James

James 2: 21-24

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James 2:21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?
22 Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?
23 And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.
24 Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.
 
Abraham’s faith was tested to see if it was really faith, or just talk. He acted upon his faith, and God saved his son Isaac. Abraham had great faith. His faith had grown into complete trust in God. He knew in his heart, God could raise him from the dead. Abraham’s faith was strong enough to stand the test. The faith of Abraham was made perfect in the action he took. His act of faith helps us in difficult situations to act upon our faith. The belief of Abraham was counted unto him for righteousness. Without faith, it is impossible to please God. Without acting upon the faith that we have, it is not faith at all. To be the Friend of God would be the highest honor we could be paid. God had great regard for Abraham. The works, spoken of here, are an evidence of the faith the person has. Faith saves us, but the works are a by-product of our faith. When we stand before Jesus on judgment day, He will say to His own, well done, thy good and faithful servant.
James

James 2 : 19-20

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James 2:19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
 
Many believe that just to say you believe in God is enough, but without trust in God to act upon the faith, it becomes very questionable about whether you really have faith in God, or are just saying you do.The devils believe, because they have seen God in heaven. It takes no faith at all to believe something you have seen with your own eyes. The true faith is believing in your heart in something you have not seen. Devils here, is speaking of the angels that followed Lucifer out of heaven. They tremble, because they know the terrible fate that awaits them. A vain man is an empty man which has no faith and if we are true Christians our faith shows in our works. Those who profess faith must be like this fruitful tree. Silent Christians are not fulfilling the great commission to go into all the world and preach the gospel. It is not our obligation for them to listen, but it is our obligation to tell them, if we have faith. To have faith and do absolutely nothing about it, is no faith at all.
James

James 2:14-18

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James 2:14 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?
15 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,
16 And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?
17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
 
That a man say governs the interpretation of the entire passage. James does not say that this person actually has faith, but that he claims to have it. “Faith”: is speaking of any degree of acceptance of the truths of the gospel. “Have not”:describes someone who continually lacks any external evidence of the faith he routinely claims. “Can faith save him?”We all know the answer to this is, that we are saved by faith and faith alone, but if we are saved, we will have works showing our faith. The works are a manifestation of our faith. Verse 15 is not speaking of wants in their lives; this is speaking of their needs.James is saying that just telling them to be filled will not fill that empty place in their stomach. To wish them well, without giving them a coat to warm with will not keep them warm. We must put action to our wishes. Feed them and clothe them, and then wish them well, and you will have done something.We can say we have faith, but we will not be believed, unless we have works to match up with our faith. All of these Scriptures show faith in action, or faith acted upon. Fear is the opposite of faith. To be truly faithful, we must act upon our faith. Just to sit down and say you have faith, without doing something about it, actually shows lack of faith.
A Note from Hope

David; a Bible Story: a note from Hope

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Do you like hearing stories? I do! I especially like hearing Bible stories…. one of my favorites is about David.

David was just a little boy – in fact, he was the youngest in his family. Nobody probably paid him much attention, just because he was a little kid. But he took care of his family’s sheep. In fact, he killed a bear and a lion who were trying to hurt the sheep and lambs.

Then one day God told  the prophet * to visit David’s dad’s house. God told him that  was where the new king of Israel lived.  He looked over all of David’s big brothers.  They were big and strong, but every time the prophet looked at one of David’s brothers, God whispered in his ear, “Not this one.  Don’t look at how big and strong they are, or how handsome they are. I’m looking at their hearts.”

So he went down the line to the next one. Finally there were no more big brothers.

Then the prophet asked David’s dad, “Don’t you have any more sons?” His dad said, “Just little David, who is with the sheep.”

So the prophet said to call him to the house; as soon as David walked in, the prophet knew he was the one. So the prophet anointed David with oil and told him he would be the new king. Then he prayed over him and blessed him.

I like the story of David, because sometimes people think you have to be grown up to do things for God, but little kids can serve God too (and even little dogs!)

If you’d like to read more about David in the Bible, here’s part of the story.

Here’s a color page of David playing his harp.

*a prophet is someone  who listens to God when He speaks, and tells others what He said. The prophet who visited David was named Samuel.

James

James 2: 10-13

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James 2:10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.
11 For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law.
12 So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.
13 For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.
 
This is speaking to those specifically who have not accepted the sacrifice that Jesus made as being sufficient for all sin, and are trying to keep the Mosaic law. The keeping of the law saves no one, because they cannot keep it in its entirety. The forgiveness through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ saves you. James is trying to show, in this, that by the keeping of the law, no man is saved. The keepers of the law are not Christians, because they have not accepted the full pardon through the shed blood of Jesus for their sins. The law of liberty in Jesus Christ is what Christians are under. We are not perfect, just forgiven. A person who shows no mercy and compassion for people in need demonstrates that he has never responded to the great mercy of God, and as an unredeemed person will receive only strict, unrelieved judgment in eternal hell. This is so similar to what the Lord Jesus taught. Forgive, and you shall be forgiven. If you will not forgive, then you shall not be forgiven.
James

James 2: 5-9

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James 2:5 Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?
6 But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats?
7 Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called?
8 If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well:
9 But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.
 
God did not say it was impossible for the rich to get into heaven, just difficult. The reason for that is because the rich man has a hard time putting anything ahead of his riches. God will not take second place. For a person to come to Christ, he must humble himself before God. The humbling is much easier for the poor, because they are already in practice of being humble. James is explaining that poor men seldom oppress anyone, but it is generally the rich who oppress the poor, not the other way around. The rich sometimes hold important offices in government, and have more opportunity to oppress. The name that we are called is Christian, which means we are followers of and believers in Christ. Do we not see today Christians being pushed back on every conner, it is time we take a bold stand.! Jesus explained that loving God and loving your neighbor fulfilled all of your obligations, if you were a Christian. Jesus said in Matthew to love God with whole heart is the first commandment and to love your neighbor as thyself is the second. If you respect someone because of their wealth or position in society, you have not kept the two laws Jesus said covered all the laws.
James

James 2: 1-4

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James 2:1 My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.
2 For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment;
3 And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool:
4 Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?
 
I believe what James is trying to say here, is that being a respecter of a person because of his station in life is not consistent with Christianity. Jesus taught that we are not to be a respecter of persons, if we are Christians. James is not condemning this unbeliever for his distracting dress, but the church’s flattering reaction to it. We can easily see from this, that the church is not for just one class of people. This, also, shows that just because a man was rich, did not mean that he could not be saved. The fact that a person was very poor, did not keep him from joining the church either. James is showing them, in this, that they had been showing preference to the rich. In God’s sight, the rich should be given no more privileges than the poor. There are many churches today that would turn away the poor man in this instance.Vile raiment might be just enough to keep them not only at the back, but completely out of the church. The outward appearance of a man does not reveal what is in his heart. The heart determines whether you are a Christian, or not. Church is not for the privileged few, but for all who seek God. We are not to judge man at all, but if we did, we would not judge fairly. We would be thinking of the flesh of man, and God looks at the heart of man.
James

James 1:26-27

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James1:26 If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain.
27 Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.
 
“Religious”: This refers to ceremonial public worship, instead of one referring to internal godliness, to emphasize the external trappings, rituals, routines and forms that were not followed sincerely. Purity of heart is often revealed by controlled and proper speech which means we need to keep a tight reign on our tongue. This is speaking of someone who is a Christian in form only. The heart of man reveals what relationship he has with God. To be a true Christian, our heart must be washed in the blood of the Lamb. We must speak healing, peaceful words from a heart stayed upon God. James picks two synonymous adjectives to define the most spotless kind of religious faith – that which is measured by compassionate love. It is important that we pay special attention to those that cannot help themselves or else we will be like everyone else in the world.
The two things Jesus said were the important commandments were to love God above all else, and to love our neighbor as our self. You cannot be involved in the ways of the world and belong to God. Christians are in the world, but are not of the world. We must not get involved with the world. We are to be a separated people.
The neighbors that we are most responsible for are the neighbors that cannot help themselves. The widows and orphans are the responsibility of the Christians. Keep yourself stayed upon good things, and you will not have time to get involved with the bad. When you do for those who cannot help themselves, you are doing it unto God.
James

James 1:22-25

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James 1:22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:
24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.
25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.
 
Professing Christians who are content with only hearing the Word, have made a serious spiritual miscalculation. Even the scribes and Pharisees were hearers of the Word of God. The devil spirits even heard and believed, but they were not doers. We may say we are Christians, but the real test is do we live what we profess? Are we just saying and not doing? If so it is like looking in mirror and seeing a reflection of our self and not of God. This really is speaking of someone who professes Christianity, but lives like the world. This is like people who get baptized and then go back to their old way of life. When we repent, are saved, and baptized, we are to become a brand new creature.Jesus said, if you love me, you will keep my commandments. The key word is continueth. He not only professes Christianity, but walks continuously in the salvation he has received. No one has to ask him, if he is a Christian. His way of life shows the world that he is a Christian and he will be blessed by it.
James

James 1: 17-21

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James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
18 Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
19 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:
20 For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.
21 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.
 
As we should well know all things come from God because God owns all things and He gives all good and perfect gifts to anyone who believes and ask of Him. God is the same, today, yesterday, and forever. God does not change. God is the source of all Light. Jesus called Himself the Light of the world. The Light is so bright there is no shadow where God is. God of His own will created us to be like Him in truth and in deed. All the redeemed are God’s first fruits in that they are the first step in God’s redemption of all creation. James says, listen and don’t talk too much. Usually if we listen carefully to what someone is saying, before we speak, we will not get angry. We can use the word anger or wrath cause we know anger is not good and we usually are not on our best behavior which means we are not Godly or righteous. We are to put away those things that could lead us away from God. It is the Word of God, Jesus Christ, who saves our soul. This is speaking of being so full of Jesus and His Word that we will have His Word implanted in our inner-most being. Our heart will be stayed upon God and His Word, and that will cause us to live the way we should.