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Justification by Faith (Part 2)
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If someone asked you to describe how much Christ has forgiven you, what words would you use? Astronomically. Astoundingly. Indescribably. Infinitely. There are no words we can adequately grab ahold of to describe Christ's forgiveness extended to us. It's when we understand how deeply we have been forgiven that we will live a life of forgiveness toward others. My unforgiveness is a sign that I have never experienced Christ's forgiveness, or if I have, I have lost sight of how much I have been forgiven. We turn to one of Jesus' powerful parables on forgiveness for a deeper understanding of how those who have been mercifully forgiven forgive mercifully.
Luke 21 | This passage in Luke 21 implores us to always keep our eyes vertical, no matter what may come our way in life.
The gospel invites us to a lifestyle of confession. Jesus Christ came to seek and save the lost. He came to save sinners. Because of this, we don't need to excuse sin or deny sin, but rather we can confess our sin to a faithful and just God and receive his forgiveness and cleansing. Join us as we turn to 1 John 1:5-10 to be spurred toward a life of gospel-motivated confession and away from a life of being buried in the darkness of our unconfessed sin.
“Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, and not frightened in anything by your opponents.”
James 5:13-20 | In typical field manual fashion, James ends his letter with pointed, practical help for a variety of situations in life. There is a word to the sufferer, the cheerful, the sick, and a call to pursue the wanderer. In it all, we see the power of prayer, praise, and pursuit. Let's end this study by gleaning the power of what James leaves us with as he closes out his field manual of authentic faith lived out.
James 5:7-13 | Time under tension builds physical muscle. How does the tension of life build our faith muscle? Let's unpack James command to be patient under suffering.
James 5:1-6 | Jesus cut it straight, "You cannot serve God and money." Period. If I am serving money I am not and cannot serve God. In James 5:1-6, James speaks a word to rich, oppressive unbelievers warning them that though they may have present riches, they are facing a future judgment. Within this warning he speaks of three indictments against them, and these three indictments serve as pointed warnings to us. Let's let God's word search us as we look together at three warnings money is my god.
James 4:13-17 Simply put, God's plan is better than our plan. Let's look at three things from James 4 that following God's plan requires.
Worldliness sets in so subtly. It can be hard to identify ways we have taken up a friendship with the world that is opposed to God. Though it may be subtle, it is deadly. We must wage war on worldliness and we have to know the battle plan God gives us to do so. James 4:1-12 gives us the answers to four questions we must know in order to wage war on worldliness in our lives.
If we lack wisdom we can ask God, and he will give it to us generously. But how do we recognize the wisdom from above? What are the characteristics of wisdom that come from God and how do we keep ourselves from falling into the counterfeits of a worldly, unspiritual, demonic "wisdom"? Fortunately for us, James gives us teaching this week to address this very thing. Together we will look at "Four A's to Aid us in Identifying Wisdom from Above.”
Have you ever said something you wish you could have back? Have you ever said a foolish thing at the totally wrong time? Have you ever opened your mouth to spew angry words when you knew you should be quiet instead? Why do we do this? Why do we so often say what we know we shouldn't? James tells us why. Today we look at four dangerously destructive truths of the tongue from James 3:1-12.
Do you have any Easter expectations? You may have not thought about that, but all of us carry expectations, big and small, for Easter Sunday. On the very first Easter Sunday three women walked to a gravesite with 2 expectations: A closed tomb and a dead body. Instead what they found would turn out to be the most life-altering, history-shaping, world-changing event of history. He was not there. He had risen. And EVERYTHING hinges on that good news.
Can a faith that has not changed us, save us? What would James say to the one who claims a faith in Christ but whose life shows no deeds to authenticate that claim? James is straight to the point with us: Faith without works is dead. This week we unpack the beautiful reality that a genuine faith will get expressed, not perfectly but patternly, in a life of obedient works to God. Let's let this text search our hearts this week to ensure the faith we claim is the faith we live.
People of this world get enamored with the rich, powerful, and celebrity. Often these people are preferred and pedestaled. Even as Christians, it can be easy to fall into playing favorites with those who carry a high social standing in this world. James warns us in this passage that doers of the word don't live like this. Marked by gospel shaped hearts, and motivated by Great Commandment love, genuine doers of the word shun a life of partiality and favoritism, and seek to love the hearts of people regardless of external appearance and socio-economic status. To cut it straight: Genuine Christians don't play favorites.
Our study in James last week made it clear that we are to be doers of the Word, and not hearers only. This week, we’ll examine three practical things evident in the pure religion of doers of the Word.
James makes it very clear that we are to be doers of the Word, and not hearers only. We see this theme all throughout Scripture. As we dive into James 1:22-25, let’s examine our hearts to see where we are being hearers of the Word, but not doers.
The Lord is zealous for the righteousness of his people. Man's anger does not produce God's righteousness. In his field manual of authentic faith, James helps us understand how wisdom calls us to a "quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger life", how sinful anger is contrary to God's righteousness, and how we ultimately change by "putting away" what needs put away and receiving what we must receive.
James has already told us that God cannot be tempted by evil nor does he tempt us. God is never the giver of evil and always a giver of God. This is where James goes next in his field manual of authentic faith. As we look at James 1:16-18 we will see that every good gift comes from an unchangingly good God whose goodness is most powerfully seen in the good news of the gospel. These three verses have massive implications in how we understand who we are in Christ and how this understanding impacts the way we live out our life in Christ.
John Calvin once said, “Our heart is an idol factory.” As we study James 1:12-15, one could also say that, “Our heart is a sin factory.” But there is good news. God is greater than any temptation we will face in this world.
Regardless of poverty or riches, the Christian's boast is in the same thing. Or maybe we should say the same one: Jesus Christ. In his field manual of authentic faith lived out, James quickly gets to the crucial call for Christians to boast not in their socioeconomic status but rather in their position in Christ. So whether poverty or riches, James will instruct us to boast in the reality of our position in Christ alone.
If James is a field manual of authentic faith lived out, it is fitting that he wastes no time at all getting to the topic of wisdom. Wisdom is God's will lived out. It's living out a godly life. So a life built on the wisdom of God is a life of authentic faith. But there is a problem; we don't always know the wise thing to do. On this side of heaven, we lack wisdom. James gives us the solution of what to do when we lack wisdom and how we carry that out. If you need wisdom right now in life, James 1:5-8 has a very clear direction for you.
Joy in trials? How is that so? And what does that mean? Are Christians to be gluttons for pain, taking joy in the hardship itself? Are we just to "grin and bear it" with no acknowledgement of the pain and hardships of life? Is James sticking a band-aid of a cliche on the deep pains of life? Not at all. James 1:2-4 is deep theology that allows us at Christians to rejoice in our trials knowing what God is ultimately accomplishing as we respond rightly to the troubles and trials of life. Let's be equipped together to joyfully endure the trials life brings.
God is after doers of the word. He is after us applying the principles of the Christian life in our day-to-day life. James is the field manual God has given us for what it looks like to live out an authentic faith. We begin our five-month journey in the book of James by looking at James 1:1 and letting that orient us to the book as a whole. Who wrote it? Who was he writing to? And what is this letter's purpose? We set the course this week for a study in a book that will deeply transform our everyday walk with Jesus.
Disciples are made as we pursue others the way God has pursued us. Let’s dive further into this pursuit and the ministry of reconciliation.
In the midst of such busy and stressful lives, how do we learn to rely on the Spirit’s life giving freedom? Let’s dive into Corinthians 3:12-18 to find out.
At the heart of our ministry lies this mission statement: To glorify God by making disciples. This isn't a mission we came up with but is a mission Jesus left us with in his teaching of the Great Commission. If we are going to make disciples and fulfill our mission, we better be able to answer some simple questions about disciples and discipleship. In this four week series, we tackle four basic questions, beginning with this one: What is a disciple? Let's look at what Jesus teaches in John 3 about the need to be born again as foundational to what it means to be a disciple of him.
At the heart of our ministry lies this mission statement: To glorify God by making disciples. This isn't a mission we came up with but is a mission Jesus left us with in his teaching of the Great Commission. If we are going to make disciples and fulfill our mission, we better be able to answer some simple questions about disciples and discipleship. In this four week series, we tackle four basic questions, beginning with this one: What is a disciple? Let's look at what Jesus teaches in John 3 about the need to be born again as foundational to what it means to be a disciple of him.
Let’s dive into the five features of the Parable of the Sower: the secret, the sower, the seed, the soil, and the success.
In two verses, Isaiah prophesies of the majesty of the child who would one day come as Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. He also in these verses shows us what will mark the Kingdom of this coming Savior-King. Isaiah 9:6-7 contain the truths our hearts need again this Christmas to behold the majesty of Christ and take hold of the marks of His Kingdom. These are two verses that will stoke the fire of our worship as we gather this Sunday, three days before another Christmas morning.
Psalm 62 | Life on this side of heaven is full of unmet expectations. Throughout our life we are met with the deep sense of things not being what we had planned or hoped them to be. The college choice has turned out to not be what we thought. The relationship with adult children isn't what you hoped it would be. You planned to be married by now. You prayed to have children by now. These unmet expectations can mark some of the greatest struggles and disappointments in life. How do we handle and where do we turn when life isn't what we expected? Let's turn to Psalm 62 for help and hope in the unmet expectations of life.