Tag Archives: James

An answer to an emailed comment (2)

New message receivedThis morning before I headed off to class, I checked my email to discover a comment from a disgruntled reader who used the prayer list contact form to send me a few comments about this blog. Normally, as I have shared in the past, I do not respond to many of these types of emails because there is normally no point in doing so. Since reading the comments and after taking the time to teach my morning class, I was able to clear my head and to pray about how to handle the situation. I now feel the need to answer the complaints that this person had against this blog. My answers are based off my understanding of scripture and the common-sense approach I take towards my faith.

What right do I have to have such a hard stand against lifestyle choices?

This is a question that faces all Christians and it usually has to do with the traditional and fundamentalist view on homosexuality. Although the person I received the comment from did not name if this was what they were upset about, I am simply taking a guess based on the sensitivity of this topic. To be completely honest, the Bible teaches us, For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9). For me, it is not my place to question what the Bible, what the Lord has set as being acceptable and unacceptable. As a Christian, I have to accept the reality that the apostle Paul wrote about in two places in his first letter to the church in Corinth: For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s (1 Corinthians 6:20) and  Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men (1 Corinthians 7:23). Paul also urged through his letter to the church at Rome, I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service (Romans 12:1). With these verses alone, it is important to understand that if we make the claim to be a Christian then it is not by our own rules, standards, or morals we are to live by. Even the apostle Peter understood the calling for the children of God to live to a higher authority than themselves:  Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy (1 Peter 1:13-16).

When we seek to follow after the Lord and live according to His standards, not out of a demand for our obedience, but out of our love for Him, we begin to understand just how sinful we are. As Christians, we should forsake our sins – this means to turn away from them and ask for forgiveness, and avoid the situations that could cause us to yield to that temptation. Too many simply focus on the Biblical view of homosexuality, but there are other sins, other “lifestyle choices” that God finds just as distasteful that both Christians and the lost engage in. God finds gluttony (overeating) sinful: For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple (Romans 16:18), and For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags (Proverbs 23:21). Then there’s the list of sins that Paul mentions often in his writings, Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God (Galatians 5:19-21). All of these are sins and lifestyle choices that people often make and when we consider what the apostle James wrote, For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all (James 2:10), it is clear that all sins are equal in the sight of God. Homosexuality, overeating, adultery, and the other “lifestyle choices” mentioned by Paul are all sins – equally.

As a Christian, my goal is to hear my Lord and Savior tell me those words Jesus told the crowd in a parable: Well done, thou good and faithful servant… (Matthew 25:21b); I don’t want to be ashamed and stand amid ashes when I stand before Jesus. Paul wrote to the church in Jerusalem: Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin. And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth (Hebrews 12:4-6). In other words, I should resist the temptation to sin as a child of God; when I choose to continue in sin, I choose the rebuke and chastening of the Lord. The apostle John wrote, If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). Yes, God will forgive us of our sins when we ask forgiveness but the consequences of our choice to sin will remain.

Continued on next page.

Learning from the life of the apostle Paul

apostle paulThe life of the apostle Paul serves as a model for Christians who want to develop a deeper and more sincere walk with the Lord. Paul’s writings are rich with insight that encourages, corrects, and teaches the basics of our Christian faith. The imagery used by the apostle Paul allows him to explain even the most difficult concepts in a manner where those who seriously desire a more fulfilling relationship with the Lord. Continuing from the most recent post, “The Greatest Race of Our Life“, we shared how that great follower of Christ had to come to the same point we all do – he had to recognize he was a sinner, he had to repent of his sins, and had to accept Jesus as his personal savior before he could be called into the ministry by the Lord.

Teaching Timothy what he knew

As Paul knew he was facing death, he wrote to Timothy, a younger-in-the-faith young man who had surrendered his life to serving the Lord. He had been called as a preacher, and Paul had taken Timothy under his tutorship to train him for the role in ministry that the Lord had set before him. In his second letter to Timothy, the apostle Paul wrote: I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry. For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing (2 Timothy 4:1-8). Even during the lifetime of the apostle Paul, false teachings were already beginning to creep into Christianity.

In his letter to the Christians living in Jerusalem, the apostle Paul wrote, For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart (Hebrews 4:12). Paul chose his words to use a common item as a type of imagery to explain the power of the Word of God.  Paul chose to use this imagery for a couple of reasons, the first being that basic swordsmanship is a difficult skill to master. To become a true master of the sword, one had to know the parts, where the center of balance was, and had to spend considerable time familiarizing themselves with their weapon. The Roman soldiers of Paul’s era were true expert swordsmen and because of their training, could easily take on two to three less-experienced swordsmen. The Roman soldier’s knowledge of swordsmanship allowed the Roman Empire to expand and control much of the known world.

Paul’s own discipleship

The apostle Paul chose to use the sword’s imagery because as a Christian and a minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ, Paul could not be used by the Lord until he had mastered a basic understanding of the scriptures available and the teachings of Christ that were passed on by oral tradition during his days.  The book of Acts does provide the following account of the discipleship of Paul: But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake. And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost. And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized.   And when he had received meat, he was strengthened. Then was Saul certain days with the disciples which were at Damascus (Acts 9:15-19). Paul, out of obedience to the Lord, presented himself to Ananias, was baptized in obedience, and spend time in Damascus learning from the disciples – the same men that had walked alongside of the Lord Jesus Christ during His earthly ministry. Paul was not immediately sent out on a great missionary journey, or called to complete some great spiritual quest. The Lord, through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, led him to a place where he, too, could become a disciple of Christ.

Paul, after his salvation and dedication to follow God’s plan for his life, was like any young Christian that has just come to know the Lord. We notice that before Paul could proceed further in his Christian walk, he was baptized. Baptism does not save, and outside the four Gospels, there is no clearer picture of this than the book of Acts: And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him (Acts 8:36-38). Baptism, as seen in this example, is the first step of discipleship. There’s nothing magical about it, it does not save. It symbolizes openly the change that has happened in our heart. We are publically identifying – without shame or reservation – the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. A Christian who is not baptized will not be able to complete the mission God has called them to do, or will not progress in their Christian life any further than a “Babe in Christ” until this is done.

Continued on next page.

When others minister to us

helping-handFor me, one of the hardest things I have had to do in my walk with the Lord is to accept it when He uses others to minister to my needs. I am pretty sure that I am no different from anyone else when it comes to accepting help. One of the hardest things to do is to allow others to minister to us, especially when it is within our own family or church family. There are times we will need others to minister to us, and we must be willing to allow ourselves to be ministered to. The same verses that we, as Christians, use to show the need to minister to others actually show the attitude we should have when others minister to us.

Accepting help from others

When others minister to us, we should realize that their help comes at the leading of the Holy Spirit and is an act of obedience on their part, as the Holy Spirit directs. We must give thanks to the one ministering to us and to the Lord for the blessings we gain. The apostle Paul explained this to the Christians living in Thessalonica, In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you (1 Thessalonians 5:18). Sometimes it is difficult to be thankful when we receive a blessing at the hands of someone within our family or church. It is hard to admit that we couldn’t take care of a problem or issue ourselves; while it is easy to pray to the Lord about those needs, it is quite another to accept the Lord’s provisions especially when it comes at the hands of someone else. We should take on a spirit of genuine thankfulness from the heart; not fake or based on deceit. Paul also wrote to the Christians in Ephesus, Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ (Ephesians 5:19-20). When others minister to us, we should not seem callous, or dismissive of their efforts. We should also genuinely be thankful to the Lord and not be dismissive over the Lord’s blessings.

No one understood this better than the apostle Paul; before his conversion to Christianity he had been part of the Sanhedrin council. He shared that part of his testimony in his writings and in his speeches: But when Paul perceived that the one part were Sadducees, and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee: of the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question (Acts 23:6), Which knew me from the beginning, if they would testify, that after the most straitest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee (Acts 26:5), and Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee (Philippians 3:5). As a Pharisee, he never had to worry about his physical needs being met. But when he became a Christian and fully accepted the Lord’s plan for his life, he no longer had access to the financial resources he once had. His role as a missionary prevented him from working so he had to wholly depend on the Lord to provide for his needs. I can imagine that at times Paul felt ashamed and embarrassed that in his newfound faith he was humbled and had to depend on the Lord for everything where before, as Pharisee, he never had a want or a need that he could not meet on his own.

One of the hardest things that we have to do as Christians is to learn how to receive answers to our prayers and needs at the hands of others. Again, the writings of Paul gives us an insight to how he approached being thankful for what others did do for him. He wrote to the Christians in Colossus and to those in Thessalonica, We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you (Colossians 1:3), and We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers (1 Thessalonians 1:2). As a missionary, Paul is demonstrating the attitude of gratitude we are to have towards others. We are to give thanks to the Lord when others minister to us. The Lord moves in the hearts of His children and will use our brothers and sisters in Christ to minister to us. As mentioned earlier, the apostle Paul, a missionary, often depended on the gifts and the ministering of others in support of his ministry.

There are times in our own life where we will have a real need – maybe it is a physical need, maybe it is a need for encouragement, or maybe it is just knowing that someone else is praying for us. God uses His children to minister to the needs of others; He uses others to minister to us. It is important for us to remember that we see throughout the New Testament a principle of people and churches moving, as the Holy Spirit leads, to meet the needs of others who are hurting or are in need: Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judaea (Acts 11:29). Again, Paul wrote on this very subject to the Christians living in Rome: For it hath pleased them of Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor saints which are at Jerusalem. It hath pleased them verily; and their debtors they are. For if the Gentiles have been made partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister unto them in carnal things (Romans 15:26-27) and Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another; 13Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality (Romans 12:10 & 12:13). Paul is writing about the emerging characteristics of Christians – which are the same characteristics that we see today. Our churches are filled with women and men who are eagerly waiting for the opportunity to be a blessing to others.

Don’t question the motives

By nature, I am a cynical person. I was not raised in a Christian home and for much of my time in the military, I worked in the military justice field. Both of these influenced the outlook I have held for so long. I’m not proud of this and it is something that I pray that the Lord will help me overcome on a daily basis. While it is not as bad as it once was, I have a problem questioning the motives of others, especially when they’ve done something that ministers to a need. Before I began to ask the Lord to help me in this, I would easily assign them hidden motives of trying to atone for guilt, trying to buy my friendship, or whatever motive my mind could come up with.

I never understood how bad this habit had become it was until one afternoon in 2007, I felt the Lord moving within my heart. There was a family in our church that had fallen on hard times and the Lord had laid on my heart to buy them some groceries and to pay their utility bill. I went to the city hall and paid the utility bill, which was easy enough. I went to Kroger, bought the basic groceries I could think of that a family of five would use, and went by their house and put them on the front porch of the family’s house. The next Sunday, I was approached by the gentleman and was asked all the things I normally muttered to the Lord in private – why did I do that? What was I expecting in return? How much was it going to cost him? At that point, I saw myself for what I was in the situations I similarly experienced in the past; by my very nature and mindset, I was unthankful, I was full of pride, and I was unwilling to be genuinely thankful when the Lord used others to minister to me. Just then, it hit me that from that point forward, I should never question the motives of someone that seeks to be a blessing to me out of obedience to the Lord; instead I needed to remember the words of Jesus: And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward (Matthew 10:42). Even if their reason for helping us is simply “doing it because it is what the Bible teaches…” we are to be accepting of their efforts because the Lord has told them that just offering us a hand because it is what they’ve been taught to do as a Christian is still doing it for the right reason. James wrote, If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, 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? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone (James 2:15-17). Just as when we are moved by the Holy Spirit to meet the needs of others and we understand that it is the demonstration of our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ to help others, when others reach out to minister to us, they are also are acting out of their faith in the Lord. And for that, we must recognize their living faith and a tender heart and rejoice and give thanks to them and to the Lord for meeting our needs.