The Gospel's Sinners, Savior, Saving Benefits - P1

Romans 1:16-17 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.”

For the past couple of days we have focused our attention upon the Gospel as so discussed and demonstrated in Romans 1:1-7 and Romans 1:8-15. Today we want to think upon the key verse of the Book of Romans, Romans 1:16-17, to consider what entails a solid presentation of the Gospel. What exactly are we telling people when we are presenting the Gospel of God and His Son, Jesus Christ? I want to propose three thoughts from this key verse and then trace them through the Book of Romans:
1. Gospel's Sinners are human beings
2. Gospel's Savior is Jesus Christ
3. Gospel's Saving benefits received by faith

Gospel's sinners are human beings
Romans 1:16 tells us that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the power of God unto salvation. The word for salvation comes from a word that refers to saving someone from danger, destruction and death. What condition is mankind in before God that requires him to be in need of salvation?  Why does the Bible use such dramatic wording to explain the Gospel?  Scripture reveals that man is a sinner. I'm sure you have heard this term used many times, but have you ever thought about it's implications?  What is a sinner? Why do sinners need salvation? As you go through the Book of Romans, you find out the three-fold definition of a sinner:

1. A Sinner is relationally an enemy of God. Romans 1:18 "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness"

2. A Sinner is morally guilty before God. Romans 2:15 "in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them."

3. A Sinner is legally/spiritually dead to God. Romans 3:10-13 10as it is written, “There is none righteous, not even one; 11there is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God; 12all have turned aside, together they have become useless; there is none who does good, there is not even one.”13“their throat is an open grave, with their tongues they keep deceiving,” “the poison of asps is under their lips”;

Creation reveals man's enmity, his conscience tells him he is guilty and the Divine law declares him legally/spiritual dead to God. This is the Gospel's sinner. This is bad news. But the Gospel is supposed to be Goodnews, which leads us to the second major point that we present in the Gospel, namely.....

The Gospel's Savior - Jesus Christ
So why is Jesus Christ the central focus and person of the Gospel? Why is He touted as the Gospel's Savior?  Why not my good works? Because the Law of God says I have none to offer that is good enough to please the Holy, Righteous God. (Romans 3:10-13)  Why not religion? Because in religion people want to live a life of benefits and blessings without God, which is idolatry.  Jesus Christ alone is the Gospel's Savior, and also two other terms: Lord and Treasure.

1. Jesus Christ is Savior.  Romans 3:24 "being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus".  Even more explicitly we find Jesus described as the Sole Savior in the Gospel as stated in Romans 5:8-10 "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. 10For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life."  One more passage from Romans tells us that Jesus is the Gospel's Savior, Romans 8:32 "He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?"

2. Jesus is Lord.  When we say Jesus is Lord, we mean that He has the authority as God to be the source of salvation.  Also too, as Lord, He is to be the believer's authority from conversion onward.  Romans 10:9  is perhaps the clearest verse: "if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved".  You cannot separate Jesus' Saving ministry from His Lordship.  Just as you cannot separate His humanity and Deity from His person, so too you cannot separate His role as Savior from the authority that gives Him the power to affect salvation in all who by grace believe - namely His Lordship. 

3. Jesus is Treasure.   Romans 15:17 is a prime example of what we mean when we speak of Jesus Christ as the treasured Saviro and Lord of the Gospel - "Therefore in Christ Jesus I have found reason for boasting in things pertaining to God."  We will never treasure the things of God (His word, prayer, His church, His worship, His glory) unless we do so through how treasuring of Jesus Christ.  In fact the last verse, Romans 16:27, underscores the sum total of treasuring God's glory as vitally connected to Jesus Christ - "to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, be the glory forever. Amen."

Tomorrow we will continue this study by noting the Gospel's Saving Benefits.  May the Lord bless you throughout your day dear friend. 

The Gospel of The Son

Romans 1:9 For God, whom I serve in my spirit in the preaching of the gospel of His Son, is my witness as to how unceasingly I make mention of you.

The Gospel of the Son - The Gospel on the move
In today's blog I want us to continue exploring further what the Book of Romans teaches us about the Gospel.  Yesterday we considered that grand introduction to the letter, noting the features of what Paul termed "the Gospel of God".  Today we look at another designation, namely "the Gospel of His Son".  Don't think that Paul is speaking about two Gospels, rather understand that in the designations, "Gospel of God" is giving a description of the Gospel, whereas the phrase "Gospel of the Son" is dealing with the Gospel's movement.   
When I see that phrase "the Gospel of His Son", I'm reminded of the passages in which God the Son commands His church to go forth and proclaim the Gospel. (Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:8-11)  Romans 1:8-15 is all about showing us how this "Gospel of the Son" is really the message about Him and from Him, moving and being communicated by those who have believed on Him.  Note how the Gospel is on the move in these passages.

1. The Gospel of the Son is to be a proclaimed message. Rom 1:8
As the Gospel moves forth in its proclamation, it is to be proclaimed both worldwide and locally.  Romans 1:8 states - "First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, because your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world."  With the world in view, Paul also desires to proclaim the Gospel on a more local level to the Romans in 1:15 "So, for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome."

2. The Gospel of the Son is to be preached constantly in the church. Rom 1:9
Author Jerry Bridges once commented that we as Christians need preach the Gospel to ourselves everyday.  Everytime the church gathers together, the life transforming activity that Christ has ordained to cleanse His saints and call forth sinners is the ministry of the word.  The word for "preaching" here in Romans 1:9 is the word "euangilizo" from whence we get our word "evangelism".  The Gospel not only imparts spiritual life to all who by grace through faith believe, it functions to provide continuous life to the Christian following conversion.  The Gospel is like a lense, bringing into ever sharper focus the Person and work of Jesus Christ. 

3. The Gospel of the Son provides the basis for spiritual maturity. Romans 1:10-15
As Paul expresses his desire to come and preach the Gospel to the Romans in person, he lists the benefits that come with continual exposure to the Gospel.  First, Christians who are delighting in the Gospel with one another will expierience and edifying faith. (Romans 1:10-11)   Then Paul speaks further of how in the context of enjoyment of the Gospel, the church experiences an encouraging faith.  (Romans 1:12) Edification builds up my faith, and encouragement fuels the desires needs to walk in faith, which leads to Paul's third detail regarding how this Gospel of the Son undergirds spiritual maturity, namely it promotes a fruitful faith. (Romans 1:13-14)  Edifying faith, encouraged faith and fruitful faith all mark maturity and growth in the Gospel.

As you can see, the Gospel of the Son describes a message that is constantly moving.  It is desired and expected that when we as Christians are daily proclaiming, preaching and using the Gospel as the basis for spiritual maturity, we will look and act more like the Son.  The Gospel of the Son is the Gospel of God on the move, getting us to the very God who sent His Son.  May we rejoice and be thankful for the Gospel of the Son.   

The Gospel of God

Romans 1:1 Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God

The Gospel of God
The greatest of Paul's letters is considered by many to be his letter to the church at Rome.  None of his letters gives the breadth and depth of treatment of the Gospel like Romans.  In the opening verse we see Paul designating himself as both a "bond servant of Christ Jesus" and a "called apostle", set apart for what he terms "the gospel of God".  This phrase "the gospel of God" is rich in meaning in the original Greek.  We could either translate it "the gospel about God" or "the gospel from God".  Either rendering reveals that this is not "man's gospel", but "God's gospel". 

Romans 1:1-7 is all about introducing the Book of Romans and even more importantly about unfolding for us key points about this Gospel of God.  Today I want us to consider the thoughts we discover in these verses about what exactly is included in this "Gospel of God".

1. God is the Gospel's goal.  Romans 1:1
The Gospel, in all of its aims and details, is aimed at bringing the sinner to God.  Reconciliation is at the heart and love is God's Divine motivation.

2. Scripture is the Gospel's ground.  Romans 1:2
The Old Testament scriptures all speak about the Gospel of God.  Moses in the Pentateuch (first five Bible books) wrote about the Gospel, as well as Samuel, David and the other prophets.  Carrying into the New Testament, we see the ground of the Gospel - namely God's progressively revealed plan of how He was going to send His Son to provide resurrection life, forgiveness and adoption unto sonship to all who believe. 

3. Christ is the Gospel's glory.  Romans 1:3-4
The operative term here is "concerning His Son".  The glory of God is the visible display of God's Goodness and Activity, which is centralized in the Person of the Son.  We see Jesus Christ declared to be fully man according to the seed of David and fully Divine as the resurrected Son of God and Lord.  As God, Christ's accomplishment was sufficient, and as man his work was effective in the shedding of blood, so that all who by grace through faith believe could be saved.

4. Faith receiving Christ is the Gospel's gift. Romans 1:5
The "obedience of faith" mentioned here in 1:5 could be translated "the obedience that results from faith".  Faith alone is the necessary and sufficient means of receiving Eternal life brought by the New Birth, forgiveness of sins by justification and relational blessings by adoption.  This wonderful package or gifting of salvation, and the reception of it by faith, is all included in the gift of salvation brought by the Gospel.

5. The call to be saints is the Gospel's gracious identity. Rom 1:6-7 
The call to be a "holy one" or saint reveals the gracious identity that results from the Gospel.  In the Gospel I'm set free to obey (hence Paul's earlier statement concerning "the obedience of faith").  This wonderful Gospel identity renders my new found life in Jesus Christ to be the defining mark of knowing who I am and whose I am. 

May you and I be ever captivated and amazed by this wonderful Gospel of God. 

Dr. Charles Stanley on God's faithfulness

1 Corinthians 1:9  God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Preachers and preaching and Dr. Charles Stanley
Every once and a while I like to give readers of  this blog a treat in the form of reading the thoughts of a past or current preacher/teacher of the Word.  Dr. Charles Stanley is a beloved Southern Baptist preacher of the word to many people throughout the world.  He has pastored the First Baptist Church of Atlanta since 1971, has a nationwide ministry called "In Touch Ministries" and is author of many many books.  For over 50 years Dr. Stanley has been faithful in his ministry of the Word (now that's a fine example of faithfulness).  

A summary of Dr. Stanley's Message about Relying on God's faithfulness
In his message, Dr. Stanley was laying out the five essential attributes that God has to have in order to be the faithful God.  I felt that what Dr. Stanley preached on was of such great encouragement, that it would be fitting on this Lord's day to share the main points of his message.  May you be encouraged by the following thoughts from Dr. Charles Stanley on the subject of God's faithfulness.

First and foremost, Dr. Stanley defined faithfulness as follows: "faithfulness for God is that in all times, in all things and in all circumstances God is always the same."  In following from that definition, we see the following five attributes of God that enable Him to be the Faithful God:

1. God is Omniscient. 
That is, God knows all things.  If God did not know everything about me, my circumstance or the future of where things are heading, He could not guarantee and of His promises or His pledge to those promises. 

2. God is Omnipotent.
Since God knows all things, then it follows that He must be omnipotent (that is, all powerful).  What would happen if He were not omnipotent?  He would not be able to carry out His promises.  To be the Faithful God, God must be omniscient and omnipotent.

3. God is Omnipresent.
God thirdly must be omnipresent - which means every present.  He is not only everywhere present, but every time present.  In order for Him to be faithful, He has to be ready to meet me in those times that I may not even be at yet. 

4. God cannot lie.
If God were to lie, He would not be faithful.  Titus 1:2 tells us that God cannot lie.  This is God's very character - to be truthful. 

5. God is unchanging
God is all knowing (omni-present) , all powerful (omnipotent) and every present (omnipresent).  He is the Truthful God Who cannot lie.  What other attribute must the God of scripture have in order to be absolutely faithful? Unchanging.  People change, circumstances change, but not God.  Because He remains ever the same, He Alone can be perfectly and absolutely faithful.

I pray these thoughts from Dr. Stanley have been an encouragement to you.  May you be blessed this Lord's day and may you and I be ever more faithful as we focus our attention on God's faithfulness. 

God's Faithfulness & Christian Faithfulness P2

Hebrews 10:23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful

Yesterday we noted how Moses, being a prime example of faithfulness, spelled out how God's faithfulness was to be the prime motivation for the people's faithfulness.  Having looked at Deuteronomy 1-4 and the rest of scripture, we established the fact that God's faithfulness must be considered first before moving to our own. 

God's Faithfulness is the foundation of the believer's faithfulness
We first of all want to reiterate how God's faithfulness is to be the foundation for the believer's faithfulness.  Below I cite further passages that were not cited in yesterday's blog to give you more scriptural support for this important truth of God's faithfulness being the driving force behind the believer's faithfulness:

Isaiah 25:1 "O LORD, You are my God; I will exalt You, I will give thanks to Your name; For You have worked wonders, Plans formed long ago, with perfect faithfulness." Here we see Isaiah's motivation for praise and worship being driven by his reflections upon God's faithfulness in all His works.

1 Corinthians 1:9 "God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord." God's faithfulness is the basis for salvation, as well as the believer's continued growth and progress in sanctification. In fact as you read on in 1 Corinthians 1, Paul's exhortations for the Corinthians to be a united people is based upon God's faithfulness.

2 Thessalonians 3:3-4 "But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one. 4We have confidence in the Lord concerning you, that you are doing and will continue to do what we command." What is the guarantee that we as Christians will persevere to the end? God's faithfulness. Passages such as 2 Timothy 2:13 tell us that even when we are unfaithful, He is faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.

Hebrews 10:23 23 "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful".This great text of course gives us one of the clearest links between God's faithfulness and the motivations for the church to be faithful to Him and to one another. God's faithfulness is clearly shown to be the reason for the believer to be faithful.

Hebrews 13:6-8 "so that we confidently say, “THE LORD IS MY HELPER, I WILL NOT BE AFRAID. WHAT WILL MAN DO TO ME?”
7Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith. 8Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." Sandwiched in between two magnificent statements on God and Christ's faithfulness is the exhortation to be faithful by following the example of faithful pastors and teachers of the Word.

As you can see, God's faithfulness is the bedrock of Christian faithfulness and commitment. So what kind of faithful people ought we to be as a result of basing our lives around God's faithfulness?

The true identity of a faithful people of God
Having looked at Deuteronomy 1:9-4:31 yesterday, we turn our attention to Deuteronomy 4:32-40 to see what traits identify God's faithful people. 

1. God's faithful people are a called people.  Deuteronomy 4:32-36
Moses points out that what marked the nation of Israel as being unique from all others is the fact that they heard the voice of God calling them to Himself.  Deuteronomy 4:33 states - “Has any people heard the voice of God speaking from the midst of the fire, as you have heard it, and survived?" As you go down through the text, Moses writes in Deuteronomy 4:36 - “Out of the heavens He let you hear His voice to discipline you; and on earth He let you see His great fire, and you heard His words from the midst of the fire."  The only way we can be a faithful people to the Lord is if He calls us to Himself.  Jesus describes His followers as those who "hear His voice". (John 10:4,5,16)  Other scriptures further lend support to the fact that as a result of God's calling on our lives, we have the ability and motivation to want to follow Him in faithfulness. (2 Corinthians 13:5; Ephesians 4:1)

2. God faithful people are a chosen people.  Deuteronomy 4:37-38
In Deuteronomy 4:37 we read - 37“Because He loved your fathers, therefore He chose their descendants after them. And He personally brought you from Egypt by His great power".  Over 100 places in God's Word designates God's people as His chosen people.  Since we are a called people of God, the Holy Spirit tells us in 1 Peter 2:9  -  "But you are A CHOSEN RACE, A royal PRIESTHOOD, A HOLY NATION, A PEOPLE FOR God’s OWN POSSESSION, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light."  

Like Israel, the chosen people of God in the Old Testament, believers in the New Testament are described as having been "chosen in Christ, in love" (Ephesians 1:3-4).  By God's choice for His people, that simply means that what He decided to begin, He will finish.1  The believer's ability to be faithful is dependant upon God's ongoing effort in working forth His choice in bringing the child of God to completion in Christ. Philippians 1:6 reveals - "For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus."  Ephesians 2:10 states - "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. "

3. God's faithful people are a committed people. Deut 4:39-40
Deuteronomy 4:39 tells us - “Know therefore today, and take it to your heart, that the LORD, He is God in heaven above and on the earth below; there is no other."   Being that God's faithful people are a God called and chosen people, it stands to reason that they should and must be a committed people. They should be those that take what God says to heart.  Jesus tells us a New Testament Christians that we are to "love the Lord our God with all our heart" and "love our neighbor as ourselves, something of which is repeated throughout the New Testament. (Matthew 22:37-39; Romans 13:9)  We are those who as a called and chosen people of God, are to be committed to abstinence from fleshly lusts and having a positive testimony among unbelievers. (1 Peter 2:9-12)  Commitment is the backbone of faithfulness, and without the grace and calling of God cannot be done.  In fact, this takes us back to yesterday, where the journey of faithfulness first and foremosts considers the character and faithfulness of God Himself. (Ephesians 5:1; Colossians 3:13; 1 Peter 1:16)

Endnotes
1 The 2000 Baptist Faith and Message of the SBC calls God's choice or election of His people "God's purpose of Grace".  You can read the entire article online at www.sbc.net by clicking on "Baptist Faith & Message". 

God's Faithfulness & Christian Faithfulness P1

Deuteronomy 4:31 “For the LORD your God is a compassionate God; He will not fail you nor destroy you nor forget the covenant with your fathers which He swore to them."

Defining faithfulness
What is faithfulness? Faithfulness is the track record of consistency that one person exhibits in fulfilling their commitment to another.  Dr. Charles Stanley offers a better definition: "Faithfulness for God means that in all times, in all things and in all circumstances, God is always the same." 1 Corinthians 4:1-2 offers the best definition -  "Let a man regard us in this manner, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. 2In this case, moreover, it is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy". That underlined word "trustworthy" is a Greek word which other English translations render "faithful".  To say that God is faithful simply refers to the fact that He is someone I can trust and rely upon no matter what.  As a faithful Christian, my aim is to be, in a progressive way, someone that God can count upon to follow through with whatever He gives to me to accomplish for Him. 

Moses - an example of faithfulness to the Lord
Certainly scripture tells us of the example of faithfulness Moses was to his generation.  Hebrews 3:5 reveals - "Now Moses was faithful in all His house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken later." With this estimate of Moses coming from scripture itself, it benefits us to sit at his feet and learn what we can about faithfulness.  In Deuteronomy 1:9-4:31 we see Moses the man of God exhorting a new generation of Israelites to faithfulness.    As he does so, we see a consistent pattern: Focus on God's faithfulness in order to understand who your are to be as a faithful people.  Many scriptures, as well as Deuteronomy, bear out this two-fold pattern of God's faithfulness being the basis for your faithfulness and mine.  Only when we have focused on God's faithfulness, can we then understand the type of people we're to be.  Today I want us to focus on God's faithfulness, making the case as to why it is the proper foundation for the believer's faithfulness. 

Moses emphasizes God's track record of faithfulness
If you were to read the first four chapters of Deuteronomy, you would find Moses rehearsing for the new generation of Israelites the history of God's people.  Of chief interest in his opening address is the mention of God's faithfulness.  Over ten times Moses makes statements throughout those chapters of just how faithful God was to an often faithless people.  Below are some of the more noteworthy examples cited by Moses:

1. God was faithful in leading His people.  Deuteronomy 1:30-31 ‘The LORD your God who goes before you will Himself fight on your behalf, just as He did for you in Egypt before your eyes, 31and in the wilderness where you saw how the LORD your God carried you, just as a man carries his son, in all the way which you have walked until you came to this place."

2. God was faithful in providing for His people.  Deuteronomy 2:7 “For the LORD your God has blessed you in all that you have done; He has known your wanderings through this great wilderness. These forty years the LORD your God has been with you; you have not lacked a thing.”’

3. God was faithful in His people's victories. Deuteronomy 3:21-22 21“I commanded Joshua at that time, saying, ‘Your eyes have seen all that the LORD your God has done to these two kings; so the LORD shall do to all the kingdoms into which you are about to cross. 22‘Do not fear them, for the LORD your God is the one fighting for you.’

4. God was faithful to His people in prayer.  Deuteronomy 4:29 “But from there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul."

Seeing God's faithfulness stated throughout the rest of scripture
As we look at what is to be the foundation of the believer's faithfulness, we discover that the only way we can be faithful is by noting God's faithfulness. We've done that in the immediate context of Deuteronomy, but what about the rest of scripture?  God's faithfulness is stated again and again throughout scripture, let the reader take note:

Numbers 23:19 “God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?"

1 Samuel 15:29 “Also the Glory of Israel will not lie or change His mind; for He is not a man that He should change His mind.”

1 Corinthians 10:13 "No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it."

Revelation 3:7 “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write:
He who is holy, who is true, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, and who shuts and no one opens, says this"

With the establishment of scripture's testimony concerning God's faithfulness, we will continue tomorrow looking at what we are to be as a faithful people of God. 

Taking your spiritual temperature

James 1:25-26 26 If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless. 27 Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is 

this: to visit orphans and widows in        their distress, and to keep oneself unstained

                                     by the world.

How to practically assess one's Christian spiritual well-being- three areas in which to take your spiritual temperature

So how are you doing?  This common question can be a good question to ask yourself in evaluating the health of your Christian walk.  How do you practically do this? the Christian walk deals with almost endless variables and details.  James gives us a three-fold way for determining how well we have digested the Christian faith in its doctrinal, supernatural and practical dimensions:

1. How well does your current level of Christianity control your tongue? (James 1:26)
James' first area of evaluating your spiritual health has to to do with the area of your speech.  What he writes echoes thoughts from several Old Testament passages.  Psalm 34:1 for example states - "Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit." Psalm 39:1 tells us in the KJV - "I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue: I will keep my mouth with a bridle, while the wicked is before me."  

2. How much compassion do you have towards those whom we would classify as widows and orphans? (James 1:27)
As a regular reader of the Old Testament, James would know how God repeatedly throughout its pages modeled to His people the need to have compassion towards those less fortunate.  As the Holy Ghost moved upon James to write his words, passages like Isaiah 58:6 might have been on James' mind: “Is this not the fast which I choose, To loosen the bonds of wickedness, To undo the bands of the yoke,  And to let the oppressed go free And break every yoke?"

3. How concerned are you about holiness? (James 1:27)
The three areas of speech, compassion towards widows and orphans and holiness carry their way from the Old Testament, through James' writing and into the New Testament.  The areas that measure spiritual health in either testament mark are spoken of by James.  Keeping oneself from being influenced by the world is mentioned again and again in such Old Testament texts as Exodus 19; Leviticus 11:55 and Isaiah 1:16-17.  
 

According to James, these three areas are the three benchmarks that will tell you and I how well we really are doing in our Christian walk.  I call these three areas the way in which one can take their spiritual temperature.  As James wrote with Old Testament categories on his mind, he clearly was writing about what God desires for every New Testament Christian in terms of a healthy spiritual temperature.

Jesus defined a healthy Christianity by these three benchmarks

When you look at what Jesus taught about the church, we can see evidence that His concern dealt with these three areas.  In regards to the area of the tongue, Jesus states in Matthew 12:36-37 36“But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment. 37“For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”  

In terms of how people were to regard widows or orphans, Jesus throughout his ministry had much to say about the treatment of children.  In Matthew 18:5-6 5“And whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me; 6but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea."  In the judgment scene where Jesus has the nations situated before Him, we read in Matthew 25:45 “Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me."

Then in regards to the purity and personal holiness of his church, Jesus placed it first priority.  In Matthew 18 we have Jesus giving the first set of instructions to his church as to how she is to restore her membership and how she is to promote holiness and restoration.  Before Jesus ever issued the Great Commission of Matthew 28:18-20 or even the Great Commandment of Matthew 22:37-39, He issued what I term "The Great Concern" of Matthew 18. 

The remainder of the New Testament defines healthy Christianity by the realms of the tongue, treatment of children/widows and purity

Just like Jesus and James, the remainder of the New Testament took the spiritual temperature of Christian health by these three benchmarks.  For example, in Acts 6 we see the Apostles having to instruct the church to appoint Deacons to deal with the dispute among the Grecian and Jewish Widows.  The Apostles knew that if the early church could not minister to her widows properly, then their whole Christian witness would be questioned.  This is the main reason why the Apostle Paul had an entire chapter dedicated to the care and listing of widows in the early church in 1 Timothy 5. 

Numerous passages have the Apostles urging their readers to watch their tongues and to practice godliness in the realm of their speech-life. (Ephesians 4:21-24; 1 Peter 2:1-2, 3:9)  In fact, James himself at one point states that in the natural realm, no one has been able to tame the tongue - since it is an unruly member. (James 3:8)  So then if no one naturally can tame the tongue, then only the Holy Spirit governing the moral and spiritual dimensions of a person can tame it!  To have a Christianity that legitimately tames the realm of speech is to have a unique claim - since such a feat is not natural, but supernatural!

Then a truly healthy Christianity will hate worldliness and cling to what is holy.  Again numerous New Testament scriptures emphasize the believer's personal purity and holiness. (Romans 6:12, 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; 2 Corinthians 6; 1 Peter 1:15-16)

So how are you doing? My prayer is that you and I will have a healthier Christianity that is strong in the realms of a controlled tongue, compassion and concern for holiness.