12 There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you—who are you to judge your neighbor?
James 4:12
Christians are never to judge others in a hypocritical way. We all need to realize that we are sinners with blind spots and we may not have all the information. The Lord will judge and we can trust that God’s judgement will be righteous and holy.
Christians need to be discerning in their lives. God’s people are called to test, try, and obey. Yet, we ought to never judge with harshness and hypocrisy. Let us trust in Lord that He will sort everything out in the end.
11 Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sisteror judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it.
James 4:11
The principle from James 4:11 is simple and to the point—don’t slander fellow believers. We are not to judge the intent of the hearts of others. We should be working to reign in our own hearts and desires.
Obviously, Christians should not slander anyone regardless of whether they are a Christian or not. The precept here is in the context of the teaching of James about how Believers are to interact with one another.
May God help us to love and not slander those in our path.
Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. James 1:17
Every good gift, every perfect gift is from the Father. We are thankful for all that God does for us. Let us recollect a few of these wonderful gifts.
The gift of eternal life…………………..
“As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up;so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”
John 3:14-16
The gift of health…………………..
The LORD will give strength to His people; The LORD will bless His people with peace.
Psalm 29:11
The gift of His presence……………….
“I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.
John 14:18
The gift of His power………………….
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”
7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.
James 4:7-10
Several commands are given in these verses by the Apostle James. They are…………..
Today, let’s talk about the three Ls of Christian growth. We find these principles scattered throughout the Bible. Let’s look at them for a few moments.
What is the first L? It is listen. To grow in Christ one must learn to listen. We must listen to God’s Word, listen for the promptings of the Spirit, and listen as God speaks through others. We love to talk, but, we would do much better if would learned to listen.
Psalm 34:1 Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
Proverbs 12:15 The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, But a wise man is he who listens to counsel.
The second L is learn. Spiritual maturity requires us to learn more about Christ through the Scriptures. We are to be learning everyday of our lives. The growth we experience may arrive slowly. However, it will be steady if we are continually learning through the Bible, through the Church, and through the leadership of the Holy Spirit.
2 Timothy 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
The final L is love. To grow in Christ we must grow in love. There more we understand what Christ has done and who He is, the more we increase in love for Him. Jesus loved us more than we can ever understand (Romans 5:8-11). Therefore, we should be continually flourishing in love day by day.
Matthew 22:37-40 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.This is the first and great commandment.And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
Let us all make commitments this week to grow in the three Ls. May we master the art of listening. Let us seek to gain a greater grasp of the Word of God. And may the end result be a thriving love for God and for others.
4 You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.5 Or do you think that the Scripture says to no purpose, “He jealously desires the Spirit whom He has made to dwell in us”?6 But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.”
James 4:4-6
Christian, you and I must make a choice. Are we going to be friends with the world system in which we find ourselves? Or are we going to serve the God of grace who gives mercy to the humble? The Apostle tells us we cannot to do both. We have to make a choice.
Let us strive to serve the Lord. The lost and those who are of this world will not understand. May we serve our Savior nonetheless!
This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men.
Titus 3:8
**Live Compassionately
Matthew 22:38-40
**Live Consistently
**Live Confidently
Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ
2 You lust and do not have, so you commit murder. And you are envious and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask with the wrong motives, so that you may spend what you request on your pleasures.
James 4:2-3
Dear Christian, when we pray, let us consider the Apostle’s admonitions……………..
1 My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Far from my help are the words of my groaning.2 My God, I cry out by day, but You do not answer; And by night, but I have no rest.3 Yet You are holy, You who are enthroned upon the praises of Israel.4 In You our fathers trusted; They trusted and You rescued them. 5 To You they cried out and they fled to safety; In You they trusted and were not disappointed. 6 But I am a worm and not a person, A disgrace of mankind and despised by the people. 7 All who see me deride me; They sneer, they shake their heads, saying, 8 “Turn him over to the LORD; let Him save him; Let Him rescue him, because He delights in him.”
Psalm 22:1-8
In Psalm 22, we see…………..
**Jesus forsaken (1-2)
**Jesus’ humiliation (6-7)
**Jesus’ suffering (14-16)
**Jesus’ degradation (17)
**Jesus’ humanity (18)
Jesus knows and understands our heartaches and sorrows. Our Savior is well aware of all that His people face here in this life. He knows because He has been here. Christ understands!
mrtonyfrench 