Becoming Good Hearers & Doers of the Word,pt1-James

Описание: James writes of the testing of the believer's faith and the resulting maturity such trials produce. Far from breaking saving faith, trials from God strengthen, mature, and approve such faith. C. H. Spurgeon calls us to "Note the essential point that is assailed by temptation. Your faith is the target that all the arrows are shot at. Faith is vital to salvation as the heart is to the body. Therefore the javelins of the enemy are mainly aimed at this essential grace. Your faith is peculiarly obnoxious to Satan and to the world. If you had no faith, they would not be your enemies. Faith is that blessed grace that is most pleasing to God and, therefore, most displeasing to the devil. By faith God is greatly glorified, and by faith Satan is great annoyed. He rages at faith because he sees in it his own defeat and the victory of grace.
The most valuable thing a person can obtain in this world is that which has most to do with his truest self. A man may acquire a good house. But suppose he is in bad health. What is the good of his fine mansion? The best thing is that which will make him a better man--make him right, true, pure, and holy. If our afflictions tend, by trying our faith, to breed endurance, and that endurance tends to make us into mature and complete people in Christ Jesus, then we may be glad of trials.
When blessed of God, our trials ripen us. Believers who have endured a great deal of affliction exhibit a sort of mellowness that you never see in other people. It cannot be mistaken or imitated. A certain measure of sunlight is needed to bring out the real flavor of fruits. When a fruit has felt its measure of burning sun, it develops a lusciousness we delight in. So is it in men and women. A certain amount of trouble appears to be necessary to create a sugar of graciousness in them so that they may contain the rich, ripe juice of a gracious character."
So, dear Christian friend how gracious and mature has your character become through enduring trials by God and overcoming temptations from the Wicked One? Genuine Christianity transcends superficial appearances and cannot be faked. God's concern is not merely who you appear to be on the outside (1 Sam 16:7). God calls forth more than behavior modification, but requires a complete heart transformation.
Scripture instructs us to examine the fruit of a professing believer's life (Matt 7:17-20). Fruit is the inevitable evidence of saving faith. It is the outward expression of an inward reality. James presents several 'tests' of genuine faith; enduring trials, overcoming temptations, and now that of how we respond to the Word. Are we quick to hear it, slow to speak it, and slow to anger as it confronts our lifestyles? Join us this coming Lord's Day for our study "Becoming Good Hearers & Doers of the Word", pt 1 (Jas 1:19-21). This is the matter of both reception and practice of God's Holy Word.