The first thing to say is that your motives will be mixed. Those of us who have been brought forth by the word of truth still wrestle with sin and selfishness. That’s why we have to put aside filthiness and wickedness and continue to humbly receive the implanted word that saves our souls. There’s a fight in your soul between the firstfruits of God’s new world, and the remnants of the old world. So mixed motives are simply going to be a part of our lives in our pilgrim condition. And we can’t let mixed and impure motives paralyze us.
Mercy Triumphs Over Judgment
James 2:1-13
April 2, 2017 • Joe Rigney
More from
James
Prayer
May 28, 2017 • Jonathan Parnell
At the broadest, most basic level, prayer is when we humans talk to God (which is not complicated). When we speak or communicate to God, we’re praying. That’s the basic definition. But what James does here is show us that we’re all coming from somewhere, and therefore we’re all praying from somewhere, which means that prayer isn’t just talking to God, but it’s talking to God from within our earthbound realities.
The Coming of Christ Is Near
May 21, 2017 • David Mathis
And when we say “until he comes,” we mean his coming is near. We are living in the last days. The Judge is standing at the door. The Lord of heaven’s armies “is near, at the very gates” (Matthew 24:33). As we eat this bread together and drink this cup together, we say, “God, make us the kind of people who live in light of the nearness of your Son’s return. Strengthen our hearts and make us patient in suffering. Keep us from complaining against each other. And Father, cause us to go deeper with you, as we taste more of your compassion and mercy toward us.
Our Problem with Tomorrow
May 14, 2017 • David Easterwood
James says, “Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit…’” This way of talking is problematic for James, but it is not ultimately the problem. This way of talking is more like a symptom of the real problem. He explains the real problem further down in verse 16. James calls this kind of talk about tomorrow boasting and he says that this boasting is evil because it is rooted in arrogance and that’s the real problem.