1 Dear brothers and sisters,t not many of you should become teachers in the church, for we who teach will be judged more strictly----------------
I chose this verse because my pastor interestingly enough included this verse in his preaching today. He was specifically talking about Matthew 7:1 which says "Do not judge or you too will be judged." Jesus warns us that we must be very careful when we are critically judging people and that we need to take the plank out of our own eye and stop focusing so much on the speck in other peoples' eyes! Many times we complain about pastors or other leaders in the church. We think that they could do something better or they shouldn't do this or that....but the truth is that we do not have the right to criticize a person's actions or preaching style..we do however have the right to judge the message and discern whether or not it is biblically sound. These teachers are responsible for either taking us closer to God or completely turning us in the wrong direction...the only other option is a teacher causing us to be spiritually idle...which is what many teachers in churches do today.I pray that God will give us discernment and continue to challenge us because in one way or another, we too will be/are teachers.
11-12 Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water.
ReplyDeleteIdentity begets fruit. This is the message that James is conveying here. He is saying that an entity cannot produce fruit contrary to its nature. How can a salt pond yield fresh water? This is why he talks so much about the tongue in this chapter. What comes out is a result of what is truly in our hearts. We must then look at our actions and trace those actions back to our hearts. Is Christ seated on the throne of our hearts or is there something else that is occupying the position of god in our life?
2 "We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check."
ReplyDeleteWe all fall short of the glory of God. If we didn't we would be perfect and therefore have no need for a savior to save us from our sin. The fact is that we do need a savior and God has given Him to us. And just because we realize this does not mean we can continue to sin, but resist sin as much as possible while realizing that we are not perfect.