Sunday morning, we discussed the meaning of wisdom. I gave you the following definition for wisdom: the ability to understand God’s will for your life. This definition is based on Ephesians 5.15-17. “Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” To be unwise is to be foolish; the Greek word translated foolish means to not think. So, to be unwise is to be a non-thinker. To be unwise is to fail to understand God’s will.
Perceiving God’s will, though, requires some effort on our part. God does not pour wisdom magically into our heads. He expects us to think through the biblical issues involved in a circumstance so we will be able to choose rightly what we will do. To be able to sift through scriptural truth means we must be familiar with what the Bible says.
God does not want us to walk in darkness but in light. In Ephesians 5, Paul made a statement about light. He wrote, “Awake, o sleeper, and rise from the dead, and Christ will give you light.” (Eph. 5.14). That declaration is called a baptismal pronouncement. After someone was baptized in the early church, this statement would be made when they came out of the water. What the formula means is when we come to new life in Christ, he enables us to know right from wrong as we walk with him .
This ongoing process of growth in discipleship takes a lifetime. We do not arrive at full enlightenment in a few short steps. We grow daily, becoming, over time, better able to see what God’s plan is for us and how that plan will be realized in our lives. As I have already stated, coming to understand God’s purpose for our lives requires prayer and thoughtful, diligent Bible study.
Yet, more is required of us. We also must interpret our life situations. As the Holy Spirit leads us, and as we choose to follow his guidance, we will be directed towards what we Christians call “doors” of opportunity. We might see a door ahead of us and not understand how things will work if we head in that direction. The Lord just might put before us what seems to be unworkable circumstances. When he does, he is challenging us to follow him even though we are unable to understand how things will work out for our benefit.
Further, we might not really like what we see. What would we do if God put before us an opportunity requiring us to leave family and familiar surroundings and go somewhere foreign to us? Would we say, “God, I don’t understand this, I don’t agree with it, and I don’t like what I see”? Or, would we be obedient and head out in the direction God is pointing us?
When we find ourselves at such a place in life, we must decide to follow God as he leads us. If we trust him, and show our faith by following, God will lead us to the best possible circumstance; he never leads us to misery and unhappiness. God will always take us to where we can be used best by him. He will always put us in a place and circumstance where our gifts and talents can be used best.
We need to understand, though, what James wanted his readers to know. God is more interested in who we are than what we do. If we are people of faith, we will obey God and follow him wherever he leads us because we want to be pleasing to him. If we are people of faith, if we trust God with our lives and futures, we will do what he calls us to do. When we are concerned more with our own welfare than God’s glory, we will be disobedient. James started his letter with the statement, “Consider your encounters with various tests to be a source of joy, because you know the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”
God’s ultimate plan for you life and for mine is for us to be mature and complete. He wants us to be fully prepared for whatever he calls us to do, for whatever difficult test we might face. God’s plan for our lives is for us to be successful in following him. He does not want us to fail. Success in following Jesus requires us to trust him completely with our lives, with our futures, with all we are.
Monday, August 3, 2009
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Knowing God's Will, Pt. 1
How do you discover God’s will for your life? How can you know the decisions you are making are the right ones? When you are in doubt about what God wants you to do, what do you do? These questions and others like them have plagued believers throughout the history of Christianity. As a result, believers many times have made bad mistakes. Some of the things Christians have done through the ages in the name of Christ have ended tragically. Many times, the cause of Christ has been hurt by the actions of those who claim to love Jesus.
Much of what James discussed had to do with making godly, biblical decisions. Those who heard James’s message first were doing some things wholly inconsistent with God’s Word. James was troubled by their actions because what they were doing was creating a bad impression about God in the minds of unbelievers. When those “outside” see us on the “inside” fighting and bickering, what are they to think? When we are known by our friends and acquaintances as a Christian, what do they think of us and Christianity if no difference exists between the way we live and how they live?
For many of us, though, the issue of God’s will has to do more with things such as getting married, deciding on a career, how we use our finances, and so on. The problem with this dilemma is the effects we experience when we act without having a clear idea of what God would have us do.
When we make decisions, we will experience consequences, both good and bad. If we make a poor decision, God will expect us to bear the consequences while working our way through our decision to a better end. We must remember, God will not punish us if we decide wrongly. Neither will he excuse us for what we have done. He expects us to be both responsible and accountable. What that means is he expects us to not blame someone else or some circumstance for what we have done.
Being responsible for our decisions means we will bear the consequences in a mature way. We will not whine or quit. We will carry out our decisions in a manner befitting one who is a follower of Jesus. Being accountable means we will take responsibility for what we have done and not blame others.
What if we make an immoral decision? How do we handle the aftermath of being disobedient to God. Do we continue on in the mess we created. No. Being responsible means we will find a mature, biblical solution. We will confess our failure and seek a proper solution. We must be adult in how we handle the decisions we make.
But, how do we avoid doing the wrong thing. Praying about our choices goes without saying. Sometimes, though, God does not give us a clear answer. Why does God not “speak” to us and gives us a clear answer sometimes? Because more than prayer is required to know God’s will. We need the Bible.
Many of the issues we face in our world today, though, are not addressed directly in the Bible. For instance, fetal-cell research, abortion and same-sex marriage are not discussed in an overt way in Scripture. Yet, we are expected to take a position on these issues. How do we know what we should believe?
The answer to that question is found, paradoxically, in the Bible. We can come to informed decisions about all of life’s issues only by having a consistent discipline of personal Bible study. As we study on a regular basis, we are then able to take all the truths we learn and draw from them answers about life’s issues. For instance, 1 Corinthians 10:31 states, “Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” If we are making a relationship or career decision, we should ask ourselves how what we decide will reflect positively on God.
Whatever you do, do so in a manner in which God will be honored. Some careers would harm irreparably our reputation and would bring shame to the name of God. Some relationships can bring harm into our lives. If we associate with someone who is not a believer, we will be expected by them to do things clearly inconsistent with Scripture.
Making the right decision, the one consistent with God’s will for our lives, is not a hard thing to do. Knowing God’s will may require some thought, but in the end, God will show us the right way to go. Remember what James said: “But if any of you lacks wisdom (the knowledge of God’s will), let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it (wisdom) will be given to him.”
Pray, study the Bible and talk to an experienced, mature believer. Doing so will lead you to a clear understanding of God’s plan for your life.
Much of what James discussed had to do with making godly, biblical decisions. Those who heard James’s message first were doing some things wholly inconsistent with God’s Word. James was troubled by their actions because what they were doing was creating a bad impression about God in the minds of unbelievers. When those “outside” see us on the “inside” fighting and bickering, what are they to think? When we are known by our friends and acquaintances as a Christian, what do they think of us and Christianity if no difference exists between the way we live and how they live?
For many of us, though, the issue of God’s will has to do more with things such as getting married, deciding on a career, how we use our finances, and so on. The problem with this dilemma is the effects we experience when we act without having a clear idea of what God would have us do.
When we make decisions, we will experience consequences, both good and bad. If we make a poor decision, God will expect us to bear the consequences while working our way through our decision to a better end. We must remember, God will not punish us if we decide wrongly. Neither will he excuse us for what we have done. He expects us to be both responsible and accountable. What that means is he expects us to not blame someone else or some circumstance for what we have done.
Being responsible for our decisions means we will bear the consequences in a mature way. We will not whine or quit. We will carry out our decisions in a manner befitting one who is a follower of Jesus. Being accountable means we will take responsibility for what we have done and not blame others.
What if we make an immoral decision? How do we handle the aftermath of being disobedient to God. Do we continue on in the mess we created. No. Being responsible means we will find a mature, biblical solution. We will confess our failure and seek a proper solution. We must be adult in how we handle the decisions we make.
But, how do we avoid doing the wrong thing. Praying about our choices goes without saying. Sometimes, though, God does not give us a clear answer. Why does God not “speak” to us and gives us a clear answer sometimes? Because more than prayer is required to know God’s will. We need the Bible.
Many of the issues we face in our world today, though, are not addressed directly in the Bible. For instance, fetal-cell research, abortion and same-sex marriage are not discussed in an overt way in Scripture. Yet, we are expected to take a position on these issues. How do we know what we should believe?
The answer to that question is found, paradoxically, in the Bible. We can come to informed decisions about all of life’s issues only by having a consistent discipline of personal Bible study. As we study on a regular basis, we are then able to take all the truths we learn and draw from them answers about life’s issues. For instance, 1 Corinthians 10:31 states, “Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” If we are making a relationship or career decision, we should ask ourselves how what we decide will reflect positively on God.
Whatever you do, do so in a manner in which God will be honored. Some careers would harm irreparably our reputation and would bring shame to the name of God. Some relationships can bring harm into our lives. If we associate with someone who is not a believer, we will be expected by them to do things clearly inconsistent with Scripture.
Making the right decision, the one consistent with God’s will for our lives, is not a hard thing to do. Knowing God’s will may require some thought, but in the end, God will show us the right way to go. Remember what James said: “But if any of you lacks wisdom (the knowledge of God’s will), let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it (wisdom) will be given to him.”
Pray, study the Bible and talk to an experienced, mature believer. Doing so will lead you to a clear understanding of God’s plan for your life.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Platforms and Principles
By constitutional design, the United States experiences a political revolution every four to eight years. Our revolutions are generally a peaceful transition from rule by one political party to another. In the late summer before the presidential election, political parties hold their conventions during which they do two important things: they present their platforms and they nominate their candidates for the presidency and vice-presidency. The candidates are the standard bearers for the party’s political program. Generally, the platform is a set of political statements expressing the presidential nominee’s positions, the party’s positions, and the “wish-lists” of the major political interest groups aligned with that particular party. The campaign for the presidency is as much about political platforms as it is about political personalities.
The platform of a political party is an expression of that party’s worldview. Democrat Party platforms tend to be liberal and are oriented to a more politically progressive philosophy; Republican Party platforms tend to be conservative and oriented to traditional American moral and political values. Even though platforms change in some respects every four years, depending on what the current political hot-button issues are, the fundamental philosophy, or worldview, undergirding the platform stays essentially the same. Worldviews tend to remain constant; they undergo few changes over time. The reason worldviews rarely change is because they are rooted in values. To change one’s values is indeed a revolutionary event.
We believers have our own “life-platform;” we are expressing in our lifestyles what we believe are the currently important issues for us. Searching for a job/career, a spouse, a place to live, a church, etc. are all parts of our life platform. When we find a job, that part of our platform is readjusted. We then must decide to what degree we will try to advance professionally; what level of income we desire; what our work conditions will be; and so on. Yet, underlying our platform is a set of values.
Sometimes, we find our values to be inconsistent with the teachings of Scripture. One of the events occurring in most of our lives, proving to be a challenge to some of our values, is the competition arising among the various planks of our platform. What do we do when family and job compete for time and resources? For a while, our job may be the number one priority in our lives. Then, we get married and find our relationship with our spouse and the demands of that relationship are in conflict with our commitment to our job. How will we resolve that dilemma? Scripture gives us guidance in both areas. What we might find is our career values are in conflict with biblical admonitions; or, our family values may fall short of the biblical principles regarding marriage and family. So, in such cases, we should look deeply at our values and attempt to align them with biblical teachings. We find peace in that process.
When James and the other Bible writers authored their works, they typically were addressing the disconnects between what the people of God were doing and what God expected of them. In James, the writer was addressing a group of people whose conduct in many ways was inconsistent with the biblical ethic. James showed how favoring one person over another was to compromise the integrity of the Law. He also pointed out the inconsistency in saying two things wholly in conflict with one another. Can a fig tree produce an olive, a vine a fig, or a spring both fresh and bitter water, James asked?
While James probably would not have used the word worldview, he did have that concept in mind. He argued believers always should be analyzing their conduct to determine if what they were doing was consistent with what they professed to believe. Further, he was concerned for his readers to understand what the Word of God expected from those who claimed to be living according to biblical precepts. One’s conduct may be wrong because one misunderstands or ignores what the Law of God teaches.
We cannot go through life, anymore than James’s first readers could, with a casual attitude about what we believe. We must always be attempting to determine if what we believe really is what the Bible teaches. Also, we must ask ourselves constantly if what we are doing is consistent with what we say we believe.
Political parties are notorious for compromising their platforms and the underlying political philosophies they are supposed to believe. They do so for the sake of political expediency, power and advantage. We, on the other hand, cannot afford to compromise at any point. Unlike political parties, we cannot rationalize our values for selfish reasons. To do so is arrogance. To do so is to insult God.
The platform of a political party is an expression of that party’s worldview. Democrat Party platforms tend to be liberal and are oriented to a more politically progressive philosophy; Republican Party platforms tend to be conservative and oriented to traditional American moral and political values. Even though platforms change in some respects every four years, depending on what the current political hot-button issues are, the fundamental philosophy, or worldview, undergirding the platform stays essentially the same. Worldviews tend to remain constant; they undergo few changes over time. The reason worldviews rarely change is because they are rooted in values. To change one’s values is indeed a revolutionary event.
We believers have our own “life-platform;” we are expressing in our lifestyles what we believe are the currently important issues for us. Searching for a job/career, a spouse, a place to live, a church, etc. are all parts of our life platform. When we find a job, that part of our platform is readjusted. We then must decide to what degree we will try to advance professionally; what level of income we desire; what our work conditions will be; and so on. Yet, underlying our platform is a set of values.
Sometimes, we find our values to be inconsistent with the teachings of Scripture. One of the events occurring in most of our lives, proving to be a challenge to some of our values, is the competition arising among the various planks of our platform. What do we do when family and job compete for time and resources? For a while, our job may be the number one priority in our lives. Then, we get married and find our relationship with our spouse and the demands of that relationship are in conflict with our commitment to our job. How will we resolve that dilemma? Scripture gives us guidance in both areas. What we might find is our career values are in conflict with biblical admonitions; or, our family values may fall short of the biblical principles regarding marriage and family. So, in such cases, we should look deeply at our values and attempt to align them with biblical teachings. We find peace in that process.
When James and the other Bible writers authored their works, they typically were addressing the disconnects between what the people of God were doing and what God expected of them. In James, the writer was addressing a group of people whose conduct in many ways was inconsistent with the biblical ethic. James showed how favoring one person over another was to compromise the integrity of the Law. He also pointed out the inconsistency in saying two things wholly in conflict with one another. Can a fig tree produce an olive, a vine a fig, or a spring both fresh and bitter water, James asked?
While James probably would not have used the word worldview, he did have that concept in mind. He argued believers always should be analyzing their conduct to determine if what they were doing was consistent with what they professed to believe. Further, he was concerned for his readers to understand what the Word of God expected from those who claimed to be living according to biblical precepts. One’s conduct may be wrong because one misunderstands or ignores what the Law of God teaches.
We cannot go through life, anymore than James’s first readers could, with a casual attitude about what we believe. We must always be attempting to determine if what we believe really is what the Bible teaches. Also, we must ask ourselves constantly if what we are doing is consistent with what we say we believe.
Political parties are notorious for compromising their platforms and the underlying political philosophies they are supposed to believe. They do so for the sake of political expediency, power and advantage. We, on the other hand, cannot afford to compromise at any point. Unlike political parties, we cannot rationalize our values for selfish reasons. To do so is arrogance. To do so is to insult God.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
More on Arrogance
By now, you all should have recovered from our hike on Sunday. As things turned out, the trail we took was quite challenging. All those steps! You all did well and made it through the whole hike. Then again, what would you have done if you had decided to quit halfway through the hike. Its not like there was an elevator to the top. Sometimes, giving up is not an option.
During lunch, Chris raised a question about Cain’s wife: where did she come from? I gave you an abbreviated answer. Later, Chris and Beth asked me about dinosaurs in the context of the creation story in Genesis 1. I told him I might take a Sunday or two and discuss some questions about creation. Staying with our study in James, though, seems to me to be a more important issue, but I do want to share some of my thoughts about creation and the early earth. So, here’s what I’ll do. For those of you who are interested, I will post some articles over the next week or so about creation on another of my blogs, http://hermeneian.blogspot.com. On 2collide-2collide is a link to this blog and one other.
Now, back to James. In our last study in James, we looked at James 3.1 and arrogance. We will be continuing the study in chapter 3 this next Sunday. We’ll look at 3.1-12. I think I’ll cover that whole section in our study. The main emphasis in this part of James is speaking in an idle, careless and thoughtless manner. James wanted his readers to see two things. First, his intent for his readers was for them to understand the inherent contradiction for believers in careless speech. Second, he wanted them to see the danger in that practice.
As we considered the concept of arrogance in our last study, we used some examples of high-profile individuals from our popular culture whose speech is characterized by arrogance. Remember some important implications of arrogance. An arrogant person is proud, condescending contentious and contemptuous of others.
Arrogance communicates a fundamentally unbiblical attitude about God and other persons. An arrogant persons is a superior-minded person; he believes everyone else is less valuable and important than he. An arrogant person is contemptuous of God and only superficially considers or disregards the Lord altogether in his planning. Indeed, the height of arrogance is to ignore God and his expectations.
In James 3, the use of the tongue is the human mannerism the author used to highlight the dangers and paradox of arrogance. Throughout the Bible, simple human attributes, the tongue, the stomach, the eyes and the hands, are often used to illustrate greater truths. Even more important, how these simple features are used, their importance in the life of a person, point to greater truths. In an extreme statement, Jesus suggested gouging out our eyes or cutting off our hands if they lead us into sin. His point was for believers to go to the most extreme lengths to exercise control in their lives. Surely, Jesus was not teaching self-mutilation. He did say, though, we are to do whatever is required to stop any activity or thought leading us into ungodliness.
Paul used another metaphor. He said, in 1 Corinthians 9.25-27, “Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.” No one is so good and committed as to be exempt from exercising self-control in his life. To fail to do so, to believe one is good enough, is arrogance in the extreme.
Among those to whom James wrote, arrogance was a real issue. Some lived their lives oblivious to their own arrogant sinfulness. Others were teetering on the brink of arrogance (see James 2.1-6). Many times, we are as James’s readers: we are unthinkingly judgmental about others. We decide some are worthy and some are not. We use a number of criteria, social, economic, ethnic, racial, etc., as the basis of our evaluations of others. At times, we do so unconsciously, at others, we are intentional. In all cases we are arrogant. James will help us overcome this problem.
During lunch, Chris raised a question about Cain’s wife: where did she come from? I gave you an abbreviated answer. Later, Chris and Beth asked me about dinosaurs in the context of the creation story in Genesis 1. I told him I might take a Sunday or two and discuss some questions about creation. Staying with our study in James, though, seems to me to be a more important issue, but I do want to share some of my thoughts about creation and the early earth. So, here’s what I’ll do. For those of you who are interested, I will post some articles over the next week or so about creation on another of my blogs, http://hermeneian.blogspot.com. On 2collide-2collide is a link to this blog and one other.
Now, back to James. In our last study in James, we looked at James 3.1 and arrogance. We will be continuing the study in chapter 3 this next Sunday. We’ll look at 3.1-12. I think I’ll cover that whole section in our study. The main emphasis in this part of James is speaking in an idle, careless and thoughtless manner. James wanted his readers to see two things. First, his intent for his readers was for them to understand the inherent contradiction for believers in careless speech. Second, he wanted them to see the danger in that practice.
As we considered the concept of arrogance in our last study, we used some examples of high-profile individuals from our popular culture whose speech is characterized by arrogance. Remember some important implications of arrogance. An arrogant person is proud, condescending contentious and contemptuous of others.
Arrogance communicates a fundamentally unbiblical attitude about God and other persons. An arrogant persons is a superior-minded person; he believes everyone else is less valuable and important than he. An arrogant person is contemptuous of God and only superficially considers or disregards the Lord altogether in his planning. Indeed, the height of arrogance is to ignore God and his expectations.
In James 3, the use of the tongue is the human mannerism the author used to highlight the dangers and paradox of arrogance. Throughout the Bible, simple human attributes, the tongue, the stomach, the eyes and the hands, are often used to illustrate greater truths. Even more important, how these simple features are used, their importance in the life of a person, point to greater truths. In an extreme statement, Jesus suggested gouging out our eyes or cutting off our hands if they lead us into sin. His point was for believers to go to the most extreme lengths to exercise control in their lives. Surely, Jesus was not teaching self-mutilation. He did say, though, we are to do whatever is required to stop any activity or thought leading us into ungodliness.
Paul used another metaphor. He said, in 1 Corinthians 9.25-27, “Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.” No one is so good and committed as to be exempt from exercising self-control in his life. To fail to do so, to believe one is good enough, is arrogance in the extreme.
Among those to whom James wrote, arrogance was a real issue. Some lived their lives oblivious to their own arrogant sinfulness. Others were teetering on the brink of arrogance (see James 2.1-6). Many times, we are as James’s readers: we are unthinkingly judgmental about others. We decide some are worthy and some are not. We use a number of criteria, social, economic, ethnic, racial, etc., as the basis of our evaluations of others. At times, we do so unconsciously, at others, we are intentional. In all cases we are arrogant. James will help us overcome this problem.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Thoughts on Arrogance
Most of us do not think of ourselves as being arrogant. We typically attribute arrogance to those who are prideful and ego-centric. We do not want to be seen as contemptuous of or condescending to others. Unkind, uncaring and insensitive persons are arrogant. Not us.
Yet, we may be more arrogant than we think. James said, “If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well.” Are our actions always consistent with our words. At Gateway this past Sunday, we all confessed in the decision time, “Jesus is everything.” Well, is he everything to us? Does he matter more to us than anyone or anything else in all the world?
All of us have gone through a moment in time when we publicly professed Jesus as Savior and Lord (I hope you all have done that). Now, many times, we do not consider the implications of such a commitment. Too often, we have “things” in our lives blocking our view of Jesus. We say we love Jesus, yet, we do not express our love for him as consistently as we should. Is that not arrogance?
Let’s consider, for a moment, how love is defined in Scripture. Biblically, love is not primarily an emotional thing. Love, first and foremost, is a commitment of oneself unalterably to someone else. When we declare our love for God or our love for a person, we are committing ourselves to an unchanging, unfailing loyalty to the one loved. We are declaring no one or no thing will come between us and the one we love.
Can you see how easy being arrogant is? If we say we love Jesus, yet, allow some other priority in our lives to interfere with our obedience to the Lord, we are treating Jesus with contempt. We are making him less important than he really is; we are being contemptuous of him. We do not have to put ourselves in a position of authority to obligate ourselves to greater judgment (see Jam. 3.1). In fact, as a believer, we are indeed “teachers” of others. We are to model Christian behavior to those in our world who are not believers. If we profess to be followers of Jesus, but do not follow him in our public and private behavior, are we not arrogant and calling down upon ourselves a greater judgment?
Being consistent in our lives is a major issue. We must have a high level of agreement in the way we live between what we have said we believe and how we act. I mentioned Sunday morning the Christian pollster George Barna. In his latest book, he argues people between 18-25 are more concerned with how they feel about an issue than the fundamental truth of the issue. I believe such an attitude is really inter-generational. No one age group has cornered the market on feeling versus fact. We are all motivated by our own desire for comfort.
For instance, Francis Schaeffer, a theologian of the 70s and 80s, said Ronald Reagan was elected President, not because most people were politically or socially conservative, but because Reagan offered them the greatest hope of personal peace and prosperity. Are those two motives not feeling-based? Are we not, as followers of Jesus, supposed to come down on the side of commitment and not convenience? Every account in the New Testament of Jesus calling someone to follow him meant inconvenience for that person if he chose to leave what he was doing and become a disciple.
Jesus said, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.” Following Jesus does not always feel good, is not always convenient and many times will conflict with our list of personal priorities. Yet, when we confess Jesus as Lord, we are committing ourselves to go where he leads and do what he tells us to do. Anything less is arrogance. To ignore the commands of Jesus because of personal interests is to be contemptuous of the Lord and treat him as if he does not matter at all.
Does Jesus mean more than any one or anything else to us? Does he matter most? Beginning with Andrew and his brother Peter, those who have been summoned by Jesus to total discipleship have been faced always with the demand both to say and to do the truth.
Yet, we may be more arrogant than we think. James said, “If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well.” Are our actions always consistent with our words. At Gateway this past Sunday, we all confessed in the decision time, “Jesus is everything.” Well, is he everything to us? Does he matter more to us than anyone or anything else in all the world?
All of us have gone through a moment in time when we publicly professed Jesus as Savior and Lord (I hope you all have done that). Now, many times, we do not consider the implications of such a commitment. Too often, we have “things” in our lives blocking our view of Jesus. We say we love Jesus, yet, we do not express our love for him as consistently as we should. Is that not arrogance?
Let’s consider, for a moment, how love is defined in Scripture. Biblically, love is not primarily an emotional thing. Love, first and foremost, is a commitment of oneself unalterably to someone else. When we declare our love for God or our love for a person, we are committing ourselves to an unchanging, unfailing loyalty to the one loved. We are declaring no one or no thing will come between us and the one we love.
Can you see how easy being arrogant is? If we say we love Jesus, yet, allow some other priority in our lives to interfere with our obedience to the Lord, we are treating Jesus with contempt. We are making him less important than he really is; we are being contemptuous of him. We do not have to put ourselves in a position of authority to obligate ourselves to greater judgment (see Jam. 3.1). In fact, as a believer, we are indeed “teachers” of others. We are to model Christian behavior to those in our world who are not believers. If we profess to be followers of Jesus, but do not follow him in our public and private behavior, are we not arrogant and calling down upon ourselves a greater judgment?
Being consistent in our lives is a major issue. We must have a high level of agreement in the way we live between what we have said we believe and how we act. I mentioned Sunday morning the Christian pollster George Barna. In his latest book, he argues people between 18-25 are more concerned with how they feel about an issue than the fundamental truth of the issue. I believe such an attitude is really inter-generational. No one age group has cornered the market on feeling versus fact. We are all motivated by our own desire for comfort.
For instance, Francis Schaeffer, a theologian of the 70s and 80s, said Ronald Reagan was elected President, not because most people were politically or socially conservative, but because Reagan offered them the greatest hope of personal peace and prosperity. Are those two motives not feeling-based? Are we not, as followers of Jesus, supposed to come down on the side of commitment and not convenience? Every account in the New Testament of Jesus calling someone to follow him meant inconvenience for that person if he chose to leave what he was doing and become a disciple.
Jesus said, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.” Following Jesus does not always feel good, is not always convenient and many times will conflict with our list of personal priorities. Yet, when we confess Jesus as Lord, we are committing ourselves to go where he leads and do what he tells us to do. Anything less is arrogance. To ignore the commands of Jesus because of personal interests is to be contemptuous of the Lord and treat him as if he does not matter at all.
Does Jesus mean more than any one or anything else to us? Does he matter most? Beginning with Andrew and his brother Peter, those who have been summoned by Jesus to total discipleship have been faced always with the demand both to say and to do the truth.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Radical Faith
As we have seen in our study of James, the author was concerned for how followers of Jesus responded to the political crisis in first-century Palestine. By extension, our own reaction to political events in our day is of the same significance. We cannot remove ourselves from life and life something akin to monasticism. We must be engaged in our communities and in the lives of our neighbors.
In John 17, the great prayer of Jesus on behalf of his followers is recounted. In that prayer, he prayed, “I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one” Just as Jesus asked the Father, we are kept safe in this world as we serve Jesus. When being a witness demands we be active in the world of politics, we can be assured the Spirit of God will protect us in our pursuits. But, we must, for our part, insure our motives are what they should be. We must seek in all circumstances to be obedient to the Lord. His unfailing protection and care give us the security we need to be obedient even when obedience is dangerous.
Now, being politically involved was of secondary importance to James. Certainly, he wanted followers of Jesus to respond in the right manner to the pressures of their day, but to do so required more than keen political insight. To be a dedicated follower of Jesus in the political realm requires the same thing needed for being a committed believer in medicine, law, commerce, and all the other pursuits characterizing a culture. One must be a transformed follower of Jesus.
Reading the Epistle of James challenges us at the point of our personal priorities. James, in the manner of Jesus, required radical transformation in the lives of disciples of Christ. One cannot go through life casually oblivious to the complex issues we face. How we lived as a 16-year old is not adequate for life in the world as a 19- or 25-year old. We must change within if we are to be prepared for the ever-increasing demands of life. We must give thought to who we are, what is important to us and what God demands of us.
Sunday, we will look intently into the 2d chapter of James. For most students of the Book of James, their focus has been on what most see as a divergence by James from the teachings of Paul about faith. Personally, I do not believe James was giving a lot of thought to what Paul had to say about faith. What James was confronting was false faith and religious faith. James was concerned for his readers to see faith as the basis for obedient service to Jesus and not as the reason for ritual observance of the Law.
James saw faith as the springboard into a deepening relationship with God and as the foundation for relationships among believers. As we read the 2d chapter of James, we can observe James’s impatience with those believers who betrayed their faith in Jesus by showing preferences within their worshiping fellowship. Further, he was even more bothered by those who saw religious observance of the Law as the most significant expression of faith.
The first command of the Law James quoted was the same one Jesus used in answering the question of a lawyer. The question was, “"Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” Jesus answered, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” (Matt. 22.37-39)
For James, loving God, and expressing trust in Him required complete obedience to the Lord and a total commitment to one’s neighbors. Only when we have been radically transformed by grace can we truly serve God. All the other stuff, tithing, church attendance, etc., are just manifestations of our faith; these acts are not the essence of faith. The believing Jews to whom James wrote were stumbling in their faithful obedience. The unbelieving Jews were convinced their ritual observance of the Law was good enough. James wanted both groups to see the true meaning of radical faith and obedience.
What we must decide what kind of persons we are. Are we the one who looks into the mirror of the Law and goes away unchanged, or the one who looks into the perfect Law, the Law of Liberty and is radically transformed. (James 1.22-25)
In John 17, the great prayer of Jesus on behalf of his followers is recounted. In that prayer, he prayed, “I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one” Just as Jesus asked the Father, we are kept safe in this world as we serve Jesus. When being a witness demands we be active in the world of politics, we can be assured the Spirit of God will protect us in our pursuits. But, we must, for our part, insure our motives are what they should be. We must seek in all circumstances to be obedient to the Lord. His unfailing protection and care give us the security we need to be obedient even when obedience is dangerous.
Now, being politically involved was of secondary importance to James. Certainly, he wanted followers of Jesus to respond in the right manner to the pressures of their day, but to do so required more than keen political insight. To be a dedicated follower of Jesus in the political realm requires the same thing needed for being a committed believer in medicine, law, commerce, and all the other pursuits characterizing a culture. One must be a transformed follower of Jesus.
Reading the Epistle of James challenges us at the point of our personal priorities. James, in the manner of Jesus, required radical transformation in the lives of disciples of Christ. One cannot go through life casually oblivious to the complex issues we face. How we lived as a 16-year old is not adequate for life in the world as a 19- or 25-year old. We must change within if we are to be prepared for the ever-increasing demands of life. We must give thought to who we are, what is important to us and what God demands of us.
Sunday, we will look intently into the 2d chapter of James. For most students of the Book of James, their focus has been on what most see as a divergence by James from the teachings of Paul about faith. Personally, I do not believe James was giving a lot of thought to what Paul had to say about faith. What James was confronting was false faith and religious faith. James was concerned for his readers to see faith as the basis for obedient service to Jesus and not as the reason for ritual observance of the Law.
James saw faith as the springboard into a deepening relationship with God and as the foundation for relationships among believers. As we read the 2d chapter of James, we can observe James’s impatience with those believers who betrayed their faith in Jesus by showing preferences within their worshiping fellowship. Further, he was even more bothered by those who saw religious observance of the Law as the most significant expression of faith.
The first command of the Law James quoted was the same one Jesus used in answering the question of a lawyer. The question was, “"Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” Jesus answered, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” (Matt. 22.37-39)
For James, loving God, and expressing trust in Him required complete obedience to the Lord and a total commitment to one’s neighbors. Only when we have been radically transformed by grace can we truly serve God. All the other stuff, tithing, church attendance, etc., are just manifestations of our faith; these acts are not the essence of faith. The believing Jews to whom James wrote were stumbling in their faithful obedience. The unbelieving Jews were convinced their ritual observance of the Law was good enough. James wanted both groups to see the true meaning of radical faith and obedience.
What we must decide what kind of persons we are. Are we the one who looks into the mirror of the Law and goes away unchanged, or the one who looks into the perfect Law, the Law of Liberty and is radically transformed. (James 1.22-25)
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
James and the Dynamics of Personal Change
This past Sunday, we started considering the impact of the message of James on our political awareness. The issue we addressed had to do with personal change and politics. Much of what politicians talk about, their own philosophies and goals, involves change on the parts of their constituents. Why should a citizen vote for a particular candidate, or pay taxes, or support some piece of legislation? Sometimes, we do what we do because we are coerced into action: we pay taxes to avoid legal problems. We often vote for reasons of self-interest. We commit to an issue-oriented group (for instance, a pro-life organization) based upon conviction.
The question for believers, though, is will we include all our political activities in the conviction category. In the Bible, the ultimate goal for God’s people is for them to act ethically. The heart of the Ten Commandments is ethical conduct. In the New Testament, the same goal is taught. For instance, in the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Lk. 10.25f), when asked about eternal life and the Law, Jesus pointed out to his questioner ethical conduct is far superior to religious conduct. One can be religious without being ethical (the priest and the Levite who ignored the man in the ditch; the Samaritan acted ethically).
In James 1.19b-27, the author commented on personal change. James sought to show a difference between superficial change and fundamentally deep, personal transformation. James wanted the audience members hearing his letter who were followers of Jesus to be reminded of how a person becomes genuine and remains genuine.
James used the imagery of a person looking into a mirror to communicate his message. The metaphor had two intentions: (1) to describe the person who refuses to change; and (2) to describe the person who is changed and the dynamics of his transformation. Obviously, two kinds of persons made up the membership of James’s audience: those motivated by spiritual issues and those motivated by religious and physical concerns. With his mirror metaphor, James spoke to both groups.
Those who had religious and physical priorities were the first James described. These, James said, were only hearers of the Word. They look into the mirror, then go away, forgetting what kind of person they saw reflected. In actual fact, they were unconcerned with what kind of person they were; the main motives of this group were satisfying God through religious ritual and self-preservation through the amassing of power and wealth. How they got power and wealth did not matter.
The second group was described differently. Unlike the first, this class of persons not only heard the word, they did it as well. Their order of priorities differed fundamentally from the first group described. These hearers and doers looked into the mirror of the perfect law, the law of liberty and saw who they really were. Then, knowing God offers the ultimate protection, and God had already exalted them (see 1.9; being exalted is being raised up from one’s true poverty to God’s true wealth), they can committed themselves to the doing of the word. Doing the Word is first and foremost abiding by what the Word teaches, and, thus, being changed personally.
In the political world of his day, James knew believers had to have a different motive for their decisions than others. One group, the wealthy, wanted the Romans to stay in power so their affluence and power would be preserved. The rich were motivated entirely by physical concerns. They only heard the Word, they did not, in fact, abide by the demands of Scripture. They attended synagogue services, kept the Law, and at the appointed times went to the Temple. These people were ritually and religiously correct, but ethically corrupt. They “kept the Law” only to keep God happy. They were doing nothing more than checking blocks.
The followers of Jesus had a different set of values. True obedience, without regard to consequences, was the ultimate good for them. Even if they became political outcasts and were disenfranchised, they were to hear and do the true intent of the Law. James wanted them to understand only God would preserve them in whatever circumstances they found themselves , not politics, wealth, or the right connections.
We find ourselves in a similar situation today. Our political environment is different, but we face the same issues. Who does preserve us? Where does real power and wealth reside? Can we be politically involved and maintain our Christian convictions and values? I think James answers these questions.
Before Sunday, read James 2.1-13. Also, find a copy of the U. S. Constitution and read the preamble. Also, read the Declaration of Independence. Consider the questions, “Why was our country founded originally, and why was our republican form of government instituted?”
The question for believers, though, is will we include all our political activities in the conviction category. In the Bible, the ultimate goal for God’s people is for them to act ethically. The heart of the Ten Commandments is ethical conduct. In the New Testament, the same goal is taught. For instance, in the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Lk. 10.25f), when asked about eternal life and the Law, Jesus pointed out to his questioner ethical conduct is far superior to religious conduct. One can be religious without being ethical (the priest and the Levite who ignored the man in the ditch; the Samaritan acted ethically).
In James 1.19b-27, the author commented on personal change. James sought to show a difference between superficial change and fundamentally deep, personal transformation. James wanted the audience members hearing his letter who were followers of Jesus to be reminded of how a person becomes genuine and remains genuine.
James used the imagery of a person looking into a mirror to communicate his message. The metaphor had two intentions: (1) to describe the person who refuses to change; and (2) to describe the person who is changed and the dynamics of his transformation. Obviously, two kinds of persons made up the membership of James’s audience: those motivated by spiritual issues and those motivated by religious and physical concerns. With his mirror metaphor, James spoke to both groups.
Those who had religious and physical priorities were the first James described. These, James said, were only hearers of the Word. They look into the mirror, then go away, forgetting what kind of person they saw reflected. In actual fact, they were unconcerned with what kind of person they were; the main motives of this group were satisfying God through religious ritual and self-preservation through the amassing of power and wealth. How they got power and wealth did not matter.
The second group was described differently. Unlike the first, this class of persons not only heard the word, they did it as well. Their order of priorities differed fundamentally from the first group described. These hearers and doers looked into the mirror of the perfect law, the law of liberty and saw who they really were. Then, knowing God offers the ultimate protection, and God had already exalted them (see 1.9; being exalted is being raised up from one’s true poverty to God’s true wealth), they can committed themselves to the doing of the word. Doing the Word is first and foremost abiding by what the Word teaches, and, thus, being changed personally.
In the political world of his day, James knew believers had to have a different motive for their decisions than others. One group, the wealthy, wanted the Romans to stay in power so their affluence and power would be preserved. The rich were motivated entirely by physical concerns. They only heard the Word, they did not, in fact, abide by the demands of Scripture. They attended synagogue services, kept the Law, and at the appointed times went to the Temple. These people were ritually and religiously correct, but ethically corrupt. They “kept the Law” only to keep God happy. They were doing nothing more than checking blocks.
The followers of Jesus had a different set of values. True obedience, without regard to consequences, was the ultimate good for them. Even if they became political outcasts and were disenfranchised, they were to hear and do the true intent of the Law. James wanted them to understand only God would preserve them in whatever circumstances they found themselves , not politics, wealth, or the right connections.
We find ourselves in a similar situation today. Our political environment is different, but we face the same issues. Who does preserve us? Where does real power and wealth reside? Can we be politically involved and maintain our Christian convictions and values? I think James answers these questions.
Before Sunday, read James 2.1-13. Also, find a copy of the U. S. Constitution and read the preamble. Also, read the Declaration of Independence. Consider the questions, “Why was our country founded originally, and why was our republican form of government instituted?”
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