“…ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. .. Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.” (James 4:13-17)
It is a good practice in all things to say “if the Lord will, we will do this or that” as our life is a vapor. It is important to remember life is short and to see if what you’re choosing and doing counts in your eternal record. One way of doing this is how Jesus said that He says nothing and does nothing except what our Father has given Him to do, and He will & can only do His will since He is the spotless lamb and the King of Righteousness who cannot violate even one of His commands.
Many say they’re seeking to do God’s will. There is only one test as to what His will is, which is His eternal law. The Holy Spirit can never lead someone against God’s law, only our own flesh and the world can lead us on a destructive path outside of God’s will. His will is His WORD, AKA “the Bible”. If you want to know His will in your life, you’ll find it in the pages of His word. The complete revealed will to His people is His word or law. In all cases Jesus kept God’s law perfectly, He lived the word better than any other. The Sabbath was made for healing which is why He did 7 healings on the Sabbath days.
Jesus spoke the truth saying the Pharisees do REJECT the law of Moses by their man-made traditions (Mark 7:7-9).
Many churches today also fall into this rejection of God’s WORD through keeping their own unbliblical man-made traditions. We know God had already promised that “..they who reject God’s law, God will in return reject them…”and as a result “forget our children”. (Hosea 4:6)
Our daily prayer is that we and others do God’s will in the earth, the same way that it is perfectly being done by the angels in heaven, as we have been told to pray, that His Kingdom does come to earth:
Matt 6:10 “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, [as it is] in heaven.” (KJV)
James Chapter 1 verse 22 again gives us the biblical guidance of abiding in Christ: “be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only…”
This of course is the continual theme as Christ is called the word (John 1:1 &14), the way we know we have a relationship with Christ is by how much we are doing His Word. He was the word that spoke the heavens and earth into existence, He hasn’t changed the way then sun sets since His word spoke it just as the other parts of His word hasn’t.
1John Chapter 2 verse 4 reiterates this principal, which we hope is beginning to give clarity as not to seek our own will in anything but God’s will we must be open to exactly what His word teaches:
“He that saith I know Him and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in Him.” For those who think faith (or faithing as Dr. Gene Scott puts it) doesn’t have to include obedience are far off from His Grace and Freedom working in their lives.
If you believe in the word you will respond or obey it, am I right? of course! Romans 10:17 says “Faith comes by hearing the word”. So we know how faith comes. “Faith without works is dead” (James 2:17).
We must return to biblical definitions of words, as we “live by every word”. The definition of sin is violation of God’s law (1John 3:4). If the spirit sets you free from sin, then the spirit will empower you to obey the law of God of course.
As Jesus said we must do it in love for God, not tradition. It has always been the heart condition He is after, which is why the New Testament is those same laws being written on our hearts (as per Heb 8:8 and Jer 31:31).
The Holy Spirit will never make you violate God’s law. Only the wrong spirit or old thinking of our life before Christ or without His mind operating in us gives us such thoughts. All things become new when we come to Christ.
We all grow daily in grace and knowledge and “a good understanding have all they that keep His commandments”. (Psalms 111:10) In John 8:31-32 Christ said “…they who continue in His word will know the truth and the truth and …will set you free.” Not they who disobey or reject it. He said “if you don’t believe Moses’ word ye CANNOT hear me or know me” (John 5:46 & Luke 16:31).
Grace is the Greek word Charisma where we get the word Charismatic or a very capable and gifted person. This word Charisma is also translated as some of the manifestations of the Holy Spirit, such as when you through the power of God lay hand on someone for healing, this is called the charisma or gift of healing. Romans 1:15 says “Grace(charisma) is for obedience”. A good example of biblical grace is “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.” (Philipians 2:13) This isn’t our own righteousness when He does it. The Holy Spirit fills us both to want to do His will and to do it.
Many like to quote “we’re saved by by grace” and not finish the sentence which continues “..through faith unto GOOD WORKS”. When the last part is left out people are highly misled to move on with the complete opposite idea the bible conveyed in that passage. It wants you to realize the Blood of Jesus Christ permanently saved us by His own dear grace, but for what? To do His good works!
It is not the good works that save but we’re saved to do them, people have just had it backwards because no amount of Good Works can earn your permanent spiritual salvation. It is only gained by accepting Jesus Christ’s penalty paid through His blood.
When our King Jesus the Christ was asked what is the greatest commandment He first said “Hear O Israel” quoted from Deuteronomy 6:4,
Mar 12:29 “And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:”
That word HEAR in this passage is the word SHAMA (the word for responding & obeying in Hebrew). As we know faith comes by “HEARING” again we see we get faith by obeying what we heard. As we continue doing His will which is His word law.
So as we know His will and His word are one and the same it is up to us to now choose. Our old flesh nature wont want to do the law, only the spiritual nature will. “For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.” (Romans 7:22-23 and “the law is spiritual” (Romans 7:14). Now Choose “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:”
Recommended songs:
“God Make Me Like You”
“In Him We Live”
“All He Wants is You”
“I Just Want To Praise You”
Rev. Stephen Knott is a writer for the Christ’s Assembly Newsletter
http://christsassembly.com