Coming Back to God

Recap

Faith Works (James 2:14-26)

Genuine Christian faith is demonstrated by the good work/service of followers of Jesus. It is not that one has the gift of faith and another has the gift of works (think Fruit of the Spirit - you don’t get to pick just one! We are to grow in all aspects…). So it is that

Taming the Tongue (James 3:1-18)

The same hands/mouths lifted in praise and speaking out in prayer/worship are used to speak negatively against Christian brothers and sisters. This points to a deeper problem… the sinful human heart. James made it very clear how sinister the impact of something so small can be.

James continues unpacking the problem of the human heart as this week he looks at the shocking reality of conflict in the community of Christ.

What can we be passionate about? (Sports teams, playing a musical instrument)

The Problem

a. Quarrels & Fighting / Passion & Desire

How can passion be a good or a bad thing?

Passion can be a good thing when it drives someone (“It had always been my dream to play for my national team”). I am passionate about seeing the Church reaching its full potential - this will always be my thing, wherever I go and right now I am at Pinhoe Road. I am passionate about seeing people becoming disciples, discovering their call to be part of and serve the Kingdom of God. I am passionate about making appropriate changes which make the Church relevant to the current generation whilst not alienating those who are currently part of it. I want to see homes, schools, businesses and cities transformed by the power of God!

We speak about passion positively when we think about things someone might be good at or has a heart for.

But passion can become negative though when it drives someone to achieve what they want at all costs. Passion in this sense can motivated by a selfish and pridful heart, seeing people as a commodity or a means to an end. Unchecked passion can lead to unhealthy desires. We are talking about a sin problem, again, deeper than just the passion, but coming from a broken human heart. Like the tongue reveals the state of the heart, our passions do the same… especially when our passions put us at odds with those around us. A sinful heart wants what it wants and will do everything it can to get that thing. And this has consequences, made very clear and illustrated shiockingly by James...

My barber was a Royal Marine - DIY haircuts for me now! He would occasionally tell stories from his time serving in Afghanistan or Iraq. Only Fools and Horses Uncle Albert: ‘During the war!’

All of his stories were about individual battles that he and those around him had been involved in. None of them were stories about how the war was collectively won. There is a difference. War is something much bigger, fought on a grander scale, going on for much longer. Battles are short-lived (although maybe they don’t feel that way when you’re on the ground being shot at.

I use this as an example, because it helps to capture what James is getting at. He is using the harsh reality of war to describe the consequences of conflict in the Christian community. What this reveals to us first of all is that there is nothing new then, when there is a conflict in the church. It had been going on from the beginning and what we realise is that the problem isn’t the other person, but ourselves. In our pride and selfishness, we cause quarrels (ongoing wars) and fights (short, battles).

In our sinfulness we will overlook the severity of what James is highlighting here.

We diminish what we have said or how we have acted to being the other person’s problem because ‘I didn’t mean it that way’ - instead of owning our bit, saying ‘I’m sorry, will you forgive me’ and moving to a place of restoration a battle can turn into a war. We know that war is bloody. We should be shocked by this, but we are likely desensitized. People die, experience pain and trauma and James says this is what it is like when we don’t get our own way and deal with it innapropriately. We might not murder someone but our heart attitude towards them means we jsut as well have done. James is picking up on the teaching of Jesus heavily here.

Matthew 5:21-22 ““You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.”

In our hearts we commit murder with the feelings of resentment, anger and aggression we have towards those who get in our way/don’t do things the way we want them done.

We need to think about how our Father in heavn feels about the way we treat other people, made in his image, when we pursue selfish motives and wind up disappointed. Do you think God enjoys disputes and disagreements (short or long-term) in his church?

John 13:34-35 “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.””

This is the instruction from Jesus. It is a challenge at times, but in getting it right (by the grace of God) we glorify God on earth. We want to point people towards Christ, not away from him.

James points out that our motives for pride/self-aggrandisement are why we do not get the things we want. Until we want the things of God we will find ourselves disappointed or frustrated. I think this speaks to the relational/spiritual dynamic of the Church Meeting in a Baptist Church. Some people will come with strong ideas and have strong feelings in one direction or another. Rather than expecting our own way though, we listen together, seeking to hear the voice of Christ and following his leading to move from A-B. Sometimes this will be easy, sometimes not. Sometimes this will go our way, sometimes it will not. This takes humility...

b. Friend of God?

Playground friends (“He said I am not his best friend anymore”). Friendships don’t necessarily remain exclusive forever, as one moves on.

Marriage is an example of where, as far as possible, an exclusivity of relationship is to be maintained. We know there are sometimes legitimate reasons for marriages breaking down and often one of these reasons is unfaithfulness, or an erosion of the exclusivity of relationship. So let’s look at marriage through rose tinted lenses for a moment. James is using the sanctity of a God-ordained marriage to illustrate how Christians can conduct themselves...

Referring to the people as ‘adulturous’ recalls the Jewish context of the people of Israel. They were God’s chosen people, living in a holy relationship with him, committed and covenanted to YHWH, the God of Israel. But they break this covenant. They wander from God, pursuing false gods, essentially pursuing relationships outside of the marriage covenant.

Mark 3:25 “And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.”

We need to be unified as we seek to build and expand the house of God at Pinhoe Road! We cannot be divided between God and the world!

Serving and pursuing the world might lead to some short term gains or quick wins, it might make life easier, but it has etenral consequences!

The Solution

Run to the Father!

The solution is not found

James 4:7 “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

Where we might have made ourselves and our preferences the goal, we as God that by his Spirit we would be aligned with him.

We pray for Spiritual strength to resist the temptation of the devil (to be friends with the world and to be selfish/prideful)

James 4:8 “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”

Application / Response

I have made it my prayer this week that as a church we would grasp the reality/severity of warring and fighting in the community of God, on whatever scale. This grievs the Father… I have made it my prayer that God would pull the roots of this sin out from us, cleansing us by the power of his Holy Spirit. I have prayed for God to convict us. Just this morning I felt a prompt from God to encourage those ‘waiting’ for an apology to take the first step in pursuing reconciliation.