FUNDAMENTALS
OF DISCIPLESHIP
James 1:12 Blessed is
the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the
crown of life, which IAUE hath promised to them that love him.
Last week’s post ended with this
comment:
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Since
the beginning of this blog, there has been a consistent theme running through
many of our weekly studies. You could
say that they have all helped to enlarge the meaning and the significance of
Solomon’s instructions:
Proverb 4:23 Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are
the issues of
life.
Today
is our 40th lesson on “A
Kingdom Heart.” It is the pure in heart that shall see IAUE (Matthew 5:8). Every single aspect of our discipleship is
coordinated to improving the condition of our heart. Recently, we have been focusing on
what it means to walk in darkness so we can better understand how to walk in
the light; for it is only by walking in the light that it is possible for us to
have true fellowship with IAUE and Yahushua, or with our fellow brothers and
sisters in Messiah.
We
shall experience very little success in our spiritual lives if we refuse to be
honest with ourselves. Actually, honesty
is not really the problem. Pride in the
heart of man is the problem. It is for
pride’s sake that we refuse to think, to speak or to act honestly. Pride is what interferes with our ability to
populate “the lists” (See post WBS006, Buy the Truth, 6/2/2013) to expose the darkness that is already in our lives. It is pride that prevents us from confessing
our sins and weaknesses to another brother or sister so it might be exposed to
the light. It is pride that interferes with our ability to consider instruction
from the Scripture that conflicts with what we have always been taught. It is pride that keeps us standing comfortably
with the masses that are walking down the broad path to destruction, rather
than standing alone on the path that leads to life. Pride is killing would-be
disciples every day. If you are going
to refuse to slay this dragon in your life, then you are not a disciple, nor
are you interested in becoming one; and this blog is not for you.
James 1:2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;
[First,
let me acknowledge that many throughout the centuries have regarded the book of
James as not worthy of acceptance into the canon of Scripture. They think that James’ reference to the
necessity of “works” denounces the truth of the gospel. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of
yourselves: it is the gift of Elohim:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Messiah Yahushua unto
good works, which Elohim hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
James
understood that one’s works could not save him; but he also understood, like
Paul taught the Ephesians, that if faith existed, it could only be evidenced by
works. If works were not found, faith
also could not be found; for the one yields the other. We were created in Messiah Yahushua UNTO good
works.]
So,
how can we count it all joy when we fall into various temptations? James is not
referring to trials, in the sense of hardships of mistreatment or difficult
circumstances. He is referring to temptations to commit sin.
James 1:14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust,
and enticed.
15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin,
when it is finished, bringeth forth death.
Why
should we be joyous when we are tempted?
Temptation exposes lust (strong
desire of any kind for the things of this world). It exposes to the light the wrong desires of our heart. Temptation is
the yellow light at an intersection
in our life. It tells us that the red light is coming and that we should stop
what we are doing. There are
consequences every time we respond to temptation; and if you possess the fear
of IAUE, I don’t need to list the possibilities for you.
The Scripture tells us in 1 John 1:9, that we are to
confess our sins to each other; but sin only exists when lust has conceived…when
we have acted on our lust. Temptation is
when the wickedness in our heart is exposed to ourselves; it is when our own
lust is confessing to us. How should we,
therefore, respond to temptation? We
should rejoice that our own heart is confessing wrongful desire to us, begging
us to overcome that desire with truth and obedience to the Master.
Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by
the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable,
and perfect, will of Elohim.
Do
you recall when earlier we discussed this verse, that Paul’s instructions to
renew our mind implied that we all have thought processes that are conformed to
this world, a way of thinking that leads us to sin, to disobey the Master? The only
way we are going to discover that worldly thinking, those areas in our minds that
need to be renewed, will be through those areas being exposed to the light; and
temptation is the dross that surfaces to make us aware of that impurity within us.
It
is worldly thinking that controls how most believers deal with temptation. We regard dealing with temptation as a battle
over whether or not we are going to ignore the temptation, or succumb to the
temptation and commit sin. This becomes
a battle of wills…and I am not referring to the will of IAUE as being one of
them. It is a battle between our own
will to honor IAUE, and our will to please ourself. Such battles measure the nature of our
discipleship; for if we have died and our lives are hidden with Messiah in
Elohim; if we have offered ourselves as a living sacrifice to IAUE, why then
are we battling with a will to do evil?
Haven’t we already made that choice?
If we have made the choice to become the servants of Messiah, that
choice transforms the very nature of temptation in our lives. Temptation ceases
to be a force within us to do evil; and it becomes the flashing light of
caution alerting us to the fact there is within us something that needs to be
dealt with right away. It makes us aware
of wrong thinking and wrong desire; and allows us the opportunity to renew our
minds and to purify our hearts. This
transformed perception of temptation will explain why James tells us that we
can count it all joy when we are tempted.
James 1:12 Blessed is
the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the
crown of life, which IAUE hath promised to them that love him.
Yes,
James’s epistle was focused on good works; but only insofar as it evidenced
real faith. He tells us that when we
view temptation as our heart’s way of confessing wrong desire and bringing it to
the light, we can be grateful for temptation.
He further tells us that the proper response to temptation is to endure
it, not to act on it. The one who acts
on temptation shall not receive the crown of life; for that is promised only to
those who love IAUE. When we act on
temptation, and allow lust to conceive, we are loving ourselves, not IAUE.
The
next time, and every time you are tempted, say this out loud: “I
have a choice.” When you declare to
yourself the awareness of the choice that is before you; you cannot succumb to
temptation without the full realization that doing so would defy the purpose of
your discipleship to Messiah, disobey the will of IAUE, and prove whom you love
most. You will also know that you are subjecting yourself to the disciplinary
action of IAUE. The choice will reveal
to yourself whose will you are committed to obey; and for whose kingdom you are
preparing your heart.
Kingdom heart: a heart that offers no resistance to the performance
of the will of IAUE.
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