If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.
[James 4:17 NIV]
It is only a matter of hours since I was leading a small group discussion at our church where we were discussing how to study the Bible with a view to sharing it with others in the church. We have been loosely basing our thoughts on a book by David Helm, called Expositional Preaching. Last night we were considering, among other things about the need to look out for what David Helm calls 'grammatical relationships' when we study a book of the Bible like James. James's Letter is a discourse - a logical debate where there is an argument which flows from one point to the next. And we have one such grammatical relationship - the word 'then'. James says, "If anyone then etc? That clearly relates to what has just gone before when James has been talking about proud merchants boasting about the big profits which they were going to be making tomorrow. They were engaged in big business planning, but they were ignoring God. They knew the Law of Moses (the Torah) and they knew that they should love the Lord with all their heart and with all their soul and depend entirely on Jehovah. But they were consumed by making profit, so they prioritised their business to the detriment of their faith.
So, James is specifically addressing them with this very sound advice about ignoring their conscience and ignoring the Word of God which they knew so well. However, it is interesting that James also uses the word 'anyone' so that would allow us to broaden this advice to all of us. We might not be wealthy business persons, but James's message is still relevant to us today. We have the Word of God so accessible to us that we can read it in a train on our phone in a variety of translations. We can listen to the Word of God being read to us by gifted actors. But do we obey what we hear?
Here it is specifically speaking about us living our lives each day in complete trust in him and avoiding the temptation to trust in ourselves and to plan out our lives ignoring God. If we know that we need to have faith in God but there is always the temptation to 'do it my way.' If we know the truth from the Bible, but do not follow the truth we are sinning.
I am pausing to apply that truth to me just now. Am I really trusting in God or am I planning out my life and only paying lip-service to God's will. Do I really believe and practise the truth that God is sovereign and His will is best?
There is also a general application. Do we ignore the lessons which God has been teaching us from our pastor or Bible teacher in church? Do we ignore the sermons we have listened to online? How often have we listened to a message about watching our tongue and not engaging in gossip and then we have got together with other Christians around a table and indulged in slanderous chat and malicious talk? I have admitted openly in these blogs, that I have found James's Letter to be personally challenging. It is not particularly difficult to interpret, although there are some statements which are open to different perspectives and interpretations. But James is a very challenging writer. Do I treat wealthy people with more respect and deference than poor people? Am I envious of other people? Am I engaged in bitter divisive conflicts in my church? Am I committing 'spiritual adultery' by having a divided loyalty and loving this sad evil world more than I love God?
If we choose to ignore these messages from God through His Word, James is warning us that we are sinning against a holy God. Notice he says 'it is a sin for them.' The sin is knowing the truth but not obeying it. James's message for us this morning, is not for the unbelievers - it is for those of us who believe in God. I have noticed a tendency among Christians to get obsessed with the way our fellow townspeople and non-Christian friends and relatives behave and practise certain things they do which are contrary to the Bible. But the focus of today's message is not on those who don't know the Lord or the Word of God. The finger is pointing at us - those of us who believe that that the Bible is the inspired Word of God, but we often choose to follow our own sinful nature rather than obeying the lessons God is teaching us.
Illustrated text from You Version Bible.
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