Live Like You’re Alive!
Live Like You’re Alive!
- Greg Waybright
- James 2:14-26
- Examining Our Ways
- 41 mins 46 secs
- Views: 1304
Pastor's Letter
Live Like You're Alive! - Week 3
Authentic faith in Jesus should change our lives. Few (if any) followers of Jesus have ever disagreed with that statement. Our problem is figuring out how faith in Jesus relates to that changed life:
Authentic faith in Jesus should change our lives. Few (if any) followers of Jesus have ever disagreed with that statement. Our problem is figuring out how faith in Jesus relates to that changed life:
• Do we have to change our lives first before God will accept us?
• Can I just say that I believe in Jesus and then live as I want—and still claim to be a Christian?
• If I see a person who says that he believes in Jesus but has no interest in obeying Jesus, should I question whether that person's faith is genuine?
• If authentic faith in Jesus should lead to a life of love, integrity, and good deeds, how does that happen?
Those issues were apparently on the minds of some of the flock under Pastor James of the 1st Church of Jerusalem when he wrote his New Testament letter. And, as usual, Pastor James did not mince words: "Just as the body without spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead" (James 2:26). This weekend, as we continue to evaluate our walks with God in the light of the cross and resurrection of Jesus, we will seek to learn from James' teaching.
Two centuries ago, speaking about this passage to a church made up of people who said that they believed in God but had little interest in having this belief change their lives, Soren Kierkegaard delivered a Sunday sermon using the parable of a church filled with ducks. All the churchgoing ducks dutifully entered the church and settled down comfortably into their church benches. After the hymns were sung and the offering received, the duck pastor went into the pulpit and delivered a motivational sermon: "Ducks! You have wings. With your wings, you can fly like eagles. Your life can be different, so soar into the sky. Use your wings!" It was a thrilling sermon, and all the ducks quacked with a hearty "Amen!" Then, they plopped down from their benches and waddled home.
Pastor James was convinced that we cannot genuinely believe in Jesus, receive the Holy Spirit, and still remain the same as we were before. We must fly! I think that we will find his words as relevant to us as they were when he wrote them. Faith in Jesus must lead to changed lives.
As the Apostle Paul wrote, "You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light! For the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness, and truth" (Ephesians 5:8–9).To His Glory,
Dr. Greg Waybright
Senior Pastor
Study Notes
Live Like You're Alive! - Week 3 - Study Notes
English
Live Like You're Alive!
James 2:14-26
Some say that today's text from James 2 comes across as being rather harsh. But, I want to show you that it is filled with good news. In fact, it has made me celebrate the grace of God that promises the Lord will produce a life of good works in me – and in you – when we trust Jesus.
So, let's begin today by remembering some of God's life-transforming news. When you confess your sins, repent of them, and place your faith in Jesus to save you, you will be "born again". Before you and I believed in Jesus, we may have believed there is a God. However, according to Jesus, we were not spiritually alive to God knowing him as "Abba, Father." So, one thing that is true of every follower of Jesus is that we are alive to God through faith in Jesus. This has five implications that I want you to consider:
• Before we come to Jesus, we are spiritually dead. Paul said in Eph 2, "You were all dead in your transgressions and sins in which you used to live... All of us followed our own desires so, like everyone else in the world, we were by our own nature deserving of God's wrath."
• Dead things cannot bring themselves to life. We needed someone who is spiritually alive to come and breathe life into our souls – someone who loves us in spite of our sins. And Paul said, also in Eph 2: "Because of his great love for us, God who is rich in mercy made us alive in Christ even when we were dead..."
• God's grace is necessary if we are to have any hope for being made alive to him. Eternal life is not something that we can earn for we are dead in sin. It is all a gift of God's grace (also from Eph 2).
• When we believe in Jesus, we are made alive to God and are given the Holy Spirit to live inside us. Eph 1:13-14: "When you believed (the message of truth, i.e., the gospel of Jesus), you were marked with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit from God guaranteeing our inheritance" – that is, the Holy Spirit is God's guarantee that what he has started in you will be completed. God will not only forgive the sins that killed your soul, he will also set you free from your sinfulness.
• When we come alive to God through faith in Jesus, our lives will change. Eph 2 again: "We are God's work of art created in Christ Jesus to do good works..." This is God's promise to you.
The way I have put this in my sermon title: You now must "live like you are alive!"
Pastor James and the Apostle Paul on Faith and Works
I think this good news in our text has been missed because people have wondered how James' words about faith and works fits with the Apostle Paul's message that faith without works saves us. In James' letter in the Bible, Pastor James was writing to his parishioners, to people who had already professed to have turned from their sins and placed their faith in Jesus. Therefore, they were saying that they were alive to God and indwelt by God's Spirit. If so, as I have said, clear evidence of their salvation should be that their lives should be growing in doing the good works that God calls us to do. James wrote firmly and passionately in 2:14-26 that his parishioners' faith should show in their changed lives. You may know that James' words about genuine faith and works have led to endless debates over the past 2,000 years. This is a debate that we cannot settle in a few moments on a Sunday morning. What was James saying when he said, "Faith without works is dead"?
• That we are saved by a mixture of faith in Jesus and our own works?
• That we aren't saved by works but that we must maintain our salvation by works?
• Or, that genuine faith in Jesus always results in good works?
I believe he meant the third of those, i.e., that when we place our faith in Jesus, we will be alive to God and filled by God's Spirit in such a way that we will begin to obey God – to live for him rather than for ourselves. When Paul taught in Ephesians that we are justified by faith alone, he meant that the only thing that makes us right with God is God's grace received through faith in Jesus Christ. But, Paul went on to say immediately that true faith in Jesus will lead to us doing the good works God has created us to do. When James said in James 2:24 that we are not justified by faith alone he meant that the saving faith which makes us right with God will not simply be an intellectual assent to the truth. True faith makes us alive – and that means that our lives should begin to do the good works God intends us to do.
Let me show you how we put this in our LAC Statement of Faith:
God's gospel calls us to Christ-like living and witness to the world. We believe that God's justifying grace must not be separated from His sanctifying power and purpose. God commands us to love Him supremely and others sacrificially, living out our faith with care for one another, compassion toward the poor, and justice for the oppressed. With God's Word, the Spirit's power, and fervent prayer in Christ's name, we are to combat the spiritual forces of evil. In obedience to Christ's commission, we are to make disciples among all people, always bearing witness to the gospel in word and deed.
However you understand how faith and works function in God's salvation process, what is clear is that if our lives continue to be marked by the sin that Jesus died to rescue us from, then that kind of faith is not real faith. It's dead. There's no life in it.
Pastor James Caring about His People – he loved them too much to leave them as they were.
If you are going to understand what James is writing about in James 2:14-26, you have to go back and remember what his church people had experienced with God. You can read all about it is Acts 2-6:
• They had experienced the unmistakable presence and the miraculous power of God's Spirit at Pentecost in Acts 2 when the mighty "Wind of God" had blown into their lives, empowering them to speak the languages of the people there who had come from all over the world. This had resulted in thousands of people from many nations and many social backgrounds coming to faith in Jesus and coming into their Jerusalem Church.
• Then, in Acts 4:32-37, they had experienced beautiful, Christ-centered community in which the rich and the poor worshipped and served together and helped one another. The result was that God's Word reports, "God's grace was so powerfully at work in them that there were no persons among them who remained in need."
• Then, in Acts 6, when problems arose related to all the related to ethnic and language diversity in the church, they had responded quickly and wonderfully to God's leading by changing their structures and redirecting their resources so that all people, would be welcomed and served.
But, time had passed. Difficult days had come starting with Acts 6:8. These parishioners had been driven out of Jerusalem and away from their home church by persecution. When James wrote this letter, many of his people were in smaller churches scattered into many cities and were facing trials of all kinds. So, the experiences of Acts 2-6 must have felt like they were long, long ago and in a place far, far away. And, their lives were no longer characterized by the love for one another and the courageous faith that had been present in Jerusalem.
But, as I read the letter, James loved his people. He loved them way too much to let them grow complacent about their lives with God. And, he knew those he was writing to had also once experienced a church alive to God, caring deeply for one another, and reaching out in witness and ministry to the world. This letter is a firm but loving letter calling them back to a living faith.
One thing is clear when you read James' letter: Many of his parishioners were no longer simply obeying God – even the most basic "royal law" Jesus had given, i.e., "You must live your neighbor as yourself." He wanted his people to get back to having their relationship with God change their lives. So, in today's passage, James wrote to help them to shake off their lethargy and fear. James loved his people too much to leave them as they were. And, from the evidence we have from church history, God used James' words to revive his people. I'm praying the same thing will happen in our church today.
What Specifically Was Going Wrong
James walked them through three problems:
Problem #1: The Disobedience to "the Royal Command" (2:14-17)
Going all the way back to 1:26-27, James had been saying that genuine religion will always be marked by those things that marked the life of Jesus and the character of God the Father – 1) staying away from worldliness (living God's way) and 2) caring for those in distress like orphans and widows. James' church people had drifted so far from this that they were not even welcoming the poor into the church. James said that a follower of Jesus becomes committed to all that God has commanded. And, James was especially concerned that his people were not even obeying the most basic part of God's command, what he called the royal command, "Love your neighbor as yourself."
He takes this up again in 2:15-16: Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, "Go in peace; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?
So, I ask you the same question: "What good is that kind of faith?" In our day, I can imagine some people answering, "Well it may not help anybody else but at least that kind of faith gives me eternal life and saves me from hell." James says, "Don't be so sure." (In case you wonder, this is the very same thing Paul said in Gal. 5:19-21). That kind of faith doesn't make you alive. It's dead faith!
In saying this, James was passing on what his half-brother Jesus had said in his Sermon on the Mount: Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven... There will be many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord"... but I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you."
Here's the point: Genuine faith in Jesus always leads to our lives being shaped by him, by his teaching, and by his example. If we're not doing his will, then we need to examine whether we are genuinely living for him or still living for ourselves.
Problem #2: The callousness that says, "I believe the right things so I'm fine as I am (2:18-19)."
I want to be very clear about this: Believing the right things is essential to our Christian lives. If we do not know God's Word, we will find it difficult to know God because God's special revelation of himself is in Scripture. And, if we do not learn God's Word, we will not know how God would have us to live. His instructions for how he designed us to live are found in Scripture. And I want to give testimony to you that the godliest people I have ever met have all been people committed to learning about God and his world through God's Word. However, I also know many Bible scholars who have no commitment to obeying what is in the Word.
Listen to what James wrote in 2:19: You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. So, according to the Bible, faith that does not lead to works is not only dead faith. It is also devils' faith. "Lord, save Lake Avenue Church from devils' faith." I say this because it is in this area that I often have the greatest concern for the evangelical church in America. Many people seem to love to go to church to be "fed" – to learn about God. That is good. However, when we go to church and open the Bible, we must be ready to obey what it says – for it is God's Word. It is a thrilling – but also a dangerous – thing to open the Bible. In it we will discover the way our Maker created us to live. But, we also see that he commands us to live in keeping with his commands. Even devils can know about God. Satan quoted Scripture to Jesus in the temptations. But he was not a Christian.
Here's James' point: Simply knowing the truth is not what Jesus died to bring about in us. He wants us to be transformed by the truth. He wants to live like we are alive!
Problem #3: The failure to live courageous, faith-filled lives (2:20-26).
In vv. 20-26, James illustrated his point – as any good preacher does. He spoke of two examples of living faith that pleased God. I want you to notice how different these two people are: the first was the great Jewish patriarch and spiritual leader Abraham and the second was a Gentile prostitute named Rahab. Do you see what he is doing here? James is pointing out that God welcomes and blesses people of active faith regardless of their background or status. They surely would have realized that Abraham would have been welcomed in their churches but not Rahab. But, God honors both because of their faith.
I am personally encouraged by this. It means that there is hope for a church leader – like a Ministry council member, a missionary and even a Sr. Pastor – to be a person of genuine faith. And it also means that if you have a background of addiction, incarceration, or failure, you too can be welcomed and blessed by God. It starts when you place your faith in Jesus as your savior – and, as I've been saying, this leads to a whole new life of trusting God and living for God everyday.
Both Abraham and Rahab were asked by God to do very difficult things – and they obeyed. God used Abraham and Rahab to do great things. When you and I leave church today, we will also find that there are huge opportunities to give witness to Jesus, to come alongside the poor, to pray for the sick... Look at every encounter you have this week as a divine appointment – and every appointment as an opportunity to further the work of God. This is how God has made us to live – and to find our lives. Live like you are alive.
Pastor Greg's Challenges Based on Pastor James' Challenges
I think we need to continue to hear James' words just as much as James' parishioners did. So, let me ask you some questions based on his powerful words.
1. Are you alive to God? Have you turned from your sins and placed your faith in Jesus Christ as your savior? You may pray something like this (though using your own words), "God, I have sensed for a long time that you are real but I have never known you. Now, I realize that my sins have kept me from you. I confess those sins to you now and ask you to forgive them. I now receive the Lord Jesus Christ as my savior. Come into my life and make me alive to you today."
2. Maybe you are a Christian but something is amiss in your life. Are there areas of your thoughts, attitudes, words, or actions that you know are in disobedience to God's commands? Most of us know that there is often a disconnection between what we say we believe and how we live. Pastor Jeff Liou sent me an article from Psychology Today discussing this. It was entitled, Are We Living a Lie? In it, Dr. Ben Fletcher provides lots of everyday examples of what he calls "incoherence":
• Carol loves watching cooking programs but lives on fast food.
• Jim has renewed his wedding vows and is sleeping with his secretary.
• Kathy tries to park as close as possible to the gym where she is going to an exercise class.
Fletcher calls the gulf between the two aspects of the self, incoherence. When a person is incoherent, what he says he believes or wants is at odds with what he does. Fletcher says that we can only have internal harmony and honest relationships when find coherence.
I agree with him. But, I am convinced that the only thing that can bring coherence to your life is a life shaped and directed by following Jesus. Faith in Jesus accompanied by the gift of the Holy Spirit begins to bring our divided lives together. So, confess your sins to God, ask him to forgive you, and then ask him through His Spirit to give you power to live as he has made you to live. Let me assure you of this: If you repent of your sins, God is ready to forgive you and to start with you anew.
3. Are you open to doing anything God calls you to do or have you grown comfortable in the life you live? Remember Abraham and Rahab. God asked them to do very, very hard things – and they obeyed. When they did, they found that their lives with God truly came to life. People often complain that, if there is a God, why doesn't he do something about all the pain and injustice in the world. And God says, "I have. Among the many things I have done is that I have created you and have placed you in a church like LAC! I command you to carry the good news of my forgiveness and new life through faith in Jesus to the world. I command you to love your neighbor as yourself. God and minister to those in distress and you will know my presence, see my power through you, and experience my joy!"
It's good news, isn't it? God has created you and me to do good works. God has created you and me and has placed us together in the Lake Avenue Church in the San Gabriel Valley to further his kingdom in this area. So, I say: Live like you are alive to God – for you are.
You were once darkness – but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of the light!
Ephesians 5:8
To His glory,
Dr. Greg Waybright
Senior Pastor
title="Chinese
神的福音的五個要點
有些人說雅各書2章給人的感覺很嚴厲。但是,我要給大家指出這段經文充滿了福音的信息。事實上,當我們信靠耶穌的時候,主將在我-也在你裡面結出美好功效的生活,叫我可以歌頌神的恩典。 在今天開始的時候,讓我們回憶一下從神而來的福音——關乎生命轉變的福音。當你認罪,悔改,憑著在耶穌裡的信心得救,你將會重生。在你我相信耶穌以前,我們可以相信有一位神。然而,根據耶穌,我們那時並不是在靈裡向神活著,並不認為祂是我們的“阿爸父”。因此,對於耶穌的跟隨者,有一件事是真的,就是我們現在是向神活著。有五個含義請你思考: • 在我們接受耶穌以前,我們在靈裡是死的。保羅在《以弗所書》2章說,“你們死在過犯罪惡之中……我們從前也都在他們中間,放縱肉體的私欲,隨著肉體和心中所喜好的去行,本為可怒之子,和別人一樣。” • 死去的東西靠自己不能重新獲得生命。我們需要某個人,他在靈裡是活的,可以重新讓我們的靈魂蘇醒——儘管我們有罪,但這個人愛我們。保羅在《以弗所書》2章還談到,“神既有豐富的憐憫,因他愛我們的大愛, 當我們死在過犯中的時候,便叫我們與基督一同活過來……” • 假如我們有任何向神還能活著的希望,神的恩典是必須的。永生不是靠我們自己能賺得的東西,因為我們已經死在罪中。這是神恩典下的一件禮物。(見《以弗所書》2章) • 當我們信耶穌,我們向神就活了,聖靈就住在我們裡面。《以弗所書》1:13-14中說,“你們既聽見真理的道,就是那叫你們得救的福音,也信了基督,既然信他,就受了所應許的聖靈為印記。 這聖靈是我們得基業的憑據。”——也就是說,聖靈是神給我們的保障。借著聖靈,神在你裡面已經開始的工作將會被完成。神不僅僅赦免那殺你靈魂的罪,祂也會讓你從罪中得釋放。 • 當我們通過在耶穌裡的信心向神而活的時候,我們的生命將會改變。《以弗所書》2章還說:“我們是神在基督裡創作的一件藝術作品……” 我把這些放到我的講道題目中就是:你現在必須“真正活著”
雅各牧師和使徒保羅有關信心和行為的描述
我想在我們經文中的福音被許多人忽略,到底雅各有關信心和行為的關係和使徒保羅所講我們的得救不是憑著我們的行為,乃是靠著信心是否一致。聖經中的《雅各書》,是雅各牧師寫給他的會友,寫給那些公開宣稱他們已經離開自己的罪並相信耶穌的人。也就是說,這些人向神是活的,並且有聖靈住在裡面。如果是這樣,就如我所說的,他們得救的證據是確鑿的,他們的生命就處在從世界的方式轉向順服神的過程中。雅各在2:14-26節中堅定而熱情地寫道,這些人的信心將顯現在他們被改變的生命之中。你可能知道,對雅各有關真信心、真行為的話,在過去的2000年中產生了無休止的爭論。我們不可能在主日早上這點兒時間裡解決這個爭論。當雅各說 “沒有行為的信心是死的”這句話的時候,他是什麼意思? • 因為在基督裡的信心和我們的行為這二者共存才讓我們得救的嗎? • 我們不是因行為得救,但我們必須用行為保持救恩嗎? • 或者,在耶穌裡的真信心導致了好行為? 我相信他的意思是上面的第三個,就是說,當我們把信心放在耶穌裡,我們將會向神而活,並且被神的靈的充滿,我們開始順服神——我們為神而活,不再為我們自己活著。當保羅在《以弗所書》中教導我們,我們是因信稱義,他的意思是,唯一可以讓我們和神在一起的,是通過在耶穌基督裡的信心所得到的恩典。但是,保羅馬上接著說,在耶穌裡的真信心會讓我們有好行為,就像神起初造我們讓我們做的。當雅各在2:24節中說,我們不單是因信心稱義的時候,他的意思是,讓我們與神同在的真信心不僅是在思想上贊同真理。真信心讓我們活著——這意味著我們的生命開始有神要我們做的好行為。 看LAC的信仰宣言是怎麼寫的:我們相信神公義的恩典不能與祂聖潔的大能和旨意分離。神命令我們我們要全然愛祂,並要捨己愛人,彼此顧念,活出信仰,同情貧窮者。我們要使萬人做主的門徒,常常用言語和行為為福音做見證。 在神的救恩過程中,信心和行為相互作用,不管你怎样理解,耶穌為拯救我們的罪而死,如果你的生活中仍然帶著罪的印記,如果我們不再順服神,這樣的信心就不是真實的信心。其中沒有生命。
雅各牧師對人的關懷-他愛他們之深,以致不能放任他們独行己路。 要了解雅各在2:14-26節中寫的話,必須回頭思想教會與神的經歷。 這些記載在使徒行傳2-6 : · 在使徒行傳2章五旬節,大能"神的風"吹進他們的生命,他們就被聖靈充滿,說起從世界各地來的人的語言,他們確鑿無疑經歷了神的显现,神圣灵奇妙的大能。這事件導致千人,不同名族,不同社會背景的人進到耶穌的信心中,成為耶路撒冷教會。 · 接著在使徒行傳4:32-37,他們經歷了一個美好的,以基督為中心的社區,不論富人還是窮人彼此扶持相助。結果是人聽見神的話語傳來:神的恩典豐豐富富在他們中間運行,以致沒有缺乏之人。 · 接著在使徒行傳6章,當有關種族和多種語言問題在教會中冒尖的時候,他們立即漂亮地回應神的帶領,用改變他們的結構和重組資源的方式來歡迎和服事這些人。 但是,時光流逝,從使徒行傳6:8節開始,艱難的日子出現。因為受逼迫,會友被趕出耶路撒冷和他們的母會。雅各寫這封信的時候,教會中的許多人面對各樣的試煉,散落在許多城市裡的小教會中。因此,使徒行傳2-6章中的經歷看起來好像遙遠的地方久遠的事。他們的生活不再以彼此相愛、在耶路撒冷那樣體現出勇敢的信心為特色。 但是我讀雅各書,雅各愛他的人民。他太愛他們了,以致不允許他們落在與神的生活自滿的境地中。他認識這些他寫信給他們的人,也曾經經歷向神活過來的教會,對人深厚的關愛,並且在世界各地拓展見證和事奉。這是一封堅定但愛心的信,呼召他們回到信心的生活中。 念雅各書有一件非常清楚的事是:許多會友不再只是簡單地順服神-甚至耶穌賜下最基本的"至尊"的律法等,比如,"你要愛你的鄰舍如同自己。"他要他的人民回到與神的關係中,改變他們的生活。因此,在今天的信息中,雅各寫信幫助他們,搖醒他們的昏睡、抖落他們的懼怕。雅各愛他的人民,以致不放任他們自足。在教會歷史的證據中我們看見神用雅各的話來復興他的子民。
具體是什麼偏離了軌道
雅各透過三個問題跟他們一起來過: 問題#1:不順服神"至尊的命令"(2:14-17) 回溯到1:26-27,雅各一直說真正的敬虔都是帶著耶穌的生命和天父神品格的印記-1) 遠離世俗( 活在神的道路中),而且2)顧念患難中的人,如孤兒寡母。雅各教會的人隨波逐流,遠離到一個地步甚至不再歡迎貧窮的人到教會中來。雅各說一個跟隨耶穌的人要委身神一切的命令。雅各特別擔心他的人民甚至不再遵行神的命令中最根本的部分,他叫之為至尊的命令,就是" 愛你們的鄰舍如同自己。" 他再次進一步在2:15-16節中說 : 若是弟兄或是姊妹,赤身露體,又缺了日用的飲食;你們中間有人對他們說:平平安安的去吧!願你們穿得暖,吃得飽;卻不給他們身體所需用的,這有什麼益處呢﹖ 所以,我問你們相同的問題: 這樣的信心有什麼益處? 在今天我們這個時代,我可以想像有些人會回答說: 這可能不會幫助任何人,但至少這樣的信心可以給我永生和救我脫離地獄。雅各說:不要如此確定。(倘若你想知道,保羅曾在加拉太書5.19-21說的正是同样的事)這樣的信心不會讓你有生命,那是個死的信心! 雅各这样说,他乃是接著他的兄弟耶穌在登山寶訓說過的話: "凡稱呼我'主阿,主阿'的人不能都進天國;惟獨遵行我天父旨意的人才能進去。當那日必有許多人對我說:'主阿,主阿'…我就明明的告訴他們說:我從來不認識你們。" 這是重點: 真正在基督裡的信心,總是帶領我們生活越來越像耶穌,藉著祂的教導和榜樣。如果我們沒有照著主的旨意做,就需要檢查我們是否為耶穌而活或我們仍然為自己而活。
問題#2 麻木不仁的人會說: "我相信正確的事,所以我很好(2.18-19)。" 我要明確說明這一點: 相信正確的事是基督徒生活不可缺少的,假如我們不知道神的話語,我們將會难以認識神,因為神在聖經中特殊的啟示他自己。假如我們不學習神的話語,我們將不知道神要我們如何生活。在聖經中,他指示我們祂是如何設計我們的生活的。 我要向你見證說,我所見過敬虔的人們全都是透過神的話語,委身去學習神和祂的話語。然而我也知道許多聖經的學者沒有委身去遵守聖經中的話語。 請聽雅各在2.19所寫: 你信神只有一位,你信的不錯;鬼魔也信,卻是戰驚。所以根據聖經,信心沒有功效不過只有死的信心,這也是魔鬼的信心。"主呀,求你拯救湖邊大道教會脫離魔鬼的信心,"我這樣說,是因為在這點上,我常常為美國的福音派教會甚為擔憂。許多人似乎熱衷於去教會"填鴨子"-學習有關神的事。這是好的,然而我們去教會,打開聖經,我們一定要預備去遵守經上所說的 --- 因為那是上帝的話語。 當我們打開聖經時,這是件令人興奮,但同時也是危險的事。在經文中我們將會發現,我們的創造者創造我們生活的方式,但是也發現祂命令我們過一個於祂的命令相吻合的生活方式。甚至魔鬼都能知道神,撒但在試探耶穌時引用經文,但牠不是一個基督徒。 這裡雅各指出: 耶穌為我們死,所帶給我們的生命,不只是叫我們單單知道真理。他要我們藉著真理改變,他要我們活出生命!
問題#3: 失去勇敢地活著並充滿信心的生活(2.20-26) 在經文20-26節雅各舉例說明他的要點 --- 正如任何好的傳道者所做的,他講到兩個例子,說明什麼是活潑的信心並且討神的喜悅。我要你注意這兩個人是何等的不同,第一個是伟大的猶太人的祖先和屬靈領袖亞伯拉罕,第二個是一個外邦妓女名叫喇合,你看見雅各在這裡說明甚麼嗎? 雅各在指出上帝歡迎和祝福有活潑信心的人們,不管他們的背景或身份。他們必會了解亞伯拉罕在他們的教會中一定會受歡迎,但是喇合不會,但因著他們的信心,上帝尊榮他們兩人。 我個人為此很受鼓勵,它意味著教會領袖有希望 ---- 像一個事工委員會成員、一個宣教士、甚至一個主任牧師 --- 做一個真正有信心的人。 同時也表示如果你有受毒癮、坐監或失敗的背景,你也被神歡迎和祝福,當你願意憑著信心接受耶穌為你的救主 --- 我一再地說,這將帶來一個每天信靠神和為神而活的嶄新生活。 神要求亞伯拉罕和喇合去做極為困難的事--他們就順從了。用保羅在羅馬書1中的話 ,他們的行為是信以至於順服。而且,雅各說,所有的真信仰都是如此。神使用亞伯拉罕和喇合成就大事。當你和我今天離開教會,我們也會發現有很多機會可以給見證耶穌,幫助窮人,為病人禱告……把這週你遇到的每一次邂逅看做是一個神聖的約定- 把每一個約定看做是推進神的工作的一個契機。神要我們這樣生活-- 並找到我們的生活。真正地活著。
基於雅各牧師的挑戰之上Greg牧師的挑戰
我認為我們需要繼續聆聽雅各牧師的話,就像當年雅各牧師的教區會友們所聽到的。所以讓我在他滿有能力的話語基礎上我問你幾個問題: 1)你到底在神裡面活著嗎?你有沒有從罪中回轉,將信心建立在耶穌基督作為你的救主之上?你可能這樣禱告(當然用你自己的話說,"神呀,我很久以前就覺得你是真實的,但是我從來不認識你。現在我認識到我的罪使我與你隔離。我現在向你承認我的罪,請求你的赦免。我現在接受耶穌作為我的救主。請進到我的生命中來,今天讓我向著你活過來。" 2)你可能是個基督徒,但是你的生活中有些是錯的。有哪些在你的思想、態度、言語、和行為上你知道是違背了神的命令的?大部份的人都清楚,我們口中說我們相信的和我們實際生活是斷開的。牧師Jeff Liou給我發來一篇今日心理學中的文章,裡面討論到這一點。文章題目是:我們生活在謊言中嗎?作者Ben Fletcher博士是英國赫特福德郡大學的心理學教授。他提出了很多日常生活中被他稱為不相一致的例子: •Carol喜歡看烹飪節目,但她以快餐為食。 •Jim更新了他的婚約,卻正在和他的秘書睡覺。 •Kathy盡量把車停得離健身房更近一點,去上那裡的健身課。 Fletcher教授將這種自身兩面性的鴻溝稱之為:不一致性。當一個人前後不一,他說他所信的、他所要的與他所行的相左。Fletcher 說只有當我們找到了一致性才能擁有內心的和諧和誠實的關係。 我同意他的看法。但是,我相信,只有跟隨耶穌,被耶穌重新塑造和導向的生命才有可能有一致的生活。 耶穌里的信仰伴隨著聖靈的恩賜開始把我們破碎的生活拼在一起。向神承認你的罪,求神的赦免,然後求神通過他的聖靈給你力量,過一個神造你要過的生活。我可以向你保證這點:如果你在罪中悔改,神要赦免你,與你從新來過。 3)你是否存開放的心來回應神的呼召你要做的事,還是你已經習慣了舒適的生活?記住亞伯拉罕和喇合。神呼召他們去行甚為艱難的事-他們順服了。他們這樣行的時候,就找到在神裡面真正活過來的生活。人常常抱怨,如果有一位上帝的存在,為什麼祂對世界上一切的不義和痛苦袖手旁觀。神說,"我已經行事,在我所行的大事中,就是我造了你,將你放在LAC這樣的教會中!我命令你將我赦免的福音,以及透過信心在耶穌裡面的新生活帶到世界上去。我命令你要愛鄰舍如同自己。服事患難中的人,你就必定认识我的同在,透過你看見我的大能,經歷我的喜樂!" 這是福音,不是嗎?神創造了你我來行善工。神創造了你和我並且把我們聚在聖蓋博山谷的湖邊大道教會里,在這個地方進一步擴展祂的國。所以,我說:真正向神活著-- 因為你已經活了過來。
從前你們是暗昧的,但如今在主裡面是光明的,行事為人就當像光明的子女!
以弗所書5:8
格雷格博士
主任牧师
Greg Waybright • Copyright 2014, Lake Avenue Church
Greg Waybright • Copyright 2014, Lake Avenue Church
Study Guide
The Good Life - Week 4 - Study Guide
the good life
James 3:13-18
- Read the text and then make two lists, one with all of the good qualities of heavenly wisdom and another of the bad qualities of non-heavenly wisdom. What stands out to you about the differences between these two lists?
- How do you go about determining "who is wise and understanding among" the Christians with whom you associate (3:13a)? Are your criteria the same as James' criteria (1:13b)? Why is this important?
- See v. 13 again. Humility was not usually valued in James' world (being viewed as weakness). How would you say that most people view humility today? How is it that wisdom comes from humility instead of the other way around?
- How and why would a person "harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in their hearts" (1:14a)? How does the latter half of vs. 14 help you answer this question?
- If you were asked to describe the world's "wisdom" in three words, what would you choose? How do your three words compare with James' in 1:15? Rephrase his three words in terms your friends would relate to.
- The seven qualities listed in v. 17 summarize how God's wisdom should flow into his children's lives. In your own words, give a brief, one-sentence definition for each. How are they consistent with 1:27–2:4?
- Which of the seven qualities would you say is most lacking, and which is the most evident among Christians in our world? In your own life? Why?
- If the qualities are musts in our lives, what might we do to nurture them? What is the main thing you hope to apply to your life about being wise from today's study?
2014 Study Series • Copyright © 2014, Lake Avenue Church