The General Epistles - Part 3

Well, good evening again, everyone. We are at James chapter 2. Before we go to James 2, I want us to quickly review, and if you want to, you can try to write down what we have learned from chapter 1. We have learned this and quite a bit more, but I just sort of check up a test like I want to go over this. About James himself, we learned that James is the author of the epistle, the general epistle, titled James. We learned that it was written somewhere around 45 a.d.

We learned the audience that it was written to was the Jews, the scattered abroad Christian Jews. The language in James 1 and 2, and the whole book, for that matter, shows very much that he is writing to Christians. We learned that James was the Lord's half-brother. We learned that he was a Jew, of course. It is evident that our Lord sprang out of Judah. That's Hebrews 7.14. We learned that he was the resident pastor of Jerusalem. We learned from 1 Peter 1, Galatians 1.19, that he was probably an apostle. Barnes, the great commentator, Barnes says he was an apostle.

When Paul made the journey up to Jerusalem to confirm his calling and apostleship and all that, he went to Peter and he went to James and none other. That's in 1 Peter 1, 1 Peter chapter 1, verses 18 and 19. So we learned many things about James, that he was a very righteous man, a very just man. They said his knees were calloused for spending so much time in prayer. James was martyred by those who opposed his doctrine that he was preaching Jesus Christ. We learned that we should rejoice in trials.

We learned to have patience. Patience doesn't mean we don't do anything. We do everything that we can. But yet, we wait patiently for God's answer because God has said that he will deliver us and we believe that he will deliver us. And so we let patience have his perfect work, knowing that God will deliver us. We learn to, if we lack wisdom, to pray for wisdom, to waver not when we are praying for wisdom, because God does not hear the prayers of a double-minded person. We learned that let the man of low degree rejoice, and we learned that the rich man should rejoice in being made low.

I think I said that backwards. We learned that the low man, or the poor man, should rejoice in being made high, or being lifted up. And we learned that the rich man should rejoice in being made low, and to realize that this life is very short. It's like a vapor that fades away, or the grass that comes out when the sun hits it, it wilts away. We learned to rejoice in trials. The goal is a crown of life, which God will give to the righteous, as it says in James 1.

God does not tempt us. Sin occurs when we are drawn away of our own lust, and when we mull it over, lust is conceived, and we act on it, it brings forth sin. We drew a circle and put a line through a diameter through the middle of it, saying that up above was the conscious mind, and below was the subconscious mind, and that which is in the subconscious mind could be admitted into the conscious mind at any time. So therefore, we should keep our minds as clean, as pure as we can, and we quoted from Philippians 4 verses 7, 8, and 9 in regards to that.

We learned that every good gift comes from God, that He is the author of the good gifts. Every good and perfect gift comes from the Father above, with whom there is no variables, no shadow returning. We learned that the good gift comes from Him, as I said, and that we are the firstfruits. We are the firstfruits of His calling in this age. We learned that we are to be slow to speak and slow to anger, and really should consider before we speak.

We learned that we should receive the word with a perfectly teachable heart, prayutes, a word that is difficult to translate into English. I don't know if I made this distinction clear. There are two kinds of knowledge. Intellectual assent to the truth. The devil believes and trembles, but he won't obey. And then there is the spiritual knowledge, which is true and just. We learned that we must be doers of the word. We learned that we must bridle our tongue. We learned that the law of God frees us and sets us free.

It is called a perfect law of liberty. We learned that pure religion and undefiled is to visit the widows and those that cannot help themselves. And we learned that we should, of course, flee from the evil that is in the world. And we must overcome everything that detracts us. The lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life.

That's in John 2 verses 10 and 11. Lust of the flesh, pride of life, and the lust of the flesh, the pride of life, and the lust of the spirit. I'm sorry, the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life from John 2 verses 10 and 11. So we have any questions or comments about that? We learned more, but I thought I would quickly review what we did learn there, and I hope that you did learn those things.

So we have come to James chapter 1. So let's go to James chapter 1 and go from there. In James chapter 1, I will have to get there myself.

In James chapter 1, James, I mean is chapter 2, I'm sorry, we're in chapter 2. James chapter 2, my brethren, see he calls it brother. Now, that term brethren is also used for his physical brothers and sisters, and they were converted before Jesus was crucified. My brethren, and this is worded in an awkward word, way, and this word have can be translated in a different way. This word have is CO, used in a certain tense only to hold, to use various applications, literally or figuratively, direct or remote, such as in possession, ability, relation, or condition, be able, be possessed, and so on. It has other connotations of what he is trying to say here and what it is saying. My brethren, you don't have the faith where Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of Glory, with respect of persons. Or, we read it just like it is for the right emphasis, my brethren have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ with our Lord Jesus Christ. You see the Lord of Glories in parenthesis, the Lord of Glory with respect of persons. It's saying you don't supposed to have respect of persons. Of all the things that God hates, he hates respect of persons. From the Old Testament throughout the New Testament, he says time after time there were not to have respect of persons. Romans 1, Romans 1, 11 is the scripture that I like to go to quite often, do not have respect of persons. God does not have respect of persons. We cannot imagine the society that the people of that age lived in. It was a structured society, a class society, with the upper class ruling in a very dictatorial manner in which the poor people were oftentimes beaten, they were ordered around, they had to pay respect in every sense of the word. And so from Genesis to Revelation, we're told not to have respect of persons.

In verse 2 now, for if there come unto you, assembly unto your assembly, a man with a gold ring in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment. So he's not dressed very well. He looks like he has come from the homeless. He looks like one of the beggars on the street. And you have respect to him that wears the gay clothing. And of course, people with money tend to dress in style and in fashion. There is a movement among some religious groups, including the largest church here in Tyler called Green Acres Baptists, in which they take pride in coming as they are. And some of the other churches have taken that up. They have grown tremendously, and they preach a pure Protestant doctrine of immortal soul going to heaven or hell upon death and ranting and raving about that. So if there come a person with really the fashion of the day clothing and say unto him, sit you here in a good place and say to the poor, stand you there or sit here under my footstool. Of course, it would be difficult to get under a footstool, but he's showing that the poor person is given a low place whereof to stand. Are then you not partial in yourselves and are to become judges of evil thoughts? We're told not to think evil of our brothers. Who knows who may come into our fellowship and be sincere seeking the truth? Of course, we have now in our society, we have a guns-toting society, and we have to take every precaution we possibly can to make the brethren safe and ourselves safe at church services, and we should all, everyone should have a plan. What will you do if someone comes through and starts shooting the congregation? Of course, most people now have taken to heart the various lectures that have been given on taking the necessary precautions in case someone does come through and slip in some way or the other. Harken, my beloved brethren. In other words, harken means to really listen to harken, my beloved brethren. Once again, this term brethren has not God chosen the poor of this world, rich in faith. And time after time in the Gospels, when Jesus is speaking, and also in the Proverbs in various places in the Old Testament, you will find that God is so concerned about taking care of the poor and those who are down and out, and heirs of the kingdom. They are heirs of the kingdom. God is not a respecter of persons. The person who doesn't dress as well as you do is just as much a candidate for the kingdom of God as you are. I call candidate, of course, there's no election to be held. His calling is just as important as your calling, and God is not willing that any should perish, whether they're rich or poor. And you know what it says? Jesus said to the apostles that it is more difficult for a camel to go through than I ever need him. And some have said that really means it's more difficult for a camel to go through one of the gates in the eye of a needle. We know to go through the eye of a needle is impossible, but a camel, I guess, hunting over, could go through one of the gates in the old city of Jerusalem. The gates in the old city were made with arches. A lot of the gates, so-called gates, did not have arches, did not have gates on them. It was just an arch. I'd been to the old city and walked through the old city two or three times and found it to be very sobering to do so.

So, heirs of the kingdom. They are just as much an heir of the kingdom as you are, which he has promised to them that love him. And of course, you have to love God. And if you love me, what did Jesus say with regard? If you love me, you will keep my commandments. That's in John 15, and I don't remember exact verse, but in John 15, if you love me, and hereby you'll know that you love one another. If you love one another, you know that you are mighty disciples. In verse 6, But you have despised the poor. Now, when the commentator of ours says that the Jews like to make over by making over the poor, that is, to treat them in a very hostile way in a dictatorial manner. And this says very clearly, but you have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you? The rich men were those who livid the taxes. The rich man who are those who control the wealth and so on. It goes, the rich men are those who, in one sense, they had to depend on for their livelihood because most of them worked for the rich man, and some were indentured slaves, and draw you before the judgment seats. So they were quick to bring the poor before the judgment seats, and the judges were crooked and oftentimes rendered unfair judgments. Do not they blaspheme that worthy name, that worthy name, that name, the name of Jesus Christ, and the name of God? Do not they blaspheme that worthy name? Anoma is the Greek word.

They blaspheme literally or figuratively that name of character, that name of call, or that name of authority. Of course, God is the one that has ultimate authority. Any authority that is given to man is loud by God, but it doesn't necessarily mean that He gives authority to everybody to treat people in a dictatorial manner. At the present time, Christians are being killed in Nigeria. They come into a congregation with their guns and just in cold blood kill people. So, and even the government, President Trump, is talking about helping Nigeria rescue the Christians. So, once again, verse 7, do they blaspheme that worthy name by the which you are called? And that name is Christian. They were called first Christians at Antioch and then it spread to other parts of the Mediterranean world. They were first called Christians in Antioch and it spread. And verse 8, if you fulfilled the royal law, and James called, do unto others as you would have others do unto you, the royal law. It is stated time after time that we are to obey the royal law, not in the exact words as here, but if the implications throughout Scripture is that we are to treat others as we would like to be treated ourselves. If you fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. You do well. That is a great commandment and very difficult to do. Do you know your next door neighbor? It is very difficult in today's world the way people have to live jammed up in apartment buildings or in subdivisions. They even know a name of their, some of their near neighbors. The word the name here, though, is Christian, much greater than any of our names. If you fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. You do well. I wonder how well we're doing. I find myself, at times, I think I should do more with my neighbor. The word neighbor means literally the one who is nine, the nearest one to you. The nearest one to you is your neighbor, the nine one. Verse nine, but if you have respect to persons, you commit sin and are convinced of the law and transgressors. One of the things that James brings out so dramatically that others, writers, do not bring out in as dramatic a way is as if you break one tenet of the law, you're guilty of all. Now, that might be an astounding statement, but he in as much as says so as we shall see. For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend him one point, he is guilty of all.

So, none of us can say, well, I tie the ten church, I do this, I do that, but I also do this. And God says, if you break one of the commandments, you have broken all of them. For he that said, do not commit adultery. Also said, do not kill. Now, if you commit adultery, and yet you do not kill, I'm sorry, I'm misreading, do not kill. Now, if you commit no adultery, yet if you kill, you'll become a transgressor of the law. So, you may keep everything else, which you're not doing, or no one else does. But God has made a way. I'll digress here for a moment. I thought about giving this as a sermon, but I've not yet decided. You know, in Matthew, Jesus Christ, Matthew 5, 48, Christ says, become you therefore perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect. And we say it is not possible to become perfect. Yet, Jesus says, or inspired the Apostle Paul to write through the Holy Spirit in Ephesians 5, that he's going to present a church to Christ without spot or blemish or any such thing. So, you see, if we sin, we have an advocate with the Father, which we'll read in 1 John 2, verses 1 and 2. If any do sin, they have an advocate with the Father, Jesus, the righteous, and we can go and immediately be forgiven. Our slate can be wiped clean through repentance. But repentance is a daily thing. Practically, I don't know if a person goes a day without sinning. And of course, one of the main ways we sin is in our minds. And we fantasize and let things get out of control with our fantasies. If you kill, you become a transgressor of the law. So really, if you commit, break, one of the laws, you've broken them all. So speak to you, and so do as they shall be judged by the law of liberty. Remember chapter 1, that the law is the perfect law of liberty, and that is what you're judged by. For he shall have judgment without mercy, that is shown no mercy. And mercy rejoices against judgment. So, as I have said so often, all of you may not have heard it, but so often in sermons about judgment, mercy, and faith. Rendering righteous judgment is one of the most important things that a person can do. It is high on God's list. Respective persons is high on God's list, and rendering righteous judgment is high on God's list. We shall now go to Leviticus 19. In Leviticus 19 and verse 15, we will read that. Leviticus 19 and verse 15 are we at Leviticus 19 and 15, and I'm about there. Here's one of the most important passage of Scripture in the whole Bible.

Leviticus 19 and 15, you shall do no unrighteousness in judgment. No unrighteousness in judgment. God hates respective persons. He hates those. He hates wrong judgment. Of course, you can repent of wrong judgment, and I've had to repent of a lot of wrong judgments in my life, but we are continually making judgments. We make judgments every day that only affect ourselves but affects our spouse, our children, our neighbors, and the world at Lawrence. You shall do no unrighteousness in judgment. You shall not respect the person of the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor. In righteousness shall you judge your neighbor. Now, a lot of people like to quote that Scripture in Proverbs, which says that judge not to be not judged. But it goes on later in Matthew to say in that very chapter to say that you clean up yourself first, then you judge your neighbor. Galatians 5 also addresses that, that make sure that you remove the cross-tie that's in your eye before you try to judge your neighbor. It says splinter in your eye before you judge your neighbor. But it, the commandment is judge your neighbor in righteousness. In righteousness shall you judge your neighbor.

Judgment, mercy, and faith is one of the great themes of the Bible. And I don't recall whether I've gone over there with you or not, but judgment, mercy, and faith Matthew 23 verse 23. If you want to go to Matthew 23 and verse 23, I'm just, I'm going to quote it myself.

You pay tithe the men, Annas, and coming, and these ought you to have done, and not to leave the other done. You should judge, you should judge the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith. These ought you to have done, and not to leave the other undone. He's not saying don't put pay tithe of man, Annas, and coming, but he's saying that you should, first of all, you know we have people who like most of their tithing, and yet they're not keeping the commandments, and surely not exercising judgment, mercy, and faith. So you are to exercise judgment and faith, as I have said many times, and I'll go there right now to Zachariah. Zachariah, yes, before Agine, well, I think Hosea is not Hosea, but Zephaniah is mixing there. In Zachariah chapter 8, and it's not chapter 8, it's chapter yes, chapter 8. In Zachariah chapter, I'll get it right in a minute, it's chapter 7.

Zachariah chapter 8, I'm sorry, Zachariah chapter 7 verse 8, Zachariah 7, 8. And the Word of the Lord came unto Zachariah, saying, Thus speak the Lord of Hosea, execute true judgment, similar to the null of righteousness and judgment. You shall exercise true judgment and show mercy. You shall show mercy and compassion every man to his brother, and oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, nor the stranger, nor the poor, and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart. But they refused to hearken, and pulled away their shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they should not hear. And so their hearts became like Adam and stone. In verse 14, I scattered them where the world went in among the nations. So one of the reasons that Israel and Judah went into captivity was because they did not exercise a judgment-mercing phase. This is a very serious matter that has plagued the people of the earth and the people of God. From the days of Adam and Eve and their first two signs, Cain and Abel, Cain couldn't accept God's judgment and accept God accepted, accepted Abel's offering, but he did not accept Cain's. So you shall allow it, and we're going back now to Leviticus 19, then in verse 15. No unrighteous in judgment, you shall not respect the person of the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor. You'll judge your neighbor, and you have to judge your neighbor. You can't go along just because he's your neighbor. You shall not go up and down as a tail-bearer among your people. Neither shall you stand against the blood of your neighbor. I am the Lord. You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You see, God places a great deal of emphasis on truthfulness and more on loyalty. You shall in any wise rebuke your neighbor. This is one of the more important scriptures in the Bible. You shall in any wise rebuke your neighbor and not bear sin upon him. That verse suffer in Hebrew, it can be translated bear or for sin upon him. In other words, if you do not, if you see your neighbor in the wrong, and if that sin is going to take him to the pit, and all says we have seen, if you break one commandment, you've broken all, you might say, James, it's quite, it's the Word of God. It's the inspired Word of God.

So you have to go to your neighbor and say, I've noticed you are not keeping the Sabbath properly. You know, whatever it might be, then it says you are also responsible. That's what it's saying. There's a companion to that in 1 John, which we'll get to when we get to 1 John, which is very similar to this. We won't get that. We won't take the time to go there right now. Now, let's continue in Leviticus 19.18. I hope you see how important these two scriptures are to judge righteous judgment. See, and we'll get to another point in just a second. You shall not avenge nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord. I am the Lord.

Now we go to verse 19 back in the... no, not there. We go back to the book of James.

We go back to the book of James.

We're in chapter 2. What we have just covered is one of the most... I've already said it, I think, three times... important thing in the Bible. The reason there's not peace in the world is not just a church thing. It could be a world thing. It will be a world thing. One day, people are going to get along and they are going to judge righteous judgment. We're getting back to the where I left on.

Now we... the last phrase here in James 2.13, it's a very important phrase that ministers, when they give this topic, do not talk about it. Apparently, never really focused on it. Mercy rejoices against judgment. Now, how does mercy rejoice against judgment? You see, before there could be ultimate forgiveness of sin, there has to be a judgment made. You have to make a judgment. I have sinned. The publican came before Christ and said, I am a sinner. He went to his house, justified. The publican came to the Father, came before the Father in prayer, and said, I thank God I am not like other people, and that I do such and such times and fast and all that. And which one went down, justified? It was the poor man, not the publican. The publican came and said, I am a sinner. The Pharisee came and said, I am righteous. Which one went justified? Well, it was the publican who said, I am the sinner. So, understand this clearly. Before ultimate mercy can be given, a judgment must be made. When one is coming to baptism, they must eventually judge themselves. The last part of 1 Corinthians 11, where Paul instructs us on how to keep the Passover, says that we must judge ourselves. Judge ourselves so we won't be judged with the world. If we judge ourselves every time we sin and ask for forgiveness, he is faithful and just to forgive us all unrighteousness. So, the judgment is made. There is a sin. You take, for example, the woman caught in the act of adultery. They brought him, her, before Jesus. He wrote on the ground three times, apparently showing that they were guilty of the same thing they all left. And he said, where in the year of your accusers said they're gone, Jesus could say and see that she had a repentant heart, and he forgave her. He said, go sin no more. In other words, go walk in faith. So, judgment, mercy, and faith. So, after a judgment has been made, we go before the throne of God and we ask for his mercy. We cannot ask for mercy before a judgment has been made. You have to make the judgment first. And sometimes, even after we make the judgment and we take it to God, there is a penalty to be paid. We might run a stop sign. We might get caught speeding. We might, and you fill in the blank, do any number of things in which we have to suffer the consequences, but God can forgive us of that.

So, mercy rejoices against judgment because when mercy is rendered, then the judgment disappears. There's no longer a judgment against you. Now we come to this topic in Faith Without Works as Dead, verse 14. Why does it profit, my brethren, though a man say he has faith, and have not works, can faith save him? Now this is a very controversial scripture, and two or three of the scriptures in here are controversial. The Protestants use it in a different way. Luther used it to his own demise. Eventually it will be his demise, if not earlier.

Peter on the day of Pentecost, after he was asked, me and the brother, what shall we do, in view of the sermon that Peter had just given, and Peter said, repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Now he didn't include two of the things that are necessary, and they'll well one of the main things that's laying on of hands. You have to exercise faith in Christ, you have to repent of your sins, you have to be baptized, have to have the laying on of hands, receiving the Holy Spirit. So what does it profit my brother, though? A man say he has faith and have not works. Now that word for works is ergon, which is that it can be translated as physical labor.

Ergon, E-R-G-O-N, toil and effort and occupation.

But it could even just as easily be translated obedience, not the word ergon. It can only be translated as works, but another word could be used. And we'll see as we go along, can faith save him? The devils believe and tremble. They have faith. They know that God and Christ exist. Later it says this in the book of James, which we'll probably read tonight.

But have they repented? No, they haven't. If a brother or sister be naked in destitute of daily food against one of you say, and one of you say, under them, depart in peace, be warmed and filled, notwithstanding, you give them not those things which are needful to the body, what does it profit you? If you don't give them a coke, if you don't give them a blanket, if you don't give them something that relieves their suffering, then what profit is it? Oh, I'm a mighty Christian. I tithe. I attend church. I do this. I do that. I don't steal. I don't murder. I don't know. And once again, fill in the blank. So, verse 17, even so faith, if it has not works, and I would put works obedience, even so faith, if it has not works, is there being alone. In other words, you can't just work your way into the kingdom of God. Now, we have in the ministry sometimes, I curl my toes because we say salvation is a pretty gift. You can't do anything to earn it. And the Protestants especially hammer down on this, come down hard on you can't do anything to attain unto salvation. All you have to do is confess, or believe really is what most say. All you have to do is confess that Jesus is Lord of your life. Now, I've noticed in Franklin Graham's recent commercials, which are sprinkled in on Fox and other platforms, that he says if you have repented of your sins, at least he says that. It is a free gift. You can't earn it. You could believe all the day. But if you remain in your sins, and God cannot, will not give you the Holy Spirit, you have to repent. So, the salvation, it is a free gift, but it is conditional. It's conditional upon conviction, the leave. It's conditional upon repenting. It's conditional upon being baptized. It's conditional upon receiving the Holy Spirit.

Peter said it. Repent, be baptized, and you'll receive the gift to the Holy Spirit. He doesn't say, I'll give it to you without repenting. Let's read that scripture, this is Galatians chapter 2, and we'll go to verse 15.

Galatians 2 and verse 15.

We who are Jews, Galatians 2.15, we who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of Gentiles, knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, Lord, the age of 20, when you pick an age, you could pick 13 if you wanted to, or 19 or 41, or 81. And you, at that age, you became convicted, and you started keeping the law of God perfectly, which you would not do, but theoretically, let's say you did. What about the sins that are past? In fact, in Romans chapter 3, it says, sins that are past, you have to continue to be you have to continue in a state of repentance, walking in the Spirit and not according to the flesh. So we continue here in Galatians. The works of the law, but by the faith, and that should be translated in Jesus Christ. I think I've already talked about, you don't pull off your shield and give it to someone else.

It is the faith in you. You have faith in Christ and what He has promised. Even we have believed in Jesus Christ that we might be justified by the faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.

But if while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves, come so are found sinners, is therefore Christ, the minister of sin, God forbid. In other words, you can't continue in sin, you have to repent. For I through the law am dead to the law that I might have, that I might live under God. I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless, yet not I, but Christ lives in me. He's not living his life all over again in the year. You still have to make the decisions. And the life which I now live in the flesh, I live life of faith in. In other words, if it was of the faith of the Son of God, everybody would be saved. There would be no one that would fall away. My faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

You look at verse 18 again. For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. So we are to be in a continual state of repentance, bringing forth fruit meat for, bidding for repentance. So faith or obedience without faith is dead verse 18. Yea, a man may say, You have faith and I have works. Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You know, James writes in chapter 1, we've learned that be you doers of the Word. You don't just look at your face in the mirror. That doesn't change anything you have to go do. You believe that there is one God. You believe, well, the devils also believe and tremble. So the fact of belief and just say, I know Christ exists or God exists. So many people in this world, if you'd ask them, you believe in God or Christ, then Christ's response was, is, I think this is John, the Gospel of John 1430. You might have that wrong. I think it's John 1430, which says, why call me Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say. You believe that there is one God, you do well, the devils also believe and tremble. But will you know, oh vain man, that faith without works is dead? There it is again. The devils will not repent. They will not change. Their course is set, and they will not be converted.

Was not Abraham our father justified by works? He did what God said to do, go sacrifice Isaac, and he went and did it. And when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar, seeing then how faith wrought with his works and by works was faith made perfect. You show that you are converted, that you are in the faith, and that you're going on a perfection by doing what God says to you. And the scripture was fulfilled which said, Abraham believed God, here it is. And it was imputed and reckoned to him. Abraham's righteousness wasn't that she pulled off and given to somebody else, because he went and did as God said to sacrifice Isaac and was ready to do so unto him for righteousness, and he was called a friend of God. You see then how that by works a man is justified and not by faith only. You have to be in that continual state of repentance. Now let's say there's some secret sin that you haven't committed that you don't know about. Are you going to hell tonight because of that? No. Once you cross that line, you are justified. Remember I had to draw a vertical line and a line across it.

Once you cross that line, you're across the line until you commit the unpardonable sin. The sin that you won't repent of is the sin he won't forgive. And if you die tonight having not repented of all your sins, of course you can do that tonight, repent of your sins.

But let's say theoretically you did not repent of a secret sin, but no one or nothing or scripture or sermon or anything else your conscious mind had brought to your attention. Then are you going to hell? No. You're willing to repent if you're in an attitude of repentance, or as the body without the spirit is dead. So the spirit, that's interesting, is the pneuma, and it either means spirit or breath. And the body is dead without breath, and the body is a person the son converted can die, and of course he still dies. As I would say here, that means breath, as the body is dead without the breath, it's dead. So faith without works is dead also. Okay, we have come to the end of tonight.

Well, a tiny bit over. We started a tiny bit late. So that's chapter two, so we'll go now and ask any questions or comments that we have. Questions or comments? After this load, we should have something.

Dr. Ward? Yes. Yeah, I just want to thank you and Mr. Moody for sending me the link so I could go on this tonight. Appreciate it. Yes, you're welcome. Anybody else have a question or comment? She's broken the ice. We can even see her picture. I like the rest of you cowards. I want to show your face.

Dr. Ward, I really like the way James brings out the perfect law of liberty, you know, because there's so much thought that that law is burdensome and it's bondage, and he really brings out the fact that when you live it, it's what is freeing to your life, and bondage comes from opposing that law. Absolutely. I like the way in chapter one we saw last time, chapter one verse 25, he says, to look into the perfect law of liberty and continue in it, and then in chapter two, verse 12, he talked about we will be judged by the law of liberty, and I just find that comforting. Yes. I mean, you don't have anything to worry about if you are walking in the law of liberty, and you are in a state of continual repentance. There might be a secret said, in fact, in Psalm, what is it, Psalm, I want to say, 19. David prayed to keep me from secret sins. So, as I said, there might be a sin tonight that you haven't repented of, and that doesn't mean that you're going to the hot place. If you, that's not brought to your attention, you go to sleep, we're in a, we live in a continual state of repentance. Let's see, what song is that? We look up secret sin, you will find it. Or sins.

So, keep me from presumptive sins. Let him have not dominion over me. Then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from great transgression.

Psalm 19 verse 12, it looks like. Well, who can understand his, my bottom of scripture is flooded out there.

Who can understand his errors? Clans need me from secret faults. So David even prayed to clans from secret faults, and we could pray for that as well, because David did, and he's a great example that's often used. Any other question or comment? Perfect law of liberty. If you're walking in that, you're indeed a free person. I also appreciate in verse 8 of chapter 2, James, he calls it the royal law. And in my mind, you know, when something's royal, it's it's kingly, and it's priestly. It's this is the law for God's royal family. Yes. He is the only writer in the whole Bible that calls it the royal law. This by implication is given by other writers that you shall love your, and of course, a lot of Paul often says, love your neighbor as yourself. I believe Christ said that. But to say the royal law, he's the only one that I know of. I think it's amazing, Dr. Ward, how Satan has people deceived to think that Christ did away with the law, and without the law, we wouldn't know sin. None of this would make any sense if Christ did away with the law. Amen. You know, I was thinking about asking, I know you won't, your slaughter is fine, but by that I mean not you personally, I mean the whole group here quicker than most. Romans 3.31, which says, do we then make void the law through faith? No. We establish the law. Then I asked the question, how do you establish the law through faith? And you establish the law through faith. Now, just what you said, that none of this would make sense if the law were not in effect. If the law were not in effect, we would have no need for a Savior, because we were saved already. The wages of sin is dead. And the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. So it is the same spirit that's in God as in Christ as in us. There's one spirit, Ephesians 4, if you doubt that. There's one spirit. It is the Holy Spirit. Now, there's these people, I listen to these Protestant preachers who say, He the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit is, and can God be separated from His Spirit? Then they'll read a verse that says, the Spirit of God does such and such. Well, is it God, or is this the He thing separate from God doing this? It's crazy to say that the Holy Spirit is a person. The Holy Spirit is the essence of God. That's what He is. It's like we are flesh, He's Spirit, and He does works of power through His Spirit. As in Zachariah 4 verse 12, I believe it is, that not by might, not by power, but by my Spirit, though, says the Lord. Did anybody else have a question or comment?

That's a great comment. Can all of you now explain Romans 8.31?

I think you can. I hope you can.

If all find that there would be no need for Christ. Okay, I heard Mrs. Drew. Yeah, there's something I'm real happy that you brought out, well, the last time as well, but a greater understanding of the conscious and unconscious mind and how to handle that. Yes, that is a fascinating study and I have a I've corresponded with him a couple of times lately. There was the person that brought the teaching of the Spirit and man to the church, to Mr. Armstrong, in the late 60s and early 70s. I knew him because I was in the administration there, named President at one time. He is the one that brought out the Spirit and man, saying there's an animating Spirit and man. The fact that we have an animating Spirit, according to the Bible, says time after time. He's doing a big study now on consciousness. What is consciousness and how does it operate? He talks about the resurrection. How does the resurrection work? Well, it says in Corinthians, it is sown a natural body. This is chapter 15. It is sown a natural body. It is raised a spiritual body. If God can create Adam and Eve with full consciousness and everything that goes with it, then the resurrection, we will come out of our graves with full consciousness. You can ask the question, will we know who we are? Just think about it. You've been asleep for however many years. You say, oh, I'm Donald Warren. I know who I am. That will be something. And you'll look around and see whatever you'll see. I don't know what you'll see. We'll be caught up in the air to meet Him in the air. Those who are alive and remain shall not precede those who are alive. What will all be caught up eventually, and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Okay, any other questions or comments?

Go ahead. Thank you. I was just talking about faith without works being dead. I think about the expression, actions speak louder than words. We have to have faith. We definitely have to have faith, but we have to have the works and the actions to go along with it. Those things are what demonstrate to God how much we love Him and how much we love our neighbor. And so we obviously have to have more than faith. We have to have the works. We have to have the actions to go along with Him. Is that 1 John 4.3 that says, or this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments and His commandments are not grievous. So just why you said that we show God we love Him by doing what He says to do, keeping the commandments. And by keeping the commandments, we are exercising faith because He says, do this.

Not just giving them lip service, but actually doing them. Right. Okay, let me shut her down for tonight. We'll be going again two weeks from tonight.