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
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
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.
posted by xanadustc at
8:31 PM
8 Comments:
I thihk you've got it wrong.
By
Anonymous, at 8:37 PM
I don't see the correlation between faith and this verse. I believe it's more about obedience than faith per se.
By
Anonymous, at 11:28 PM
anon number 1: Tell me why I am wrong; I will gladly retract my statement if you can show me a better view that is in total alignment with the whole of scriptures.
Anon number 2: Thye endurance is endurance in the faith. If it is not faith in Christ, what, then, are we enduring in?
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xanadustc, at 7:11 AM
Romans 3:28:
For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law.
Justification is apart from any work at all. We are saved by faith through grace. (Also see Ephesians 2:8)
Our works are in no way bearing on our salvation; if that were the case, the one thief on the cross next to Christ who was clearly justified would not be. (Luke 23:39-43)
We work out of a love for Christ and His redeaming power with the true Gospel, that is, to tell people about the Good News of Jesus Christ, that He died for us, was raised on the third day, accended to heaven, and sent the Holy Spirit as a guide and seal of our salvation. Those works are prepared in advance for us (Ephesians 2:10)
The last comment: "You can't go around saying you are faithful, but openly not follow the commandments" is fully true. This is what is in mind with Matthew 7:21-23.
If you are truely saved, you will live a life characterized by righteousness. If you are not living a righteous life and believe that you are saved, you are really decieved. James 1:26 speaks to this issue.
By righteousness, I do not mean that you never sin, I mean that 1. When you do sin, you will deal with it honestly. 2. You will not justify away sins in any matter 3. Your desire will be fully on heavenly things.
Remember this: it is a narrow road to heaven but a vast highway leading the hell (that is full of people that think they are making it to heaven).
I hope this helps,
X
By
xanadustc, at 12:20 PM
What I mean is that when you realize that you have sinned, you do not try to justify it, rationalize it, or hide it (much like David tried to do before being confronted by Nathan.)
Once we realize that we have sinned whether we realize it on our own or if it is pointed out by someone, we seek immediately to correct it (see Matthew 5:20-26 for some context in this application). If another person is affected, you need to confess your sin to that person to make it right, you always need to confess it to God, you need to repent and recognize that may be a future temptation to you as well.
When you first become a Christian, all your past sins are washed away. There is a constant renewing in Christ as well. There are some verses which ellude to all sins being future and past being justified at one point on the cross (and indeed, some people twist that around to justify thier sins). Whether it happens all at once or in a continuing way, I have not examined that in detail, but I can say that you are justified only by faith in Christ.
By
xanadustc, at 7:54 AM
That very question has been a thorn in many a flesh; Some people have even questioned the cannonicty of James because of that. Read through Romans 8 and 9 and you will get more confused on this point...
The Roman Catholic church holds that salvation is a combination of works and faith, this is from James 2. It is based on a misrepresentation. We are talking here about the doctrine of election. Each person that is saved is saved only because he is selected by God before the foundations of the world to election (Look through Revelation and you will read that the Lambs Book of Life has been written since the foundation of time). Some people argue that the book is open, God is waiting with a pen in hand just prodding people along into their own choice to accept Jesus and then BANG the name gets written down. That is not how it works; we are chosen. Does that mean that we do not preach? after all, they are all selected...NO. Romans 10:14-15 gives us a clear command (not to mention the finaly command of Jesus to preach the Gospel to all the world)
Now, to clarify the difference between Romans and Ephesians to James, Romans and Ephesians are talking about the mechanism of salvation. The actual how it occurs. James is talking about what it actually looks like to be saved. If you are truely a redeemed person, you will simply do the work that the Lord has called you to, if you are not redeemed, you will continue to live a life that is centered around you.
Does that clarify those or should I explain more?
X
By
xanadustc, at 12:40 PM
Hi, X. I think you did a fine job of explaining this. After being a Christian all of my life (40 years), it has just been in the last several years that I have learned/realized that the ONLY thing I can (and must) do to receive salvation is to accept Jesus Christ as my saviour and to believe that our sins are concealed by His shed blood. It's as easy (???) as that. That last sentence is a little silly, because to some it's definitely not easy. I can and do believe this. The hard part for me is accepting that God can love me, a mere sinful human, this much. I have to frequently remind myself of this. I am a pretty moral person (again, I'm a sinner, and won't presume to act perfect or better than anyone else), but I've had several very difficult and stressful years. Yet, my faith grows! It really is amazing. Some will read this and accuse me of being a "holy roller" or some other such nonsense. So be it. Keep up the good work.
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Anonymous, at 8:03 PM
Thanks Theresa,
We are all still sinners, still, yet our, message can not be attacked, so the character gets attacked instead! Jesus said that they would not like us, and that if "They persecute you, remember that they persecuted Me first".
I am so glad that you held your faith through your struggles! That is the essence of the strength we obtain.
Peace in Christ,
X
By
xanadustc, at 8:06 AM
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