1 Peter 1:5

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1 Peter 1:5


5 Who [ho] are kept [phroureo] by [en] the power [dunamis] of God [theos] through [dia] faith [pistis] unto [eis] salvation [soteria] ready [hetoimos] to be revealed [apokalupto] in [en] the last [eschatos] time [kairos]. KJV-Interlinear


5 who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. NASB


Any person cannot live for very long before he begins to understand his own weaknesses and inabilities to control the world around him.

Look at the news in recent days. Even a huge government, in all of its branches, is seemingly run by incompetents.

Some are caught by surprise, others try to manipulate for power and authority. All, lack the ability to control the many aspects of an economy that has risen to great heights in recent decades. And all seemingly trying to take credit for successes, or lay blame for its failures. None, when it comes right down to it, possess any authority or power to do anything regarding the economy.

But for God, it is different. God possess the authority, the sovereignty, to command, to issue orders, and to gain complete and strict obedience from the entire universe and its occupants.

God possesses the power, the ability, to do whatever He wills.

Man can’t control anything. Man cannot control the weather, the economy, or even his own heartbeat. It should be quit apparent that we all lack power and authority in life, to control life.

But from the foundation of the universe, from the very beginning of beginnings, God has preserved our inheritance, our destiny, which is in heaven, the new heaven still to come. And God has been watching over it and preserving it and protecting it, just as a powerful army garrison protects its assigned responsibilities, from any and all enemies.

At the proper time, when all of human history has come to its completion, when our current dispensation ends with the Rapture, after the Tribulation ends with the second advent of Christ, when the millennium comes to its final end, when the universe in its entirety is destroyed totally out of existence, when the new universe and heaven combined are revealed, then our salvation, our permanent life with God, our inheritance, will become a reality.

And God has been keeping and preserving our inheritance since eternity past, since before man was created, since before you were born. God has looked down through time and saw you and me and our pathetic lives, and because of one commitment and only one commitment, which is faith in Him, and for that reason only, He has kept, and will continue to keep our inheritance for each one of us, until it is time to give it to us.

And that time will occur, with certainty, because it is God who possesses the authority and power to accomplish it.

No man can match the work of God. No man can accomplish that which God can accomplish.

Anyone, who looks to the world, and its evil filled goals, will never receive anything permanent from the world.

The world and man, lack true authority, and true power to sustain, or accomplish, or to set his own path through life.

Only by relying on God, through doctrine, we can attain infinite success. Otherwise, all that any of us could possibly have would be nothing.

1 Peter 1:4

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1 Peter 1:4


4 To [eis] an inheritance [kleronomia] incorruptible [aphthartos], and [kai] undefiled [amiantos], and [kai] that fadeth not away [amarantos], reserved [tereo] in [en] heaven [ouranos] for [eis] you [humas], KJV-Interlinear


4 to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, NASB


The Bible is not short on verses related to our eternal inheritance – Matt. 19:29; 25:34; Mark 10:17; Heb. 6:12; Rev. 21:7; Eph. 1:11; 5:5; Col. 1:12; 3:24; Rom. 8:17; Gal. 3:29.

Everyone has a destiny. Unbelievers have a destiny with the Lake of Fire. Believers have a destiny with God in heaven.

But believers have more than just a new home, they (we) have an inheritance. And an inheritance is something that we will own, possess, and have all to ourselves, forever, and ever.

Today in this world, you can own something and then have it taken away for debts, for taxes, for just about anything. But in heaven, your inheritance will be yours permanently and forever.

There won’t be any government trying to take what you have. There won’t be politicians trying to redistribute what you have, to others. There won’t be any bureaucrats trying to finagle loan rules for those who can’t afford a loan, looking the other way when the rules are disregarded, taking perks from the loan institutions, and then blaming all of the trouble on the ‘natural’ forces of the market, as well as blaming everyone else. And then trying to fix it all by engineering the greatest government giveaway in history, all the while wanting to create huge bureaucracies, and run it all.

I presume that you have been watching the news lately, and that you can see through the huge power grab attempts being made by several extremely liberal politicians, at our expense. To create a problem, ignore the problem, and then blame it all on others, while trying to fix everything in such a way as to increase their powers and authorities, is the quintessence of power lust. Such people are an extreme danger to us all.

But anyway, we live in this world for a very short time. We study our doctrine and we get by as best we can, with God help, all the while evil tries to destroy everything around us, in its pursuit of power and authority.

But one day we will go to heaven, and there all of the shenanigans of this world will cease to exist.

There is but one reason that we will enjoy this inheritance, and that reason is because of Christ and the Cross, which He endured in our behalf.

Our heavenly inheritance will be ours, and ours alone. It will be a possession that is permanent, unlike the temporary possessions we have in this world. And, our inheritance will never be taken away from us, by anyone.

So, if you have long wanted a vast estate, and a dynasty of your very own, then doctrine is your path to such a noble (undefiled) and certain goal.

1 Peter 1:3

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1 Peter 1:3


3 Blessed [eulogetos] be the God [theos] and [kai] Father [pater] of our [hemon] Lord [kurios] Jesus [Iesous] Christ [Christos], which [ho] according to [kata] his [autos] abundant [polus] mercy [eleos] hath begotten [anagennao] us [hemas] again [anagennao] unto [eis] a lively [zao] hope [elpis] by [dia] the resurrection [anastasis] of Jesus [Iesous] Christ [Christos] from [ek] the dead [nekros], KJV-Interlinear


3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, NASB


Blessed, means one who has been set apart, one who has been sanctified, one who is holy. And God is the original and origin of holiness.

God the Father is one of three members of the Godhead. The Holy Spirit and the Son are the other two members of the Godhead.

All three members are co-equal, co-infinite, and co-eternal. All three members possess the same identical and exact attributes of essence – omniscience, omnipresence, omnipotence, veracity, immutability, love, eternal life, righteousness, justice, and sovereignty.

And while the human race, influenced by its own arrogance, looks to an almighty or deity, who is often viewed as God or the Father, then God has set out a prescription and process for access to Him which is acceptable to Him.

Remember that God is perfect, and perfect God can have no relationship with something that is less than perfect.

Man tries to approach God by means of his (mans) own effort. This is not acceptable by God. Man, who is a sinner, cannot lift himself out of his sinfulness and corruption. Therefore, God set out a plan by which God Himself (the Son), would do the work of salvation, which work man cannot accomplish himself.

And it is by means of this plan, which is attributed to the Father, that man can approach God, through the Son only.

All religion, beliefs, cults, philosophies, etc., are mans efforts to reach God, and they are all rejected by God. Only Christianity recognizes the Savior, Jesus Christ, and it is by His name, Christ, that Christianity is set apart and different than all other beliefs.

So, God (all three), looked down through time and saw that man would try to approach God on their own, so They (God) came up with a plan by which Gods work only, would be acceptable and perfect and complete. They set up a hierarchy (which is not really a hierarchy), such that man would have to come to God through the Son.

Arrogance wants to go straight to the top, rather than through some second in command, even if the second is a matter of perception only.

So, God the Father is credited with the divine plan. The Son is credited with executing the plan, and the Holy Spirit is credited with supporting and revealing the plan.

God the Father is blessed, sanctified, perfect, in His plan. God the Son is blessed, sanctified, perfect in His execution of the plan, and God the Holy Spirit is blessed, sanctified, perfect in His support and revelation of the plan.

It is through His (all) plan and action, and revelation, that we have been able to be born again. Born once into this physical life, and a second time into the spiritual life.

Our first birth comes at the moment of our separation from the womb. Our second birth, comes at the moment of our faith in Christ. At our first birth, we receive human life. At our second birth, we receive eternal life.

Our second birth gives us a living hope. And hope means confidence in looking toward a good future in heaven and not in the Lake of Fire. Our hope is from the perspective of the living as opposed to a hope from the view of the dead, which is no hope at all. The dead is a reference to those who reject Christ, never having accepted Him, ever.

And all of this is due to the work of Christ on the Cross, when He went there and spent three hours on the Cross, while alive, receiving the punishment intended for us all, for our sins, and then dying physically, and remaining dead for three days, and then being resurrected back from the dead, to life, thus ending all hold that death has on any living person.

Death is a separation from something functional and alive. Ultimately, death is the separation from God, who is life.

Man cannot separate himself from God, and then return to God, on his own. Man simply does not have the ability to accomplish that. Drive past any cemetery and ask its occupants if any can bring themselves back to life. Of course you will get no answer, for none of them can come back to life, let alone hear you.

Once death has occurred, man is totally helpless, and totally dependent on Gods mercies.

1 Peter 1:2

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1 Peter 1:2


2 Elect [eklektos] according [kata] to the foreknowledge [prognosis] of God [theos] the Father [pater], through [en] sanctification [hagiasmos] of the Spirit [pneuma], unto [eis] obedience [hupakoe] and [kai] sprinkling [rhantismos] of the blood [haima] of Jesus [Iesous] Christ [Christos]: Grace [charis] unto you [humin], and [kai] peace [eirene], be multiplied [plethuno]. KJV-Interlinear


2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, that you may obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in fullest measure. NASB


In this verse, Peter summarizes the work of all three members of the trinity in the work of salvation.

The Father authored the divine plan, Jesus Christ executed the divine plan, and the Holy Spirit sealed the divine plan on each individual who enters into the divine plan through faith in Christ.

We who have believed in Christ, are the elected out from all of humanity. God the Father elected us by means of the rules He set out for our selection into His family.

His rules are simple. Believe in the Savior and that is your requirement for entrance into His family.

Anyone who rejects the Savior, Jesus Christ, is in effect rejecting God in total. This rejection is granted by God, and thus becomes the only prayer allowed by God, for unbelievers. They receive their wish, which is to live forever apart from God.

Since God controls everything and stabilizes everything, by living apart from God means living in an environment that has no controls, no stabilization, no protections whatsoever. This is the Lake of Fire, which is filled totally with the terror of insecurity and zero protection, zero abilities, zero of anything.

In order to be saved from this terrible destiny, all one has to do is believe in Christ. That act of faith gains you salvation, which is protection and a guarantee that you will not die that second death and not go to the Lake of Fire.

God the Father looked down through all of time, and saw all who would believe in Christ. He has both foreknowledge and omniscience. These are different in that foreknowledge is the prior knowledge of all that will occur in history. Omniscience is the knowledge of all that will occur as well as knowledge of all of the possible scenarios that will not occur.

With the work of Christ on the Cross, which is in full compliance with Gods original and only divine plan, the Holy Spirit sanctifies or makes holy, all who believe in Christ.

Holiness is the combination of Gods righteousness and Gods justice. Gods righteousness is the state of absolute perfection - no flaws, no blemishes, no sins, no human good. Gods justice, is the state of cleansing all of these defects.

When a person believes in Christ, in that moment, the Holy Spirit sanctifies that person and enters him into Gods prefect state of fellowship. Many other things are accomplished as well, but for this verse, we become sanctified (holy) and entered into Gods family.

As believers in Christ, we are holy, but within our daily functional life, we can obviously commit sins and become less than holy. This requires confession in order to re-enter us back into fellowship.

Our salvation and sanctification is made possible by means of our obedience to believing in Christ, by Christ’s obedience to the plan of the Father, made possible by the obedience of the Holy Spirit in applying Christ’s work to anyone who believes in Christ.

So, there is only one plan, and all parties must comply with its requirements. The three members of the Trinity do this, and our role in salvation, is faith alone, and nothing more. There is no further work required for salvation. Christ accomplished it all while on the Cross.

As a result of our salvation, making us holy, then God is free to bless us. Blessings come from God only to those who are sanctified (holy), and thus made perfect by means of the work of Christ.

Grace is Gods policy toward humanity. Mercy is His actions functioning in grace, or grace in action.

And blessings coming to us in their fullest measure, means that God is free to bless us with abundance. Abundance means receiving more than we could possibly use in an infinite number of life times. That is a lot.

So, what awaits you in your spiritual life is more than you can possibly imagine.

Salvation is infinitely greater than no salvation. Maturity is infinitely greater than no maturity.

Maturity, spiritual maturity, is your goal, and target for having accomplished the best life possible, and it is free and available to everyone, by simply learning doctrine, using doctrine, obeying doctrine, and growing up.

1 Peter 1:1

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1 Peter 1:1


1 Peter [Petros], an apostle [apostolos] of Jesus [Iesous] Christ [Christos], to the strangers [parepidemos] scattered [diaspora] throughout Pontus [Pontos], Galatia [Galatia], Cappadocia [Kappadokia], Asia [Asia], and [kai] Bithynia [Bithunia], KJV-Interlinear


1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who reside as aliens, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are chosen NASB


Peter is addressing his first letter, not to the Jews living in Judah, but to Christians (both Jews and Gentiles), living in the outer provinces, typically those in modern day Greece, Turkey, Syria, and Iraq, but primarily to those living in the Greece and Turkey regions. But of course through the Bible, Peter addresses us all.

These were believers who had heard of the gospel of Christ, whom had gone to the Cross only a couple of decades prior to this letter, and so this indicates the spread of the gospel and to the extent of its spread, in such a short space of time.

Peter identifies himself as the one (among others) whom Jesus had selected, an Apostle, and he clearly states that this same Jesus, is the Christ, the Messiah, the Savior promised by the scriptures. And that as an Apostle, he, Peter, was one of several direct witnesses of Jesus, throughout His ministry, up to the time of the Cross, His death, burial, resurrection, and ascension.

And that it is these people who have been chosen.

And by chosen, Peter refers to their belief in Christ, which makes them believers in Jesus Christ, and because of their faith, God chose them to be members of His family, as He chooses all who believe in Him, to become members of His family. God does not choose those who reject Him (those never having believed in Christ).

1 Peter Introduction

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1 Peter
Introduction


The first book of Peter, was written while Peter was living in Babylon. It is a book of suffering, and was addressed to Hebrew Christians scattered throughout the region.

Probably written in the mid sixties A.D., 1 Peter was written as an encouragement to believers to hold on to their faith and doctrine, especially during their time of suffering and adversity.


1 Peter Outline (New Unger's Bible Dictionary)

I. Salutation (1:1-2)

II. Suffering and the certainty of future inheritance (1:3-12)

III. Suffering and personal life (1:13-2:10)

IV. Suffering and social and domestic life (2:11-3:12)

V. Faith and right conduct and suffering (3:13-4:6)

VI. Right conduct in the light of the end (4:7-19)

VII. Suffering and right relationship between elders and the congregation (5:1-11)

VIII. Conclusion (5:12-14)

James 5:19-20

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James 5:19-20


19 Brethren [adelphos], if [ean] any [tis] of [en] you [humin] do err [planao] from [apo] the truth [aletheia], and [kai] one [tis] convert [epistrepho] him [autos];
20 Let [ginosko] him [autos] know [ginosko], that [hoti] he which converteth [epistrepho] the sinner [hamartolos] from [ek] the error [plane] of his [autos] way [hodos] shall save [sozo] a soul [psuche] from [ek] death [thanatos], and [kai] shall hide [kalupto] a multitude [plethos] of sins [hamartia]. KJV-Interlinear


19 My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth, and one turns him back, 20 let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death, and will cover a multitude of sins. NASB


In the Bible, several types of death are identified. The first is the obvious, physical death, wherein the soul leaves the body and the body is left behind to rot and decay.

The second type of death is spiritual death, in which the person is separated from God because of lack of salvation. Every human being is born physically alive, but spiritually dead. We typically refer to these folks as unbelievers. Faith in Christ causes a rebirth in the individual, and this rebirth is known as our spiritual birth. We are then, physically alive and spiritually alive. Once you have been spiritually reborn, you cannot revert back to an unborn status. Once saved, always saved.

The third type of death is carnal death, or when a believer commits a sin and becomes out of fellowship. Confession of ones sins, ends this death and brings the individual back into fellowship where the spiritual life functions normally. This applies to believers only.

The fourth type of death is sexual death, when the sexual functions of the physical body cease to function. This occurs in older folks, typically.

The fifth type of death is the second death. This applies to unbelievers only, and here, after they have died physically, they are held in Torments (the compartment for unbelievers in the underworld named Hades). At the end of human history, all unbelievers will be called out from Torments, and will stand before the Great White Throne of Christ. This a not a good place to be. They will then be cast into the Lake of Fire, and suffer the ultimate and final death, the second death, or permanent separation for all of eternity, from God.

The third type of death, the oscillation back and forth between carnality and fellowship, is in view here.

Blessing comes from God, to believers in fellowship only. All blessing comes to the earth from God through believers. The more mature believers there are, the more blessing comes into this world. The fewer mature believers there are, the less blessings come into the world.

Remember that God can look down through all of human history and see every human being that will ever be born, will ever be saved, that will ever grow up to spiritual maturity. The world may very well receive blessings now, that are intended for the benefit of future generations.

Maybe that is why we are still here!!!

Spiritual blessings from God, carry tremendous value. Blessings from God enhance ones spiritual life and compound themselves all of the way into eternity and beyond. So the value of blessings cannot be measured, they are so vast. Like the universe. How big is it. No one knows. Likewise, the value of blessings are beyond measure.

When you live your life in fellowship, then you repress sins and therefore enhance your blessings. If you lead someone or are instrumental in helping someone in their spiritual life, then you in effect cover up, bury permanently, many sins that would otherwise have been committed. This leads to phenomenal blessings with phenomenal value. Both you and that person or persons, benefit.

You and I are ordinary people. There is nothing special about either of us. We were shaped out of dust, and given life from God. Neither of which we can boast that we accomplished ourselves.

We are worthless in effect, and cannot earn nor even deserve anything in life.

God provided the planet we live on, the environment we live in, the people we live around. God gave each one of us a talent or ability or physical gift or gifts, when we were born physically. When we were born again, spiritually (when we believed in Christ), God gave us an additional spiritual gift or gifts.

God gave us all doctrine in order that we might become more than what we are, and it is through His spiritual provision and support, that we are even able to grow up in our spiritual life.

There is nothing we can claim as our own in this temporary temporal world, because it is all temporary anyway. But God did give us something which we can claim as our own personal and private and permanent possession, and that is our spiritual life, and all of the eternal blessings that attach to it. That value cannot even be measured.

And it (spiritual blessing) is even more real than all of the assets that you are typically familiar with such as gold, silver, jewelry, real estate, stocks, bonds, money, property of every type, and so forth. But unlike these tangible things which are temporary, spiritual assets are every bit as real, but they are permanent, eternally permanent.

Faith will carry you through untold pressures and adversities. But faith will not reveal its results nearly as quickly, if at all.

Sins like weeds, will spread like wild fire, but if pulled or removed they will have a tendency to vanish. Therefore sins, if left to themselves will spread and eventually choke out everything that is good, but if extinguished, then they might, just might, vanish in ones life, or in the life of another.

Therefore, prayer for ones self and for others is the best and most powerful weapon, and insurance policy, and warranty, and guarantee, for rewards, for profits, for blessings beyond imagination. Blessings or possessions that reach far into eternity, and blessings or possessions that will never be taken away, vanish, or be used up.

All you have to do is decide what is most important to you, and what you want out of life.

James 5:17-18

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James 5:17-18


17 Elias [Helias] was [en] a man [anthropos] subject to like passions as [homoiopathes] we are [hemin], and [kai] he prayed [proseuchomai] earnestly [proseuche] that it might [brecho] not [me] rain [brecho]: and [kai] it rained [brecho] not [ou] on [epi] the earth [ge] by the space of three [treis] years [eniautos] and [kai] six [hex] months [men].
18 And [kai] he prayed [proseuchomai] again [palin], and [kai] the heaven [ouranos] gave [didomi] rain [huetos], and [kai] the earth [ge] brought forth [blastano] her [autos] fruit [karpos]. KJV-Interlinear


17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain; and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months. 18 And he prayed again, and the sky poured rain, and the earth produced its fruit. NASB


If God will work seemingly miraculous events in history, then how much more will He answer prayers for the little needs of our everyday life.

James uses Elijah in his example of a common man obtaining great answers to prayer.

Elijah was a man subject to the same passions, weaknesses, flaws as we all are subject to. This is Gods statement, through the words of James. Remember that the scriptures are all Gods word, not mans.

‘All scripture is God breathed, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God might be mature, rightly dividing (discerning) the word for truth.’

So, Elijah was a common man. He was no different than anyone of us. He had no special talents or abilities. The only thing that set him apart from anyone else, was the doctrine in his soul, which he learned through a systematic and daily study of the scriptures as they were available to him in his day. Without doctrine, Elijah would have been just another no name person lost to history, just as many billions and billions of people through history have been lost, with the only record of their existence being recorded in the volumes in heaven.

So, you and Elijah are really quite similar in many respects.

The example here is not on the extraordinary man named Elijah, but on the extraordinary power of prayer, submitted by a common person.

Within these two chapters, 1 Kg. 17:1 through 1 Kg. 18:45, many events took place. At the beginning of chapter 17, Elijah was commanded to tell the king that the rain would stop. At the end of chapter 18, Elijah received many commands and the rains returned. There were many events occurring during this three year time period.

The famine was brought because of the great apostasy in the land, not because Elijah had some wish to punish or get even. The famine was Gods will, and therefore was granted. Many events, both great and small occurred during the famine. Life, daily life, continued on for everyone. Some were exposed to hardships and some were not.

Prayer has tremendous power. Prayer may not have any immediate or observable results, but in faith and over time, you will be able to observe the results of your prayers, if you are faithful in your Bible studies and in your prayer life.

Everyday in life, you will have the opportunity to observe people, from time to time, people who are missing a marble or two in their heads. You may wonder just how they make it in life. But then, perhaps there is someone praying for them, or for something, that affects their life. That is, for example, a prayer for our country will affect many types of people.

So your prayers may have many indirect results, that you cannot even begin to imagine. A prayer for your children, which may be the only thing that they have going for them, may result in many events in their life, which will affect their life, as well as many other folks.

Prayers can have a far reaching impact in life. But regardless of the nature of your prayers, all prayers must be compatible with Gods plan and therefore with His will.

From the very small prayers, to the very big ones, prayer is one of the most powerful driving forces for all of human history. No government, no military, no social club, no culture, no beliefs of any kind can match the power and results of prayer, when it is applied properly from within the fellowship sphere of the spiritual life.

Your prayer life is only as good as your spiritual growth. Your spiritual growth is only as good as your daily commitment to you Bible study. Your daily Bible study is only as good as your consistency of residence in fellowship.

As a believer in Christ, your spiritual life begins with your self-monitoring of your sin status, and the consistency and regularity of your confession to God the Father. Within the fellowship sphere, you are potentially just as powerful as Elijah, and perhaps, in our current day, even more so, even though no one (except God) will ever know about your input to human history.

Apart from your fellowship status, if you are consistently out of fellowship, then you are nothing more than historical filler. Just another human being, that was born, lived and died, with no meaningful impact whatsoever, in history.

Since the time of Adam and Eve, for some six thousands of years plus, of human history, perhaps a couple of trillion or more people have been born, lived and died. How many historical names can you remember? Maybe a thousand, but more likely far fewer? Where are all of those hundreds of billions of folks? Who were they?

In life, most people want to be remembered, or known, or they want to have some significant impact in this world. They want their life to have a meaning and purpose.

Well, here is your greatest chance for having maximum meaning, and purpose, and even impact in human history.

And it is all possible by means of the grace of God, through a very simple daily Bible study.

‘If any two of you ask, in His name, then your request will be granted.’

Mature believers all over the world offer daily prayers of many kinds. They are the true warrior soldiers of history. You can join their ranks and become one among the most unheralded minorities that has ever existed, and be a part of the greatest impact on human history as well as your own personal and family life.

Or, you can ignore all of this Bible stuff and do nothing spiritually, and therefore, be nothing.

James 5:16

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James 5:16


16 Confess [exomologeo] your faults [paraptoma] one to another [allelon], and [kai] pray [euchomai] one [allelon] for [huper] another [allelon], that [hopos] ye may be healed [iaomai]. The effectual fervent [energeo] prayer [deesis] of a righteous man [dikaios] availeth [ischuo] much [polus]. KJV-Interlinear


16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. NASB


The word for confession used in 1 Jn. is ‘homologeo,’ which means to list our sins in confession to God.

But here, the word for confess is ‘exomologeo,’ which means to acknowledge or to agree. And this refers to your acceptance of the fact that you are indeed a sinner, that everyone who is alive or has ever lived, is a sinner, that all of humanity is a sinner.

So, James tells us to all agree on one important fact of life, and that is that we are all sinners. There is none among us that is perfect, pure, or some type of messiah substitute, that we should look to for redemption, sanctification, purification, forgiveness, etc.

This rules out all priests, pastors, and so forth. They are sinners just as you and I are. And therefore, they cannot hear your prayers of confession, just as angels cannot hear your prayers, just as ancestors cannot hear your prayers of confession, just as stars, bears, whales, or cockroaches cannot hear your prayers of confession.

There is no one under heaven who is authorized to hear your prayers, other than God the Father Himself.

This verse does not direct you to tell people of your faults. They probably already know of them anyway, but feeding the gossip pipeline is not an answer to reducing sins, but rather tends to promote even more sins in others.

The whole direction of these verses is getting yourself into fellowship, so that you can function effectively within your spiritual life.

Unless you enter into a daily, or hourly, or whatever it takes, confession routine within your own personal life, then you cannot be effective in your spiritual life, especially in your prayer life. You cannot pray for yourself, and certainly not for others, when you are habitually out of fellowship.

In fact you do not have an effective spiritual life at all, when you are out of fellowship.

Therefore, become interested in doctrine, study regularly, obey Gods mandates for getting into and remaining in fellowship, learn doctrine, and grow up spiritually.

You are not a spiritually mature believer, if you do not grow up in your spiritual life.

Of all of the people on this planet earth, of some seven billion folks now, only the mature believers, which number quite possibly in the very few millions or perhaps thousands (only God knows this number), but only the mature believers on the planet have effective prayers and spiritual lives. No one else does.

To ‘accomplish much,’ means to possess the power to achieve abundance. When there are wars, economic difficulties, sicknesses, and great events that make the news headlines, or when there are events that are small and never known but to a few folks in some private inner circle, such as a family, the mature believer is on the front lines of the spiritual battle. Firing off their barrage of prayers to God, and God answers them.

This does not mean that prayers for healing sick individuals will not work. But, when God provides us with surgeons, medications, hospitals, bandaids, etc., then those prayers have in effect already been answered. Go see your doctor. Don’t be stupid and pray for something you already have.

Prayer is the most powerful weapon that has ever existed. But it must be used properly, and it must be consistent with Gods plan.

When you get to heaven, you will probably be dumbfounded as to just how effective prayer has been in human history, and how useless, mans plans have been.

James 5:14-15

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James 5:14-15


14 Is [astheneo] any [tis] sick [astheneo] among [en] you [humin]? let him call [proskaleomai] for the elders [presbuteros] of the church [ekklesia]; and [kai] let them pray [proseuchomai] over [epi] him [autos], anointing [aleipho] him [autos] with oil [elaion] in [en] the name [onoma] of the Lord [kurios]:
15 And [kai] the prayer [euche] of faith [pistis] shall save [sozo] the sick [kamno], and [kai] the Lord [kurios] shall raise [egeiro] him [autos] up [egeiro]; and if [kan] he have [o] committed [poieo] sins [hamartia], they shall be forgiven [aphiemi] him [autos]. KJV-Interlinear


14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; 15 and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him. NASB


Throughout the book of James, the study has been on the application of wisdom. This is not a book of the study of physical illness, and how to overcome a fever or broken arm.

Sick, ‘astheneo,’ means to be feeble, weak, and impotent. And as applied to the soul, means to be out of fellowship and living in a state of sin as opposed to the spiritual state in fellowship.

A broken bone, a cancer, a fever or any physical ailment or handicap will not prevent you from being saved or even restored to fellowship. James is writing this book to believers, not unbelievers, so salvation is not in view here. Most of what we have covered thus far, deals with your mental attitude and whether or not you are in fellowship.

Your spiritual life exists only while you reside in fellowship, not while you are under the influence of the sin nature.

The elders of the church, is a reference to mature believers, or those believers who have some spiritual understanding under their belt, and know what fellowship is and what it is not.

The anointing is the prayer offering which is acceptable to God. Anointing, is when a person pours oil or some type of perfume over the one being anointed. The one being anointed is the sick one, the stinking one, or the one who lives in sin. So the symbolism here is to pour prayers of value and aroma in behalf of the one who is under sin, in order to clean up the smelly one, and make him presentable and acceptable to God.

This is not real oil or perfume. Sin can only be covered up by confession, and only because Christ went to the Cross and received the judgment in our behalf for all of our sins. But, Christ did not acquire forgiveness of our sins, thus the confession requirement. Confession is mandated by God, and also gives us a training and self-discipline routine for functioning in our spiritual life.

In verse fifteen, the prayers offered by the elders, serve to restore (save) to fellowship, the person being prayed for.

And the Lord will ‘raise’ him up, or ‘lift from ruin’ or to ‘restore’ into fellowship and the spiritual life, from the state of living under the sin nature.

And here is the purpose of the prayer. Since we cannot know the spiritual state of anyone, then we may or may not know of their sins. So, if they are already in fellowship, then no foul, no harm. But if they are not in fellowship, then God restores them into fellowship, and in effect gives them a boost in their life and spiritual life, whether or not they know of the prayers.

Now, to whom does this apply? Well, most folks get all stupid and call for everyone to pray for them. And if you can call for others to pray for you, then you are well capable of praying for yourself. So pray for yourself, confess your sins and move on in your spiritual life.

The prayer of others does not make you grow up.

The prayers of others may get you into fellowship, but you are not their first responsibility, and no one can monitor your sins, better than you. Only you can stay on top of your own thoughts, etc.

So, this is not intended for you, who already know and understand the confession and fellowship concept.

But there are those who may not understand or may be stubborn and just ignore their spiritual life, or perhaps they cannot function in their spiritual life because of an actual illness.

For example a person in a coma, is in a state which none of us can understand. They cannot go to Bible class, and they have obvious handicaps in learning. If you know of such a person, then by all means, pray to the Father on their behalf, a confession, so that at least while in a coma, God will restore them into fellowship. When you both get to heaven, then you will learn what good you accomplished for them.

As for others? Perhaps you have a family, and children that are just not interested in the Bible. They are young and they have ‘better’ things that interest them for the moment. So recall our study in Job. Job made the confession offering in behalf of his children because they partied so much. Here is the principle.

You may need to pray the confession, for your family members. This does not make them grow up spiritually, but it does get them into fellowship for at least a while. And all blessings coming from God, come only to those who are in fellowship. So there is your help.

As a spiritually growing believer, you possess powers that you did not realize that you had. The apostles healed others, Jesus healed others, and while they performed actual physical healings, the principle being taught applied to the soul, not to the physical ailments. Jesus healed many thousands, but those people came to get physically healed, not spiritually healed, so their physical healing did them no good. They did not learn the lesson.

For a detailed study of confession, refer to the 1 Jn. study.

You not only have a responsibility to yourself for monitoring your own mental attitude, but you can also look to others, without interfering in their life, or being condescending, or critical of them, and in the silence of your prayers (without being self righteous), you can open the door of Gods opportunity for them.

Then perhaps, one day, this prayer help will serve to open up their eyes so they can function on their own, in their own spiritual life.

James 5:13

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James 5:13


13 Is [kakopatheo] any [tis] among [en] you [humin] afflicted [kakopatheo]? let him pray [proseuchomai]. Is [euthumeo] any [tis] merry [euthumeo]? let him sing psalms [psallo]. KJV-Interlinear


13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praises. NASB


James gives us the two states of mind that we all are in at one time or another. You will either be in a state of adversity or pressure of some type, either large or small, or, you will be in a state of contentment or joy in its various degrees of emotion.

No matter what your mood or circumstance, your number one priority is to be directed toward God, either in prayer or thanksgiving.

God is the infamous ‘I Am.’ He is the eternal and infinite source of all provisions.

Everything we have or are, comes from God, and only from God. There is nothing we have or are, or ever will have or be, that does not come from Him.

God placed us all here to grow up spiritually, and to be prepared to inherit the new universe and heaven to come.

Satan is here to destroy our destiny, in order to have everything for himself, even when it means that he must destroy everything and ultimately have nothing. But then, Satan being the smartest creature to come from the hand of God, is not so smart. After all, he has spent many centuries losing every battle, and is still clueless in his stubbornness.

Jesus Christ controls history. There will never be anything in history that He doesn't have complete control over.

So, whether you live under pressure of any kind, or prosperity of any kind, God is the one to whom you should direct your attentions, both in prayer and in praise. And you must do this while resident in fellowship.

For your spiritual life is unique, a great privilege, and gift from the most gracious and powerful and resourceful person in existence.

Apart from Him, you would have nothing, not even life. But through Him, you have the opportunity to have everything, even that which exceeds your imagination.

James 5:12

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James 5:12


12 But [de] above [pro] all things [pas], my [mou] brethren [adelphos], swear [omnuo] not [me], neither [mete] by heaven [ouranos], neither [mete] by the earth [ge], neither [mete] by any [tis] other [allos] oath [horkos]: but [de] let [eto] your [humon] yea [nai] be [eto] yea [nai]; and [kai] your nay [ou], nay [ou]; lest [hina me] ye fall [pipto] into [eis] condemnation [hupokrisis]. KJV-Interlinear


12 But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath; but let your yes be yes, and your no, no; so that you may not fall under judgment. NASB


Above all, be honest in your life. Have integrity in your words and actions. Be honorable in your lifestyle.

Those who boast, those who brag, those who are adamant, those who are belligerent, those who are complainers, those who are quarrelsome, those who are defiant, those who have unreasonable expectations, those who elevate their own self importance, those who condescend, those who patronize, those who do all of these things and more, even naming God or heaven, the world or themselves as their authorizing agent, all of these are subscribers of evil, and therefore do not reside in fellowship.

They are subscribers of corruption and are the recipients of Gods wrath. And note, that Gods wrath does not come quickly or immediately. So they can easily come under the illusion of their own righteousness, as God allows them to go down the wrong path of life to their own ultimate destruction.

No one has any excuse, and everyone has sufficient information to make correct decisions and know the difference between Gods path and the worlds. God will never force anyone to follow His path. Every person has the freedom to choose on their own, even if their choice is self-destruction and failure.

Let your yes be yes and your no be no, simply means to be honest. Do not deceive. Do not cheat on contracts. Do not take advantage. Do not be an opportunist. Do not lie or make false accusations. Do not make mountains out of molehills.

In fact, you should go out of your way to protect others from your own faults, motives, desires, or weaknesses.
God is the ultimate and only provider, of all that you have or will ever have. So, you should never need to take either by force or deception, from anyone.

Grow up and be mature.

James 5:10-11

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James 5:10-11


10 Take [lambano], my [mou] brethren [adelphos], the prophets [prophetes], who [hos] have spoken [laleo] in the name [onoma] of the Lord [kurios], for an example [hupodeigma] of suffering affliction [kakopatheia], and [kai] of patience [makrothumia].
11 Behold [idou], we count them happy [makarizo] which endure [hupomeno]. Ye have heard [akouo] of the patience [hupomone] of Job [Iob], and [kai] have seen [eido] the end [telos] of the Lord [kurios]; that [hoti] the Lord [kurios] is [esti] very pitiful [polusplagchnos], and [kai] of tender mercy [oiktirmon]. KJV-Interlinear


10 As an example, brethren, of suffering and patience, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 Behold, we count those blessed who endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord's dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful. NASB


As an example of blessing resulting from suffering, James mentions the prophets in general and Job specifically.

In Jobs case, Satan and the three friends of Job represent the activities of the world, in its quest to destroy for no good reason.

Satan wants to be like the ‘Most High,’ and in an attempt to attain his goal, Satan would destroy every living thing, which seems rather contradictory on Satan’ part. And likewise, the three friends desired to be right in their views, they desired to be admired for their wisdom, and in achieving their goals, they would gladly destroy Job, as they disregarded the facts and invented their own facts.

But, Job, Daniel, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Moses, and others all endured through tremendous trials, and in the end received tremendous blessings, because of their faithful endurance.

They could have easily turned bitter and vindictive. They could have become angry and blamed God and others for their problems and unhappiness. But, they did not.

We just finished our study of Job so I will use Moses as our example in this study.

Moses grew up in the palace of Pharaoh. Moses became the crown prince of Egypt and would have been the next Pharaoh, but God had other plans for him. Moses, once he learned doctrine while in exile, saw the blessings of Egypt with its vast wealth and prestige, and then he saw the vast blessings of eternity, provided by God, and he chose God over Egypt.

In today's vocabulary, Moses as Pharaoh, would have been a multi-billionaire, would have had tens of thousands of slaves, would have had a high office and power, would have had a harem second to none, would have had everything one could possibly imagine in this life.

But Moses looked to the blessings of eternity, and chose God in a heartbeat.

The blessings of spiritual maturity offer untold blessings both in time (Job, David, Solomon) and in eternity (Moses, Elijah, the Apostles), blessings that far exceed anything you can even imagine in this life.

Therefore, do not get caught up in sinful, moral, or criminal activities, because the Lords mercies are so vast, and so well documented, that you will have no excuses if you ignore Him.

James 5:9

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James 5:9


9 Grudge [stenazo] not [me] one against another [kata] [allelon], brethren [adelphos], lest [hina me] ye be condemned [katakrino]: behold [idou], the judge [krites] standeth [histemi] before [pro] the door [thura]. KJV-Interlinear


9 Do not complain, brethren, against one another, that you yourselves may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing right at the door. NASB


Do not live life with grudges, with grumblings, or with resentments. Do not live life with irritability or complaining, with bitterness, or holding a chip on your shoulder. Do not live life in anger or with desires of revenge.

Time is too short for wasting time on petty feelings or emotions.

Likewise, do not live a life feeling sorry for yourself. Do not waste time feeling sorry for others. Do not waste time believing that if you only had the resources, you could make life better for others, even the whole world.

Why?

Because Jesus Christ controls history. Jesus Christ controls the life of each and every individual on planet earth and beyond.

God has a plan for every person. Gods word is available for every person to listen to, or read for themselves, and learn. Everyone could have a great life, if only they placed attention on their own spiritual life. Unfortunately, most folks don’t do this.

And what is waiting for anyone who in effect ignores God? He stands at the door. The door of discipline, of judgment. You have only to open that door and enter into His fellowship (the confession of sins procedure), and regain your fellowship status.

Why is this important? Because in fellowship you live in a state of perfection, as God has defined it. In perfection, there is no sin, and therefore no judgment, no discipline.

Does this relieve you of problems from the world? No. But while you live in fellowship, any problems that arise, will be treated as suffering for blessing, and that is a good thing. As you endure suffering, of whatever kind, and without falling into sin, then your spiritual growth is accelerated and your faith, your life becomes stronger.

In life, you will face many challenges. You will be cheated, or you will perceive that you have been cheated. You will have opportunities to judge others whether in anger of perhaps even in prejudice.

The world will throw all sorts of problems into your life. It will throw big problems and little problems or even annoyances, just to get under your skin and get a reaction out of you. The world will try everything possible to get you out of fellowship, so as to prevent your spiritual growth.

So, recognize this early in your life and learn to avoid ill feelings. If you suffer, or are taken advantage of, learn to accept it, or ignore it, and keep moving forward in your spiritual life. God offers you a mountain of gold in eternity. Is anything in this life, whether fair or unfair, worth losing that?

James 5:8

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James 5:8


8 Be [makrothumeo] ye [humeis] also [kai] patient [makrothumeo]; stablish [sterizo] your [humon] hearts [kardia]: for [hoti] the coming [parousia] of the Lord [kurios] draweth nigh [eggizo]. KJV-Interlinear


8 You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. NASB


So, the world is unstable, people are not nice to you, the bills just keep coming, there are so many differing opinions that your head would spin off if you tried to keep up with them all.

We work hard to keep up and try as we may to have a decent life, but there will always be those who take short cuts, those who will cheat us, those who will take advantage, and even if we are so lucky to have good fortune in life, anything of this world is not really an advantage anyway.

Do we take on the world and chase after this thing and that? Do we get even? Do we try to convince others of our ‘better’ ideas and ignore the frustration if people don’t listen to us? Do we join the bandwagons, the crusades, the causes that are always around?

And the Bible says no to all of this.

Your first concern is that the Lord is coming and coming soon. When soon? Well in human history He may not schedule the Rapture for another century, but for your personal life, He may call you home tonight or tomorrow, or perhaps a decade from now.

The Lord is coming and history is cruising toward its final scene. For centuries people have known this fact and they are no longer in this world.

Your first concern should be your spiritual life, because of the very fact that Christ is going to call you home one day. Whether you live to see the Rapture and the close of our dispensation is not relevant. What is relevant is your personal spiritual life and whether or not you will be fully prepared when your number is called.

Do not let the world worry you regarding wars, or economic downturns. Do not let the world’s problems, and it has a lot of them, worry you as to whether the climate will make us all desert residents, or swamp residents. Do not fret over the bills, or who is running for whatever office, or who has cheated you. So what!

The Bible states clearly, ‘Stop worrying about anything, but in everything through prayer and supplication, let your requests be made known unto God. The peace of God (doctrine in the soul) will garrison your hearts and minds, through Christ Jesus. For of Him, and to Him, and through Him, are all things.’

Jesus Christ controls history. In doctrine, the world may try to hammer your life, but you have someone within you, Christ, who is greater than this world, and nothing can take you out of His protective hands.

So, be patient, study your Bible everyday, grow up spiritually, live your life in fellowship, and wait on the Lord. All things will come to those (mature believers) who wait (on the Lord). The Lord does not depend on the methods and tools of man, the Lord works His will without regard to human means.

The battle is the Lords.

James 5:7

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James 5:7


7 Be patient [makrothumeo] therefore [oun], brethren [adelphos], unto [heos] the coming [parousia] of the Lord [kurios]. Behold [idou], the husbandman [georgos] waiteth [ekdechomai] for the precious [timios] fruit [karpos] of the earth [ge], and hath long patience [makrothumeo] for [epi] it [autos], until [heos] [an] he receive [lambano] the early [proimos] and [kai] latter [opsimos] rain [huetos]. KJV-Interlinear


7 Be patient, therefore, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains. NASB


All of human history is a planting and a harvest. God has looked down through the corridors of time and has seen everyone who will believe in the Savior, Jesus Christ.

Therefore, just as the farmer plants his crop and then has to wait for it to come into full ripeness for harvest, and just as the farmer, while waiting during this growing season, prays for good rains and favorable weather, so too, you as the believer in Christ, need to learn patience, and pray for favorable circumstances for yourself as well as others.

During your life, you will most likely see good times and bad. Today the stock market took a beating, but it wasn’t its worst in history. Within a few months it will most likely recover its loses, but the beating may not be over yet.

In other times your life will be better, and it will be worse. But remember that Jesus Christ controls history, not governments, not stock markets, not anyone.

Just as God controls the weather and brings prosperous rains, and disastrous storms, so too, these economic changes are there to gain your attention and turn your attention toward Him, not your pocketbook.

This disaster could very well turn south and really get ugly. Or, this could be just a hiccup to get your attention.

In any case, history is Gods garden, and humanity is His crop. Some will believe and be saved, and some will reject Christ and lose their eternal life in heaven. But regardless of what people do, God is harvesting people right and left as we live and breathe. And, He does it everyday and has been harvesting everyday and night for all of mans history.

While we focus on the current events, God is managing humanity for His wise purpose.

You cannot prevent economic events, nor can you cause them, just as you cannot control the weather. But you can control your attitude toward God, toward Christ, toward doctrine, and toward your spiritual life.

You can either conform with Gods plan, and learn patience as history unfolds right before your eyes, or you can do as so many people do in this country and world, and ignore God to your own detriment and loss.

James 5:6

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James 5:6


6 Ye have condemned [katadikazo] and killed [phoneuo] the just [dikaios]; and he doth [antitassomai] not [ou] resist [antitassomai] you [humin]. KJV-Interlinear


6 You have condemned and put to death the righteous man; he does not resist you. NASB


Spiritually negative people condemn by virtue of their own opinions regarding life. Opinions which disregard or contradict, Gods.

Any deviation from thinking doctrine, any deviation from living within the spiritual sphere of fellowship, is a condemnation, insult, indifference, slight, offense, toward truth, toward God, toward Christ, and toward mature believers in general.

By maintaining a spiritually indifferent attitude, in whatever form, slight or defiant, you condemn the mature specifically, and all believers in general, to death.

This death is the theft caused by the unrighteous, of that which belongs to the righteous.

And what do the righteous do to resist this injustice? Nothing.

This resistance is a reference to the inability of man to counter the control of evil in the world.

You may know what is right and what is wrong, but the world is greater than you. You cannot correct the world. You cannot save the world. You cannot change the world.

God has a plan for human history and human history for the most part, is allowed by God, to go its way. Those who sit in the seats of power in the world, are allowed to rule as they see fit. The masses of the world are allowed to have the rulers that they desire.

In some cases God raises up good rulers from good populations, and pockets of truth and prosperity thrive in the world. But in the long run, the world will eventually go down the tubes just as the doom and gloom prophecies foretell.

But, regardless of what the world will do in any given generation, you always have the control of choice over your own life. With doctrine, your life will be a successful preparation for the next life. Without doctrine, your life will end up a disaster, regardless of your worldly successes.

Jesus Christ controls history, not you. Jesus Christ controls history, not legislation. Jesus Christ controls history, not the liberals, not the conservatives, no one. Jesus Christ controls history, and it is Gods plan that will continue to its conclusion, not mans.

You do not resist, because resistance is futile in a world ruled by evil. But you do not do nothing either.

What you do, is study your Bible, live in fellowship, grow up spiritually, be responsible in all things, and be obedient to Gods mandates and will. You voice your opinion where it is appropriate. You vote at the polls. You fight for and defend freedom wherever it is attacked. But most of all, you observe Gods miracle controls over history, and watch as His will is always accomplished, not mans.

James 5:5

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James 5:5


5 Ye have lived in pleasure [truphao] on [epi] the earth [ge], and [kai] been wanton [spatalao]; ye have nourished [trepho] your [humon] hearts [kardia], as [hos] in [en] a day [hemera] of slaughter [sphage]. KJV-Interlinear


5 You have lived luxuriously on the earth and led a life of wanton pleasure; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. NASB


Pleasure means indulgent. Wanton means voluptuous, which is a feminine term and infers pleasurable appearance, well endowed. And these two terms together refer to one who is inclined to a lifestyle of self indulgent pleasures.

That is the ultimate purpose of living in the temporal world, to the exclusion of ones spiritual life.

The spiritual life emphasizes and supports and nourishes the soul and sustains its eternal status.

The carnal side of life emphasizes and supports the animal side, the instinct side of a worldly life. Its attempts to nourish and satisfy always fail. There is never enough.

Slaughter refers to a large and bountiful banquet. Here, God has provided a feast in the world, and the unbeliever or negative believer feasts to their hearts content, taking that which was not intended for them, filling themselves up in preparation for whatever comes after this life (even during this life), and more or less ignoring God in the whole process.

Even those who spend some time in their Bible study, never really come to a full subscription and endorsement of Gods views of life. They play both sides of the fence, looking to God as one looks to a rabbit’s foot, but relying on what they can see, touch, smell, taste, and hear. They feed the demands of their sin nature, because it is more real to them, than God who cannot be detected in the usual ways.

So, the spiritually deficient or negative person lives in the world, doing nothing more than feeding their sin nature. The sin nature is a bottomless pit, which can never be filled up, and when the person dies, when the soul (the real you) leaves the body, the sin nature is left behind to rot along with the body.

Feeding the sin nature, allowing your life to be led by the sin nature, is no different than investing in an enterprise that is destined for bankruptcy. Your investment will yield you nothing.

James 5:4

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James 5:4


4 Behold [idou], the hire [misthos] of the labourers [ergates] who [ho] have reaped down [amao] your [humon] fields [chora], which [ho] is of [apo] you [humon] kept back by fraud [apostereo], crieth [krazo]: and [kai] the cries [boe] of them which have reaped [therizo] are entered [eiserchomai] into [eis] the ears [ous] of the Lord [kurios] of sabaoth [sabaoth]. KJV-Interlinear


4 Behold, the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields, and which has been withheld by you, cries out against you; and the outcry of those who did the harvesting has reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. NASB


The system of commerce and society are both condemned in this verse.

God created the earth for believers. God created the universe for believers. God will destroy the entire world and universe eventually, and re-create a totally brand new one for believers only.

The ultimate intended heir is the mature believer. Of course all believers, including the immature, will inherit in eternity, but the mature believers will receive the vast majority of whatever the Lord has to offer.

During this life, we live in a world of unbelievers and spiritually negative believers. Those negative types imitate the life style and attitude of the unbelievers, and therefore are not much better in so far as their social contribution.

Since the world was intended for mature believers, then all that unbelievers and negative believers do, is take things to which they are not entitled.

This verse contrasts the master and the slave. The slave does more than his share, and receives very little in return, even to the point of not having enough to support himself and his family.

The master, is one who would otherwise have to do the work, but instead takes and takes, and hoards what he has, gets the slave to do the necessary work, and does not reimburse the slave properly.

The work of the slave in the spiritual sense, is to function as the mature believer does. The mature believer studies and prays, and in return, God gives grace and support to the world primarily for the benefit of the mature believer.

The unbeliever and negative believer have no access to God, so their prayers are not heard. They receive blessings from God as a result of their association with mature believers. Their blessings are not direct. But their spiritual work effort is zero.

Example: Mature believers need air to breathe. God provides air. Consequently, unbelievers receive the blessing of air, not because God gave it directly to them, but because God gave air to mature believers and therefore there is air for unbelievers as well. Their blessing is by association.

Mature believers need work and income. God creates an economy, for all to work. All are blessed as a result of that economy, regardless of their spiritual status, but the primary target is the mature believer.

So, the mature believer is doing all of the work, the spiritual work. And God responds to their call (cries to God).

Unbelievers and negative believers, take more than their share, while they are not even entitled to anything. In the spiritual sense, the unbelievers do nothing, the negative believers do nothing.

The unbelievers and negative believers see themselves as the authors of their own destiny, the masters of their own lives. They hoard up their worldly possessions (things or attitudes or beliefs) and wait for the divine calling they expect to receive. That call never comes as they expect it.

God is the Lord of ‘hosts.’ That is the meaning of ‘sabaoth.’ God hears from all corners of the universe. God has infinite power, infinite abilities, and infinite attentions directed to each and every living person. God can deal with all situations just as easily as He can deal with one.

The unbeliever and negative believer are concerned with only their own situation, and no one elses.

James 5:2-3

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James 5:2-3


2 Your [humon] riches [ploutos] are corrupted [sepo], and [kai] your [humon] garments [himation] are [ginomai] motheaten [setobrotos].
3 Your [humon] gold [chrusos] and [kai] silver [arguros] is cankered [katioo]; and [kai] the rust [ios] of them [autos] shall be [esomai] a witness [marturion] against [eis] you [humin], and [kai] shall eat [phago] your [humon] flesh [sarx] as it were [hos] fire [pur]. Ye have heaped treasure together [thesaurizo] for [en] the last [eschatos] days [hemera]. KJV-Interlinear


2 Your riches have rotted and your garments have become moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and your silver have rusted; and their rust will be a witness against you and will consume your flesh like fire. It is in the last days that you have stored up your treasure! NASB


Everyone has access to money or wealth in one way or another. Obviously some have greater access than others. But either by manual labor, innovation and invention, inheritance, investments, settlements, or just plain luck of one sort or another, you can and do accumulate possessions for yourself.

In this universe, there are two types of possessions – worldly and spiritual.

Worldly possessions are temporary and last only while you are alive. They do not go off into the next life with you, when you make your grand departure.

Spiritual possessions are eternal. Spiritual possessions are formed within your soul, and do not exist as tangible things. Spiritual possessions are a function of your spiritual life, and their growth is directly related to the function of your spiritual life.

Spiritual possessions when acquired, become incorporated within the very fabric of your soul and cannot be separated, by someone else, from you, either in time or in eternity. They are the only real possession that you can have now, take with you, and retain forever.

The word for corruption, moth eaten, and rusted, refer to a state of lack of use, or lack of value, or to something that when not used simply goes to ruin. They also refer to the nature of the wearing out of things. And in this case they refer to things that have value or use for a limited time, and then are of no use.

In the ancient world, anyone who stored grain, or food, would have trouble with varmints, weather, and time. In the course of time their grain or crop stores, would go bad. So hoarding up such things turned into a loss.

Storing up clothing brought you nothing better, because the wear and tear of time, moths, and such, would make your clothes go from new to old.

The same destiny of things occurs today. How many garage sales are there on any given weekend? How long do your laundry or kitchen appliances last? How long does your car last? Everything you own will wear out sooner or later, and such is the nature of all possessions that exist in history.

Whether stocks, real estate, jewelry, or the clothes on your back, all things will wear out. And the final wearing out of them is at the moment of your death. At that moment, they have no value to you. Maybe they have value to your heirs, but only while they are alive, but certainly not to you immediately after your death.

People who look to things in life, are in effect substituting ‘things’ in place of their spiritual opportunities.

They are investing in worldly things, as their nest egg for eternity, like holding on to water as it falls through your fingers.

And that is where James tells us all, that the things of this world, even the gold, the wealth, the silver, the prosperity, and so forth will not follow people into the next life.

And the ultimate wearing out of ‘things’ will occur at the end of the Millennium when Christ destroys this entire universe, and creates a brand new one. All of the old will be gone. None of the old will go into eternity.

So, whatever dynasties you are building, will eventually be destroyed with no residue, as though they had never existed.

James 5:1

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James 5:1


1 Go to [age] now [nun], ye rich men [plousios], weep [klaio] and howl [ololuzo] for [epi] your [humon] miseries [talaiporia] that shall come upon [eperchomai] you. KJV-Interlinear


1 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you. NASB


Rich, means people of substance, talent, ability, position, resources that allow them to sail through life with relative ease.

Weep and howl, means very, very, very deep distress. This is intense language that indicates that the mishap, misfortune, catastrophe, disasters that would come upon them (the rich), would not only produce sorrow and grieving at their losses, but they would cry uncontrollable tears accompanied with tremendous or deep lamentations of misery.

Now, note that it is the person who will suffer, not his wealth.

Wealth is a good thing. Wealth is not evil, nor is having it, a sin. Wealth is a noble goal to pursue, and is something that everyone, in their right mind, should desire.

Note again, that wealth is a substantial component of Gods eternal blessings. Good things in the spiritual life are even described as gold, silver, and precious stones. These three things represent wealth resources (gold), gobs of money to spend (silver), and beautiful things to possess (precious stones).

However, there are rich folks (poor folks too) that disregard doctrine, emphasizing their possessions and achievements as being more important to them in life, and in so doing, they de-emphasize their spiritual life, thus setting themselves up for tremendous, tremendous, tremendous disappointment.

Did I mention that their disappointment would be tremendous?

There are phenomenal things a person can do when they possess great wealth, especially when they are spiritually mature, and God is working great things through them.

However, most folks, rich and poor alike, view their things as theirs alone, and no one else's. They ignore their spiritual side of life, and assume the position of simply living life to its fullest, and gaining (wealth, fame, etc.) as much as possible, for themselves.

Their reality goes no further than their belief of the moment.

They see the evidences of life's limitations and dangers, but they rely on their wealth, talent, resources and such, to get them through anything and everything.

And then, disaster strikes. A disaster that overwhelms their resources. War, economic depression, accident, whatever, even death, and then reality strikes hard. But do they turn to God in repentance? No. They turn to sorrow, hate, bitterness, self-pity, perhaps suicide.

All of the worldly advantages in life, will never guarantee a successful life, and certainly not true happiness.

James 4:17

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James 4:17


17 Therefore [oun] to him that knoweth [eido] to do [poieo] good [kalos], and [kai] doeth [poieo] it not [me], to him [autos] it is [esti] sin [hamartia]. KJV-Interlinear


17 Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do, and does not do it, to him it is sin. NASB


Whether you are proactively indifferent toward God, doctrine, Jesus Christ, your spiritual life, or anything having to do with the scriptures, or whether you are passively indifferent toward these things, meaning that you don’t really give them much thought on a day to day basis, makes no difference.

When you were born into this world, you had but one obligation to God, and that was to hear His gospel. He gave you life and in return, He only asks that you listen.

And by either listening or not, you make a choice in life that affects your entire future. Rejecting Christ, means that you will spend your eternal days separated from Him, whom you wish to have nothing to do with.

But, if you believe in Christ, then you become members of Gods family, in effect, and thus assume additional obligations. Gods house , Gods rules. If you want to live in His house, then you have to obey His rules.

Unfortunately, far too many folks want things both ways. They want God, but by their rules, not His.

And so we enter into another realm of disobedience toward God, which is a test of wills, so to speak, and when we object to the obligations He places on us, then we are rejecting His wisdom, His truth, and that is a sin. Or, the sin of presuming that we know better, or just don’t care.

There are right things to do in life and wrong things to do. Sin is not limited to simple lies, or more dramatic cursing, or any of the traditional crimes that we are familiar with. Sin is also concerned with responsibility, accountability, and our obligation to obey Gods mandates and such.

Just living your life out of fellowship, means that you are living in a state of perpetual sin. Generally, we call it human good. You could be doing good things, but when out of fellowship, you are performing them in the energy of your flesh (the sin nature), not within Gods fellowship sphere. And human good was rejected at the Cross. All human effort was rejected at the Cross.

Only the work of Christ is perfect and effective, and accepted.

So, you have responsibilities in life. We have covered them many times. To look the other way, to presume that someone else is going to fulfill your obligations, to be greedy or selfish in not wanting to do what is expected of you, to pretend or defiant or just indifferent, is a sin.

James 4:16

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James 4:16


16 But [de] now [nun] ye rejoice [kauchaomai] in [en] your [humon] boastings [alazoneia]: all [pas] such [toioutos] rejoicing [kauchesis] is [esti] evil [poneros]. KJV-Interlinear


16 But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil. NASB


To form your own plans for life, based on your own wisdom and confidence, both of which are founded on your worldly, academic, and day to day experience, all of which have been used to build up your own shrewdness, reasonableness, level-headedness, prudence, and so forth, is a certain path to your own spiritual destruction.

Your temporal life will last but a few decades. Your spiritual life will last forever. Which is the one that you should commit your attentions.

Any and all departures of thinking from Bible doctrine, from Gods truth, from a thinking pattern within your fellowship sphere, are in effect arrogance, and therefore evil.

Evil gains you nothing, and it takes away everything.

When you do not anticipate failure in life, when you presume that you will be alive indefinitely or until your plans are accomplished, when you refuse to recognize the many problems that can come into your life, and especially when you are indifferent to Gods role in your life, then you are guilty of the sin of presumption.

You by default, presume that God and His plan have no impact on your life. You presume that you can go about your own business with complete disregard to God. You presume that you already know Gods will for your life, and as such, have adapted your own ideas as to what you believe is His will.

All of this departure from God, from doctrine, from what is correct and true in life, is a form of boasting.

Boasting says that you know better. Boasting says that you deserve credit for who and what you are. Boasting says that you can adopt or define or subscribe to whatever views are popular, or convenient to you and to your life, and still be in the right.

Boasting says that you can do whatever you wish, so long as it does not interfere or affect someone else's life.

Boasting says that you do not have to 'always' obey God.

Boasting says that you can find another 'better' way in life, for yourself.

Most criminals are not remorseful while they commit their crimes. They see no harm, since there is no one to stop them, or interfere with their criminal activities.

However, they generally become remorseful when they are caught.

When your life ends in this world, you are in effect, caught by Christ. In heaven your first response will be either humility because of your spiritual commitment, or embarrassment (which is not a sin by the way) due to your worldly stupidity. Which will be your response?

James 4:15

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James 4:15


15 For that [anti] ye [humas] ought to say [lego], If [ean] the Lord [kurios] will [thelo], [kai] we shall live [zao] [zao], and [kai] do [poieo] [poieo] this [touto], or [e] that [ekeinos]. KJV-Interlinear


15 Instead, you ought to say, 'If the Lord wills, we shall live and also do this or that.' NASB


Now, we do not go around repeating ridiculous and repetitious remarks like, 'If the Lord wills, I will eat this toast this morning.' 'If the Lord wills, I will choose what color carpet to get for the home.' 'If the Lord wills, I will go out and buy and sell and make money.' Etc., etc., etc.

Everything we do in life is subject to the Lords will. That is, or should be, the underlying truth of life.

We don't have to go around saying it, such that others know that it is what we mean. Our purpose is not to educate others or even to impress them with our repetitious quips. As a matter of fact, repetitious comments of this nature, can become meaningless, annoying and phony pretenses.

Likewise, just because we know that everything is subject to Gods will, that does not mean that we are without obligation and responsibility in life.

When an enemy attacks we defend ourselves and counterattack to defeat it. We plan and prepare. We place locks on our doors. We go to school to get an education so we can get a better job. We plan meals. We set out plans for the kids. We make career plans. We save if at all possible.

Likewise, we do not take on an attitude of ridiculousness, and pray about every little matter in life. We do not pray about what we are to wear. We do not pray about what to buy. We do not pray about many routine and normal day to day things, because God gave you a brain and the resources to think and make decisions.

Praying about every little thing, is a cute way to come up with an excuse to do or to not do something, or even to not be held accountable for bad decisions. Immaturity seeks out crutches. Maturity assumes responsibility and accountability for ones own actions - with no excuses.

When we look at life, we should look at life through Gods eyes, not mans. We do the very best we can with what God gives us, but when it is all said and done, we ultimately look to God to get us through life. And we acknowledge that everyone else is doing what they can, with what God has given them. In other words we do not judge others, regardless of their spiritual status, which in most cases, we won't have a clue regarding their spiritual life, if it even exists at all.

We approach life with our eyes toward God and His plan. We know that the world is destined for big trouble. We know that we live in the Church Age. We know that the Rapture will occur one day. We know that evil will never end its attempt to take charge of the world.

We know that our first priority in life is to grow up spiritually, and with that growth, God will guide us through a difficult history whether prosperous or not, to our ultimate destiny - heaven.

We make our plans with God in mind first. We make our plans while understanding how the world functions. We do what we can, in the very best way we can, and leave the details for success or not, to God.