James 1:16-18 ESV
“Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.”
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above. Jesus
Christ is God’s gift to us to be our Messiah and Lord. Our salvation is God’s
gift of grace to us. The faith to believe in Jesus is authored and perfected by
Jesus Christ, so it comes from God, and it is gifted to us by God, and it is
not of our own doing. And faith, which comes from God, is God the Father’s
persuasion to us who believe, as to his holiness and righteousness, and of our
sinfulness, and of our need to repent of our sins and to walk in obedience to
our Lord.
[Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 12:1-2; Ephesians 2:8-10; John 6:44]
So, all this comes from God, and thus it is all going to
align with God’s will and purpose for our lives. And it is going to be of the
same nature of God in all his holiness and righteousness. So our faith, which
comes from God, and which is gifted to us by God, is going to agree with God,
and it is going to adhere to his character. For he is righteous, holy, upright,
morally pure, honest, faithful, and just. So this faith is not permission to
keep sinning.
So, anything the Scriptures teach us is from God, and if it
is gifted to us by God, then it is not going to align with the world and with
the philosophies of the world, and it will not appease human flesh. So if
anyone is telling you that you can believe in Jesus but that nothing else is
required of you – no repentance, no obedience, and no surrender of your life to
Christ – then they are lying to you. And if they are telling you that you can
have heaven guaranteed you but how you live doesn’t matter, they are lying to
you.
Just because humans have altered the gospel message to make
it more palatable to human flesh, it doesn’t mean that God has changed or that
he has now shifted a different direction. He is still the same yesterday,
today, and forever. And the truth of his Word and his requirements for those
who profess the name of Jesus have not been altered by God. Only by man. So he
still requires death to sin and living to God and to his righteousness.
For, if we do not die with him to sin, and if we do not
forsake our sins to follow him in walks of obedience to him, but sin is what we
practice, the Scriptures are very clear on that subject. We will die in our
sins and we will not have eternal life with God. For we can’t change God to
meet our standards and we can’t alter the gospel message to fit our lifestyles.
For not everyone who says to Jesus, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of
heaven, but only the one DOING the will of God the Father (Matthew 7:21-23).
James 1:19-21 ESV
“Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.”
So, we need to be quick to hear the Word of the Lord. And we
should listen carefully to what the Scriptures teach us (in context) about what
is required of us for salvation and for eternal life with God. For with God’s
promises come stipulations (requirements). He doesn’t just hand us his
salvation. We must be crucified with him in death to sin and raised with him to
walk in newness of life in him, and then we must now walk (in conduct, in
practice) no longer according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit (Romans
6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Titus 2:11-14; Ephesians 4:17-24; Romans 12:1-2).
So, if someone presents to us this truth of the gospel, but
that is not what we had been taught, we should not let that anger and upset us.
Instead, we should dig into the Scriptures and read them in their context, and
let the Holy Spirit speak truth into our hearts and minds. For many of us were
taught some things wrongly. And many are still being taught the gospel of
salvation wrongly. For we can’t just make a profession of faith in Christ and
now heaven is guaranteed us. We have to die daily to sin and to self and walk
in obedience to our Lord’s commands (Luke 9:23-26).
The Prayer
Written by David Foster, Carole Bayer Sager,
Alberto Testa and Tony Renis
I pray you'll be our eyes
And watch us where we go
And help us to be wise
In times when we don't know
Let this be our prayer
When we lose our way
Lead us to a place
Guide us with your grace
To a place where we'll be safe.
I pray we'll find your light
And hold it in our hearts
When the stars go out each night
Remind us where you are.
Let this be our prayer
When shadows fill our day
Lead us to a place
Guide us with your grace
To a place where we'll be safe.
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