James 2-Con't

Mercy triumphs over judgment

There have been many times that I have heard this verse misquoted to say that we should not judge the sins of others, but instead show mercy by overlooking sin. In reality, this verse is about God's mercy overcoming the judgment we deserve. Think about it! We deserve hell. We are lawbreakers! There is no one-not one who has lived a holy life free from sin. All we like sheep have gone astray. God, as the great Judge, has every right to throw us into the lake of fire.


Some may say, "Oh that's not a loving God. My sins are not THAT bad. I don't deserve hell." But think about it. How many times have you transgressed just today? Or even this week? Then multiply that by 52 weeks in a year and then by 75 years. It adds up! The list of grievances that God has against us is long. He is a righteous Judge and cannot just overlook our offenses. We would not expect an earthly judge to let a criminal go free. If an earthly judge let a murderer go free, we would be offended and cry, "Foul!" How much more so does the Righteous and Holy Judge deserve to pronounce judgement upon us for our numerous violations of His Laws.

But...


He is also merciful! He provided a way for our fine to be paid. Jesus paid the penalty for the sins of those who repent and trust in Him, and He satisfied the wrath of God. He was our propitiation. He took all of our unrighteousness when He suffered and died on the cross. And credited His righteousness to our account. So when God looks at believers, He sees Christ's righteousness. The penalty for our sins has been paid by Christ and we are no longer under judgment! But He goes even furthur than mercy by giving us grace! And, guess what? He receives all the glory for it!


The mercy that we show towards others is based on the mercy we have received from him. If one does not show mercy, then he must not know how much mercy has been shown towards him.

I'm thinking of the parable of the wicked servant. This wicked servant begged for mercy for a HUGE debt that he owed the king. The king forgave his debt. But then the wicked servant turned around and called the loan on a person who owed him mere pennies. His fellow servants told the king. The king was mad and threw the wicked servant into prison to pay every last cent of his debt. He was deserving of judgement. Oh, the mercy that has been shown towards me, let it pour out to those who have offended me so little!


True Christians serve and have righteous behavior (obey God's word).


Mere mental assent to God's salvation is not enough. I'm reminded of a debate our family attended on the Ordo Salutus (the order of salvation). One debater's postition was that a Christian can live a life of sin after praying to receive Christ and still make it to heaven. Wow! I do not see that in the scriptures and think this is a very dangerous teaching! But what was amazing was after the debate, we took the boys for a treat at McDonald's and several of the audience members that were partial to this debater were discussing what a great job he did. I came away with the exact opposite thought. There are so many within the church walls who have said a prayer and yet lead a life of hypocrisy. I am not saying that one cannot stumble. But if a person is willfully sinning, he ought to do as scripture exhorts--Examine himself to see if he is in the faith. II Cor. 13:5 A good test is to look at one's reaction to sin. Do you excuse it by comparing it to other sheep? Do you justify? Ignore? Or even become defiant and willingly sin? Or do you humble yourself and recognize your shortcomings and bring them to the God who loves you so much that He died for you?


Saving faith is not merely intellectual it requires obedience.

We were made in the image of God. All of creation is looking to us to see what God is like. And when we lie, we are telling them that God is a liar. When we steal, we are telling them that God is a thief. When we have unrighteous anger, we are showing the world that God is angry and hateful. That is why He hates sin! It defames His holy nature and character. When we walk in obedience to God's ways, we show the true nature of God to all of creation! And we are being true image bearers! Wow! Help me Lord to bear your image today!


A true Christian's fruit will be evident in his works.

It takes more than a sinner's prayer to get you to heaven. There are many in the church that would say that they've said a prayer and now they can live like they want to because all of their sins have been forgiven. Not so! Our lives should reflect the change of our hearts. Good fruit will follow those who truly believe. Faith without works is dead. Faith comes first, and out of that faith, God works in us and through us to do good works. It is a result of our faith! We want to do good things for the glory of God! How can one be compassionate without doing acts of compassion? It's the same as faith without works. It's phony!