QTVOTD: True Nature of Faith Produces Works…

Family and I arrived safely in Chelan at our little getaway, and everyone has gone to bed after playing Clue (Bella won). I sit here in the quiet of the Livingroom in this quiet place to reflect on the next passage of reading here in James. I am on James 2:14-26 which is all on the relationship of faith and works.

It is one of those interesting passages where one author (apostle James) takes a different tack than another author (apostle Paul). Although both fundamentally agree on the saving power of Faith, James takes an argumentative stance on the importance of ‘works’ in the life of one who has been saved by faith.

14 What is the use (profit), my brethren, for anyone to profess to have faith if he has no [good] works [to show for it]? Can [such] faith save [his soul]? James 2:14 [AMP]

James comes right out of the gate swinging! What James is saying right here in the beginning is that ‘Saving Faith’ has a fruit of ‘Good Works’. If your ‘so called’ faith does not produce works, then you should question the kind of faith you have.

15 If a brother or sister is poorly clad and lacks food for each day,
16 And one of you says to him, Good-bye! Keep [yourself] warm and well fed, without giving him the necessities for the body, what good does that do? James 2:15-16 [AMP]

The root of what I think James is getting at here is that a person who has been truly saved (Converted – a new creature) and is driven to seek the heart of God and in learning God’s heart, would never turn away this person (without clothes and food), without helping them.

21 Was not our forefather Abraham [shown to be] justified (made acceptable to God) by [his] works when he brought to the altar as an offering his [own] son Isaac?
22 You see that [his] faith was cooperating with his works, and [his] faith was completed and reached its supreme expression [when he implemented it] by [good] works.
23 And [so] the Scripture was fulfilled that says, Abraham believed in (adhered to, trusted in, and relied on) God, and this was accounted to him as righteousness (as conformity to God’s will in thought and deed), and he was called God’s friend. James 2:21-23 [AMP]

Not only did Abraham have faith in God, but he was also willing to walk forward in obedience to what God told him to do; even when it meant sacrificing his own son…the only offspring he had that God had promised he would build a great nation (God’s Nation) from. I believe that Abraham was ready to follow through with plunging the knife into Issaac because he believed God would somehow either intervene or maybe even miraculously heal his son. Abraham put his faith to work in obedience.

24 You see that a man is justified (pronounced righteous before God) through what he does and not alone through faith [through works of obedience as well as by what he believes].
25 So also with Rahab the harlot—was she not shown to be justified (pronounced righteous before God) by [good] deeds when she took in the scouts (spies) and sent them away by a different route?
26 For as the human body apart from the spirit is lifeless, so faith apart from [its] works of obedience is also dead. James 2:24-26 [AMP]

At the end of the day here is what I believe James is getting at -> James does not dispute the power of faith to justify or to save. What he is concerned to do is to define the true nature of faith. As he does throughout his letter, James attacks superficial and inconsistent Christians who claim they have faith but fail to act on the basis of their faith. It is absolutely vital to understand that the main point of this argument, expressed three times, is not that works are a kind of second, unrelated, addition to faith but that genuine faith naturally produces works. That is its very nature. So, as a professing born again Christian, if I am not producing works associated with obedience to God’s Word through sanctification, caring for people, and building God’s Kingdom through a deep knowledge/understanding of Him gained through daily study in His Word, I better take a second look at the genuineness of my Salvation through Faith in God’s Son, Jesus Christ.

QTVOTD: All it Takes is One Sin…

Today was my first day back in the PNW after traveling to Silicon Valley and it was a very busy day here at my desk. However, being close to my family again is so much better. I was able to break away at a good hour this afternoon to prepare for a short trip with the fam easy of the mountains. Looking forward to a couple of days just us all together.

9 But if you show servile regard (prejudice, favoritism) for people, you commit sin and are rebuked and convicted by the Law as violators and offenders.
10 For whosoever keeps the Law [as a] whole but stumbles and offends in one [single instance] has become guilty of [breaking] all of it.
11 For He Who said, You shall not commit adultery, also said, You shall not kill. If you do not commit adultery but do kill, you have become guilty of transgressing the [whole] Law.
12 So speak and so act as [people should] who are to be judged under the law of liberty [the moral instruction given by Christ, especially about love].
13 For to him who has shown no mercy the judgment [will be] merciless, but mercy [full of glad confidence] exults victoriously over judgment. James 2:9-13 [AMP]

This passage today follows the whole work up of not showing favoritism and you can see here in this first verse today; he revisits the sin. This passage though stands out in a different way for me though. It talks about sin being sin, but the sobering knowledge is that ANY one sin alone is enough to make us deserve separation from an infinitely holy God. This totally throws away the value of that perspective that I am not ‘as bad as THAT guy’. Everyone has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God –

21 But now the righteousness of God has been revealed independently and altogether apart from the Law, although actually it is attested by the Law and the Prophets,
22 Namely, the righteousness of God which comes by believing with personal trust and confident reliance on Jesus Christ (the Messiah). [And it is meant] for all who believe. For there is no distinction,
23 Since all have sinned and are falling short of the honor and glory which God bestows and receives.
24 [All] are justified and made upright and in right standing with God, freely and gratuitously by His grace (His unmerited favor and mercy), through the redemption which is [provided] in Christ Jesus, Romans 3:21-24 [AMP]

This passage in Romans gives us the HOPE. For the one who believes with personal trust and confident reliance on Jesus Christ is justified and made upright and in right standing with God…through the redemption provided by Jesus Christ.

What is awesome is that now we start to come to the ‘Works/Faith’ portion of James which I need to gird up for.

QTVOTD: Pay Attention to Repetition…

Today’s reading includes a repeated message by James about something Jesus said in Matthew’s account of Jesus’ interaction with the Sadducees and Pharisees. I have found in my study of God’s Word that anytime you find repetition it is something to pay attention to. I also find that God speaks to me in this way a lot. I will read something in my quiet time that strikes me in a new way, then I hear something in a podcast that day that references the same learning, then I hear it in a worship song at church, and then pastor Steve might speak on it in his sermon.

So, when I read something where something in the Old Testament is repeated in the New or vice versa, I pay attention to it and today is an example of one of those times.

If indeed you [really] fulfill the royal Law in accordance with the Scripture, You shall love your neighbor as [you love] yourself, you do well. James 2:8 [AMP]

This is the only verse I am going to dwell on today because it is one of those that harken back to other scripture.

Small Tidbit – Today I had a strategy meeting with my peer Directors and our VP here in Silicon Valley and my prayer this morning as I started my day here in God’s Word, was that God would be glorified in how I conducted myself. The reason for this is because, as a group, we can get contentious about certain topics and paths forward. God gave me strength and I stayed in mindful attention to my behavior and speech. I am so thankful to report that we started out being all over the place but the Lord gave me the wisdom and where-with-all to get the group aligned on a posture of solving our problems by focusing on what specifically we need to both deliver to the Org and how that same Org expects us to lead in terms of Product Integrity. I owe this insight and fortitude to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It ended up being the most productive meeting we have had together so far. The reason I called this out is because, internally, I took the stance of ‘what would I want someone to do in this situation’ which maps to the quiet time topic today.

36 Teacher, which kind of commandment is great and important (the principal kind) in the Law? [Some commandments are light—which are heavy?]
37 And He replied to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind (intellect).
38 This is the great (most important, principal) and first commandment.
39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as [you do] yourself.
40 These two commandments sum up and upon them depend all the Law and the Prophets. Matthew 22:36-40 [AMP]

Here we see that repetition example of when Jesus clearly called out the 2 Kingdom commandments.

  1. Love the Lord your God with all your Heart, with all your Soul, and with all your Mind.
  2. Love your neighbor as you do yourself.

These 2 commandments, when adhered to as God instructs and intends, provide the framework to follow Him in righteousness, contentment, and in alignment with glorifying Him. Put it to the test – the key is the order of the commandments. You must love God by searching His will purposes in your life E-V-E-R-Y-D-A-Y. You must be applying what you learn through your time in God’s Word to your life E-V-E-R-Y-D-A-Y. THEN—> Loving your neighbor as you do yourself (by you yourself being aligned to God’s will for you) will have Godly impact on that neighbor.

QTVOTD: Do I Pray for Poverty?

Today’s Quiet Time passage brought this question to my mind. James (and I believe the Lord) had a special place in his heart for the impoverished. Because they have so little that ties them to this world, they are so much more apt to grasp onto the Kingdom of God, and the truth of the promise of hope far more than anything else in this world. God’s heart is for those people because they are the ones who are most dependent on Him.

James 2:5-7 [AMP]
Listen, my beloved brethren: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and in their position as believers and to inherit the kingdom which He has promised to those who love Him?
But you [in contrast] have insulted (humiliated, dishonored, and shown your contempt for) the poor. Is it not the rich who domineer over you? Is it not they who drag you into the law courts?
Is it not they who slander and blaspheme that precious name by which you are distinguished and called [the name of Christ invoked in baptism]?

I feel so convicted by this passage. What’s running through my mind is all the times that I’ve overlooked the poor. It’s not that I don’t care for them, it’s that they’re invisible to me. This is not something I am proud of; rather something I am shameful of. Am I one of these people James is taking to task? I definitely don’t feel that I treat “rich people“ differently than anyone else. However, I am not looking for the poor, and that is what I am convicted about.

As my title of this post suggests, maybe I’m supposed to be praying that I’m more like them. The love and adoration God has, for the poor, is wonderful. it begs the question, should we be praying to be poor? If I have less tying me to this world, then I am more apt to lean on God for everything that I need. My sole focus becomes a worship that is dedicated to the one who sustains me while I’m here on this earth. If I am able to achieve this mindset, even though I am “relatively rich“, then I could be a conduit of God’s resources to those who need it most. I do try to lead my family in this way, but I am realizing more and more that I am not doing this enough.

God, help me be a steward of your resources and give me a heart for the poor so that they are first on my mind rather than last. Help me to have loose hands that are willing to give freely to the places you are moving and the people you love.

QTVOTD: Real Christians Don’t Show Favoritism…

The watching world of today has lumped “Christians” into a group of people who are white supremacists, discriminatory, and racist. However, according to God‘s word, these attributes represent a total antithetical way of living life for the person truly following Christ.

There is no doubt, that as Christ followers, ridding ourselves of these unconscious bias issues of discrimination is part of our sanctification; however, the teachings of God’s word drive us in the direction of “No favoritism”. All people, including those who are not Christ followers, are prone to evil, wicked ways, and ungodly flesh driven treatment of those people we don’t relate to. We are called to a higher standard; a standard, that was modeled by Jesus Christ. There was no one that was outside of the love, compassion, and grace He extended.

James 2:1 [AMP]

MY BRETHREN, pay no servile regard to people [show no prejudice, no partiality]. Do not [attempt to] hold and practice the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ [the Lord] of glory [together with snobbery]!

I love how the Amplified shows that spirit of this first verse is to not serve people with ‘Snobbery’. This is exactly how it comes across too. What is sad is that I have even seen this show up in churches toward internal staff…There is literally no place for it in the execution of pastoring, growing, guiding, and guarding the church.

James 2:2 - 4[AMP]

For if a person comes into your congregation whose hands are adorned with gold rings and who is wearing splendid apparel, and also a poor [man] in shabby clothes comes in, And you pay special attention to the one who wears the splendid clothes and say to him, Sit here in this preferable seat! while you tell the poor [man], Stand there! or, Sit there on the floor at my feet!   Are you not discriminating among your own and becoming critics and judges with wrong motives?

I am pretty confident that this learning can be applied in many contexts. God’s Word absolutely calls us to be discriminatory in regard to false teachers, the factious, and those who would set out to harm the church. What I believe James is talking about here is discrimination on the basis of status, circumstance, race, creed, or disability. These things are clearly part of the cultural discussion today. The things I fight with internally (in my mind) are knee jerk reactions to attitudes, entitlement, and ungratefulness I find in people I meet. This is not Christlike. God is the ultimate judge of one’s heart and I am not God. I am called to love as He loves. God still loves the arrogant, the prideful (like I can be), the selfish, and the intolerant. What God abhors is sin and that sin is what will receive His wrath on that dreadful day. God is infinitely ‘Just’…I am not.

QTVOTD: Religion That is Pure…

This was a late quiet time but so specific in the instruction.

James 1:27 [AMP]
External religious worship [religion as it is expressed in outward acts] that is pure and unblemished in the sight of God the Father is this: to visit and help and care for the orphans and widows in their affliction and need, and to keep oneself unspotted and uncontaminated from the world.

There is so little and so much packed into this verse. I have fallen away from deliberate aid to widows, single moms, and abandoned kids. There is no excuse but the explanation is TIME. This is an area, that even today, has piqued a conviction that I must step out in purposeful execution; leading my family in taking care of those in need.

Secondly, the “keep oneself unspotted and uncontaminated from the world” is a minute by minute attention to my heart and mind as well as the exposure I permit to my children. It is what I listen to in the car, what I watch when I relax at night, and even what I allow on the devices for which I pay for service. I am so thankful for this reminder today.

Putting the two verses from yesterday and this one today, we have a very clear view on what legit religion looks like; executed in a way that is honoring to the Lord.

  • Obedience to Gods Word as we immerse ourselves in it each day.
  • Controlling one’s mouth and speech in alignment with scripture.
  • Deliberate caretaking of those most afflicted- widows, orphans, etc
  • To keep oneself free of the nastiness this world can pull you into. The battle with our flesh is a minute by minute battle. We must strive for the righteous life God call us to; however, we live here in the flesh. Thank God we have the imbued righteousness of Jesus, the Son of the Living God.

QTVOTD: Good Acts Without Obedience, are Worthless….

We have already been counseled by James to be quick to listen and slow to speak, but now he puts a valuation on the person who cannot control his/her tongue. Yikes! Smackdown coming…

26 If anyone thinks himself to be religious (piously observant of the external duties of his faith) and does not bridle his tongue but deludes his own heart, this person’s religious service is worthless (futile, barren). James 1:26 [AMP]

Today, this verse cut me to the quick…

I like how Tyndale talks about this verse and the Greek word Thrēskeia [the word used in this passage for ‘Religion’ – “Thrēskeia (and the rare adjective thrēskos) is the term widely used in the Greek world to denote the reverencing and worshipping of a god (or gods). It often connotes outward acts of worship. The true test of any religious profession, suggests James, is not the outward ritual of worship, which many go through unthinkingly and with little heart commitment. No, the real litmus test of religion is obedience; without it, religion is worthless: empty, useless and profitless.”

The way I think about what James is saying here is that the mindless, outward facing execution of religious acts (going to church, reading your bible in front of your family, prayer over hurting people, service to the church, etc.) is worthless without obedience through application of what you are learning in God’s Word to your daily walk…it is a ‘Heart Condition’! Now James has a serious beef with bad speech and unbridled tongues…coming up here in chapter 3, he is going to camp out on this topic for a good ~10 verses.

So, one of the things I was sharing with my accountability partner yesterday was my inability to quench the fire that comes out of my mouth when my kids throw attitude, act ungrateful for what they have, or flat out disrespect their mother and me. I have not been obedient to apply God’s teaching in His word to this area of my life…in fact, it has come to the point where I have in some cases remained unengaged with my oldest because of my fear of what I might say if she says something matching things I said at the beginning of this paragraph. My accountability partner challenged me on this and now with this reading today, my obedience begins today, starting with an apology to my oldest.

QTVOTD: Do Not Merely Listen…but DO

James makes no bones about what it truly means to RECEIVE Gods Word. I see this passage supporting the doctrine of, “a faith that is not changing you, is likely not saving you”.

But be doers of the Word [obey the message], and not merely listeners to it, betraying yourselves [into deception by reasoning contrary to the Truth].
For if anyone only listens to the Word without obeying it and being a doer of it, he is like a man who looks carefully at his [own] natural face in a mirror.
For he thoughtfully observes himself, and then goes off and promptly forgets what he was like. James 1:22-24

Listening to the Word and hearing it are by all means important; but it is not truly consumed until what is learned, when a conviction has been conceived by the Holy Spirit, is applied to the life of the hearer. I think what James is saying is that if you read God’s Word and you are convicted by something you read and yet do not make the adjustments or changes in your life to align with the teaching you have heard, you are actually deceiving yourself into believing and aligning to something that is not the TRUTH. This feels super scary to me.

But he who looks carefully into the faultless law, the [law] of liberty, and is faithful to it and perseveres in looking into it, being not a heedless listener who forgets but an active doer [who obeys], he shall be blessed in his doing (his life of obedience). James 1:25

These contrasts of looking into the mirror and forgetting one’s face and looking carefully into the faultless law remind me of my life verse of Psalms 1:1-3 where verse 2 says of the Blessed Man -> “His delight is in the Law of the Lord, and he meditates on God’s Law day and night”. Verse 1 says that a Blessed Man does not sit in the counsel of the wicked nor stands in the same road with sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers. This is a man who is sold out to obedience to God and when he reads and learns something in God’s Word, he is quick to apply the learning to his life. There is so much more here…

QTVOTD: Remove the Panels Muffling the Voice of God…

I ❤️❤️❤️ these next two verses but I am only going to cover the first one today.

21 So get rid of all uncleanness and the rampant outgrowth of wickedness, and in a humble (gentle, modest) spirit receive and welcome the Word which implanted and rooted [in your hearts] contains the power to save your souls. James 1:21

In verses like this one, I like to cover meditating on the verse backwards so here goes:

The power to save my soul [which when implanted and rooted in my heart] is the Word of God! In order to receive the Word of God I must do so in a humble, gentle, and modest spirit; a spirit that seeks to learn and receive what is revealed to me. Additionally, I must rid myself of all uncleanness, wickedness, and unrighteousness.

The uncleanness is a blocker to hearing God through His Holy Spirit in us. I like to think of sin like this as veils or scrims of material I put between the Lord and myself that when deliberately layered up (rampant outgrowth of wickedness), block my view of Him and squelch His voice in my life and in my reading of His Word. In this condition, reading Gods Word is likely going to be like reading a newspaper or book where you will miss the Living Word speaking into you through the Holy Spirit. When you are free from these veils/scrims the Holy Spirit speaks into you through the Biblical Passages you read; even when you have read them many times before. You will have moments where you will read one of those verses, have an epiphany, and ask yourself “why did I never see that meaning before??”. That my friend is the Holy Spirit of God speaking to you…take special note of those times and seek to understand where you might apply that learning to your life.

QTVOTD: Wrestling the Tongue…

Today is only a 2 verse day for me.  James is full of such poignant direction and instruction.  There is so much to pull from all of these verses.  Quick to Listen, Slow to Speak, and Slow to Take Offense are right on target for me these last 2 weeks.  

19 Understand [this], my beloved brethren. Let every man be quick to hear [a ready listener], slow to speak, slow to take offense and to get angry. 20 For man’s anger does not promote the righteousness God [wishes and requires]. James 1:19-20

One of the things that God has taught in my life is to be an active listener; ready to hear and ‘just be’ when people want to get something out and have someone hear.  At work this happens a lot and has provided many an opportunity for me to be a witness of my faith.  This especially pays off when the person I am listening to requests my opinion or input on what they have said, although this doesn’t happen most of the time.  

Slow to speak is a new tool I am learning, and it is something to wield in many different situations…slow to anger and slow to speak go hand in hand for me.  When my anger rises, so does my propensity to speak and at those times when I do speak, it is absolutely NOT with righteousness.   With my anger breeds a temptation to sin with my lips and heart and verse 20 clearly states that this is NOT a righteousness that God wishes or desires.  Hearing this today renews a conviction I have about letting my anger give birth to sinful speech and a tearing down of grace, mercy, patience, and kindness that I so wish to be a set of attributes that would make me more Christ-Like…right now, I am *not winning*.