Hello Friends!
Welcome Back! Let’s continue our journey through “The
Book of James: Putting Faith to Work!”
The Book of James: Putting Faith to Work! (Chapter 4:13-17)
This
week we will continue our reading of verses
13-17 in completion of chapter 4 as we consider Man’s
Boasting or God’s Will…
If
we look into the life of a true “believer”
we will assume them to be a “Christian”
of whom is committed to living by the “will” of God. In fact, Jesus Christ said throughout
His earthly ministry that the “one”
who “does” the “will” of “My
Father” is also My “brother,”
“sister”, “father” and “mother”:
While
He was still talking to the multitudes, behold, His mother and brothers stood
outside, seeking to speak with Him. Then one said to Him, “Look, Your mother
and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with You.” But He answered and said to the one who told Him, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?” And
He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, “Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of My
Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother – Matthew 12:46-50
What
Jesus was “teaching” here is
those who are spiritually related to Him will be demonstrated
by a deep “desire” to “do” His “will”
alone. The true “Christian”
accepts the “Lordship” of Jesus Christ over all of their life.
Now, this doesn't mean “we”
always ”do” His “will” perfectly, but
the desire is there none the less – The perfect will of God!
The
psalmist also said this concerning the “will”
of “God” for life:
Teach me to do Your will, For You are my God; Your Spirit
is good. Lead me in the land of uprightness – Psalm
143:10
It's
as if the psalmist is saying he wants to “do” God’s “will”
but is not sure how to “do”
it. And he “delights” in God’s
“will” but needs
the Lord to “teach” him specifically
in “living” by and “obeying” Him through it. Therefore, the foundation
of “our” relationship
to Jesus Christ is ”doing“
the “will” of God in this
“life” by becoming more like
Him – For His glory!
Here
again, James provides another potent point in this excellent epistle addressing
yet another test of true
“living faith” in
Jesus Christ. In this poignant passage James will address the wicked “boasting”
through the “mouth” of man. AGAIN… It is one thing to say
you want God’s “will”
to “rule” over your “life” of “faith”
in Him. However, it is another thing all together to – Prove it through sound speech!
Man’s Boasting or God’s Will: Which One?
Constant
disregard FOR and disinterest
IN the “will” of God is the surest
evidence for the presence of “pride”
in the “heart” of the phony
professor of “faith”
in God. And this very fascinating passage is built around the illustration of a
certain “foolish” Jewish
businessman who “believes” he
can “live” his own life without
the Lord. And we get more great insight into this matter of how
we approach – The perfect will of God!
Man’s Boasting
James
therefore begins this poignant passage in very practical
terms using an excellent example for “us”
to seriously consider:
Come
now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend
a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; whereas you do not know what
will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears
for a little time and then vanishes away – James 4:13-14
THEOLOGICAL THOUGHTS: There are some people
who flatly ignore God's “will”
in their lives and they “live”
as if God wasn't even around! And we meet them here as introduced by James in
the form of this Jewish businessman. The “Come now” that James begins with
here is a familiar Old Testament prophetic style of rebuttal and in the Greek
means “let me have your ear in this manner”
by speaking to “you who say”
will do “such and such” in the
present tense and habitual sense.
That's pretty confident talk and is the typical non-contingency self-designed planning
in which is quite typical of lost “sinful”
man desiring to be his own self-governing god. Therefore,
we have here a typical “unbelieving”
businessman involved in trade of some sort but totally ignores
God – There's no place for God in his planning!
We
must also consider the parable of the “Rich
Fool” in the Gospel of Luke
where Jesus addresses “saving”
the “soul” and “laying up” true “treasure” of God:
But God
said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose
will those things be which you have provided?’ “So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward
God – Luke 12:20-21
QUIZZING QUESTIONS: In and of itself, is a proper
approach to “planning” a “sinful” or ethically
wrong activity? Is there something immoral about saying
“Today or tomorrow”
we’ll “go to such and such a
city” and “spend a year there” to “buy and sell” and “make a profit”
of sorts? To be honest, every businessman would want to
say this! In and of itself there's nothing immoral or unethical
mentioned here. No Spiritual principles are violated
in these verses by anything that is said here – So far, so good! HOWEVER…
The
real “sin” being committed is
what is NOT said here and that's the implication James
addresses. Although “wise” and
careful “planning”
is indeed essential and is expected
by God, the “theological” problem
here is there is no mention of God anywhere
in this “rich”
man’s endeavors! This is a “living”
of one’s own “life” as if there
was no God and encompasses the “foolishness”
of ignoring the “will” of God
and His Sovereignty over “all things” of which is the “sin” of presumption.
Therefore, James says “life”
is but a very brief “vapor
that appears for a little time and then vanishes away”
like smoke! There are some people who “believe”
God exists and there are even some people who claim
to be “Christians” but do not
include God in their “plans”
for life – Practical willful self-atheism!
And
if we go back to the oldest book in Scripture and most
likely the first one written, we find Job describing his “days” on earth:
My days
are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, and are spent without hope… As the cloud disappears and
vanishes away, So he who goes down to the grave does
not come up – Job 7:6
& 9
In
other words, our existence is largely “spent without hope” in pertaining
to “life” and “death” being very brief
and “swift” like a “cloud” that “disappears” across the sky and “vanishes” in an instant
– This life is temporary and passing!
God’s Will
Now,
let’s think about this “saying”
from the OTHER perspective…
What James says is being ignored by the “you who say” crowd is not just the existence
of God's “will” but the benefit
of God’s “will” in “life” as well! Therefore, James continues
with a corrective statement beginning with “Instead” concerning
this type of “sinful” and GODLESS expectation:
Instead
you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.” – James 4:15
Even
as “Christians” we too can fall
into this “sin” of presumption!
Although it is not characteristic of our “new nature” to disregard or push the “will of God” aside, it does
happen from time to time. However, there is a perfect “will” that God has for every
dimension of “our” lives and
it's not mysterious! Therefore, James says “If the Lord wills…”
and since God does indeed have a “will”
for “us” – He'll let us know it if we seek to know
it!
Then
notice again how James speaks of this particular “sin” of the “tongue” here:
But now
you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil – James 4:16
The
word "boast" here
means to be loud-mouthed or to speak loudly.
It had to do with either “rejoicing”
in God’s accomplishments OR a “boasting” in the “flesh” about one’s own
accomplishments. Obviously, in this context the “you” here
was an “arrogance”
of a bragging “heart” meaning
"you are boasting in your arrogant
bragging" and it is absolutely “evil” in nature – Stop it!
HISTORICAL HINTS: The word that is translated "boasting" here is also a word that
originally referred to the idea of wandering about and was used of people who
mounted a platform in a public place to do particularly one thing: sell their goofy goods! This is the original
snake oil salesman saying: “Step right up
folks, have I got the cure for you!” It resembles the old
quackery approach of attracting crowds in where the many crooked
charlatans and fraudulent fakes were duping
unsuspecting people to buy their poky products… They were
"boasting" with
their “lies” but – They could NOT accomplish what they claimed!
James
then closes this very important chapter with a truism and axiom:
Therefore,
to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin – James 4:17
Here
is the person who “believes” in
God, possesses a “knowledge” about
God and even “knows” God has
His “will” for
life. But this person doesn’t “do”
it at all! Most of the time we find this wonderful verse reduced
to the idea only of “sins” of omission
in not “doing”
what you know you ought to “do” in life. However, implied here in not
doing what you know you ought to do
is the fact that you went ahead and did what you ought not to do
in the first place! Rarely can we isolate a “sin”
of omission from a “sin”
of commission. Why?
Because if “we” didn't “do” what should have been done
then “we” surely did what
ought not to have been done. Right? Therefore, James is addressing a “wicked” attitude
towards the “will” of God that
essentially says: “I know what You want”
However – I'm NOT going to DO it!
POINTS TO PONDER: Can we “know” God's “will” at all? YES!
Most importantly, the Apostle Paul gave us this “truth”
about the “will” of “God our Savior”:
…who
desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For
there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus,
who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time – 1 Timothy 2:4-6
Therefore,
God's “will” is that people be
“saved” from their “sin” and that's God's “will” for YOU and ME! And if you haven't come to Jesus Christ to
“receive” eternal “salvation” through Him, you have not “done”
God's “will” for your life. You are being “disobedient” and are “living” in stark opposition
and rebellion to what the Bible says is
God's “will” for His own. And
that's why the Holy Spirit also
said through the Apostle Paul in his farewell address found in his first
epistle to the Corinthian “fellowship”:
If
anyone does not love the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be accursed. O Lord, come!
– 1 Corinthians 16:22
The
word “accursed” means they
were devoted to damning destruction and cursed by
God. Why? Because
they didn't “do” God's “will” by giving their “life” over to Jesus Christ and embrace
Him as the Son of God, the One who “died”
and “rose from the grave” for
their “justification” through
God’s “forgiveness” of their “sin.” And that is
God's “will” for your
life too – That you be saved!
REAL REFLECTIONS: Beloved, are you
“living” out God's “will” for your life?
Are you “saved” through Him?
Are you “Spirit-controlled” by
Him? Are you being “sanctified”
in Him? Have you “submitted”
your life fully to Jesus
Christ? And are you willing to “suffer”
for the “cause” of Him through
true Biblical “faith” no
matter what the price? – That's
the will of God for you!
In closing:
The
“will” of God is held in highest
regard throughout the “Scriptures”
and perhaps it is said no better than by the Apostle John in his first epistle:
And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he
who does the will of God abides forever – 1 John 2:17
In
other words, the true “believer”
possessing “eternal life” is “he” who “does”
the “will” of God. It is the
characteristic of true “saving faith”
in “salvation” through a right
relationship to God in Jesus Christ. Therefore, “we” desire to “obey” the “will”
of God – Please help us Lord Jesus!
And
who is our greatest example? It was Jesus Christ Himself
saying:
Jesus
said to them, “My
food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work – John 4:34
I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment
is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who
sent Me – John 5:30
In
other words, when the “believer”
beholds the perfect model of Jesus Christ, we see the essence of a right “relationship” to God bound up in “obedience” to Him. And although my “obedience” to Him is very imperfect, it is
nonetheless characteristic of my “love”
for Him as His “child” bearing
His nature and that I have a deep desire to do His “will” in my life. On the other
hand, if there is no desire in my “heart” to “do”
the “will” of God, that is the
mark of a “rebellious” person
who has not been “transformed”
by the power of Jesus Christ – One who does not know
or love God!
Keep looking up and sharing the Gospel while there is still time… Hallelujah
and Maranatha – come quickly Lord Jesus!
We are not guaranteed tomorrow – tomorrow may be too late! If you haven't yet made that most important decision of your life, won't you make Jesus Christ your personal Lord and Savior today - before it's too late? Today is the day of Salvation!
If you have been blessed by this message or have a specific question, prayer request or testimony, please send me a note to: encouragingconcepts@live.com
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Blessings!
Shane K. Morin <><
Encouraging Concepts
Truth for Today
"Living Life From a Biblical Worldview"Lighthouse Publications <><
