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 7-12
in chapter 4
as we consider Submission or Slander…
If
we have “studied” James’
wonderful epistle carefully up to this point, we will have
“learned” that he has made us very
much aware of his warnings to “us” about “unbelievers”
who are within the “fellowship”
of God having a worldly “wisdom”
and a lustful “love”
for the “world” but who are in
fact – The enemies of God!
This
poignant passage of “promise”
from James is clearly a “Gospel”
invitation for “unbelievers”
to “come” to a saving
“faith” in Jesus Christ!
Therefore, James continues to “lovingly”
warn the “professing”
people in his “assembly” of
whom do not pass the many TESTS of true “faith” that pleases
God:
The
test of “trials.”
The
test of “temptation.”
The
test of a right “attitude” toward the “Word of God.”
The
test of “being a doer” not a “hearer only.”
The
test of “purity.”
The
test of “helping others in need.”
The
test of “no respecter of persons.”
The
test of “good works.”
The
test of the “tongue.”
The
test of “wisdom.”
The
test of a “love for the world,”
These
“salvation” commands
expressed by James in this passage are directed at those who are “double-minded”
and are fully governed by their inner “fleshly” lusts. With that said, let’s dig
into God’s wonderful “Word”
and His associated “promises”
to both encourage and edify our “hearts” and “minds” in Jesus Christ – Thank
you Lord!
Submission or Slander: Which one?
Since
God is a “saving” God, He
indeed “desires” that all
men would come to “know” Him,
to “worship” Him and to “adore” Him through the “knowledge” of Jesus Christ as “Lord” and “Savior”
for the full “forgiveness”
of “sin” just as the
Scriptures declare. Therefore, here in the middle of this excellent chapter,
James marshals several straight “commands”
of which are one of the clearest and most precise
divine invitations to “salvation”
in Jesus Christ – In all of Scripture…
Humble Submission
POINTS TO PONDER: In this regard, we must
acknowledge that God is Sovereign
and has absolute “authority”
within Himself to “choose whomsoever”
He “wills” to be “saved” and did so “before the foundation of the world” as the
Scriptures everywhere declare. And yet at the same time,
there are also a myriad of invitations throughout Scripture
in which God generally “calls”
all “sinners” to respond
to His offer of “salvation”
through His “Gospel” message.
In fact, as we discussed in past EC studies, the dual “truths” of the Sovereignty
of God (Romans 8 & 9) and the Responsibility of Man (Romans 10 & 11) known as the Doctrine
of Concurrence permeate God’s Word – Salvation Truth!
With
those points in mind… How does an “unbeliever” become “humble” as James noted back in our
previous study of this chapter in verse 6
and therefore be “saved” by
God’s “grace”
from our “sin” nature?
But He
gives more grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, but gives
grace to the humble” – James
4:6
James
will now answer this eternally important
question in verses 7-10 beginning
with a great “Therefore“
to provide for “us” very clear
instructions for the “double-minded”
lost “sinners”
being addressed here in this poignant passage:
Therefore
submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and
He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your
hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be
turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the
Lord, and He will lift you up – James
4:7-10
To
begin with, the word for “submit”
in the Greek is hupotasso of which means to “align one’s
self” under the authority of God. It is a direct act
of our will in saying NO
to self and YES
to His authority in our lives. Next, we are to “resist” and take a “stand” against diabolos the
“devil” and he will then “flee from you” – This is TRUE spiritual warfare!
In
fact, Jesus Christ Himself also warned that each of us are either
under the lordship of Satan or under the lordship
of God. It is “One”
or the other – There's no
middle ground here!
He who is not with Me is
against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad – Matthew
12:30
The
“double-minded”
lost are then instructed by James to “draw
near to God” of which means to “know”
Him intimately through a redeeming “relationship” with Jesus Christ. True “salvation” is a “living” communion
with God through “cleansed hands”
of action and a “pure
heart” of affection for Him! Also, to
"lament" means to
feel worse before you can ever feel better
as to “mourn” and “weep” over your “sins” against God. Incidentally, the Greek
word for "laughter"
is gelos and is used only here in the New
Testament. It's a word that indicates the leisurely “foolishness” of men indulging
in their wicked “desires”
and “pleasures” as they willfully
reject God. James then wraps up this thought with the Greek word tapeinoo
which means to willfully “humble”
yourself to a low position before God – And He will lift you up to ultimate glorification!
THEOLOGICAL THOUGHTS: The Greek word hamartolos
for "sinners” here is
used predominantly in the New Testament to refer to the unrepentant
and “hardened” person who openly
disregards the “law” of God
with a reputation for public immorality. The Jewish “brethren” hearing James would never
have assumed these “sinners”
to be true “believers” because
these phony people were openly “wicked” and apart from God’s “law” manifested in their “lying” lives! Again, it is important to
note that this passage is approaching “salvation”
from the side of our human responsibility.
Yes, the “Word of God” is very
clear that “salvation”
is a Sovereign act of God through
His “predetermined” and “predestined” purposes. However, God also demands
a human response. The benefits of “grace” are not poured out freely
on “us” without a requirement
on our behalf. And once we are “regenerated” by the Holy Spirit, there is no such thing
as an effortless life of “holiness”
for the true Christian! We aren't “sanctified” and made more “holy” in Jesus Christ against
our human “will” to change
through full “submission”
to Him. Therefore, freely “receiving”
God’s “saving grace” will manifest
a life of “obedience” to His
Holy “commands” – Doctrine of Concurrence!
Evil Slander
In
the next two verses, we find that pastor James shifts his attention back
to the “brethren”
and now speaks very strongly to them concerning the “evil” issue of “slander” by which is the blasphemous
“sin” of defaming
another “brother”
in Jesus Christ:
Do not
speak evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks evil of a brother and judges
his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the
law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is one Lawgiver, who is
able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another? – James 4:11-12
James
says that “loving” each other
as “brothers” in Jesus Christ
is God's “law” fully
summarized. And when we fail to “love” the other “brethren” we violate
God's perfect standard! In other words, when you “slander” your “brother” without care, you forgo the “law” that forbids you
to do so. Therefore, when you “condemn”
your “brother” in Jesus
Christ, you are “judging” the
“law” of the ONE true “Lawgiver” and by your actions
are actually “condemning” His Holy Word – You judge it unworthy of your affection!
Therefore,
the “speech” of the “mouth” is indeed a true test of a “living
faith,” as we have “learned”
back in chapter 3 in greater
detail. And in line with the words of his big brother Jesus, James echoes the exact
same “truth” regarding the phony
“religious” leaders. What you
“speak” with your “mouth” indicates your “heart” attitude:
You brood of vipers, how can
you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which
fills the heart – Matthew 12:34
OUCH! A “brood of vipers” is VERY
strong language! An unrepentant and habitually
“slanderous” speaking “tongue” of evil
towards other people betrays an unchanged “heart” and “life”
for God – Vicarious Vipers!
And
Jesus continues to “rebuke”
these “wicked” men in that
same passage:
By your words you will be
justified and by your words you will be condemned – Matthew
12:37
Again,
the reason Jesus and James could reiterate this “truth”
concerning the troublesome “tongue”
and maniacal “mouth” is
because the “words” that you “speak” are the revealing
of your “heart” of “hate” OR your “heart” of “holiness”
– Condemnation or justification awaits!
In
the Old Testament, the Prophet Isaiah
expressed the “guilt” and “shame” and an overpowering sense
of his own “sinfulness” before
a Thrice Holy God as he lamented:
So I said: “Woe is me, for I am
undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a
people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts – Isaiah
6:5
This
word “Woe” is the truest
and most obvious expression of Isaiah’s
own expression of his “sinfulness”
for he “understood” that it is
out of the “heart” that the “mouth” will “speak” of its true condition – Woe is me!
REAL REFLECTIONS: When a truly
“regenerate” person willingly
places his “life” under the “Lordship” of Jesus Christ, he “does”
so with true “understanding”
because they have “believed”
in the “Word of God” and fully
“trust” Him with
their life. This true “believer” now “knows” and continues
to “learn” in growing
measure the purpose and will
of Father God via the “knowledge” of the Holy Spirit’s changing power
flowing in and through a “submitted” and “obedient” life to Him according to His perfect
“will” – Is this true of YOU?
In closing:
For
further concern of our personal “holiness” through “salvation” in Jesus Christ, someone once
said of “evil” speech:
“The mouth is the tunnel through which
depravity exits the heart”
And
it was William Barclay who once said:
"It is a reckless man who deliberately
infringes on the prerogatives of God!"
As
we consider the Apostle Paul’s instructions of “submission”
to the “brethren” in Ephesus,
we find a very similar and familiar “call”
to personal “holiness”
and “righteousness”
that is present in a life “lived”
for Jesus Christ:
This I
say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the
rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, having their
understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the
ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; who, being
past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness
with greediness. But you have
not so learned Christ, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by
Him, as the truth is in Jesus: that you put off, concerning your former
conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and
be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which
was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness – Ephesians 4:17-24
Beloved,
with those solemn “thoughts”
in mind, we can fervently agree with James, Paul,
Isaiah and Jesus – AMEN!
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 <><
