Words often lose their relation to truth I think. They are like institutions in this respect; for institutions, given at first for the purpose of expressing life, often end by throttling that very life, and so must be constantly readjusted and perpetually realigned to their original purposes.
In like manner, our words often throttle the life they are intended to express and hence need constant reconversion and readjustment.
This is particularly true of religious words. They become sacrosanct, but all out of touch with reality. An overhaul of the vocabulary is required I think... with relentless inquiry to see what words we're using out of which the content has dropped.
Its important for the younger generation... because they have a strong sense of reality-- they can sniff unreality from afar. The young people usually give the speaker the first five minutes to prove he has truth. If they hear only words.. they'll disconnect.
We need to re-clothe the eternal truths of the Gospel in the language that each age can understand. But even that won't do, if the re-clothing is just adopting the words of the new age. The words must have content, life, truth to them, or they will say nothing of significance.
Language is a symbol, and has to be change constantly to fit the facts. The symbols are not the facts themselves. A map is not the territory it represents--a map has to be changed regularly to bring it nearer to facts. Maps of the air, used by aviators, have to be changed every few minutes, or they become dangerous.
Vocabularies that are not being constantly changed to incorporate the truths of the Bible become dangerous.
But we dislike change... especially when it comes to words!
I fear the Church is committing suicide....
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Sinning Against the Will of God (James 4:13-17)
How much should Christians involve God in the "secular" areas of their lives? Does it make any difference how we make a living and plan our lives as long as we are honest? What about the man who is in business? Is God really interested in and concerned about his business associates, his operations, and his policies? If the hairs of our head are all numbered--and they are--then surely God is interested in the minutest details of our life.
Whatever we do, we are enjoined to "do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men" (Colossians 3:23). The words of Solomon forbid restricting God to the "spiritual" aspect of life: "In all they ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths" (Proverbs 3:6).
Evidently the Christian merchants to whom James refers planned their lives as though God did not exist. They carefully arranged their plans so as to make the most money in the shortest time (James 4:13).
James does not condemn making plans or making money. In themselves these activities are not evil. But planning without-thought for God's will is a refusal to recognize His providence over all thing sand our accountability to Him in all things.
God is not running the world by chance. He is fulfilling a perfect plan, arranged before the foundation of the world, and He wants His people to own His sovereignty and order their lives so as to please and honor Him in everything.
The businessman is not the only person guilty of excluding God from his affairs. The common laborer can be just as guilty. No Christian is exempt from this danger. We make all our plans and then ask God to bless them. Would it not be wiser to seek His guidance earlier? Are we depending upon how wisely we manipulate our circumstances?
Life is uncertain, and it is the height of presumption and pride to live as thought the future belonged to us and as if we could control our destiny at will. It's foolish to plan without God because man is ignorant of what even one day may bring forth.
The best of plans can go awry. Life is like a wisp of clouds (vs. 14). The period of its duration here on earth is very short. In the light of eternity, man's life is like a "handbreadth" (Psalm 39:5). It's "swifter than a weavers shuttle" (Job 7:6). "A thousand years...are but as yesterday when it's past, and as a watch in the night" (Psalm 90:4).
Since human life is both brief and uncertain, we should live in constant recognition of the superintending sovereignty of God. "If the Lord will." That's what James tells believers they should say before making their plans definite (James 4:15).
The expression is not a magic charm or a frivolous platitude. It suggests we submit our wills to His will and comply with His direction and love it even thought it runs contrary to our projects and plans.
Paul did not hesitate to make definite plans for his missionary travels. Nevertheless, his plans were always subject to change by divine intervention. What he proposed he proposed in the will of God. Whether by life or by death, he intended to glorify God.
Whether he remained in prison or visited Philemon rested in the will of God. Whether he preached to the saints at Rome or ventured to a pioneer field in Spain, he determined to know God's will and do it. Combined Paul's plans were his own responsibility and God's sovereign appointments. He was an apostle by the will of God (1 Cor. 1:1).
He knew what was good and acceptable and the perfect will of God (Romans 12:2). He experienced the gracious operations of the Holy Spirit working in him to enable him to choose the will of God and fulfill it (Philippians 2:13).
The people to whom James wrote were guilty on two counts: They did not consider God in their plans, and they rejoiced in their own boastings.
They were proud of their pride (James 4:16). That is almost as bad as being proud of humility. James does not mean to call all rejoicing evil. He wants us to understand this kind of rejoicing is evil. It is useless and worthless. It's a sad commentary on human nature we all have the propensity of taking delight in what is wicked. Paul calls it glorying in shame (Philippians 3:19). What we ought to be ashamed of we boast about.
The Corinthians went so far as to boast in their sinful attitudes toward incest. When they should have been mourning, they were making merry.
James 4:17 could really stand as a concluding summary to the entire book of James. In a special way it summarizes vs. 11-16. James evidently anticipates some Christians will excuse themselves on the ground they have never committed these grave sins against believers, and so he reminds them that failing to do what they know is right is as bad as practicing what they know is wrong.
They must learn that doing nothing will not exonerate them. We can live as if God didn't exist by leaving undone what ought to be done as well as by doing what should have been left undone. With this exhortation James takes us right back where we started--the place of doing and working and living what we say we believe.
Failure to do so in nonconformity to the character and will of God, and all such omissions, through either ignorance or neglect or defiance, are sins against the Word of God and the Spirit of God.
Whatever we do, we are enjoined to "do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men" (Colossians 3:23). The words of Solomon forbid restricting God to the "spiritual" aspect of life: "In all they ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths" (Proverbs 3:6).
Evidently the Christian merchants to whom James refers planned their lives as though God did not exist. They carefully arranged their plans so as to make the most money in the shortest time (James 4:13).
James does not condemn making plans or making money. In themselves these activities are not evil. But planning without-thought for God's will is a refusal to recognize His providence over all thing sand our accountability to Him in all things.
God is not running the world by chance. He is fulfilling a perfect plan, arranged before the foundation of the world, and He wants His people to own His sovereignty and order their lives so as to please and honor Him in everything.
The businessman is not the only person guilty of excluding God from his affairs. The common laborer can be just as guilty. No Christian is exempt from this danger. We make all our plans and then ask God to bless them. Would it not be wiser to seek His guidance earlier? Are we depending upon how wisely we manipulate our circumstances?
Life is uncertain, and it is the height of presumption and pride to live as thought the future belonged to us and as if we could control our destiny at will. It's foolish to plan without God because man is ignorant of what even one day may bring forth.
The best of plans can go awry. Life is like a wisp of clouds (vs. 14). The period of its duration here on earth is very short. In the light of eternity, man's life is like a "handbreadth" (Psalm 39:5). It's "swifter than a weavers shuttle" (Job 7:6). "A thousand years...are but as yesterday when it's past, and as a watch in the night" (Psalm 90:4).
Since human life is both brief and uncertain, we should live in constant recognition of the superintending sovereignty of God. "If the Lord will." That's what James tells believers they should say before making their plans definite (James 4:15).
The expression is not a magic charm or a frivolous platitude. It suggests we submit our wills to His will and comply with His direction and love it even thought it runs contrary to our projects and plans.
Paul did not hesitate to make definite plans for his missionary travels. Nevertheless, his plans were always subject to change by divine intervention. What he proposed he proposed in the will of God. Whether by life or by death, he intended to glorify God.
Whether he remained in prison or visited Philemon rested in the will of God. Whether he preached to the saints at Rome or ventured to a pioneer field in Spain, he determined to know God's will and do it. Combined Paul's plans were his own responsibility and God's sovereign appointments. He was an apostle by the will of God (1 Cor. 1:1).
He knew what was good and acceptable and the perfect will of God (Romans 12:2). He experienced the gracious operations of the Holy Spirit working in him to enable him to choose the will of God and fulfill it (Philippians 2:13).
The people to whom James wrote were guilty on two counts: They did not consider God in their plans, and they rejoiced in their own boastings.
They were proud of their pride (James 4:16). That is almost as bad as being proud of humility. James does not mean to call all rejoicing evil. He wants us to understand this kind of rejoicing is evil. It is useless and worthless. It's a sad commentary on human nature we all have the propensity of taking delight in what is wicked. Paul calls it glorying in shame (Philippians 3:19). What we ought to be ashamed of we boast about.
The Corinthians went so far as to boast in their sinful attitudes toward incest. When they should have been mourning, they were making merry.
James 4:17 could really stand as a concluding summary to the entire book of James. In a special way it summarizes vs. 11-16. James evidently anticipates some Christians will excuse themselves on the ground they have never committed these grave sins against believers, and so he reminds them that failing to do what they know is right is as bad as practicing what they know is wrong.
They must learn that doing nothing will not exonerate them. We can live as if God didn't exist by leaving undone what ought to be done as well as by doing what should have been left undone. With this exhortation James takes us right back where we started--the place of doing and working and living what we say we believe.
Failure to do so in nonconformity to the character and will of God, and all such omissions, through either ignorance or neglect or defiance, are sins against the Word of God and the Spirit of God.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Sinning Against the Word of God (James 4: 11,12)
In a most helpful book entitled "The Christian in Business", John E. Mitchell, Jr., raises thought-provoking questions. Does God really belong in a man's business life? Should He be consulted regarding present and future plans?
Mr. Mitchell's answer is true to the Word:
"To say 'No' to these questions is to relegate God to a place of no importance in that very area of man's life where he spends most of his waking hours--at the store, the factory, the office, wherever he earns his living. To say 'No' is to deny the Lord the preeminent place in our lives...which He demands and, instead, to put Him on the shelf as the heathen does with his gods of wood and stone to be taken down only in an emergency. A Sunday God is no God at all."
One way to sin against the Word is to neglect it. Another way is to deny its divine authority. But there is still another method--to speak evil of a Christian brother or sister (James 4:11).
This sin is not as open and obvious as other offenses against the Word. Cloaked with subtlety, it doesn't appear to many Christian in its true light. Nevertheless, whenever a believer "speaks evil" of the brethren, he is sinning against the law of God.
God's Word is His law. The laws of God concerning relationships between members of the family of God are manifold. Scripture exhorts each believer "to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace" (Ephesians 4:3). How can this spiritual unity be maintained when Christians are backbiting and slandering each other?
The Scripture commands believers to love one another. The Bible talks about the law of love because love is really the fulfillment of the law which regulates interrelationships in the household of faith. Censuring and downgrading each other is an infraction against the principle of Christian love, and Paul warns those who indulge in faultfinding, tale-bearing, and abusive talk to "take heed that ye be not consumed one of another" (Galatians 5:15).
No one is naive enough to believe we love people whom we are always castigating.
To judge a person means to form an authoritative and critical opinion about him. It implies we have full information about all the facts of the case, we have the discriminative powers to analyze correctly all the evidence, and we can come to an impartial and just decision--even so far as to determine the motives of the heart.
Since no human being knows perfectly all the extenuating circumstances that have shaped another man's course, no one can pass a final and authoritative judgment of him except the God to whom he must give account (James 4:12).
The Lord Jesus Christ has much to say about the prevalent sin of judging. He accused the people who indulge in the is vice of failing to see the huge bean in their own eye while they see the smallest splinter in their brothers eye. Such hypocrites, He said, are to correct their own errors before they are qualified to criticize others.
Critics label people as un-spiritual who do this or that or have this weakness or that; and although this may be true, the same critics tend to overlook the fact a vicious tongue and a censorious spirit are equally condemned by God.
To criticize and insult other Christians is to elevate self above others. Because we feel superior to someone, we seek to depreciate that person. By pointing to someone else's faults, we distract attention from our own. Calling attention to someone else's faults is often an attempt to cover up our own shortcomings. The comprehensive term for all of these evils is pride.
Think of the harm that has been done by the kind of pride which elevates self by discounting and scandalizing others. It splits churches, ruins the testimony of pastors and drives them from Christian service, and irreparably damages young believers.
I myself have struggled with this time and time again. I would make excuses for talking about people... "Please pray about this.. and in order to pray correctly.. here are the details of the situation"... I've heard others says... "I need to know the details of this weakness in order to give you proper counsel"... ect.
In my experience I've found this is often a cover up in order to get information to broadcast the faults of the saints. With that the polite whispers and innuendos commence. Soon they snowball into slander and libel. The sassy sounding retort which children often give to each is not bad advice for adults: "Mind your own business!"
Speaking evil against other believers is a sin against the members of the church body, against the law of love, and against God Himself, for He is the author of this principle of love.
Although it is not often viewed as such, the sin about which James writes is a form of worldliness because it partakes of the worldy character of conceit and fails to submit to the authority of God's Word.
Mr. Mitchell's answer is true to the Word:
"To say 'No' to these questions is to relegate God to a place of no importance in that very area of man's life where he spends most of his waking hours--at the store, the factory, the office, wherever he earns his living. To say 'No' is to deny the Lord the preeminent place in our lives...which He demands and, instead, to put Him on the shelf as the heathen does with his gods of wood and stone to be taken down only in an emergency. A Sunday God is no God at all."
One way to sin against the Word is to neglect it. Another way is to deny its divine authority. But there is still another method--to speak evil of a Christian brother or sister (James 4:11).
This sin is not as open and obvious as other offenses against the Word. Cloaked with subtlety, it doesn't appear to many Christian in its true light. Nevertheless, whenever a believer "speaks evil" of the brethren, he is sinning against the law of God.
God's Word is His law. The laws of God concerning relationships between members of the family of God are manifold. Scripture exhorts each believer "to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace" (Ephesians 4:3). How can this spiritual unity be maintained when Christians are backbiting and slandering each other?
The Scripture commands believers to love one another. The Bible talks about the law of love because love is really the fulfillment of the law which regulates interrelationships in the household of faith. Censuring and downgrading each other is an infraction against the principle of Christian love, and Paul warns those who indulge in faultfinding, tale-bearing, and abusive talk to "take heed that ye be not consumed one of another" (Galatians 5:15).
No one is naive enough to believe we love people whom we are always castigating.
To judge a person means to form an authoritative and critical opinion about him. It implies we have full information about all the facts of the case, we have the discriminative powers to analyze correctly all the evidence, and we can come to an impartial and just decision--even so far as to determine the motives of the heart.
Since no human being knows perfectly all the extenuating circumstances that have shaped another man's course, no one can pass a final and authoritative judgment of him except the God to whom he must give account (James 4:12).
The Lord Jesus Christ has much to say about the prevalent sin of judging. He accused the people who indulge in the is vice of failing to see the huge bean in their own eye while they see the smallest splinter in their brothers eye. Such hypocrites, He said, are to correct their own errors before they are qualified to criticize others.
Critics label people as un-spiritual who do this or that or have this weakness or that; and although this may be true, the same critics tend to overlook the fact a vicious tongue and a censorious spirit are equally condemned by God.
To criticize and insult other Christians is to elevate self above others. Because we feel superior to someone, we seek to depreciate that person. By pointing to someone else's faults, we distract attention from our own. Calling attention to someone else's faults is often an attempt to cover up our own shortcomings. The comprehensive term for all of these evils is pride.
Think of the harm that has been done by the kind of pride which elevates self by discounting and scandalizing others. It splits churches, ruins the testimony of pastors and drives them from Christian service, and irreparably damages young believers.
I myself have struggled with this time and time again. I would make excuses for talking about people... "Please pray about this.. and in order to pray correctly.. here are the details of the situation"... I've heard others says... "I need to know the details of this weakness in order to give you proper counsel"... ect.
In my experience I've found this is often a cover up in order to get information to broadcast the faults of the saints. With that the polite whispers and innuendos commence. Soon they snowball into slander and libel. The sassy sounding retort which children often give to each is not bad advice for adults: "Mind your own business!"
Speaking evil against other believers is a sin against the members of the church body, against the law of love, and against God Himself, for He is the author of this principle of love.
Although it is not often viewed as such, the sin about which James writes is a form of worldliness because it partakes of the worldy character of conceit and fails to submit to the authority of God's Word.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Clamining the Conquest (James 4:5-10)
James follows his usual procedure of spelling out the problem and then supplying the prescription for spiritual victory. Sheer human effort will not achieve the conquest. You can "grit your teeth" and "grin and bear it," but this will not produce satisfactory results in the long run.
A spiritual encounter requires a spiritual enablement. That enablement relates to the ministry of the Holy Spirit in believers. The question in James 4:5 implies believers have neglected a basic truth. We have forgotten the Holy Spirit indwells in us and jealously yearns for a progressive supervision in the life.
The Spirit is never content to occupy the remote recesses of the believer's heart; He wants unhindered and welcome access to every room in the house. He is working to control the believer's thoughts, feelings, and decisions. His ultimate design is to bring every thought into Christ's captivity and to regulate all the activities of the Christian's life.
The Spirit's indwelling presence and omnipotent operations in the Christian are not the only means of spiritual conquest. Added to them are God's abundant grace (vs. 6). His grace is greater than the inclination of the old nature to sin and greater than the appeals which the world and the devil make to the old nature. But increased grace is contingent upon humility.
The humble man is the one who recognizes his total inability to stand in his own powers. He knows full well the depravity of the flesh, his personal worthlessness apart from the grace of God at work in him, and his dire need of super-natural assistance.
He has no sufficiency of himself to please the Lord, and so he leans harder than ever upon the gracious work of the Spirit to accomplish in him what he has no capacity for achieving by himself. To this kind of man God gives grace upon grace. He grows in grace, is strengthened by grace, glories in grace, and rests in grace.
The grace of God operating in him enables him to carry out the conditions for gaining the victory. By grace he submits to God, and by grace he resists the devil (vs. 7). To submit to God means to yield to His sovereign rule, to comply with His lordship, to surrender one's will to His will.
The self-willed, self-directed, self-governed, and self-dependent Christian will find it impossible to resist Satan. Satan appeals to the believer's natural instinct for self-preservation, self-esteem, self-control, and self-determination.
The self-sufficient person will scarcely draw near to God (vs. 8) because he foolishly imagines he has some power in himself to resist the devil or submit to God or make himself humble. People who are not really convinced of their helplessness have little cause to throw themselves upon the help of anyone else--even God.
Notwithstanding all this emphasis upon the grace of God, we Christians should realize we are fully responsible to meet the conditions which James lays down for spiritual triumph. Any failure to submit to God, to resist the devil, to draw nigh to God, to cleanse the hands, to purify the heart, and to be afflicted is our own fault.
We cannot excuse ourselves on the grounds that God did not give us the grace to obey these commands. God will not be blamed for human failures. Believers are fully responsible for their own sinful failures, but we are duty-bound to give God all the credit and glory for all of our spiritual successes.
James is not reluctant to call Christians "sinners" (vs. 8). Some Christians today cannot think of themselves as sinners because, after all, they have been acquitted and pronounced "blameless". On the other hand, the Apostle John declares: "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us" (1 John 1:8).
In the state of justification, we as Christians are still sinners because the old nature clings to us and because we still sin daily in thought, word and deed. Therefore, we need a daily cleansing by the washing of water through prayer and study of the Word.
James calls for his readers and us to be sensitive toward sin. (James 4:9). He doesn't advocate a long-face Christianity, morbid preoccupation with sorrow, or continual self-accusation and retrospection with respect to our transgressions. There is joy in serving Jesus! Christ has promised to share His joy with us. But some of James' acquaintances had evidently become calloused to sin by fraternizing with the world.
The knowledge we have grieved the Holy Spirit ought to cause us to mourn. Knowing we have not pleased the Lord in all things should evoke a spirit of lamentation in us. Realizing we all offend our Holy God in many ways ought to bring us to tears that we should so despise the riches of His grace and goodness.
The reason Christians don't grieve more over their sins is they have lost sight of the exceeding sinfulness of sins and of the infinite holiness of God who recoils at any and all sin--including the sins in the lives of the saints.
In verse 10 James concludes his admonitions with a last emphasis upon the crux of the problem--pride. Self-centeredness is the plague of the Christian life. All other sins flow out from the hidden springs of pride. The problem of cantankerous Christians will be resolved only to the extent that believers cast themselves up on the Lord and pour contempt on all their pride.
A spiritual encounter requires a spiritual enablement. That enablement relates to the ministry of the Holy Spirit in believers. The question in James 4:5 implies believers have neglected a basic truth. We have forgotten the Holy Spirit indwells in us and jealously yearns for a progressive supervision in the life.
The Spirit is never content to occupy the remote recesses of the believer's heart; He wants unhindered and welcome access to every room in the house. He is working to control the believer's thoughts, feelings, and decisions. His ultimate design is to bring every thought into Christ's captivity and to regulate all the activities of the Christian's life.
The Spirit's indwelling presence and omnipotent operations in the Christian are not the only means of spiritual conquest. Added to them are God's abundant grace (vs. 6). His grace is greater than the inclination of the old nature to sin and greater than the appeals which the world and the devil make to the old nature. But increased grace is contingent upon humility.
The humble man is the one who recognizes his total inability to stand in his own powers. He knows full well the depravity of the flesh, his personal worthlessness apart from the grace of God at work in him, and his dire need of super-natural assistance.
He has no sufficiency of himself to please the Lord, and so he leans harder than ever upon the gracious work of the Spirit to accomplish in him what he has no capacity for achieving by himself. To this kind of man God gives grace upon grace. He grows in grace, is strengthened by grace, glories in grace, and rests in grace.
The grace of God operating in him enables him to carry out the conditions for gaining the victory. By grace he submits to God, and by grace he resists the devil (vs. 7). To submit to God means to yield to His sovereign rule, to comply with His lordship, to surrender one's will to His will.
The self-willed, self-directed, self-governed, and self-dependent Christian will find it impossible to resist Satan. Satan appeals to the believer's natural instinct for self-preservation, self-esteem, self-control, and self-determination.
The self-sufficient person will scarcely draw near to God (vs. 8) because he foolishly imagines he has some power in himself to resist the devil or submit to God or make himself humble. People who are not really convinced of their helplessness have little cause to throw themselves upon the help of anyone else--even God.
Notwithstanding all this emphasis upon the grace of God, we Christians should realize we are fully responsible to meet the conditions which James lays down for spiritual triumph. Any failure to submit to God, to resist the devil, to draw nigh to God, to cleanse the hands, to purify the heart, and to be afflicted is our own fault.
We cannot excuse ourselves on the grounds that God did not give us the grace to obey these commands. God will not be blamed for human failures. Believers are fully responsible for their own sinful failures, but we are duty-bound to give God all the credit and glory for all of our spiritual successes.
James is not reluctant to call Christians "sinners" (vs. 8). Some Christians today cannot think of themselves as sinners because, after all, they have been acquitted and pronounced "blameless". On the other hand, the Apostle John declares: "If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us" (1 John 1:8).
In the state of justification, we as Christians are still sinners because the old nature clings to us and because we still sin daily in thought, word and deed. Therefore, we need a daily cleansing by the washing of water through prayer and study of the Word.
James calls for his readers and us to be sensitive toward sin. (James 4:9). He doesn't advocate a long-face Christianity, morbid preoccupation with sorrow, or continual self-accusation and retrospection with respect to our transgressions. There is joy in serving Jesus! Christ has promised to share His joy with us. But some of James' acquaintances had evidently become calloused to sin by fraternizing with the world.
The knowledge we have grieved the Holy Spirit ought to cause us to mourn. Knowing we have not pleased the Lord in all things should evoke a spirit of lamentation in us. Realizing we all offend our Holy God in many ways ought to bring us to tears that we should so despise the riches of His grace and goodness.
The reason Christians don't grieve more over their sins is they have lost sight of the exceeding sinfulness of sins and of the infinite holiness of God who recoils at any and all sin--including the sins in the lives of the saints.
In verse 10 James concludes his admonitions with a last emphasis upon the crux of the problem--pride. Self-centeredness is the plague of the Christian life. All other sins flow out from the hidden springs of pride. The problem of cantankerous Christians will be resolved only to the extent that believers cast themselves up on the Lord and pour contempt on all their pride.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Contributing Causes (James 4:1-4)
Worldliness doesn't always manifest itself in social taboos--smoking, swearing, drinking, dancing, gambling etc. In fact, few Christians would indulge in these practices. Abstinence, however, does not always guarantee spirituality. Many Christians who wouldn't think of taking a cocktail think nothing of quarreling, clamoring, and separating from their brethren at the drop of a hat.
James has heard about and observed church fights, and he ponders the reasons why the saints engage in squabbles (James 4:1). What lies at the root of wrangling and petty disunity? The answer is not far to seek. Contentious and cantankerous Christians are just doing what comes naturally. They're giving expression to their old nature, which James calls "lusts that war in your members".
All believers experience a conflict of inclinations raging in their soul. Out of their Adamic depravity come selfish cravings for position, popularity, and prestige. These fleshly desires are at war with the Holy Spirit who is producing contrary desires--godly appetites.
Two conflicting powers are at work in the soul--each vying for domination and each prompting an opposite inclination. The inner drive toward the works of the flesh manifests itself in outward strife and turmoil.
The word "lust" in verse 2 is a different Greek word from that represented by the world "lust" in verse 1. In verse 1 it signifies the pleasures and delights which come from fulfilling the heart's desire. In verse 2, "lust" suggests "the setting of one's heart or soul upon a thing".
Passions for pleasure struggle for fulfillment. Overt acts of sin always begin with the inordinate desires of the heart. The Christian who hankers after illegitimate pursuits is due to suffer disappointment and the frustration of desire.
Evil desire crops out in some surprising actions, murder among them (vs. 2). Envy is the prelude to destroying the reputation of others, and it may lead even to taking someone's life--as the case of David amply illustrates (2 Samuel 11:1-17). Once we embrace these desires, we're not beyond practicing them in the church. This leads to hostilities in the camp of the saints and sometimes to all-out war.
James 4:3 indicates some believers go so far as to implicate God in the satisfying of their fleshly desires. Not able to get what they want when they want it, they call upon God to intervene on their behalf. They misinterpret the promise of Jesus in Matthew 7:7 to mean they may expect a favorable answer to every selfish whim, just as long as they pray in Jesus' name.
They intend to squander God's gifts upon their unbridled passions. This kind of prayer is born of greed and self-love, and this kind of believer is devoted only to his own personal happiness even though it deprives others of their well-being.
They give no thought to asking what pleases the Lord, and they don't confine themselves to the kind of prayers Jesus would ask. Their first and foremost ambition is to please self.
James intimates in James 4:4 that church spats and splits can be traced to worldliness. Who would suspect battling believers are really worldly warriors? James charges worldly-minded Christians with infidelity to Christ. They have abandoned Christ to cohabit with a system which opposes and hates Christ.
The whole world system lies in the lap of the wicked one. Satan imposes his own anti-God philosophy upon everything he touches. Human leaders seldom are aware of Satan's power and influence upon them. Nevertheless, the devil is the god of this age and has "blinded the minds of them which believe not" (2 Corinthians 4:4). He is the prince of this world (John 12:31).
The person who chooses the world instead of Christ shows thereby he doesn't love the Lord, for he has identified himself with a system which hates Christ. How can a true Christian feel at home with and enjoy the company of the devil's crowd?
Any professed Christian who loves the world is proved by his affection for what God hates to be a rebel against God and probably not a genuine believer after all.
James has heard about and observed church fights, and he ponders the reasons why the saints engage in squabbles (James 4:1). What lies at the root of wrangling and petty disunity? The answer is not far to seek. Contentious and cantankerous Christians are just doing what comes naturally. They're giving expression to their old nature, which James calls "lusts that war in your members".
All believers experience a conflict of inclinations raging in their soul. Out of their Adamic depravity come selfish cravings for position, popularity, and prestige. These fleshly desires are at war with the Holy Spirit who is producing contrary desires--godly appetites.
Two conflicting powers are at work in the soul--each vying for domination and each prompting an opposite inclination. The inner drive toward the works of the flesh manifests itself in outward strife and turmoil.
The word "lust" in verse 2 is a different Greek word from that represented by the world "lust" in verse 1. In verse 1 it signifies the pleasures and delights which come from fulfilling the heart's desire. In verse 2, "lust" suggests "the setting of one's heart or soul upon a thing".
Passions for pleasure struggle for fulfillment. Overt acts of sin always begin with the inordinate desires of the heart. The Christian who hankers after illegitimate pursuits is due to suffer disappointment and the frustration of desire.
Evil desire crops out in some surprising actions, murder among them (vs. 2). Envy is the prelude to destroying the reputation of others, and it may lead even to taking someone's life--as the case of David amply illustrates (2 Samuel 11:1-17). Once we embrace these desires, we're not beyond practicing them in the church. This leads to hostilities in the camp of the saints and sometimes to all-out war.
James 4:3 indicates some believers go so far as to implicate God in the satisfying of their fleshly desires. Not able to get what they want when they want it, they call upon God to intervene on their behalf. They misinterpret the promise of Jesus in Matthew 7:7 to mean they may expect a favorable answer to every selfish whim, just as long as they pray in Jesus' name.
They intend to squander God's gifts upon their unbridled passions. This kind of prayer is born of greed and self-love, and this kind of believer is devoted only to his own personal happiness even though it deprives others of their well-being.
They give no thought to asking what pleases the Lord, and they don't confine themselves to the kind of prayers Jesus would ask. Their first and foremost ambition is to please self.
James intimates in James 4:4 that church spats and splits can be traced to worldliness. Who would suspect battling believers are really worldly warriors? James charges worldly-minded Christians with infidelity to Christ. They have abandoned Christ to cohabit with a system which opposes and hates Christ.
The whole world system lies in the lap of the wicked one. Satan imposes his own anti-God philosophy upon everything he touches. Human leaders seldom are aware of Satan's power and influence upon them. Nevertheless, the devil is the god of this age and has "blinded the minds of them which believe not" (2 Corinthians 4:4). He is the prince of this world (John 12:31).
The person who chooses the world instead of Christ shows thereby he doesn't love the Lord, for he has identified himself with a system which hates Christ. How can a true Christian feel at home with and enjoy the company of the devil's crowd?
Any professed Christian who loves the world is proved by his affection for what God hates to be a rebel against God and probably not a genuine believer after all.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Heavenly Wisdom (James 3:17,18)
Now James describes the qualities that belong to divine wisdom. He explains its source and product. It is "from above" (James 3:17). This harmonizes with his conclusion in James 1:17. Genuine wisdom has its origin in God Himself. It's God's good and perfect gift to believers. Human endeavor cannot acquire it. Divine enduement alone supplies it.
Divine wisdom is "pure" because the corruption and defilement which adheres to natural human wisdom are absent from it. Its motivation is not sensual, its aims are not limited to earth, and its influence does not come from demons.
Wisdom from above is "peaceable". Strife and faction have no place here. This wisdom also promotes peace. It deals gently with others and is always considerate and reasonable. It manifests a readiness to respond to a cry for help. It's amenable and conciliatory.
Heavenly wisdom is brim full of compassion--the kind of compassion which doesn't stop short of performing good works. The "wise" men whom James addresses know how to talk big, but they were short on compassionate service--acts of mercy.
God's wisdom imparted to man never inspires partiality. It overlooks differences to personal scruples in its desire for Biblical unity and brotherly concord. Such wisdom is genuinely sincere. It doesn't endeavor to make a good impression at the expense of honesty. It can tolerate full exposure to the pure light of truth. It hides nothing because no ulterior motives lurk in the shadows.
Though James doesn't specify so here, the power of the Holy Spirit is the only sufficient means by which any believer can manifest the virtues and graces that accompany divine wisdom. Only by divine enablement can Christians exhibit heavenly wisdom. The old Adamic nature craves what human cleverness can achieve.
The workings of Adam's inclinations in us prompt us to lean upon our own limited understanding. God's Spirit operating mightily in us stirs us to pray for divine wisdom and then to depend upon God to keep His promise of liberality.
The last verse of James 3 summarizes all James has been teaching about a truly godly life. He expresses his conclusion in the figure of sowing and reaping. An in-severable relationship exists between seed and fruit. Corn seeds produce corn. Righteous sowing eventuates in righteous reaping. If believers sow peace, they will enjoy a harvest of peace. If they sow to the wind, they will reap the whirlwind.
The whole emphasis in James chapter 3 is centered upon the word "shew". James insists up on an external manifestation for genuine faith and genuine wisdom. Inner qualities which have their source in the work of the Holy Spirit in us will show themselves in a godly life before others.
Pious confessions of faith and pretentious claims to wisdom mean absolutely nothing when a man's deportment gives the lie to his declarations. Believers live by the faith of the Son of God and enjoy the indwelling presence of Him who is the very personification of wisdom.
The combination of a godly faith and a genuine wisdom produces fruit unto righteousness.
Divine wisdom is "pure" because the corruption and defilement which adheres to natural human wisdom are absent from it. Its motivation is not sensual, its aims are not limited to earth, and its influence does not come from demons.
Wisdom from above is "peaceable". Strife and faction have no place here. This wisdom also promotes peace. It deals gently with others and is always considerate and reasonable. It manifests a readiness to respond to a cry for help. It's amenable and conciliatory.
Heavenly wisdom is brim full of compassion--the kind of compassion which doesn't stop short of performing good works. The "wise" men whom James addresses know how to talk big, but they were short on compassionate service--acts of mercy.
God's wisdom imparted to man never inspires partiality. It overlooks differences to personal scruples in its desire for Biblical unity and brotherly concord. Such wisdom is genuinely sincere. It doesn't endeavor to make a good impression at the expense of honesty. It can tolerate full exposure to the pure light of truth. It hides nothing because no ulterior motives lurk in the shadows.
Though James doesn't specify so here, the power of the Holy Spirit is the only sufficient means by which any believer can manifest the virtues and graces that accompany divine wisdom. Only by divine enablement can Christians exhibit heavenly wisdom. The old Adamic nature craves what human cleverness can achieve.
The workings of Adam's inclinations in us prompt us to lean upon our own limited understanding. God's Spirit operating mightily in us stirs us to pray for divine wisdom and then to depend upon God to keep His promise of liberality.
The last verse of James 3 summarizes all James has been teaching about a truly godly life. He expresses his conclusion in the figure of sowing and reaping. An in-severable relationship exists between seed and fruit. Corn seeds produce corn. Righteous sowing eventuates in righteous reaping. If believers sow peace, they will enjoy a harvest of peace. If they sow to the wind, they will reap the whirlwind.
The whole emphasis in James chapter 3 is centered upon the word "shew". James insists up on an external manifestation for genuine faith and genuine wisdom. Inner qualities which have their source in the work of the Holy Spirit in us will show themselves in a godly life before others.
Pious confessions of faith and pretentious claims to wisdom mean absolutely nothing when a man's deportment gives the lie to his declarations. Believers live by the faith of the Son of God and enjoy the indwelling presence of Him who is the very personification of wisdom.
The combination of a godly faith and a genuine wisdom produces fruit unto righteousness.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Earthly Wisdom (James 3: 13-16)
Wisdom is the right use of knowledge. Knowledge is the accumulation of and familiarity with the facts gained through experience or association. Knowledge can be acquired by education. But an educated person is not necessarily wise. Not long ago.. I read about a college graduate who tried to sue the administration for not giving him wisdom.
Wisdom is the "ability to discern inner qualities and relationships." It's insight into the nature of reality. Wisdom, as the Bible defines it, cannot be acquired; God gives it out of the riches of His grace. Wisdom enables the child of God to apply spiritual truth to the emergencies of life.
Divine wisdom enables him to make decisions as God would make them.
Solomon said, "wisdom is better than rubies, and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it" (Proverbs 8:11). He also observed: "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" (Proverbs 9:10).
Unfortunately, a counterfeit wisdom often passes under the guise of real wisdom, and so James distinguishes two kinds of wisdom--earthly wisdom and heavenly wisdom; natural, human wisdom and divine wisdom.
The philosopher Seneca was right when he said, "many might attain to wisdom, if they were not assured they already possessed it". James addresses his remarks to a similar group of people. They were putting on airs of superior wisdom and actually boasting about it in the hope of securing prominent places of church leadership.
They reflected an attitude which is common in our churches today. "Nobody can sing, teach, preach, or moderate like I can." They profess to be wise, but in reality they are fools. A fool tells what he will do; a boaster tells what he has done; the wise man does it and says nothing.
Everyone wants to appear wise; but few people really are.
To professed wise men, James poses a question: "Who is a wise man...among you?" (James 3:13). In effect, James calls for proofs to substantiate pretensions to wisdom. He has just developed his argument about the inconsistencies of which the tongue is capable (vs. 1-12), and now he challenges the man who claims, either by word or deed, to be wise.
Paul asks nearly the same question in 1 Corinthians 1:20 and goes further to say.. in God's site.. this kind of "wise", man is only a fool.
Sermons and lectures are insufficient evidence of true wisdom. Words must be wedded to works and saying to acceptable service. The man who thinks he has wisdom must show it "out of a good conversation" before he can convince anyone of his claims.
No man is wise who doesn't behave in a manner pleasing to God and in conformity to His Word. James indicts Christians who say they are wise but do not show it in proper attitudes and actions. He demands exhibitions of it, not just expressions; demonstrations, or declarations. "Conversation" refers to the mode and manner of life. The best evidence of wisdom is a practical goodness and generosity.
Moreover, real wisdom shows itself in a manner of behavior chiefly marked by "meekness". Meekness is not natural to fallen humanity. The ego craves attention and recognition. Ordinarily the meek are not advanced to positions of prominence.
How far do the meek get in the business world of dog-eat-dog? As the world views it, success depends upon self-assertion, aggressive competition, and personal persuasiveness. Meekness cannot accomplish worldly ambitions, and so worldlings regard the meek as spineless people--the milk-toast personality.
Jesus Christ was meek (Matthew 11:29). He promised a special blessing upon the meek (Matthew 5:5). Elsewhere Scripture views meekness as a vital part of Christian conduct. Paul exhorted the servant of the Lord--the pastor-teacher--to follow after meekness (2 Timothy 2:25).
Spiritual Christians are supposed to restore an offending brother in the spirit of meekness (Galatians 6:1). Every believer should be able to give a reason for his inward hope with meekness (1 Peter 3:15).
The child of God has nothing of himself of which to boast. What he is he is by the grace of God. What he has he has by the grace of God. If he is a wise Christian, it's owing to God's grace and not to any achievement on his own part.
If he has an intelligent grasp of God's truth, God must have the credit, for He grants to the Christian such understanding (Ephesians 1:17, 18; 3:14-19; Colossians 1:9,10). James assails any wisdom which pretends to be something by itself--independent of God.
Any man who boasts in his wisdom virtually denied the wisdom came from God. And any man whose conduct doesn't conform to his pretended wisdom has proved he has only a counterfeit wisdom.
"Bitter envying and strife" are certain proofs of a false wisdom--a so-called wisdom. "envying" ought to be rendered "evil zeal." It refers to ardor, enthusiasm and burning interest.
When the Holy Spirit fires zeal and controls it, the church burns with a holy ardor. But if enthusiasm is the product of the flesh nature, it feeds upon destroying others and leads to fanaticism.
James calls it "bitter" zeal. The zeal which aspires to deprive others of their talents, status, spiritual accomplishments, or anything else is better known as jealousy.
Jealousy is the term we use for those wicked feelings and attitudes that spring up in our soul when someone else receives the recognition we wanted or even deserved.
The comparison to envy is strife--party spirit or faction. The word comes from a verb meaning "to electioneer for office." It implies politicking--seeking to curry favor by underhanded methods. Uncontrolled ambition for prominence in the church has led more than a few Christians to resort to all kinds of chicanery to win their ends.
They stop at nothing to get in office. Of course, other Christians lack the audacity to engage in open campaigning, but they desire for recognition lies in their hearts, and they believe they are better qualified than the man who actually fills the office.
They secretly begrudge him his appointment, and so they are as guilty as the man who obtains votes out of carnal appetite for ecclesiastical power.
Such practices indicate a kind of wisdom--a subtlety, a satanic sagacity--but let no one mistake this kind of cunning and crafty intelligence for divine wisdom.
The devil is a master at artful deceit. He has the ability to put his information to work toward purposeful ends. He is wise was well as intelligent, but he has prostituted his original wisdom to evil designs. His demons are also wise in wicked schemes, and they assist men to apply their intelligence to ungodly pursuits.
Hence James calls this wisdom "devilish" or "demoniacal" (James 3:15).
James calls this wisdom "earthly" because it cannot rise above the temporal and the material. It begins and ends with earth. It makes of earth a paradise and works to make a pleasant land out of a sin-cursed planet. James calls it "sensual" because it appeals to the natural sentiments and instincts of man.
From start to finish its sole object is man in his natural state--his condition before regeneration. Earthly wisdom panders to man's depraved emotions and can succeed in establishing good relations with other men--but not with God.
Wisdom is the "ability to discern inner qualities and relationships." It's insight into the nature of reality. Wisdom, as the Bible defines it, cannot be acquired; God gives it out of the riches of His grace. Wisdom enables the child of God to apply spiritual truth to the emergencies of life.
Divine wisdom enables him to make decisions as God would make them.
Solomon said, "wisdom is better than rubies, and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it" (Proverbs 8:11). He also observed: "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" (Proverbs 9:10).
Unfortunately, a counterfeit wisdom often passes under the guise of real wisdom, and so James distinguishes two kinds of wisdom--earthly wisdom and heavenly wisdom; natural, human wisdom and divine wisdom.
The philosopher Seneca was right when he said, "many might attain to wisdom, if they were not assured they already possessed it". James addresses his remarks to a similar group of people. They were putting on airs of superior wisdom and actually boasting about it in the hope of securing prominent places of church leadership.
They reflected an attitude which is common in our churches today. "Nobody can sing, teach, preach, or moderate like I can." They profess to be wise, but in reality they are fools. A fool tells what he will do; a boaster tells what he has done; the wise man does it and says nothing.
Everyone wants to appear wise; but few people really are.
To professed wise men, James poses a question: "Who is a wise man...among you?" (James 3:13). In effect, James calls for proofs to substantiate pretensions to wisdom. He has just developed his argument about the inconsistencies of which the tongue is capable (vs. 1-12), and now he challenges the man who claims, either by word or deed, to be wise.
Paul asks nearly the same question in 1 Corinthians 1:20 and goes further to say.. in God's site.. this kind of "wise", man is only a fool.
Sermons and lectures are insufficient evidence of true wisdom. Words must be wedded to works and saying to acceptable service. The man who thinks he has wisdom must show it "out of a good conversation" before he can convince anyone of his claims.
No man is wise who doesn't behave in a manner pleasing to God and in conformity to His Word. James indicts Christians who say they are wise but do not show it in proper attitudes and actions. He demands exhibitions of it, not just expressions; demonstrations, or declarations. "Conversation" refers to the mode and manner of life. The best evidence of wisdom is a practical goodness and generosity.
Moreover, real wisdom shows itself in a manner of behavior chiefly marked by "meekness". Meekness is not natural to fallen humanity. The ego craves attention and recognition. Ordinarily the meek are not advanced to positions of prominence.
How far do the meek get in the business world of dog-eat-dog? As the world views it, success depends upon self-assertion, aggressive competition, and personal persuasiveness. Meekness cannot accomplish worldly ambitions, and so worldlings regard the meek as spineless people--the milk-toast personality.
Jesus Christ was meek (Matthew 11:29). He promised a special blessing upon the meek (Matthew 5:5). Elsewhere Scripture views meekness as a vital part of Christian conduct. Paul exhorted the servant of the Lord--the pastor-teacher--to follow after meekness (2 Timothy 2:25).
Spiritual Christians are supposed to restore an offending brother in the spirit of meekness (Galatians 6:1). Every believer should be able to give a reason for his inward hope with meekness (1 Peter 3:15).
The child of God has nothing of himself of which to boast. What he is he is by the grace of God. What he has he has by the grace of God. If he is a wise Christian, it's owing to God's grace and not to any achievement on his own part.
If he has an intelligent grasp of God's truth, God must have the credit, for He grants to the Christian such understanding (Ephesians 1:17, 18; 3:14-19; Colossians 1:9,10). James assails any wisdom which pretends to be something by itself--independent of God.
Any man who boasts in his wisdom virtually denied the wisdom came from God. And any man whose conduct doesn't conform to his pretended wisdom has proved he has only a counterfeit wisdom.
"Bitter envying and strife" are certain proofs of a false wisdom--a so-called wisdom. "envying" ought to be rendered "evil zeal." It refers to ardor, enthusiasm and burning interest.
When the Holy Spirit fires zeal and controls it, the church burns with a holy ardor. But if enthusiasm is the product of the flesh nature, it feeds upon destroying others and leads to fanaticism.
James calls it "bitter" zeal. The zeal which aspires to deprive others of their talents, status, spiritual accomplishments, or anything else is better known as jealousy.
Jealousy is the term we use for those wicked feelings and attitudes that spring up in our soul when someone else receives the recognition we wanted or even deserved.
The comparison to envy is strife--party spirit or faction. The word comes from a verb meaning "to electioneer for office." It implies politicking--seeking to curry favor by underhanded methods. Uncontrolled ambition for prominence in the church has led more than a few Christians to resort to all kinds of chicanery to win their ends.
They stop at nothing to get in office. Of course, other Christians lack the audacity to engage in open campaigning, but they desire for recognition lies in their hearts, and they believe they are better qualified than the man who actually fills the office.
They secretly begrudge him his appointment, and so they are as guilty as the man who obtains votes out of carnal appetite for ecclesiastical power.
Such practices indicate a kind of wisdom--a subtlety, a satanic sagacity--but let no one mistake this kind of cunning and crafty intelligence for divine wisdom.
The devil is a master at artful deceit. He has the ability to put his information to work toward purposeful ends. He is wise was well as intelligent, but he has prostituted his original wisdom to evil designs. His demons are also wise in wicked schemes, and they assist men to apply their intelligence to ungodly pursuits.
Hence James calls this wisdom "devilish" or "demoniacal" (James 3:15).
James calls this wisdom "earthly" because it cannot rise above the temporal and the material. It begins and ends with earth. It makes of earth a paradise and works to make a pleasant land out of a sin-cursed planet. James calls it "sensual" because it appeals to the natural sentiments and instincts of man.
From start to finish its sole object is man in his natural state--his condition before regeneration. Earthly wisdom panders to man's depraved emotions and can succeed in establishing good relations with other men--but not with God.
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