There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true. —Soren Kierkegaard. "…truth is true even if nobody believes it, and falsehood is false even if everybody believes it. That is why truth does not yield to opinion, fashion, numbers, office, or sincerity–it is simply true and that is the end of it" – Os Guinness, Time for Truth, pg.39. “He that takes truth for his guide, and duty for his end, may safely trust to God’s providence to lead him aright.” – Blaise Pascal. "There is but one straight course, and that is to seek truth and pursue it steadily" – George Washington letter to Edmund Randolph — 1795. We live in a “post-truth” world. According to the dictionary, “post-truth” means, “relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.” Simply put, we now live in a culture that seems to value experience and emotion more than truth. Truth will never go away no matter how hard one might wish. Going beyond the MSM idealogical opinion/bias and their low information tabloid reality show news with a distractional superficial focus on entertainment, sensationalism, emotionalism and activist reporting – this blogs goal is to, in some small way, put a plug in the broken dam of truth and save as many as possible from the consequences—temporal and eternal. "The further a society drifts from truth, the more it will hate those who speak it." – George Orwell “There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true.” ― Soren Kierkegaard
For the breaking of the power of all the enemies of the church and the defeating of all their designs against her.
Let all who set themselves, and take counsel together, against the LORD and against his Anointed, who would burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from them, plot in vain. Let him who sits in the heavens laugh at them and hold them in derision; speak to them in your wrath, and terrify them in your fury. Psalm 2:1-5(ESV) Give them, O LORD, what you will give them; give them a miscarrying womb and dry breasts. Hosea 9:14(ESV)
O my God, make them like whirling dust, like chaff before the wind; Psalm 83:13(ESV) fill their faces with shame, that they may seek your name, O LORD, Psalm 83:16(ESV) and that they may know that you alone, whose name is the LORD, are the Most High over all the earth. Psalm 83:18(ESV)
Put them in fear, O LORD, that the nations may know that they are but men! Psalm 9:20(ESV) And wherein the proud enemies of your church deal arrogantly, make it to appear that you are above them. Exodus 18:11(ESV)
May all who hate Zion be put to shame and turned backward! Let them be like the grass on the housetops, which withers before it grows up. Psalm 129:5-6(ESV)
Let no weapon fashioned against your church succeed, and let every tongue that rises against it in judgment be confuted. Isaiah 54:17(ESV)
Make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples, and let all that lift it hurt themselves, though all the nations of the earth should gather against it; Zechariah 12:3(ESV) so may all your enemies perish, O LORD, but let your friends be like the sun as he rises in his might. Judges 5:31(ESV)
Lord, let the man of lawlessness be killed with the breath of your mouth and brought to nothing by the appearance of your coming: 2 Thessalonians 2:8(ESV) And let those be undeceived who have long been under the power of strong delusions to believe what is false, and let them love the truth. 2 Thessalonians 2:10-11(ESV)
Let Babylon fall and sink like a millstone into the sea; Revelation 18:21(ESV) and let the kings of the earth who have given their royal power and honor to the beast, Revelation 17:17(ESV) be wrought upon at length to bring them into the new Jerusalem. Revelation 21:26(ESV)
Luke 2:10-12 In this week’s studies, we see that the divine Messiah, the Lord and Savior of the world, has come.
Theme
Sharing This Good News
In yesterday’s study, we concluded by making the point that in identifying Christ as the Lord, we are not only confessing Him to be God, but also our Master.
And the difficulty we have with that is that we don’t particularly want a master. We don’t want a lord. We want to go our own way. We want to live our lives as we choose to live our lives. We don’t want to bow the knee to Jesus. You know, Jesus Himself didn’t let people get away with that kind of thinking. He explained what it meant to follow Him. He said, “If anyone will come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” Jesus is the leader and we must follow Him. He said to people who, on one occasion, were calling Him “Lord,” but disobeying Him, “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and don’t do what I say?” What He meant is that it was impossible to have Him as Lord and disobey Him. If He’s Lord, He must be obeyed. And if He’s Savior, He must be Lord. Jesus didn’t allow anyone to think that somehow they could be saved and do their own thing. But if they were going to be saved, it was going to be by Jesus the Savior, who is at the same time the Lord. And it was impossible to have one part of Him without having the other. By nature we don’t want that kind of Savior, but that’s the kind of Savior we very much need.
Haven’t you noticed that when you try to make your own decisions, you mess things up? This happens even as a Christian, when you know better, when you try to order your own paths, when you try to determine your own course, yet somehow you don’t quite have it all together. You can’t quite determine where you come out because you can’t see the end from the beginning. And what we need is One who is not only the Savior and the Messiah, but One who is Lord and who, because He is Jehovah Lord, is able to guide us infallibly and provide the will and the power we need to walk that way.
Now I have just two more thoughts as we close. I want you to notice first that when we talk about the birth of this kind of a personage, it would be quite conceivable that it would be such an important thing, that it would be beyond and above us. Maybe it’s something for the great of this world to know about, but certainly nothing for common people. Actually the opposite was the case. Here was the birth of the most important Person the world has ever seen, and it was announced, not to the kings in their hidden chambers, but to the shepherds in the fields of Bethlehem. And the One they were invited to come and see was not a king perched upon some lofty throne, but a baby in a manger whom they could see, and touch, and hear, and in whose very presence they could bow down.
I wonder if you understand that about Christianity. Christianity is not something that is remote, because Christ is not remote. You know, when Paul was in Athens and was talking to the Athenians, he said, “God is not far from every one of us.” And when Paul came to write to the Romans, he said, speaking along the same lines, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who shall ascend up into heaven?’ as if to bring Christ down, or ‘Who will descend into the deep?’ that is, to bring Christ up from the dead. What does the Scripture say? It says, ‘The Word is near you. It’s in your mouth and in your heart.’ That is the Word of faith we’re proclaiming. And if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it’s with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it’s with your mouth that you confess and are saved.” The joy of Christmas is as easy to experience as that. It’s a matter of heart response to the work of Him who is the Savior, and the Messiah, and the Lord.
And then I have this final thought. This joy of the shepherds was a very personal thing. Here was the God of the universe in the form of a baby, brought up close and personal to them. But it wasn’t exclusively personal. They were to take that message, which they had received, and proclaim it to all others who also need to hear it.
In other words, their joy was for everybody. We sing about it. We sing, “Joy to the world,” not just “Joy to me.” And the angels said this as well. They said, “I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.”
This is what the shepherds were commissioned to announce. You say, “Did they do it?” The story tells us that indeed they did because it goes on to say, “When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this Child. And all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. They returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.”
You know, that is the only thing I know of that will increase the personal joy of having come to know Jesus Christ as your own Lord and Savior. That is a great source of joy. It’s a wonderful thing. But the only thing that will increase it is to share that good news with others that need to know Him. That is the ultimate joy of Christmas.
Study Questions
What important point do we see from the identity of those to whom the angels made their announcement?
What was the shepherds’ response to what the angels had said and to what they immediately did?
Application
Reflection: How does sin distort our thinking by causing us to conclude that we are better able to run our lives and make our own decisions, instead of obeying what God tells us in His Word?
For Further Study: Download and listen for free to James Boice’s message, “The Most Joyful of the Carols.” (Discount will be applied at checkout.)
As a detective, I’ve spent decades analyzing evidence, evaluating testimonies, and building cases that can withstand scrutiny in a courtroom. This investigative mindset has taught me something crucial about belief itself—not all beliefs are created equal. In fact, there are three distinct ways we can hold any belief, and understanding these categories transforms how we approach faith, particularly our faith in God.
The Trap of Unreasonable Belief The first way people hold beliefs is perhaps the most dangerous: unreasonable belief. This occurs when we maintain a position despite evidence pointing to the contrary. Take, for example, the old wives’ tale that warts come from frogs. We now have substantial medical evidence demonstrating that warts are caused by human papillomavirus, not amphibious contact. Yet if someone continues believing the frog theory despite this contrary evidence, they’re holding an unreasonable belief.
This same pattern shows up in matters of faith. Some people cling to religious ideas even when presented with compelling evidence that challenges their position. They’ve made their mind up regardless of what the facts might suggest, and no amount of evidence will budge them from their stance. This isn’t faith—it’s stubborn denial dressed up as devotion.
The Problem with Blind Belief The second category is blind belief—accepting something as true without any real evidence to support it. This might seem more innocent than unreasonable belief, but it carries its own risks. Let me give you a personal example: I believe my father is my biological father, even though I wasn’t raised by him and have never taken a paternity test to prove it. I simply accept this belief without verification. I could be right, or I could be wrong—I’m essentially believing blindly.
Many people approach faith this way. They believe in God, accept religious teachings, or embrace spiritual practices without ever examining the evidence that might support or challenge these beliefs. They’re not necessarily wrong in their conclusions, but they’ve arrived at them accidentally, without the foundation that good evidence provides. While this might work in some situations, it leaves believers vulnerable when their faith is challenged, because they’ve never learned why their beliefs might actually be true.
The Power of Forensic Faith The third way to hold belief is the most reliable: forensic belief, grounded in good evidence. When I believe that amoxicillin will help cure certain infections, I’m not just hoping or guessing. I base this belief on personal experience—I’ve taken the medication and seen its effects. More importantly, I’ve read the research reports explaining how and why it works. I have good evidence supporting my belief, making it reasonable and defensible.
This same approach applies to what we believe about God. A forensic faith is one built on evidence—historical, archaeological, philosophical, and experiential evidence that supports the truth claims of Christianity. It’s a faith that has done its homework, examined the data, and arrived at conclusions based on the best available information.
Now, I want to be clear about something important: even with a forensic approach to faith, you’re still going to have unanswered questions. You’ll still need to take steps of trust. No one can present every single piece of possible evidence for their worldview and remove all doubt—that’s simply impossible, and you won’t be able to do it either.
But here’s what you can do: you can ensure that the step of faith you’re taking is neither unreasonable nor blind. Instead, it can be a reasonable step based on solid evidence. When challenges come—and they will—you’ll have a foundation to stand on rather than just wishful thinking or cultural conditioning.
The difference between these three approaches to belief isn’t just academic—it’s transformational. A forensic faith gives you confidence in uncertainty, strength in adversity, and the ability to engage intellectually with both believers and skeptics. It transforms faith from mere hope into informed trust, and that makes all the difference in how you live out your beliefs in a world that’s constantly questioning them.
A forensic faith gives you confidence in uncertainty, strength in adversity, and the ability to engage intellectually with both believers and skeptics. Share on X
Your faith doesn’t have to be unreasonable or blind. It can be forensic—evidence-based, thoughtful, and defensible. The question isn’t whether you have enough faith, but whether you have the right kind of faith.
Happy New Year! Do you make resolutions or set goals you’d like to accomplish during the new year? A lot of people resolve to read the Bible more often or read it through in a year. If that’s you but you’re not quite sure where to start, here are some awesome and unique reading plans that can help. (Click titles for links to each plan.)
(Please note- I do not necessarily endorse all of the content of the websites linked below. These links are provided for Bible reading plans only. I do not endorse anything at any of these sites which conflicts with the theology outlined at my “Statement of Faith” and “Welcome” tabs at the top of this page. Should you choose to explore these sites beyond the linked Bible reading plans, please do so discerningly and reject anything that conflicts with Scripture.)
I cannot recommend this plan strongly enough. You’ll read through the entire Bible in a year, following the events as they happened chronologically. I have been through this plan several times (I even took my ladies’ Sunday school class through it in 2014). It is wonderful for helping you see the big picture of the Bible as well as how all the little pieces of the biblical puzzle fit together.
For this perpetual plan, you’ll need six ribbons or book marks to mark off six sections of your Bible: Law (Genesis – Job), Psalms, Proverbs, Prophets (Ecclesiastes – Malachi), NT Narrative (Matthew – Acts), NT Letters (Romans – Revelation). Each day, in each section, read from the beginning of the first full chapter on the left hand page, through the right hand page. Then turn the page and stop reading at the end of whatever chapter you’re in. Or you could read a different pre-determined amount each day. The object is to advance each ribbon at least one page each day.
“This plan has 4 readings per day, intended for two separate reading times: first two links in the morning, second two in the evening. The Proverbs are spread out throughout the year for deeper inspection. You’ll read through the entire Bible in one year.” Have the daily readings emailed to you, use schedule on the web page (with a link to each day’s reading), or screenshot or print out the PDF to keep in your phone or Bible.
“In 2009, I created a plan that calls for reading all the books of the Bible in canonical order in one year. A couple years ago, I revised this plan to make the daily readings more evenly distributed.” The plan is available in Word, PDF, or app format.
New to daily Bible reading and don’t want to bite off more than you can chew? Try Back to the Bible’s 21-Day Challenge. Each day, you’ll read one chapter in the book of John, and in three weeks, you’ll be finished. It’s a great way to get your feet wet.
“This plan is set up for two years, five days a week; to allow one to catch-up if necessary, on the weekend. The daily reading allocation is based upon the number of words in a chapter to provide a better average daily reading time.”
Read through the New Testament in a year, approximately one chapter a day, Monday through Friday, or read through the whole Bible in a year, 3.25 chapters a day, every day.
Take time to slowly savor God’s word with this relaxed pace plan. Readings alternate between the Old and New Testament to keep you from getting bogged down in some of the more difficult sections. You’ll read through the whole Bible, one to two chapters per day, in three years.
“The plan is called 5122 (five-one-two-two), which helps you remember its structure. Every day you read:
5 Psalms
1 chapter of Proverbs
2 chapters of the Old Testament
2 chapters of the New Testament
You read straight through each section in linear fashion. When you reach the end of a book (like Psalms), you start over from the beginning…In just over a year, you’ll have read Psalms and Proverbs twelve times each, the New Testament twice, and the Old Testament once.”
You can use this year long, 5 days a week plan individually or with the whole family. It “focuses only on the narratives [stories] of Scripture, along with all of the psalms and proverbs,” and includes a 52 week catechism, a weekly hymn, and a study guide for each day’s reading. You can access the plan online, in CSV format, in Google Calendar, and via daily email notifications.
“This plan reads through the Gospels in the New Testament in one month: three chapters each day.” Have the daily readings emailed to you, use schedule on the web page (with a link to each day’s reading), or screenshot or copy/paste/print the schedule to keep in your phone or Bible.
“Each day read a passage from the Scripture Reading List, then follow it up by working through the daily [journaling-style] Bible study page. This will take approximately 10+ minutes.”
“This 6 month Bible reading plan is designed to provide a comprehensive and balanced approach to reading the Bible. It includes three daily readings, each from different sections of the Bible. The first reading is taken from a Psalm, Proverb, or Ecclesiastes, providing wisdom and reflection. The second reading is from the New Testament, exploring the teachings and life of Jesus and the early Christian community. The third reading alternates between an Old Testament passage and a Gospel, creating a harmonious understanding of God’s teachings throughout history. By overlapping readings, such as pairing Hebrews with the Law and prophets with Revelation, the plan encourages a holistic understanding of God’s Word and its consistent message. If you are able to set aside the time to read the Bible through in 6 months you won’t regret it.”
“This Bible reading plan will take you through the entire Bible in an historical linear timeline order with the first events first to the last.” Organized into 365 daily readings, but undated, so you can take as long as you like.
Possibly the simplest plan of all: Read one Psalm per day for 150 days (Be sure to set aside plenty of time on Day 119!). Set up an account to track your progress and receive email reminders.
This 9-week plan designed by John MacArthur is a weekly, rather than daily plan. You are given a block of Scripture at the beginning of each week, and you decide how to break it up into manageable daily chunks that fit your schedule. Readings alternate between the Old and New Testaments. In 9 weeks, you’ll read through Mark, Luke, John, Romans, Proverbs, and part of Psalms.
“Read the Bible cover to cover by investing as little as 30 minutes a day.
In 90 days (two “grace days” are included) you’ll see the big picture of God’s great story unfold before you.” Can’t be done, you say? Think of it as binge-reading the greatest story ever told.
How about reading through the Bible in a year with your spouse or family (you could also do this one individually)? With the M’Cheyne plan you’ll read through the Old Testament once, the New Testament and Psalms, twice. Each day, you’ll read an OT chapter and a NT chapter as a family and another OT chapter and NT chapter on your own (“in secret”). Free Daily Bible study offers suggestions for making this a two or three year plan if one year seems too daunting.
And for my followers with reading difficulties, or if you’d just like to add more Bible into your day via audio, my friend, Justin Peters, read aloud through the M’Cheyne plan a couple of years ago. Here’s the play list.
This handy dandy little algorithm allows you to design your own Bible reading plan. You choose the start date, the length of the plan, your language, your favorite format, which books of the Bible you want to read, which days of the week you want to read, and several other options, and the Bible Reading Plan Generator creates a custom designed plan just for you.
Bible Reading Plans for Children
(Need recommendations for children’s Bibles? Click here.)
Depending on the age and maturity of your child (especially teens), I would certainly recommend any of the plans above or in the “Collections” section below. Perhaps you would want to start off with one of the shorter plans or one of the plans designed for new Believers or those who are new to reading the Bible. That being said, here are a few plans that are billed as being designed specifically for children:
Through the Bible in 20 Days– “…intended to be a child’s first exposure to regular Bible reading…geared toward ages 8 to 10. It includes twenty days of reading to be spread over one month, with five readings done per week.”
Through the Bible in 60 Days– “…designed to be a child’s second exposure to regular Bible reading,” this plan builds on the 20 day plan (above). “…geared toward ages 11 to 13. It includes sixty days of reading. This could be spread over three months, with five readings done per week.”
100 Day Summer Reading Plan– Though dated for the summer of 2021, this plan could be used at any time of the year. It breaks down the main plot points of Scripture into seven sections in case your child needs a break between sections. More info. here. (Please note I have not vetted, and thus, am not recommending anything on this page except the reading plan. Zondervan’s theology has been sketchy at times.)
Children’s & Teens’ Bible Reading Plans– Dozens of plans of varying lengths that will take your child through various books of the Bible, Bible overviews, topics, etc. Several of the plans have a few reading comprehension style questions for your child to answer at the end of each day’s reading. I was not able to vet all of these due to the sheer number of plans, but the several I checked appeared to be doctrinally sound. There are also helpful hints for encouraging your child to habitually study the Word. Carefully vet any of the additional or supplementary resources recommended before using them. I am recommending the reading plans only.
Be sure to thoroughly vet (for sound doctrine) any plan or website before assigning it to your child.
Collections of Reading Plans
Need more suggestions? Check out these collections of Bible reading plans:
Ligonier– A wide variety of plans, most available in PDFs.
ReadingPlan– There are literally hundreds of plans to choose from (there was no way I could vet even a fraction of them, so be very discerning) in this great little app. Download the one you like (Settings>>Reading Plan>>View Available Plans), set your start date, link up your favorite online Bible, and start reading. You can even sync and share your progress and set a daily reminder for reading.
Bible Study Tools– Some awesome “start any day you like” plans, ranging in length from ninety days to two years.
Bible Gateway– Several great plans, especially if your church uses the Revised Common Lectionary or the Book of Common Prayer and you want to follow along at home. Log in each day and the selected text is displayed on your screen, or subscribe to your plan via e-mail. (Note: I would not recommend the Daily Audio Bible plan. It uses several different “translations,” which is an interesting idea, but while some are accurate, reliable translations (ESV, HCSB), others are faulty paraphrases (The Message, TheVoice). However, many translations on Bible Gateway have an audio option, so pick another plan with a good translation and listen away!)
Into Thy Word– A number of diverse plans, including one in large print, from 31 days to one year in length. Available in PDF or Microsoft Word formats.
Heartlight– Five different one year plans that will take you through all or parts of the Bible. Daily passages are linked so you can read online, but translations are limited, so you might want to use the printable PDF guides with your own Bible.
Blue Letter Bible– Several one and two year plans that cover the whole Bible. Available in PDF format.
Bible Plan– Yearly and monthly plans, one chapter per day plans, and a few miscellaneous plans. Sign up for daily reminders for your plan via e-mail. These plans are available in many different languages.
Not Recommended:
While there are untold numbers of wonderful Bible reading plans out there, unfortunately, there are some I would not recommend due to their affiliation with certain unbiblical ministries or teachers. It’s certainly not unbiblical to use a mere Bible reading schedule (Day 1: read this passage, Day 2: read that passage, etc.) no matter where it comes from, but plans from the ministries below also have accompanying teaching or commentary that conflicts with Scripture:
Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.” (4:15)
In contrast to the negative, sinful responses to God’s will discussed above, James gives the positive side. Instead of the practical atheism, self-theism, or flagrant disobedience of the first three responses, James exhorts his readers to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that. This fourth alternative and positive response to God’s will, that of acknowledging and obeying it, generally marks true believers. The present infinitive form of the verb translated to say reveals that submission to God’s will must be habitual and continual. In every aspect of their lives and in every decision they face, believers’ response is to say “If the Lord wills.” Simply put, the will of God is central to all their plans (cf. Acts 18:21; Rom. 1:10; 15:32; 1 Cor. 4:19; 16:7; Phil. 2:19, 24; Heb. 6:3). Acknowledging God’s will affirms His sovereignty over all aspects of life. We live only because God so wills it, for He controls life and death (Deut. 32:39; Job 12:9–10; Pss. 39:4–5; 104:29; Heb. 9:27; Rev. 1:18). God also controls everything people do and all the circumstances of life. For the Christian, doing God’s will is an act of worship (Rom. 12:1–2). It is to be done from the heart (Eph. 6:6), as a way of life (Col. 1:9–10; 4:12), recognizing that He must energize us to do it (Heb. 13:20–21). In John 13:17 the Lord Jesus Christ pronounced the reward given those who do God’s will: “If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.” Responding to God’s will is yet another test of a living and true faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. A strong desire to do the will of God is a sure mark of a transformed life.
MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (1998). James (pp. 236–237). Moody Press.
15 Instead of saying, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city … and make money” (v. 13), the Christian businessman “ought to say, ‘If it is the Lord’s will …’ ” No Christian can safely assume that he can live independently of God. For a believer to leave God out of his plans is an arrogant assumption of self-sufficiency, a tacit declaration of independence from God. It is to overlook reality. Whether men recognize it or not, they “will live and do this or that” only “if it is the Lord’s will.” A study of the use of this conditional clause in the NT makes it clear that we are not to repeat it mechanically in connection with every statement of future plans. Paul, for example, employs it in Acts 18:21 and 1 Corinthians 4:19, but he does not use it in Acts 19:21; Romans 15:28; or 1 Corinthians 16:5, 8. Yet it is obvious that whether Paul explicitly stated it or not, he always conditioned his plans on the will of God.
Burdick, D. W. (1981). James. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Hebrews through Revelation (Vol. 12, p. 197). Zondervan Publishing House.
15 The corrective for this attitude of presumption is found in v. 15: “Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” In the Scriptures, “the Lord’s will” is either revealed or hidden. The revealed will of God primarily has to do with mandates for righteous living or events that have already taken place. The future, as in our passage under consideration, is a part of the hidden will of God. The condition “if it is the Lord’s will” implies that a veil lies over the future and that the Lord himself will determine one’s actions and the outcomes of those actions. Further, God himself will determine whether an individual will even be alive. Notice that the thought “we will live” (zaō) is assumed in the travel plans of v. 13, but James points out that living another day is not guaranteed but is subject to the Lord’s will. The appropriate response to the veiled nature of the future is humble submission—an attitude implicit in the conditional clause “if it is the Lord’s will.”
Guthrie, G. H. (2006). James. In T. Longman III & D. E. Garland (Eds.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Hebrews–Revelation (Revised Edition) (Vol. 13, pp. 259–260). Zondervan.
15 The thought of v. 13 is resumed. Over against such practical atheism James sets God and man’s dependence on him. He has already spoken of submission to God’s will (4:7); he now shows that this submission applies to all life. If the Lord will, deo volente (D. V.), the condicio Jacobaea, is essentially non-Jewish, being derived from earlier “apotropaic” pagan piety, e.g., si deus dederit (cf. also the Arabic inshallah), seeking to avoid suspicion of pride. The formula was considered binding by some rabbis prior to any enterprise. In the earlier stages of Roman religion when nothing was done without first consulting the gods it had real meaning; later, as today, the formula often degenerated into a perfunctory, “I hope so.”91 “If the Lord will” is a consideration no Christian, if he is wise, will ignore when he makes his decisions and plans his life.
Adamson, J. B. (1976). The Epistle of James (pp. 180–181). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
4:15 Even more than the pragmatic argument that life is short (4:14) is the argument that God is sovereign, that all of life is in God’s hands, and that genuine piety looks to God’s guidance even for business pursuits. In direct contrast40 to the merchants’ presumptuous planning, James has an alternative plan: “Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wishes, we will live and do this or that.’ ” This is the standard interpretation, and I am unpersuaded that it is accurate, though one would be rash to think any solution will be compelling. To begin with, the Greek text—literally rendered—omits “ought” and simply has “Instead of your saying.” It makes a significant difference if 4:15 is construed as direct, positive instruction—“you ought to be saying, ‘If the Lord wills …’ ”—or as counter-instruction—“instead of your saying ‘If the Lord wills.…’ ” Once one renders the opening clause “instead of your saying,” I suggest one can convert 4:15 and 4:16 into two legs of a tandem statement:
Instead of your saying, “If the Lord wills, we will live and …,”
you are now boasting.…
In this rendering James is relentlessly critical: he describes the sin of presumption in 4:13, he criticizes that presumption by reminding his readers of the brevity of life in 4:14, and the impact of 4:15–16 then is that they are filled with arrogant boasts. While not impossible, the suggestion that 4:15 is a momentary reprieve from the critique is less likely than a consistent listing of the problems James has with the merchants that this alternate reading suggests. What I have observed is that most commentators, after suggesting that 4:15 completes 4:13 and therefore leaving 4:16 as a point on its own, interpret 4:15 with 4:16. That God is sovereign characterizes Israel’s faith even if, as Josephus’s famous passages on the differences among the Jewish parties, there was the common struggle to make sense of both human choice and divine providence. Perhaps the later rabbinic statement represents most of Judaism: “Everything is foreseen, and free choice is given” (m Avot 3.15). James’s aim, however, is not to speculate about how choice and providence are to be explained. His point is the attitude, disposition, and presumption of the merchants. The merchants were presumptuous when they should have been more reverential and humble about their plans. Thus, these words express what was not in fact their orientation: “If the Lord wishes, we will live and do this or that.”44 This reminds one of Proverbs 19:21: “The human mind may devise many plans, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will be established.” But this wisdom saying contrasts God with humans while James goes beyond the contrast to dependency. James is closer to 1QS 11:10–11:
Surely a man’s way is not his own; neither can any person firm his own step. Surely justification is of God; by His power is the way made perfect. All that shall be, He foreknows, all that is, His plans establish; apart from Him is nothing done.
Even if Jews did not knock on wood and utter deo volente as the Romans did or speak of God’s will as the Greeks did,46 it boggles the mind that Sophie Laws can conclude that James’s line is the “commendation of a pious phrase of undeniably heathen origins.” Furthermore, James here advocates what is patently an early Christian theme and disposition, whether the terms are present or not. There ought to be contingency in all plans. It begins with the Lord’s prayer (Matt 6:10), and Paul famously expresses himself in these terms, especially when speaking of travel plans: “But I will come to you soon, if the Lord wills, and I will find out not the talk of these arrogant people but their power” (1 Cor 4:19) and “I do not want to see you now just in passing, for I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord permits” (16:7; cf. Rom 1:10; Phil 2:19, 24). The author of Acts depicted Paul in similar terms: “but on taking leave of them, he said, ‘I will return to you, if God wills.’ Then he set sail from Ephesus” (Acts 18:21). That James moves from the summative dependence on the Lord’s will to “will live” points to God as creator and sustainer of all of life. Even the indeterminacy of “do this or that” evokes dependence on the Lord’s will.
McKnight, S. (2011). The Letter of James (pp. 374–376). William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” James teaches that God is sovereign in our lives. In all our planning, deeds, and accomplishments we must acknowledge our submission to God. Thus, after a comment on the brevity of life, he returns to the subject he introduced in verse 13. He says that instead of ignoring God in our daily activities, we ought to place him first and say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” In some circles and cultures, the cliché the Lord willing is rather common. It is a pious formula that because of its repeated usage begins to lose its intended significance. But why does James tell the merchants to use this formula? He shows them that their lives are in the hands of a sovereign God and that they should acknowledge him in all their plans. He does not tell them when and how to use the phrase if God wills. Surprisingly, this phrase does not appear in the Old Testament. In the New Testament era, however, the apostle Paul teaches the Christians its proper use. Here are a few examples:
When Paul left Ephesus, he said to the Jews, “I will come back if it is God’s will” (Acts 18:21).
He told the Corinthians, “I will come to you very soon, if the Lord is willing” (1 Cor. 4:19).
He promised the believers in Corinth to spend some time with them “if the Lord permits” (1 Cor. 16:7; also compare Phil. 2:19, 24; Heb. 6:3).
The New Testament, however, gives no indication that the apostles had coined a formula that was to be used frequently. In fact, Luke fails to relate its use in the narratives of Paul’s journeys recorded in Acts. Even in his epistles, Paul fails to employ this formula in places where we would have expected it. This means that we do not need to use the words God willing as a threadbare phrase. Rather, our entire lives ought to be that of the child of God who knows he is secure in the protective care of his heavenly Father. Every believer must live in such a way that, as Horatius Bonar put it, “no part of day or night from sacredness be free.” That is joyous Christian living.
Kistemaker, S. J., & Hendriksen, W. (1953–2001). Exposition of James and the Epistles of John (Vol. 14, p. 148). Baker Book House.
To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it. (Revelation 2:17)
My heart, be thou stirred up to persevere in the holy war, for the reward of victory is great. Today we eat of heavenly food which falls about our camps; the food of the wilderness, the food which comes from heaven, the food which never fails the pilgrims to Canaan. But there is reserved for us in Christ Jesus a still higher degree of spiritual life and a food for it which, as yet, is hidden from our experience. In the golden pot which was laid up in the ark there was a portion of manna hidden away, which though kept for ages never grew stale. No one ever saw it; it was hid with the Ark of the Covenant, in the Holy of Holies. Even so, the highest life of the believer is hid with Christ, in God. We shall come to it soon, Being made victorious through the grace of our Lord Jesus, we shall eat of the King’s meat and feed upon royal dainties. We shall feed upon Jesus. He is our “hidden manna,” as well as the manna of the wilderness. He is all in all to us in our highest, as well as in our lowest, estate. He helps us to fight, gives us the victory, and then is Himself our reward. Lord, help me to overcome.
“This New Year, I resolve to”… sound familiar? Join Libby Glosson as she explores why New Years resolutions so rarely work, and how more persistent changes can be wrought with God’s help. Seek real transformation this New Year with God’s help.
A post-Christmas reflection on Luther’s theology of the physical world.
We’ve been discussing the connection between liturgy and Christmas and the difference between Lutherans and the Reformed on the material and the spiritual realm. I’d like to round off that train of thought in a post-Christmas reflection on Luther’s theology of the physical world.
I came across a fascinating essay by Miranda Mobley at Juicy Ecumenism (the blog of the Institute on Religion & Democracy) entitled The Physicality of Worship. She writes:
The theology and practice of physicality reveals implicit beliefs about human nature, namely whether humans are primarily spiritual beings or a balance of both physical and spiritual. Denominations with little or no physicality in worship edge towards Gnostic and hyper-rationalist ideas about humans as primarily mind or spirit, rather than body. Denominations that use physicality as a means of guiding and perceiving the spiritual are embracing humanity as both physical and spiritual at once.
She says that though all worship is physical, the various Christian traditions express their views of “physicality” differently in the ways they worship.
Churches from the Reformed tradition, which includes some Baptist and nondenominational churches, are often the least physically involved. Other than standing for worship music and walking to receive communion, most of the service leaves congregants seated and silent. Prayer is often spoken to the congregant rather than participated in by the congregant; eyes are fixed solely upon unmoving text rather than vestments or sacred vessels. In many ways, the body passively receives the service rather than actively participates.
Charismatic churches follow the same general pattern, but they are much more physical, with worshipers waving their arms, dancing, giving testimonies, and speaking in tongues.
Liturgical churches, from Orthodoxy to Catholicism to parts of mainline Protestantism, are physically participatory in different ways. The most traditional and liturgical churches lean fully into physicality; in fact, the more liturgical a church, the more it engages the senses. . . .
Liturgy involves the body in a myriad of ways. Most liturgical churches have periods of kneeling, especially around corporate confession and the blessing and receiving of Holy Communion. The Catholic corporate confession of sin during Mass involves parishioners pounding their chest with a fist as they proclaim their sins. Different traditions embed various rituals into services, from crossing oneself to bowing. Liturgy also has a call-and-response format for prayers and the reading of scripture, requiring congregants to follow along in real time.
This ties in to the tradition’s beliefs about the Sacraments. Mobley writes:
Certain theological beliefs link to physicality. The theology of Holy Communion serves as a prime example. The memorialist view, held chiefly by Baptist and nondenominational churches, sees Communion as primarily intellectual – a time of remembrance with the bread and wine as physical symbols only. Reformed theology maintains a similarly uninterested view in the physical aspect of the bread and wine, while shifting the focus to spiritual feeding that has sacramental power. Lutherans, Catholics, Orthodox, and some Anglicans view the physicality of the elements as theologically important. To these traditions, it is vital that one feeds on Christ, not just spiritually, but physically.
Finally a mention of us Lutherans! Mobley herself is Anglican. Her discussion reminded me that Luther himself had a strong theology of “physicality.”
In his writing on justification, the contemporary theologian Oswald Bayer said that when we are justified by faith, we are reconciled to God, and we are also reconciled to His creation. This is because, he says, God uses the physical world of His creation to bring to us our justification: water, bread, wine. We might add other physical elements: ink stamped on paper and bound into a book; sound waves vibrating in the air; the body of the pastor presiding in a building made of stone and steel. However, says Bayer,
The “new creation” is a return to the world, not a retreat from it. The new creation is a conversion to the world, as a conversion to the Creator, hearing God’s voice speaking to us and addressing us through his creatures. Augustine was wrong to say that his voice draws us away from God’s creatures into the inner self and then to transcendence. Counteracting Augustine’s inwardness in its withdrawal from the world, Luther emphasizes the penetrating this-worldliness of God. God wills to be the Creator by speaking to us only through his creatures. [Living by Faith, Ch. 3]
St. Augustine, for all of his greatness, remained something of a Platonist, something he would share with Zwingli and Calvin. This suggests that the rejection of the religious significance of the world in favor of the inner self and transcendence is nothing new after all. It is also the basis of Medieval asceticism. As we shall see, Luther’s sacramentalism is connected to his critique of monasticism and to his doctrine of vocation.
But we can see the effect of the Gospel as expressed in the Sacraments in Luther’s own attitude toward God’s creation. As a monk, Luther was an extreme ascetic, rejecting the world and all its ways, but when he discovered the Gospel of God’s free grace in Christ, he embraced every facet of God’s creation. Bayer discusses Luther’s “turn from radical denial of the world to an impressive affirmation of everything that is of the world and nature.” [Martin Luther’s Theology, p. 141]
“After Luther was thoroughly convinced, because of his new understanding of Word and Sacrament, that the spiritual is constituted in the form of what was earthly—not only negatively but also positively—the spiritual importance of all things earthly was opened to him in a positive sense as well.” [Ibid.]
“The spiritual is constituted in the form of what was earthly.” That is a succinct statement of Lutheran teaching on Christ, the Sacraments, and—as we shall see—the Christian life.
That is to say, vocation.
In this perspective, notice the similarity–despite their antagonism–between the Reformed separation of the spiritual from the material with that of medieval Catholicism. Luther’s “physicality” countered both of them.
The day after Christmas presents a unique challenge: maintaining the spirit of the season beyond the festivities. Learn how to truly embody the values of Christmas year-round, focusing on the enduring message of hope and love.
Belief That Behaves—Part 2 A Proper Reaction to the Word (James 1:22–27)
But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does. If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless. Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world. (1:22–27)
As important as the proper reception of the Word of God is, without obedience to its truths it is not only without benefit but becomes a further judgment against its readers. It is essential to hear the Word with an attitude of submission, but even that is not enough. Obedience to the Word is the most basic spiritual requirement and is the common denominator for all true believers. The bottom line of true spiritual life is not a momentary feeling of compliance or commitment but long-term obedience to Scripture (cf. John 8:31). When the Jews began returning home after seventy years of captivity in Babylon, they found their beloved city of Jerusalem, including the temple, in ruins. Their first desire was to rebuild the temple, and that work began under the direction of Zerubbabel. But the walls of the city also were in serious disrepair, leaving the people vulnerable to attack by an enemy. A Jew named Nehemiah, who had been cupbearer to King Artaxerxes of Babylon, secured the king’s permission to go to Jerusalem and help his people rebuild the wall. Under his extraordinary leadership and through the guidance and power of the Spirit of God, the people accomplished the formidable rebuilding task in only fifty-two days (see Neh. 1:1–6:15). Once that was done, the people clearly acknowledged that the hand of God had brought them back to their homeland and to their holy city and had empowered them as they rebuilt the temple and the city wall. Nehemiah reports that
all the people gathered as one man at the square which was in front of the Water Gate, and they asked Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses which the Lord had given to Israel. Then Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly of men, women and all who could listen with understanding, on the first day of the seventh month. He read from it before the square which was in front of the Water Gate from early morning until midday, … and all the people were attentive to the book of the law.… Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people for he was standing above all the people; and when he opened it, all the people stood up. Then Ezra blessed the Lord the great God. And all the people answered, “Amen, Amen!” while lifting up their hands; then they bowed low and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground.… They read from the book, from the law of God, translating to give the sense so that they understood the reading. (Neh. 8:1–3, 5–6, 8)
Ezra and others took turns reading and interpreting the law to the people, sometimes having to translate the Hebrew, since many of the people had not learned it while captive in Babylon. That reading and hearing of the Word set the stage for a spiritual revival in Israel. That is where revival always begins, with the Word—“Bring the book.” From the beginning, the people showed their spiritual hunger, spontaneously standing up in reverence as soon as Ezra began reading the law and then bowing low and worshiping God with their faces to the ground in humility when he had finished. As their hearts were convicted, they also began “weeping when they heard the words of the law” (v. 9). But at the end of the reading, Nehemiah declared the day to be a holy day and instructed the people to stop weeping and instead to “eat of the fat, drink of the sweet, and send portions to him who has nothing prepared, for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength” (v. 10). True revival also involves confession of sins, which was the people’s response. Nehemiah reports that about three weeks later,
on the twenty-fourth day of this month the sons of Israel assembled with fasting, in sackcloth and with dirt upon them. The descendants of Israel separated themselves from all foreigners, and stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers. While they stood in their place, they read from the book of the law of the Lord their God for a fourth of the day; and for another fourth they confessed and worshiped the Lord their God. (9:1–3)
There was a display of sorrow for sins, which led to confession, along with the knowledge of the Lord’s forgiveness of those sins, which was cause for celebration. Following confession and celebration came a covenant with the Lord. On behalf of the people, the Levites and other leaders declared before the Lord:
Now because of all this we are making an agreement in writing; and on the sealed document are the names of our leaders, our Levites and our priests.… Now the rest of the people, the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the temple servants and all those who had separated themselves from the peoples of the lands to the law of God [joined] with their kinsmen, their nobles, … taking on themselves a curse and an oath to walk in God’s law, which was given through Moses, God’s servant, and to keep and to observe all the commandments of God our Lord, and His ordinances and His statutes. (9:38; 10:28–29)
Under the direction of the godly Ezra and Nehemiah, the people made the proper responses to God’s Word: confession of sins, celebration for forgiveness, and a covenant to obey it. Those who consistently disobey God’s Word give evidence that they are without His life within them. Those who consistently obey the Word give evidence of the life of God in their souls. As noted several times in earlier chapters, that is the central theme of James’s epistle, which is succinctly reiterated at the beginning of the present text: But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. A more literal translation of the present middle imperative tense of ginomai (prove yourselves) is “be continually,” or “keep on striving to be,” doers of the word. When people are blessed with regular, in-depth preaching and teaching of Scripture, they may become so enamored with their knowledge of God’s Word that they become self-satisfied with that knowledge and forsake the effort to live out the profound truths they have come to understand. But a true believer will not be inwardly satisfied with merely knowing the Word. His conscience and the prompting of the indwelling Holy Spirit will keep convicting him of his failure until he becomes obedient. The substantive form of poiētē (doers) carries the characterization of the whole personality, all of a person’s inner being—mind, soul, spirit, and emotions. It is one thing to have to fight for a few days or weeks in an armed conflict; it is something else to be a professional soldier, whose whole life is dedicated to warfare. It is one thing to make periodic repairs around the house; it is another to be a professional builder. It is one thing to teach an occasional class in Sunday school; it is another to be a divinely called and divinely gifted teacher of the Word. Here James is speaking of Christian doers of the word, emphasizing what they are rather than just what they do. There are people whose very lives are dedicated not only to learning God’s Word but also to faithful and continual obedience to it. One commentator says that James has in mind “a person whose life is characterized by holy energy.” The Greek word akroatēs (hearers) was used of those who sat passively in an audience and listened to a singer or speaker. Today it could be used of those who audit a college class, which they are required to attend and presumably listen to, but for which they are not required to do outside study, write papers, or take any tests. In other words, they are not held accountable for what they hear. Tragically, most churches have many “auditors,” members who willingly expose themselves to the teaching and preaching of the Word but have no desire for that knowledge to alter their day-by-day lives. They take advantage of the privilege of hearing God’s Word but have no desire for obeying it. When followed consistently, that attitude gives evidence that they are not Christians at all, but only pretenders. Such people, who are merely hearers and not also doers, think they belong to God, when, in reality, they do not. Proclaiming and interpreting God’s Word are never ends in themselves but are means to an end, namely, the genuine acceptance of divine truth for what it is and the faithful application of it. The biblical line between saint and sinner is abundantly clear. “By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother” (1 John 3:10). Peter admonishes believers to “be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble” (2 Pet. 1:10, emphasis added). It is not a question of what one claims to have experienced but of how one lives in light of the Word of God. Examining the dynamics of his own humanness against his new nature in Christ, Paul says.
For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good. So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. (Rom. 7:15–19)
The apostle’s point here was that, when he fell into sin, it was contrary to his new nature expressed in his inner spiritual desire, and he therefore hated it. That is a certain indication of a transformed, redeemed life in Christ. The basic longing of a true believer is to do God’s will, manifest in His Word. Later in that epistle, Paul says that “the requirement of the Law [is] fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit” (8:4). In other words, a newly created, regenerated, saved life will manifest itself in the desire for behavior that corresponds to God’s standards in His Word. The life that is counted righteous in Christ will be demonstrated in righteous living. Expressing that same truth, John writes, “By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says, ‘I have come to know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him” (1 John 2:3–4). In the long run, how we behave is proof of our salvation or of our lostness. In light of that truth, there is good reason to believe that there are countless men, women, and children who come to church regularly and make a strong profession of being a Christian, but whose lives testify that they are not. They regularly listen to the preaching of the Word, claim to believe it, and discuss it favorably with fellow church members. But their hearts are devoid of the saving, transforming grace of God. Jesus declared unequivocally,
Not everyone who says to Me, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?” And then I will declare to them, “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.” (Matt. 7:21–22)
In his classic allegory Pilgrim’s Progress, Puritan preacher and writer John Bunyan describes the magnificent mirror that the Shepherds of the Delectable Mountains showed to Christiana and Mercy:
Now the glass was one of a thousand. It would present a man, one way with his own features exactly; and turn it but another way, and it would show one the very face and similitude of the Prince of pilgrims Himself. Yea, I have talked with those that can tell, and have said they have seen the very crown of thorns upon His head by looking into this glass; they have therein also seen the holes in His hands, in His feet, and His side. The man who continues looking into the mirror of God’s Word sees in it things far more wonderful than his own face. He sees not only his filthy garments, not only the spots and stains on his life; he sees in it Christ, the Christ of the thorn-crowned brow, the Christ of the Cross, his Saviour, whose blood cleanses him from all sin.
Bunyan’s point is that, when a person honestly and humbly looks into the Word of God, he will see two things—his own sin and the sinless Savior and Lord. When such a person sees and responds to Christ and then lives out the Word, he is blessed in the doing. Through Joshua, the Lord declared: “This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success” (Josh. 1:8). The doer puts the Word into practice in his life. Enjoying the Word is more than a momentary experience; it is the lifetime application of its truth. Any response to the Word other than unqualified obedience to it is self-deceptive. The character of men is evidenced primarily by their conduct. Over time, conduct is always a reliable test of the inner person, for inevitably the true nature of the person will express itself outwardly. “You will know them by their fruits,” Jesus said. “Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit” (Matt. 7:16–17). “For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. The good man brings out of his good treasure what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure what is evil” (Matt. 12:34b–35; cf. Prov. 4:23). According to the same principle, as James illustrates later in his letter, a fountain does not produce both pure and putrid water (3:11). Conduct is the visible measure of true discipleship. Jesus asked,
Why do you call Me, “Lord, Lord,” and do not do what I say? Everyone who comes to Me and hears My words and acts on them, I will show you whom he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation on the rock; and when a flood occurred, the torrent burst against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who has heard and has not acted accordingly, is like a man who built a house on the ground without any foundation; and the torrent burst against it and immediately it collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great. (Luke 6:46–49)
On another occasion He declared unambiguously, “You are My friends if you do what I command you” (John 15:14); and, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him” (14:23). Echoing that basic truth, the apostle John writes, “By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments” (1 John 2:3). Conversely, “He who does not love Me does not keep My words” (John 14:24; cf. Luke 6:46); and, “The one who says, ‘I have come to know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him” (1 John 2:4). Such principles were not unknown to the Jews to whom James was writing, “the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad” (James 1:1). An ancient rabbi had said, “[You] ought not only to read [the laws of Moses], but rather to practice what they command you.” Another rabbi wrote, “It is not the expounding [of the law that] is the chief thing, but the doing of it.” Most Jews of Jesus’ day regularly heard the Law and the Prophets read and expounded in their synagogues but were content only with that hearing and superficial compliance and had no real desire to fully obey these words. Just as there are three elements to hearing and receiving the Word (with submission, purity, and humility), so there are also three elements to obeying the Word. Thus, the true believer, the hearer and doer of the Word, proves his faith in three ways: In relation to himself, he is willing to apply the Word without deception (1:22b–26); in relation to others, he is willing to apply the Word without selfishness (v. 27a); and in relation to the world, he is willing to apply the Word without compromise (v. 27b).
WILLINGNESS TO APPLY THE WORD WITHOUT DECEPTION
who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does. If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless. (1:22b–26)
Any response to the Word other than faithful, unqualified obedience is self-deceptive. Paralogizomai (delude) literally means to reason beside, or alongside, and therefore refers to incorrect reckoning or reasoning, often including the idea of deliberate false reasoning for the purpose of deceiving. In mathematics, the meaning is that of miscalculation. Professing Christians who hear the Word without obeying it make a serious spiritual miscalculation, which causes them to delude themselves. They are self-deceived. An old Scottish expression speaks of such false Christians as “sermon tasters who never tasted the grace of God.” Any response to the gospel that does not include obedience is self-deception. If a profession of faith in Christ does not result in a changed life that hungers and thirsts for God’s Word and desires to obey that Word, the profession is only that—a mere profession. Satan, of course, loves such professions, because they give church members the damning notion that they are saved when they are not. They still belong to him, not to God. In order to explain this self-deception, James uses a simple analogy: If anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. Katanoeō (looks) is a strengthened form of the verb noeō, which means simply to perceive, or look at something. The compound verb James uses here, however, carries the additional idea of careful, cautious consideration of what is being looked at. The hearer of the word who is not also a doer is like a person who carefully observes his natural face in a mirror, yet, as soon as he is finished looking, has immediately forgotten what kind of person he has just observed himself to be. In New Testament times, mirrors were typically made of highly polished brass or bronze, although a wealthy person could buy one of silver or gold. But even the most expensive mirrors were primitive compared to glass ones, which were not developed until the fourteenth century. Consequently, those early mirrors gave a dim and distorted reflection of the person using them. But by carefully turning the mirror and finding the best light, a person could eventually see a fairly accurate image of his face, and that is the idea James has in mind. By careful and patient observation, as indicated by katanoeō, he could eventually discover what he actually looked like. But, for whatever reason, when he stops looking at himself and [goes] away, he immediately forgets what he has just seen. It is that forgetfulness which is the point of the analogy. Whether because of distraction, not being pleased with what was seen, or simply because of a poor memory, all the careful looking suddenly becomes wasted. Whatever the original purpose was for looking at oneself, what is seen is quickly forgotten. A person who looks at God’s Word, even if it is carefully and accurately done, and yet does not apply the truths he has discovered to his own life, is like someone who immediately forgets what he has just seen in a mirror—except that the consequences are immeasurably worse. He sees his sin portrayed for the horrible evil that it is and he also sees God’s gracious provision in Christ for a remedy, yet he goes on his way as if he were never exposed to those realities. Conversely, however, the one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does. James here uses an even stronger verb for looking than in verse 23. Parakuptō (looks intently) means to bend over and carefully examine something from the clearest possible vantage point. It is the verb used by Luke to describe Peter’s looking into the empty tomb after Jesus’ resurrection (Luke 24:12) and by John of both Peter’s and Mary’s looking into the same tomb (John 20:5, 11). The person who looks intently at God’s Word, the perfect law, the law of liberty, examines it to discover its deepest and most complete meaning. For him it is not a mere exercise of curiosity, as with the forgetful person just mentioned. When he discovers a truth, he abides by it, understanding that this is the purpose for the Lord’s revealing it to men. God did not reveal His Word simply to be learned, but to be obeyed and applied. The key to James’s analogy is this: The faithful hearer and doer of the Word does not study the mirror itself but rather what the mirror reveals, namely, God’s revealed will and truth. The perfect law, so called because Scripture is inerrant, sufficient, and comprehensive (cf. Ps. 19:7–9), encompasses all of God’s revealed Word. But by referring to it as law, James laid particular emphasis on the Lord’s commands to men, His requirement for the genuine and positive response of obedience to those commands. And by referring to the Word as the law of liberty, James focused on its redemptive power in freeing believers from the bondage of sin and then freeing them to righteous obedience (John 8:34–36). It allows us to serve God not out of fear or mere sense of duty, but out of gratitude and love. One day it also will free us from this world and its corruption; from our fallenness; from our flesh; from temptation; and from the curses of sin, death, and hell. God’s law is thought of by some as bringing bondage; but in reality it brings great liberty. That truth is expressed clearly and succinctly by Paul in his letter to the church at Rome.
Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness? But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. (Rom. 6:16–18)
Later in that letter, the apostle exults, “For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption [and freedom] as sons by which we cry out, ‘Abba! Father!’ ” (8:14–15). Being saved solely by God’s grace through saving faith does not in the least revoke or diminish the requirements of His law. Forgiveness for past breaking of the law does not remove the present obligation to obey it. “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets,” Jesus declared;
I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matt. 5:17–20)
God’s law still reflects His holy will and His standards for human conduct. It provides all the truth and guidance we need to live godly lives. It is consummate, flawless, without error or omission, and will meet every need, touch every part of life, fulfill every godly desire of true believers, the children of God. As we look to that law, it liberates us to forsake sin and to pursue righteousness. The true believer abides by God’s perfect law … of liberty because that is His heavenly Father’s will, and above all else he seeks to please and honor Him. He therefore willingly and eagerly abides by His divine and holy law, enabled by the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:4). Implicit in James 1:23–25 is the idea that one’s motive and attitude in studying God’s Word become evident by the response to what is learned. A person who pays no heed to what he learns from Scripture proves his motive for studying it is not godly. At best, he is interested in mere factual knowledge, and even that he soon forgets. In doing so, he brings even greater judgment on himself than a person receives who has never been exposed to the Word. He also gives strong evidence that, despite a profession of belief in Christ, he is not really saved. One of most serious and pervasive obstacles to salvation is fallen man’s natural aversion to serious spiritual thought. He may love to study philosophy and man-made religions and theology. But he is not inclined to seriously search for God’s truth, realizing, even if subconsciously, that his life falls short of divine standards and that God will demand more than he is willing to give. Men are not naturally inclined to look at themselves honestly, to perform a self-evaluation under the bright and perfect light of God’s Word. They know instinctively that their pride, self-will, and love of sin will be exposed under the Lord’s righteous standards. On the other hand, the person who humbles himself, by figuratively stooping over to get a better look at the Word, proves his right spiritual motive and attitude. His concern is not with bare facts but with divine truth, and he therefore obeys what he learns. In doing so, he is blessed and God is glorified. He also detests the reflection of himself that he sees in the mirror of the Word, and his overriding desire is to have every sin, every spiritual and moral blemish, removed and replaced with God’s righteousness. Seeing himself as he really is, he says, in effect, “Lord, continue to expose my ugliness, my hopelessness apart from You. Draw me to Yourself and cleanse me from my sins and fill me with Your truth, Your love, and Your purity.” Such a person is not … a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer and will be blessed in what he does. The genuine believer sees things as they really are, and his will is brought into union with God’s will. He loves to do what the Bible commands him to do, because that is the will of his heavenly Father. God’s blessing results from a believer’s obedience. Through Joshua the Lord commanded and promised: “This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success” (Josh. 1:8, emphasis added). The only way to a spiritually blessed and prosperous life is through faithful study and application of God’s Word, to “meditate on it day and night,” and “to be careful to do according to all that is written in it.” The hearer and doer of the Word discovers that its demands are just as Jesus said: the “yoke is easy” and the “burden is light” (Matt. 11:30). Obviously the distinctions between right and wrong attitudes about and responses to God and His Word are not always clear-cut, at least to our human eyes and understanding. Some unbelievers make a strong effort to act like believers, acknowledging that Scripture is inspired and true, attending church regularly, giving lip service to worship of God, and outwardly acting morally. In a similar but opposite way, true believers do not always live up to their understanding of Scripture, sometimes falling into serious sin. But James is speaking of the heart commitment to God’s Word or the lack of it. The unbeliever cannot keep up a spiritual facade indefinitely, and the true believer cannot be content to remain in sin indefinitely. Moving away from the analogy of the mirror, James makes clear that the doer of the Word is not simply someone who is involved in religious activity. If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless. Religious is from thrēskos, which refers to external religious rituals, liturgies, routines, and ceremonies. The famous Jewish historian Josephus used the word to describe worship in the temple at Jerusalem. Paul used the noun form of this term when speaking of his former life as a zealous Pharisee (Acts 26:5). By contrast, the word most commonly used in the New Testament for genuine, God-honoring and God-pleasing worship is eusebeia, whose basic meaning is that of godliness and holiness. Such things as attending church services and activities, doing volunteer work, following various rituals and ceremonies, saying prayers, and even having right theology have no spiritual value in themselves apart from true saving faith and honorable motives to glorify the Lord. The person who trusts in those outward things sooner or later will expose his faithlessness with his mouth, because he does not have the inner power to bridle his tongue. Trusting in those things to please God and receive His blessing are deceptive and worthless. Even if a ritual or liturgy is biblical in its wording, it is as futile as pagan idolatry unless the heart is right with the Lord. A corrupt and unholy heart eventually will be exposed by corrupt and unholy speech. The tongue is not the only indicator of true spirituality but is one of the most reliable. It has been estimated that the average person will speak some 18,000 words in a day, enough for a fifty-four-page book. In a year that amounts to sixty-six 800-page volumes! Many people, of course, speak much more than that. Up to one-fifth of the average person’s life is spent talking. If the tongue is not controlled by God, it is a sure indicator that the heart is not, either. Jesus told the self-righteous Pharisees, “The mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart.… For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned” (Matt. 12:34, 37). Religion that does not transform the heart, and thereby the tongue, is totally worthless in God’s sight.
WILLINGNESS TO APPLY THE WORD WITHOUT SELFISHNESS
Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, (1:27a)
The second proper reaction to the Word of God is the willingness to apply it to one’s life without selfishness, with genuine concern for the welfare of others, especially those in great need. Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is to serve them with love and compassion. Jesus said, “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). Katharos (pure) and amiantos (undefiled) are synonyms, the first emphasizing cleanliness, the second denoting freedom from contamination. James is not speaking of what may seem best to us, best to the world, or even best to fellow believers, but what is best in the sight of our God and Father. The genuineness of anyone’s religion is not determined by his or her own qualifications or standards but by God’s. The greatest spiritual mistake of the scribes, Pharisees, and other Jewish leaders who opposed Jesus was in that very regard. They had replaced God’s standards in the Law with their own man-made traditions. Of such men Jesus said, “You invalidated the word of God for the sake of your tradition. You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you: ‘This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far away from Me’ ” (Matt. 15:6b–8). Episkeptomai (to visit) means much more than to drop by for a chat. It carries the ideas of caring for others, exercising oversight on their behalf, and of helping them in whatever way is needed. It is from the same root as episkopos, which means “overseer” and is sometimes translated “bishop” (see the NASB and KJV texts of Acts 20:28; Phil. 1:1; 1 Tim. 3:2; Titus 1:7; 1 Peter 2:25). Episkeptomai is used frequently in the New Testament of God’s visiting His people in order to help, strengthen, and encourage them (see, e.g., Luke 1:68, 78; 7:16; Acts 15:14 KJV; the NASB reading uses the expression “how God first concerned Himself about”; and Heb. 2:6 KJV; the NASB reading uses the expression “concerned about”). In speaking of the separation of the sheep and goats in the day of judgment, Jesus used the word to describe those who truly belong to and love Him, saying, “I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me” (Matt. 25:35–36, emphasis added). Actually, all of those ways of ministering could be included broadly under episkeptomai. To visit in a way that is pleasing to our God and Father is to meet as best we can all the needs of orphans and widows and any others in their distress. Generally, the neediest people in the early church were orphans and widows. There were no life insurance or welfare programs to support them. Jobs for either group were scarce, and if they had no close kin, or at least none who would help them, they were in desperate straits. But the principle applies to anyone in need. Because such people without parents and husbands are unable to reciprocate in any way, caring for them reveals true sacrificial love. God has always had special concern for orphans and widows and has commanded His people to reflect that same concern. David affirmed that “a father of the fatherless and a judge for the widows, is God in His holy habitation” (Ps. 68:5). The Mosaic Law included the instruction, “You shall not afflict any widow or orphan” (Ex. 22:22), and,
“At the end of every third year you shall bring out all the tithe of your produce in that year, and shall deposit it in your town. The Levite, because he has no portion or inheritance among you, and the alien, the orphan and the widow who are in your town, shall come and eat and be satisfied, in order that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do” … “Cursed is he who distorts the justice due an alien, orphan, and widow.” And all the people shall say, “Amen.” (Deut. 14:28–29; 27:19)
Through Jeremiah, the Lord declared to Israel, “If you truly amend your ways and your deeds, if you truly practice justice between a man and his neighbor, if you do not oppress the alien, the orphan, or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place, nor walk after other gods to your own ruin, then I will let you dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers forever and ever” (Jer. 7:5–7). Loving, selfless service to others, especially fellow believers, is also a frequent New Testament theme. Paul gave the command to “honor widows who are widows indeed” (1 Tim. 5:3), which included bestowing financial and any other help that was needed. John declares that
the one who loves his brother abides in the Light and there is no cause for stumbling in him. But the one who hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes.… By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother. For this is the message which you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.… We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death.… We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. (1 John 2:10–11; 3:10–11, 14, 16)
Later in 1 John, he says,
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us. (1 John 4:7–12)
True Christianity is manifested from a pure and loving heart by the way believers talk and by the way they act. It is manifested by how they love and care for those who are in need, not by how they love and care for those they prefer, those who are close to them, or those with whom they share common traits and interests. Love is to be the central and most visible manifestation of salvation. And, as John makes clear, love for God cannot be separated from love for others, especially for fellow believers and most especially for those who are in … distress. The professed Christian who does not show such compassion has reason to doubt that he is born again. A truly redeemed heart reaches out to others (cf. Matt. 5:43–48; John 13:34–35).
WILLINGNESS TO APPLY THE WORD WITHOUT COMPROMISE
and to keep oneself unstained by the world. (1:27b)
The third proper reaction to the Word of God is the willingness to apply it to one’s life without moral or spiritual compromise. To keep translates a form of the Greek verb tēreō, indicating regular, continuous action. In other words, keeping oneself unstained by the world is the perpetual obligation of Christians, allowing for no exception or qualification. Those who belong to God are to be characterized by moral and spiritual purity, by unstained and unblemished holiness. Peter admonishes believers to “conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth; knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ” (1 Pet. 1:17b–19). Neither James nor Peter is speaking of sinless perfection, a human spiritual condition solely manifested by Jesus in His incarnation. “Indeed, there is not a righteous man on earth,” the writer of Ecclesiastes assures us, “who continually does good and who never sins” (Eccles. 7:20). Although Paul could honestly say, “I have lived my life with a perfectly good conscience before God up to this day” (Acts 23:1; cf. 24:16), he also confessed, “I am conscious of nothing against myself, yet I am not by this acquitted; but the one who examines me is the Lord” (1 Cor. 4:4), and “I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want” (Rom. 7:18–19). Every Christian falls short of the Lord’s standards. Like Paul, we find ourselves doing things we know are wrong and not doing things we know are right (cf. Rom. 7:14–25). Even the most faithful and loving believer does not always show as much compassion as he should, love his fellow believers as he should, or love God as he should. James is speaking of the basic orientation of our lives, of our central commitment and allegiance. If that allegiance is right, then our deepest desire will be to love and care for others and to confess our selfish sin to the Lord when we do not. The genuine Christian cannot be happy or content when he fails to show compassion for others. It is not our perfection that proves our salvation but rather our hating our imperfections and seeking, with God’s help and power, to correct them. In his inmost heart, the genuine Christian longs to speak and do only those things that are holy, pure, loving, honest, truthful, and upright, things that are uncorrupted and unstained by the world. On the other hand, a person who does not have compassion for others, who is not concerned about living righteously, and whose satisfaction is found in his sin, cannot be a true disciple of Christ and child of God. Kosmos (world) has the basic meaning of order, arrangement, and sometimes of adornment. In the New Testament it is used figuratively of the earth (see Matt. 13:35; John 21:25) and the universe (see 1 Tim. 6:7; Heb. 4:3; 9:26). But most often it is used to represent fallen mankind in general and its ungodly spiritual systems of philosophy, morals, and values (see John 7:7; 8:23; 14:30; 1 Cor. 2:12; Gal. 4:3; Col. 2:8). That is the sense in which James uses the term in the present text. (See discussion below on 4:4.) With that meaning of world obviously in mind, John warns, “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world” (1 John 2:15–16). Love of God and love of the world and the things of the world are totally incompatible and mutually exclusive. The phrase “the things of the world” does not pertain to such things as participating in business, being involved in social activities, or buying and using the material necessities of life. It is the overriding love of and allegiance to such things that are ungodly and come between men and God. Godly religion, that is, biblical Christianity, is a matter of holy obedience to God’s Word—reflected, among other ways, by our honesty in regard to ourselves, by our selflessness in regard to the needs of others, and by our uncompromising moral and spiritual stand in regard to the world.
MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (1998). James (pp. 77–92). Moody Press.
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A World War Two veteran has labelled Britain‘s victory against the Nazis a “waste of time” and warned the UK has “gone downhill”.
Mervyn Kersh, 101, a Jewish D-Day veteran who witnessed the liberation of Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in 1945, voiced his frustrations about modern Britain.
He singled out the issue of immigration of immigration, with Channel crossings in 2025 so far exceeding 41,000.
Mr Kersh, who was once lauded for his efforts by ex-Prime Minister Boris Johnson, told The Daily Mail: “I think it [the war] was a waste of time, because the benefits we got from it, the wartime camaraderie and everyone, almost everybody, mucked in [with] whatever they could do.
“Whatever [way] they could help somebody else they did. That wasn’t just in the army. You don’t get that now, no.”
He added: “This country has gone right downhill.
“I know the population is changing. Some are leaving, and then others are coming who have no understanding or knowledge of what this country was like, not only just its history, but it’s morals.”
Mr Kersh, who now lives alone following the death of his wife Betty in 2018, insisted he has “no objection” with genuine asylum seekers but did go on to highlight concerns about migrant crossings.
However, Mr Kersh was also asked how Britain’s recent leaders compare to the likes of Sir Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher.
The 101-year-old added: “They didn’t just try to keep the job to the next day, next session, a bit of sparring with the opposition, and then come and have a drink job.”
Mr Kersh, who was born in Brixton in 1924, signed up to join the Ordnance Corps in 1943.
After undergoing training in Scotland, Mr Kersh was ready to follow the main D-Day invasion force into Normandy.
The veteran landed on Gold Beach on the Normandy coast.
Speaking about the experience previously, Mr Kersh said: “The landings was the biggest experience, the biggest and most emotional one.
“Landing on the coast with the intention of destroying the Germans.
“They were firing at the biggest ships out at sea and the British were firing above our heads at the Germans.
“French women, children and old men greeted us with flowers, wine and kisses.
“I did not take the wine in case it was poisoned but I did take the flowers and the kisses. I was 19 at the time. I’m a bit older now.”
Mr Kersh was later stationed near Bergen-Belsen when the camp was liberated by British troops in April 1945.
However, Mr Kersh’s comments come shortly after ex-Royal Navy serviceman Alec Penstone made similar claims ahead of Remembrance Sunday.
“My message is, I can see in my mind’s eye the rows and rows of white stones of all the hundreds of my friends and everybody else that gave their lives for what?” he said.
“The country of today. No, I’m sorry, the sacrifice wasn’t worth the result that it is now.”
Mr Penstone continued: “What we fought for, and what we fought for, was our freedom. We find that even now it’s downright worse than when I fought for it.”
The UK lost 384,000 soldiers in combat during the Second World War.
A further 70,000 British civilians were killed, including 40,000 between September 1940 and May 1941.
It has been an eventful year, from the wildfires in California to Trump’s inauguration, tensions in the Middle East, the rise of Reform and the Epstein files. We condensed all the top moments of 2025 in 2 minutes and 25 seconds. #2025 #worldnews #skynews
It’s exactly what I expected from having a majority. They put the gatekeepers in place to stall Trump and wait out the 4 years. https://t.co/5ZWzhVohTe
It should be plain to everyone that Congress is slow walking President’s Trump’s agenda. The majority MAGA gave them is meaningless. They are there to do their own business and get rich @SenateGOP@HouseGOPhttps://t.co/xxnRtKQvO3
House Speaker Johnson and Senate Majority Leader Thune have done nothing to codify Trump’s America First agenda like securing election integrity by passing the SAVE Act, DOGE cuts, or impeaching rogue activist federal judges!
Republican Congress Sets EMBARRASSING Record for DO-NOTHING in 2025!
GOP-controlled House & Senate passed JUST 38 laws this year, the FEWEST in the first year of ANY presidency since 1989!
House cast a pathetic record-low votes, barely half of what Republicans did in 2017.
We gave Republicans the House, Senate, and White House to DELIVER on mass deportations, slashing spending, huge government cuts, election integrity, draining the DC Swamp, and ALL America First promises.
Instead? Gridlock. Excuses.
RINOs and weak leaders squandered our massive mandate.
DO YOU SUPPORT PRIMARIES FOR ESTABLISHMENT RINOS IN 2026?
A total of nineteen blue states are suing the Trump administration in a bid to protect the right to perform child sex changes.
Last week, Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he would cut off Medicare and Medicaid funding to any provider that offers so-called gender-affirming treatment to minors.
“Under my leadership, and answering President Trump’s call to action, the federal government will do everything in its power to stop unsafe, irreversible practices that put our children at risk,” Kennedy said at the time.
The Oregon-led lawsuit claims that the decision “exceeds the Secretary’s authority and violates the Administrative Procedure Act and the Medicare and Medicaid statutes.”
Oregon Attorney General Dayfield argued that child sex changes are an essential form of healthcare.
Attorney General Dan Rayfield today led a coalition of 18 other states and the District of Columbia in suing to ensure the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) cannot threaten providers with a so-called declaration that baselessly and unlawfully attempts to limit a family’s ability to work with their providers to make the healthcare decisions without interference from the federal government.
The declaration falsely claims that certain forms of gender-affirming care are “unsafe and ineffective” and threatens to punish any doctors, hospitals, and clinics that continue to provide it with exclusion from the federal Medicare and Medicaid programs.
“By targeting Oregon providers, HHS is putting care at risk and forcing families to choose between their personal health care choices and their doctor’s ability to practice,” said Attorney General Rayfield.
“Healthcare decisions belong with families and their healthcare providers, not the government.”
Among the states signed up to the lawsuit are California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Wisconsin, Washington, and D.C.
During a press conference last week, Kennedy ripped into the so-called medical experts who continue to advocate for young people making decisions that are dangerous and irreversible:
Doctors across the country now provide needless and irreversible sex rejecting procedures that violate their sacred Hippocratic Oath, endangering the very lives they’re sworn to safeguard.”
The American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, peddled the lie that chemical and surgical sex rejecting procedures could be good for children who suffer from gender dysphoria.”
They betrayed the estimated 300,000 American youth ages 13 to 17, conditioned to believe that sex can be changed.
They betrayed their Hippocratic Oath to do no harm. So-called gender affirming care has done psychological and physical damage to vulnerable young people.”
This is not medicine, it is malpractice.
Watch the clip below:
This is a watershed moment.
The medical establishment just lost its grip — and there’s no pretending anymore.
Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. detonated the entire “gender-affirming care” narrative today, announcing that HHS will now restrict and reject the very framework that… pic.twitter.com/GO0mexELnh
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