“The mark of a true believer is they are speechless & God speaks through them” -John Wesley. Our words have the power to bring life or death. When your words bear the fruit of the Spirit they breathe life…when we speak anything other than you share death. James mentions our words are like a fire…that can used for good or evil.
GODLYWISDOM(v.14-18)
James sets this up to show us the importance of Godly Wisdom vs. worldly wisdom.
World = it’s all about me & my happiness
God = it’s all about peace
Take Away: Are your words bringing life and edification to your own and other’s lives?
How Can You Live Out Godly Wisdom over worldly wisdom?
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Can you imagine what life would be like if the Jesus wasn’t the sacrifice for our sins? The Bible says ‘without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins’. Before Jesus’ death on the cross, they had to kill specific animals to atone for their sin…constantly! Imagine if we had to do that now? How does James talk about that Grace and what are we to do with it?
Remember James audience is the Church scattered by Saul through the Roman world outside of Israel. The Romans were used to “looking the part” so much so that some even rented gold rings to look like a higher status than they were (sound familiar social media?). At this time the assembly would have been divided from Jew and Gentile because Christian converts, who were once Jewish, were used to the separation in the Synagogue. The Roman world is soon amazed at the Church and this is what actually grows the Church through tribulation. James is appealing to our sense of judging outward appearance vs. the heart (remember Samuel anointing David?). We are under the law of liberty (Peter alludes to this by not using our freedom for fleshly desires)…which means we have free will but still sit under the authority of the Jesus—who is the fulfillment of the Law. So the law is not useless…in fact it is necessary for us to see the irresistible grace of God. We can’t be so caught up in the Law we are Judges…that’s God’s job! We are not called to convict others…that’s the Holy Spirit’s job! Our job is to LOVE!
FAITHACTUALLYWORKS(v.14-26)
This is HEAVY HITTING! We are saved by faith in receiving Jesus as our Savior and though that faith our works are affirmation of our faith (our works are not the reason of our faith). Many in the religious word have misconstrued this by saying we have to work our way to Jesus…NO! We show Jesus to the world in our actions by how we Love God Love Others (see above Mercy Triumphs). James lived in a time that the Jewish converts felt once they were saved by faith in Christ that they didn’t need to bear fruit but stay comfortable…not so in following Jesus step by step! He reminds them that prayer is not a substitute for action…we are compelled to action through faith & prayer! Many times we have the greatest Scripture quotes but even satan can quote scripture…it’s what you do with the knowledge that matters (remember the Rich Young Ruler). Spurgeon says it best…”the grace that does not change my life will not save my soul”. Our works show our faith!
James 2 reminds me that the only 2 places still segregated in the US is the Church and the Barbershop…we must show unity to the world by not dividing ourselves from the .05% genetic difference we have but instead in the 100% fact we are all sinners in need of a Savior. When we rally around that it’s amazing the work we are committed to do in bringing the Gospel to the ends of the earth in we Love God Love Others.
Take Away: Why do we naturally tend to show partiality towards certain people?
What current actions show your faith is alive? Which actions show it is not?
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Of all of the people we get to study in the Bible James would be one of the most unique ones. He is the half brother of Jesus and writing the first book of the New Testament as a letter to the Church who is scattered all over about how to live out faith & facing various trials and persecution throughout all of Rome! James writes a blueprint for living out our faith as Christians! What can we learn from James 1 about living out our faith?
James writes first as a servant of Christ (not His half brother) which shows his humility from the beginning! He speaks of the maturity of the faith in a Christ follower shows in how they respond to adversity…not that we have to fake like everything is okay during the trial but instead that we have faith that God is working this to our good because we know that the Victory is already won in Christ Jesus! Our trials are not to be compared with others but instead to we are to look to God Who does not allow us to go through anything that He can’t redeem, heal and bring to fullness in Him beyond what we could ever ask for imagine. James is showing us that we grow through what we go through!
CONVICTIONONANOTHERLEVEL (v.19-27)
This almost seems like a commentary on the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). James is showing us that our words have the power to build up or destroy. In our social media world it is easy to make statements without thinking about the impact it has on others…yet that seems to be the first place we go with our words. And just like our words have impact on others, the Word of God has an impact on us when we hear it. In our world we think that Christianity is about saying a prayer, attending Church, and reading the Word…but we are compelled to act when we hear Truth! We are compelled to act as God calls (even if that acting is Him telling us to stay still we in obedience act by staying still)…being a light a dark world!
Take Away: What is your default response to trials and trying times? How can you change your perspective and respond with joy?
In which area(s) of your life do you need to embrace the Word and align yourself with it?
Interested in More About Our Thursday Greenhouse Gathering: CLICK HERE
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Tyler West 