4th Quarter 2014 - The Book of James

http://www.ssnet.org/lessons/14d/less01.html

The Book of James

by: Clinton Wahlen
An Epistle of Straw?


The epistle of James has been one of the most misunderstood books of the Bible. In the Leipzig Debate of 1519, Roman Catholic scholar Johann Eck used it to challenge Martin Luther's view of justification by faith alone, insisting that works needed to be added to the equation.
Luther, in response, eventually denied the epistle's inspired authorship, mainly on the mistaken claim that it taught justification by works. In the introduction to his 1522 German translation of the New Testament, Luther indicated his preference for books like John, 1 John, Romans, Galatians, Ephesians, and 1 Peter, which reveal Christ and teach everything that is needful and blessed . . . to know.
His preface to the book of James was even more negative. Luther called it really an epistle of straw because it had nothing of the nature of the gospel about it. Although Luther never removed it from the canon of Scripture, he separated it from what he considered the core of the canon.
Luther's emphasis on Paul's epistles, especially Romans and Galatians, and his rejection of James for anything more than devotional value, has influenced a large segment of Christian thinking through the centuries.
Who was James anyway? Was he a legalist, combating Paul's idea of justification by faith by teaching that justification is really by works? Or was he simply providing a slightly different perspective on the subject, similar to the several perspectives on the teachings of Jesus that we find in the Gospels? The answer is, clearly, the latter.
Not all of the Reformers shared Luther's low opinion of James. No less a luminary than Melanchthon, Luther's closest associate, believed that the writings of Paul and James were not in conflict.
James had a firsthand knowledge of Jesus. In fact, his epistle of all the epistles may very well be the earliest Christian writing in existence, and, of all the epistles, reflects most closely the teachings of Jesus that we find in the Gospels. As in the parables of Jesus, imagery from agriculture and the world of finance are abundant. Other important themes include wisdom, prayer, and above all, faith.
James is unique in other ways, too, thereby opening a window for us into some of the struggles that the earliest Christian congregations faced. With envy, jealousy, and worldliness creeping into the fold, there seems to have been societal and cultural pressures that pitted wealthier Christians against poor ones. We also see the great controversy being played out as James attacks counterfeit forms of wisdom and faith.
Most important for Seventh-day Adventists, the epistle of James exudes confidence in the return of Jesus; it also provides crucial perspectives on the law, the judgment, and the Second Coming. Elijah is even presented as a model for us to emulate. This has special relevance for us, as Seventh-day Adventists, who are entrusted with preparing the way for Christ's second advent.
Thus, in some ways, our journey this quarter spans the entire Christian era, as it includes some of the earliest preaching, as well as special insights for these last days.
Clinton Wahlen, PhD, is an associate director of the Biblical Research Institute at the General Conference headquarters. His expertise is in the New Testament and its relation to ancient Judaism. An American, he has lived and worked in Russia, New Zealand, United Kingdom, and the Philippines. He and his wife, Gina, who works at Adventist Mission, have two children, Daniel and Heather.

Lesson 1 September 27-October 3
James, the Lord's Brother

Sabbath Afternoon

Read for This Week's Study: John 7:2-5; 1 Cor. 15:5-7; James 1:3, 2:5; 1 Pet. 2:9-10; Matt. 7:24-27.
Memory Text: You are My friends if you do whatever I command you (John 15:14, NKJV).
We, today, are a long way from the early days of the Christian church, both time wise and culturally. Thus, we have little idea of what it was like to belong to the fledgling Christian movement at a time when many congregations met in homes, and most believers were Jews persecuted by their fellow Israelites. The letter of James gives us one of the earliest glimpses of Jewish Christianity before it disappeared in the fog of Jewish-Christian controversies and before the marginalization of the Jews by the predominantly Gentile church of the second century and beyond.
Unlike many of the epistles, it does not seem that some crisis or urgent need in a local church impelled James to write this epistle. Rather, it is written to the broader Christian community scattered abroad (James 1:1).
Before we dive into his letter, however, this week we want to try to learn what we can about the author himself. Some of the questions we'll address are: who was James? What was his background? What had been his relationship to Jesus? And what position did he hold in the church?
*Study this week's lesson to prepare for Sabbath, October 4.
SundaySeptember 28

James, the Brother of Jesus
The author of this letter must have been well known in the church because there is no more specific information in this letter as to who he is other than what we find in James 1:1: James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting.
Thus, we can narrow down the options of his identity pretty quickly. Four people in the New Testament are named James: there are two of the twelve disciples (Mark 3:17-18); there is the father of Judas (another of the twelve but not Judas Iscariot, Luke 6:16, NKJV) and one of Jesus' brothers (Mark 6:3). Of these four, only the brother of Jesus lived long enough and was prominent enough in the church to have penned such a letter. Thus, we believe that it was James, the brother of Jesus, who authored this New Testament book.
As a carpenter's son (Matt. 13:55), James would have had more educational opportunities than would a common peasant. His letter is among the best examples of literary Greek in the New Testament. Its rich vocabulary, rhetorical flair, and command of the Old Testament are surpassed only by Hebrews. Because his name appears first in the list of Jesus' brothers, James was probably the oldest son. However, the fact that Jesus entrusted the care of His mother to John, the beloved disciple (John 19:26-27), suggests that His brothers were not Mary's own children but the sons of Joseph by a previous marriage.
In the context of Jesus' ministry read this verse: When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, He is out of his mind (Mark 3:21, NIV; see also John 7:2-5). What do these texts tell us about how Jesus had been perceived by His own family? What lessons can we draw from them for ourselves, if indeed at times we find ourselves misunderstood by those whom we love?
It was a false conception of the Messiah's work, and a lack of faith in the divine character of Jesus, that had led His brothers to urge Him to present Himself publicly to the people at the Feast of Tabernacles.-Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, pp. 485, 486.
Monday September 29

James, the Believer
Read 1 Corinthians 15:5-7 and Acts 1:14. What do they tell us about the changes that happened to James?
Jesus appeared to many after His resurrection, including Peter and the Twelve (minus Judas Iscariot). Then he appeared to over five hundred people at one time. James, apparently, wasn't at this meeting with the five hundred; Jesus appeared to him separately, and that appearance must have been special, because it is specifically noted. Whatever happened at that meeting, the Bible doesn't say. It must have made a big impact on him, though, for James did become a faithful follower of Jesus and an influential leader in the church.
What else do we know about James? Acts 12:16-17; 15:13-14, 19; Acts 21:17-19; Gal. 1:18-19, 2:9.
James quickly became a leading figure in the Jerusalem church. After his rescue from prison by the angel (A.D. 44), Peter wanted James to know what had happened to him (Acts 12:17). Five years later, James presided at, and announced the decision of, the Jerusalem Council. Paul mentions him first, before Peter and John, in his listing of the pillars in Jerusalem (Gal. 2:9). Several years after this event (A.D. 58), when Paul brought the collection for the poor in Jerusalem from the various churches, the delegates from each church in turn laid the offerings at the feet of James (see Ellen G. White, Sketches From the Life of Paul, pp. 208, 209).
James appears to have been held in high esteem for many decades after the death of the apostles. In fact, so many legends developed about his piety that he is remembered as James the Just. Thus, despite starting out in great doubt about Jesus, James ended up being a spiritual giant in the early church.
Tuesday September 30

James and the Gospel
Unfortunately, perhaps because of Luther's influence, many Christians have been unable to see the important message James's epistle contains. Without diminishing the contribution Luther made for the church of his day, we must remember that the Reformation did not . . . end with Luther. It is to be continued to the close of this world's history, because grave errors were perpetuated by the Reformers and many important truths were still to be revealed.-Ellen G. White, The Story of Redemption, p. 353.
Thus, the need for the Great Awakening with Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefield-and the Wesley brothers who gave birth to the Methodist movement and its emphasis on the vital role of holiness in the Christian life. The work of reform continued with the Second Awakening, through which God raised up Seventh-day Adventists to proclaim the third angel's message. This worldwide proclamation culminates with the Spirit-filled witness of a people who keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus (Rev. 14:12).
Read James 1:3, 2:5, 22-23, 5:15. How does faith function in these passages? What do they tell us about what it means to live by faith? How do they show us that faith is more than just an intellectual assent to various propositional truths?
It may come as a surprise to some that James refers to believing and faith 19 times in this short letter, more than his references to works and justification combined! In fact, the importance of faith is stressed right at the beginning of the first chapter in connection with trials and asking for wisdom (vss. 3, 6). This shows that James was not only writing to believers but that he expects them to have a certain quality of faith. As we will see, the act of believing, in itself, is of little avail; true faith carries certain recognizable credentials. That is, true faith will be revealed in the life and character of the believer.
What things do you do on a daily basis that reveal the quality and reality of your faith? How can you show the reality of your faith even in the small things?
Wednesday October 1

To the Twelve Tribes Scattered Abroad
Read James 1:1; Acts 11:19-21; and 1 Peter 2:9-10. Who are these twelve tribes, and how did they become so widely scattered?
As we have seen, James wrote to believers. At first, the gospel work was focused in Jerusalem (Luke 24:47); but, as a result of persecution, which intensified after the stoning of Stephen, these believers were scattered, and the seed of the gospel was planted throughout the cities and surrounding regions of the Roman Empire.
According to Acts 11, the gospel spread to the Gentiles quite early, beginning in Antioch; so, the twelve tribes probably refers to Christians as a whole. There do not seem to have been different congregations based on ethnicity, which is why the Jerusalem Council soon had to decide whether believing Gentiles should first become Jews by being circumcised (Acts 15:1-6) in order to become Christians.
Read Acts 15:13-21. How does James address the problem the early church struggled with?
A scriptural solution preserved a unified church: James cites Amos's prophecy that Israel's restoration and ultimate expansion would include Gentiles (Acts 15:16-17), a decree that is based on Mosaic laws for foreign residents (Leviticus 18-20). James addresses his readers as the twelve tribes to remind them of their identity as fellow heirs of the promise made to Abraham. Peter has a similar idea in mind when he describes Christians as a holy nation (1 Pet. 2:9, compare Exod. 19:5-6), addressing also those scattered abroad (1 Pet. 1:1). The Greek word in both passages is diaspora, which normally referred to Jews living outside the geographical boundaries of Israel proper (see John 7:35).
A church scattered abroad? Sounds like us, as Seventh-day Adventists. Despite the vast cultural, ethnic, and social differences among us, what unites Seventh-day Adventists in Christ as a distinctive Protestant movement?
Thursday October 2

James and Jesus
James had the opportunity to observe Jesus when Jesus was a child, a youth, and an adult. Then, at some point James not only believed in Jesus as the Messiah but became a leader of the Christians in Jerusalem. And yet, James calls himself not a brother but a bondservant (James 1:1, NKJV) of Jesus. Clearly, James learned humility and true wisdom. Not surprisingly, these are also important themes of this letter (see James 1:9-11, 21; 3:13-18; 4:6-10).
Compare the following passages and summarize what they have in common:
James 1:22 with Matt. 7:24-27

James 3:12 with Matt. 7:16

James 4:12 with Matt. 7:1

The affinity the letter of James has with the teachings of Jesus and particularly the Sermon on the Mount has been widely recognized. Jesus' pervasive influence underlies the whole of James's teaching-Peter H. Davids, The Epistle of James (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1982), p. 50.
From a close comparison of James with the Gospels, it appears that this letter is not dependent on any of them. Rather, James writes from an intimate and personal acquaintance with the teachings of Jesus, who always inspired His listeners to faith and challenged them to exercise it.
As we study the book of James this quarter, we will find a very similar approach. James is not content with a weak, fruitless, or vacillating faith. As we will see next week, faith dominates the early part of the book, and James shows how this crucial quality undergirds a vital relationship with Christ.
Dwell on the quality and reality of your own faith. How real is it? How deep does it go? How does it enable you to live the Christian life? What things could you do, and what choices could you make, that could help improve the quality and depth of your faith?
Friday October 3

Further Study: "His brothers often brought forward the philosophy of the Pharisees, which was threadbare and hoary with age, and presumed to think that they could teach Him who understood all truth, and comprehended all mysteries. They freely condemned that which they could not understand. Their reproaches probed Him to the quick, and His soul was wearied and distressed. They avowed faith in God, and thought they were vindicating God, when God was with them in the flesh, and they knew Him not.
These things made His path a thorny one to travel. So pained was Christ by the misapprehension in His own home that it was a relief to Him to go where it did not exist.-Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 326.
Discussion Questions:

The letter of James is essentially a handbook on practical Christian living. It may even have been the first New Testament book written (sometime between A.D. 44 and 49). That is, besides it being a book on theology, it also tells us how to live out the Christian life. Why is living out what we believe just as, if not more, important than what we believe? Or is what we believe more important than how we live out that belief? For instance, what's better: a sincere Sunday keeper who truly and seriously keeps the first day of the week holy or an insincere Sabbath keeper who keeps the seventh-day Sabbath but doesn't really take it all that seriously? Give reasons for your answer.
As we have seen in Sunday's study, James was the brother of Jesus. In other words, though Jesus was God Himself, the Creator of all that was made, He was also human, one of us, even to the point that He had siblings. How does this amazing concept help us to understand how the vast gap between heaven and a fallen world was bridged? What does it say to us, too, about the lengths that God goes to in order to save fallen humanity? How does the humanity of Christ help us understand how we can have victory over sin? How does the humanity of Christ assure us that God understands the reality of our toils and struggles?
This week's lesson mentioned that humility was a theme in James's letter. Why is humility so important in the Christian life? That is, in light of the Cross and what happened there, how dare any of us ever assume an attitude of arrogance or self-importance, especially when it comes to spiritual matters?

The fruit of faith is the fruit of the Spirit. I see it in my life every time I am tempted to be unlike Jesus. Not only do I not sin, more importantly, I manifest the fruits of the Spirit. It thrills my soul. It pleases our heavenly Father. It paints a smile on Jesus' lovely face. The angels sing glory hallelujah. My wife revels in the light. To whom do I give the credit - JESUS! The fruit of the Spirit is the fruit of abiding in Jesus! The fruit of abiding in Jesus is pure and holy and just and good - woven in the loom of celestial glory.

Its amazing how many truths Martin Luther struggled over and it even kept the Reformation from uniting into one church. Martin Luther continued to hold to many beliefs he got as a priest including Transubstantiation, that the bread and the wine used in the sacrament of the Eucharist become, not merely as by a sign or a figure, but also in actual reality the body and blood of Christ. The leading Protestant reformers Martin Luther and Ulrich Zwingli clashed over this at meeting with many leaders of the reformers in Germany in order to develop a unified Protestant theology. Luther actually because of the differences refused initially to acknowledge Zwingli and his followers as Christians, imagine that.

The two prominent reformers, Luther and Zwingli, found a consensus on fourteen points, but they kept differing on the last one pertaining to the Eucharist. On this issue they parted without having reached an agreement.

Sabbath Afternoon

Read for This Week's Study: James 1:2-3; 1 Pet. 1:6-7; Phil. 3:12-15; James 1:19-21; Luke 17:5-6; Luke 12:16-21.
Memory Text: Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12:2, NIV 1984).
A dentist explained why his crowns are always flawless. Unlike some dentists, he said, I never have a problem with the crowns that come back from the lab. If I send them perfect work, they send me perfect crowns. This dentist doesn't worry about the end result. He focuses on his role in the initial stage of the process.
Likewise, as Christians, we need not get all worked up over whether or not our characters will be good enough in the end. That is God's work. Our role is to fight the good fight of faith (1 Tim. 6:12) by keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. Such faith in Christ enables Him to work in us both to will and to do of his good pleasure (Phil. 2:13) and to finish the good work He has begun (Phil. 1:6). Without faith, it is possible to feel defeated even before we begin because we focus on ourselves rather than on Him.
As Jesus says, This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent (John 6:29, NKJV). James, as we will see, helps us to understand this important spiritual truth.
*Study this week's lesson to prepare for Sabbath, October 11.

Sunday October 5

Faith Lasts
Read James 1:2-3; 1 Peter 1:6-7; 4:12-13. What is the common attitude of both James and Peter in regard to trials? How are we supposed to relate to this incredible biblical injunction?
No one likes suffering; we almost always avoid it if we can. The Greek word used in verse 3 for the testing of our faith is dokimion. It refers to the process of proving the genuineness of something. Peter likens this testing or trying of our faith to the way fire purifies gold; although such testing may not be pleasant, God expects a successful outcome. Trials should not discourage us; for, if we remain faithful, we will "come forth as gold" (Job 23:10, compare Prov. 17:3).
Thus, we are to rejoice when trials come, especially over our faith, for Jesus says: "Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven" (Matt. 5:12). Also, trials deepen our appreciation for what Christ endured for us. As 1 Peter 4:13 points out, they enable us to share in Christ's sufferings.
In short, we need to look through and beyond each trial and visualize the result God intends. That is where faith comes in. We need to believe in a loving Father, rely on His wisdom, and act on the basis of His Word. We can safely entrust our future to Him (see Rom. 8:28). In fact, only through faith, through knowing for ourselves God's love, and living by faith in light of that love, could we ever possibly rejoice in our trials.
In James 1:3, the ultimate goal of the testing of our faith is "patience" (NKJV). The Greek word (hypomone) can also be translated "endurance" (NASB) or "perseverance" (NIV). Hypomone refers to that which outlasts everything else because it rests confidently in the assurance of God's final deliverance (as in Luke 21:19).
It's one thing to stay faithful to God during trials; that is, to not lose your faith but to cling to the Lord, even in the worst times. But we are told to "rejoice" in our trials. Isn't that asking too much? After all, at times it can be hard enough just to stay faithful in trials, but to rejoice in them? Yet, that's what we are told; how, then, can we learn to rejoice when rejoicing is the last thing we feel like doing?

Lesson 2 *October 4-10

The Perfecting of Our Faith
Sabbath Afternoon
Read for This Week’s Study: Jas_1:2-3; 1Pe_1:6-7; Php_3:12-15; Jas_1:19-21; Luk_17:5-6; Luk_12:16-21.
Memory Text: “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Heb_12:2, NIV 1984).

A dentist explained why his crowns are always flawless. “Unlike some dentists,” he said, “I never have a problem with the crowns that come back from the lab. If I send them perfect work, they send me perfect crowns.” This dentist doesn’t worry about the end result. He focuses on his role in the initial stage of the process.
Likewise, as Christians, we need not get all worked up over whether or not our characters will be good enough in the end. That is God’s work. Our role is to “fight the good fight of faith” (1Ti_6:12) by keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, “the author and perfecter of our faith.” Such faith in Christ enables Him to work in us “both to will and to do of his good pleasure” (Php_2:13) and to finish the good work He has begun (Php_1:6). Without faith, it is possible to feel defeated even before we begin because we focus on ourselves rather than on Him.
As Jesus says, “ ‘This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent’ ” (Joh_6:29, NKJV). James, as we will see, helps us to understand this important spiritual truth.

*Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, October 11.

Sunday October 5
Faith Lasts
Read Jas_1:2-3; 1Pe_1:6-7; 1Pe_4:12-13. What is the common attitude of both James and Peter in regard to trials? How are we supposed to relate to this incredible biblical injunction?
No one likes suffering; we almost always avoid it if we can. The Greek word used in verse 3 for the testing of our faith is dokimion. It refers to the process of proving the genuineness of something. Peter likens this testing or trying of our faith to the way fire purifies gold; although such testing may not be pleasant, God expects a successful outcome. Trials should not discourage us; for, if we remain faithful, we will “come forth as gold” (Job_23:10, compare Pro_17:3).
Thus, we are to rejoice when trials come, especially over our faith, for Jesus says: “Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven” (Mat_5:12). Also, trials deepen our appreciation for what Christ endured for us. As 1Pe_4:13 points out, they enable us to share in Christ’s sufferings.
In short, we need to look through and beyond each trial and visualize the result God intends. That is where faith comes in. We need to believe in a loving Father, rely on His wisdom, and act on the basis of His Word. We can safely entrust our future to Him (see Rom_8:28). In fact, only through faith, through knowing for ourselves God’s love, and living by faith in light of that love, could we ever possibly rejoice in our trials.
In Jas_1:3, the ultimate goal of the testing of our faith is “patience” (NKJV). The Greek word (hypomonē) can also be translated “endurance” (NASB 1995) or “perseverance” (NIV). Hypomonē refers to that which outlasts everything else because it rests confidently in the assurance of God’s final deliverance (as in Luk_21:19).
It’s one thing to stay faithful to God during trials; that is, to not lose your faith but to cling to the Lord, even in the worst times. But we are told to “rejoice” in our trials. Isn’t that asking too much? After all, at times it can be hard enough just to stay faithful in trials, but to rejoice in them? Yet, that’s what we are told; how, then, can we learn to rejoice when rejoicing is the last thing we feel like doing?

Monday October 6
Perfection
Read Jas_1:2-4. Notice the progression: faith, testing, patience, perfection. James begins with faith because that is the foundation of all true Christian experience. He then says we need trials to test the genuineness of our faith. Last, James states that trials can teach us perseverance, so that eventually we will not be caught by surprise and be overcome by them. God’s goal for us is that we “may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing” (Jas_1:4, NKJV). The language could not be loftier. The word perfect (teleios) means spiritual maturity, while complete (holokleros) refers to wholeness in every way. Truly, we can become so much more in the Lord if we would die to self and allow Him to work in us “to will and to do of his good pleasure” (Php_2:13).
Read Eph_4:13 and Php_3:12-15. What attitude toward “perfection” are Christians encouraged to have?
Like Paul, followers of Christ will never be satisfied with anything short of patterning their life after the unselfish, sacrificial love of their Master. But we will never feel as though we have “already attained” or were “already perfected” (NJKV).
Notice, too, in the passages, the emphasis on the future. Paul is pointing toward what he has been promised in God through faith in Jesus. There’s never a time in the Christian walk where we can say “I have arrived,” at least as far as character goes. (Have you ever noticed, too, that those who say that they have “arrived” are generally obnoxious and self-righteous?) We are like a work of art; we can always be improved upon, and God promises to do just that as long as we press on in faith, seeking to surrender to Him daily in trust and obedience.
If you died right now, would you be good enough to be saved? Or if you had died two weeks after you had accepted Jesus, would you have been good enough to be saved? Do you think in six months you will be good enough? What does your answer tell you about your need for the perfect robe of Christ’s righteousness, regardless of whatever level of “perfection” you attain?

Tuesday October 7
Asking in Faith
Read Jas_1:5-6. How is wisdom different from knowledge? What connection does James make between wisdom and faith?
It may seem a bit odd that James says, “If any of you lacks wisdom.” Who thinks he or she has enough wisdom to begin with? Solomon, for instance, recognizing his need, humbly asked for “an understanding heart to . . . discern between good and bad” (1Ki_3:9). Later, he wrote: “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Pro_9:10).
We tend to think of wisdom as that which we know. How do the following texts, however, show us what another side of true wisdom is? Jas_1:19-21; Jas_2:15-16; Jas_3:13.
Both Proverbs and James describe wisdom as something very practical: not what we know but how we live. For example, being “quick to listen, slow to speak” (Jas_1:19, NIV). Plato said, “Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they would like to say something.” In other words, we can have all the knowledge the world offers but lack true wisdom.
Of course, because God is the source of all true wisdom, we gain wisdom most by listening to Him-reading His Word and spending thoughtful time contemplating the life of Christ, “who became for us wisdom from God” (1Co_1:30, NKJV). By learning to reflect the character of Christ in our own lives, we live out the truth as it is in Jesus. That is true wisdom.
Read Jas_1:6 again. We must ask in faith, not doubting. Isn’t that sometimes hard? Who doesn’t, at times, struggle with doubt? When that happens, what’s crucial is to pray and to start dwelling on all the reasons we have for faith: the story of Jesus, the prophecies in the Bible, and our own personal experiences. How could doing this help us work through whatever doubt might occasionally arise?

Wednesday October 8
The Flip Side of Faith
Read Jas_1:6-8. What is he saying to us here?
The word for “doubt” refers to one being inwardly divided; this helps us to understand its connection to double-mindedness. We see a clear example of this at Kadesh-Barnea. Israel faced a choice there: move forward in faith or rebel against the Lord. Amazingly, they chose rebellion and wanted to return to the bondage of Egypt. When God intervened and announced through Moses that they would die in the wilderness, suddenly the people “believed”! They said, “ ‘We will go up to the place which the Lord has promised, for we have sinned’ ” (Num_14:40, NKJV).
“Now they seemed sincerely to repent of their sinful conduct; but they sorrowed because of the result of their evil course rather than from a sense of their ingratitude and disobedience. When they found that the Lord did not relent in His decree, their self-will again arose, and they declared that they would not return into the wilderness. In commanding them to retire from the land of their enemies, God tested their apparent submission and proved that it was not real.”-Ellen G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 391. (PP-391.4)
Read Luk_17:5-6. What is Jesus telling us here about faith?
When the disciples asked for more faith, Jesus said mustard seed-sized faith was plenty. What counts is whether our faith is alive and growing, and this can and will happen only as we continue to exercise that faith by reaching out and trusting in God in all situations.
But doubt sometimes gets in the way. Our world bombards us with doubt and skepticism; no one is immune. All we can do is pray our way through it, remembering God’s faithfulness in the past and trusting Him for our future.
What are all the reasons you have for trusting in God and His promises and living by faith? Think through them, dwell on them, and your faith will only increase.

Thursday October 9
The Rich and the Poor
In this short letter, James shows great concern for poor people; some even consider it his major theme. But to modern ears, his diatribes against the rich and in favor of the poor seem extreme, even shocking. At the same time, however, James isn’t saying anything much different from what Jesus has said.
Compare Jas_1:9-11 with Luk_8:14; compare Jas_1:27 with Mat_25:37-40; compare Jas_2:15-16 with Luk_10:29-37; and compare Jas_5:1-4 with Luk_12:16-21. What’s the common message there to us? What warnings and admonitions can we all take away from what’s so clearly expressed here?
James, of course, does not shut the doors of the kingdom on all rich people. But, like Jesus, he recognizes the insidious temptations that come with wealth. Rich or poor, we need to keep our eyes on the real prize. The problem with money is that it tends to deceive us into focusing on the temporal instead of the eternal (2Co_4:18).
No question, the acquisition of wealth, higher education, or social influence tends to separate people from the “less fortunate.” But the early church kept the two classes together by turning worldly values upside down. The one who takes the lowest place, the role of humility, is the one who can glory in exaltation.
“As long as there are hungry ones in God’s world to be fed, naked ones to be clothed, souls perishing for the bread and water of salvation, every unnecessary indulgence, every overplus of capital, pleads for the poor and the naked.”-Ellen G. White, Welfare Ministry, p. 269. (WM-269.2)
What about yourself? Whether rich or poor, it doesn't matter; what matters is how you relate to money. What is it about money that makes it so potentially dangerous to our souls?

Friday October 10
Further Study: Ellen G. White, “The Sermon on the Mount,” pp. 298-314, in The Desire of Ages. (DA-298)
“God would have his servants become acquainted with their own hearts. In order to bring to them a true knowledge of their condition, he permits the fire of affliction to assail them, so that they may be purified. The trials of life are God’s workmen to remove the impurities, infirmities, and roughness from our characters, and fit them for the society of pure, heavenly angels in glory. Then as we pass through trial, as the fire of affliction kindles upon us, shall we not keep our eyes fixed upon the things that are unseen, on the eternal inheritance, the immortal life, the far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory? [A]nd while we do this, the fire will not consume us, but only remove the dross, and we shall come forth seven times purified, bearing the impress of the Divine.”-Ellen G. White, The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, April 10, 1894. (see also ML-92.3)

Discussion Questions:
1. What Bible characters do you find most encouraging in times of suffering? Have you learned to find joy in trials? If so, share with the class what has helped you do this. At the same time, if you haven’t been able to rejoice in your sufferings, talk about that in class, as well (if you feel comfortable doing it).

2. Dwell more on this idea that true wisdom is not so much head knowledge but what we do in faith through Christ. At the same time, why does this not mean that head knowledge isn’t important? How can having, for instance, wrong doctrine, be very detrimental to one’s walk with the Lord?

3. A young man had a friend who went through severe trials. Although the young man found the trials painful to watch, he did notice that his friend was growing in grace. When the trials were over, his friend really had changed-and for the better! What things have you learned from your trials that have been spiritually beneficial to you? Ask yourself, could I have learned them any other way?

4. What can you say to someone who appears sincere in faith and yet, admits to being, at times, overcome with doubt? How can you help?


TEACHERS’ COMMENTS
The Lesson in Brief

Key Text: Heb_12:2
The Student Will:
Know: (1) Realize that Jesus is the Perfecter of our faith; (2) recognize that trials are tools that strengthen and purify faith; (3) understand that true wisdom is more about how we live than what we know.
Feel: Experience the joy and satisfaction that comes from trusting God, receiving His wisdom, and growing in spiritual maturity.
Do: Determine to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, focusing on eternal realities rather than on temporary ones.

Learning Outline:
I. Know: Understanding How Jesus Perfects Our Faith
A. What is faith? How do trials build and strengthen faith? Why are we told to rejoice in trials? How is that possible?
B. What is the relationship between faith, wisdom, and spiritual maturity? How do we gain these important attributes?
C. Whether rich or poor, why does it matter how we relate to money? What is so dangerous about earthly wealth?

II. Feel: Experiencing True, Lasting Joy
A. In what ways do wisdom and spiritual maturity contribute to true, lasting joy?
B. What kind of feeling(s) do you experience when you know that you are right with God?

III. Do: Focusing on Eternal Realities
A. Do you find it easier to believe in what you can observe with your senses? Why, or why not?
B. In what specific ways can we focus on the eternal realities of God, rather than on temporary pleasures and sorrows of this earth?
Summary: James shows us how Jesus is the Perfecter of our faith and explains how God uses trials to strengthen and purify our faith. Testing teaches patience and perseverance, leading to wisdom and spiritual maturity. James also stresses how true wisdom reveals itself through “good conduct” and meekness. He reminds us that doubt leads to instability, and faith requires exercise to stay alive and grow. Finally, James reminds us not to be bound by earthly wealth, but instead to reveal a kind, generous spirit.

Learning Cycle
STEP 1-Motivate
Spotlight on Scripture: Heb_12:1-2
Key Concept for Spiritual Growth: As we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, the Perfecter of our faith, we learn to recognize trials as tools God uses to strengthen and purify our faith.
Just for Teachers: Some individuals become uneasy when the words perfect or perfection are mentioned. After all, no one, except Jesus, is “perfect,” right?
But how wonderful it is to know that Jesus is “the author and perfecter of our faith” (Heb_12:2, NIV). Focus on this promise and its practical implications with your class. What does it mean to have perfect (also translated as complete or finished) faith, and how is this accomplished?
Opening Activity/Discussion:
David and Nancy Guthrie appeared to be like any other expectant parents, happily looking forward to the birth of their child. But when little Hope was born, early signs signaled that something had gone terribly wrong. The newborn was unable to suck, and she had clubfeet. Testing revealed that Hope had Zellweger Syndrome, a disease that “devastates essential bodies called peroxisomes in every cell. Zellweger newborns are severely brain-damaged, often blind and deaf, unable to take food orally.”-David Van Biema, “Modern-Day Job: When God hides [H]is face,” quoted in The Baptist Standard, July 30, 2001, http://assets.baptiststandard.com/archived/2001/7_30/pages/guthries.html. With no known treatment or cure for Zellweger’s, Hope lived just 199 days.
The odds of carrying a recessive gene for Zellweger Syndrome are 1 in 160; both David and Nancy learned that they were carriers. “The odds of two carriers meeting and having a child who suffers from the syndrome are about 1 in 100,000,” according to the Baptist Standard article.
After the heart-wrenching experience with baby Hope, David decided to have a vasectomy. The odds of a woman becoming pregnant after her husband has had this procedure are approximately 1 in 2,000. One and a half years later, Nancy was pregnant again. A placenta-sampling test revealed terrible news-the baby had Zellweger Syndrome. Before his first birthday, this baby would be sharing a grave with his sister, Hope.
“If God would ask me to suffer this significantly,” said Nancy, “I think [H]e has something significant [H]e wants to do with it through me, if only just in my heart.”
Thinking of Job, Nancy reflected that he “was blessed through his brokenness, by his restless pursuit of God. He had a new, more intimate relationship with God, one he could never have found without pain and sorrow.
“In the darkest of days, we’ve experienced a supernatural strength and peace. We often cannot see the hidden purposes of God. But we can determine to be faithful and keep walking toward [H]im in the darkness.”-David Van Biema, “Modern-Day Job: When God hides [H]is face,” Time magazine, reprinted in The Baptist Standard, July 30, 2001, http://assets.baptist standard.com/archived/2001/7_30/pages/guthries.html.
Consider This: In the story above, Nancy states that Job “had a new, more intimate relationship with God, one he could never have found without pain and sorrow.” What do you think? Is it possible to have a strong, intimate relationship with God without ever experiencing pain and sorrow? Why, or why not?

STEP 2-Explore
Just for Teachers: Significantly for us as Seventh-day Adventists, James connects wisdom with the kind of tests and trials that God’s people will face at the end of time. Such wisdom is “the present possession of the righteous remnant, as that which enables them to resist and endure the tests of this age.”-Peter H. Davids, The Epistle of James: A Commentary on the Greek Text (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1982), pp. 71, 72. This kind of wisdom, according to James, comes as a gift, by faith. It stands up under testing; and if we believe and listen to God’s word for this wisdom, it will be ours (Mar_11:24). Show the class how these themes found in James are similar to the description of the remnant in Rev_14:12, which refers to the “patient endurance” of those who have “the faith of Jesus” and live to see Him come (see Rev_14:14-16). Emphasize that Jesus is the Perfecter of our faith (Heb_12:2) and that He does that through various means, including trials and other faith-building experiences that teach us wisdom, leading us to be drawn to eternal rather than temporal things.

Bible Commentary
I. A Great Cloud of Witnesses
(Review Heb_11:1-40 with the class.)
Abel, at the cost of his life, followed God’s instructions relative to the kind of sacrifice he must bring in worship. Enoch lived in such close communion with God that he was translated. Noah stood virtually alone against a skeptical world about to be destroyed. Abraham left his home and country for a “better country” that God promised to show him. Sarah believed that God would keep His promise and that she would have a son, even though that was physically impossible. All of these people, as well as the others mentioned in Heb_11:1-40, put their faith and trust in God’s word and promise even though they may not have understood them completely and would not live to see their complete fulfillment. Many of these heroes were a kind of “faithful remnant”-they stood almost alone when the vast majority thought differently. Enoch especially lived at a time when wickedness was rampant; yet, “he was unsullied with the prevailing sins of the age in which he lived. So may we remain pure and uncorrupted.”-Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 2, p. 122. (2T-122)
Consider This: Which Bible heroes in Heb_11:1-40 are most meaningful to you as examples of faith, and why?
▪How would you explain the difference between true faith and spurious faith? Note Heb_11:3; Heb_11:6 and this statement from Gospel Workers: “Faith claims God’s promises and brings forth fruit in obedience. Presumption also claims the promises, but uses them as Satan did, to excuse transgression. . . . It is not faith that claims the favor of Heaven without complying with the conditions on which mercy is to be
granted. Genuine faith has its foundation in the promises and provisions of the Scriptures.”-Ellen G. White, Gospel Workers, p. 260. (GW-260)
▪What specific actions is this “great cloud of witnesses” meant to encourage in us today? (See Heb_11:13-16; Heb_12:1.)

II. Looking to Jesus from Beginning to End
(Review Heb_12:1-4 with the class.)
Jesus is called the “author and perfecter” of our faith (Heb_12:2, NASB). Faith itself is a gift, which is why Jesus is its author. The word for “author” is archēgos, which is used in the New Testament only of Jesus. He is “the Author of life” (Act_3:15, ESV) and founder of our salvation (Heb_2:10). In Hebrews, the word, archēgos, refers specifically to Jesus’ work of opening a path of salvation for believers to follow. It is by our listening to His word (Rom_10:17) and finding salvation in Him that faith is born. He is also the perfecter of our faith, because only the One who took our nature (Heb_2:14-18) and was tempted as we are without ever sinning (Heb_4:15-16) can give us power to obey and teach us how to resist temptation. By studying His life and thinking deeply about the way He treated others, especially those who opposed Him, our faith grows. “Not even by a thought did He [Jesus] yield to temptation. So it may be with us. . . . So long as we are united to Him by faith, sin has no more dominion over us. God reaches for the hand of faith in us to direct it to lay fast hold upon the divinity of Christ, that we may attain to perfection of character.”-Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 123. (DA-123)
Consider This: Why is the remnant just before Jesus comes said not only to keep the commandments of God but also “the faith of Jesus” (Rev_14:12)? How are these two attributes related?
▪ How many parallels can you find between Enoch and those who live to see Jesus come? (See Patriarchs and Prophets, pp. 86-89.) (PP-86)
▪ Reread Jas_1:2-4 in light of Rev_14:12. What is the relationship between resisting temptation, patiently enduring trials, and character development?

STEP 3-Apply
Just for Teachers: This lesson points out a clear pathway of faith: keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, it is easier to focus on eternal realities rather than on temporal life, which helps us to endure trials with patience, strengthening and purifying our faith. This heaven-given patience and faith, described in Jas_1:3-4, are the same two attributes described in Rev_14:12 -“Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that who keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” How does this reality help us to rejoice, to “count it all joy” when we suffer from trials?
Thought/Application Questions: The Bible tells us to “set your mind on things above, not on the things that are on earth” (Col_3:2, NASB). One author stated that, “Contrary to popular opinion, being heavenly minded always inspires us to be more earthly good.”- Keith Krell, “Heavenly Minded and Earthly Good (1Co_3:18-23; 1Co_4:1-5),” bible.org, <http://bible.org/seriespage/heavenly-minded-and-earthly-good-1-corinthians-318-45>.
Ask your class the following questions:
1. What does it mean to focus on “eternal realities,” or “setting our mind on things above”? How, specifically, do we do that while living on earth?
2. What are “eternal realities,” and why should we focus on them?
3. Faith is a gift, but how do we receive it? (See Rom_10:17.)

STEP 4-Create
Activity: Invite students to participate in one or more of the following activities:
1. Identify a hymn that has given you strength and courage during a difficult time in your life. Sing that song for your class, or make a beautiful, decorated poster featuring the words of the hymn.
2. Locate one or more photos from the past taken during a time when God was particularly close to you. Show the photo and share the story about that time with someone who could use some encouragement.
3. Go for a walk outdoors and look for ways that God has brought forth beauty, even from less-than-ideal circumstances.

Luther's background largely influenced his understanding. As a young man he was very much into a WORKS program for salvation. But consider what he understood "works" to be. He would deprive himself of the necessities of life to earn merits, he would whip himself till he was nearly senseless in order to atone for his sins and cast the devil out etc. He crawled up certain so called sacred steps on his knees to earn merits with God.

When the light finally flashed into his thinking that a person is saved by faith it was a revolutionary thought for him. He finally realized he was saved by the merits of Christ, not by his "works". Thus any mention of works now sounded like total heresy to him.

James, however, isn't talking about the type of works Luther had left behind. James is talking about faith that manifests itself in a way of life filled with obedience and godly works.

The sad thing is that Christians today take Luther's repulsion concerning works, and too often apply it to obedience of God's law.

James is very centered on faith in Christ, and concerning this faith, he also makes it clear that anyone who has genuine faith will manifest this by a changed life.

If there is no changed life exhibiting godly characteristics, and obedience to God's law, then there is no living faith either.

Living Faith manifests its in the life -- a new life in Christ, which includes obedience to God's law, and works that glorify God's name.

James 1:2-3New Living Translation (NLT)

2 Dear brothers and sisters,when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. 3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.

How do we react when little problems pop up?

It's the little problems that teach us endurance, someday soon big problems will face God's people.

James is talking about a joy that is able to look beyond the obstacle, problem or difficulty and see the opportunity to become more like Jesus.

James 1:12 Blessed is the man that endures temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.

Enduring Temptation

Sabbath Afternoon

Read for This Week's Study: James 1:12-21, Ps. 119:11, Gen. 3:1-6, Titus 3:5-7, Rom. 13:12, Eph. 4:22.
Memory Text: Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him (James 1:12).
We all have experienced it. We resolve not to give in to temptation, but in the heat of the battle, our resolve melts and-much to our own sense of shame and self-loathing-we fall into sin. Sometimes it seems that the more we focus on not sinning, the more powerless against temptation we feel, and the more hopeless our condition appears. We wonder if indeed we are saved at all. It's hard to imagine any serious Christian who hasn't wondered about his or her own salvation, especially after having just fallen into sin.
Fortunately, we can have victory over the temptations that so easily ensnare us. None of us, no matter how enveloped in sin, is hopeless, for our Father of lights (James 1:17) is greater than our propensity to evil, and only in Him and through His Word can we have victory.
That's the message from the verses we will study this week. Sure, temptations are real, sin is real, and the battle against self is very real. But God is real, too, and through Him we can more than overcome the temptations that brew inside us, just waiting to take us down.
*Study this week's lesson to prepare for Sabbath, October 18.

Sunday October 12

The Root of Temptation
Read James 1:13-14. Why is it important that God does not tempt anyone? Where does temptation originate, and how can this knowledge be helpful in our own struggle with sin?
James is emphatic. Not only is God not the author of evil, He is not the source of temptation either. Evil itself is the source of temptation. According to this passage, the problem lies within us, which is the main reason it's so hard to resist.
Thus, the battle against sin begins in the mind. As much as many might not want to hear it, the truth is that we choose to sin. No one can force us (Rom. 6:16-18). Sinful desires, inclinations, and propensities do constantly capture our attention. By using common hunting and fishing terms, James 1:14 describes these inward promptings. Our own desires lure and entice us, and when we give in to them, they finally hook and entrap us.
Read Ephesians 6:17, Psalm 119:11, and Luke 4:8. What common theme is seen in all, and how does that relate to the question of victory over temptation?
In the passages in James, he clearly separates temptation from sin. Being tempted from within is not sin. Even Jesus was tempted. The problem is not temptation itself but how we respond to it. Having a sinful nature is not, in and of itself, sin; however, allowing that sinful nature to control our thoughts and dictate our choices is. Thus, we have the promises, found in God's Word, that offer us the assurances of victory if we claim them for ourselves and cling to them in faith.
Dwell on the idea that sin is always our own choice. (After all, if it weren't our own choice, how could we be condemned for doing it?). What things can we do on a daily practical level that could help us keep from making the wrong choices?

Monday October 13

When Lust Conceives
Read James 1:13-15 again. When does temptation become sin?
Several Greek words are used in this passage to describe how sin begins, and all of them are connected with giving birth. When a wrong desire is nurtured, sin is conceived, like a baby in the womb. Sin, when it is completely grown, gives birth to death (James 1:15, author's literal translation).
The picture is paradoxical. The process that is supposed to give life results only in death (compare Rom. 7:10-13). Sin, like cancer, takes over and consumes its host. We all know this, for we have all been ruined by sin. Our hearts are evil, and we cannot change them.
Read Genesis 3:1-6. Eve's experience vividly illustrates the conflict with sin. What steps led her into sin?
At its root, sin begins with distrusting God. Satan, using the same successful method by which he deceived a third of the angels (Rev. 12:4, 7-9), raised doubts in Eve's mind about God's character (Gen. 3:1-5). Approaching the forbidden tree was not sin, but taking and eating the fruit was. Even so, wrong thoughts seem to have preceded her sinful act (Gen. 3:6). She adopted Satan's suggestions as her own.
Sin always begins in the mind. Like Eve, we may think about the supposed benefits of wrongdoing. Then our imagination and feelings begin to take over. Soon we seize the bait and fall into sin.
Often we wonder how it could happen. The answer is easy: we let it happen. Nobody forced us into sin.
"By earnest prayer and living faith we can resist the assaults of Satan, and keep our hearts unspotted from pollution.
The strongest temptation is no excuse for sin. However great the pressure brought to bear upon the soul, transgression is our own act. It is not in the power of earth or hell to compel any one to sin. The will must consent, the heart must yield, or passion cannot overbear reason, nor iniquity triumph over righteousness.-Ellen G. White, Christian Privileges and Duties, Signs of the Times, October 4, 1883.

Tuesday October 14

Every Good and Perfect Gift
Do not err, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning (James 1:16-17).
Although sin gives birth to death, God is the source of life. He is the Father of lights (James 1:17), a reference to the Creation (Gen. 1:14-18). God gives us birth to a new life, which is the greatest gift we can get from above (compare James 1:17 with John 3:3).
Like Paul, who speaks of salvation as the result of God's grace (Rom. 3:23-24; Eph. 2:8; 2 Tim. 1:9), James 1:17 calls salvation a gift. More so, in the next verse James makes it clear that salvation, this new birth, is the result of God's purpose and will for us: In fulfillment of his own purpose he gave us birth by the word of truth (James 1:18, NRSV). That is, God wants us to be saved. It was His will, from even before we existed, that we should have salvation and a new life in Him now and for all eternity.
How does James's depiction compare with the description by Paul and Peter of the new birth? See Titus 3:5-7, 1 Pet. 1:23.
Jesus, Paul, Peter, and James all connect salvation with the new birth. God's whole purpose in the plan of redemption is to reconnect sin-battered and broken human beings with heaven. The rift was so big and so wide that nothing humans could do could have ever bridged it. Only God's Word in human form, Jesus, could reconnect heaven to earth. The inspired Word (2 Tim. 3:16) is uniquely able to breathe spiritual life into those whose hearts are open to receive the gift.
In short, our Father of lights so loves us that, even as underserving as we are, He gives us every good gift and every perfect gift (James 1:17, NKJV), the best of all gifts being Jesus and the new birth that He offers.
What are the gifts you've been given from above? Why is it so important to dwell on them? What happens when we don't?

I disagree. First of all, Jesus was tempted by Satan. That He was tempted by His own evil lusts is far from a settled fact.

Second, the lesson misses an important factor. If I tempt my neighbor and he immediately refuses to entertain my temptation, he is not guilty. We all agree there. But what about me? Am I also innocent because my temptation was rejected? No, the tempter is guilty regardless. So also when we tempt ourselves.

It's refreshing to hear someone else say what I've been saying on this forum for years. Plus it's good to see it as part of the lesson quarterly. It suggests others believe it, too.

Wednesday October 15

Slow to Speak
Read James 1:19-20. What important point is he making there?
God's Word is powerful. But so are human words. How often have we spoken words that later we wish we could take back? Unfortunately, just being aware of how hurtful wrong words can be, and how destructive anger is, does little to help us get ourselves under control. Left to our own devices, we can never really change. That is why we need to listen more to God and let Him work in us.
When every other voice is hushed, and in quietness we wait before Him, the silence of the soul makes more distinct the voice of God. He bids us, Be still, and know that I am God.-Ellen G. White, The Ministry of Healing, p. 58.
By contrast, problems arise when we stop listening to God and to each other. Whether in the home, at work, or in the church, arguments ensue when listening stops. When that happens, talking begins to accelerate and anger builds. This slippery slope of sinful communication, like the uncontrolled inward desires of James 1:14-15, can never produce the righteousness of God.
That is why James juxtaposes God's righteousness with human wrath. As long as we rely on what bubbles up naturally from our sinful nature, the creative power of God's Word is blocked and our own unhelpful or even hurtful words arise instead. No wonder that right after talking about all that our Father of lights does for us by the gift of a new life, James tells us to be careful with what we say.
What do the following passages teach about words? Prov. 15:1, Isa. 50:4, Eph. 4:29, 5:4, Col. 4:6.
Think about the last time someone devastated you with his or her words. The depth of emotion you felt should show you just how powerful words can be, either for good or bad. What can you do to help keep your words under control? Why is it so important to think before you speak?

Thursday October 16

Saved by Receiving
Read James 1:21. What role does the word have in what James is saying?
This verse concludes all that has been said so far about faith and salvation. It is an appeal to put away all impurity and separate ourselves from wickedness. The command put away (RSV) is used seven out of nine times in the New Testament for detaching oneself from the evil habits that have no place in a life submitted to Christ (Rom. 13:12; Eph. 4:22, 25; Col. 3:8; Heb. 12:1; 1 Pet. 2:1). It can also refer to the taking off of clothing (Acts 7:58), so that the taking off of our filthy rags of sin (compare Isa. 64:6) may also be implied. Indeed, the word filthiness (RSV) occurs in James for the filthy clothes of the poor in contrast to the sparkling clean clothing of the rich (James 2:2, NKJV). Like Jesus, James decries the human tendency to be so concerned with outward appearance, because God is concerned above all with the condition of our hearts.
In the Greek translation of the Old Testament, the word filthy (ryparos) is used in only one passage: Zechariah 3:3-4, where Joshua, the high priest, represents sinful Israel. God takes away the high priest's filthy garments and clothes him with a clean robe, symbolizing Israel's forgiveness and cleansing.
This scene is very different from the popular Christian image we sometimes see of Jesus putting a clean white robe over the sinner's dingy, soiled garments. Who would do this in real life? Nobody puts clean clothes over dirty ones. Likewise in Zechariah, the filthy garments are removed before the clean robe is put on. This doesn't mean that we must be without sin before we can be clothed in Christ's righteousness. If that were true, who could be saved? It also doesn't mean that we cannot be saved or return to Jesus if we fall back into sin.
Instead, it means that we must completely surrender to Him, choosing to die daily to our old sinful ways and allow Him to create us into His image. Christ's perfect robe of righteousness will then cover us.
Read again James 1:21. How deeply are you seeking to apply what it says here to your life? What does it mean to engraft the Word into your heart, and how can you do it?

Friday October 17

Further Study: Read about sin and the power to change in Ellen G. White, Repentance, Steps to Christ, pp. 23-36 and summarize the key points.
The plan of redemption contemplates our complete recovery from the power of Satan. Christ always separates the contrite soul from sin. He came to destroy the works of the devil, and He has made provision that the Holy Spirit shall be imparted to every repentant soul, to keep him from sinning.-Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 311.
If you have accepted Christ as a personal Saviour, you are to forget yourself, and try to help others. Talk of the love of Christ, tell of His goodness. Do every duty that presents itself. Carry the burden of souls upon your heart, and by every means in your power seek to save the lost. As you receive the Spirit of Christ-the Spirit of unselfish love and labor for others-you will grow and bring forth fruit. The graces of the Spirit will ripen in your character. Your faith will increase, your convictions deepen, your love be made perfect. More and more you will reflect the likeness of Christ in all that is pure, noble, and lovely.-Ellen G. White, Christ's Object Lessons, pp. 67, 68.
Discussion Questions:

Think more about the reality of the power of words. Why are they so powerful? How can language be easily manipulated? How often is how we say or write something just as important, or even more important, than what we say or write?
Of all the gifts that you have been given from above, which is the greatest one, and why?
Read over James 1:12-21. What is the essential message there? What hope and promises are there for us?
Lust brings forth sin, and sin brings forth death. Why, with such high stakes before us, do we not have the victories that should be ours? What are the ways in which we rationalize sin, and why is that always a dangerous mind game to play?
Read the last Ellen G. White statement found above. What crucial counsel is found there, especially for those who might be wavering in faith?

Being and Doing

Sabbath Afternoon

Read for This Week's Study: James 1:23-24; Matt. 19:16-22; Luke 6:27-38; Rom. 8:2-4; 12:9-18; 2 Pet. 1:4.
Memory Text: But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves (James 1:22).
Jean Francois Gravelet, better known as The Great Blondin, became famous for walking across Niagara Falls on a tightrope. In September of 1860, the Prince of Wales had witnessed Blondin's crossing of the falls with an assistant on his back. After the walk, Blondin turned to the British prince and offered to carry him across the falls too. Although the prince had heard of the man's skills, and had even just seen them in action, he was still not ready to place his life in Blondin's hands.
The point is, of course, that hearing and seeing are not enough when it comes to a relationship with God. We may be intellectually convinced about the existence of God, the truth of the gospel, and the Second Coming. We may have even seen for ourselves the reality of God's love and care. Yet, even with all that, we may not really be ready to commit ourselves fully into His hands, an action that would be revealed by our works. This is precisely why James emphasizes the importance of being doers, not just hearers, of the Word.
This week we'll look at what being a doer of the Word means for those saved by grace.
*Study this week's lesson to prepare for Sabbath, October 25.

Sunday October 19

Knowing Your Enemy
Someone once said this about his enemy: I see him every day-when I'm shaving. This is exactly what James wants us to recognize: our greatest enemy is ourselves. Salvation begins by seeing who we really are, not who we imagine ourselves to be.
Read James 1:23-24. Who is described here, and what is the basic problem?
While there is nothing wrong with looking our best, many people spend a great deal of time and money to improve their appearance. But we need to make sure that we don't deceive ourselves. James says we need to get a better view of ourselves, no matter how much we might not like what we see.
Read Matthew 19:16-22, 26:33-35, 69-75. How does the self-image of each of these two men compare with the reality? What do their two different reactions to Jesus' words say about them?
The rich young man thought he had been keeping the commandments. Suddenly he was challenged to adhere to a different kind of obedience, one that he had never anticipated, one that went much deeper than mere outward compliance to rules and regulations. (See Rom. 7:7.)
Peter, like this young man, also had a distorted picture of himself. Self-confidently he predicted that even if everyone else should stumble and fall away, he would remain faithful--even if it cost him his life. But neither realized how tightly sin held him in its grasp. Both were self-deceived about their true spiritual state. Peter, however, eventually was converted. As far as we know, the rich young ruler wasn't.
It's always so easy to see the faults in others but not in ourselves, right? Deep down, though, we probably are more aware of our faults than we want to admit. Look deep into your own soul. What does this view tell you about why you must have a Savior?

Monday October 20

Being a Doer
Read James 1:22 again. The Greek says to be doers of the Word. How might the message have been different had James simply said, Do the word?
James combines being and doing. He does not separate them, nor does he make one more important than the other. They are like two sides of the same coin, inseparable. We are to be doers. Furthermore, the tense of the Greek word for be here refers to an ongoing lifestyle of obedience, one that is expected of us now rather than at some indefinite time in the future.
The point is, we are to become new people in the Lord, and as a result of what we become, we do the things that God commands us to. This is something quite different from us merely following rules (which seems to have been the problem with the rich young ruler, as we saw in yesterday's lesson).
Read Luke 6:27-38. What are some of the actions that we should be taking?
Love your enemies. Give to everyone who asks of you. Be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful (Luke 6:27, 30, 36, NKJV). Sounds impossible, doesn't it? And it is, on our own. Love like this does not come naturally to sinful human beings. That is why Jesus goes on to talk about two different kinds of trees and the fruit each produces (Luke 6:43-45).
Similarly, in Galatians 5, Paul contrasts the works of the flesh (Gal. 5:19-21) with the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23). It is almost as if the more we focus on doing, the worse we become; whereas, when we are being led by the Spirit, yields a totally different outcome-the fruit of love and obedience.
Think about a time you did something simply because it was required of you or because it was a rule you had to obey. Contrast that to the time you did something similar because it was something you wanted to do, something that flowed naturally out of you because of Christ living in you. How does this contrast help us to understand the point of today's lesson?

Christ was tempted as we are - what does that say about His temptation?
Hebrews 2:18 For in that he himself has suffered being tempted, he is able to succor them that are tempted.
Hebrews 4:15-16 For we have no superhuman High Priest to whom our weaknesses are unintelligible - he himself has shared fully in all our experience of temptation, except that he never sinned. 16 Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with fullest confidence, that we may receive mercy for our failures and grace to help in the hour of need.

Sunday October 12

The Root of Temptation

Read Jas_1:13-14. Why is it important that God does not tempt anyone? Where does temptation originate, and how can this knowledge be helpful in our own struggle with sin?

James is emphatic. Not only is God not the author of evil, He is not the source of temptation either. Evil itself is the source of temptation. According to this passage, the problem lies within us, which is the main reason it’s so hard to resist.

Thus, the battle against sin begins in the mind. As much as many might not want to hear it, the truth is that we choose to sin. No one can force us (Rom_6:16-18). Sinful desires, inclinations, and propensities do constantly capture our attention. By using common hunting and fishing terms, Jas_1:14 describes these inward promptings. Our own desires lure and entice us, and when we give in to them, they finally hook and entrap us.

Must we choose to sin? Or, need we only neglect to choose Jesus? Is sinning something we do by default, naturally, instinctively when we neglect to actively, deliberately, consciously choose to abide in Jesus?

Tuesday October 21

The Law of Freedom
Read James 1:25. What does he say about the role of the law?
James echoes the Psalms in calling God's law perfect (Ps. 19:7) and a way of freedom (Ps. 119:45). But notice that the law in James cannot save us and certainly cannot cleanse us. It shows us God's ideal, but it cannot make us follow that ideal any more than seeing a world-class athlete perform amazing feats could enable us to do the same. To follow that ideal, we need the power of Christ in our lives.
Read Romans 8:2, 4 and 2 Corinthians 3:17-18. What makes the difference between the law as an instrument of death or as something that shows the way to freedom and life?
Even Paul affirms that not the hearers of the law are just in the sight of God, but the doers of the law will be justified (Rom. 2:13, NKJV). As he says, we can become doers only through the work of the Spirit writing the law on our hearts. Only when we obey it from the heart can the law be a law of freedom.
Thus, the problem is not with the law but with us. We forget who we really are: sinners in constant need of a Savior. Outside of Christ we hear only the law's condemnation. But in Christ we become new men and women (2 Cor. 5:17) who are set free in Jesus (John 8:36). We hear Him speaking the law to us, that we should love one another, as I have loved you (John 15:12, NKJV). Through Christ, we experience the freedom of God's sons and daughters who are saved by grace and who will not want to slip back into the condemnation and bondage we had as transgressors. In Christ, not only are we forgiven our sins, we now have a new life, one in which we are able to render obedience to the law. We do so, however, not in order to be saved but out of the freedom that comes from knowing that we already are saved and therefore no longer stand condemned by the law.
Think about what it would be like, having the natures we do, to try to keep the law well enough to be saved by it. How would this make the law a means of bondage? How has Jesus freed us from that bondage while, at the same time, commanding us to keep the law?

Wednesday October 22

Useful or Useless?
Read James 1:26-27 and compare it to Matthew 25:35, 36, 40 and Romans 12:9-18. In light of these passages, how would you define true Christianity?
If Jesus, James, and Paul emphasize anything, it is the importance of being a useful Christian. By loving the least of these (Matt. 25:40), by taking the time to visit those most easily overlooked, by showing hospitality-in all these practical ways and more-we reveal Jesus' love and become the channel by which Jesus loves through us.
The strongest argument in favor of the gospel is a loving and lovable Christian.-Ellen G. White, The Ministry of Healing, p. 470. Of course, as she goes on to explain, to live such a life, to exert such an influence, costs at every step effort, self-sacrifice, discipline.-Page 470. It does not come naturally or automatically. If our religion consists only in affirmations of belief and listening to sermons, it is largely useless.
James describes religion or religious in verses 26-27 with a word that suggests being unusually devout. Such an attitude has immediate, visible consequences, and people will notice the difference.
One obvious change will be our choice of words. Instead of using uninhibited remarks and harsh tones and gestures, we will become more sensitive to the effect our communication exerts on others. We will bridle our tongue so that it does not dash off ahead of us with all the violence and energy of an untamed horse.
James also singles out orphans and widows as those most needing our love and care. From a worldly standpoint, it does not make sense to focus our resources on those who can give nothing back to society. But from God's viewpoint, it is precisely how we treat those who have been cast off and rejected by the world that reveals which of us are Christ's true followers: either by lending money to those who cannot pay us back; inviting to dinner those who cannot reciprocate; or blessing and praying for those who mistreat us (Luke 6:35, 14:12-14, Matt. 5:44). As Paul points out, we are re-created in Christ Jesus for good works (Eph. 2:10).
How much of your own time and energy do you spend helping those in need? What does your answer say to you about how useful your faith really is?

Thursday October 23

Unlike the World
What does it mean to keep oneself unspotted from the world? (James 1:27, NKJV). How could that even be possible? See also 1 John 2:15-16; 2 Pet. 1:4.
Some people seem to think that if only they could move far enough away from the world, they could avoid most of its temptations. Though there's some truth to that, and we should try to avoid temptation as much as possible (especially those temptations we find hardest to resist), our problems and weaknesses do tend to follow us wherever we go. The problem with sin isn't so much what is out there, though that certainly plays a role, as much as it is what's in us, and in our hearts. That's where the true battle is, and we will have to fight that battle no matter where we live.
It is also an interesting phenomenon that solving some problems makes those that remain seem more obvious. For example, cleaning one area of a room makes any dirt nearby stand out even more. So also with the spiritual life: the closer you come to Jesus, the more faulty you will appear in your own eyes; for your vision will be clearer, and your imperfections will be seen in broad and distinct contrast to His perfect nature.-Ellen G. White, Steps to Christ, p. 64.
Let's not have Ellen G. White say here what she isn't saying. She isn't saying that the closer we get to Jesus the faultier we actually become. She continues: The more our sense of need drives us to Him and to the word of God, the more exalted views we shall have of His character, and the more fully we shall reflect His image.-Steps to Christ, p. 65.
Real religion leads a person to hunger and thirst for a deeper experience (Matt. 5:6). Jesus spent adequate time alone with His heavenly Father in order to know His will. Yet, He never shut Himself off from people. He went to where the people were. His food was reaching out to the needy, breaking down barriers of prejudice, and sharing the good news of eternal life (John 4:28-35).
Despite the fact that Jesus and the earliest Christians had a diet and lifestyle quite different from the Gentile world around them, these practices never kept them from sharing their faith. They went everywhere, and the gospel spread throughout the empire and became firmly planted, even in centers of corruption and wickedness such as Rome.

Friday October 24

Further Study: Ellen G. White, The Test of Discipleship, pp. 59-63, in Steps to Christ.
The law is God's great moral looking glass. Man is to compare his words, his spirit, his actions with the Word of God.-Ellen G. White Comments, The SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 7, p. 935.
"Instead of releasing man from obedience, it is faith, and faith only, that makes us partakers of the grace of Christ, which enables us to render obedience.
As Jesus was in human nature, so God means His followers to be. In His strength we are to live the life of purity and nobility which the Saviour lived.-Ellen G. White, Our Father Cares, p. 69.
Discussion Questions:

Though we have been told it would be to our advantage to move away (if possible) from worldly places, why is that not the ultimate answer to the problems of sin and temptation? How far would we have to go in order to be away from any kind of temptation at all? What is the only answer for sin and temptation, regardless of where we live?
Police were trying to place electronic eavesdropping devices in an office where they suspected criminals were working. The only problem: vicious Dobermans surrounded the compound. So, the police, each night, would feed the dogs hamburgers. At first they would toss about five or six between the bars. Before long, the dogs were not only eating the burgers out of the officers' hands, but they were licking the officers' hands when done. Thus, with the guard dogs tamed, the police were able to infiltrate and plant the devices. What lesson can we take from this story about how we, if we are not careful, can let our own guards down?
Think more about this idea of being a doer of the Word as opposed to just believing the Word. What is, in the end, the real difference between the two?
What do you say to those who claim that because of the grace of Christ, they are free from the law? What do they often really mean by that, and how would you answer them?

So, the believer gets closer to Christ, more fully reflects His image, yet sees faults and imperfections in himself that are distinctly contrasted by Christ's nature. That means the only way a sinner can look at himself and think that his nature is like Christ's is to be so far away from Jesus that he can't see Him clearly and there is not enough spiritual light to discern his own condition.

A Sabbath School teacher remarked at the beginning of this quarter that we ought to read through the whole Epistle of James at least every week while we are studying these lessons. That helps us get a glimpse of what the Epistle is saying to the Christian people then as well as today.

"sees faults and imperfections in himself" - being aware of them is totally different than actually cherishing them or acting them out in thought, word, or deed. There is no guilt or condemnation incurred for merely having them.

The only way a sinner can look at himself and think that his nature is like Christ's is to be so far away from Jesus that he can't see Him clearly and there is not enough spiritual light to discern his own condition.

Love and the Law

Sabbath Afternoon

Read for This Week's Study: James 2:1-13; Mark 2:16; Lev. 19:17-18; Rom. 13:8-10; John 12:48.
Memory Text: For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment (James 2:13, NASB).
We know the story well; the question is, How well has it sunk in?
First a priest, then a Levite, going from Jerusalem to Jericho, encountered a man lying half dead in the road. Though both just finished their religious duties, neither was, apparently, able to link those duties with any sense of obligation to the injured soul, and so each kept walking. Finally, a Samaritan, a half-pagan, happened by, took pity on the man, bandaged his wounds, and paid for his stay at an inn where he could recover. He also promised to pay the innkeeper for anything else the man might need (see Luke 10:30-37).
Jesus told that story in response to a question by a lawyer about eternal life. Rather than tell the lawyer, Try harder! or Do more!-Jesus painted a picture of love in action. That is, we are to love even in potentially dangerous or unpleasant circumstances, and we are to love even those we don't like.
Though it's not easy, and often goes against our nature, true love involves a substantial amount of risk and calls us to tear down barriers that separate us as people, both outside and (especially) inside the church. This week we'll see what James has to say about this crucial truth.
*Study this week's lesson to prepare for Sabbath, November 1.

Sunday October 26

The Man in Gold
Read James 2:1-4. It is, among other things, a study in contrasts. One person is rich, well dressed, and, apparently, important, while the other is poor, shabbily dressed and, apparently, a nobody. One receives the utmost courtesy, the other disdain. One is offered a comfortable, prominent seat; the other is told to stand off to the side or find a place on the floor.
The description is not a very pretty one, especially because it is depicted (potentially at least) as happening in a worship service! The Greek word for gathering or assembly in verse 2 is synagoge, probably an early reference to a Jewish-Christian Sabbath service, many of which would have taken place in private homes (see Acts 18:7-8).
In the Greco-Roman culture of the first century, one's public image and position were all important. Those with wealth, education, or political influence were expected to use these assets to enhance their reputation and benefit their personal interests. Any large gift to public or religious projects obligated the receiver to reciprocate to the giver in some way. Kindness was repaid with loyalty and generosity with public appreciation. The few upper-class people who attended Christian services expected privileged treatment. To ignore these expectations would have brought disgrace on the church. A failure to be politically correct or to reject societal values was a recipe for offense and a cause for division.
Read Mark 2:16 and Luke 11:43. What societal expectations are involved? How do they conflict with the principles of the gospel?
It is not a sin to be poor or rich, but one barometer of our Christian experience is how we treat people who are different from us in age, wealth, education, and even religious convictions. We tend to give more respect to those we perceive as above us on the social ladder and less respect to those below. We must remember that it is easy to get pulled into convention even though God calls us to be different (see Rom. 12:2).
Let's face it: we might not be as open and as crass about it as James depicted, but are we not all easily susceptible to playing favorites? How can we learn to recognize this problem in ourselves and, ultimately, deal with it?

Monday October 27

Class Struggle
As every literature evangelist knows, very often those who have the least are willing to sacrifice the most to buy Christian books. Well-to-do neighborhoods tend to be tough territory to sell books in, because the people who live there may be content with what they have and so very often do not feel their need of God as much as those who have less. The same phenomenon is also detectable on a much larger scale: the church often has grown the fastest in places and periods of economic and social stress. After all, aren't even those individuals who are struggling with big issues often more open to the hope presented in the story of Jesus than are those who think that things are going great for them?
Read James 2:5-6. How does James expand here on what he wrote in the four previous verses?
Judging from this passage, it would seem that there were major issues in the church among the rich and the poor. God chose the poor who, though rejected by the world, were rich in faith, while the rich used their wealth to oppress the poor. This problem, that of the rich exploiting the poor, was an ever-present reality at that time. Even worse, Roman law codified discrimination against the poor and in favor of the rich. Persons of lower class, who were thought to act from economic self-interest, could not bring accusations against persons of higher class, and the laws prescribed harsher penalties for lower-class persons convicted of offenses than for offenders from the higher class.-Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1993), p. 694.
Read James 2:7. What important point does James make here about the impact of this bad behavior?
Their bad behavior is really blasphemy against the good name of Jesus. Bad actions are bad enough in and of themselves; what makes them worse is when those who profess the name of Jesus do them. And even worse would be those who, in the name of Jesus, use their wealth or power to gain advantage over others in the churches, which often leads to divisions and quarrels. Hence, how careful we should be that our words and actions match the good name we associate ourselves with.

You are assuming merely having them is the same as cherishing them or acting them out in thought, word, or deed. Believers who are abiding in Jesus, walking in the Spirit, partaking of the divine nature are like Jesus in that they are not sinning and that they are growing in grace and maturing in the fruits of the Spirit. This is only true, of course, while they are abiding in Jesus, walking in the Spirit, and partaking of the divine nature.

Tuesday October 28

Loving Our Neighbors
Read James 2:8-9, along with Leviticus 19:17-18 and Matthew 5:43-45. What crucial message are we being given here?
James calls God's law the royal law (James 2:8) because it is the law of the KING OF KINGS (Rev. 19:16). The law of His kingdom is given in detail in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), which includes the first of nine references in the New Testament to loving our neighbor.
Jesus' words in Matthew 5:43 suggest the way Leviticus 19:18 was understood at the time. For example, the immediately preceding commands in Leviticus use apparent synonyms for one's neighbor: they prohibit hating one's brother (Lev. 19:17) and holding a grudge against one's fellow Israelite (Lev. 19:18).
Most likely some interpreted these commands to mean it would be fine to be angry with or hate someone who was not an Israelite, because he or she is not specifically mentioned in these Leviticial texts. After all, people who were not Israelites were also generally considered to be enemies. We now know that such an attitude existed in the Qumran community, a group of devout Jews who had separated themselves from the rest of the nation. They were taught to hate the children of darkness and the men of perdition (The Community Rule 1QS 1:10; 9:21, 22), labels which apparently included not only foreigners but even Israelites who had rejected the community's teachings.
Sin is the greatest of all evils, and it is ours to pity and help the sinner. There are many who err, and who feel their shame and their folly. They are hungry for words of encouragement. They look upon their mistakes and errors, until they are driven almost to desperation. These souls we are not to neglect. If we are Christians, we shall not pass by on the other side, keeping as far as possible from the very ones who most need our help. When we see human beings in distress, whether through affliction or through sin, we shall never say, This does not concern me.-Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 504.
Jesus' life is the greatest example we'll ever have of selfless love for the undeserving and those who didn't love back. How can we learn to express such love for those whom we deem undeserving or who don't love us back? Why is, in the end, complete self-surrender and death to self the only answer?

I assume no such thing. The only fact we must accept is that when one gets closer to Jesus, he more clearly sees his own faults and imperfections. The only way he can be deluded into thinking that his nature is like Christ's is to be blinded to his own faults and imperfections and/or to be duped into believing that Jesus had the same faults and imperfections. No assumptions are necessary, other than that the SOP is correct on this point.

It doesn't seem like you are making a distinction between having them and cherishing them or acting them out in thought, word, or deed.

I'm also not making a distinction between Newtonian and Relativistic mechanics, or between God's command and His permission, whether or not women should be ordained, or a host of other Red Herrings. There is no need for such complications.

It's simple: "...the closer you come to Jesus, the more faulty you will appear in your own eyes; for your vision will be clearer, and your imperfections will be seen in broad and distinct contrast to His perfect nature."

Closer to Jesus -> clearer vision -> see faults and imperfections -> distinct contrast between our nature and His. That's what always happens when one gets closer to Jesus. If one does not see that contrast between Christ's nature and his own, he must not be close enough to Jesus.

Yes, they see things more clearly. But it is not because they are guilty of sinning. The 144,000 will have sinful flesh nature after probation closes. It will tempt them to sin. But they will be sinless.

Exactly. And they see faults and imperfections in themselves, unlike Jesus.

How can we learn to express such love for those whom we deem undeserving or who don't love us back?

We tend to talk of sin as sins of commission but what about sins of omission -- not showing love? James is referring to these.

"2:15-16 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be warmed and filled; but you do not give them those things which are needful to the body; what does it profit?

2:8-9 If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, you will love your neighbour as yourself, you do well:
But if you show favoritism to persons, you commit sin, and are accounted of the law as transgressors.


19:17-18 You are not to hate your brother in your heart: you are to reason with your neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him.
Do not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbour as yourself: I am the LORD.

5:44 Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;


What crucial message are we being given here?

WEDNESDAY
Read James 2:10-11. Then read the passages listed in the table below and classify them as either emphasizing the “whole law,” the “law of love,” or both.

2:10-11 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if you commit no adultery, yet if you kill, you have become a transgressor of the law.

Whole Law -- Law of Love
Matt. 5:18-19

Whole law -- for not one jot or tittle shall pass away till all be fulfilled

Matt. 22:36-40
Whole law - law of love-- Two great commandments -- love God with all your heart, soul and mind, --- and the second love your neighbor as yourself, is the bases of God's whole law!

Rom. 13:8-10
Whole law -- law of love --he that loves others has fulfilled the law -- he doesn't commit adultery, steal, kill, bear false witness or covet.

Gal. 3:10
Whole law -- law of Christ's love for us -- for cursed is he that does not do all the things in the law. Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us:

Gal. 5:3
Whole law -- Whoever seeks to be justified by the law is fallen from grace.

Gal. 5:14
Whole law -- law of love -- For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.





"The law of love calls for the devotion of body, mind, and soul to the service of God and our fellow men.

Wednesday: The Whole Law

(from the Quarterly)

It is hard for us to grasp how radical Jesus’ teaching on the law was. For devout Jews then (and for many today) one cannot really claim to keep the law without a commitment to keeping all the laws found in the books of Moses. Eventually, 613 separate laws were identified (248 positive laws and 365 negative ones).

The question put to Jesus about which law was most important (Matt. 22:36) was probably meant to trap Him. But although Jesus seems to have affirmed every “jot” (the smallest Hebrew letter; Matt. 5:18) as important, He also taught that love to God and love to our neighbor were the most important commandments because they sum up all the others. (All the commandments are based on love)

Jesus’ teaching also shows that obedience cannot be done in a vacuum. It is always relational, or it is meaningless. In other words, if I tithe because I am afraid of being lost if I don’t, it is not relational. On the other hand, if I tithe out of gratitude for how much God has given me, then my actions are based on my relationship with God.

Jesus also spoke about the “weightier matters” of the law as being “judgment, mercy, and faith” (Matt. 23:23). All of these revolve around relationships too-with God and with other people. James is, therefore, not saying anything different than did Jesus or Paul: any transgression of God’s law damages to some extent our relationship to God and to others. So, it is not a question of having enough good deeds to outweigh our bad deeds. That is obedience in a vacuum, acting as if it all revolves around us. Instead, by knowing Jesus, we begin to direct our attention away from ourselves and toward devotion to God and service to others.

How much of your obedience comes from your love for God and others and how much from a sense of obligation? Is working from obligation always wrong, though? Perhaps you don’t feel love for a person but help him or her only because you know you are supposed to. What, if anything, is wrong with that?

What is the picture James is painting in this section?

How the rich are treating the poor? Are we to bring the Gospel to whom?

Are we so used to picking out short sentences from the Bible to support our views that we do not see what it speaks about?



So what is James really saying?

It seems like you are missing my point, namely, they are not guilty of sinning because they have defects and imperfections they refuse to cherish or act out in thought, word, or behavior. Having them is totally different than acting them out. You seem to think they are guilty of sinning even if they don't sin.

You've wandered away again. All I'm saying is that the SOP says their natures are seen to be different from Christ's, and I agree. You are trying very hard to disagree with it without saying it aloud.

That is very difficult indeed. We are often guilty of crossing the street to avoid a fellow sinner in need.

Since the law requires love, doing it merely out of a sense of obligation does not fulfill the law. But it still helps the person in need.

The big caveat is that the unloving helper might tend to believe that he has met God's requirements by so doing. That's the path to legalism.

Why is the point so strange to us? Nobody gets it?

No, I don't think that working from obligation is always wrong. It's wrong, as you said, Arnold, when the unloving helper believes that he has met God's requirement by so doing. Many times I didn't feel like helping someone, yet I helped the person nonetheless, asking for God's forgiveness and asking Him to fill me with His love. As C. S. Lewis said, in Mere Christianity:

“When you are behaving as if you loved someone, you will presently come to love him. If you injure someone you dislike, you will find yourself disliking him more. If you do him a good turn, you will find yourself disliking him less.”

Being sinners, sometimes we obey the law not because we feel like it, but because we know we should do it.

Rosangela - this could be described as "in bondage to the letter of the law".

One must believe Jesus had a different motivation.
___________________________________________

As different as is Sinai from Jerusalem above.
______________________________________

The man who attempts to keep the commandments of God from a sense of obligation merely--because he is required to do so--will never enter into the joy of obedience. He does not obey. When the requirements of God are accounted a burden because they cut across human inclination, we may know that the life is not a Christian life. True obedience is the outworking of a principle within. It springs from the love of righteousness, the love of the law of God. The essence of all righteousness is loyalty to our Redeemer. This will lead us to do right because it is right--because right doing is pleasing to God. {COL 97.3}

Yet agape LOVE is a principle not a feeling.

Do we need to FEEL like it before we obey?
If a mother really loves her child and that youngster is crying in the middle of the night and the mother is really tired, SHE DOESN'T feel like getting up yet again, and may even groan at the thought, but she does it anyway and lovingly cares for her child.
Is she acting out of love or out of obligation -- or is it both?
Because she loves that child she will fulfill her obligation even if she doesn't feel like it.

Notice in the quote from COL 97 the word MERELY

"keep the commandments of God from a sense of obligation merely--because he is required to do so will never enter into the joy of obedience"

We need to understand that love for God must be the foundation. When this gift is firmly planted within our hearts and minds, then we chose to do His will because we love Him even when we don't FEEL like doing whatever that might be.

Memory Text: “For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment” (James 2:13, NASB).

What does it mean?

Compare it with
Luke 6:37 Judge not and you will not be judged
condemn not and you will not be condemned
forgive and you will be forgiven.

and

Matt. 6:14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:
6:15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

AMEN!

We need mercy. James makes it clear that those who prefer certain classes of people before others are guilty of breaking all of the commandments. And this is a commandment all of us are breaking. Therefore we are only saved by the mercy of God because mercy triumphs over judgment,

Jesus was God in sinful flesh. So, yes, His nature was radically different. But, as you know, He never used His divinity to resist temptation. Jesus resisted the same temptations born again believers resist. Jesus' fallen humanity also had the same defects and weaknesses. However, like believers who are abiding in Jesus, He did not cherish them or act them out. Thus, He never incurred guilt. You seem to think merely having them counts as sinning.

The fruit of abiding in Jesus is the fruit of the Spirit - not sinning that requires mercy. Believers who have learned to live in harmony with everything Jesus has commanded, and who are abiding in Jesus, do not and cannot sin. That is, they do not and cannot sin while they are actively, consciously, deliberately abiding in Jesus, walking in the Spirit and in the mind of the new man, partaking of the divine nature. Of course they are free to neglect or to reject Jesus and then all they can do is sin, everything they do is stained with sin.

Lesson Study for the week Nov. 1-7

Faith that Works

Read for This Week’s Study:
James 2:14-26
Romans 3:27-28
Titus 2:14
2 Cor. 4:2
Romans 4:1-5
Joshua 2:1-21

FROM THE QUARTERLY

Memory Text: “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also” (James 2:26, NKJV).

He was a successful doctor and an elder in a high-profile church of several hundred members. He was a major giver to the church’s big projects, and his generosity encouraged others to be more sacrificial. The doctor was also a great preacher. When the pastor was gone he spoke, and everyone looked forward to his messages, which were theologically deep, heartfelt, and spiritual.

Then one day the truth came out. The doctor’s absence at church the previous Sabbath had not been because he was on vacation, as many had thought. No, he was found dead in his beachfront condo from an overdose of recreational narcotics.

Worse was the shocking revelation that in his bedroom were dozens of pornographic videos and magazines. The church was devastated, especially the young people, who had looked up to him as a role model. Though we must leave all judgment in God’s hands, the doctor’s actions certainly call into question the reality of his faith.

The point?

Though we are saved by faith, we cannot separate faith and works in the life of a Christian, a crucial but often misunderstood truth expounded upon in the book of James.

Many were shocked at the discovery of the doctors secret life. Yet, both sins, are addictions, which once begun tend to bind a person with bands of iron into a dark world from which it is next to impossible to escape.

Yet, with God there is power to overcome addictions.

Of course the best way is never to start, but from reports there are many Christians caught in the web of addictions -- what do we have to offer to help them escape?

SUNDAY -- Dead faith

“What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him?” (James 2:14, NKJV).

How do we understand this verse in the context of salvation by faith alone? Read James 2:15-17; compare Rom. 3:27-28.

15 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? 17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

(Quoting QUARTERLY)
Faith without works. James gives a vivid illustration of this kind of phony faith (James 2:15-16). As we have already seen, obedience in the book of James is relational. So, how do we relate to a brother or sister in the church who is in need? Words are not enough. We cannot simply say, “Go in peace. God will provide,”when God has provided us the means to help that brother or sister.

Of course, needs can be endless, and we cannot meet them all. But there is a principle called “the power of one.” We are the hands and feet of Jesus, and we can help others one person at a time. In fact, that is how Jesus usually worked. In a man whose daughter was dying appealed to Him for help. On the way, a woman approached from behind and touched Jesus’ garment. After the healing, Jesus could have gone on and the woman would have left rejoicing. But Jesus knew that she needed more than physical healing. So, He stopped and took the time so that she could learn to be a witness for Jesus, to share as well as to receive. Then He said the same words we have in : “Go in peace” (Mark 5:34, NIV). But, unlike the words in James, in this case they actually meant something!

When we recognize a need but do nothing about it, we have missed an opportunity of exercising faith. By doing so, our faith gets a little weaker and a little deader. This is because faith without works dies. James describes it even more starkly: faith is dead already. If it were alive the works would be there. If they are not, what good is it? At the end of verse 14, James asks a question about this kind of workless and worthless faith. It comes across far more strongly in Greek than it does in most translations: “That faith cannot save him, can it?” The answer James expects us to give is clearly “No.”

How can we learn to better express our faith through our works while protecting ourselves from the deception that our works save us?

Jesus came to save us from sin.
--"who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works." (Titus 2:14)

James gives us some practical counsel that it is by this saving faith that sin can be overcome and the power of addictions be broken.

An aggressive faith could have saved that doctor in Saturday's story, from his addictions. And aggressive faith can liberate us from the sins that so easily beset us as well.

Sometimes it seems we think of salvation in merely theological terms, whereas salvation is Jesus' provisions to set us free from the enslavement of sin and from soul and body destroying addictions.

Jesus said: “Have faith in God, for verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall SAY unto this mountain [engrained sin and/or addiction], Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea [out of your life]; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall BELIEVE that those things which he SAITH shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he SAITH.” (Mark 11:22-23)

First believe (have faith) that God will remove this sin from you.
Second -- speak! Did you notice the above text talks about speaking three times? "say unto the mountain"-- "what we say shall come to pass" -- "have what we say".

Meet the "mountain" (temptation) with spoken words from scripture, claim God's promises and speak out to thank Him, fully believing it will become reality in your life. Be like the persistent widow in Jesus parable who kept speaking, till her request was fulfilled.
Remember that God's promises to us, and the releasing from sins and from enslaving addictions is God's will for us -- that's why Jesus died for us!

It reminds me of Pastor Coon and the ABC's of prayer:

Matthew 7:7 gives the 'A' of prayer. "Ask and it shall be given you."
Mark 11:24 gives the 'B' of prayer. "Believe...." Believe that you have received the answer!
The 'C' is to claim the promise for which we have asked, and which we have told Him we believe. Claim it, talk like it is a reality in your life and return thanks that you have received it.
Even if you fall, keep claiming his promise as yours, believe He is changing you, and keep thanking Him for that reality.
This is the secret to overcome sin, and also to overcome our fears and other hindrances in the Christian life.

Active, persistent faith and connection with God is what is needed.

MONDAY Saving Faith

Read James 2:18. What is the main point James is making? How do we show our faith by our works?

18 But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.

FROM THE QUARTERLY

James uses a common rhetorical technique whereby a potential objector comes forward. In this case, the objector tries to drive a wedge between faith and works by suggesting that as long as a person has one or the other, he or she is fine. But the whole point James is trying to make is that Christians cannot hope to be saved by faith if there are no corresponding works: “Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works” (vs. 18, NKJV).

The key point is that not just any faith will save. Genuine faith, saving faith, is characterized by good works. Likewise, works are only good works if they spring from faith. Faith and works are inseparable. Like two sides of a coin, one cannot exist without the other. Also like a coin, one side is the head and the other the tail. Faith comes first and then leads the way to corresponding works.

Consider Paul's attitude toward works in Ephesians 2:10, 1 Thessalonians 1:3, 1 Timothy 5:25, and Titus 2:14. Why are good works so important?

Ep.2:10 "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them."
1 Thes. 1:3 "remembering without ceasing your work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of our God and Father,"
1 Tim. 5:25 Likewise, the good works of some are clearly evident, and those that are otherwise cannot be hidden.
Titus 2: 14 who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.



Paul was not against good works per se. He was against works as a means of salvation "knowing that a man is not justified by the works" (see Gal. 2:16). In fact, Paul said that those who rely on works of the law to be saved are under a curse, because no one who tries to be saved by keeping the law actually succeeds in keeping it "For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.” (Gal. 3:10). Obedience is possible only through the gift of the Holy Spirit.

“If man cannot, by any of his good works, merit salvation, then it must be wholly of grace, received by man as a sinner because he receives and believes in Jesus. It is wholly a free gift. Justification by faith is placed beyond controversy. And all this controversy is ended, as soon as the matter is settled that the merits of fallen man in his good works can never procure eternal life for him.”-Ellen G. White, Faith and Works, p. 20.

Why should the great news that we cannot work our way to heaven motivate us, out of a love for God, to do all the good works that we can?

How do we show our faith by our works?
James asks:
Show me your faith without your works...

What does faith without works look like?
Basically it denies the promises of God.
They believe that God is real, they believe in the historical Christ, but they don't believe that Christ has power to change their lives and so they continue in their self-centered, sinful lifestyles.
Those with dead faith profess to have faith, but their lives and their priorities indicate otherwise.

Jesus addressed dead vs living faith in these parables:

“By their fruits you will know them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? Just so, every good tree bears good fruit, and a rotten tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. So by their fruits you will know them.
(Matthew 7:16–20).

The message of Jesus is the same as the message of James, our "works" or "fruit" show whether we have faith.


HOW do we show our faith by our works?

The greatest testimony of a life of faith and the power of God is the changed life. The person who once was trapped in sin, bond by destructive addictions comes to Christ, claims His promises of deliverances, believes and by faith raises to new life in Christ, freed from those sins, proclaims the power and vitality of genuine faith.

This includes a changed outlook in how a person views others. As by faith a person follows Christ, Christ's love grows within His heart.

Remember John the disciple, who came to Jesus as a "son of thunder" hot tempered and ambitious for a place of honor, and how he was changed through his faith connection with Christ? People marveled when they saw and heard John, because John "had been with Jesus". He was a changed man.

Faith that is alive changes a person to be more like Jesus.

TUESDAY --The "Faith" of Demons

[From quarterly)

If works are absent, there is only one other way to “prove” the genuineness of one's faith: by orthodoxy. If I believe the right things, then I must have faith, right?

Read what scripture says:
2 Corinthians 4:2; ...by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.
1 Timothy 2:2-4; Lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

James 5:19-20; Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.

1 Peter 1:22;Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart,

1 John 3:18-19. Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart,

What do these verses tell us about how important knowing truth is?

There is no question that an intellectual knowledge of truth has its place, a very important place. Yet, that knowledge, in and of itself, is not sufficient to prove that a person has saving faith.

What warning is given to us in James 2:19 about a false concept of what true faith is?
The most fundamental statement of faith in the Old Testament is Deuteronomy 6:4, “Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one!” (NASB 1995). Known as the Shema (because this is the Hebrew word it begins with), this verse neatly summarizes belief in one God. Every other biblical teaching flows from this cardinal truth.

But even the demons believe this truth. In fact, they know it! And yet, what good does it do them? They tremble in God's presence, as they did also when confronted by Jesus and commanded by Him to come out of their victims (Mark 3:11, 5:7).

An intellectual faith that has no effect on how we act is useless; in fact, it is the same faith that demons have, demons who are actively at work to deceive us with false doctrines and lies. As with Israel at the time of Jesus, demons will encourage people to believe their deceptions based on their victims' desire to hold onto impure and unrighteous behavior: “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils” (1 Tim. 4:1).

Faith must be manifested in our lives or else it is not saving faith; it is, instead, “the faith of demons,” and such a faith won't save us any more than it will save them.

This section shows why we have to compare Scripture with Scripture to get the clearer picture. Often a single text may thwart our thinking in certain areas if we ignore what the Lord is telling us elsewhere.

yes --
There are usually two ditches that a person can fall into on any important subject, and this is especially true when it comes to the faith and works issue.

The path "high above the world" is narrow path.

When we speak of faith, there is a distinction that should be borne in mind. There is a kind of belief that is wholly distinct from faith.

The existence and power of God, the truth of His Word, are facts that even Satan and his hosts cannot at heart deny. The Bible says that "the devils also believe, and tremble"; but this is not faith. Where there is not only a belief in God's Word, but a submission of the will to Him; where the heart is yielded to Him, the affections fixed upon Him, there is faith--faith that works by love and purifies the soul. Through this faith the heart is renewed in the image of God. And the heart that in its unrenewed state is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be, now delights in its holy precepts, exclaiming with the psalmist, "O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day." Psalm 119:97. And the righteousness of the law is fulfilled in us, "who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." Romans 8:1. {FLB 90.4}

WEDNESDAY -- Abraham's Faith

Read James 2:21-24 and compare it with Romans 4:1-5, and
Romans 4:22-24
How is the faith of Abraham described in these texts, and on what is justification based?
How do we synchronize what Paul wrote with what James wrote?

Both Paul and James believed in salvation by faith. Salvation includes being saved from 1) the penalty of sin (justification, the outer court), 2) the power of sin (sanctification, the holy place), and 3) the presence of sin (glorification, the most holy place). We are saved by faith unto good words and works - faith that works by love and purifies the soul.

The Quarterlies answer to the question of Abraham's faith and works:

"the immediate context of Romans 4 has to do with whether circumcision is necessary for justification; that is, whether Gentiles had to become Jews in order to be saved (Rom. 3:28-30). Paul shows that Abraham's faith, not his “work” of being circumcised, was the basis of justification, because Abraham believed even before he was circumcised. Abraham was circumcised later as an outward sign of his inward faith (Rom. 4:9-11). But works alone, even circumcision, are not sufficient for justification, because only those “who also walk in the steps of that faith [of] our father Abraham” (Rom. 4:12, NKJV) will be justified.

Is this emphasis really so different from that of James? Paul even goes on to use the same “proof” of Abraham's faith that James does (see Rom. 4:17-21). Abraham believed that God could resurrect Isaac because He “gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist” (vs. 17, NASB; compare Heb. 11:17-19). Paul also defines saving faith as “being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform” (Rom. 4:21, NKJV). In short, faith that trusts God to keep His promises and obediently relies on His word is saving faith. These works are not “works of law” but “works of faith.” Or, as James puts it: “Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect?” (James 2:22, NKJV, emphasis added).

Many stress the importance of faith and works, but even this separates the two, at least to some extent. True faith is “faith working through love” (Gal. 5:6, NKJV). Good works are not just the outward sign of faith; they are the outworking of faith. Abraham's faith in the God who created all life motivated him to obey God in offering up his only son, Isaac. According to James, it is by obedience that faith is made perfect.

What is your own experience with how works (or the lack thereof) impact your faith?

THURSDAY -- Rahab's Faith

“Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way?” (James 2:25, NKJV).
Read Joshua 2:1-21. How do we understand this example, again in the context of salvation by faith alone?

Rahab was not an Israelite -- her knowledge of God and of faith, etc. was limited. But she had heard of the mighty works of God for Israel, and she believed that Israel's God was far greater than any of the idol gods her people were worshipping.

What must have been the thoughts in her mind? Thoughts powerful enough that she risked her life to protect two strangers (spies) from the Israelite camp. What Rahab did was NOT the popular thing to do. All of Jericho was keyed up to high alert to defend themselves against Israel. To harbor an Israelite in such a situation would be high treason.

So what motivated her to risk her life to protect the spies?

Rahab focused on the godly mission of the spies and her realization that they represented the God of Israel. Rahab didn't believe just in the existence of God, she literally believed that God was actively involved in the lives of His people. That is, she believed it was He who was bringing Israel into the Promised Land. She was willing to accept Israel's God as the true God and to forsake her idols.

Rahab stated confidently: "I know that the Lord has given you the land."
The apostle James later wrote: "Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way?" (James:2:25)—her works being a natural response to her faith.

Paul says works without faith amounts to NOTHING
James says faith without works is DEAD.

Are they in contradiction or just approaching the same truth from two different sides?

Probably the first foundation stone to establish is this:
neither our faith nor our works in and of themselves save anyone

Christ saves

Faith lays hold of that salvation
Works manifest our hold on Christ.

Saying faith and works are two sides of the same coin is like saying the peach and pit are two different things. Faith and works are so inseparable as to make it impossible to treat them separately. We cannot have one without the other. They are always together. Like the Godhead.

This next lesson (Nov. 8-14) really hits on a target of importance.

Sabbath: Taming the untameable Tongue

James wrote:
Every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind. 8 But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. 10 Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so. James 3:7-10

Jesus said:

"‘For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned’ ”(Matt. 12:37, NKJV).

The power of the tongue is great.
Not only because it's effect on those who hear the words we speak but also upon our own lives!

3 We put bits into the mouths of horses to get them to obey us, then we guide their entire bodies. 4 Look at ships too: though they are so large and driven by harsh winds, they are steered by a tiny rudder wherever the pilot’s impulse directs.

So too, the words that come out of our mouths have an enormous power to steer our whole attitudes and thoughts. James has said that if a man can control his tongue, he can control his entire body. But mankind, in his own strength has no control over his tongue and there is a devastating result for the whole body – it is corrupted by the tongue.

And words do "hurt". The old saying "sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me," are false.

Words can be deadly too. James 3:5,6 says, “Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.” In the dry heat of the Middle East a fire can start with just a tiny spark, yet it can cause untold devastation. Like a fire, gossip spreads fast and far. Like a fire, harsh words invade the mind and burn up joy, peace, and love.

The lesson tells us:
"The written word is powerful, too, and even more lasting. Most powerful of all is God’s Word. Consider:“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path” (Ps. 119:105); and “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee” (Ps. 119:11). Jesus directed the attention of the disciples away from temporal blessings to something much more vital: “The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63).

Words can soothe and reassure or poison and contaminate. How often have you said something you wished you could take back?

I replied to this here.

Lesson for November 15-22

The Humility of Heavenly Wisdom

Read for This Week’s Study:
James 3:13-4:10
Deut. 4:6
Gal. 5:17
Jere. 3:6-10 Jere. 3:20
Acts 19:13-16
Psalms 24:3-6 .

Memory Text: “Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you” (James 4:10, NASB 1995).

In Saturday's comments our attention is drawn to a common practice in the world--
The drive to advance in a job or position at the expense of others. The practice of pushing others down to get ahead.

"It would be nice to think that selfish rivalry is confined to secular organizations and that the church operates quite differently. Unfortunately, Scripture indicates that all too often worldly “wisdom” also operates among believers.

This week let’s see what the Word of God has to say about this unfortunate reality."

The lesson reminds me of a striking vision given to EGW.

It is called "The Two Crowns" and found in 1T pages 347-349

CROWN ONE
"I saw an arm reached down from heaven, holding a golden scepter. On the top of the scepter was a crown studded with diamonds. Every diamond emitted light, bright, clear, and beautiful. Inscribed upon the crown were these words: "All who win me are happy, and shall have everlasting life."

CROWN TWO:
"Below this crown was another scepter, and upon this also was placed a crown, in the center of which were jewels, gold, and silver, reflecting some light. The inscription upon the crown was: "Earthly treasure. Riches is power. All who win me have honor and fame."

POPULARITY OF CROWN #TWO
I saw a vast multitude rushing forward to obtain this crown. They were clamorous. Some in their eagerness seemed bereft of reason. They would thrust one another, crowding back those who were weaker than they, and trampling upon those who in their haste fell.
Many eagerly seized hold of the treasures within the crown, and held them fast. The heads of some were as white as silver, and their faces were furrowed with care and anxiety. Their own relatives, bone of their bone, and flesh of their flesh, they regarded not; but, as appealing looks were turned to them, they held their treasures more firmly, as though fearful that in an unguarded moment they should lose a little, or be induced to divide with them. Their eager eyes would often fasten upon the earthly crown, and count and recount its treasures.
Images of want and wretchedness appeared in that multitude, and looked wishfully at the treasures there, and turned hopelessly away as the stronger overpowered and drove back the weaker. Yet they could not give it up thus, but with a multitude of deformed, sickly, and aged, they sought to press their way to the earthly crown. Some died in seeking to reach it. Others fell just in the act of taking hold of it. Many had but just laid hold of it when they fell.
Dead bodies strewed the ground, yet on rushed the multitude, trampling over the fallen and dead bodies of their companions. Everyone who reached the crown possessed a share in it, and was loudly applauded by an interested company standing around it.

A large company of evil angels were very busy. Satan was in the midst of them, and all looked with the most exulting satisfaction upon the company struggling for the crown. He seemed to throw a peculiar charm upon those who eagerly sought it.
Many who sought this earthly crown were professed Christians. Some of them seemed to have a little light. They would look wishfully upon the heavenly crown, and would often seem charmed with its beauty, yet they had no true sense of its value and glory. While with one hand they were reaching forth languidly for the heavenly, with the other they reached eagerly for the earthly, determined to possess that; and in their earnest pursuit for the earthly, they lost sight of the heavenly. They were left in darkness, yet were anxiously groping about to secure the earthly crown.

PURSUIT OF THE HEAVENLY CROWN

Some became disgusted with the company who sought the earthly crown so eagerly; they seemed to have a sense of their danger, and turned from it, and earnestly sought for the heavenly crown. The countenances of such soon changed from dark to light, from gloom to cheerfulness and holy joy.

I then saw a company pressing through the crowd with their eyes intently fixed upon the heavenly crown. As they earnestly urged their way through the disorderly crowd, angels attended them, and made room for them to advance. As they neared the heavenly crown, the light emanating from it shone upon them and around them, dispelling their darkness, and growing clearer and brighter, until they seemed to be transformed, and resembled the angels. They cast not one lingering look upon the earthly crown. Those who were in pursuit of the earthly, mocked them, and threw black balls after them. These did them no injury while their eyes were fixed upon the heavenly crown, but those who turned their attention to the black balls were stained with them.

EXPLANATION OF THOSE WHO SOUGHT EARTHLY CROWN

The multitude who were so eagerly striving for the earthly crown, were those who love this world's treasure, and are deceived and flattered with its short-lived attractions. Some, I saw, who profess to be the followers of Jesus, are so ambitious to obtain earthly treasures that they lose their love for heaven, act like the world, and are accounted of God as of the world. They profess to be seeking an immortal crown, a treasure in the heavens; but their interest and principal study is to acquire earthly treasures. Those who have their treasures in this world, and love their riches, cannot love Jesus. They may think that they are right, and, although they cling to their possessions with a miser's grasp, they cannot be made to see it, or to feel that they love money more than the cause of truth or the heavenly treasure.

They trample upon the rights of others, and oppress the poor, and the hireling in his wages. If they can take advantage of those who are poorer and less shrewd than they, and thus manage to increase their riches, they will not hesitate a moment to oppress them, and even see them brought to beggary.
The men whose heads were white with age, and whose faces were furrowed with care, yet who were eagerly grasping the treasures within the crown, were the aged, who have but a few years before them. Yet they were eager to secure their earthly treasures. The nearer they came to the grave, the more anxious they were to cling to them. Their own relatives were not benefited. The members of their own families were permitted to labor beyond their strength to save a little money. They did not use it for others' good, or for their own.

The multitude of deformed and sickly pressing for the earthly crown are those whose interests and treasures are in this world. Although they are disappointed on every side, they will not place their affections on heaven, and secure to themselves a treasure and home there. They fail of the earthly, yet while in pursuit of it, lose the heavenly. Notwithstanding the disappointment and unhappy life and death of those who were wholly bent upon obtaining earthly riches, others follow the same course. They rush madly on, disregarding the miserable end of those whose example they are following.
Those who reached the crown, and possessed a share in it, and were applauded, are those who obtain that which is the whole aim of their life--riches. They receive that honor which the world bestows upon those who are rich. They have influence in the world. Satan and his evil angels are satisfied. They know that such are surely theirs, that while they are living in rebellion against God, they are Satan's powerful agents.

EXPLANATION OF THOSE WHO SOUGHT HEAVENLY CROWN

Those who are urging their way through the crowd for the heavenly crown, attended by holy angels, were shown me to be God's faithful people. Angels lead them on, and they are inspired with zeal to press forward for the heavenly treasure.
The black balls which were thrown after the saints were the reproachful falsehoods put in circulation concerning God's people by those who love and make a lie. We should take the greatest care to live a blameless life, and abstain from all appearance of evil, and then it is our duty to move boldly forward, and pay no regard to the reproachful falsehoods of the wicked. While the eyes of the righteous are fixed upon the heavenly priceless treasure, they will become more and more like Christ, and thus they will be transformed and fitted for translation."

Sunday November 16

The Meekness of Wisdom
Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom (James 3:13, ESV). The meekness of wisdom? What might that mean?
Some commentators think that the entire third chapter of James has to do with what qualifies (or disqualifies) people to be teachers. Naturally, the wise and understanding would seem to be good candidates, but the scope seems to be broader, encompassing the whole congregation. The wisdom James describes here and throughout the epistle is not primarily the intellectual variety so esteemed by the ancient Greeks and many Western countries today. Rather, wisdom is seen in one's conduct and lifestyle, as indicated by the Greek word for it, anastrophe, translated conduct (used also in 1 Tim. 4:12, Heb. 13:7, 1 Pet. 1:15, 2:12). Our actions and conduct testify as to how wise we are. Jesus taught the same, saying that wisdom is justified by her children (Matt. 11:19, NKJV).
Interestingly, the only place in the Old Testament where the phrase translated wise and understanding is found is in Moses' admonition to Israel to observe all the laws that God had commanded: Keep them and do them, for that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who when they hear all these statutes, will say, 'surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people' (Deut. 4:6, ESV).
In contrast, the bitter water spring referred to in James 3:11 produces envy and selfish ambition (v. 14, NIV) in the church. The latter translates from the Greek word eritheia, which refers to the exclusive pursuit of one's own interests.-Ceslas Spicq, Theological Lexicon of the New Testament (Hendrickson Publishers), vol. 2, p. 70. That's an attitude that sounds more like Satan in heaven than like what Christians should be on earth. Unless we make a conscious choice to die to self and surrender our will to the Lord, all of us could be in danger of displaying precisely the attitudes here that James warns about.
Dwell more on the phrase the meekness of wisdom. What are some of the situations in which, right now, some of this wisdom on your part would be very helpful?

True wisdom comes with meekness. Pride and arrogance cannot exist with wisdom.

Biblical meekness and humility is the fruit of being proud of what Jesus has done for you and is doing in and through you.

Monday November 17

Two Kinds of Wisdom
Read James 3:15-16. What is his description of worldly wisdom? What are the common ways we see this wisdom manifested in the world, or even in the church?
The wisdom that we have naturally is earthly, even demonic or devilish, and devoid of the Spirit. This should not be too surprising. Long ago, Solomon spoke about the way that seems right as being the way of death (Prov. 14:12, 16:25, NKJV). This wisdom is destructive to its core. If jealousy and selfish ambition are cultivated and expressed, the natural result will be disorder and dissension, similar to the situation in Corinth (see 2 Cor. 12:20, where several of the same words are used).
Read James 3:17-18; John 3:3-7; Colossians 3:1-2. Together, what are these texts telling us about heavenly wisdom?
While James never refers to the Holy Spirit directly, the idea of the new birth is clearly present. The apostle seems to prefer, instead, the agricultural metaphor of sowing and bearing fruit, perhaps based on Jesus' parables that refer to the word being sown in people's hearts as they hear the gospel message (see Matt. 13:3-9, 18-23). Heavenly wisdom is full of mercy, as well as good fruits. As we have seen, despite the emphasis in James on obedience and good works as the fruit of faith, mercy triumphs even in the judgment (James 2:13). In other words, the truly wise will not only be meek and humble like Jesus, but also peaceable, gentle, merciful, and forgiving, willing to overlook the faults of others, not critical or judgmental of them.
It's so easy to fall into the ways of the world, isn't it? Examine yourself: how much does worldly wisdom, in contrast to wisdom from heaven, influence how you live?

What does it mean to be meek and humble?

Is there such a thing as false humility?
Can people demand "humility" from others while they themselves use a false humility for self exaltation?

Is it possible to be in a condition where "the heart is swelling with the conceit of their superior humility"?

Does humility require that we keep the peace and accept Sunday worship if those in authority tell us it is the "true" Sabbath and our friends and even relatives go along with the Sunday keeping and pressure us to do the same and say we are "judgmental" if we tell them that is not God's Sabbath? Or they say we are "proud" and think we are so much smarter than those in leadership?

Where does godly humility stand?
What does it mean that "mercy triumphs over judgment" in the setting it is used in the lesson?
Does it mean that humility will bow to keep the peace and that is more important than obedience, and not worry about God's judgment for mercy will still vindicate us?


Just some questions as I've found people often speak of humility when they want others to humbly look to them as authority.

True humility is seeking God's will not our own.
True humility is seeking the good of others before our own.
True humility does not harbor jealousy and selfish ambition
But true humility is not in the context of compromise.

The spirit of the slothful servant we are often fain to call humility. But true humility is widely different. To be clothed with humility does not mean that we are to be dwarfs in intellect, deficient in aspiration, and cowardly in our lives, shunning burdens lest we fail to carry them successfully. Real humility fulfills God's purposes by depending upon His strength. {COL 363.3}

It is the privilege of everyone to so live that God will approve and bless him. You may be hourly in communion with Heaven; it is not the will of your heavenly Father that you should ever be under condemnation and darkness. It is not pleasing to God that you should demerit yourself. You should cultivate self-respect by living so that you will be approved by your own conscience, and before men and angels. It is not an evidence of true humility that you go with your head bowed down, and your heart filled with thoughts of self. It is your privilege to go to Jesus and be cleansed, and to stand before the law without shame and remorse. "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." While we should not think of ourselves more highly than we ought, the Word of God does not condemn a proper self-respect. As sons and daughters of God, we should have a conscious dignity of character, in which pride and self-importance have no part.--RH, Mar. 27, 1888.{DG 142.1}

One Law Giver and Judge
http://ssnet.org/lessons/14d/less09.html

Study this lesson to prepare for November 29, 2014

Memory Text: “There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?” (James 4:12).

Our attitude toward law, whether God’s law or human’s, affects how we relate to others and even to how we relate to God Himself. Have you noticed that sometimes the rich and famous act as if they are above the law? Even some who make the laws, or enforce them, may look for ways to write those laws for their own personal gain. Disrespect for a society’s laws, then, can involve disrespect for other people, because laws govern how we relate to each other.

At the same time, those whose attitude toward law is rigid and unbending may also have difficulty in their interpersonal relationships. At a deeper level, our view of the law depends on the degree of respect we have for the wisdom of the lawgivers and the fairness of their laws.

This week’s lesson begins with a look at the law but then leads into some important words about a form of arrogance and self-dependence that we might not be aware of but which we are warned about as being sin, a violation of God’s law. In fact, we’re given here, in James, another way of looking at sin.


Some Bible Texts to consider:

James 4:11 Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. 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. 12 There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another?

Do Not Boast About Tomorrow

13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; 14 whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. 15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.” 16 But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.

17 Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.

Sunday's question is an important one-- for though we are not to judge the Bible is clear we need to have discernment.

So --
Sunday: Judgment or Discernment?

What is the difference?

Sunday's lesson starts answering that question by saying:
"The initial phrase in verse 11 that is literally translated “speak against” could include several sins of speech, including slander, bearing false witness, and angry words ....

And looking back at last weeks lesson it would include speaking words to "put down" someone else in order to elevate oneself in other people's eyes.

On the other hand discernment tests ideas and movements, especially spiritual ideas with scripture to see if it is truth or falsehoods.

Scripture is telling us to discern the difference between truth and falsehood but we are not to judge our fellow believers as to their spiritual condition.

Yet, there are times when we need "in love and compassion" encourage a person to change from their sinful ways. Parents who don't teach their children right from wrong can't claim the "don't judge" verses to excuse their neglect; and so also a church family needs to encourage righteousness and counsel the erring.

So the question is still
"How can we learn to know if we have crossed the line from being spiritually discerning to being judgmental on God’s law?"

The lesson to be studied this week in preparation for December 6 Bible class is called:

WEEP AND HOWL!

James 5:1 Go to now, you rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
5:2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth eaten.
5:3 Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.
5:4 Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, cries: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth.
5:5 Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter.
5:6 Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he does not resist you.

Why does James ask the rich to weep and howl-- for what reason?

Is it just because trouble is coming?

The statement "you rich" would seem to imply a spiritual condition as well as monetary wealth.
The context suggests they were wealthy due to oppressive procedures, and thus impoverished spiritually.

We can see a striking comparison to the seventh church in Revelation, in the message to the church of Laodiceans: "For you say, I am rich; I have prospered and grown wealthy, and I am in need of nothing; and you do not realize that you are wretched, poor, blind and naked.

The Lord can do nothing to change our sinful ways until, convinced of our own weakness, and stripped of all self-sufficiency, we yield ourselves to the control of God. Then we can receive the gift that God is waiting to bestow.

"Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted." By these words Christ does not teach that mourning in itself has power to remove the guilt of sin.

" We often sorrow because our evil deeds bring unpleasant consequences to ourselves; but this is not repentance. Real sorrow for sin is the result of the working of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit reveals the ingratitude of the heart that has slighted and grieved the Saviour, and brings us in contrition to the foot of the cross. By every sin Jesus is wounded afresh; and as we look upon Him whom we have pierced, we mourn for the sins that have brought anguish upon Him. Such mourning will lead to the renunciation of sin. {DA 300.3}

Here is the link to this week's study:

http://www.ssnet.org/lessons/14d/less11.html

Getting Ready for the Harvest
Lesson for Dec. 13, 2014

James 5:7 Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. 8 You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.

9 Do not grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be 8condemned. Behold, the Judge is standing at the door! 10 My brethren, take the prophets, who spoke in the name of the Lord, as an example of suffering and patience. 11 Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord—that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.

12 But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. But let your “Yes” be “Yes,” and your “No,” “No,” lest you fall into judgment.

Romans 13:11 And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.

SUNDAY
Waiting for “Rain”

Farmers are directly dependent on the weather for their livelihood. If the weather is too dry or too wet, too cold or too hot, their produce will be adversely affected. In drier countries, such as Israel, the margin of safety is even less, and the importance of plentiful rain at the proper times is significantly greater. Whether grown on a small family farm or a large estate, the crop and its subsequent value are directly dependent on rain.

The early rain, which generally falls in October-November, moistens the ground and prepares it for planting and germination. The latter rain, around March or April, ripens the crops for harvest.

Deut 11:13-14
if you earnestly obey My commandments which I command you today, to love the Lord your God and serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul, 14 then I will give you the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the latter rain, that you may gather in your grain,

Joel 2:23 Be glad then, you children of Zion,
And rejoice in the Lord your God;
For He has given you the former rain faithfully,
And He will cause the rain to come down for you—
The former rain,
And the latter rain in the first month.

Joel 2:“And it shall come to pass afterward
That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh;
Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
Your old men shall dream dreams,
Your young men shall see visions.

29 And also on My menservants and on My maidservants
I will pour out My Spirit in those days.
30 “And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth:


EGW:
Ask ye of the Lord rain in the time of the latter rain; so the Lord shall make bright clouds, and give them showers of rain, to every one grass in the field. Zechariah 10:1.

Under the figure of the early and the latter rain, that falls in Eastern lands at seedtime and harvest, the Hebrew prophets foretold the bestowal of spiritual grace in extraordinary measure upon God’s church. The outpouring of the Spirit in the days of the apostles was the beginning of the early, or former rain, and glorious was the result.... But near the close of earth’s harvest, a special bestowal of spiritual grace is promised to prepare the church for the coming of the Son of man. This outpouring of the Spirit is likened to the falling of the latter rain; and it is for this added power that Christians are to send their petitions to the Lord of the harvest “in the time of the latter rain.”

As Christ was glorified on the day of Pentecost so will He again be glorified in the closing work of the gospel, when He shall prepare a people to stand the final test, in the closing conflict of the great controversy.

Many ... will be seen hurrying hither and thither, constrained by the Spirit of God to bring the light to others. The truth, the Word of God, is as a fire in their bones, filling them with a burning desire to enlighten those who sit in darkness. Many, even among the uneducated, now proclaim the words of the Lord. Children are impelled by the Spirit to go forth and declare the message from heaven. The Spirit is poured out upon all who will yield to its promptings, and ... they will declare the truth with the might of the Spirit’s power.

But unless the members of God’s church today have a living connection with the Source of all spiritual growth, they will not be ready for the time of reaping. Unless they keep their lamps trimmed and burning, they will fail of receiving added grace in times of special need.

Divine grace is needed at the beginning, divine grace at every step of advance, and divine grace alone can complete the work. There is no place for us to rest in a careless attitude....By prayer and faith we are continually to seek more of the Spirit.
Ellen G. White, Our Father Cares, p. 212. (August 18)

Let us listen to the truth in this "Latter rain"
Latter rain

This link has a better readable report.
Latter Rain

Came here for lesson study to find links to a Houteff shepherd rod study. Of course it is tailored to promote Houteff's writings.

However,
there is one good paragraph from EGW's writings quoted that DOES depict the true latter rain:

"The heart must be emptied of every defilement, and cleansed for the indwelling of the Spirit. It was by the confession and forsaking of sin, by earnest prayer and consecration of themselves to God, that the early disciples prepared for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. The same work, only in greater degree, must be done now. Then the human agent had only to ask for the blessing, and wait for the Lord to perfect the work concerning him. It is God who began the work, and He will finish His work, making man complete in Jesus Christ." TM 507

The lesson for this week is called
Prayer, Healing and Restoration

The verses to be studied:

James 5:13-20

13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.
16 1Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. 17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. 18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.

Bring Back the Erring One

19 Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, 20 let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.

"The darkness of the evil one encloses those who neglect to pray. The whispered temptations of the enemy entice them to sin; and it is all because they do not make use of the privileges that God has given them in the divine appointment of prayer. Why should the sons and daughters of God be reluctant to pray, when prayer is the key in the hand of faith to unlock heaven’s storehouse, where are treasured the boundless resources of Omnipotence? Without unceasing prayer and diligent watching we are in danger of growing careless and of deviating from the right path. The adversary seeks continually to obstruct the way to the mercy seat, that we may not by earnest supplication and faith obtain grace and power to resist temptation." (Steps to Christ, 9395.)

Prayer is how we stay in contact with the One who created us. The importance of daily communication through prayer cannot be overestimated. It is so important that it is mentioned over 250 times in Scripture.



So consider -- why is daily prayer so important?

1. Daily (and NOT just once a day but many times a day) prayer is sharing all aspects of our lives with God. It's inviting God into every situation that face throughout the day.

2. Daily prayer focuses our attention on the fact that God is providing for us and we express our gratitude for the things He provides.

3. Daily prayer helps us to confess our sins and ask for help in overcoming that sin.

4. Daily prayer keeps our focus on God in worship and obedience and invites Him to be the One who is really in control of our lives.

5. When we involve ourselves in daily prayer and seek the will of God our focus will shift towards loving others and meeting their needs.

6. Daily prayer drives away satan – the demons flee.
Satan is well aware that the weakest soul who abides in Christ is more than a match for the hosts of darkness. When we earnestly pray they flee because Christ's presence is with us.

7. Daily prayer draws us near to God

The Book of James - Lesson 12: "Prayer, Healing, and Restoration"

Our lesson this week mentions Elijah several times, including his "important model of prayer" and "work of calling Israel back to God and true worship" (p. 96, regular lesson). We would like to focus on "Elijah" in this week’s Sabbath School Today because his life and "legacy" are demonstrations of what God presented through Ellen G. White, Ellet J. Waggoner, and Alonzo T. Jones as the 1888 message, a message that fully embodies "prayer, healing, and restoration."

__________________________

Who is this Elijah? He was the man who single-handedly confronted apostate Ahab and wicked Queen Jezebel during gross apostasy in Baal worship (simply defined as the worship of self disguised as the worship of Christ). When the nation’s rulers tried to kill him he had to hide in an unknown spot by the Brook Cherith, and later as a guest of a widow in the heathen land of Sidon. Elijah is not dead: he was translated without seeing death, a type of those living today who will welcome Jesus at His second coming.

First we must read the great promise in Mal_4:5-6 : "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers."

Elijah must be someone special, for he was chosen to accompany the resurrected Moses to visit with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration (Mat_17:1-27) and encourage Him as He faced the horror of His cross. Elijah is a live human being who never tasted death. Where he is in the universe no one knows. If God has already kept His promise and sent Elijah, and we haven’t known it, has there been some modern "Ahab" and "Jezebel" who opposed his coming and tried to slay him again, or at least silence him? Is Elijah II being forced to hide in some modern "Brook Cherith," or as a guest of some foreign "widow of Zarephath" who is outside "Israel"? When Ahab and Jezebel tried to kill him and Elijah found refuge in Sidon, Jesus cited that fact to the acute embarrassment and anger of the true church of that day. What made them angry were these words of Jesus: "‘I tell you truly, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was great famine throughout all the land; but to none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath, in the region of Sidon [a pagan land]. ...’ All those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath" (Luk_4:25-26; Luk_4:28).

Could it be that God has had to entrust the modern "Elijah" with believers outside our ranks? Could our sin be as great as that of God’s people anciently? Does modern Israel despise Elijah II as much as ancient Israel despised Elijah I?

Actually, Elijah is good news. He encourages our children, whereas the frightening political situation is bad news. And what the Lord wants to tell the world is good news. He wants a New Covenant motivation to replace our time-honored Old Covenant one.

The common perception some have of "Elijah" is of a fiery-tempered reformer who specializes in chopping heads off prophets of Baal (religious leaders) with whom he disagrees, but that is not a balanced view of his ministry. The Lord may appoint Elijah II to do the equivalent to modern prophets of Baal, but that is not his primary work. His foremost mission is to "turn the hearts" of "fathers" and "children." That is healing and restoration—"reconciliation," the same as "atonement."

According to the prophecy of Dan_8:14, we are living in the great antitypical Day of Atonement which comes just before "the great and dreadful day of the Lord." In fact, today is that day, the special time of reconciliation, of turning hearts. Therefore it becomes clear that Elijah’s work and message will be found in the unique remnantchurch truth of the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary. That raises the question: has our neglect of that truth forced "Elijah’s" message to take refuge with what we call "outsiders" like the "widow of Zarephath"? Or hidden as Obadiah hid some prophets of the Lord from Jezebel? We know that the bulk of God’s true people are still in "Babylon," but we forget that the three angels’ messages of Rev_14:1-20 are primarily directed to the Sunday-keeping churches, where the bulk of God’s people are to be found.

You already know the story of the original Elijah. In 1Ki_17:1 he appears out of nowhere with no designation of "prophet" or evidence that the Lord had sent him. He just suddenly crashes the king’s gate and startles him at his desk with the news that no more rain will fall until he agrees for it to come, "except at my word." Face it, this sounds arrogant. He doesn’t say, "until the Lord agrees for rain to fall." He says, "at my word." Shocking as it is, Elijah has taken over the administration of the Lord’s work in Israel. God has entrusted enormous responsibility to him personally, including control of the elements. Elijah is a forerunner of that group of overcoming people mentioned in Rev_3:21 to whom Jesus says He will grant to "sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne." Just as God gave executive authority to Elijah I, so He will give executive authority to those who overcome even as Christ overcame. Elijah II will have some important part from now on.

James does not say that the drought was the primary will of God; rather, it was His answer to the initiative of Elijah’s prayer: "Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain ..." (Jas_5:17-18).

After the extent of the famine had sobered even Ahab and Jezebel, Elijah suddenly confronts Obadiah. The king is humiliated to meet the prophet, and the appointment is made to call the people to Mount Carmel, where Elijah taunts the Baal preachers and demands that they demonstrate before the crowd the lie of their imported Baal worship. Then he prays a prayer that gives us a clue to what the modern "Elijah" will do when he comes again: "Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that You are the Lord God, and that You have turned their hearts back to You again" (1Ki_18:37).

Did you catch it? "Turning hearts" is Elijah’s main concern, and that will be his work for the church and for the world when he comes just before the return of Jesus. And we know that turning alienated hearts in atonement (at-one-ment) is something only the message of Christ’s cross can accomplish. Therefore it follows that Elijah’s message will be lifting up "Christ and Him crucified." Jesus says something parallel to sending Elijah, "‘Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.’ This He said, signifying by what death He would die" (Joh_12:31-33).

As an evangelist, Paul caught the idea. This at last is real "evangelism": "And I, brethren, when I came to you, ... determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified" (1Co_2:1-2). Paul turned his world upside down with that message. From this we conclude that the message of that fourth angel which lightens the earth with glory (Rev_18:1-4) will not be a fear-motivated brand of spiritual terrorism. Wherever and whoever "Elijah" is, he is not a spiritual terrorist scaring people into conversion; he is pleading as an "ambassador for Christ, ... we implore you, ... be reconciled to God" (2Co_5:20). What is the message he bears? What Christ accomplished on His cross: "For He [the Father] made Him [Jesus] who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (2Co_5:21).

"Elijah" will proclaim nothing but positive "straight testimony." It will be the best Good News the world or the church has ever heard. His message will be the "third angel’s message in verity," which will be a clearer concept of "the everlasting gospel" understood since Pentecost’s message. The Protestant Reformers of the 16th century understood justification by faith clearly for their time; but they, including the Wesleys, lived too soon to grasp the idea of the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary in this Day of Atonement. Even Ellen Harmon failed to grasp it until after the Great Disappointment of October 22, 1844. When she came to her 60s she eagerly welcomed a message brought by two young men, E. J. Waggoner and A. T. Jones, to the General Conference Session in 1888 that gave a more clear understanding of justification by faith. This was the beginning of the Loud Cry of Rev_18:1-24 : it’s initial "showers from heaven of the latter rain" (her words; The Ellen G. White 1888 Materials, vol. 4, p. 1478).

The "lost sheep" will realize that his salvation is totally due to the seeking love of His Good Shepherd, not his ability to "find" Him. This "turns" the worldly heart in contrition. "Faith" finds its true definition: the "believer" demonstrates it as his or her heart becomes a well from which flow "rivers of living water." This is the "evangelism" which will "lighten the earth with glory" and hasten the return of our Savior.

We appeal especially to young people: give your lives, not just a few days now and then to a mission trip, to cooperate with "Elijah" in this grand work of telling the world this "heart-turning" message! You’ll meet him some day, and you’ll be happy to have worked with him.

To those who desire prayer for their restoration to health, it should be made plain that the viola­tion of God's law, either natural or spiritual, is sin, and that in order for them to receive His bless­ing, sin must be confessed and forsaken. . . .
Prayers for the sick

Ministry of Healing (pages 228-232)

When wrongs have been righted, we may present the needs of the sick to the Lord in calm faith, as His Spirit may indicate. . .. Our prayers should in­clude this thought: "Lord, Thou knowest every secret of the soul. Thou art acquainted with these persons. Jesus, their Advocate, gave His life for them. His love for them is greater than ours can possibly be. If, therefore, it is for Thy glory and the good of the afflicted ones, we ask, in the name of Jesus, that they may be restored to health. If it be not Thy will that they may be restored, we ask that Thy grace may comfort and Thy presence sus­tain them in their sufferings. . . .

So who does APL think is this "Elijah II"?

I don't think he is on the same page as GLL who claims it is Houteff.

Actually APL posted a blog by Paul Penno, pastor of Hayward Seventh-Day Adventist Church who has an 1888 website.
From the writings of Robert J. Wieland

No, it is not Houteff. Wieland is dead and gone. The Elijah message however can be known.

Thank-you for clarifying that.

This weeks Sabbath School Lesson is called:
The Everlasting Gospel

Memory Text: The LORD has appeared of old to me, saying: Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you (Jeremiah 31:3, NKJV).

Revelation 14:6 Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people—


EVERLASTING GOSPEL
You mean the people in the Old Testament knew about this gospel?


“For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith” (Heb. 4:2, NIV).

"This verse is startling in its implications. Foremost is that the gospel, not simply “good news” but the good news, was preached in the Old Testament. Second, it was preached then just as in New Testament times. There is no hint that there was any difference in the message itself. The problem, therefore, was not with the message but with the way it was heard. Today, too, different people can hear the same gospel message very differently. How crucial, then, that we surrender ourselves in utter faith to the teaching of the Word so that when the gospel is preached, we hear it correctly."