The Scriptures and the Resolute Man

 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it--he will be blessed in what he does. (James 1:22-25, NIV 1984)

"Starting January 1, I will..."

• “... eat healthy foods”
• “... exercise regularly”
• “... lose weight”
• “... quit smoking”
• “... spend money wisely”
• “... start saving for the future”
• “... spend less time on video games and more on studying
• “... I will spend more time with my wife and kids”

These are just some of the most common resolutions people make every New Year. If the one making the resolutions is a Christian with sound theology, he would add one phrase in his resolution: "for the glory of God" . He might also include other spiritual activities:

• I will spend more time in prayer
• I will read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation
• I will memorize more Bible verses
• I will share the gospel to at least one soul every week
• I will seek opportunities to use my spiritual gifts
• I will keep a daily journal of my quiet time

But here's the problem. Richard Wiseman, a professor at the University of Bristol conducted a study in 2007. The study says that 88% of those who set New Year's resolution fail. That only shows that though people may desire self-improvement, they lack the resoluteness to fulfill their resolutions. To be resolute is to be "characterized by firmness and determination". Some may exhibit some resoluteness for the first month, or even the first quarter, but eventually give up on their good resolutions.

James wrote his letter to a group that needed lots of improvement. Those areas of improvement are implied by the items addressed by James in this epistle.

• In chapter 2, he addressed the issue of favoritism; also the problem of professed faith yet not evidenced by works
• chapter 3-- misuse of the tongue
• chapter 3-- false wisdom by self-seeking people that disrupts peace in the churches
• chapter 4-- fights and quarrels caused by uncontrolled desires
• chapter 5-- the rich and the powerful exploiting the poor and weak

But before giving the Lord' word to address all those problem areas, he first exhorted them to be doers of the word  and not hearers only. That makes a lot of sense for what use it is for him to give instructions in the chapters that follow if there is no determination on the part of his audience to obey? So he must first build a case for resoluteness in obeying the word. He issues a command: "But be doers of the word, and not hearers only"

"Hearers", doesn't exclude other means of Scripture intake. It is just that it was the primary means of Scripture intake during their time. The first printing press won't be in operation until 1450. The mimeograph won't be patented until 1876. And the Xerox machine won't be introduced until 1959. Also consider the fact that the literacy rate during that time in the roman Empire could not have exceeded 20 percent according to separate studies by William Harris, Catherine Hezser, Harry Gamble.

Given that circumstances, hearing was the primary means of Scripture intake way back then. In our time, much has changed. The old primary means of hearing is still here with us. But in addition to that, copies of the Bible abound. There is rarely a home without a copy of the Bible. Cheap editions are available at the bookstore. You can even download them for free at the Google Playstore. By extension of application: We could also hear the command from above--

"Be doers of the word, and not readers only"
"Be doers of the word, and not memorizers only"
“Be doers of the word, not students only”

THE DANGERS OF HEARING WITHOUT DOING
1. The Danger of Self-Deception
How are we self-deceived? We are deceived when we think we are okay in the eyes of God just because we are hearing, reading, memorizing, studying the Bible. The Greek word translated as “deceiving” could also be translated as  "miscalculate"-- a mathematical error. You think you are in good standing before God because you are spending time in the word of God-- yet in reality you are in a bad condition because you are not doing what it says.

Donald Burdick wrote "In reality, the responsibility of those who hear is far greater than that of those who have never heard. If they do not combine doing with hearing, they put themselves in a most vulnerable position." (Expositor's Bible Commentary, 1st edition)

Luke 12:47-48 teaches that the one who knew and the one who knew not the Master's will would be both punished but the one who knew the Master's will would receive more blows.

2. The Danger of Unlearning the Things You Know
We must close a cultural gap here. For we live in an age when we have a pretty good idea of how we look like. We have good mirrors in our houses, so we see our selves daily. We could take portraits of ourselves with phones we bought for more or less a thousand pesos. We even coined a word so our narcissism would not sound so blatant. Do you remember Narcissus of Greek mythology.? He was the one who fell in love with his self upon seeing his image on the pool. If only Narcissus is not a fictional character, and if only he is living with us today, all he would upload on Facebook would be selfie photos. That is the coined word I'm referring to: Selfie.

The point is, in our time, we are well informed of how we look like. That is not so in the time of James. There were no cameras way back then. Perhaps mirrors were costly, and the mirrors that they had were not of the same quality as we have today.  The Macarthur Study Bible informs us: "First century mirrors were not glass, but metallic". People then may have some idea of how they look like but not as informed about it as we are today. That is the background of this imagery from James. A person who comes to hear the word without the resoluteness to obey it is like a person who comes into a first century mirror. He observes his face. He learns something about himself. But as soon as he walks away from the mirror, he forgets the image.

We come to hear God's word, and like a mirror it shows us our true condition. It also shows us the remedy to our condition. Yet because we are not resolute in obeying the word, as soon as we walk out of this building, we forget what we have learned.

As James was encouraging them to be resolute doers of the word, he tells some things about God's Word. If James found these truths helpful in building resoluteness, then these are the same truths that will help us.

1. The Word of God is Perfect
In verse 25, James used the term “perfect law” to refer to the word of God. In Psalm 19:7-8, we see synonyms for God's word (law; testimony; statutes; commandment). Psalm 19:7 is of course parallel to our text in James. Both verses describe the word of God as perfect. After the description, the Psalmist tells us what it does to us. The Perfect Law of God converts the soul.  It transforms our passions. It reverses our bad dispositions. The word of God not only changes our deeds outwardly; it also changes us inside. Paul David Tripp explains the need to be changed inwardly:

"A person who does not have biblical convictions does not have an internal restraint system. This person will do right when under a watchful eye, or when under external pressure. However, when these external motivators are removed, this person will behave very differently." (Age of Opportunity)

So to become a doer of the Word, there must be a change in our inward convictions or else, we would return again and again to worldliness. Praise God the word of God is perfect, and because it is perfect, it convert the soul. In penetrates deep inside. It is the Holy Spirit's scalpel for spiritual surgery.


2. The Word of God Liberates
James refers to the word of God as "perfect law of liberty". In the Bible, the person who lives in sin is the one who is really in bondage. He may think he is free, but in reality he is a slave to sin. Describing our condition before conversion, the Apostle Paul wrote "... at one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures" (Titus 3:3 NIV). When you have all the opportunity to satisfy your lusts, that is not freedom. You are like an animal falling into a trap. You enjoy sin now and at the very next minute, you are caught to be butchered (James 1:14) For the wages of sin is death.

Why not resolve to obey what the word says? True freedom is found in it. For when we are freed from the enslavement of sin, we will then be free to serve our Only Worthy Master. And hasn't the Lord said,  "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." (John 8:31-32 NIV). Freedom is found in holding on to Jesus' teaching; freedom is found in pursuing biblical truth.


3. The Word of God is the key to blessing
 James ends verse 25 with the assurance that he who continues to be a doer of the word "will be blessed in what he does." The constant testimony of the Bible is that blessing is for those who treasure God's word.

• we see it in the lives of the Old Testament saints
• we see it in the Psalms (chapter 1)
• we see it in Jesus' teaching (Matthew 7:24-27)
• we see in Apostolic teaching (1 Peter 4:14)
• we see in in the last canonical book (Rev. 2:11)

Brethren, do you want to be blessed? If you do, then be resolute in obeying the word.

The Holiness of God as Our Assurance that Evil and Corruption Will Be Eradicated Soon

There may be others but I could only think of three reasons why political leaders fail to eradicate graft and corruption:

1. Lack of political Will
 
2. Limitation in power-- corruption is deeply embeded in the system that it takes absolute power to eradicate it.
 
3. The political leaders themselves are wicked-- Ironically, if you fill what is lacking in #2-- that is if you grant absolute power to a political leader to enable him to fight corruption, he might turn out to be the problem himself. Remember the maxim, "Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely."

In God's kingdom, the three things mentioned above doesn't exist.

1st, God rules with perfect political will. He says "Surely, as I have planned, so will it be; As I have puposed, it will stand" (Isa. 14:24)

2nd, God is unlimited in power. It is written, "For the Lord Almighty has purposed, and who can thwart him? His hand is stretched out, who can turn it back?"

3rd, the maxim stated above doesn't apply to God. His absolute power will not corrupt him because God is light and in him there is no darkness at all (1 John 1:5). There will never be an iota of dirt in the character of God. He alone can combine absolute power with absolute holiness.

Since the three problems in human governments are absent in God's rule, evil and corruption will not exist in the King's abode.

1 Cor. 6:9-10 "Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God."
 

"Woe is me! Will I be outside the gate?"

When I was a university student, there was a sign I see daily. It was posted at the gate: No ID, No Entry. What is required for us to enter God's abode is perfect righteousness. The heavenly policy is: No Perfect righteousness, No Entry

Revelation 21:27 "Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful..."

We also know that none among us possesses this requirement. Romans 3:10 "There is no one righteous, not even one"

Will we be then outside the gate?

The complete Revelation 21:27 reads "Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life."

Though many will not be able to enter in, the Lamb keeps a book of names-- names of those who will be richly welcomed in God's dwelling place. I list here three aspects of what the Lamb has secured when he was sacrificed at the cross:

1. By the Lamb's sacrifice, believers were made POSITIONALLY holy. That is they are not actually holy, but "God justifies the wicked" (Romans 4:5) as they receive by faith what Christ did for them at the cross. In theological jargon, this is JUSTIFICATION.

2. By the Lamb's sacrifice, believers are PROGRESSIVELY being made holy. Here we are "being transformed into his likeness" (2 Cor. 3:18). In theological jargon, this is SANCTIFICATION. Believers will be excited to enter heaven because they have experienced the joys of holy living here on earth.

3. By the Lamb's sacrifice, we will be made INSTANTLY holy. 1 John 3:2 says that when Christ appears the second time, we will be like him. Because God is holy, he will not leave those whom he loved in their sinful state. When time ends and eternity begins, there will not even be a hint of sin on the present bad boy Manny. In theological jargon, this is GLORIFICATION.

So we should be glad that this dreaded holiness of God is our assurance that our future dwelling place will be free from all evil and corruption-- including the evil and corruption presently in us.
 

Ang Dignidad ng Tao sa Kamay ng Manlilikha

Awit 8:3-8

3 Pinagmasdan ko ang langit na gawa ng iyong kamay,
pati ang buwan at mga bituin na iyong inilagay.

4 Ano ba ang tao upang iyong pahalagahan;
o ang anak ng tao upang iyong pangalagaan?

5 Nilikha mo siyang mababa sa iyo nang kaunti,
pinuspos mo siya ng dangal at ng luwalhati.

6 Ginawa mo siyang pinuno ng lahat ng iyong nilikha,
sa lahat ng mga bagay, siya ang iyong pinamahala:

7 mga tupa at kawan pati na ang mababangis,

8 lahat ng ibong lumilipad, at mga isda sa karagatan,
at lahat ng nilikhang nasa karagatan.

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Ang isa sa mga dapat pahalagahan ng tao ay ang kanyang dignidad. Ang bibliya mismo ay nagtuturo na dapat nating ingatan ang ating karangalan. Tulad na lamang sa Kawikaan 22:1-- kung tayo raw ay kinakailangang pumili sa pagitan ng yaman at dangal, marapat na isuko ang yaman at panatilihin ang malinis na pangalan.

May mga taong nagtataguyod ng dangal ng tao subalit tumatanggi naman sa kapahayagan ng bibliya. Sinasabi nilang sila ay makatao subalit itinatanggi naman nila na merong Diyos na siyang lumikha. Ano ang bunga nito? Sa halip na maiangat ang dignidad ng tao, kabaligtaran ang nangyari. Nasaan ang dangal ng tao sa paliwanag na sinuwerte lang tayo sa proseso ng ebolusyon? Nasaan ang aking dignidad sa paliwanag na ako'y isang malayong kamag-anak ng mga bakulaw?

Mauunawaan lang natin ang dignidad ng tao kung makikinig tayo sa kapahayagan ng bibliya. Sino nga ba ang mapapagpapaliwanag ng dangal ng tao kundi ang mismong lumalang sa tao?

Dito sa Awit 8:3-8 ay matutunghayan natin ang dalawang hakbang upang maunawaan natin ang dignidad natin bilang mga tao.

Unang hakbang:
Maaaring ito ay isang sorpresa sa ilan. Ang unang hakbang upang maunawaan natin ang ating dignidad ay makita muna natin kung gaano tayo kaliit-- Tayo ay maliit kung ihahambing sa malaking Diyos.

Isang gabi'y pinagmamasdan ng salmistang si David ang kalangitan-- ang buwan at mga tala; ni wala siyang hawak na telescope ngunit siya ay lubhang namangha, ang kalangitan ay nagpapatotoo kung gaano kadakila ang Diyos sapagkat ang lahat ng mga nasa kalawakan ay gawa lamang ng maikhaing mga daliri ng Diyos

"3 Pinagmasdan ko ang langit na gawa ng iyong kamay,
pati ang buwan at mga bituin na iyong inilagay."

Habang pinagmamasdan ni david ang ganda ng kalangitan, nabatid niya kung gaano siya kaliit kung ihahambing sa karangyaan at kaluwalhatian ng diyos. Tuloy ay kanyang naitanong:

4 "Ano ba ang tao upang iyong pahalagahan;
o ang anak ng tao upang iyong pangalagaan?"

Pangalawang Hakbang:
Ang pangalawang hakbang upang maunawaan natin ang dignidad ng tao ay ang mabatid na sa kabila ng liit natin, binigyan niya tayo ng espesyal na tungkulin sa sannilikha.

Sambit ng Salmista sa talata 5:
"Nilikha mo siyang mababa sa iyo nang kaunti,
pinuspos mo siya ng dangal at ng luwalhati."

Ito ay tumutukoy sa likas ng tao na galing sa Diyos. Bago likhain ang tao ay may usapang naganap sa loob ng Banal na Trinidad:

"Ngayon, likhain natin ang tao ayon sa ating larawan, ayon sa ating wangis..." (Gen. 1:26). Bukod diyan ayibinigay niya sa tao ang pinakamataas na posisyon dito sa ibabaw ng lupa-- ang tungkulin ng pamamahala (Awit 8:6-8) kalakip ang kanyang pagpapala sa kanila (Gen.1:28a).

Ito ang tunay na dignidad ng tao: bagamat tayo ay maliit sa gitna ng malawak na solar system; maliit sa gitna ng malawak na galaxy; maliit sa gitna ng malawak na universe, tayo ay nilikha ng Diyos upang ating isalamin sa ating buhay ang Diyos.

 Ang Nasirang Dignidad ng Tao

at ang Solusyon ng Manlilikha

Malayo na nga ang agwat sa pagitan ng nilikha sa manlilikha, mas lumapad pa ang agwat nang ang tao ay magkasala. ang buhay natin na dapat sumalamin sa Diyos ay nagkaroon ng lamat. Nasira ang larawan at wangis ng Diyos sa atin dahil sa kasalanan. Naging pangit tayong lahat at ito'y hindi natin kayang ayusin.

Subalit sa kagandahang-loob ng Diyos, siya na rin ang gumawa ng paraan upang maayos ang lamat sa ating pagkatao. Isinugo niya ang kanyang anak, nagkatawang tao, nag-anyong alipin at namuhay nang walang sala. Sa kanyang kamatayan at muling pagkabuhay ay nilinis niya ang lahat ng bahid ng kasalanan sa sinumang sasampalataya sa kanya.

Siya na malayo ang agwat sa atin; Siya na lubhang mataas at hindi natin maabot ang siya mismong nagpakababa upang tayo ay abutin. Hinango niya tayo mula sa putik ng kasalanan. Sa kanyang piling lamang maibabalik nang buong-buo ang dignidad ng tao.

2 Corinto 3:18

"At ang kaluwalhatiang iyan na nagmumula sa Panginoon, na siyang Espiritu, ang siyang magbabago sa atin mula sa isang antas ng kaluwalhatian hanggang tayo'y maging kalarawan niya".

-----------------------

ang salin na ginamit ay ang Bagong Magandang Balita Bibliya

Mr. Masculado & Mr. Lampayatot

Kararating lang ni misis mula sa tindahan. Iniwanan niya ang tangke ng LPG sa labas upang humingi ng tulong sa kanyang asawa. Pagpasok niya sa bahay ay nakita niya si Mr. Masculado na may hawak na dumbbells sa magkabilang kamay. Gamit ang kanyang malambing na tinig ay kanyang hiniling, “Sweetheart, paki-buhat naman yung tangke ng LPG papasok dito sa bahay para makapagsaing na ako”

Pasigaw ang sagot ni Mr. Masculado, “ANO !!!??? HINDI MO BA NAKIKITA NA NAGWO-WORKOUT AKO !!!??? IKAW NA LANG ANG MAG-BUHAT !!! ISTORBO !!!

Ober da bakod, kararating rin ng isa pang misis. Pagod man siya sinisikap niyang ipasok ang tangke ng LPG sa bahay. Paano naman kasi, nakaratay nanaman sa higaan ng karamdaman ang kanyang asawa na si Mr. Lampayatot. Nang maramdaman ni Mr. Lampayatot ang ginagawa ng kanyang asawa, pinilit niyang bumangon inaapoy man siya ng lagnat. Sinalubong niya ang kanyang asawa at kanyang sinabi, “Honey, magpahinga ka na. Ako na ang bahala diyan”. Tinangka niyang buhatin ang tangke subalit hindi talaga kaya.

Ang problema kay Mr. Masculado, bagamat meron siyang kakayahan na buhatin ang tangke, wala naman siyang pagnanais na gawin ito.

Ang problema kay Mr. Lampayatot, bagamat nais niyang buhatin ang tangke, wala naman siyang kakayahan upang gawin ito.

Bago tayo makakilala sa Panginoon at kilusan ng Banal na Espiritu, ang problema kay Mr. Masculado at ang problema kay Mr. Lampayatot at parehong nasa atin.

Tulad ni Mr. Masculado, wala tayong pagnanais na sundin ang kalooban ng Diyos.

Romans 8:7 "the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so." (NIV)

Tulad ni Mr. Lampayatot, wala tayong kakayahan upang gawin ang kalooban ng Diyos.

Romans 8:7 "the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so." (NIV)

Subalit ngayon na nasa atin na ang Espiritu Santo:

1. Nagkaroon tayo ng pagnanais na tuparin ang kalooban ng Diyos
2. Nagkaroon tayo ng kakayahan na gawin ito.

Phil. 2:13 "For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him." (NLT)