This week,
we are looking at a section of a letter that is recorded for us in the New Testament
of the Bible called the book of James. Yesterday, in James 4:7-12, we
discovered the timeless truth that the faith that works places God first. The
faith that works willingly places themselves under God in a way that places God
first as the One who is large and in charge of their lives. And in James 4:7-12
we will see James reveal for us six different ways that the faith that works
places God first.
We saw James reveal for us the reality that we place God first when we place
ourselves in opposition to the devil. James then
explains that when we obey the command to place ourselves in opposition to the
Devil by placing God first, the Devil will flee from you. And we saw James reveal for us the reality that we place
God first when we pursue a closer relationship with God. Today, we will see
James reveal for us two more ways that the faith
that works places God first, beginning in the second half of James 4:8:
Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
Here we see
James make two different commands that are tied to a common purpose or goal.
First, James commands followers of Jesus throughout history to “Cleanse your
hands, you sinners”. Now this word literally means to cleans or purify in a
moral sense from sin. When James uses the word sinners, this word refers to
activity that does not measure up to, but rebels against the message and
teachings of Jesus.
James then
commands followers of Jesus throughout history to purify your hearts, you
double-minded. This word purify conveys the sense of causing something to be
morally pure. When James refers to the heart here, the heart refers to the
center and source of our moral decisions. The heart refers to the core of our
moral life. In addition, when James uses the phrase double-minded, this phrase
refers to someone who is a doubter that is uncertain about the truth of
something.
And it is
here, in these two commands, that we see James reveal for us the reality that we
place God first when we pursue moral purity and truth. James point is that, as
followers of Jesus, we are to pursue moral purity with our external actions and
activities. Our hands, what we are engaging in when it comes to activities and
actions, should pursue what is pure and pleasing to God. And, as followers of
Jesus, we are to pursue moral purity with an internal confidence in the
certainty of God’s truth. From the core of our being, we are to pursue purity
with a confidence and trust in the truth of the message and teachings of Jesus.
So here is a question to
consider: What actions and activities are you pursuing? Are the actions and
activities that you are pursuing and engaging in go against the message and
teachings of Jesus? Or are the actions and activities that you are pursuing and
engaging in are pure and pleasing to Jesus?
Are you pursuing from the core of
your being what is pure and pleasing to Jesus with a confidence in the truth of
the message and teachings of Jesus? Or do find yourself doubting the message
and teachings of Jesus by saying things like “I know the Bible says, but?”
Because the faith that works places God first when we pursue moral purity and
truth. James then reveals a fourth way that the faith that works places God
first in verse 9:
Be miserable and mourn and weep; let
your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom.
Well isn’t
that encouraging. James commands followers of Jesus throughout history to be
miserable and mourn and weep. I mean why would James command us to do that? So
is James saying that we should walk around like Eeyore? Is James saying that we
should walk around saying “Oh bother, I’m just a sinner saved by grace.”
I do not
believe that is what James is commanding us as followers of Jesus to do here.
Instead, I believe James is addressing the temptation that we often have as
followers of Jesus to minimize the selfish desires that are within us. I
believe that James is addressing the temptation that we have to want manage our
selfish desires. I believe that James is addressing the temptation that we have
to want to tame our selfish desires as though they are a house pet.
James is
basically saying “Hey it is the selfish desires within you that are the source
of the conflicts that you are experiencing among you. So are you going to
attempt to minimize, manage, or tame those desires? Or are you going to
recognize the impact that those selfish desires are having in your life and
kill those desires by instead placing God first”.
And it is
here that we see James reveal for us the reality that we place God first when
we demonstrate remorse for the selfishness within us. As followers of Jesus,
the selfishness within us should distress us. As followers of Jesus the
selfishness within us should cause us to grieve over its impact in our lives.
And as followers of Jesus, the selfishness within us should cause us to take
selfishness, sin, and rebellion seriously. Instead of attempting to minimize,
manage, or tame those selfish desires within us, we should take those selfish
desires seriously and put to death those selfish desires by placing God and His
desires first.
So here is a question to
consider: How do you view the selfish desires that are within you? Are you
attempting to minimize, manage, or tame those selfish desires so that they can
be a house pet? Or are you taking those selfish desires seriously and striving
to put those selfish desires to death by placing Jesus first? Because the faith
that works places God first when we demonstrate remorse for the selfishness within
us.
Friday, we will see James reveal
a fifth way that the faith that works places God first…
No comments:
Post a Comment