Page 6 - Good News June 2018 paper
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"Count  it  all  joy,  my  brothers,   his own desire. Then desire when    deceives his heart, this person's    22-25), and then he rebukes mere
          when  you  meet  trials  of  various   it has conceived gives birth to sin,   religion  is  worthless.  Religion   doing  without  having  our  inner
          kinds,  for  you  know  that  the    and  sin  when  it  is  fully  grown   that is pure and undefiled before   lives changed (verses 26-27).
         testing  of  your  faith  produces    brings  forth  death.  Do  not  be    God  the  Father  is  this:  to  visit
         steadfastness.    And  let  stead-    deceived,  my  beloved  brothers.     orphans  and  widows  in  their      In keeping with his emphasis on
          fastness have its full effect, that   Every good gift and every perfect    affliction,  and  to  keep  oneself   genuine faith and its consequent
          you may be perfect and complete,     gift is from above, coming down       unstained from the world"  (James    good  works,  James  offers  three
          lacking in nothing. If any of you    from  the  Father  of  lights,  with   1:1-27).                            key aspects of pure religion:
          lacks  wisdom,  let  him  ask  God,   Whom  there  is  no  variation  or
          who gives generously to all with-    shadow  due  to  change.  Of  His     The epistle of James is one of the   1.  Restrain  our  tongues  from
          out reproach, and it will be given   own will He brought us forth by       most practical books found in the    speaking evil of others;
          him. But let him ask in faith, with   the word of truth, that we should    New  Testament.  In  the  above      2.  Show  practical  concern  for
         no  doubting,  for  the  one  who     be  a  kind  of  firstfruits  of  His   verses, James defines what a true   those in need;
         doubts is like a wave of the sea      creatures.                            religion  is  in  the  eyes  of  God.   3.   Keep ourselves pure from sin.
         that is driven and tossed by the                                            Religion here means the external
         wind.   For  that  person  must  not            HEARING AND                 patterns of behaviour connected      What  God  is  looking  for  is  the
          suppose  that  he  will  receive             DOING THE WORD                with religious belief. It means the   practical type of godliness which
          anything  from  the  Lord;  he  is  a   Know this, my beloved brothers:    outer  expression  of  belief  in    takes a compassionate interest in
          double-minded man, unstable in       let every person be quick to hear,    worship  and  service  rather  than   others  and  keeps  our  own  life
          all his ways.                        slow to speak, slow to anger; for     the  doctrines  believed.  Thus,  clean, better defined as "acts of
                                               the  anger  of  man  does  not  religion  has  to  do  with  our  grace and a walk of separation".
          Let the lowly brother boast in his   produce  the  righteousness  of       worship  manifested  in  the  This happens when both practical
          exaltation,  and  the  rich  in  his   God. Therefore put away all filthi-  outward  through  our  acts  of     love  and  practical  holiness  are
          humiliation, because like a flower   ness  and  rampant  wickedness        service!                             evident in our lives!
          of the grass he will pass away. For   and  receive  with  meekness  the
          the  sun  rises  with  its  scorching   implanted word, which is able to   So,  how  can  we  really  worship   Our new identity in Christ is thus
          heat  and  withers  the  grass;  its   save your souls. But be doers of    God through our outward acts of      evident in the way we take care of
          flower  falls,  and  its  beauty  the  word,  and  not  hearers  only,     worship?  True  religion  as  an     one another - reaching even to the
         perishes. So also will the rich man   deceiving yourselves.   For if any-   outpouring of our genuine faith in   most frail and vulnerable among
         fade  away  in  the  midst  of  his   one is a hearer of the word and not   God is an expression of how we       us - who are most in need of our
         pursuits.                             a doer, he is like a man who looks    relate to God and others.   James    help.  The  way  God  views  and
                                               intently  at  his  natural  face  in  a   stresses concern for widows and   defines true religion is when His
         Blessed is the man who remains        mirror. For he looks at himself and   orphans  as  a  true  measure  of    character is reflected through our
         steadfast under trial, for when he    goes  away  and  at  once  forgets    obedience that is pleasing to God.   practical  lives  which  are  exem-
         has stood the test he will receive    what he was like. But the one who     We  should  be  aware  that  Israel   plified by our pure speech, pure
         the crown of life, which God has      looks into the perfect law, the law   was  given  this  responsibility  in   love, and pure character. This is a
         promised to those who love Him.       of liberty, and perseveres, being     the Old Testament, and it reflects   lofty challenge that should guide
         Let no one say when he is temp-       no hearer who forgets but a doer      the concerns of God Himself.         us  how  to  live  before  God  and
         ted, 'I am being tempted by God,'     who acts, he will be blessed in his                                        other people!
         for God cannot be tempted with        doing.                                Before  James  comes  around  to     -  Practical  Instructions  For Your
         evil,  and  He  Himself  tempts  no                                         defining  true  religion,  he  has   Daily  Life  Journey,  Dr.  Shibu
         one. But each person is tempted       If  anyone  thinks  he  is  religious   already  rebuked  mere  listening   Cherian,  United  in  the  Word
         when he is lured and enticed by       and does not bridle his tongue but    and  not  doing  anything  (verses   Ministries, unitedintheword.com
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