Genuine Faith in Christ

The Bible’s Book of James contains some of the most practical ways of expressing genuine faith in Christ. It is also a book that contrasts genuine faith with various imitations of pseudo-faith. In vernacular English, one might say that James’ illustrative challenges meet a reader “where the rubber hits the road” of life.

In verse ten of chapter four, James reminds the Jewish diaspora, who were the recipients of his letter, of the spiritual criterion of humility as being foundational
to the enjoyment of the Lord’s favor.

Today’s lesson challenges the presuppositions of deficient faith expressions that mutate into a judgmental spirit that slanders and denigrates others in vain attempts to measure one’s own worth and value against a set of religious values rather than relying upon the Grace of God as the ground of one’s own being.

Three times in verse eleven, James, the half brother of Jesus, uses the same Greek word to remonstrate those who would slander others from a supposed position of superiority. This Greek word means to speak down to others in a hostile or mocking manner that both detracts and defames another person. This attitude of supposed superiority is challenged by James as being inconsistent with the very standard of God’s Law that is being employed to judge others as being inferior.

Not only does this aberrant attitude work an imagined elevation above others in the holder of this attitude, this kind of attitude militates against the very purpose of humility that God’s Law was designed to produce, namely humility before God and peace with others.

Our challenge when we read this portion of Scripture is to ask ourselves, “do I value others as God values them or do I “look down my nose” upon them from a supposed position of superiority?”

Perhaps this question can best be answered by asking the following questions of ourselves; do we look upon ourselves as being persons who were originally unworthy in our own right of being the recipients of the Lord’s blessing of the Grace of Salvation? Do we recognize that the subsequent ongoing eternal presence of the Lord in our lives is GIFT for which we are forever grateful or do we still think that in some way, we are worthy of such in our own right?

Having the right understanding of who we are and who we are not leads to a proper perspective of necessary humility that will allow us to live life by faith and not by presumption. In verses thirteen and fourteen of chapter four, James compares the temporal life of the reader and the finite limitations of the reader’s life with the eternality of God and His purposes.

To be sure, James is not decrying making plans for the future, however, in verse fifteen, James reminds the readers of his epistle that the power and permission to see plans actually come into being reside in the Lord and not in the human beings who craft such plans.

We would do well to ask ourselves whether our plans for the future are being made with an attitude of humility and dependence upon the Lord or whether our plans for the future are being made with an arrogant dependence upon our own strength and abilities. Do we first make our plans and then assume because we belong to the Lord that our plans will come to pass or do we first depend upon the Lord to lead us to discover His plans so that we can plan and act accordingly?

To be sure, two attitudes are set before us, one of humility and dependence and one of presumptuous self will. The upside down paradigm of planning for the future is set right side up by the realization that the success of our plans depends on both a wisdom and power far beyond our human limitations, being ultimately dependent upon God’s favor for their realization.

Verses sixteen and seventeen serve to remind us of the folly of self-dependence and self-will. James identifies both of these as being evil! What a sobering moment it is to be confronted with an inner inclination that could result in actions and attitudes that masquerade as being decisive and directional, qualities that are highly valued in a secular setting, yet that is what James is warning against in these verses.

James pulls no punches when he writes that knowing what is good is not the same as doing what is good. The strength to do what is good rather than merely assent to it comes as a result of possessing a genuine humility that simultaneously affirms the value of others in God’s sight as well as one’s own value in God’s sight.

In short, we are being counseled by Scripture to not be judgmental jerks, rather, we are called toward genuine love and acceptance of others and ourselves as we follow and grow in Christ. May our attitudes and actions be displayed for the world to observe so that those who do not know Christ may notice the difference between having a merely external “religion” based on an ignored and often violated set of values and a loving, vital, affirming, dependent relationship with the eternal God through Christ our Lord to the end that they will desire Christ for themselves!!