Five ways to prove your faith is alive

"Receive... the implanted word" - RGBStock.com photo

TODAY'S SPECIAL: James 1-3; Psalm 31

TO CHEW ON: "But be doers of the word and not hearers only deceiving yourselves. … Thus also faith by itself, it if does not have works, is dead." James 1:22; 2:17.


In our reading today, James stresses the importance of living what we claim to believe. He begins by clarifying where those beliefs originate. They are not our ideas but come from the word: "… receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls" - James 1:21.

He goes on to give five examples of things we do that prove our faith is alive. The person with a living faith:

1. Controls his / her tongue - James 1:25
The phrase used for control in the NKJV is "bridle his tongue" (James 1:25). A bridle is "the head harness including bit and reins, used to guide or restrain a horse" - Funk & Wagnall's Dictionary. The bit goes into the horse's mouth, the harness—leather straps attached to each side of the bit—fits over the horse's muzzle and the driver or rider holds the reins to control and steer the horse. What a picture of a self-controlled mouth / speech—or better yet, a metaphor of speech controlled by the Holy Spirit, the One who should be in our life's saddle.

2. Gives practical help to society's poor - James 1:26.
"Orphans and widows" are named here.
Visit  - episkeptomai  is more than a mere social call. It means to look upon or after, to inspect, examine with the eyes in order to see how he is; to look upon in order to help or benefit; to look about or look out for one to choose, employ etc.

3. Stays pure - James 1:26.
The NKJV uses the phrase "unspotted from the world." The NASB says "unstained." The Amplified adds "uncontaminated." 

4. Treats everyone the same - James 2:1-9.
James takes quite a bit of space to describe the tendency of his readers to fawn over those who appear wealthy while sidelining the poor person. He calls it "partiality" and names it what it is: "sin" - James 2:9.

5. Is generous to the needy brother or sister - James 2:15-16.
James uses the word "give" to describe what they do for these people.
Give - didomi means to give of one's own accord, to let have, supply, furnish necessary things, hand out lots. The sense is of generous, no-questions-asked giving.

Two thousand-plus years later, this list is as relevant as it ever was. Let's challenge ourselves today by living out practical proofs in these ways—and others—that our faith is truly alive.


PRAYER: Dear God, help me today to express through my actions the love and commitment I say that have to You. Amen. 

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 31

The Bible Project VIDEO: James (Read Scripture Series)



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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

What sort of a judge are you?

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Psalm 82:1-8

TO CHEW ON: "How long will you judge unjustly
And show partiality to the wicked?' - Psalm 82:2

Frustration with the justice system is nothing new. Here psalm writer Asaph pours out to God his feelings about corrupt judges.

Now I know that not many of us are actual judges but nevertheless we do make judgments of people and situations and then base our actions on those judgments.

Two words that come up often in Bible references about judging are 'partial' and 'partiality.'

Partial (adj.) means 1] only a part; 2] favouring one side; prejudiced, biased; 3] having a special liking.
Partiality (n.) is the state of being partial, unfair, having a particular fondness for.

In references to us judging each other, more than one Bible writer puts his finger on the types of situations that tempt us to partiality. We are tempted to be partial:

• when we have dealings with the less powerful (such as the weak, alien, employee/slave, poor, orphan, and widow). In these situations the Bible tells us we are not to take advantage of our power - Deuteronomy 24:17/ Ezekiel 47:22; Proverbs 31:4,5; Colossians 4:1; Ephesians 6:9.

• when offered a bribe to judge in someone's favour. Don't take that bribe, Moses tells us in Deuteronomy 16:19.

• when our government demands our respect, honour and especially our taxes. Pay up Paul tells us in  Romans 13:7.

• when faced with differences of race, position and appearance:

- In regard to race, we are all the same in God's eyes. God accepts Jews and Gentiles, Peter discovered (Acts 10:34, 35). We are all the same in God's eye - Romans 10:2.
- When it comes to rulers and people in authority, even though we are to respect and obey them, we need to remember that they too are just people in God's eyes - Job 34:18,19.
- The wicked, though powerful are not to get our special favour - Psalm 82:2; Galatians 2:6.
- When we're with other Christians  we're to guard against judging by appearance and giving special treatment to those who look like they have wealth or status - James 2:1-9

Whatever our judgmental weaknesses, our model and goal is clear: "…there is no partiality with God (Romans 2:11) and there should be none with us.

PRAYER: Dear God, please reveal to me my partiality tendencies. Help me to be unbiased and fair in my dealings with everyone. Amen.

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The Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. - Used with permission.

How impartial are you?

 The Baptism of a Centurion" by Michel Corneille the Elder - 17th Century

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Acts 10:34-48

TO CHEW ON: “Then Peter opened his mouth and said: ‘In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality.’” Acts 10:34

Though Canadian society pays lip service to being impartial, discrimination is all around us. We make judgments about people on the basis of the color of their skin and their ability to speak the language of the country (here, English). We fawn all over entertainers and sports heroes while heaping scorn on folks in other professions simply because of the career they’ve chosen. (Currently it’s fashionable to dump on the police and politicians. Of course TV evangelists are always suspect, as is anyone who speaks out on the wrong side of subjects where political correctness reigns.)

Thankfully God sees through all veneers. He doesn’t give us more points if our skin is white or colored, speak perfectly or brokenly, dress with fashion savvy or in the dumpy clothes we’ve hung onto since the '80s. He sees past our variegated pasts, our personality quirks, and the lines, wrinkles and gray hair that declare us past our best-before dates.

Here he saw the sincerity of Cornelius’s heart. He saw how this Gentile had acted on the knowledge that he had, proving himself a man of prayer and generosity. As a result when God sent Peter to Cornelius to explain the gospel more fully and baptized him and his household with the Holy Spirit, He gave Cornelius a gift that was probably beyond anything this Roman centurion had imagined.

Impartiality is a godly attitude. God is:
- Impartial to worldly rank, power and wealth. Job 34:18-19
- Impartial in lavishing good natural gifts on all mankind. Matthew 5:44,45
- Impartiality regardless of nationality. Acts 10:34-36
- Impartial between Jews and Gentiles. Romans 2:9-11; Romans 10:12
- Impartial in ways we don’t always understand. Matthew 20:13-15

The standard for us as God-followers is to be impartial too. We are to be:
- Impartial in the face of wealth and position. Leviticus 19:15
- Impartial in judgment. Deuteronomy 1:17
- Impartial in the face of the temptation to make an unjust, though popular judgment. Proverbs 18:5
- Impartial in appointing leaders. 1 Timothy 5:21-22
- Impartial in loving and accepting our Christian brothers and sisters. James 2:1-9

Though we will never have the insight into people that God has, we can cultivate His generous, fair heart of acceptance and love. Showing impartiality (like God and Peter showed to Cornelius) is another way we can fit in with His grand purpose of helping to further His kingdom on earth.

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to recognize prejudice and bias in myself. Help me to see others through Your eyes. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Do your 8-12-year-olds have daily devotions? Point them to Bible Drive-Thru.

Partiality

TODAY'S SPECIAL: James 2:1-26

TO CHEW ON: "Have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?" James 2:4

I can't help but think, as I read the first part of James, how partiality-based is the culture in which I live.  On my local TV lineup is an hour-long daily news show devoted to examining the mundane minutiae of the lives of entertainment and sports personalities. It is these people who set the social and fashion trends so that years ago we all got Farah Fawcett and Beatles haircuts, while now little girls swoon for Justin Bieber and want to look like Taylor Swift.  As a society we give people acceptance and adulation because of their appearance, wealth, and how well they play sports or entertain us.

I understand partiality very well, for I struggled with it as a youngster. If a person who acted odd or dressed funny came to school or church, I sure wasn't the one to befriend her. I see now that my cold unfriendliness was based on insecurity and lack of self-confidence. They were related to the fear of being identified with or appearing to be the same kind of person as the outcast was (the flip side of befriending a popular person to gain acceptance by association). Pride and covetousness (especially when there is the hope that by fawning over the popular person, he or she will include us in his generosity) are two more roots of partiality.

James gives an easy-to-understand example of partiality in verses James 2:2-4, describing how, when his readers meet together they give special treatment to the people who look rich while ignoring the ones who look poor. He points out how nonsensical this way of acting is in the natural because the people to whom they are showing special favour are the ones who are oppressing them.

The clincher in his argument against partiality, though, is that it's not God-like. James calls these biased Christians "judges with evil thoughts" because they are judging by the world's standards, not God's. Showing special favour on the basis of appearance, wealth, popularity, performance, and status is not at all consistent with the upside-down Kingdom of God way of evaluating. James describes that in verse 5: "Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?"

Consider Jesus' standards of Kingdom greatness:

"Blessed are the poor in spirit...those who mourn...the meek...those who hunger and thirst after righteousness...the merciful...the pure in heart...the peacemakers...the persecuted...the reviled and falsely accused..." (Matthew 5:1-12).

There's not one mention in Jesus' list of physical appearance, worldly wealth, or influence mattering to God accepting us. That's the standard we need to use when we respond to others.

PRAYER: Dear God, I so easily show partiality. Help me to understand the source of this shallow way of responding to people, and to adopt Your way of looking past outward appearances to the inner person. Amen.

MORE: Seven Reasons Why We Should Not Show Partiality:

1. Partiality contradicts faith in Jesus Christ as the Lord of glory (vs.1)

2. Partiality reveals a judging heart and behind it evil thinking (vs. 2-4).

3. Partiality to the rich contradicts God's heart, because he has chosen many of the poor for himself (vs. 5).

4. Partiality dishonors people created in the image of God (vs. 6a).

5. Partiality to the rich backfires and becomes your downfall (vs. 6b,7).

6. Partiality makes you a transgressor of the law of liberty (vs. 9-11).

7. Partiality is not mercy. But if you don't show mercy, you will perish (vs. 13).

From "The Peril of Partiality" By John Piper. © Desiring God. Website: desiringGod.org

(From the archives)

How impartial are you?

"The Baptism of a Centurion" by Michel Corneille the Elder - 17th Century

 TODAY’S SPECIAL: Acts 10:23b-48

TO CHEW ON: “Then Peter opened his mouth and said: ‘In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality.’” Acts 10:34

Though Canadian society pays lip service to being impartial, discrimination is all around us. We make judgments about people on the basis of the color of their skin and their ability to speak English. We fawn over entertainers and sports heroes while heaping scorn on folks in other professions simply because of the career they’ve chosen. (Currently it’s fashionable to dump on the police and politicians. Of course TV evangelists are always suspect, as is anyone who speaks out against abortion, human-caused global warming and for creation science. And good luck getting a job in the Canadian civil service if you are a middle-class Caucasian male.)

Thankfully God sees through all veneers. He doesn’t give us more points if our skin is white or colored, speak perfect English or broken, dress with fashion savvy or in the dumpy clothes we’ve hung onto since the '80s. He sees past our variegated pasts, our personality quirks, and the lines, wrinkles, and gray hair that declare us past our best-before dates.

Here he saw the sincerity of Cornelius’s heart. He saw how this Gentile had acted on the knowledge that he had, proving himself a man of prayer and generosity. As a result when God sent Peter to Cornelius to explain the gospel more fully and baptized him and his household with the Holy Spirit, He gave Cornelius a gift that was probably beyond anything this Roman centurion had imagined.

 

Impartiality is a godly attitude. God is:

- Impartial to worldly rank, power and wealth (Job 34:18-19).
- Impartial in lavishing good natural gifts on all mankind (Matthew 5:44,45).
- Impartial regardless of nationality (Acts 10:34-36).
- Impartial between Jews and Gentiles (Romans 2:9-11; Romans 10:12).
- Impartial in ways we don’t always understand (Matthew 20:13-15).

 

The standard for us as God-followers is to be impartial too. We are to be:

- Impartial in the face of wealth and position (Leviticus 19:15).
- Impartial in judgment (Deuteronomy 1:17).
- Impartial in the face of the temptation to make an unjust, though popular judgment (Proverbs 18:5).
- Impartial in appointing leaders (1 Timothy 5:21-22).
- Impartial in loving and accepting our Christian brothers and sisters (James 2:1-9).

Though we will never have the insight into people that God has, we can cultivate His generous, fair heart of acceptance and love. Showing impartiality (like God and Peter showed to Cornelius) is another way we can fit in with His grand purpose of helping to further His kingdom on earth.

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to recognize prejudice and bias in myself. Help me to see others through Your eyes. Amen.

MORE: More about 'impartiality'

"This (the concept of 'impartiality') is such a major truth about God that the New Testament seems to invent a word for it - several words. Before the New Testament there are no instances of the word used here  (Romans 2:11-16) for "partiality" or "respecter of persons." The idea was there in the Old Testament: God does not "receive face," they would say, that is, he is "impartial" - he is not moved by irrelevant external appearances. He sees through them and goes to the heart of the matter and is not partial to appearance and circumstance. Nobody breaks the rules and gets away with it, no matter how powerful or clever or wealthy or networked. All are judged by the same measure.

In the New Testament this was so important to make clear that the writers took these two words, "receive face" and combined them into a new verb in James 2:9 - "be-a-face-receiver" (prospolempteo) - and two new nouns - "a-face-receiver" (prosopolemptes, Acts 10:34) and "face-receiving" (prosopolempsia, Romans 2:11; Ephesians 6:9; Colossians 3:25, James 2:1). There is no "face-receiving" with God, Paul says" - John Piper.

-Read all of "There is no Partiality With God - Part 1" - By John Piper. © Desiring God. Website: desiringGod.org

 (From the archives)