Religion has become a bad word even among people who are the church. I myself am prone to think that, as not being religious but more relational.
I see being a Christian as relating to the Father through a relationship with Jesus. In that respect I see Christianity as more about relationship and less about rules, rituals, and traditions.
In James 1:26-27 James talks about what true, pure religion is.
The word he uses for religion has as its root word a crying out to God. When James talks about religion he is not talking about rules and rituals. His talking about relationship.
James 1:26-27
If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this; to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
James gives us three ways to measure our relationship with God, our religion, and see if it is acceptable to God the Father.
#1: Do we have a tight rein on our tongue?
In 2 Timothy 1:7 Paul tells that we have not been given a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-control.
Peter mentions self-control in 2 Peter 1:6. Self-control is one of the flavors of the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23.
One of the indications that we are filled with the Spirit is that what we say is being controlled by God's Spirit.
Colossians 4:6 tells us that our speech should be seasoned with salt.
Ephesians 4:29 tells us that our talk should be wholesome.
Ephesians 4:29 tells us that our talk should also build others up.
The only way our words can conform to what God's Word tells us they should be is by applying the truth of Ephesians 5:18. We are to be continually controlled by the Holy Spirit.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is allowing the Holy Spirit to direct and control what we say.
#2: Do we help the powerless?
James mentions helping the orphans and widows in their distress.
Orphans and widows were the most helpless and powerless people of James' day.
Truly being a follower of Jesus means that we help, defend, and fight for the helpless, the powerless, the hurting of our day.
The powerless people of our day would include:
Orphans
Widows
Homeless
The Oppressed
The Persecuted
The Hungry
The Fearful
The Abused
God's people, the church, are to be the champion of the powerless.
Jesus in Matthew 25:31-46 gives very strong emphasis to helping these very types of people. He indicates that He measures how we serve Him by how we serve the powerless.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is serving the powerless people as Jesus did.
#3: Do we keep ourselves from being defined by the values of the world?
In Deuteronomy 14:2 and 26:18 God calls Israel to be His peculiar people. They were to be different than all the rest of the people on earth to picture to the world God's unique character.
In 1 Peter 2:9 God's people the church are called:
A Chosen Race
A Royal Priesthood
A Holy Nation
A People for His Own Possession
The purpose of being a unique people is to proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. We as the church are to display the awesome character of Jesus.
The word polluted means to be stained.
Jesus is pure, faultless, and sinless.
When we surrender our lives to Him He declares us righteous (pure, faultless, free from the penalty and power of sin.)
We are not to let the world put its mark on us but we are to let Jesus, by the presence and work of His Spirit, mark us as belonging to Him.
It is possible by the work of the Holy Spirit to reflect Jesus to a world that needs Him.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is to be marked by the Holy Spirit as belonging to God and not the world.
Religion not characterized by these three characteristics is worthless.
It is worthless because being a Christian is having the image of Jesus formed in you and being used by Jesus to impact others to surrender their lives to Him.
Only when our lives are characterized by:
Speech controlled by the Holy Spirit
Lives spent serving the powerless
Lives marked by the Holy Spirit
can we reflect Jesus and share Jesus with others.
People will not listen to what we say we believe until they first see what we believe. Many people know what we as followers of Jesus are against. We need to show them what we are for.
Jesus in John 14:6 says that He is the way, the truth, and the life. We as His followers have been given the privilege to show the world that He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
With Pure Religion Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls,
Joe
Sunday, July 31, 2016
Sunday, July 24, 2016
Doing Not Just Listening
Hearing something or even knowing something is not the same as doing something.
I have heard many people tell me how I should do something but I didn’t do it the way they told to do it. I have known some truths but did not apply them to the way I lived.
In James 1:22 James tells us that just hearing or knowing is not enough. God wants us to do to obey.
James 1:22
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.
If we just listen to the word and don’t do what it says, then we are deceiving ourselves.
We deceive ourselves by:
Substituting knowledge for obedience
Substituting religion for relationship
Substituting facts for faith
Substituting appearance for reality
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is obeying God.
Then James draws a picture of the futility of merely hearing the word and not doing it.
James 1:23-24
Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.
I have always noticed that James says when a man, not a woman, looks at his face in the mirror and then goes away and forgets what he sees.
A woman would never do that. Women are much more into noticing details. Women look for details, men look at the big picture.
If a person looks in the mirror and then forgets what he saw, that would be totally foolish. It would mean that person looked in the mirror for nothing.
The purpose for looking in the mirror is to see if there is something that needs to be changed. If I see something that needs to be changed but immediately forget what it is, and thus don’t make the change, then I have wasted my time looking into the mirror.
When Jesus shares with me truth, it is not just for me to know. It is a truth that Jesus has shared with me to apply in my life. If I just keep it as a nice stowed-away fact, I have wasted the truth that Jesus has shared with me.
In Mark 12:30-31 Jesus shares that I am to love God with all that I am and that I am to love my neighbor as myself. If I file that truth away and don’t love God with all that I am and don’t love others like I love myself, then I have not obeyed Jesus.
In Ephesians 5, as a husband I am told to love my wife as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for it. That means I am to actively love my wife like Jesus loves the church and to make sacrifices for my wife as Jesus sacrificed Himself for the church. It doesn’t mean I agree that is what I am supposed to do and not actually do it.
The Bible is not so much a book of facts as it is direction for the way of life that pleases God.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is making the Word of God the foundation of and authority for how you live your life.
James then shares two benefits of hearing and obeying the Word of God.
James 1:25
But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it - he will be blessed in what he does.
James describes the law as perfect. It is perfect because the One who gave it, the One on whom it is based, and the One who it glorifies is perfect.
Psalm 18:30
This God - His way is perfect, the word of the Lord proves true, He is a shield for all those who take refuge in Him.
1 Peter 2:2
He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in His mouth.
God the Father and God the Son are perfect and sinless.
God is perfect and His word is perfect.
If we obey the perfect word of God, we will experience freedom.
In John 8:36 we are told that if the Son sets us free we are free indeed.
Freedom is not doing anything I want.
Freedom is doing anything that God wants.
Freedom is not following my dreams.
Freedom is doing God’s will.
Freedom is not being what I want.
Freedom is being who the Creator made me to be.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is experiencing true freedom in Jesus.
If we obey the perfect word of God we will be blessed in what we do.
We are blessed because we obey what God says.
When we obey God two things happen.
One: We honor God.
Two: We are benefited by God for our obedience.
God will always bless obedience.
God will never bless disobedience.
I have never obeyed God and later regretted my obedience.
I have many times disobeyed God and regretted it every time. (I am a slow learner).
Making God happy with our lives brings us great blessing.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is about obeying God and then experiencing the blessings of God.
In Complete Obedience, Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls
Joe
I have heard many people tell me how I should do something but I didn’t do it the way they told to do it. I have known some truths but did not apply them to the way I lived.
In James 1:22 James tells us that just hearing or knowing is not enough. God wants us to do to obey.
James 1:22
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.
If we just listen to the word and don’t do what it says, then we are deceiving ourselves.
We deceive ourselves by:
Substituting knowledge for obedience
Substituting religion for relationship
Substituting facts for faith
Substituting appearance for reality
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is obeying God.
Then James draws a picture of the futility of merely hearing the word and not doing it.
James 1:23-24
Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.
I have always noticed that James says when a man, not a woman, looks at his face in the mirror and then goes away and forgets what he sees.
A woman would never do that. Women are much more into noticing details. Women look for details, men look at the big picture.
If a person looks in the mirror and then forgets what he saw, that would be totally foolish. It would mean that person looked in the mirror for nothing.
The purpose for looking in the mirror is to see if there is something that needs to be changed. If I see something that needs to be changed but immediately forget what it is, and thus don’t make the change, then I have wasted my time looking into the mirror.
When Jesus shares with me truth, it is not just for me to know. It is a truth that Jesus has shared with me to apply in my life. If I just keep it as a nice stowed-away fact, I have wasted the truth that Jesus has shared with me.
In Mark 12:30-31 Jesus shares that I am to love God with all that I am and that I am to love my neighbor as myself. If I file that truth away and don’t love God with all that I am and don’t love others like I love myself, then I have not obeyed Jesus.
In Ephesians 5, as a husband I am told to love my wife as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for it. That means I am to actively love my wife like Jesus loves the church and to make sacrifices for my wife as Jesus sacrificed Himself for the church. It doesn’t mean I agree that is what I am supposed to do and not actually do it.
The Bible is not so much a book of facts as it is direction for the way of life that pleases God.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is making the Word of God the foundation of and authority for how you live your life.
James then shares two benefits of hearing and obeying the Word of God.
James 1:25
But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it - he will be blessed in what he does.
James describes the law as perfect. It is perfect because the One who gave it, the One on whom it is based, and the One who it glorifies is perfect.
Psalm 18:30
This God - His way is perfect, the word of the Lord proves true, He is a shield for all those who take refuge in Him.
1 Peter 2:2
He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in His mouth.
God the Father and God the Son are perfect and sinless.
God is perfect and His word is perfect.
If we obey the perfect word of God, we will experience freedom.
In John 8:36 we are told that if the Son sets us free we are free indeed.
Freedom is not doing anything I want.
Freedom is doing anything that God wants.
Freedom is not following my dreams.
Freedom is doing God’s will.
Freedom is not being what I want.
Freedom is being who the Creator made me to be.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is experiencing true freedom in Jesus.
If we obey the perfect word of God we will be blessed in what we do.
We are blessed because we obey what God says.
When we obey God two things happen.
One: We honor God.
Two: We are benefited by God for our obedience.
God will always bless obedience.
God will never bless disobedience.
I have never obeyed God and later regretted my obedience.
I have many times disobeyed God and regretted it every time. (I am a slow learner).
Making God happy with our lives brings us great blessing.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is about obeying God and then experiencing the blessings of God.
In Complete Obedience, Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls
Joe
Sunday, July 17, 2016
Love Over Anger
We are living in angry times. Our nation, as well as much of the world, is frustrated and angry.
There are two types of anger.
One is a righteous anger that comes because we see an injustice and are moved to confront that injustice.
The other is a selfish anger that comes from me not getting what I want.
Righteous anger is something that should move us to reach out in love to stand against the injustice that we see. It is never an excuse to sin and hurt others physically or emotionally or spiritually. Selfish anger should never be an aspect of our lives.
James addresses anger in James 1:19-21
James 1:19
My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry.
We are to be quick to listen.
We are to be slow to speak.
We are to be slow to get angry.
We are to lead with our ears; and only after we have listened are we to speak; and only when absolutely necessary, when there is an injustice are we to follow with anger.
This is godly counsel in any situation.
It works in:
A Marriage Relationship
A Family Relationship
A Work Relationship
A Church Relation
Even a Relationship with a Stranger
When we become angry, which we will, we need to ask ourselves:
Is this righteous or selfish anger?
Have I really listened to what has been said or done?
How am I to respond so that God is honored?
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is being quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry.
James 1:20
For man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.
Anger does not bring about the righteousness that God desires.
In Romans 2:4 we are told that it is God’s kindness that leads people to repentance.
Our anger and condemnation will not change people.
Our anger and condemnation will not draw people to Jesus.
Our anger and condemnation will not build God’s kingdom.
God’s desire is to change people’s lives as they surrender to Jesus and establish a relationship with Him as Lord and Savior. That will build God’s kingdom.
Love, grace, and mercy are what will accomplish that, not anger.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is allowing God’s love to be the core of our character and our motivation for everything we do.
James 1:21
Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.
In Hebrews 12:15 we are told not to let any “root of bitterness” grow up in our lives.
James tells us to remove moral filth and evil. James knows these are the things that cause anger in us.
Jesus had neither moral filth nor evil in Him, and all of the anger that He had was righteous anger against injustice.
Instead of letting moral filth and evil lead us to anger, we are to let God’s Word lead us to salvation.
When we are living with moral fifth and evil in our lives and manifesting selfish anger in our lives we will never be humble. God says in 1 Peter 5:5 that He gives grace to the humble but opposes the proud.
We don’t want to be in opposition to God for two reasons:
We are always in the wrong when we oppose God
We will always lose when we oppose God
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is getting rid of anything that hinders God’s Spirit, using God’s Word, to grow us to be more like Jesus.
It is wrong for the color of a person’s skin to be used to judge the person. We are all created by God.
It is wrong for a person’s background to be used to judge the person. We all can be changed by God.
The answer to addressing these injustices is not anger, as we are seeing in our nation today.
The answer is not letting anger lead us to destroy lives, property, or reputations.
Sin motivated by anger is never the solution to sin done against us.
It is time for us as God’s people to:
Fast and Pray
Stand for God’s Truth in Love
Reach across racial, ethnic, and political barriers with God’s love and truth.
There is a huge deficit in leadership in our nation today and we as God’s people, the community of faith, needs to step into that void and lead as Jesus led.
Based on and in the love of Jesus, we are to:
Feed the poor
Defend the powerless
Shelter the homeless
Love the unlovable
We do this because that is what Jesus did. Jesus did it with love, not anger.
With the Love of Jesus, Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls
Joe
There are two types of anger.
One is a righteous anger that comes because we see an injustice and are moved to confront that injustice.
The other is a selfish anger that comes from me not getting what I want.
Righteous anger is something that should move us to reach out in love to stand against the injustice that we see. It is never an excuse to sin and hurt others physically or emotionally or spiritually. Selfish anger should never be an aspect of our lives.
James addresses anger in James 1:19-21
James 1:19
My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry.
We are to be quick to listen.
We are to be slow to speak.
We are to be slow to get angry.
We are to lead with our ears; and only after we have listened are we to speak; and only when absolutely necessary, when there is an injustice are we to follow with anger.
This is godly counsel in any situation.
It works in:
A Marriage Relationship
A Family Relationship
A Work Relationship
A Church Relation
Even a Relationship with a Stranger
When we become angry, which we will, we need to ask ourselves:
Is this righteous or selfish anger?
Have I really listened to what has been said or done?
How am I to respond so that God is honored?
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is being quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry.
James 1:20
For man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.
Anger does not bring about the righteousness that God desires.
In Romans 2:4 we are told that it is God’s kindness that leads people to repentance.
Our anger and condemnation will not change people.
Our anger and condemnation will not draw people to Jesus.
Our anger and condemnation will not build God’s kingdom.
God’s desire is to change people’s lives as they surrender to Jesus and establish a relationship with Him as Lord and Savior. That will build God’s kingdom.
Love, grace, and mercy are what will accomplish that, not anger.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is allowing God’s love to be the core of our character and our motivation for everything we do.
James 1:21
Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.
In Hebrews 12:15 we are told not to let any “root of bitterness” grow up in our lives.
James tells us to remove moral filth and evil. James knows these are the things that cause anger in us.
Jesus had neither moral filth nor evil in Him, and all of the anger that He had was righteous anger against injustice.
Instead of letting moral filth and evil lead us to anger, we are to let God’s Word lead us to salvation.
When we are living with moral fifth and evil in our lives and manifesting selfish anger in our lives we will never be humble. God says in 1 Peter 5:5 that He gives grace to the humble but opposes the proud.
We don’t want to be in opposition to God for two reasons:
We are always in the wrong when we oppose God
We will always lose when we oppose God
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is getting rid of anything that hinders God’s Spirit, using God’s Word, to grow us to be more like Jesus.
It is wrong for the color of a person’s skin to be used to judge the person. We are all created by God.
It is wrong for a person’s background to be used to judge the person. We all can be changed by God.
The answer to addressing these injustices is not anger, as we are seeing in our nation today.
The answer is not letting anger lead us to destroy lives, property, or reputations.
Sin motivated by anger is never the solution to sin done against us.
It is time for us as God’s people to:
Fast and Pray
Stand for God’s Truth in Love
Reach across racial, ethnic, and political barriers with God’s love and truth.
There is a huge deficit in leadership in our nation today and we as God’s people, the community of faith, needs to step into that void and lead as Jesus led.
Based on and in the love of Jesus, we are to:
Feed the poor
Defend the powerless
Shelter the homeless
Love the unlovable
We do this because that is what Jesus did. Jesus did it with love, not anger.
With the Love of Jesus, Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls
Joe
Sunday, July 10, 2016
God Is So We Can Be
God’s Word is awesome.
God’s Word is true with absolutely no error.
God’s Word is eternal.
God’s Word is directly from God.
The thing that I love most about God’s Word is how is reveals who God is and who we are.
In James 1:16-18 we are told three things about God and one thing about us as His children.
James 1:16
Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers.
The first thing James says is that we are not to let ourselves be deceived.
We are told in John 8:44 that Satan is a liar. One of Satan’s most powerful weapons is deceit. James warns us not to get trapped by Satan’s lies and deceit.
James 1:17a
Every good and perfect gift is from above coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights
First, all the good gifts we have come form God.
Everything we have comes from God.
Every physical blessing
Every emotional blessing
Every spiritual blessing
Comes from our heavenly Father
One of the characteristics that God desires in us as His people is gratitude. Gratitude is recognizing that all we have comes from God and expressing thanksgiving and praise to Him.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is recognizing that all of our blessings come from God and expressing thanksgiving to Him for them.
James 1:17b
Who does not change like shifting shadows.
Second, God does not change. He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
The big theological term for the fact that God doesn’t change is immutable.
Everything in life changes. I scroll through many of my Facebook contacts, many of whom were students I worked with as a youth pastor, who now that have children in high school, graduating from high school, and in college. They have changed.
The fact that everything in life changes mean we need something that does not change. We need a foundation that doesn’t move.
The foundation that doesn’t move is God.
Who God is in Genesis, He is in Revelation, He is now.
I can depend on God to always be who His Word says He is.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is trusting God completely because He is faithful and does not change.
James 1:18a
He chose to give us birth through the word of truth
Third, God chose to give us life through His Word.
God chose.
We didn’t make it happen.
God didn’t have to.
He chose to give us life.
God is the life-giver.
God gives us life in all its abundance.
Satan kills, steals, and destroys.
Our eternal life is given to us by the truth that is God’s Word.
The life that Jesus gives is a sovereign work of His grace. The life is abundant and eternal.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is receiving from God an abundant and eternal life by His grace.
James 1:18b
That we might be a kind of firstfruits of all He created.
In the Old Testament God commanded that His people were to bring Him the firstfruits of the field and flock. They were to bring the very best of all that God blessed them with.
James says that we are the firstfruits of all creation.
We are the best of all that God created so we are to present ourselves to Him.
In Ephesians 2:10 Paul calls us “God’s workmanship”. That word workmanship means masterpiece. We are God’s masterpiece made to do what pleases God.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is seeing that we are the firstfruits of all that God created and living based on that truth.
We are living in a time when as a culture we have turned our backs on Jesus because He is not politically correct.Jesus says that He is the one and only way to come to know God and experience His presence and love.
We as God’s people in America need to trust that God is:
The Provider of all we need physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
The Faithful One who will full all this promises to us.
The Savior who saves us and gives us a new birth into His kingdom.
The Creator who created us.
The Lord who we are to yield the authority to rule our lives to.
The old answers based on humanity’s resources and wisdom will not answer the questions we have today. They will not solve the problems are facing today.
God and His resources and His wisdom will solve what we as individuals are facing and what our nation is facing.
We have to choose to yield our individual lives as people and our corporate life as a nation over to the rule of Jesus.
With Jesus as Our Hope, Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls
Joe
God’s Word is true with absolutely no error.
God’s Word is eternal.
God’s Word is directly from God.
The thing that I love most about God’s Word is how is reveals who God is and who we are.
In James 1:16-18 we are told three things about God and one thing about us as His children.
James 1:16
Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers.
The first thing James says is that we are not to let ourselves be deceived.
We are told in John 8:44 that Satan is a liar. One of Satan’s most powerful weapons is deceit. James warns us not to get trapped by Satan’s lies and deceit.
James 1:17a
Every good and perfect gift is from above coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights
First, all the good gifts we have come form God.
Everything we have comes from God.
Every physical blessing
Every emotional blessing
Every spiritual blessing
Comes from our heavenly Father
One of the characteristics that God desires in us as His people is gratitude. Gratitude is recognizing that all we have comes from God and expressing thanksgiving and praise to Him.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is recognizing that all of our blessings come from God and expressing thanksgiving to Him for them.
James 1:17b
Who does not change like shifting shadows.
Second, God does not change. He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
The big theological term for the fact that God doesn’t change is immutable.
Everything in life changes. I scroll through many of my Facebook contacts, many of whom were students I worked with as a youth pastor, who now that have children in high school, graduating from high school, and in college. They have changed.
The fact that everything in life changes mean we need something that does not change. We need a foundation that doesn’t move.
The foundation that doesn’t move is God.
Who God is in Genesis, He is in Revelation, He is now.
I can depend on God to always be who His Word says He is.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is trusting God completely because He is faithful and does not change.
James 1:18a
He chose to give us birth through the word of truth
Third, God chose to give us life through His Word.
God chose.
We didn’t make it happen.
God didn’t have to.
He chose to give us life.
God is the life-giver.
God gives us life in all its abundance.
Satan kills, steals, and destroys.
Our eternal life is given to us by the truth that is God’s Word.
The life that Jesus gives is a sovereign work of His grace. The life is abundant and eternal.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is receiving from God an abundant and eternal life by His grace.
James 1:18b
That we might be a kind of firstfruits of all He created.
In the Old Testament God commanded that His people were to bring Him the firstfruits of the field and flock. They were to bring the very best of all that God blessed them with.
James says that we are the firstfruits of all creation.
We are the best of all that God created so we are to present ourselves to Him.
In Ephesians 2:10 Paul calls us “God’s workmanship”. That word workmanship means masterpiece. We are God’s masterpiece made to do what pleases God.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is seeing that we are the firstfruits of all that God created and living based on that truth.
We are living in a time when as a culture we have turned our backs on Jesus because He is not politically correct.Jesus says that He is the one and only way to come to know God and experience His presence and love.
We as God’s people in America need to trust that God is:
The Provider of all we need physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
The Faithful One who will full all this promises to us.
The Savior who saves us and gives us a new birth into His kingdom.
The Creator who created us.
The Lord who we are to yield the authority to rule our lives to.
The old answers based on humanity’s resources and wisdom will not answer the questions we have today. They will not solve the problems are facing today.
God and His resources and His wisdom will solve what we as individuals are facing and what our nation is facing.
We have to choose to yield our individual lives as people and our corporate life as a nation over to the rule of Jesus.
With Jesus as Our Hope, Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls
Joe
Sunday, July 3, 2016
It's Not God's Fault
I have it heard more times than I can count. I have also said it myself, “Why me, God?”
I have come to realize two things about that question.
One: It implies that everything revolves around me. That is not true. Life is not about me or what I want or how I think things should be.
The second thing that question implies is that God has done something to me that is evil. That is not true.
In James 1:13-15 James deals with the source of temptation and sin. He also deals with the result of temptation and sin.
First, James tells us where temptation does not come from.
James 1:13
When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone.”
Our temptation does not come from God. God does not tempt people to sin.
God cannot be tempted because He is perfect and does not sin.
Deuteronomy 32:4
The Rock, His work is perfect, for all His ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is He.
God is perfect, just, faithful, upright, with no iniquity.
1 Peter 1:22
He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in His mouth.
Jesus did not sin and He never spoke anything that was deceitful.
Since God is perfectly sinless, then there is absolutely no chance He would or could tempt anyone to sin.
Sin is rebellion against the authority of God. God never rebels against His own authority. Jesus never rebels against the Father’s authority since He and the Father are one. The Holy Spirit never rebels against the authority of the Father since He shares the mind and desires of the Father.
God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit are in complete unity; the Godhead is one.
We are never tempted to sin by God.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is knowing that God is holy and righteousness and He never tempts us to sin.
Second, we are tempted to sin by our own sinful desires.
James 1:14
But each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.
We are tempted when we allow the enemy, Satan, to convince us that our desire for us is better than God’s desire for us.
We are tempted when we allow the enemy, Satan, to convince us that our will is more important than God’s will.
Satan does that by drawing our focus away from God by baiting us with something that appeals to us and trapping us in our desires.
Sin originally came by Adam and Eve’s desire to do their thing and not God’s thing. Sin continues by us desiring to do our thing and not God’s thing.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is acknowledging that we are tempted by our own evil desires.
Third, when we don’t allow God to deal with our temptation, it leads to sin and sin leads to death.
James 1:15
Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full grown, gives birth to death.
The pattern is temptation ® sin ® death.
All temptation that is not turned over to God will lead to sin.
God makes us a promise that if we will turn our temptations over to Him, He will give us a way out of the temptation.
1 Corinthians 10:13
No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.
God will not allow the enemy to tempt us with no hope of resisting and overcoming the temptation.
God will always gives us a way out of the temptation which would not lead to sin.
Sin will always lead to death.
The death of
A Relationship
A Marriage
A Family
A Church
A Nation
A Life
Sin does not have to lead to sin. God gives us a solution.
1 John 1:9
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
If we admit our sin, God will
Forgive us our sins - remove the penalty of our sin
Purify us from all righteousness - remove the guilt of our sin
Death can be averted if we confess (agree with God) our sin and repent (change our direction) of our sin.
The fact that God gives us a way to overcome temptation is called grace.
The fact that God gives us a way to avoid the penalty and guilt of sin is called grace.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is receiving the grace of God that allows us to not have to endure the penalty and guilt of sin.
Because of Who God Is and What He Has Done, Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls.
Joe
I have come to realize two things about that question.
One: It implies that everything revolves around me. That is not true. Life is not about me or what I want or how I think things should be.
The second thing that question implies is that God has done something to me that is evil. That is not true.
In James 1:13-15 James deals with the source of temptation and sin. He also deals with the result of temptation and sin.
First, James tells us where temptation does not come from.
James 1:13
When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone.”
Our temptation does not come from God. God does not tempt people to sin.
God cannot be tempted because He is perfect and does not sin.
Deuteronomy 32:4
The Rock, His work is perfect, for all His ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is He.
God is perfect, just, faithful, upright, with no iniquity.
1 Peter 1:22
He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in His mouth.
Jesus did not sin and He never spoke anything that was deceitful.
Since God is perfectly sinless, then there is absolutely no chance He would or could tempt anyone to sin.
Sin is rebellion against the authority of God. God never rebels against His own authority. Jesus never rebels against the Father’s authority since He and the Father are one. The Holy Spirit never rebels against the authority of the Father since He shares the mind and desires of the Father.
God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit are in complete unity; the Godhead is one.
We are never tempted to sin by God.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is knowing that God is holy and righteousness and He never tempts us to sin.
Second, we are tempted to sin by our own sinful desires.
James 1:14
But each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.
We are tempted when we allow the enemy, Satan, to convince us that our desire for us is better than God’s desire for us.
We are tempted when we allow the enemy, Satan, to convince us that our will is more important than God’s will.
Satan does that by drawing our focus away from God by baiting us with something that appeals to us and trapping us in our desires.
Sin originally came by Adam and Eve’s desire to do their thing and not God’s thing. Sin continues by us desiring to do our thing and not God’s thing.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is acknowledging that we are tempted by our own evil desires.
Third, when we don’t allow God to deal with our temptation, it leads to sin and sin leads to death.
James 1:15
Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full grown, gives birth to death.
The pattern is temptation ® sin ® death.
All temptation that is not turned over to God will lead to sin.
God makes us a promise that if we will turn our temptations over to Him, He will give us a way out of the temptation.
1 Corinthians 10:13
No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.
God will not allow the enemy to tempt us with no hope of resisting and overcoming the temptation.
God will always gives us a way out of the temptation which would not lead to sin.
Sin will always lead to death.
The death of
A Relationship
A Marriage
A Family
A Church
A Nation
A Life
Sin does not have to lead to sin. God gives us a solution.
1 John 1:9
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
If we admit our sin, God will
Forgive us our sins - remove the penalty of our sin
Purify us from all righteousness - remove the guilt of our sin
Death can be averted if we confess (agree with God) our sin and repent (change our direction) of our sin.
The fact that God gives us a way to overcome temptation is called grace.
The fact that God gives us a way to avoid the penalty and guilt of sin is called grace.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is receiving the grace of God that allows us to not have to endure the penalty and guilt of sin.
Because of Who God Is and What He Has Done, Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls.
Joe
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