Even The Devil Has The Right Theology.

by John Stallings

James is very plain spoken.

He puts things bluntly. He gets on our toes so consequently he’s a little hard to read. He writes about ethics & practical Christian living. Sometimes reading James you don't know whether to laugh or cry. The whole letter of James leaves you with the kind of brisk, stinging feeling we men get after a close shave & the application of aftershave. It’s a-- “Thanks, I needed that” feeling.

For most of Jesus’ ministry, James didn’t believe His claims as to His person or work. [John 7:5.] Somewhere along the line God changed his heart.

It speaks volumes to me that James opens his book by calling himself, “A servant of God & of the Lord Jesus Christ.” It’s also revealing that he never reminds us of his earthly blood-kinship with Jesus. He grew up in the same household. He shared the same mother. He was blood-kin with our Lord & yet he calls himself --Jesus’ servant.

James has a way with words. Listen to this verse;

Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness and receive with meekness the engrafted word which is able to save your souls.--James 1:21

In this verse James tells us to receive the word & then turns around and tells us how to receive it, with meekness. The only way the word will do us much good is as it's engrafted into our spirits. A cusory reading of the word always helps but its when we allow God by His Holy Spirit to engraft or carve it into our hearts that we see change. James had a right to talk about meekness. He could have legitimately opened his book by saying, -James, the brother of Jesus Christ, or James, the leader of the church of Jerusalem. He could have introduced himself as—James, the pastor of the most important church in Palestine. He could have said, James the pillar of the church of God. He could have said, James the moderator of the first general assembly. All that would have been true but James is too meek for that. He describes himself as a servant of Jesus Christ. This fact goes a long way in telling me what I need to know about James.

James grew up with Jesus, no doubt slept in the same bed with Him as a boy & believed that He was divine. Maybe we don’t think of this fact when we preach Jesus’ divinity but when you think about it, what greater testimony to Jesus’ divinity could there be than for a young man to call his brother God. Even though he once doubted Him, now as a man he says of himself, “I’m the servant of my God and Savior Jesus Christ.”

James was a man of tremendous stature in the early church. James, more than anyone else helped the early Christians to stand together & his leadership brought much needed cohesiveness & balance. [Acts 15] James encouraged Paul to reach out to the Gentiles & release them from the legalism of the ceremonial law. It’s not hard to figure out how slow the Church might have grown if they’d done as some wanted to do & demand that the Gentiles be circumcised. Had not a strong balanced leader been at the helm & the spirit of reason been folded into the early churches passion, who knows what would have happened in those early years?

Legend tells us that shortly after the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D when the Jews were becoming Christian, James was commanded to renounce Jesus. When he refused James was thrown from the top of the temple & then stoned to death as he lay dying from his injuries. James’ willingness to die for his faith is another compelling argument for the claims of Christ.

James writes with such effectiveness some have wondered if he was flying in the face of the great Apostle Paul. For example, Paul has much to say about grace with no works mixed in but James sees the flip side, asking us to please show him our works, then he’ll see if we have real faith. James believes that the Christian life is more than saying we believe this or that, or even having perfect theology because ……the devil also believes and trembles. James 2:9.

James believes it's not enough to have the right theology, we must have a heart connection with Christ that causes us to live what we believe. We've all seen the good people who knock on our door & stand militantly, presenting their theology to us in a highly regimented fashion. Have you ever noticed they don't seem very warm nor compassionate? I've said it many times & its not original with me, but the way to tell a cult from true Christianity is; a cult asks us to-Believe something, while the gospel asks us to--Receive someone.

James teaches us that the Christian life can’t just be adherence to a set of doctrines but an everyday walk with God. James is concerned less with what we say we believe & more with what we’re going to do when we get up in the morning. Of course if you’ve spent a modicum of time in Bible reading & study you understand that it contains no contradictions. Paul was writing about the root of faith & James wrote about the fruit of faith.

As a pastor I’ve preached through the book of James several times, the first time it got so dry it sounded like a Texas weather report; “dry & windy.” I vowed from that time forward to just use the book of James for reference passages, & never to try preaching through it again. If you are a bottom line person, here it is;-- James is tough stuff.

Never say never. The day came when I was confronted again with the book of James & embarked again on preaching through it, with one caveat; I got on my knees & asked God to give me the key to the real relevance of the book for our day. I pity any teacher or preacher who tackles James without “wisdom from above.”

IS JAMES A LITTLE “CRAZY?”

I’m not being disrespectful but in the second verse of his book he says;

My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; knowing this that the trying of your faith worketh patience. [1:2]

Has James been walking in the Sun too much without his hat or has he gone senile? This concept is strangely out of sync with most theology heard these days. He’s saying in essence; -- “when trials & tests come your way, throw a party. Don’t just count it joy, count it all joy. Get all happy & excited. Put on your shouting shoes & get ready to do the sanctified version of – “The boot scooting boogie.” Send out invitations & let everyone know what’s going on, that you’re going through a rough patch & want everyone to celebrate the occasion with you.”

Obviously James is anything but crazy. Much of the book of James is taken up with helping us to determine if what we possess is real or fake. James is telling us unless our faith can hold up under testing it isn’t the real deal. If you want to know what real faith consists of read James 1:19-27. James wants us to see true faith, because fake faith can’t save us.

Have you ever watched one of the Antique shows where people bring their family heirlooms to be tested by experts? Sometimes you can see a person’s face fall when they learn that what they thought was a true antique worth something is really not valuable at all. James is quick to tell us that if our faith is the real article it will show itself in humility, right relationships, a tight reign on our tongues & we won’t be bickering with one another.

It’s important to keep in mind that James is addressing Christians. Over & over he says, “My brethren, & my beloved brethren.” James doesn’t say what the speech problem was with these Christians he was writing to. Maybe it was proud speech, maybe it was gossip, maybe it was exaggeration or maybe it was sarcasm. It’s possible that these good folk had tongues so long they could sit on the back porch & lick the skillet in the kitchen. We don’t know what form the wrong speech took but we do know they were having problems with the “two ounce slab of trouble,” --the tongue.

NEVER LET IT GO!

Our tongues must be watched constantly & words must be used carefully. Most of the trouble we get into is tongue trouble. That’s why God placed it between two powerful jaws, behind two rows of rock-hard teeth covered by two strong lips.

A man was visiting the U.S & was attempting to answer a question about his family, “Do you have any children?” Trying to explain that his wife couldn’t have a child he said, “My wife is impregnable.” Seeing that word wasn’t quite proper he said, “No, you see my wife is inconceivable.” Again, realizing he’d chosen an inappropriate adjective he said, “You see, my wife is unbearable.”

The following statement was actually taken from a letter received by a public welfare department. “I’m very annoyed that you branded my boy illiterate. This is a dirty lie! I was married a week before that boy was born.”

In speaking of the power of the tongue, Pastor James makes four very interesting comparisons.

The Horse. ---The horse is used to symbolize strength. We use “horse-power” to tell us how powerful our car engine is. We can only guess how many times history has been changed by horses. Think of all the battles that have been fought from the backs of horses. Think of how many lives have been saved not only in battle but in travel incurred in the opening up of new frontiers. I’ve heard it said that if horses could know how much strength they possessed in comparison to a man, no man could ever get close enough to touch them. Ten or twenty men couldn’t bring the smallest horse under control & if enough man-power was used to hold the horse down, that still would be a far cry from getting the horse to allow a rider to sit on his back & obey him.

Yet this powerful animal can be easily made as humble & docile as a puppy. This animal who, due to its strength, could be as independent as any animal on earth, can be brought quickly under complete subjection by placing a tiny bit in its most tender & vulnerable place; its mouth. Now you have a totally different situation. The horse will now learn to obey every command of its master.

We've seen so many thousands of horses with riders as they move seeming like a single unit, its easy for us to think the horse is actually thinking, "this is my purpose in life, this is what I was born for." In reality no horse is enjoying being ridden by a human being but tolerates it because he has no choice. Again it's the bit that works the magic.

THE WIND. ---The wind drives ships on the seas as if they were toys. We saw the effect of wind in the Hurricanes that have wreaked such destruction in the last few years. Wind can be one of the most terrifying forces of nature & when on the rampage it can overturn & destroy everything man or nature puts in its path. But when the wind is softly blowing, nothing is more welcomed & refreshing especially in the dog days of summer. To have cool fragrant breezes blowing on our face is one of the most pleasurable experiences of life.

THE RUDDER.—Think of this. Here’s a little wooden vessel out riding the crest of the ocean waves. The ocean could say to the small boat; “little boat, compared to me, you’re no more than a splinter. I can swallow you up & take you to the bottom so quickly you won’t know what hit you. You could be a thousand times larger than you are & still I could smash you to smithereens in less than a heartbeat.”

But the little vessel answers, “Oh mighty ocean, you need to think again. I have something that will allow me to defeat you. I have an unseen little sliver of wood that is hidden beneath the surface called a rudder. This rudder has more power over me than you could ever have & because of it, I’ll ride your back & be steered anywhere in this vast ocean I want to go. You may even destroy my rigging & sweep my decks clean & even blow directly against me, but as long as I have this small piece of wood beneath the surface & as long as it’s working properly, I will go exactly where it directs me.”

FIRE.—James reminds us that a great forest can be totally devastated by a little spark or flame. Recently in the Western states we saw how utterly devastating fire can be to the strongest trees & the most modernly constructed houses. Anyone who has witnessed fire leap from tree-top to tree-top knows the frightening destructive power it possesses. If fire burned unaffected by rain or man’s efforts to stop it, it could totally wipe out everything on the face of the earth & would also be capable of consuming all the oxygen, thus all life on earth.

James wants us to see this graphic vision of these potentially destructive forces & then he wants us to understand that the tongue has the power to do more damage than all of them put together. James shows us the extremes we go to with our tongues; with it we bless our God and Father & with it we curse men who have been made in the similitude of God. James 3:9-10.

James also reminds us that a fountain --can’t bring forth both sweet & bitter water. 3:11.

Tongue control also includes saying positive things one to another. Have you ever noticed the verse right at the end of the Old Testament, Malachi 3:17? -- Listen to it;

Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another: and the Lord hearkened and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon His name.

Our tongues are to glorify God, but the praise isn’t just from the tongue. It’s the expression of our hearts and minds.

God isn’t glorified just because we have the right theology or hold firmly to a set of doctrines. Even the devil believes because he knows from first hand experience who God is. But that doesn’t cause him to live a godly life.

God is truly praised when our whole being exalts Him & blesses others.

Those efforts on our part will be recorded for eternity.

Blessings,

John