All or Nothing

The University of Buffalo football team has been invited to a bowl game only once in its 102 year history.  In 1958 the team had a record of 8-1 and was invited to play Florida State University in the 13^th annual Tangerine Bowl in Orlando, Florida.  But before they could get fitted for their new sports coats for the trip down south they were informed that two players on the team could not play in the game.  The lease holder for the stadium prohibited any African-American athlete from playing on the field.

The players gathered together in the basement of the university to take a vote on whether to play the game without two of their players.  Just before the slips of paper were handed out the players verbally voted not to go.  In essence, their vote said, “We bring all the team or none of the team.”  They had an “all or nothing” view on the issue.

In James 2:8-13 we see the same mentality when it comes to true and genuine Christianity.  It is an “all or nothing” deal.  If obey the entire law of God but fail at one small point we have failed at the law in its entirety.  We either obey the entire law or disobey the entire law.  There is no middle ground.  So, where does this leave us as believers?  How do I view my own sin?  How are we called to view our sin?  What hope is there for those of us who continue to struggle to obey the law of God?  What reassurance does God give our faith in this passage?

I would encourage us all to read through the first two chapters in James in preparation for what God is going to say to us this Sunday.  May He speak truth into us and may we grow in spiritual maturity through the hearing and doing of His Word.

Discrimination

On December 1, 1955, 42-year-old Rosa Parks boarded a city bus in Montgomery, Alabama.  Rosa sat in a seat just behind the first ten rows which were reserved for whites.  Soon all ten rows were filled and Rosa was asked to move to the back of the bus to give her seat up for a white man.  This was normal custom for the time, but this day Rosa refused.  She stood her ground and was eventually arrested for her actions.

Rosa’s story is a source of encouragement for those who have been wronged and desire to stand up for what is right.  But her story also speaks of our focus this coming Sunday: discrimination.  We in the church may not discriminate to the effect of the Jim Crow laws of the 50s and 60s, but James makes it clear that favoritism, preferential treatment, partiality, and discrimination have no place in the church.

What are some common ways we discriminate against others in the church?  How can we combat our tendency to show favoritism?  Is partiality a sin?

May we hear God as He speaks to us this week through His Word in James.

The Mark of Genuine Christianity

I want you to look at the title of this Friday Preview again.  It is more than a statement.  It holds deep meaning and raises many questions.  How can one define genuine Christianity?  Who am I to say that someone is or is not a genuine Christian?  Only God can see the heart of an individual so who are we to tell someone that they are or are not a Christian?  What is a genuine Christian?  What is the mark of genuine Christianity?  If someone does not have this mark does that mean they are not a Christian?

We all know individuals who believe they are Christians because they attend church services, Wednesday night ministries, youth group, Bible studies, walked forward during an evangelistic service, read the “Sinner’s Prayer,” or were baptized.  In fact, if statistics on the church in America are correct there is at this moment someone reading this Friday Preview who personifies this point of view.  But are these the marks of genuine Christianity or is there something deeper?

We cannot rely upon ourselves to answer these questions for our own desires, influences, preferences, and feeling tend to skew our point of view.  But there is a place with great authority that addresses this issue of authentic faith: God’s Word.  James 1:21-27 speaks with clarity on the mark of genuine Christianity by defining the believer as humble, a doer of the Word, and lives out true religion.  These three actions point us in a single direction.

May God’s Word speak volumes into our hearts and minds this week as we explore together God’s mark of genuine Christianity.  Our God is great and full of wisdom.  Let us ask him to teach us and have the courage to live out genuine Christian faith.

Hasty Speech and Anger

“In the spring of 1894, the Baltimore Orioles came to Boston to play a routine baseball game.  But what happened that day was anything but routine.  The Orioles’ John McGraw got into a fight with the Boston third baseman.  Within minutes all the players from both teams had joined in the brawl.  The warfare quickly spread to the grandstands.  Among the fans the conflict went from bad to worse.  Someone set fire to the stands and the entire ballpark burned to the ground.  Not only that, but the fire spread to 107 other Boston buildings as well” (Daily Bread, August 13, 1992).

Uncontrolled anger expressed in the heat of the moment usually produces unintentional and unexpected consequences.  As disciples of Christ we are called to a higher standard and how we handle and express ourselves in times of frustration is no different.  James 1:19-20 tells us clearly the results of hasty speech and anger and none of them reveal God’s righteousness.  Perhaps you have found yourself in a situation where anger has quickly risen to the surface only to regret the hasty words that have left your mouth.  It is easy to remind ourselves the righteous results of self-control, but to live it out is much more difficult.

The next two Sunday mornings will find us digging into God’s Word in James.  Whereas this week we will study the results of uncontrolled anger and hasty speech, next week we will discover the mark of genuine Christianity.  I would encourage us all to read through and study the first chapter in James in preparation for this week.  May God speak to us as we study His Word and may the Spirit reveal to us His Truth, transforming us as His disciples.