Good morning and welcome in. Today we are going to take a look at a passage of scripture from the book of James.
James 1:21-25
Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.
But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.
The Bible is filled with promises, but in order to obtain them, there are certain things that we need to do. One of the first things is trusting and having faith in God enough, that we begin to do things His way rather than our own. In order to be blessed in your deed one must first become a doer of the Word. A doer is a person of action, rather than someone who is idle and does nothing.
Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
In this verse, God gives us the promise that he will reward us, but in order to claim that promise we must diligently seek him.
A farmer may promise to pay you $10 an hour to come and pick rocks out of his field. If you are going to claim that promise, you need to get up and go to work in the morning. Do you really expect the farmer to pay you if you never even bothered to show up? If your dad promised to buy you a car when you walked across the stage at graduation, yet you choose to quit school or flunk out, do you really still expect to get the car? Obtaining a promise requires some effort on our part.
James 2:17-24
Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.
If someone truly possesses faith in their heart towards Jesus, it will result in works of faith and obedience. Faith in Christ is perfected by works. Claiming to have faith but not having any works to show for it is vain.
When someone prays the Lord’s prayer, they petition God that His will be done. God’s will is taught to us through scripture, so if you’re not going to make an attempt to do what it says, it’s because of a dead faith. It’s wanting to believe that you are going to be in heaven but not doing anything that Christianity teaches us to do. That’s not being a doer, that’s being lazy. That’s like someone professing that they are a mechanic but cannot discern between the muffler and the air cleaner. Doing the will of God is imperative to inherit the promise of everlasting life.
Matthew 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Luke 6:46 – And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?
Here is another passage about doing God’s will.
Matt 21:28-32 But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard. He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went. And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not. Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto him, The first.
Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you. For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him.
Real faith in the promises of God will result in real action. Faith is more than words alone it produces results. Many false teachers have turned Christianity into a do-nothing religion, where nothing is required on your part, but you can still go to heaven. Jesus refers to His family as those who do the will of God. So you see, there is something that must be done on your part, it’s doing God’s will which is paramount to enter into heaven someday.
Matt 12:47-50 Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee. But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren? And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.
Obtaining the promises of God requires serving Him with a desire to do His will. After all, how can one profess to be a follower of Christ, when they follow themselves? There are numerous forms of false Christianity that are teaching liberty, grace and forgiveness but without any kind of requirement to do God’s will. God hates sin, and it will be punished forever in the lake of fire. Christians are called to mortify the flesh, and to serve God rather than their sinful nature. These same people profess liberty but they themselves are the servants of corruption. True freedom and liberty is the anihilihilation of sinful living, through faith and God’s grace.
God doesn’t want any to perish but that all men would come to repentance. In order to completely transform from a sinner into a saint one must believe in the truth of scripture. It is faith in the teachings of God’s Holy Word that guides and leads us on the path of Salvation. It is akin to a lamp under our feet that shows us the way to heaven. We must follow His way rather than our own, and as a perfect, loving heavenly father, He knows what’s best for us.
Jesus came down the Earth and died on the cross for our sins. In faith, we must walk towards Him and follow Him in order to obtain the final promise of eternal inheritance.
He has already met us halfway. Are you ready to walk…..
…the other half?
Let’s think about those things for right now, and Lord willing, we can talk some more later on. Till then, bye bye everybody.❤️
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