Hook, Line and Sinker

How many of us still sin after we are regenerated? The answer is all of us! When we are regenerated, however, we start to know what we do that is a sin, and what we do that is not a sin. The bottom line is that we still sin. How? Because we still have a part of our old fleshy, sinful nature. It is still wrong, it will cause chastisement by God if not handled properly. James 1:13-15 tell us the mechanism for our sin. By understanding the mechanism, we can overcome sin in our life. James 1:13-15:

¹³Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone.

¹⁴But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust.

¹⁵Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.

While it is true that God allows you to be tempted, He does not tempt you. He will not allow you to be tempted beyond your ability to resist (1 Corinthians 10:13). In reality, you are tempted by your desires. We all have our pitfalls: alcohol, drugs, sex, pornography, pride, etc. I am not a person tempted by drugs and alcohol. I think that they are just plain stupid. I was, however, a very prideful person before Christ and I am designed by God as a person that has a tendency to want to get prideful. He does not tempt me, I do that on my own. Other people may not be able to go into a bar because the very sight of alcohol causes him to want to drink to a drunken stupor. The point is that we all have our own snares. John MacArthur gives the example of fishing. You use certain lures for certain kinds of fish, but those lures will not work well on other kinds of fish (Commentary on James).

Once you get the desire for something, lust sets in. When lust comes in, you can be sure that sin is right behind it if you don’t stop it. When sin occurs, death is in the works. A Christian is redeemed, but does not give him license to sin; if he thinks he has such license, he is probably not redeemed at all because the mark of a Christian is righteousness.

With all that said, what do we do? Chip Ingram has the best course I have seen on this application. I will summarize the material from the series “How to Slay the Dragon of Lust” (Study notes here.) This series is applied directly to sexual lust, but the application goes to all areas of sin. First, consciously recognize your specific temptations and make pre-decisions to avoid those temptations. When you are tempted, draw back immediately; Stop all desires for the sin (this is a good place for thought stopping techniques); If you get past this step, just stop and pray, perhaps you will collect your thoughts; If you find yourself sinning, stop the behavior and confess your sin to Jesus Christ.

What then is sin? The answer is anything contrary to the Holiness of God. I can not create a comprehensive list, but here are some that Americans tend to struggle even seeing as a sin, let alone, stopping themselves from sinning. If you are doing any of these things, let it go. Talk to someone if you must; you can also talk to me if you wish.

Some sins that America often fails to recognize as sin:

Homosexuality

Greed

Excess Consumption

Pirating of software, movies, music, or other media

Adultery (sexual relationships with a person other then your spouse)

Fornication (sexual relationship outside the context of marriage)

Selfishness

Gossip

And many, many more

Endure to the End

Today’s verse is a ‘rest of the story’ to James 1:2-4, which I posted here. Where as verses 2-4 talk about trials making you strong, this covers another caveat of trials. James 1:12 says:

Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.

This verse is about endurance. The trials are coming, you are under pressure. Do you snap? Or do you have faith in God?

The perseverance through trials makes us strong as I stated previously, but in this case, He is looking for your commitment to follow Christ to the bitter end. Here in America in 2005, we generally have taken the soft, comfortable ride choosing to follow our pleasant desires instead of God; a sort of modern day mysticism. Preachers of the word have told us that God is seeking to fulfill our very needs. I have news for you. It is not about you, it is about God and the advancement of His kingdom. Will He grant you comforts? Perhaps…I don’t know what is in store for you, but history paints a picture of a lot of people giving their all, lives included, for Christ. I recommend that every person have a read through Foxes Book of the Martyrs for detail about what kind of endurance He is asking for.

Once you have been tested, you will most likely be tested again, and again, and again. To those who preserver in the faith, holding fast to Christ and Christ alone, those people will be given eternal life.

Now, I am not teaching a works based system. The Faith to hold fast to Christ only arises from the free gift of Grace. When you have that Grace, you will love Christ with so much passion that you will naturally follow through with steadfast faith.

The Fading of the Flowering Grass

Some people are well off and boast about it. They may be in sin. Others are very poor and hide in the scenery, determined to never be seen. They may also be in sin. What does the Bible say about these living in poverty or wealth? Today’s verse is James 1:9-11:

But the brother of humble circumstances is to glory in his high position;

¹⁰and the rich man is to glory in his humiliation, because like flowering grass he will pass away.

¹¹For the sun rises with a scorching wind and withers the grass; and its flower falls off and the beauty of its appearance is destroyed; so too the rich man in the midst of his pursuits will fade away.

The One in Poverty

Verse 9 deals with a person who is living in poverty. You see, you don’t need material things to be happy; you don’t need them to be loved, either. This verse tells that the people who are living in poverty who are Christians have something to rejoice in: they are chosen in the power of Jesus Christ. They are regenerated, and such a person has a higher position than all the people with a comfortable life who do not know Jesus Christ. They can witness faith in our Lord, lead people to Him, love unconditionally, and they will always be taken care of, as a promise from God himself is that He will take care of the needs of those who have faith in Him (Matthew 6:25-34).

The One in Wealth

Verse 10 tells us that the wealthy have glory of Christ when acting in a humble heart. There are many people in the world with money that flaunt that money, hold it over other people, act powerful, etc. These people are living in sin. There are also people who live very humble lives even though they have money. They do not show their wealth, they are humble in giving, grace, and love. This is what James it getting at here. When you are poor, have glory in your faith, when you are rich, have glory in humility.

Trials

Trials will always come as we have seen previously. They make you strong as you live out your faith. That is why this explanation ends with the analogy of the passing fields. Life is a fleeting moment; to short to flaunt what you have or hide for what you don’t. If you know Jesus Christ, share His truth with others. If you do not, I invite you to read the Gospel and learn who He is and what He can do for you. Feel free to contact me if you want more information (xanadustc@hotmail.com) or else look at the links in the side bar for some good ministries and excellent resources.

Peace to you,

X

Driven by the Wind

Small worries often overtake us. As students, we worry about exams, as employees, we worry about job concerns, as parents, we worry about kids, as adults, we worry about aging parents. The list goes on. How should we live our lives? What decisions do we make? Are we making them from faith?

This post will be on James 1:5-8:

But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

⁶But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind.

⁷For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord,

⁸being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

The wisdom James is speaking of here is not a wisdom rooted in vast amounts of knowledge, it is rather, wisdom for how to manage daily living concerns. God is able to give to anyone such wisdom, but as Psalm 111:10 and Proverbs 9:10 teach us, fear of God is the beginning of such wisdom. The verse says to ask God, but can we ask if we do not view Him as able to fulfill our request? This is the essence of this verse.

First, fear God. He is all knowing, all powerful, and all just. What is not to fear? Such is the catalyst that sends us into His arms broken over ourselves. God will give it to us under such conditions.

Once you fear God, you must have faith that He will fulfill His promises. Remember that His promises are two fold: Damnation for those not keeping in faith of Jesus Christ, and Salvation for those in obedience to Him. All will have a resurrection, but only the chosen ones of His will have it unto life, the rest unto death. Matthew 25:31-46 is clear about this. Have faith that He will see you through any struggle.

To doubt means that you waver between believing God will see you through and wanting to do something about the situation on your own. It is like you draw a line on a floor and if that problem stays on the other side of that line, all is good and you ‘trust in God’, but if that problem crosses that line, it is time to do something about it because you don’t trust God will help you.

God will fulfill your request for wisdom if you erase that line and trust in Him alone. Any other way and you move to and fro with the surging stressful wind of our day.

Such a person who draws that line is a hypocrite. He wants the world’s pleasures in one hand as he reaches up to God for help with the other. He is like a man walking a tightrope with a net below him to catch himself if he falls. God asks you to take away the net, because its presence is the evidence that you do not have faith in Him who promised to fulfill your request.

Fear the Lord, keep His commandments, and don’t let the stress of life toss you to and fro over the landscape of sin.