One of James' main themes is that true saving faith will have certain results.
A true believer will not show favoritism or cater to the rich or powerful. We should strive with all our hearts to show impartiality. We should show love and respect for every individual--regardless of economic condition, age, race, position, etc. v. 9 clearly tells us that it's a sin to favor some people other others. Jesus died for the poor and powerless as well as for the rich and powerful. v. 8 reminds us that we should love our neighbors as ourselves. And we all are pretty careful to love ourselves!
James makes it clear in vv. 10 and 11 that we are all sinners. If we have broken God's laws even once, we fall short of the perfection that God demands. And if we are honest, we will admit that we've broken God's laws many, many times. Only Jesus was perfect and therefore was worthy to pay the penalty for our sins. We are saved by God's free gift of salvation by faith, not by keeping the law (which of course we could never do). God's grace is the law that sets us free. As believers we are free to joyfully and willingly live for God.
A true believer will show mercy toward others. God in His mercy has forgiven our sins. When we understand God's mercy, we demonstrate it by showing mercy to others. When we withhold mercy from others, we show that we have little understanding or appreciation for all that God has done for us. v. 14
Psalm 140
Satan is our enemy especially when we do the will of God. He will use evil people against us in at least two ways.
1) Poisonous tongues. vv 1-3 As we have seen in James, tongues can do a great deal of damage.
2) Traps. vv. 4-5
What weapons did David use against these enemies?
- He prayed vv. 6-11
- He remembered God's promises. v. 12
- He praised God's name. v. 13
No comments:
Post a Comment