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Last week we talked about overcoming conflict by humbling ourselves and seeking God.
James wants us to understand…
A Faith That Works is a Faith that is Unified in Humility.
(write that down!)
Understand — Humility is the very CORE of the Christian walk!
Think about that!
We cannot even “believe” without humility.
— Humility is what “accepts” the FACT that we have a NEED to be Saved!
It takes humility to “take up our Cross”… because we MUST (first) ADMIT that we have a Cross to bear.
— What is that Cross?
Humility.
and in Matthew…
Humility is the Cross we bear!
Paul says:
and in…
And Solomon says:
We are called to carry the same cross that Christ did… That Cross was not a beautiful ornament… It was not a fine gold neckless… or an ornament to decorate the sanctuary…
The Cross was shameful!
It was humiliating!
It was violent and disgraceful!
The Cross is the ultimate symbol of humility!
And Christ bore it for us!
Yet… We struggle to bear it for Him!
Humility is the basic building block of God’s Children…
This is what James is speaking about… over and over again…
For James, humility is CENTRAL to the Christian walk!
Humility breeds righteousness…
Literally everything James has talked about so far — from chapter 1-4 — involves humility.
For James, humility is how we “do not merely listen to the Word, but do what it says!”
— It is how we face trials and temptations...
— It is how we avoid favoritism…
— It is how we look after the needs of our neighbor…
— It is how we tame the tongue…
— It is where we find wisdom…
— It is how we overcome conflict…
Now, look at verse 10:
Humility places us in a position where God can lift us up!
Do you need to be lifted up?
Do you need to be restored?
Do you need God’s touch… His Mercy… His Grace… in your life?
Then, Christian, you MUST humble yourself!!!
Reminder — James is speaking to Christians… to the Church!
— None of what he says here applies to anyone who does not have FAITH!
James is speaking directly to us — to you, and I — to those of us, who call ourselves “christian”… Who think of ourselves as “God’s children”…
We have to understand that.
To follow Christ is to put our FAITH in Him!
— Faith is “complete trust in God’s ability — and willingness — to do what He says He will do!”
That means that we recognize that “WE CAN’T” but “GOD CAN!”
BUT… now here’s the caveat… that means that we have to humble ourselves and seek Him.
James gives us 3 sins here that reveal a lack of humility in our lives.
(If you want to know if you lack humility, then listen to these)
I. Criticism.
Look at vv 11-12:
James says
James 4:11 (NRSV)
11 Do not speak evil against one another, brothers and sisters.
Whoever speaks evil against another or judges another, 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.
because
James 4:11 (NRSV)
11 Do not speak evil against one another, brothers and sisters.
Whoever speaks evil against another or judges another, 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.
Why?
How do we — how can we — judge the Law?
Because the Law says that we are ALL equal and in need of the same thing!
Now look at this:
James 4:11 (NRSV)
11 Do not speak evil against one another, brothers and sisters.
Whoever speaks evil against another or judges another, 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.
Now, here’s the problem…
James 4:12 (NRSV)
12 There is one lawgiver and judge who is able to save and to destroy.
So who, then, are you to judge your neighbor?
And guess what?
You Are Not Him!
You are not God!
Only God can judge… Only He knows us well enough to judge fairly…
James 4:12 (NRSV)
12 There is one lawgiver and judge who is able to save and to destroy.
So who, then, are you to judge your neighbor?
To “judge” others… and we do that when we are critical of them… is the complete opposite of humility.
It means that we see ourselves as, somehow, better then them and therefore “justified” in being critical of them.
But… James says, “Do not speak evil against [or slander] one another [my] brothers and sisters.”
We ARE NOT God… therefore, we have NO RIGHT to judge!
and
We are not to judge… but to PRAY for each other.
Nowhere in that verse does it tell us to judge them!
Instead… it insinuates that we continue to pray for them...
Our responsibility is not to judge, but to humble ourselves and stand together… holding each other up… praying for each other… strengthening each other…
II.
Carelessness.
This is the sin of always saying “Tomorrow”… “Tomorrow we’ll do this, or Tomorrow we’ll do that...”
These are both the procrastinators and the boastful planners…
Look at what James says to them:
James 4:13–14 (NRSV)
13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a town and spend a year there, doing business and making money.”
14 Yet you do not even know what tomorrow will bring....
(Listen)
None of us are in control of the future — we don’t know what will happen!
But… We do know who does!!!!
Jesus told us to plan…
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