"The wise are the ones that treasure up knowledge, but the mouth of the foolish one is near to ruin itself." -Proverbs 10:14
“Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be either barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 1:2-8)
Knowledge is the Greek word epignosis, Strongs #1922, and it means full acknowledgment or knowing fully.[1] Commentary notes that Peter wanted them to “have this knowledge by the sustaining, empowering grace of God in their everyday lives.” [2] Peter also ends his letter by telling them to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 3:18)
Peter both started and ended his final letter before, 'putting off his tent', with a plea that the people he was writing to would grow in the knowledge of Christ. As commentary notes, we do not come into the full knowledge of Christ all at once, but grow in this knowledge as we mature in the faith. [3]
And in 2 Peter 1:5-8, Peter notes that it is by giving all diligence to faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness and love that we will grow and become fruitful in our knowledge of God.
By taking part in His divine nature, empowered by the Spirit, experiencing His love and giving it away, we grow in the knowledge of God. As we look to God, He supplies all we need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3).
Commentary notes, His, “divine power has provided us with the spiritual ability to live a godly life. The divine nature is the nature that characterizes God, the nature that is expressed in holiness, virtue, righteousness, love, and grace (1:5–7). By being regenerated with the divine nature, believers can exhibit the same characteristics.” [4]
2 Corinthians 3:18 says, “But we all , with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.”
As James reminds us, we can hear the Word of God and grow in our 'knowledge' of Christ but fail to grow in truly knowing God. James says that we must be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving ourselves (James 1:22). He goes on to write, “For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.” (James 1:23-25)
One commentary writes that “To know Jesus Christ is to have a practical impression of him as he is - that is, to suffer his character and work to make their due impression on the heart and life. Simply to have heard that there is a Saviour is not to know it. To have been taught in childhood and trained up in the belief of it is not to know it. To know him is to have a just, practical view of him in all his perfections as God and man; as a mediator; as a prophet, a priest, and a king. It is to feel our need of such a Saviour, to see that we are sinners, and to yield the whole soul to him, knowing that he is a Saviour suited to our needs, and that in his hands our souls are safe.”
To know God means that we have a relationship with Him. We experience Him in our lives and are being transformed by His influence. True knowledge of the Lord manifests itself in the way that we live our lives. Jesus says in John 14:21, “He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”
It does not mean that we always get it right or always love our neighbor well. But, when we are growing in the knowledge of God, He is impacting our heart and the choices we make.
1 John 20:21 says, “If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.”
For instance, many years ago, I went to a gathering/prayer conference with a large community of believers. We were invited to pray in small groups with the people right around us. The man who happened to be standing next to me was a new believer. While I don't remember the specifics anymore, what I remember about this man is that he came from a really tough background but had this incredibly tender heart towards God. It was changing who he was becoming. While he still had a tendency towards anger and violence, he was stopping himself and turning from it because he knew God didn't approve. It was obvious he loved God and wanted to please Him.
What James says is that someone who says they know Christ, but continues along in all their same behaviors as before, what profit does their faith do? James notes that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only (James 2:24). James writes in 2:17, “Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”
Sometimes we take this to mean that our works justify us. We can work really hard to please God and perform for Him and others. We cannot earn God's love and approval by our performance. We need to first receive the love of Christ and then, as He directs our hearts, 'put our hands to what our heart's prompt.'
Sometimes we can struggle with going through the motions in our faith. We do all the right things because we know we should, but our hearts are not engaged. Just as faith by itself is dead, so is works without faith. Going through the motions and doing all the right things get's us no where if it is not out of a heart of love and obedience.
Just recently I heard someone talk about growing up in the church, having a good Christian family and living as a Christian but never owning their faith until later in their life. They needed to make their faith their own and begin to have a genuine relationship with God.
Corey Russell writes, “I believe the greatest hindrance to our having real revelation of Christ is living on what others have told us about Him, instead of pursuing personal revelation of Him. Most of us base our thoughts and ideas of God on what our parents, siblings, friends, pastors, youth leaders, or Sunday school teachers said about him. We settle into a false complacency; we pride ourselves on having knowledge, not recognizing that we lack the power of knowledge in our inner man.” [6]
We don't even need to have grown up in the church to fall into going through the motions. Sometimes over the years and we get into a routine of reading the word, going to church, praying, and worshiping, we can do these rotely. We start doing them because we know we are supposed to rather than out of relationship with God. They stop carrying the same meaning in our hearts.
Sometimes I do this with my weekly bible reading and blog writing. I start thinking that I have to do it rather than I want to. Instead of being something that draws me closer to God and a place where I am so grateful to have Him meet me, I begin to see my reading and writing as an obligation. It feels like something I am doing for Him rather than the incredible blessing that is truly is.
When I am seeing it as an obligation, it is no longer fun for me. I am so grateful for His wisdom and guidance in my life. It is really something He is doing for me out of His incredible provision and care because He loves me. But I can lose sight of this at times and go through the motions out of obligation. It then becomes a sacrifice for me rather than a joy and opportunity to encounter God in it.
The Lord says in Hosea 6:6, “For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.”
Years ago while I was at at one of my nieces ball games, I had this incredible burden to pray for this young girl I saw there. When I went home, I started praying that her relationship with Christ would have deep meaning and significance for her. I prayed that she wouldn't do anything in life that would stand out or have worldly significance but that her relationship with Christ would be treasured by her and have significance and depth. I prayed for her to be intimate friends with Christ her whole life and that to be the mark of her life.
As I prayed this out for her, I found myself incredibly jealous. I had never felt such jealousy in my whole life. Not that I didn't want her to have this, but that I realized how badly I wanted this for myself. I fell to my knees sobbing before God. What I had prayed for her was everything I deeply wanted for myself.
Yet, for as much as I long for friendship and intimacy in my relationship with Christ, it is something that seems to elude me at times. I too often feel I go through the motions out of obligation, try to please God and others by my performance, or seek to fulfill my own needs for significance through what I do. Too often I get caught into trying to accomplish something so I can mark it off my list and lose sight of God's presence all together.
Corey Russell writes that sometimes we start out well on our journey in pursuit of God but then as disappointments and difficulties come our way, our diligence and vision begins to wane. He notes that pursuing God diligently takes discipline. We need to be willing to sacrifice lesser and immediate pleasures for greater ones. We must press forward dying to ourselves and putting our hands to the plow and our eyes toward the goal, committing to the path we've chosen with unwavering hearts. [7]
When disappointments arise as a result of difficult people or circumstances, instead of becoming bitter or resentful, we are to persevere without grumbling or complaining (James 5:9). Perseverance is the “steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, a state, etc., especially in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement.” [8]
James 1:4 says, “Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” And James 5:11 goes on to say that those who endure suffering with patience are counted as blessed.
“There's a lonely road that leads to brokenness, it's the way to the high and holy place” sings.
Rather than letting ourselves get frustrated or bitter, we let go of every lesser thing that gets in the way of our relationship with Christ. Difficulties can be places of greater worship of God as we give Him preeminence.
Paul says in 2 Corinthians 10:4-5, “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.”
The treasure and pearl of great price is not ministry or accomplishing something for Christ, or getting everything right, our treasure is encountering Christ in our day to day lives.
This experiential encountering God in our day to day lives results in us manifesting God through us in the way we live out our lives. As we have faith in God, we work out our salvation in fear and trembling. We demonstrate our faith by our practical obedience to the word of God in the way we live our lives.
1 John 1:3-4 says, "Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, 'I know Him,' and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in Him."
Corey Russell writes that true knowledge of God “involves the manifestation of the life of God in and through us. The true knowledge of God is a powerful, experiential knowledge that goes much deeper than an intellectual agreement.” [9]
It is because God has hold of our hearts, we look to change our behaviors away from the world and towards godliness. James writes, “Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” (James 4:4).
And John says in 1 John 2:15, "Do not love the world or the things of the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him."
James outlines practical ways we work worldliness out of our hearts and lives, making more room for God. James words are a strong confrontation to those who may be enjoying hearing the word but not allowing it to transform their actions and James calls people out of worldliness to be doers of the word.
One area that James hits hard on is taming the tongue. He writes in James 1:26-27, “If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one's religion is useless. Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.”
Commentary notes, “An uncontrolled tongue exposes a spiritual problem. This man’s religion is vain (Gr mataios); it yields no results. Pure religion and undefiled involves visiting the forsaken and relinquishing worldly enticements.” [9]
Jesus says in Matthew 15:11, “What goes into a man's mouth does not make him 'unclean,' but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him 'unclean.'"
James notes that the tongue has incredible power. He writes that the one who is able to bridle his tongue can bridle his actions (James 3:2-3). He goes on to write, “Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder where ever the pilot desires. Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts of great things.”
In Revelation 13:5-6 it says about the beast, that “he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months. Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven.”
And in Revelation 16 when the fourth through the seventh bowls were poured out, it says the men blasphemed God. To blaspheme God is to speak evil or revile Him. It is the opposite of praising Him. Revelation 16:9 says, “And men were scorched with great heat, and they blasphemed the name of God who has power over these plagues; and they did not repent and give Him glory.”
The tongue has power to set things in course and motion. James 3:6 says, “And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell.” Commentary notes that if we control it, we can guide our lives by it just as a rudder steers a ship. It also can ruin or bless our entire lives [10].
I once (several years ago) worked with a man that continually cursed himself by what he would say. Every time he made a mistake, he would say under his breath, “I am so stupid and incompetent.” He kept telling himself that he could not do anything right. As a result, he was incredibly insecure and constantly looking for others approval. It left him in a place of being his own worst enemy.
I had also struggled with this at one time in my life. I believed the worst about myself and was unfairly hard on myself. I couldn't give myself grace for making any mistakes and this came out in my self talk. One day at church, a person confronted me. She told me she believed God was speaking to her that I needed to repent for the way I was speaking about myself and start speaking what God says about me. She said how I spoke about myself would steer the course of my future. I went home and took what she said to heart. I stopped speaking negative things about myself. It was incredibly hard to do but it started to significantly turn things in my life in a new direction.
I wanted to talk to the man I worked with who was doing the same thing, but at the time, I shrunk back out of fear of confrontation. I told myself that it would be unwise since he was in a much higher level position. I felt God speak that it was tapes he was playing in his mind of things he heard in his childhood. I prayed for him, but failed to speak up. After several mistakes and much negative self talk, he was let go for 'incompetence.'
It takes courage and is loving to (kindly) speak the truth to others even when it causes them (and us) pain and uncomfortably. James says in James 5:19, “Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner form the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.”
When speaking about ourselves, while it is not healthy to be overly critical and negative, we also do not want to be phony or over positive. We want to be real and authentic in our speech. We do not want to speak something that is untrue or avoid all together speaking of difficult matters in attempt to bridle our tongue. We can speak the truth of God and talk genuinely about where we are at. The father of the man with a demonic spirit did not pretend to confess faith he didn't have. Rather he told Jesus, “I do believe, help me overcome my unbelief.” (Mark 9:24)
By our tongue we can also bless or curse others and praise or blaspheme God. We can choose words that crush, criticize, belittle, curse, accuse others (directly or behind their back), and blame God when we encounter difficulties or we can choose words of life that build others up and speak hope and faith.
Proverbs 12:18 says, "There is one who speaks like piercings of a sword, but the tongue of the wise promotes health."
How we express ourselves when others bump up against us matters. Steve Wiens noted in his sermon this past weekend, when someone bumps into us or we are pushed to our max, what is inside of us will spill all over them. [11]
James 1:19-20 says, “So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of a man does not produce the righteousness of God.”
And Paul writes in Ephesians 4:29,31-32, “Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers... Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.”
The tongue, however, is ultimately not the source of our problem. While it can defile our whole body, speaking evil is an outward expression of what is going on inside our hearts. James asks, “Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening?” (James 3:11)
When we bridle our tongue we are operating in God's wisdom which demonstrates good conduct from the meekness of wisdom. We are looking to God as our source and bearing his fruit of the knowledge of God rather than looking to the world and growing in envy, competition, and seeking our own gain.
James 3:17 says, “But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.”
The strength we need to bridle our tongue comes from submitting to God in humility. James quotes Proverbs 3:34, “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble” and writes, “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee form you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.”
Lord, the greatest wisdom of all is to seek to know You. We long to know you better. Would you make Yourself and Your love for us known every day. Forgive us and free us from all the lesser things we make it about. Help us to live our lives with the end in mind -seeing You face to face. And help us to live out our love for You in our actions, especially in how we bridle our tongue.
1. Vine, W. E. ; Unger, Merrill F. ; White, William: Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words. Nashville : T. Nelson, 1996, S. 2:10
2. MacDonald, William ; Farstad, Arthur: Believer's Bible Commentary : Old and New Testaments. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1997, c1995, S. 2 Pe 1:2
3-4. Radmacher, Earl D. ; Allen, Ronald Barclay ; House, H. Wayne: Nelson's New Illustrated Bible Commentary. Nashville : T. Nelson Publishers, 1999, S. 2 Pe 1:2
6-7. Russell, Corey. Pursuit of the Holy. Forerunner Books, Kansas City, MO. 2006.
8. American Heritage Dictionary. Perseverance Definition. Answers.com. Located at: http://www.answers.com/topic/perseverance. Last Accessed: 8/2/11.
9. KJV Bible Commentary. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1997, c1994, S. 2588
10. Maxwell, John. The Maxwell Leadership Bible, Second Edition. NKJV. Lessons in Leadership from the Word of God. Thomas Nelson. Nashville, Tennessee. 2007.
11. Wiens, Steve. Associate Senior Pastor. “The House Guest.” 7/31/11. Located at: www.thedoor.org.
But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be either barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 1:2-8)
Knowledge is the Greek word epignosis, Strongs #1922, and it means full acknowledgment or knowing fully.[1] Commentary notes that Peter wanted them to “have this knowledge by the sustaining, empowering grace of God in their everyday lives.” [2] Peter also ends his letter by telling them to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 3:18)
Peter both started and ended his final letter before, 'putting off his tent', with a plea that the people he was writing to would grow in the knowledge of Christ. As commentary notes, we do not come into the full knowledge of Christ all at once, but grow in this knowledge as we mature in the faith. [3]
And in 2 Peter 1:5-8, Peter notes that it is by giving all diligence to faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness and love that we will grow and become fruitful in our knowledge of God.
By taking part in His divine nature, empowered by the Spirit, experiencing His love and giving it away, we grow in the knowledge of God. As we look to God, He supplies all we need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3).
Commentary notes, His, “divine power has provided us with the spiritual ability to live a godly life. The divine nature is the nature that characterizes God, the nature that is expressed in holiness, virtue, righteousness, love, and grace (1:5–7). By being regenerated with the divine nature, believers can exhibit the same characteristics.” [4]
2 Corinthians 3:18 says, “But we all , with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.”
As James reminds us, we can hear the Word of God and grow in our 'knowledge' of Christ but fail to grow in truly knowing God. James says that we must be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving ourselves (James 1:22). He goes on to write, “For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.” (James 1:23-25)
One commentary writes that “To know Jesus Christ is to have a practical impression of him as he is - that is, to suffer his character and work to make their due impression on the heart and life. Simply to have heard that there is a Saviour is not to know it. To have been taught in childhood and trained up in the belief of it is not to know it. To know him is to have a just, practical view of him in all his perfections as God and man; as a mediator; as a prophet, a priest, and a king. It is to feel our need of such a Saviour, to see that we are sinners, and to yield the whole soul to him, knowing that he is a Saviour suited to our needs, and that in his hands our souls are safe.”
To know God means that we have a relationship with Him. We experience Him in our lives and are being transformed by His influence. True knowledge of the Lord manifests itself in the way that we live our lives. Jesus says in John 14:21, “He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”
It does not mean that we always get it right or always love our neighbor well. But, when we are growing in the knowledge of God, He is impacting our heart and the choices we make.
1 John 20:21 says, “If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.”
For instance, many years ago, I went to a gathering/prayer conference with a large community of believers. We were invited to pray in small groups with the people right around us. The man who happened to be standing next to me was a new believer. While I don't remember the specifics anymore, what I remember about this man is that he came from a really tough background but had this incredibly tender heart towards God. It was changing who he was becoming. While he still had a tendency towards anger and violence, he was stopping himself and turning from it because he knew God didn't approve. It was obvious he loved God and wanted to please Him.
What James says is that someone who says they know Christ, but continues along in all their same behaviors as before, what profit does their faith do? James notes that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only (James 2:24). James writes in 2:17, “Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”
Sometimes we take this to mean that our works justify us. We can work really hard to please God and perform for Him and others. We cannot earn God's love and approval by our performance. We need to first receive the love of Christ and then, as He directs our hearts, 'put our hands to what our heart's prompt.'
Sometimes we can struggle with going through the motions in our faith. We do all the right things because we know we should, but our hearts are not engaged. Just as faith by itself is dead, so is works without faith. Going through the motions and doing all the right things get's us no where if it is not out of a heart of love and obedience.
Just recently I heard someone talk about growing up in the church, having a good Christian family and living as a Christian but never owning their faith until later in their life. They needed to make their faith their own and begin to have a genuine relationship with God.
Corey Russell writes, “I believe the greatest hindrance to our having real revelation of Christ is living on what others have told us about Him, instead of pursuing personal revelation of Him. Most of us base our thoughts and ideas of God on what our parents, siblings, friends, pastors, youth leaders, or Sunday school teachers said about him. We settle into a false complacency; we pride ourselves on having knowledge, not recognizing that we lack the power of knowledge in our inner man.” [6]
We don't even need to have grown up in the church to fall into going through the motions. Sometimes over the years and we get into a routine of reading the word, going to church, praying, and worshiping, we can do these rotely. We start doing them because we know we are supposed to rather than out of relationship with God. They stop carrying the same meaning in our hearts.
Sometimes I do this with my weekly bible reading and blog writing. I start thinking that I have to do it rather than I want to. Instead of being something that draws me closer to God and a place where I am so grateful to have Him meet me, I begin to see my reading and writing as an obligation. It feels like something I am doing for Him rather than the incredible blessing that is truly is.
When I am seeing it as an obligation, it is no longer fun for me. I am so grateful for His wisdom and guidance in my life. It is really something He is doing for me out of His incredible provision and care because He loves me. But I can lose sight of this at times and go through the motions out of obligation. It then becomes a sacrifice for me rather than a joy and opportunity to encounter God in it.
The Lord says in Hosea 6:6, “For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.”
Years ago while I was at at one of my nieces ball games, I had this incredible burden to pray for this young girl I saw there. When I went home, I started praying that her relationship with Christ would have deep meaning and significance for her. I prayed that she wouldn't do anything in life that would stand out or have worldly significance but that her relationship with Christ would be treasured by her and have significance and depth. I prayed for her to be intimate friends with Christ her whole life and that to be the mark of her life.
As I prayed this out for her, I found myself incredibly jealous. I had never felt such jealousy in my whole life. Not that I didn't want her to have this, but that I realized how badly I wanted this for myself. I fell to my knees sobbing before God. What I had prayed for her was everything I deeply wanted for myself.
Yet, for as much as I long for friendship and intimacy in my relationship with Christ, it is something that seems to elude me at times. I too often feel I go through the motions out of obligation, try to please God and others by my performance, or seek to fulfill my own needs for significance through what I do. Too often I get caught into trying to accomplish something so I can mark it off my list and lose sight of God's presence all together.
Corey Russell writes that sometimes we start out well on our journey in pursuit of God but then as disappointments and difficulties come our way, our diligence and vision begins to wane. He notes that pursuing God diligently takes discipline. We need to be willing to sacrifice lesser and immediate pleasures for greater ones. We must press forward dying to ourselves and putting our hands to the plow and our eyes toward the goal, committing to the path we've chosen with unwavering hearts. [7]
When disappointments arise as a result of difficult people or circumstances, instead of becoming bitter or resentful, we are to persevere without grumbling or complaining (James 5:9). Perseverance is the “steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, a state, etc., especially in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement.” [8]
James 1:4 says, “Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” And James 5:11 goes on to say that those who endure suffering with patience are counted as blessed.
“There's a lonely road that leads to brokenness, it's the way to the high and holy place” sings.
Rather than letting ourselves get frustrated or bitter, we let go of every lesser thing that gets in the way of our relationship with Christ. Difficulties can be places of greater worship of God as we give Him preeminence.
Paul says in 2 Corinthians 10:4-5, “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.”
The treasure and pearl of great price is not ministry or accomplishing something for Christ, or getting everything right, our treasure is encountering Christ in our day to day lives.
This experiential encountering God in our day to day lives results in us manifesting God through us in the way we live out our lives. As we have faith in God, we work out our salvation in fear and trembling. We demonstrate our faith by our practical obedience to the word of God in the way we live our lives.
1 John 1:3-4 says, "Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, 'I know Him,' and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in Him."
Corey Russell writes that true knowledge of God “involves the manifestation of the life of God in and through us. The true knowledge of God is a powerful, experiential knowledge that goes much deeper than an intellectual agreement.” [9]
It is because God has hold of our hearts, we look to change our behaviors away from the world and towards godliness. James writes, “Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” (James 4:4).
And John says in 1 John 2:15, "Do not love the world or the things of the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him."
James outlines practical ways we work worldliness out of our hearts and lives, making more room for God. James words are a strong confrontation to those who may be enjoying hearing the word but not allowing it to transform their actions and James calls people out of worldliness to be doers of the word.
One area that James hits hard on is taming the tongue. He writes in James 1:26-27, “If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one's religion is useless. Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.”
Commentary notes, “An uncontrolled tongue exposes a spiritual problem. This man’s religion is vain (Gr mataios); it yields no results. Pure religion and undefiled involves visiting the forsaken and relinquishing worldly enticements.” [9]
Jesus says in Matthew 15:11, “What goes into a man's mouth does not make him 'unclean,' but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him 'unclean.'"
James notes that the tongue has incredible power. He writes that the one who is able to bridle his tongue can bridle his actions (James 3:2-3). He goes on to write, “Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder where ever the pilot desires. Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts of great things.”
In Revelation 13:5-6 it says about the beast, that “he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months. Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven.”
And in Revelation 16 when the fourth through the seventh bowls were poured out, it says the men blasphemed God. To blaspheme God is to speak evil or revile Him. It is the opposite of praising Him. Revelation 16:9 says, “And men were scorched with great heat, and they blasphemed the name of God who has power over these plagues; and they did not repent and give Him glory.”
The tongue has power to set things in course and motion. James 3:6 says, “And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell.” Commentary notes that if we control it, we can guide our lives by it just as a rudder steers a ship. It also can ruin or bless our entire lives [10].
I once (several years ago) worked with a man that continually cursed himself by what he would say. Every time he made a mistake, he would say under his breath, “I am so stupid and incompetent.” He kept telling himself that he could not do anything right. As a result, he was incredibly insecure and constantly looking for others approval. It left him in a place of being his own worst enemy.
I had also struggled with this at one time in my life. I believed the worst about myself and was unfairly hard on myself. I couldn't give myself grace for making any mistakes and this came out in my self talk. One day at church, a person confronted me. She told me she believed God was speaking to her that I needed to repent for the way I was speaking about myself and start speaking what God says about me. She said how I spoke about myself would steer the course of my future. I went home and took what she said to heart. I stopped speaking negative things about myself. It was incredibly hard to do but it started to significantly turn things in my life in a new direction.
I wanted to talk to the man I worked with who was doing the same thing, but at the time, I shrunk back out of fear of confrontation. I told myself that it would be unwise since he was in a much higher level position. I felt God speak that it was tapes he was playing in his mind of things he heard in his childhood. I prayed for him, but failed to speak up. After several mistakes and much negative self talk, he was let go for 'incompetence.'
It takes courage and is loving to (kindly) speak the truth to others even when it causes them (and us) pain and uncomfortably. James says in James 5:19, “Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner form the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.”
When speaking about ourselves, while it is not healthy to be overly critical and negative, we also do not want to be phony or over positive. We want to be real and authentic in our speech. We do not want to speak something that is untrue or avoid all together speaking of difficult matters in attempt to bridle our tongue. We can speak the truth of God and talk genuinely about where we are at. The father of the man with a demonic spirit did not pretend to confess faith he didn't have. Rather he told Jesus, “I do believe, help me overcome my unbelief.” (Mark 9:24)
By our tongue we can also bless or curse others and praise or blaspheme God. We can choose words that crush, criticize, belittle, curse, accuse others (directly or behind their back), and blame God when we encounter difficulties or we can choose words of life that build others up and speak hope and faith.
Proverbs 12:18 says, "There is one who speaks like piercings of a sword, but the tongue of the wise promotes health."
How we express ourselves when others bump up against us matters. Steve Wiens noted in his sermon this past weekend, when someone bumps into us or we are pushed to our max, what is inside of us will spill all over them. [11]
James 1:19-20 says, “So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of a man does not produce the righteousness of God.”
And Paul writes in Ephesians 4:29,31-32, “Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers... Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.”
The tongue, however, is ultimately not the source of our problem. While it can defile our whole body, speaking evil is an outward expression of what is going on inside our hearts. James asks, “Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening?” (James 3:11)
When we bridle our tongue we are operating in God's wisdom which demonstrates good conduct from the meekness of wisdom. We are looking to God as our source and bearing his fruit of the knowledge of God rather than looking to the world and growing in envy, competition, and seeking our own gain.
James 3:17 says, “But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.”
The strength we need to bridle our tongue comes from submitting to God in humility. James quotes Proverbs 3:34, “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble” and writes, “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee form you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.”
Lord, the greatest wisdom of all is to seek to know You. We long to know you better. Would you make Yourself and Your love for us known every day. Forgive us and free us from all the lesser things we make it about. Help us to live our lives with the end in mind -seeing You face to face. And help us to live out our love for You in our actions, especially in how we bridle our tongue.
1. Vine, W. E. ; Unger, Merrill F. ; White, William: Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words. Nashville : T. Nelson, 1996, S. 2:10
2. MacDonald, William ; Farstad, Arthur: Believer's Bible Commentary : Old and New Testaments. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1997, c1995, S. 2 Pe 1:2
3-4. Radmacher, Earl D. ; Allen, Ronald Barclay ; House, H. Wayne: Nelson's New Illustrated Bible Commentary. Nashville : T. Nelson Publishers, 1999, S. 2 Pe 1:2
6-7. Russell, Corey. Pursuit of the Holy. Forerunner Books, Kansas City, MO. 2006.
8. American Heritage Dictionary. Perseverance Definition. Answers.com. Located at: http://www.answers.com/topic/perseverance. Last Accessed: 8/2/11.
9. KJV Bible Commentary. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1997, c1994, S. 2588
10. Maxwell, John. The Maxwell Leadership Bible, Second Edition. NKJV. Lessons in Leadership from the Word of God. Thomas Nelson. Nashville, Tennessee. 2007.
11. Wiens, Steve. Associate Senior Pastor. “The House Guest.” 7/31/11. Located at: www.thedoor.org.
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