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How Then Shall We Live Today?

Chapter 3

As hard as it is to acknowledge, we must remember that there are no good people in the absolute sense of the

word. All of us are tainted by and infected with sin (Ecclesiastes 7:20, Romans 3:23, 1 John 1:8). As Jesus said, no one is good except God alone. All of us feel the effects of sin in one way or another. Sometimes it is our own personal sin, and other times it is the sin of others. We live in a fallen world, and we expect the effects of the fall. One of those effects is injustice and seemingly senseless suffering.

The Bible Clearly Identifies This Question and Gives Answers in 3 Ways:

1. The Problem

2. The Promise

3. The Provision

I call this God’s University of Adversity. If we obey this teaching, we can graduate with a PHD.

“Behold, I will do something new, now it will

spring forth; will you not be aware of it? I will

even make a roadway in the wilderness, rivers in

the desert.”

– Isaiah 43:19

Without God, there are no roads in the wilderness.

Without God there are no rivers in the desert.

The Problem

Why do we have problems and where do they come from?

1. Problems, for mankind, began with the

disobedience of Adam and Eve in the garden

and it is called SIN (Genesis 2).

2. God gave Adam and Eve five commands to follow:

• Be Fruitful (Genesis 1:28)

• Replenish (Genesis 1:28)

• Exercise a Dominion (Genesis 1:28, Genesis 2:15)

• Refrain from eating the fruit from the Tree

of Good and Evil (Genesis 2:17)

• Multiply (Genesis 1:28)

3. When Adam and Eve sinned, because God is a HOLY, SOVEREIGN, OMNIPRESENT GOD - which means He, as the Creator, has

the right to do anything—He chose what He did because He cannot tolerate sin.

4. The sin of Adam and Eve introduced three major types of disobedience, and mankind is involved in these sins today:

• Lust of the flesh

• Lust of the eyes

• Pride of life (Genesis 3:6, 1 John 2:15-17)

“Trials teach us who we are. They dig up the soil and let us see what we are made of.”

– Charles Spurgeon

“True faith is not going to get you out of a hard place, but to change your heart out of a hard place.”

– David Wilkinson

“The Bible was not given for our information but for our transformation.”

– Dwight L. Moody

“God does not expect the impossible from us. God wants us to expect the impossible from Him.”

– Dwight L. Moody

“We all face storms in life. Some are more difficult than others, but we all go through trials and tribulations. That is why God gives us the

gift of faith.”

– Joyce Meyer

The Promise

The Vital Importance of a Biblical Worldview:

“A worldview is the most important thing that we know about a man or a woman.”

– Richard Weaver

“A Biblical world view approach to life and learning has never been more needed than in today’s Pluralistic/Postmodern culture.

Christians today face hostility to their faith from one side and apathy from anything of importance on the other side. Sadly, the casualties are high.”

– Chuck Edwards

Part of God’s promise is that in the world today we will have trials and tribulations (John 16:33, 2 Timothy 3:12, John 15:20, Psalms 34:17-19).

“The Lord will test the righteous. The greater the test, the greater the calling of God on your life.”

– Ravi Zacharias

The Provision

Very important. The only way a person can experience the provision of God is to have a personal relationship

with God. This opportunity is simply to accept Jesus Christ as your personal Savior for the forgiveness of sins and life everlasting (John 3:14-21).

God’s Way of Provision for Handling a Problem James 1:2-8: This is a life-changing provision experience. Trust me, I know. This provision includes trials of all kinds, whether it be:

• Financial

• Business

• Health

• Marriage

• Family

• Personal

Verse 1:

James 1:2-8: Strong Recommendation – Read out loud as often as necessary as a prayer to the Lord.

How to Profit From Trials or How Shall We Then Live?

Verse 2:

COUNT (to lead the way/to have rule over/to be chief)

The Jewish-culture believer believed that the more trials you have the closer you are to God. Paul, in 2 Timothy 3:12, teaches that trials are part of a godly life.

JOY (Calm delight/cheerfulness/exceeding gladness)

The joy with which we endure trials in the present is a signal of hope for future relief.

FALL INTO (to fall into something that surrounds you/to light upon you)

Like the story of the Good Samaritan, you may not even have caused the trial. Read the Good Samaritan story

(Luke 10:25-37). Remember, Jesus taught that the two greatest commandments were:

1. To love God with all of your heart/soul/mind. Remember your body is the Temple of the Holy Spirit who lives within you

(1 Corinthians 3:16-17, 6:18-20).

2. To love (agape) others as you love yourself. DIVERS (various in character) TEMPTATIONS (adversity, trials with a benefi cial

purpose and effect)

The Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of trials and temptation (2 Peter 2:7-9). The Lord knows (which means to understand/divine knowledge, see Matthew 6:8).

Verse 3:

KNOWING THIS (to understand/to realize)

THE TRYING OF YOURSELF (trying means to test)

What is faith? “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1).

How important is faith? “Without faith it is impossible (impotent) to please God but He rewards those who

diligently seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6). Faith is a gift that God gives us, but we have to use it to make it grow (Romans 12:3).

PATIENCE (abiding under)

Patience perfects the Christian character, so let patience have her perfect work. Patience is the ability to persevere through increasing levels of trials.

Verse 4:

PERFECT WORK

“But let endurance and steadfastness and patience have full play, and do a thorough work, so that you may be perfectly and fully developed lacking in nothing.”

– The Amplified Bible

WANTING NOTHING – Jesus promised in Matthew 6:24-34 where He tells us to put God’s Kingdom first and all will be given to us.

“Worry is a sin and can produce anxiety/fear/disease and even mental illness.”

– The Dake Annotated Reference Bible

“What happens when you worry? Your mind and body go into overdrive as you constantly focus

on WHAT MIGHT HAPPEN.”

– Web MD

Verse 5:

WISDOM/IF

There are about 1600 “ifs” in the Bible and the word usually means that someone has to make a decision. God asked King Solomon what he wanted, and Solomon’s answer was found in 1 Kings 3:3-15:

“Lord, give your servant an understanding mind.”

God asks us the same question with a promise and

instructions:

• We are to ask (which means call up or to do something).

• Giveth: Giveth is a present participle which means continual or repeated action with no indication of timing. In other words, it’s up to

God.

• Liberally (unconditional supply)

Verse 6:

FAITH

Faith is our choice because if we do not ask in faith we are like a wave in the sea.

“Ask” is a present imperative which means a command to do something, including continuous or repeated

action.

Matthew 7:7-8 tells us to keep on asking, keep on seeking and keep on knocking.

Verse 7: If we do not follow the principles of verses 2-6, we will

receive nothing from the Lord. WHY?

Verse 8:

Because we are double-minded (two-spirited), vacillating in our original purpose, and we are unstable (restless in our ways) (James 4:1-10). Loving the world means hating God.

Blaming Others/Not Forgiving

When you are hanging by a thread, make sure it is the hem of His garment.

Remember, as the Temple of God, the Lord calls you to such things as:

• A Holy Priesthood

• A Chosen Generation

• A Holy Nation

• A Peculiar People (the meaning of peculiar is acquisition or possession)

Our response to this is to PRAISE THE LORD (1 Peter 2:1-11).

The Good Samaritan Story (Luke 10:25-37) In Luke 10, a lawyer asked Jesus a question and He answered the question with a question (v. 26). Verses 27-29 tell us the story of a man travelling from Jerusalem to Jericho. This pathway of about 18 miles was known

as “the bloody way.” Jericho was home to about 12,000 priests and was a beautiful city fi lled with palm trees.

Jesus answers the question with a parable (verses 30-37).

The Samaritans were a blend of all kinds of mixed races and the Jewish people of the day had very little respect for them.

When the man fell amongst thieves three types of people passed by:

1. A priest, whose main occupation was to offer sacrifices, and he had no compassion for the wounded man.

2. A Levite: Levites were descendants of Levi. They kept a distinct separation from the other eleven tribes, so he obviously had little

compassion.

3. The Good Samaritan: The Good Samaritan shows us eight acts of mercy and compassion that we should show to others

even if we disagree with them. Eight is a number of new beginnings in the Bible:

1. Had compassion

2. Bound up his wounds

3. Poured in oil

4. Poured in wine

5. Set him on his own beast

6. Brought him to an inn

7. Took care of him

8. Offered to pay for his care if anything

more was needed

Jesus then sums up the parable by saying, “Go and do (likewise).” This is known as a present imperative which

means a continuous or repeated action. As the Temple of God, this is how Jesus Christ instructed us to live.