Jesus, James & Paul talk about justification

Luke 18:13-14 “But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’ 14“I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

James 2:24 "You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone."

Romans 3:28  "For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law."

Paul, Jesus and James at the table talking about justification
Today's blog is about understanding the doctrine of justification as taught by Jesus, James and Paul.  Picture if you will all three of them sitting at the table, having a discussion about this very important doctrine that occupies the center of the Gospel.  Would we find Paul and James getting angry and pointing fingers, with Jesus having to split them up and put them in seperate rooms until the cooled off? Some commentators would say yes, since Paul in the above passage says justification is by faith alone and James seems to teach the opposite.  Let me offer a different suggestion: I believe there would be absolute agreement - and here is why.

Jesus begins the conversation about justification
I could see Jesus begin the conversation by saying: "brethren, do you recall what I taught back in Luke 18?" At this point I could see both Paul and James nodding their heads in agreement.   Jesus continues on in our hypothetical discussion: "as you read those verses, the context is a parable about a religious man and a very sinful man.  The religious man is self righteous, whereas the sinner freely admits he is unrighteous, unworthy of God's grace and yet pleading for God's mercy.  As you both know, the outcome is that the sinner gets up from his prayer a forgiven man, justified before God's sight through faith alone.  Now to prove that this man possessed genuine faith in the God who alone can save, I noted the man's humility and repentant heart.  Why? Because the only way people can tell genuine faith from false faith is by a person's attitudes and deeds.  So James and Paul, tell me what you understand from my teaching on justification? 

James is the first to respond in this hypothetical conversation about justification
In our imaginary conversation we could imagine James responding: "Well my Lord, I know that what you taught was true and consistent, since I grew up in the same home as you, saw your miracles and by your grace as my Lord and God believed upon you.1  From what I can tell, the only way we can tell that the sinner possessed true justifying, saving faith was by the fact he was humble, loathing his sin and walked humbly before God following His prayer.  As you know very well, My LORD, I wrote about this by the direction of your Spirit in my little letter entitled "James".  I wrote that "faith without works is dead".  My point was to show how justification looked and functioned in the sight of men, and that profession of You with one's lips means nothing."  As Jesus listens, he responds: "You have spoken correctly James".  Jesus then turns to the Apostle Paul, who smiles and gives his response in our hypotehtical round-table discussion.

What Paul says about justification in our hypothetical round table discussion about justification
Paul says: "My Lord and Savior, the day you called me, knocking me off my horse, and showing me my fallen condition, frankly I was a lot like that religious man in your parable.  I was self-righteous, a Pharisee of Pharisees.  I am so glad when you called me by grace and I believed on you, you forgave me for persecuting you through how I formerly treated your people.  As I rejoiced to hear you tell that story as Luke, my best friend wrote under the Spirit's inspiration, I realized that the reason that man was justified and declared forgiven by God was due to His simply faith and trust.  God alone knows the heart, and He knows and has deemed faith to be necessary and sufficient to save a person from His wrath.  My whole point, as you well know, is expressed in Romans 3-4 and my little letter to the Galatians.  I wanted to communicate how it is a man is made right in God's sight. Furthermore, I agree completely with what my brother James wrote about in his letter - that the only way we as human beings can know as much as possible another person's genuine faith is by their attitudes.  In fact, I wrote in my letter of Romans 12-16 the attitudes and lifestyle that should arise from a life transformed by the Gospel."

As Paul finishes, James raises his hand to speak, at which point Jesus nods: "My Lord and my God, I agree as well with my brother Paul, since I wrote to about how Genuine saving faith comes from the Father by His word. (James 1:18) Even though what I wrote was meant to emphasize Living working faith lived out in the sight of men, I recognize with my brother that the only way God will receive a person and justify them in His sight is by faith alone."

Jesus offers the final remarks in our hypothetical roundtable discussion about justification
As Jesus listened to Paul and James' additional remarks, He in His full Divine glory nodded His head in agreement.  We can picture Jesus pointing out that what James said and wrote, and what Paul said and write, were not in contradiction, but in full agreement - viewing justification respectively from man's point of view and God's point of view.  Jesus would most likely point out that James and Paul both caught the two things He taught about justification in His parable.  Certainly that sinful man was proven in man's sight to be truly saved or justified by virtue of the fact He walked humbly and in dependence upon God.  Likewise, before God, the man was justified by faith alone, and did not have to perform works or earn favor for salvation, contrasting the religious Pharisee in the parable. 

Conclusion
I hope you found today's blog to be insightful, since God's Word does not contradict itself.  If anything, we always need to read scripture in light of other scripture.  Can we know 100% for sure if another man possesses true genuine faith? No.  But God has prescribed good works as the test that helps us approximate as close as possible what defines true faith from false faith.  Likewise, what is the only way God will justify or credit a sinner with Christ's righteousness? It cannot be by works, since we are now no longer referring to the realm of human judgment.  God has ordained that only by grace alone through faith alone can man be saved.  We are saved grace through faith alone, and our walk from thereon is characterized by a faith that is never alone apart from works. 

End Notes
1 James and Jesus were half-brothers according to the flesh. (Matthew 13:5)  James would by grace through faith believe on Jesus as Savior, Lord and God in human flesh following Jesus' post-resurrection appearance to him as stated in 1 Corinthians 15:7.  We see James gathered with the 120 believers in the upperoom in jerusalem prior to the Holy Spirit's coming on the day of Pentecost. (Acts 1:14)

Faith without works is dead and with works is alive

James 2:14 What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him?





Faith with works is of great benefit, faith without works is worthless
The underlined word in the above opening text of today's blog is a word which in the original Greek conveys the thought of "profit, use, benefit".  The word translated "use" can also refer to that quality which gives an "edge, an advantage, a benefit".  Two scriptures below illustrate how this word is used in contexts where the uselessness of pursuits contrary to the Gospel and Jesus Christ are highlighted:

-Mark 8:36 “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul?" Think of the combined wealth of the nation's economies, measured in the untold trillions of dollars.  We would count the acquiring of such wealth to give such advantage and profit.  Yet in light of eternity, no amount of money is worth losing your soul.  If anything, trusting in God through the shed blood of Jesus Christ by the leading of the Holy Spirit is far more profitable, since that alone gives you a benefit that will last for eternity. 

-1 Corinthians 15:32 "If from human motives I fought with wild beasts at Ephesus, what does it profit me? If the dead are not raised, LET US EAT AND DRINK, FOR TOMORROW WE DIE."  This statement made by Paul is to illustrate a philosophy that was popular in his day and that is still popular in our own: namely that all that matters is material and physical things.1  Such a way of thinking is of no profit eternally nor for this life.  When you subscribe to such teaching, you are left empty on the inside. 

In short, true saving faith will be of profit, benefit and use to the one who possesses it and those around that person.  James 2:14-21 communicates to us the following important teaching: faith with works is alive, faith without works is dead. 

Jesus teaching about true faith vs false faith 
Jesus' comments in Matthew 7:17-20 “You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? 17“So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. 18“A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. 19“Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20“So then, you will know them by their fruits." 21“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter."  Seven times He mentions fruit.  Fruit is the by-product of a tree or plant.  In order to have fruit, there has to be a living support system composed of roots, a trunk or stem, branches and leaves.  In this instance we would say "faith" is the root" with "obedience" being the fruit.

In John 15:1-5 we see reference to Jesus' speaking about Himself as a grapevine and those who follow Him as being "branches".  In those verses the emphasis is on your manner of association with Christ (i.e "in Christ", "abiding in the vine").  There are those who profess Christ but are not associated with Him in their hearts.  They might be church members or Christians by name.  I've heard the distinction made sometimes between "make-believers" and "true believers".  Those who are not associated with Christ by faith are cut off and thrown away.  Why? True saving faith abides in the Vine - Jesus Christ.  In ancient Israel, grape vines grew along the ground, and often the vinedresser would place the crawling branches upon rocks to allow for continued growth.  If a branch was not bearing fruit, the vine dresser could only conclude that there was no life in that branch. 

Jesus and James teaching on the relationship between faith and works
Just as Jesus used the language of vine and fruit to explain true saving faith versus false faith, James uses the language of cause and effect.  Jesus no doubt taught that saving faith comes from God, is received by man and is by itself necessary and sufficient to begin one's saving relationship with God. (John 1:12-13, 3:16, 3:36; 5:24-25; 6:37,44)  James echoes Jesus, noting that as you plant a seed in the ground by itself, so is faith implanted by God the Father through His word into the soil of a receptive human heart. (Matthew 13:18-23; James 1:18) 

However in the Spirit's quickening work of salvation, once saving faith has occurred, God declares me alive as a born-again new creature, forgiven in justification, a son in adoption and . (Romans 4; 8:16-17; Galatians 4:1-7; John 3:3; 1 Peter 1:3, 23)  Following saving faith, the fruit of saving faith will come forth progressively and in stages in a work we call sanctification. (Romans 6:12ff; Galatians 5:16-22)  Works follow true saving faith like little children following their mother.  James and Jesus both emphasized the work of sanctification following immediately from the saving work of salvation. (Matthew 7:13-20; James 2:14-21)

Faith without works is dead, faith with works is alive - the key thought of James 2:14-21
Overtime genuine salvation should prove to be benefitial and profitable to both the believer and those around them. In the above three statements, James notes:

1. Practically it can be illustrated that faith without works is dead. James 2:14-17

2. Biblically it can be illustrated that faith without works is dead, as seen in the lives of Abraham (2:18-24) and Rahab (2:25). James 2:18-25

3. Physically it can be illustrated that faith without works is dead. James 2:26

What James is teaching us here is how we identify true saving faith versus counterfeit faith.  In his remarks in James 2:14-21, James says in James 2:17 "Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself." In James 2:20 he takes this statement and rephrases it in the form of a question: "But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?"  Then he closes out the section with a restatement of his main point in James 2:26 "For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead."

End Notes____________
1. This philosophy is known as "materialism" or "physicalism".  Perhaps one of the most famous modern proponents of this was the late Astronomer Carl Sagan, who in his massively popular series 'The Cosmos" opened it with these words: "The universe was, is and is all that ever will be".  For the materialist, all that matters is pleasure for the physical body and no accountability to a Creator, since for them no invisible realm exists, nor Creator. 

What it means to love your neighbor

Mark 12:31-33 “The second is this, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” 32The scribe said to Him, “Right, Teacher; You have truly stated that HE IS ONE, AND THERE IS NO ONE ELSE BESIDES HIM; 33AND TO LOVE HIM WITH ALL THE HEART AND WITH ALL THE UNDERSTANDING AND WITH ALL THE STRENGTH, AND TO LOVE ONE’S NEIGHBOR AS HIMSELF, is much more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

Yesterday we attempted to unpack both Jesus and Moses' teaching on what it means to love the Lord your God.  Today we want to unpack the second great commandment mentioned by Jesus: namely loving your neighbor as yourself. 

Who is your neighbor?
The Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament is a standard reference work in unpacking meanings of Old Testament words from the original language.  In its treatment of the term translated "neighbor", we discover that a neighbor can include:
1. A fellow slave, or in our day and age a co-worker. (Exodus 21:14)
2. A fellow soldier (Judges 7:13)
3. Aquaintences, friends or people we see every week or are close friends. (Genesis 38:12)

Thus the word "neighbor" could be translated "another person", ranging from friends to acquaintences to co-workers to fellow Christians.  I would even venture to say that one's neighbor could include your enemies, for Jesus tells us as Christians to love our enemies in Matthew 5:44 and Luke 6:27-35.  The word translated "neighbor" in the New Testament has a similar wide range of meaning.  Thus in our brief survey of scripture, here is what we can conclude about this wide ranging word translated neighbor:

Who is my neighbor?

Spouse-fellow Christian--friend--co-worker--acquaintence--fellowman--enemies.   

The challenge to love people with the love of God
Only when we love the Lord our God with all our heart as commanded in the Old Testament, taught by Jesus and restated in the remainder of the New Testament can we love the people in our lives.  Loving God will open me up to His love flowing through me.  Loving others can be a fearful thing, however lets not forget 1 John 4:8 "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love."  Loving others as God loves will entail discernment and resolve to not give up nor give in.  It may entail tough love at times and tender love at other times.  Even with our enemies, we can hate what they do while still loving them enough to pray for them and stand aside in a redemptive posture.  As with all the commands of scripture, every command has at least one provision of grace to fulfill that command. 

How to love our neighbor as we should - looking back at Deuteronomy 5 and 6
As Jesus states in Mark 12:31 to love our neighbor, He quotes from Leviticus 19:18.  However we can look back at Deuteronomy 5 and 6, since in Moses' restatement of the ten commandments, the remaining six commandments in Deuteronomy 5:16-21 can be treated similarly like we did yesterday, taking the negatively stated commandments and recasting them positively to see what they look like when carried out by the power of grace.

1. Love your Neighbor Emphatically
Commandment #5  Deut 5:16 ‘Honor your father and your mother.."
Thus I am to love my parents with God's love

Commandment #6 Deut 5:17 "you shall not murder" can be stated positively "you shall preserve human life".  In considering Jesus comments on this command in His sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:21-26, we could say that in loving our neighbor with this command, I should pray for and watch what I think or say about my brother.

Commandment #7  Deut 5:18 ‘You shall not commit adultery' stated positively could read "you shall be faithful to your spouse".  Loving your spouse is a profound picture of God's love for Israel and Christ's love for the church.  Again you cannot love any of the people in your life without the love of God.

Commandment #8 Deut 5:19 ‘You shall not steal." stated positively could be "You shall contribute toward the needs of your neighbor".  Loving the various people in your life is not about getting all you can and canning all you get", rather it about putting their needs ahead of your own.

Commandment #9 Deut 5:20 ‘You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.' Stated positively could be "tell your neighbor the truth or tell the truth about your neighbor". 

Commandment #10 Deut 5:21 ‘You shall not covet...."  To covet means to desire after people or things that you have no right to own or have relationship.  Stated positively we could say "You shall desire the best for your neighbor". 

2. Love your Neighbor Extensively  Deuteronomy 6
As you love the Lord your God with all your being (Deuteronomy 6:1-6), the best way to love your neighbor is to communicate to your children, families and people around you the love of God in both word and deed.  Deuteronomy 6:7, 17 and 21 details time and time again of sharing God's words and commands with your children. 

Conclusion: Loving your Neighbor requires the love of God
Thus as we close out today's blog, we go back to Jesus' words in Mark 12:31, reminded of loving our neighbor emphatically and extensively, realizing that without the love of God, we cannot love the people in our lives in the way the Lord would have us.  Jesus states in Mark 12:31-34 “The second is this, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” 32The scribe said to Him, “Right, Teacher; You have truly stated that HE IS ONE, AND THERE IS NO ONE ELSE BESIDES HIM; 33AND TO LOVE HIM WITH ALL THE HEART AND WITH ALL THE UNDERSTANDING AND WITH ALL THE STRENGTH, AND TO LOVE ONE’S NEIGHBOR AS HIMSELF, is much more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” 34When Jesus saw that he had answered intelligently, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” After that, no one would venture to ask Him any more questions.

How to Love God with all your heart

Mark 12:28-30 One of the scribes came and heard them arguing, and recognizing that He had answered them well, asked Him, “What commandment is the foremost of all?” 29Jesus answered, “The foremost is, ‘HEAR, O ISRAEL! THE LORD OUR GOD IS ONE LORD; 30AND YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH.’

Yesterday's blog introduced Jesus' teaching on the Great Commandments from Mark 12:28-34.  We did an overview of His teaching, and concluded that in general terms, Jesus was giving us two categories by which we can operate in living out our daily Christian lives.  Today I want to get more specific, tracing out specifically what it means to Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.  Jesus quotes from Deuteronomy 6:4-5.  In order to truly understand the specific implications and significance of loving the Lord, we need to go back to Deuteronomy 5 and 6. 

How to reconcile the fact that I don't love the Lord God perfectly
John MacArthur notes that we begin our walk of faith by loving the Lord our God imperfectly and will culminate our faith walk in Heaven loving the Lord our God perfectly. Do I love the Lord God as perfectly as I should? No. However by the grace and righteousness of Jesus Christ, my imperfect expression of love is connected to the Lord's perfect love coursing through me, enabling my efforts to be deemed acceptable in His sight. 

How do you and I love the Lord our God as Jesus intends?
Jesus' response to the scribe's question is a great summary of the wider teaching of Deuteronomy 5 and 6. In those two chapters, Moses lays out a repeating of the Ten Commandments in Deuteronomy 5, with the purpose of the commandments spelled out in Deuteronomy 6. So how are we to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength as spelled out in Deuteronomy 5 & 6?

1. Love the Lord your God exclusively.  Deuteronomy 5:1-6
As Moses rehearses the history of God's dealing with His people from the Exodus out of Egypt to the delivery of the Law, He prefaces the Ten Commandments by identifying Himself as the God who saves.  Deuteronomy 5:6 states - ‘" am the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery." Clearly no other God could had done this, for God, Yahweh, is the only true and Living God.  Certainly the scribe's response to Jesus in Mark 12:32 confirms this interpretation - "scribe said to Him, “Right, Teacher; You have truly stated that HE IS ONE, AND THERE IS NO ONE ELSE BESIDES HIM".  Being that the Lord God is exclusively God in both identity and existence, the love we have for Him is going to be in a category all on its own. 

2. Love the Lord your God Emphatically.  Deuteronomy 5:7-6:6
With the Lord reminding the Israelites and us of His redemptive identity, He then reveals the ten commandments.  Martin Luther has said it quite well concerning the relationship between the Law and Gospel, that the law points me to the Gospel, and that the Gospel gives me the power to fulfill the law.  The first four commandments deal with that first table of the law - namely my vertical relationship with God. 

One of the ways we can begin to see how the first three commandments outline specific ways to emphatically love God is by stating them positively.  When we state something negatively, we are saying "don't do this" or  "you shall not do that".  To state something positively is to take that same command and communicate it affirmatively, as in "you do this" or "you shall do that".  In looking at the first three commandments, when I state them positively, I'm not changing the meaning, rather I am showing what they look like for a believer who is fulfilling their intent by grace.  Furthermore, as you look at these commandments in light of the Great Commandment of Deuteronomy 6:4-5 and Mark 12:28-30, you begin to see specific ways in which your love for God is being emphasized.  Thus consider the first three commandments from Deuteronomy 5:7-15:

First 3 Commandments stated Negatively                
#1 Deuteronomy 5:7‘You shall have no other gods before Me.'
#2 Deut 5:8a ‘You shall not make for yourself an idol....'
#3 Deut 5:11a ‘You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain'

First 3 Commandments restated Postively
#1 Deuteronomy 5:7‘You shall love only the Lord your God.'
#2 Deut 5:8a ‘You are to love your God who is in a unique class by Himself....'
#3 Deut 5:11a ‘You shall love the Lord by honoring His name"

Outside of grace and the love of God, the unbeliever is faced with the reality of not being able nor desiring to love the Lord their God.  However once a person has believed on the Lord Jesus Christ by grace through faith, the negatives of the law turn into the positives of grace.  Deuteronomy 6 exists to show the goal and intent of the ten commandments - namely to point us to Grace which gives me the power to fulfill the law in loving the Lord my God with all my heart, soul, mind and strength.  

3. Love the Lord your God Extensively Deuteronomy 6:7-25
As you read further into Deuteronomy 6 on this subject of loving the Lord your God, we discover that it is not meant to be only something we keep to ourselves.  Deuteronomy 6:7, 17 and 21 all teach that we are to pass the commands of God, and love for God, down to our children and grandchildren.  Furthermore, the scriptures extensively tell us repeatedly to love the lord our God.  Moses repeats it for example in Deuteronomy 11:1.  Joshua teaches the next generation of Israelites to do the same in Joshua 23:11 “So take diligent heed to yourselves to love the LORD your God."  Numerous other passages could be cited, but both Testaments signify this loving of God to be central to true Biblical Faith, as seen for example in the four Gospels . (Matthew 22:37-39; Mark 12:28-34; Lk 10:25-28; John 15:7)

Back to Jesus' teaching in Mark 12:30 on loving God
Having looked at the fact that we are to love God exclusively, emphatically and extensively, we can see why Jesus uses Deuteronomy 6:4-5 to indicate His teaching on the Greatest commandment.  Loving the Lord your God with all your heart deals with the emotions, the affections, the center from which I live my life.  Loving Him with all my soul has to do with the entirety of my mind, emotions and will.  The soul is the very essence of life itself, thus my life should revolve about loving the Lord my God.  Then Jesus says to love the Lord God with all my mind - the thinker of my soul.  The Older Christians used to speak about building Cathedrals for the mind.  As I love God with all my mind, I study, read, use my intellect in conjunction with seeing and understanding God's purposes and will. Then Jesus says to love the Lord with all my strength.  The Hebrew translates it  "muchness", and the Greek here in Mark speaks of a vitality flowing from the inside out.  Do I really love God at the deepest level? 

More tomorrow......

Jesus' teaching on Loving God and your neighbor

Mark 12:28 "One of the scribes came and heard them arguing, and recognizing that He had answered them well, asked Him, “What commandment is the foremost of all?”

In the course of Jesus' teaching ministry, three sections of scripture are marked by the designation "Great".  The first "Great" passage is what is termed "The Great Commandment", found in Matthew 22:37-39 and Mark 12:28-34 and of which will be the focus of today's blog.  The second is what I call the "Great Concern" and deals with Christ's great concern over having a church that is Greatly concerned about holiness and love for one another in Matthew 18.   The third "Great Passage" is referred as the Great Commission is is found in varying formats in Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16; Luke 24 and Acts 1:8-11.   

Jesus quotes two passages in his summary of the Great Commandments
Mark's version of Jesus teaching on the Great Commandments is the fullest treatment we have.  In Mark 12:29-31, Jesus quotes the most beloved verses in the section of the Old Testament called the Pentateuch or Torah (i.e Genesis through Deuteronomy). The first Great Command is a quotation from Deuteronomy 6:4-5 "“Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one! 5“You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might." This verse, called by the Jews "The Great Shema" (due to the Hebrew word "Shema", the word translated "hear" in 6:4). For the Jews, Deuteronomy 6:4-5 represented the most important duty of their lives.

The second verse Jesus quotes in Mark 12:31 is found in Leviticus 19:18 ‘You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the LORD."

Jesus' Summary of the Greatest Commandments: Loving God and your neighbor
The context of the above discussion between Jesus and this scribe takes place two days before the crucifixion.  The question asked has to do with what Jesus considers to be the greatest commandment in the Law of Moses.  The scribe was a person in those days who copied down the Hebrew scriptures.  As an expert in the language and text of the Old Testament (particularly the first five books of Genesis through Deuteronomy, called the Pentatech), scribes were also fond of legal matters and discussing the finer points of Jewish Tradition.  Much ink and hours of conversation had been invested by the various schools of Jewish thought on this matter of classifying the many dozens of Jewish laws. 

As only Jesus can do, He summarizes the entire body of Mosaic Legislation under two main headings: Love the Lord your God and Love your Neighbor.  Under these headings we can note that the two tablets containing the ten commandments, handed down to Moses from God, could be summarized by these two great commands.  The first four commandments deal with the first great commandment of "Loving the Lord your God".  Then the remaining six commandments have to do with the second great commandment of "loving your neighbor".  We can see this traced out below:

"Love the Lord your God" (Mark 12:28-30, 32-34)
1. "You shall not have any other Gods"
2. "You shall not make for yourself any idols"
3. "You shall not take the name of the Lord God in vain"
4. "You shall honor the Sabbath Day"

Exodus 19-20 records the original communication of the ten commandments, with Moses repeating and teaching them to the second generation of Israelites in Deuteronomy 5-6.  In either of these places you will find the first four commandments above, as well as the remaining six commandments listed below under the heading of "Love your Neighbor":

"Love your Neighbor" (Mark 12:31)
5. "Honor your father and mother"
6. "You shall not murder"
7. "You shall not commit adultery"
8. "You shall not steal"
9. "You shall not lie, or bear false witness"
10. "You shall not covet your neighbor's goods, wife nor possession"

Again like the first four commandments, the last six are also found in Exodus 19-20 and Deuteronomy 5-6.  Romans 13:9 tells us about some of these final commandments as summarizing the second Great command to "love your neighbor": "this, “YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, YOU SHALL NOT MURDER, YOU SHALL NOT STEAL, YOU SHALL NOT COVET,” and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.”

Where did this idea of summarizing the ten commandments come from? Jesus of course!  In the span of one conversation, Jesus masterfully tells this scribe that the entirety of the Law is summarized and fulfilled under these two headings of "loving God" and "loving your neighbor".

Conclusion: Jesus gives us two categories under which we can live the daily Christian life
Today's blog was designed to get the reader introduced to what Jesus had to say about the Great Commandments of loving God and your neighbor.  Over the next couple of blogs I would like to trace out more specific implications about ways in which we can practice both.  For now I want the reader to think about every action and decision as having to do with how we love the Lord God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength (Mark 12:30) and how we love our neighbor as ourselves (Mark 12:31).  Both of these Great Commandments are so interrelated that to exclude one is to exclude both.  For example, 1 John 4:7-21 argues that if I fail to love my brother as I should, then I fail to demonstrate true love for God Himself.  More tomorrow.....   

How loving one another leads to God-centered Christianity

1 John 4:7  Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.

Yesterday we looked at what happens when we show partiality to one another from James 2:1-13.  We discovered that showing partiality is another way of saying "being a man-pleaser".  When churches excercise themselves in preferring one person or group over another, less love and man-centeredness results.  We discovered the outcomes of showing partiality from James:

1. Less love for Jesus.  James 2:1-4
2. Less love for God's glory.  James 2:5-7
3. Less love for God's Word.  James 2:8-11
4. Less love for one another.  James 2:12-13

Clearly James is warning his readers to not show preferential treatment in their dealings with one another.  Whenever we study warning sections in God's Word, it is God's way of warning us about what not to do.  Often it is instructive and helpful to turn to sections that are dealing with the same subject, urging us on what we need to do.  Exhortation is a form of communication that urges readers and listeners to perform a certain task, or to increase effort in a practice that they are already doing.  Warning sections in scripture urge readers to avoid certain practices or attitudes that can hurt their walk with the Lord.  Whenever we are dealing with sin, we need both warning and exhortation. 

Today we will look at John's first Epistle, noting his blueprint for a God centered church by the repeated command to "love one another". 

How Loving One another is the antidote to showing partiality
In 1 John 4:7-21 we see John painting a picture of a church that is to excercise the Great Command to "love one another".  When we speak of "loving one another", human love is not the love we are excercising, but rather God's love. 

As you note the outcomes of a church showing partiality above, what will the outcomes be for a church that chooses to simply love one another as God loved them through the sending of Jesus Christ? A more loving church will result.  Specifically, four outcomes will result, corresponding to the four negative outcomes we saw yesterday when we show partiality.

1. More love, not less love for Jesus.   1 John 4:7-9
John cannot help but to write about Christ act and accomplishments on the cross - since His exhortation to "love one another" is based off of God's supreme act in the sending of Jesus.  As we love one another in accordance to ther work of the cross, Jesus Christ will become more dearly loved.  By loving one another, rather than being partial, yields a greater flow of the love and power of Jesus Christ through His people - like electricity through a light bulb.

2. More love, not less love for God's glory.  1 John 4:11-12
John writes in 1 John 4:11-12 "Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us." God's glory is His goodness and name put on display.  As we aim to love one another, we are positioned to not only better see God's glory, but to enjoy it.  Jesus states in Mark 12:28-34 that the two greatest commandments are to Love God with all our hearts and to love our neighbor as ourselves.  The command to love my neighbor is directly related to my love for God.  Whenever churches make these two commands central to their life, God's glory in Jesus Christ takes center stage, and the spiritual climate of the church becomes saturated with love and zeal for His glory. 

3. More love, not less love for God's Word.  1 John 4:13-19
1 John 4:13-15 states - "By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. 14We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. 15Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God."  As the Holy Spirit testifies to your heart and mine about who we are and whose we are, He does so in connection to the scriptures.  Where else do we learn that Jesus is the Son of God, or that He first loved us? The scriptures! (1 John 4:16-19)  Whenever we choose to love one another with God's love, the love for God's word will follow suit, since scripture itself is described as the believer's food. (Job 23:12; 1 Peter 2:1-2)  The Holy Spirit within the Christian bears witness of the words which He inspired through the writings of the Apostles and writings.  It is through the scriptures that faith is born, nourished and enabled to see Jesus Christ. (Luke 24:44; James 1:18)
 



4. More love, not less love for one another.  1 John 4:20-21
1 John 4:20 reads - "If someone says, 'I love God' and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen."  As we make a concerted effort to love one another without partiality, we will have the supernatural by-product of greater love for God.  Conversely, as we aim to make our lives more God-centered - we will end uphaving greater love for one another. Why? Because God has so chosen to indwell each Christian by His Spirit. (John 14:17; Ephesians 1:11-14)  Furthermore, Christ purchased His people with His own blood, making them precious due to the price paid for them. (Acts 20:28; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20).  Again, we cannot separate loving the Lord our God with all our mind, soul and strength from the other great commandment to love our neighbor. 

Conclusion - loving one another yields a God-centered Christianity
Through John's simple command to "love one another", we find the antidote to the warning James gives concerning showing partiality.  As we love one another with God's love, we will end up having churches that have greater love for Jesus, God's glory, God's Word and one another.  May this profound vision revolutionize our day to day Christian lives, and churches.   
 

How Favoritism leads to man-centered Christianity

James 2:1 My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism.

The Danger of showing favoritism - man centered Christianity
James' key point in his letter is concerned with "living working faith", as seen in James 2:26 - "For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead." As James writes to Jewish Christians scattered throughout the regions of Israel and beyond, he communicates to them the type of Christian faith desired by the Lord.  As we turn to chapter 2 of James' letter, we see a warning about "showing favoritism" in the local church.  The Greek word translated "favoritism" could be rendered "being a man-pleaser".  How often in churches today do you see favoritism or "man-pleasing" determining decisions and policies?

Bible teacher R.C Sproul in his study on James refers to this warning on favoritism as "playing politics".  Clearly whenever we try to please one group over another, or whenever we "cave in" to the whims and desires of certain people - we end up being man-centered in our ministry and Christianity.  What James is warning us to avoid in this subject of "showing favoritism" is people-pleasing, man centered Christianity.  It is a guarantee, wherever you see man, rather than Jesus Christ being the focal point of all efforts in your personal life or Church, somewhere along the way favoritism has reared its ugly head.   

God does not show favoritism
The testimony of scripture is that in all of God's dealings with people, whether they be believer or unbeliever, is the fact that He does not show favoritism.  Passages such as Psalm 89:14 states - "Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne;
Lovingkindness and truth go before You."  God is a fair God.  No one can influence God to adjust standards or pull some strings to accomplish an agenda that would violate His character.  God does what He does for His own glory and purposes. (Isaiah 48:11)  When we turn to the New Testament, time and time again we read of how God does not show favoritism for the sake of anyone. (Romans 2:11; Ephesians 6:9; Colossians 3:25) 

The Specific consequences of showing favoritism (people pleasing)
So what specific consequences come about when we show favoritism?  Man-centered Christianity becomes the overall outcome.  Ironically, in an effort to focus more on people, man-centered forms of Christianity end up being less loving.  The more we try to please men, the less we will be like Jesus.  As you journey through James 2:1-13, four damaging consequences result from trying to please certain people rather than pleasing God:

1. Less love in your heart for Jesus.  James 2:1-4
As James speaks about the manner in which you "hold to your faith in the glorious Lord Jesus Christ", the NASB words the statement in 2:1 as "with an attitude of favoritism".  Clearly the issue of showing favoritism affects the heart we have towards Jesus Christ, since such activity leads to us becoming "judges with evil motives". (2:4)  The phrase rendered "evil motives" speaks of "disputes, arguments and schemes" that are characterized as welcoming the company of evil.  Whenever we allow such evil motives to creep into our hearts, the love of Jesus will quickly grow cold.  Thus favoritism leads to less love for Jesus, but notice what else favoritism leads to...

2. Less love for God's glory. James 2:5-7
As James continues, he says in James 2:5 "Listen, my beloved brethren: did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?"  In typical Jewish style, James uses the word "Listen" to get his reader's attention.  Moses back in Deuteronomy 5:1 and 6:4 tells the people "Hear, O Israel" - so we know that what ever James is going to say, we need to heed.  Clearly showing favoritism and preferring one person over another causes the name of God to be blasphemed - which leads to less love of God's glory. (James 2:5)  God's name and glory are interrelated.  For example, Exodus 33:18-19 Then Moses said, “I pray You, show me Your glory!” 19And He said, “I Myself will make all My goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of the LORD before you; and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show compassion on whom I will show compassion.”  The name of God refers to the sum total of His goodness, character and reputation.  God has invested His name and reputation into His very people.  How we treat one another ultimately reflects how we treat Jesus, as Jesus Himself explains in passages such as 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."  Favoritism or partiality among God's people causes less love for Jesus and.....

3. Less love for God's word. James 2:8-11
To show partiality is characterized by James as violating God's Law.  In fact, the second greatest commandment according to Jesus is to "love your neighbor as oneself" (Matthew 22:37-39; Mark 12:28-34)  When we show partiality, we are doing the exact opposite of loving our neighbor.  To be a man-pleaser or show partiality makes me a "trangressor" (2:9,11) and guilty (2:10) as a lawbreaker.  Whenever we cater to certain people, rather than loving people with God's love, the net result is less love, less regard and less desire for God's Word.  But notice finally.....

4. Less love for one another. James 2:12-13
Certainly whenever we show partiality or become more "man-pleasing" with one another, how we treat one another will change.  When you look at James 2:1-13, you get the sense of a downward spiral effect stemming from ongoing efforts in preferential treatment of one person or group over another.  Mercy and lovingkindness are translated by the same Hebrew word in the Old Testament.  Micah 6:8 reveals the true nature of what God desires from His people - "He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God? "  1 John 4:7-21 mentions the importance of loving one another as being the antidote to the relational problems that arise among fellow believers.   

So many of our churches could benefit immeasureably from James' words if they would just simply stop showing preferential treatment and quit pleasing people over and above Christ.  When we show favoritism, we end up having less love for Jesus, God's glory, God's word and one another.  Tomorrow we will look at 1 John 4:7-21 to discover the way in which we can get back to a God-centered Christianity. 

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