Category: Being Obedient to the LORD

What does it mean to be obedient to the LORD

No Mercy

James 2
10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.
 
11 For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law.
 
12 So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.
 
13 For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.
 
14 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?
 
15 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,
 
16 And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?
 
17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
 
God can do anything. He is sovereign. But make no mistake, this relationship with God is reciprocal. That means that although God can do everything, he wants you to take responsibility and work too. We pray for healing, and do not go to a doctor, we pray for financial blessings but do not work, we pray for unsaved relatives to get saved and do not talk to them about sin and death brought on by sin, we pray for peace and unleash anger on the world, we pray to understand and yet we seek only to be understood, we pray for anything and do not position ourselves in any like manner to receive the blessing. We show great faith in constantly praying, believing that God hears us, and yet that faith is not producing the work God expects from us. Remember, God created the perfect world, he made it so there was no death. Satan chose to rebel, and Adam and Eve chose to follow.
We, mankind, brought sin and death into the world. If you ask yourself why does this happen or does not happen, it is because that perfect union with God was broken. We now live in a time where we must start with faith. THe belief that God is who and what he says he is. Then we have to allow ourselves to be servants to him. And if there is any of you who believe that a servant does not work, then please re-read the bible. Jesus came first as a servant. He showed us what the work of the spirit. Yes, he showed loved. But he also told people to stop sinning. He saved the harlot, and then told her to sin no more. He broke bread with those whom the law said he should not. But during the bread breaking he was preaching about the will of the father.
Jesus spoke more about hell and the consequences of sin than any other man in the bible. That is the work of the spirit. We are commanded to follow him, to do HIS will. Be ye doers of the word, not just hearers!! Faith without work is dead. Can you hear that brethren. If you say you have faith, and do not see clearly the work before you, then your faith is dead. Translated, you are not a follower of Christ if you do not do it the way he says do it. You do not have the authority to change HIS plan. There is only one way to get this done. HIS WAY!!! For he will have judgment without mercy. Oh please hear that, no mercy. Yes, the Jesus that loves is saying that for the disobedient he will have no mercy. Mercy is that gift we are all counting on to be saved. To have faith and no works is to forego that mercy. Jesus has made it clear.

The Carrot and Stick Principle

Its captivating to me that when I go through something, I tend to relate what I am going through, the relationships and grievances, with God. When I think of how children who do not listen to their mother, who do not use the skills and lessons that they have been equipped with to navigate even the simplest of task in the home, I tend to turn that around and wonder how God must feel when I, as an adopted child of His, refuses to do what I have been taught, refuse to use the gifts that He blessed me with, when I pick and choose what I will and will not do. If I am a small bearing in a big wheel, I wonder just how much more His feelings are amplified as the Father of all, the Father who sacrificed His son only to be used like a flashlight. To be used only when times are dark. To be minimized and placed on a shelf. To feel totally ignored and disrespected by His selfish children.

Whether you are a parent in a home, a supervisor at work, a leader in a group, a person in some position, any position of authority and responsibility, it is your job to teach, to grow, to influence, and to lead others. In these capacities, it is always more difficult to do so when just one, let alone more than one, of your flock is being disobedient. When just one person holds on to the idea that they can do whatever they want to do, come in late, wear things not an official part of the uniform, totally usurp the chain of command, fail to complete routine tasks, call in sick repeatedly, make excuses not to come to trainings and meetings, cause discord amongst the team, and so on, the task of growing and leading a team is made difficult because everyone is seeing what you are seeing and if permitted to continue, the rest of the crowd in today’s America adopts the, “well if he can do it, so can I” doctrine. It is a small percentage that ignore the negative and continue to engage the positive, even if they are alone in doing so. It’s like the one child who does right, living among brothers and sister who not only don’t do right, but make fun of and intimidate and harass the one who does. This is hard for that one. Again, I think often, how does my disobedience hurt my Father’s heart.

Throughout the bible, cover to cover, God speaks repeatedly about being obedient. As sinners, we must understand that our willful, purposeful, and deliberate disobedience causes God’s heart to mourn. Yes, mourn! He mourns because if we do not change our disobedient ways, we will surely die, TWICE!!!

Exodus 23:20-24

20 Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared.

21 Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name is in him.

22 But if thou shalt indeed obey his voice, and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries.

23 For mine Angel shall go before thee, and bring thee in unto the Amorites, and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites: and I will cut them off.

24 Thou shalt not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do after their works: but thou shalt utterly overthrow them, and quite break down their images.

God starts off by stating that IF they, His children the Israelites, follow the angel, the angel that has the nature and authority of God himself, then God will bless them with the following. God starts off like this so that in a gentle way He acknowledges that man has the tendency to ignore God, and do what they want. So here God employs the early version of the Carrot and Stick principle. He wants nothing but the best for His children. But He needs them to see, ON THEIR OWN, that it is in their best interest to follow Him so that they do so willingly and without duress. God is stating to his children that if they are obedient, He himself will not let anything happen to them. He will provide victory after victory. If His children obey Him, those who oppose them, will also be the enemy of God.

Charles Ellicott states- “God is “the rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” He chooses to “reward men after their works,” and to set before them “the recompense of the reward.” He “knows whereof we are made,” and by what motives we are influenced. Self-interest, the desire of our own good, is one of the strongest of them. If Israel will keep His covenant, they will enjoy the following blessings :—(1) The guidance and protection of His angel till Canaan is reached; (2) God’s help against their adversaries, who will, little by little, be driven out; (3) the ultimate possession of the entire country between the Mediterranean and the Red Sea on the one hand, the Desert and the Euphrates on the other; (4) a blessing upon their flocks and herds, which shall neither be barren nor cast their young; and (5) a blessing upon themselves, whereby they will escape sickness and enjoy a long term of life. All these advantages, however, are conditional upon obedience, and may be forfeited.”

Fast forward to almost the end of the Bible.

1 Peter 1:13-15

13 Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;

14 As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance:

15 But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;

16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

There are so many scriptures on obedience. John 14:15, Acts 5:29, Luke 6:46, and Ecclesiastes 12:13 are just some of my favorites on the subject. However, I believe these versus fit with those from Exodus. I believe in verse 13 we can clearly see God saying to us as gentiles, “If you obey me….” This is what He said to Israel, “If you choose to follow me…” When we read “Gird up the loins of your mind” and “be sober” what we read is God telling us, Prepare yourself for battle and hard work.

Gird Up Your Loins

God is saying to us…. Prepare yourselves to follow me, prepare for battle and hard work and focus on me and I will bring you victory in the face of your enemies. Don’t even think about the lusts and desires of your flesh. Listen to my voice, do what I say. Do not conform to the world, do not bow down to the gods of the world, do not follow them, do not serve them, and do not do as they say. Be Holy as I am Holy. Be obedient children not fashioning, not molding, not conforming to the behaviors of the world. That’s what God is telling you! And finally, where is the victory that God spoke about in Exodus, “hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ” For the Gentile Christian, the adopted child, this is our victory. The hope, or better translated, the expectation in the salvation in Jesus the Christ. What a victory that will be.

Joseph Benson Comments- “The apostle alludes to the manners of the eastern countries, in which the men’s garments being long and flowing, they prepared themselves for travelling, and other active employments, by girding them up with a girdle put round their loins, to prevent their being encumbered by them. The loins of the mind, therefore, is a figurative expression for the faculties of the soul, the understanding, memory, will, and affections, which the apostle signifies must be gathered in and girded, as it were, about the soul by the girdle of truth, so as to be in a state fit for continual and unwearied exertion in running the Christian race, fighting the good fight of faith, and working out our salvation with fear and trembling. Our mind must not be overcharged at any time with surfeiting and drunkenness, or the cares of this life: our affections must be placed on proper objects, and in a just degree; and especially must be set on the things that are above, which are to be our portion and felicity for ever: our various passions must be under the government of reason and religion, of the truth and grace of God.”

On the hope of Christ, John Calvin states, ” For the object of Peter was to call us away beyond the world; for this purpose the fittest thing was the recollection of Christ’s coming. For when we direct our eyes to this event, this world becomes crucified to us, and we to the world.”

Obedience is not a choice. Being a Christian is not a game. It is a discipline. The world will exercise large amounts of discipline when it comes to the study, to the execution, to the devotion of many aspects of our lives. But when it comes to God, many treat it as a passing fancy. It is not something that requires effort. There is no work in faith. I know there was a time when we used to focus on faith without works is dead, but I believe we have been so heavy on the anit-works righteous movement, and rightfully so, that a negative side-effect has taken place. That is that love is all there is and that no work is necessary. Nothing could be further from the truth. If you love God, you will follow Him, you will obey Him, and you will gird up your loins, you will prepare yourself for battle against the world and against your own flesh.

Once again, in his daily devotional, Dr. Charles Stanley reports something directly to the point. “Are you trying to rationalize a decision or behavior? Perhaps you’ve offered reasons for pursuing a certain path. Or maybe you tried bargaining with God. I assure you He isn’t moved by any arguments. Remember: Partial obedience is disobedience in His eyes. And no sin is worth being outside His will.”

If you stand in the mirror what will the reflection tell you about yourself, and what are you going to do about it? May the peace of God be abundantly heaped upon you and your house, straight from the cross to the Christian!

All of the rules are set

I praise God for His mercy, and His blessings. I praise him for this message.

I sat down this morning and started reading my daily devotionals, I have a couple. I was also reflecting on the Sunday School class, and sermon from yesterday. All of a sudden, a basketball analogy came to me. This is pretty amazing since I could not care any less about basketball than I already do. I don’t intend to insult anyone, it is simply not a sport I have ever been any good at and I just cannot sit there and watch a game. I do, however, understand the scoring system. And then the message came.

In basketball the hoop never moves. It is fixed in one position, carefully measured out. In fact, the court is measured off the proper placement of the hoop. The GOAL is to put the ball through the hoop and score more points than the other team. You don’t have to put the ball through more often than the other team to win, because certain circumstances can exist that cause the completed GOAL to earn you anywhere from one to four points. So, again, you do not have to meet the GOAL more often then the enemy, you just have complete the GOAL when it matters most.

Sometimes, when a player is missing a lot of shots, we say they are off their game. A coach might tell them that they are not focusing; they may tell them to “get your head in the game.” But for many reasons, even the best players have bad games. In fact, one of the modern day greats has repeatedly conveyed how physically draining an entire basketball season can be, and that sometimes he is just flat out tired. So again, there are many reasons why a player will not be focused enough to accomplish the GOAL.

Life is not a game. Oh people have said it is; there are so many analogies and sayings about life and games, especially chess, that I cannot even begin to document them all here. But the truth about life is that life itself is a matter of life and death. If you think about it for a second, we actually start to die the moment the egg is fertilized. Many say that its growing, and that would be true, but it is also on the journey to death. This was not always the case. God did not start off by creating man to die, but to live and to have communion with Him. But man got selfish. Man got to thinking that he knew better, and listened to whispers of an angel whose fate had already been sealed. Man brought death and all its forms into the world the moment they partook of the forbidden fruit. Disobedience occurred, and the consequence of sin entered the world. As time went on, God brought people into this world that He used to show that in spite of man’s disobedience, He still loved His creation very much. Because of our sin, God had to show how mighty His love for us was. So he brought men into the world that He used as leaders. And as time went on, God provided a way of atonement through animal sacrifices. But don’t you know man just kept on being disobedient. Again, throughout the old testament there is consequence after consequence for the disobedient actions of man. Finally God said, I am going to provide you with the perfect sacrifice. If you believe, if you have faith that I sent Him, and that He is my son, and that He is I, and I am He, and that He and I are perfect, and you love us by following our commands, then you shall be saved. So what does this have to do with Basketball? Don’t forget about the fixed hoop.

A basketball court is 94 feet long. It is 50 feet wide. There numerous dimensions all over the court. Here are some more.

Basketball court deminsions

When you look at the demensions, notice one in-particular. The hoop, it is only 18 inches in diameter. On a 94 X 50 foot court, a player has to get into position to be able to put a basketball, which is 29.5 inches in circumference through a hoop that is 30 inches in circumference. Yes, there is only one half of an inch to play with.

The comparison is this. God wants to have a relationship with us. He has taken great care to put His will for us into a book that we can read and understand. All we have to do is believe it. If we believe it, then we have to become the fixed hoop. We cannot live our lives running all over that court. We have to become that fixed hoop so that we can receive the blessings that God has for us. We have to try to understand that His love is so perfect, so true and honest, that we cannot redefine the rules, no more than any player can walk onto a court and drag the rim to half-court so he doesn’t have to run as far because he is tired. All of the rules are set, the court and all the dimensions are set, there are no changes. There are no changes with God. He is steady sinking blessings through His fixed hoop. You have to deny yourself, and all that you think you want and go and become that fixed hoop so He can heap blessings upon you. And the more fixed you become, the more and more blessings you receive. Do you remember earlier when I spoke to you about not having to put the ball through the hoop more often than the other team to win because of circumstances? Well, one such circumstance is the 4 point play. If a player shoots the ball from behind the three point line and is fouled, he will get the basket (provided he makes it) plus an additional penalty shot because he was fouled. That’s called the free throw line because no one is allowed to distract him. He can concentrate on just making that one basket to get a 4 point play. That is the highest score you can get on one play. Now, life has all kinds of circumstances and fouls, doesn’t it? But God does not move. He is fixed, and I praise Him for that because He is always right where he has always been. All I need to do, all you need to do, is play through that foul and be that fixed hoop and no matter what kind of foul life threw at you. Keeping your faith, keeping your discipline will keep you at the hoop so God can bless you abundantly and maximize His glory!!! Remember, everything is about the Glory of God!!

In his devotion for June 12, 2017, In touch Ministries Dr. Charles Stanley wrote, “It’s easy to get so caught up in the daily grind or preoccupied with chasing a goal that we miss the good that the LORD has in mind to give us.”

That’s the importance of being fixed.

 

James 1:13-17

13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:

14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.

15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

16 Do not err, my beloved brethren.

17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

How wonderful are these verses that share with us this very lesson. God does not sin; He does not tempt man to sin. God does not allow bad things to happen to good people. Sin, bad things, happen because of man. Remember, death entered this world because of man, not God. Man brought death in disease, murder, accidents, all manners of death entered this world at that fall of man. Verse 14 says that it is our flesh that tempts us. Our humanness is what makes not a single person good. Even if you do “good” all day, if not led by God and working for the Glory of God then there really is no good in any effort. Verse 15 talks about that death brought to us by our fall, by our sin. Because of our sin we need Jesus, and because of His love, He gives us forgiveness. And again, anything that is good, comes from God. His blessings come down and are delivered through that fixed hoop. Look at the end of that verse, there is no variableness nor shadow of turning. He does not move. He is fixed. His blessings flow through that narrow and fixed hoop. You are the one that needs to put yourself into the position to receive His blessings. That hoop is faith, that hoop is love, that hoop is obedience. Remember that Christ told us himself that if we love Him, we will follow His commandments. That is the fixed part. There is no other way.

If you stand in the mirror what will the reflection tell you about yourself, and what are you going to do about it? May the peace of God be abundantly heaped upon you and your house, straight from the cross to the Christian!

 

 

 

 

 

To Believe is to Follow

Have you ever wondered why things just never seem to get better, even after giving your heart to Christ? Have you ever heard the conflicting stories of a God that is filled with love, and a God that kills people and wondered which one was the truth? Have you ever wondered if you would ever know the truth about anything? Do the stories of the old testament clear up or profoundly intensify these questions? I want to share a story about a prophet and my take on how it answers these questions.

 

The Israelites were a very disobedient people. Many ask, if God is such a good God, why did he kill so many people, why was he so violent? First, in defense of his chosen people. We cannot ever forget that with the fall of Adam and Eve, sin and death entered into the world, at the choice of man. That’s when our free will to do bad things was introduced. When our children do bad things, we discipline them. Death may be hard to see as a punishment, but take a violent sick criminal. He has broken into your home to kill you, but first he wants to torture and kill the children, then the adults. Is death too great a consequence for this chosen action? As we will see, God has very clear rules. Many want God to be this soft, loving and tender God. But the truth stings because it can be hard. And God is the most perfect truth there is. In this story, we see captivity being used as a form of punishment for His people who worshipped other Gods and other idols. They were grossly disobedient. However, even in this punishment, it was important to God that His people understand the reasoning. Is that not true for a parent who reasonably disciplines their child? Isn’t it important for our children to know why they are being punished? Of course it is. Otherwise, you are just punishing out of anger and that is nothing but the beginning of problems. So God anointed Ezekiel to be a prophet who would reveal to the Israelites why God was doing what he was doing, and the deeper lessons behind the actions. God also wanted Ezekiel to give them hope of the end goal which was for the nation to get right with God, so at that point he could free them.

 

We don’t have prophets today.  All that we can learn is right there in the closed cannon of scripture. There is nothing new.  However, there is the Holy Spirit, one-third of the triune God Head. He is imputed to us when we receive Christ as our savior. Through the convictions of the Holy Spirit we hear the correction, we feel the chastisement. That is why the same scripture can feel new time and time again. The people in this story had anointed prophets who relayed to them what was going on. Today, we have to practice our faith so we can clearly hear both the shouts and the whispers of the spirit.

 

If we study the book of Ezekiel, we will find many similarities in God’s love, and God’s correction that we have today. First, we see the sin. The Israelites were living in Sin. If we are not living in sin, then there is no need for Christ. This is an imperative part of us understanding salvation. God did not send his son to earth to die a horrible death to save us from love. Out of love, God sent his son to save us from death caused by sin. But as I stated earlier, sin and death have been in the world since the fall of man. We are born into sin. Sin is all over us from the very beginning. Many only want to talk about particular sins, but we are covered in it. Lies, lust, jealousy, envy, and so on. There are many actions that are sinful, but most boil down to some of these most basic sins. This is why it doesn’t matter if we talk about drunkenness, or stealing, or lying, or any sexually immoral sin. It is all sin and so it is all the same to God. We, as individuals, are no different than Israel in that they are covered in their sin and need to be redeemed by God. We cannot save ourselves, and we cannot save each other. Only the blood of Jesus can cleanse us of our sin.  In the Old Testament, it was through the blood of a perfect animal sacrifice. Today, it is by professing your faith in Christ and accepting Jesus as your savior, your perfect sacrifice.

 

God allowed Israel to be held captive because of their sin, in fact He put them there. So the question is really not why did He do that. The answer is clear, they were disobedient. The real question is why do you think God is going to treat the present day unsaved sinner any different. He has promised a place called hell, and He has promised to cast out those who do not endure unto the end, who do not follow his son Jesus the Christ. We have not yet received our punishment for our disobedience, but the bible and Jesus promise it is coming. Again, the one man in all of the bible who spoke about hell the most was not a mortal man, but the God-man, Jesus.

 

We battle against our flesh daily and that is why we are told to die to ourselves daily. We must give up our propensity to respond to and to satisfy our desires of our flesh. One of Ezekiel’s goals was to make sure that Israel knew that captivity was not going to be brief. They were grossly disobedient, so a great deal of time was going to be needed to change their ways. When we die while living in sin, we need to understand the same principle. Our consequence is for eternity. There is no ‘Get out of Jail Free” card. It is a punishment that will last forever and ever! Ezekiel was also to prophesy a new hope to the nation. Hope that one day God will deliver them. While they lived in captivity, they had to believe. Through the birth, life, death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, we have been given a promise as to His glorious return. Through the bible, we are briefed about it, and have the opportunity to be reminded of the promise as often as we choose to read about it. This is our hope in a redemption that leads to eternal life, not eternal death. But as the motto of this blog indicates, to believe is to follow. There are many who say, “Yes, I believe in Jesus” but have no reason why other than they do not want to go to hell. They do not practice a disciplined life style of any kind. They do not study the word, nor do they engage in any form of worship toward the one true God who is the only God who can save them from the eternal death. Ezekiel was to connect all this with the realization that Israel needs to have a genuine reliance on God the Father. They need to depend on God for their redemption, and their provisions, and the fulfillment of the promised to bring them out of captivity. The entire life of Christ is about the sins of our life as he was sin-free, our inability to save ourselves as he is God and did raise himself from the dead- meaning Christ did save himself, the need to rely on God and to have hope in the promise of His return. We have hope in eternal life, because we believe in that which we have not seen.

 

Ezekiel means “God is strong”, or, “God makes strong”. In the beginning of their captivity, Israel was weak, and far away from their ordained relationship with the Father. So are we. It is a false strength when we believe that we can go through life without God. It is an offense of idolatry very similar to the idol worshiping that Israel engaged in. Only we are worshiping ourselves. Through this ordeal, and with the leadership, obedience, and God ordained strength of Ezekiel, God strengthened Israel. As we study, and pray, and fellowship with other believers, and learn to be obedient to the convictions of the spirit we too are strengthened unto the end. This is how we endure to the end, this is how we finish well, and this is how we win the race. Only by grace, mercy, and God’s sovereignty are we strengthened.

 

Ezekiel’s first vision is his calling. Studying the scriptures to be a priest or teacher is one thing, to be a prophet is another. Nothing in Ezekiel’s training could prepare him for this journey. Sometimes we think our sin is too great, sometimes we think we are too broken to be called, to be used, to be redeemed. Sometimes we struggle with this idea because we look at it from the idea that we are in charge of morals. We are violators of our own moral ideas, and therefore not redeemable. A murderer for example, may think that he is unredeemable because he is so morally corrupt. Even more common, drunkards, addicts, liars, cheaters, and ordinary people who just see every flaw in their make-up believe that they are morally bankrupt. And sometimes as a society we help them with that by thinking that they are so morally wrong that we need to cast them out of society all together. But the truth here is that God is the only PERFECT MORAL AUTHORITY! We argue that God is to harsh when he consequences. Again, as a matter of Idolatry, we believe that our wrath is more intelligent, more loving, more righteous than God’s. In other words, I don’t want to worship a God who sends people to hell because that is not loving enough for me, and I am right and God is wrong. This is boiled down to us thinking that we have the right to exact wrath. Forgiveness is not about forgive and forget, it is not absolution. It is me saying that I give up my right to revenge in this matter. I am hurt and I may choose to stay away from you, but I turn over my desire to have wrath to God. Forgiveness is for you and the offender. God is the creator of morality. If we can remember that, if we can see that God is so morally perfect and all powerful we will understand how He can say, your bankruptcy is forgiven, you have no more debt. My son has paid it for you. And if we understand that God is the true judge, then we can understand that He means what he says when He teaches us the foretold consequence for living in sin.

 

The final thought on this is a sobering one. Ezekiel was a captive too!! He worked with what God gave him, where God gave it to him, how God gave it to him, and when God gave it to Ezekiel. If anyone thinks they need to wait for a perfect leader to come and talk about sin, to take your hand and walk you back into the light, if you think that God does not put leaders right in the middle of despair, broken themselves, then you will be waiting forever, because that is not how it works. God revealed himself to Ezekiel in a vision and prepared him for this journey. Similarly, Christ came in the form of man and revealed God to mankind. Jesus prepared us to hear the message of salvation, just as God did for Ezekiel.  Open you ears and hear the word, hear the gospel. Receive the hope that is in Jesus the Christ.

 

If you stand in the mirror what will the reflection tell you about yourself, and what are you going to do about it? May the peace of God be abundantly heaped upon you and your house, straight from the cross to the Christian!

There is nothing that you can do for yourself.

There is an incredible burden on my heart, one that has been even more profound these last few weeks. Daily sanctification is a journey. When we truly confess our sins, and have a genuine repenting heart, and professed that Jesus Christ is LORD, His blood cleanses the soul. After we have a soul free from the bonds of sin, then the spirit is free to dwell inside. Justification is the result of faith in and acceptance of God’s grace and mercy. Once the Spirit of the LORD dwells inside of us, we are able to have intense fellowship with God. It is a direct line to Him. We feel that correction of a loving father through the imputing of the Holy Spirit. The conviction we feel when something is wrong, or when we have offended someone comes from the Holy Spirit that dwells in us. But so does power. When we have the Holy Spirit inside of us, and we call on the Holy Spirit to take control and genuinely give up that control to the Holy Spirit we have power from God. It is important to recognize that that power is not ours. It is important to recognize and praise the source of that power. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit strengthens us as well as corrects us.

This is on my heart because of two things. The first is this. These past few weeks I have been confronted by a man. I believe he is a good man, and a hard-working man. I should know I work with. Over the past few weeks, and especially the last week, he has texted me often. He has been quoting scripture as he seeks answers for some work related issues. But this man believes that he is being wronged by administrators of our company. This man has a tendency to allow anger to overcome him. And I believe that he is using Scripture to authorize his anger and wrath. The second thing is simple. I believe I recognize this because I am guilty of the very same thing. We have been told “it takes one to know one”. Well, I believe that is true in this case. I love the word of God. I love the feeling of communication and communion with God during biblical studies, prayer, fellowship with like-minded Christians, and other situations where the presence of the Lord is genuinely felt. But in situations where things are not going well, the sinful flesh of my old self wants to take over. It is in this regard that my heart is burdened.

All of us, every self-proclaimed follower of Jesus Christ who believes that they benefit from the mercy and grace of the Almighty Father, better understand one thing. There is nothing that you can do for yourself. The Holy Scripture is meant to be our source of many things. The Scripture is our source of wisdom, of comfort, of guidance, of power, and so on. What the Bible is not, is a weapon to be used to justify our own desires. We cannot talk about putting on the full armor of God to go to battle to defend our desire of selfishness and still be in the will of God. In one of his texts, my coworker quoted the book of James. The book of James is one of my most favorite books. It should not be misconstrued as a book of works righteousness, but rather instruction on how the indwelling Holy Spirit brings about good works through you. Once again, you better understand that there is nothing that man can do for himself. My coworker specifically quoted verse 22 and 23.

James 1:22-23, “22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. 23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:”

My coworker went on to quote a few other Scriptures. He was collecting them verse by verse from various places, trying to explain to me that the Bible says that we are to stand up and defend the faith and defend his position that he is not going to take anymore of the administrations non-sense by saying in his words, “compromising no more.” This would be a good thought if what we were talking about not compromising was faith in the word of God. My coworker is struggling with some personnel issues with administration, as well as some pay issues. In some regards I don’t think Jesus ever expected us to be pushovers. If we were to truly let all non-believers, like ISIS, just kill all of us, there would be no-one left to preach the word. But I do think that he expected us to use the spirit to help us discern between what’s right and wrong. My observation is that my coworker will take Scripture and use it to defend the execution of his wrath instead of allowing himself to be humbled by the spirit so that God’s wrath will prevail. Once again there is nothing that man can do for himself. God’s wrath will always be more righteous and more just than anything that man can come up with. I must repeat myself. I do not say this to lecture my coworker. I say this because it is a hard lesson, one that I have learned about myself over and over. I am grateful for the conviction of the spirit.

So let’s take a look at what James is saying here. It is my intention to lift up the word of God so that we can have a better understanding of what it means to be doers of the word. In order to do that, I think we have to quote more than just two versus, to keep everything in context. So let’s start and James verse 19

James 1:19-27
19 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: 20 For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.
21 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. 22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. 23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: 24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. 25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. 26 If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain. 27 Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

My study Bible the Tyndale life application study Bible has a small paragraph providing commentary on the 27th verse. That commentary, on page 1887, reads as follows,
“to keep ourselves unpolluted (“unspotted”) from the world, we need to commit ourselves to Christ’s ethical and moral system not the world’s. We are not to adapt to the world’s value system based on money, power, and pleasure. True faith means nothing if we are contaminated with such values.

I think that it is absolutely awesome that Joseph Benson makes the following commentary about “slow to speak”. When I think of my coworker and myself I think about his words here that say,

“To deliver his opinion in matters of faith, that he does not yet well understand. Persons half instructed frequently have a high opinion of their own knowledge in religious matters, are very fond of teaching others, and zealous to bring them over to their opinions.”

We have a high opinion of our own knowledge and are very fond of teaching others in order to bring them over to our opinions. Again, I have to be honest. If you cannot look at this and say, “Yep, that is me sometimes.” the let me simply say that it is most certainly me sometimes. Unfortunately, for my co-worker, I think that is so true in these text messages. I love the book of James and am very familiar with it. And when I know what my coworker is trying to accomplish; and I see the Scriptures that he’s quoting in order to accomplish it, I see these words by Joseph Benson come to life. My coworker also texted to me that brethren in the faith, “also stand up for each other when we are being wronged” I would say that I would go to war for a friend if I believe my friend was being wronged. The problem is what he believes is wrong and what I believe are wrong are two different things. And he is willing to put our spiritual relationship on a hook if I don’t stand up for him; If I don’t go to war with him over what he believes is right. The Scripture does not say anything close to that. But I must say I have shared that opinion in the past and had the audacity to be upset with a brother for not being on my side. You want to talk about guilt. Once I realized what I was doing, there was no apology big enough. But THANK GOD FOR THE BLOOD OF CHRIST that allowed a brother to forgive another brother and for one brother to learn to pay attention to his mouth more often.

I’m going to continue with more commentary by Joseph Benson, because I believe he is spot on. Continuing to refer to the rest of the verses in James 1:19-27, he writes,

“The apostle, however, may be understood as cautioning his readers against easily yielding to provocation in any respect whatever, and especially when injuriously treated by their persecutors. For the wrath of man — Even when it appears in the garb of religious zeal, worketh not — But, on the contrary, greatly obstructs, the righteousness of God — Instead of promoting the cause of true religion in the world, it is a reproach to it, and a means of exciting the prejudices of mankind against it. Persecution, in particular, the effect of the wrath of man, if violent, may make men hypocrites, by forcing them to profess what they do not believe; but it has no influence to produce that genuine faith which God accounts to men for righteousness. Nothing but rational arguments, with the illumination of the Spirit of God, can do this.”

When I read these words I cannot help but think of myself, “On more than one occasion I have represented this hypocrisy, lack of influence to produce genuine faith, and reproach in exercising my own wrath. I am certain that people have looked at me and said, “who is this man?” One minute I was talking about God and the next minute I was acting like a lunatic. I am ashamed to admit that this still happens from time to time. My daily sanctification has me working on this issue because I believe every word that Joseph Benson is saying here is truth. I believe that this is something that I clearly see in others because I am so acutely aware of its existence inside my own body. It is something that I wanted to take time to caution everyone about. We live in a day and age where people are looking at Christians and scrutinizing us with the most critical eye. We cannot afford to dampen the light of Jesus Christ, we cannot afford to contaminate the ethical and moral system of Jesus Christ with our own wrath brought about by the violation of our own morals. This whole relationship, salvation, is not about us. I say again, there is nothing that we can do for ourselves. Everything is about Jesus the Christ!

I have had many conversations with myself, the man in the mirror, and the triune God. My question to you is, “are you having these conversations yourselves?” I know many Christians, just like my coworker and I, who have used or continue to use Scripture to validate their questionable behavior. There is righteous anger. There is anger that has compassion for change in it. But if your anger leads to sin, if it produces hate in your heart or even just a little anger in your thoughts, then perhaps this conversation in the mirror is something you should take time to have sooner rather than later.

If you stand in the mirror what will the reflection tell you about yourself, and what are you going to do about it? May the peace of God be abundantly heaped upon you and your house, straight from the cross to the Christian!