His Love Ministries
Episodes
Sunday May 28, 2017
JAMES 2:14-26 WHAT KIND OF FAITH DO YOU HAVE PART 2?
Sunday May 28, 2017
Sunday May 28, 2017
v20-26 DYNAMIC FAITH or Real, Living Faith, Saving Faith
WHAT KIND OF FAITH IS THIS?
We know from other passages that this faith is based upon the Word of God
Ro 10:17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Saving faith involves the WHOLE MAN
1) The MIND understands the truth about Christ
2) The HEART rejoices in the truth with sorrow over sin and joy over God’s mercy and grace(This is called repentance)
3) The WILL acts upon the truth submitting to Christ and trusts in Him alone as the only hope of salvation.
True, saving faith, then, LEADS TO ACTION
It is not intellectual examination
It is not emotionalism
It is that which leads to repentance, trusting in Christ and authentic obedience in doing good works
TO ILLUSTRATE, JAMES REFERS TO TWO WELL-KNOW PERSONS: ABRAHAM & RAHAB
You could not find two more different people, shows that salvation is offered to everyone
Abraham was the father of the Jews; Rahab was a Gentile!
Abraham was a godly man; Rahab had been a sinful woman, a harlot, a prostitute
Abraham was the friend of God; Rahab had belonged to the enemies of God!
What did they have in common? Both exercised saving faith in God!
Hebrews 11:8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.
Hebrews 11: 31 By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe, when she had received the spies with peace.
V 20-24 Abraham demonstrated his saving faith by his works
Ge 15:6 And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.
30 years before he offered Isaac in Gen 22, believed He and Isaac would return Gen 22:5
Romans 4
Ga 3:5 Therefore He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does He do it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? -- 6 ¶ just as Abraham "believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness." 7 Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham. 8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, "In you all the nations shall be blessed." 9 So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham.
V 25-26 Rahab demonstrated her saving faith by her works
Jos 2:8 ¶ Now before they lay down, she came up to them on the roof, 9 and said to the men: "I know that the LORD has given you the land, that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land are fainthearted because of you. 10 "For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were on the other side of the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed.
11 "And as soon as we heard these things, our hearts melted; neither did there remain any more courage in anyone because of you, for the LORD your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath.
We learn from this passage that:
v17,20,26 Faith without works is a DEAD faith –
v24 That "faith only" (the only time this phrase is found in the Scriptures) cannot justify one
v22 That PERFECT faith necessitates works
CONCLUSION …..Friend of daughter only 18 in a car wreck probably will die or be paralyzed for life
It is important that each professing Christian examine his or her own heart and life, and make sure that they possess true saving faith
Satan is the great deceiver; one of his devices is imitation a. If he can convince a person that counterfeit faith is true faith then he has that person in his power!
Here are some questions we need to ask ourselves as we examine our faith:
2 Corinthians 13:5 Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? ----unless indeed you are disqualified.
Was there a time when I honestly realized I was a sinner and admitted this to myself and to God?
Was there a time when my heart stirred me to flee from the wrath to come? Have I ever been seriously sorry for my sins?
Do I truly understand the gospel, that Christ died for MY sins and then rose again? Do I understand and confess that I cannot save myself?
Did I sincerely repent of my sins, making the decision to turn from them? Do I now hate sin and fear God? Or do I secretly love sin and want to enjoy it?
Have I trusted Christ and Him alone for my salvation by responding to the commands He has given? Have I confessed my faith in Christ and then been baptized as Jesus and His apostles commanded? Baptism is commanded as a witness to others that you have been saved.
Has there been a change in my life? Do I maintain good works, or are my good works occasional and weak? Do I seek to grow in the things of the Lord? Can others tell that I know Jesus?
Do I have a desire to share Christ with others? Or am I ashamed of Him?
Do I enjoy the fellowship of God's people? Is worship a delight to me?
Am I ready for the Lord's return? Or will I be ashamed when He comes for me?
May our prayer be similar to that of that of David in Psalms 139:23-24
"Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxieties; "And see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."
Monday May 22, 2017
JAMES 2:14-26 WHAT KIND OF FAITH DO YOU HAVE PART 1?
Monday May 22, 2017
Monday May 22, 2017
Christian Life has 2 dimensions:
Faith in God
Love towards Men sum of the Ten Commandments
Faith is an essential element in the Christian life:
Without faith, it is impossible to please God –
He 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
The Christian is saved by faith - Ep 2:8-9
The Christian’s faith is going to produce good works,
Ephesians 2:10 We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them”
The Christian is to walk (live) by faith - 2Co 5:7 For we walk by faith, not by sight
The Christian is to show faith out of love for God
Gal 5:6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love.
Whatever we do apart from faith or against our conscience is described as sin
Ro 14:23 But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin. Explain
It is important to realize, that there are different kinds of faith, but only one that is true "saving faith"
In James 2:14-26, we find James discussing the different three kinds of faith, with an emphasis upon that faith which will save the soul
v14 If someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can this faith save him? is the key verse
James deals with Liberalism – Saved and can live any way you want to
Paul Deals with Legalism – Can be saved by works
Works are the proof of Salvation, not the path of Salvation
DEAD FAITH (14-17)
V15-16 Substitutes words for deeds (consider James' example)
People with this kind of faith:
1) Know the correct vocabulary for prayer and principles
2) Can even quote the right verses from the Bible
But their "walk" does not measure up to their "talk"!
Is only an INTELLECTUAL faith
In one's mind, he or she knows the way to get saved
But they have never really submitted themselves to God and trusted in Jesus for salvation
They know the right "words", but they do not back up their words with their "works"!
CAN THIS KIND OF FAITH SAVE?
NO! Three times in this passage, James emphasizes that "faith without works is dead" –
James 2:17, 20, 26 – Uses three different examples of dead faith - No works, false compassion, shallow conviction
Any declaration of faith that does not result in a changed life and good works is a false
declaration: A DEAD FAITH!
Dead faith is counterfeit faith and lulls the person into a false confidence of eternal life
C. DO WE HAVE THIS KIND OF FAITH?
We do, if our life does not measure up to our TALK!
We do, if our WORKS do not measure up to our WORDS!
Mt 7:16 "You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? 17 "Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 "A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 "Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 "Therefore by their fruits you will know them. 21 "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. [We need to beware of mere mental faith.
2 Timothy 3:7 Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
1Jo 3:17 But whoever has this world's goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? 18 My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. 19 And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him.
As Warren Wiersbe said, “No one can come to Christ by faith and remain the same, any more than he can come into contact with a 220-volt wire and remain the same."
1Jn 5:12-13 He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.
v18-19 DEMONIC FAITH shallow conviction
PERHAPS TO SHOCK ANY SMUG or Self Satisfied READERS, JAMES REMINDS US THAT
EVEN "DEMONS" HAVE A KIND OF FAITH!
They believe in God
They even believe in the deity or divine nature of Christ
Mk 3:11-12 And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw Him, fell down before Him and cried out, saying, "You are the Son of God." 12 But He sternly warned them that they should not make Him known.
They also believe in the existence of hell
Lk 8:31 And they begged Him that He would not command them to go out into the abyss.
They believe Jesus will be the Judge! - Mt 8:28-29 When He had come to the other side, to the country of the Gergesenes, there met Him two demon-possessed men, coming out of the tombs, exceedingly fierce, so that no one could pass that way. 29 And suddenly they cried out, saying, "What have we to do with You, Jesus, You Son of God? Have You come here to torment us before the time?"
WHAT KIND OF FAITH DO "DEMONS" HAVE?
V19 The demons "believe and tremble")they tremble out of fear of God, not respect
CAN THIS KIND OF FAITH SAVE?
NO! A person can be educated in his mind and even stirred in his heart and still be lost forever!
True saving faith involves something more, something that can be seen and recognized: a changed life! (cf. Ja 2:18)
Being a Christian involves repentance, trusting Christ and living for Christ!
You first RECEIVE the life of Christ
Romans 8:9 But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. The Spirit of Christ is the Holy Spirit
Then you REVEAL the life of Christ living in you
Do we have the same kind of faith as the demons?
We do, if our service to God does not go beyond...
Intellectually clinging to the right beliefs
Emotional experiences while attending services
Sunday May 14, 2017
JAMES 2:8-13 THE TEST OF IMPARTIALITY OR THE SIN OF PARTIALITY PART 2
Sunday May 14, 2017
Sunday May 14, 2017
James 2:8 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself," you do well; 9 but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors. 10 For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. 11 For He who said, "Do not commit adultery," also said, "Do not murder." Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. 12 So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty. 13 For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
Faith shows love v8-11
v8 WE BREAK "THE ROYAL LAW"
The “royal law” was given in Leviticus 19:18 and affirmed by Christ (Matt. 22:39): Love your neighbor as yourself. The law is royal or regal (basilikon, from basileus, “king”) because it is decreed by the King of kings, is fit for a king, and is considered the king of laws. The phrase reflects the Latin lex regia known throughout the Roman Empire. Obedience to this law, nonpreferential love, is the answer to the evident disobedience to God’s Law, prejudicial favoritism.[1]
Which is "You shall love your neighbor as yourself" is quoted from Leviticus 19:18 and is the most often quoted OT command (8 times in the NT) 3 in Mt alone
This is one of the most fundamental laws that God has ever given!
As proclaimed by Christ - Mt 22:36-40
As taught by Paul - Ro 13:8-10
.Who is my neighbor: all people whom I come in contact with and have a chance to help spiritually or contribute to their well being.
Phil 2:3-4 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.
V9 Showing partiality is sin (to miss the mark) Means if you keep on showing partiality the verb tense is a continuing action
and are convicted by the law as transgressors. A willful breaking of the law
V10 And, as emphasized by James, by breaking one law, we become guilty of ALL the law!
The Law consists of Ten Commandments and God gave us the Law
To be a lawbreaker one does not have to violate all the laws, but he must keep all the law or be perfect to be saved
Ga 3:10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them." 11 But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for "the just shall live by faith."
12 Yet the law is not of faith, but "the man who does them shall live by them." 13 Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree"), 14 that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
V11 To show partiality is to make one as guilty as if they committed adultery or murder!
This illustrates just how terrible any sin is!
2. Faith will be judged v12-13
This refers to the law of Christ, or the gospel, that sets us free to obey God
But if we: Apply man-made restrictions upon others like showing partiality
Gal 5:13-14 For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. 14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
Or If We Don’t show mercy toward others, then NO MERCY will be shown toward us!
Mt 6:14-15 "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 "But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. This is an intentional act of not forgiving.
Prov 25:21 If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat; And if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; 22 For so you will heap coals of fire on his head, And the LORD will reward you.
Mt 5 Blessed are the merciful, for they shall be shown mercy
Most likely means they will end up in hell with no mercy being shown since they have never been saved.
Eph 2:4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,
Mercy triumphs over judgment. Based on verse above.
CONCLUSION
In view of all these things remember James says;
Don’t show partiality
Don’t judge others
Honor the poor and all others
Love your neighbors as yourself
Be forgiving and show mercy by doing so
Fellow brothers in Christ, we serve A GLORIOUS LORD, we serve for His glory; may we NEVER allow the sin of partiality, bias, prejudice, or racism to taint that wonderful glory in any way!
Lewis Smedes says we put labels on people the way designers sew labels on clothes. And then we let those labels tell us what people are and what they are worth.
Lets honor Jesus Christ this season by our actions
Now a concluding word for the NON-Christian:
1) Notice that in our text James speaks of:
The terribleness of even one sin (2:10) Sin in one point, guilty of all
DL Moody compared God’s law to a chain of 10 links. If all 10 links break the man falls to his doom, if 5 break he falls to his doom, if any one of the ten fall the man falls to his doom just the same
b) The fact of judgment (2:12)
2) Won't you accept the mercy God offers to you in the gospel of His Son Jesus Christ?
Accept His mercy in obedience to the gospel today!
Acts 3:19 "Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord
In his autobiography, Mahatma Gandhi wrote that during his student days he read the Gospels seriously and considered converting to Christianity. He believed that in the teachings of Jesus he could find the solution to the caste system that was dividing the people of India.
So one Sunday he decided to attend services at a nearby church and talk to the minister about becoming a Christian. When he entered the sanctuary, however, the usher refused to give him a seat and suggested that he go worship with his own people. Gandhi left the church and never returned. “If Christians have caste differences also,” he said, “I might as well remain a Hindu.”
That usher’s prejudice not only betrayed Jesus but also turned a person away from trusting Him as Savior.
Our Daily Bread, March 6, 1994
Monday May 01, 2017
JAMES 1:24-27 REAL CHRISTIANITY CAN BE SEEN PART 2
Monday May 01, 2017
Monday May 01, 2017
James 1:24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. 25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does. 26 If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one's religion is useless. 27 Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.
V-24 Hearer and not a doer, You are like a man who after looking in mirror soon forgets what he looked like
"He glanced at himself and off he has gone and straightway forgot what sort of a man he was". The tenses present a vivid and lifelike picture of the careless listener to preaching (Christ's wayside hearer).
Compare Luke 12:24, 27; Heb. 3:1. So that the contrast is not between a hasty look and a careful contemplation (ver. 25, looketh). It is not mere careless hearing of the word, which James rebukes, but the neglect to carry into practice what is heard. One may be an attentive and critical hearer of the word, yet not a doer.[1]
Lu 6:47 "Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like:
You need to apply what you heard to your life,
If God convicts you of something, you need to do it.
Ro 7:9 "I was alive without the law; that is, I took all to be right with me, and thought myself not only clean, but, compared with the generality of the world, beautiful too; but when the commandment came, when the glass of the law was set before me, then sin revived, and I died--then I saw my spots and deformities, and discovered that amiss in myself which before I was not aware of; and such was the power of the law, and of sin, that I then perceived myself in a state of death and condemnation."
2Co 3:18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.
V25 Blessed is the man – Psalm 1
One who looks into(intense examination)
The perfect law of liberty and continues in it...
Joh 13:16 "Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. 17 "If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.
The Gospel is a law of liberty it frees us from sin and frees us to do the will of God
The saved man delights to do the will of God
John 8:36 "Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.
The ceremonial sacrifices a yoke of bondage
Romans 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.
"Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord" (2 Corinthians 3:17-18).
The Bible is "perfect" because it is inerrant. It contains no factual errors or misrepresentations. It perfectly reveals the will of God for man. It will not allow for any distortions of reality. It will not allow us to fool ourselves into thinking that we are better than we are.
"The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul; The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple" (Psalm 19:7).
Liberty and license are different. Biblical liberty is the freedom to live within the principles of God. License gives free rein to the flesh.
"For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another!" (Galatians 5:13-15).
Is not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work
It is one thing to have an extensive knowledge of the Bible but it is another to expansively apply it to experience.
"Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting" (Psalm 139:23-24).
Will be blessed in what he does
I believe it Refers back to verse 12 blessed is the man who overcomes
Matthew 5:3-12 The Beatitudes
Be Pure v26-27
V26 If you think you're religious, shows that it refers to the external observances of public worship, such as church attendance, almsgiving, prayer, fasting (Mt 6:1-18). It is the Pharisaic element in Christian worship
A religious person here is a pious person, someone who is devoted to or worships God. He perceives himself as a godly person.
But do not bridle your tongue Ps 34:13 Keep your tongue from evil, And your lips from speaking deceit.
Ps 39:1 To the Chief Musician. To Jeduthun. A Psalm of David I said, "I will guard my ways, Lest I sin with my tongue; I will restrain my mouth with a muzzle, While the wicked are before me."
When we detract from others in order to make ourselves seem superior, we enter into the vanity of religion.
"Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; Keep watch over the door of my lips" (Psalm 141:3).
"But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment" (Matthew 12:36).
1Pe 3:10
Jas 3:12
you deceive only your heart, In verse 17 be not deceived, here deceive not yourself
He plays a trick on himself.
(Jeremiah 17:9) "The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; who can know it?"
v27. Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this... James now shows a genuine Christianity that is "pure" and "undefiled" instead of the formal religion of the previous verse.
Undefiled (ἀμίαντος). See 1 Pet. 1:4. The two adjectives, pure and undefiled, present the positive and negative sides of purity.[1]
To visit orphans and widows in their trouble
To visit (ἐπισκέπτεσθαι). See on Matt. 25:36. James strikes a downright blow here at ministry by proxy, or by mere gifts of money. Pure and undefiled religion demands personal contact with the world’s sorrow: to visit the afflicted, and to visit them in their affliction. [1]
The idea is to oversee orphans and widows in their trouble, "Take responsibility for them."
Helping everyone any way you can is what is meant, not just widows and orphans, although they most of the time are the most needy
Isa 1:16 "Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil, 17 Learn to do good; Seek justice, Rebuke the oppressor; Defend the fatherless, Plead for the widow.
Isa 58:6 "Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the bonds of wickedness, To undo the heavy burdens, To let the oppressed go free, And that you break every yoke? 7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; When you see the naked, that you cover him, And not hide yourself from your own flesh?
Galatians 6:2 Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
Joh 14:18 "I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.
Taking care of orphans and widows (conduct) is a duty that lies close to the heart of God (cf. Exod. 22:22-24; Deut. 10:18; Jer. 5:28; Ezek. 22:7; Zech. 7:10). Yet many who professed to love Him neglected it (Ps. 68:5; Eccles. 4:1; Mark 12:40)
To keep oneself unspotted from the world
"to keep on keeping oneself un-specked from the world" (a world, kosmos, full of dirt and slime that dirties the best of men).
We need to stay away from things we know are wrong but the world says is okay.
Stay away from the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life.
Deut:8:3 Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord
John 6:35 And Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.
We are given Spiritual Strength and Power by trusting in Jesus Christ and feasting on His Word
We need to read, study, and memorize the Word
The Word will give you
1. Deliverance from sin
Victory over Satan
Spiritual prosperity
Personal Guidance
Help for Others
"To summarize, vv. 22-27 insist that a person's religion must consist of more than superficial acts. It is not enough to listen to the statement of spiritual truth (vv. 22-25), nor is it sufficient to engage in formal religious activity (v. 26). The person whose religious experience is genuine will put
spiritual truth into practice, and his life will be marked by love for others and holiness before God."85
If you died today, do you know for sure you would go to heaven?
If God asked you why should I let you in My heaven what would you say
Can you say that you know your faith is real?
What are you trusting in to get you to heaven?
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
Acts 3:19 "Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord,