₦airaland Forum

afternoon......

jiggaz:
afternoon

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afternoon...

afternoon

honourhim:
I can see you are scared of the truth that guy has said. You just want to keep consoling yourself by misinterpretating the scriptures. It's not the best oga. Learn to embrace the truth no matter how bitter it is.

Scared of which truth? The person that needs to be scared of Hell is the person that doesn't have Christ. Christ is my Lord and my Saviour, and He is the one keeping me, so why should i be scared of Hell again?

The Salvation of my spirit does not depend on what i do or did not do ( it is the gift of God ), so why should the Salvation of my body now depend on my works? Let me advice you, stop practicing Religion, Religion is not Christianity. It is man made. Follow Christ Jesus, He is the ultimate... our Salvation, not Religion or What some pastors tell you.

I have dumped man made religion since last year when i discovered the truth of God's Grace and the gift of Righteousness. I only focus on our Lord Jesus and His Finished Work on the Cross. It might still be hard for you to grasp because you are still shackled with Religion, just pray that the Holy Spirit should open your eyes to this GREAT TRUTH.

So many Christians are in bondage slaving in Religion and dead works thinking they are scoring merits with God. That's why they hardly make it in life. It's only the truth of God's super abundance of Grace that will set you free. Dead works is a waste, but working by allowing the Holy Spirit work through you is a gain.

Most Christians today doesn't value the Cross, they are all about what they can do to keep their salvation. You can't keep your salvation, it is God that called you and He is still the one to keep you. Focus on the Cross and what Jesus did there. Put your total trust in Him and it shall be well with you. Please stop trusting on your works, you are not a Co-Saviour with Christ and can never be. Christ is all in all. In heaven, no believer will boast of making heaven with their works albeit small, we all will still cast our Crowns on Jesus' feet cos only He is our Redeemer and all glory belong to Him and Him alone.

Lastly, there is no Believer in Christ in Hell, all the people that said so are lying cos it contradicts God's promises to Believers. I chose to believe the word of God instead of the words of fallible Men. Heaven is a free gift from God not a Reward. Yes,there are rewards in Heaven and positions in the kingdom cos everyone won't be the same level. But all Believers have Eternal Life as a gift.

If you doubt your Eternal Life, am sorry but i am very sure of my possession of Eternal Life because i chose to believe God's word and not fallible men. Religion is bad for you, Please Trust our Lord Jesus and Him only.

morning..

morning..

jiggaz:
morning...

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jiggaz:
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jiggaz:
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jiggaz:
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In this study on James chapter 2, we have been comparing works done under law with works done under grace. Understanding this distinction is essential if we are to reconcile Paul, the preacher of grace, with James, who said this…

“You see then that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.” (Jas 2:24)

In Part 1 of this study we saw how a preacher of works could misuse this verse to drive people back under law. In
Part 2 we learned that James and Paul (in Romans 4) were probably both writing in response to something that Jesus had said about the “ works of Abraham .” What were these works? Abraham believed and was fully persuaded that God would deliver on His promises, even when reality said otherwise.

A few points to clarify before we press on:
James quotes Genesis 15:6 when he says that “Abraham believed God and it was credited to him with righteousness” (2:23). What works are listed in connection with Genesis 15:6? Only one: Abraham believed God.

James, like Paul in Romans 4:3, says that Abraham was counted righteous when he believed and before he was circumcised and before he had tried to sacrifice Isaac.
Now we are ready to study the four most “difficult” verses in James 2:

21. “Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?
22. “You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.
23. “And the scripture was fulfilled that says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,’ and he was called God’s friend.
24. “You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.”

The key verse in this sequence is verse 23. Remove this verse and you have a text to support a grace-killing theology of works. (And if you preach works, you’d better put human sacrifice on your to-do list – see verse 21.) But verse 23 cannot be removed! Verse 23 says that Abraham was counted righteous when he believed and before he offered Isaac on the altar. Verse 23 is where James says, “I’m with Paul on this matter of righteousness.”

So why does James confuse us by mentioning the thing Abraham did later at the altar? Why not just say, “Abraham was credited righteous when he believed?” The reason has to do with his audience. Which was who?

“James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes scattered among the nations: Greetings.” (Jas 1:1)

James was writing to Jews. Why is this significant? Because being Jews, they already knew that Abraham was credited righteous when he believed – they were Jewish! They knew the Torah inside and out. So why did they need to be reminded? It’s my conviction that James was writing to address an epidemic of unbelief.

The dynamic duo: Paul and James?!

The traditional view is that Paul wrote about faith and James wrote about works. It’s up to us to balance their teachings and to find a middle ground. Only you can’t put faith in both grace and works. What man calls balance, God calls mixture. There is no middle ground – you’re either resting in faith or you’re engaged in dead works. Anything not done in faith is sin (Rms 14:23). No, the issue is not faith versus works, but faith versus unbelief.

In the beginning of his letter James talks about the testing and proving of your faith. He’s asking, how’s your faith? or are you expressing your God-given faith? God gives us faith for a reason – that we might reveal Him and His will on our planet. When believers step out in faith, heaven comes down. When they don’t, nothing changes. Faith that takes no risks is dead.

What are we supposed to do with our faith? Well, for starters, James says we can ask for things:
1:6 “Let him ask in faith…”

4:2 “You do not have because you do not ask.”
The number one reason why prayers aren’t answered is because prayers aren’t asked. God loves us and wants to reveal Himself to us, but He waits to be asked. When should we ask?

5:13 “Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray.”
You would think that is obvious, but it’s not. Many suffer in silence. Many just sit there and take it thinking that it is God’s will for them to suffer. James is saying, have a little faith in God! Here’s my paraphrase of James 2:14:

“What does it profit, my brothers, if someone says he is fully persuaded regarding God’s promises but then does nothing about them, never steps out, never takes a risk? Can such ‘faith’ make any difference in his life? Can it sozo (save, heal or deliver) him?”

James makes it clear in this verse that he is talking about more than who’s saved and who’s not. Throughout his letter he lists things we can ask God for, including healing, deliverance, wisdom, indeed, every good and perfect gift which comes from the Father. Why ask? So that we might be His firstfruits, His trophies of grace, His living testimonies of transforming power (Jas 1:18).

Whose glasses are you wearing?

A performance-oriented believer will come away from James with a list of things to do for God. But one who is standing firm on grace will come away inspired to pursue God and to prove His will through prayer:

5:16-17 “The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain…” (NIV)

I live in one of the rainiest cities on earth. It seems every Sunday during winter it’s pouring with rain when it’s time to go to church. Yet we never get wet. Why not? Because my 5 year old daughter knows how to rise up in her God-given authority and rebuke the rain. She doesn’t ask God to take the rain away; she just commands the rain to stop and it does. She is fully persuaded that Christ in her has authority over the rain and that it’s not His will for us to get soaked right before church.

Two preachers, one message

I’ve said that Paul and James were on the same page regarding grace. How do I know? Because James says things like “we’re righteous” and “Elijah was a man just like us.” To the Jews, this would’ve been scandalous! How could James compare us to Elijah? Maybe if we dedicated our lives to serving God, maybe one day, if we were really good , we could become like Elijah. But no, James says the great prophet Elijah is like us . We are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. If you thought the prayers of Elijah were powerful, how powerful do you think our prayers will be seeing we are clothed with Christ’s righteousness? Be encouraged – your prayers avail much!

So why aren’t we seeing more miracles? Because we’re not praying for things! We’re not asking! Our faith is locked up inside, reduced to a mere set of beliefs about what God can do, not what He wants to do right now. We dither over questions like “does God allow sickness?” or “is it God’s timing to heal this person?” It’s funny, but Jesus never seemed to be uncertain about these things.

By the way, is James saying that the more we pray, the more likely our prayers will be heard? Does God reward our praying effort? He does not. Jesus told us not to pray like those who think they will be heard “because of their many words” (Mt 6:7). No, James is saying we should pray as a people who are fully persuaded regarding God’s will. When you are fully persuaded your prayers will be bold and effective.

Unbelieving believers

I know you will find this hard to believe, but I have heard of Christians who claim to have faith, but they don’t heal the sick. “Now listen,” as James would say, if you are fully persuaded that God heals the sick, then act on that persuasion and start healing the sick!
5:14: “Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray…”

What so special about the elders? Well hopefully they will be fully persuaded that God wants to heal you! Elders lead by example. I led a church in Hong Kong for 10 years. When sick people walked in I would offer to pray for them like this: “I’m not praying because I’m supposed to pray. I’m praying because I fully expect you’re going to get healed right now.” The person I was praying for might not have been fully persuaded that God heals, but I was, and people got healed – not all of them, but certainly more than would’ve been healed if no one had prayed. That reminds me of something
Bill Johnson often says:

“I learned a long time ago that more people are healed when you pray for more people!”

Some people are not entirely sure that God still heals the sick. They’re in two minds about this healing business. They are not fully persuaded. When they pray people don’t get healed and their doubt becomes self-fulfilling. James writes about this:

“Let him ask in faith, with no doubting for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” (Jas 1:6-

What limits our faith? Unbelief, or to use James’ words, doubt and uncertainty. To the degree that you are uncertain about God’s will, to that degree you are handicapped by unbelief. The devil wants you uncertain, but God wants you to
be sure about His good will (Rms 12:2). If you’re not sure , then James says, “Pray, ask God for wisdom – and ask confidently! – receive what God gives you, then act on it.”

Finally, James 2:24…

The essence of James 2:24 is this: a believer isn’t one who merely believes God in his heart, he reveals God through his actions. The difference between you and your unsaved neighbor is not just a set of beliefs, it is the life of Christ in you and revealed through you. You not only think differently, you act differently and what you do flows from what you believe. If you don’t believe God heals the sick, you won’t pray for the sick and they won’t get healed. You are no different from your unbelieving neighbor in this regard. But if you do believe that Jesus provided for our healing 2000 years ago (1 Pet 2:24), then you will pray for the sick and you will heal them.

To the church James is saying, don’t just believe God, reveal
Him! Speak to your mountain, heal the sick, drive out demons, raise the dead! If you are fully persuaded, that God can heal the sick, but you don’t pray for the sick – something is wrong. Your faith is not being expressed. It’s lifeless, powerless and incomplete. It’s like a fig tree that never bears fruit. If you are fully persuaded that God will do what He promised, then act on it and receive your miracle. Why wait? Abraham didn’t linger. He got up early the next morning and marched off fully persuaded that God would raise the dead.

We haven’t been called to do works for God, but to do the works of God. The work of God is to believe in Jesus (Jn 6:29). He who believes Jesus saves will be saved and will save others. He who believes Jesus heals will be healed and will heal others. If you are fully persuaded that Jesus is our wisdom from God – that He is our righteousness, our holiness, our redemption, and our victory – it will be evident in how you live.

Faith resides in the heart, but the fruit of faith can be seen. Abraham was credited righteous when he believed in Genesis 15, but his faith was seen when he offered Isaac on the altar in Genesis 22. His faith was made complete or consummated by what he did. Again, this is not a challenge to get busy for Jesus, but to abide in Him. You can bear no fruit by yourself. Only God can do the work of God. Our role is to rest in Him, trust Him, and reveal Him. When we do that His kingdom comes, the blind see, the lame leap, and the dead rise. Sometimes it even stops raining.

So far in this study we have been looking at the faith of righteous Abraham. In Part 4 we will look at the faith of unrighteous Rahab.


https://escapetoreality.org/2010/09/20/james-224/

morning

If we are saved by faith in Christ alone, why does James insist that our faith must be matched with works? How can you balance the grace of God with the works of man? You can’t!

In Part 1 of this study we looked at how James appears to contradict much of what Paul teaches about faith. If you hold James 2 alongside Romans 4 you will see that both chapters use the same Old Testament examples to support apparently different conclusions. Both James and Paul refer to Abraham and they both quote Genesis 15:6. See for yourself:

Paul: “If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God. What does the Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness .’” (Rms 4:2-3,9)

James: “Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,’ and he was called God’s friend.” (Jas 2:21-23)

It is clear that both Paul and James are impressed by Abraham’s faith. But they seem to draw very different lessons from his example:

Paul: “Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace…” (Rms 4:16)

James: “You see then that a person is justified by works and
not by faith alone .” (Jas 2:24)

Don’t you find it curious that both James and Paul chose Abraham as their role model and that both of them referred to Genesis 15:6? One could be forgiven for thinking that James was writing in response to something that Paul had said or that Paul was writing in response to something that James had said. But I think they were both writing in response to something that Jesus had said:

“If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham.” (Jn 8:39)

Whenever we are confused by an apparent inconsistency in the Bible, we will come to the right conclusion by filtering the “problem” text through life and work of Jesus. So if we want to reconcile Romans 4 with James 2, it will help if we read what Jesus said in John 8.

Who’s your Daddy?

In John 8, Jesus goes to the temple and confronts the Jews on the question of Fathership. Jesus came to reveal His Father, but the Jews refused to believe that Jesus was who He said He was.

“Then they asked him, ‘Where is your father?’ ‘You do not know me or my Father,’ Jesus replied. ‘If you knew me, you would know my Father also.’” (Jn 8:19)

When the Pharisees scorned Jesus for testifying on His own behalf, He replied:

“I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me… my other witness is the Father… I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me.” (Jn 8:16,18,28)

Still the Jews refused to listen. So Jesus warned them that they would die on account of their unbelief (v.24). At this point some of the Jews changed their minds and put their faith in Jesus (v.30), but the others started making plans to kill Him (v.37). Knowing their murderous thoughts, Jesus said they were just like their father the devil, “a murderer from the beginning” (v.55). Clearly they were slaves to sin who needed to be set free. The Jews replied that they were Abraham’s children and they had never been slaves of anyone. To this Jesus responded,

“If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham. As it is, you are determined to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things.” (Jn 8:39-40)

The Jews thought they were special because they were Abraham’s descendents. But Jesus said if they really were children of Abraham, then they would act like Abraham. So what did Abraham do that the Jews refused to do? The short answer is that Abraham believed God. The Jews, in contrast, rejected the Living Word of God even as He stood right there in front of them. Truth had come to set them free but they refused to listen. Their actions testified that they did not belong to God but to their father the devil, “a liar and the father of lies” (Jn 8:44).

When was Abraham born again?

Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness. Here’s a question that will help us with James 2:24: when was Abraham credited with righteousness?

Was it after he tried to sacrifice Isaac in Genesis 22? Was it after he was circumcised in Genesis 17? No, it was back in Genesis 15.

“We have been saying that Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness. Under what circumstances was it credited? Was it after he was circumcised, or before? It was not after, but before!” (Rms 4:9-10)

The word of the Lord came to Abraham in Genesis 15, in verses 1, 4 and 5. Abraham “believed the Lord” in verse 6 and was immediately credited with righteousness. On this point James and Paul are in complete agreement. (Actually they are in complete agreement on all points, as I will show you.) So what works had Abraham done when righteousness was credited to him in Genesis 15? Only one – he believed God. What work did Jesus say Abraham had done that the Jews had not done? He believed God.

What exactly did Abraham believe? He believed that God was his shield and his exceedingly great reward. Although Abraham received many promises from God, Genesis 15:1 might be considered The Promise as it foreshadowed the two-fold work that God’s Son would accomplish on the cross – protection (from judgment) and provision (new life in Christ). The shield speaks of God’s mercy (complete forgiveness!) while the reward speaks of the riches of His grace (God Himself – He is the gift!). In other words, Abraham believed in, and eagerly looked forward to Jesus! We know this because Jesus told the Jews:

“Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.” (Jn 8:56)

What are the works of Abraham?

Jesus said the Jews were nothing like their father Abraham because they did not do what Abraham did, and what they did Abraham did not do. The Jews rejected Jesus, but Abraham embraced Jesus with joy and gladness, albeit from a distance (Heb 11:13). The works of Abraham are thus identical to the works that God requires of all men:

“Jesus answered, ‘The work of God is this: to believe in the one He has sent.’” (Jn 6:29)

James said that Abraham was considered righteous for what he did. What did he do? Jesus has already given us the short answer (he believed); Paul gives us a longer answer:

“Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, ‘So shall your offspring be.’ Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and
gave glory to God , being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. This is why ‘it was credited to him as righteousness.’” (Rms 4:18-22 NIV)

What are the “works of Abraham”? They are believing and being fully persuaded that God will deliver on His promises even when reality says otherwise. When was Abraham fully persuaded? It was in Genesis 15, when God credited him with righteousness. When did we see evidence that Abraham was fully persuaded? In Genesis 22, when he tried to sacrifice Isaac. That’s why James writes “You see his faith and actions were working together.” But God saw Abraham’s faith seven chapters earlier.

What if Abraham had failed the test?

Would Abraham still have been counted righteous if he had not bound Isaac on the altar? Many have asked this, but it’s the wrong question. The right question is, does God ask us to do things that He knows we can’t or won’t do? Does God set us up for failures of faith?

Understand that we are not talking about the ordinary works of the flesh. Sometimes we do find ourselves in situations that are more than we can bear. We try with all our might and struggle with all our energy, yet we fail badly. This happens so that might learn to trust in God who raises the dead and not rely on our own strength or understanding (2 Cor 1:9). But if we are resting in Christ, if we are fully persuaded that God will do what He promised, then you cannot fail. It’s impossible.

People have written entire books about what Abraham must’ve been thinking the morning after God asked him to sacrifice Isaac. The motivation behind these books is the thought that, gulp, what if God asked me to sacrifice my son? Well don’t panic, He won’t. God sacrificed His Son so you don’t have to sacrifice yours. Because of Jesus we get all the blessings of Abraham without going through what Abraham went through. Yes, you will face trials and tests, suffering and hardship. But if you keep your eyes fixed on Jesus there’s no test you can’t pass, no battle you can’t win! Why not? Because Christ is our victory (1 Cor 15:57), and Jesus never loses, never fails!

If God says “we’re going to the other side of the lake” (Mk 4:35), and you are fully persuaded God will do what He says, then no matter what bad stuff happens along the way, you can rest assured that you are indeed going to the other side of the lake. God said so! Likewise Abraham was fully persuaded that his offspring would come through Isaac. “If Isaac dies without children,” he reasoned, “then God must raise the dead” (Heb 11:19). It absolutely, positively has to happen. People speculate whether Abraham dragged his feet in obeying the Lord, but the Bible says he got up “early the next morning” and went (Gen 22:3). Why would you wait when there’s a miracle on the way? Hesitation can be fatal to faith. Sometimes it’s just better to obey quickly, while faith is strong.

Faith never initiates; faith responds

To summarize Part 1 and Part 2 of this study, we now see that there are two very different ways to work in the Bible. We can work under law or under grace. We put ourselves under law when we look for things we should be doing for Jesus. We remain under grace when we rest in Him and then do what comes naturally. Under law, we initiate. Under grace, we respond in faith to what God is saying or doing. We see Him or hear Him and then we join Him (Jn 5:19). Under law, we work alone. Under grace, we co-labor with Him (2 Cor 6:1). This is how Jesus and Abraham and all the heroes of faith operated. What is the work that God wants from us? He wants us to trust Him, to be fully persuaded that He will do what He said, even when our present reality says otherwise.

And with that firm foundation, we are finally ready to unpackage James 2:24. Stay tuned for Part 3…



https://escapetoreality.org/2010/09/16/the-works-of-abraham/

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