Life On the Level: The Art of Biblical Balance

Jon Lands

Description

Many years ago, the Flying Wallendas were performing with the Circus and were quite a attraction wherever they performed their high wire act. In one city in which they performed, the local weather reporter asked the patriarch, Karl Wallenda, "May I give the weather report on the high wire?" Karl agreed.

The big moment came; the reporter stepped out, balanced, and gave a quick weather forecast. In an instant, the commercial break came and the reporter asked, "Mr. Wallenda! How do I step back, right foot or left foot?" In his haste to make high viewer ratings rather than be safe, the reporter was completely unaware of his new difficulty. Karl Wallenda said, "Son, you can't back up—you have to step forward." The nervous reporter said, "Mr. Wallenda, I can't do that; I have never walked the high wire, beside I am one step back from where I started." Wallenda said, "You've got thirty-three steps in front of you and it is safer to take thirty-three steps forward than one step back. Don't be afraid, I'll be right behind you."

The principle is true if you are going to live life on the level. Don't be afraid—and step forward. The Epistle of James teaches us about balance so we may walk forward with Jesus, no matter where He guides you. This book, and its study of James, will help you keep your balance as you walk across the high wire of the Christian life. Remember, it is easier to keep your balance walking forward rather than stepping backward. Can't you hear Christ whispering in your ear words of encouragement? Take another step and trust Him as you live Life on the Level.

Sujets

• Religion
• Christianisme
• Christian Living
• Inspirational
• Philosophie et théologie

Informations

• Publié par: eBookIt.com
• Date de parution: 15 août 2013
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780985463359
• Langue: English

Extrait

Life on the Level: The Art of Biblical Balance
 
Copyright © 2013 by Jonathan E. Lands
 
Published in eBook format by Gethsemane Press
Converted by http://www.eBookIt.com
 
ISBN-13: 978-0-9854-6335-9
 
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
 
Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Holy Bible.
 
Library of Congress Control Number: 2013944623
Hardcover ISBN: 978-0-9854633-4-2
Softcover ISBN: 978-0-9854633-2-8
 
For more resources by Jon Lands go to www.TheWordForLifeRadio.com
 
Follow Jon Lands on Twitter @PastorJonLands
DEDICATION
To all who desire to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with their God (Micah 6:8)
INTRODUCTION
Every circus has one—a tight rope act. But none can match the Flying Wallendas. For nearly 60 years, the Wallendas’ awesome and astounding high wire balancing acts have left audiences breathless. It is amazing that within all the chaos of the circus all eyes stay focused upon one man who balances himself to walk across a wire surrounded by empty space.
It is unbelievable to see the Wallendas or any high wire act perform with “the greatest of ease.” The reason they are at ease is that they have learned the fine art of balance. They have honed their walk in such a way that no distractions from the crowd below or the circumstances around them disrupt their balances. They find their balance one step at a time.
In much the same way, the Christian life is a high wire feat that requires focused balance and dogged determination. A simple look in the wrong direction can cause us to lose our balance and fall from our focused walk with God.
The question we must ask is, “How do we strike that balance in the three-ringed circus of everyday living?” Yes, we are Christians, but we are Christians with tempers that sometimes get the best of us. Yes, we are sinners who have experienced grace from God, but we often have a hard time extending that grace to other sinners around us. Life on the Level is a practical commentary and exploration of the book of James. James addresses some of the very real-world issues that we all face in our day-to-day living.
My study of James revealed to me an interesting truth. This epistle is the only one to give a directly worded warning to the problems of double mindedness. The term “double minded” is only found in James. In recognizing that “double minded” is the key word, we gain an understanding that the content of the epistle of James consistently balances two opposites in our daily living. For example:
 
• 1:2 – Joy in service v. Misery in trials
• 1:22 – Doers of the Word v. Hearers of the Word
• 2:5 – Grace toward others v. Prejudice toward others
• 2:14 – Internal Faith v. External Works
• 3:9 – Verbal blessing v. Vocal Cursing
• 3:15-18 – Godly Wisdom v. Worldly Wisdom
• 4:7 – Nearness to God v. Resisting the Devil
 
James understood double mindedness to be a tendency that we all battle. The balance of James’ epistle bears out that double mindedness is not a volitional sin. Rather, it is an inherent struggle with the believer that is the result of the sin nature.
Paul speaks in greater detail of the battle between the flesh and the Spirit in Galatians 5:16-26. He says of this paralyzing state of double mindedness, “For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would” (Galatians5:17).
In Romans 7:15-20, Paul describes in detail his personal inward struggle with this double minded state of living. The very things he rejects he finds he sometimes shamefully embraces, and the things he wishes to embrace seem to slip through his grasp. If the Apostle Paul faced this conflict of the soul, then what are the chances that you and I might face this conflict as well?
While Paul identifies the problem in Galatians and Romans, James offers pointed solutions to striking the balance that enables the victorious Christian life. John Calvin appropriately referred to the Book of James as the Proverbs of the New Testament. James knew that every living Christian would face moments of imbalance in their walk with the Lord or, far worse, spiritual vertigo that could lead to a fall. Therefore, as we begin an in-depth study of James, let each of us heed James’ instruction to “purify your hearts, ye double minded” and live life on the level.
CHAPTER ONE:
Dealing with a Double Mind
“A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.”
- James 1:8
I hate apples. It is a confession that I am not proud to make, but it is true. I absolutely dislike apples—Fuji, Golden Delicious, Jonagold, McIntosh—I cannot bear them. Their soft interior and their waxy skin simply are not palatable to me. You can cut them up into slices, but I still don’t like them. You can peel an apple, but I still won’t eat it—because at its core (pardon the pun) it is still an apple. Yes, my mother repeated to me the old adage, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away,” but the apple does not impress me with its anti-doctor properties. Despite how good they may be for me, I just can’t stand the taste, the texture, or even the look of them.
But one day I experienced a wonderful apple discovery— caramel covered apples! Ah! Things are different now! With all the sugar and sweet taste added to the apple, I am much more disposed to eat it. No longer do I hate apples; instead, I embrace them with an open mouth.
There is only one problem with that, however. The healthy value of the apple to “keep the doctor away” is destroyed by all the sugar added to it. Now the apple is toxic, in a way. No longer will it keep the doctor away, but send me right to him.
I use that silly confession to illustrate what I see happening in the lives of many Christians. This should come as no surprise, because this is exactly what evangelical Christianity is doing in the many pulpits and publications that influence mainstream Christian thought.
Here is the problem in a nutshell, and it is more harmful than whole apples versus candied apples. We are taking something good—God’s wisdom—and trying to mix it with fleshly—worldly—wisdom in an effort to sweeten it up, to make it more palatable to our worldly appetites. This is why we see the foolishness in much of the modern church growth movement. In a human attempt to be relevant, many have lost a holy sense of reverence. The average sermon preached in the mainstream evangelical church is God’s wisdom sugarcoated with human philosophy.
James 3:15-18 warns us about doing such things. When we mix godly wisdom with worldly wisdom, we do not get a better worldly wisdom. Everything is diluted, and then all we have left is worldly wisdom. This is what the Bible calls being double minded.
Before we go any further, let me make another confession. It is more sobering than my apple confession, so prepare yourself. Here it is: I struggle with a double mind. In fact, so do you. Every Christian battles daily with double mindedness. The internal battle between the flesh and the spirit is a very real, very ‘in your face’ reality. Compounding the problem are the external forces like our secular culture and Satan’s attempts to knock us off kilter.
The Greek word translated ‘double-minded’ is dipsuchos. It is a compound word: Di + phsuchos . The word ‘phsuchos’ is the derivative for the English word ‘psychology.’ The word ‘ dipsuchos ,’ which James uses two times in his epistle—the only times it is used in the entire New Testament—is literally translated ‘two souled.’ This doesn’t mean that we are indecisive, despite some translations’ poor attempts to make it clearer. It represents much more. It tells us that there are two wisdoms that we can choose to live by. Verse 8 is intertwined with verses 5 through 7. Observe:
 
“If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth 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 of the Lord. 8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.”
– James 1:6-8
 
Now compare this godly wisdom to another type of wisdom found in chapter 3:
 
“Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom. But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above , but is earthly, sensual, devilish. 16 For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.”
– James 3:13-16
 
We can chose to live by the godly wisdom mentioned in James 1 or the fleshly wisdom mentioned in James 3. The latter wisdom is sensual and devilish. Living balanced in the wisdom of God results in calmer living and a more consistent walk. But pursuing hellish or even human wisdom in addition to God’s heavenly wisdom always results in confused and chaotic lives.
Consider your car. Most likely you have a radio installed in your car. Most likely you will find—at least since 1980—that the radio has two frequencies it can pick up: FM and AM. You can choose to listen to either one. However, there is no in between. You must listen to either one or the other. There is no ‘little’ AM or ‘in between’ FM.
This is very much like the Christian life. You and I can tune in to either godly wisdom or fleshly wisdom, but we can’t do both simultaneously—though we can flip-flop between the two in an instant.
Let me illustrate this in a more familiar way. We go to church and tune into the heavenly broadcast system, but on the way ho