2011_03_29 Session 03 Real Faith Real Life

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Real Faith for Real Life Faith Service Worship Vision

There may be times when you find it difficult to reconcile God’s truth to your own opinion or worldview, God’s truth is eternal, it does not change, our understanding of the truth does change as we allow God to work in our hearts and minds. These sessions are not about opinion, they are about learning truth, the truth contained in the Bible, together we are going to focus on how we apply God’s truth, black & white in a grey world. To set godly priorities, grow in Christian character and live according to God’s standards so that we are a living witness to others. Notes from previous sessions are available from the Bible Study Section of www.ashingdonelim.co.uk.

Session 3

29 March 2011

The Righteous Life James 1:19-1:27 We are continuing our series through the book of James and how we can live a real faith in real life. In this study we will look at what James tells us about living a righteous life, and our relationship with the Word of God.

How would your best friend describe you? What does it mean to be righteous? Would you want to be known as a righteous person?

To be righteous is to be morally upright. This is not self righteous, which would be to be pridefully assured of your own righteousness, but in humility, striving to live your life in a way that is pleasing to the Lord.

So, do you want to be known as a person living a righteous life?

We might think this is an easy answer to give, but there are many people who would struggle with that because they think that living a righteous life is not going to be enjoyable, or that living a righteous life is living a boring life. James tells us that living the righteous life is where the blessed life is found. He also gives us some practical help in how we can live this righteous life, and describes some of the things that living a righteous life entails. My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20 for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. 21 Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. 19

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it-he will be blessed in what he does. 22 23

If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. 27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. (James 1:19-27) 26

Hear the Word Would you describe yourself as a person who is quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry? Would your friends describe you in the same way? This advice of being quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to become angry is good advice for any relationship or occasion, In the context of this passage it is speaking in the context of the Word of God.

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