2 Peter 2:7

“and if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked”

I remember one time I was attending a small church service of about thirty people. It was during the sermon, the pastor was talking about Abraham’s nephew, Lot and he referred to this verse in Peter. It was then that a lady in the congregation shouted out loud, “he wasn’t that righteous to me!”. The pastor kept preaching and didn’t really deal with her comment. He just said “well, the Bible says he was” and then kept to his preconceived script. But I remember sitting there thinking, what a perfect opportunity this pastor had to elaborate more on this. You see, I have a great concern for the body of Christ. We are taught that righteousness is by faith alone in Jesus and then once you’re on board, once you’re in the family, joined the team, all of a sudden it’s now about here’s what you got to do. Here’s your bat, get up to the plate and you better perform to prove you belong to the team, don’t strike out or else. So, now we get this warped view that our righteousness is really based on what we do for God to prove we are the real sons and daughters of God.  So, of course when a Christian comes to a verse like this one, the common reaction is just like this one lady’s “ Lot? He wasn’t that righteous to me!”.  For those of us that are not familiar with who Lot is, let me introduce you. Lot was the nephew of Abraham. Both travelled together but bickering began between Lots’s group and Abraham’s and they realized that they were too big between the both of them and it was best to separate. So, Abraham gave him the first choice to choose where he would like to live. Abraham gave Lot the choice of going either north or south, Lot instead looked beyond Jordan toward a well-irrigated plain and chose that land. Lot camped among the cities of the green Jordan plain and initially pitched his tent facing the sinful city Soddom and Gomorrah. Later on, he actually moved into sin city. He even became the gate keeper and had some influence in Soddom and Gomorrah  but there’s no evidence that he did anything to reform the city. In fact he even offered up his virgin daughters as a replacement to men who wanted to rape some strangers that he invited into his home. Later we read, his very own daughters got him intoxicated with wine and then proceeded to have sex with him. Woah, you’re not gonna hear this in your grandma’s Sunday school. This sounds like more of a rated R miniseries on Netflix than a squeaky clean, feel good movie on Pureflix.  This begs the question. Why was this man, who compromised his integrity many times throughout, considered righteous? The answer my friend is blowing in the wind. Actually it’s the same that it’s always been, in the Old Testament and in the New. What makes a person righteous? Is it what we do? Paul tells us in Romans 1:17.  “For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.” Also, He later talks about Abraham and how God considered him justified, which just means to be declared righteous. He says in Romans chapter 4, “What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, discovered in this matter? 2 If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God. 3 What does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”

4 Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation. 5 However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness.”  So as we can see, if God considered Abraham righteous through faith apart from works, he saw Abraham’s nephew, Lot the same way. He was considered righteous because he simply had faith. Was it always publicly displayed? Did he always get it right? Nope, and he suffered temporal consequences too. Remember, he lost everything he owned, including his wife in the destruction of Soddom and Gomorrah. But the Angels came for Lot to save him from the city and God’s wrath because he was one of the righteous few. Again, not because he was perfect and always did good things, no because he believed and that’s what made him holy. I think this verse should be an encouragement to all of us as Christians.  Let’s not live in condemnation or beat ourselves up, when we’ve messed up or blown it again. Let’s remember that our righteousness isn’t based on our performance but God’s grace through faith. May it also be a reminder for us to stay humble when we are doing a lot in obedience to and for God. When we are following Him, whether it’s mission trips, fasting and praying, giving our whole lives in faithfulness to Him, let’s remember this passage to keep things in perspective so we don’t become full of pride and think it’s about us. These good things do not make us anymore righteous in His eyes and not doing these things does not make us any less righteous. Though when we are obedient, there are rewards and blessings and the same is true that when we are disobedient there are consequences and discipline.  Abraham was blessed beyond measure for his obedience and Lot went through much suffering and loss but both men were considered still righteous by God. Not a righteousness by doing good but one of faith by grace. So as we travel on our spiritual journey, let’s remember and thank God everyday that the same God who looked at sinful Lot as being righteous, sees us the same way. And the more we fully understand this love, it will compel us to live our lives in full obedience to Him like Abraham did. We obey Him not because we have to but for the simple joy of just getting the amazing opportunity to participate in the game. So, whether we strike out at the plate several times or hit home runs consistently, we still wear his jersey of righteousness and on the back of the shirt, is not our name but the only name that declares us holy and perfect from all sin, Jesus Christ and because of Him we are all winners.

James 2:14-17

14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good[b] is that? 17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

Familiar with this passage in scripture?  If  you’ve been a Christian for sometime, I’m pretty sure you have come across it. It’s one of the most controversial verses and often misunderstood in all of scripture. Verses like this tend to divide Christians and we build walls and pick our sides.  In fact this verse was actually hated by Martin Luther, the leader of the Protestant Reformation. Remember him? He was the one who broke off from the Catholic Church because of his studies of the Bible and what he found. What he discovered was that salvation is only through faith alone and not by good works.  He didn’t know what to do with this verse in James.  He hated it so much, he wanted the whole book removed from the Canon of scripture. It’s understandable how he felt because this verse is very contradicting. After all the apostle Paul tells us in Ephesians “it is by faith you have been saved not by works.” So what in the darn hill is James smoking? Why does he seem to contradict Paul?  The typical response you get from some Christian commentaries is that James was talking about a genuine faith.  They will cite Paul in Ephesians 2 stating that we are God’s workmanship created to do good works that He’s prepared for us in advance.  Then they’ll tell us that a real Christian displays good works. Therefore, if you claim you are a Christian and aren’t displaying good works then clearly you aren’t a Christian. So, the problem I have with this, is that right away the gospel just went from Jesus doing all the work for our salvation and giving us the gift of salvation, to now your eternal salvation hangs in the balance based on your performance in proving the validity of your faith. Wow, what happened to it being a gift? Can you imagine when you were a kid if your parents gave you a bicycle for your birthday. “Happy birthday enjoy your gift, we love you!”.  You’re all excited to play with your gift. You play with it everyday. Then suddenly your parents give you the credit card bill for the bike. It’s still your bike but you still have to do something to prove ownership of your bike. If you really want to keep it they say. I mean what parents would do something like that? But we humans live in a world where that’s what’s expected. Nothing really is for free. You got to earn your success. But God says eternal life is a free gift but we have a tough time accepting that and we call it “easy believism”.  We flip the script and tell everyone if you’re really a child of God you better be doing some good works or else it’s not really your gift. Ever since I first encountered James, I too have wrestled with this verse. I agree that it’s a “faith alone but not a faith alone” but where I differ with some Christians is the reasoning behind why God wants a faith that’s accompanied by works. In my studies over the years I’ve come to the conclusion that the reason we activate our faith is not so we that can prove we’re going to heaven. It’s not a bragging right for Christians. I persevered, therefore I’m a good Christian, and Jesus will definitely let me into heaven. No, its actually not that at all. Let me explain.  In the letter that James is writing, he is writing to people who are already believers in Jesus. These believers are being  dispersed all throughout.  In other words,they are being persecuted for their faith in Jesus. They are suffering, yet James encourages them to persevere by considering it pure joy because of what God is doing in them.  He devotes his whole letter to focus on how believers should live and practice out this faith even during trials. He encourages believers to not fall into temptation and to also tame their tongue. Both things that people struggle with when going through trying circumstances. James also points out what some of them were actually doing because of their suffering. They were trying to provide for their needs by showing favoritism towards rich people. Instead of loving on the poor and needy, they were only focusing all their love and attention on those who were wealthy. But James reprimands them. In fact, James reminds them pure religion is loving the widows and orphans. You see, when one gives to the widows and orphans or the poor, they can’t give you anything back. The believers were suffering and some were trying to meet their needs by looking after those that could pay them back. That’s not really trusting in God is it? So, when James tells them to have a faith that is expressed in works because that will save him, he is talking about a different kind of salvation. Just because the Bible uses the word “saved” or “salvation “, we automatically want to think it means eternal salvation. But there are several times in scripture where the word “saved” is used as a temporal salvation. For example, David crying out in the Psalms for God to save him from his enemies. So, in the context of James, a letter to believers who are already eternally saved, James is urging them to publicly express this faith but the salvation is for a temporal salvation.  He gives an illustration of a poor person asking for help and getting none. What a useless, dead faith he says. How can this faith save that poor person in their time of need and how can that faith save the believer in their temporal needs as well? Do you see it? James is not talking about eternal salvation but a temporal salvation. Pay attention to this part carefully. When we activate our faith in obedience, we don’t do it to prove that we are truly saved, by no means! We do it so that GOD CAN PROVE THAT HE SAVES. God wants to so badly publicly display his salvation to His people and to others but He wants His people to step out in faith through obedience so that He can reveal His plan of salvation. Think about it. When a Christian who is faced with an opportunity to give of their resources to help someone, they are in essence trusting that God will temporarily save that person and also temporarily save themselves by meeting their financial needs as well. It takes faith to give up of your time, resources and talents for God’s kingdom to those who can’t repay you. Your only hope is in God saving you. That’s the faith and salvation James is talking about. He gives us an example of Abraham. Abraham trusted that God had a plan to save him in his situation. He didn’t know how but he believed God would save his son from being killed. He did not know why but he believed God and activated his faith by climbing up the mountain to sacrifice his only son. Abraham’s faith and works set God up to showcase His saving power. God did just that, sending His angels and sparing his son by providing him a ram instead. James also gives an illustration of Rahab the prostitute. Rahab was not a saint, in fact she was still practicing her livelihood when she first met the Israelite spies. Yet, she activated her faith in the God of Israel and displayed her faith by hiding the spies from being killed that day. Through the demonstration of her faith, she put God in a position to then display His salvation first to the spies that day and then later when He rescued her family from being killed by the Israelites when they eventually attacked her city.  Is it making sense now? James is encouraging believers who are already eternally saved to activate their faith so the God of salvation can prove He loves to daily save people in their time of need. And when we obey God we are trusting God to save us also in our time of need. That’s all James is saying. But when James throws in words like dead faith, words like saved, and useless faith like a demon, people get confused and think James is talking about your eternal salvation. James is just saying activate your faith. Don’t let it be useless like a demon faith. He’s just using an extreme analogy that’s all. He’s not saying you’re going to hell like a demon if you’re not doing works along with your faith. He never says that but that’s what people assume. I think about our faith this way. Our faith is not always active. Sometimes our faith is dead and sometimes it’s alive. When you are on Facebook and you see the ad from the Salvation Army to donate to the hurricane relief fund and you decide to continue to scroll down, ignoring it, your faith is dead at that moment. In that moment you have chosen not to activate it. It’s like a car that just sits in your driveway. Our faith is a gift from God and like a brand new car it is just waiting for us to drive it. There will be times we don’t drive it but it doesn’t mean it’s not there. So it is with our faith. God wants it not to stay in the driveway and be useless but God wants us to put the key in the ignition and turn it on. We are always eternally saved by a faith alone. But as believers, we get to practice our faith publicly so God can publicly make known His everyday salvation to others and to us. God loves to save people. Whether it’s eternal salvation or temporal such as saving someone from hunger and giving a poor person a meal.  I know this is a different outlook on this verse but when you see it this way, isn’t it liberating? Doesn’t it take the pressure off of us to save our souls? Our response to God is obedience but it’s not so we can prove we are truly saved, it’s all so God can prove that He truly saves.  So, the next time you’re struggling financially but you know of someone who just lost their job, activate your faith and give. Trust God to meet the needs of those you are giving to and expect Him, to rescue you in your time of need. Remember, God is in the business of saving, our part is to be that vehicle that He uses to do so. The more we activate our faith, the more we will get to experience God’s amazing love and plan of salvation He has for others and in our lives as well. Hey, I get it, not every believer will agree with me on this and my intentions are not to divide or win any debate. My encouragement to you is to activate your faith so God can show you how He will bless you and meet your needs as you allow Him to use you to bless and meet the needs of others. So what are you waiting for?  God has given us a gift, that gift is a shiny new car called faith. Don’t just let it sit in the garage. Show it off. You don’t have to concern yourself so much on how it works, that’s on Him.  All we get is the joy and privilege of participating with Him as we press down on the gas pedal of our faith, following His directions as we head down the narrow road of our salvation.

Psalm 143:1-2 English Standard Version (ESV)

My Soul Thirsts for You

A Psalm of David.

143 

Hear my prayer, O Lord;

    give ear to my pleas for mercy!

    In your faithfulness answer me, in your righteousness!

Do you hear that? It’s the desperate plea from a man who is on the verge of death. His enemies have all but crushed his soul, feeling hopeless, he calls out to God for mercy. I’m not a theologian, but perhaps these enemies are from the consequences of his adultery and his sins. Maybe that’s why he calls out to God for mercy. I like how he cries out for God to answer Him and come to His aid in God’s faithfulness and in God’s righteousness. Not in his. How many of us our taught that if we just clean up our act and do the right things, we can call out to God and He’ll save us? But I love how David doesn’t ask God to deliver him because of David’s righteousness but he calls out to God and asks Him for deliverance simply because of God’s faithfulness and righteousness. David knew he was undeserving but yet He still believed that God would deliver Him because that is who God is, He is faithful and He is righteous. You may not be surrounded by physical enemies but sometimes circumstances can seem so overwhelming it’s like an army is pursuing you. Sometimes we find ourselves being spiritually attacked and it can seem like the devil finally has the upper hand. Perhaps we have fallen into sinful habits again and our souls feel crushed and defeated. Could God really deliver me? Would He really want to, me a sinner? But I urge you to look at the life of David. This is the man who struggled with sexual addiction and bondage by sleeping with concubines on almost a daily basis which eventually led to him murdering a man just to sleep with his wife, Bathsheba. The consequences of his sins brought about a divided kingdom and a divided family. Even his worst enemies were his own sons, out to dethrone and kill him. Yet despite the consequences of his actions, he still cries out to God for salvation because He knows God is merciful. Remember,  if God can deliver David, a murderer and an adulterer, don’t you think He can deliver us too? God did not see David anymore as a sinner but He saw Him as a man after His own heart.  David repented and God was faithful to forgive Him. When we ask God to forgive us, He remembers our sins no more.  God delivered David from his enemies not because David was righteous or faithful, no, God delivered Him because that is who God is.  If David realized this aspect of God’s mercy, then we too are never too far removed from God to ask Him to rescue us no matter what we might have done in our past. We too can boldly call out to Him to deliver us from our trials because it’s in God’s nature to do so. David may have felt defeated that day but in the midst of his trial, and his consequences, in the midst of his desert, he begins to remember and meditate on how God has been faithful. For he says, in verse five,”I remember the days of old;

    I meditate on all that you have done;

    I ponder the work of your hands.” Maybe for us that’s what we need to do too. When we find ourselves in the midst of despair, meditate on how God has been faithful many times before. We can see His faithfulness displayed all throughout scripture. Meditate and dwell on His promises. They are true and dependable and we can find hope for our troubled souls.  David also recognized the importance of the Holy Spirit. He called out for the Spirit’s presence, for guidance and for direction. In verse 10

“Teach me to do your will,

    for you are my God!

Let your good Spirit lead me

    on level ground!”

The same Spirit found in David is the same Spirit who dwells in you. When we give up our way for His will, it is not us getting our act together, it is us just simply acknowledging we need a higher power to lead us to level ground. Begin again to ask the Holy Spirit to take control once again. The great counselor will teach you. It’s never too late, He will show you a way out.

I don’t know where you’re at right now? Maybe you too feel like you’re in the midst of battle surrounded by death all around and maybe it was caused by your sins, maybe from the sins of others. Wherever you find yourself, remember it’s not over. Cry out to Him, cry out to Him, He won’t abandon you, He will rescue you not because of anything you have done or didn’t do but simply because God is faithful and God is righteous. Let His Spirit show you the way, your deliverance is here. For towards the end of the Psalm, I love how David goes from desperation to confidence again. He says, “you will cut off my enemies” and again he says, “you will destroy the adversaries of my soul”.  It wasn’t maybe God will, it was God will do it. When we realize that our deliverance has nothing to do with our righteousness, when we meditate on God’s faithfulness to us and we surrender our will to the Spirit’s leading, we will find a renewed faith that nothing is impossible with God. So, when life knocks you down, don’t get up, but stay down, on your knees that is and cry out to the One who will hear you because He is faithful and righteous and remember these words of David.

11 

“For your name’s sake, O Lord, preserve my life!

    In your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble!

12 

And in your steadfast love you will cut off my enemies,

    and you will destroy all the adversaries of my soul,

    for I am your servant.”