James 4:17 (Devotion)

"So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin."

Fear is paralyzing the church of Jesus Christ: Fear of the Spirit's conviction, fear of having to change, fear of persecution, fear of submission, fear of surrendering our will to God, fear of owning our sins, fear of confessing our sins to others, fear of losing control, etc. But if there is one fear that is most pressing today, it would be fear of standing up for the infallibility of Scripture as absolute truth despite cultural opposition, and obeying what it says in humble application. As Christians, we believe God's Word is inerrant (incapable of being wrong), and as such it is our only foundation of absolute truth and standard of righteousness. We believe Scripture is not conditionally based on time, but is culturally relevant today as it has been for over 2,000 years since it was first penned. It does not contradict itself in any way, but is historically, scientifically and archaeologically accurate. Most of all, we trust that the Bible is not just a book of words, but absolute truth spoken from the mouth of almighty God, through the person of Jesus Christ, and inspired by the Holy Spirit to men, chosen by God to relay His Word in written form. The Bible is simply God's perfect wisdom, manifested in law and love.

It is important we establish how Scripture is the foundation of Christianity. For Jesus warned, "But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one dot of the Law to become void" (Luke 16:17). In other words, we cannot assume that anything written in Scripture is void because of the era in which it exists, nor is Old Testament (OT) law deemed irrelevant because of New Testament revelation. OT law reflects God's character, which is always true despite how difficult it may be to understand or comprehend at times. More importantly, Jesus came to fulfill OT law and clarify the truth and wisdom God revealed in days of old to help us apply righteousness in every facet of our lives today. The interesting fact is that we tend to forget how blessed we are to witness OT prophesy fulfilled in the life of Christ. That is a privilege we have that God's people in the Old Testament did not--knowing Jesus took on human form to fulfill God's will of eternal salvation as promised through OT prophesies.

James presupposes in verse 17 that we not only believe and trust the Word of God, but know to apply its truth. It echoes all of James' earlier exhortation that faith without works is dead, because our works testify to the truth of God's Word alive in our hearts. Therefore, we cannot simply believe Scripture is true without personal application, for that was the predominate mistake the Pharisees made that Jesus emphatically rebuked time and time again. God's Word demands action and application, just as Jesus expressed when He cautioned, "Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more" (Luke 12:48b). If we believe and accept Christ's gift of salvation, then we must understand the package-deal that comes with that offer: Surrender of our will to God's authority, obedience to God's will as revealed in Holy Scripture, and submission to apply what Scripture declares as truth unconditionally and without hesitation. Make no mistake, there is a cost associated with salvation, and it was paid for by Jesus on our behalf. Our response is simply to accept that gift in reverence and humility, and in thanksgiving offer our lives as a sacrifice unto Christ to live under His authority as revealed in His Word, regardless of the cost. It is the "cost" though that fuels the fear that is stifling the church from accomplishing all God intends.

The Bible testifies that "whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked" (1 John 2:4-6). This is a powerful statement of the Spirit's conviction in the heart of every man, woman and child who calls on the name of Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior. No one can read what John has written and not comprehend how we are expected to live. Yet for many of us, we bristle at the notion that we are liars and the truth of God is not in us if we do not keep His commandments. We do not want to admit how often we choose to walk in darkness, not because we believe that is the right course of action, but because it requires no effort to change and is comfortable and predictable. Truthfully speaking, our laziness feeds our fears and paralyzes us from embracing the light of God's Word to free us from our bondage. Because Scripture states plainly, "If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:6-9). 

The point John makes simply echoes the words of James. We know the right things to do. We have seen the light. But simply avoiding bad choices is not enough. We must also obey God's Word and not avoid doing the right things by committing sins of omission. It may require us to endure pain and hardship, but again James has already encouraged us by saying, "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing" (James 1:2-4). The important thing we must remember is that just as we are identified with Christ in His death, burial and resurrection, so too are we identified in persecution for His name's sake and the truth of His Word. "If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you" (John 15:18-19). I pray we never lose sight of this truth. Because when the time comes to face our fears, we can reflect upon the promises of God as our source of strength and obediently live out the truth of the Gospel with boldness and love to the glory of His name.