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For I know the plans I have for you,declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jer 29:11 |
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| Archived Manna: | |
Dear
Friend,
If you do not already have a habit of gathering daily manna the first thing in the morning (we can look at the example given to us in Exodus 16 and find the pattern for make it a habit. Establish your life and your schedule to allow you the necessary time to do your daily collection first thing every morning to give you the strength to make it through the day. And remember that today’s manna will not be sufficient for tomorrow; tomorrow’s manna must be collected tomorrow morning. Saturday, March 21, 2020
Today's Passage : Today's Passage :Faith Without Works is Dead Bible Verse :James 2:19-26 "18 But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” 19 You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder. But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected; 23 and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,” and he was called the friend of God. 24 You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25 In the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? 26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead." Message:
We have a guest commentary today, from Dr. Ken Boa of Atlanta.
. . . continued from last Sunday.
It is significant that the quotation, “And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness” comes from Genesis 15:6 when Abraham believed God's promise that he would be given a son. Because of his faith, Abraham was declared righteous (justified) by God from that moment. But from a human perspective, his righteousness was demonstrated thirty years later when he offered up his son Isaac on Mount Moriah in Genesis 22. This act was the outward manifestation of Abraham's firm belief in God's promise. He knew that even if Isaac were to die, God could raise him from the dead, “from which also he received him back as a type” (Heb. 11:19).
Abraham's work of obedience brought his faith to maturity (remember the reciprocal relationship between attitude and action) and fulfilled the promise that had been given to him decades before. His faith was tested and his obedience made him a friend of God (Jas. 2:23; cf. John 15:14).
“You see that a man is justified by works, and not by faith alone” (Jas. 2:24). As the Lord told Samuel, “man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Sam. 16:7). Before God, we are justified by faith, but before others, we are justified by works, the outward evidence of faith.
In verse 25, James uses a surprising second example to illustrate the relationship between faith and works. “And in the same way was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works, when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?” Abraham and Rahab were poles apart--a Hebrew patriarch on one end of the spectrum, and a Gentile prostitute on the other. Yet both confirm the same truth. The spies knew she was a genuine believer in Yahweh only when she staked her life on the truth she claimed to believe. It was this work which made her saving faith evident to others. But the justification of this harlot before God was certainly not on the basis of works. No one is saved by works alone, or even by faith plus works. We are saved only by a faith that works. “For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead” (Jas. 2:26).
The faith of both Abraham and Rahab was proven in the tests of life. The various trials which test our faith (Jas. 1:3) demonstrate to ourselves and to others the quality of our faith and remind us that belief and behavior should be woven together.
Dr. Boa is devoted to a ministry of relational evangelism and discipleship, teaching, writing, and speaking. He holds a B.S. in astronomy from Case Institute of Technology, a Th.M. from Dallas Theological Seminary, a Ph.D. from New York University, and a D.Phil. from the University of Oxford in England. I highly recommend a visit to his website, KenBoa.org, which is filled with free videos, written commentary, newsletters, etc.
Meditation : Prayer : God of mercy, swift to help: as my lips pour forth your praise, fill my heart with the peace you give to those who wait for your salvation in Jesus Christ our Lord..........Amen |
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