by Brian Shilhavy
The letter from James recorded in the New Testament portion of the Bible has been controversial since the Reformation period in Europe, when the German priest and theologian Martin Luther expressed his opinions about whether or not James’s letter should have been included in the New Testament writings.
Luther’s main “protest” against the Roman Catholic Church was that the gospel did not require a person to be religious and with “righteous deeds” to know God, and that the Catholic doctrine of Papal authority was not biblical.
He claimed that God spoke to him through Romans 1:17:
For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.” (Romans 1:17)
The emphasis of much of the Reformation movement in Europe was based on this truth, that “The righteous will live by faith,” and faith alone. Religious works and adherence to the Pope as an authority figure were not required.
So in the mind of Luther, when he came to the letter of James in the New Testament, he took issue with much of what James wrote, such as this:
What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food.
If one of you says to him,
“Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,”
but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?
In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. (James 2:14-17)
He seemed to think that this contradicted the writings of Paul, such as Paul’s letter to the Romans, and Romans 1:17 which states “The righteous will live by faith.”
There is, of course, no contradiction at all. The confusion lies in the place “works” or “righteous deeds” have in the life of a believer in Jesus Christ.
If a person believes that they have to become “righteous” first as a requirement to earn God’s favor before they can enter the Kingdom of God through the spiritual rebirth, then that belief is not the gospel.
Luther and most of the other Reformers were correct about this, and accurately pointed out the false doctrines of the Catholic Church during that time period.
However, if one understands that “works” or “righteous deeds” are the result of faith, not the requirements for faith, then there is no contradiction at all.
Here is the rest of James chapter 2 where you can follow his logic:
But someone will say,
“You have faith; I have deeds.”
Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.
You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?
You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.
And the scripture was fulfilled that says,
“Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,”
and he was called God’s friend.
You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone. (James 2:18-24)
Faith is what brings us into the Kingdom of God, understanding that we cannot meet the requirements of the law, and that we need Jesus’s perfect blood sacrifice to satisfy God’s demand for justice for every time we break God’s laws and requirements.
It leads to the spiritual rebirth, where the Holy Spirit enters into our life, bringing the power of God to give us strength to live the holy lifestyle.
Paul’s writings reflected this same truth, such as in Galatians chapter 5:
So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature.
They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want.
But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.
The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like.
I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. (Galatians 5:16-26)
This error in teaching by the European Reformation leaders can still be seen in American Christianity today, particularly in Evangelical Christianity, where the emphasis is frequently in teaching people that all one needs for salvation is “faith” and that it doesn’t matter what your lifestyle looks like.
The Christian churches who teach this often say things like: “Come as you are!”, with the idea that no one is perfect anyway, so don’t worry about it. God loves you just as you are.
And there is a partial truth to this, which is what makes this theology so dangerous. The fact that God loves us and accepts us “just as we are” is indeed a part of the gospel message.
But coming to God “just as you are” does not mean “stay as you are and don’t worry about changing.”
The fact is that if the Holy Spirit comes into your life, you can NOT stay as you are – because you won’t even want to!
Our standard as believers who represent Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God is nothing less than perfection. Jesus said to his followers: “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
This is our standard. This is what we strive for. This is what we desire.
Here is the full context:
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’
But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.
He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that?
And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?
Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matthew 5:43-48)
James: The Evidence of True Believers
Like most of the New Testament writers, James stated that the mark of a true believer is how they act, and not just what words that come out of their mouth, which is the same thing that Jesus taught:
“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.
By their fruit you will recognize them.
Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?
Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.
Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.” (Matthew 7:15-20)
One of the issues that James criticized the false believers of his day was on the issue of prejudice and discrimination, and favoring the rich over the poor, judging people by which “class” they belonged to.
This would be considered a “liberal” issue today in the U.S., and criticized by “Conservative” Christians as preaching a “social gospel”, with the word “social” being evil and akin to “Communism.”
Here’s what James wrote to those who believed and acted like this:
My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don’t show favoritism.
Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in.
If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say,
“Here’s a good seat for you,”
but say to the poor man,
“You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,”
have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?
Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?
But you have insulted the poor.
Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? Are they not the ones who are slandering the noble name of him to whom you belong?
If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right.
But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. (James 2:1-10)
Most English translations of the Bible use the word “favoritism” here, which is not really a common word in today’s modern English, and would probably be better translated as “prejudice” or “discrimination.”
There are Civil Rights laws in the U.S. that attempt to address the principles of this kind of injustice that James is writing about here.
But again, in American conservative politics and religion, this biblical principle is looked down upon as “liberal” and wrong by many.
We are actually seeing the same thing happen today in modern American culture that James observed during his day, where so-called believers are giving preference to the rich and powerful, the very people who are exploiting the poor and weaponizing the legal system to attack them.
Donald Trump is the perfect example of this!
Conservative Christians could care less that his name appears more often in the Epstein files than almost any other name, and they support his actions against the poor immigrants and refugees who come into this country.
He is the perfect example as one who receives “special attention” because of his wealth and political status that James wrote about!
I made this video and published it in a previous article, but listen to these Christians adore and worship Trump recently in Washington D.C.!
See:
These “believers” who worship and adore Donald Trump as their leader, according to the writing of James, are enemies of God.
You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God?
Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. (James 4:4)
Many (but not all) American Conservative Christians believe that they can have fame and success in the world, and also be part of the Kingdom of God.
But it is a lie.
Following the Truth, who is a person and not a concept (John 14:6), means going against the world system that is controlled by Satan, which will always result in persecution and suffering.
The U.S. is run by pedophiles, most of them Christian pedophiles, and judgment awaits a nation that tolerates the abuse, torture, and sexual trafficking of children.
This is nothing to rejoice in, but to weep and mourn.
As James wrote:
Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up. (James 4:9-10)
The day is soon coming where the false believers in American Christianity will be revealed to the whole world for who they truly are, the enemies of God.
Comment on this article at Created4Health.org.
This article was written by Human Superior Intelligence (HSI)
See Also:
Understand the Times We are Currently Living Through
The post The Adulterous American Christians Crave Friendship with the World Making them Enemies of God first appeared on Health Impact News.
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