01 January 2023
Two-Minute Features | 08 January 2023

Trying to Label Real vs. Not Real Christians (TMF:2000)

Friday, January 06, 2023
Peace to Live By: Trying to Label Real vs. Not Real Christians (TMF:2000) - Daniel Litton
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       This can be even harder for us to see in our setup here in American society, here in the twenty-first century. In certain areas of behavior, people have been taught as a child certain things, and those behaviors stem from Christianity. Kindness and generosity toward others immediately come to my mind. Many are taught, whether they personally believe in Jesus Christ or not, to be kind and generous. Many practice these principles. Many of those who do not necessarily identity as a Christian. Because of our setting then, it can be even harder to see who knows God and who doesn’t based on certain external works. The line has been blurred due to positive influences on society. This wasn’t the case in James’ day. Yes, his readers here are Jewish, and as Jesus demonstrated in the Sermon on the Mount, they weren’t always taught the right things. So, James also had to show them another way. We can get all caught up in who we want to say is a real Christian versus who we want to try to label as not a real Christian.

What Does Genuine Faith Really Look Life? (TMF:1999)

Thursday, January 05, 2023
Peace to Live By: What Does Genuine Faith Really Look Life? (TMF:1999) - Daniel Litton
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       So, the good work is done out of obligation and not from the heart. This, of course, isn’t pleasing to God. The person feels if they stay true to a rule then they will make God happy. Their salvation has become about works (which is really trying to keep God happy). We need to understand something here, and I think this point often gets lost when coming to this passage. What James is saying is that if we have a genuine faith, that faith will manifest itself in works which come from our hearts. Do you see? There are a lot of people who have faith and works. The problem is that those works don’t come from the right place. But we don’t believe that someone who tries to come to the real God from a God-absent perspective is really righteous before God. Jesus Christ is needed for true righteousness. So, it’s not a matter of doing this or that to try to prove that we know God. If we are trying to prove that we are righteous, then something is wrong. Righteousness will manifest itself in our outward actions naturally.

Are We Doing Good Things for the Right Reasons? (TMF:1998)

Wednesday, January 04, 2023
Peace to Live By: Are We Doing Good Things for the Right Reasons? (TMF:1998) - Daniel Litton
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       “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled," without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead” (James 2:14-17, ESV). I kind of ended our sermon last week discussing this very thing, and that is that we can say this or that, but if we really don’t mean it, it doesn’t really matter. But really James is zooming out I think more than that. His picture here is bigger. He brought up the word faith. A person can do the right things (show interest in others), but it’s often for the wrong reasons. It’s often to get something out of someone in return, to use the person for their own, personal benefit. It can also be to keep true to a rule, a commandment, that the person feels he or she needs to fulfill. So, the good work is done out of obligation and not from the heart.

Being Merciful of Others vs. Correcting, Part 2 (TMF:1997)

Tuesday, January 03, 2023
Peace to Live By: Being Merciful of Others vs. Correcting, Part 2 (TMF:1997) - Daniel Litton
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       We have a choice on how we respond to others, and how we do that will come back to us. It will affect people’s perceptions of us. If we are too hard on people, or expect too much from them, they will sense this and begin to dislike us in return. It’s just common sense. Mercy is the way to go. And it’s not just our external actions that matter, but I believe that even if we act like we are merciful toward another, if that’s a false manifestation of how we really feel, then subconsciously the person can pick up on that. What I mean is that if we really are having thoughts in our heads that we are holding something against the person, or think they are stupid for doing this or that, they will subconsciously pick up on that. And, we will subconsciously be manifesting in our mannerisms and actions what we really think, what we really believe. So, it’s good for our mercy to actually be real, from the heart. This is what pleases God.

Being Merciful of Others vs. Correcting, Part 1 (TMF:1996)

Monday, January 02, 2023
Peace to Live By: Being Merciful of Others vs. Correcting, Part 1 (TMF:1996) - Daniel Litton
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       Finally, finishing up, James tells us, "So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment” (ESV). In as much as we have freedom from God in this and that area, this also means that we are therefore to be merciful toward others (whether they have offended us or done something wrong in general), just as God is merciful toward us. It is important how we live in our relationships with others. Now, whether James is talking about judgement from God here, or judgement from others, the point is that when we are merciful toward other people it makes our lives better. It seems so obvious that it shouldn’t need to be said. An issue is self-righteousness, or a belief that one needs to correct others, to stay on them and make sure they are behaving in proper ways. A sense of righteous indignation toward others misbehavior (or perceived misbehavior) can often be a block to treating others correctly.