Do All to the Glory of God!

The City of Corinth was permeated with the practice of pagan idolatry. Paul had warned his audience against eating of the sacrificial offerings made in these temples in the temple district itself.  To do so in such close proximity to these pagan temples would suggest the believers were sharing in the idol worship therein. He admonished, “I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils. Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table, and of the table of devils” (I Corinthians 10:20-21).

The sacrifices offered in these temples did, however, result in such meats sold in other places of the city. The Corinthian believers had questions about the propriety of the purchase and consumption of the meats in these places and Paul gave his counsel. “Whatsoever is sold in the shambles, that eat, asking no question for conscience sake: for the earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof” (I Corinthians 10:25).  The issue was not the meat itself nor the condemnation brought by consuming it. Rather, the issue was whether eating the meat identified the consumer as one who worshipped the pagan idol.

Paul amplified his teaching. “If any of them that believe not bid you to a feast, and ye be disposed to go; whatsoever is set before you, eat, asking no question for conscience sake. But if any man say unto you, This is offered in sacrifice to idols, eat not for his sake that shewed it, and for conscience sake: for the earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof: conscience, I say, not thine own, but of the other” (I Corinthians 10:27-29). Putting it briefly, if you go to someone’s house for dinner, eat what they give you and be thankful. If they tell you it was part of the temple offering, decline, not for your conscience, but for theirs.

The lesson here for the Corinthian believers and for us today is that we are to regulate our actions by love and not by liberty. The believer in this setting is at perfect liberty to eat the meat set before him or her. Paul had previously taught that idols were nothing. But to eat when the host clearly understood the significance of the meat and the temple sacrifice would have made the believer a participant in that worship.

Paul closes this discussion of meats offered to idols with a principle that transcends the situation and is at play in every venue of a Christian’s life. “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God” (I Corinthians 10:31). This command finds profitability in every situation where uncertainty colors the course of action. Choose what glorifies God. Do what will bring him honor. Practice that which is pleasing in his sight. If Christians today lived by this principle, their lives would be marked by peace and joy.

Dealing with Sexual Sin

One of the reasons that Paul wrote to the church in Corinth was to address sexual sin that was tolerated by the fellowship.  He wrote “It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father’s wife.  And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from you” (I Corinthians 5:1-2).  Instead of grieving over this sin, the Corinthians actually were “puffed up” (i.e. proud) with their accommodation of this immoral behavior.

The specific sin addressed is incest and Paul reminds his audience that even the surrounding community was not guilty of such immorality.  The word for “fornication” in the text is the word from which we get “pornography” and is used for every type of sexual sin in the Scriptures.  One wonders if this would raise an eyebrow in our churches today.  Sexual immorality is a way of life for much of American society today and, frankly, much of that societal behavior and acceptance has found its way into the church.

Paul takes no time in revealing the mind of Christ about both this sin and the attitude of the believers in Corinth.  The next time they met as a group of believers they were “with the power (i.e. authority) of the Lord Jesus Christ to deliver such a one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus” (I Corinthians 5:4-5).  Notwithstanding the questions pertaining to delivering one unto Satan, this professing believer was to be put out of the church, i.e. the body of Christ.  The purpose was to maintain the purity of the body and provoke the erring brother to repent and be restored to fellowship.

This kind of action by a church body seems highly unlikely, even foreign, in our present society.  The modern church does not take sin very seriously even though Christ, the Head of the church, has not changed in his attitude since Ananias and Sapphira lied to the Holy Spirit about the sale of their property (Acts 5:1-5).  Paul admonished the Corinthians with “Your glorying is not good.  Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?  Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened.  For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us” (I Corinthians 5:6-7). 

The believers took pride in looking the other way instead of confronting the sin as needed.  But sin demands confrontation and confession.  Lest we get too smug and shake our heads at this early church, we are every bit as guilty in the modern church.  Surrounded by fornication of every kind and from every medium, we have lost our capacity to be embarrassed at the sexual wickedness that abounds in our society.  Gratification of the flesh is king and the sexual intimacies intended between a husband and wife have been stripped of the sanctity stamped on them by their Creator.  Now that which was honorable in its design and context is nothing more than cheap, fleshly trade between any willing parties. But know this that “whoremongers and adulterers God will judge” (Hebrews 13:4).

Count It All Joy!

James, the Lord’s half-brother, wrote a letter to Jewish believers that were scattered beyond Jerusalem in an effort to encourage them and instruct them in their faith.  The epistle that bears his name in our Bibles is that letter.  He opened that letter with “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.  But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing” (James 1:2-4). 

The word for temptations here is not that which refers to being tempted to do wrong.  Rather, the word simply refers to trials or difficulties.  Note that James says “when” because it is not a matter of “if” such trials and difficulties should come for they will indeed come.  Sickness, financial reversals, strained relationships, the death of a loved one to list a few are all common events in our battered existence in this sin-cursed world. 

From our perspective, we “fall” into these difficult circumstances.  None of us plan to go through these things deliberately.  They simply come upon us and overtake us much like driving on an icy road. Though mindful of ice on the road, when the skid begins we are powerless and go wherever it takes us.  We almost feel at that moment as a spectator.  The seeming random occurrence of these difficulties make them all the more unsavory and hard to swallow.  What is truly remarkable, however, is that James tells his audience to count it all joy! 

The key to counting it all joy lies in “knowing” that these chafing experiences though seemingly indiscriminate and inescapable come from the hand of a loving and all-wise heavenly Father for an eternal purpose.  They are measured unto us in weight, longevity, and frequency by a sovereign God for the purpose of “trying of our faith.”

James adds that the trying of our faith “worketh patience” and it is this patience that leads to “experience,” Paul’s word to describe the cultivation of Christ-like character in the life of the believer (Romans 5:1-5).  Consequently, we rejoice in the purpose behind the difficulty knowing that it is framed exactly to serve our highest good and God’s eternal glory.

Child of God, the next time you encounter trial or difficulty let these truths govern your thinking and “let patience have her perfect work.”  Do not resist what your heavenly Father has designed for your good, but receive it willingly.  Indeed, count it all joy!

Building with My Life

The book of Ecclesiastes teaches us among other things that life is challenging, frustrating, often disappointing, but never meaningless!  Indeed, nothing is meaningless.  The Psalmist both encouraged and warned “Verily, there is a reward for the righteous: verily he is a God that judgeth in the earth” (Psalm 58:11).  Everything that a man or woman does in this life will come under the judicial scrutiny of the eternal God in the next.  Daniel Webster, 19th century statesman, said “The most important thought that ever occupied my mind is that of my individual responsibility to God.”  Christ himself taught “Every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgement” (Matthew 12:36).

The evaluation of our works is true for believers in Christ as well as for unbelievers though at different times and for different reasons.  Paul speaks to the matter of the believer’s works in his letter to the Corinthians.  He pointed out to them that he had “laid the foundation” and that this “foundation…is Jesus Christ.”  Consequently, Paul warned them saying “let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon” for there is no other foundation (I Corinthians 3:10-11). It is evident from this passage that every believer, man or woman, is building something with his or her life. 

Paul points out that which we build has varying degrees of quality.  He uses the terms “gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble” (I Corinthians 3:12).  It is plain to see that some qualities are more desirable than others because of their innate preciousness.  I would definitely want my work to be categorized as the former (gold, silver, precious stones) rather than the latter (wood, hay, stubble).  The composition of our works will not be known thoroughly until that day of judgement.  Then “every man’s work shall be made manifest…because it shall be revealed by fire” (I Corinthians 3:13).

The test of the works lies in their response to the flame.  “If any man’s work abides…he shall receive a reward.  If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss” (I Corinthians 3:14-15).  It’s not rocket science to grasp that gold, silver, precious stones endure the flame and wood, hay, stubble are burnt up.  Paul is quick to point out, however, that though some of the believer’s works may be burned, “he himself shall be saved” (I Corinthians 3:15).

The real question resulting from this passage is how can I make sure that which I build reflects the more enduring qualities?  The answer is to look to the foundation, Jesus Christ.  The Lord Jesus taught “whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock” (Matthew 7:24).  It is straightforward, if we know Christ, we build by following his word.  Would Christ call you a “wise man”?  Are your works gold, silver, precious gems?

Unbelieving friend, have you ever examined your life and asked yourself, “What am I building?”  Better yet, on what am I building?  Am I building on the Rock, Jesus Christ, or on sand?  It is a matter of worthy consideration.

Believing All Things

Paul makes some remarkable statements in his description of love that is born from above. One of them is “love…believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (I Corinthians 13:7). When he says that love “believes all things” he is not saying that we believe everything we hear and, consequently, that we exercise no discernment in what is told us. Rather, he is warning us to keep in check our natural gravitation toward taking delight in the failures and foibles of others as they are related to us. In this sense, godly love is not needlessly suspicious or, we might say, suspicious without warrant. The “all things” here refers to all things good.

When we love others rightly, we do not give credence to the evil we hear about them unless the facts demand otherwise. This aspect of love as Paul describes it runs contrary to our human nature. Our ears “perk up” to the negative in people’s lives. Why else would gossip be such a popular pastime? But this willingness to give the benefit of the doubt is not an easy path. We must choose to not believe evil and believe the good. Doing so requires grace to overcome our own inclinations.

This principle finds application in virtually all of life’s relationships – husband and wife, parents and children, employees and co-workers, etc. (We don’t have to search far for examples.) We even find it necessarily rooted in the very fabric of our legal system. Do we not hold that a man is innocent until proven guilty? No matter the charge, facts must be gathered, examined, and weighed. Society functions best when falsehood is checked. Why is that?

To believe the evil we hear of others without factual support is to lose sight of the image of God which every man and woman bears. Love treats others with dignity and respect for that very reason – each one is made in the image of God. When we give way to unwarranted evil speaking, we diminish that person in our sight and we diminish our view and understanding of God.

Jesus taught “all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets” (Matthew 7:12). Correspondingly, Paul wrote under the inspiration of the Spirit, “Love worketh no evil toward his neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law” (Romans 13:10). Giving heed to evil reports of others amounts to working evil toward our neighbor. It wrongly diminishes the natural respect and honor that is due them as fellow image-bearers of God. We would not want others to believe such evils about us. Consequently, we must be prepared to offer the same practice to others as the Lord taught.

Begotten of God

James noted in his epistle that “God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man” (James 1:13).  Conversely, he declares in that same passage “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights” (James 1:17).  It is from this background that James (under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit) declares “of his own will begat he us with the word of truth…” (James 1:18).  In short, the new birth is God’s gift to us and comes about through his goodness.

To beget is to cause to be born.  This passage teaches us that God “begat…us with the word of truth”.  That is, he caused us to be born again by his word.  Just as we had nothing to do with our physical birth, so it is with our spiritual birth.  To be born again is to receive spiritual life.  This life is from above and enables us to worship, love, and fellowship with God.  One must have spiritual life if one is to worship and commune with God, who is a Spirit.  John tells us “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24). 

Why do we need spiritual life in the first place?  The Scriptures answer that for us.  We come into this world “dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1).  That is, our sin nature (inherited from Adam) has cut us off from the life of God and the new birth is now the only means of restoration.  Just as a dog barks because he is a dog, we sin because we are sinners.  And, our sins alienate us from the very life of God.  This is why Jesus himself told Nicodemus, a man well trained in the law of Moses, “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3).  We need a new nature – one not corrupted by sin – to enable us to enjoy God as He intended us to do. 

The new birth really is then the zenith of God’s great goodness to mankind. Man is separated from God by virtue of his sin and his sins are an affront to the holy character of God making him worthy of death, i.e. eternal separation from God.  But God sent his Son, Jesus, to suffer death on the cross in our place.  It is as we receive the testimony of God’s word concerning his Son and put our trust in him to save us from our sins that God causes us to be born again.  This is how we are begotten by his word and why James speaks of this begetting it in the context of God’s good and perfect gifts.  God gives life to spiritually dead men and women making them his children through faith in Christ.  How great a love is that!  Are you born again?

Ask God!

In his Epistle, James’ (the Lord’s half-brother) admonished his readers to “count it all joy” when they encounter trials and difficulties.  He understood these trying times fall to all of us from a loving heavenly Father whose purpose is to use them to produce the image of His Son in each of us.  Hence, we can indeed count it all joy!

That being said, he invites his audience to look to God for guidance in those trying times particularly and in any time in general.  James writes “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him” (James 1:5).  Often during hard and difficult times we do not know what to do.  James invites us to ask God who is the source of all wisdom.  What could be simpler!

Our Father who ordained and designed our circumstances for his glory knows the path that we should take.  The Scriptures tell us that he gives “liberally,” that is, generously in response.  Neither does he upbraid us or reproach us for asking.  In essence, he does not say to us “You fool – why don’t you know?”  The tender kindness and loving favor of our heavenly Father is evident in his response to us.  He is not inclined to hide his will from us when it comes to our walk before him.  Rather, He delights to show us the way.

Yet, there is an added admonition that must be embraced when seeking to know the Father’s leading – we must be committed to following it!  James adds “But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering.  For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.  For let not that man think he shall receive any thing of the Lord.  A double minded man is unstable in all his ways” (James 1:6-9).  We do not ask an all-wise God for his guidance only to list it with all of our other “options.”  We must trust him who is worthy of our trust for he sees the way we must go. 

God knows the heart and if we are not earnest in our desire to please him, we shall receive nothing from him.  Further, our lives will reflect the instability that comes from resisting and rejecting wisdom from on high.  That is why James instructs his readers to “ask in faith…(for) without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him” (Hebrews 11:6).

An old hymn of the faith has captured the very essence of this invitational truth – “Trust and obey for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.”  Look to him for wisdom; trust him for guidance; obey his leading.

And Now Abideth…

Paul makes a remarkable statement in his concluding remarks about love to the believers in Corinth, “And now abideth faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love” (I Corinthians 13:13). First, he sets these three spiritual gems – faith, hope, love – in surpassing beauty to the brevity of prophecies, tongues (the gift of speaking a foreign language previously unknown to the speaker), and even knowledge itself. He writes “…whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away” (I Corinthians 13:8). But faith, hope, and love abide!

Paul points out that even revelation is presently insufficient to completely conform us to Christ. “For we know in part, and we prophesy in part…For now we see through a glass darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part, but then shall I know even as I am known…But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away” (I Corinthians 13:9-12). Revelation left to us currently, i.e. the Holy Scriptures, is sufficient entirely for our journey here. But it is limited in its opportunity to completely transform and conform us into the image of Christ. When Christ himself is revealed at his return, we will no longer see him “through a glass darkly” but “we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is” (I John 3:2).” Revelation will be complete in its transforming purpose in that moment! But, in the meantime, these three – faith, hope, and love – abide.

Having come to this point in his letter, Paul under the inspiration of the Spirit asserts that love is greater than faith and hope. Who can diminish the value of faith and hope? But Paul is not undervaluing these two qualities. He is elevating the surpassing quality of love. How can that be? There may be two perspectives that come into play here. First, love will endure beyond faith and hope. In heaven, there will be no need for faith for sight will have made faith unnecessary. Likewise, hope will no longer be hope in heaven, for hope shall be realized. But love will go on throughout eternity. God is love (I John 4:16) and the eternal God will reveal his love throughout eternity to his children.

Another take on this comparison is the intrinsic operation of love compared to faith and hope. Faith and hope are both operative for the benefit of those who exercise faith and rejoice in hope. But love is necessarily directed at others reflecting the true nature of God himself. That is, God loves; therefore, God gives. Think of the greatest testimony to that truth as given to us by John, the Apostle. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16, emphasis added). Love is greater because it serves others. We should follow our heavenly Father’s example.

An Unruly Evil

James, the Lord’s half-brother, speaks clearly in his epistle of the relationship between faith and works.  It is true that we are saved through faith alone, but James goes on to point out that faith that saves is never alone.  In fact, he concludes that “faith without works is dead” (James 1:26) and by implication unprofitable.  The essence of his teaching is that faith in Christ does indeed bring forgiveness of sins and a righteousness before God.  But this faith brings with it something else – a changed life, i.e. a life characterized by good works.

What better place to begin to show a changed life than with the tongue?  James points out that while all offend in many things, “if any man offends not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body” (James 3:2).  A “perfect man” as used here speaks not of sinlessness (for there is no such a one), but rather of spiritual maturity.  He gives two examples to demonstrate the power of the tongue though it is a very small member of our body.

First, James points out that a spirited horse is controlled by a small bit in its mouth.  With this small bit, the horse’s entire body is turned as desired by the rider.  Next he relates how great ships though easily blown about by strong winds are controlled by a very small helm.  So is the tongue.  It is very small, yet it has great power and because of this power James rightly concludes that the one who does not offend in word is able “to bridle the whole body.”  Being able then to control the tongue is indicative of one who is disciplined in all areas of life.

But the tongue cannot be controlled, at least not without the grace of God.  James calls the tongue “a fire, a world of iniquity…set on fire of hell” (James 3:6).  He goes on to say that while “every kind of beasts, and of birds, and serpents, and of things in the sea…have been tamed by mankind, the tongue can no man tame.  It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison” (James 3:7-8).  I don’t think we need many examples to get the point here.  We’ve all been guilty of words said in haste that linger in the hearts of others longer than we could ever wish.

Let me close with this truth.  The tongue can no man tame because it speaks of what is in the heart.  Solomon observed that “as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he” (Proverbs 23:7).  Jesus connected the heart to the tongue for he taught “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34).  Jeremiah, the prophet, noted “the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked” (Jeremiah 17:10).  The bottom line is we speak from what we are.  Only a new heart can change what we are and then rule the tongue. 

Saving faith results in the new birth, a new heart, and a changed life!  Anything else is a vain religion (James 1:26).

Adulterers and Adulteresses

James made a comparison of earthly wisdom to wisdom that is from above (James 3:17). It is understandable that James spoke of a wisdom that is “from above” when he described how Christians should live. After all, believers are in the world but are not to be of the world. Yet his audience was characterized by envyings and fightings brought on by lusts that warred in their members (James 4:1-2). This was hardly the product of wisdom from above. Driven by fleshly lusts even their very prayers were bent on self-consumption and naturally went unanswered (James 4:3).

What was wrong with these folk? After all they were believers in Christ, were they not? Yet they were characterized by infighting, selfishness and insatiable lusts. This is more a picture of 3-year-olds in a nursery fighting over toys and crackers. They had lost sight of their new life in Christ, forgotten that they had been purged from their old sins, as Peter puts it (2 Peter 1:9).  James called them adulterers and adulteresses. They had given their love to this present world and abandoned their love for the Savior.

You see a man cannot love two masters. Likewise, you can’t long for a home in heaven while striving for the things of this present age. This is simply incompatible. Christ tells us in his word that as believers we are to set our affections on things above (Colossians 3:2). We are to look for a city which hath foundations whose builder and maker is God (Hebrews 11:10). Our citizenship is in heaven not on this earth (Philippians 3:20). Consequently, we are to live as strangers and pilgrims looking for the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Longing for heaven and the things of God is hard to do when what I’m really looking for is the next Black Friday sale. The key to pilgrim living is to love where I’m going. My love for Christ needs to be greater and stronger than my love for this world and for the things of this world. If my heart truly longs to be with him, I will have no difficulty looking for those things above. I will find it easier to separate myself from a love affair with the things of this earth. We must be content with Christ for he alone can satisfy.

James rightly used the words adulterers and adulteresses, words reserved for those who had violated their marriage covenant. This is what he calls Christians who love the world more than they love God. They forget it was the world that crucified Christ and nailed him to the cross. They forget that Christ has saved us from the world and we belong to him. We are married unto him; we are his bride. To love the world more than we love Christ is indeed to be an adulterer or an adulteress. How this must grieve the Lord Jesus Christ!

Friend, what are you living for? Or, should I say who are you living for? Are you living for this present world, striving to have more and more of it? This world makes many promises but delivers on none of them. The things of this world can never satisfy, they can only entice.

James offers his audience the solution. He tells them to cast themselves upon the great grace of God.  “Draw nigh to God and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands ye sinners and purify your hearts ye double-minded” (James 4:8). Good advice even for today.