An Allegory
A Practical
Illustration of James 1*
The Cast:
Me/I – Jesus Christ, and to some extent his gospel messengers
The Woman – the false church, man-made church, or individual
lives
The House – her stance, position, lifestyle, practices, mind
and heart
The Story
Given to me by the
Lord via a dream
I Was Invited
“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” Vv. 5-8
I was at someone else’s house as an invited guest. It was
not my house. I did not live there. I was a visitor, a caller, a stranger. I
was invited (given an opportunity) by a woman – by the owner of the house – to
spend the night upstairs, and so I did. I spent (defeated) the night (the
darkness) upstairs (in the mind, thinking and attitude of this false church, or
in the mind of this individual’s life), where self, pride, and sin reigned
supreme.
But, as soon as I did that, I was ejected to the downstairs,
i.e. to a place of humility and lowliness, of being despised and rejected
because I had told her the truth, and she didn’t want to hear it (see vv. 2-4,
9-12). But, this is all part of our faith being tested, which produces
steadfastness in us, and that works in us its full effect, so that we can
become mature and complete.
I asked her to permit me to go back upstairs (into the
recesses of her mind) to examine self, pride and sinful practices going on
there – which included practices of sexual perversion, lies and adultery – to
examine for her how it all came about, and the detailed plan of action she had for
her own life. But, she refused (denied, declined) further access to her mind. Instead,
she set an upper limit, a barrier to further access to her mind (thinking,
attitudes).
It was as though she was hiding something she didn’t want me
to see (although God sees it all). She had said she wanted help, she needed
wisdom, but when I helped, then she cut off all access to further help.
The only view into her mind she would provide for me now was
through what was visible to the naked eye, i.e. via her history of addiction to
sin (her cycles), and via this obvious barrier she had erected to keep me from
examining her mind again. And, it was also through an unfriendly, immovable
opening into her heart, which was very slight, vague and indistinct, and it was
through her continued obvious quenching of the Holy Spirit’s voice to her.
For the Children
“Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.” Vv. 12-15
Then, I saw children (the immature) lining up (teaming up,
in an alliance) to get their hair (authority over their heads) cut (censored,
amended, reduced, edited), i.e. to get the authority of Almighty God censored and
edited out of their minds (thinking, believing, and attitudes).
For, the false church, in denying what Jesus Christ did for
them in defeating the darkness in their minds, and in refusing him further
access to their minds, also removed his authority from over their minds, too.
And, thus, this is what they are passing along to the children (to the naïve,
the immature).
But, these haircuts were unfamiliar to me, i.e. they were
not the same kind of haircut that I had received from God, which was a cutting
away of the flesh, i.e. of death to sin. Theirs was subject to no limits, no
restrictions, no commands. Mine was subject to repentance, a walk of obedience
to Christ and submission to the Lordship of Christ, all in His power and
strength.
But, they wanted me to get my hair cut like theirs, but I
told them that I already had mine cut (i.e. the cutting away of the flesh;
death to sin). They want Jesus to be like them. They want the gospel’s
messengers, too, to reject the true gospel and to follow a gospel of men (See
vv. 9-11).
Then, I noticed that towels (cloths) or burp (expel gas)
cloths (essence of something, coverings) were being used for the children.
Although they had been washed, yet when someone flung (tossed) them somewhere,
a bunch of them were covered in snot (see vv. 5-8).
The essence, thus, of what is being used for the children to
wipe out their sins is leaky, not secure, malfunctioning and covered in snot.
It provides a mere interruption to sin, on occasion, on a temporary basis, but it
does not put sin to death. It provides no permanent solution for the
eradication of sin from one’s life. It is mere vapor (smoke, nonsense), because
it is based in the flesh, not in the Spirit. This, my friends, is the cheap
grace gospel.
But, this is being tossed around among the immature, this
wind of teaching, this vapor, as though it is The Truth. But, it is nonsense. And,
so many of the immature (the naïve) are buying into it because it sounds good
and it feels good, and because it comforts them in their sin and it gives
permission to continue in what is snotty – prideful, contemptible,
disrespectful to God, and slimy – foul, despicable, devious and untrustworthy. But,
this is their covering (concealment) for their sin, this cheap grace gospel
(vapor).
In the Kitchen
“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.” Vv. 22-25
Now I was in the kitchen of this woman’s house. The kitchen
is where food (the Word of God) is prepared and served so that people can eat
(partake) in it. And, I was adding shelves into her cupboard to make space
(opportunity) for the tea and coffee to be shelved (put away, discarded, and abandoned).
For the tea and coffee (like dirty water) were dry (withered,
waterless, Spirit-less), perfumed (scented), leaves (departures from the
truth), and a mixture of truth and lies when combined with “hot water”
(trouble, sin). They are a shrub (hedge), i.e. they hedge, evade, circumvent
the truth. They are two-sided fruits, i.e. a mixture, being tossed back and
forth by the wind (gas, vapor) of false teaching. This is the half-truth
half-lies gospel.
The cheap grace gospel is also influenced heavily by East
Asian or Middle Eastern religions and their beliefs and practices, too, i.e.
many teas are cultivated in China and Japan. And, it gives permission to its
adherents to continue in their sinful addictions (to remain in the hot water).
This sounds a whole lot like the warnings in scripture with regard to not
drinking the cup of demons, for we can’t drink the cup of the Lord and of demons,
too.
So, this is about Jesus Christ providing the “shelving” (the
putting away) of all filthiness and rampant wickedness, so that we can receive
with meekness (humility) the implanted word, which is able to save our souls (vv.
19-21).
Through his death on a cross, he put sin to death on our
behalf, so that we can die to sin and live to Christ and to his righteousness;
so that we can put away all that wickedness and cheap grace, too, which permits
us to continue in “hot water,” i.e. in our sinful lifestyles (practices,
addictions).
But, just as I got everything arranged inside this cupboard,
i.e. just as soon as I had finished the work of shelving the tea and coffee,
i.e. of putting sin to death on a cross, then someone came along who wanted to
change it, to alter it, to say that we don’t have to obey the Word, that we can
just listen to it, but we don’t have to do what it says. But, I let them know
this work was complete and that it can’t be altered (see vv. 16-18).
He
Reached Down
An
Original Work / February 3, 2014
Based
off Psalm 18
How I love You, Lord, my Rock and my strength.
My God is my fortress; I hide in Him.
He is my shield and the horn of
My salvation, whom I praise.
I have found my refuge in Him.
He reached down from heaven and rescued me;
Drew me out of waters so deep, I’d sink.
He delivered me from Satan
And my slavery to sin;
Gave me hope of heaven with Him.
My God turned my darkness into His light;
Opened up my blinded eyes; gave me sight.
As for God, his way is perfect.
He gives strength to stand secure.
I have found my vict’ry in Him.
My Lord lives! Praise be to my Savior God,
Jesus Christ, who died on a cruel cross.
He is my Rock and the source
Of my salvation, whom I trust.
I will give praise always to Him.
Saturday, March 23, 2019
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