But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. – James 1:22
We have interpreted this scripture as “be ye doers of the law”. And in an effort to “please God” and/or be justified by God, we zealously jump on the treadmill of law keeping; either Mosaic, traditional, cultural or a mixture of everything and hope that God would be pleased with our tenacity and sincerity.
Just a minor problem though – we cannot pick and choose from the Mosaic Law (the 10 commandments and the 613 laws). We have to keep all the laws; if not, we break all the laws; there is no middle ground. And the laws by the traditions vary from culture to culture. So then, which law must we adhere to?
The bigger question is, will we be justified by our attempts at keeping the law? The Scripture is crystal clear on this topic. We are not justified by the works of the law (Gal 3:11; 2:16). When people asked what they should “do” to do the works of God, Jesus answered, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent” (John 6:28-29 ESV). Jesus fulfilled the law on our behalf and through the crucifixion, He redeemed us from the curses of not keeping the law. Therefore, the assumption that we can be justified with our futile attempts in keeping the Law, stems from ignorance. The Galatians thought they could mix the law with the grace of God. Listen to how Paul responded, “O foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you,… Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?" (Gal 3:1-3 ESV). It is foolishness because we voluntarily invite the curse to our lives when we trust in the law, because it is impossible for us to keep all the laws. We fall from grace [the very gift that saves us from the curse of not keeping the law], when we have the audacity to think that we can be justified by our own works.
Let us ask the Holy Spirit to give the revelation knowledge of who we already are in Christ Jesus. Let us believe that we have been made righteous (right standing with God) apart from our works.
Just like we were made sinners without our effort, we have been made righteous by Jesus, without our effort (see Rom 5:19).
Read the previous paragraph, again and again and allow the truth to sink in to your soul. Let us believe that we are financially prosperous, not because we sow or tithe, but because Jesus became poor for us. Let us believe that we are healthy, not because we pray, fast, work out and eat organic food, but by His stripes only. Our new-creation reality is based on Jesus' finished work on the cross; not the current circumstances, which we perceive by carnal senses. We access this grace through faith. By faith we receive what is freely available to us through Christ Jesus. Faith is not something we manufacture. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of Christ. It's about simply believing what the Cross accomplished. Let us rightly divide the scriptures and meditate on the scriptures which reveals what Jesus Christ has already done for us and who we already are in Him; and get ready to be exploded with the revelation that we do not have to (we can't, even if we tried to) earn our blessings. The Blessing (JESUS) in all His glory is in the believer and the believer in Him, right now.
Does this mean we are to stay idle? Paul says he labored more abundantly than everyone else, but the credit was given to the grace of God that was with him. We cannot bear his fruit without His life flowing in and through us. God can do exceeding abundantly above all that we can ask or think according to His power that is in us – if we let Him. All that we need to be is an yielded vessel who is sensitive to the promptings and guidance of the Holy Spirit. Let us be free from the Do-Do mindset and allow God to do his perfect will in and through us.
Read Part II of this series.
We have interpreted this scripture as “be ye doers of the law”. And in an effort to “please God” and/or be justified by God, we zealously jump on the treadmill of law keeping; either Mosaic, traditional, cultural or a mixture of everything and hope that God would be pleased with our tenacity and sincerity.
Just a minor problem though – we cannot pick and choose from the Mosaic Law (the 10 commandments and the 613 laws). We have to keep all the laws; if not, we break all the laws; there is no middle ground. And the laws by the traditions vary from culture to culture. So then, which law must we adhere to?
The bigger question is, will we be justified by our attempts at keeping the law? The Scripture is crystal clear on this topic. We are not justified by the works of the law (Gal 3:11; 2:16). When people asked what they should “do” to do the works of God, Jesus answered, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent” (John 6:28-29 ESV). Jesus fulfilled the law on our behalf and through the crucifixion, He redeemed us from the curses of not keeping the law. Therefore, the assumption that we can be justified with our futile attempts in keeping the Law, stems from ignorance. The Galatians thought they could mix the law with the grace of God. Listen to how Paul responded, “O foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you,… Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?" (Gal 3:1-3 ESV). It is foolishness because we voluntarily invite the curse to our lives when we trust in the law, because it is impossible for us to keep all the laws. We fall from grace [the very gift that saves us from the curse of not keeping the law], when we have the audacity to think that we can be justified by our own works.
Let us ask the Holy Spirit to give the revelation knowledge of who we already are in Christ Jesus. Let us believe that we have been made righteous (right standing with God) apart from our works.
Just like we were made sinners without our effort, we have been made righteous by Jesus, without our effort (see Rom 5:19).
Read the previous paragraph, again and again and allow the truth to sink in to your soul. Let us believe that we are financially prosperous, not because we sow or tithe, but because Jesus became poor for us. Let us believe that we are healthy, not because we pray, fast, work out and eat organic food, but by His stripes only. Our new-creation reality is based on Jesus' finished work on the cross; not the current circumstances, which we perceive by carnal senses. We access this grace through faith. By faith we receive what is freely available to us through Christ Jesus. Faith is not something we manufacture. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of Christ. It's about simply believing what the Cross accomplished. Let us rightly divide the scriptures and meditate on the scriptures which reveals what Jesus Christ has already done for us and who we already are in Him; and get ready to be exploded with the revelation that we do not have to (we can't, even if we tried to) earn our blessings. The Blessing (JESUS) in all His glory is in the believer and the believer in Him, right now.
Does this mean we are to stay idle? Paul says he labored more abundantly than everyone else, but the credit was given to the grace of God that was with him. We cannot bear his fruit without His life flowing in and through us. God can do exceeding abundantly above all that we can ask or think according to His power that is in us – if we let Him. All that we need to be is an yielded vessel who is sensitive to the promptings and guidance of the Holy Spirit. Let us be free from the Do-Do mindset and allow God to do his perfect will in and through us.
Read Part II of this series.
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