The Friendly Fire Room Presents
Listen And See
Thank you Wanda Barlow for this great idea!
Christian Ethics, Part 33:Doing Point 6
Christian Ethics Pt 33 Doing Point 6 James
Message: September 7, 2014
Theme: Christian Ethics, Part 33
Title: “Key Word – Doing.6”
Text: Book of James
Review:
All languages have a special mood or mode of grammar called the imperative that makes it possible for one person to communicate a command or an earnest request to another person.
By use of the imperative, the intent of “the will” of one person is made known and directed to “the will” of another person.
With every imperative given by a first person, there is an implicit expectation that the will of a second person would be positively influenced, causing them to be motivated to take action in compliance with the earnest request, so that the will of the first party is transformed into reality.
Ultimately it is God’s will that is communicated to the believer through the imperatives we read the Bible.
When we pray the Lord’s Prayer, “Thy will be done,” we acknowledge four things:
(1) our desire to discover and know what that will is,
(2) to trust in the Lord to help us comply to the imperatives that are directed to us universally as believers in all circumstances,
(3) to seek to know what is the will of God, and the nature of the kind of help we can count on from Him when we find ourselves and others from among us in special circumstances, and
(4) we acknowledge our willingness to be “doers” of the will of God ourselves and committed to helping our brothers and sisters in Christ understand and assist them in any way we can to be “doers” of the will of God as well.
In the Book of James we find 36 imperatives from the Lord which are universal and directly applicable to all believers at all times.
We also find 15 special imperatives which tell us what we should do and what we can expect Christ to do when we fall into special circumstances and seek His help.
These special circumstances reflect the reality of the Christian life as one that changes in its states dynamically.
Here we especially see examples of the indirect responsibilities we have to one another as we interact as a body of believers having diverse gifts, needs and roles to play out, which are indeed critical to the success of our mutual spiritual growth and maturity in Christ.
Corrected Stats:
59 imperatives
36 direct imperatives
8 quoted imperatives
15 indirect imperativesx
1.4,5,6,7,9,13,19
3.13, 3.9
5.12,13,13,14,14,20
As we take our final run through the Book of James, let’s examine the 15 indirect imperatives, while looking for specific ways in which we can assist, cooperate, encourage, provide a beneficial atmosphere, minimize false hopes, clarify faulty thinking, counter the lies of the devil, expedite the truth (give it feet)...
James 1.4 (imp)
You let it keep on having it work out its full effect in order that you might become spiritually mature and complete in every detail, lacking in nothing.
it
patience (
, patient endurance, steadfastness, perseverance; lit. to remain under...)
James 1.5 (imp)
You let him keep on asking in the presence of the God, who generously gives (
) to every kind of person and is not insulting to them in the process, and it will be given () to them.
him
anyone among you who is lacking or falling short of having enough godly wisdom or insight to apply God’s wisdom to their own concerns (middle) when undergoing these trials
James 1.6 (imp)
You let him keep on asking (God) while he is in a state of faith in no way doubting, debating, hesitating in behalf of himself (middle), or taking issue with God, because such a doubter is like rough sea water; while being driven by the wind, it is also being tossed about aimlessly in all directions.
him he
anyone among you who is lacking or falling short of having enough godly wisdom or insight to apply God’s wisdom to their own concerns (middle)
James 1.7 (imp)
You do not let that man suppose or (erroneously) think for a minute to himself (middle) that he will receive anything to his own advantage (middle) from the Lord, (even though He is the God who generously gives (di,dwmi) to every kind of person and is not insulting to them in the process).
that man
the one who is the doubter of unstable faith who asks God for wisdom, having the faulty attitude that God will give even to a faithless person
James 1.9 (imp)
You let him be glad within himself for being in humble circumstances (middle), he is actually in an advantageously high position with regard to God’s perspective of things.
him
the fellow believer who finds himself in lowly circumstances (poor and afflicted); [namely, while in the midst of trials which teach him patience]
James 1.13 (imp)
You let no one be saying that “I am being tempted by God,” because God is unable to be tempted by evil, and He himself does not tempt anyone.
one
any among you who are presently in a state of being put to the test (being tempted to sin)
James 1.19 (imp)
You let this behavior take place among all the brethren; that all believers be quick in their purpose to understand (the Word of God), and to be slow in their purpose to sound off (to proclaim their personal wisdom), and slow in their purpose to express vengeful wrath toward one another.
James 3.13 (imp)
You let him point out and explain to others how specific events (punctiliar) from within the generally good conduct of his life have been done in the character of the gentle wisdom of God (rather than in the flesh!).
him
the sophisticated wise one among you who deceives himself by thinking that in his natural wisdom he is superior to others
James 4.9 imp, imp, imp, (imp)
You let the attitude of sinners and the double-minded which produces a (delusional) state of laughter and joy, be eventfully transformed into a radically different state which produces an appropriately correct state of sorrow and grief over one’s own sin of faithlessness.
James 5.12 imp, (imp)
You let him cease and desist in the practice of putting himself under oaths when giving “yes and no” responses; instead, he should appropriately limit himself to simply saying, “Yes” or “No” without the grand embellishments, in order not to fall under the act of judgment (kri,sij condemnation).
him
your brethren among you who are in the practice of putting themselves under vows and oaths made by the heaven (euphemism for God) and the earth (figure for creation) or by any other such oath
James 5.13 (imp), (imp)
You let him keep on praying in his own behalf (middle).
him
anyone among you who is undergoing suffering, enduring hardship patiently
James 5.13
You let him sing psalms of praises.
him
anyone among you who is taking courage or is happy (euqume,w)
James 5.14 (imp), (imp)
you let him summon to himself (middle) the elders of the church...
him
anyone among you who is weak from sickness (
)
James 5.14
...and after having been summoned you let them pray over him (punctiliar) and in his behalf who is weak from sickness, after having anointed (
) him with olive oil in the name of the Lord.
them
the elders of the local assembly anointed
()
The actual meaning of this term is more accurately “to massage a person with olive oil” as in a therapeutic manner in order to strengthen a weakened body.
James 5.20 (imp)
you let him know that after he has turned back a sinner out from the error of his way, that act will rescue his soul out from within death and it will cover a multitude of sins.
him
whoever the one is who was successful in turning back (evpistre,fw) a brother or sister in Christ who has wandered away from the truth
We know we cannot save others in the actual “born-again” sense, but we can play an instrumental part in influencing a brother or sister in Christ, in a positive way, whose thinking has become erroneous or delusional, by convincing them, if a rational solution is at all possible, to come to a new realization that their conclusions which led them to wander off down the present path of sin, had been falsely based upon bad information, false assumptions, lies of the devil, and invalid conclusions.
Bottom Line for Today:
In Christian ethics, while the circumstances are dynamic and subject to changes in their state, the principles of God are static, they remain unchanged and applicable to the changes in circumstances in order to advance a positive assessment of God’s honor.
In Situational ethics, while the circumstances are dynamic and subject to changes in their state, the principles of man are dynamic, they can always be changed to fit the circumstances in order to advance a positive self-assessment of man’s honor.
Many will be surprised on the Day of Judgment when they discover that it was just as the Word of God says; only the righteousness of Christ is able to save you.
All men are sinners and no one can save himself.
God is just, so He must punish sin; but He is also merciful, moreover gracious, and offers His Son as the perfect sacrifice in order to purchase a place for you in heaven, which He offers to you as the free gift of eternal life.Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed One, He is God Incarnate.
In order to pay the debt of our sins, He came from Heaven, having been sent by the Father, where He lived a life of perfect obedience to the Father even unto the shameful death upon the cross in order to pay the debt of your sins.
This gift must be received by faith, believing that Jesus’ perfect life and Cross Work was His complete and necessary Atonement for your sins, in your behalf.
Faith is a gift that comes by the Power of God the Holy Spirit working in a person’s innermost being.
Only the power of God can open your heart to the willingness to have the void within it filled with the presence of Christ by His Spirit.
The Holy Spirit has the authority and power to quicken your dead spirit, to make it come to life.
Only the life of His Spirit’s quickening of your heart will allow the Gospel message of salvation to even make sense to you,.to truly “hear” the message and give you the ability, as the Holy Spirit bears witness to Jesus, to recognize your need for forgiveness and restoration, and gain the desire of your heart to be favorably inclined to want to receive Christ as your personal Lord and Savior. If you have not done so before this moment, ask Jesus to forgive you your sins, tell Him you’ve stop trying to be your own savior, and ask Him to come into your life right now, and to give you eternal life.
Then, in faith believing, thank Him for the gift that He is giving you, the one He paid for in full in your place, in Jesus’ name,
AMEN
Copyright September, 2014 Rev. Jim Craig
All Rights Reserved
Bibliography
Aland, Kurt, Matthew Black, Carlo M. Martini, Bruce M. Metzger, and Allen Wikgren (eds.).
The Greek New Testament, 4
Agnes, Michael and Charlton Laird (eds.). Webster’s New World Dictionary and Thesaurus.
New York, NY: Macmillan, 1996.
Dana, H. E., and Julius R. Mantey. A Manual of the New Testament. Canada: The Macmillan
Company, 1957.
Metzger, Bruce M. Lexical Aids for Students of New Testament Greek. Princeton, New Jersey,
1977.
rev. ed. Germany: Biblica-Druck, 1994.