God’s Good News of Truth Gives Life
READ James 1:16-18
“In a day and age when skepticism is considered virtuous and agnosticism humble, we need to remember that God has revealed His truth in His Word. By the truth lost sinners are born again, by the truth they are saved, and by the truth they live in true happiness and freedom. Therefore, let us receive the truth with meekness.”
(Beeke, p. 824)
Beeke, Joel R., et al., editors. Family Worship Bible Guide. Reformation Heritage Books, 2016.
Truth is the standard and focus of the life of the Jesus-follower. The truth of the Good News of Jesus Christ reorders the whole life of the Jesus-follower. His bright and shining truth leaves nothing untouched and brings all things into the light. God is unadulterated and holy truth. He can be nothing else. It is His nature to be true. He is unwilling to be anything other than He is (Nm. 23:19). As Joel Beeke notes, His truth brings us into the knowledge of our falsehood. His truth allows for salvation. It shows us our sin. His truth is faithful to redeem us by the right standing of Jesus the Son of God.
We receive this gift of life in abundance through a familial relationship with God through His Son. The standing that Jesus has with God is how God will view us to the degree we unite with Jesus in His life, death and resurrection. Drawing near to Jesus constitutes the whole of the followers life. We arrive in glory only by our death and resurrection. What happens internally must surely happen physically as well. The soul that is born again shall surely be born again in their physical bodies. What a glorious thought! It is the will of God that this spark joy in our hearts. The old Methodist minister, Edward McKendree Bounds put it well we He prayed that “the infinite fatherliness of God’s heart,” would be Jesus-followers’ “joy for a life of prayer and worship” (50).
“By obedience to the truth, [through the Spirit] having purified yourselves [purified your souls] for sincere love of the brothers, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again – not of perishable see but of imperishable – through the living and enduring word of God.”
1 Peter 1:22-23
Holy Bible Holman Christian Standard Bible, Black/Burgundy, Leathertouch, Personal Size Bible. Holman Bible Pub, 2014.
Bounds knew there was a literal and physical response to follow the relationship between God and man. God does not save any to be trophies or statues. He saves humans to be living sacrifices. He saves boys and girls to be witnesses. He saves all who will be saved to worship Him in word and deed. We have been made imperishable. We will not rot. Our fruit is lasting! This is not of our own doing but solely from the eternal and living decree of God. By the internalizing and the outworking of the word of God in our lives, we are worshipfully set apart for His glory alone. In the same way that we are made new by Him, so will all the world be made new and will perfectly reflect His glory for eternity.
Your Reflection in the Mirror of Truth
READ James 1:19-27
“Silence and especially true listening are often the strongest testimony of our faith. A major problem for Christian evangelism is not getting people to talk, but to to silence those who through their continuous chatter reveal a loveless heart devoid of confidence in God.”
(Willard, pp. 164-165)
Willard, Dallas. The Spirit of the Disciplines: Understanding How God Changes Lives. HarperSanFrancisco, 1999.
Christian philosopher and spiritual formation expert, Dallas Willard, wrote extensively on life disciplines for Jesus-followers. James explicitly names silence as a virtuous discipline for all followers of Jesus. Willard notes silence with comparable fervor. The general premise is that words are powerful. Speak at the proper time. If you are careless you could do deep detriment to another. Let us not put our anger and ignorance on display for the world, for “once the word with its load of wrath is unleashed, the larger processes of evil are set in motion. The little detonator sets off the bullet or the bomb” (226).
We are not helpless. We can learn to control the tongue with the truth of Jesus that is in us. We can learn to be unashamed and uninhibited about the Good News within us (Rm. 1:16). The Good News of Jesus can bring salvation to the words of our mouth. Many times this will mean meditation on that Good News while holding one’s tongue. There are many time for spreading the truth of Jesus. There are more times to dwell and abide on that truth as not to speak in anger. Righteousness is never a fruit of human anger. Human anger does not bloom into sweet righteousness.
“The use we are to make of God’s word may be learnt from its being compared to a mirror, in which a man may look at his face. As a mirror shows us the spots and blemishes on our faces, so the word of God shows us our sins. It shows us what is amiss, that it may be amended. When we attend to the word of God, so as to see ourselves, our true state and condition, and dress ourselves anew by the mirror of God’s word, this is to make proper use of it.“
(Henry, p. 746)
Henry, Matthew, et al. The NIV Matthew Henry Commentary in One Volume: Based on the Broad Oak Edition. Zondervan Pub. House, 1992.
James describes the word of God, the Scripture, as a mirror of polished glass. We can approach the word, not expecting to find a perfect reflection, but expecting to find the likeness of what is. In the word we learn truth and we see pointedly how we measure up to that truth. It is a comical moment in the letter really. The wise man changes his appearance when he notices an issue. The fool returns over and over without adjusting His state. James correlates the believers looking and listening to the word of God. The one who looks into the mirror of God’s word is wise if he becomes not only a hearer but a doer as well.
Matthew Henry belabors the point as well. We cannot afford to be followers of Jesus who do not live out His word to us! It is the right practice for those who want to build something lasting with their lives (1 Co. 3:14). Henry noted that reading the Bible would profit a man little if there was no intention of living it out, for he stated that it was not “talking, but walking, that will bring us to heaven.” The life of the Jesus-follower is more than verbiage. It is more than study and understanding. It is about synthesis or man and the truth of God. It is about making what is true of Jesus a reality in your heart and life. True interaction with the mirror of the true word of God results in changed behavior.
“Practice in not speaking can at least give us enough control over what we say that our tongues do not ‘go off’ automatically. This discipline provides us with a certain inner distance that gives us time to consider our words fully and the presence of mind to control what we say and when we say it. Such practice also helps us to listen and to observe, to pay attention to people. How rarely are we ever truly listened to, and how deep is our need to be heard. I wonder how much wrath in human life is a result of not being heard.”
(Willard, p. 164)
Willard, Dallas. The Spirit of the Disciplines: Understanding How God Changes Lives. HarperSanFrancisco, 1999.
Speaking a true word without self reflection can be most unhelpful. When we fail to apply a truth to our own lives, the power of that truth is lost on those we share it with. If the truth you preach does not first affect you, how will it affect them? James continues to emphasize the spiritual maturity that comes with controlling the tongue. That little muscle can get the best of anyone. When words of anger and hate continue to spill out of the mouth of the Jesus-follower, it says a great deal to the world about the God they serve.
James seems to draw a sharp comparison between two disciplines. The same discipline that gives the believer pause before speaking also fuels true religion, pure and undefiled. This constituted compassionate action and personal devotion. For an in depth look at these topics, please look at my articles written in late January, True Religion – Behind the Scenes. The short of it is this simple reality: God transforms us inside and out. The new life begun in us through grace and by faith does not stop at the heart. It permeates the whole life of the believer.
Dallas Willard does not back off on this point. He continues to push the conviction that “the overarching biblical command is to love” (210). Love fuels the Good News which transforms our lives. Love by definition finds is rest in the other individual. Love is outward focused. Any act of love is a moment of self sacrifice. “The first act of love,” Willard says is “always the giving of attention.” If we want to begin to love others, let us give our focus and attention first to God and on to those who desire our affection, interest and time.
“Now the goal of our instruction is love that comes from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith.”
1 Timothy 1:5
Holy Bible Holman Christian Standard Bible, Black/Burgundy, Leathertouch, Personal Size Bible. Holman Bible Pub, 2014.
Is love my goal? According to the mirror of Scripture, it should be. Is it always? It is never my focus long enough. Therefore, it is the great calling of our lives to focus on love as defined by the life of Jesus and, tripping as we go, proceed forward toward that standard with our highest dedication. In his book Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream, David Platt unpacked the love expressed in the Bible and the immediate outward expression it demands of our lives and possessions. “Our perspective on our possessions radically changes,” Platt argued “when we open our eyes to the needs of the world around us” (127).
Love touches our possessions. Love grabs a hold on our resources. Our time and means are leveraged by the love of the Lord Jesus for His glory and the growth of His kingdom. “Begin operating under the idea that God has given us excess,” Platt encourages readers “not so we could have more, but so we could give more.” God gives so that we can give. God blesses so we can bless. “Compassion and charity,” wrote Matthew Henry, “form a very great and necessary part of true religion” (746). The focus of this charity should primarily be the less fortunate. Give to those in need. The Scripture calls these people, the widows and the orphans. The love of God desires to flow downhill and fill needs like a lowland valley. He desires to use you like a channel to funnel good to relieve those who want.
“Remember, God is as Great as He is Good!”
Noah R. Hunt
POIEMA: Created for Truth 