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James 2:10
10 For [gar] whosoever [hostis] shall keep [tereo] the
whole [holos] law [nomos], and yet [de] offend [ptaio] in [en] one [heis] point, he is [ginomai]
guilty [enochos] of all [pas]. KJV-Interlinear
10 For whoever keeps the whole
law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all.NASB
The spiritual life is not a cafeteria from which you
can pick and choose what you will believe or will not believe, what you will
obey or not obey, what you will agree with or not agree with.
In a sense, the spiritual life is extremely rigid in
that God demands obedience to His mandates, while at the same time, the spiritual
life gives a person the maximum of freedom of function in life.
In contrast, the temporal life is filled with
relativism, boasting of freedom and flexibility in life, when in fact the
temporal or non-spiritual life makes one an absolute slave with extreme
limitations in life.Freedom to commit
sin is not freedom at all, but an abuse of truth and life.And when it really comes down to it, the
temporal life is nothing more than a life outside of Gods will, a life equal to
nothingness.
When Adam and Eve lived in the Garden, they had but
one sin possibility.And once committed,
they lost their entire relationship with God.They incurred spiritual death and lived in risk of separation from God
forever.One sin was all it took to ruin
it all for the entire human race.
But of course out of evil, God can work good, and our
salvation option was provided for us all.
And now, we have numerous sin opportunities in
life.But again, all it takes is one in
order to sever our relationship with God.
As for unbelievers, the sin aspects of life have only
to deal with their function in society with respect to the acceptable norms and
standards of life.They are already
spiritually dead.We are all born that
way.Faith in Christ is our way out of
that predicament.
But for believers, sin affects your functioning
spiritual life.You are either in
fellowship or you are not.
When you confess your sins to God the Father, then you
are placed in fellowship.When you
commit a single sin, you are automatically out of fellowship.
Being guilty of one sin has the same spiritual affect
as being guilty of all sins.There is no
such thing as being half in fellowship and half out.Likewise, just because the spiritual
repercussions of all sins is the same (loss of fellowship), does not mean that
the repercussions in society are the same (social ostracism, jail time, etc.),
nor does it justify any act of sin.
In society, we have different penalties for different
sins.Murder comes with a prison
sentence, while gossip comes with a reputation sentence of sorts.In either case, your spiritual life is
disengaged pending your confession to God the Father.And both sins or crimes can be reconciled to
God through confession, while at the same time we still have to deal with the
functioning laws of society, whether they be social or criminal.
A man in prison has the opportunity to advance to
spiritual maturity while serving out his life sentence, just as a gossip has
the same opportunity.
Your circumstances, or the location of your home are
irrelevant.
But to all persons, obedience to Gods mandates is
paramount. You cannot pick and choose your way through divine mandates.If wives are to be obedient to their
husbands, do they nod, snicker, and are they excused?If a gossip justifies his maliciousness
against someone because they deserve it, are they justified in their actions?If a husband, who has responsibility over his
family, chooses to engage in drunkenness or other selfish activities in total
disregard of his family, is he exempt because he is the boss?
In every case, God issues divine mandates, and in
every case they must be obeyed.No
exceptions.
Why does James bring this to our attention?Because your spiritual life is your most
valuable possession.It affects your
entire life now and in eternity.It is
your source of a relationship with God.It is your source of stability in life. It is your source of investment
and prosperity forever.In effect, your
spiritual life commands a value, which exceeds trillions of trillions of
trillions and more.
Why would you risk losing it for the temporary
pleasure, or stubbornness, of disobedience to God?
What could temporary pleasure or stubbornness possibly
gain for you, that God cannot do better?
Now is the time to post a prayer.
End Of Lesson
Study to show thyself approved (mature) unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing (studying/discerning), the Word of truth.
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