Grow Up Series

Earlier in the service Helen read from the book of James. This is the twentieth book of the New Testament and it was written by James. Which James? We’re not a hundred percent sure but most scholars believe it was written by the brother of Jesus. This may have been the first New Testament book to be written, somewhere between AD 40 and 50. And the reason it was written was to warn believers about some of the habits they had fallen into. This is one of the most practical books in the bible and one of my personal favourites, but not everyone shares my sentiments. Martin Luther, the father of the reformation didn’t like the emphasis that James put on works and good deeds and the lack of theology and referred to the book as “An epistle of straw”.

In the scripture that Helen read this morning we read about one of the great heroes of the faith, not just our faith but also the Jewish and Islamic faiths. This man was a giant of faith and yet James said James 2:22 “You see, he was trusting in God so much that he was willing to do whatever God told him to do. His faith was made complete by what he did – by his actions.” And while we are saved by faith, let us never doubt that if the faith is genuine then it will result in a changed life. Abraham believed God and because he believed he was obedient.

Paul has told us that not only do we need to lay the foundation, not only do we need to “get saved”, but we need to leave that and go on to maturity. We need to grow in our faith. And how do we do that? Well one of the ways is To Look Ahead to where we are going and take our eyes off where we have been. Jesus tell us in Luke 9:62 But Jesus told him, “Anyone who puts a hand to the plow and then looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God.” Yesterday is done, it’s gone, salvation is called a new birth, and a new life in the Bible and that signifies starting over.

2 Corinthians 5:17 What this means is that those who become Christians become new persons. They are not the same anymore, for the old life is gone. A new life has begun! Is that a description of your Christian walk? When you made a commitment to serve Jesus Christ did the old go? Did the New Come, it’s not enough to simply make a commitment, there’s a life change as well. Jesus tells us in Matthew 9:17 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. The old skins would burst from the pressure, spilling the wine and ruining the skins. New wine must be stored in new wineskins. That way both the wine and the wineskins are preserved.”

You can’t take your new life style and pour it into your old life, it will ruin them both. On one hand the commandments of the Bible will make you feel guilty if you continue to live the way you had before salvation. And your actions will separate you from God and keep you from having the fellowship with Him that you need as a Christian. The end result then is that you ruin both lives. You are a miserable pagan and a miserable Christian. Instead Jesus said you have to put the new wine, or your new life into a new wine skin, that is a new life style. You can’t be a Christian gangster. You can’t be a Christian thief. You can’t be a Christian adulterer, or a Christian drunkard, or a Christian tax cheat, or a Christian murderer. Instead when you become a Christian part of that repentance is putting the past behind you.