James 2:1-16 - What is Mercy Ministry?

By Rev Charles Seet

Preached at / Published Life BPC 8 am service, 2001-07-01

Text: James 2:1-16

It is a joy and privilege once again to be able to bring the Word of God to all of you. This is the first of a series of messages on the theme 'Ministries of Mercy'. This theme deals not so much with theology or doctrine, but with practical Christian living. The passage for our first message is taken from the Epistle of James, which speaks a lot about practical Christian living. Let us read James 2:1-17.

You will notice that 'Mercy' is mentioned thrice in v.13 - 'For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.' And we can see that James uses rather strong persuasive words to exhort his readers to show mercy - he appeals that the fact that those who do not show mercy will be judged without mercy, i.e. he will not be saved. This does not mean that a lack of mercy can make anyone lose his salvation. It means that a truly born again Christian will be merciful toward others. Mercy is one of the marks of a true believer. Now James had a purpose for putting this need to show mercy in such strong terms:

In the time that James wrote this epistle, churches were already well established in many parts of the eastern Mediterranean region. But as churches increased in number there were many people in them who became only hearers of the Word and not doers of it. They were not practical Christians. Their religion was merely a formality restricted to attending church each week. Some of these Christians were well-to-do people, businessmen who made their own plans, employers who had servants to work for them. And some of them had lapsed in their Christian life - lacking in love for others, not being careful with the use of their tongue, and even discriminating against the poorer members of the church. It was certainly time for them to change. This is why James wrote to them.

As we look at this background of the book of James, we can perhaps see some similarities that it bears with the church today. This epistle speaks to believers today who have lapsed into complacency, Christians who trust in God and know all their doctrines well, but are simply lacking in true, practical Christianity. It speaks to Christians who need to be reminded that faith without works is a dead faith. It is our hope that through this new series of messages, we too will be reminded of this.

How much practical Christianity is there in our midst? Perhaps your concept of practical Christianity is limited to just attending worship services on Sundays, and reading the Bible and praying each day. If that is your concept of practical Christianity, then you need to understand what James wrote in 1:27, that 'Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.'

Two aspects of practical Christianity are highlighted for us here: Firstly the ministry of mercy to the needy, and secondly, to maintain our testimony for the Lord in the world. This morning we want to focus our attention on the first of these two aspects: The Mercy Ministry. Dearly beloved, we must not close our eyes to the needs of people around us. There are needy people who need our help. Many of us who live in Singapore are so blessed, that we may have forgotten what it means to be poor. It is only when we travel overseas to a third world country that our eyes are opened to the reality of poverty.

We think of our brethren in Batam. The members of the churches there are mostly factory workers and taxi drivers. Many of them live in houses that are small and overcrowded. The present economic downturn has affected them, and some of them have been retrenched from their job and are looking for new jobs. We have been helping them, not only with prayer but also by bringing in used clothes and toys. I remember one Christmas when we brought in Christmas presents for families in the two churches there. One evangelist brought his son to thank me because he had received a pencil box - the very thing that he had been praying for, for Christmas!

On this very Sunday Rev Colin Wong and a team of 10 Lifers who are doctors, dentists and nurses are ministering to the brethren in Batam, not only to bring in used items, but also to conduct free medical and dental clinics for them called 'klinik kasih' (Love clinic). This is the 3rd time time we are doing this Mercy ministry for them and they are most appreciative, because many of them cannot afford the cost of medical and dental care in Batam. Our missionary in Batam, sister Roska and her coworkers have an ongoing mercy ministry to the sick, the needy and underprivileged. Recently she took care of a young 27-year-old mother who was growing thinner and weaker by the day. Roska brought her to a hospital in Nagoya and her condition improved after proper diagnosis was made and treatment was given.

Among the students who attend the two schools run by the churches, there are about 8 children who come from destitute or broken homes and they are studying for free. Their school textbooks and uniforms are provided from a scholarship fund. Besides that, whenever families need a place to stay, because of ethnic riots or eviction, the two churches become refuge centers for them. You know after living so long in Singapore, a trip to a place like Batam can be a real eye opener for many of us - to see believers who love the Lord like us, who are living in poverty. I would therefore welcome anyone to join me or Rev Colin Wong in our monthly trips to Batam. Now, Batam is not the only place where mercy ministry is needed.

I had the opportunity to visit Myanmar two years ago to visit the work of Rev Thawm Luai and Rev Andrew Kam. Rev Andrew Kam has about 20 children in his orphanage that are very well behaved and well taught in the Word of God. Next to the room where the service was held was another room which had one dining table and one large plank bed. This was where all the 20 orphans ate their meals and slept.

Of all the mission fields that Life Church is involved in, the one where poverty is worst is probably Cambodia. You have seen pictures printed in our church weekly of the slum children and the orphans under the care of Rev Jonathan Lee. The conditions in which they live, without proper sanitation, without clean water, and sufficient good food is one reason why they as well as our missionaries who minister to them, often fall sick.

Now, we can go on to describe many more places beside these, but we must not think that poverty is found only overseas. Poverty also exists right in our own country of Singapore. There are also needy people here. Some are old and have no one to care for them. Others are unemployed and unable to find work because of some physical or mental handicap that they have. It is true that there are homes for the aged, charitable organizations and welfare institutions that have been set up to meet their needs. But Christians should not be lacking in demonstrating concern and love for the needy.

And we thank God that Life church is not lacking in this, as shown in our involvement in Batam, and in the medical mission trips that are organized from time to time. And many who needed a place to stay temporarily have found a refuge here and in Beulah house.

Some people may ask if the church could have a great Mercy Ministy than this - for example to set up an orphanage, or another home for senior citizens, or local free clinic. And our answer to that would be two-fold:

First, our limited resources must be carefully managed. It must be channeled to fulfilling what God wants us to do as a church � and that is, to make disciples of all nations. That is our main focus. If we were to embark on any large-scale Mercy Ministry that causes us to lose this focus, we would find ourselves outside the will of God. It is a sad thing that many Christian organizations with strong evangelistic fervour that launched into welfare ministries, have compromised and lost their evangelistic emphasis altogether. One of these is the well-known YMCA - The Young Men's Christian Association. Let us be careful not to end up like that.

Secondly, there are already many existing Christian welfare ministries that are catering to the needs of the poor in our country. If Life Church is located in a country like Cambodia where the needs of the poor are great and there are no Christian welfare ministries to care for them, then there would be an obvious and urgent need for the church to set up one. But such is not the case here in Singapore. There are many existing Christian welfare ministries. Some of our sister churches and our own members are involved in them, ministering to the elderly, and to those who are intellectually disabled. So the need is not urgent.

The more urgent need for our church is to bring precious souls into God's Kingdom and so deliver them from eternal death. Physical provisions will benefit people only for this short present life, but spiritual provisions will benefit them both for this present life and the life to come. Therefore there is a greater need for us to invest in things that are eternal rather than things that are temporal.

Our message this morning however is not at all about what the church can do in Mercy Ministry, but what we as individual believers should do for the poor and needy who are around us. How should you and I respond when we come across people who are genuinely in need? How do we manifest Practical Christianity to them? This is the object of our study of James 2:1-16. To observe three things that characterise an effective personal ministry of mercy. 

I. It Is a Ministry With No Discrimination (vv.1-7) 

Let us turn our Bibles now to this passage. The chapter begins: 'My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment; And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool: Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?' One problem that exists everywhere, even among Christians is discrimination. There is a tendency to limit the showing of one's kindness, love and concern to those we like to be with. This passage in James reminds us that we should not practise discrimination against anyone, and especially against the poor.

James describes an interesting situation: A well-dressed, rich-looking person walks into a church and he is politely ushered to a nice, comfortable seat. And then a poor-looking man in shabby clothes walks in and he is abruptly told to stand or to sit on the floor! This kind of treatment of the poor was actually going on in the church and it is unacceptable. And James gives two good reasons why it is unacceptable: The first reason is that

A. Discrimination Makes Us Unjust Judges 

That is the meaning of the term 'judges of evil thoughts'. Any judge in a court of law who condemns or acquits people on the basis of their outward appearance or social position stands condemned for being unjust! And God is against all unjust judges. This is clearly stated in Deuteronomy 1:16,17 'And I charged your judges at that time, saying, Hear the causes between your brethren, and judge righteously between every man and his brother, and the stranger that is with him. Ye shall not respect persons in judgment; but ye shall hear the small as well as the great; '. 

The second reason why we should never discriminate against the poor is that:

B. God (Himself) Does Not Discriminate Against Any Person 

In fact, in v.5 we are told that God has chosen the poor of this world rich, in faith and heirs of the promised kingdom. What this means is that, unlike men, God does not show special favour to the rich. If He had done so, then only the wealthiest people would respond to the Gospel and be saved. But the majority of those who comprised the early church were the poor (1 Corinthians 1:26-29).

And although they were poor in wealth, they were rich in faith, and that kind of wealth (faith) is the wealth that counts most in God's sight. This however, does not mean that God favours the poor on earth more than the rich. Not all poor people are rich in faith. There are some who teach that the poor are much more blessed than the rich because Jesus said in Matthew 5:3 'Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.' This verse is not at all about material poverty but spiritual poverty. Jesus was teaching that those who recognize their spiritual poverty are truly blessed because it is this humble attitude that makes them receptive to God's working in them.

Whether we are rich or poor materially, what really matters is that all of us must be poor in spirit, and rich in faith. And when we see things that way, the way that God sees them, then we should not discriminate any more between rich and poor brethren in church. Both should be treated equally well. Thus we have seen that the first characteristic of a mercy ministry is that it does not practise discrimination against anyone. Let us look now at the second characteristic:

II. It is a Ministry of Love for People (vv.8-13) 

This is stated in vv.8,9 'If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.' It is interesting to note that the commandment to love our neighbour as ourselves is called the 'royal law'. That shows how important it is. And the word 'neighbour' in this royal law is not restricted to any class of people. We know this because when Jesus was asked the question, 'Who is my neighbour?' He replied by relating the parable of the Good Samaritan. He related how no one else except the Samaritan was willing to help the Jew who was injured. Therefore anyone who needs my help is my neighbour, regardless of his background. This truth will be elaborated over the next few Sundays when Rev Colin Wong speaks on this parable.

Dearly beloved, we are to understand that we commanded by God to love all men without exception: rich and poor alike. If we do not love, we are breaking God's royal law. And James says in v.10 that to break this law is just as serious a matter as breaking all the other laws God has given - like the law against murder and the law against committing adultery.

This heightens the commandment to love all without discrimination, and not to exclude the poor from our love. We must observe this commandment as carefully as we observe the rest of the commandments. In order to keep this commandment, we must change the way we regard people. We should no longer evaluate people around us according to their status, abilities, or outward appearance. But regard every single person, whether rich or poor, old or young, weak or strong, as someone who deserves to be loved and cared for. Never regard anyone as not deserving your time and attention. Our heavenly Father Himself does not neglect even the smallest sparrow (Matthew 10:29 'Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.').

The Bible shows us that great things can arise out of seemingly insignificant origins. Joseph is one example. He was a young boy hated by all his older brothers. They sold him as a slave into Egypt. And yet he became the prime minister of Egypt and the one God used to preserve his whole family from dying in a time of famine. King David is another example. He was only a lowly shepherd boy, and yet the Lord chose him to be king, and He became the greatest king of Israel. Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself was from a very humble background. His parents were poor. We know that because when Christ was born, the sacrifice that they brought with them 8 days later when they dedicated Him at the Temple was a pair of turtledoves. This was the provision made for the poor. Those who were not poor were required to bring a lamb.

So let us regard everyone as being worth our time and efforts. When we cultivate this view of people around us, it will become much easier to love them and so to keep the royal law. Now, that we have seen that a Mercy Ministry is a ministry of love that shows no discrimination, there is another thing that characterizes a true Mercy Ministry:

III. It is a Ministry of Practical Care and Concern (vv.14-16) 

Let us look at vv.14-16 'What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?'

Here we have a situation that may happen to anyone of us: A brother or sister in Christ lacks food shelter and clothing and comes to us for help. And although we have the means to help him, we do nothing for him except to say some words of comfort: 'Go in peace, may you be warmed and have food to eat.' If this happens, then, according to God's Word, our faith in the Lord is an unproductive faith, a faith that is dead and not good for anything. Another passage of scripture that echoes this truth is 1 John 3:17 'But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?'

Dearly beloved, do you have a productive faith or a dead faith? Does the love of God dwell in you? Practical Christianity means that you should be willing to help those that you are able to help. The Lord has blessed us with material blessings, and if someone is in need, we should share these blessings with others to relieve them of their difficult circumstances.

Now, there are many excuses that people may give, for withholding practical help from others. Some may say, 'If I give to him, I am encouraging him to be lazy and to depend on others.' Or 'If I start to give to him, he will take advantage of me.' In order to deal with these excuses, let us look at what God says in the scriptures: Matthew 5:42 'Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.' The Lord says that we should not refuse those who are genuinely in need. Hebrews 13:16 'But to do good and to communicate [i.e. to share what you have] forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.' The things we do for others are like the animal sacrifices that God's people offered to Him at the Temple. They do not help us to gain merit and earn our way to heaven, but the Lord is pleased with them. 

Acts 20:35 'I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.' Let us never forget this important principle 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.' Let us therefore learn to give what we can to help those who need our care and concern. This morning we have seen that a Mercy Ministry is a ministry of love that does not discriminate against anyone, a ministry of rendering practical care and concern to those who are in need.

Dearly beloved, let us remember that we ourselves in great need of mercy, wretched sinners before Christ saved us. And yet Christ did not despise us, but instead He loved us with a wonderful unconditional love. And because He loved us, He was willing to give Himself for us to bring us out of our miserable state: Let us turn our Bibles to 2 Corinthians 8:9 tells us: 'For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.' If Christ has done all that for you, will you do the same for others?

James 2:1-13 - Victory over Personal Favouritism

By Rev Charles Seet

Preached at Life BPC 8am Svc, 2013-02-24

Text: James 2:1-13

Favouritism goes on everyday. It exists to varying degrees in almost every place. It exists in workplaces where promotion is not just a matter of being competent and productive, but of getting into the good books of certain people. Favouritism is found in board meetings where decisions are not directed entirely by the will of the majority, but by the whims and fancies of a very influential minority. Favouritism is commonly found in classrooms: A student endears himself to a teacher so well that he gains an unfair advantage even though he performs no better than the rest.

Favouritism is also found in families: Children receive biased treatment based on certain qualities they have no ability to change. And as we shall see in our Scripture text shortly, favouritism is sadly also found among Christians. In fact it has been a pernicious problem in churches right from the time of the early church when James wrote this epistle, and it continues to be a problem in churches today.

What makes favouritism such a serious matter is that it brings suffering and unfair treatment to many. People are neglected, marginalized, despised or rejected because of it. Perhaps their social status is not as high as that of others, or perhaps they are not as well-off as others. Or perhaps they happen to be of a gender, nationality, race or language that is not preferred and they are unfairly disadvantaged because of it.

Favouritism also creates a lot of distrust, jealousy and intense resentment. Ask any number of employees who work in places where favouritism reigns supreme, and they will tell you how stifling the environment is and how unpleasant working relationships have become. Everyone’s morale is low and some who can’t take it will quit to find another job.

And so, if we are practising favouritism we need to stop it. If we are receiving undue favour in a manner that is unfair to others we also need to put a stop to it. And if we are suffering the adverse effects of favouritism, we need to learn how to respond to it in a biblical manner. Let us therefore turn to our text of scripture in James 2:1-13.

 

I. Why You Should Not Practise Favouritism

A. It is Undue

Firstly, I want you to notice the words ‘respect of persons’ in v.1, which is also mentioned in v.3 (‘and ye have respect to him’) and in v.9 (‘respect to persons’). This has nothing to do with showing respect to our superiors. God’s Word tells us to “Render to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour.” (Romans 13:7) It is always good and right for us to show respect wherever it is due. But what the words ‘respect of persons’ in our text mean is to give respect notwhen it is due, but when it is undue.

In the example given in vv.2-3, respect was given to a man who walked into a church, all because he was wearing a gold ring and was dressed in finely embroidered clothes. This respect was based only on his outward appearance. Bear in mind that he was only a visitor to the church. But because his appearance attracted so much attention he was given much better treatment or respect than the other visitor. Such respect is clearly out of place. It is an undue respect. This is what favouritism is all about. It is the giving of unduefavour to someone.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with showing favour to someone when it is due. For example if two people were to walk into our church at the same time and one is an elderly man with crutches while the other is a healthy young man, what should we do? We should help the elderly man to find the most convenient place to sit and let the healthy young man find his own place to sit. Is this favouritism? No. The same thing is done in our public buses and trains: There are special seats designated for passengers who are elderly, who are handicapped and who are expectant mothers. This is not favouritism at all, but kind consideration. Everyone understands that some people deserve special treatment because of their infirmities.

B. It is Unfair

But everyone also understands that no one deserves unfair treatment. This brings us to the second reason why we should not practise favouritism – it is utterly unfair. We see this in James’ example, in the treatment that the other visitor received. How different was he from the first one? Only in his outward appearance. This visitor was dressed in vile raiment. If only he had been politely ushered to a good seat just like the first visitor, there would have been no favouritism but complete fairness. But what treatment did he receive?“Stand here! Sit here under my footstool!” Can you see the huge contrast here? Doesn’t it show how unfair favouritism is? It makes unjustified distinctions between people. By doing this, it stratifies them unfairly into upper and lower classes.

C. It is Self-Centred

But what is it that makes us do that? Why do we make such distinctions between people? Isn’t it often because there is some selfish gain to be made out of it? In the example given by James you will notice that the clothing of the two visitors gave the perception that one was rich and the other was poor. The rich man wore a gold ring on his finger. In ancient times a gold ring was a symbol of authority, as such rings were used to seal decrees and official documents. And self-centred thinking would make people show the rich man more favour so that he would one day use his authority and influence in their favour.

But what about the poor man? Well, following the same self-centred thinking, there is nothing to be gained from showing him any favour because he has no influence or authority at all. Let us realise that such self-centred thinking is evil. As v.4 says, those who make distinctions like this become ‘judges of evil thoughts.’ They have become like judges who decide the outcome of a court case not on its own merits, by considering what they may stand to gain personally from the outcome.

Thus we have seen that favouritism should not be practised because it is undue, unfair and self-centred. And everyone, even unbelievers, will agree that all these put favouritism in a very bad light. But despite that, it is still practised very widely because the world tolerates it. Favouritism is tolerated by the world and even though people may frown and complain when it is practised, they still permit it to go on. That’s the way of the world!

But the Word of God plainly says that we cannot adopt the world’s attitude of tolerating favouritism. Look at James 1:27 – “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.” This is followed immediately with the stern warning against favouritism in 2:1 – “My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.”

This tells us that faith in Christ cannot co-exist with favouritism. They are simply incompatible, and diametrically opposed to each other. In Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female (Galatians 3:28). Throughout His earthly ministry, Christ showed no favouritism at all (Luke 20:21). He ministered to all kinds of people – men, women, and children. He showed compassion to Jew, Samaritan and Gentile alike. His purpose of salvation was not just to remove the enmity that sin had caused between God and man, but also to break down the wall that separated Jews from Gentiles (Ephesians 2:14). All these bring home the point that faith in Christ is incompatible with favouritism.

And thus, while favouritism is practised so widely by the world, we who believe in Christ must keep ourselves unspotted from the world. We must treat our fellow man the way God wants us to treat them. We who have faith in Christ must follow God rather than the world in the way we look at others.

 

II. How You Should Deal with Favouritism

A. Change the way you look at others

How does the world look at people? It looks at their outward appearance. We are judged according to our looks, our personality, and our public image. That is why people spend thousands of dollars on beauty treatment and body building to enhance their appearance. The world also looks at our accomplishments. We are judged according to our wealth, our social status and our possessions. But in God’s sight all these are worth nothing. God does not look at our outward appearance or worldly accomplishments. He does not value those who own more properties than others, or those who are more impressive-looking than others.

When God decided whom He would save before the world was made, He did not use these things as the bases for His choice. Listen to what 1 Corinthians 1:26-29 says on this: “For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence.”

It is in the light of this that we should now understand what James wrote in v.5 – “Hath not God chosen the poor of this world…?” This does not mean that God favours no one else but the poor. It means that unlike the world, God includes the poor in His choice because He does not value people according to their material wealth. As followers of God, we too must not value people according to their material wealth. Everyone must have equal importance in our eyes, regardless of their social status, wealth or appearance. Everyone, whether rich or poor, bears the exact same image of God. That is why it is so wrong todespise the poor, or to favour the rich over the poor.

And everyone whether rich or poor, are sinners who are worthy only of God’s judgment. Some people tend to think that the poor are most sinful and deserving of judgment because they are more likely to steal, to cheat and lie in order to get out of poverty and debt. But the rich are just as sinful, as James points out in v.6. They have been known to abuse their wealth and power to oppress the poor and drag them to court to make false charges against them. Moreover in the time of James, the ones who persecuted Christians severely were the rich unbelieving Jews. And James uses this to show how ironical it is that these rich Jews should be treated so much better in church than the poor.

The plain truth is that everyone is just as sinful regardless of wealth, status, race, age, education or gender. Belonging to a certain race or class or tribe does not give you any advantage or disadvantage before God, nor does it make you more worthy or less worthy of God’s judgment than others. As God’s Word says, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23) and that includes every one of us.

Perhaps some of you here may have been thinking all this while that you are a little better than others because of your good family background, upbringing or education. Well, the Bible says that in God’s sight you are actually no better than the worst of sinners. You are as much in need of salvation from sin and eternal death as everyone else. And the way to be saved is the same for you as for everyone else – repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Take Him alone to be your Saviour and Lord. If you have not done this yet, please do not delay as this is your greatest need.

And after you have come to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, the way you look at others must change – to see everyone, great or small, rich or poor, the same way that God sees them.

B. Love others as yourself

This is mentioned in v.8 of our text – “If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well.” There are two things we need to note about this love. Firstly, it must be unconditional. This is brought out in the Greek word for love that is used here – agapao. It refers to the same unconditional agape love that God has for unworthy sinners like us. Hence we are to love people, not because of anything that is worthy in them or because of what they can do for us.

Jesus illustrated this unconditional love very well by using the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-37). The Jews had always looked down upon the Samaritans and considered them as outcasts. But in this parable, the one who went out of his way to help a Jew who had been robbed and left to die on the road to Jericho was not a Jew but a Samaritan. Love overcomes all barriers of discrimination, and thus it eliminates favouritism.

Secondly, I want you to note that the love we have for others is given as a law we must keep. Therefore any failure to love our neighbour as ourselves violates a law of God. And this is not just any law of God, but the only one that has ever been called the royal law. This means that this particular law is the king of every law which governs human relationships. For by loving our neighbour as ourselves we automatically keep those laws in the Ten Commandments on our duties to our fellow man – like ‘Thou shalt not kill,’ ‘Thou shalt not steal’, ‘Thou shalt not commit adultery,’ ‘Thou shalt not bear false witness against their neighbour’ and ‘thou shalt not covet…any thing that is thy neighbour’s.’These laws plus all other laws of God on human relationships are summed up in the royal law: “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (cf. Galatians 5:14; Romans 13:9).

What all this means is that this is not a matter of personal preference. The royal law must be kept. We must love our neighbour as ourselves whether we feel like doing it or not. It may not be hard for us to keep this law when it comes to dealing with people we are comfortable with. If they are your close friends it will not be hard for you to love them as yourself. But what if they are people you are not comfortable with? What if they are those you are most prejudiced against? How about those who make life difficult for you? Can there be any exceptions – any instance at all where you don’t have to love your neighbour as yourself?

Please look at v.10 – “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.” I think the answer from God’s Word is clear – There aren’t any exceptions. Making exceptions will only make a distinction which leads to favouritism.

This then is the greatest challenge we face – How to apply this message in our own lives. Consider all your relationships at home, at school, at work and in church – are you practising favouritism in any of them? Are you really fair in dealing with all your subordinates, or are you biased toward anyone? Have you made unjustified distinctions between people? Are you trying to win someone’s favour just because he is rich and influential? Are you receiving favour in a manner that is unfair to others? And how have you treated those who do not seem to be blessed as much as you are?

We have learned why we should not practise favouritism. And we have learned that to have victory over it, we must change the way we look at others, and love them as ourselves. If all this is not translated into concrete action, then we become nothing more than hearers of the Word. The final call to obey is given to us in verse 12 which says, “So speak and so do, as they that will be judged by the law of liberty.” What you have heard today constrains you now to speak and act accordingly.

How about those who are suffering the adverse effects of favouritism? Perhaps you are being treated unfairly and you can really emphatize with the poor man in v.3. But how should you respond to this treatment in a biblical manner? I want you to look at v.5 and observe what it says. Here we are told that God has “chosen the poor of this world rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He hath promised to them that love Him.” Let this be your comfort: God has great compassion for those like you who endure unfair treatment. He wants you to know that though you may be poor in the eyes of this world, you are far richer than all the wealthiest men on earth. He has promised to give you an eternal kingdom, “an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you” (1 Peter 1:4).

So lift up your eyes of faith to behold that kingdom, and you will find all the strength and courage you need to persevere. And please make sure that you keep loving God with all your heart, soul and mind, because the promise in v.5 is given to those who love Him. And since He has said that those who love Him will keep His commandments, don’t neglect to keep the royal law – To love your neighbour as yourself.

This includes loving the ones who are responsible for the unfair treatment you receive and giving you a hard time. No matter how difficult it is for you to be a doer of the Word, you must do it: Get rid of all the resentment you feel against them, and learn to love them instead by forgiving them. By doing this you gain the victory as this glorifies your Lord Jesus who loved and forgave those who nailed Him to the cross. May the Lord help us all to have victory as we strive to live for Christ and glorify Him in a modern world.

James 1:17,18 - Unchanging Goodness

By Rev Charles Seet

Preached at Life BPC Chinese New Year Combined Service, 2007-02-18

Text: James 1:17,18

On this the first day of the Lunar New Year, it would be most appropriate for us to meditate on the theme of goodness as this is really the prized object in Lunar New Year celebrations all over the world. We see it in the usual greetings used during this season: wishes are expressed that this New Year will be a good one and that there will be overflowing happiness, health and wealth for everyone. This can also be seen in the many customs that have developed over the years in connection with the Lunar New Year. Many of them are observed in the hope that they will somehow bring an increase in one's good fortune, or that they will at least prevent anything from hindering that increase. 

For instance, red banners are draped over the front entrance of the house because the colour red is believed to ward off evil spirits and misfortune. The word 'Fu' is deliberately hung upside down because the Chinese word for 'upside down' happens to sound like the word for 'arrive.' Children are told to keep awake till midnight on New Year's Eve as this is supposed to add more years to their parents life. People give out hong baos liberally hoping that this will bring them greater returns of prosperity. When people go visiting they bring a pair of Mandarin oranges to give wealth to each household because in Cantonese, the words for 'gold' and 'orange' sound alike. 

- Food with auspicious-sounding names is usually eaten. On the seventh day, raw fish (yu sheng) is eaten because the Chinese word for fish sounds like the word 'surplus' and the word for raw may also mean 'life' or 'grow.' Raw fish is therefore supposed to give those who eat it a long and prosperous life. Groundnuts are also supposedly good to eat because they can bring long life. And melon seeds (kwachee) are supposed to give you with more children! I trust that all of us here who know the Lord Jesus Christ do not hold to any of these superstitious beliefs when we eat these goodies or take part in any non-religious Chinese customs during this festive season. 

Let us understand this well: Nothing that you do or that you refrain from doing can add more to your happiness, prosperity or lifespan. Goodness does not come from uttering certain phrases of good wishes, or from eating food with auspicious names, or from the use of certain colours. 

Goodness comes from only one source, and that is GOD. He is the fountain of all goodness for us! This truth is taught most clearly in the Bible in James 1:17, 18: 'Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.' I would like to draw three precious truths from these verses about God's goodness for our meditation this morning. The first truth is that:

I. God is the Giver of All that is Good

The beginning of v.17 says that 'Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights.' There are 3 points here about God's giving. The first is that God gives only good gifts. And everything that is good comes from Him. Some of God's gifts are even mentioned within the same chapter of James: Wisdom (v.5); the eternal crown of life for enduring trials (v.12) and the Word of Truth, which is the Gospel (v.18). We ought to realize that these gifts are so much more precious than all the material blessings that are commonly sought by men, such as property, cars, large bank accounts and tax exemptions. 

Besides these, there are other gifts from God that may not seem to be good at first, but they are just as good and perfect as these gifts. For instance, God gave the apostle Paul a thorn in the flesh which caused him so much discomfort that he besought the Lord thrice to remove it from him. But it became a tremendous blessing to him in the end, for he discovered how he can be strong even in his weakest moments through God�s sufficient grace! Whtever God gives is always good. God may sometimes give us difficult trials to endure, but according to v.3 of our text, these trials will eventually work to develop the priceless virtue of patience in us (cf. Hebrews 12:11). 

At this point it must be stated that while God is the Giver of all good things and everything that He gives is good, He is not the giver of all that is NOT good, such as evil, sin and death. Here in our passage, God's perfect gifts are contrasted against the imperfect gifts we receive when we give in to our own sinful lusts and passions. According to vv.14 and 15 yielding to tempting offers, no matter how good and desirable they may seem to be, will only bring sin and death to us. This is something that we must remember, especially during this festive season when people sometimes tend to overindulge themselves and throw all caution to the wind. While we should be thankful for all the legitimate goodies that we can enjoy in Lunar New Year festivites, please be careful to keep within acceptable limits and not yield to temptation.

We come now to the second point in v.17 about God's giving: The way that God gives is always good. This point is highlighted in the two instances of the word 'gift' in the verse. They are actually 2 different words in the original Greek New Testament. The first one which is in the phrase, 'every good gift' refers to the act or manner of giving. The second one which is in the phrase, 'every perfect gift' refers to whatever is given. By combining them together ('every good gift and every perfect gift'), James tells us that God's goodness is seen both in His gifts, and in the way that He gives them. God's giving is always out of pure unconditional love. Gifts that are given with love are the best gifts to receive!

However in this world there are some gifts that are better for us not to receive at all; such as gifts that are given grudgingly or unwillingly, or worse still, gifts that are given with an ulterior motive. If someone wants to give you a big fat hong bao today but in return he expects you to give him an unfair advantage over others, you should not accept it. Proverbs 17:23 says, 'A wicked man taketh a gift out of the bosom to pervert the ways of judgment.' 

God's giving is never like that. Goodness is behind every act of giving by Him. For instance, in v.5 we are told about the manner in which God gives wisdom to those who ask Him for it: 'If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.' Can you see here how God is ever so willing to give wisdom to those who ask Him? There is only one condition that we need to fulfill, and that is to ask Him in faith, as vv.6 and 7 says.

We have just considered the second point about God's giving which is: The way that God gives is good. We will now look at one more point about God's giving: He gives constantly. This point is derived from the words, 'cometh down' in v.17. It so happens that the tense used here is the present continuous tense, and that means that the good and perfect gifts of God keep coming down to us. God's giving is not like the way that we give out hong baos - we do it only once a year. God's giving is all the year round. We receive a constant flow of gifts from Him! You may not be aware that you are receiving gifts from God even right now at this very moment, because the Bible says that 'in Him we live and move and have our being.' (Acts 17:28) 

The fact that you are able to sit right there and listen to this sermon should make you realise that you are receiving gifts from God, because there are many people who may wish that they could do what you are doing now. The fact that your home is intact and has not been damaged by flood waters or by bombshells is also a testimony of God's goodness. These are only a sampling of the many, many blessings that God bestows upon you every moment of your life. King David was so amazed when he thought of this that he wrote in Psalm 139:17-18 'How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee.' David testifies of God's constant care over him, providing for his every need.

Thus we have seen that everything God gives is good, that the way He gives is good, and that He gives constantly. What should all this mean to us? Since God is the Giver of all that is good, we should give Him all the credit for every blessing or good thing that befalls us. The Chinese mindset however tends to attribute all happiness, health and wealth to good fortune or good luck. We should never do that. 

There are others who do not believe in good fortune or luck, but they claim all the credit for themselves and say in their heart, 'My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth.' God warned the Israelites against this in Deuteronomy 8:7-17 when they were about to enter the Promised Land. He said that when they enjoy its abundance, and had eaten until they were full and had become rich they must not forget that God is the source of all their blessings. They must not make the mistake of thinking that they had earned them through their own diligent efforts and ingenuity. 

This applies to all of us. If your business has been doing well, or if you have received a hefty bonus recently, please do not make the mistake of taking any credit for it. This also applies to all of you who are students who obtain good results for your O level or A level exams. You are robbing God of the honour that He deserves if you take credit for those good grades. Dearly beloved, we must never cease to acknowledge that 'Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.' The latter part of this verse brings us now to another truth about God's goodness, which is:

II. God's Goodness Never Changes

We notice that God is described here as the Father of lights with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. This is a rather interesting way of saying that God never changes - It compares Him with the changes that can be observed in the sun and the moon. Do you wonder why God is called 'the Father of lights' in v.17? It is because of what He did on the 4th day of creation according to Genesis 1:16 'And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night.' The greater light here refers to the sun which has periodic variations and no fixed position in the sky. The lesser light is the moon, which appears in various phases as it turns around the earth. Whenever we see the whole round moon lighted up with no shadow we say it is the full moon. And when the moon turns to the other side of the earth all that we can see is its shadow. We call this the new moon. And this is what you would have seen last night if you had gazed at the night sky.

Do you know that the date for the Lunar New Year is determined by the positions of the moon and the sun? It is defined as the day when the new moon of the first lunar month appears. The interesting thing is that this day changes every year. This year it happens to be on the 18th of February. Next year it will be on the 7th of February, and in 2009 it will fall in January. And every 7 years an extra intercalary month has to be added to the calendar to compensate for all the changes and to shift the date of the New Year back to the right position. 

The Lunar New Year is therefore just like the sun and the moon in this aspect - it is subject to change. In fact every Lunar New Year season reminds us about this thing called change. It heralds the change from the old year to a new year. Change can also be seen when we sit together at our reunion dinner and when we visit relatives whom we meet only once a year: We become aware that we have all grown older. Some may have been taken away in death while others may have been added through marriage or birth. 

Now, change is welcomed if it brings progress and development. But change is not welcomed when it brings uncertainty and insecurity. For example, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) has changed from 3% to 5% and in July it will change to 7%. Don�t you sometimes wish that your circumstances can always remain good all the time, especially when things are going very well for you? But we know that this is simply not possible. Whatever goodness you may derive out of this real world does not last for long because of change. 

The variableness of the world's goodness is just like the variableness of the sun that shines brightest at noon time, but disappears below the horizon in the evening. You don't see it until the next day. The ebb and flow of this world's goodness is just like the waxing and waning of the moon's shadow as it turns around the earth. How thankful then we ought to be that we have a God with whom is no variableness at all, neither the slightest shadow of turning! God is always the same, at all seasons of the year, and throughout all ages. There isn't the slightest change in His character, in His mode of being, or in His purposes and plans. What He was millions of ages before the world was made, He is now; and what He is now, He will be countless millions of ages from now.

We can be very sure then that whatever changes there may be in human affairs or government policies; whatever reverses we may undergo; whatever oceans we may cross, or whatever mountains we may climb, or in whatever worlds we may be living one day, God remains the same. He will always demonstrate the same consistent goodness, love and grace to those who seek after Him and abide in Him.

What should this truth mean to us now? Firstly, it is a tremendous source of encouragement and comfort for us. Let us look at Hebrews 6:17-19 which says, 'Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath: That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil.' I believe that you can see here how the unchanging nature of God and of His promises becomes our grounds for having strong hope in God. 

Secondly, it makes our study of God from the Scriptures worthwhile. If God is a changing God, what assurance do we have that He will deal with us with the same goodness that he dealt with the Old and New Testament saints? There would then be no profit at all in learning how good God has been in the times of the Bible, because by this present time He would no longer be the same as He was before. The Bible would be outdated and irrelevant to us, and we would need to find another book that can give us an updated knowledge of God. But it is precisely because God never changes that it is worth your time and effort to learn all about His acts of goodness to people like Noah, Abraham, Moses, David and Paul. God has not changed at all. 

And that is really so comforting to know, especially since we live in a world that is changing all the time and we have to deal with people who change. Have you ever wished that certain people in your life do not change? Especially those whom you love? 

In the pastoral ministry, I have sometimes counseled married people who are very deeply distressed because their spouses have changed over time - not for the better but for the worse. They are no longer the sweet, loving and devoted spouse that they married 8-10 years ago. If you feel downcast because your loved ones have changed like that, please take comfort in this: God never changes. He who loved you before still loves you with the same unchanging love. His love and goodness will never lose their original shine and brightness! You must make this the mainstay of your life. Then you will have all the constancy and stability that you need to cope with change.

Thus we have seen how wonderful it is to know that God's goodness never changes. It makes your study of God from the Scriptures worthwhile. And it helps you to cope with life in a world of change. There is one more truth about God's goodness that we need to consider before we end, because this message would not be complete without it. It is the truth that:

III. God's Goodness is Manifested in Our Salvation

This truth is revealed in v.18 'Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.' You will notice here that salvation is described as being begotten by God. Why is this so? It is because whenever a baby is born a new life is formed. That life does not come from the baby itself, but is derived from its human parents. And therefore when v.18 describes us as being begotten by God, it means that He is the One who gives us life. In this verse, this does not refer to our physical life which we already had from birth. It refers to the spiritual life that results from being born again. This is life in its fullness which is also known as the new, abundant and eternal life which comes from being saved!

Dearly beloved, of all the many benefits that you and I can receive from God�s goodness, there is none that can ever compare with this one. God's gift of eternal life is really the best gift of all. In fact if we had not received this particular gift from God, we would not be able to experience any other spiritual blessing from Him. And as v.18 says, this gift came to us only by the Word of Truth, which is the Gospel of Christ. Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth and the Life (John 14:6). Listen to what the Bible says in 1 John 5:11-12, 'And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.' Jesus Himself said in John 10:10 'I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.' It is only by receiving Jesus as one's Saviour and Lord that we are now able to enjoy this abundant life and say, 'Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.' (Psalm 23:6)

But perhaps there may be someone here who wonders why you have never experienced these benefits of God's goodness in your life. It is because of your sins. Your sins have become a barrier between you and God, and as long as they are not removed, you cannot experience the manifold blessings of being a child of God. There is only one way that this barrier can be removed, and that is for you to put your trust once and for all in Jesus Christ to take all your sins away. Jesus alone can do this because He died on the cross 2,000 years ago to bear the punishment that sinners deserve from God. As Hebrews 10:14 says, 'For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.'

Dear friends, if God is speaking to your heart right now through these words, please do not hesitate to obey Him. He commands all men everywhere to repent and turn to Jesus Christ for salvation. Make this Lunar New Year the most memorable one in your life - the one where you were truly born again and began to experience the unchanging goodness of God in your life!

And for the rest of us who are already born again, God's Word to you this morning is to go forth with the good news of salvation. Tell it wherever you go! Tell it that others may know! And even as you go visiting your relatives and friends after this, make a good effort to tell them about goodness - not about the changing goodness that is sought by men through the various superstitious customs and beliefs of Chinese New Year, but about the unchanging goodness of God that comes through Jesus Christ. May the Lord help us to be a blessing to others today.

James :1-6 - Victory over Exploitation

By Rev Charles Seet

Preached at / Published Life BPC 8am & 1045am Service, 2013-05-05

Text: James :1-6

Last Wednesday, Labour Day was celebrated in more than 80 countries worldwide. This public holiday symbolizes solidarity among workers. It also commemorates the labour movement’s historic campaign to protect the rights of workers, including the 8-hour day and fair wages for all who are in the workforce. The reforms that have been instituted by the labour movement have done much to improve the welfare of employees.

Today, those of us who work are able to enjoy good working conditions, as there are laws to protect us from being exploited. According to the Employment Act of Singapore, an employee is not required to work more than 8 hours in a day or 44 hours in a week. Even if he agrees to do some overtime work, he cannot be made to work more than 12 hours a day. He is not to work more than 6 consecutive hours without a break, and the break should be no less than 45 minutes. He is also entitled to one day of rest every week.

All employers are required to pay their workers’ salary at least once a month, and they must pay them within seven days after the end of each salary period. Those who fail to do this will be heavily prosecuted (If convicted, they could be jailed up to 6 months and/or fined up to $5,000). Just two weeks ago an International construction company was fined $8,000 for failing to pay its workers’ salaries on time. This was brought to light after two Chinese migrant workers who were not paid climbed onto the tower cranes at their worksite and refused to come down until their claims were resolved.

The sad thing is that there are many migrant workers who are not paid on time. NGOs who help such workers will tell you that it is a widespread practice to withhold and delay payment of wages to migrant workers as collateral for “good behaviour” and to discourage them from terminating their contracts early. Such manipulative tactics to exploit workers and deprive them of their due are actually not new. Throughout man’s history, many have suffered from being exploited by rich and powerful men, and they had no labour laws to protect them from such exploitation. As we study James 5:1-6 this morning we will see how this problem is addressed in God’s Word. As you read these verses perhaps you may think to yourself, “Why did James condemn the rich men in the church with such strong words?” He seems to have nothing good to say about them. He does not say in verse 1, “Repent and change your ways, lest great miseries should come upon you,” but he tells them instead to weep and howl as if nothing can stop their miseries from coming upon them. And in verse 3 he speaks about their impending destruction as a done deal. It seems that these rich men had no hope whatsoever.

The reason why James wrote about them in such a manner is that they were not believersat all. They were not even part of the church. However, there were rich believers among those that James wrote this epistle to and his tone toward them is different from what we see here. We see this in James 1:9,10 – “Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted: But the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away.” Here, James calls the rich brother in the church to rejoice like the poor brother. And the reason given why he ought to rejoice is that he is made low and would thus realize that material wealth cannot last for long. In the early church many rich Christians lost all their wealth as a result of severe persecution. But because of their faith in Christ, they could rejoice and look forward to something which is far better than all their lost wealth, namely, the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him (1:12).

But the rich men in James chapter 5 are different from them. They had nothing to look forward to. Instead of rejoicing, they could only weep and howl in fearful anticipation of the miseries and destruction from God that was coming upon them. This is because they were the ones who were persecuting the brethren in this epistle. This is revealed in chapter 2:6,7, where James wrote, “Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats? Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called?” These rich men were unbelievers who abused their wealth and power to oppress the poor believers and drag them to court to make false charges against them.

And therefore, these rich unbelievers were the ones referred to in James 5:1 – “Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.” But you may ask, “Why then would James address them directly, as if they were present in the church that this epistle was sent to?” This is where some knowledge of biblical literary devices can be helpful.

The one that is used here is called ‘apostrophe’. It is a direct address to someone who is not present as though he is present. Using the direct address expresses intense feeling and generates a sense of dramatic excitement. One powerful example is found in 1 Corinthians 15:55, where Paul says – “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?” This device was also used in many OT prophetic declarations of coming judgment against pagan nations like Babylon and Assyria who had oppressed God’s people (e.g. Isaiah 13-21; Ezekiel 25-32).

Now James uses the same literary device of direct address in our passage to declare God’s coming judgment of the rich unbelievers who oppressed and exploited believers. From this we can now understand the real purpose of this passage: It was a powerful way to comfort the believers who were oppressed. As they heard this imminent doom declared on those who were oppressing them, they would be strengthened to endure the cruel treatment of these rich unbelievers. And this fits in very nicely with what comes just after this passage. In vv.7-11, James exhorts them to endure their afflictions with patience.

Now, the comfort that this passage speaks about was meant not only for those who were exploited in the time of James. God’s Word is written for our comfort as well. If you are being exploited by others, and nothing can be done to stop it, God is speaking to you through this passage of Scripture. And there are two basic responses that He wants you to have toward any exploitation you face. Firstly, He wants you to

I. Trust God to Deal with Those who Exploit You

This of course assumes that you have tried your best to find every possible way to end their exploitation through proper channels. You have tried to reason with them, but they refuse to listen to you. You have tried to plead with them, but this does not help at all. You have tried to seek help from others, but everyone seems to be indifferent or unwilling to stick their necks out for you. You have reported the matter to the relevant authorities, but there is no good response. Your situation is utterly hopeless. So what should you do? Bring your case up to the Highest Court of all: Commit the matter fully to the Lord. Cry out to Him from your heart, and you have His full assurance that He will hear you. This assurance is given right here in v.4 – “Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth.”

I want you to see what a glorious truth this is, that God hears every cry of the oppressed! Listen to what God says in Exodus 22:22,23 – “Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child. If thou afflict them in any wise, and they cry at all unto me, I will surely hear their cry.” King David discovered this to be true when he was in trouble. That is why he testified in Psalm 34:6 – “This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.” And this led David to conclude in v.15 of the same psalm, that “The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry.”

Unlike all human authorities, God never takes long to understand your plight completely. You don’t have to struggle through a bureaucratic maze, making appointments to see this officer and that officer. You don’t have to spend hours writing detailed reports and gathering all the supporting documents, photographs and evidences to back up everything you say. This is because God already sees everything and knows everything. Those who exploit you may think that no one will ever know about their misdeeds because they have all the means and ways to cover up their tracks. But the first part of v.4 tells us that nothing can be hid from God – “Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth.” Just like the blood of Abel whom Cain murdered (Genesis 4:10), the money that was left unpaid cries out to God to declare the offender’s guilt and to demand justice!

But what if all these cries reach the ears of one who is unable to bring those who are guilty to justice? And worse still, what if the ones who exploit you are just too strong, too powerful for anyone to oppose? No law can ever touch them, because they have built up impregnable layers of protection to avoid prosecution by any authority. King Solomon encountered such a situation in his own kingdom, which he describes in Ecclesiastes 4:1 – “So I returned, and considered all the oppressions that are done under the sun: and behold the tears of such as were oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors there was power; but they had no comforter.” Even Solomon with all his widom and authority could not overcome the great power of these oppressors. Somehow his own hands were tied, and he was unable to bring any help or relief to those who were being exploited by them. Who then, is able to help them?

The answer is found in the name that is used for God in v.4 of our passage. He is called the Lord of Sabaoth – which means the ‘Lord of hosts’ or the ‘Lord of armies.’ This name portrays Him as a mighty military commander, One who can at a mere word summon rank after rank of protective power to fight against evil. And so whenever the cries of the oppressed reach the ears of the Lord of hosts, nothing can stop Him from delivering them from their oppressors!

For instance, the book of Exodus begins with the slavery of the people of Israel. The Egyptians exploited them to build their huge cities. They ‘made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in morter, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field.’ (Exodus 1:14) This made the Israelites cry out to the Lord. And the LORD said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows; And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians.” (Exodus 3:7-8)

And the Lord of hosts did deliver them, “by a mighty hand, and by a stretched out arm, and by great terrors.” (Deuteronomy 4:34) Neither Pharaoh nor all the forces of Egypt could stop Him from delivering them from slavery. Is there any power on earth or in heaven that can prevent the Lord of hosts from delivering those who are oppressed by them? None at all! Indeed, His power to deliver those who are oppressed, exploited or enslaved is revealed many more times in biblical history.

And do you know what is the greatest deliverance that the Lord of Hosts has accomplished? It is His deliverance of our lives from the oppression of sin and eternal death. This is the most terrible oppression because it brings out the worst in man and it robs man of all hope of heaven and eternal life. Living in sin is worse than being exploited by anyone. It leaves you in a most helpless and pitiful state. If you are still unsaved, you need Jesus Christ who is the Lord of Hosts, to deliver you from this oppression. I would urge you to cry out to the Lord Jesus today to save you from your slavery to sin. Do this without delay, and He will deliver you, just as He has promised in His Word.

And thus we have seen that according to v.4 of our passage, the first response that God wants you to have to exploitation is to trust Him to deal with those who exploit you. He hears your cry, and He will deliver you from them in His own good time. Just leave it to Him to work out how He will do it and when He will do it. Now we come to the other basic response you should have to exploitation:

II. Be Warned against Exploiting Others

This warning against exploitation can be seen in the strong words that James uses in this entire passage. But you may ask, “Why would those who are being exploited need to be warned so strongly against exploiting others?” This warning is needed because of our sinful propensity to emulate the sins of others. You see, one reason why some people exploit others, is that they themselves were exploited. When a person has suffered long enough from being exploited, he may actually become envious of the prosperity enjoyed by those who exploit him. He is tempted to become like them.

This happened to a man called Asaph, who testified that he nearly fell into the same sin as the wicked who oppressed the righteous. Listen to what Asaph wrote in Psalm 73:2-3 –“But as for me, my feet were almost gone; my steps had well nigh slipped. For I wasenvious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.” In the verses that follow he describes how these oppressors seemed to get everything they want and no one could stop them. But he, on the other hand did not prosper at all despite trying to live a godly life. Instead of prospering he suffered affliction all the day long. And so Asaph almost compromised because he saw how well the wicked were prospering. It was only when he came into the Sanctuary of God that he understood their final end and realized how foolish he was to be envious of them.

Perhaps you may be in the same situation as Asaph. You work in an office where the most successful workers are those who exploit other workers. They take all the credit for what is not theirs, and they make others take the blame for what is theirs. They get everything they want and climb up the corporate ladder easily. Then they teach the subordinates they exploit to do the same thing to others if they want to succeed. This sinful behaviour propagates from the top level right down to the bottom, and those at the lowest rung of the ladder are hit the hardest.

If you in caught within a web of exploitation and you cannot get out of it, you must be very careful not to compromise. And the warning given in our passage can help you to be strong and to stand firm. There are three things mentioned in this strong warning against exploitation. The first is that…

A. Greed for Wealth Will Bring Destruction

This is the point of in vv.2-3. Exploitation is engendered by a greed or love for wealth. Now, there is nothing wrong with having wealth as long as you have the right attitude to it. Abraham and Job were both very rich in material things in their own time, and yet they were righteous and godly men. God blessed both of them with abundant wealth which they used well for His glory.

The problem begins when you trust in riches and love them. You begin to feel that your life consists in the abundance of the things you possess (Luke 12:15). Then you want to possess more and more riches. You want to lay up for yourself treasures upon earth (Matthew 6:19). And so you start thinking of ways to increase your earthly assets and to get more gains for yourself. Then you discover that one easy and quick way to do this is to exploit others, and you look for every opportunity to do this.

Do you think God is pleased with this? Not at all! Do you think He will bless your riches and give you more to possess? Certainly not! God will never bless any riches that are gained in a sinful way or for a sinful purpose. If the Lord grants you the opportunity to have more than what you need for a time, it is only for the purpose of exercising good stewardship over His wealth. You are to use it to bless others and to build His kingdom.

But if you now regard it all as your own precious wealth to be used for your own selfish ends, then all your riches will become a curse to you rather than a blessing. As vv.2,3 says, “Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten. Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.”

This tells us that the curse of riches that are gained in a sinful way or for a sinful purpose is not just the loss you suffer as they decay and lose their value, but also the immenseharm they will eventually inflict on your life. They will cause you much anguish, worry and pain. They will destroy your health, wreck your marriage and family life, and will create more enemies for you than friends.

This can also happen to employees – if you allow yourself to be exploited because of your greed for riches. So you work longer hours and sacrifice all the time you spend with your family and with the Lord. You will suffer in the end!

How ironical it is that what you relied on to bring you a better and more comfortable life, brings you untold misery and destruction instead! If you do not want this to happen to you, then please heed this warning not to be controlled by a greed for wealth which leads to exploitation. The second deterrent mentioned in this warning against exploitation is…

B. Dishonest Gain Will Bring Judgment

This is found in the first part of v.4 – “Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth.” The word ‘fraud’ here shows that this holding back of wages in order to get gain is dishonest. Some employers may do this by imposing salary deductions for fees that were never agreed upon. Others make excuses for delaying salary payments, e.g. “The director who signs the paycheques is on holiday”; “The accountant’s computer broke down”; “The company is not doing so well.”Whatever the method or excuse one may use, it doesn’t change the fact that it is dishonest to delay the payment of wages.

I mentioned earlier that according to our country’s labour laws, an employer who does not pay his workers within seven days will be prosecuted. God’s law is even stricter than this – According to Deuteronomy 24:14,15, payment cannot be delayed by even one day. The employee must receive his wages before the sun sets. Paying him later than that is considered as robbery (Leviticus 19:13)! And that really brings out the wickedness of exploitation – It is a form of robbery, and it violates the 8th commandment – “Thou shalt not steal”.

Please take heed of this, especially if you employ anyone to work for you. This includes those who employ domestic helpers – make sure that you treat them faifly and kindly, and do not take advantage of them.

God takes this violation seriously, just as He takes any violation of His commandments seriously and will bring judgment against all who violate them. However, what aggravates this violation is the fact that the ones who are exploited are often greatly disadvantaged. They are vulnerable and have no power to stand up for their rights. In some situations, the workers really have no choice but to keep on working for those who exploit them because at least they still get some income to feed their families and to pay their household bills.

Life is extremely hard for many people in the world today because of exploitation, and yet those who are responsible for it have no sympathy or pity for them. They don’t feel any compassion for the misery of the oppressed. Why is this so? Isn’t it because their hearts have become so hardened by what they gain from exploiting others? And this may also happen to you if you do not heed the warning against exploitation.

C. Desensitised Hearts Will Bring Ruin

Listen to what James says in vv.5-6 – “Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter. Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you.” The picture here is that of an animal being fattened with food, not knowing that this is going to lead to its ruin. Like this animal, the rich unbelievers who exploited the poor were indulging themselves with all the gains they had obtained, not knowing the horrible consequences that awaited them. They mistakenly thought that all the pleasure they indulged themselves in justifies the means they used to obtain it. “So what if my actions may have caused some people to suffer? I don’t care as long as I am having a good time.” Their hearts had been so fattened and desensitized with pleasure and selfish indulgence they they could no longer feel any compassion at all for the plight of their victims. As long as they got what they wanted, it doesn’t matter who has to suffer for it, even if he happens to be a just person who gives no resistance to them at all.

Now, isn’t this the same attitude as that of the unbelieving Jews who sought to condemn and kill our Lord Jesus? Look at the account given in John 11:47-50 – “Then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a council, and said, What do we? for this man doeth many miracles. If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him: and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation. And one of them, named Caiaphas, being the high priest that same year, said unto them, Ye know nothing at all, Nor consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not.” Can you see how they used the same line of reasoning that the end justifies the means? All that mattered to them was to keep their supreme place of authority in the leadership of Israel. As long as they could do this, it didn’t matter that Jesus must be condemned to suffer and die the cruel death on the cross.

 
What James wrote here in v.6 of our passage implies that those who exploit others put themselves in the same league as these unfeeling Jews who crucified our Lord Jesus. Any true believer who knows this must surely realize how evil exploitation is. Let us therefore be warned against the greed that engenders exploitation, and against thedishonest gain and desensitized heart it will lead us to. May the Lord help us to respond to exploitation the way He wants us to respond.

James 1:1 - The Victory that James Found in Christ

By Rev Charles Seet

Preached at Life BPC 8am & 1045am Svc, 2013-01-06

Text: James 1:1

As the New Year is just five days old, many people are wondering what 2013 holds in store for them . You may have heard the news yesterday that our national carrier (SIA) has asked its pilots to take voluntary no-pay leave. This is because the downturn in the economy has weakened deman for flights. A recent UN report has warned that this year’s economy will be gloomy, ‘fraught with major uncertainties and risks slanted to the downside. Some predict that another global recession is on the way. Others believe that we will see more droughts and typhoons due to climate change, and that there will be huge blackouts and breakdowns from a massive solar flare that is expected to erupt this year. Well, all these forecasts are still quite uncertain, and only God knows exactly what will happen.

But one thing is very certain for us this year: We will have to face many challenges. And perhaps these challenges may be greater than those of previous years – Challenges that will affect our work life, our family life and our spiritual life. We are all aware that our pace of life has increased tremendously – it is now among the fastest in the world! Everyone is feeling stressed by it. Recently, students from four polytechnics shared their vision for Singapore to become a stress-free society, with less competition in the workplace, and a 4-day work week. But the reply given to them was that this is not going to happen, as Singapore will find itself in an increasingly competitive world. These challenges are part and parcel of life in a modern competitive world whether we like it or not.

One particularly difficult challenge of living in a modern world is how to deal with increasing temptations to sin. For instance, more people are now gambling because it has become so easily accessible on-line, and is it has become linked to a glamourous and desirable lifestyle. The greatest concern is that more youths are getting into gambling than before, and counselors fear that youths will end up losing their jobs, their savings, social life, family and friends. Besides increased gambling, there has been a deluge of social media. Social media is good as it opens up more community dialog and interaction. But it also opens up a Pandora’s Box of gossiping, rumour-mongering, misinformation, and black-mailing. One juicy bit of information will go ‘viral’ within hours.

Some groups are making use of social media to influence public opinion and to pressure the authorities to push the limits of morality as far as they possibly can. A general decline in morality can already be seen from all the high-profile sex scandals last year involving politicians and public servants. What is frightening is that this is only the tip of the iceberg of a pervasive trend that is wrecking more and more marriages and families today.

I can go on listing a lot more challenges that we will have to face this year and in the years to come. But these are enough to make us aware of what we will face in our work life, in our family life and in our spiritual life. Our focus then as God’s people should be on how to have victory in facing them. A few days ago I received an SMS from a sister in our church which I thought was full of wisdom. I asked her permission to share it with you: “Many people wish for a better next year. But at the end of the next year we find that it had not been better than the previous year. So I think I will not wish for a better 2013, but I wish to be better able to handle whatever 2013 brings.” Dearly beloved, if we know that there will be challenges for us to handle this year, then we should aim for victory in handling them.

And this will be the church theme in 2013 – “Living Victoriously for Christ in a Modern World.” I hope that all of us will identify with this theme and make it our own personal goal. Each time you see this graphic, please take time to think of how it relates to you personally. If Jesus is your Lord and Saviour, then you must live your life for Him. This point is made clear in Galatians 2:20 where the apostle Paul said, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”

The last part of the verse shows how greatly indebted we are to Christ that we should now live for Him alone – “He loved me, and gave Himself for me. But there is also a deeper reason why we must live for Christ – it is to fulfill our mission of making disciples in this world. This mission was spelled out clearly by our Lord Jesus in the Great Commission: “Go ye therefore, and teach [or make disciples of] all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”(Matthew 28:19,20)

This is our mission for living victoriously for Christ in our modern world – so that we can make disciples of all nations, disciples who know what the Lord Jesus Christ has commanded and observe it faithfully. And so our church theme for 2013 must lead us to obey the great commission of Christ. Making disciples of Christ involves work in three areas – Salvation, Sanctification and Service. In Salvation, people are brought to Christ through the Gospel. In Sanctification, they grow into the fullness of Christ. In Service, they become used of God to build up the body of Christ. All of us should be involved in these three areas either in being discipled or in making disciples.

And our ultimate vision in doing all this, is to become what the Lord wants us to be: ‘A united church family committed to the glory of God.’ I hope that by understanding our mission and vision we will commit ourselves fully to fulfill it. I sincerely request all of us here to pray fervently that God will work in our midst so that we will all share this vision and seek to bring it into reality.

Coming back to this year’s theme – Living Victoriously for Christ in a Modern World, you may want to know how it will be implemented. Firstly, it will be implemented through this year’s Scripture memory verses, in a booklet entitled, “Wisdom for Daily Living.” In order to live victoriously you need wisdom, and God’s wisdom is found in the Book of Proverbs. The 52 memory verses in this booklet (one for each week of the year) are all taken from the Book of Proverbs. Please take time to memorise them and meditate on them prayerfully so that you will be well-equipped with wisdom to live victoriously for Christ in this modern world. Our church website has some resources to help you do this.

Secondly, the Church theme will be implemented in our Church camp in June this year with messages on“Armoured for Victory” by Dr Paul Choo. The details are provided in the weekly, and I urge you to sign up for it when the camp registration opens next month.

And thirdly, the Church theme will be implemented in the messages preached at our morning services. In this schedule that you received with the weekly last Sunday, you would have noticed that most of the messages have the word ‘victory’ in them (“Victory in the Midst of Trials” next Sunday; “Victory over a Materialistic View of Life” on 20 Jan, etc.) This series of expository messages will take us right through the entire Epistle of James which we aim to complete within the first half of this year.

Why have we chosen the Epistle of James? This epistle contains many useful principles on practical Christian living. This book emphasises practice rather than doctrine. It shows that the Christian faith is a faith that works. Someone has put it this way: “If Paul is the apostle of Faith, Peter the apostle of Hope, and John the apostle of Love, then James is the apostle of Works.” This makes James a very practical and edifying book to study. We will learn many useful lessons on how to live the Christian life, e.g. the right use of the tongue, the right way to treat one another, and the necessity of doing good works. We will learn what attitudes we should have toward the world, toward wealth and toward God. We will also learn how to seek God’s help in time of sickness, and in times of trial.

With that introduction, let us turn to the epistle of James now and see how it begins. Let us read the first verse: “James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting.” (James 1:1)

The first word gives us the writer’s name – James. Who was this James? Among the 12 apostles of Christ, there were two who had the name James: James the son of Zebedee and James the son of Alphaeus. But it is very unlikely that either of them wrote this epistle. The testimony that has been passed down from the earliest times with much supporting evidence is that it was written by James the half-brother of Jesus Christ.You may remember that Jesus was born of Mary when she was a virgin. So Joseph was only His foster father. But after Jesus was born, Joseph and Mary had four sons and at least two daughters We know this from Matthew 13:55,56 – “Is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas? And his sisters, are they not all with us?” You may notice that James is mentioned first before all the rest. This indicates that he was the eldest among the half-brothers of Jesus, and probably the sibling who was closest to Him.

We would think that being so close to Jesus, and having grown up together with Him in the same home, James and all the rest of the siblings would surely have become His first followers, and given full support to their Big Brother. But actually the very opposite was true. John 7:5 tells us “For neither did his brethren believe in him.” Throughout the entire 33 years of Christ’s life on earth James did not believe in Him or follow Him at all. And yet later on he rose to become a devoted discisple of Christ and a leader of the church in Jerusalem. James was mentioned by Paul in Galatians 1:18,19 – “Then after three years I went up toJerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days. But other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord's brother.” And Acts 15:13-21 records what he said during an important church council in Jerusalem:“And after they had held their peace, James answered, saying, Men and brethren, hearken unto me…Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them….” What James said here shows that he was the moderator or chairman of that council. He must have had the spiritual maturity, godliness and wisdom needed to serve in such an important capacity.

This point has been corroborated by other sources which tell us that James had such deep practical piety that both friends and foes alike called him  Ya’acov haTzaddik which is Hebrew for “James the Just” or “James the Righteous.” Isn’t it amazing that this brother of Jesus who did not even believe in Him at first, actually became “James the Just,” a great Christian leader of the church in Jerusalem? This tells me that James found victory in Christ. Let us find out more about this victory that James found in Christ. Firstly

I. It Originated from the Grace that Christ Showed to Him

If not for the wonderful grace of Jesus Christ, James would have remained in his unbelief and sin. But thankfully, Christ did not let him wallow in unbelief. How do we know that? The evidence is found in 1 Corinthians 15:3-8 – “For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.”

Here we have a list of the ones Christ appeared to after He had resurrected from the dead. You will notice that the last one He appeared to was Paul. This took place when Paul was on the road to Damascus. He was going there in unbelief to persecute Christians. But by the grace of Christ, Paul was not left to wallow in unbelief. Christ went after him and appeared to him in a blinding light from heaven and said, “Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?” (Acts 9:4) Through this appearance of Christ, Paul was soundly converted and he went on to become a true servant of God.

How about James? He was like Paul in many ways. By the grace of Christ he was not left to wallow in his unbelief. As the resurrected Christ was seen by Paul, He was seen by James also (as v.7 of this passage says). And as Paul went on to become a true servant of God, so did James. We do not know where, when and how Christ appeared to James after His resurrection. But this was the moment when James was soundly converted, like Paul. It may or may not have been as spectacular as Paul’s conversion – we don’t know and we dare not speculate where the Bible is silent. But this one thing we know – it was as much a work of undeserved grace in James’ life, as it was in Paul’s life. And James must have been thankful for the grace of Christ which had changed him from being a sinner to being a servant: God’s servant! Perhaps James recalled the wonderful grace that Christ showed him, as he began writing his epistle with the words, “James, a servant of God…”

There is only one source of victory over sin: The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. There is only one thing that can change your life from wallowing in unbelief, to becoming a useful servant of God: The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ who died on the Cross for sinners. If you have not found victory over sin yet, and if you are still living in unbelief, then you need the grace of Jesus to work in your heart. Come to Him now. Turn from your sins and turn to Jesus Christ to make Him your Lord and Saviour, and then you will begin to experience the victorious life. You can never succeed in living victoriously until you find your victory in Christ. Let us go on now to learn more about the victory that James found in Christ…

II. It Led to the Lordship of Christ over His Life.

Looking again at the first verse of the epistle, you will notice that James does not make any mention of being a brother of Jesus. Think of this: If you had been James and you wrote a letter to instruct us or encourage us, wouldn’t you want us to know that you are a brother of Jesus? Wouldn’t it be good for us to know that all the words you wrote actually come from one who is a brother of Jesus Himself?

Why then did James leave this out? He may have done this in order to draw attention to Christ rather than to himself. Perhaps he did not want to put himself on the same level as Christ. Although he was so closely related to Him, James did not want to glean any honour for himself from that relationship. So, he would rather be known as James the Lord’s servant, rather than James the Lord’s brother.

We wonder what it was like for James to answer questions from fellow believers who knew that He was the Lord’s brother. Perhaps many may have asked him, “James can you please tell me what it was like to grow up and live with the Lord Jesus? What kind of games did you play with Him when you were kids?” The complete silence in his epistle about his relationship with Jesus, and of any anecdotes about their childhood days, tells us one thing: Nothing mattered more to James now than the Lordship of Christ. Jesus was his half-brother. But that fact is no longer as relevant as the fact that Jesus is the glorious Lord of all. This is how James wanted his readers to think of Christ, as seen in 2:2 – “My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.”

We must learn this important lesson from James: Our eyes must be focused on Christ, and on Christ as our Lord. He must increase and we must decrease. This is the key to victorious living – Make Jesus the Lord of everything in your life! Let Him be exalted as Lord in all your thoughts, words, and actions. Let Christ be exalted in your life and also in your death.

There is evidence that James exalted Christ in his death. According to Josephus, in AD 62 the Jews were trying to pressure James into telling the crowds at the Temple that Jesus is not the Messiah. But James fearlessly proclaimed that Jesus is seated at the throne of God and is coming soon to judge the world. The Jews were so infuriated that they killed James by throwing him down from the pinnacle of the Temple, stoning him and clubbing him to death. His death brought much grief not only to Christians but to many non-Christian Jews as well. But his testimony also brought many to find salvation in Christ!

In more recent times James has exalted Christ even long after His death.  In 2002, a 20-inch-long limestone ossuary, which is a container for bones, was discovered in Israel. It is believed to have once contained the skeletal remains of James. It dates back to about AD 63 and it has an inscription incised on one side of the ossuary which reads in clear Aramaic letters: “James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus.” Many experts who examined the ossuary and its inscription have no doubts that they are authentic. But the Israeli Antiquities Authority charged its owners with forgery. A 5-year trial ensued with over 75 people called to the stand and over 5,000 pages of written submissions from the prosecution and the defendants (This has become known as the forgery trial of the century). The final verdict was given by the Judge in Jerusalem in March last year (2012). He declared that the owners of the ossuary were not guilty of forgery. This means that this ossuary may have actually contained the bones of James, the eldest half-brother of Jesus Christ!

More importantly this inscription is the earliest archaeological evidence that Jesus lived 2000 years ago. It is very unusual that an inscription on an ossuary should include the name of the brother of the deceased. The Jews would only include the name of the father of the deceased. The fact that this one included the name of the brother as well shows that this brother must be someone who was well-known at that time. And so we see how James has exalted Jesus even today by the testimony of his ossuary. This discovery is regarded as one of the greatest victories in modern biblical archaeology.

If you want to have victory in living for Christ, do what James did – Exalt Christ! Will you make Christ the Lord of everything in your life? There is one more thing we can learn about the victory that James found in Christ…

III. It Made His Life a Blessing to Many Others.

Here at the beginning of his epistle, we see James writing to “the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad.”The 12 tribes here is a reference to Israel. Jews who have become Christians are the true Israel of God (cf. Galatians 6:16; Romans 9:6) They were originally from the church of Jerusalem and hence James knew them. But because of intense persecution, they were forced to leave Jerusalem and migrate to other lands as exiles. There they started to meet together and form little congregations. James continued to care for these displaced members. Though they were far removed from his sight, they were still very much in his heart. So He wrote this general epistle out of genuine love and concern for them, and it reveals his intimate knowledge of their circumstances and problems.

In our present age of increased travel we have do have a diaspora of church members who are scattered all over the world for work or for study. How much do we care for them? Do we keep in touch with them or have we forgotten them completely? Do we pray for them? James did. The early church fathers tell us that James was known to be a man of fervent prayer – He interceded for others on his knees daily until they became as hard as the knees of a camel. He was therefore given the nickname “old camel knees.”

James not only cared for his own church members. He also cared for Paul and Barnabas and gave them the right hand of fellowship (Galatians 2:9) recognizing their calling to reach the Gentiles. He cared for the Gentile Christians who had been saved through Paul’s ministry (Acts 15:19) – He did not want to burden them with all the laws which the Jews kept, like circumcision and eating nothing but kosher food. James even cared for his enemies. According to an early church historian named Hegesippus (AD 110-180), the very last prayer that James uttered was for those who murdered him. This was what he prayed when he was martyred – “I beseech Thee, Lord God our Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” James lived victoriously and he died victoriously.

 
Here in the words of his last prayer we can see the secret of his victory revealed to us. These were the very same words that our Lord Jesus uttered as He was dying on the cross at Calvary. The secret of James’ victory was found in Christ. His life became a great blessing to many others because of the life and likeness of Christ that was in him. Let us therefore find our victory in Christ by seeking to have more and more of His likeness in us. And this is what we all need if we want to live victoriously for Christ in a modern world.

2 Peter 1:7 - Spiritual Growth: Brotherly Kindness

By Rev Charles Seet

Preached at / Published Life BPC 10.30am service, 2004-03-21

Text: 2 Peter 1:7

The New Testament Greek word for brotherly kindness used in this passage is 'philadelphia'. You may remember that 'Philadelphia; is also the name of one of the seven churches that was addressed in the book of Revelation, and today there is also a city on the eastern board of the U.S. by the same name. One might imagine how nice it would be to live in a city or church called 'brotherly kindness.' But it should not be surprising to find that those who live there have their share of conflicts, because of the depravity of the human heart!

Actually 2 Peter 1:7 is the only instance in the NT where this word (philadelphia) is translated as 'brotherly kindness' The word is found four other times in the NT and in all these four instances it is translated as 'brotherly love.' Romans 12:10 - 'Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;' 1 Thessalonians 4:9 - 'But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another.' Hebrews 13:1 - 'Let brotherly love continue.' 1 Peter 1:22 - 'Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:'

Since the meaning of the word philadelphia is actually love for the brethren, and not just kindness, what makes this quality different from the the last one, charity (agape)? 

The key to understanding the difference and the specific meaning of the word philadelphia is found in the qualifier, 'brotherly' that is attached to it. This qualifier shows us that it is attitude of warm affectionate devotion that can be shared by brothers and sisters in a close-knit family. This was apparently something that characterised church life in the early Christian church. Each local congregation was just like a close-knit family, where the members treated one another lovingly and warmly as if they had very close blood ties with each other.

This explains why the biblical writers often addressed the Christians in the churches as 'brethren.' This term means 'brothers and sisters.' It is used in the Bible approximately 230 times, and it literally means 'from the same womb.' This implies that Christians are vitally related to each other. How? Through a shared Christian heritage and a common birth and more precisely, the common experience of being born again of the Holy Spirit. The word 'brethren' is also found in the Old Testament, e.g. in Psalm 133, where the psalmist describes 'how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.' It brings great joy to the heart of our Lord to see His dear children together as one. Another term is used in 1 Peter 2:17. Here the command is given to us to 'love the brotherhood.' The term 'brotherhood' refers once again to the church as a closely-knit family.

I trust that each of you have had your own unique experience of tender affection and mutual love with brothers and sisters in your own families. Being part of a family is something that most of us can identify with. This is why biblical writers like Peter chose to use the family term, 'brotherly kindness' when they wrote about the way that believers should relate to one another. We should not think of our church just as a group of people who just happen to believe in the same God, and who just happen to gather together in the same place once or twice a week to worship Him. We should think of one another as being members of the same family, and that there are family ties that bind us together. When we apply this concept, it will add to us a dimension of warmth, tenderness, care, concern and loyalty to our church life.

And so we have seen that the Bible teaches very clearly that the church is a family. But family life does not just happen automatically or effortlessly. In some families today (and sad to say, even Christian families) the members hardly talk with one another. Father, mother, sons and daughters all lead their own lives separately and do not even share mealtimes together because each comes home at a different time. Family life has to be cultivated. The same thing is true of the church family. We need to cultivate our family life.

We need to keep on functioning as a family and loving one another as a family. There must be a conscious effort to regard one another as brothers and sisters in Christ, and grow in our love and devotion toward one another. This is why the Bible constantly repeats the specific commandment for Christians to love one another. Some of these commandments are even accompanied with a reason given for us to love one another. We have already seen the first reason - that brotherly love is what being in God's family is about. We will look at two other reasons that are found with other instances of the same command.

In John 13:34,35 Jesus Himself said, 'A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.' Then the reason is given: 'By this shall all men know that ye are My disciples, if ye have love one to another.' In this instance, the reason is evangelistic. When brotherly love is evident in our church, then those who are outside Christ who are able to see this love will identify us as Disciples of Christ. What they see happening here in our midst must not be the same as what they see happening in the world. We all know that the world is characterised by hatred, hostility, backstabbing, criticism, envy, competition, and exploitation. Church life should not be characterised by these things at all, but rather by mutual love, giving, serving, and generous expressions of sincere appreciation, thanksgiving and praise for one another. This will provide a visible testimony to the world that we truly belong to Christ.

Another instance of this commandment is found in 1 Peter 1:22 and here we find the third reason for brotherly love - 'Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently.' This verse teaches us an important principle, the principle that if we have been genuinely saved, we now have the ability and power to love one another. We have no excuse for not showing brotherly lovee. Before we were saved, we had an excuse, because it was not possible for us to show sincere love for the brethren, since our lives were controlled by self and sin then. It is only through the Gospel of Christ, that we now have the power that comes from the Holy Spirit who indwells us, to love the brethren fervently.

And so dearly beloved, we have now seen three good reasons why we should cultivate brotherly love to one another: Firstly, because it is what it means to be in the family of God. And secondly, because having by this love for one another, the world may know that we are truly disciples of Jesus Christ. 

And thirdly, because we now possess the ability to love one another, by virtue of the salvation we have received in Jesus Christ. But now comes the hardest part of all - How do we put this into practice? It is easy just to give lip service and say, 'Yes, I fully agree with that. We ought to love and show brotherly kindness to one another.' But how do we carry out this commandment in actual terms? Let me outline some steps. The first step is to:

I. Take Seriously What God's Word Says about Loving One Another. 

Carefully consider all the verses where commandments of brotherly love are found. Let God speak to you about this, and let it develop into a personal conviction. Then commit yourself to do it. Make it your fervent prayer to God that you really want to have this quality of brotherly love for Christians around you. Ask Him to help you apply what you have learnt from His Word. When you have done this, proceed to the second step which is to:

II. Evaluate your present attitudes and actions toward brethren in Christ.

What are your present feelings toward Christian brethren? What are the barriers or hindrances that hold you back from demonstrating more brotherly love toward them? 

1. For some of us the greatest hindrance may be self-love.

A love for self makes it difficult and even impossible to have unselfish affection for others. In Philippians 2:3,4, Paul said, 'Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.' These verses make it quite clear that Christians should not be self-centred people, thinking only of themselves or loving themselves alone. There is one way that you can tell if you are self-centred or not. What do you usually pray for in your personal prayers each day? Do you find yourself only praying for yourself that God will give you the things that you want for yourself? Are your prayers always self-centred?

If you have made the diagnosis that self-love is the main cause for your lack of love for others, how do you deal with it? The cure for self-love is to see yourself only as a sinner who is saved by grace alone. If not for what God has done in your life, you would not be what you are right now. You must realize how graciously God has dealt with you to give you eternal life and a glorious home in heaven, when what you really deserved from Him is eternal death in hell. 

When you can understand how much you have been loved and saved by God, then you will become more willing to show that same love to those who are around you. 

2. Another hindrance to brotherly kindness the fear of being rejected. 

Some of you may have gone through the unpleasant experience of being misunderstood or deeply hurt by people. Then you may feel tempted to withdraw yourself from others and to be afraid to show any love toward others again. Such fear causes you to keep yourself at a safe distance from them. But doing this would cause you to go against God's commandment to you, to love one another. So, in order to be obedient to God's commandments, we need to overcome such fears. 

Now, listen carefully to this: It is true that there is a risk involved whenever you endeavour to show love to others: the risk that someone will let you down, or take advantage of your kindness. Whenever you show love, you are bound to make yourself vulnerable to being hurt either by someone who coldly refuses to receive your love, or worse still by someone who abuses your love.

But please remember that this will not happen very often. The majority of Christians will not let you down if you will take the initiative to reach out to them with Christian love and brotherly kindness. If we are not able to trust one another with our love, then something must be terribly wrong with us. All of us who are truly in Christ should be able to trust one another with our love and have no fear at all that the love we share will be refused or abused.

3. A third hindrance to brotherly kindness is having an inaccurate estimate of the worth of fellow Christians. 

If we do not regard one another as being precious, valuable and worthy of your love, it will be immensely difficult for us to love one another. How should you then see others? Exactly how valuable are the lives of people around you? The Word of God teaches us that each and every person has priceless value because each person is created in the image of God. Each and every person also receives life, health and sustenance from God and if God considers them as being worthy enough to receive all of these things from Him, you would be insulting God if you did not value them too. 

But Christian brethren should have even more value in your eyes than that. This is because God has considered them to be precious and valuable enough to send His only begotten Son to die for them. They have been bought with the precious blood of Christ. They are therefore very, very precious in God's sight. Are you able to see them as such? Let us learn to appreciate the infinite worth of every one who is a fellow brother or sister in Christ, and regard everyone as an important, special person who deserves our attention, interest, love and devotion.

When you have evaluated your present attitudes and actions toward others then you can go on to the third step in carrying our the commandment to love one another, which is to 

III. Act upon these things.

Do not stop at just resolving to be more loving, and identifying the hindrances in your life. Nothing more will come out of all that, if you do not begin to act upon them. You must get yourself to begin applying these things immediately. God's Word in 1 John 3:18 tells us, 'My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.' You can do practical things like distributing material help to brethren who are in need (Romans 12:13), showing care and hospitality (Romans 12:13), You can also rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep (v.15 - e.g. visiting those who are sick or bereaved).

There are brethren in our church who are physically unwell. There are also brethren who are undergoing severe trials. The prayer bulletin mentions some of them. Please read this weekly bulletin to find out who needs help. The Christian life is not free from trials. Sometimes we have to bear heavy burdens which are unpleasant to endure. This may include emotional trauma, loss of security, loss of loved ones, sickness and injury or retrenchment. The failure to cope well with these experiences can lead a person into depression and even cause him to doubt God's goodness. It becomes the duty of other Christians to help such a brother. They need to take time to visit him or call him, comfort him, encourage him and pray for him. 

But sometimes excuses are found for not doing these. Someone might say, "I do not want to help because I already have enough burdens of my own to bear." Someone else might say, 'I do not want to help because I do not want to be nosy to pry or meddle in the affairs of others.' Have we sometimes used the same excuses too, when a brother in Christ we know is facing problems in life? If we allow excuses like these to keep us from helping to bear one another's burdens then we are not showing Christian love. 

Instead of love, we would be showing a self-centred, attitude, thinking that our own burdens are much heavier than what others have to bear. Let us rather be willing to consider the heavy burdens that others are bearing instead of focusing all the time on our own burdens. One dear brother in our church shared with me sometime ago that when he was faced with imminent retrenchment, he was tempted to feel very depressed about his situation. But when he began to minister to others he realised that many people were facing problems that were much worse than his own. That kept him from feeling greatly upset. 

In fact sometimes the Lord may choose to lay heavy burdens on us for the purpose of equipping us to help others to bear their own burdens. We are then able not only to sympathise, but also to empathize with them. Recently there was an email prayer request from a sister in our church who is due to give birth to her first child at the end of this month and she was feeling worried about going through childbirth. When the prayer request went out, another sister in our church responded immediately and offered to help her, because she had given birth about a month ago and said that she could empathise with the plight of this sister.

One who has suffered loss, can better understand the pain of others who are suffering loss. One who has gone through failure can understand better the disappointment of others who are going through failure. One who has been sick can better understand better the predicament of others who are sick. One who has been stressed with tremendous work pressures can better understand the feelings of others who were similarly stressed. When the words of comfort and assurance to a sufferer are given by a fellow-sufferer, they can mean so much more and are treasured much more than words given by anyone else!

And this can lead to mutual encouragement. The one who receives encouragement will be willing to return encouragement to the one who gave it to him, when he realises that he is a fellow-sufferer. And as they help to bear one another's burdens, they are themselves strengthened. In a hospital ward one day there were two patients on adjacent beds. Both were Christians and both happen to be suffering from the same illness. And they encouraged one another. When one was going through a particularly painful procedure, the other prayed for him fervently, because he knew exactly what he was going through. 

Dearly beloved, actually we are all fellow sufferers in our trials here on earth. So, instead of thinking only of your own troubles and trials, learn to love one another in the family of God and to bear one another's burdens. Take some time now to think about what you can do after this service is over, that will enable you to reach out more to others in church. Get into the habit of being more attentive, more alert, more sensitive to people around you. Get to know more church members. Enlarge your circle of friends here. 

In our Church one brother shared with me that at one time he had been attending worship services for years, and never knew anyone else! But one Sunday, the person sitting next to him introduced himself to him after the service. This led to his active involvement in a fellowship group. And eventually he even became the chairman of that fellowship group! 

So please show brotherly love and reach out especially to those whom you do not know. Who knows that through your little act of brotherly love to someone, you might bring someone into the mainstream of church life, who might someday become used mightily by God to bless the lives of others? Today we have studied what life in the family of God should be: it is about showing sincere brotherly love and concern for one another. May the Lord help every one of us to to contribute our part to make brotherly love abound here in Life Church.

  1. 2 Peter 1:7 - Cultivating Brotherly Kindness
  2. 2 Peter 1:6-10 - Spiritual Growth: Temperance
  3. 2 Peter 1:6 - Spiritual Growth: Patience
  4. 2 Peter 1:6 - Cultivating Godliness - Devotion

Subcategories

Gospel in Dialect

Do you face a language barrier when trying to witness for Christ to dialect-speaking relatives? Or do you need to polish up your Mandarin in order to share the Gospel with your Mandarin-speaking friends? This Gospel toolkit will help you to learn how to share the Gospel in Mandarin, Cantonese, Hokkien and Teochew.

There are 15 lessons covering the various topics in gospel presentation. Each lesson consists of a set of phrases, written in English, Chinese characters and Hanyu Pinyin.

To hear the proper pronunciation of the phrase, click on the respective plugin associated with each phrase. When the phrase is read for you, you should repeat it aloud. You can keep on playing back the phrase and repeating it aloud until you have mastered the phrase. Then go on to the next phrase in the lesson.

As you learn to speak new phrases, keep on reviewing the ones that you have learnt. Finally, test yourself to see if you can say the following in Mandarin / dialect aloud: 

Family

Introduction

Why a family resource page?  It has been often said that the family is the most important institution in the nation.  But never has this sentiment been as greatly emphasized in our history as a nation than now in recent times.  Indeed, the family is the most important institution because it is the first environment to which every person is exposed; it is the primary influence of a person, especially in his early formative years.  And failure of the family to influence and mould the child positively has contributed to the moral and ethical breakdown of societies.  Even the expert opinions of sociologists and psychologists point to the truth of this statement.  Counselors and mental health workers increasingly have to rely on Family Therapy to deal with the problems of the clients, seeing as how many adult conflicts and problems are actually conflicts and problems not resolved in youth within the family.  Of course, it is not surprising to find such delinquency and immaturity in the world.  And sadly, it is not surprising to find such worldliness and worldly problems in the church, as families capitulate their God-given rights.  More than ever, there is need for a family resource page, where families can be encouraged and taught to raise up Godly homes and to revive the Covenant family.  

And one of the main emphases of this resource page is on the subject and discipline of Family Worship.  According to the Westminster Directory of Family Worship, we are told that “BESIDES the publick worship in congregations, mercifully established in this land in great purity, it is expedient and necessary that secret worship of each person alone, and private worship of families, be pressed and set up; that, with national reformation, the profession and power of godliness, both personal and domestick, be advanced.”  Herein, it is suggested that national and ecclesiastical revival finds its genesis in the home.  And this is biblical. 

The theological foundations of family worship is in Deuteronomy 4:9,10 where believers are told to “keep thy soul diligently…[and to]…teach them thy sons, and thy sons’ sons when the Lord said unto me, Gather me the people together, and I will make them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days that they shall live upon the earth, and that they may teach their children.” 

It is also in Deuteronomy 6:4-7 where the words which God had commanded believers should be taught diligently to their children, that they should “talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.”  The chief Christian educators of our children are their parents, who have been given this sacred duty.

Psalm 78:2-7 also teaches this, especially when it says regarding the law “which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children: that the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born, who should arise and declare them to their children: that they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments.” 

According to Dr Joel Beeke, “Every church desires growth. Surprisingly few churches, however, seek to promote internal church growth by stressing the need to raise children in covenantal truth. Few seriously grapple with why many adolescents become nominal members with mere notional faith or abandon evangelical truth for unbiblical doctrine and modes of worship. I believe one major reason for this failure is the lack of stress upon family worship. In many churches and homes family worship is an optional thing, or at most a superficial exercise such as a brief table grace before meals. Consequently, many children grow up with no experience or impression of Christian faith and worship as a daily reality.”

“Would we see revival among our children? Let us remember that God often uses the restoration of family worship to usher in church revival. For example, the 1677 church covenant of the Puritan congregation in Dorchester, Massachusetts, included the commitment ‘to reform our families, engaging ourselves to a conscientious care to set before us and to maintain the worship of God in them; and to walk in our houses with perfect hearts in a faithful discharge of all domestic duties, educating, instructing, and charging our children and households to keep the ways of the Lord.’”

Douglas Kelly says that “Family religion, which depends not a little on the household head daily leading the family before God in worship, is one of the most powerful structures that the covenant-keeping God has given for the expansion of redemption through the generations, so that countless multitudes may be brought into communion with and worship” of God. 

So may these resources help all Lifers to build up their families in the fear and admonition of the Lord; that Family Worship would not be an optional exercise but a time of day and activity well-sought after by Godly parents and children.  Amen.

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