James Above All

 

James

Above All

James with two words makes me stop and think

“Above All” James 5:12

So what is James saying is “Above All”?

Above all, my brothers, do not swear — not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. Let your "Yes" be yes, and your "No," no, or you will be condemned. James 5:12

We are in a Crisis of TRUTH

James says

Let your "Yes" be yes, and your "No," no, or you will be condemned. James 5:12

Jesus says Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one. Matthew 5:37

All of our words should be clear as yes and no

Why are our words important? Because they make up our personal integrity

And in the end we will be judged by our words

I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned." Matthew 12:36-37

What is “Above All”?

Our words, our promises or speech

We cannot afford to be careless with our words  

 

 

Above All

 

James with two words makes me stop and think…

 

“Above All”

James 5:12

 

Is James saying his next point is above, or

greater than, everything else he has said?

 

Is he saying “all” other things in life are secondary

to what he is about to say?

 

Recently, I was in the Smokey Mountains.

 

In the morning I got up early with my brothers

to see the sun rise over the top of the mountains.

 

At first you might think the mountains are above all…

 

 But then realize the sun is above the mountains.

 

We cannot be sure what all is above the sun.

 

 But we find ourselves measuring life by

those things that are higher than other things

and that is where we place its importance.

 

So what is James saying is “Above All”? …

 

Above all, my brothers, do not swear —

not by heaven or by earth or by anything else.

Let your "Yes" be yes, and your

"No," no, or you will be condemned.

James 5:12

James is addressing the very same thing

Jesus addresses in Matthew 5:33-37…

 

 "Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago,

 'Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.'

 But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God's throne;

 or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.

 

Jesus again addresses this issue

in Matthew 23:16-22…

 

"Woe to you, blind guides! You say, 'If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.' You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred? You also say, 'If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gift on it, he is bound by his oath.' You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? Therefore, he who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. And he who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells in it. And he who swears by heaven swears by God's throne and by the one who sits on it.

 

James says above all do not swear or take an oath.

 

James is not talking about

swearing as using foul language…

 

 Yet, we can see this type of language

comes under what is “above all”.

 

It used to be when in America that if you were to

testify in court you would have to take an oath…

 

“I swear that the evidence that I shall give

shall be the truth, the whole truth,

and nothing but the truth,

so help me God.”

 

They call this a “Religious Oath” but more

and more the courts use an “affirmation”

where any reference to God is omitted.

 

In the time James was writing and Jesus was speaking…

 

 People gave importance to their words and

the words of others by connection of an oath.

 

Swearing by God’s footstool the earth

 Matthew 3:35

 

Or, by heaven God’s Throne…

Matthew 5:34

 

Made your words more creditable.

 

What James and Jesus are saying

is truthfulness is above all…

 

PERSONAL INTERGITY

 

Romans 3:9-18 says Jews

and Gentiles are all under sin.

 

There is none righteous no not one…

 

"Their throats are open graves;

their tongues practice deceit."

"The poison of vipers is on their lips."  

 "Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness." 

 

You do not have to teach children to lie…

 

 You have to teach a child to tell the truth.

 

We are born without integrity.

 

We are born with a focus on ourselves.

 

We are hungry or uncomfortable, we cry.

 

We are born with a self-centered focus.

 

We learn at a young age to spin the truth…

 

Whether a half truth, a white lie,

 we are not born with integrity.

 

As we grow up, we make promises we do not keep.

 

There are professions like Politicians, Attorneys,

 Salesmen, News Commentators…

 

 Who have the reputation for not keeping

their promises or spinning the truth.

 

 Paul tells us truth is not enough…

 

 It must be accompanied with love...

 

“Speaking the truth in love”

Ephesians 4:15

 

Ephesians 4:25

“…you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully…”

 

Peter sites Psalms 34:12 in 1 Peter 3:10-11…

 

For, "Whoever would love life and see good days

must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech.

He must turn from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it.

 

We are in a Crisis of TRUTH.

 

James says…

 

Let your "Yes" be yes, and your

"No," no, or you will be condemned.

James 5:12

 

 Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No';

 anything beyond this comes from the evil one.

Matthew 5:37

 

All of our words should be clear as yes and no.

 

Why are our words important?...

 

 Because they make up our personal integrity

 and in the end, we will be judged by our words.

 

I tell you that men will have to give account on the

 day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken.

For by your words you will be acquitted,

and by your words you will be condemned."

Matthew 12:36-37

 

What is “Above All”...

 

Our words, our promises, or speech?

 

We cannot afford to be careless with our words.  

 

 

Scripture Reading

 

James 5:12 NIV

 

12 Above all, my brothers, do not swear — not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. Let your "Yes" be yes, and your "No," no, or you will be condemned.

Above All LOVE

Above All

LOVE

Search for love…

In the 60’s we protested for free love

and millions have been born out of that kind of love

never knowing the love of their father or mother.

Above all love…

Higher love…

Jesus protested for love

and millions have been born into a loving relationship

with God the Father and their fellow man.

If you are a Baby Boomer or remember Wood Stock,

you are aware of the sexual revolution in the 60’s and 70’s.

The 1960s heralded a new culture of "free love”

with millions of young people embracing the hippie ethos

and preaching the power of love and the beauty of sex

as a natural part of ordinary life. 

Hippies believed that sex was a natural biological phenomenon

which should not be denied or repressed.

The term free love has been used since at least

the 19th century^[1] to describe

a social movement that rejects marriage,

which is seen as a form of social bondage, especially for women. 

Much of the free-love tradition is an offshoot of anarchism,

and reflects a civil libertarian philosophy that seeks freedom

from state regulation and church interference in personal relationships.

The word love has become hard to define in our day.

Love is any of a number of emotions and experiences related to a sense of strong affection^[1] and attachment. The word love can refer to a variety of different feelings, states, and attitudes, ranging from generic pleasure ("I loved that meal") to intense interpersonal attraction ("I love my boyfriend"). This diversity of uses and meanings, combined with the complexity of the feelings involved, makes love unusually difficult to consistently define, even compared to other emotional states.

Much of today’s definition of love has 

to do with our personal desires.

“I” love ice cream; 

                                                  “I” love the color red;                                                      

 “I” love for what it does for me.

When the Bible speaks of love,

it uses two words in the Greek.

The one Greek word is Phileo.

This type of love speaks of a friend;

to have affections for.

This is a growing type of love;

this type of love shows appreciation.

When good will is expressed,

this type of love wants to return good will

and as the reciprocation of kindness grows so does the love.  

The other Greek word is Agape,

means a feast of charity, benevolence and affection.

It is used in Romans 5:8;

we are given a demonstration.

It is a benevolence love, it is a love that is given without a reason,

the recipient has done nothing to deserve this love.

It is this word Agape that is used in 1 Peter 4:8,

“Above All, love each other deeply.”

Sin is hurtful, it is offensive and it separates from others.

But Agape love has the ability to go above all offensives

and cover the offender with kindness

in hopes that goodness will change the heart.

Agape love is a big risk taker, but consider this…

Romans 2:4 NIV

4 Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness,

tolerance and patience, not realizing that

God's kindness leads you toward repentance?

  Scripture Reading

1 Peter 4:8 NIV

 8 Above all, love each other deeply,

because love covers over a multitude of sins.

Psalms 103:8-13 NIV

8 The LORD is compassionate and gracious,

slow to anger, abounding in love.

9 He will not always accuse,

nor will he harbor his anger forever;

10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve

or repay us according to our iniquities.

11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,

so great is his love for those who fear him;

12 as far as the east is from the west,

so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

13 As a father has compassion on his children,

so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;

Romans 5:8 NIV

8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this:

While we were still sinners,

Christ died for us.