Wisdom in Times of Trials

Recently I read a news in the Newspaper. The news was about a school teacher who raped his student after which he was beaten by the community and then was handed over to the police for further investigation. When we read such type of things we certainly get angry about them, and it’s natural. But upon a deep thought what should alarm us that where do these tendencies come from? They certainly are from the worldly teaching. The worldly teaching believes if your teaching does not influence your own character that is fine.

If this phenomenon was limited to the world it was fine. But it has crept into the Churches. I remember that in a church one elder had two wives. Now I don’t just say this to get your attention. But I want to draw your attention to the spiritual bankruptcy of that Church. 

several years I was getting trained for the

This is exactly what James is writing here. Because whatever he has so far wrote it’s about teaching. Because the wisdom James is speaking about is to be taught. That’s why he poses a question to his reader’s consideration. 3:13, “Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by his good conduct that his deeds are done in gentleness of wisdom.”

So, here is the title of the message this morning:

“Wisdom in Times of Trials.”

1.       The Worldly Wisdom: vs. 13-16

·         Characteristics of Worldly Wisdom: vs. 14-16

2.       The Heavenly Wisdom: vs. 17-18

·         Characteristics of Heavenly Wisdom: vs. 17

1.       The Worldly Wisdom: vs. 13-16

A couple of weeks back we looked at the evils of tongue. We looked at the fact that how if we use our tongue in a wrong way can destroy people. And specifically we saw the positive and negative illustrations James gave in the preceding passage.

So, once again I wish to remind you that; whatever James writes in vs. 13 onwards is closely linked to vs. 1-12.

We can find the background of vs. 13-18 in 3:1ff. In those verses James warned his readers against becoming teachers. The immediate truth comes out that; there were many of his readers who were willing to become teachers, without understanding the impact of the teaching. But what comes out of these verses is that: mere teaching doesn’t do any good if the life of the teacher is not matching up with his teaching. The reason why he warned his readers that way is so that, they will not treat the high calling of teaching lightly.    

So, when we come down to vs. 13, James is giving a test; it’s a test to discern the teacher. And notice what he asks in this verse, “Who is wise and understanding among you?” The Greek word for wise is [‘sophos’] that’s where you get the word Sophia from. But the answer to this question is not that the person who is using his tongue skillfully, or it’s not the one who is able to speak many languages fluently is wise. Let’s understand that James’ emphasis in this verse is not on the skill of speech. In the context James is not saying that the person who is able to use his tongue skillfully is able to become a good teacher. His emphasis is upon the character of the teacher. That’s why he says in the next part of the verse, “…By his conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom.” The point of this verse is; “You can have a good speaking ability and a bad character.” In other words, “You can be a good teacher and a bad example.” That’s the reason why the Biblical Leadership does not give too much importance to skillful speaking. But it gives utmost importance to the character or the conduct of the teacher/leader.

We can find its example in the Old Testament. When God chose Moses for His purpose, Moses was a stammerer. But the Bible also calls Moses as the most humble man living on the face of the earth.

Exodus 4:10-12, “Moses said to Yahweh, "Oh, Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before now, nor since you have spoken to your servant; for I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue." Yahweh said to him, "Who made man's mouth? Or who makes one mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Isn't it I, Yahweh? Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth, and teach you what you shall speak."

And that’s the reason why when Paul gave the charge to Timothy he also admonished him to look for the character of the person who aspires to be the teacher of God’s Word.

Look at 1 Timothy 3:1-7, “This is a faithful saying: if a man seeks the office of an overseer he desires a good work. The overseer therefore must be without reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, sensible, modest, hospitable, good at teaching; not a drinker, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous; one who rules his own house well, having children in subjection with all reverence; (but if a man doesn't know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the assembly of God?) not a new convert, lest being puffed up he fall into the same condemnation as the devil. Moreover he must have good testimony from those who are outside, to avoid falling into reproach and the snare of the devil.”

If we notice those verses carefully we can observe that Paul gave the ability to teach the 7^th rank. But he highlighted the teacher’s (overseer’s) character above anything else. “He must be without “reproach.” However, the overseer’s teaching ability is important but that is not the most important. On the other hand the teacher’s character is non-negotiable aspect of the teaching ministry.

E.g. I remember a pastor who lives in the area of Miraj. He marries people in his Church for money. On the top of that he is a drunkard. The problem is of course with the man. But the problem is also with the people who ordained him to be the pastor of that Church. Those who ordain him don’t see any problem with that pastor. It only shows us the blindness those people are in. 

Secondly, vs. 14 & 15 gives us the motivation as well as the origin of worldly wisdom. Notice vs. 14, 15, “But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the Truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual and demonic.” 

Notice what James says in vs. 14, “But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts…” that’s the key. Heart is the origin of bitter jealousy and selfish ambition. It’s interesting that James speaks of the heart of the teacher.

And he does so because the heart is the instrument of the teacher. Because whatever will come out from the tongue is ultimately from the heart. Therefore, James is warning the upcoming teachers that; if you claim that you have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ yet you indulge in bitter jealousy and selfish ambition you show that you don’t have place for Truth in your heart.

It’s amazing that the New Testament speaks of heart for almost 106 times. Out of that 44 times Jesus used this word in His earthly ministry. We shall just look at 3 references.

Matthew 5:8, “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.”

Matthew 12:34-35, “You offspring of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. The good man out of his good treasure brings out good things, and the evil man out of his evil treasure brings out evil things.  

In vs. 16 James gives the result of the worldly wisdom.

Let me bring this point to conclusion through this verse. Because this verse is about the application.

Application:

Notice vs. 16, “For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.”

This verse gives us the picture of what happens where God’s Truth is not regarded as the highest thing. Any Church that does not regard God’s Word as the most important thing in her life cannot be called as the Church. Because if a Church doesn’t have an understanding of Truth she doesn’t have understanding of a proper direction. If the Church doesn’t have her doctrine based upon the Bible; if a person does not have his life based upon the Bible; that Church or that person will eventually become like the Titanic Ship. Perhaps those Churches might have tall and flashy buildings but the inner life of the Church will be filled with disorder and every vile practice.

Perhaps I have given this illustration to you before. I am not trying to boast myself, but this is the cry of most of the big Churches. Their problem is not that they are big. Their problem is that; they are not driven by Truth.

Many Churches have left the Biblical Truth because it’s too demanding. Today’s churches don’t believe in preaching about sin and salvation. They are concerned about getting as many crowds as possible so that their offering will increase. In the process people sitting in the pews are inheriting the kingdom of darkness.   

My question to you this morning is: are you a gospel driven person? Are you living your life for the sake of the gospel? Are you sharing the gospel with people? Many times we don’t preach the gospel because we think it’s below our dignity. What will people say if I open my mouth about Jesus? Are you ashamed of the gospel? If you are; you need to really examine your life if you really are saved.  

2.       The Heavenly Wisdom: vs. 17-18

Notice vs. 17-18, “But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceful, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.”

First of all James gives the origin of this wisdom. It’s from above. It means that this wisdom is from God. In fact if we remove God from wisdom it ceases to be wisdom it becomes information. This wisdom is a part of those people who have trusted in His Son Jesus Christ. Centuries before King Solomon said in Proverbs 1:7, “The fear of God is the beginning of the knowledge.”

Secondly, in this verse James gives the characteristics of such wisdom. It’s first of all pure. That means; this wisdom is holy. Then it’s peaceable; that means it makes peace as opposed to discord. That means this wisdom seeks to establish peace. We remember our Lord said in Matthew 5:9, “Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the sons of God.” Then further on this wisdom is gentle; it means this wisdom is courteous. Shows respect to others. It is willing to be humbled. Again James is referring back to our Lord’s words in Matthew 5:5, “Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.”

Again, this wisdom is, open to reason. That means that if a person is blessed by heavenly wisdom he is willing to listen to what other person has to say. It other words this wisdom is willing to be taught. It’s willing to learn; on the other hand this wisdom will not claim to know everything. A person who has such type of wisdom will accept his or her frailties.

Then it’s full of mercy, it means this person is willing to show mercy. Because this type of a person is grateful to the mercy that he/she has received from God through Jesus Christ. Then this wisdom is full of good fruits. It means this type of a person has a good character. Then this wisdom is impartial and sincere. That means a person having such wisdom does not do distinction. It is honest, it does not seek its own.

All this characteristics put together we can see that James is echoing Peter’s words. 2 Peter 1:4  “…by which he has granted to us his precious and exceedingly great promises; that through these you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world by lust.”

When we come down to vs. 18 James is telling to his readers about the function of this wisdom. Notice vs. 18, “And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.” I looked in the John MacArthur Commentary for searching the meaning of this verse and he says, “Godly wisdom produces a continuing cycle of righteousness, which is planted and harvested in a peaceful, harmonious relationship between God and His people. And simultaneously it is enjoyed by the faithful people themselves.”

That means, if righteousness is sown the fruit of it is peace.

Application:

A couple of weeks back we had a Annual General meeting. I was very much blessed by that meeting. I am not boasting about how great we are. But I was so glad that all of us we were willing to listen to each other’s grievances. Brethren, I come from a background where people use such types of meetings to pull one another down. Such meetings are used in order to disrespect one another and speak badly about one another. I have seen such meetings where there has been much trouble, where there has been much heat than light.

My question to you is this: Do we behave like we do when everybody is watching us? Does Christ’s righteousness come out of our mouth when somebody disrespects us?

The question boils down to one point: Are we peace makers? Are we busy in making peace between God and man? That means are we taking the gospel to those who do not know the Lord Jesus Christ? Are we showing the righteousness of Christ through our actions? 

“Characteristics of False Disciples”

We will discuss 2 points in this heading.

1. A. False Disciple Believes the Miracles of Jesus more that Jesus Himself. Vs. 28-29
2. A False Disciple Seeks Signs and Wonders in Order to Believe: vs. 30-34

A False Disciple Believes the Miracles of Jesus More than Jesus Himself: Vs. 28-29

If we take a closer look at these two verses we find two things there.

·         A Superficial question by the False Disciples. Vs. 28

·         A Shocking Answer by Jesus. Vs. 29

In vs. 27 we saw that Jesus instructed the people, who had followed Him for wrong reasons, not to labor for the food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life. Then probably these people got Jesus’ point and thought that, all that Jesus wants us is to do something religious and if we do it probably He would provide us with a free meal or a free breakfast or even set us free from the Roman rule. We can see that their thinking was so limited and was in terms of getting their immediate needs met. Then with this mindset they asked a question, “What must we do to be doing the works of God?” from what they asked Jesus it’s clear that these people’s notion about Jesus was based upon doing something in order to please God. In other words their notion about Jesus was based upon doing something in order to get something out of Him, and what did they want from Jesus? They wanted freedom from the Roman rule, which for them was very oppressive. So in essence they were saying that, Jesus we are willing to do anything you want us to do, but please deliver us from this Roman rule.  We just want to ensure that we are saved from this oppression of Roman rule. So their question was inspired by their self-centered want. They had found the most appealing mask to hide their personal sin. Under the mask of Roman oppression they were hiding their personal sin, not only that, but they failed to recognize their inability to earn God’s favor. They wanted their oppression to cause Jesus to have sympathy on them and deliver them from it. But that’s not how you come to Jesus or seek Jesus.

The greatest example we can find is in the Matthew’s gospel 19^th chapter vs. 16-22. Here, this rich young man who claimed to be absolutely moral asks Jesus the same question, “What good deed must I do to have eternal life?” vs. 16. First of all this man came to Jesus with an understanding that he can do something good in order to earn eternal life. In order to rid him of his conception about righteousness based upon works Jesus showed him the Law. So that he should have seen his helplessness in order to achieve eternal life, but his answer vs. 20 reveals his self-righteous life he says, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” but Jesus’ answer gives him a major shock Jesus tells him if you want to be perfect go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me,” this answer of Jesus reveals the young man’s real heart. That answer told him that you kept all the commandments but still lack in one thing that’s covetousness. In other words Jesus told him that he desperately needed a heart transplant.  No bypass surgery you need a heart transplant.

And that’s exactly what Jesus did in the next verse 28 of John 6. He says, “This is the work of God that you believe in Him whom He has sent.” In other words Jesus was telling them an absolutely simple way of doing the works of God, “believe in Me.” Don’t believe in the works of the Law because you cannot keep the Law. In Matthew 7:21 Jesus says, “Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter into the

Kingdom of Heaven; but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” So the will of God and the work of God are together. We cannot separate them; they are one and the same. Because the work of God comes from the will of God. Some say that the will of God is to do the social service. But that’s not what the Bible teaches, it teaches that the work of God to believe in Jesus Christ. So what Jesus is saying in Matthew 7:21 is that, those who believe in Him for the salvation of their soul only they will enter the kingdom of heaven. It is not by doing something religious or performing something religious you get to heaven it’s by believing in Jesus and in Him only you can enter the kingdom of heaven.

Application:

But these hard-hearted Jews refused to believe in what Jesus said because it was shocking to them, so shocking that it shook the foundation of their false, self-glorified & works based religion. So is the  case in many of us it’s not that we cannot believe but we do not want to believe the gospel. Which is so simple to understand. But we want to believe something that’s so hard and demands us to do something religious. The problem with that understanding of salvation is that if we could earn our salvation on the bases of our works why did Christ had to die? And the Bible and the world history tells us that He died and not only that but He rose again from the dead. And if you repent of your sins and believe in His sacrifice, His death, His resurrection and all this for my own personal sin, you will be saved.

These people were ready to believe that Jesus was a prophet vs. 14 but were not willing to surrender to Him as God and Messiah because He demanded discipleship; He demanded that they would follow Him. But they were not willing to follow Jesus instead they wanted Jesus to follow them and fulfill their hidden agenda. What Jesus was telling them was that you seem to desperately want to have freedom from the Roman rule but that’s not all you need, what you need is more than that and that is to satisfy your spiritual hunger and thirst. That is your real need if you don’t recognize that, no freedom in this world will ever satisfy that spiritual hunger and thirst. Because Jesus said in John 8:31-32, “Jesus therefore said to those Jews who had believed him, "If you remain in my word, then you are truly my disciples. You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free."

Perhaps many of us want freedom from their poverty. Many of you want freedom from some decease perhaps we might be wanting to have freedom from some financial problems and then might be thinking that if I get that need of mine fulfilled then I will think of giving myself to the Lord. I want to urge you to please understand your real need it’s not your freedom from your petty problems but your real need is to get freedom from the eternal hell. And Jesus is willing to give this freedom to you.

A False Disciple Seeks Signs and Wonders in Order to Believe: vs. 30-34

Vs. 30 gives us the glimpse of these people’s ungrateful heart towards Jesus. They had just witnessed the miracle of Jesus which had fed them, they had their stomachs full in vs. 12. Which was in fact sufficient for them to recognize that Jesus is God and Messiah sadly they didn’t believe but sought to have their hidden agenda accomplished by forcefully making Jesus the King and thought He will deliver them from the Roman oppression. And in the verses following when they came to know that things are not turning out the way they wanted but are going absolutely in an opposite direction. Jesus demands discipleship. Then they sought for another sign in order to prove that He has come from God and that He Himself is God. And what was their reasoning? Not exactly that they overlooked Jesus’ miracle of 2 fish and 3 loaves of bread but they started to compare Jesus’ miracle with that of Moses’ miracle. In other words they were saying that Moses performed a miracle of feeding our fathers who numbered nearing a million everyday. Comparatively you are very insignificant because you only fed 10,000 or at the most 20,000 people. Show us something great, perform a miracle greater than Moses’. However, Numbers 16:13-15 (Read), tells us that it was not Moses who created the Manna because Moses himself told the people of  Israel that the Manna was given to them by Yahweh.

But in this case these people started comparing Jesus’ miracle with that of Moses. When Moses had not created food for the children of Israel but Jesus had created food for them. This should have been sufficient for them to believe in Him as the Messiah and God and not just Prophet or King. But Jesus’ response to these Jew’s reasoning was eye opening to them. Contrary to that Jesus does not tell them or promise them another performance of miracles but tells them in vs. 32 “…Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven.” In other words Jesus was saying that Moses didn’t create food but My Father created it and sent to you at Moses’ prayer. But here is something greater than that Manna which fed you temporarily but here is a bread that’s spiritual which is able to fulfill all your spiritual hunger and thirst. He is also saying that the Manna that God provided was for your temporary need but I have been sent by God as the Bread of Life for eternal purposes and I have come to give life to the entire world.

To this these Jews seem little convinced to what Jesus was saying but they were not completely convinced with what Jesus was saying. Once again they stumbled on their temporary need thing. And ended up saying, “Sir, give us this bread always.” Vs. 34

Similarly, like the Samaritan woman in John chapter 4 when she understood that Jesus can give her the living water she also said the similar words in 4:15. “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.” What did this woman do? She took the eternal offer that Jesus wanted to give her and turned it into an object that would give her the temporary relief from her temporary problem. That’s exactly what these people were doing here. They took Jesus’ offer of Bread of life and sought to turn it into an object of fulfilling their temporary hunger fed. They partially believed  that Jesus could feed their hunger but not fully.

Application:

Many times many people come to Jesus with an expectation of a miracle. For them miracle is the determining factor of their authenticity of faith. Many people want miracles to happen so that their physical problems would go away, many want miracles so that their financial problems would go away. Many still want miracles so that their marriage problems would be fixed without any efforts. The point I am trying to make is that people are out to make Jesus as their personal genie. So that He would fix their immediate problems will satisfy their immediate need. This kind of mindset of seeking for miracles is very much there in our country. It’s there because many miracle workers come in and perform their miracles get a whole bunch of money and go. They leave behind them a group of people who are mad not for Jesus but for His miracles.

In fact Jesus abhorred this kind of attitude of seeking for miracles. In the Gospel of Matthew Jesus twice rebuked such people who wanted to see a sign.

Matt. 12:38-39, “Then certain of the scribes and Pharisees answered, "Teacher, we want to see a sign from you." But he answered them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, but no sign will be given it but the sign of Jonah the prophet.”

Then in Matthew 16:1-4, “The Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing him, asked him to show them a sign from heaven. But he answered them, "When it is evening, you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.' In the morning, 'It will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.' Hypocrites! You know how to discern the appearance of the sky, but you can't discern the signs of the times! An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and there will be no sign given to it, except the sign of the prophet Jonah." He left them, and departed.”

All I want to say is that people who are working miracles are leaving behind them a generation that is evil and adulterous. Jesus Himself said that. I am not saying Jesus can’t do a miracle today, He can. I just want to warn you not to become a seeker for miracles of Jesus than to become seeker of Jesus Himself.

If want to come to Jesus you are supposed to come to Him with utter sense of helplessness about our spiritual life. If you come to Jesus expecting myriads of miracles you will be disappointed in your spiritual life. Only way how we can have a right relationship with Jesus is if we come to Him in repentance and faith in Christ and in Him alone. Then He will save you, you might not experience any miracle in your life but your life will be totally new because you have fixed your eyes upon your eternal life with Jesus. Perhaps you might face many troubles in this life but our Lord will help you through all those troubles. 

The Test of a True Believer

Introduction:

As I thought through what I should preach in this Church that is theologically well educated, I was drawn to my favorite subject in the Bible. And that favourite subject is the “Atonement of Christ.” The reason why this is my favourite subject is because: The Atonement of Christ is at the heart of the gospel or I should venture to call the Atonement of Christ itself is the gospel.  And every single person, unbelievers and believers alike need the gospel. Unbelievers need it for salvation believers need for cleansing. And particularly believers need the cleansing from their day to day frailties. We recognize the fact that we have the propensity to fall. In this situation what we do is; we preach the gospel to ourselves.

So, with that in mind let me invite you to open your Bibles to 1 John 2. We shall read the first 6 verses but we will focus our sermon on vs. 1, 2.

Let me begin with a story in order for us to understand Jesus’ work on the Cross and how we should respond to it.

Story:

A story is told about the founder of the Persian Empire. It is told that Cyrus once had captured a prince and his family. When they came before him, Cyrus asked the prisoner, "What will you give me if I release you?" "The half of my wealth," was his reply. "And if I release your children?" "Everything I possess." "And if I release your wife?" "Your Majesty, I will give myself." Cyrus was so moved by his devotion that he freed them all. As they returned home, the prince said to his wife, "Wasn't Cyrus a handsome man!" With a look of deep love for her husband, she said to him, "I didn't notice. I could only keep my eyes on you- the one who was willing to give himself for me."

Like that grateful wife of the Prince we need to be looking at Christ our Redeemer with gratitude; who gave Himself up for the Church. Because the Bible tells us that we were by nature children of God’s wrath (Eph 2:3); that means we deserved death and hell. And only because of Christ’s atoning sacrifice we became the children of God (John 1:12).

So, here’s the title for the Message this morning:

“The Test of a True Believer.”  

1. A True Believer Treasures Christ’s Ministry of Advocate: vs. 1
2. A True Believer Treasures Christ’s Ministry of Atonement: vs. 2

1. A True Believer Treasures Christ’s Ministry of Advocate: vs. 1

Let’s begin by laying down the foundation of this message that. I draw this foundation from vs. 3-6 in which John calls his reader’s attention about obedience to God’s Word. “A True believer can not obey Christ without first treasuring Him.” This is exactly what distinguishes a false believer from that of a true believer.

Because, in Chapter 1 John gives the test of a true Christian fellowship. He is dealing with this test in a corporate way. In it he makes the message of Christ the foundation of all significant Christian fellowship. He gives 3 important aspects of that fellowship. A. The Foundation of Christian fellowship; vs. 5 God is Light in Him there is no darkness. B. The Application is in vs. 6: therefore walk in the Light just as He is in the light; and, C. The Clarification vs.7-10: Do not claim to be without sin.  

And when we come down to chapter 2 John narrows down his message to an individual level. That is the test of a True believer.  

Notice vs. 1, John begins the second chapter by stating the purpose of his writing. “My little children, I am writing this to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

John begins this chapter by stating the purpose of his writing. , ‘...I am writing these things to you so that...’ it means; everything that John has so far written; the call for fellowship with Christ and the test of true Christian fellowship, all these things John wrote so that ‘...you may not sin...’ this is a very important statement John is making here. Though it is important it can create a misunderstanding. Because what he says means to many perfectionist people that; once you become a Christian you become perfect, that means you don’t sin. And perhaps John’s readers had this perfectionist view of the Christian faith.

Because the immediate context of this verse tells us that there were people among John’s audience who were not in a very good spiritual condition.

John is not suggesting that once they had come to faith in Jesus they have become perfect. He is not suggesting them that once they had believed in the Sacrifice of Jesus they would not sin. John does recognises the fact that all believers everywhere have the propensity to sin. That’s what he said in the next part of the verse. But he is suggesting here that once they came to faith in Jesus they will sin because of the sin nature that is in them.

Paul said the same thing in line with that. Galatians 5:16-17, “But I say to you walk by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh, for the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh for these are opposed to each other.”  

E.g.: Several months back we gave Jonathan the BCG dose. And after a couple of days we observed that there was a pus formation on his left hand where the dose was given; when we asked the Doctor about that he said that after the dose is given pus formation in that particular part is normal. The puss formation will subside and it will be clear. When he said that I was astonished with the thought that infection is something normal.

The point is: if once any person comes in the fellowship with Christ; that person’s battle with sin is and his knowledge about his own sinfulness is NORMAL; but what is abnormal is that person’s living in sin. It is not only abnormal but it is unchristian.  It’s as simple as a baby cries when he is born; and if the baby does not cry then there is some problem with the baby.

No normal Christian on this planet earth can claim that he doesn’t have struggle with sin. This is what John is saying here. He does not say, that: I am writing these things to you so that you CANNOT sin. He does mean of course that his readers must not sin. The point of that statement is that: every Christian believer is vulnerable to sin, John recognizes the this; because in the next part of the same verse he says: “...But if anyone does sin...,” that’s the key.  

At the same time we also need to understand that John is not giving his readers a license to live in gross sin; but he is urging them that they must deliberately forsake sin; they must make every effort to come out of their sin; that’s the point of this statement.

And this was exactly in line with what Paul said in Romans 6:1-4, “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? May it never be! We who died to sin, how could we live in it any longer? Or don't you know that all we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him through baptism to death that just like Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we also might walk in newness of life.”

Even Paul’s point was: falling into sin doesn’t condemn anybody to hell but living in it does. Because if a person lives in habitual sin it is a sign that he/she had never believed in Christ to begin with.

And thirdly, notice the last Part of the verse 1. John says, ‘....But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the righteous.’

This statement of John is an amazing comfort for his readers that even if they do sin; they have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. Another word for advocate is ‘comforter.’  In this verse John is using legal language. It implies that; they all stand condemned before God (the judge) and John says Jesus Christ is their Advocate He is their defender; He is their comforter.

It’s as if there is a court room argument going on; and in this argument Jesus is the advocate for the criminal and Satan is the Public Prosecutor accusing the believer of his past and present sins and God is the Judge.

The reason why John reminds his readers of Jesus’ ministry as an Advocate is; so that his readers would understand that through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ forgiveness of sins is available for repentant sinners. In a way he is saying if you sin do not grieve and lose your joy of your Salvation in the process because we have an Advocate, Jesus Christ the righteous. And that is what he says it in vs. 9 of chapter 1. “If we confess our sins; He is just and faithful to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” That’s what he says in 1 John 1:7, “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.” Perhaps John gave this assurance to the repentant sinners of his day; because most of them must have believed that; their sins after they are saved will lead them to damnation.

Application:

The fact that Jesus is interceding for us; tells us that; no matter whatever kind of sin happens from us we are not going to lose our salvation. Because if you are saved you will not live in sin but will flee from it. Separating oneself from sin is the first sign of a Christian believer. This is the first test to know if a person is a true Christian believer. He does not like to indulge in sin. But on the other hand Jesus’ ministry of intercession for believers must not give them a license to sin but give hatred towards it. And the reason is; OUR sins killed Jesus; even though we were not present there. Each time we choose to sin we invariably violate God’s moral law.

For Example:

The 10 commandments. We all know we are not saved by obeying the Moral Law of God but once we come to know Jesus as our Savior and Lord we obey those 10 commandments as a fruit of our salvation. But if we examine ourselves; can we always obey them? No! Even when we have become believers we do sin; and therefore what a great comfort it is to know that Jesus is interceding He is advocating on our behalf with the Father for our forgiveness. I believe we should be always grateful to Jesus our Advocate/ our comforter.

2. A True Believer Treasures Christ’s Ministry of Atonement: vs. 2

In this verse John gives the basis for the forgiveness of a true believer. To put it in simple words: a believer is forgiven not because he repents but because Christ has atoned for that sin..

Notice vs. 2, “And he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins and not for ours only, but also for the whole world.” In plain words Jesus’ atoning Sacrifice is the basis of the forgiveness of believer. The word ‘Atonement’ is a legal word.

I looked in the dictionary for definition of this word and I found out that atonement means; Reconciliation of man with God through the life, suffering and sacrificial death of Jesus Christ. The word Atonement also means: to satisfy or to appease, or to calm. So, in the light of the meaning of the word; Jesus Christ appeased, He calmed or He satisfied the wrath of God by bearing the punishment of His people’s sins on the Cross. God’s anger was hurling against us He would have been right in pouring down that wrath upon us; but in His mercy He provided the atonement through Jesus Christ; and poured our His Holy Wrath on Him so that those who repent and put their trust in Him might be forgiven.

We must ask a question as to why did Christ paid for our sins? The answer is. Jesus paid the price of our sins in order to serve the justice of God and to demonstrate the love of God. 3 verses should come in our mind when we think of Christ’s atonement. John 3:16, “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

Rom 3:25, “whom God set forth to be an atoning sacrifice through faith in his blood, for a demonstration of his righteousness through the passing over of prior sins, in God's forbearance.”

1 John 4:10  In this is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son as the atoning sacrifice for our sins.

These verses explain us that God could not accept us into His fellowship unless the penalty of our sin was paid. That is God’s justice. Jesus paid that penalty for us so that we could be accepted by God in his fellowship.

But the problem comes when we read the next half of the verse.

Notice the next half of the verse, “...and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.”

The simple meaning of this verse says that Jesus’ atonement was not only for the believers but for unbelievers as well. But that is not what this verse means. In order to understand the meaning of this verse we need to understand the meaning of the word ‘world.’ The Greek word for World is ‘cosmos.’  Similarly the world in John 3:16 also means ‘cosmos.’  And the word ‘cosmos’ means cultural groups. It means people of different tongues and tribes. John doesn’t mention that word to mean ‘all individuals’ or ‘all persons.’ This verse does not teach that the atonement of Jesus is automatically applicable to all individuals; repentant and unrepentant sinners alike.

However, it means that the blood of Jesus is able to save all people of all tongues and tribes. But His blood is only profitable for repentant sinners; not for unrepentant sinners.

Application:

Let me bring this point to conclusion. The atonement of Christ teaches us that all sins (past, present & future) of all the believers are forgiven because of Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross.

How should we respond to the atonement of Christ? I heard John Piper in one of his messages, he said: “Do we prize the grace of God in the Atonement of Christ, or do we prostitute the grace of God because of the Atonement of Christ?”

What a comfort it is to know that our sins are already paid for; they have already been forgiven, and that we don’t have to pay for it at all. I feel this is important to say because we live in an idolatrous culture; wherein people do have the idea of our sins being paid for. They are willing to go to a great extent in order to pay for their own sins. They trust their own works in order for their sins to be forgiven.

I remember a story of a woman by the name of Alila. Alila stood on the beach holding her tiny infant son close to her heart. Tears welled in her eyes as she began slowly walking towards the river's edge. She stepped into the water, silently making her way out until she was waist deep, the water gently lapping at the sleeping baby's feet. She stood there for a long time holding the child tightly as she stared out across the river. Then all of a sudden in one quick movement she threw the six month old baby to his watery death.

Native missionary M.V. Varghese often witnesses among the crowds who gather at the River Ganga. It was he who came upon Alila that day kneeling in the sand crying uncontrollably and beating her breast. With compassion he knelt down next to her and asked her what was wrong.

Through her sobs she told him, "The problems in my home are too many and my sins are heavy on my heart, so I offered the best I have to the goddess Ganges, my first born son." Brother Varghese's heart ached for the desperate woman. As she wept he gently began to tell her about the love of Jesus and that through Him her sins could be forgiven. She looked at him strangely. "I have never heard that before," she replied through her tears. "Why couldn't you have come thirty minutes earlier? If you did, my child would not have had to die."

Each year millions of people come to the holy Indian city of Hardwar to bathe in the River Ganges. These multitudes come believing this Hindu ritual will wash their sins away. For many people like Alila, many Christians are arriving too late, simply because there aren't enough of these faithful brothers and sisters on the mission field.

How do we respond to the atonement of Christ? Are we just happy to keep this glorious truth to ourselves or like John are we making this a subject of our daily conversation? What is it charms us the most? Does the gospel of Christ charm you or does it puts your off? You see, you will always speak about that which is very close to your heart. Is the gospel of Christ dear to your heart? Have you embraced Him as your Lord and Savior? Have your repented of your sins? Have you been born again?

No one who enjoys the forgiveness of Jesus can be content to keep it for himself. He is not the propitiation for our sins only. There are other sheep that are scattered throughout the whole world. Their sins, too, are covered. And the last commandment of Jesus was, "Go make disciples out of them from every people."

In summary, John's message to us today is: Don't sin! It is tremendously and terribly serious. But if you do sin, don't despair because your attorney is the Son of the Judge. He is righteous and he makes his case for you not on the basis of your perfection but his atonement. Be of good courage, don't keep Jesus for yourself alone, go and make disciples.

Taming the Tongue in Times of Trials: Part-2

Last week we looked at the first 2 verses of James chapter 3. We saw what happens when the tongue is used in an evil way. The effect that an untamed tongue causes is very dangerous.

In Psalm 32 we learnt that sin not only affects the person who commits it; but affects those who are close to that person. The similar thing is true with regards to our tongue. If we are not careful with our tongue we will cause much harm to ourselves as well as to those who are close to us. So, there is an urgent need to look at ourselves and ask a question: How do we use our tongue? Because our tongue has a direct connection to our heart. Jesus said in Matthew 12:36, “I tell you that every idle word that men speak, they will give account of it in the Day of Judgment.”

Therefore, we need to understand the seriousness of the words that we use in our daily conversations.

With that in mind may I invite you to open your Bibles to James chapter 3, and we shall all read from vs. 1-12.

This morning we shall consider the second point that we left last week. And the name of that point was: “The Illustrations of an Tongue.” But before that let me begin with a short story.

A story is told of John Wesley; the founder of the Methodist Church. In his Church there was a lady who was very critical of him. And most of the times her criticisms were about his clothing. One Sunday morning after the Church service was over the pastor stood outside the Church to greet everybody. This lady arrived there and started criticizing the Pastor saying that his tie was too long; and it needed to be cut. John Wesley immediately ordered for a scissor to be brought. After the scissor arrived the pastor let the lady cut the tie to its appropriate length. After that John Wesley said to her; “Madam, can you please take your tongue out from your mouth? The lady enquired, “Why?” “John Wesley said, I think your tongue is too long I need to make it short.”

Now, James doesn’t give any such instruction to go around and cut down those long tongues. But he is certainly warning his readers about the negative effects that a tongue can cause on people.

So, here is the title for our message this morning:

“Taming the Tongue in Times of Trials.” Part-2

1.      The Illustrations of Tongue: vs. 3-5

: The Positive Illustrations:

a.      Horse

b. Ship

: The Negative Illustrations

a.      Fire

b.     A World of Unrighteousness

c.      A Restless Evil

d.     Deadly Poison

1.      The Positive Illustrations:

Last week we saw the instruction that James gave to his readers. It was an instruction to his readers not to become teachers. We also learnt about the reasons why James warned his readers not to become teachers.

When we come down to vs. 3, 4 James is giving the Positive as well as negative Illustrations of what Tongue can do.

So, notice vs. 3 & 4, “If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us; we guide their whole bodies as well. Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs.”

I must say that what James is saying here is exactly what God said to David in the Psalm 32. In Psalm 32 we saw that God rebuked David for being foolish. And there also God uses the illustration of a Horse or a Mule. Because they need bits and bridles in order to control them, quickly look at Psalms 32:9, “Don't be like the horse, or like the mule, which have no understanding, who are controlled by bit and bridle, or else they will not come near to you.”

It’s amazing to see that James is using the same illustration to instruct his readers what tongue can do. And first of all James gives the illustration of a Horse.

He says, “If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us; we guide their whole bodies as well.”

We all have seen horses in our lives. Horse is an extremely heavy animal. Though it’s a heavy animal it is a muscular animal. The horse is not heavy like that of a Sumo wrestler. It weighs around half a ton; it has got an amazing power within. Even if you put a heavy weight lifting man on the Horse’s back it breaths easily and carry that heavy man on its back with ease. We are told that a horse can run a quarter mile within less than 25 seconds. In His book, “The Disciplines of Godly Men,” R. Kent Hughes describes a Horse as, “half a ton of raw power.” But if you put bit in its mouth that same horse which has an amazing power, can be effectively controlled. It’s an amazing illustration of how a gigantic thing could be controlled by a small thing.

The second positive illustration that James gives is of a ship.

Once again he uses something gigantic which is steered by a very small thing.

If we all know that all types of ships; smaller or bigger in size they all are driven by the rudder.

The bigger ships are approximately 500 meters long and they weigh around 1.5-2 Lakhs of tons.

Looking at the size of the ship we may think it’s unmanageable. They are driven by fierce winds but they are steered by a small thing. Whoever has the control of the rudder has the control of the ship. Because they take the direction where the pilot wants to take it. And what I think is: when James gives this illustration he has in his mind the motivating ability the tongue has. The tongue has an amazing power to motivate people. It has a great power to guide people in the way they should go. James has an idea of the positive things tongue can produce if it is used properly. That’s why he uses the illustration of something bigger which is driven by a minute thing. Notice the imagery James uses about a strong wind that drives the ship but is guided by a small rudder.

When we come to vs. 5, James says, “So also the tongue is a small member yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire?”

After giving appropriate illustrations of horse and ship; James now goes on to explain the similar kind of power the tongue has. That’s why he says, “So also…”

The tongue is the small part in the body. As compare to the body our tongue is a small part. What James is saying here is that: whatever the bits and bridles do to the horses; or rudder does to the ships. That’s exactly what tongue does to a person. The idea is the tongue is in a complete control of a man. It is he who decides how to use it.

Application:

Last week we learnt that our hearts and our tongues are very closely linked with one another. We cannot separate one from another. What we think in the depths of our hearts is, exactly what comes out of our hearts. The sum total of our words is our heart. That’s why Jesus told His disciples, in Matthew 12:36, “I tell you that every idle word that men speak, they will give account of it in the Day of Judgment.”

I heard of a story of a Pastor. One lady in the Church spread some lies about that Pastor about his character. The gossip spread like a wild fire. Eventually that Pastor had to lose his ministry because of that gossip. One fine day that lady returned to the Pastor in utter disgust of what she had done to him. She realized the kind of moral assault she had caused on that Pastor. When she came into the Pastor’s house she started apologizing to him and started to ask him what she should do so that the guilt doesn’t remain on her part.

The pastor asked that lady to take the pillow that was on his desk. Then he asked her to spoil the pillow and take all the feathers and throw them around. She did it, and then the Pastor told her to gather those scattered feathers. The lady said, but pastor that’s not possible! The Pastor gently said, that’s the point, you cannot do anything to repair the damage that has been caused.

This story tells us to use our words carefully brothers and sisters.

2.      The Negative Illustrations of Tongue: vs. 5b-12

(Read the verses)

In the previous point we saw the positive illustrations of tongue. From vs. 5b up until vs. 12 James gives the negative illustrations of tongue. Notice how he names the tongue. a. Small fire, b. world of unrighteousness, c. restless evil, d. full of deadly poison.

So, altogether James uses 4 negative illustrations of tongue in order to prove his point. And James does this in order to show his readers man’s inclination to use his tongue in a negative way.

First of all James uses Fire as the negative illustration for the tongue. If you observe fire it has both negative and positive aspects. If used positively fire can be a great source of energy. If used negatively fire also has the power to burn and tear down everything. And in this context James is having the negative illustration of fire.

Just like sin has the ability to corrupt the whole person; fire also has the ability to corrupt a person.

What we understand through this is that: the kind of influence fire has; is the same kind of influence tongue has. Fire burns as long as it gets its fuel. And so James has the destructive illustration of fire in his mind.

Story:

In the October 1871 in United States of America; a lady was milking her cow in the evening. It seems there in her manger there was a lantern was burning. The cow kicked the pillar on which this lantern was hanging. Many people say that because there was a lot of hay in the manger the fire quickly spread throughout the city. This fire destroyed around 17,500 buildings, 300 people died and 1, 25,000 people became homeless because of that fire. Many people say that the fire spread around 81 kms. The reason was the fire that started because of a little bit of carelessness.

That’s why in vs. 6 James says, “And the tongue is a fire. The world of iniquity among our members is the tongue, which defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature, and is set on fire by Gehenna.” It means that tongue starts a fire.

The word Gehenna means hell. Gehenna was a place outside of Jerusalem. Jesus said that this was a place where the worm doesn’t die and the fire doesn’t quench (Mark 9:47-48). It was a place which was reserved for garbage of all the city of Jerusalem where it was constantly burning and because it’s a waste there was all kinds of filthiness that was present there where stink and worms was a common thing.

E.g. If you want to have a look of what Gehenna must be looking like. All you need to do is just go on the road to Kasba Bawda. You will get the exact picture of Gehenna.

In other words tongue starts conflict because of an evil report that is spread through means of gossip. Then James uses this word for tongue that; it’s a world of evil. What it means is that: all the evil that is present in the world has its origin in the tongue.

And finally he uses the word ‘deadly poison’ vs. 8. The effect of fire and the effect of poison are similar. Because just as the way fire spreads; poison also spreads in the body until it has taken the life of the victim.

And this is the case because in vs. 7,8, James says, “For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue...”

Application:

Two boys on the school playground were discussing a classmate. One of them remarked, "He's no good at sports."  The other quickly responded, "Yes, but he always plays fair."  The critical one added, "He isn't very smart in school either."  His friend answered, "That may be true, but he studies hard."  The boy with the mean tongue was becoming exasperated with the attitude of the other.  "Well," he sneered, "did you ever notice how ragged his clothes are?"  The other boy kindly replied, "Yes, but did you ever notice, they're always clean!"  Every negative observation was countered by a positive one.

   What an excellent example for us to follow!  Let's refrain from "evil speaking" and be "kind to one another" (Eph. 4:31,32). Rather than contributing to the spirit of criticism, let's be known as those who cancel it.

Taming the Tongue in Times of Trials-Part: 1

Let me tell you at the outset; that when I was studying this chapter the Lord revealed my own personal sins. Those sins that are not visible to all of you but they are visible to me, to my wife and above all they are visible to the Lord. I have asked for forgiveness from Him and I am sure He has granted me that forgiveness. And it is my prayer that at the end of this message you too will come to know your own sin of hypocrisy and you too will ask forgiveness from the Lord and so you will also have the joy of being forgiven. Because tongue is such an organ with which we all are culpable of misusing it. We all are guilty of hypocrisy; in other words many times our actions have not matched up with our actions.

From the reading of our text; it is clear that James is speaking about the evils of tongue. James dealt with the same topic in chapter 1:26-27. But he dealt with it in a passing way. For the fact that James dedicated only 1 verse to describe the bad use of tongue. But in our text this morning James is dedicating the entire chapter to signify the need to tame the tongue. And through this we can understand the significance of taming the tongue. That a person can destroy another person with the help of tongue; or a person can build up another person with the help of tongue.

Now when we think of wild fires most of us we know how that fire starts. Especially, in the forest of Bamboos; when the wind blows the Bamboos shake and because the Bamboos grow in small groups or clusters there is friction and because of the friction there is a spark of fire, and because of that spark the wild fire starts and it destroys the entire forests if it’s not controlled in time.

Many of us remember that many years ago a wild fire that consumed the forests of Australia. The News told us that it took many days to control the fire, but the truth is most of the forest was turned into ashes by that time.

This is exactly what James is saying concerning tongue, in the text this morning.

So, here is the title for the message this morning:

“Taming the Tongue in Times of Trials.”

1.      The Instruction to Tame the Tongue: vs. 1-2

Reasons to Tame the Tongue

a.      Judgment with Greater Strictness

b.      Vulnerability of Stumbling

2.      The Illustrations of Untamed Tongue: vs. 3-5

a.      Horse

b.      Ship

c.       Fire

d.      Deadly Poison

e.      World of Evil

1.      The Instruction to Tame the Tongue: vs. 1-2

I want to remind you that so far we have finished the 2^nd chapter of James. And it’s important to notice that James begins a new topic in this chapter, and that topic is very closely linked with the previous chapter. Because, there is a direct connection between your confession and your actions. We do our confession with the help of our tongue; and if our confession does not match up with our actions then that confession is not an authentic confession. To explain that type of a person in one word it’s, ‘hypocrite.’

So, notice vs. 1, 2, “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. For we all stumble in many ways, and if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body.”

What we need to observe here is that: James is not even using the word ‘tongue’ until vs. 5.

But at the same he is very much speaking about tongue without using that word. Because we do our teaching with the help of tongue. However, it’s a true saying that ‘actions speak louder than words.’ Just to modify that saying a little bit it would be like this, “Actions teach lounder than Tongue.”

But I want us all to focus upon the instruction that James gives: “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers…”

According to what James writes here it’s clear that: there were many people who had a desire to become public teachers. The problem was not that they wanted to become religious public teachers; the problem was, they were not properly qualified for the job; and that’s why he warns his readers not to become teachers.

This is exactly what Paul tells Timothy in 1 Timothy 3:1-6, “This is a faithful saying: if a man seeks the office of an overseer he desires a good work. The overseer therefore must be without reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, sensible, modest, hospitable, good at teaching; not a drinker, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous; one who rules his own house well, having children in subjection with all reverence; (but if a man doesn't know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the assembly of God?) not a new convert, lest being puffed up he fall into the same condemnation as the devil.”

 These words of Paul explain to us that if a person desires to be a Pastor it’s a good thing. But what must be looked at is; does he qualify for that desire? That is the issue.

And I think James had the similar concern in his mind that his readers wanted to become teachers when they were not qualified for that office.

Another reason why James is telling his readers not to be teachers is because he had seen the Pharisees of Jesus’ days. They were good moral teachers very staunch for their traditions. But what Jesus tells the people and His disciples about them is very embarrassing for the Pharisees.

Matthew 23:3, “All things therefore whatever they tell you to observe, observe and do, but don't do their works; for they say, and don't do.”

Now from Jesus’ words it’s clear that the Pharisees were not practicing what they were preaching. They might have been great expositors of God’s Law; they might have a great understanding of God’s Law (because those days only the 5 books of the Old Testament were available). But they were not practicing the Word of God in their lives, they expected others to practice their teachings but they felt no responsibility/ no weight upon their own lives to do the Word of God.

Another verse that explains the Pharisees identity is in Mark 12:40. Jesus our Lord uses very harsh language for them. He doesn’t show them any mercy.

Look at Mark 12:40, “those who devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation."

Again, Matthew 23:14, "But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you shut up the Kingdom of Heaven against men; for you don't enter in yourselves, neither do you allow those who are entering in to enter.

Now what these Pharisees were doing was; they were teaching the false doctrines and in a way they were shutting the door of heaven for their followers; in other words Jesus is saying that those who are willing to go to heaven you don’t allow them to go in but you make them twice responsible for going into hell.  Because eternal life, Salvation, Repentance, heaven and hell were not a part of their teaching. But they were busy in exploiting the people. Therefore Jesus severely condemned them.

And the reason why James is warning his readers not to become teachers is because he had observed the Pharisees of his day. The point is: they did not qualify to be the teachers of the Law.

What Paul says in Romans 2:21-22 exactly illustrates the Pharisees, Romans 2:21-22, " You therefore who teach another, don't you teach yourself? You who preach that a man shouldn't steal, do you steal? You who say a man shouldn't commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?

They had been guilty of not teaching themselves what they were teaching others. They were guilty of stealing when they had taught others not to steal. They had been guilty of robbing the temple of God.

Another reason why James could have warned his readers not to become teachers of the law; is because they must have lacked a proper understanding of the Law. That’s what 1 Timothy 1:7 tells us: “desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions.”

E.g.: A couple of years ago I happened to meet a particular believer. I know that person from my childhood. He was my Dad’s friend. We were debating about children’s separation after their marriage. It’s always God’s plan that man should leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife. But he said to me; that the Bible does not give us any specific example of anybody having separated from their parents. Jacob lived along with his children. But I told him even though he might have lived along with his children and their wives but that was not God’s original plan. And because they did not obey God they had to face many problems. Again the question comes back to the same thing, “Many are the sorrows of the wicked…” You sow sin and you reap sorrow.

In the next part of the verse James gives the first reason why they should not become teachers. And the reason is: because those who desire to become teachers will incur strict judgment.

What that means is that: there is a great responsibility on the person who seeks to teach others. Those who teach are more liable for their words. They are constantly under pressure to do the Word. The person who teaches the Bible must make sure that his eyes are on the Word of God. He has to keep his lifestyle under constant check of the Word of God.

2 Timothy 2:15, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.”

The second reason that James gives is in vs. 2, “For we all stumble in many ways, and if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body.”

It might appear that James was scaring his readers. But whatever he is saying is absolutely true. But we have to understand that; the idea in this verse is not sinless perfection. But the idea is that: the teacher must understand that he is vulnerable to fall, he is vulnerable to commit sin as much as the people whom he teaches.

What James is saying here is: the one who keeps his words in check is also able to control his whole body. In other words: there is not only a connection between your tongue and your actions; but there is also a connection between your tongue and your body. In other words the kind of words we use is the direction our body is going to take.

E.g. Have you heard of people who when they are angry say bad words? And after realizing what they have said they regret, and say; Oh I didn’t mean that. Or that was not I. but the question comes who was it?

And Jesus said it true: Matthew 12:34, “You offspring of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.”

Application:

Recently I heard a story of a young Hindu girl who married a nominal Christian boy. It seems that boy along with his other friends went to sea shore to enjoy. While that boy was swimming somehow he drowned and died in the sea. The boy’s parents were shocked because of their boy’s sudden death.

Many days went by; and one fine day the boy’s parents started to quarrel with the widowed girl saying that because you did some kind of a witchcraft our son died. And with this in their mind they asked the girl to leave their house. The girl had no choice but to leave to her mother’s home.

To make the long story short: today we come to know about that girl, that she doesn’t want to do anything with the Christian people. She has a high regard for Jesus but she gives bad words to Christians.

Do you think that girl will ever open up for Christ and His gospel? Yes, it’s true that she is responsible to her own damnation but those people who asked her to leave the house are doubly responsible for her damnation.

Therefore, take a closer look at the kind of Christian life that we are living. What does our neighbors say about us? What does our friends say about us? Do they say, “Oh he says he is a Christian but his behavior is opposite to his confession.” Or do people say, “Oh he is a true Christian man, his words match up with his actions.”