Week 04
Week 4 Day 1
The Daily Take 10
The Epistle of James
Week 4 Day 1
Introduction…let’s remember that God works where there is an attitude, or spirit, of faith and expectancy. So let’s open ourselves to more of God in our lives and let Him work on us through His Word. “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:9
Read James 2: 8-11 “If you perfectly keep the royal law, as the Scripture has it: ‘you must love your neighbor as yourself,’ you do well. But if you treat people with respect of persons, such conduct is sin and you stand convicted by the law as transgressors. For, if a man keeps the whole law and yet fails to keep it in one point, he becomes guilty of transgressing the law as a whole. For he who said, ‘do not commit adultery,’ also said, ‘do not kill.’ If you do not commit adultery but kill, you become a transgressor of the law.”
Bible Study
- The context here in this Scripture is following a principle taught to us from God’s Holy Word. “God is love” and does not show partially, play favorites or discriminate. Aren’t you glad of that?
- The word love is defined by a great chapter in the Bible. I Corinthians 13. A must read.
- Since we are followers, disciples of Jesus Christ, we too must follow that principle of love. I John 4: 7-11 says so plainly. “let’s love one another, for love is of God, and everyone that loves is born of God, and knows God. He that doesn’t love, doesn’t know God, for God is love. The love of God was shown to us, that God sent his Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be a covering for our sins. If God so loved us, we also should love each other.”
- Note there is a difference between ‘like’ and ‘love’. We are commanded to love our neighbor. We may not like what they do, say, or how they are. But love is wanting and doing the highest good for another.
- Love is a fruit of God’s Spirit. – to love like God loves. The only way to love like God loves is through God – having His Spirit alive on the inside of us producing His fruit – love.
- The royal law mentioned by James refers to the supreme excellence of God’s ways, principles and His law.
- To break any part of God’s royal law is sin and makes the person a transgressor. According to the Bible the truth about sin is…
- “Sin is transgression of God’s law.” I John 3:4
- “All of us have sinned and come short of the glory of God” Romans 6:23
- “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us…we make God a liar and his word is not in us.” I John 1:8,10
- There are not degrees of sin.
- We can’t do 10 right things to offset 1 wrong, or earn forgiveness.
- However, “If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” I John 1:9
- When God forgives us our sin it is gone as far as the east is from the west and He remembers our sin against us no more (Ps. 103:12). It is gone…forever! Is that forgiveness? Is that love? YES!
Application
- Who is our neighbor?
Any questions or comments?
Week 4 Day 2
The Daily Take 10
The Epistle of James
Week 4 Day 2
Introduction…It has been said that there are 2 immutable facts of life…death and taxes. Interesting enough God says there is something more powerful than both. It is love. That’s right, love will out power and outlast death. Let’s tap into this principle that like gravity, it is a law of God that works for us. Now it is up to us. What will we do?
Read James 2: 12-13 “So speak and so act as those who are going to be judged under the law of liberty. For he who acts without mercy will have judgment without mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.”
Bible Study
- What is the law of liberty? As followers of Christ, we live under the law of liberty. Meaning our lives are not governed by the external pressure of performing or doing to be saved or to be forgiven.
- We are set free! Think of it! Now live free. Free to do what is right, best and free to love and live a grateful life before God and others.
- Jesus said, “You shall know the truth and the truth will make you free…Whom the Son sets free is free indeed.” See John 8: 30-36. Jesus forgives our sin and frees us from its bondage, penalty and frees us to live a life of love to God and others.
- Christianity is not a list of do’s and don’ts. It is the law of liberty. We are free to DO or serve God, out of our love for Him and what He has done for us.
- God has a banner over us, His children. What do you think it says? Love and it describes and celebrates our union with God through Jesus Christ.
- A Christian is loved by God and should be known as a Christian by our love for others. “They will know we are Christians by our love.”
- From love flows mercy and from mercy flows forgiveness.
- Jesus taught his disciples how and what to pray by giving them a model to follow. It is called the Lord’s Prayer. It was not intended to be memorized and repeated without thought or being personalized. One key element of daily prayer that Jesus taught was the importance of asking God for forgiveness while at the same time forgiving all others of all their offenses against you. See Matthew 6:12-15
- Jesus also taught via a story, called a parable, that gives us insight into God and our lives. There was a man who owed an enormous debt to the King. The King mercifully forgave the debt of the pleading man. This man went free and instead of being thankful and also forgiving, he then took someone who owed him money to court and demanded payment and penalty. When the gracious King heard what this man had done after being forgiven a debt he would never be able to pay…the King retracted his mercy and imprisoned the man. See Matthew 18:23-35
- Wow. We can see by that parable, God is serious about our need to forgive others…especially after He forgave us. How can we not forgive and keep on forgiving. Matthew 18:21-22.
- Jesus taught, “Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy.”
Application
- How do people know you are a Christian? By your telling them or showing them?
- Remember that song by Hillsong “Mighty To Save” that we sing at Elevate. It goes like this, “Everyone needs compassion. A love that’s never failing. Let mercy fall on me.”
- We all need God’s compassion, love and mercy. He gives this freely to us…so let each one of us be compassionate, loving and merciful to those we meet and know.
Any questions or comments?
Week 4 Day 3
The Daily Take 10
The Epistle of James
Week 4 Day 3
Introduction…The acid test, the bottom line, the proof positive, the real deal…all expressions of getting rid of the smoke and mirrors and proving out what is true. The true test of our faith in God is shown by how we live, not by wearing a cross, displaying a bumper sticker, or by words. “They will know you are Christians by your love.”
Read James 2: 14-17 “My brothers, what use is it if a person claims to have faith and has no deeds to show? Are you going to claim that his faith is able to save him? If a brother or sister has nothing to wear, and if they have not enough for their daily food, and if one of you says to them, ‘go in peace, be warmed and fed!’ and yet does not give them the essentials of bodily existence, what use is that? So, if faith to ohas no deeds to show, by itself it is dead.”
Bible Study
- Can faith be seen, quantified or proven?
- Can love be seen, quantified or proven?
- The Scripture tells us that our forgiveness, salvation and new life in Christ all starts with the seed of faith.
- Faith in Action! We are saved by our faith, but our faith must be expressed by saying it, declaring it.
- See Romans 10: 9-10 says, “If we believe confess with our mouth the Lord Jesus and have faith/believe in our heart that God raised him from the dead, we shall be saved. For with the heart man believes unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
- One day the disciples were in a boat and they saw Jesus coming to them walking on the water. Peter asked if he could do the same…he had faith, but the proof positive was he had to get out of the boat. Faith requires action.
- What starts with belief in our heart, then is declared by our words and is proven by our actions.
- Faith in action is acting in Love!
- According to the Word of God here in James and in many other correlating Scriptures, you know a tree by its fruit and you can tell a person has faith by what they say and do.
- Love in Action! It starts with loving God and since we are God’s hands extended into this world, it is all about loving others. Jesus commanded that we love one another. John 15:17
- The word love in Scripture is sometimes translated as charity, that is giving. Giving of what? Our time, talent, money…whatever we have been given we can in turn give to meet a need.
Application
- A good question is…if we were brought to court to determine if we are a Christian…would there be enough evidence to convict us?
- There are now laws against praying in public schools or reading the Bible publicly, but there is no law against doing good, caring, helping others.
- Did I mention, “they will know we are Christians by our love!”
Any comments or questions?
Week 4 Day 4
The Daily Take 10
The Epistle of James
Week 4 Day 4
Introduction…It is an eventual fact that we will all give account of our lives before God. It is true that we cannot fool God. He sees all and knows all. He looks upon the heart and knows us best. Another fact from Scripture is “out of the abundance of what is in our heart, we speak,” (Matt. 12:34) and “by our words we are justified or condemned” (Matt. 12:37). So who we are comes out and testifies the truth about us. It’s like squeezing a lemon…you get lemon juice…no surprise. What’s in us and what comes out when we are squeezed is a good question.
Read James 2: 18-19 “But someone many will say, ‘have you faith?’. My answer is, “I have deeds. Show me you faith apart from your deeds, and I will show you my faith by means of my deeds.” You say that you believe that there is one God. Excellent! The demons also believe the same thing, and shudder in terror.”
Bible Study
- There is no contradiction between what James says here and the Scripture found in Romans 3:28 that says, “for we hold that a person is justified (declared righteous by God) by faith apart from works of the law.”
- “A person is not justified (declared righteous by God) by works of the law, but through faith in Jesus Christ.” See Galatians 2:16
- The fact is that we are saved by faith due to God’s grace or the unmerited favor that He gives and the mercy He shows us.
- Understand that faith and belief are not merely mental assent. Meaning I can say, “I believe the chair is green.” That is mental assent.
- Over 95% of Americans believe in God, but for some that is merely a mental assent question to them meaning they think there is a God. However if they truly believe in God, as the Bible defines believe, it would be evidenced by their lives…what is said and done.
- The word ‘believe’ and ‘faith’ in Scripture denotes commitment to and trust in, not a mental agreement, but a serious, put it all on the line decision.
- That is why James gives the example of the ‘no big deal’ of saying you believe in God…so does Satan and his demons…and there is a resultant fear of Him.
- If you say you believe in God…there is going to be evidence of that fact in your life by what you say and do. Not by what you say only. Words and actions will be congruent.
- James is merely saying that what emerges naturally from your saving faith is the good deeds that testify of that faith. Because of my belief (commitment and trust) in God, I do deeds, my life of love is an expression of my faith.
Application
- A man was tight roping across Niagara Falls with many spectators intensely watching. After a trip across the Falls he stated for his next act, he would cross with a wheel barrel. He asked who believed he could do this? There was thunderous applause and shouts of ‘yes!’. Surprisingly however, he could not get anyone of those applauding and shouting ‘yes’ to get into the wheel barrel and cross with him. That is not true belief!
- Our saving faith and belief in God is evidenced by our works that all are rooted in God’s amazing love for us, our love in return for Him and our knowledge and gratitude that inspires our love for others.
Any comments or questions?
Week 4 Day 5
The Daily Take 10
The Epistle of James
Week 4 Day 5
Introduction…The discussion here between faith and works, thought and action, profession and practice is not an ‘either or’ situation, but a ‘both and’ combination that truly expresses the life of a true believer, a disciple of Jesus Christ.
Read James 2:20-26 “Do you want proof…that faith without deeds is ineffective? Was not our father Abraham proved righteous in virtue of deeds when he was ready to offer Isaac his own son upon the altar? You see how his faith cooperated with his deeds and how his faith was completed by his deeds, and so there was fulfilled the passage of Scripture which says, “Abraham believed in God and it was reckoned to him for righteousness, for he was a friend of God.” You see that it is by deeds that a man I proved righteous and not only by faith. In the same way was Rahab the harlot proved righteous by deeds when she received the messengers and sent them away by another way? For just as the body without breath is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.”
Bible Study
- James offers 2 examples from Scripture of faith that was proven by deeds or works of faith.
- Abraham who lived a life of faith in God was tested with a trial, God knowing his faith in Him was true. That Abraham was a friend of God because He had intimacy with God and He feared God. See Genesis 22.
- God told Abraham to take his son and offer him up as a sacrifice unto Him. Abraham did as God said and would have taken his son’s life, but at the final moment, God, true to His love and plan for us, provided a ram/lamb that would be offered instead.
- This is a beautiful picture of what was to come. Jesus, God’s provision of love, the Lamb of God, given for us as a sacrifice, a payment for our sin, that He should die and pay the penalty instead of us.
- Abraham’s faith, that was evidenced by his actions and deeds, was counted unto him as righteousness.
- Rahab, a prostitute, showing that not only ‘good’ people can be saved, but whosoever will may come to God as they are, believe and be forgiven of their sins and be saved. See Joshua 2
- The account is told of Rahab, who believed in her heart that the Creator God was the Lord God of Israel.
- This was confirmed and her belief proven by her act of faith and courage by hiding and protecting the Israelis when they were being sought out by the enemy.
- Her act of faith in the living and true God of Israel proved by her deed saved her.
- Just as breathing is the sign of life and is the natural proof of living. So the proof of our faith is the good deeds which emerge and are evidenced in our lives.
- Our faith gives birth to works that please God and help people. It is the natural outgrowth of faith of the true believer, the Christian, the disciple of Christ.
Application
- Just like we pray like it is up to God and work like it is up to us…the combination of prayer and work. So it is that we have faith in God and because of this true believing, we work, have deeds, do good, and live on a higher plane that is founded upon love.
- We aren’t saved by our deeds, but our deeds do provide proof that we are saved.
Any questions or comments?
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