Soon the end of the church year will be upon us but for now, the 19th Sunday after Pentecost offers the following three readings: Numbers 11:4-6, 10-16, 24-29 (70 to help Moses); James 4:7-12, (13-5:6) (Submit to God) and Mark 9:38-50 (Cause little one to stumble). Chosen to analyze this week in preparation for a sermon is the passage of James 4:8 which reads, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.”
Now if that doesn’t like a verse from every other religion in the world, I don’t know what would. For Christianity differentiates itself from every other religion in the world by who drives the verbs. That is shorthand for pointing out who is the one who is always the subject of our salvation. The answer is the holy Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Thus, to the question as to who makes the first move in our salvation, the answer is God.
Yet here we apparently have a verse which has us FIRST drawing near to God after which He will draw near to us. With such a scenario, how would you ever know that you have drawn near enough for God to draw near to you? As has been our practice on this Blog, the solution is two-fold. First, the context is everything which translates into “Scripture interprets Scripture.” Second, the distinctions between Law and Gospel are to be kept in mind.
If James 4:8 was describing the process of conversion, we would have a problem. For no unbeliever is able to draw near to God since hatred and sin control the natural man in regard to the true God. Thus, from a L&G perspective, this verse CANNOT be referring to Justification; it must be about Sanctification. We do not have far to go to find our solution from the context. For James 4:5 makes clear that the people being addressed are those in whom “the Spirit dwells.”
While no unbeliever can make any choice in regard to the true God, the believer can choose to have him and his family serve the Lord (Joshua) as well as draw near to God through worshiping and receiving the holy sacraments. While the holy of holies resides within the believer, the believer still can reject and refute the Word of God. That is why James, who is writing to Christians, reminds us to draw near to God through the means of grace so that God will continue to “give grace to the humble” (James 4:6). And guess who gets the credit when we do draw near? Correct, the same Holy Spirit who dwells in us and yearns jealousy (James 4:5).
Name:Tom Baker
This post illustrates the confusion that results when most people read the bible. In this case they fail to distinguish Justification and Sanctification, usually combining these two spiritual processes so that at first glance it would appear that unbelievers can actually make spiritually correct decisions, such as “submitting” to God or “seeking Him” so that God is the respondent. Scripture interprets Scripture and 1Cor 2:14 informs us that it is impossible for an unbeliever to even begin to comprehend spiritual truths, let alone “submit to God”. As Pastor Baker points out, the context is that of Justified believers, who already are temples of the Holy Spirit, adopted children of God. Of course believers can properly desire spiritual truths since they are children of the One, True, God. Hence, the believer can submit his will and pray, while unbelievers cannot do so. Most of the New Testament is written to believers, encouraging them to begin acting based upon their new status with God on account of their faith in Christ. The proof that the Old Adam continues to coexist within believers with their New Creation is the continual chastisements from St Paul, James, and Peter in their epistles. Unfortunately, most confuse the sanctification(life of the believer) with his salvation which was based solely upon the atonement and perfect life of Christ.
When reviewing a Roman Catholic booklet referred to as “The Antidote to Anti-Catholicism”(Pillar Of Fire Pillar Of Truth), I was struck at the similarity between much of what I read and Protestanism, in particular Calvinism. It may seen strange that there are so many similarities between these two branches of Christianity, but that is the truth. For instance, among the many errors in the Roman Catholic booklet is the common one that “We are saved by grace alone, but not by faith alone(which is what “Bible Christians” teach; Jas. 2:24”. The booklet expounds upon “grace” as a power source by which Christians are empowered to keep God’s commandments, thus pleasing Him and as partners in the salvation process, being saved. Now Calvinists will deny this by quoting Ephesians 2:8-9 that we are saved by grace through faith. But when you explore the Calvinist meaning of salvation, their understanding of “faith” is identical with that of Roman Catholics: obedience. Hence, both sects actually believe we are saved by faith through grace, the reverse of what the bible states. Another similarity between the two is that neither one is assured of salvation! The Roman Catholic believes he is a “work in progress” and the final result is yet to be determined. The Calvinist is unsure whether he is one of the predestined Elect and hence, based upon anti-sacramental Calvinist theology, he has no certainty of eternal life.
It is simply amazing that in all the various Sunday readings there is a tendency to always concentrate upon our good works and obedience, rather than Christ’s work on the cross and His obedience in our stead. It is really sad when you think of it because most of what is called Christianity is so similar to all the religions of the world which stress good works and progressive sanctification instead of salvation by grace through the vehicle of faith alone. As C.F.W. Walther noted in his treatise “The Proper Distinction Between Law & Gospel”, most Christians treat Jesus as another Moses, another Law giver or helper by which sinful man can pull himself up by his bootstraps and attain perfection and salvation via his obedience and good works. All such foolishness neglects the perfect life, suffering, death, and resurrection of Christ and treat this centerpiece of Divine revelation as a secondary issue, concentrating upon our own “improvements” instead. My contacts with people from all walks of life and various belief systems has shown me that the Gospel is not understood and not believed even when it is announced. To the Old Adam within each person I meet, the Gospel is simply too good to comprehend and believe. I often get frustrated until I remember that it is the Holy Spirit Who convicts men of their sins and leads thim to Christ, not myself. That is a true comfort to me. I merely announce the grace of God in Christ and the Holy Spirit does the rest.
In summary, most readers of Scripture fail to distinguish Justification from Sanctification, or Law and Gospel. Most readers also fail to understand that at Baptism/Conversion a New Creation is miraculously created in man by God, with the Old Adam continuing to exist simultaneously within the believer until temporal death. This failure to understand that a believer is “simul justus et peccator”, in addition to the other confusions, explains the emphasis upon the progressive sanctification of a person as the determinant of his acceptance by God.
Frank Marron
Since the beginning of the radio broadcast “law and Gospel” on AM 850 KFUO Saint Louis, MO (can receive it on the Internet at kfuo.org) I have made the point again and again that “theology is the art of making distinctions.” Thanks Frank for your perceptive analysis of the sermon analysis.