Month: November 2024

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)

In these past few weeks, I have been thinking about the relationship between the trials we experience and the righteousness of our lifestyles. The psalmist asked God to try his heart to see if there was wickedness in it, and if found to lead him from it and into the ways of everlasting life. These thoughts lead me to the epistle of James, one of the most practical treatises on Christian living found in scripture.

James has answers to common problems that plague Christians. He addresses issues such as persecution, poverty, sorrows, and pain. He says 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 an example of how prone we are to bad judgment. Chapter three is about a foul mouth, and in this culture, it is obvious 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 exemplifies our forgetfulness to consider the purpose of our salvation. Christ 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. Our salvation is for God’s glory. 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 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 makes sense that if you obey God’s commandments you will not surrender to sin’s temptations. When James says to submit to God and to resist the devil, he is speaking in military terms, but he is not speaking of hand-to-hand combat. He means to focus your attention on what God as commander has commanded, and then letting God’s word energize your mind to combat temptation. The Word is the sword of the Spirit and if you want to defeat Satan you must wield the sword.

         The example set 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 acts justly in the forgiveness of our sins and promises to cleanse us of unrighteousness. James expressed this by “Cleanse your hands, ye sinners, and purify your hearts…” How do we do this? None of us can 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.”

         David knew there were actions he must take when God searched him and found sin. James provides the outline for walking in the ways of life everlasting.

Pastor V. Mark Smith

Psalms 81:10-16

         Recently I someone asked a question about Matthew 23:37 in which Jesus said, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!” This question concerned the ability of man to decide to believe in Christ. Is salvation a matter of the will in making a pure rational decision of the mind, or is man incapable of choosing Christ because of the depravity of his will? Still another way of asking is, “Was the will of man debilitated by the fall to the extent he is spiritually incapacitated?” These questions are important because they address the ordo salutis (order of salvation).

         This is an interesting query that would take quite a bit of time to explore fully. There is an interesting parallel to Jesus’ words in Psalm 81. The parallelism helps to explain what Jesus meant. His lament over Jerusalem is identical in thought to God’s plea for Israel in verses 10-16: “I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it. But my people would not hearken to my voice; and Israel would none of me. So I gave them up unto their own hearts’ lust: and they walked in their own counsels. Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in my ways! I should soon have subdued their enemies, and turned my hand against their adversaries. The haters of the LORD should have submitted themselves unto him: but their time should have endured for ever. He should have fed them also with the finest of the wheat: and with honey out of the rock should I have satisfied thee.”

         Notice the parallels: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee.” This corresponds to “Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in my ways!” How did God speak to Israel? He spoke through the same prophets that Jesus said they killed. Jesus said, “How often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings.” This speaks of His power of protection which is echoed by God’s words: ”I should soon have subdued their enemies, and turned my hand against their adversaries.”

         The response of Israel in both cases was “They would not.” It is clear in the Old Testament that God is speaking of the temporal blessings Israel would have enjoyed in the establishment of her kingdom as the dominant government in the world. He would have filled His people with everything they needed (v. 10), but Israel would not listen (v. 11). In the context of Matthew 23, Jesus speaks the same. The result of Israel’s rejection, specifically the rejection of the religious rulers, was the destruction of Jerusalem and the loss of any significant role for Israel until the Second Advent. Christ did not begin His earthly kingdom during the First Advent because Israel rejected their Messiah King.

         The importance of this interpretation of scripture is to show the will of man in salvation is not under consideration in this passage. It is critical to keep scripture in context rather than wresting it from its context to support mistaken doctrines. It is far better to examine scriptures that are without doubt dealing with the question at hand. For example John 1:13:  “Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” Does anyone have an issue interpreting this to be a salvation verse? Another is John 5:40:  “And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.” Is salvation a matter of the will? Most certainly, and nothing is clearer than “Ye will not come to me.” How can this verse be cast positively to argue that man’s will enables him to come when Jesus said you will not come?

         There is neither time nor space to explore this question in depth. A little reading in John chapter 6 would certainly further our understanding of the matter. It is wise for every Bible student to be sure to keep scripture in context lest you run afoul of its plain declarations.

Pastor V. Mark Smith