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.

Catholics Can Disagree On Theology-- Even with the Theology of their Pope

For Rome's apologists, the evangelical distinction between essentials and non-essentials is unacceptable. They blame Sola Scriptura for "disunity" among evangelicals. They cannot make room for the fact that it is possible for us to be united in essentials and have liberty on non-essentials and exercise charity towards each other in all things.

Yet one of their cardinals explains that even within the Roman Catholic system, theology is open to debate and criticism. Even if a view is held by Joseph Ratzinger himself, it only "requires a greater degree of assent" but you are free to dissent if you want to.

from the Catholic News Service

INDEX: Turretinfan's Unloading 35 Loaded Questions for "Bible Christians"

1. Where did Jesus give instructions that the Christian faith should be based exclusively on a book? Answer

2. Other than the specific command to John to pen the Revelation, where did Jesus tell His apostles to write anything down and compile it into an authoritative book? Answer

3. Where in the New Testament do the apostles tell future generations that the Christian faith will be based solely on a book? Answer

4. Some Protestants claim that Jesus condemned all oral tradition (e.g., Matt 15:3, 6; Mark 7:813). If so, why does He bind His listeners to oral tradition by telling them to obey the scribes and Pharisees when they “sit on Moses’ seat” (Matt 23:2)? Answer

5. Some Protestants claim that St. Paul condemned all oral tradition (Col 2:8). If so, why does he tell the Thessalonians to “stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught, whether by word of mouth or by letter” (2 Thes 2:15) and praises the Corinthians because they “hold firmly to the traditions” (1 Cor 11:2)? Answer

6. If the authors of the New Testament believed in sola Scriptura, why did they sometimes draw on oral Tradition as authoritative and as God’s Word (Matt 2:23; 23:2; 1 Cor 10:4; 1 Pet 3:19; Jude 9, 14 15)? Answer

7. Where in the Bible is God’s Word restricted only to what is written down? Answer

8. How do we know who wrote the books that we call Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Hebrews, and 1, 2, and 3 John? Answer

9. On what authority, or on what principle, would we accept as Scripture books that we know were not written by one of the twelve apostles? Answer

10. Where in the Bible do we find an inspired and infallible list of books that should belong in the Bible? (e.g., Is the Bible’s Table of Contents inspired?) Answer

11. How do we know, from the Bible alone, that the individual books of the New Testament are inspired, even when they make no claim to be inspired? Answer

12. How do we know, from the Bible alone, that the letters of St. Paul, who wrote to first century congregations and individuals, are meant to be read by us as Scripture 2000 years later? Answer

13. Where does the Bible claim to be the sole authority for Christians in matters of faith and morals? Answer

14. Most of the books of the New Testament were written to address very specific problems in the early Church, and none of them are a systematic presentation of Christian faith and theology. On what biblical basis do Protestants think that everything that the apostles taught is captured in the New Testament writings? Answer

15.  If the books of the New Testament are “self-authenticating” through the ministry of the Holy Spirit to each individual, then why was there confusion in the early Church over which books were inspired, with some books being rejected by the majority? Answer

16. If the meaning of the Bible is so clear—so easily interpreted—and if the Holy Spirit leads every Christian to interpret it for themselves, then why are there over 33,000 Protestant denominations, and millions of individual Protestants, all interpreting the Bible differently? Answer

17. Who may authoritatively arbitrate between Christians who claim to be led by the Holy Spirit into mutually contradictory interpretations of the Bible? Answer

18. Since each Protestant must admit that his or her interpretation is fallible, how can any Protestant in good conscience call anything heresy or bind another Christian to a particular belief? Answer

19. Protestants usually claim that they all agree “on the important things.” Who is able to decide authoritatively what is important in the Christian faith and what is not? Answer

20. How did the early Church evangelize and overthrow the Roman Empire, survive and prosper almost 350 years, without knowing for sure which books belong in the canon of Scripture? Answer

21. Who in the Church had the authority to determine which books belonged in the New Testament canon and to make this decision binding on all Christians? If nobody has this authority, then can I remove or add books to the canon on my own authority? Answer

22. Why do Protestant scholars recognize the early Church councils at Hippo and Carthage as the first instances in which the New Testament canon was officially ratified, but ignore the fact that those same councils ratified the Old Testament canon used by the Catholic Church today but abandoned by Protestants at the Reformation? Answer

23. Why do Protestants follow postapostolic Jewish decisions on the boundaries of the Old Testament canon, rather than the decision of the Church founded by Jesus Christ? Answer

24. How were the bishops at Hippo and Carthage able to determine the correct canon of Scripture, in spite of the fact that they believed all the distinctively Catholic doctrines such as the apostolic succession of bishops, the sacrifice of the Mass, Christ’s Real Presence in the Eucharist, baptismal regeneration, etc? Answer

25. If Christianity is a “book religion,” how did it flourish during the first 1500 years of Church history when the vast majority of people were illiterate? Answer

26. How could the Apostle Thomas establish the church in India that survives to this day (and is now in communion with the Catholic Church) without leaving them with one word of New Testament Scripture? Answer

27. If sola Scriptura is so solid and biblically based, why has there never been a full treatise written in its defense since the phrase was coined in the Reformation? Answer

28. If Jesus intended for Christianity to be exclusively a “religion of the book,” why did He wait 1400 years before showing somebody how to build a printing press? Answer

29. If the early Church believed in sola Scriptura, why do the creeds of the early Church always say “we believe in the Holy Catholic Church,” and not “we believe in Holy Scripture”? Answer

30. If the Bible is as clear as Martin Luther claimed, why was he the first one to interpret it the way he did and why was he frustrated at the end of his life that “there are now as many doctrines as there are heads”? Answer

31. The time interval between the Resurrection and the establishment of the New Testament canon in AD 382 is roughly the same as the interval between the arrival of the Mayflower in America and the present day. Therefore, since the early Christians had no defined New Testament for almost four hundred years, how did they practice sola Scriptura? Answer

32. If the Bible is the only foundation and basis of Christian truth, why does the Bible itself say that the Church is the pillar and foundation of truth (1 Tim. 3:15)? Answer

33. Jesus said that the unity of Christians would be objective evidence to the world that He had been sent by God (John 17:20-23). How can the world see an invisible "unity" that exists only in the hearts of believers? Answer

34. If the unity of Christians was meant to convince the world that Jesus was sent by God, what does the ever-increasing fragmentation of Protestantism say to the world? Answer

35. Hebrews 13:17 says, "Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you." What is the expiration date of this verse? When did it become okay not only to disobey the Church's leaders, but to rebel against them and set up rival churches? Answer

INDEX: Turretinfan's Unloading 17 More Loaded Questions

for "Bible Christians"

36. The Koran explicitly claims divine inspiration, but the New Testament books do not. How do you know that the New Testament books are nevertheless inspired, but the Koran is not? Answer

37. How does a Protestant know for sure what God thinks about moral issues such as abortion, masturbation, contraceptives, eugenics, euthanasia, etc.? Answer

38. What is one to believe when one Protestant says infants should be baptized (e.g., Luther and Calvin) and another says it is wrong and unbiblical (e.g., Baptists and Evangelicals)? Answer

4/17 Where does the Bible . . .
. . . say God created the world/universe out of nothing? Answer

5/17 Where does the Bible . . .
. . . say salvation is attainable through faith alone? Answer

6/17 Where does the Bible . . .
. . . tell us how we know that the revelation of Jesus Christ ended with the death of the last Apostle? Answer

7/17 Where does the Bible . . .
. . . provide a list of the canonical books of the Old Testament? Answer

8/17 Where does the Bible . . .
. . . provide a list of the canonical books of the New Testament? Answer

9/17 Where does the Bible . . .
. . . explain the doctrine of the Trinity, or even use the word “Trinity”? Answer

10/17 Where does the Bible . . .
. . . tell us the name of the “beloved disciple”? Answer

11/17 Where does the Bible . . .
. . . inform us of the names of the authors of the Gospel of Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John? Answer

12/17 Where does the Bible . . .
. . . who wrote the Book of Acts? Answer

13/17 Where does the Bible . . .
. . . tell us the Holy Spirit is one of the three Persons of the Trinity? Answer

14/17 Where does the Bible . . .
. . . .tell us Jesus Christ was both fully God and fully man from the moment of conception (e.g. how do we know His Divinity wasn't infused later in His life?) and/or tells us Jesus Christ is One Person with two complete natures, human and Divine and not some other combination of the two natures (i.e., one or both being less than complete)? Answer

15/17 Where does the Bible . . .
. . . that the church should, or someday would be divided into competing and disagreeing denominations? Answer

16/17 Where does the Bible . . .
. . . that Protestants can have an invisible unity when Jesus expected a visible unity to be seen by the world (see John 17)? Answer

17/17 Where does the Bible . . .
. . . tell us Jesus Christ is of the same substance of Divinity as God the Father? Answer

Bible Access: Vatican II vs. Trent

Vatican II

"Easy access to sacred Scripture should be provided for all the Christian faithful... Since the word of God should be available at all times, the Church with maternal concern sees to it that suitable and correct translations are made into different languages, especially from the original texts of the sacred books."

Session XXV: Rule IV of the Ten Rules Concerning Prohibited Books

Drawn Up by The Fathers Chosen by the Council of Trent and Approved by Pope Pius:

Since it is clear from experience that if the Sacred Books are permitted everywhere and without discrimination in the vernacular, there will by reason of the boldness of men arise therefrom more harm than good, the matter is in this respect left to the judgment of the bishop or inquisitor, who may with the advice of the pastor or confessor permit the reading of the Sacred Books translated into the vernacular by Catholic authors to those who they know will derive from such reading no harm but rather an increase of faith and piety, which permission they must have in writing. Those, however, who presume to read or possess them without such permission may not receive absolution from their sins till they have handed over to the ordinary. Bookdealers who sell or in any way supply Bibles written in the vernacular to anyone who has not this permission, shall lose the price of the books, which is to be applied by the bishop to pious purposes, and in keeping with the nature of the crime they shall be subject to other penalties which are left to the judgment of the same bishop. Regulars who have not the permission of their superiors may not read or purchase them.

The Godly Way to Success

Read Joshua 1:1-9

Everybody desires success. Nobody wants to be a loser.
You don’t take an exam with the desire to flunk it.
You don’t invest with the desire to lose money.
You don’t play a game with the desire to be defeated. (maliban na lang kung perde-gana ‘yan)

It is embedded in the soul of man that some of the most popular sayings are about success:
“Patience is the key to success”
“Try and try until you succeed” ("Try and try until you die" was meant to be a joke)
Even our very own “Kapag may tiyaga, may nilaga” exalts patience as a virtue that will ultimately lead to something good.

But if we will not be careful in our pursuit of success, we may walk on the same road where the world walks. We may take ungodly paths to success. We may emerge successful in the eyes of men but a failure in the sight of God (and please do not read this post through the lens of the erroneous prosperity gospel).

God’s formula for Joshua
What is the emotional state of Joshua when God talked to him? Verse 9 indicates that he is frightened and dismayed. We should understand that his beloved mentor for 40 years is now dead. That fact alone could affect him tremendously. Add to it the heavy burden placed upon his shoulders with this new role as the leader of an stiff-necked people. He has to step into the shoes of the great Moses. He is the new commander-in-chief of their armed forces and they have to fight many battles against more powerful peoples in order to acquire the Promised Land.

On this scene God speaks to promise success. He assures Joshua of the following:
1. Moses is dead but the promise is alive. The Land is for them (verses 2-4)
2. They will be unbeatable; their foes cannot stand against them (verse 5)
3. He promises his presence. Just as he was with Moses, he will be with Joshua (verse 5)


What he requires of Joshua
1. God requires Joshua to be strong and courageous (verse 7)- If we shall review Joshua’s track record, we will find that this man is not a coward. In fact, his record is impressive. He was the leader when they fought the Amalekites (Exodus 17:9, 10, 13-14).Out of the 12 spies who were sent to Canaan, only two (Joshua and Caleb) were not intimidated by the giant descendants of Anak (when others felt like grasshoppers, Numbers 14:6-10, 30, 38).

But there are times when the circumstances are so overwhelming that even the strongest and bravest among us needs the exhortation to be strong and courageous. All of us are fighting our own daily battles. Battles against life-threatening diseases, financial crisis, family problems and many others. This is God’s word for us: “Be strong and courageous”.

2. God requires precise obedience-
“Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you” (verse 7)
“so that you may be careful to do everything written in it” (verse 8)
This is the exact equivalent of the the New Testament’s “Be very careful, then, how you live--not as unwise but as wise” (Ephesians 5:15).

We are not to twist God’s word in order to justify ourselves. God’s word is for us to obey, not edit: “do not turn from it to the right or to the left” (Joshua 1:7). We have to take God’s word precisely as it is.

3. God Requires Diligent Scripture Intake- “Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night” (verse 8). If we are to heed God’s word with precision, this is essential. It must fill our mouths. It must saturate our minds. We must immerse our whole being with what the Bible says.
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Our desire to be successful is not in conflict with God’s desire to be glorified. Instead of suppressing our desire for success, he wants us to excel in our chosen fields (Proverbs 22:29). He will be with us in our pursuit of success. Just as God is present with the preacher in his desire to be successful in his ministry, he will also be present with the businessman provided that both the preacher and the businessman follows God’s requirements.
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