It seems some articles that point to real issues are becoming more frequent. I’m often seeing more than one a week.
You might check: Unbelief, unrighteousness and God’s wrath
Posted on January 19, 2019 by Mike Ratliff
It opens with: 5 But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, Romans 2:5 (NASB)
Refers to the Hegelian Dialectic.
BTW our pastor gave a good sermon on the close of James chapter 1. Speaking to most all the points in the text and pointing out the critical place of God’s word the Bible in understanding what James is saying.
We all know: James 1:22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
But the word “Word” is use 3 more times in the chapter.
Jas 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.
Jas 1:21 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.
Jas 1:23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:
We also speak about listening and speaking, and later controlling our tongue 👅 and that is a good thing. But do we miss the emphasis on wrath and God’s righteousness and our sin?
Jas 1:19 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:
Jas 1:20 For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.
Jas 1:21 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.
We see this even here in the last part of the last verse:
James 1:27 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.
Paul in another book gives us some useful insight on how to stay focused:
2Ti 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
2Ti 3:17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
It’s likely he and James had a few conversation about this 2,000 years ago.
BTW I made my own comment to Mike’s blog post mentioned above, maybe this is relevant?
I read some years ago about how the small group or community group process was actually being use purposefully to remold the group consensus. This can work in both churches and school boards and other places. It involves isolating those on the “wrong” side to silence them and/or convert them to the “greater” consensus. The concept goes by the name “Delphi method”…..and it is use more often than we think.
Another recent change that has taken place is the revision of the words righteousness and judgment into the “Justice” movements.
Old King James Bible has the word “Justice” use only 28 times, of which it is used in the same verse as Judgment” the majority (20) times. “Judgment” is however used in 285 verses.. In fact, H4941 (KJC) משׁפּט mishpâṭ Total KJV Occurrences: 417. Even the related word H6664 (KJC) צדק tsedeq Total KJV Occurrences: 117 is most often translated as some form of “Rghteousness”.
If you examine a good new modern translation like the ESB many of these words are now “Justice”. Is it possible that the King James translators made such a great error? Or is this part of a not so subtle shift of focus from God’s “Judgments”, something that nobody wants; or God’s “Righteousness” which speaks of truth and is not so acceptable in a Relativistic Culture.
Yet today we hear the endless cry for “Justice”, most often in a demanding way. There are valid times when justice is needed, but what we probabally really need is “Mercy”. Whatever happened to: Luke 18:13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.
BTW Happy to see you left out the final Romans 1 verses, they are too “Judgmental” and are summed up with: Romans 1:32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.
Someday I have to read NT Wright’s book on the “New Perspectives of Paul” perhaps he has corrected the old false views of what Paul’s letter once told us.
Luckily we have the remaining 15 chapters to get the full story.
Rainbow Trout 