For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. (James 2:10); For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. (James 2:26)
In the second chapter of James, God focuses on three main points: do not show favoritism to a person, based on their appearance or wealth (James 2:1-9); there are no different levels of sin, but sin is sin, regardless of which one we commit (James 2:10-13); our "works" prove our faith (James 2:14-26).
We have a practice in this society to treat wealthy people better than we treat poor people. There's a saying "the rich get richer and the poor get poorer". Well, it appears that in this society, that is true. How does God feel about this showing of favoritism to the person more well off, over the person who is less fortunate? My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality. For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes, and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, “You sit here in a good place,” and say to the poor man, “You stand there,” or, “Sit here at my footstool,” have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? (James 2:1-4)
Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? But you have dishonored the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you and drag you into the courts? Do they not blaspheme that noble name by which you are called? If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself, you do well; but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors. (James 2:5-9) Having wealth is not a sin, because God gives wealth, but treating someone better than another because of their wealth is, For there is no partiality with God. (Romans 2:11); Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets. (Matthew 7:12)
Not all people are our "brother" or "sister" in Christ, but all people are our neighbor, and we are commanded by God to ...love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD. (Leviticus 19:18); So he [Jesus] said, “ ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’”(Luke 10:27); Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. (Romans 13:10) This is a hard concept to understand and practice, but we are to love everyone, even if we don't like everything and even hate the sins that people commit: You who love the Lord, hate evil! (Psalm 97:10)
God never intended for love to mean we treat sin casually. Love is not merely feeling but it is behavior, how we are to treat each other, love your neighbor as yourself. (I Corinthians 13:4-8) But we are also to call sin what it is, and hopefully through love, not only be convicted in our own lives of what we need to change, but also lead others to making life changing and life saving decisions as well: Open rebuke is better than love carefully concealed. (Proverbs 27:5); "As many as I [Christ] love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne." (Revelations 3:19-21)
We must be careful how we deal with sin, not only in our own lives, but how we communicate with others regarding sin in their lives: For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty. For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment. (James 2:10-13)
We can not judge whether a person is going to heaven or hell, because only that person and God knows if he or she hears [Christ's] voice and opens the door. But we can judge behavior of those who profess to be Christians, letting each other know what's right and what's wrong, solely based on the Word of God: It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and such sexual immorality as is not even named among the Gentiles—...! And you are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he who has done this deed might be taken away from among you. For I indeed, as absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged (as though I were present) him who has so done this deed. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, along with my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. (I Corinthians 5:1-5)
Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people. Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner—not even to eat with such a person. For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? But those who are outside God judges. Therefore “put away from yourselves the evil person.”(I Corinthians 5; 6-13)
The desire in confronting a "brother" or "sister" in Christ about sin in their lives is to hopefully lead us to making the changes we're supposed to make, and start living a life of obedience to God: each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. (I Corinthians 3:13-15) This punishment which was inflicted by the majority is sufficient for such a man, so that, on the contrary, you ought rather to forgive and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one be swallowed up with too much sorrow. Therefore I urge you to reaffirm your love to him. (II Corinthians 2:6-8)
We can't worry so much about being people pleasers, but more about being people lovers. We have to love each other too much to watch anyone risk going to hell. We can't save or condemn anyone, but we are commanded to tell everyone the Truth of God's Word, and then let God do the rest: “Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops. And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. “Therefore whoever confesses Me [Jesus] before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 10:27-28, 32-33)
No comments:
Post a Comment