James says:
James 2: 14-25
You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God's friend. You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.
To the Romans, Paul says:
Romans 4: 1-8
What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather, discovered in this matter? If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God. What does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness."
Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation. However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness. David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:
"Blessed are they
whose transgressions are forgiven,
whose sins are covered.
Blessed is the man
whose sin the Lord will never count against him."
Ever heard a discussion where two people seemed to take different sides on an issue, but then they both quoted the same exact thing to support their arguments? I think we were all familiar with some of the usual answers to the issue presented here, and an actual in-depth examination of the issue was beyond the scope of our discussion. Rather than summarize the answers we discussed, I thought I'd talk about the process of seeking out those answers (and it'll be clear why in a bit).
What are some important questions to consider when two people appear to disagree? Here are a few I try to ask myself when there is an apparent disagreement:
1) What are the shared assumptions?
2) Where are they coming from?
3) What are they addressing?
4) Are they both using the same words in the same way?
5) Do they actually disagree? If so, what exactly do they disagree on?
These kinds of questions become more important when you are one of the people in the discussion! But a lot of times you just get to listen to some other people go at it and, hopefully, mediate. As it turned out, we did have a situation like this on Monday, after our initial discussion of "faith" and "deeds". I was trying to move the discussion in the direction of something a little more specific (since I'm typically terrible at doing so), and pointed to this passage:
James 2:15-17
Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
Now on Elmwood, the street where we were meeting, you're typically going to be asked for money a couple times on any given day as you're walking along it, so I asked "Does this passage in James apply to those situations, and, if so, how?"
One person said emphatically "Yes, it does apply, and we should give without judging." Another person said "No, you have to use judgment, and not just give money indiscriminately." To which the first person basically replied "What gives us the right to set ourselves up as judges?" And after that, the discussion got a little passionate! Eventually, things cooled down and we were all best buds again, but in retrospect, I thought it was uncanny how the first half of our study was so quickly mirrored by the second, and I felt God was at work somehow on something other than what James 2 was speaking about specifically.
We know it's easy to quote scripture out of context and come to a lopsided conclusion based on what Paul or James said. We know though that that's not what we ought to do and that we really need to dig into what both men said as well as what the whole of scripture says in order to better understand what God is saying to us. As Paul counseled Timothy: "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth."(2 Tim. 2.15) We do not say "Paul is more right than James" or vice versa. Instead we carefully examine where both men are coming from, what they are actually addressing, and how they are using the words and scripture they choose to quote.
Should we not also exercise the same care with how we understand each other? That's not to say two people can't genuinely disagree about something fundamentally (we're not Paul or James!), but it's important to understand what they actually disagree on, and if they are actually talking about the same thing. It's easy to say "I disagree" without actually trying to figure out what it is that's disagreeable. We just read in James 1:19: "My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry." Proverbs 18:13 is a little more direct: "He who answers before listening - that is his folly and his shame."
When we have taken the time to understand what the other means by what they say, then we can explain ourselves and why we disagree. Any other approach is likely to cause unnecessary offense, regardless of whether a response is "right" or not, because few things cause more offense than the impression that one is being answered before one is even heard. Proverbs 18:19 says "An offended brother is more unyielding than a fortified city, and disputes are like the barred gates of a citadel." That's not to say we shouldn't take responsibility for when we close our ears to others when we are offended, but as a people in Christ, we should make every effort to cause as little unnecessary offense as possible. Romans 12:18 says "If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone."
Let's not be a people who put mufflers on others ears by being obstinate ourselves. Instead, let's strive to approach people in such a way as to cause them to take their mufflers off. Let us make hearing each other well a priority. If that sounds difficult, it's because it is. It should be no surprise, then, that that is exactly what scripture asks us to do.
Tomorrow: James 3, in which James talks about talking. Wait, didn't he already talk about this?
No comments:
Post a Comment