The General Epistles - Part 2

Greetings, everyone, and welcome to the study tonight. We want to begin with a brief review of what we said last time with regard to the Book of James. The Book of James is the meat of the word, and what did we say from Isaiah 28.9 was, what do you have to be in order to be taught knowledge? You have to be somebody want to fill in the blank, drawn from the breast and weaned from the milk. And what does that really mean? We found out in Hebrews chapter 5 what it means to be drawn from the breast and weaned from the milk so that you could really be taught the meat of the word. What does it say is the main thing.

Be able to discern between good and evil. Can we discern between good and evil? And also, we talked about justification, and we asked if anyone could really tell us all the steps in justification. First of all, there are two convicting agents of justification. The two convicting agents are the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. When the Holy Spirit and the Word of God are preached or printed, or somehow you get in touch with the truth, and the Spirit of God and the Word of God convicts you that you are a sinner and it lays within you a conviction. Conviction means a weight on your mind and being that you need to do something about what you have heard. And so, you then pursue how to be justified.

The Apostle Paul talked about in Romans chapter 10, faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. And we know that the Spirit of God, once again, along with the Word of God, are the convicting agents. He talks about in that chapter as well in chapter 10 that how can they hear without a preacher and how can he preach unless he be sent?

So, one of the great works of the church is to be sent so that the Word of God can go out to all nations. And you know that it says in Matthew 24 that the Word of God will be preached to all nations and then the end will come. In Revelation 14, it talks about the three angel message, the messages of the three angels, that the three angels, one of them goes forth from the all earth, urging people not to receive the mark of the beast and to turn to God.

So, God is going to make sure that everyone hears His Word. So, the general epistles contain the meat of the Word. And so, are we drawn from the breast, weaned from the milk? Can we discern good and evil?

Can we go on to perfection? One of the main themes of all the general epistles, this is going to perfection. We talked about last time that it is through these three things that the book of James and the general epistles can be broadly outlined. And we add a fourth with the book of Jude. James goes into depth with regard to faith.

So, a lot about faith in the book of James. And then the Apostle Peter is called the Apostle Hope. You remember that Christ told him before he ascended, he told him that he was going to be crucified. That was the way that he was going to die. And he lived his life, a faithful life, knowing that at the end of his life he would be crucified. And then John is the Apostle of Love, the Apostle John. And then Jude tells us to hang on, to remain faithful to the very end, and that we should cling to the doctrines that we have learned from the beginning.

So, James was a remarkable person now. Some, in fact, I used as a textbook, I'm going to hold this up so the camera might be able to pick it up, the Epistles, Letters of James and Peter, by William Barkley. And we also have another volume of the Letters of John and Jude by William Barkley. When I taught this course at the college, these were the two books we used as textbooks. They have wonderful historical information and a lot of quotes from Eusebius, who is called the Father of Church History, about the various characters of James and Peter and Jude and a lot of historical material.

There are some errors doctrinally in the books, but they are a good source for research and for study. We mentioned last time that James said that he was martyred. What happened was that he was on the pinnacle of the temple and they asked him to jump off.

He jumped off and that didn't kill him. And then he was stoned. And being stoned, he said the same things that Jesus said on the stake, and that is, Father have mercy on them, for they know not what they do. And James was so very faithful in all of his doings. He was the one that made the decision of the famous Acts Conference in 49 AD, where Paul and Barnabas went to Jerusalem because he had been urged to go there and send the question of circumcision.

From Abraham's days all the way to the time of the Apostle Paul, it was thought that you had to be circumcised in order to be justified. To be in the congregation of Israel, you had to be circumcised, even if you were not of Israelite descent. So after Paul and Peter and the people had much discussion, James made the decision that people did not have to be circumcised in order to be justified. That would be considered a work that is no longer necessary to be justified.

In Hebrews 9, you find the things that were done away with by the New Covenant. If you would, turn to Hebrews by chapter 9, and we'll briefly see the things that were done away. People often ask, well, what were the things that were done away with with the New Covenant? In Hebrews chapter 9 and verse 8, the Holy Spirit, this signifying that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest while the first tabernacle was standing, which was a figure of the time then present in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices that could not make them but did the service perfect as pertaining to the contents, in which it stood only in meats and drinks and different washings and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of Reformation. In the time of Reformation, Jesus Christ came on the scene. He issued or he instituted the symbols of the New Covenant at his last Passover where the wine represented his blood which was given for us, and the bread represented his body, a total and complete sacrifice.

So, once again, the general epistles in general are outlined by James, who focused on going on to perfection and faith. Peter, who also focused on going on to perfection and hope, and John, who focused on love and going on to perfection, and Jude, saying, be sure that you maintain the faith that was once delivered. And so, once again, I want to emphasize James. James emphasizes faith. Peter emphasizes hope. John emphasizes love. And Jude emphasizes returning to or holding on to the doctrines that you've learned. Another thing about perfection, I want to give you a brief outline of going on to perfection.

I'm going to list the scriptures which you can look up. I'm not going to take take the time to turn to these scriptures, so this will be part of your study for next time. Let patience have her perfect work. And we talked about that last time of patience having her perfect work. That is, you come to the point that you know, and you know that you know that God is going to deliver you. And oftentimes, He does not answer our prayers right away and may not answer our prayers until He comes again. But we know and know that we know that He will deliver us. And so, in James 1.4, that is talked about in James 5.7 and 11 about patience. He also talks about good comes from God. Every good and perfect work comes from God, which we'll read tonight. In James 1, verses 16 and 18. 16 through 18. Every good and perfect work comes from God.

Thirdly, He talks about rejoicing in trials. That is so difficult to do. We talked about that last time of rejoicing in trials of James 1, verses 1 through 4. Wisdom comes from God, which we talked about last time. If any man lack of wisdom, let him ask God who gives generally, who gives liberally. And upright is not nothing wavering, let not the man who wavers, or who is double-minded, think he'll receive anything. So, pray in faith. Also, wisdom, James talks about it in chapter 3, verses 13 through 18. James talks about in chapter 1 being a doer of the Word, lived by faith. And that is emphasized in James 1.19, James 2.26, and James 4.11 through 12. These now are keys to going on to perfection, which I want you to read.

Then He talks about being no respecter of persons. That is one of the chapter 2, which we will probably read tonight. He talks about humbling self in James 4, verses 1 through 10. He talked about praying to God in faith, nothing wavering, which we have mentioned already, James 1.5 through 7. He talked about praying in faith in James 5.13 through 18.

And He gave the example of Elijah. He talked about love, not the world, one of the things that are in the world. In James 4.2 through 4, He talks about fleeing evil, James 4.4 through 10. He talks about, judge not your brother, judge not your brother, James 4.10 through 12. He talks about, let everything be done through faith. That is in virtually every chapter. He talks about, swear not at all. And He includes not, with swearing, He includes not saying that you're going to do such and such on tomorrow, but say that if God wills, I'll do such and such tomorrow. He talks about judgment, mercy, and faith. So some of those are some of the key things that James talks about in his epistle. Now we have come to James 1.11 in our study, and we want to begin with verse 11, James 1 and verse 11.

For the sun has no sooner risen with the burning heat, but it withers the grass, and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion I bid perishes. So also shall the rich man fade away in his ways. Here James shows that God, once again, is on a risk picture of persons. He doesn't favor the rich over the poor, and he talks about this as well as we shall see in James 2. So one of the main themes of the whole Bible, and you'll find this also in Romans 2 verses 10 and 11, that God is not a respecter of persons. It is in he expects us not to be a respecter of persons. Also in verse 12 now, blessed is a man that endures temptation. Now there are two different words here for temptation, for when he is tried he shall receive the crown of life. And so he is really talking about trials here with the temptation. He allows us to be tested and tried in many different ways. Many, many different ways he allows us to be tested and to be tried. Here are some of the ways that he allows us to be tested and tried, demanding greater sacrifice. He even asked Abraham to sacrifice his own son, and Abraham willingly did that. He was tested by God and just as the knife was coming down he intervened and a ram was caught in the thicket.

He tests us and tries us by leading us in a more difficult way. When Israel came out of Egypt, he did not lead them through what was the shortest route or the logical way, as we would say, through the Philistine territory. He led them through the wilderness, which in one sense doesn't make sense. He gives human beings opportunity for choice.

As we will read in 1 Peter, judgment is now in the house of God. The choices that we make today will haunt us the rest of our life, so it will affect the rest of your life, whatever choice you make today. Solomon, first of all, chose to seek wisdom, but then in his later life, he departed from seeking wisdom. He tries us by proposing hard tasks, harder than we think we can do. For example, in feeding the multitude, he tested, first of all, Philip and asked him, how are we going to feed these? And Philip said, while we have these two little fishes and some bread, we can't possibly feed the multitudes. So Jesus then tested Philip. He knew what he was going to do. He was going to feed the multitude by multiplying the fish and the bread, and so he fed them. He tries us by permitting us to suffer, and sometimes he chastises every son that he loves. And it says in Hebrews that if you're without chastisement, then are you illegitimate and not sons? So it is a false assumption to say that if we have perfect faith, we wouldn't have problems or trials. We know in the Gospel of John in chapter 15 that it talks about that he prunes the vine so that it will bear more fruit. And so just because you are living, if it were possibly life, a perfect faith, then God expects us to go on to perfection. Christ expects to present to the Father a church without spot or blinish or any such thing as it says in Ephesians chapter 6. And so we are to strive for perfection. Matthew 548 says we should go on to perfection. Then we look at him. He allows time and chance to bring about a trial. Sometimes we're in the wrong place at the wrong time and something happens to us. He tries us by delaying an answer. And now we want to talk about what is the purpose of a trial. There are many, many purposes of a trial. I don't know if you can write fast enough, but you can write down key words. We're going to talk about the purpose of a trial. God says that he doesn't try man, but when he is tried, he's tried really so he can bring forth more fruit and that he can receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to them that love him.

So here's what is the purpose of a trial to cease from sinning. But they were... Let's turn to this verse. It is Hebrews chapter four and verse one. We're talking about why God tries us.

We're beginning to see... I hope you're beginning to see that the book of James is all about is all about... I said 1 Peter 1 Peter 4 and verse 1.

Oh, I'll wait for 1 Peter. I'll have to get there. I'll have to turn to 1 Peter 4 and 1. It seems like it's too willing, but I'll look at 4 and 1 verse.

End it with 1 Peter 4 and verse 1. For as much as Christ has suffered for us in the flesh, armed your chefs like lives with the same mind, for thee, he that has suffered in the flesh, has ceased from sin, that he should no longer live the rest of the time in the flesh, to the lust of men, but to the will of God. So yes, it is to allow us to learn to cease from sin. I keep saying Hebrews 1 Peter 4 and verses 1 through 4. He chastens and tries us so that we can learn obedience. Hebrews 5 verse 8. Christ learned obedience from his suffering. He suffered in the flesh and ceased from sin until he drew his last breath. While he was on the stage, he said, think not that I could call for a legion of angels, and they would come and deliver me at this instant. But he knew what he had agreed with the Father to do before the foundation of the world, that he had agreed to give up his glory and to take on the form of man. He gave up his glory, but not his divinity. He was perfectly divine, and he was perfectly human in this life. So he allows trials that we might learn obedience. He allows trials that we might learn to hate evil. Proverbs 8.13 says, the fear of eternal is to hate evil. He allows trials so that we can go on to maturity, to the fullness of Christ, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, to the age of maturity. That's in Ephesians 4 verses 13 through 15.

He tries us so that we can learn to trust God, learn to trust God, learn to call on God, as David did in Psalm 50 when he had sinned the great sin with Bathsheba, that we might learn obedience 119 through 71. We've already talked about learning obedience, and that we might turn to God in affliction and for his strength. Psalm 119 verse 92.

He allows us to be tried that we might learn the providence of God. What is the providence of God? In short, the providence of God is, he always has our best interest in heart, and that he does things the way that he does things so that we can be blessed in the long run. In Romans 8.28.8 it says, all things work for the good to those who are called according to his purpose.

God knows what is best for us, and he always has our best interest in heart. He has a fatherly interest in one of us. Perhaps you've heard the song, I Am a Child of God. You are a child of God.

This is brought out in 1 John chapter 3 in verses 1, 2, and 3. You are a child of God. Joseph realized it was God's intent to put him through trials for the best interest for Israel. In fact, when his brothers came to see him, he in essence said, brothers, you didn't put me in prison here. God did it. It was his providence, because he knew the famine was coming upon the land where Israel was dwelling, that is, Jacob and the twelve tribes, and he sent Joseph down to prepare the way for Israel to come down into Egypt and to be saved during the time of the famine. He allows trials so that we would develop patience and courage in the time of difficulty. In Psalm 27 verse 1, the whole Psalm verse Psalm 27 virtually talks about how God will deliver us if we have patience to wait on him, that no fear of what man can do to you, but trust in God that he will deliver and do season. Psalm 27 says, be a good cheater that God knows what you're going through, and in this time, he will deliver. He allows us to be tried so that we might develop patience, which we have already talked about. So we read that verse 12 again. Blessed is a man that endures trials for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life which the Lord had promised to them that love him, and we know that John is the apostle of love. Now we come to the word tempted. Let no man say that when he is tempted, it's a different word than the word tempted in verse 13. The word in verse 13 is opirostos. Let no man say when he is opirostos, tempted, I am tempted of God, for God cannot be tempted with evil. Now God allows trials, and he allows us to be tempted, but he does not tempt us. He does not tempt us. He does not allow us to be, for God cannot be tempted with evil. Neither can't see any man. So when we are tempted, what happens?

Once you draw a circle on your paper, draw a circle on your paper, and through the middle of that circle, I want you to draw a line. At the top of that circle, I want you to insert the words conscious mind. The conscious mind is the mind that we make decisions with, the conscious mind.

And then in that line at the bottom, I want you to say the unconscious mind. The unconscious mind. So we have the conscious mind, we have what is called the subconscious mind.

Now the thing about the subconscious mind is that certain provocations, certain settings, certain words, certain music, certain things can cause us to have the subconscious mind to admit into the conscious mind. And we have to deal with the subconscious mind.

Do you know what I'm talking about? Well, I'll use the example of a song.

Sometimes we have admitted into our mind from the subconscious mind a song that we can hardly get the words out of our mind. We keep repeating them or singing them all the day long as saints. So it is so important, even though you may negate a subconscious, is first of all a conscious experience. A conscious experience, you may forget it, but it's still stored in the subconscious. Back in the early 70s, a neurosurgeon from Toronto, Canada did a series of studies. And his name was Penfield, I believe. P-E-N-N-F-I-E-L-D, Penfield, or P-I-E-N, I'm not sure of how to spell his last name, but it's Penfield. He did a series of studies in which he put men, women under hypnosis, and he would simulate certain sections of the brain, the brain where memory is stored. And people would relive the experience that they had with the same words and the same colors that they had when they first experienced it. So, as I mentioned with the song, you may be going along one day and find yourself humming or you may say the words in a certain song. It was omitted from the subconscious mind to the conscious mind. So therefore, what the Bible says is to flee evil. Don't ever let it get in your mind in the first place. And that's the thing with, for example, one of the plagues of the world at this present time has to do with pornography. So we have these porno sites on the internet and we have porno books. Once those images are in your mind, it's hard to explain to them. So God says don't deal with that kind of thing.

What's everything? What's everything? What's everything? What's everything? What's everything? Are they lovely? What's everything? Are they good? Report if they're being a virtue? If they're being a praise, think on these things. That's from Philippians chapter 4, verses, no, I don't know exactly the verses, maybe 10 somewhere along in there, that you think on the things that are right and just and good. You can have things stored in your subconscious mind by your thoughts and your thinking. So we want to make sure that we put into our minds that which is right. Now we will see in succeeding verses about how sin enters in through the subconscious of the conscious mind. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above. So every good gift comes from God comes down from the Father of lights with whom is no variables. The Bible talks about God does not change what was true and the creation of humankind is true today. The cultures of people change and God changed from the Old Covenant to the New Covenant. The Old Covenant was to bring us to Christ so that we can understand that the things that are true and just and good are spiritual things. So as I said last time, the book of Hebrews compares contrasts the Old Covenant with the New Covenant showing the superiority of the New Covenant and the New Covenant is spiritual and the Old Covenant was of the flesh. The Old Covenant was a national covenant which the whole nation would keep the Feast of Atonement. Of course, we are instructed to keep the Feast of Atonement today in all of the holy days, but not in the same way that they kept it. We don't go into the holy and pulleys of the temple, but we do ask for forgiveness and we know that the very author of sin and death, Satan the Devil, will be bound on the day of Atonement.

But every good gift comes from God. And what happens? That God of His own will, of His own will, began He as with the Word of Truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of His creation. Wherefore, my beloved brother, that every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath, for the wrath of man works not the righteousness of God. Wherefore, lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word which is able to save your soul. Now, that word that says meekness, the word meekness is, in the Greek, the word meekness is prautes, prautes, pre-t-a-c-e, prautes. The prautes is not a word that can be accurately translated from Greek into English. What that word really means is with a perfectly teachable mind. So, with, you receive the word with prautes, with a perfectly teachable mind, the engrafted word which is able to save your souls. Remember, the two convicted agents are the Word of God and the Spirit of God. The member of Scripture that I gave you last time that I repeat so often is the Gospel of John, chapter 6, verse 6 to 3. It is the Spirit that quickens and makes alive the flesh, prophets, nothing. The words I speak cry speaking. The words I speak, they are Spirit and they are alive. So, the Word of God is equated with eternal life. So, where at four let every man be swift to hear, so to speak, so to wrath. For the wrath of man works not righteous, the righteousness of God. Wherefore lay apart all superfluity of naughtiness and received with meekness the engrafted word which is able to save your souls. Be doers of the Word and not hearers only. Now, this is a big part of when we get to chapter 2, you'll see a phrase that says we're justified by works or obedience and not faith alone.

On the day of Pentecost, the Apostle Peter was asked after he gave his sermon in Acts 2 verse 37. It says, Me and a brother and one shall we do. And in Acts 2.38 Peter responded and he said, Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Now, he didn't say repent, but we know repentance is included in it. And so, in order to have faith, you have to have obedience, or you have to have works as James calls it. Martin Luther called the epistle of James a book of strong. In fact, he called all of the general epistles and Revelation a books of straw. But the Catholic Church decided that James would go in the canon. Whether you know it or not, the Catholic Church made a lot of the decisions of which books would go in the canon. And by the canon, that means the books that are considered inspired that are in the 66 books that make up the Bible.

So, be you doers of the word and not hearers only for deceiving your own selves.

In James 2 also you'll find it says that the devils believe in tremble, but they do not do. They say but do not do. For if any man be a hearer, the word not a doer, he is life unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass. For he beholds himself and goes his way and straight foot away forgets what matter of man he is. We tend to think we look a lot better than we do when we look in the mirror, but looking in the mirror is not pleasant when you get old or older oftentimes. But then a lot of people say, well, you can tell by his face he's a person of character. Look at all those wrinkles and so on. But we know that we don't look the same when we are older. And we really don't look the same as when we look in the mirror.

For he beholds himself, goes his way straight foot away and forgets what matter of man he is. You see, when a man is tested, he's drawn away of his own lust. And when lust is conceived, lust brings forth sin. So anytime that which is in the subconscious mind, if it's embedded into the conscious mind, it can bring forth sin. And so when we look in the mirror, we see a natural face. Then we go away and we forget what matter of man is using the analogy of the mirror and the Word of God. So we look into the Word of God, and if we don't do the Word of God, and we don't believe God and do what he says, it is of no benefit. But who so looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues therein? So he continues into faith and not if we forget to hear about a doer of the Word, this man shall be blessed.

This man should be blessed in his doings. I see that I skipped some brushes there and I quoted them. But let's go back and read verse 12 again. We read it initially, Blessed is a man that endures temptation for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. And we talked about trials, how God tries you, and what he learned from trials. But I skipped this verse here. But every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lusts and entice. So something may be emitted into your conscious mind where you make a decision but you do not have to act on him, even though a person might have done things in the past that were unlawful, that he may have looked at pornography, he may have done this or that or the other, and it is emitted into his conscious mind. You cast it out through the Word and the Spirit of God. Then, when lust has conceived, you think about it, you mull it over, you finally decide to do it, go ahead and do it. Usually people justify what they do. There are three main responses to sin. One is to hide, justify, and blame. Hide, justify, and blame. People try to hide sin, they try to justify sin, and they try to blame others or other circumstances. I did it because, and you fill in the blank. Then, when lust has conceived, it brings forth sin, and sin, when it is finished, brings forth death. You remember Romans 6, 23. The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Do not err, my beloved brethren. Every good gift comes from God. It doesn't come from the evil world. It doesn't come necessarily from the subconscious.

But now, you do want to store in your mind the Word of God. And so, this is a scripture that, like if a person is, like they have a hang-up, I would call it a problem that might be called a psychological problem, a problem in which they are unable to shake, the Bible gives us clear instruction. And so, you heard that person at the first part, Tim Duncan, talked about, I remember you told us one time that we should, when we wake up, we should read Psalm 119.

Look at Psalm 119 in verse 10. Psalm 119 verse 10. Turn, please, to Psalm 119 in verse 10. With my whole heart have I sought you, let me now wonder from your commands. Your Word have I hid in my heart. That's what it's in my subconscious, and I can call it up at any time. You know, various verses from the Bible you can call up. The Word of God I've hid in my heart. That I might not sin against you. So, if an evil thing comes up into your conscious mind, then you can quote this scripture. There are many other scriptures that you quote. You can quote. Jude says that when Michael was contending for the body of Moses, when Michael was contending for the body of Moses, he didn't curse Satan or anything like that. He just said, the Lord rebuke you. So, those are very powerful words. The Lord rebuke you. And when you have the Word of God sword in your heart, you can rebuke evil.

So, God is the one that is to get us with the Word of Truth. That we should be a kind of first-roots of His creation. God is the one who creates in us perfect, holy, righteous character. That is created as we obey. That of becoming a new creation is somewhat like conversion. It occurs over a period of time. I would like for you now to turn to Romans chapter 5, and you'll see a progression here in Romans chapter 5 with regard to the conscious and the subconscious mind and how evil can be defeated and how you can deal with trials in Romans chapter 5. And we'll begin in verse 3, similar to James, where he says, and we glory in trials. Romans chapter 5 and verse 3. Romans chapter 5 and verse 3. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations. Also knowing that the tribulation works patience and patience experience and experience hope.

And hope makes us not ashamed because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts, but by the Holy Spirit, which is given unto us. So it is through the work of God.

God is powerful through His Holy Spirit, but God is spirited, and He does worship our through His Spirit. That is something we really need to understand. You look at Zechariah chapter 4. Zechariah chapter 4 in the minor prophets. Zechariah chapter 4.

God does works of power through His Spirit. Zechariah chapter 4 verse 6. Then He answered and spoke unto me, saying, This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts. So it is the Spirit of God. The words I speak, they are Spirit and they are true. So if you want protection against sin, then you store the word of God in your heart. Hide it in your heart, in your subconscious. It's not always there in your mind, but you can call it up at any time the very words of life.

Now I want to pick it up again in verse 19. Verse 19. Wherefore my beloved brethren, let every man be swept to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath, for the wrath of man works not righteousness of God. And one of the requirements of being an elder or a deacon or a deaconess is that you're not quick to your anger, that you don't fly off the handle easily. Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity. So anything that has to do with adultery, anything that has to do with fornication, anything that has to do with fornication, anything that has to do with pornography.

So lay aside filthiness, superfluity, naughtiness, receive with meekness, perfectly teachable mind, the undrafted word which is able to save your souls. But be you doers of the word, not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any man be a hearer of the word, not a doer, then he is like a man beholding his natural face in a glass where he beholds himself and goes his way in straightway for guess what manner of man he was. And that is one of the reasons you have to be a doer of the word. That James says you can't be justified just by works or obedience. You have to repent and have faith in the sacrifice of Christ. The sacrifice of Christ is the only way that sin can be forgiven. But who so looks into the perfect law of liberty? We talked about hiding the word and the law in your heart and continues therein, he being not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the word, this man shall be blessed in his deeds. Let everything be done in faith. If any man among you seem to be religious and bridles not his tongue, he talks more about bridling the tongue into some pistol as well. But deceives his own heart, this man's religion is vain. Often times people who are not drunk from the breast or waned from the milk, they really can't discern good from evil, but they're trying to figure out who is the beast and what is the mark of the beast and exactly the date that Christ is going to return are the people who are not ready for strong meat. Rather than you have heard strong meat tonight, pure religion and undefiled before God, if you want to be holy, pious, and the Father, is this. Visit the Fatherless and widows in their affliction and to keep yourself or himself unspotted from the world. And, of course, that is a big task.

All of these. Visit the Fatherless, the widows, in their affliction, and to remain unspotted from the world. Well, we didn't get to chapter 2, but we covered a lot of territory tonight and you have a lot to do with regard to looking up those scriptures and reading them about keys to going on to perfection. So now we want to open it up for you to ask any question or give any comment that you might have. We really appreciate you tuning in.

We had 28 last time. We had 20 this time. We want to have at least 20 each time. So anybody have any question or comment? Dr. Ward, you've basically given us tonight the exact scriptures that Jesus Christ himself used to attain perfection while he was a human on earth. And when evil thoughts came into his mind, he immediately rejected them without thinking about them, thus staying perfect. Is that safe to say that this is a road map to perfection that Christ used? Yeah, he did not mull it over. He did not...

it says how does sin come about when he is enticed and tempted by lust. So Jesus Christ was not enticed. He didn't mull it over. He just rejected it outright through casting it away. If he saw anything that was ungodly, he didn't mull it over to say, I'm going to do this or that. That would bring forth sin. He cast it out immediately. So in that way, he was tempted by every sin that mankind can come up with without ever sinning because he rejected it. Right, right. It says he was tempted in all points as we are. This is in Hebrews chapter 4. That he is tempted in all points as we are tempted yet without sin.

So if something evil comes into your mind, you cast it out immediately. That is not necessarily a sin. It's whether or not you... It says when lust is conceived, it brings forth sin and sin brings forth death.

And disobedience leads to death. And then we turn to Psalm 119 verse 11. It says, Your word has a head of my heart that I may not sin against you.

Now David has some very grievous sins. He was responsible for the murder of Bathsheba's husband. And he numbered Israel against what God has said. He numbered Israel. That showed a lack of faith, trust, and confidence in God.

But yeah... I usually think it was a sin just to... If an idea or something evil came into my mind, I thought, well, I just sinned because it came into my mind. But that's the true process. It comes in, we reject it. That's how we, I guess, are tried and... Yeah, you don't act on it. Maybe we should read that scripture, turn to Hebrews 4.

Sometimes, you know, I have a thing that I do or say, and I say, that may have been sin, or that was sin. Please forgive me.

Sometimes I know it is sin. You can sin, you know, with your mind, with your thoughts and the story of good things. Like I read, I quoted that scripture, whatsoever things, are lovely, just, good, pure. Think of these things. Against such, there is no law. In Hebrews chapter 4, I believe it is.

Earlier, you said 1 Peter 4. No, that is...

That is the...

One of the purposes that God allows trials is that we learn not to sin through a trial.

It's not what I'm looking for right now. Where's the one that says he was tempted in all points and without sin? Hello out there.

Okay, let's see. Are you looking for Hebrews 4 verse 15?

Yes. I thought it was chapter 4. Yeah, I got it marked.

Yeah. Well, we have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feelings of our infernities, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. It came... if you want to frame it in this way, it came into his mind, but he rejected it outright immediately and did not sin. Thank you. So, you know, you have that line I was talking about in your... You have the subconscious, you have the conscious.

Probably...

I don't know which is responsible for the most sin, whether it's the conscious mind or the subconscious mind, but either one needs to be cast away. They should be cast away. Your word, have I? Yet in my heart that I might not sin in this year.

Any other question or comment?

I think the example of Jesus Christ, which is obviously the goal that we're all striving for, shows that, you know, you take God's word and you internalize it, and it becomes more than just what you know, it becomes who and what you are, becomes a part of your character. So, you know, Christ did not, you know, commit various sins, number one, because it was against God's law, but also number two, it was not in his character to hate or to have murder in his heart or to have lust in his heart. And for us, that's the big challenge we face. But again, it's the word of God and the Spirit of God that brings that conviction that our character becomes such that we reject sin.

Right. You know, we are to become what we say we are. We say we are Christians, we are Christ's life. Now, another thing that Christ did is he condemned the law, sin in the flesh. How did he condemn sin in the flesh? He perfectly kept the law. This is Romans chapter 8 verse 3. But what the law could not do in that it was we through the flesh, God sending his own son in the lightness of sin from flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh. So Jesus Christ came in the flesh, lived as a man, tempted as always and always that we are tempted, that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. So if you walk after the Spirit, you don't sin.

And your word have I hid in my heart that I may not sin. And also John 663, the words I speak, they are spirit and are law.

Any other question or comment? I appreciate your questions and comments, unless you know that you're listening, that you are trying to understand, and that you do understand. Okay, the next one is two weeks from tonight. I don't know the exact date. What's today?

Today the fifth, so five and 14 would be 19. 19. Yeah, Wednesday two weeks, two weeks from tonight. We'll see you then. Good night, everyone. Thank you for attending.