Ashes To Ashes

"You are not right!" "No, you are wrong!" Those are not phrases that any of us want to hear, or enjoy hearing. Yet essentially James opens up his 4^th chapter challenging us that the quarrels and fights we have come from our own hearts.

Our hearts are messed up, big time! “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it” (Jeremiah 17:9)? Our hearts are the source of all our problems because of sin and sinful desires.

The problem is we don’t acknowledge our own sinfulness. Far from it, we instead insist we are right and good. We blame everyone else for the problems in our life and continue to pursue our desires, even when it ultimately will lead to our destruction.

We become so confident in ourselves that we neglect prayer, robbing us of the abundance of Christ. When we do finally turn to God in prayer, we do it with the wrong motives seeking to escape the problems that are our fault.

We sin because we are sinners, born into this world dead in our trespasses and sins. What does a corpse do? Nothing. Our natural state can do nothing good that would earn life or salvation. We are blinded to God and our need for a Savior.

Sin is missing the mark, falling short of God’s perfection and breaking His perfect law (see Romans 3:23). This is the state of our heart. The one thing in common all the quarrels and fights in my life have is me, I’m at the center and I am the one to blame. We can no longer follow the pattern our first parents, Adam and Eve, set for us as they blamed others for their sins. We have to humbly come to God acknowledging our own sinfulness and need for a Savior.

Maybe you are thinking, “well I did ask Jesus into my heart years ago so I’m good and don’t need to do this repentance thing any more.” There are several issues we would need to deal with in that sentence, but we will stick to the topic of believers living a life of repentance.  James is writing to believers and telling them that they need to repent. They need to acknowledge the wickedness of their own hearts, their desire to be friends with the world and turn back to God.

Repentance should become a daily practice for believers. Sure, your relationship with God may have begun that one day you remember repenting and believing on Jesus for the first time, but repentance is what keeps our relationships with Jesus vibrant and growing.

One thing I love about expository (verse by verse through the Bible) preaching and teaching is how when we do a series, God lines things up perfectly for us to hear what we need to hear when we need to hear it. When I scheduled James to be our next series, I didn’t look at the calendar and figure out what week would be best to teach each chapter. I just thought James would be a good book to start the year on.

However, James 4:1-12 fell on this Wednesday of all Wednesdays, which is Ash Wednesday according to the Christian Liturgical Calendar. Ash Wednesday is the beginning of the Lentin season, a season of sacrifice and fasting in preparation for celebrating Easter. Some Christian traditions do not celebrate Lent, as is the case for the tradition I grew up in. There are certainly a number of theological implications that can be discussed in whether all Christians should or should not celebrate it, or the proper means in celebration. Yet in getting in to all of that we may miss the main point, which is repentance.

Ash Wednesday is a day to remember our humanity, humility and God’s holiness. Each of us are born sinners and will die one day. From dust we came and dust we will return. We are lost without Jesus and separated from a Holy God. It was very costly for Jesus to purchase our redemption on the cross, and this is a day for us to reflect on our sinfulness. Ashes were a symbol of mourning in the Old Testament. So many believers will put ashes on their foreheads to remember their sins and need for a Savior.

Considering Ash Wednesday, let’s look again at what James says in chapter 4:6-10.

He has just reminded us of the sinful state of our heart and our desperate situation. Then he transitions with an amazing word, GRACE! God gives more grace, God is the source of grace and He delights in giving it to us. One person has defined grace as “God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense!”

Jesus was willing to become a human baby, live a perfect sinless life in complete submission to the Law of God, to go to the cross and shed His blood for our sins and then be buried and rise again the third day. He offers us forgiveness and a relationship with Him. This is what we need to consider when thinking about Grace.

Steps to a Repentant Life

As we think about grace, the means for our salvation and pursuit of God, James gives us a few steps to practice in repentance.

Submit To God – Daily we need to remember who God is, His holiness, His position and our place. We need to align ourselves in a proper posture to worship our Creator. He is Lord, King and our Father, we serve and obey Him and Him alone!

Resist The Devil – We need to put up a fight against the enemy. We need to say no to temptations in thought and deed. This is a continual action with a promise that when we make it a practice of resisting, the enemy will flee from us. We cannot do this in our own strength but need to power of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God.

Draw Near To God – We draw near to God by reading His Word and talking to Him through prayer. When’s the last time you prayed just to be near to God? He promises that when we draw near to Him, He will draw near to us. (Consider John 15)

Cleanse Hands and Purify Hearts – 1 John 1:9 tells us that when we confess our sins God will forgive us and cleanse us. Hands refer to our actions and deeds. Think through the wrong things you have done and ask forgiveness and stop committing those sins. The Heart is our affections and motives, think through and confess the evil longings of our hearts and ask God to give you new desires and motives.

Mourn Our Sinfulness – Here is something we are not good at. We find joy in our sins and almost laugh them off. James says turn your laughter and joy into mourning and weeping. Your sin cost Jesus His life. Have you ever experienced a Godly sorrow that leads to repentance? Ask God to break your heart over your sin and help you to hate it.

Humble Oursleves – When we do this, we gain a proper perspective of our self and gain a proper perspective of God. Don’t seek self glory, but the glory of God. He will lift you up and encourage you. His praise is the only praise we need, don’t seek a cheap substitute in life.

So today, this Ash Wednesday, no matter what your tradition is, remember Jesus and His sacrificial love for you. Remember where you came from and where you are going. Continue to live a repentant lifestyle and draw close to God. Not just because today is Ash Wednesday, but because Jesus rose from the dead and is with you everyday, so live with Him in joy!

May the grace of God be with you!