Hello Friends!
Welcome back to our Monday morning Daily Devotions summer
series titled
“The Book of James: Putting Faith to Work!”
The Book of James: Putting Faith to Work!
This
week we will continue our reading of verses
21-27 in completion of chapter 1
as we consider Belief that Behaves…
The
genuineness of a person’s “religion”
is not determined by their own opinion, it's determined by
God’s opinion! Although a person may “think” themselves to be quite “religious” as such, they are not the one
who makes that decision. God says we are genuinely “religious” in the truest sense based upon
His Word when our “lives” are
marked by “obedience” and “love” for Him and others. Incidentally,
the true “believer” will also
strive to “keep oneself
unspotted from the world” by Biblical “faith” in Jesus Christ, by the “grace” of God the Father, through the
in-filling “power” of the Holy
Spirit – Thank you Lord!
Belief the Behaves!
James
continues to challenge his readers with more tests
of true “faith” as he further
instructs the “brethren”
entrusted into his pastoral care and nurturing:
Therefore
lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness
the implanted word, which is able to save your souls – James 1:21
Another
way we must “receive” the Word
of God is with a “pure” life.
However, we cannot do so until we are ready to “lay
aside” the influences of our “flesh”
and the satanic “world” system
around us. The evil of the world’s “filthiness” and “wickedness” will hinder the “righteousness” of God from being produced
in our lives. Why? Because they do not please Him! Therefore,
James instructs us to “lay aside”
our “sins.” A key word James
uses here is "receive”
because it is how one responds to God as they “receive with meekness”
His “implanted word”
into their submitted heart. It is the Word of God that alone is “able to save your souls”
from damnation. If you are a true “believer”
there is a receptivity to the “truth”
of God in “your” life – We must submit to the Word of God!
A SIMPLE ILLUSTRATION: As radio listeners diligently set their
dials for clear broadcast reception, “we”
are “tuned into” to the “frequency” of God and His Word properly when it comes
through clearly. Why? Because that's where we've decided
to set the “spiritual” dial of our heart. When we “desire” God’s “truth” and want to “obey” His Word by the power of the Holy
Spirit, our “souls” are
blessed – Amen!
Next
James further captures the core of the issue of “obedience”
to God’s Word:
But be
doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is
a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural
face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets
what kind of man he was – James
1:22-24
One
way to define a true “believer”
is one who is a “doer” of
God’s “word” and “walks” in the “way” of the Lord. They subscribe their
life to the Word of God and “desire”
to pattern their lives after Him. On the other hand, “unbelievers” are not “doers” of God's Word. They simply “observe” themselves and then “goes away”
to “immediately”
avoid it at all costs. The point is this: If you don't do something on the spot
when you see what needs to be changed in your life, you'll get busy and you'll
forget that anything needs to be done at all. Therefore, we must deal with our
“sin” immediately!
In other words, if we're simply a “hearer”
of God’s Word only, we are dangerously close to “deceiving” ourselves... About what?
– Our salvation!
If
we try to construct a religious house built upon anything else but “obedience” to the Word of God, the effort
is folly. In fact, James’ half-brother, “Savior” and “Lord” Jesus Christ asked this straight-to-the-point
question:
And why do you call Me Lord,
Lord and do not the things which I say – Luke
6:46
It
is a mark of an authentic, true and genuine “believer”
living in the ONLY saving “faith”
of Jesus Christ. This is the Christian that has a deep “desire” to “obey”
God’s “word” by being more
than just a “hearer” – The proper response is to be a doer!
“But” now in stark contrast, James
addresses the true “believer”
in Jesus Christ:
But he
who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a
forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he
does – James 1:25
Here’s the contrast! This Greek word for “looks” is “parakupto” and literally
means to bend down to examine something with great care and precision. This is
the “believer” who thoroughly
searches out everything and implies a true humbling
of oneself. It is a looking intently with great “desire” and effort at the “perfect law of liberty”
and wanting to “discern” what
is revealed in God’s Word. James encourages the “doer of the work” in that “this one will be blessed in what
he does.” Why? Because the true blessing
is in the actual doing – Obedience
to the Lord!
Next
we move away from the analogy to the actual situation.
Here we find that apparently in the fellowship to which James wrote, there was
a BIG problem! There were many “religious” people misusing their “tongue” for
“useless” pursuits:
If
anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but
deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless – James 1:26
There
seems to have been several would-be “religious” teachers who were “deceivers” of the “brethren” and their “religion” was “useless” to God and man. The point here is
a false subjective mental belief or opinion of which is implied by the word
"thinks." This
phrase could be translated as "has the
opinion of himself that he's religious.” After all, “Out of the abundance of the mouth, the heart speaks”
and corrupt, unholy speech betrays a corrupt, unholy heart. In other words – Your lips will reveal what is truly in your heart!
THEOLOGICAL THOUGHTS: The Greek word for “religious” here is “threskos” and
is a very interesting word. It is an adjective of which is used only here in
the New Testament. The noun form is used in verses
26 and 27 and refers to external
ceremonial worship. Incidentally, the Greek word “eusebeia”
means “godliness“ referring to
the “heart” and the Greek word
“mataios” means “accomplishing nothing” and is “useless” for anything! Therefore, if
somebody “thinks” himself to
be liturgically “religious” in
the sense that he's carrying out a sort of pompous and pious parade but does
not care to “bridle his tongue,”
he actually “deceives his
own heart” and his “religion is useless” both externally
and internally – He is a
totally deceived hypocrite!
Therefore,
even though the “religious” ritual
might be evangelical in nature and even though the ceremony might
be Biblical, it is actually futile pagan idolatry unless one’s “heart“ is right with the Lord! It's
the “hearing” and “doing” with the right “heart” and “motives”
that truly matters to God. Therefore, it is a complete “deception” to “think” that if we simply read our Bible,
go to church, pray, give money, sing songs… That's enough… REALLY?
IMPORTANT QUESTION: How do you know if
what you are “doing” is right
before the Lord? Check your “tongue”
and speech. Why? Because if any man “thinks he is religious” and doesn't “bridle” his own “tongue,” his profession of “faith” is a sham – Deceptive and useless!
Finally,
James notes that a proper reaction to and reception of the Word of God also
means a willingness to apply it without selfishness:
Pure
and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and
widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world – James 1:27
True
“religion” demonstrates God’s
Love and compassion. “Pure” is
the word for clean and “undefiled”
is the word for unstained.
They're synonyms with each other and points out that this is the purest kind of “worship” and “religion.” Again, it is not about what we
do on the outside that matters, it's what comes out of our
“heart” from the inside!
Furthermore, look what James says here: “Pure”
and “undefiled” before Whom?
Here “God and the Father” is
speaking of His Sovereignty
as “God” and His Love as “Father.”
This is God's standard as He evaluates and judges our “works” based upon His divine decision and
not on the basis of our outward activity alone – Very important!
This
word for "to visit" is
a wonderful word. It means much more than simply saying "Hello" to
someone. It has a sense of care built into it and includes the idea of bringing
love and pity to someone in need through genuine nurturing support and service.
James chooses “orphans and
widows” because they are a segment of the population
within the “church” that
demonstrates the greatest need for compassion with the least
ability to reciprocate. Throughout the entire Bible – God has always been concerned with the fatherless and
widows!
James
finishes his thoughts in this passage as he encourages his readers to
continually strive to “keep
oneself unspotted from the world” and its evil influence.
The Greek word for “world”
here is “Kosmos” of which refers to the filthy demonic system of
ideologies, beliefs, lifestyles and worldviews of Satan’s ungodly cultural
influence.
THE WORD OF GOD IS CLEAR! Anyone who is a friend of the “world” is the enemy of God! The two are incompatible.
The
Apostle John aptly applies this same truth in saying if you “love” the “world,” you don't “love” the “Father”:
Do not
love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love
of the Father is not in him – 1 John 2:15-16
Straight
to the point!
If you're a “friend” of the “world” then you're an enemy
of God. In other words – There's no place for
compromise!
In closing:
Having
been “born again” by the shed
blood of “Jesus Christ” and
baptized by the “Holy Spirit of God”
confirmed through the “Word of God”
we become its pupils and our heart's “desire”
is to listen to it, learn from it and respond to it in the same way a baby “desires” milk. After all, you do not have
to teach a baby to like milk or to drink milk. Why? Because it
naturally wants to eat as soon as it arrives into the
world – By God’s design!
The
same is true of a “believer”
transformed by the “Word of God”
as he “grows up” with a
spiritual appetite toward the “things”
of God. For the true “Christian,”
this appetite is there in a growing way and is indicative
of the “new birth” in Jesus
Christ. However, if this appetite is not there in a
growing way it is most likely indicative of the absence of the “new birth” in Jesus Christ – An eternally serious spiritual matter!
Thank you for reading! Don’t miss next week’s continued study of The
Book of James: Putting Faith to Work!…
May the Lord Jesus Christ continue to bless you with His perfect
love, mercy and grace!
Keep looking up and sharing the Gospel while there is still time… Hallelujah
and Maranatha – come quickly Lord Jesus!
Blessings!
Shane <><
