Putting it in Perspective

Our theme for 2026 is “Embrace Transformation”

We are in a series on the Book of James called “Faith that works.”

Faith has to work.

It’s not enough to believe it, you have to do it.

We talked about how the church has been divided into those who prioritize right belief and those who prioritize right practice.

Real Christianity is not faith versus works - it’s faith and works.

It has to change you in fundamental ways so that you embrace transformation.

James takes time to focus on words.

Words lead to actions, and actions validate words.

That transformation from faith to faith that works is a process.

We know it is a positive spiral of turning our tests into endurance.

And endurance leads to completion which is also wisdom from above.

Wisdom teaches us the best way to live - and then trains us with the disciplines to actually do it.

Last week we talked about winning the war within our own minds and hearts.

We examine or desires - understanding what we really want and why.

We can’t assume that everything we think or feel is from God or that it is from our own flesh - there are other powers at work as well.

The key is to turn towards God.

Be honest about what is going on inside.

And be intentional about turning it around.

This week is about perspective.

We ended last week by acknowledging that much of what we consider to be religion or spirituality is really more about us than it is about God.

We can have a kind of faith that is centered on the desires of the flesh instead of the work of the Spirit.

That is beginning to put things into perspective.

It’s not about us - it’s all about Him!

James is going to double down on this point by asking the question, “Who are we to judge?

The way we practice faith often means acting like we are God instead of pointing people to Him.

Then to emphasize that point he asks, “How much do we really know?”

We make plans like we know what is going to happen, but we really don’t!

The real question of faith is this, “Where does our confidence come from?”

Faith that works places full confidence in God and His will.

And that is just a taste of our outline for today - if you are following along on your bulletin insert we have some blanks that you can fill-in as we go along.

And if you are watching online, click the link to our e-bulletin. there are blanks that you can click on there that fill in themselves - or you can just follow along with the slides.

Who are we to judge?

The way we practice faith often means acting like we are God instead of pointing people to Him.

James 4:11–12 ESV

11 Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. 12 There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?

The Bible speaks a lot about judging, or not judging.

Matthew 7:1–5 ESV

1 “Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. 3 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.

A lot of people only quote the first part of the first verse, “judge not!”

But they miss the context.

The verse in it’s context says that there is a time for judging and correcting the behavior of others.

But the point that Jesus is making through his parable is that we judge ourselves first.

James is making the same point that Jesus made:

Do not put yourself above others;

Remember that James seems to have Jesus’ teaching from the sermon on the mount in mind as he writes this letter.

So when he says, “don’t speak evil of another - people would naturally recall the teaching of Jesus.

Don’t try to correct someone else if you are not also receiving correction.

It is essentially the golden rule.

Matthew 7:12 ESV

12 “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

In talking about judging, Jesus is not saying that we should not give and receive correction - He is saying that if we give correction, we need to also receive it.

We don’t judge people as someone who is above them, but we treat people with respect and humility as someone who is also, at times, in need of correction.

Paul says this too:

Galatians 6:1 ESV

1 Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.

So the Bible doesn’t say not to judge It says that we do not judge as someone that is above someone else.

We are all people who are made in God’s image and equal in value and status.

Sure we have functional authority at certain times and for certain purposes but that does not negate our human equality.

Instead, we come along side them as someone who is equally vulnerable.

We all have a sinful nature.

We are all capable of messing up.

We all have times in our lives where we have had to rely on God’s grace and mercy.

And that means that we can identify with others in their weakness

restoring them gently instead of judging them harshly.

We do not put ourselves above others...

because that is putting yourself in God’s place.

James differs a bit from the teaching of Jesus in that he says that when we judge another person we are not just putting ourselves above them - we are putting ourselves above the Law.

That’s like saying that we are putting ourselves in the place of God.

God is the giver of the Law and only He gets to change it.

For a first century Jewish audience, saying that a person is putting themself above the Law is essentially saying that they are against everything that the Law stands for.

It’s like when people in the media say that for the government to prosecute someone for breaking the law is unconstitutional.

Have they actually read the constitution? That’s pretty much what it is all about - giving the the government the power to both define what is a crime and to exercise justice on behalf of the people of the United States.

Well the Law is like that too - we don’t get to decide what the law says - we can only decide how and to what degree we will comply with what it says.

What happens sometimes is that people idealize the law.

They do the same thing with the constitution they don’t actually read what it says to some it is just the idea of freedom.

They do the same thing with the Bible - they idealize what they think the Bible is about and preach the idea instead of the scripture.

And having constructed an ideology around what they believe the Bible (or the constitution) is trying to accomplish - they make it say whatever fits that purpose.

I believe that is how Christianity can stray so far from what God really intended.

We begin to read God’s commands as optional.

We study about God, but we never learn to know God.

We are thinking about how God fits into our way of thinking instead of conforming to His,

So the real problem with how we treat other people as inferior is not just that we misunderstand who they are, but we misunderstand who God is and who we are in relation to Him.

Romans 2:1–3 NLT

1 You may think you can condemn such people, but you are just as bad, and you have no excuse! When you say they are wicked and should be punished, you are condemning yourself, for you who judge others do these very same things. 2 And we know that God, in his justice, will punish anyone who does such things. 3 Since you judge others for doing these things, why do you think you can avoid God’s judgment when you do the same things?

That is why Jesus tells us to judge ourselves first.

If you are working on yourself, perhaps then you will be a little more patient with others.

And James goes even further saying, “don’t act like you are God” because you’re not.

You need God’s grace and mercy just like everyone else.

That’s just putting it in perspective - who are we to judge?

But just in case you didn’t get it - he gives another illustration.

How much do we really know?

We make plans like we know what is going to happen, but we really don’t!

James 4:13–14 ESV

13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— 14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.

Have you ever tried to plan your day, only to have anything and everything interrupt that plan?

Karie and I attended two conferences this week: one at WEC and the other was the Hopewell Network Conference. I had one day-Wednesday - set aside for sermon prep.

Then my HVAC guy called. I have a humidifier that needs to be put on our heater before heating season starts and I realized that I don’t know enough about heaters to do the installation. Well the day that suited him to come was Wednesday.

We have Pastor Lesly from Haiti staying with us. Due to some unforeseen events - I don’t have time to go into it - He is at our house Tuesday night and Pastor Alan Yoder is coming to get him Wednesday morning, while the heater guy is there.

Then I also had a new phone that I ordered from Verizon. I wanted to get it all set up and working by the time we go to Thailand because I want to e able to use it there to oder food, rides etc. Well it was supposed to come at the end of the week, but it came at the beginning of the week. No problem - Ill just use the app assistant and activate it, I can set it up as I get time. Four hours and five technicians later - we finally got it working after half the day was blown.

So God only knows how I managed to finish this message - my plans certainly didn’t work out so well.

Every time that happens it reminds us of our limitations.

We are limited in our perspective.

I have tasks and appointments on a calendar - but truthfully speaking, I don’t really know what i am going to be doing tomorrow.

James talks about planning to conduct business and make a profit.

Everything in business is about planning.

You don’t want to waste you time doing things that aren’t going to help your bottom line.

But anyone who has been in business knows - you don’t always know what is going to succeed and what won’t.

You can’t always anticipate everything that you may need to plan for.

Successful companies are often those that can shift to change with the times or move with the markets.

We are really not the ones who are in control, and those who realize it and accept it are better able to adapt to whatever is coming.

James uses this as an illustration of why we should not be the center of our own spiral.

Proverbs 16:9 NLT

9 We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.

Yes, we try to listen to what God is saying and make our plans accordingly...

I don’t know about you, but God doesn’t tell me everything...

He often doesn’t tell me what’s coming.

I probably couldn’t handle it if I knew…

Jesus said something similar in the sermon on the mount.

Matthew 6:31–34 CSB

31 So don’t worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you. 34 Therefore don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Jesus is talking about living a life that is dependent on God every moment of every day.

We really can’t see the big picture.

So we need to live with our eyes on Him.

We need to follow Him step by step and moment by moment, learning to rely on Him for what we need for that moment.

So often we are busy working for God - just tell me what to do and I'll do it.

God wants us to serve Him, but not like that.

He wants us to work with Him - communicating and communing with Him ever step of the way.

That is part of the upward spiral - a path that is centered on God and where He is leading the way.

Like the wisdom from above that James talked about earlier.

God is infinite in His wisdom.

I know it seems like such a simple concept, but one of the greatest revelations of my life has been that “God is God - and I am not God!”

I know that may still be shocking to some of you, but it was a real moment of revelation for me and one that has been so freeing.

I don’t have to know everything - because He does.

I don’t have to control every circumstance - because if anyone is to be in control - it would be Him - but often He chooses not to.

Any if God can make the universe and still allow other people to have a say in what happens - the I guess I should allow it too!

I know - what an amazing revelation!

Maybe that seems like something that shouldn't have to be said but for many of us, that is putting it in perspective.

We really don’t know as much as we may think we do - not when we consider God and all there is to know.

Proverbs 2:6 ESV

6 For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;

You would think that God could just tell us what we need to know - but it’s not that simple - we first need the capacity to understand it.

Isaiah 55:8–9 ESV

8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

So much of our lives are spent simply building that capacity.

Learning to know Him - or simply learning how to begin to know Him.

Much of that learning is through experience, that is how we learn to trust.

And it is not as often the good experiences that teach us that lesson as it is the bad ones.

It is precisely when things are out of our control and do not go as planned that we learn how to depend on God.

That is why James began by saying:

James 1:2 ESV

2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,

That is where the rubber meets the road.

True faith is forged in the fire of adversity.

1 Peter 1:7 NLT

7 These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.

That’s wisdom and applying godly perspective to our lives.

James continues to show us where to place our confidence.

Where does our confidence come from?

Faith that works places full confidence in God and His will.

James 4:15–16 ESV

15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.

Speaking of evil - do you know where evil comes from?

Evil is the resulting condition when God’s creation tries to usurp His position.

Isaiah the prophets describes the origins of spiritual rebellion:

Isaiah 14:12–15 ESV

12 “How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn! How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low! 13 You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ 15 But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit.

This passage and also in Ezekiel 28 there are descriptions of heavenly beings - angels - who once stood in the presence of God but were cast down because they wanted to BE God.

That should give a little context to our fleshly desire to be our own god.

In fact, it has demonic origins, and we are so easily deceived.

But James calls it what it is - arrogance - boasting against God - pure evil!

We talked about repentance last time - and this is the essence of it.

We acknowledge our dependence on God.

Remember this from last weeks reading?

James 4:5–7 NLT

5 Do you think the Scriptures have no meaning? They say that God is passionate that the spirit he has placed within us should be faithful to him. 6 And he gives grace generously. As the Scriptures say, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 7 So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Does it sound like James may be alluding to the fallen spiritual beings - making sure that what happened to them, doesn’t happen with us?

I think that is exactly what he is saying!

So how do we do that?

We do exactly what they didn’t do - we continually acknowledge our dependence on God.

Proverbs 3:4–6 ESV

4 So you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man. 5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

Doesn't that sound like a good motto for living a godly life?

It’s like the spiral-putting God at the center turns it around.

It’s inviting God into the chaos to bring light and to separate the elements.

It’s recognizing God as your source and ordering your life around his purpose and plan for you.

Yes, James is saying essentially the same thing in so many different ways.

It’s all about Him!

Everything in life, including ourselves, should revolve around Him.

And we should live our lives according to who he made each of us to be.

Not just looking for what we want out of life, but living for a higher purpose and calling.

We seek to follow God’s will.

I don’t hear many people asking these days, but when I was growing up the big questions was, “How do I find God’s will for my life?”

What kind of education should I get?

What occupation should I pursue?

Who should I marry?

Those are some of the big questions in life.

And as a young person I used to assume that God would have something to say about that.

I think a lot of people today just assume that God wants the things that they want or like.

I think that is one of the ways that God leads us - He gives us desires according to the way He made us.

But sometimes God has plans for us that are far from what we would know or even want at the time.

We should also assume that God may have a much bigger perspective than we do.

So how can we know God’s will?

I would first like to say that it is God’s will for you to know Him!

That you can be sure of, regardless of the details.

To know God’s will, spend time getting to know God and I believe you will also find His will.

Psalm 143:10 NLT

10 Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. May your gracious Spirit lead me forward on a firm footing.

Just concentrate on your daily walk with God.

Begin each day taking to God and especially taking time to listen also.

Write down the things that God say and shows to you.

Cultivate a relationship with God like you would with a friend.

Learn to love the things that God loves.

Colossians 1:10 CEV

10 Then you will live a life that honors the Lord, and you will always please him by doing good deeds. You will come to know God even better.

God’s will for us in any given circumstance unfolds out of the relationship that we have with God.

Our desires are shaped and formed by His desires.

Our character begins to resemble His character.

And that is when His mission and purpose also becomes our mission and purpose.

The problem with the way faith is so often viewed and why it is not fully practiced and doesn’t “work” the way it should is because we often view faith as an accessory to our lives instead of the main thing.

Faith is not something we have one or two days a week.

It’s not ceremonies, rituals or even daily devotions.

Those things help to cultivate faith- but faith itself is the relationship that we have with God through Jesus Christ.

And our faith is only as strong as is our relationship.

You could even say that your faith is not as strong as you are - it is as strong as He is - knowing and applying that truth to our lives.

The real giants of faith were not people who live better lives, or were perfect - they certainly were not!

But they lived their lives dependent on God and thereby fulfilled His purpose.

That is all any of us can hope to do.

Just putting it in perspective...

Questions for reflection:

Have you felt the temptation to compare yourself to others? When we judge, isn’t is also because we feel like we have been judged by others? What if we mostly only judged ourselves and compared ourselves to the example of Christ?

Have you ever wished that you could control everything? No one wants the responsibility of being God; but don’t we sometimes desire the power? What does this say about our trust in God? Don’t we already have all we need?

What does it look like to have complete confidence in God? What would it be like to trust Him in absolutely everything? Is that thought frightening? Or is it refreshingly restful? How can we have more of the latter?