Sue J Love
Loyal
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2015
- Messages
- 3,436
“Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.” (James 1:19-21 NASB’95)
The subject matter has to do with our relationships with God – Father, Son Jesus Christ, and Holy Spirit (James 1:1-18). We must be for him, and not against him. We must not accuse him falsely of what he did not do, but we must be reasonable and biblical in our judgments. We must accept trials and tribulations as coming from God, for our good, and we must not put God to the test. If we pray for wisdom, we should do so in faith, not doubting God and his wisdom. Otherwise, we are double-minded, unstable in all our ways, and we should not suppose we are to receive anything from God.
And then we are to be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger. We can certainly apply this in our relationships with other humans, and I have done so plenty of times, I am certain. But, in context, the more that I read this, the more I came to the realization that this has more to do with our listening to God than it has to do with us listening to other humans. It has more to do with us hearing his words, without us quickly responding with our own opinions, or in anger, “for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” If we are angry with God, we will not obey him.
Sadly, many people who profess faith in Jesus Christ today will only read the Scriptures which they have come to believe will agree with their lifestyles, or that do not confront them in their sins and call them to repentance and to obedience to our Lord’s commands. Thus, they ignore the Scriptures that they do not like to hear and they focus solely on the ones which make them feel good, which are often ones which are taught out of context and made to say what they do not say if taught in the appropriate context. So, if the Scriptures they are reading confront them in their sins, they ignore them.
But, as those who profess faith in Jesus Christ, we are to put out of our lives, by the Spirit, by the grace of God, all filthiness and rampant wickedness, and we are to receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save our souls. And Jesus Christ is THE WORD, and the Scriptures are the Word of God, and as followers of Christ, Christ is now to be living within us, in the person of the Holy Spirit, and the Spirit within us is to be teaching us all things about Christ. And we are to be students of the Scriptures who are hiding the Word of God within our hearts.
“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.” (James 1:22-25 NASB’95)
But it is not enough just to read or to study the Scriptures, which must be studied in their appropriate context, but we must be those who, by the Spirit, are putting the Word (taught in the right context) into practice in our daily lives. And why is context so important? For example, many people read Ephesians 2:8-9 and they ignore verse 10. So they come to the conclusion that they can make a profession of faith in Jesus Christ and that no works are required of them at all – no repentance and no obedience to God. And so they create their own gospel of salvation that is not of God, not of his word.
However, in verse 8 it lets us know that this is not of our own doing, not of our own “good works” of the flesh, so we have no cause to boast. Thus, we cannot create our own version of our salvation from sin. And it lets us know that our salvation only comes to us by the grace of God, through faith, both of which are gifted to us by God, and not of our own doing. And the word “faith” in this context means to be persuaded by God. And God persuades us as to his righteousness and holiness, and of our sinfulness, and of our need to repent of our sins and to follow Jesus in obedience (Luke 9:23-26).
And God’s grace, which is gifted to us by God, delivers us from our slavery to sin so that we can now follow Jesus in walks of obedience (1 Peter 2:24; Romans 6:1-23). And God’s grace is training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we wait for our Lord’s return. For Jesus Christ “gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works” (see Titus 2:11-14). And “we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10)
So don’t believe those people who are telling you that you don’t have to repent (turn away from sin), and that you don’t have to obey God and his commands, for they are lying to you. We must be those who are doers of the Word who obey our Lord and his New Covenant commands, as a matter of life practice, and who do not make sin our practice. Read the Scriptures in their full context and you will see what they teach. For if sin is what we practice, and not obedience to God, we will not inherit eternal life with God, regardless of what faith in Jesus we claim to possess. Take this to heart!
[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 2:6-8; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10]
As the Deer
By Martin J. Nystrom
Based off Psalm 42:1
As the deer panteth for the water
So my soul longeth after You
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You
You alone are my strength, my shield
To You alone may my spirit yield
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You
Caution: This link may contain ads
We Must Be Doers of The Word
An Original Work / March 23, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
The subject matter has to do with our relationships with God – Father, Son Jesus Christ, and Holy Spirit (James 1:1-18). We must be for him, and not against him. We must not accuse him falsely of what he did not do, but we must be reasonable and biblical in our judgments. We must accept trials and tribulations as coming from God, for our good, and we must not put God to the test. If we pray for wisdom, we should do so in faith, not doubting God and his wisdom. Otherwise, we are double-minded, unstable in all our ways, and we should not suppose we are to receive anything from God.
And then we are to be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger. We can certainly apply this in our relationships with other humans, and I have done so plenty of times, I am certain. But, in context, the more that I read this, the more I came to the realization that this has more to do with our listening to God than it has to do with us listening to other humans. It has more to do with us hearing his words, without us quickly responding with our own opinions, or in anger, “for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” If we are angry with God, we will not obey him.
Sadly, many people who profess faith in Jesus Christ today will only read the Scriptures which they have come to believe will agree with their lifestyles, or that do not confront them in their sins and call them to repentance and to obedience to our Lord’s commands. Thus, they ignore the Scriptures that they do not like to hear and they focus solely on the ones which make them feel good, which are often ones which are taught out of context and made to say what they do not say if taught in the appropriate context. So, if the Scriptures they are reading confront them in their sins, they ignore them.
But, as those who profess faith in Jesus Christ, we are to put out of our lives, by the Spirit, by the grace of God, all filthiness and rampant wickedness, and we are to receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save our souls. And Jesus Christ is THE WORD, and the Scriptures are the Word of God, and as followers of Christ, Christ is now to be living within us, in the person of the Holy Spirit, and the Spirit within us is to be teaching us all things about Christ. And we are to be students of the Scriptures who are hiding the Word of God within our hearts.
“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.” (James 1:22-25 NASB’95)
But it is not enough just to read or to study the Scriptures, which must be studied in their appropriate context, but we must be those who, by the Spirit, are putting the Word (taught in the right context) into practice in our daily lives. And why is context so important? For example, many people read Ephesians 2:8-9 and they ignore verse 10. So they come to the conclusion that they can make a profession of faith in Jesus Christ and that no works are required of them at all – no repentance and no obedience to God. And so they create their own gospel of salvation that is not of God, not of his word.
However, in verse 8 it lets us know that this is not of our own doing, not of our own “good works” of the flesh, so we have no cause to boast. Thus, we cannot create our own version of our salvation from sin. And it lets us know that our salvation only comes to us by the grace of God, through faith, both of which are gifted to us by God, and not of our own doing. And the word “faith” in this context means to be persuaded by God. And God persuades us as to his righteousness and holiness, and of our sinfulness, and of our need to repent of our sins and to follow Jesus in obedience (Luke 9:23-26).
And God’s grace, which is gifted to us by God, delivers us from our slavery to sin so that we can now follow Jesus in walks of obedience (1 Peter 2:24; Romans 6:1-23). And God’s grace is training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we wait for our Lord’s return. For Jesus Christ “gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works” (see Titus 2:11-14). And “we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10)
So don’t believe those people who are telling you that you don’t have to repent (turn away from sin), and that you don’t have to obey God and his commands, for they are lying to you. We must be those who are doers of the Word who obey our Lord and his New Covenant commands, as a matter of life practice, and who do not make sin our practice. Read the Scriptures in their full context and you will see what they teach. For if sin is what we practice, and not obedience to God, we will not inherit eternal life with God, regardless of what faith in Jesus we claim to possess. Take this to heart!
[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 2:6-8; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10]
As the Deer
By Martin J. Nystrom
Based off Psalm 42:1
As the deer panteth for the water
So my soul longeth after You
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You
You alone are my strength, my shield
To You alone may my spirit yield
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You
Caution: This link may contain ads
We Must Be Doers of The Word
An Original Work / March 23, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
