Month: February 2012

Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied. (1 Peter 1:2)

Today’s congregational reading takes us to the beginning of the epistle of 1 Peter. I find myself perplexed trying to decide which part of the first chapter to use as the subject of this article. This chapter is jam packed with many different doctrines some of which go to the deepest part of God’s word. Most of you that know me well would expect that I would be drawn to the second verse in which Peter mentions one of my favorite subjects of scripture, the doctrine of election. Proper understanding of this doctrine is what I would call a sea change. It radically alters our view of self. The heart of man is naturally against it. We will not come to it easily and yet when God opens our eyes of understanding it begins to sink into the soul and overwhelms us with His graciousness. It is not popular doctrine because it is designed to take away our bragging rights. It removes any thoughts that in any way we have part in our salvation.

The second verse also contains the doctrine of sanctification. Not only is the sovereign God singularly responsible for His choice of lost sinners, but it is also His work alone to make them fit to enter into fellowship with Him. The scriptures teach that we are vile and wicked while God is perfectly righteous and holy. If I could put it this way, we cannot sit in the same room with God. His holiness cannot allow any sinner to approach Him. For this, we must be changed. We must be made holy in order to come into His presence. This is what the Holy Spirit does in our sanctification.

A third doctrine taught in this verse is the end to which we have been chosen. We are chosen to obedience. We are chosen to follow Christ and produce good works for His kingdom. We are chosen to obey the commandments of Christ which is the evidence of our salvation. The absence of these good works reveals that sanctification has not taken place—that we have not been purged from our sins. All those that are chosen, called, justified, and sanctified will be conformed to the image of Christ (Rom. 8:29-30).

A fourth doctrine found in this verse is the means by which all of this is accomplished. It is by the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. It is by His sacrifice on the cross that our sin debt to God is satisfied. We are released from the guilt of our sins and justified in the sight of God by this once for all offering that Christ made on the cross. All of the doctrines of God’s word are centered on this all important fact. If not for Christ’s blood, our election could not result in salvation. If not for the cleansing of His blood, we could not be sanctified in order to fellowship with God. If not for the power of His blood to change our wicked hearts, we would never have the desire to obey God.

This brings us to another wonderful doctrine that differentiates the chosen from all others on the planet. We have peace with God and we have the peace of God. Peace with God is achieved because we have been reconciled to Him. The hostility that exists between us has been removed. God’s wrath has been appeased and now we are considered children of God and recipients of His divine favor (grace). We have the peace of God—a calmness and quietness in our souls that tells us as the song says, it is well with my soul.

Isn’t it amazing that all this is found in just one verse? We haven’t even begun to consider the rest of the chapter! It is easy to see why I am perplexed about what to choose for an article since we will read the first twenty-one verses. What does this tell us? You need to do some investigation. Don’t let the congregational reading be your only venture into God’s word in this week. As Jesus said, “Search the scriptures.” There is much to be discovered that will thrill your soul!

Pastor V. Mark Smith

Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. (James 5:8)

Today we conclude our congregational reading in the epistle of James. You will notice in the beginning of chapter 5, James gives one of the most scathing rebukes of the sins of the rich that can be found in scripture. While the Bible never says it is a sin to be rich, it does give strict warnings about the deceitfulness of riches and what God expects as stewardship of the resources He has given. Most of us in our congregation will never have to concern ourselves with the temptation to horde riches. It is a challenge for many of you to meet your normal everyday household needs. We find ourselves on the other end of the spectrum fretting about making the house payment or the rent for next month. For many Christians, this seems to be upside down. Why do God’s people have to suffer trying to make ends meet when there are unbelievers that are so rich they can’t figure out what to do with all of their money? There are some churches that have developed an entire theology to answer this question. Their conclusion is that Christians that suffer with financial problems and with health problems are living short of God’s intention for them. They suffer because they lack the faith to claim all of God’s promises.

This is where our featured verse brings such comfort. Those that are not wealthy ought not to think that God will right this perceived wrong during our sojourn in this life. James reminds his readers of the holy prophets that suffered affliction (v.10) and patiently endured it. Could we say the prophets suffered because their faith was lacking? He also reminds them of Job (v. 11) who is the Bible’s classic example of patient endurance. Job certainly did not suffer because of lack of faith. It was his great faith that caused God to allow Satan to test him to prove that he would never turn his back on God despite the harshest of circumstances. In the end, Job received the reward of endurance which was more than what he gave up at the beginning.

The point made by James in this example is not that Job received his riches in this life, which he did, but rather there is always faithfulness by God in respect to the reward. Many of the Christians James wrote to would never see riches in the present life because they were slaves. Were they to conclude as modern preaching says that their lack of faith was the cause? This is wild and crazy theology—even demonic theology that arrives at such erroneous conclusions.

So, when is the Christian living in hardships to expect relief? It comes when we meet Christ. Those that live in light of the return of Christ or in the hope of their immediate presence with Christ at death realize they have eternal life in the present. They are going through such a minute period of time in this life that it does not register on the scale of eternity. The hurts of this life are no more than a scab that will be healed and quickly cast aside. If we truly believe in the reward that is coming, we will endure until we reach it.

Another example James gives of this patient endurance is in verse 7. The farmer toils in the field plowing and planting. It is a necessary part of receiving the harvest. The harvest will come but he cannot rush it. At the same time, he is confident the hard work will have a happy result. I don’t think we have any farmers in the church, so think of it another way. How much hard work and schooling does a professional endure before he becomes established and successful? The hardships are first and then the reward. James is simply saying this life is the hardship; it is the proving ground, and then the payoff of faith in Christ will be ours in the eternal home of heaven.

So, be patient. Hold on a little longer and establish your heart in the faith because Jesus is coming!

Pastor V. Mark Smith

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded… Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up. (James 4:7,8,10)

As we have noted in previous articles, the epistle of James is one of the most practical letters on Christian living found in scripture. As usual, James has answers to common problems that plague Christians. He addresses issues such as persecution, poverty, sorrows, and pain by saying in the first chapter, “Count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.” He speaks of the equality of the saints in chapter two by telling us we should not unduly favor the rich over the poor which is part of the poor judgment we are prone to exercise. Chapter three is about a foul mouth, and in this culture it hardly goes without saying that evil speech is pervasive.

Chapter four is no different as James addresses the most fundamental of all Christian problems; that is we are in a constant battle with Satan as he tempts us to deny our faith by living in the sins of our old nature. All sin is the result of temptation, and the yielding to temptation is the forgetfulness that Christ has saved us for a life of holiness and righteousness which results in unceasing dedication to His will for our lives. Living in the will of God is to live by His commandments which enable us to reach ultimate fulfillment of our purpose. We are saved to glorify God. Paul says, “Therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

Since temptation is a daily ongoing problem, we must learn what to do when we are tempted. James provides a practical outline that if followed brings guaranteed success. The Bible does not tell us to try things to see if they work; it commands us to do them because they will work. The first step in overcoming temptation is to submit to God. Put yourself in God’s hands and be pliable enough to listen and act according to His words. Sin is the transgression of God’s law (1 John 3:4), so it stands to reason that if you obey God’s commandments you will not enter into sin. When James says to submit to God and to resist the devil, he is speaking in military terms, but he is not talking about hand to hand combat. He means to focus your attention on what God as commander has commanded, and then being energized by God’s Word your mind is able to combat temptation. The Word is called the sword of the Spirit and if you want to defeat Satan you must wield the sword.

The example for this kind of combat is the Lord’s own temptation in the wilderness. In each temptation, Jesus recalled words of scripture and replied to Satan “it is written.” The scriptures were His source of strength. The Psalmist said, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee” (Psa. 119:11).

Secondly, James says “draw nigh to God.” Isaiah says that sin separates us from God. The way to get close to God is to repent of our sins. We do this by going to God in prayer and asking for His forgiveness. He is always faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from unrighteousness. This is expressed by “Cleanse your hands, ye sinners, and purify your hearts…” How do we do this? None of us is able to cleanse our own hearts; only God can. However, we can take the action which will lead to its accomplishment. You must “humble yourself in the sight of the Lord,” and then the promise follows: “and he shall lift you up.”

Sometimes we refer to these activities as “the secret to Christian living.” There is nothing secret about it. God’s word is very plain and very practical. Nothing is purposely hidden to those that know Christ. Read it and apply it. “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11). Satan flees at God’s word. These are not God’s covert ops; they are as well known to the devil as they are to you!

Pastor V. Mark Smith

And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell. (James 3:6)

In today’s scripture reading, we are reminded once again of the very practical nature of the epistle of James. In the first chapter, James encouraged his readers to be careful to practice the word of God rather than to just hear it. The word of God is a mirror that reveals the blemishes in our character. If we hear and do not practice, we are like a person that looks into a mirror, sees what needs to be adjusted to make him presentable, but then walks away as if he hasn’t seen anything at all. This illustration is very simple and yet it is one that we can easily identify with. It makes sense because each of us has experienced looking into a mirror and primping to make sure we look our best.

Likewise, the third chapter of James rings a familiar tone as James teaches concerning the use of our tongue. Each of us is very experienced in the trouble that is caused by opening our mouths when they are better kept shut. We have the capability with speech to be a great encouragement to people. We have opportunity to bless people with our words especially when we give them the gospel and teach them the truths of the Bible. However, it is not natural for people to speak good things because our speech is the product of a sinful heart.

If you think about what happened to Adam immediately after he ate the forbidden fruit, you will better understand how the fallen heart is prone to speak evil of others. When God spoke to Adam about his sin, the first thought for Adam was to slander Eve: “The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree and I did eat.” Since that time, it has been much easier for us to speak evil of others. Adam could have defended Eve and told God in her moment of weakness she succumbed to the temptation of the serpent. He could have said, “I should have been there to protect her, so you can blame me.” Instead, he threw Eve under the bus in order to deflect the blame.

Adam’s bad reaction came after the first sin. At this point, he was certainly not used to sin, although with his first excuse he committed another one. Now, after all these thousands of years, we have perfected the art of sinning, and our evil speaking naturally flows like a gushing stream from an overflowing reservoir of corruption. Our tongues are a world of iniquity; they are a fire that has the potential to burn and destroy everyone around us. You have experienced it; you know it—James has nailed you just as he has me.

William MacDonald has a humorous illustration of how quickly the fire of evil speaking burns. He writes: “The manner in which the flame of evil-speaking spreads is illustrated by the conversation between two women in Brooklyn. One said, ‘Tillie told me that you told her that secret I told you not to tell her.’ The other replied, ‘She’s a mean thing. I told Tillie not to tell you I told her.’ The first speaker responded, ‘Well, I told Tillie I wouldn’t tell you she told me—so don’t tell her I did.’”

The point of James’ discourse in the third chapter is to show us how diligent we must be to stop what comes so naturally. Those that are washed clean in the blood of Christ have the capability through the Holy Spirit to control their evil impulses that cause them to speak ill of others. They have clean hearts so they can switch the use of their tongues from evil to those blessed, sweet words of the gospel that are uplifting and encouraging.

Before you open your mouth, think carefully about what you are going to say. Stay away from subjects that will demean others and are hurtful. Once those words have left your tongue, there is no way to reverse them and make them unheard. Once you hit the send button, it’s too late!

Pastor V. Mark Smith