James 1:18-19 “Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:” When we see ‘wherefore’ in the Bible we need to ask, ‘what for’.
Wherefore means something is being explained that was just spoken Vian about. In this case James was tell- Baptist ‘ n § us that a change has been made Ph . in our lives internally and needs to come to the surface or outside of us. As we continue to read verses 2027 James seems to want us to understand what we were before God entered into our lives. This really isn’t a speech of condemnation, but one is designed to teach believers how to live a Godly life. All too often we falter in our life changing experience. We become satisfied with being less than perfect.
1 Peter 1:15-16 “But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.”
Is it even possible to be holy as God? That was first written to Israel in Leveticus 20:7 “Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the LORD your God.”
There is a book with the title, “What You Do is Who You Are”. I have not read the book, but the title is eye catching. James is reminding us of what we were and what we are to become, while the book implies that what we do defines us.
It begins with James 1:22 “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” That very much corresponds to God’s command to “sanctify yourselves” in Leveticus 20. Sanctify means to set yourself apart from the world, to be different, changed from what you were to what you are to become. Paul speaks of this in Ephesians 4:24 “And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.”
It is kind of like the frog stopping at the tadpole or the butterfly staying as a catepillar. They never reached what was intended for them. A butterfly is transformed when it emerges from its cacoon. There are four stages to the life of a Monarch Butterfly. The egg, the larvae (caterpillar), the pupa (chrysalis), and the adult butterfly.
It is intended that all four stages to reached so that the adult can lay eggs for the next generation. It is the same thing with Christianity. We are refined until our death, as an example to those who will follow. Why stop too soon? Why get comfortable with a little change instead of a complete change?
Sadly, we are creatures of comfort. We do not like conflict. We do not, as a rule, like change that much. Yet as a Christian we are called upon to change from the earthly to the spiritual. Everything in our lives need to be tried by the Scriptures.
Romans 15:14 “And I myself also am persuaded of you, my brethren, that ye also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another.”
That is a drastic change from what we were before Christ came into our lives. ICorinthians 6:11 “And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.”
Notice the “such were some of you”? in what Paul said to the church at Corinth? If we read the full account, then you would find the men and women of Corinth were much like the wickedness of the world today, then a miracle happened. Someone told them about Jesus, His work, His death, His burial, and His resurrection. They believed and were cleansed spiritually, then they had to leave behind old practices, old habits, things that were once acceptable in there lives, but now needed to change to reflect the Saviour living in us.
Colossians 3:6-10 “For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience: In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them. But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:” Put on all of the new man! Do not stop at the caterpillar stage of your life. Do not stop at the chrysalis stage, but move on to the adult, so as to teach others. Do not be satisfied with imperfections! Grow in Grace and the Knowledge of our LORD and Saviour, Jesus Christ!
