James the life of the Christian shown to others in good works and deeds
Reflections on faith and good deeds for others James
I introduce this by quoting Charles Erdman, " One may be most scrupulous in observing all the prescribed forms of religion, he may give alms and pray and fast as the Pharisees did: he may attend church and sing hymns and observe sacraments; but his religion may still be an empty and vain delusion...."
Before we think about some of things which please God, note that the gift of God is faith itself as James says, " every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights...Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures." 1:17 This is James' way of saying what we already know, that our faith and birth in the new life is brought forth by God, and not our own efforts. Born of the Spirit is how John says it. 3:5 " except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God."
True faith has fruit. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, kindness, self-control...etc....patience, long-suffering.
James, the Lord's brother, is concerned that our faith is shown by our lives. " be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only." 1:22 Note he adds " deceiving your own selves."
( I would say that as an aside that the 39 articles are very helpful in this area in distinguishing between what faith is , how it is produced , and the fruit of good works. Ck out Art 11. " we are accounted righteous before God, only for the merit of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ by Faith, and not for our own works or deservings...")
1. Look at the tongue. " If any man thinketh himself to be religious, while he bridleth not his tongue but deceiveth his heart, this man's religion is vain." 1:26 We may call this self-control. Knowing when to speak and not to speak is a gift of God. Silence in the face of opposition is sometimes the best response.
“The best kind of hospitality seeps into your soul and shapes your identity. We can give this kind of hospitality to each other only if we take the time to prepare sheltering places around us and inside of us.”
– Daniel Homan, OSB & Lonni Collin Pratt, Radical Hospitality
An old saying goes, " A visitor asked a monk outside his monastery, ' What do you do all day in there?' The monk answered, ' We fall down. We get up.' Then someone there said, " By living together in our vows, we help each other to get back up."
Is this not true here too? By living together in our vows, we help each other to get back up. ( sometimes literally)
2. Then James says something about charity...taking care of others especially those in special need as orphans and widows ( often mentioned in the OT) " constitute a religious ceremony" ( Erdman)
" Pure religion and undefiled before our God and Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction."
visit is more than go by...It is "
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
visit, look out for
Middle voice from epi and the base of skopos; to inspect, i.e. (by implication) to select; by extension, to go to see, relieve -- look out, visit.
see GREEK epi
see GREEK skopos "
May we go out and relieve , inspect ( in a good sense) and visit each other especially those in need of care and outreach.
3. Then he gets in a note about purity. " and to keep himself unspotted from the world." Unspotted is an interesting little Gk word. ord Origin
from alpha (as a neg. prefix) and spilos
Definition
spotless, unstained
NASB Translation
spotless (2), stain (1), unstained (1), without* (1).
Moral purity is what James is talking about. The good deed doer should have integrity and blamelessness.
Purity in the Biblical sense is hard to find today. We are talking about the Sermon on the Mount, the poor in spirit, those that mourn, pure in heart, they which do hunger and thirst for righteousness. If they Church does not show this, what can the righteous do?
We are the salt of the earth and a fragrance which I conclude with, not a stench, but " we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish: To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life." 2 Corinthians 2:15
Which scent are we when others encounter us?
I introduce this by quoting Charles Erdman, " One may be most scrupulous in observing all the prescribed forms of religion, he may give alms and pray and fast as the Pharisees did: he may attend church and sing hymns and observe sacraments; but his religion may still be an empty and vain delusion...."
Before we think about some of things which please God, note that the gift of God is faith itself as James says, " every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights...Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures." 1:17 This is James' way of saying what we already know, that our faith and birth in the new life is brought forth by God, and not our own efforts. Born of the Spirit is how John says it. 3:5 " except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God."
True faith has fruit. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, kindness, self-control...etc....patience, long-suffering.
James, the Lord's brother, is concerned that our faith is shown by our lives. " be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only." 1:22 Note he adds " deceiving your own selves."
( I would say that as an aside that the 39 articles are very helpful in this area in distinguishing between what faith is , how it is produced , and the fruit of good works. Ck out Art 11. " we are accounted righteous before God, only for the merit of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ by Faith, and not for our own works or deservings...")
1. Look at the tongue. " If any man thinketh himself to be religious, while he bridleth not his tongue but deceiveth his heart, this man's religion is vain." 1:26 We may call this self-control. Knowing when to speak and not to speak is a gift of God. Silence in the face of opposition is sometimes the best response.
“The best kind of hospitality seeps into your soul and shapes your identity. We can give this kind of hospitality to each other only if we take the time to prepare sheltering places around us and inside of us.”
– Daniel Homan, OSB & Lonni Collin Pratt, Radical Hospitality
An old saying goes, " A visitor asked a monk outside his monastery, ' What do you do all day in there?' The monk answered, ' We fall down. We get up.' Then someone there said, " By living together in our vows, we help each other to get back up."
Is this not true here too? By living together in our vows, we help each other to get back up. ( sometimes literally)
2. Then James says something about charity...taking care of others especially those in special need as orphans and widows ( often mentioned in the OT) " constitute a religious ceremony" ( Erdman)
" Pure religion and undefiled before our God and Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction."
visit is more than go by...It is "
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
visit, look out for
Middle voice from epi and the base of skopos; to inspect, i.e. (by implication) to select; by extension, to go to see, relieve -- look out, visit.
see GREEK epi
see GREEK skopos "
May we go out and relieve , inspect ( in a good sense) and visit each other especially those in need of care and outreach.
3. Then he gets in a note about purity. " and to keep himself unspotted from the world." Unspotted is an interesting little Gk word. ord Origin
from alpha (as a neg. prefix) and spilos
Definition
spotless, unstained
NASB Translation
spotless (2), stain (1), unstained (1), without* (1).
Moral purity is what James is talking about. The good deed doer should have integrity and blamelessness.
Purity in the Biblical sense is hard to find today. We are talking about the Sermon on the Mount, the poor in spirit, those that mourn, pure in heart, they which do hunger and thirst for righteousness. If they Church does not show this, what can the righteous do?
We are the salt of the earth and a fragrance which I conclude with, not a stench, but " we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish: To the one we are the savour of death unto death; and to the other the savour of life unto life." 2 Corinthians 2:15
Which scent are we when others encounter us?
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