Two Come First!
But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. James 3:17 NASB
First – As you may know, the Greek word for “first” is proton. Not too hard to remember in this age of science and atoms. As we discovered, James made a point of the order of heavenly wisdom. The very first indicator of wisdom from above is purity, both moral and ritual. But would it surprise you to know that the word proton (first) is part of an expression that includes another word, equally important, but not translated. That other word is men. The text actually reads he de anothen sophia proton men hagne estin. Right after the Greek proton comes the word men. Literally, this Greek phrase reads, “the but from above wisdom first INDEED pure is.” James wants his readers to know that it isn’t just a matter of ritual and moral purity. It is ritual and moral purity first, with an exclamation point! Miss the first, absolutely crucial condition and nothing else follows!
We need to hear this! Our culture is awash in impurity, moral and ritual. We have arrived at the end of the Greek utopia only to discover that when every man is free, all men are enslaved. The West really is the Great Satan (as our Islamic brothers are quick to point out). But we are not the Great Satan because we don’t follow the Quran. We are the Great Satan because we follow a course of unabated syncretism. Tell me honestly. What really is the difference between the moral purity inside the Church and the moral purity of the culture at large? And as for ritual, how closely do we worship according to Scriptural commands? How much of our morality is subject to cultural pressures (or compromises)? How much of our spiritual practice is based on cultural traditions?
We’ve survived the holidays. Now that we are no longer under serious threat of being called heretics, are we really ready to investigate the origin of Christmas – or Easter? Are we ready to ask why we have a cross on the building, an altar in the sanctuary, a plate with bread crumbs and one ounce of grape juice? Are we concerned about church architecture and its implicit passivity?
And when it comes to morality, do we seriously think that Christians live the way “Jesus” lived? Do we actually do the things He did, pray as He prayed, study as He must have, demonstrate political backbone as He did, eschew political correctness and seek righteousness no matter what the cost? Or do we just go on vacation.
If we aren’t noticeably, deliberately different, then why claim divine wisdom? I am afraid that what James says must come first comes last for most “believers” today. What comes first is the ticket to heaven. Purity is a very distant second. If James felt it necessary to add an exclamation point to purity in the first century, how much more do we need it in the 21st century. Just look around and you’ll know. Exclamation point!
Topical Index: indeed, men, exclamation point, purity, first, James 3:17
Very good word, Skip! Right on time!
Today is Shevat 8,5733 and everything you have written , especially the past two days, flow with the the Jewish month of Shevat. The link below is titled “The Month of Shevat, Drawing Down a Line of Holiness”
http://www.chabad.org/multimedia/media_cdo/aid/2091720/jewish/The-Month-of-Shevat.htm
Amen!
I recently met a 75 year old man who came out of the organized mainstream church 4 years ago. It ‘s interesting when we share our “war stories” and our common experiences where confronting our “teachers and preachers” with our study of the eternal Word, eventually leads to a break in fellowship. I do, however, continue to hold out hope when I read of pastors who will be bold enough to speak the truth and thereby make the amends necessary.
The overwhelming focus on sensationalist teaching dedicated to the devil and the antichrist as a being who doesn’t attend church and live like “we” do, has morphed into a vampire christianity that walks past the mirror and sees nothing! And, as a result, we do not recognize what the true spirit of antichrist is when we have nothing measurable to compare our own lives with when the Law is “abolished”.
When we establish or follow the criteria of man, we leave the direction of YWHW and stray. Without His loving instruction, we end up far from the mark. WE blame a creation of theology that may not exist. Yes, Satan is spoken of quite often in Scripture, BUT is he/she really to blame for our own actions?? And, when bad things come our way, can we say unequivocally that YHWH IS in control without double speaking and blaming Satan??
Once His Word is compromised, we are all become like sheep gone astray without a Shepherd. I must admit I have so far to go!! However, I must say this Shabbat, I am so grateful for Skip and the others here who refuse to drink the sola new testament christianity koolaid any longer and are looking to The Author and Finisher of the faith and choose to serve Him according to His Word that never fades. May we uphold one another in prayer.
Shabbat Shalom
Great message, Skip. Thanks.
The moral degeneracy of the Western world will bring it undone. It holds no values are worthwhile holding, unless it is personal peace and affluence.
And who is challenging the economic and materialistic hedonism, that ultimately leads to the totalitarian political order?
Thank you, Skip, and thank you, fellow believers of this community. My wife and I are learning much–and unlearning much as well! Oddly, the more information/wisdom we consume, the hungrier we get. Thank you again.
Amen!!!!!!
How often I (and I’m sure you too) hear the question, “what does it have to do with my salvation?”, when presenting Torah truth. To which I reply, EVERYTHING!
~ But the wisdom from above is first pure.. (James 3.17
Purity first! Amen.
If you and I were visiting with each other, and in the course of conversation, I, (being the hospitable person that I am), were to offer you a cup of cold water, you might accept. But, if were to place this inviting cup in front of you and say, “wait one moment”- I have an addition for I would like to add, just one drop of roach poison, or gasoline- but only one tiny drop!”, you might look at me, as if to say, (and you would be right to think it)- “you’ve got to be kidding me!”
I (and more than likely you also) like my water to be 100% pure. It matters not whether only one drop of poison is present, what matters is the purity of our drinking water. We like our water “without mixture” or pure. -Thank you God for good (and pure) water!-
It is not the “amount” of sin, that separates us from God, it is the “fact” of sin. God wants His bride to be pure- in totality- and being the jealous Husband that He is, He wants “all” of our affection. I must confess, I too, being made in His image am also a jealous husband- I want “all” of my wife’s attention and affection and amazingly she requires the same of me! And how much of your spouse’s love to you “require” or desire? What? You would also like “all”of her love? Wouldn’t 95% do? Surely, you would allow her a “mere” 5% of a wandering eye, or are you such a jealous lover as to (selfishly?) want her all for yourself? Hmm.. She is yours- you say. And you want all of her? Well what do the scriptures say? ~ What do you think the Scripture means when it says that the Holy Spirit, whom God has placed within us, watches over us with tender jealousy? ~ (James 4.5) A jealous God. Hmm..
~ You shall love the LORD your God with “all” your heart and “all” your soul and “all” your strength and “all” your might..~ You know.. if I didn’t know better, I would think that God (being the Jealous Husband that He is..- wants our “all!” Our totally focused attention and affection! And the word in Hebrew (amazingly) would be? Kavannah- focused attention. ~ Bringing into captivity (even) “every thought” -to the obedience of Christ ~ Friend, that is a tall order. But, maybe it’s the “inner child” in me that always inquires, “why?”
Why would this be? Why is this so? Or in the parlance of today’s kids- “what’s up with that?”
How much can be accomplished when the Teacher, (our Teacher) has our full and undivided attention? (Are you listening?- and can you hear Me now?) Oh, friends,- when the student is ready- the Teacher will show up!! (~ if any man have ears to hear, let him hear!~)
Scriptures please. We need to hear what God has to say, we (desperately) need the word of God, we need to find and to tap into these streams in the desert. We need to be (indeed) a Psalm 1 Christian, one whose delight is in the law of the LORD and in whose law, he (or she) meditates (and marinates!) both day and night!. ~ for we do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God ~ Why is this?
~ You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You. ~
(Isaiah 26.3) Stayed upon Jehovah, hearts are fully blessed- finding as He promised, “perfect peace” and rest!
Father. Brother. Husband. Redeemer. Savior. Friend. Yes, amen. Christianity is not about rules, rituals or religion.We are in a blood-covenant “relationship!” with the ONE we now refer to as “Our Father.” Amen. And yes, -it is amazing.
Amazing grace. Amazing Love, how can it be? That Thou, my God,- would die for me?
!!!! (as in wow!!) The fire that is coming forth from you in these previous messages, is so of the Ruach/Spirit, words for these critical days, of a certainty! That it is time to get serious with ABBA, and not play-act any longer with Him Who sees all and knows all.
We, speaking of Believers of the full, entire Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, are so far from the purity expected, required, of us by ABBA; as in thoughts, emotions and words. We are quick to jump to judge
others without FIRST reviewing our own shortcomings, or, even to give consideration, to meditate, that the judgement we would give may not be right, and to seek YHWH before speaking, when confronting the brethren.
Another impurity that has surfaced quite recently, is, shockingly, many teachers out there are promoting the reading “of questionable authenticity” material, and Pseudepigrapha, when Believers ought to be thirsting and hungry for the Word of YHWH to study to show themselves pure and undefiled- approved by and for YHWH. Amein!
Thanks Skip, for motivating and challenging us, as usual. Blessings to you.
I, for one, would love to know more about these origins. My family struggles with this every holiday season because I’m the only one who questions the meaning and purpose of our traditional holidays. The response I get usually is about how we are celebrating Christ’s birth which was the great gift leading to salvation (and what is wrong with celebrating a gift?). Or we are celebrating Yeshua’s great sacrifice that enables us to be restored in our relationship with him (and of course that’s not an “old”testament command because Yeshua wasn’t born yet, and how could we not celebrate the very thing that gives us life?). Or what about Hanukah? It isn’t Biblical either? And then there’s the great struggle of explaining to 4 and 5 year old why we aren’t celebrating when all their cousins are getting gifts and such. Maybe nobody else struggles with theses things because they have broken out of this “hedonistic” mindset… Maybe it’s just my family who wants to God’s ways, but doesn’t know how to do this realistically… Maybe it’s just us who aren’t holy enough to yank ourselves out of the world without a second thought…
Sometimes I feel pretty awful when I realize how far I have to go (and I sometimes feel worse when I read comments that make those of us who are still trying to sort things out seem like we don’t truly love Adonai – which I’m sure isn’t the intention, but…). Today’s word is challenging to me for so many reasons… And yes, they’re probably excuses for why I can’t figure out how to get out of the cultural cycles and one could argue that I should just do it regardless of the impact it has on my family and relationships. But I believe those relationships are important (and put in my life by Adonai), too, and alienating everyone around me isn’t the answer either.
Great word today, Skip. The reminder to reexamine my ways of worship, celebration, and living is much needed! Thank you for our willingness to tackle he tough issues (and I really would like to know more about the why behind our church traditions). Shalom!
Hi Amanda!
I would like to encourage you by assuring you that you are not alone. I find myself in exactly the same situation, with the added weight of having known about the origin of the season and a few other things for a while but not sure what to do about it. This past holiday season was particularly challenging, but within that challenge two extraordinary things happened. The first is that my grandchild said to me, you know that Jesus was not really born at christmas, it’s just when it is celebrated, right? I don’t know where that came from and I haven’t asked her – yet. I did acknowledge her comment and gave thanks to God. Just that very comment from a child during a time I was feeling the guilt of going through the motions gave me a glimmer of hope. Now I pray for wisdom to be able to help her explore that truthfully. Or, maybe she will help me! Who knows? LOL…… The second thing is that I used the opportunity of the family gathering to share that I have begun to honor the Sabbath and did not receive any dissenting opinions. So, I just keep asking, seeking and knocking, confident that the more steps I take in His direction, He is more than able!
Thanks for this word study Skip. I appreciate your willing dedication to the task.
Skip, I often marvel at the vocabulary of your descriptions, but sourcing our culture’s moral & ritual decay to “unabated syncretism” I must disagree with. In my view it is not the confluence of religious practice/belief/ritual that leads us down the “Great Satan” path, but their ever increasing division. Like cells dividing & multiplying, Christian denominational division now numbers somewhere around 2,000. Judaism is greatly fractured, moving further away from GOD each year. Islamic sects fight against each other to the death, in the name of Allah. I could go on…
Yeshua prayed for lasting unity among his followers (Jn 17), which is the opposite of what we have now. We are all products of what we’ve been taught. And what is taught is more concerned with proving or defending its doctrinal correctness, all the while pointing out the faults or flaws of teachings other than their own. This drives the divisions deeper, and is Satan’s greatest weapon – to confuse, divide and fracture us.
What also happens along the way is the sliding scale of what is culturally or morally acceptable. As we continue to be numbly desensitized to our own decay, those who architect it (media, art, government, education…) push the envelope further and further. Satan is freely rollicking in the domain he was given.
Amanda and Jeanette,
My heart aches for you in the situation you are in, but it is good to know that YHWH is there and that our Savior, Yeshua is at the right hand of the Father interceding and communing with Him in all circumstances. There is not a circumstance that Yeshua did not go through in one form or another. I am presently in a similar situation with you.
I grew up within a basically unchurched family and then in my teens was introduced to the Lutheran Faith. In my college years I became a Worldwide Church of God member and rested in that faith for 20 years til 1995 when that church went through an upheaval. I embraced the “New Covenant understanding”. While within the WWCG I came to love observing the Sabbath and the Jewish Holy Days. We said we were different than the Jews in that we accepted Jesus as our Savior. Overall we were legalistic in our observances. Also the church doctrine was that we would reign with Christ as gods. That is the main disagreement I have with their doctrine. It is up to the individual within each group to worship in spirit and truth, including understanding that grace alone is what saves us. There was a great falling away within the WWCG and many splinter offshoots. There was nothing available for worship in Miles City, Montana at the time. I was essentially disfellowshipped for accepting the “NC” teachings. With the leadership saying “there are Christians in other churches, the question is are there Christians in the WWCG,” I decided that if there were Christians in other churches I was going to find another fellowship at the worst possible time, Christmas season. I bounced around from one church to the next never feeling completely comfortable with the world’s holidays and missing observing the Sabbath and Holy Days.
Recently, I contacted other former WWCG members to see how they were coping and through one of them was introduced to Skip Moen’s daily offerings. Through much study and the Holy Spirit’s promptings I have come to see the need to keep YHWH’s commandments, that they haven’t been done away with and that now I can keep them without guilt…..knowing that I keep them because of love and obedience. Essentially, I am saying this is the 3rd time I am alone before YHWH and His grace is sufficient for me. The Pastor of the church and some of my friends think I should turn again back to their fellowship, that my salvation is in very danger as well as I could possibly be leading my husband astray and therefore I may as well have a millstone around my neck. I do miss their fellowship and approval, yet it is not worth it in comparison to the pearl beyond price. How can I explain I cannot go back. I am at peace with not keeping Sunday and I don’t have to put up with Christmas and Easter festivities this year. I know there is no smooth road ahead. My husband is very understanding and thinks I have made a gutsy move. He has not yet chose to move in the same direction.
One understanding I have is that I need to be very careful in judgements made as to where others are at in their faith journey. I do not know where their heart is or what process YHWH is choosing to have them go through. Amanda and Jeanette, I hope my journey is in some way helpful to you. YHWH has also stated that whomever would give up relationships for His sake would be blessed. I don’t think I should deliberately antagonize people yet I am not willing to compromise on some issues.
Thank you for sharing that Amanda. I intend to do some indepth study of Matt. 10:35. I have been thinking a lot about that verse lately. Let’s pray one for another.
Oops! Forgive me! I meant Kate.
Jeanette, You are welcome and I will pray also. I will study Matt. 10:32-40
Jeanette, this may be a good place to start. I put Matthew 10 in the search and this came up.
Relationship Consumer
Thursday, September 20th, 2012