Do not merely listen to the Word. Proverbs 13:13

-
Whoever despises the word brings destruction on himself, but he who reveres the commandment will be rewarded.
If you are a regular Bible reader, I am sure you must have looked quizzically at the title of this post and my Bible reference. The title is James 1:22. So, what's with the Proverbs reference, you ask?

Yesterday, I had lunch with a Christian friend of mine who has been struggling with his faith, struggles that have him occasionally wondering if he is really saved. Maybe I am doing too much, he says. Maybe I am not doing enough. Maybe I don't really believe. Maybe my faith is dead.

Passages like those in James have a way of doing that to every Christian. Do not merely listen to the Word, James writes, do as it says (James 1:22 NIV). Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? (James 2:20 ESV) For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it (James 2:10 NIV).

Am I really good enough? Is there any Christian who can read James and not question their faith from time to time? I know I have, just like my friend. "Religion that our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world (James 1:27). When was the last time you looked after an orphan?

It's been a week since I last posted here, but not for a lack of material; I have too many drafts in the works on this blog. Then I read James this morning and it just wasn't helping. Man, I just keep falling short, I said to myself. Fortunately, this afternoon I was reading Proverbs 13 in my "Treasury of Daily Prayer" when 13:13 jumped at me. "Whoever despises the word brings destruction on himself." That might as well be James 1:22, I thought, and off I went.

Let's get something straight: Good people don't go to heaven (Ecc. 7:20; Ps. 14:1-3; James 2:10). No one obeys the Law all of the time. No one obeys the Law most of the time. No one obeys the Law, period. If you don't obey the Law, the Law that God wrote on your heart (Rom. 2:15), then you will fall short if you rely on yourself come Judgement Day.

Praise be to God, if you are a believer in Jesus. You are a believer, right? I am not talking about believing in God now.

Remember, Jesus encountered a lot of demons in his day. And every one of them did exactly as described in James 2:19. My favorite encounter is from Mark 5:2-13. "What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Swear to God that you won't torture me!”

The demons shudder. Do you?

This is the beautiful thing about Jesus. He is incredibly merciful and patient. What about the woman caught in adultery? Sinners, tax collectors, Samaritans. Jesus healed them. He forgave them. He forgave them all. Jesus was so merciful that he didn't even torture that legion.

He has given you faith to believe in him. He has given you working faith to turn to him. He has given you working faith to do what the demons won't do, and that is repent.

God desires mercy from you, not sacrifice (Matt. 9:12). God desires that you love your neighbor (Mark 12:30). God desires that you turn to him, not yourself, for all your needs. Revere God's Word, and you will be rewarded. Do not merely listen to the Word. and so deceive yourselves, do what it says. So what's it say? Love the Lord with all your heart and love your neighbor. That love comes from God, through his grace, given to you, through the faith he gave you. It's not your work that saves you (John 20:31). It is not your goodness. It is Jesus who saves you.

God covers your sin when you turn to him (James 5:20). It is by grace you have been saved, through faith (Eph. 2:8). It is God's works (Eph. 2:10). He has done all the work for you, and will continue to do all the work for you as you show the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23). He nailed your sin to the tree. Jesus lived for you. Jesus fulfilled all of the requirements of the law for you. Jesus raised himself from the dead (Luke 24:38-39), so that you can live forever with him.

Did James put you to shame? Good! That means the Law is still on your heart and you still believe. Now turn and repent. It is God who has called you (1 Thess. 5:24), unlike those demons. It's the day you stop turning to God that you should worry.

Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed (John 20:29).

Popular posts from this blog

Upon this rock ...

-
I don't need to comment on this post. I just need to share it. Upon this rock... which one? Matthew 16:18 is a problem for Lutherans and Roman Catholics.  Rome points to Peter and the Petrine office of the papacy.  Jesus is pointing to a man, rather a succession of men, whose primacy is, in their view, undisputed.  Lutherans insist that Peter may have been the voice but it is the confession that is the rock.  This faith is the rock upon which the Church is built -- not a man but the confession that Jesus Christ is Lord.  Lutherans insist that this is affirmed in Jesus' own admonition that Peter did not confess this on his own but as the Father revealed it to Him.  Now surely this is a rather simplistic way of putting it and there are nuances on both sides that I have overlooked to put this into a brief paragraph. But allow me this for the moment.
Read more

It's not man's word: 1 Thessalonians 2:13

-
And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe. I have Christian friends who don't believe the Word of God. Do you believe? Think about that for a minute. Do you believe in God? Do you really believe the Word is from God? Do you believe the Word was God? Do you believe the Word was with God? (John 1:1-5). And that the Word became flesh? (John 1:14) Some people who call themselves Christians, don't believe. If they don't receive the word of God, if they say it is from men, that it is a human word, not the Word of God, then how can they call themselves Christian? It seems to me that is one of the points Paul is driving home in 1 Thessalonians 2:13. It is important because, what do we have without the Word of God? What we have are heresies taught by false prophets and greedy teachers. "We ar...
Read more

Voices

-
My wife doesn't write often enough. But years ago, she wrote this, which I found while looking through one of my old websites. I hope you enjoy it. Voices I never really listened to what I had to say If I had taken my own advice my life might've gone another way. I took on all the problems of those who couldn't cope I gave them all the answers I returned to them their hope. Though never did I realize that the words were meant for me I thought my problems were too big for all the world to see. But then one night I had a dream His face is what I saw He said to me “This is the way here's how to have it all.” “Listen to yourself” He said “The answers are within Within your soul I'll talk to you Truth shall you hear and happiness shall you win.” The moral of this poem is as simple as it is true The only one who has the answers is God listening, experiencing, acting they are all up to you. So listen to the Voice inisde when it says “Child, I love you” It's God ...
Read more