James 2:8 - If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well:
Verse 8 is the principle. If you fulfil the royal law, and this is the same as the law of liberty. It's called Torah or Kingdom Law. Royal means belonging to the king. If you fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, and this is Leviticus 19:18, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, and then he says you do well:
And then in Verse 9, we have the problem:
James 2:9 - But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.
But if you have respect to persons (showing partiality or discrimination), you commit sin, and are convinced (or convicted) of the law as transgressors.
James 2:15 - If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,
It says if a brother or sister be naked, that is, they have insufficient clothing. It doesn't mean that they are bare naked. It means that they have insufficient clothing. And destitute of daily food. The word food means nourishment. So, we're talking here about the necessities of life.
James 2:16 - And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?
And one of you say unto them, and this is a traditional Jewish phrase, "Depart in peace," that's Shalom, be ye warmed and filled; You say this, notwithstanding you give them not those things which are needful to the body; so, what does it profit?
You see, if a poor person comes in that's not clothed properly for the winter, or just doesn't have proper clothing, and maybe needs food, he's talking to believers because their whole value system has been corrupted. "Well, I'll say a prayer for you, okay? I'll pray that God provides warmth and food for you along the way." And then you go over to the rich person and spend all your time with the rich person, showing favoritism. What is the benefit of this?
James 2:17 - Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
Even so faith, if it has not works (that is, activity), is dead, being alone. It's dead faith. That means it's not living. It's not alive. If you put a Geiger counter up to their heart, the needle wouldn't even move!
Amen! As long as we understand that we cannot produce anything spiritual, we do well. The only thing we can produce is flesh! And the only spiritual good that God approves of is the work of His Spirit. It is such a blessing to be used by God from time to time as He sees fit, but He is the one who does the work, and He alone receives the glory. We have nothing to boast.
I believe your inquiry is what did I mean by this part of my post.
(It's not a demonstrative works trip we put ourselves on, it is a demonstration of power from God that works in us.
A believers should ask themselves, "Am I doing this for me? Is it organic or natural?
The lack of God's faith would put one on a works trip.
I believe the love of Christ in us accomplishes the activity of God in our lives)
However, I didn't say "Am I doing this for God?"
I believe any Spiritual good that we do, it is God doing it THROUGH us. "For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. Philippians 2:13.
We ask what is our motives, WHO ARE GLORYFYING? Ourselves or God?
Am I trying to PRODUCE my own fruit?
In John 15 Jesus said "I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for WITHOUT ME YOU CAN DO NOTHING.
Also.
I stated, "The lack of God's faith would put one on a works trip'.
Are we doing what we do to be sure of salvation? Or are we doing it because we are saved?
I believe God saves us and it is he that sanctifies us.
Matthews 7:22-23 reads Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
Have you noticed this passage of scripture is not pointing out the sins in these people, life that is hindering them.
The emphasis is on all the good they thought they were doing in Jesus name.
Here we have a person doing things in the flesh and not being led by the spirit because Christ was NEVER in them.
In our culture and society down through the years, we somehow got all messed up, and now we're on a works trip. Some people teach that "If you have enough faith to believe, God will bless you." What a trap! They hold seminars and charge a lot of money per person on how to have enough faith to get rich.
But in the meantime, while you're trying to figure that out and they are taking your money, they're becoming rich. Do you see how that works? They show up in their expensive suits and rings and they say look at me. You can have these things too. This shows success that what I'm about to teach you works because look, it works for me!
And people fall for this, and they show up. It's like look at this guy. See how rich he is. If it works for him it's got to work for me. I'll pay the money for this. It's just the opposite of what the scripture says. But we choose to believe it because we get in debt, and we get in hardships, and there's things that we want that we can't get, and it appeals to us just like it did to the poor Jewish believers who had nothing.
But the faith of the bible is a word that describes the presence and activity of God's Spirit. It has nothing to do with a human being, except that this activity is going on inside of them because of the presence of God's Spirit.
Works does not produce faith. But faith produces works. In other words, if somebody came up to me and said, "You know, you could be richer if you believed certain pieces of scripture from the bible and you had enough faith," I would have to work at it. It would be my works producing the faith. That's not the faith of the bible. That's human works. But yet faith itself that comes from God is working. It's active. It has to be.
If you've got the Spirit of God who created the universe and holds it all together, and He lives inside of you, and for you to say nothing's happening, or He's not ministering to me, or He's not convicting me or doing anything in my life, that's where the writers of the bible say that it's time to take inventory.
I don't know how you got saved, but that's what salvation means, that you are born of the Spirit of God. It doesn't mean that you have intellectual agreement with the bible. It means you've been born of the Spirit of God. So, if a man says that he has faith, and doesn't have activity, can his faith save him? No! He has a human faith that bears no fruit that he has spiritual faith that only comes from God.
James 2:14 - What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?
He says what doth it profit, my brethren, and again he's talking to believers, though a man should say, and that's a Subjunctive, a man should say that he has faith, and have not works? Can faith save him? Literally, can the faith save him? Faith has a Definite Article in the Greek text. And the question itself in Greek expects the answer no. Can the faith save him if he says he has faith but does not have works?
Now the word works in the Greek text literally means activity. And if I put faith and activity together, I understand that if God's Spirit is present in me, he's not dormant. I mean the energy of God is active and alive. I might not be able to sense it as a human being, but His Spirit is active and alive in me.
If faith is a word that describes the presence and activity of God's Spirit, what he's saying is that if you say you have the faith, but you don't have any activity of faith in you, can the faith that you're talking about save you? And the answer is no. you do not have saving faith!
And as I've shared with you before, there are two kinds of faith, human faith, and the biblical faith which is spiritual. The human faith is found in everyday life. We live by faith. I don't know if you realize that or not but the fact that you get dressed and go someplace shows that you thought you were going to make it there. You get ready expecting to be there. There's another kind of human faith that's religious. We carry it into the religious part of our life in a human way. And we produce our own faith. And that's what most people teach today, the human faith. They say where is your faith?
James 2:8 - If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well:
Verse 8 is the principle. If you fulfil the royal law, and this is the same as the law of liberty. It's called Torah or Kingdom Law. Royal means belonging to the king. If you fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, and this is Leviticus 19:18, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, and then he says you do well:
And then in Verse 9, we have the problem:
James 2:9 - But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.
But if you have respect to persons (showing partiality or discrimination), you commit sin, and are convinced (or convicted) of the law as transgressors.
James 2:15 - If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,
It says if a brother or sister be naked, that is, they have insufficient clothing. It doesn't mean that they are bare naked. It means that they have insufficient clothing. And destitute of daily food. The word food means nourishment. So, we're talking here about the necessities of life.
James 2:16 - And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?
And one of you say unto them, and this is a traditional Jewish phrase, "Depart in peace," that's Shalom, be ye warmed and filled; You say this, notwithstanding you give them not those things which are needful to the body; so, what does it profit?
You see, if a poor person comes in that's not clothed properly for the winter, or just doesn't have proper clothing, and maybe needs food, he's talking to believers because their whole value system has been corrupted. "Well, I'll say a prayer for you, okay? I'll pray that God provides warmth and food for you along the way." And then you go over to the rich person and spend all your time with the rich person, showing favoritism. What is the benefit of this?
James 2:17 - Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
Even so faith, if it has not works (that is, activity), is dead, being alone. It's dead faith. That means it's not living. It's not alive. If you put a Geiger counter up to their heart, the needle wouldn't even move!
Great lesson!
If Christ Spirit is in us it's impossible to "not" bear fruit.
We don't produce the fruit. We bear it!
It is Christ that works in us and if he is not working in you he's not in you.
I love the Greek word you mentioned for works. (ACTIVITY) And it's not us acting out or completing a task.
It's the Lords Spirit that fills and activates these vessels of ours!
It's not a demonstrative works trip we put ourselves on, it is a demonstration of power from God that works in us.
A believers should ask themselves, "Am I doing this for me? Is it organic or natural?
The lack of God's faith would put one on a works trip.
I believe the love of Christ in us accomplishes the activity of God in our lives.
Thank you and God bless you for a lesson on this highly debated section of scripture.
Amen! As long as we understand that we cannot produce anything spiritual, we do well. The only thing we can produce is flesh! And the only spiritual good that God approves of is the work of His Spirit. It is such a blessing to be used by God from time to time as He sees fit, but He is the one who does the work, and He alone receives the glory. We have nothing to boast.
God Bless!!!
Am I doing this for me? Yes
Am I doing this for God? Yes could you help me understand what you mean when asking this question ?
Thanks for responding.
I believe your inquiry is what did I mean by this part of my post.
(It's not a demonstrative works trip we put ourselves on, it is a demonstration of power from God that works in us.
A believers should ask themselves, "Am I doing this for me? Is it organic or natural?
The lack of God's faith would put one on a works trip.
I believe the love of Christ in us accomplishes the activity of God in our lives)
However, I didn't say "Am I doing this for God?"
I believe any Spiritual good that we do, it is God doing it THROUGH us. "For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. Philippians 2:13.
We ask what is our motives, WHO ARE GLORYFYING? Ourselves or God?
Am I trying to PRODUCE my own fruit?
In John 15 Jesus said "I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for WITHOUT ME YOU CAN DO NOTHING.
Also.
I stated, "The lack of God's faith would put one on a works trip'.
Are we doing what we do to be sure of salvation? Or are we doing it because we are saved?
I believe God saves us and it is he that sanctifies us.
Matthews 7:22-23 reads Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
Have you noticed this passage of scripture is not pointing out the sins in these people, life that is hindering them.
The emphasis is on all the good they thought they were doing in Jesus name.
Here we have a person doing things in the flesh and not being led by the spirit because Christ was NEVER in them.
God bless.
James 2:14 Continued
In our culture and society down through the years, we somehow got all messed up, and now we're on a works trip. Some people teach that "If you have enough faith to believe, God will bless you." What a trap! They hold seminars and charge a lot of money per person on how to have enough faith to get rich.
But in the meantime, while you're trying to figure that out and they are taking your money, they're becoming rich. Do you see how that works? They show up in their expensive suits and rings and they say look at me. You can have these things too. This shows success that what I'm about to teach you works because look, it works for me!
And people fall for this, and they show up. It's like look at this guy. See how rich he is. If it works for him it's got to work for me. I'll pay the money for this. It's just the opposite of what the scripture says. But we choose to believe it because we get in debt, and we get in hardships, and there's things that we want that we can't get, and it appeals to us just like it did to the poor Jewish believers who had nothing.
James 2:14 Continued
But the faith of the bible is a word that describes the presence and activity of God's Spirit. It has nothing to do with a human being, except that this activity is going on inside of them because of the presence of God's Spirit.
Works does not produce faith. But faith produces works. In other words, if somebody came up to me and said, "You know, you could be richer if you believed certain pieces of scripture from the bible and you had enough faith," I would have to work at it. It would be my works producing the faith. That's not the faith of the bible. That's human works. But yet faith itself that comes from God is working. It's active. It has to be.
If you've got the Spirit of God who created the universe and holds it all together, and He lives inside of you, and for you to say nothing's happening, or He's not ministering to me, or He's not convicting me or doing anything in my life, that's where the writers of the bible say that it's time to take inventory.
I don't know how you got saved, but that's what salvation means, that you are born of the Spirit of God. It doesn't mean that you have intellectual agreement with the bible. It means you've been born of the Spirit of God. So, if a man says that he has faith, and doesn't have activity, can his faith save him? No! He has a human faith that bears no fruit that he has spiritual faith that only comes from God.
James 2:14 - What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?
He says what doth it profit, my brethren, and again he's talking to believers, though a man should say, and that's a Subjunctive, a man should say that he has faith, and have not works? Can faith save him? Literally, can the faith save him? Faith has a Definite Article in the Greek text. And the question itself in Greek expects the answer no. Can the faith save him if he says he has faith but does not have works?
Now the word works in the Greek text literally means activity. And if I put faith and activity together, I understand that if God's Spirit is present in me, he's not dormant. I mean the energy of God is active and alive. I might not be able to sense it as a human being, but His Spirit is active and alive in me.
If faith is a word that describes the presence and activity of God's Spirit, what he's saying is that if you say you have the faith, but you don't have any activity of faith in you, can the faith that you're talking about save you? And the answer is no. you do not have saving faith!
And as I've shared with you before, there are two kinds of faith, human faith, and the biblical faith which is spiritual. The human faith is found in everyday life. We live by faith. I don't know if you realize that or not but the fact that you get dressed and go someplace shows that you thought you were going to make it there. You get ready expecting to be there. There's another kind of human faith that's religious. We carry it into the religious part of our life in a human way. And we produce our own faith. And that's what most people teach today, the human faith. They say where is your faith?
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