James teaches us about the power of our words and our witness and what true faith looks like – take a look.
James 2: The Sin of Partiality
1 My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory.
2 For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in,
3 and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, "You sit here in a good place," while you say to the poor man, "You stand over there," or, "Sit down at my feet,"
4 have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?
5 Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him?
6 But you have dishonoured the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court?
7 Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honourable name by which you were called?
8 If you really fulfil the royal law according to the Scripture, "You shall love your neighbour as yourself," you are doing well.
9 But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.
10 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it.
11 For he who said, "Do not commit adultery," also said, "Do not murder." If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.
12 So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty.
13 For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
Faith Without Works Is Dead
14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?
15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food,
16 and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled," without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?
17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
18 But someone will say, "You have faith and I have works." Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.
19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe---and shudder!
20 Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless?
21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar?
22 You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works;
23 and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness"---and he was called a friend of God.
24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.
25 And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?
26 For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.
James 3: Taming the Tongue
1 Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.
2 For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body.
3 If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well.
4 Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs.
5 So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire!
6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell.
7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind,
8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God.
10 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.
11 Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water?
12 Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.
Wisdom from Above
13 Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom.
14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth.
15 This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.
16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.
17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.
18 And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
Things to think about…
1. We all have those that we would prefer to spend time with, especially those within our immediate circle of friends and acquaintances. Even as this is the case, James says that partiality is a sin where there is an obvious distinction between one person and another based simply on their wealth or outward appearance Jam 2:1-13. James in bringing our character back to the gospel summarises our propensity to show partiality by saying that we should “so speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty… Mercy triumphs over judgment”. Great advice.
2. Works exercised with faith is the goal for any Christian and gives a blessing to all, but works done in the flesh (even within Christian service) never produces lasting fruit. How do we discern the difference? A good test is to ask ‘who are people talking about after the work is done’? Is the name of the labourer or the name of the Lord on people’s lips? Spurgeon’s hearers as opposed to those who heard other great orators of the 19th Century would come away saying, ‘what a great Saviour’ as opposed to ‘what a great preacher’. John the Baptist’s advice regarding ourselves and the Lord is still valid – ‘we must decrease, yet He must increase’.
3. Anybody who wants to be an elder and especially a preaching pastor needs to sit down and have judgement day honesty with the impact and reality of Jam 3:1. Please encourage and pray for anyone who you know who has wrestled with the truth of this verse and proceeded accordingly. The weight and burden of it is very real. The preacher’s flesh and the self-will of others are always there to lead the pastor away from their primary calling and commitment. Pray this never becomes the case at CBC. Pray for men as they begin this journey. It will be one of growth, trial and blessing.
4. James had a right understanding of the tongue, Jam 3:1-12. He uses three analogies of small things that have a great effect – the bit in a horse’s mouth, the rudder of a ship, the spark of a fire. Though the tongue is small it has life and death depending on how it is used. We follow the Way, the Truth and the Life. Let’s use the tongue for life and build each other up with our words. Our words can have an impact for many years, even into eternity, let’s choose our words wisely. James’ picture here in all likelihood refers back to his brother and Lord Jesus when He spoke of Lazarus and the rich man after they departed this world in Luke 16:19-31. The rich man was in torment and either his tongue was on fire or he had a tongue (a flame) of fire tormenting him. Either way he was not in a pleasant state. James alludes to this reality for those who reject the accountability we have before God with our words and the use of the tongue.
5. Your theology means nothing if your character is not reflecting the Spirit of Christ. True wisdom James says is on display in a believer’s life as witnessed by his character, Jam 3:13-18. Your theology is the same as Satan’s if this is not the case – correct, but worthless. We have a gospel of peace, Jam 3:14 “wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere”. This list has a similar feel to what Paul’s says in Gal 5:22, 23. How is this achieved? James concludes by saying “a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace”, vs 15.
Vision statement for CBC
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Life groups Wednesdays. 6:30pm every Wednesday. 5:30pm prayer.
Prayer Points centre
1. Pray for Glenys who still needs our encouragement and prayer for healing.
2. Pray for the work we have going on with site development and TMR and the development of a project team.
3. Keep praying for PlayPatch on Fridays, pray for more families to be reached.
4. Pray for Chaplaincy and Kids Hope at Karalee State School.
5. Pray for peace over the US elections
6. The ongoing conflicts in Israel and Ukraine.
7. Church finances to continue to grow and expenses to be more than met.
8. Pray for Kids@Church, Life groups. Young Adults.
9. Mathys has a prayer time at church on Wednesday afternoons, 5:30pm at church. He would be happy for you to join him and to send prayer requests.
10. Pray about the possibility and planning of a Farmers Market at Chuwar Baptist Church once a month on Saturdays. Anastasia taking the lead on this. Pray for us as we plan
11. That we be bold in our witnessing for Christ. Pray for a heart to see those around you to be saved. Pray for the blessing over the new pastoral care and hosting program.
12. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to increase.
Praise Points
1. Ric’s procedure seems to have worked. Praise God.
2. Praise God for and the men of CBC. Great Celebrations on Sunday.
3. Praise God for our kids who spoke about their dads.
4. The ministry of the word on Sunday and the kids ministry.
5. Praise God for Zac and Suzy and Bec, Dan and technical team.
6. PlayPatch had a new mum join us this week.
7. Sally continues to amaze us with her interaction with everyone.
8. Joy, peace and grace we see at CBC. Thankyou Lord
Announcements
1. Baptisms 15th September morning service. Let Pr Jay know if you want to be baptised.
2. Men’s event. Conquering the Mount. Men’s racing. Fri 11th Oct@Church from 5:30pm. 16+. $10 each. Dress in team colours Red – Holden, Blue – Ford, Gold – Chevrolet. See Tim Freeman for more details.
3. Prayer meeting 5:30pm and Life Group Wednesday 6:30pm at church.
4. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
5. Tune in again this week on our YouTube page. Subscribe to the CBC channel Chuwar Baptist YouTube channel.
Catechism questions for September...
Q. 24. What was the sin of our first parents? A. Eating the forbidden fruit.
Bible References – Gen.2:16&17; Gen3:6.
“Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known” Jer 33:3
