Just like a good tree will bear good fruit and a bad tree will only produce poor fruit (Matthew 7:16-17)…our walk with the Lord is all about fruit production. You may have a hundred Bible verses memorized, but if you never put them into usable application…what good are they? Here James is saying, I will show you my faith by taking what I learned and witnessed about the Lord Jesus Christ and put it into practical action. In other words, a work-less faith is a worthless faith when at the end of the day there is no fruit (good works) to show for it.
Month: June 2020
Titus 3:8 ” I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.”
In this letter to Titus, Paul is encouraging him to exhort the early Church in Crete to, “do what is good.” Now earlier in this Chapter Paul plainly lays out what this means for Titus…submit to authority, be obedient, peaceable, considerate, and humble. So how does this apply to us today? When we put our faith in Jesus Christ we become His hands and feet to not only proclaim the Good News of the Gospel to the world, but to represent Him to others. And in doing so emulating His character and attributes. So hopefully when people look at us-they see Jesus.
Ecclesiastes 12:1 ” Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, ‘I find no pleasure in them.’ “
King Solomon had spent most of his life pursuing worldly pleasures…trying to find joy and peace in temporal things. But now at the end of his life he was taking a honest look back and concluding that all these fleshly and carnal things had never provided the peace and joy that a relationship with God had brought. He warned of not taking the Lord seriously in verses 6 and 7, “Remember Him – before the silver cord is severed, or the golden bowl is broken; before the pitcher is shattered at the spring, or the wheel broken at the well and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God Who gave it.” None of us knows the day of our death, and Solomon was urging the reader to consider the vanity of worldly pursuits vs the satisfaction of knowing the Lord.
Romans 5:6-8 ” You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
You may not know Him…but He still knows you. In fact, He’s known every intimate detail about you before you were even born. You may not believe in Him…but He’s been faithfully sharing the beauty of the world He created with you every day. You may think you don’t need the “spiritual crutch” of religion, and that you can make it on your own…but the harsh reality is, you can’t…for no one can. That’s because we’re all sinners living in a very wicked and broken world…none of us with the ability to save ourselves. You may have never thought about Him…but He cares about you so much that He sent His Son, Jesus, to die in your place on that Cross.
Luke 13:6-9 ” Then He told this parable: A man had a fig tree, planted in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any. So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’ ‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘Leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’ “
Jesus used parables often…comparing spiritual things with things found in nature. Now for the attentive ear of the Believer, the parable gave better understanding and a deeper meaning to His message. But to the unbeliever, it was just a story about a barren tree. Our lives here on earth are like that fig tree, effective and producing good fruit or desolate. So the central theme of this parable Jesus wants us to remember is…repent or perish. “For trees not producing good fruit will be cut down.” (Matthew 3:10)
Matthew 5:38-39 ” You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.”
The Old Testament Law was very specific when it came to personal injuries. Exodus 21:23-24 says, “But if there’s serious injury, you are to take life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.” And Leviticus 24:19-20 went on to direct, “If anyone injures his neighbor, whatever he has done must be done to him: fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. As he has injured the other, so he is to be injured.” So when Jesus spoke these words of passive resistance and tolerance rather than retaliation and revenge…it turned these Old Testament Laws on their heads. Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, came to earth declaring a message of love and harmony with our fellow man…and not of repaying evil for evil. (Romans 12:17 & I Peter 3:9)
Romans 15:7 ” Accept one another, then, as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.”
We are to receive one another as Jesus received us. There was no judgment, or opinions made…just acceptance. He didn’t insist that we had to clean up our life first…Jesus received us just as we were. The old Hymn, “Just As I Am”, was the the Altar Call song for the Rev. Billy Graham during his Crusades and I can still remember attending one in Spokane, WA. in the mid 80’s. The outdoor coliseum was packed, and when the Altar Call was given, thousands upon thousands of people filed down to give their hearts to the Lord…He rejected none of them…He accepted all who came.
Psalm 20:7-8 ” Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the Name of the Lord our God. They are brought to their knees and fall, but we rise up and stand firm.”
The fundamental question here is where are you placing your trust today? If it’s in yourself, or the things of the world… you’re headed for disappointment. For you can’t place your confidence in shifting sand and expect to come out all right. But maybe you’re in a difficult place right now and declaring God’s sovereignty over your life is near impossible. May I remind you of Micah 7:8, “Don’t gloat over me, my enemy! Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light.” Our trust in God isn’t dependent on the situation we’re in, the severity of the circumstances, or even on how we feel in the moment. Our faith in God is activated, increased, and strengthened every time we decree and affirm His Name.
James 2:14-16 ” What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, ‘Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? “
All of us have been guilty of this. We encounter someone with a urgent physical need…we can’t help but see it and understand the gravity. But what do we do? We walk away, but not before sanctimoniously announcing, “I’ll pray for you.” I can almost see Jesus shaking His head in disappointment. We have blown a chance to show His love through our good deeds. For our faith manifests itself in these good works…demonstrating to the person we’re helping in very tangible ways that God loves them. We are called to be the hands and feet of Jesus…and by our actions His caring is shown to others.
Amos 5:14-15 ” Seek good not evil, that you may live. Then the Lord God Almighty will be with you, just as you say He is. Hate evil, love good; maintain justice in the courts.”
The Nation of Israel was enjoying a time of prosperity…but with this great prosperity came great division between the rich and poor. And because of it, the people became self-reliant, prideful, and walked away from God. Amos’s message to the people was that of denouncing their privileged life-style that exploited the poor, and calling them to repentance. He warned them of the consequences of their complacency in not doing what was morally right and just for all. Amos was a contemporary of the Prophet Isaiah who wrote in Isaiah 1:17, “Stop doing wrong, learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of fatherless, plead the case of the widow.”
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