James

The Truth Revealed

“You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe – and tremble! But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?” James 2:19, 20

God has given us the planetary system for several very useful purposes and one of them is to note the passing of time. Most of us know our age and could readily state it if asked. Some may be inclined to be less than honest in their answer. The passing of years is also helpful to remind us that we are not going to be on this earth forever and we would do well to reflect on the direction our lives are taking and the ultimate destiny at which we will arrive.

James makes it very clear in his letter that what we do is the outworking of what we believe. That being the case, reflection will reveal what we really believe and what we are. It is very easy to say we believe certain things but our actions and attitudes, our likes and dislikes, will reveal the truth of the matter. What we may say may be proven to be a lie by what we do; or it may confirm that belief.

The Bible states in many ways that salvation is through faith in Jesus Christ alone and it also states that such faith will bring about certain attitudes and behaviours in accord with that faith. James throws out the challenge to show faith without works knowing full well that it is impossible (v 18). It isn’t that good attitude, behaviour or works merits salvation, but that genuine salvation will produce good works. The evidence that a dead person has been raised is that they express the attributes of life. Among other things, they will move, speak, eat and sleep so that we can see they are alive. The same is true of one dead in trespasses and sins whom God has made alive to God (Ephesians 2:4-10).

While the passing from one year to another is no different from any other day passing to the next we can use this marker of the orbit of earth around the sun to measure not just the passing of time but also our growth in faith in Jesus Christ. The apostle Paul often spoke in terms of pressing on toward Christ and knowing Him more intimately (Philippians 3:10). When taking time for reflection we will come to a more reliable evaluation provided we do not look only into our intellectual belief but at what our attitudes have been and the kind of behaviour they produce. Do they indicate that we have been drawing ever nearer to Jesus, that we have been serving His interests or that we have been serving our interests?  In reflection does our life match the direction that John the Baptist made his aim, “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30)?

It is interesting that in his letter James poses this as a question rather than as a statement. “But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?” It may be that the pride in us would rather not know that the lack of godly expression in our attitudes and behaviour reveals the lack of Jesus Christ in our lives.

Prepare for His Coming

“You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.” (James 5:8)

All of the New Testament writers make mention of the Lord Jesus’ return. The reasons for their reference may vary a little but by their mention of Jesus’ return they reveal that it is not just a theological or doctrinal concept but a very real and personal expectation even in the face of mocking and criticism.

That Jesus would come on two occasions is camouflaged in the Old Testament but is made clear by Jesus Himself. In John 14:3 Jesus is emphatic that He will both leave His disciples for a time and will come again to receive them at a later time.

On several occasions the Apostle Paul mentions the second coming of the Lord Jesus for His church. In 1 Corinthians 15 he comments that in an instant all living believers will be changed from this corrupted humanity to a body without corruption and from mortality to immortality (vv 51-54). In this wonderful chapter on the assurance of resurrection for believers Paul associates our bodily resurrection with Jesus’ coming again (v 22).

The second coming of Jesus was a source of comfort and joy for Paul in regard to his love for believers (1 Thessalonians 2:19). He reveals that Jesus’ coming for believers is before the outpouring of God’s wrath on an unbelieving world (1:10; 5:9). It is also motivation for fervent prayer for believers (3:13) and comfort concerning believers who have died prior to His second coming (4:16; 5:11). This letter appears to be preoccupied with the return of the Lord Jesus Christ and what that means for Christians. Indeed, he too is emphatic regarding the return of the Lord Jesus (5:24).

James mentions the return of the Lord Jesus with regard to our manner of life while waiting (5:7, 8). Waiting as a farmer waits for the rain suggests that we should be using the waiting time to prepare for His coming. John affirms this as a right response to the revelation of His imminent return (2:28).

Peter also affirms the second coming of Jesus as faithful teaching (2 Peter 1:16) and that the scoffers that arise through the years before the event will be thoroughly discredited when He does appear (3:1-13). Peter is not referring to Jesus coming for the church but to Israel to establish His earthly kingdom. The two are linked as the Day of the Lord but occur a little more than seven years apart.

Peter tells us that the world will scoff at the notion of Jesus coming again inferring that He is a liar, impotent or unfaithful to His promises. Their argument is based on wishful thinking and the apparent delay in His coming. Peter reminds such thinkers that the delay is to give people, including the scoffers, opportunity to have a change of mind and heart and not for any lack in Jesus. “The Day of the Lord will come,” writes Peter, and when Jesus comes nothing will impede Him in the slightest.

As James encourages, let us prepare ourselves for Jesus’ coming without regard to the scoffers. Each day brings us inexorably a day closer to His coming when we shall see Him face to face. Surely this is joy and comfort to all who Know Jesus Christ.

Don’t Worry, Believe

“He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him – the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.” John 12:48

If Jesus intended that we should treat His words in a non-literal manner then the verse above, and its context (vv 42-50), would be nonsense. Since Jesus makes it clear that people will be judged according to the word He has spoken it should be evident that a correct understanding of His word is imperative. The only way that is possible is to take His word in the usual literal and grammatical sense. The context itself will determine what kind of literature we are reading, whether it be theology, history, poetry, allegory or a parable, and give us the guide as to how we should understand the passage.

Since it is evident throughout the Bible that God intends for us to correctly understand what He has said and had recorded for us, Jesus’ words in the above verse then make sense. How could we know truth if we interpret the Bible to our ideas of what is possible or true?

Jesus affirms that the words He has spoken come with the authority of the Father (vv 49, 50). The same is true of the whole Bible (2 Timothy 3:16) so we would be wise to ensure we take God at His word throughout. It will be a sad day when the multitudes that have been deceived and not taken Jesus at His word, are judged by His word. They will be among those who cry out, “Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied (taught) in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in your name?” And then Jesus will say to them, “I never knew you; depart from Me.” (Matthew 7:22, 23).

It has always pleased God to let those who do take Him at His word to know something of the days ahead. Only those who treat His word literally will discover the truth and find comfort in it. Matthew records three occasions when Jesus clearly warned His disciples that He would die and rise again. Had they received His word they would have been comforted when Jesus was crucified because they would have known that He would rise again. Instead they ran away in fear and Peter denied he even knew Jesus. John records Jesus addressing this in John 14. In that chapter Jesus gives two reasons for telling them of future events; so they will not worry or be afraid (vv 1, 27) and so they would believe He would rise (v 29). It is evident that He intended that they receive His words literally.

Our world is about to endure the most horrendous period in all its existence and God has warned His people of what is to come. Those who take God at His word will be comforted and assured as these things approach but those who do not will be just like the disciples when Jesus was crucified. They will be anything but comforted.

The Lord revealed to Abraham the awful judgment that was about to come on Sodom and Gomorrah (James 2:23). He has also revealed the awful judgment that is going to come upon the world to us if we will take His word literally. “I have told you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe” (John 14:29; see also 15:15).

Making the Connection

“I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat” Mark 8:2

Multitudes of people had come to Jesus possibly out of curiosity regarding His teaching or His miracles. Why they came isn’t so important but rather how they leave. This is always the case when people encounter Jesus and this has not changed through time.

For three days this crowd had listened to Jesus’ teaching and observed miracles but their provisions depleted to the point that Jesus observed that they had no food remaining and there was no opportunity for them to acquire more.

Jesus said that His compassion came from the fact that He was about to end this assembly and the large number of people would be returning to their homes. Some would have a long way to travel on their return journey without food and there was a risk they might not make it in good health.

Once again the disciples express their total inability to do anything about the situation. There was not enough food for them let alone anyone else. Only Jesus would be able to meet this need.

The disciples may have remembered intellectually that God had provided Israel with manna in the wilderness but that they had not made the connection that it was Jesus who provided that manna. Even the recent feeding of 5,000 men plus women and children seems to have fallen from memory.

They appear to be just like us. We read and think we understand the Bible yet do not make the connection between the Jesus of the Bible and the Jesus with whom we relate. It takes circumstances in our lives, usually difficult or impossible ones, to bring the two to be as one.

Jesus is not at all unmindful of our physical needs. We always have and always will require provision for our physical being. God demonstrates His faithfulness daily in providing us with what we need. When He saw people in need He had compassion and met the need as He was able.

If we really believe that Jesus will provide all we require for eternity it is an easy matter to believe He will provide all we need now. If we doubt His ability or willingness to provide now we show the same lack of faith that the disciples did and reveal that we have doubts about His providing for us in eternity. Jesus’ intervention in impossible situations will increase our faith.

Jesus may not ask us to feed such a large crowd but He will present impossible situations in our lives in order that we may call upon Him and see His response. When these times come James gives us an appropriate response: “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting…. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man” (James 1:5-8).

For the Lord’s Sake

“The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” (James 5:16)

One may wonder whether James had Daniel’s prayer in mind when he wrote this. The prayer of Daniel recorded in Daniel 9:4-19 seems to exemplify what James wrote centuries later. In brief let us summarise the content of the prayer.

First, this prayer was motivated by reading Scripture, in particular, that written by the prophet Jeremiah (v 2).

Secondly, Daniel was determined to commune with the Lord with a view to understanding Jeremiah’s prophecy and it’s relevance to his present day (v 3).

Thirdly, he majors on the nature of the Lord: The Lord keeps His covenants and is faithful to His word (v 4), is merciful (v 4, 9, 18) and forgiving (v 9, 19). The Lord is righteous in Being (v 7) and therefore righteous in all His actions (v 14).

Fourthly, in contrast to the nature of the Lord, Israel had been quite the contrary. Israel had not been faithful to the covenant on Mount Sinai (v 5, 7); it had not heeded the warnings and word of God that came through the prophets (v 6) and had been disobedient to the word of the Lord that came through Moses (v 10, 11).

To sum up, Daniel affirms to the Lord that the Lord is right to judge Israel as He has for in doing so He has remained faithful to the word that came through Moses and to His Divine Nature (v 13).

Israel had nothing worthy of merit as a reason for the Lord’s favour (v 18) yet Daniel asks for it. Israel had sinned against the Lord (v 8) and there was no reason or means by which they merited any favour in themselves. If Israel was to be forgiven and restored it had to be based solely on the Lord’s nature and expression of that nature.

It isn’t surprising therefore that we find Daniel basing the hearing of his prayer (v 17) and Israel’s forgiveness (v 19) as being for the Lord’s sake, for the sake of the revelation of the Divine Nature in the world, and not for Israel’s name.

Daniel was a righteous man who least needed such a prayer for himself. He did not characterise the nature of Israel as described in his prayer. But it was this very absence that qualified him to pray such a prayer. Besides, who else would? Those who love sin will never even consider praying anything.

In this Daniel is a kind of foreshadow of the Lord Jesus Christ. The only Righteous One, the one who had no need of suffering for sin, took upon Himself our sin for His own name’s sake and most definitely not because we, even in the slightest, merited any favour.

We do well to keep in mind that God responded to the prayer of just one man, just as James later wrote He would, and gave us one of the most blessed revelations in all Scripture.

Who will be a Daniel today?

Showers of Blessing

“Elijah was a man with a nature like ours and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit” (James 5:17-18)

James makes reference to Elijah’s prayers in conjunction with his exhortation for us to pray in faith, confess our sin, and be fervent in prayer and righteous in behaviour. The actual events that James is referring to occurred at a time whenIsrael had turned away from the Lord their God to the gods of the surrounding nations.

Under Ahab and Jezebel Israel had turned its back on the Lord. “Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him” (1 Kings 16:33)

That Elijah prayed that it would not rain reveals that it can be God’s will to stop the rain in order to get His people to return to Him. The drought was to get the attention of His own people not that of the world.

We make a mistake, I believe, if we think that droughts or other ‘natural’ disasters or pestilences are solely to gain the attention of an unbelieving world. It is to provoke Christians to pray but not for rain. We are to pray believing in the Person of our God in our Lord Jesus Christ, confessing our sin of serving ourselves instead of Him and turn to righteous behaviour. In other words, droughts or other disasters are calling God’s people to repentance. We cannot expect the ungodly that are dead spiritually to repent if those who claim to be alive spiritually will not. In Revelation 6:16 we can read how unbelievers would rather die than repent.

The accusation that James makes is that God’s people were praying for selfish things, for their own pleasure and ease of conscience instead of being involved with the interests of Jesus Christ (James 4:3).

If in a drought God gave us rain without our repentance what would we do? We would probably turn to other selfish prayers. Is this the meaning of prayer, to treat God as Father Christmas to give us pleasure and joy?

Prayer is a man or woman, boy or girl, communing and living with God through our Lord Jesus Christ and by the Holy Spirit. We cheapen this if we pray with no regard to the Person with whom we commune. We wouldn’t do that with our spouse or our children, would we?

In Australia we have a spiritual drought among God’s people and this may be why we have experienced rain drought. It is time we repented and returned to our Lord and let Him fulfil His mission in and through us. In 1967 and 1968 Billy Graham came to Australia for evangelistic meetings. It wasn’t Billy Graham that saved people; it was the Lord Jesus Christ in response to the praying of God’s people inAustralia.

Christians began praying for the unsaved months before Billy Graham ever came. They were surrendered to Jesus Christ and obeyed Him by sowing the Seed of the Word of God in the hearts of unbelievers and watering it with daily prayer. Droughts and disasters may be God’s provocation for us to do the same.

A Wise Man

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction” Proverbs 1:7

The book of Proverbs can give us some wise instruction if we will receive it. Following is a summary and notation of many of the Proverbs with regard to a wise person. Please look them up as you read this article.

It should not surprise us that the book begins by saying that a wise person is one who is teachable and actively seeking understanding of that which is true (1:5, 6). “To hear” means not just audible hearing but to take it to heart and live it out.

In a similar vein as this, one who is wise in his own eyes is not teachable (3:7; 26:12) and will not reverence the Lord as the One from whom he/she will seek knowledge (10:14; 18:15; 19:20; 22:17-21) and understanding (8:33). Being teachable and being humble are conjoined twins; they cannot be separated.

The activities of a wise person come from within. He need not be driven like a reluctant mule but is industrious and thrives on work (6:6-11; 14:1; 30:24-28). He /she will have nothing to do with evil (14:16) and will be able to pour “cold water” on “flames” of anger dampening the violence of the unwise (29:8).

The natural man hates rebuke and correction but a characteristic of the wise is that they gladly receive both (9:8, 9; 15:31; 17:10; 21:11; 25:12). They will love the one who rebukes them in love and truth, and learn from the one who corrects their error (12:15; 13:20).

Any parent rejoices when their child acts wisely and so say the Proverbs (10:1, 5; 13:1; 15:20; 23:15, 19-21; 23:24; 27:11; 28:11). A part of this is training a child to have respect to authority and demonstrate that by obeying those in authority (10:8; 22:6).

“The tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity” writes James (3:6) so we are not surprised that the proverbs tell us that a wise man knows when to keep quiet and is able to do so (10:19; 12:18; 15:2, 7). His renewed heart controls what he says (16:23) and does. The wise person will not indulge in any thing mind altering such as alcohol (20:1; 23:19-21). The wise person has control of their words and actions (29:11). James reminds us that this is not possible in our fallen state but only by the Holy Spirit (James 3:8).

The wise in the context of Proverbs have a destiny and an inheritance beyond value; the glory of God (3:35; 15:24) and his desire is that others also enter that glory (11:30). Of course the Bible elaborates much more on this subject but this a good basic start.

A Word Please!

“Oh, that the Almighty would answer me, that my Prosecutor had written a book!” (Job 31:35)

Job did not know why he had been singled out for such a painful end to his life. He did not die in this state but at the time he expected that he would.

When we read through his life testimony (esp. chapter 31) we must shudder because we have not lived out the righteous life that he has and yet he still suffered so greatly. Job knew the reality of the words, “Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to depart from evil is understanding” and he had lived by them. He still believed them true but in his desire to know the truth he cries out for more revelation from God.

The Book that he cries out for is readily available to us today. May God graciously grant to us the same desire for it’s revelation that Job had.

Jesus said that the Ninevites who repented at Jonah’s warning would be a testimony against Israel and that the Queen of Sheba would be a testimony against Gentiles at the White Throne Judgment because they did not come to Him (Matthew 12:38-42). It may well be that Job will similarly be a testimony against Christians who, though they had ready access to God’s Word, did not avail themselves of it. At the judgment seat of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:10) where all believers will appear, we will receive reward according to how we lived in Christ.

No doubt many of us will go with hopes high expecting the “Well done, good and faithful servant” but instead we will find that we have not obeyed our Lord and will have mountains of wood, hay and stubble to see burned (1 Corinthians 3:12-15). Why have we not obeyed our Lord?

Obedience to Jesus Christ is the expression and evidence that we have faith in Him and believe what He has said (cf. James 1:22; 2:20). Faith (believing God’s Word) comes from first hearing or reading His Word (Romans 10:14-17). Job says that a reverential fear of the Lord will motivate us to seek answers and when we have them obedience to them will bring understanding. Job longed for more revelation of and from God.

When we do not obey the Lord it may be because we do not know what He has said. We do not know what He has said because we do not read, study and meditate on His Word.

God has now written a book and Job will be a witness against us if we do not avail ourselves of the wonderful privilege of absorbing the knowledge, wisdom and understanding it provides. It really is the Bread of Life to our souls. Let us not starve!

Whatever Happened to: “Here am I! Send me”

“Here am I! Send me” (Isaiah 6:8)

Only a foolish person would suggest that there is ever too much prayer in the church and among Christians. Throughout the Bible we are commanded, exhorted and encouraged to pray. James tells us that “the effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much” (James 5:16) and who would dare argue with him?

What we need to evaluate is how much prayer activity is of this kind. It may well be that much prayer activity stems from a wrong motive (James 4:3) or simply to appease our conscience so that we can say we have done our duty. Has God become our Father Christmas who exists to do our bidding and supply our desires? The focus is often on our agenda and not the Lord’s plan and purpose. God has created us to please Him and perform His will not the other way around.

Samuel said to Saul, “To obey is better than sacrifice” (1 Samuel 15:22) but how much of our praying carries with it the intention of obeying? If we are to really pray it will mean to really listen as Isaiah listened, heard, willingly offered himself as the sacrifice and obeyed.

It is easier to pray than to obey but that kind of praying, though it may satisfy the conscience, is futile. If prayer does not carry with it the intention of obedience to the Lord’s response then it is worse than a waste of time.

Does God act alone in answer to prayer? Yes, sometimes He does and there are examples in the Bible. More frequently He chooses to work through a person who has offered him/herself as a living sacrifice; the sacrifice of obedience.

A few minutes of obedience will accomplish much more than hours of pleading with God from an unwilling heart to be involved in the answer. If we are willing to obey then our Lord may offer us the privilege of being part of the answer.

Should we pray without ceasing? Most certainly but let us be sure that we have the same heart attitude that Isaiah demonstrated. Isaiah saw a need, brought to the Lord in prayer and was willing to be part of the answer. Humanly speaking this will always involve a cost because it is a sacrifice. Please do not come to the altar of prayer without being the living sacrifice you offer (Romans 12:1) and ready to obey His desire.

All For Jesus

“Draw near to God and He will draw near to you” James 4:8

Quite likely, if any of us were asked if we would like to be nearer to God in intimacy, we would say that we would. There are probably several reasons why we are not more intimate with God than we are and the reasons may be different for each one of us. However, they could probably all be summarised under one heading which James gives us in the preceding verse. The one heading comes in two aspects, a positive and a negative. “Submit to God. Resist the devil. ”

The devil would have us believe that we can draw near to God and still dabble in sin but this is contrary to what God says. James says that “friendship with the world is enmity with God” and goes on to say, “whoever wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” Jesus said, “if we are not for Him we are against Him.”

Clearly we must be continually choosing to draw near to God and continually resisting the world that is under the devil’s power if we would be friends with Jesus Christ.

There will be obvious expressions of this in our life style as well. These are not manufactured by deliberate choice but will come spontaneously from the heart. James tells us some in this passage: we won’t speak evil of other Christians (v11); we won’t make inflexible plans but allow the Lord to lead us (vv 13-16); we will do the good we know today because we know that tomorrow is no certainty (v17).

When these expressions are coming from the heart it will be because we are resisting the devil and submitting to God. This is outward evidence that we are experiencing inward intimacy with God. Refuse to believe the devil’s lies but readily believe all that God has said and you will be drawn nearer to the heart of God.