9 We use it to give thanks to our Lord and Father and also to curse other people, who are created in the likeness of God.;
10 Words of thanksgiving and cursing pour out from the same mouth. My friends, this should not happen!
11 No spring of water pours out sweet water and bitter water from the same opening.
12 A fig tree, my friends, cannot bear olives; a grapevine cannot bear figs, nor can a salty spring produce sweet water.. (GNB)
V. 9-10 - “We use it to give thanks to our Lord and Father and also to curse other people, who are created in the likeness of God. Words of thanksgiving and cursing pour out from the same mouth. My friends, this should not happen!”
- See the hypocritical inconsistently described here - thanksgiving and cursing, praising the Lord and cursing others - all from the same mouth, same mind, same person.
“My friends, this should not happen!” - This is an appeal, not a command (look at v.10 and v.1). The admonition in verse 10 - "Please, don't act like this" is similar to verse 1 saying, "Please, don't try this (become a teacher) if you can't control yourself." As a teacher, your behavior will be scrutinized to see if it matches your teachings.
James is cautioning believers to not get over-confident. Look back to ch. 1:2-4, where we are warned that all of us will "...fall into trials.” We may not be there on purpose, of our own volition - but there we are. Be aware.
V. 11-12 - “No spring of water pours out sweet water and bitter water from the same opening. A fig tree, my friends, cannot bear olives; a grapevine cannot bear figs, nor can a salty spring produce sweet water.” -
A genuine believer’s life will not contradict his profession of faith. The verse “For no good tree gives bad fruit, and no bad tree gives good fruit”, (Luk 6:43) assumes you know bad fruit from bad trees is normal, and will not attempt to feed yourselves from bad trees. You don’t bite into a crab apple thinking you will get the same experience as when you bite into a Honey Crisp. When you go backpacking you may find bushes and trees with fruit on them. It is important to learn which ones are poison, so you don’t pick and eat the bad fruit.
Likewise, “By their fruits you will get knowledge of them. Do men get grapes from thorns or figs from thistles?” (Mat 7:16) No one goes to an apple orchard expecting to get peaches from the trees. Only apple tree produce apples; we get Hazelnuts from Filbert trees (there’s and old joke in that comment). If you don’t know what type of tree you are looking at, you wait until it bears fruit. Similarly, we watch our teachers to see what they produce. Do they produce the ‘fruit’ they are teaching about? This emphasizes you must be aware of the teachers that are leading you astray because their hearts and motives are evil. Their authenticity is demonstrated in their lives, as will yours.
There is a principle of accountability. We should act more responsibly when we know others are watching. We may deceive ourselves, but our life and actions will ‘out’ us. There is a ‘truism’ that two men in a foxhole will be more likely to obey the command to charge than will a single individual. Why? With two huddled there, both know the other is watching, and do not want to be labeled a coward. I don’t think James is referring to unbelievers.The unbelievers’ actions will not harm the message of salvation through Jesus Christ. In fact if they (unbelievers) do well, people are pleased because it is unexpected.
Good behavior is expected for believers. I hope that I am not over-emphasizing that fact that others are always watching us, even though it may be true. They are not the most important 'watcher' - God knows our actions and our intent. We cannot fool Him. But remember, you may be the only 'contact' another person has with Jesus Christ; i.e., there may be no one else in their acquaintance who believes in Jesus, who says Jesus has changed them. If you say that accepting Jesus has changed your life for the better, let it show.
No comments:
Post a Comment