Tape #C2628
By Chuck Smith
Let’s turn to James chapter one. James introduces himself as
the bondslave of God and of Jesus Christ. It’s a title that most of the
apostles delighted to take. Renouncing any claim for any rights, turning their
lives over totally to God and to the lordship of Jesus Christ, they did not
consider their lives their own. They were bereft of ambitions in a personal
way. They lived solely to serve the Lord and to please Him.
A bondslave was just that, one who lived completely for his
master. He had no rights of ownership, could not hold title to anything,
everything he had belonged to his master. He was there only to serve.
James,
a bondslave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are
scattered abroad (1:1).
Not to the ten lost tribes for they were not and they have
not been. They are the twelve tribes that are scattered abroad. This is before
the destruction of
So, James addressing the twelve tribes scattered abroad. His
greeting. He uses the typical Greek greeting here which actually is the same
word for grace.
My
brethren count it all joy when you fall into diverse temptations (1:2);
We are constantly faced with temptations. It’s just a part
of life. And in each temptation there has to be a decision on our part, whether
or not we are going to walk in the flesh or to walk in the Spirit. For
temptation is any situation that would draw me into the flesh and into a
fleshly reaction. I have to choose. Will I walk after the flesh? Will I walk
after the Spirit? And we realize that there are all kinds of temptation. They
come from all directions.
As I shared this morning, driving I think can be one of the
greatest temptations in the world to get in the flesh. It’s interesting we were
recently in
Temptations that come because of our possessions. Something
happening to my possession because we try to possess our possessions. We so
often find ourselves angered, responding in the flesh because something has
happened to my prized possession.
Temptations that come because of interpersonal
relationships. Temptations that come from so many areas. Divers temptations
where I am prone to respond after the flesh. I want to respond after the flesh.
Now we are told to count it all joy, a strange response to temptations.
Usually I don’t like to be tested. I would rather that everything went very
smoothly. I would rather that no one got in my way. I would rather that no one
cross me. No one cut in front of me. That I would much rather see. But it
doesn’t happen that way. Life isn’t that way. Life is filled with
disappointments. There are always those that are going crosscurrent to you.
There will always be those who will be irritants to you. An irritating
situation. I cannot rule and order my life, as I would have it.
If I did, I would become so spoiled and rotten and pompous.
Wanting everybody to bow. Wanting everybody to yield. Wanting everybody to
submit. Doesn’t happen that way. And so for my growth, for my development,
temptation is necessary. It’s a part of the testing and that’s what we are told
here.
the
trying of our faith (1:3)
The another word for that is the proving of our faith. You
say you believe God? Hey, big deal. Devils do, too. The proving of your faith.
Now the proving of the faith is never really for God’s
benefit. God knows the truth about you the whole while.
Someone told me the other day, "Oh, I’m afraid I’ve
disappointed God." I said, "No, no, no, it’s impossible to disappoint
God. You’ve disappointed yourself. God knew it all the time. You didn’t and so
you disappointed yourself. You didn’t disappoint God. He knew that was there.
He knew that that would be your response. He wasn’t at all disappointed."
We disappoint ourselves because we oftentimes think we are
further down the road than we really are. I thought I was over that hump. I
thought I had conquered that area. And here comes the situation where I’m
tested and golly, I blow it. You know I’m so disappointed. Why did I say that?
Why did I do that? But I shouldn’t feel condemned like "Oh, I’ve let God
down," or "I disappointed God." No, God knew it the whole while.
But I needed to know it. And so God allowed the situation so I could find it
out. And so temptation, something that is common to all men. Count it all joy because
temptation is the testing of our faith and this testing of our faith develops patience, or
works
patience (1:3).
What a needed quality, patience. So often our failure is in
waiting upon God. And that is true throughout the Bible. So many within the
Scriptures got into trouble because they didn’t wait upon God. They failed in
the test of faith in areas of their life.
Abraham though he passed the test magnificently with Isaac,
yet failed in the birth of Isaac. When God promised to give him a son. He
wasn’t patient. Sarah finally came and said, oh, come on, Abraham; it’s not
going to work. You take my handmaid and you have a son by her. And when the
child is born, I’ll take it on my lap and it will be as my child. But I’m just
not going to be able to bear a child, Abraham. Now let’s be reasonable about
this. Failure of faith. They didn’t wait upon God until God responded or
answered. The testing of our faith develops patience.
But, like Abraham, whenever I do not wait upon God, I’m
always botching things up. Creating problems for myself. And so it’s important
that I’m tested. That I learn to wait upon God. Knowing this, that the trying of your faith works
patience.
But
let patience have her complete work that you might be fully mature (1:4),
And that’s the whole purpose of God is to bring you into a
maturity. That we quit acting and responding like little children to the
disappointments of life. That we quit throwing our little tantrums at God,
stomping our foot and walking away and saying, I’m not going to talk to you
anymore. But that we grow up and become mature.
complete,
wanting nothing. Now, if any of you lack in wisdom (1:4,5),
I don’t suppose that’s addressed to this crowd tonight. We
always know exactly what to do, don’t we? But if there happens to be one out
there that lacks in wisdom,
let
him ask of God, who gives to all men liberally (1:5),
Or freely. What a glorious promise this is. How many times
in coming to God do I come on the basis of this verse. I don’t know what to do.
There are so many things in life that I really don’t know what is the right
way. I lack wisdom. And it’s wonderful to be able to come to God and ask God
for wisdom and realize that He’ll give to all men freely.
and
He upbraids not (1:5);
He’s not going to say, "Oh, come on, stupid thing,
what’s the matter with you? Can’t you see this is what." You know He
doesn’t upbraid you when you come for wisdom. He doesn’t give you a hassle or
bad time. But He gives to us freely. Upbraids not
and
it shall be given him (1:5).
Glorious promise. If I need wisdom, I can ask of God. Now
when I ask, it’s important that I,
ask
in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavers is like the wave of the sea
driven with the wind and tossed (1:6).
A stormy sea. The waves seem to be rolling back and forth.
Tossed by the wind. So is the man who doubts. Tossed to and fro, lacking
stability.
For
let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. For he is a
double minded man, unstable in all his ways (1:7,8).
My commitment to God needs to be a complete commitment. I’m
not to hold things out and then pull them back. I’m not to offer God my life
and then take it back. I’m not really to ask for wisdom and then do my own
thing. It isn’t asking for wisdom and then making up my mind whether or not I
want to follow it. Asking God to reveal His will so I can determine whether or
not I want to yield to it. I must make a decision. I must make a commitment. I must
determine that I’m going to just commit my life to the Lord’s keeping, and then
just believe the Lord to keep it. And when things aren’t going quite right, or
I can’t quite understand what’s happening, don’t say, "Oh, I better take
over here now, you know, I don’t know what the Lord is doing." And this is
so common among us, this wavering bit. Not really for sure. Offering and then
taking back. You become unstable in everything.
[Now] let
the brother who is poor rejoice in that he is exalted: But the rich, in that he
is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away. For the sun
no sooner is risen with a burning heat, but it withers the grass, and the
flower thereof falls, and the grace of the fashion of it perishes: so also
shall the rich man fade away in his ways (1:9-11).
So James has quite a few things to say concerning the rich.
And that is, those who are possessed by their riches he rebukes in chapter two
those people in the church who pay special respect to the rich people. Because
a person has money, sort of giving them special favors. And that’s a policy
rebuked in chapter two.
Here in chapter one, he speaks out against those rich who
would use their riches to oppress others, to gain a special position. He says,
"Hey, you’re going to fade like a flower in the field. You’re going to
pass away." A man
of low degree better rejoice in that he’s exalted. But the rich in that he is
made low.
In the final chapter of the book, he says, “Go to now, ye
rich men, weep and howl for the miseries that are come upon you. For you’ve
laid up your gold and silver for the last days. But now it’s worthless” (James
5:1-3).
Blessed
is the man [or happy is the man] that endures temptations (1:12):
That has victory over temptations. What a glorious thing it
is when I have been tempted and I’m victorious. I didn’t respond after the
flesh. I didn’t get all upset and angry and say mean things that now I am sorry
for. Have you ever noticed how miserable you are whenever you fail? Whenever
you blow it? Whenever you just give over to the flesh and you say all these
nasty things and you just you know yell and say mean things to people.
Afterwards you ever notice how miserable you are? How you just sort of hate
yourself and you’re embarrassed to go around the people again. You know you’ve
got to apologize for the things you said and all. And you just feel horrible,
you feel miserable. I got in the flesh. Miserable experience.
But oh how blessed it is when you have victory and I didn’t
respond according to the flesh. When I responded after the Spirit, when I did
the right thing. And you feel so good because you know that the Lord gave you
the strength to respond in the Spirit. Happy is the man that endures temptations, for when he is
tempted.
for
when he is tried (1:12),
Faith is tested; we turn out to be true. And it’s important
that the faith be tested because we are so prone to deceive ourselves. In the
next chapter, actually in this chapter he’s going to talk twice of
self-deception. If you’re a “hearer of the word only, you’re deceiving
yourself” (James 1:22). If you think that you’re a religious person and yet you
don’t bridle your own tongue, you’re deceiving yourself. Your religion is vain.
So it is important that faith be tested. It’s important that I know where I am.
That I know what God knows about me. That I not think more highly of myself
than I ought to. That I am not deceived and living in a false sense of
security. But that I know the truth. And God allows the temptations, the
testing, in order that I might know the truth about myself.
God said to the children of
“Be not deceived,” Paul said (1 Corinthians 6:9). Testing is
a great way to learn the truth about me. It comes out in the time of trial.
Again, when everything is going great, everything is running smooth; I don’t
know the truth about me. I don’t know how I would respond in real adversity.
God allows the adversity so that I can see the truth about myself and how I
would respond in adversity. And when the adversity comes and I respond after
the Spirit, Ah man, what a joyful delight. I often say, "Hey, that's not
me. That’s the Lord working in me because that isn’t the way I would naturally
respond." And it’s a joy to see God’s Spirit working in our lives,
transforming us into the image of Jesus Christ.
When we’ve been tried,
[we] shall
receive the crown of life (1:12),
Now Jesus to the
which
the Lord hath promised to those that love him. Now let no man when he is
tempted say, I’ve been tempted by God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, and
neither tempteth he any man (1:12,13):
Now this is temptation in a little different sense. This is
temptation, which is a solicitation to evil. It isn’t a testing that you can
find out where you are. But this is actually a solicitation to evil. God
doesn’t solicit any man to evil. Satan solicits man to evil. Satan solicited
Eve to evil.
You remember when there were the five thousand who had
followed Jesus to a wilderness place and it was evening and Jesus said to
Philip, "You better go in town and buy bread for this multitude"
(John 6:5). And John said, "This He said proving him" (John 6:6). The
word “prove” there is the same Greek word as “tempt.” This He said tempting him
because Jesus knew what He was going to do. He just wanted Philip to say, “Oh
man, what do you mean, Lord, you know. Where can we buy enough bread for all
these people?” And so Jesus said this testing him. Proving him. The Greek word
is the same used for tempting him. But it wasn’t a solicitation to evil. It is
how are you going to respond; in the flesh or in the Spirit?
And so when our temptations come, if it is a solicitation to
evil it isn’t of God. It’s from Satan. So when I am tempted, solicited to do
something evil, I shouldn’t say, “Oh God really tempted me today, you know. I
saw a man drop his wallet and I could see a hundred-dollar bill in it. Boy, I
was tempted by God to keep that money.” No, no, no! You weren’t tempted by God
to keep it.
So “don’t let any man say when he’s tempted I’ve been
tempted of God. God is not tempted with evil, nor does He tempt man with evil.”
God does put test before us that we might have the opportunity to respond in
the flesh or in the Spirit. But God doesn’t tempt us or solicit us to evil.
But
every man is tempted [or solicited to evil], when he is drawn away of his own desires or lust, and
enticed (1:14).
Now there is deep within every man a great desire for
fulfillment. There is deep within every man a thirst, which creates sort of a
frustration with life. A awareness that there’s got to be more to life than
this. Jesus was referring to that in the seventh chapter of John in the great
day of the feast when He said, “If any man thirst, let him come to me, and
drink” (John 7:37). He’s talking about the spiritual thirst that man has. Not
the physical. There is this desire, deep desire that I have for meaning, for
fulfillment in life.
Now Satan comes along and he suggests to me that in order to
have fulfillment I don’t have to be patient and walk the path that God has set
before me. But temptation usually involves the idea that I can have immediate
fulfillment if I will just turn aside from God’s path. Now when Satan came to
Jesus, that was the whole idea behind the temptation.
You’ve come to redeem the world. You’ve come to bring the
world back under the sphere and dominion of God. God has sent You for that
purpose, to redeem the world. And God has purposed that you go to the cross and
that you suffer and you die in order to redeem the world. Tell you what. You
can escape the cross. You don’t have to take God’s path by way of the cross
that's a painful way. You can have immediate fulfillment. Tell you how. If
you’ll just bow down and worship me, I’ll just give you all the kingdoms of the
world. You see, the idea was turn aside from God’s path and you can find immediate
fulfillment right here.
Now that is what Satan is always using, the concept of
immediate fulfillment. And to different people he holds out different
enticements. You don’t have to take God’s path. You don’t have to follow the
word of God. You see, God is restricting you. God is holding you back. That’s
what he said to Eve. God’s keeping you from something good. Here you have
fulfillment, it’s right here. It’s in this fruit, Eve, and God’s trying to keep
you from something good because He’s afraid that you’re going to be as wise as
He is when you eat of it because this fruit contains the knowledge of good and
evil. God doesn’t want you to share this knowledge with Him. He’s holding back
from you. Now you can have immediate fulfillment, Eve, eat and you can have
immediate fulfillment.
And so he holds to us forbidden fruit. Something that is
contrary to the word of God. Oh, you don’t have to take God’s path. You can
have immediate fulfillment. It lies in this relationship. Maybe fornication,
maybe adultery. But oh, he holds it up and you know, here’s immediate
fulfillment. You don’t have to follow God’s path at the cross, denying
yourself, denying the flesh. No, no, the it lies in turning aside from God’s
path and indulging the flesh. You can have the fulfillment now. This is what
you’re really desiring. And he holds out the enticement of immediate
fulfillment.
Paul said something quite interesting in his letter to the
Ephesians. He said, “Be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be ye
filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18). Now those seem like two very unlikely
things to relate together. The alcoholic to the Spirit-filled man. And they
seem a very unlikely combination to put together. But if you look at it
carefully, it isn’t. The man who turns to alcohol, what is he looking for? An
immediate fulfillment. And Satan has deceived him and said, Hey, here it is.
Here’s the way to get happy. Here’s the way to forget your problems. Here’s the
way to cope with life. Just enjoy a few drinks till your mind gets fuzzy and
you don’t have to think about these things. You know, it will just relax you
and it will just release the tensions and you can have immediate fulfillment.
You don’t have to follow God’s path.
But what happens to the man who is filled with the Spirit?
He has that fulfillment. He has that sense of well being. He has that peace. He
is a relaxed person. So the one is searching for it in alcohol, the other has
found it in the fullness of the Spirit. And that man who is joyful in the
fullness of the Spirit has exactly what the other man is really looking for and
searching for. But he’s turned aside from God’s path and he’s searching in the
wrong place.
So every
man when he is tempted is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. There’s a great
desire inside. Satan is pointing to this path and saying, “Hey, hey, don’t have
to go the way of the cross. You don’t have to deny yourself. You don’t have to
take up the cross and follow Jesus. Tell you what, you just follow my path and
I’ll give it to you instantly. You don’t have to wait; you can have it right
now.”
Now
when this desire has conceived, it brings forth sin (1:15):
The sin isn’t in the temptation. We all of us experience
temptation. Even Jesus was tempted of the devil. The sin doesn’t lie in the
temptation. The sin is there when I give into my desire of my flesh and I turn
after the path that Satan suggests. That when the lust is conceived, it gives
birth to sin. That’s the beginning of sin.
and
sin, when it is finished, brings death (1:15).
Spiritual death; ultimately, physical death.
Do
not err, my beloved brethren. Every good gift (1:16,17)
Now the Greek word here is different from the second Greek
word for gift, this is “dosis” and the other one comes from “didomi.” And one
refers to the giver and the other refers to the gift. The first one here refers
to the giver. The act of giving. Every good gift that is given and every or
every good giver in a sense.
and
every perfect gift is from above (1:17),
The gift of God to us. His goodness, His grace, His love,
comes from above,
comes
down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of
turning (1:17).
The immutability of God. He said, “Behold, I am the Lord
God, I change not” (Malachi 3:6). What does that mean? It means that He doesn’t
alter the rules for you. You’re no special exception and you have no special
case.
It’s interesting how Satan so often seeks to lie to people
and say, “Hey, hey, that doesn’t apply to you. You know, this is special. I
mean, this is real love. And so the rules don’t apply to you. You’ve got a
special dispensation of indulgence that God has granted.” No way. God does not
change the rules for anybody. There is neither shadow, nor variableness of turning with Him.
Of
his own will begat he us with the word of truth (1:18),
Interesting. In John chapter one, the gospel, it says, “Who
were born,” talking about being born again, “not by the will of man, nor by the
will of the flesh, but by the will of God” (John 1:13). Have you been born
again? How is it that you were born again? Because you chose to be born again?
Not really. Because God chose that you should be born again. You were born
again “not of the will of man, nor of the will of the flesh but of the will of
God.”
Jesus said, “You didn’t choose me, I chose you, and ordained
that you should be my disciples and that you should bring forth fruit, and that
your fruit should remain” (John 15:16). That to me is is a glorious glorious
truth that God chose me. That thrills me that God would choose me. It thrills
me because God chose me on the basis of His foreknowledge. “Whom he did
foreknow, he did also predestinate” (Romans 8:29). And on the basis of His
foreknowledge, He chose me and I have been begotten again by the will of God.
I’ve been born again by the will of God. You’ve been born “not by the will of
man, nor the will of flesh, but by the will of God.”
I love it that God should choose me. I love it! I love it
especially because He chose me on the basis of His foreknowledge, which means
He knew the end from the beginning. And He chose me on the basis of what He
knew would be the end of my walk and fellowship with Him. You see, God wouldn’t
be so foolish as to choose losers. If you had the power of foreknowledge, you
wouldn’t choose the losers. That’d be ridiculous, wouldn’t it? Think of what
you can do if you could make all of your choices with the advantage of
foreknowledge. You knew exactly what would be the result of this choice.
I knew exactly which horse was going to win every race. I knew
the results. You know, win place or show, or whatever they do. Now if you had
that kind of knowledge, if if you knew in advance that as God does, and you’d
go to Santa Anita, would you pick a bunch of losers? You’d be foolish if you
did. Of course you wouldn’t. You’d pick winners. Now God has that kind of
knowledge and He chose you. Hey, hey, hey, what’s it mean? Means you’re a
winner. Means you can’t lose. Who have been born again of God.
Peter in his first epistle said, “Thanks be unto God who has
begotten us again” (1 Peter 1:3). But you know that that’s but how would you
say, Who has borned us again. But that’s literally what it is, who has borned
us again. My being born again is a work of God, God has chosen me and I was
born again by a work of God’s Spirit, not by even my own will. “Not the will of
man nor the will of the flesh but by the will of God.”
So here again, Of his own will, He begat us with His word of truth.
that
we should be kind of firstfruits of his creation (1:18).
New creatures in Christ.
Wherefore,
my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to
wrath (1:19):
Now if you’ve done much counseling with Romaine, you know
that he informs you that God gave you two ears and one mouth. Now think about
that. It means that He wants you to hear twice as much as what you speak. Don’t
be so quick to speak. Be quick to hear, but slow to speak, slow to wrath. Oh,
if I’d only been slower to speak. If I just kept my mouth shut, how much easier
things could have been. But when we are quick to speak, so often we are wrong.
And we have to then later take back what we said. So slow to wrath:
For
the wrath of man does not work the righteousness of God. Wherefore set aside
all the filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness (1:20,21),
Whatever that is. Superfluid. Another good word would be
overflowing. Fluid flows, super is over, so the overflowing of wickedness. Or
the abounding of wickedness. So “set apart all filthiness, overflowing of
wickedness,”
and
receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your soul
(1:21).
Set aside our pride, set aside our wicked ways, and let’s
just hear the word of God because it is by the word of God that we are born
again. It is the seed planted that brings the new birth. The word of God sown
in our hearts brings new life, new birth. And so “receive with meekness the
engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.”
But
be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourself. For if any man
is a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his
natural face in a glass: For he beholds himself, and then he goes away, and
immediately he forgets what manner of man he was (1:22-24).
It’s so easy to get sort of an exalted opinion of ourselves.
Nothing like little granddaughters to keep you honest, you know. I mean, you
look in the mirror and you say, “Umm, you know, look at that flaw. Oh my,” you
know. Then you go away and you forget. So my little granddaughter says,
“Grandpa, your teeth are yellow.” Well, I’m prone to forget that. “Grandpa, you
got crinkles on your face.”
And so the man who is a hearer of the word. You begin to get
a false concept of yourself. “Well, after all, I go to Bible studies and I’m
really studying the word of God. I really know the Scriptures. I’ve memorized
the book of John and I really know the Scriptures.” Yeah, but are you doing it?
You see, if you’re just a hearer and not a doer of the word, then you are
deceiving yourself. You think that you’re in better shape than you really are.
You’re not acknowledging the truth about yourself. And so we need to be the
doers of the word. It’s it’s “not those that have the law that are justified,
but those that do the law,” Paul said (Romans 2:13). And that was the mistake
that the Jewish people were making. They thought, well, we have the law of
Moses. Paul said, No, no, that isn’t enough. You’ve got to keep the law of
Moses.
James said, Well you say you have the word of God; that
isn’t enough. You’ve got to be doing the word of God. There’s got to be the
practical application. There’s got to be obedience to the commands. Be ye doers
of the word and not hearers only because you’ll deceive yourself.
But
whoso looks into the perfect law of liberty, and continues therein, he being
not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in
his deed (1:25).
In the work, in the deeds that he does.
Now
if any man among you seems to be religious, and doesn’t bridle his tongue, he
is deceiving his own heart, and this man's religion is vain (1:26).
It’s empty.
But
pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, Visit the
orphans and the widows in their affliction, and keep yourself unspotted from
the world (1:27).
That’s what it’s really all about. Doing good for those that
are in need. Reaching out to help those. That’s what it is to be a doer of the
word. It’s translated into positive actions of reaching out to help those in
need. And to just keep yourself unspotted from the world.
Now
my brothers, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory,
with respect of persons (2:1).
This is so difficult. It is so easy for us to fall in the
trap of respecting persons. It’s just I don’t know a part of our whole social
structure, I guess, is that of respecting certain persons above others. You’ve
got to be careful that we don’t fall into that trap.
So often a person will introduce himself, “Well I am Dr.
So.” Doctor, oh my, we respect the person. We shouldn’t be a respecter of
persons. God isn’t. “God is no respecter of persons,” the Bible says (Acts
10:34). We shouldn’t be.
If
there comes into your assembly a man with a gold ring, fancy clothes, there
comes also a man in with rags that smell; And you have respect to him that is
wearing the fancy clothing, and you say to him, Oh, sit here in this good
place; and you say to the poor man, Stand over there in the corner, or sit
under my footstool: Are you not then partial in yourselves, and you’ve become
the judges of evil thoughts? Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hasn’t God chosen
the poor of this world rich in faith, heirs of the kingdom which he has
promised to them that love him? But you’ve despised the poor. Do not rich men
oppress you, draw you before the courts? Don’t they blaspheme that worthy name
by which you are called (2:1-7)?
You’ve been called Christians. So be careful on this
business of respecting a person just because he is rich. Or sort of snubbing a
person because he is poor. Now let’s be honest. We are far more apt to stop
along the road and help a person with a flat tire who's driving a Mercedes than
we are someone driving a Volkswagen bug. I mean, you see someone out there you
know and in distress. “Oh my, you know, I’ll be glad to help him because who
knows, maybe they’ll you know offer me five bucks you know for giving them a
hand.” But you’ve been there. That’s respect of persons. Something we shouldn’t
be guilty of.
Interesting God has chosen the poor of this world as far as
worldly good but rich in faith. God measures riches on a far different standard
than do we. We’re on the gold standard; used to be. We’re on no standard now.
Used to be gold notes. In effect, they said the government owes you twenty
dollars worth of gold. Then we went to silver notes; the government owes you
twenty dollars worth of silver. Now they’re federal notes. They’re not backed
by anything so it means the government owes you nothing. It’s true. They’re not
backed by anything. Just paper. But gold is not the standard of heaven. Asphalt
up there; they pave the streets with the stuff.
God looks at the heart of a man and He sees the faith and
the trust that is there in Him. And God says, Oh that's a rich man. He loves
me. He trusts me. God looks at some of the named people in the world who lived
in the Four Hundred Club and God says, “Oh, what poor riches. They have
nothing.” Now we should look at people as God. We shouldn’t have respect for
wealthy people but we should be just as concerned to help the poor. In fact,
most concerned to help the poor. The rich don’t really need help so much. It’s
the poor that need our help, our attention. God help us. I’m guilty here. God
help me.
Now
if you fulfil the royal law (2:8)
I love this, the royal law. What is the royal law?
Thou
shalt love thy neighbor as thyself (2:8),
That’s the royal law. I like the title for it. If you fulfill that royal law, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as
thyself,
you
do well (2:8):
Now really, that’s where that young ruler sort of failed,
isn’t it, who came to Jesus, fell at His feet and said, “Good Master, what must
I do to inherit eternal life? Jesus said, Keep the commandments. Which ones?
Oh, thou shall not kill, thou shall not steal, thou shall not commit adultery,
thou shall not bear false witness. Oh Lord, I kept all these from the time I
was a kid. But what I, what do I lack yet? Well if you will be perfect, keep
the royal law, go sell everything you have and distribute it to the poor.
You’ll have great riches in heaven.” Keep the royal law; Love your neighbor as
yourself; hard to do, isn’t it? Awfully hard to do. Loving my neighbor as I
love myself. But if you keep that, you do well.
But
if you have respect of persons, you’re actually committing sin, and you’re
convicted of the law as a transgressor. Convinced of the law (2:9).
It is pointing its
finger of accusation against you.
For
whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet violate in one point, you’re
guilty, guilty of all. For the law says, Don’t commit adultery, but it also
says, Do not kill. Now if you don’t commit adultery, but yet you kill somebody,
you’re guilty of violating the law (2:10,11).
You’re a violator. Doesn’t matter which one of the
commandments you violated. Thou shall not kill. Thou shall not commit adultery.
Oh, I’ve never done that. Love thy neighbor as thyself. Whoops. But you violate
one point; you’re guilty of all. You’re guilty of breaking the law and it
really doesn’t matter which of the commandments you’ve broken. You’re guilty of
having broken the law. If you keep the entire law let yet you break one of the
commandments, then you’re just as guilty as if you’ve broken all of them. You
are guilty of being a lawbreaker.
So
speak, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty. For he
shall have judgment without mercy, that has showed no mercy (2:12,13);
Think about that for a moment. Jesus said, “Blessed are the
merciful: for they shall obtain mercy” (Matthew 5:7). We are also told, “And
whatever measure you meted out, it’s going to be measured to you in judgment.
Judge not, lest you be judged. For whatever mete you measure, that’s the
standard by which you’re going to be judged” (Matthew 7:1,2). Now I don’t like
that. I want one standard for me and another standard for you.
But I if I stand in judgment against you, and if I begin to
point a guilty finger at you and say, Boy, you’re really terrible, look what
you did and all. What you did you may not have known was wrong. But I do
because I’m judging you for it. And that means that’s the standard by which I’m
going to be judged.
Interesting, all you have to do is just change the picture a
little bit and put in different faces and oh, it’s horrible. Terrible. “How
could they do such a thing?” Wait a minute. That’s me. I’ve done that.
David had all these beautiful wives. Walking on his roof one
day, he saw a gal next door taking a bath. Lusted, desired her. Sent his
servants over with a message, the king would like to see you. Committed
adultery with her. A few weeks later he gets a note: Dear David, I’m pregnant.
Bathsheba.
So David sends a message to his general to send her husband
home on furlough. Her husband comes home. David says, “Well how’s everything
going? How’s the battle?” “Oh fine.” “Well, you know, go home and spend the
night with your wife. Talk to you in the morning.” He didn’t go home. He slept
on David’s porch. In the morning the servant said, “Hey, he didn’t go home last
night. He slept right here on the porch.” And David called him in and said,
“What’s the matter with you, man? Got a beautiful wife there, you ought to you
know go home and spend the night with her you know. Enjoy your wife. What’s
your problem?” And the guy says, “Well,” he said, “I was thinking of all my
buddies. They’re out there in the fox holes and it wouldn’t be fair for me to
go in and enjoy an evening with my wife while those guys are out there in the
trenches. That wouldn’t be very honorable.”
So David got him all soused. Told the servants, Keep his
wine cup full. So the guy was drunk. Figure he’d stagger home; spend the night
with his wife. And instead he staggered to David’s porch, went to sleep again.
In the morning, the servant said, “He spent the night here.” The Bible says,
“He that seeks to cover his sins shall not prosper” (Proverbs 28:13). David
tried to cover his sins. Very dastardly way. He sent secret orders with this man
back to Joab, the general. It said, “Put him in the front of the battle. When
things get tough, withdraw the support from him.”
And so Joab did as David commanded and he was killed in
battle. Got the report. Killed in battle. David took Bathsheba as his wife.
Figured he could cover his tracks. The child was born. David looked like he was
a very magnanimous person. Here her husband was killed in battle and now David
takes her as one of his wives to raise the child. Isn’t that wonderful? No, it
isn’t.
Nathan the prophet came to David. David thought nobody knew.
He’d covered it pretty well. Nathan came to him and said, “David, a man in your
kingdom, very wealthy man; he had more than he could ever spend. Tremendous
herds, sheep, he lived next door to an extremely poor man who had as his sole
possession one little ewe lamb that he loved greatly. In fact, it was sort of a
pet. He slept with it at night. Slept in the house and it ate at the guy’s
table. And the rich man had company. And he ordered his servants to go next
door and by force to take the ewe lamb from this man and kill it in order that
he might give it to his company. He might feed his company.” And David got
angry and he said to Nathan, “That man will be surely put to death.” David
said. Nathan said, “David, you’re the man. You’ve had all these wives. Here’s
your neighbor. You take away. You’re the man, David.”
You see, if we show no mercy we will be shown no mercy.
Whatever measure we meted out, it’s going to be measured to us again. That’s
why it’s so dangerous to put yourself in the position of a judge. Judging other
people’s actions. “I can’t understand why they would do something like that.
That’s horrible for them to do that, you know.” Watch out now. You’re setting a
standard by which you’re going to be judged. “Blessed are the merciful, they
shall obtain mercy”(Matthew 5:7). He who doesn’t show mercy, he who judges
without mercy will be shown no mercy.
but
true mercy rejoices against judgment. Now what does it profit, my brethren,
though a man says he has faith, and doesn’t have works? can faith save him
(2:12-14)?
Now at this point many people see James and Paul in conflict
in teaching. I don’t. Paul teaches that salvation is through faith, faith
alone. “By grace are you saved through faith; not of yourselves: it is a gift
of God: not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship”
(Ephesians 2:8-10).
Then what does James say, Can faith save him? The answer is yes, faith can save
him. A true faith. But make sure you have a true faith. For if you have a true
faith, it will be manifested by the works. In other words, to just say you have
faith doesn’t cut it. Saying it isn’t enough.
I’ve had people come to me and say, “Oh, I have all the
faith in the world.” Baloney! Nobody has all the faith in the world. And saying
it doesn’t make it so. If you believe certain things to be so, then your life
is going to be lived accordingly. And so your life testifies of your faith or
your beliefs. And to say that you believe in God and that God is supreme and
that God is first in your life, then it will follow that there will be certain
evidence that will verify that fact that you have declared to be so. And by the
works that you do your faith will be proved or proclaimed. And to say that you
have faith and not have any works that correspond is totally wrong. You’ve
deceived yourself. You aren’t really walking in faith. If you are truly walking
in faith, your works are going to be manifesting that truth.
So “what does it profit if a man says he has faith, and he
doesn’t have works? can that kind of faith save him?” No, it can’t.
If
a brother or sister is naked, or is destitute of daily food, And you say to
them, [Oh] Depart in peace, be warmed and
filled; but yet you don’t give them any clothes or any food; what good are your
words (2:15,16)?
They can’t make him warm. They can’t fill his stomach.
Even
so faith, if it has not works, is dead, if you try to stand alone. Yes, a man
may say, You have faith, and I have works: but you show me your faith without
your works, I will show you my faith by my works (2:17,18).
So it isn’t just the declaration. It’s the declaration that
has something behind it. The proof behind it is the works that I do. Now the
works don’t save me. They only prove that I have saving faith. And if I don’t
have works that are corresponding to what I am declaring, then I do not have
saving faith, just the declaration, the verbal affirmation isn’t enough and it
won’t do it.
Now a lot of people made mistakes; going forward and saying
the sinner’s prayer and then going away and living the same kind of life doing
the same kind of thing. They say, “Oh yeah, I was saved. I went forward and I
said the sinner’s prayer.” No, no, the sinner’s prayer isn’t going to save you.
It is a living faith in Jesus Christ that brings about actual changes in your
life and the proof is in the works; the proof of your faith. Your works have to
be in accordance, in harmony with what you are declaring to be true.
You
believe that there is one God; [Ah] you do well: the devils believe the same thing, and they tremble (2:19).
“Oh, I believe in God.” Big deal. Who doesn’t, except some
fool? The Bible says the fool is the one that says there is no God. So you say
you believe in God, it only proves one thing, you’re not a fool. But it doesn’t
save you. The devils believe in God, they probably believe more firmly in Him
than you do. They said to Jesus, “We know who you are, you’re the Holy One of
God” (Mark 1:24). So you say, “Oh I believe Jesus is the holy One of God.” So
what? Have you submitted your life to His lordship? Are you doing His works?
Are you obeying His commands?
You see, not all who say, Lord, Lord, are going to enter the
kingdom of heaven. So you say, “Oh Lord, Oh the Lord, Oh the Lord,” yea, yea,
but saying is not going to do it. Jesus said, “not all who say, Lord, Lord, are
going to enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of the Father”
(Matthew 7:21). James is telling you the very same thing. It isn’t saying I
have faith, it is demonstrating the faith because of the works of my life are
in harmony with what I am declaring that I believe.
If I believe that there was a bomb planted in this room, set
to detonate in two minutes, and I’d stand up here and calmly proclaim to you,
“You know, huge bomb in this room going to detonate in two minutes and blow
this whole place to smithereens.” Terrible of people to do that, isn’t it?
Can’t imagine the mind of a person that would plant such a bomb. Why would they
want to destroy us? You’d say, “Ah, you don’t really believe there’s a bomb
here.” Why? Because my works don’t correspond with what I’m declaring that I
believe. But if I go running out of the door and say, “Get out of there, you
know. Bomb’s going to blow up in two minutes,” you know, then you’re more apt
to believe that at least I believe what I’m telling you because now my actions
are corresponding with what I am declaring that I believe to be so.
Now the same is true. You say, “Well I believe in God and I
believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and all.” Well, do your actions correspond? Do
your actions really show that Jesus is the Lord of your life? Is that
demonstrated by the works that you do? That’s what James is saying. Don’t just
say it. Don’t rest in just words, beautiful words. But let’s see the actions
that demonstrate that you truly believe what you’re saying.
Will
you know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead (2:20)?
It isn’t really alive. It isn’t a living faith. It isn’t a
saving faith.
Was
not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son
upon the altar (2:21)?
You see, his works corresponded with his faith. He believed
God. He believed that through Isaac God was going to raise up a nation because
God has promised that. Through Isaac shall thy seed be called. Now his very
offering up of Isaac was proof of his strong belief in the word of God.
Believing that God would if necessary raise Isaac from the dead to keep His
promise. And so his faith was in keeping or his works were in keeping with his faith.
Seest thou how faith wrought with
his works (2:22),
They were working together. His faith produced the works as
faith will also produce the corresponding works in our life.
and by works was faith made perfect
(2:22)?
Not a question mark. In the Greek there is no question mark
there. It’s just the declaration, “by works his faith was made complete.” His
faith was proved.
And
the scripture was fulfilled which said, Abraham believed God, and it was
accounted unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. You
see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only (2:23,24).
The works being the proof of the faith.
Likewise
also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she received the
messengers, and had sent them out another way? For as the body without the
spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also (2:25,26).
When your spirit leaves your body, your body is dead. The
body without the spirit, dead. So faith, if it doesn’t have corresponding
works, is not a true faith. It’s dead. It does nothing for you. It cannot save
you. Dead faith can save no one. It’s a living faith and a living Lord and that
living faith can be demonstrated by the actions of my life that are in harmony
and corresponding with what I declare to be true and what I declare I believe
to be true. There has to be the corresponding works for faith to be alive.
Therefore, let us examine ourselves to see if we are in the
faith, the true faith that saves. Not just the verbalizing of the Apostle’s
Creed. I believe but the actions of my life being in harmony with it.
Father, help us that we might indeed be doers of the word
and not hearers only. That we might not just affirm a belief but may we
demonstrate that belief by the attitudes and actions of our lives. Lord, help
us not to be deceived. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
May the Lord bless you and guide you as you go this week. As
you face the many temptations, may the Lord give you strength and may you walk
and live after the Spirit. And may you respond after the Spirit. In the
temptation may you not yield to the flesh and react after the flesh. May your
life be pleasing unto God, as our actions come into harmony with our
declarations of what we believe. May we show it in the works that we do. In
Jesus’ name.