Theology, opinion, fiction, and the occasional limerick.
See how great a forest a little fire kindles! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell. In last week’s devotional we noted…
Indeed, we put bits in horses’ mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body. Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires. Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts…
For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body. Last week we looked at James 3:1, where the author encourages Christians to think twice (or three times…or a dozen times) before taking on the role of a teacher…
Ever since I was a teenager my greatest spiritual hero has been Adoniram Judson. I’ve mentioned him before in this blog. I recently did a short video for a group of teens in New York State about his life. He even gets a shout-out in Missionary Max and the Jungle Princess. For those who may…
My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment. As we continue our ongoing study of the book of James, we have now transitioned from one subject matter to another. Well…not completely. In a few verses James is going to bring up the concept of works demonstrating…
June 18th dawned bright and sunny in Upstate New York. I stepped out onto our porch and began my stretches, preparing for a leisurely run over the dirt roads that lead to and from our house. As I started to jog my phone buzzed. It was a text from my brother Daniel, asking me to…
For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. For the past several verses, James has been pile-driving, body-slamming, and otherwise savaging the popular notion that genuine faith can somehow exist without external evidence. By way of review, he has exposed people who espouse such a faulty theology…
“Some buildings have collapsed in New York.” Those words were spoken to me by my wife at around 9am on September 11, 2001. They barely registered in my mind as I rolled over and pulled the covers up over my head. I had worked the overnight shift at McDonalds, and was trying to squeeze in…
But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? And the Scripture was fulfilled…
Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way? In our previous post in this series on James we saw how the author uses the story of Abraham offering his son Isaac as a sacrifice to illustrate how genuine faith results in works….