James: Living Faith
Life from the Word (James 1:18)
February 14, 2010
Birth of Sin
James explains that temptation comes from our own deceitful desires within, which convince us God is holding back on us. When these desires conceive, they give birth to sin which always brings forth death. James reminds us every good and perfect thing comes from God who never changes like shifting shadows—or our shifting desires—and sin is not from God; therefore, it’s not good. Sin at its root is deceptive unbelief, and can be fought by replacing deceitful desires by the superior truth of God.
Birth of Life
James then describes a new birth that comes not from sin, but from God. Just as our will brings forth death through deceit, God’s will brings forth life through the truth of the gospel.
1.) Who accomplishes the new birth?
“Of His own will, He brought us forth…”
2.) How is the new birth accomplished?
“Of His own will, He brought us forth by the Word of Truth…”
“According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” (1 Peter 1:3)
“In Him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in Him, we’re sealed with the promised Holy Spirit” (Ephesians 1:13)
“Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17)
3.) What is the result of the new birth?
“Of His own will, He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.”
This knowledge gives us indestructible hope for our city, for new birth is accomplished not by me--my efforts, my church programs, my sense of fashion, or my persuasion--but by God’s sovereign grace opening hearts to receive the word of truth through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Therefore we seek to put ourselves in the way of the word of truth, know the word of truth, and speak the word of truth in love. Our great God will accomplish the rest.
Feb. 21, 2010: “True Religion,” James 1:19-26
Monday, May 17, 2010
James: Living Faith, Temptation from Within
James: Living Faith
Temptation from Within (James 1:13-17)
January 24, 2010
James begins by encouraging his brothers to rejoice when they face trials on account of their faith, because their trials come from God to strengthen their faith and mold them more into the image of their perfect Savior, Jesus Christ. For those lacking wisdom to understand God’s work in their life through their trials, James says to ask God for wisdom, not doubting with their fingers crossed, but with faith in their loving, Sovereign Father God.
Two Trials: Poverty and Riches
James then addresses two trials, poverty and riches. In a culture where wealth is seen as blessing and poverty as a curse, Scripture teaches us that both poverty (“God where are You?”) and riches (“God, I don’t need You”) can test our faith. There are two prevalent errant perspectives on poverty and wealth in America, the poverty gospel and the more prominent prosperity gospel. The prior assumes that if you’re poor, you’re inherently closer to God and that the wealthy are evil. The latter assumes if you love God it will be evident by red Cadillacs in your garage, green bills in your wallet, and golden toilets in your bathroom. The Bible teaches us there are righteous poor as well as unrighteous poor and there are righteous rich as well as unrighteous rich. What matters is not your level of wealth, but rather that your hope is in Jesus Christ’s finished work on the cross and not your 401K.
Temptation
Where does temptation come from? Though we would like to think temptation and evil come from “out there”—God, Satan, the world, or an opposing political party—James teaches us temptation comes first from within, not from God or outside forces. Our desires are deceitful, and when followed lead to death with all of the pain and horror of an expecting mother delivering a stillborn child.
Battling SinHow then do we fight sin? How do we destroy deceitful desires?
Errant Strategies
Willpower Legalism - Willpower religion attempts to white-knuckle our sin into submission, but fails to address the heart. The end result is discouragement and depression (“I can’t do it, I’m a failure”) or arrogance and pride (“I did it, yay for me, I’m awesome”).
Death of Desire Stoicism - Stoicism labels all desire as evil and therefore attempts to kill all passion, desire, and excitement, forgetting our God created us with desires to be ultimately fulfilled in Him (Psalm 37:4). Stoicism addresses the heart, but seeks to quench it rather than allowing God to renew it. The end result is lifeless religion that fails to delight in God, attempting rather to serve solely out of duty.
Facing the true enemy
Deceptive Desires - The problem is not desire, the problem is deception. Our hearts are deceived into thinking our broken cisterns will satisfy us when we were created to drink in the Fountain of living water (Jeremiah 2:13). We were created for highest joy, and our hearts sell us short, deceiving us into settling for temporary, lesser pleasures of sin.
Unbelief - Our sin is the result of our failure to believe God’s promises are superior to Satan’s lies; therefore, the fight against sin is ultimately a fight against unbelief.
Biblical Battle Plan
A Transformed Heart - Our need is not simply for behavior modification, but rather heart transformation. We need a Savior who will destroy our deceitful desires, and ultimately replace them with passionate desires for an all-satisfying Christ.
Cultivate an Appetite - You fight deceitful desires by replacing them with true, superior, life-giving desires of the Word of God, as the Holy Spirit opens your eyes to behold truth.
Battle to Believe - “The life that I now live [as a Christian], I LIVE BY FAITH in the son of God who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20) The battle against sin is a fight of faith, to believe that God is as good as He truly is, and that sin is as destructive as it truly is.
Biblical Weaponry
Faith – Faith is not only in the past grace of God, but also in the present and future grace that is to come. Faith is not working hard to be holy and “pay Jesus back” for dying for me. Faith is being confident in what the life and work of Christ has accomplished and also being confident that God’s way is better than sin, his promises are superior to Satan’s lies, and His love is more satisfying than the deceitfulness of sin.
By the Spirit - Romans 8:13 says if BY the SPIRIT you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. Fighting the deceitful desires of sin is about fighting for faith in the superior promises of God by the Sword of the Spirit.
Through the Word - The Word of God holds the bullet aimed for the heart of every abominable, deceitful desire. When we fill ourselves with the Word, God’s superior promises take root in our hearts by the power of the Holy Spirit and give birth to new desires, that long for and enjoy Jesus Christ above all the empty promises of sin.
Additional Resources:
“How People Change,” by Paul David Tripp
“When I Don’t Desire God,” by John Piper
Temptation from Within (James 1:13-17)
January 24, 2010
James begins by encouraging his brothers to rejoice when they face trials on account of their faith, because their trials come from God to strengthen their faith and mold them more into the image of their perfect Savior, Jesus Christ. For those lacking wisdom to understand God’s work in their life through their trials, James says to ask God for wisdom, not doubting with their fingers crossed, but with faith in their loving, Sovereign Father God.
Two Trials: Poverty and Riches
James then addresses two trials, poverty and riches. In a culture where wealth is seen as blessing and poverty as a curse, Scripture teaches us that both poverty (“God where are You?”) and riches (“God, I don’t need You”) can test our faith. There are two prevalent errant perspectives on poverty and wealth in America, the poverty gospel and the more prominent prosperity gospel. The prior assumes that if you’re poor, you’re inherently closer to God and that the wealthy are evil. The latter assumes if you love God it will be evident by red Cadillacs in your garage, green bills in your wallet, and golden toilets in your bathroom. The Bible teaches us there are righteous poor as well as unrighteous poor and there are righteous rich as well as unrighteous rich. What matters is not your level of wealth, but rather that your hope is in Jesus Christ’s finished work on the cross and not your 401K.
Temptation
Where does temptation come from? Though we would like to think temptation and evil come from “out there”—God, Satan, the world, or an opposing political party—James teaches us temptation comes first from within, not from God or outside forces. Our desires are deceitful, and when followed lead to death with all of the pain and horror of an expecting mother delivering a stillborn child.
Battling SinHow then do we fight sin? How do we destroy deceitful desires?
Errant Strategies
Willpower Legalism - Willpower religion attempts to white-knuckle our sin into submission, but fails to address the heart. The end result is discouragement and depression (“I can’t do it, I’m a failure”) or arrogance and pride (“I did it, yay for me, I’m awesome”).
Death of Desire Stoicism - Stoicism labels all desire as evil and therefore attempts to kill all passion, desire, and excitement, forgetting our God created us with desires to be ultimately fulfilled in Him (Psalm 37:4). Stoicism addresses the heart, but seeks to quench it rather than allowing God to renew it. The end result is lifeless religion that fails to delight in God, attempting rather to serve solely out of duty.
Facing the true enemy
Deceptive Desires - The problem is not desire, the problem is deception. Our hearts are deceived into thinking our broken cisterns will satisfy us when we were created to drink in the Fountain of living water (Jeremiah 2:13). We were created for highest joy, and our hearts sell us short, deceiving us into settling for temporary, lesser pleasures of sin.
Unbelief - Our sin is the result of our failure to believe God’s promises are superior to Satan’s lies; therefore, the fight against sin is ultimately a fight against unbelief.
Biblical Battle Plan
A Transformed Heart - Our need is not simply for behavior modification, but rather heart transformation. We need a Savior who will destroy our deceitful desires, and ultimately replace them with passionate desires for an all-satisfying Christ.
Cultivate an Appetite - You fight deceitful desires by replacing them with true, superior, life-giving desires of the Word of God, as the Holy Spirit opens your eyes to behold truth.
Battle to Believe - “The life that I now live [as a Christian], I LIVE BY FAITH in the son of God who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20) The battle against sin is a fight of faith, to believe that God is as good as He truly is, and that sin is as destructive as it truly is.
Biblical Weaponry
Faith – Faith is not only in the past grace of God, but also in the present and future grace that is to come. Faith is not working hard to be holy and “pay Jesus back” for dying for me. Faith is being confident in what the life and work of Christ has accomplished and also being confident that God’s way is better than sin, his promises are superior to Satan’s lies, and His love is more satisfying than the deceitfulness of sin.
By the Spirit - Romans 8:13 says if BY the SPIRIT you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. Fighting the deceitful desires of sin is about fighting for faith in the superior promises of God by the Sword of the Spirit.
Through the Word - The Word of God holds the bullet aimed for the heart of every abominable, deceitful desire. When we fill ourselves with the Word, God’s superior promises take root in our hearts by the power of the Holy Spirit and give birth to new desires, that long for and enjoy Jesus Christ above all the empty promises of sin.
Additional Resources:
“How People Change,” by Paul David Tripp
“When I Don’t Desire God,” by John Piper
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Thursday, March 19, 2009
who are your peers?
it would be a grave, common mistake to compare your life only with those immediately around you.
when examining your life, it may be possible to elevate yourself to the level of "okay," "average" or even "pretty good" when your line of sight is no further than your culture or even your time in history.
do not limit yourself by the maturity and passion and dreams of your peers.
do not limit yourself by the current culture's expectations of a "good" life, or the American "dream."
make friends with Charles Spurgeon, George Mueller, Martin Luther, Jonathon Edwards.
examine your life with a peer-group of William Wilberforce, William Carey, and the apostle Paul.
then test your holiness, test your passion, test the works of your life against those God-honoring, Christ-exalting, Bible-saturated lives.
the life of Spurgeon and Mueller have convicted me to the core and left my longing for that kind of faith, that sort of indwelling of His Spirit, that deep of a passion for His supremacy in all things for the joy of all people.
so i would recommend reading biographies.
when examining your life, it may be possible to elevate yourself to the level of "okay," "average" or even "pretty good" when your line of sight is no further than your culture or even your time in history.
do not limit yourself by the maturity and passion and dreams of your peers.
do not limit yourself by the current culture's expectations of a "good" life, or the American "dream."
make friends with Charles Spurgeon, George Mueller, Martin Luther, Jonathon Edwards.
examine your life with a peer-group of William Wilberforce, William Carey, and the apostle Paul.
then test your holiness, test your passion, test the works of your life against those God-honoring, Christ-exalting, Bible-saturated lives.
the life of Spurgeon and Mueller have convicted me to the core and left my longing for that kind of faith, that sort of indwelling of His Spirit, that deep of a passion for His supremacy in all things for the joy of all people.
so i would recommend reading biographies.
Monday, March 16, 2009
why i love donald miller...
from his website biography:
this pretty much made my whole day better...Of his new book, Don says: “It might be the greatest book ever written. I
don’t think anybody is going to read a book again after they read my new one. I
think God is proud of me. I am going to make a killing off this thing and I’m
going to use the money to go to space.”
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Testing God
"Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house.
Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the
floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room
enough for it. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in
your fields will not cast their fruit," says the LORD Almighty. "Then all the
nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land," says the
LORD Almighty.
--Malachi 3:10-12
"You can't outgive Me! The more you give, the more lavishly I will bless you."
It's like a raging waterfall pouring into a flask... close the flask, and store your 20 ounces all to yourself, or open the flask and allow the rushing downpour to unceasingly fill the flask, and splash over onto all those around...
Safe and stupid: "Ooh! My flask is full! I'd better protect what's mine! Who knows when the water might stop running!" (as soon as the flask closes off from the waterfall, it is cut off from the infinite source and limited its own finite supply)
Jesus: poured out.
Blessings are given to those who do not cling tightly to them. Or positively stated, blessings are given to those with open hands.
Safe and stupid is... stupid.
Test God.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
What Paris Hilton, Jennifer Aniston and I all have in common
Paris Hilton just dropped $280,000 for a diamond encrusted dashboard for her Bentley...
Jennifer Aniston unloaded $50 grand for a month of $2,000 haircuts...
Does this make your stomach sick?
It should.
We are *really* good at pointing out sin in others' lives and then feeling alot better about ourselves. I dared to browse through the comments, and amid the usual "OMG F OBAMA STUPID PREISADENT GOD WIL JDGEU US KNOW!!11!1!@" comments, I found a rather insightful and convicting statement:
Instead of ranting about others' materialism, self-absorbtion and apathetic avoidance of their neighbors, I want to realize that *I* am the problem.
Where your heart is, there your treasure will be also.
If I look at my credit card statement, I *really* think that my standard of living is more important than others living.
I skated by the homeless on the Mon River Trail and dropped $12 bucks on dinner last night. Had I driven five more miles, I could have eaten at home for less than $5. What happened? I *really* wanted chinese. I *deserve* it. I've *earned* it. Right?
I. I. *I*. My tastes, my entitlement, my life, my kingdom.
That's what I was created for, right? Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness?
God calls us to lay down our lives for His Kingdom...
... sometimes I can't even lay down my taste for Chinese food.
Paris Hilton, Jennifer Aniston, and I all love our lives, our kingdoms, our happiness.
He who loves his life in this world, will lose it (John 12:25).
Whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me. (Matthew 25:45)
How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God. (Luke 18:24)
Jesus have mercy on us.
May we trade our selfish desires and materialism for the all-satisfying sufficiency of Christ. May we *live* sacrificially and *give* lavishly.
I do not want to stand before the Creator of the Universe, who emptied himself in humility and gave his love, his riches, his life, his all for his children with nothing but Chinese food receipts.
Jennifer Aniston unloaded $50 grand for a month of $2,000 haircuts...
Does this make your stomach sick?
It should.
We are *really* good at pointing out sin in others' lives and then feeling alot better about ourselves. I dared to browse through the comments, and amid the usual "OMG F OBAMA STUPID PREISADENT GOD WIL JDGEU US KNOW!!11!1!@" comments, I found a rather insightful and convicting statement:
"for the people who are complaining about other people losing jobs and that she
should have given the money to poor people in Africa... ...maybe you should
think about giving up that Ipod, or plasma TV, or extra pair of high heels you
were going to splurge on and give the money to charity. In all honesty, I'm sure
starving children would probably look at us with our materialistic lifestyle in
the way we are looking at Paris Hilton with all her diamonds right now."
Instead of ranting about others' materialism, self-absorbtion and apathetic avoidance of their neighbors, I want to realize that *I* am the problem.
Where your heart is, there your treasure will be also.
If I look at my credit card statement, I *really* think that my standard of living is more important than others living.
I skated by the homeless on the Mon River Trail and dropped $12 bucks on dinner last night. Had I driven five more miles, I could have eaten at home for less than $5. What happened? I *really* wanted chinese. I *deserve* it. I've *earned* it. Right?
I. I. *I*. My tastes, my entitlement, my life, my kingdom.
That's what I was created for, right? Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness?
God calls us to lay down our lives for His Kingdom...
... sometimes I can't even lay down my taste for Chinese food.
Paris Hilton, Jennifer Aniston, and I all love our lives, our kingdoms, our happiness.
He who loves his life in this world, will lose it (John 12:25).
Whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me. (Matthew 25:45)
How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God. (Luke 18:24)
Jesus have mercy on us.
May we trade our selfish desires and materialism for the all-satisfying sufficiency of Christ. May we *live* sacrificially and *give* lavishly.
I do not want to stand before the Creator of the Universe, who emptied himself in humility and gave his love, his riches, his life, his all for his children with nothing but Chinese food receipts.
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