Lesson
30 August 18
James
Paul gave to Timothy who was at the
church in
-
1st of all the family was responsible to care for their own. 1 Tim 5:3-8
-
2nd he set certain qualifications for them to obtain help in 5:9-10
- one's who had demonstrated there commitment to Christ over
a period of time.
-
Younger widows were instructed to get remarried and reestablish a home.
General guide lines
for the 20th century Church
[from 1 Tim 5]
1. We have a responsibility to care for people
who have physical needs that cannot be met any other way. Gal 6:10
2. Under ordinary circumstances family members,
father, mother, brothers, sisters, other relatives are first of all responsible
to care for other family members. 1 Tim 5:3-8
3. Those who receive regular financial help from
a church are to be those who are committed believers who have demonstrated this
in their life over a number of years and with no other source of help.
- 5:16 those who are widows indeed -
totally helpless.
4. The church should develop a suitable and
appropriate means whereby those who may have real needs are assisted and
helped. (objective)
2nd half of the
illustration of what is pure and undefiled religion
and to keep oneself
unstained by the world
What we are to guard against!
unstained by the world
- the
source of the contamination = apo kosmos
- Personal holiness -
keeping oneself from the pollution of the world system
does not call for bodily separation from humanity in toto
at all. (1 Cor 5:9-13)
- What it does entail
is a constant alertness against accepting the purposes and practices and
thinking (vpt) of a Christ rejecting world.
A Couple thoughts:
These verses insist that a person's
religion must consist of more than superficial acts. It is not enough to listen
to the clear statement of spiritual truth (22-25), nor is it sufficient to engage in
formal religious acts.
The person whose religious
experience is genuine - their relationship w/Christ is real - will put
spiritual truth into practice, and his life will be marked by love for others
and living out the truth and that, before God.
INTRO: Chapter Two
He begins here and for most of the
rest of the book discusses a number of specific areas of application of truth -
things we need to know and be concerned with.
Outline of this
section:
2:1 - have the principle stated
2:2-4 - have the principle illustrated
2:5-11 - have the principle explained - and its evil consequences
This section is a very strong rebuke
of the actions of those to whom he's writing - it has the literary style of a
diatribe.
One cannot determine the motives -
"of the heart" - of a person on the first meeting. That's the message
of this section. That's the reason prejudice and partiality
are so wrong.
*** Word of caution
probably is in order - prejudice and partiality are different from discernment
which is as we have seen over and over an absolutely necessary ingredient for maturation.
2:1 Principle stated:
My brethren
(recognizes the position, in Christ therefore in the plan of God)
do not hold your faith,
your faith
= mh pi,stij - the truth; the thinking of Jesus
Christ that is in you.
James next indicates the source or
object of the faith, our glorious Lord Jesus Christ.
glorious = descriptive gen
of doxa; denotes the divine and heavenly radiance
manifesting God's presence.
We are positionally in Christ and He
is in us through His thinking the Word, through the Faith in us and as we put
this faith into practice in our lives we reflect His glory through our lives.
with (acts of) personal favoritism