Beyond The Four Spiritual Laws

[Beetow]

• Jas 1:5 . . If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously
to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

Within the context of James' epistle, the phrase "any of you" pertains to the
recipients of his letter; viz: the Diaspora-- specifically those among the Diaspora
whose religion is Christianity. So then, the phrase "gives to all men" has to be
interpreted with that in mind; which means that "all men" doesn't pertain to just
any and all men on earth.

"But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a
wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will
receive anything from The Lord : he is a vacillating man, unstable in all he does."
(Jas 1:6-8)

Christians should never begin a prayer by saying "God; if you're out there".

"Without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe
that He is" (Heb 11:6)

Note the words "impossible" and "must" in that verse. A vacillating Christian who's
not sure there's a God out there is an unbelieving Christian, and can just forget a
reply from the Bible's God-- the instant the words of a vacillating prayer leaves
somebody's lips it goes directly to the dead-letter office.
_

 

[Beetow]

• Jas 1:9 . . Let the brother of humble circumstances glory in his high position;

According to 1Cor 1:26-29, relatively few prominent people make it to safety when
they cross over to the other side.

What is this "high position" that James wrote about? Well, I can think of no higher
position than being legal kin to the Bible's God and a family member around the
table in His own home. In my book, that beats an invitation to the White House any
day of the year.

The koiné Greek word for "glory" in Jas 1:9 is kauchaomai (kow-khah'-om-ahee)
which means: to vaunt; which Webster's defines as: to make a vain display of one's
own worth or attainments; viz: to brag; to call attention to with pride and often
boastfully. At the very least, I think the Lord's people should exult in their good
fortune to be an insider.

"The joy of the Lord is your strength." (Neh 8:10)
_

 

[Beetow]

• Jas 1:10 . .The rich should glory in that he is made low:

Jesus once remarked that it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle,
than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

The rich generally get above-average respect from the world due to their riches,
but God isn't influenced by wealth. No, with God wealth gets no red carpets, no
comps, and no VIP preferences; everyone is a commoner.

When the rich come before God with hat in hand and their heads down low instead
of held up high, then they have done something worthy of an attaboy because that
is a really, really big accomplishment for pampered people accustomed to better.
_

 

[Christ4Ever]

• Jas 1:10 . .The rich should glory in that he is made low:

Jesus once remarked that it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle,
than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

The rich generally get above-average respect from the world due to their riches,
but God isn't influenced by wealth. No, with God wealth gets no red carpets, no
comps, and no VIP preferences; everyone is a commoner.

When the rich come before God with hat in hand and their heads down low instead
of held up high, then they have done something worthy of an attaboy because that
is a really, really big accomplishment for pampered people accustomed to better.
_

I've heard it said that the quoted "eye of a needle" was in reference to side gate in Jerusalem, which was used at night and in which the camel had to be brought to their knees in order to be able to enter. I'd say that being brought to our knees would be the case for any of us receiving Christ, but in particular someone who looks to the things of the World for fulfillment, which makes it a more difficult task, as I'm sure it was to bring a camel to their knees!

Thank-you brother for your postings.

God bless.
YBIC
Nick
\o/
<><

 

[Beetow]

• Jas 1:13 . . No one who wants to do wrong should ever say: God is tempting me.
God cannot be tempted to do wrong, and He never tempts anyone else to do wrong
either.

Human nature has a dastardly propensity to blame others for its own faults. A
prime example is right in the beginning of the Bible in the book of Genesis. Adam
blamed the woman God gave him for his part in eating the forbidden fruit (Gen
3:12) and she in turn blamed the Serpent for her part in the act. (Gen 3:13)

Although God tempts no one to evil, He does put certain ones through the ringer to
see what they're made of-- even His own friends --to test and/or prove their
loyalty; e.g. Abraham (Gen 22:1-12) Jesus (Matt 4:1) the Jews. (Ex 15:23-25)

Criminals often gripe about entrapment when the cops catch them red handed in a
sting. But if the crooks were good citizens, entrapment wouldn't work on them.

Another popular excuse is enabling. For example some folks insist it's God fault that
Adam and Eve tasted the forbidden tree because He put it in the garden where they
could find it, viz: product liability.

Former US President Clinton was once asked in an interview why he messed around
with Monica Lewinski. He answered: Because I could. In other words: Ms Lewinski
wasn't a temptation; no, she was available, i.e. an opportunity.

And alcoholics blame their habit on genetic predilection.

I once heard it said that locks were invented to keep an honest man honest.
(chuckle) I think there's a lot of truth in that statement.

"Temptation comes from the lure of our own evil desires. These evil desires lead to
evil actions, and evil actions lead to death. So don't be misled, my dear brothers
and sisters." (Jas 1:14-16)
_

 

[Beetow]

• Jas 1:19 . . Let everyone be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger;

I can't help but wonder how many Christian parents have children whom-- in
teaching them good manners --they taught that it's impolite to interrupt when
others are speaking, but yet allow themselves liberty to practice just the opposite.

Anger per se isn't evil; I mean after all, The Lord himself wasn't immune to anger
(Mark 3:5). And neither is the Bible's God immune to anger. (Ex 4:14, Num 11:1,
Rom 1:18, Rom 2:8)

Non-sinful anger can be a valuable tool if it's administered intelligently. However,
human anger is often spontaneous, impulsive, unfair, unjustified, inappropriate,
irrational, unnecessary, controlling, violent, emotional, petulant, selfish, and
reactive.

"Man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires." (Jas 1:20)
_

 

[Beetow]

• Jas 1:21 . .Get rid of all moral filth, and the evil that is so prevalent; and humbly
accept the word planted in you, which can save you.

"moral filth and evil" in this case pertains especially to the wrong kind of anger;
which only leads to more and more actions the likes of which The Lord cannot
approve.

Christians are sometimes victims of a sort of knee-jerk reflex whenever they
encounter a word like "save". The Greek word for it is sozo (sode'-zo) which is
another ambiguous word that can mean save, rescue, protect, and/or spare.

Ambiguous words are not only a nuisance at times; but worse, they can be
misleading. James isn't talking about saving yourself from Hell and eternal suffering
by eliminating "all moral filth". No, that part of a believer's association with God is
past tense rather than future (John 5:24, Rom 6:3, Rom 6:6, Gal 2:20, Col 3:3,
1Thes 1:10, 1Thes 5:9, 2Tim 1:9, Titus 3:5).

"Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are . . hatred, contentions, and
outbursts of wrath" (Gal 5:19-21)

People whose anger easily flares up are slaves to their anger and enjoy far less
peace than somebody whose anger is under control: thus peaceable souls succumb
to temptation with much less frequency than angry ones.

There's a guy up here in Oregon who founded a bread factory with his brother that
became very successful. You might know it as Dave's Killer Bread. Well; Dave has
rage issues. He was paroled from prison not all that long ago and his life was on
easy street until he lost his temper and got in a bucket of trouble with law
enforcement.
_

 

[Beetow]

• Jas 1:22 . . Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what
it says.

Some Christians need to hone-up on their spiritual grooming habits.

"Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who
looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and
immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the
perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has
heard, but doing it-- he will be blessed in what he does." (Jas 1:23-25)

Jesus attached a valuable blessing to compliance with his words. (John 14:21-23)
_

 

[Beetow]

• Jas 2:1 . . My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ-- The Lord of
glory --with respect of persons.

The Greek word for "respect of persons" is prosopolepsia (pros-o-pol-ape-see’-ah)
which means: partiality.

Webster’s defines "partiality" as: partisan, prejudiced, biased, and/or granting one
person more value as a human being than another in regards to particulars like
age, race, gender, beauty, size, education, intellect, bank account, career, clothing,
popularity, neighborhood, and/or social status.

"For instance, suppose someone comes into your meeting dressed in flashy
clothing and expensive jewelry, and another comes in who is low-income and
dressed in shabby clothes. If you give special attention and a good seat to the rich
person, but you say to the poor one, "You can stand over there, or else sit on the
floor" --well, doesn’t this kind of discrimination show that you are guided by wrong
motives?" (Jas 2:2-4)

When I first began attending church as an adult back in the decade of the 1970's,
my wardrobe consisted entirely of shirts and trousers that I bought on the cheap at
Value Village-- a popular second hand store on the west coast the same as
Salvation Army and Goodwill.

I never told anybody where I shopped, although I've no doubt that some of the folk
I encountered in church could tell that my fashions were a tad out of date because
there were some upper income people attending that looked a whole lot nicer than
me; but I figured: what the hay; I had as much right to attend in my previously
owned clothing as they did in their untainted high-end threads. Some of them had
gold watches too while I sported a simple Timex with an imitation leather strap;
and I drove an aging 1968 VW Beetle that needed paint.

You know, looking back on that era, I sometimes wonder how many people at
church avoided me without my knowing it because my appearance and my vehicle
offended their sensibilities.
_

 

[Beetow]

• Jas 2:12 . . So speak and so act, as those who are to be judged by the law of
liberty.

The law of liberty is different than the law of the covenant that Moses' people
agreed upon with God as per Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. That
law is depicted in the New Testament as a law of bondage rather than freedom.
(Gal 5:1)

Within the context of James' epistle, the law of liberty-- i.e. the liberator's law
(Rom 8:2) --judges Christians by their treatment of other people in accord with
how Christ wants them to be treated in his name.

note: There are Christians out there who are so uncivil, so uncompromising, so
implacable so militant, so irritable, and so lacking the milk of human kindness, that
they would actually be doing Christ service by not identifying themselves with him.
Compare Mark 3:11-12 where Jesus commanded some evil spirits to keep their
mouth shut about his identity.
_

 

[Beetow]

• Jas 3:1 . . Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you realize
that we will be judged more strictly.
_

 

[Beetow]

• 1Cor 4:5 . . Judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till The Lord comes. He
will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and expose the motives of men's
hearts.

The "appointed time" is probably referring to the event described at 1Cor 3:5-15
when the work done by outstanding Christians will be evaluated for performance
awards.

Human nature has a propensity to shower accolades on religious celebrities without
having all the facts.

For example; we now know from Mother Teresa's private letters-- made public by
Father Brian Kolodiejchuk's book "Mother Teresa / Come Be My Light" --that Ms.
Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu was a nun with so little personal belief in God as to be an
agnostic; and yet for decades everyone the world over thought she was the cat's
meow and the bee's knees: a veritable poster child of piety in thought, word, and
deed. It turns out Teresa was a remarkable actor. Her public image bore no
resemblance whatsoever to the secret life of her inner being.

The Spirit's corroboration that comes to Christ's followers via Rom 8:16 never
happened for Teresa. As a result, the remarkable nun came to the end of her life
worried that if perchance there is a God, He didn't particularly like her and might
actually be quite intent upon condemning her.

Well; I'd have to say that if somebody is a Christian missionary with those kinds of
thoughts going thru their head, maybe they really ought to seriously consider
another line of work.
_

 

[Beetow]

• Jas 3:13-18 . .Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his
good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom. But if you have bitter rivalry
and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth.
This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural,
demonic.

. . . For where rivalry and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil
thing. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable,
full of compassion and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. And the seed
whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

The "seed whose fruit is righteousness" is oftentimes not sown in peace on internet
forums; nor is it sown on internet forums by people who make peace. It's sown by
flaming, competitive, assertive, confrontational people-- toxic, impulsive, mean
spirited personalities given to rejoinders, demeaning comments, recriminations and
fault finding. And if there's a problem, it's never them; no, you are the problem,
and for them; turning the other cheek is no longer in vogue.

Those kinds of people do not like to be wrong, nor can they even think of
themselves as wrong, nor are they likely to admit when they're wrong because
they're really not all that interested in the truth; but only in defending their version
of the truth; viz: their truth is far more important to them than even the God's
truth; and should you not accept their truth, then it's because you have no
understanding and need to come to your senses. These people are neither wise nor
gentle. They'll ride rough-shod over your feelings like a skate-boarder barreling
through Autumn leaves on the sidewalk. It's just awful how little they care for the
injuries their attitude and their choice of words cause others.

People who take it upon themselves to teach, preach, and/or discuss the Bible
ought to be sensible, and they ought to exemplify the Gospel. They can't be doing it
for the prestige, showing off, impressing their friends, and/or competing with a
rival. They have to be honest and forthright. They have to have a heart, they have
to be dedicated and reliable: they cannot be vacillating, they have to practice what
they preach, and they cannot be sarcastic, obtuse, difficult, contrary, quarrelsome,
snobby, pretentious, demeaning, domineering, despotic, assertive, confrontational,
stubborn, militant, pernicious, or pugnacious.

Christians that teach and/or discuss the Bible with others really ought to be
someone they can trust, and someone with whom they may speak their minds
without fear of reprisals instead of someone in whose presence everybody has to
walk on egg shells all the time.
_

 

[Beetow]

• Jas 4:7 . . So humble yourselves before God. Resist the Devil, and he will shun
you.

The Devil has the tactical advantage of being completely invisible, and no more
solid than the vacuum of space. So the human eye not only can't see the Devil, but
human touch can't feel him either. The Devil can't be bumped into, he gives off no
odor; he makes no sound, he takes up no space.

The Devil rules in the world of men primarily by punching human nature's buttons.
There's your first clue in how to resist the Devil.

"So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the inclinations of the flesh."
(Gal 5:16-17)

Living by the Spirit isn't mysterious. All it really means is doing as God expects
rather than permitting one's self to be manipulated by the impulses, proclivities,
predilections, and propensities of human nature. We can't stop those forces of
human nature from doing their thing any more than we can stop our lungs from
demanding we take breaths. But they can be suppressed if one puts their mind to
it.

"Take a firm stand against him, and be strong in your faith." (1Pet 5:9)

The Devil has many allies, not only in the form of spirit beings, but also in the form
of ordinary human beings who agree with his ways without their knowledge.

"As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to
live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the
air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient." (Eph 2:1-2)

Among the disobedient are Christian teachers, preachers, and ordained ministers
(2Cor 11:14-5). It's fairly easy to avoid being hoodwinked by cults; but not so easy
to avoid being misled by bona fide Christian churches and whatnot who are covertly
working for the Devil. According to Eph 4:14, they can be very convincing.

The point is: since we can't fight the Devil's kingdom on its own terms, then the
best defense is submission to Christ's commandments which, if complied with, will
go a long ways towards frustrating our adversary.
_

 

[Beetow]

• Jas 4:8-10 . . Draw close to God, and God will draw close to you. Wash your
hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, you hypocrites. Let there be tears for the
wrong things you have done.

. . . Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter,
and gloom instead of joy. When you bow down before The Lord and admit your
dependence on him, he will lift you up and give you honor.

This seems to be targeting pretense, i.e. passing one's self off as a Christian while
having little to no concern about putting Christianity's principles into practice. In
other words: not just regular sinners, rather, career sinners; Christians for whom
non compliance with Christ's expectations is a way of life.
_

 

[Beetow]

• Jas 4:11a . . Do not speak evil of one another, brethren.

The Greek word for "speak evil" is katalaleo (kat-al-al-eh'-o) which means: a
traducer, a slanderer.

Webster's defines "slander" as: the utterance of false charges or misrepresentations
which defame and/or damage another's reputation and/or a false and defamatory
oral statement about a person; viz: libel.

Webster's defines "libel" as: 1) a written or oral defamatory statement or
representation that conveys an unjustly unfavorable impression, and 2) a
statement or representation published without just cause and tending to expose
another to public contempt.

According to Webster's, a statement (or a photograph) need not be untrue to
qualify as libel. If the statement, and/or the photograph, is unnecessarily
denigrating and/or embarrassing to someone, though it be 100% true, then it
qualifies as libel.

There are some things we could say about others that, though true, aren't
necessary. For example, if you were to inadvertently see one of the ladies in the
office scratching an itch on her derriere; is it really necessary to go blabbing about
it all over the office? (cf. Gen 9:20-22)

No; and in point of fact, to do so would be libelous, not to mention possibly in
violation of local labor laws banning the fomentation of a hostile workplace; and
these days, it could even be construed as sexual misconduct. If that lady ever
found out you were blabbing about her derriere she might be so mortified as to
make it difficult for her to show up for work.

Words are weapons,
Sharper than knives.
The Devil Inside / INXS / Andrew Farriss and Michael Hutchence
_

 

[Beetow]

• Jas 4:11b-12 . . He who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother, speaks
evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of
the law but a judge. There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who
are you to judge another?

Someone is sure to jump to the conclusion that James is referring to Matt 7:1-5 but
this has nothing to do with that. What we’re talking about here is a kangaroo court
which Webster’s defines as: (1) a mock court in which the principles of law and
justice are disregarded or perverted, (2) a court characterized by irresponsible,
unauthorized, or irregular status or procedures, and (3) judgment or punishment
given outside of legal procedure.

One way to speak evil of the law, and judge the law, is to misrepresent the law by
construing it to mean things it doesn't say in writing; in other words: to overrule it
and/or criticize the law as out of date.

When a group of beer buddies, and/or a coffee clutch of girl friends, get together
and rake somebody over the coals behind their back, those buddies and girl friends
are conducting a kangaroo court in which the evidence presented is typically hear
say, feelings, thoughts, and impressions. I believe the common colloquialism for
that activity is "character assassination."

Typically the accused is never informed of the trial, nor given an opportunity to
confront their accusers, nor are they granted the right to an appeal. Sadly, yet all
to commonly, once kangaroo courts reach a consensus, the condemned person’s
reputation among those kinds of “judges” is ruined forever with no chance of repair.
_

 

[Beetow]

• Jas 4:13-16 . . Come now, you who say: Today or tomorrow, we shall go to such
and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.

. . .Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor
that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say: If
The Lord wills, we shall live and also do this or that. But as it is, you boast in your
self confidence; all such boasting is evil.

There are two benefits to my association with God that I value very highly. One is
the ransom that His son paid to rescue my soul from the death depicted at Rev
20;11-15; viz: the destination spoken of at Isa 66:23-24, Mark 9:43-48, and Luke
16:19-31.

The second benefit that I value very highly is providence; which is the thing that
James is getting at. His criticism is directed towards overly ambitious Christians
who deliberately neglect to take into consideration God's thoughts about their
schemes.

They also neglect to take into consideration the brevity of life. In other words: if
you're getting by alright in your present circumstances, don't seek better
circumstances. Instead, live out the remaining days of your fragile life where you
are now unless circumstances beyond your control force you to relocate and make
some changes.

"Piety, with contentment, is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and
we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content
with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many
foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love
of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have
wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with much grief." (1Tim 6:6-10)
_

 

[Beetow]

• Jas 5:1-3 . . Come now, you rich, weep and wail over your impending miseries.
Your wealth has rotted away, your clothes have become moth-eaten, your gold and
silver have corroded, and that corrosion will be a testimony against you; it will
devour your flesh like a fire. You have stored up treasure for the last days.

Gold doesn't react with oxygen so it won't rust; however, gold isn't indestructible.
Under certain conditions gold will tarnish, e.g. long-term storage in boxes, bins,
and or environments containing organic sulfur compounds. In other words; James
condemns the rich for stockpiling their gold and never putting any of it to a use
beneficial to their fellow man.

The worst case scenario is the hoarding of gold that rightfully belonged to laborers
who worked to earn it.

"Behold, the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields, and which has been
withheld by you, cries out against you; and the outcry of those who did the
harvesting has reached the ears of The Lord of Sabaoth." (Jas 5:4)

James' final comment actually accuses unfair labor practices of murder because
they deprive the working man of a living wage; and of course most of the world's
working men do not challenge unfair labor practices in court because they simply
cannot afford to; and in some countries, they would risk severe political reprisals if
they dared.

"You have condemned and put to death the righteous man; he does not resist you."
(Jas 5:6)

The "righteous man" in this context refers to people putting in an honest day's work
and not being fairly compensated for it and/or employers contriving tricky ways to
short change them by deducting trumped up expenses from their pay. There's a lot
of that goes on in the garment industry.

It's still true even in our day that only the rich and powerful can afford justice.
However; there's a day coming when that imbalance will all come to an end.

"He will defend the afflicted among the people and save the children of the needy;
he will crush the oppressor." (Ps 72:4)

"But with righteousness He will judge the poor, and decide with fairness for the
afflicted of the earth;" (Isa 11:4)
_

 

[Beetow]

• Jas 5:7-8 . . Persevere, therefore, brethren, until the coming of The Lord. Behold,
the farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it
gets the early and late rains. You too be patient; be strong, for the coming of The
Lord is at hand.

The Greek word translated "at hand" is eggizo (eng-id'-zo) which means: to make
near; viz: approach

So then, "at hand" doesn’t necessarily mean The Lord is poised to drop in any
second now, but rather, his arrival is approaching and getting nearer by the minute.

Although James' encouragement no doubt applies to all believers, it especially
applies to his Jewish countrymen. They have been waiting, and waiting, and waiting
for God to fulfill the promises He made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and to
restore David's kingdom as per the voices of the prophets. I'm told that many have
given up hope of the promises and the predictions ever coming to pass. But James
says don't give up; God is reliable; and He and the kingdom are both worth waiting
for no matter how long it takes.

The problem is: according to 2Pet 3:9, The Lord is actually reluctant to return;
primarily because of the amount of suffering and loss of life that will occur when he
does.

Take for example Rev 16:18-19 where there's predicted a world-wide earthquake
preceding Christ's return so severe on the Richter scale that cities all over the world
will collapse at once.

Something like 2,829 lost their lives when the World Trade Center was demolished
by a terrorist attack in 2001. Well that was only a few acres of New York City. Just
imagine the body count when all of Manhattan comes down at once. along with
other major cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco, Mexico City, Paris, Moscow,
Beijing, Tokyo, et al. The carnage will be beyond belief. Surely nobody in a right
mind is anxious to see all of that start to happen.
_