Tag Archives: Religion

April 14, 2013 · 6:57 pm

James – Faith VS Works

Peninsula Community Church
James – Faith vs. Works
April 16, 2013

James 2:14-26 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe-and shudder! Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”-and he was called a friend of God. You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.

Today, we will look at the issue of works and faith. For some theologians this has been a thorny theological issue. For others there has been questions about the difference, if any, between faith alone and James’ intimation that faith without works is dead. Still others will argue if it makes a difference at all.

We begin with the premise and understanding that salvation is a free, unmerited gift of God. Ephesians 2:8-9 states For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. It is the result of the death and resurrection of Christ. We do not merit or warrant the gift by our actions prior to salvation. Prior to coming to Christ we are enemies with God and because of our carnal nature we are hindered in our ability to seek the things of God because we were being led by our flesh (John 14:17). Jesus himself says that we cannot receive the Spirit of Truth because we did not know Him but we are led to an understanding of the truth, which is Christ by the Holy Spirit. We have also come to understand that our need for salvation is a result of the Holy Spirit drawing us to the place of decision. It is the role of the Holy Spirit to convict of sin and to draw us toward righteousness (John 16:8-11).

Most of the gifts we receive today are not really free at all. As I was preparing this, I thought of a time when you would receive a “free gift” for opening up a checking account at the local bank. It might be a toaster or a new radio but in fact this was not a free gift at all. They gave you the toaster or the radio because you opened up an account in their bank so therefore it was not free. When we receive the free gift of salvation there is nothing we can do to merit the free gift at all. On the other hand once we are saved there is within us a new desire for obedience to God’s will, His commands, and His purposes for us. The old saying goes. He paid a debt He did not owe. We owed a debt we could pay. He took care of it. In that moment, we were powerless but he gave us His spirit to draw us to Him.

We must also understand that while the gift is free, there is a response required on our part. God has created us with free-will therefore we must choose to follow Christ. I would disagree with some who say that there is no response required on our part in regard to salvation. There is a difference between choosing to accept the gift and not doing anything to merit the gift. There are some that imply in their teaching that you have no choice in receiving the gift. God never works in you in such a way that your free will is removed in total. But there is a choice for us to make. This is born out by Paul who stated “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved” (Romans 10:9-10). What is our part? We confess and we believe. How does that belief come? It comes by way of the conviction of the Holy Spirit and the ministry of the word of God. John reminds us that God so loved the world that He sent His only son that whosoever believes in Him would have eternal life. His part eternal life. What is our part? Our part is believe in Him and trust Him.

But how do we believe? Let us return to Romans 10. In Romans 10:14-15 Paul reminds us that the Gospel is a source of faith and belief that leads one to salvation. Paul stated “How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” While God is sovereign he also created us with the ability to chose. While He draws to Himself, we must make that decision to follow Christ and to obey His commands. We see this in Romans 10:9-10, John 3:16; and Acts 2:21.

The question then that is being posed in this passage is how do we show that we have faith in Christ? James is in essence countering a problem that resulted in misunderstanding of Paul’s writings by the church of James’ day. They believed that since Paul preached that faith in Christ was absent of works that they therefore did not have to be active or obedient to God’s law. James is not contradicting Paul’s comments rather he is advancing the truth that if you have been saved by faith then your salvation will be witnessed by the works you exhibit.

This is also born out by Paul, in the discussion of Abraham’s faith. Abraham’s faith was accredited to him as righteousness prior to him being circumcised. The circumcision was a seal of the work of faith in his heart. The circumcision was not his mode of belief but was a proof of his belief. So in fact from this perspective James and Paul are on the same page.

The offering of Issac was the ultimate sign of his trust and the faith He had in Christ to provide the necessary substitute for his son. This was important for James to note as his purpose was to show that Abraham showed his faith by being willing to sacrifice his son because he had total faith in God.

James illustrates his point by reminding the church about the story of Abraham. As we read the Bible, we must understand that most of the stories related here cover a period of time. In this case, the story of Abraham here covers a period of time of more than 25 years. During that time he developed a firm faith in the ability of God to take care of him and to provide for him in every circumstance. It was for this reason that his actions were counted as righteousness. He was faithful to God because God had been faithful to him.

Theologians often use three terms to discuss three views of Christ or Three views of responding to Christ.  The first idea is to simply take notice (noticia). It is to be aware but there is not much else. The second way is the mental assent, the mental acknowledgment of something’s existence (Ascentia). Just because we have knowledge does not mean that we have faith. James reminds us that the demons acknowledge and believe that God exists. This means that one can have a knowledge of something but not have real faith or trust in that object.Too many Christians fall into this category. They believe but there is no evidence of that belief in them. Even demons know Christ and know what He is able to accomplish.

The third idea carries the idea that there is more than just a mental acknowledgment (Fiducia).  It involves a trust in something, a giving over to it, a complete believing and acceptance of something. This is the kind of faith that a Christian has in Christ.  A Christian, therefore, has fiducia; that is, he has real faith and trust in Christ, not simply an acknowledgment that He lived on earth at one time.  Another way to put this is that there are many people in the world who believed that Jesus lived: ascentia.  But they do not believe that He is their savior, the one to whom they should look and trust for the forgiveness of their sins. Ascentia does not lead to works.  Fiducia does.  Ascentia is not of the heart.  Fiducia is.
So what is the take away for us? It is this. If we have a pure genuine faith in Christ, we will respond by and with good works. This is revealed through our works and through the fruit of our lives. The way we live will match the profession of our mouths. This does not mean we will be perfect but it means that we will begin to see defined improvement in the actions we take.
These works emanate from a heart that is in love with God and one that desires to see him honored by our works and what we do.

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November 26, 2012 · 1:22 pm

God’s Gift of Family

Peninsula Community Church

November 25, 2012

God’s Gift of Family – An Introduction

One of the things I have found about families is that almost every family has that one person who is different. Sometimes there is one member that is the trouble maker or they march to a different beat. For other families there are those who are the “black sheep” who put a black mark on an otherwise normal family. We all have these family members. But over the next couple of weeks we will observe that Christ also had family members that fit the above description.

Text: Matthew 1:1-6 – The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram, and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David the king. And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah …

My goal over the next several weeks is to focus on the five women Matthew references in his genealogy. But before do that, I would like to make some preliminary observations about the text. My desire is that through this series you we will see and recognize and bring to light the awesomeness of God’s grace and mercy.

If we do a quick read on this text we can miss much that is hidden within these words. So, today, we will mine some of the truths that exist within these words. To understand them we must dig beyond just the words that are written to understand the historical and Judaic meaning of the passage.

As we dig into the meaning of this passage, we must first recognize a specific reference that Matthew makes. First, it is important to note that including women in a Jewish genealogy was not a common practice in those days. In most of the genealogies of the day the emphasis was upon the man as evidenced in Luke’s record of the genealogy of Christ. The reason given for this most often was that the Jew was looking for Messiah to come and they knew that Messiah was to be a man. It was for this reason that the emphasis was most often on the male role. In this study it is also interesting to note who Matthew did not include. He did not include Sarah, Leah, Rachel and many others who may have presented Christ’s family in a better light.

Secondly, it is critical to note that Matthew’s gospel focused on the kingdom of God. This is important because it has been said that if you want to understand the kingdom you must read Matthew’s gospel. Matthew, in God’s wisdom, presented the kingdom of God as a future event that would be consummated in Christ’s second coming and the establishment of His kingdom for eternity. Matthew also emphasized that God’s kingdom was present now and could be experienced now by those who would follow God’s commands through obedience. This is seen in the Lord’s Prayer Christ prayed “Your Kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” It is also interesting to note that Matthew on a number of occasions presented an illustration of what the kingdom of God would look like when he would state “The kingdom of Heaven or of God is like….” And then he would resent a scenario.

There is a critical need for believers to realize that the kingdom of God is evident now and the full power of the kingdom is available to them. We can call on God to reveal his kingdom power into every situation that we face. When His kingdom is revealed we experience His grace and His power. Things happen when God’s Kingdom comes.

In reference to this passage, however, we have another truth that is evident. By including these women in the text Matthew is reminding us that the Kingdom of God is open to all who will come to Him. It does not matter about one’s past or what one may have done in the past. The door of the Kingdom is open to them. Secondly this is a reminder that the Kingdom is not open to just the Jew but to the Gentile as well. The Kingdom is available to the Jew and the Gentile; the slave and the free; and both man and woman.

Thirdly, in Matthew’s gospel he focuses on the women in these stories but by implication it also focuses on the families of these women and their male counterpoint. The fact is God’s family is filled with dysfunctional people who are not much different than us today. In fact, many of the stories of the Old Testament could be torn right from the pages of our newspapers, movie scripts, TV programs and the latest steamy novel. It should be an encouragement to us today that God allowed us a glimpse into His family. It should encourage us that He allows the curtain to be pulled back so we can see His family up close and personal.

That brings us to a fourth observation. The Holy Spirit is not afraid to deal with some uncomfortable issues in the Scripture. He could have chosen to ignore these stories or he could have pressed the delete button and removed these stories from the Bible. But rather, He addresses those things that relate to real life.

For educators and psychologists there is a term they use called “disequilibrium.” What they say is that we often learn more when we face things that unsettle us or that shake us out of our comfort zone. It is at this moment that we must either adjust our paradigm of understanding or we adjust our emotions to accept the issue.

It is interesting to me how the stories related to these women cause us to ask questions and deal with issues that we would not normally deal with in Scripture. Let’s briefly look at these ladies:

Tamar – Tamar’s first husband, Er died. He was taken by God because of his evil ways. Her second husband, Onan, died, as well as, a result of disobedience and the evilness of his ways. Judah, Er and Onan’s father, had promised her his third son who was too young to be married. He unfortunately did not keep his word and Tamar took things into her own hands and dressed up like a prostitute because she knew that Judah would succumb to the temptation of prostitution. He did and she trapped him by his actions. This sounds like a story from modern TV or the movies doesn’t it.

Rahab – Rahab was a prostitute. While Rahab was a prostitute God used her to guide Israel to victory. Rahab was such a critical part of the history of Israel that she is listed in the hall of fame of faith in Hebrews 11.

Ruth – Ruth was a foreigner who lost her husband and was left in essence without a home or a future but there was a kinsman redeemer. And she became the mother of Boaz who became the father of David.

Bathsheba – Bathsheba lost both her husband and her son because of David’s dishonesty and lies. While Bathsheba was not completely innocent she submitted to the wishes of the king which if she had disobeyed him her own life would have been at stake.

Mary – And finally, we have Mary who was different from most of these other ladies. She was an innocent young girl who should have never have been chosen. She was in essence a nobody but she was a somebody chosen by God to be the mother of His only Son.

Finally, all of these stories remind us of the grace and mercy of God. It is so awesome that these stories are a part of Christ’s family. Each of these dysfunctional families and situations are welcomed and invited to be a part of the kingdom and is a part of Christ’s heritage and family. Each of these women was a great grandmother of Christ. They were a part of His family. Each of us has similar those stories in our families. These stories remind us that the dysfunctional and broken are welcomed into the kingdom. They are invited into the family of God. That includes us. We are all invited but not all will accept the invitation.

 

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June 16, 2009 · 3:26 pm

God’s Detours Brings About His Purposes

When Michelle and I lived in NY, I will never forget the day there was an accident that blocked the roadway on which I was traveling. Because the accident blocked the entire road the police department was detouring traffic from the roadway to one of the side streets. However, the community they were detouring the traffic into had only one entrance and one exit. You guessed it…. we entered and exited at the same point. The problem of course is that the traffic inside the community began to backup until there was no longer any room for another car. So, we sat on this side street in this unknown community for more than an hour waiting for the accident to be cleaned up. I can now look back and laugh but not so on that day.

In life, we are often faced with what appears to be detours. We are going along in life and suddenly we find that we have to change course. We don’t want to change course but we must. The detours of life could be almost anything. It might the doctor’s report that suddenly and radically changes our life forever. It could be unexpected financial loss that comes from a job loss or forced retirement. The detour may come in the form of a death of loved one or spouse. It could be a change of occupation or location of work. Or, it could be the transition of a pastor that was have loved and admired. Whatever the issue, life as you know it will never be the same as a result of the detour thrown at you.

In 1 Samuel 22, we see the story of David who was on the run from Saul. David had been anointed by Samuel to be the King of Israel. He was anointed king but now he is on the run. But wait, it wasn’t supposed to happen this way. He was suppose to be anointed King and Saul was to step down so that David could take the throne and begin his reign as king. But a different story is unfolding. It is a story that is hard to understand especially since God had personally selected David as the King. But, as always God has a better plan. He wanted to equip David in a way that he had not been equipped.

Instead of becoming king, David had to depart from Jerusalem and from there he escaped to the cave of Adullam. No kingdom just a cave. No throne just a rock. David experienced a detour in his life. While he was on the way to being king he landed in a cave alone and without anyone around him. He was chosen by God but His reign was yet to be.

But all is not lost. God had a plan as David had been enrolled in the school of leadership and trust. David just did not know it yet. You see God used the detour to change David’s life and to prepare him for his time on the throne. When experiencing God’s detour(s) we must realize that God brings change into our lives not to destroy us but to reroute us so that we end up where God wants us to be all along. In the cave, David feels worthless, useless, mistreated, and misunderstood but he was right where he was supposed to be. God designed this experience so that David would become a different kind of King.

It was here that God gave David a new assignment. In the detour, David was to reach those he would have never reached otherwise. In 1Samuel 22:2 we see that …everyone who was in distress, and everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was bitter in soul, gathered to him. And he became captain over them. And there were with him about four hundred men. Look at who God sent his way. He sent those who were in distress or as the Hebrew word suggests those under pressure. Others were in debt. They could not pay their bills. And he sent those to David who were discontented. They had bitterness in their souls because they had been wronged and mistreated. What a crew God sent to David, a worn out depressed and motley group. David’s assignment was to train a new army that would be loyal to him. And he did. Had he never experienced the detour he would not have experienced this new adventure and this new call from God.

For some, it may seem that God has us on a detour but, the fact is, God has us right where he wants us. Seasons of transition and God directed detours are an opportunity for us to grow if we understand that God is at work. We will be able to more clearly define who we are and what we are to be about as an individual. It is often in the detours of life that we can reach those who have not been reached thus far. So while it seems we are on a detour, God is at work. Trust in Him and wait on Him for in the appointed time God will reveal His purpose.

Questions to consider

What detours are you experiencing?

Do you see the hand of God in the detour?

What do you see God doing in the detour that is preparing you for a mission that is beyond yourself?

Who is God putting in your life in this time of detour that you can minister to?

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