Month: July 2024

James 2:14 – What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? ¹⁵ Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, ¹⁶ and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?

¹⁷ So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.

¹⁸ Now someone may argue, “Some people have faith; others have good deeds.” But I say, “How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds.”

¹⁹ You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. ²⁰ How foolish! Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless?

²¹ Don’t you remember that our ancestor Abraham was shown to be right with God by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? ²² You see, his faith and his actions worked together. His actions made his faith complete. ²³ And so it happened just as the Scriptures say: “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.” He was even called the friend of God. ²⁴ So you see, we are shown to be right with God by what we do, not by faith alone.

²⁵ Rahab the prostitute is another example. She was shown to be right with God by her actions when she hid those messengers and sent them safely away by a different road. ²⁶ Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works. (NLT)

I still remember the very first sermon that I ever preached.  The title was: Is Your Faith Practical?  I focused on the word practical, which means to be able to be put into practice.  The Book of James is about practical faith.  There are some who would argue that James and Paul are at odds with one another.  They claim that James contradicts Paul. Not so!  Consider what Paul says in 2 Corinthians 1:24 – “But that does not mean we want to dominate you by telling you how to put your faith into practice. We want to work together with you.” 

Paul implies in that passage that faith is meant to be put into practice.  Paul dealt with many churches that emphasized that Christians are saved by the things they do.  That is not the case, and that is why Paul emphasizes salvation by faith alone.  However, Paul recognized that faith produces works.  Consider these Pauline passages:

Titus 2:7 – And you yourself must be an example to them by doing good works of every kind.

1 Timothy 6:18 – They should be rich in good works.

Philippians 2:12 – Work hard to show the results of your salvation. 

We are not saved by our works, but by faith.  The faith that saves us will then produce fruit, and the evidence of that fruit is the work we do.  Today, let us let the world see the results of our salvation! 

Posted by Ramón Torres

Philippians 3:1 – Whatever happens, my dear brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord. I never get tired of telling you these things, and I do it to safeguard your faith.

² Watch out for those dogs, those people who do evil, those mutilators who say you must be circumcised to be saved. ³ For we who worship by the Spirit of God are the ones who are truly circumcised. We rely on what Christ Jesus has done for us. We put no confidence in human effort, ⁴ though I could have confidence in my own effort if anyone could. Indeed, if others have reason for confidence in their own efforts, I have even more!

⁵ I was circumcised when I was eight days old. I am a pure-blooded citizen of Israel and a member of the tribe of Benjamin—a real Hebrew if there ever was one! I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand the strictest obedience to the Jewish law. ⁶ I was so zealous that I harshly persecuted the church. And as for righteousness, I obeyed the law without fault.

⁷ I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. ⁸ Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ ⁹ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith. ¹⁰ I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, ¹¹ so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead! (NLT)

As we continue in Paul’s letter to the Church in Philippi, we come across some strong words from the Apostle!  In verse two he speaks of ‘dogs’, and people who do evil.  Some scholars have believed that because of his change in tone, that this is part of another letter that was inserted here.  If there is a change in tone, it was probably due to the fact that Paul was writing about the Judaizers – a strict group of Jewish Christians who claimed that one must still adhere to the Jewish laws in order to obtain salvation.  From his letter to the Galatians, we know that Paul had very strong feelings about the Judaizers (not to mention the fact that they were partly responsible for his imprisonment). 

The Judaizers put their hope in human effort. Paul then tells us that if human effort were worth something, that he would be at the head of his class!  Paul had come to know, however, that none of his efforts were worth anything.  Consider verse seven: “I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done.”  Just how worthless did Paul consider human efforts to be?  Let’s look at verse eight: “For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ.”  The word that we translate as garbage is σκύβαλον, which was the Greek word used for the excrement of farm animals!  Two things we can learn from this.  First, sometimes the biblical translators clean up the Greek!  Second, human effort does nothing for us when it comes to salvation.  There is only one way of becoming right with God, and that is through faith (verse 9).

Today, let us celebrate our faith!  Let us celebrate that we not only can be right with God through faith, but as Paul tells us in verse ten, we can experience the same power that raised Christ from the dead! 

Posted by Ramón Torres

Philippians 2:12 – Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, ¹³ for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.

¹⁴ Do everything without grumbling or arguing, ¹⁵ so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky ¹⁶ as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain. ¹⁷ But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. ¹⁸ So you too should be glad and rejoice with me. (NIV)

Verse twelve tells us to work out our own salvation.  Can we actually do that?  Yes, that is what Paul seems to be saying in verse twelve from today’s passage.  To properly understand this verse, let us put it into context.  Paul is not writing to people who do not yet know Jesus, he was writing to people whose salvation was secure.  Remember, he had been writing to them about keeping among their church members the same mind as Jesus, plus he has been saying that he may not be able to return to them.  So in verse twelve, Paul is essentially saying that they are to follow the Christian way of life without further assistance from Paul.  Consider the New Living Translation: “Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation.”

Verse twelve also mentions fear and trembling.  This term causes some to raise a few questions.  When we hear the phrase ‘fear and trembling’, we may think of someone cowering in fear.  In the Biblical sense, ‘fear and trembling’ means to live in a deep and personal relationship with God.  It speaks of awe and reverence, not cowardice.   This deep personal relationship with God is to be displayed in our relationships with others.  In 2 Corinthians 7:15, Paul is rejoicing over the way that the Corinthians had received Titus.  He writes: “And his affection for you is all the greater when he remembers that you were all obedient, receiving him with fear and trembling.”  They did not fear Titus, but rather they shared their relationship with God through their relationship with Titus. 

Keeping this in mind, Paul tells the Philippians that if they are faithful in doing this, that they will shine like the stars in the sky (verse 15).  The word Paul uses for ‘shine’ is literally ‘light givers’.  So, in this passage Paul is telling us three things: Keep living the Christian life, doing the good things that God has created us to do; Let the relationship we have with God be displayed in our relationship with others; be a light giver.

How better to glorify the Light of the world than to give that Light to others!  That’s good stuff! 

Posted by Ramón Torres

Philippians 2:1 – Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, ² then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. ³ Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, ⁴ not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

⁵ In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

⁶ Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
⁷ rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
⁸ And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!

⁹ Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
¹¹ and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father. (NIV)

Today’s Scripture picks up where we left off last week.  In that passage we looked at how God will use us to spread the gospel – if we are willing – in whatever circumstance we find ourselves. Having made that case, Paul begins this section with ‘therefore’, indicating that he will discuss how to move forward with the gospel.   If we are going to share the message, then we must do something for one another.  If we are going to share the message, then we must strengthen one another.

We strengthen one another by first being strengthened by the Holy Spirit.  Verses one and two speak of this.  The word encouragement used in verse one is the same word used by Jesus in the Gospel of John to describe the work of the Holy Spirit.  Having been strengthened by the Holy Spirit, we are then able to selflessly work with one another to spread the Good News (verse 3).  We must guard against a spirit of division by looking to one another’s interests (verse 4).

To further state his case for like-mindedness, Paul quotes from an early church liturgy.  Verses five through eleven are traditionally known as the “Christ Hymn.”  This ‘hymn’ may or may not have been sung, but it was part of a worship liturgy.  How powerful it would be if we were to live out our daily lives with the same mindset as Christ Jesus, yet that is what this ancient hymn is all about!  Jesus never sought any earthly advantage over others (verse 6).  Even though he was God in the flesh, he took the very nature of a servant (verse 7).  He was obedient to the will of God, even to the point of death (verse 8).

Today, let us seek to humble ourselves, and seek to have the mindset of Jesus.  Let us serve others, and seek to be obedient to the will of God. 

Posted by Ramón Torres