hypothetical situation: a rich man and a poor man come into worship, but how we react is no joke. It demonstrates our faith in Jesus Christ. Should we fawn over the rich man and make a big to do because of their fancy attire, we have judged them as more important and more worthy of our love and respect than the poor man.
But why do we have such varied responses to the outside of a person? James says such behavior is evidence of evil judgements. The sad truth is we show spur of the moment favoritism because we are hoping to gain something by it--either materially or by means of association, immediately or in the future. All such motives are selfish and evil. That's strike one against favoritism.
But it doesn't make sense for believers to show favoritism for additional reasons. First of all, God in his grace very often shows his mercy to the poor and needy by including them in his kingdom (cf. 1 Cor. 1:26ff). Not many of us were rich, wise, powerful, or of noble birth, but God called us! Most of us are the nobodies and the outcasts of this world, so why would we show extra attention to the rich? And generally speaking, who are the ones who oppose God, his will, and his people by means of persecution and lawsuits? It's most typically the rich and the powerful, who refuse to recognize his rule and humble themselves before the Lord. Strike two against favoring the affluent.
Lastly, James asks us to put ourselves in the poor man's sandals. The law says we are to love our neighbor as ourselves. How would you like it if you entered in God's house and all someone did was judge you based on the clothes you happened to be wearing that day? You might wonder, “How can these people profess to love the God, who loves everybody, if they can't bear to treat me with love and respect?” Favoritism based on appearances breaks the cardinal rule of love, and while the world may have no problems with buttering up the rich, God's Word condemns this practice as lovelessness and sin.
As we learned in our previous devotion, we are those who have been set free from sin by the sacrifice of Jesus, and God is looking for us to live in accordance with the new life of freedom he has won, where we use our freedom to share the same mercy he has shown us. If we can’t show mercy to the poor, whom God loves, how can we expect that God would show us mercy? That's three strikes and more against favoritism.
May God give us a spirit of self-awareness that senses when favoritism is rising up in us and then give us the grace to show equal mercy and kindness to all because no matter what one’s outward appearance and circumstances may be, we are all equally valuable to Jesus Christ!
For Personal Reflection:
1.) Favoritism appeals to our sinful flesh and what we hope to GET for ourselves. How can faith replace that drive to GET with the desire to GIVE? What do we have to give to the people in our lives?
2.) Give evidence of Jesus refraining from showing favoritism in his ministry.
3.) How has God personally shown you his grace and undeserved favor?
Prayer: Lord God, forgive me for how easily I judge people by appearances and show special favor and attention to those I imagine can help me or boost my status. Thank you for your mercy and grace towards a poor sinner like me! Amen.
Humbly Accept the Word and Do What It Says
June 26, 2024 • James 1:19–27
James 1:19-27 My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20 for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. 21 Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. 22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does. 26 If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. 27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
Did your mother tell you like my mother told me that God gave us two ears and only one mouth for a reason? That's generally wise advice that falls in line with James' prompting that we Christians "should be quick to listen and slow to speak and slow to become angry." In the course of conversation the first thoughts that jump into our minds are rarely the best ones. Usually these are the most selfish, uncharitable, reactive, pointed, and angry. A cursory look at our politics, news programs, and university campuses shows that for many engaging in civil discourse is a thing of the past. Now the norm is never back down and shout out your opponent. In truth we've all been conditioned to sift through each other's words and writing, scanning for the smallest offense and the moment we think we've found it, we give ourselves the green light to launch into a self-righteous tirade on how our personal honor has been assaulted. But this reaction is not something new nor do we need to be taught it because it plays right into our selfish sinful nature that makes this life all about me and my search for inventive ways to cut everyone else down to size. With such filth God is not pleased.
But how do we redirect, recondition, and re-educate ourselves? We are told to repent of our impulsive me-first garbage and "humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you." God's Word has grace to cool our anger; it has insight that points us beyond ourselves to the good of others; the Scriptures alone contain the message of redemption, which saves us all. So as you and I come into contact with each other's words each day, let's take the time to listen and process the audio through the filter of faith and flavor our response with the language of God's Word.
But this same Word must not only be humbly heard, but also genuinely done because faith works. Should anyone think that being a Christian means only hearing God's Word in Sunday worship, in Bible study, on Christian radio, they are sorely mistaken and deceiving themselves. Like a person looking in a mirror and forgetting what they looked like, they have forgotten their true identity as believers in Christ. Jesus himself once said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31-32).
We all need to heed this rebuke because it's human nature to hear what God says and let it go in one ear and out the other, to prefer what we think is best and easiest for ourselves. We've been told that real freedom is doing whatever we want, but when we stubbornly refuse to yield our selfish ways that is actually the most horrible kind of slavery. The slavery of sin. But Christ died to take away our sins and free us from living for ourselves. He has liberated us to live for him who loves us and find joy in following his commands. In that regard the law of God gives us freedom of spirit and action. It simultaneously exposes the empty lies of the devil, world, and our flesh and guides believers on the path of goodness and godliness. This is the way to eternal blessing!
Thus, real religion is not only a matter of our ears hearing and minds thinking. It must include the whole self, controlling our mouths to speak timely and appropriate words and giving of ourselves to aid the destitute and the helpless. Such living faith that puts God’s Word into practice pleases our heavenly Father.
Reflection Questions:
1.) With our sin-broken selves in a sin-broken world it is inevitable that anger will rise up in us every day. How can meditating on God's Word in those moments help us cool down and slow up our responses?
2.) What are some practical ways that you can "stretch" the Word you hear in Sunday worship into the rest of your week so that it is on the forefront of your thoughts to do what it says?
Prayer: Dear Father above, for Jesus' sake forgive me for my impatience and self-centeredness, for the times when my anger bursts out in rash and hurtful words. Help me to focus my heart, my mouth, and my actions on your saving Word, for there I am reminded of who I truly am. In your grace and good commands I am free. Amen.
