I should have left you standing. I think we'd better rise again, if you don't mind. LIFE IN CHRIST GOD'S MASTER PLAN THE AUTHOR OF JAMES COUNT IT ALL JOY TIME OF JUDGMENT CHRIST'S FAITH IN US BELIEVE GOD ENTICEMENTS OF THIS WORLD SELLING QUEST MAGAZINE GIVING PEOPLE WHAT THEY WANT INTERESTS OF THE WORLD FROM TEMPTATION TO ACTION GOOD THINGS FROM ABOVE BITS OF LEAVEN DOERS OF THE WORD RESPECT OF PERSONS DRESSED FOR GOD'S PRESENCE REGARDLESS OF CLASS
Eternal, Almighty God, we come before You tonight to thank You for this privilege of having a Bible Study in the midst of Your 'Days of Unleavened Bread' that You have given to us. We thank You for reminding us every year of the meaning — that we must put sin out of our lives, and how it is like leaven. And how difficult sometimes it is for us, especially when we are called here at this time (Your very firstfruits to be called to Your salvation.), with Satan misleading the whole world, and in the kind of world in which we live.
So we ask you, Father, to guide the speaking tonight and the study in Your Word. We ask you to help us to realize the seriousness of coming out of this world and being separate, because even the word "church," which comes from the Greek word ecclesia — it means "called out ones," or it means a group; and it is the Church of God. It's Your group, Your people. So help us to be awake. Help us to understand. I ask You to bless the teaching. Bless those who will hear.
In Jesus' name, Amen.
I've been having Bible Studies a great deal over at Tucson (and I think perhaps you may have heard some of them here) when I've just taken books in the New Testament and gone through chapter-by-chapter, verse-by-verse. I used to preach that way many years ago; and I found that was one of the better ways of preaching, as a matter of fact.
Now you can't read the Bible straight through from beginning to end. There is a story-flow in the Bible in a way. It begins with the creation of man; and it does show how man was offered Life and did not choose it, rather chose to have his own way — because we can only have Life God's way (in the way that will liberate us from troubles, that will free us from pains, and sorrows, and sufferings, and unhappiness of every kind). It is the way of His law, and it is the law of liberty. We're going to see a lot about that tonight.
So Adam did shut not only himself but his whole family — the human family — off from Life. He rejected that Tree of Life and took to himself the knowledge of good and evil; to decide for himself what he thought was right and wrong. Perhaps he didn't realize that Satan was on the throne of the earth. He still is there. No longer the wonderful archangel Lucifer, who was perfect in all of his ways from the day he was created, till iniquity was found in him. But there he was, and Adam was influenced to go his way.
When Adam chose to take to himself the knowledge of what is right and what is wrong, he was influenced by Satan; and he did choose Satan's way of self-centeredness, of getting (instead of giving), of materialism. And he only had a chemical existence. He did not have Life, because in Christ is Life. So we read in the New Testament:
John 1:1-4 In the beginning was the Word [Now the Word was a being, a personage, who is the Spokesman of the Godhead.], and the Word was with God [And God then was another personage, so we have the Two together.], and the Word was [also] God ... . [and] (3) All things were made by him, without him was not any thing made that was made. (4) [But] In him was life ... [He was] the light of men.
John 1:14 [But] The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.
Energy does come out of the ground; and we have a kind of energy that we derive from eating of food and drinking of water, from the breathing of air and from the circulation of blood. That is our existence, and it is not Life. In Ephesians 2 and verse 1, Paul wrote to the Church at Ephesus that you were (while you were Gentile born, you were) "dead in trespasses and sins." They didn't have Life. But we find in 1st John that he that has the Son of God has Life, and he that has not the Son of God has not Life. [I John 5:12]
Now, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God." "All things were made by Him" and "in Him was Life." [John 1:1, 3, 4] Christ came to bring Life. The first Adam came to bring a human, mechanical, temporary existence — which means you are in the process of dying every breath you take, every day you live. And every one of you is one breath away from dying — from death, from being dead. That's all. If you don't take the next breath, you won't live.
We do not have Life! Christ came to bring us Life, but God does not want us to have Life in unhappiness. So God put a law in His government (and you can't have a government without a basic law, or a constitution of some sort). The angels rejected that. The archangel Lucifer rejected it.
That is a way of life. It is a way that will free you from unhappiness, and sorrows, and suffering, and troubles, and unhappiness. It is the only way that will bring you any real happiness, and peace, and joy. It is the way of a filled (fulfilled) life; a life that is filled full. A life that is interesting. A life that is, well, it doesn't need to be absolutely exciting all of the time, but absolutely invigoratingly interesting. That's the kind of life God intended for us to have; but the world doesn't have that kind of life, and never did have.
So the first of these festivals celebrates the Passover, which we did on last Friday night, (a week tomorrow night). The crucifixion of Christ: to take on Himself the penalty we've all incurred by breaking that law and bringing unhappiness on ourselves and on others — because, when you sin, you bring unhappiness on others as well as yourself.
Then we began the seven Days of Unleavened Bread, showing that we must put sin out of our lives. Sin is the transgression of that law. Sin is going the way that is going to harm you and hurt you, that hurts other people, that brings unhappiness and wretchedness ... into the way that frees us from all of those things we don't want. So I thought we'd read a little more about that tonight in one of these Days of Unleavened Bread from the book of James.
He was the pastor of the headquarters' Church at Jerusalem also, and the one who acted as chairman at the meeting that they had there — that you read in the 15th chapter of the book of Acts, where a decision had to be. Actually, it was Peter who made that decision. James, as what you might call (what we would call today) chairman of the meeting at which there'd been much disputing until Peter rose up and settled everything. James merely approved and made official, by his official position as the pastor of the headquarters' Church, the decision.
So James was one of the apostles, and James was one of those who were inspired to write part of the Bible. This book that he wrote is a very important book. Now I don't know whether I'll get past the 1st chapter tonight. I hope we can go to two chapters, at least. I doubt if we'll have time for the whole book; but I'm going to start at the beginning and just go through, as I've been doing. You've heard some of them, I believe, that have been on tape that I've done over, really, in the office that I've built on to my home over in Tucson. But beginning in the book of James, chapter 1. Beginning with verse 1:
James 1:1 James, a servant of God ...
He doesn't say, "I'm the big ... I am. I'm the big boss, and I've got a big high position now." He's just a servant.
Now, other translations translate that "trials" — troubles or tests that come. Sometimes they come from other people. But I think the Greek word here, and that James intended, means (includes) temptations as well as troubles and trials that come from other people. Often they really come from Satan, even though other people are used to bring them.
So "count it all joy." We don't. We don't count it joy. How do you count it when troubles come, when everything is going wrong, when there's real trouble? How did you count it about two and a third years ago now, when the trouble hit the Church? Or was that as bad as when some trouble hits you personally, maybe a real serious financial trouble, something terrible? Do you count it joy? Or are you really troubled, thinking "Oh, boy, that's tough. That's terrible." But he says to count it joy because we're on the way in a transient chemical, temporary existence into LIFE, and there aren't going to be any more troubles when we get there!
And enduring these troubles — in enduring them, and in coming through them through faith in Christ — we become stronger ourselves. And we are stronger characters, and we are going to have that much more that will give us joy and enjoyment in the Kingdom of God and in ALL ETERNITY.
Now God did not put judgment on the world. The world was cut off from Life when He closed the Garden of Eden from anybody ever entering there. He didn't necessarily cut the people off from God. A few could seek Him. Abel was called "righteous Abel" by Jesus. Enoch walked with God. Noah was found righteous. I think, when it says he was "perfect in his generations" [Genesis 6:9], it was speaking of his family perfection by heredity rather than speaking of his character perfection. But he did find grace in God's sight. He was walking with God, and two can't walk together except they be agreed. So God chose him and his family (his wife, their {1} three sons and their wives — a total of eight people) to keep the human chemical existence alive and going.
We don't know much about what happened before the Flood. Very little is given us in the Bible. So God shut off judgment until Christ came. Judgment could not be on Israel. It wasn't. Israel was never offered the Holy Spirit. When judgment is on you, you are being tried and tested to see whether you can gain eternal Life, or whether you are going to reject it. You have to make a choice. You have to decide you really want to LIVE the way that will make you happy and make those around you happy.
If you want to live the way that's going to make everybody else unhappy and cause sorrow and suffering to all kinds of people, as well as yourself, God isn't going to let you have eternal Life. And judgment is then as much an opportunity for salvation. In fact, it's a lot more. It isn't condemnation at all. It's a trying and testing, and we are in a time of trying and testing in the Church.
James 1:2-3 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into [different trials, or] temptations. [We're being tested, we're being judged, every day that we live.] (3) Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.
Now, in other words, you get in trouble. There's only one way out, and that's through faith in Christ. Are you depending on yourself to get out? You probably won't get out of it. But we, who are in the Church, are expected to RELY ON CHRIST to pull us out. "Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all." [Psalm 35:19] So says your Bible. It is through much tribulation we must enter into the Kingdom of God. [Acts 14:22]
So naturally, what is the way we get out of our trials, our troubles, persecutions, or whatever, our temptations? It's living faith. And it's not your faith. It's not a faith you work up. It's not a faith you create and stimulate. It's the faith of Christ that God will put in you through the Holy Spirit. God gives you that faith. You don't have it. It's the faith OF Christ, not your faith in Christ. [Galatians 2:20] It's His faith placed in you by a gift from God. [Ephesians 2:8] Let's get that straight.
James 1:3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith [And it's expected that a Christian is going to use faith when the trials and temptations come.] worketh patience [or, endurance.]
He that endures unto the end, the same shall be saved. We have to overcome these things, if we are going to reign with Christ (putting other scriptures together with it).
James 1:4-5 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. (5) If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not [That is, He doesn't scold or condemn you, or anything, or upbraid you.]; and it shall be given him.
Well, there are conditions — as we'll read on in the next verse. But, you know, one of the first things I learned when I was first converted back in the spring of 1927 (and many of you have been born since that). One of the first things I learned is that I did not have wisdom. I just lacked wisdom. Now I always craved understanding, and I craved knowledge up to a certain extent. I've known others that I think have craved knowledge more than I have. But I wanted understanding, but I found I didn't have wisdom. That's a little different.
Wisdom is the ability to make wise decisions and use that knowledge and that understanding. They sort of go together, but there is a difference or a distinction. So I did ask God. Now I haven't always exercised wisdom; but I have on and off, and I have a good deal of the time. That wisdom (any that I have ever used) has always come from God. I didn't have it naturally at all. It has all come from God.
James 1:6-7 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering [Or doubting. Not doubting at all.]For he that wavereth [or doubts] is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. (7) For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing from the Lord.
You have to believe God. You know, that makes me think of a woman. I was called on one time. It was up in a town south of Eugene, in Oregon, before I ever came to Pasadena; and she asked me to come and pray for her and anoint her for healing. Well, I said, "If I do pray for you and ask God to heal you, and I anoint you, do you think you will be healed?" "Well," she said, "I don't know. If it's God's will, I know He will."
"Oh," I said, "If ... So you have doubt. You are not quite sure then whether it's God's will." "Well," she said, "We can't know His will, can we?" Well, I said, "Do you believe that it is His will to forgive you of your sins?" "Oh, yes. Yes, I know that's His will."
"Oh, you do." Well, I turned back here in the Bible to {2} Psalm 103.
Psalm 103:3 Who forgiveth all thine iniquities ...
I said, "You believe that, because it says so right here?" "Oh, yes. I believe that." I said, "Read the other half of the same sentence." She read it, and I said:
Psalm 103:3 ... who healeth all thy diseases.
I said, "You believe one half of the sentence, but you don't believe God when He says the other part." Well, I don't remember whether she really believed that or not. I think maybe she did and was healed, because a good many people were healed in those days (and since).
Anyway, when God says He will do something, He really means it; and not very many people believe God. We are expected to believe Him. So when He says He will give you wisdom, believe it. Believe it. But if you are going to doubt and waver, don't think you'll expect anything from God at all because you won't. Don't think God is so good He just gives anybody anything and everything they want regardless. Sometimes we want to be better than God, you know. God doesn't do that.
Now he says:
James 1:8-9 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways. (9) Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted.
Now I believe the meaning of that — and the Moffatt translation does make it more plain — that the one who is poor, and in society rated of low degree (He's not a multi-millionaire. He's not man of real great importance or something like that.), he's humble; but he believes in God. And it says a "brother" — it's a member in the Church — so he must believe in God. "Rejoice in that he is exalted." He is exalted by being a son of God. He's a begotten son of God, and that is something to exalt him.
James 1:10 But the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away.
He can rejoice when he's made low in the Lord. But, if he doesn't and he still thinks that he's better than anybody else, he's just like a flower. Well, the next verse explains it — how the wind comes, and what it does.
James 1:11 For the sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat [especially in the summer time], but it withereth the grass, and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth ...
In other words, the beauty and the glory of the flower. I think the Revised Standard, or the Moffatt, is a little more plain there and brings it out: the real glory and the beauty of a rose or many flowers, how beautiful they are. How can a man think up something like that and design it? Yet it grows right out of the ground. God has designed it. We have to have a great Designer, as well as a Creator.
James 1:11 ... and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth: so also shall the rich man fade away in his ways.
Yes, he does. He's soon gone; and he doesn't take his wealth with him, does he, when he dies? If he relies on that, and physical and material goods, he hasn't got very much to rely on; and he's only dying every day he lives. He hasn't found Life yet at all. Remember, it's more important that we find Life.
James 1:12-13 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation [or trials, whichever]: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life [You see, we don't have Life. But he'll receive the crown of Life, which we don't have. We weren't born with it. "Shall receive the crown of life"], which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. (13) Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man.
Now "God cannot be tempted." What are you going to do with the fact that Jesus was here in the human flesh, and was tempted in all points, like as we are, yet without sin? [Hebrews 4:15] Well, the answer to that is that Jesus was Man as well as God. Jesus is now God, and solely God again; and He couldn't be tempted today. Neither has the Father ever been tempted. But Jesus took on the temporary chemical existence of a human life, but there was the Spirit of eternal Life within Him. He did not sin, but He was tempted. But He did die; and He was made mortal for the very purpose of death, as you read in Hebrews [2:9].
In other words, by your own desires. I think ... I don't have another translation here. I haven't checked that. I'm not sure if the other translation used the word "lust." We think usually of "lust" in a sex point-of-view, whereas we usually think (I think) of, oh, the last of the Ten Commandments — coveting — as coveting just material goods or money. But this can be pleasure. Your "lust" there, that will entice you, can be pleasure. It can be going off with other people. It can be anything that other people are doing.
That is the world we live in, and that's where I want to stop and say a few things right there. We are living in a world that is not living by the law of God. We are living in a world that is seeking its own pleasures. It's seeking what it can get in material goods. It wants to get, and not to give. It wants to enjoy life; but it wants to enjoy it physically, materially. And we have it all around us — everywhere, all around us.
Now some people wondered why I brought what looks like about 15, or 20, or 30 newspapers here tonight. Actually, this is just last Sunday's Los Angeles Times. It's only one day's newspaper, and there were about 1,200,000 of them printed. If you stack one on top of the other, I think they'd reach up higher than the Empire State Building in New York (and there are a couple of building higher than that in New York now). But I thought I'd like to just show you a little of this.
Here's the first page, and here's the main news. It's quite a section here, a great many pages. Let's see if I can see — 36 pages, and that's only the first section. There's just all kind of news about what's going on in the world. Always they'll have sort of like a magazine article over in the left hand column, and they have one here about "Come-down Shock, Out of a Job, Transition's Bitter Pill" (some people losing jobs and what a bitter pill it is). That will be man's philosophizing about man's troubles. But here's a picture of President Reagan and his wife, and him raising up a hand, and all that sort of thing; and what's going on in the world.
But I just want to show you: The newspaper has to give the people what they want. We used to have a saying that we used in business years ago. We said, "Jones pays the freight. Give Jones what he wants." That's business, you see. Whatever the people want, give it to them because that's the way to get their money; and business is a case of trying to get money.
Now we come to another section here that's Calendar. That gives you all of the entertainment, the shows, and everything like that. You'll even find, perhaps, one of our own ads in there of some of the fine arts performances that will be on in this auditorium. Now let me see how many pages there are in this. This is about as thick as that first section. The pages must be numbered here someplace. I think this is 30 some pages. I can't find it; but it's very, very thick. And that's just filled with movies, entertainments, this and that and the other thing — people seeking entertainment.
Who are the celebrities in the world? Well, they're over in Hollywood. What are they? They're entertainers. They're entertainers — that's what they are. Now if they live in great mansions, if they have millions of dollars, that's wonderful. Everyone wants them to have that. But they wouldn't want a servant of God to have anything like that.
Now here comes another whole section. This is a pretty good-sized section too. I don't know whether ... now this has 30 pages. (Well, I know that one had more then.) This is Travel. Now that's another thing that people like, is to travel. Boy, do they love that! That's pleasure. Well, let me tell you, I've done more traveling than any of you here I think; and traveling, if you keep it up, is certainly not pleasure. It's one of the most fatiguing, tiresome things there is.
But there is one thing I can say tonight. I spent quite a little time with a man who just flew in from New York. He's going to fly back with us tomorrow. Mr. Gillison, who is in charge of Quest magazine. I let him know in no uncertain terms: I want it sold or we're going to close it; and we're going to do it within ninety days. He pleaded for 30, 60, or 90 days. I said, "Ninety days is the limit." And I said, "We're going to just shut off the money if you don't have it closed by that time." He got the message, although we had a very pleasant conversation.
He'd just come from Israel. He's Jewish, and he knows a lot of people in Israel; and we had quite a lot in common, we found out, because I also happen to have a lot of friends in Israel. So we had a lot to talk about. But I thought maybe some of you would be glad to know. I've been trying to get Quest closed, and I've been stalled. But I'm not going to be stalled any longer. I mean business; and Quest is going to be closed, or we will close it.
If we close it right now, we are stuck with about $1,500,000.00 of subscriptions that have been paid and we have to refund. If we could sell it for $1.00, we would save all of that! So I'll sell it for one dollar [audience laughs] and be glad to do it.
Well, you know that reminds me; I had "the strong man of Europe" — Franz Joseph Straus — in my home, about 10 years ago now, for a dinner. He'd been on the campus here at Ambassador College, and he said that evening was the happiest day he'd ever spent in his life. He just loved everything he saw here. Someone asked him that night, he said, "Look, you're a politician." And, at that time, I think President Nixon had just been elected. I believe it was Nixon's election. I mean he had just taken the oath of office, the inauguration. Someone said, "While he was holding up his hand and swearing with one hand on the Bible to defend the Constitution, what do you think was going on in his mind?" He said, "Why, how to be re-elected the next time, of course."
A politician is always thinking how to be re-elected or how to step up to another higher political office. You know, we've had politicians in the Church. They wanted a higher office all the time. Moses had some politicians with him. One of them was named Korah. Did you ever hear of him? He had a pretty good position, but he wasn't satisfied. He wanted a higher one. Moses said, "You weren't satisfied with what God gave you. You wanted a lot more." So Moses didn't punish him. Moses didn't have to. God took care of that. He just let the earth open up and swallow up Korah and all of his group, and cover them up. They were well buried.
Well, now we come to another. Here's what people get. The newspaper gives people what they want. What are they interested in? This is what the world is interested in. Well, here's a San Gabriel Valley section. Now if you lived in another area around here, you'd get a different section. I see there's second section in that, which is the classified just for the San Gabriel Valley.
Now next we come to a real estate section. Well, people are interested in homes and things like that. Of course, now, that might be perfectly all right. There might not be any worldliness or anything wrong. Even we could be interested in that. But there's quite a real estate section here, two sections really. The first one is 28-pages. Well, I guess its 54 pages all together in that section about real estate.
Then we come to a section here that is News Features: legal services agency battles something, Reagan attempts to cut something off. It gets into politics and some more of the world's interests, but there's certainly nothing about God in it. I can promise you that. Here's a section I don't find any heading to, but there's another section here of ... I don't know whether this is all together. Its 44 pages, whatever it is. Maybe it is part of that other section. Anyway, it's a 44-page section. Now this I think is just a lot of ads in a color kind of a brochure. A lot of people stick a lot of flyer ads in there, and here's some more of that.
And, of course, we've got to have the funnies or it wouldn't be a newspaper. The kids like that. I used to like them. The funny thing is that some of the funnies that were in the paper when I was a little boy are still running. I don't think the same men are still drawing them, because they've grown old and died before now; but someone else is doing it. Oh, I see Andy Capp here. Is that a take-off on Al Capp? I haven't read a funny paper in years. So I don't know what they are doing, but that's got to be in every Sunday newspaper.
Now we come to one that is called View. Now here's quite a section. I think it gives people's point of view. Everybody has his view. "Well, I tell you, my view on that is thus and so." Another guy says, "Well, my view is a little different." And they never can agree. Well, in the Church, Paul tells us that we must all be of one mind; and we must all speak the same thing. And, if we get God's truth, we will. But in the world they've got all the views in the world. So here's the View section, and they waste 28 pages on that.
Now we come to Opinions. Besides Views, they've got Opinions. Well, now what's your opinion? "John (or Dick, or Fred, or whoever you are), what's your opinion?" "Here's my opinion; and I think this, and I think so-and-so. Well, I'll tell you, what I think is so-and-so." Everybody has what he thinks. He has his opinion. He has his view. And they don't agree because they just don't know the truth. So this is quite a section too. "Poland steps back from the brink, barely, just barely." It's not so thick as some of them, but at least it's got opinions in it; six pages. It's another section.
Now this is just one day's newspaper. Now we come to one on Business. You've got to have a lot of business, because people have got to make money off of you; and so people are interested somewhat. At least, some people are interested in some kinds of business; and they have 26 pages they wasted on that here.
And now we come to Sports. Boy, all the men want sports. I noticed at home they'll take the Sports section out every morning and put it over on the breakfast table for me; and I don't find much I'm interested in sports any longer. But I did used to be, but as I get older I think less about it. Oh, I see here Nicolas blew the lead in a hurry in another tournament. He didn't make it. Well, the week before it looked like he might have won; but he didn't. I did watch the headlines on that. Of course, that's mostly for men; but women are getting an interest in sports now. That's more entertainment. That's all entertainment.
Then we come to a magazine here. Of course, they've got to slip a magazine into a weekly newspaper. This is a whole magazine, a lot of nice colored printing in it. Let me see if I can tell how many pages. I think there are more pages in it than there are in The Plain Truth. Well, I can't find a number.
All to interests people in the things of this world: things that are material and physical, and just pleasures and sports, and all of those things. Now we come to Classified Ads. Of course, you've got to have a lot of those. Here's one section of 22 pages. I started in the advertising business selling classified ads, when I was 18 years old. You didn't know classified ads are sold. Well, they are. I didn't know it until then either. Now here it looks like there are 2 or 3 more sections of classified ads. That's bigger than most newspapers ought to be.
I get most of the news in the first 10 or 15 minutes of either CBS, or NBC, or ABC World News Tonight, or whatever they call it. I get it condensed. I have to use a magnifying glass when I read, and so I don't read so much. Well, there are 3 sections of want ads. That's really ... That's thicker than most newspapers. Now that's one day's newspaper. That's what people are interested in.
But every soap opera has its villain woman. She is really a dirty kind of a woman. She's mean. She just is deliberately mean. She tries to deceive the others. She pretends. She's a rotten, dirty hypocrite. So they have someone that can act that part; and I don't think it's very hard to find woman that can do that, or men either for that matter. I'm not just saying that against women. I think that's true of all humanity. But they have that.
Then, of course, you have to have a lot of violence. It seems like people just love to watch violence. People love to watch a prizefight. Why? Why do they want to watch someone try to pummel another guy's brains out?
I tell you, in the World Tomorrow we are not going to watch any prizefights at all. Are you going to miss it? You want to say, "I don't want to be in the World Tomorrow"? There won't be any prizefights. We're going to try to protect the other person's brains and his head. Of course, I hope that WE will be composed of Spirit and not of mortal flesh then. We'll be helping those people that do have mortal flesh.
But you find everything on television. Women have got to look sexy. I don't know whether men do or not. I don't know what would be a sexy looking man. I just don't know. But I guess women find some men are sexy looking. Anyway, they appeal to sex; and they appeal to violence. Or they have the soap operas, I think, deal primarily with problems that you have in the home; and, in this world, it's the kind of problems the world has. It's always troubles, trouble, trouble. Well, God deliver us from those things; and He will, in due time. He will.
James 1:14 Every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
You see, at first you just look at it a little bit. Then you get a little more interested. If you put it out of your mind right away, then you are rid of it. But as long as you let it just kind of hang on a little bit, it begins to get you. Now James explains that here. It's one of the best explanations of how you get into sin that you can find anywhere.
James 1:15 Then when lust [Or this desire for whatever he's looking at, and he begins to want it. It's always of the physical, or fleshly, or materialistic desire, or for pleasure, or for something like that. When it ... ] hath conceived ...
Now, finally he's enticed if he looks. Then it conceives. I've had that happen to me, and I remember back in past life some things I've done that I shouldn't have done. I was tempted, and finally I just gave in. Maybe it was something that others were doing, and I finally kind of went along with them; and I shouldn't have done it.
Why do most women smoke cigarettes? Because other women around them do. Why do men start? Why do young fellows start smoking cigarettes in their teens? Because the others do, and they feel ashamed not to go along with them. Of course, they're proud to say, "Well, I'm no saint. I want you to understand that. I'm no saint." Yes, they can brag about that! But they would never want to say, "I am really trying to live the kind of life Christ wants me to live." They'd be ashamed to say that. They like to brag about how naughty and how wicked they are. That's what they like to do.
So finally, if you look at it and if you let your mind dwell on it a little bit, it conceives. Then comes the action that is sin. Now it's not sin until you finally give in. But how many times have you done it, every one of you? Think about your own life and think back. How many times have you done it?
James 1:15 When lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.
Now we have a temporary, mechanical, existence in this life. It's only going to last so long. It will bring that death, and your death is going to be eternal. If judgment is on you now, you are having your chance right now. You are being tried and tested for the final result right now — every one of us, if we are in God's Church.
You don't find it in the things in that newspaper. You don't find it in the things on television. You don't find it in the things of this world around you, and we are living in this world. They throw sex at you, and they throw these entertainments at you, and they throw interests at you EVERYWHERE in the world! Now in the World Tomorrow they aren't going to have that. There isn't going to be any Satan around. You see, judgment hasn't come on the world yet; but it has come on us, and we have a little harder job than the people that are not converted.
I heard some people say, that were employed right here on this campus, "Well, I'm not converted. I can do things against you, and I can lie and do whatever I want to do. I can cheat. I can lie. I can steal. I can do anything. But you're a Christian. You can't do it. I'm going to get you." Yes, that's happened here. That's come to me. Isn't that wonderful? "I can do all of the things that are going to make me suffer and make others suffer. You can't do that thing. You are a converted Christian." Well, some people are absolutely foolish. Simpletons! They lack sense in their upper story. They just do, because it doesn't make sense.
James 1:17 Every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
God is just steady, going right down the one line all the time — the right line — the line that leads to peace, the line that leads to real happiness and joy and a filled full life. You'll be filled with a lot more real peace and happiness and joy than you get on the kind of things you find tempting people in that newspaper, or that you find on television, or that you find in the world. But people want all the things they can get in this world. Some will say, "Well, I'd better get all I can get now, while I can get it, because pretty soon I won't get it. Maybe I'll have to go into that Kingdom of God." Or do you feel that way? Well, I hope you don't.
James 1:18 Of his own will begat he [that is, God "begat He"] us with the word of truth ...
That is, we are begotten. We are not born yet as God beings, but we are BEGOTTEN to become GOD BEINGS! We will become God personages. I wonder if we really realize that. Do we? Do we really realize that? Has that ever really gotten through to us? And it comes through the Word of Truth right here. {3} These words are never going to mislead you. They are the right way.
James 1:18 Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
You see, judgment is first on the Church. Judgment never came to ancient Israel. Judgment never came to people until the Church, until Christ. You see, it's a chemical existence that came with Adam, but Life comes with Christ. The only ones were the prophets of the Old Testament that were sort of "begotten of God" a little before the time, for the writing of the Old Testament. They were.
Are we like that? How do we do? This is telling us what some of the leaven is that we need to get out of our hearts and out of lives. Most of us like to talk, and sometimes I think women like to talk better than men do. I don't know why. I know quite often I get letters; and it will be from a husband and wife, but the woman will write it. That's not always true. When I get letters from one of our ministers, it's usually the minister who writes it. But just members, or other people, I find often it's the wife who does it. And women certainly can gab and talk when they get together. Well, maybe that's all harmless; and maybe it's just fine. You'd better be sure it is! But here he says:
James 1:19 Let every [It's not just man. It says "man" here, but it's every person.] ... be swift to hear, slow to speak, [and] slow to wrath.
Be slow to get emotions aroused and start answering back real heatedly. A lot of us can go to work on that point. That's another bit of leaven a lot of us can get out of our lives. A lot of them are mentioned right here in James.
James 1:20-21 For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. (21) Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness ...
... and all of this careless kidding and speaking that people get into. You know, I can't imagine Jesus doing that and telling a lot of dirty jokes and things like that. I can't imagine that. He never did it. How many of you ever heard me tell a dirty joke? Raise your hands. I don't see any hands going up, because you wouldn't be telling the truth if you raised your hand because none of you have ever heard me tell a dirty joke. I just don't tell them, and I don't keep them in my mind.
James 1:20-21 For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. (21) Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and [I read this, I guess.] superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.
Now, what is a soul? A soul is the physical human body breathing air. God made, formed, man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life (or existence, chemical existence), and man (made of the dust of the ground) became a living soul. So a soul came from the dust of the ground.
Now, you notice here that the Word of God is able to save our souls — our breathing selves; and we won't be souls made out of the dust of the ground any longer. We are not immortal souls, but we can become immortal spirit beings and God beings.
Now, just reading it is not enough. We have to be a DOER of it. It's as many as are led by the Spirit of God that are the sons of God. Not those that read about it. It takes a lot of doing. It's the way you live. It's what you do and how you do it.
James 1:22-24 Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. (23) For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer [He's just heard about it, but he doesn't do it.], he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass. (24) For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. [He doesn't do anything about it.]
Now, I've always likened that to ... I've used that when people used to bring up to me, years ago, they used to bring up a passage of Scripture back here in Romans {4}, the 3rd chapter and verse 20.
Romans 3:20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight ...
By the deeds of the law, no flesh shall be justified. Now people that believe in Sunday instead of Saturday, they certainly will shout that at you. I use to have that so much more in the early days up in Eugene, Oregon, before we even started the college down here in 1947. There was a lot of controversy about the Sabbath, much more than we hear today; and they would use Scriptures like this: No flesh can be justified by the works of the law, or the "deeds."
It's not speaking of the works of the law here (the 'ergon') but doing the way. It's speaking here of God's spiritual law. Some places, especially in Galatians, it's speaking of the physical law of rituals and not the spiritual law — the Ten Commandments. But here it is undoubtedly speaking of the Ten Commandments.
Romans 3:30 Therefore by the deeds of the law [The Ten Commandments, by doing it.] [you shall not] be justified [not in God's sight]: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
Now, I've used this very thing that James says many a time; and people could understand it. I said in almost any woman's purse you will find a little mirror. She takes out the mirror to look at her face, and then maybe she takes out a powder puff, or maybe she takes out some of her make-up stuff and uses it; but she looks at her face. Now by the use of a mirror, looking, no faces will be washed clean (or no faces will get painted and made up either by the use of the mirror). It only shows you what is there, or what is needed. That's all. That's what the law does. You see, James explains it here.
Or, if any one is a hearer of the Word and not a doer, he's like some man that beholds his face in a mirror. He sees what's wrong, but he doesn't do anything about it. The law tells us when we are sinning. It tells us what sin is. You can only be justified through the blood of Christ, BUT justification comes as a result of repentance and beginning to be a doer from that time on. Don't sin any more. Come out of sin. That's why we are having the seven Days of Unleavened Bread — to show us we are NOT to continue IN SIN. Every one of you people there, all of you, you are sinners — every one of you. So am I.
That makes me think of the drunk who was walking on the side of the street. Someone came up and said, "You're drunk." "Yep," he said. "I know it. So am I." Well, we are all sinners; but we don't need to go on in sin. And that's what we are having to learn this week — that we put sin out of our lives. We look into God's perfect law, and it says "law of liberty." Now I've been saying a lot about that tonight, since I came up here. It's a law of liberty. It will liberate us from all of the unhappiness, and all of the pains and sufferings that are so present in this world. It is a law of liberty. It liberates us from the worse kind of slavery that anyone can suffer.
"He beholdeth himself ... he goeth his way," and he forgets all about it. It didn't do any good then to find it. If you just see the law, and you read it and don't do anything about it (you go your way and forget about it), you'll never get into God's Kingdom.
James 1:25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein [We have to be a doer of it.], he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.
Now you still need the blood of Christ to cleanse you from all the sins that are past. You still need the Holy Spirit to help you to walk with God and to overcome, and open your mind to understand the Bible to know what is the way you have to walk and the way you have to live.
James 1:26-27 If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain. [So there are a lot of religious people that still don't have truth.] (27) Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.
"Unspotted from the world." How much of the world do we let into our lives, brethren? I just wanted to bring that before you tonight. I think we need to think about that. My watch is in hock back in Tucson. I borrowed one, and I couldn't read it. I bought another one, and I'm not sure I can read it. Well, I see that we've got 15 more minutes. I'm going to start on into the next verse, the next chapter; but we may not get through it. But let's continue. James is one of the real important books of the Bible, and I think it gets neglected a great deal of the time.
You notice it's not your faith in Christ. It's the faith OF Christ in you. I want you to notice that. That's in Galatians the 3rd chapter and other places too in the Bible — that we need the faith OF Christ. You don't need to work up your own faith. Just believe what God says, obey God, and ask Him to give you the same faith that Christ used to walk on water.
Now that doesn't mean you're going to walk on water. I think it would be a little bit of nonsense if you tried to. There's no reason why we should. There was a reason why Jesus did. But we should not have respect of persons. Now he goes on to explain that a little bit:
James 2:2-4 For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment; (3) And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, ["Oh you stand over there:]or [you] sit here under my footstool [And you distinguish between them. You show respect to the one and not to the other.]: (4) Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?
Now, I have to explain a little bit of some things. That is assuming that the poor man came in and that's all he had (and the best he had); but his mind was all right, and his heart was all right. The other man was overly dressed, had a gold ring and extra fine clothing and things like that. Just because of position, we are not to show respect of persons.
It makes me think of the time over in Jerusalem; and this was, ah ... As a matter of fact, this was on December 1, 1968. {5} I remember the date because I had promised them, in Jerusalem, that we would be back on December 1 to give them an answer about the archeological project and going into it; and that's when we started it — {6} December 1, 1968.
We were to have a meeting with the president of Israel — President Shazar. He has since died, and there have been two other presidents since; and I, of course, know them both. But I don't believe I had met President Shazar before this time; but we were to have a meeting with him, and give our answer. Well, I was with Dr ... Oh, what is his name? Now I'm thinking Moshe Kohl and ... Why I can't remember names? Here are men that I've known and that have been here on this campus. Ah, anyway, he's one of the leading professors in the Hebrew University.
You know, over in Israel they dress very casually. Israel is a country of more-or-less poor people, in a way. There are not very many wealthy people in Israel. They are having a hard time, and their taxes are terrific over there for the government. They have to make every sacrifice in the world for their country. So they don't dress up much over there.
Well, anyway, this professor (or Dr.), oh, Aviram — Dr. Aviram ... We met him in his office, and we started walking down the hall. We got halfway down the hall of his building (the building he was in), and he stopped and he said, "Wait a minute. I've got to go back and get a jacket on." He said, "I'm going into the presence of the president. I must have a jacket on." He was just going with his bare shirt, so he went back and put a jacket on. Well, normally, he wouldn't have done that; but going into the presence of the president, he had to dress up a little better.
Well, we come into the presence of Jesus Christ and the presence of God Almighty (the Father) when we come to Church; and I've had to write things about it. Now Jesus Himself, in a parable, gave us a title — a man that came without a wedding garment. He could have had it. He just was slouchy and didn't care how he came, and he was cast out.
So it doesn't mean that you come dressed any old way. On the other hand, it doesn't mean that you must come dressed up with something better than you can afford to have. It does mean you dress up respectably with the best you have, of what you have. Now, of course, coming to Church we don't come in full evening tails and all that sort of thing.
I had some tails made because I thought I was going to have to wear them when I had an audience with the Emperor of Japan. I did have to have tails of a kind in a morning coat. You couldn't be admitted without it. I had to have it. But real tails and white tie, I have never worn in my life. So you don't have to come in something like that. I never have.
But we should dress modestly and properly when we come into the presence of God. So this is not saying anything contrary to that. It is showing that we assume here that the man, who comes in with poor clothing, just doesn't have anything better. Well, then we should be just as kind to him as we are to the rich man that came in with something else.
Rich people, well to me they are a dime a dozen, if you know what I mean. I've known a great many of them. I did business only with the heads of big industries when I was 22-years-old, until I was 30. I have known so many multi-millionaires and so many men of that kind that they became common. Now the first time I ever met a millionaire and walked into his office to have a talk with him, I was just frightened. I was only 19-years-old, and I had never been in the presence of a millionaire before; and that really was frightening. But I finally got used to it. You know, I found out they are just human beings — like I am, and like you are. Some of them have been a little more successful than others. Some of them made ... at least a business, as the world counts it; and they have a little more money, but that's all.
Anyway, we should not be a respecter of persons because of class or snotty stuff of that kind. Now in England, they don't have it so much anymore; but they did have class distinction over there. For example, when I first went to England in 1947, even then no man could go to university unless his father had before him. They were snobbish, and they kept class distinctions. I think that's pretty well gone in England now. I hope so.
Now that does not mean that God wants you to be poor. Jesus ate with, and had meetings with, the rich. He did. But He also did with the poor. He just didn't make a distinction. He was there to serve, and to help, and to be a minister regardless.
And most of the men of God in the Bible were very wealthy men — Job, Abraham, Joseph. Many of them were very wealthy men, honored by God. God prospered those men, blessed them in whatever they did, because they were serving God.
I still have that sore throat, and it bothers me a little once and a while. I'm going to have to stop pretty soon. Well, I think that's a pretty good place to stop right there anyway. I don't think my throat should take any more. I'll leave that there, and someone can just throw that paper out. I don't think we need it any more now. [Audience laughs.] It served its purpose tonight. I don't know whether it did Sunday, or not.
Anyway, it's nice to be with you again. I don't know that I should have come over. I still have the temperature, sore throat, and the head cold; and it seems it's this Russian flu. I have been anointed. God will heal me. He doesn't always say He's going to do it this minute though. But I am flying on to New York tomorrow morning. I hope to preach over there Sabbath afternoon. Mr. Bob Fahey will go along, and he will preach in New York in the morning service; and hope to come back Saturday evening, and to be back with you.
Now, I think that we are planning to have the senior students in three different groups — I believe beginning Sunday night at my home (That will be announced to the senior students.) and then Tuesday and Thursday of next week — because the following week (I believe it's on Tuesday.) we leave for Australia and New Zealand. I haven't been down there for a good many years. I'm going to preach to as many of the brethren down there as I can. I hope we won't be gone but a little over two weeks, two and a half or something like that, whatever it is. Anyway, we will be back.
I still would appreciate your continued prayers. I do need them. And you have mine. So I'll make that a deal between us — that we pray for one another, and that we continue to love one another. And continue to love the God who first loved us — and loved us (as Jesus did) enough to die for us, and (God the Father) enough to give His only begotten Son to die for us. It's a wonderful thing to have the knowledge of the Truth.
And how God has blessed us in this Church! Here we are in the finest auditorium in the world. Just think how God has blessed us and given these things to us. We don't deserve it. I don't deserve any of it. I don't think any of us do, but God has blessed us. Let's thank Him and praise Him for His blessings, and the way He has blessed us, and what He has done. Let's continue to serve Him. Let's continue to get that leaven out of our lives all we can, and come out of this world. So good night, until I see you next time.
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