JULY 4, 2023

 “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” (James 2:26)

In today’s verse, James (the brother of Jesus) details an oft-misunderstood and divisive teaching: Faith without works is dead. But Christian, I hear some people saying we don’t have a works-based salvation; it’s solely due to God’s sovereign grace. Yes, that is true, but that’s not what I am saying, nor is it what James is saying.

His point is that genuine faith in God naturally leads believers to participate in good works. This isn’t a particularly radical idea, even from a non-spiritual point of view. If we actually believe that God is truly God and that He has saved us through our faith in Christ, why would we not obey Him? Our deeds don’t earn our salvation by any means. Instead, what we do proves whether we really have saving faith. In short, James is not pushing some equation of faith + works, but rather that our faith should call us to do good works.

James drives the point home here with one last illustration. James makes a clever wordplay here, like the one Jesus uses in John chapter 3. James claims that faith without works is just as dead as a body withoutpneumatos. This Greek term can mean “wind,” a euphemism for breathing, or “spirit,” or even the Holy Spirit. The wordplay is crucial in seeing how serious James is about the implications of this teaching. A body without breath is dead. A person without “the Spirit” is spiritually dead. James ties together a lack of breath, a lack of spirit, and the presence of death with the concept of a works-less faith.

Bodies which don’t breathe are dead. In the same way, a so-called “faith” – whether in the form of religion, family identity, or intellectual knowledge – that is not accompanied by good works is not a living thing. It’s dead. The spiritual implications are clear; works-less faith is not saving faith.

As just one example, let’s look at the story of Rahab the Harlot in Joshua chapter 2. This story is one that I’m very familiar with, having written about it before, and it’s also a story that fits perfectly with the theme of our verse today. In the story, Israel prepares to cross the Jordan River and capture the city of Jericho. Joshua sends a pair of spies to scout out the town, who wind up getting discovered and hiding in the home of Rahab. When city guards come to Rahab’s house, she points them in the opposite direction, knowing she’d be killed if this lie is discovered. Wasn’t her action in hiding God’s spies and helping them escape – the seamless unity of believing and doing – what counted with God, and she was spared because of it? This is a perfect example of James’ point; Rahab, the believer’s faith, was shown through her work of hiding the spies.

Good works can take many forms. In this chapter, James emphasized the good works of Christians loving each other as we love ourselves. He specifically emphasized meeting each other’s physical needs. He has also stressed obedience to God.

James’ teaching, for all the debate it generates, can be summarized briefly: We are saved by faith, and saving faith produces good works. Those who lack works prove that they lack saving faith.

JUNE 29, 2023

 “Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.” (I Corinthians 1:3)

It is a great wonder how Paul greets the saints. Without fail, he always says, “Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.” It’s quite a wonder because of whom he is addressing. They are saints indeed, but they are also men and women who have nothing good within themselves. They have a new nature but are still wrestling with sin. They are perfect in Christ but know all too well the current evil that is within them. They are a people who have not earned grace and peace from God, nor do they earn it now. So how can Paul open his greeting to the saints with such an absolute statement? He does so for two reasons:

1. First, he is absolutely sure that all riches of grace and peace come to the saints, not on behalf of what they have done, but for sake of what God has accomplished in Christ. If Paul plans on rebuking the church in certain areas or simply seeks to encourage the saints in his letter, grace and peace is his greeting to them because that is all that comes from God through Christ unto His redeemed. The promises of God are “Yea and Amen.” Grace and peace are the inheritances of those who trust in Christ and Christ alone. These are glorious riches that belong to those who cast themselves upon the Lord and follow Him. Christ, their surety, has purchased these wonderful riches for them.

2. Second, Paul can speak this way because he is an ambassador for Christ. His speaking is on behalf of Christ. He does not speak that which he thinks is right, but that which his Lord commands. He does not speak what he “feels” like speaking, but he speaks the same words of his God. He is commissioned by God and speaks what he is commanded; He stands in a foreign land and represents his King and Kingdom. What he speaks, his King speaks.

This greeting is a wonder for the one who understands the present evil that dwells with him; the one who understands that there is nothing good within himself. It is a wonder for the one who wrestles with his present enemy. But this mystery is solved with a right understanding of Christ and Him crucified. This is the very fountain of all the riches that are poured out upon God’s people. This is the whole attraction for the saint. Look intently to Jesus Christ and His wonderful work. He is perfect and so is His work!

JUNE 27, 2023

 “And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter the kingdom of heaven.”(Matthew 18:2, 3)

Before we comment upon Jesus’ words and the wonderful truth that He sets forth in these two verses, I would have you to notice something that is most precious about the person of our Lord. It is not specifically mentioned either here in this passage, or in other places where the same wonderful trait is clearly seen. When Jesus said to His disciples, “Suffer the little children to come unto me,” is it not clearly implied that children (of various ages) were willingly coming to the Savior? There must have been a special tenderness and kindness within His holy character that was manifested in His countenance. On this occasion, “Jesus called a little child unto Him,” and it would seem that there was no thought or concern about whether the child might be afraid or resist. We do not know the child’s age, or to whom he belonged. I picture a little boy about three or four years of age. Perhaps the child belonged to Peter. We know his home was there at Capernaum, and likely served as a meeting place for Christ and the disciples. Children are usually good judges of character, and it seems that they were drawn to our gentle and loving Lord.

Coming now to the text itself, we are taught the necessity of conversion, and of conversion manifested in childlike humility. The disciples came to Jesus with this question: “Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?” The verse before opens the chapter with these words “At the same time…” In other words, at the same time that our Lord was showing great humility and self-denial (Ch. 17:24-27), His disciples were (as another Gospel account tells us) arguing about which of them was in line to be greatest in the Kingdom. They spoke as men full of carnal expectations. They received from our Lord an answer well calculated to awaken them, an answer containing a truth which lies at the very foundation of Christianity – “Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.”

Let these words sink down deeply into our hearts. Without conversion, there is no salvation. We all need an entire change of nature. Of ourselves, we have neither faith, nor fear, nor love towards God. We must be born again. Of ourselves, we are utterly unfit for dwelling in God’s presence. Heaven would be no heaven for an unconverted soul. Regardless of rank, class, or order of mankind, all must be converted in order either to enter or to delight in the Kingdom of Heaven. A new heart must be given to us, and a new spirit put within us. Old things must pass away, and all things must become new. It is a good thing to be obedient in believers’ baptism, and to attend to the ordinances of the Church, but if one is not a believer – not converted, it will avoid nothing.

How can we know if we are truly converted? Our Lord gives the acid test by which we are to try ourselves. The surest mark of true conversion is humility. If one has truly received the Holy Spirit, he shall show it by a meek and childlike spirit. Like children, we shall think humbly of our own strength and wisdom and be very dependent on our Father in Heaven. Like children, we shall not seek great things in the world, and learn that in whatever state Providence places us, therein to be content. It is easy to be converted from one opinion to another opinion, from one religion to another religion. Such conversions save no one’s soul. What we want is conversion from pride to humility – from high thoughts of ourselves to lowly thoughts of ourselves. Remember, “God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the humble.” These are conversions that are wrought by the Holy Spirit.

JUNE 22, 2023

 “And the mixt multitude that was among them fell a lusting: and the children of Israel also wept again, and said, Who shall give us flesh to eat? We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick: But now our soul is dried away: there is nothing at all, beside this manna, before our eyes.” (Numbers 11:4-6)

The people of Israel are getting restless in the wilderness. They’re complaining and saying, “There’s not enough food here. What are we supposed to do?” Later in the chapter, they grumble, “Why don’t we just return to Egypt? It was so much better for us there. We had plenty of food there.” When I first read this, I was shocked by their whining. They do remember they were slaves in Egypt, right?

God freed them. He parted the Red Sea for them, allowing them to walk across on dry land and drown their pursuers. It was Him that sent the plagues to Egypt. And the list goes on; over and over, God is with them and provides for them. Yet, they turn their backs and bad mouth Him at the earliest inconvenience.

Who are these people that they think they can get away with this? If many of us were God here, and we had given these people so much, and they were complaining about such small things, we would so quickly rain hellfire upon them. It’s a good thing that’s not how God is.

This reminds me of a story told by one of my friends. When he was a kid, he had some friends over to his house. As a special treat, he used money he had been saving to buy the stuff to make s’mores for everyone. One of them, a nine-year-old cousin just took it and crushed it, probably hoping to get a big laugh. Then, of course, later that night he was crying because, while the others were eating their s’mores, he didn’t have any.

I was reminded of this because it’s like God had bought s’mores ingredients for all the Israelites. Instead of thanking Him for everything He’d done and simply eating their s’mores, they crush it and then had the gall to say, “Well, if You’re not going to feed us, why don’t we just leave.” They say this despite the Manna and so many other things He had provided for them.

God’s response to this comes in Verse 31, where He rains quails a day’s journey either way around the camp. The story begins with the people being selfish and unappreciative, and instead of smiting them like many of us would have done, He provided more food than they could eat, showing His incredible patience and longsuffering. He endures hate from His enemies, putting up with so much evil, and the root of that longsuffering is His willingness to give them what they desired.

Upon salvation, we are granted the gift of eternal life, being fully justified in Christ. We did nothing to earn this salvation; quite frankly, we don’t deserve it, much like the Israelites here. Just as they grumbled against God, we often do the same, even being openly antagonistic towards Him. We are often unappreciative of what God has provided for us, much like the people here. As is written in the book of Romans, “For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son…” (Rom 5:10). We were fully reconciled to God through the death of Christ, even though we were His enemies. We blasphemed, denied, disobeyed, and yet He sent His Son to die in our place.

I would have you notice something else here. Though the Israelites got exactly what they asked for, it did not turn out to be the blessing they were wishing for. They cried out for meat because they despised God’s gracious daily provisions. How happy they were when God sent them quail in such abundance – enough for each family to have a ten donkey-load supply. As they flew upon the abundant supply intending to lay in store much provision, the Lord’s anger was kindled, and before they could consume the first meal, God’s wrath fell upon them in the form of a great plague.

We learn from this story how dangerous it is to prefer what our flesh craves to heaven’s gracious day-by-day provision. We also learn that while complaining against God’s providence, you best be careful what you ask for – the Lord just might give it to you.