Mercy Triumphs over Judgment...

Dear Suzanne, Rebecca, Anna, and Mikayla,

James 2:1-13 is meant to be read and studied together.  It is a very rich section of Scripture and I have taken it a few verses at a time.  To get the full import of meaning read the verses that come before as well as look at the studies done on James 2:1-4, James 2:5-7 and  James 2:8-11.


With that said let's look at the last two verses of this section of Scripture.  "So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty. For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment."

 This entire section (2:1-13) is asking us to look at the attitudes we have towards others.  Do they reflect Christ's grace or our own partiality? Are we showing mercy to others?  Do we obey His word or our own deceitful heart.  Do our word and deed match?  Do we do as we say?  Is our yes, yes and our no, no? What does the general pattern of our behavior toward others tell us when we examine it.   Judgment is coming.  Believers are not judged for their sins...but they are judged for their works and are rewarded accordingly.  Our salvation is assured...we will however be rewarded or suffer loss based on our works.

"Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life."--John 5:24

"each one's work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one's work, of what sort it is. If anyone's work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad".--1 Corinthians 3:12-15



How are we judged?  Believers are judged by the perfect law of liberty.  What is the perfect law of liberty you ask?  We, as believers, are set free from the law of Moses by our faith in Christ Jesus.  Jesus is the end of the law of works to all who believe.  Believers are under grace...the law of liberty...we now are at liberty to do what is right..to be all we can be in Christ Jesus.   An unbeliever is judged by the law.  The law tells us how we are suppose to behave, but it does not give us the power to do it and condemns us when we fail.  Here is the beautiful thing about grace and the law of liberty.  Grace gives us the power to obey the law and then rewards us when we do! We do not obey God out of fear or because we have to, we  obey God because we want to. We obey Him out of love and gratitude for what He has done for us and not in our own strength but in His.

Look at the first part of verse 12...so speak.  Our words will be judged.  Every one of them.  Proverbs says in the multitude of words sins is not absent.  Uh oh.  Our lips will reveal our hearts. Here is what  Jesus tells us in Matthew.

Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned." --Matthew 12:34-37

When God judges our words then, He is really examining our hearts. Listen to what is coming out of your mouth and what it says about the state of your heart and your attitude. Discern your motivations for speaking the words that you speak. You will learn much about yourself in this process.  What are the general direction and pattern of your words?  If you are unsure of what to say and what not to say, I find this acronym very helpful---NEGG.  Is it Needful or Necessary?  Is it Edifying?  Is it Good?  Does it give Grace?  If you can answer yes to each one of those than it is probably a good thing to say.  If you can't, keep your mouth closed.  In fact, make it a practice to say less and what you will find is that much of what you say is not necessary, needful, edifying, good or gives grace. 

The next part of verse 12 says "so do"...we will be judged by our deeds.  We are not saved by good works...we are saved for good works. (see Ephesians 2) God forgives our sins when we confess them to Him BUT our sins have consequences. The decisions we make moment by moment, day in and day out affect who we are and who we will become. The consequences of our decisions not only have temporal effects but also eternal ones. 


Verse 12 says, "for judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment."  Not showing mercy or compassions for those in need is evidence of an unsaved life...of a life that has not responded to the God who is rich in mercy.  This person will be judged by the law and condemned to eternal life in hell.

Mercy triumphs over judgment...Jesus triumphed over sin and death by His grace and mercy toward us in going to the cross and dying in our place. Mercy triumphed at the cross.  If we believe, we receive mercy for our sins instead of judgment and will show mercy to others having received the mercy of God.  Judgment can be a thing of the past.  Instead of being under the law, you can be under grace. All that is required is a sincere acceptance of Jesus as your Savior and Lord.  If you have not done this, you are under condemnation.  By accepting Jesus you move from condemnation to salvation and are conveyed into His Kingdom of Light.  Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your heart...today is the day of salvation.  Accept Him now.

Love
Mom

Choices...

Dear Suzanne, Rebecca, Anna and Mikayla, 

I am back in Genesis once again and have reached the very beginning of Chapter 3 and am thinking on choices and how God placed a test in the garden of Eden giving the residents an opportunity to exercise God's  gift of free will.  Would not it have been better not to have been given the opportunity?  Think on that for a bit. How would you know that you truly loved Him unless you had a choice? Without free will...without a choice...love and devotion have no meaning.

God knows all things and in His foreknowledge He knew that man, when He created him, would fail and make the wrong choices. He knew that the price of our redemption would be the shed blood of His Son on a cross.  And yet, God created us...you and me...to have a meaningful, intimate relationship with Him anyway. God  gave man the capacity to choose because without choice man becomes a robot.  How much fun is it to have a relationship with a robot.  It will obey you...but..you know...it has to.   Think on the meaningful relationships in your lives.  How much depth is there because you know they want to be with you...it is their desire to know you and spend time with you.

But here is the thing with choices...when we make them, we show our hearts to all.  Our actions will indicate to all what our heart believes. The choices that I make show me where my heart is and what it is set on.....especially those I make in regard to God and the people God has placed in my life.  In much the same way I can see by the choices the people I love make in their own lives, where their heart is focused and for better or for worse, where I stand with them.  Our choices reveal much.

Take a moment and do an inventory of where your time and energy is focused and what it says to those you love about where they stand...more important...take a moment and look at your relationship with the Lord.  How much time do you spend with Him and His word.  It has been said that couples who have spent years in each others company begin to resemble one another.  Are you looking more and more like Jesus because of the time you are spending with Him or more and more like the world as a result of the daily choices you are making? 

Love
Mom