James 3:1

NIV: Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly

The Message: Don't be in any rush to become a teacher, my friends. Teaching is highly responsible work. Teachers are held to the strictest standards.

Teaching is, on the whole, a respected profession. If you are a teacher, people look up to you, respect you, and even today, more years later than I care to remember, I still have that fear and dread inside whenever I meet a teacher! I wasn't a bad child, I always behaved at school but I went in fear of the teachers. I know from talking to other mums I am not alone here and I always have that slight fear, insecurity, or whatever, on parents evening that somehow, my child's teachers will know/think I don't measure up to their ideal of a "good" parent.

Being a teacher is a responsible post because you can shape the leaders of the future. Your words, your teachings, can have a profound impact on a child and can build them up, spur them on to achieve their full potential, or they can knock them down, give them scars that will remain for the rest of their lives.

But it is not only children who are influenced by teachers. What about the preachers we have on a Sunday morning, the teaching from the pulpit? Our ideas, our beliefs, our faith can really be affected by the things people say from the position of authority behind that pulpit (or whatever they stand next to, because certainly in our church, there is no pulpit). You only have to do a quick search on the internet to hear stories of how people have had their faith shaken when they went to such and such a church or heard so and so preach. Wrong teaching can have catastrophic results when it goes against the teachings in the bible.

So James is emphasising here just how responsible a position it is when you become a teacher and that we shouldn't all rush to become one as teachers will be judged more strictly, held to higher standards than non teachers. This is because it is so easy to lead people astray, cause them to wander off the straight and narrow path onto the wide road that leads straight to hell. Your words, your ideas, your teachings can shape the faith of a person, can show them the way to God or lead them in completely the opposite direction.

The standard for everything should be the bible, the word of God, and yet so often today, the standard we live by is how others are going to react. Will we fit in with the world? Are our views politically correct? Will we give offence to x, y or z if we stand up and say something is wrong? As a result, the teaching of the church has been watered down, the bible is adapted to fit the situation, the person or people we are talking to. The gospel message is not seen as being the only way to God, as even some ministers have said that people can become Christian and yet still stay within their old faith i.e. still go to the mosque or temple to worship….

The danger is that if you are a teacher, and you are teaching something that goes against the bible , then you are running the risk of not only dragging yourself down, but others too. It is such a responsibility being a teacher, letting others know about God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. If your doctrine is wrong, others could be led astray as a result which is why teachers are held to a higher standard than others.

This doesn't mean that you should never become a teacher for fear of that you might get it wrong (and let’s face it, we all get it wrong at one time or another, at the very least) , but that you must always be checking to make sure that what you are teaching is biblically correct and not let the ways of the world, let the prince of this world, the enemy, the devil, sway you into teaching something incorrect. Your whole lifestyle must reflect what you teach - it is no good saying one thing and doing another, because what sort of example is that to others? No wonder there is always so much fuss of a Christian minister is found out committing adultery or whatever.

Strong words from James but then teachers can have an affect on others that will last a lifetime, so they need to teach what is right.

James 2:25-26

NIV: In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

The Message: The same with Rahab, the Jericho harlot. Wasn't her action in hiding God's spies and helping them escape—that seamless unity of believing and doing—what counted with God? The very moment you separate body and spirit, you end up with a corpse. Separate faith and works and you get the same thing: a corpse.

Yet another example here of someone who was made right with God because of what they did. It remember, just as with Abraham, Rahab's actions here were a demonstration of her faith. Have you ever read A Lineage of Grace by Francine Rivers? She takes the stories of five women from the bible (Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba, and Mary) and adds to them, puts background to the details we are given in the bible. It is such a good book and well worth reading, as it really brings out the traditions of the time, what these women were brought up to do, to believe, and it effectively puts meat on the bones. Of course, it is only fiction, not fact, but the story of Rahab, for instance, brings out the fact that Rahab had started to believe in God before the Israelites arrived at Jericho. Her hiding the spies was actually a result of the faith in God. Her works were evidence of her faith in action.

It should be the same with each one of us. No matter whether we do it consciously or subconsciously, we should demonstrate our faith through the things we do each day. We don't all have to be missionaries in India, China or wherever, work with children on the streets in Mexico or Hong Kong, smuggle bibles like Brother Andrew and so on. We are each called to do different things and god has a plan for each one of us. Yes, he may want us to end up in China or Outer Mongolia (although does that country even exist now?!!!) but He may just as easily want us to work exactly where we are, in that mundane job, with our family, in our neighbourhood. We may be called to do great things, give masterful sermons that draw millions to Christ, be the backbone of our local church, be an amazing Sunday School teacher whom children remember years afterwards as having taught them right from wrong. But we may just as easily be called to make the teas and coffees after church, to offer a friendly smile to an elderly neighbour, to be the light and salt to our family and friends. Things that may seem inconsequential and something anyone could do. But God may have asked me or you to do that particular task.

It depends on how open we are to God, how willing we are to be used by Him. Rahab was probably the only believer in Jericho, yet she took a stand, helped the spies when it could have cost her and her family, their lives. She showed how much she believed by putting her faith into action.

You can't have faith and not do the works. You can have the works without the faith - look at all the good many people do and yet they do not believe in God or in Jesus. Yet they (and we) would class them as "good" people. But if you have a real, genuine, deep and abiding faith that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that He came down to earth, was born as a man, crucified for our sins, rose from the dead and is now seated at the right hand of God the Father, then that faith should (and will) be reflected in the things that you do. You may not think you do much, that you are a pretty poor Christian if all you do is x, y and z when others are doing a, b and c. Yet you would be surprised at what others really think and the effect you are having on their lives.

James 2:21-24

NIV: 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.

The Message: Wasn't our ancestor Abraham "made right with God by works" when he placed his son Isaac on the sacrificial altar? Isn't it obvious that faith and works are yoked partners, that faith expresses itself in works? That the works are "works of faith"? The full meaning of "believe" in the Scripture sentence, "Abraham believed God and was set right with God," includes his action. It's that mesh of believing and acting that got Abraham named "God's friend." Is it not evident that a person is made right with God not by a barren faith but by faith fruitful in works?

To be honest, I read this first sentence here in verse 21 and it definitely read to me as if Abraham was justified by his works, not by faith. This contradicts what I know Paul has taught, and what I think James is teaching here so it is kind of confusing. But I think the thing here is that you can't take one verse at a time, you have to take the whole passage to get the gist of what James is saying.

It’s a bit like when my husband does the grocery shopping and I ask him what he bought and what I really mean is that I'm curious and want to know if he got anything nice (i.e., chocolate!). I also want to have an idea of what we have in in case I fancy baking or something, and have an idea of the meals he is going to be cooking (he does the cooking in our house. It’s tough on me, a real hardship letting him do all the cooking, but I make the sacrifice and struggle on anyway ;)!!) . He, however, takes that as an inquisition into whether or not he got the right stuff and starts justifying everything and explaining how this has gone up in price, we needed such and such as we had run out and so on. He takes my first question and reads into it far more than there is in there.

In these verses, I reckon it is exactly the same. The first sentence tells me that Abraham is justified by his works. Which brings me to a complete stand still because the whole point is that we are saved by grace, not be our works as who could possibly be good enough to get into heaven by their actions? But like the shopping question, I need to read on because it is not just a case of Abraham doing something here and being made right with God because of it. He actually went to sacrifice his own son, the son that God had told him would make him the father of nations, with children as numerous as the stars, because he believed in God. He believed the promises God had made him, and he trusted God that those promises would be kept.

Abraham's belief, his faith, was evidenced when he obeyed God. It was not a case of his actions getting him there. No, he had to believe first and his actions came about because of his belief. So it is exactly the same for each one of us. It is our faith that puts us right with God, our faith justifies us. Once we receive Jesus Christ as the Son of God, accept him as Saviour, then God sees each one of us as washed clean, righteous before Him, able to freely approach His throne of grace. Then our faith, if it is real and genuine, will produce good works.

Good works on their own will not do it. Abraham's obedience was not enough. He had to believe in God, to have faith, just as we have to believe on God and to have faith. All the good deeds on earth would not be enough to get one of us into heaven because of the weight of sin on each one of us. It is only be our faith we are saved, by the grace of God, and real, genuine faith, is evidenced by the things we do.

That doesn't mean we automatically turn into Mother Theresa as soon as we become a Christian though. But take a look at the things you have been doing since you became a Christian, a good long hard independent look (if that is possible). Yes, I know there will be the times when you have messed up, when you pushed God away, did what you wanted not what He wanted. We've all got times, days, weeks, months, years even, when we do that. But what about the things you do because you now believe and you just know that you should be doing them? You may not even notice, but others do. What about your kindness to your elderly next door neighbour? Or the helping out at children and youth events? Teaching Sunday school, helping with tea and coffee at church, not gossiping, putting others first, being mindful of how others are feeling, not putting others down, refraining from using bad language, putting into practice what the bible teaches?

Some of this is a case of not doing something rather than doing something, but it is all a part of our faith, who we are and what we believe. Just like Abraham, our faith is evidenced by the things we do and a lot of the time, it will be so instinctive that we will not even know we are doing something that proves we have a faith!

You may not think you do much, you may feel that your whole life is one big let down to both you and God, that no one looking at you could possibly know you were a Christian because you struggle so each and every day. But God knows and not only that, others notice too, although they may never say anything. What each one of us does, how we behave, the things we do when we are struggling, when times are hard, reflects on us and our faith, what we really believe. Do we really, truly trust God when he says he has plans for us, plans to give us a hope and a future , not to harm us (Jeremiah 29:11 paraphased) when we can't even see how we are going to make it to tomorrow, let alone next week, next year?

We prove our faith in our behaviour, our speech, our way of life and the things we do. You can't have a genuine faith and not change. You can't have a genuine faith and not do good works, small as they may be.

James 2:18-20

NLT: Now someone may argue, “Some people have faith; others have good deeds.” But I say, “How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds.” You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. How foolish! Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless?

The Message: I can already hear one of you agreeing by saying, "Sounds good. You take care of the faith department, I'll handle the works department." Not so fast. You can no more show me your works apart from your faith than I can show you my faith apart from my works. Faith and works, works and faith, fit together hand in glove. Do I hear you professing to believe in the one and only God, but then observe you complacently sitting back as if you had done something wonderful? That's just great. Demons do that, but what good does it do them? Use your heads! Do you suppose for a minute that you can cut faith and works in two and not end up with a corpse on your hands?

It is not a case of picking and choosing: you either have faith or you do good works. James is making it perfectly clear here that you cannot have the one without the other. They fit together like a hand in a glove and both are an essential part of being a Christian.

I love the way The Message puts this, telling us that if we try and split faith and works, we will end up a corpse. Because the thing is, we are saved by grace and our works, our deeds, are the evidence of that grace at work in our loves. Before we were saved, before we came to faith, we were as good as dead. If we try to separate our faith from our works, if we try to deny the very natural desire to please God, to obey Him and to let others know about Him, to demonstrate through the things we do the love God has for each and every one of us, then we effectively put ourselves back in the same position we were before we became believers.

You can't mix and match. You can’t claim that because you have a deep abiding faith, you do not need to do "good works" to demonstrate you are a Christian. Similarly, you cannot say that your works will get you into heaven when clearly you have no faith in God. It is not a case of doing good to prove you are a believer, but your belief, your faith, the changes the Holy Spirit makes in each one of use when we become believers, should result in you behaving differently anyway and those changes will have the end result of you carrying out works even if you don't even realise it.

I am probably not explaining this very well. Sometimes I know exactly what I want to say but the words all come out jumbled up! So apologies if this is sounding somewhat garbled.

God is at work in each one of us. We are sealed by the Holy Spirit when we become believers, and He is at work in each one of us, changing us daily from within to become more Christ like. The changes may be gradual, something that happens over weeks, months, even years, or they may be instantaneous. Just because your changes are gradual, does not mean you are a worse person than someone who changes immediately, or vice versa. We are all different, and God knows each one of us intimately, knows our faults, our weaknesses, our good points. He knows how quickly or slowly we need to change in order for that change to become ingrained in us.

My husband suffers from depression, and there are times when I find it very difficult to cope. I have to literally bite my tongue sometimes to stop the first thing coming out of my mouth when he says something that is totally uncalled for but is because of his depression. God is teaching me patience through my husband's depression and believe you me, it is a long hard slog for Him! It is far easier to give a quick retort than it is to stay quiet, but I am slowly learning patience. This is something that has been happening over months, years even. I reckon the growing patience in me is evidence of how God has been changing me although before you think I sound "holier than thou", I would just point out that if you catch me on a morning when I have overslept or am too busy for words, and you complain about the breakfast I have made, moan that you can't find your school bag or tie, you don't want this, that or the other, we get half way to dropping you off at work and then have to go back home because you have left your phone, glasses or security card behind, then you are liable to appreciate all too quickly how little patience I have!

In the same way, God is at work in each one of us, changing us, maybe gradually, maybe immediately, and those changes, whilst not apparent to us, can be seen by others. The changes God works in us result in us naturally, almost without thinking at times, doing the things God would have us do. So our faith in God, our belief in Jesus, our trust in the Holy Spirit, is demonstrated outwardly by our behaviour, the things we do, our "works".

We can't get into heaven by our works, because we are saved by grace, but our works are evidence of our faith. You cannot have the one without the other.

James 2:15-17

NIV 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.

The Message: For instance, you come upon an old friend dressed in rags and half-starved and say, "Good morning, friend! Be clothed in Christ! Be filled with the Holy Spirit!" and walk off without providing so much as a coat or a cup of soup—where does that get you? Isn't it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense?

James continues the theme of faith and works here with the example of passing a friend who is in need and yet all you do is bless them and walk on. Whilst it is lovely to be blessed in this way, it does not put food on the table, pay the bills, keep us warm. Just praying for someone to be filled with the Holy Spirit is all very well and may satisfy their spiritual needs, but it does not satisfy personal needs of food, clothing, and so on. It is all very well telling someone you will pray for them, but if you have the ability to help them here and now, to provide whatever it is they need, then why not do that as well?

When we become believers, we are changed inwardly to become more like Christ. This may take time, weeks, months, years but sometimes change can happen literally instantaneously. Whether it takes time or is an immediate result, our faith is evidenced to others by the changes in our behaviour, how we talk, the things we do. It is all very well to say you are a Christian and that you believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God, but if you never change your ways, if you still drink too much, take drugs, swear like a trooper, are self centred and bigoted, prejudiced against those who don't fit in to your way of thinking, people of a different colour, race, faith, etc, then how are people to know you are truly a believer? Jesus did not say one thing and do another. The things he taught were evidenced by his lifestyle, the way he behaved, whether people were watching him or not. He didn't just have compassion for the sick, the poor, the sinners when people were around him, but he had that same compassion and love when people were not there.

Yes, you will always find people who say they are Christians but act in a way that gives this the lie. You will also find Christians who say one thing yet do something completely different behind closed doors. They give the impression of being faithful, honest, upright and yet they are misers, hoarding every penny, or they are unfaithful to their wives. Then there are also the Christians who say very little but do an awful lot, much of it unbeknownst to others.

We cannot go around saying one thing and doing another. Our behaviour needs to reflect our faith. This means we need to do as well as say. As it says in The Message, God talk without God acts is outrageous. Words without actions are useless. We need to practise what we preach and demonstrate by our lives and how we live them that we are Christians. Show the love of God to others by the things that we do.

James 2:14

NIV: What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?

The Message: Dear friends, do you think you'll get anywhere in this if you learn all the right words but never do anything?

James now turns his attention to good works. This must have been just as much a topic of conversation as it is today. After all, we all know we are not saved by our works, but by grace:

God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God (Ephesians 2:8, NIV)

There is nothing we have done to deserve the things God has done for us, absolutely nothing, and nothing we can do to make him love us less. There is also nothing we can do to make God love us more. Not all the evil acts in this world could make God hate us. Like I tell my children, I will always love them, but I may not always like them. So when my thirteen year old storms off in a huff, crashing and thumping around, refusing to talk to me or anyone, when he hates the world and everyone in it because they are all picking on him !!!!!), I still love him. I don't particularly like his behaviour, but I love him nonetheless.

It is the same way with God, only moreso, obviously. He always has and always will love each one of us, even when we go off the rails, when we lie, gossip, cheat, steal, take drugs, drink too much, sleep around, murder, are proud, vengeful, and a million and one other sins too numerous to mention. But lying, cheating, stealing and so on are against God's commands. He does not want us to do those things but ~He loves us despite these things.

So what about good works then if nothing we can do can make God love us more? What is the point? Why carry out acts of kindness, give to charity, help the poor and so on? After all, it doesn't get us anywhere so why bother?

Well, James is making the point here that our good works, the things we do, are the outward expression of our inward faith. It is by the things we do that others will know we are Christians, not by us just saying we are believers and going to church once a week. How can we say we follow Jesus if we do not help the poor, show kindness to our neighbour, help those in need? If all we are doing is looking out for number one, always seeking to get the best for ourselves no matter what the cost to others, or how others suffer as a result, then what is it that differentiates us from everyone else? How are we showing the love of Jesus to others when we refuse to have anything to do with others, when we ignore those who are suffering or in need, when someone else is hurt as a direct result of our action, or our inaction?

We are saved by grace, but we show our faith by the things we do.

James 2:12-13

NIV: Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment!

The Message: Talk and act like a person expecting to be judged by the Rule that sets us free. For if you refuse to act kindly, you can hardly expect to be treated kindly. Kind mercy wins over harsh judgment every time.

As Christians, we have been saved by grace, the free gift open to all. We are not saved by the good deeds we do, by how well we conduct ourselves, whether we are kind to our neighbours. The only thing that qualifies us for heaven is the fact that we have received Jesus Christ, the only son of God, as our Lord and Saviour. But just because we have done so, because we are saved, does not excuse us from obeying Jesus, obeying God.

It is not a case of telling ourselves that we are saved, so we don't have to keep the ten commandments, we don't have to obey God. There is not one set of rules governing believers, Christians, and another set of rules governing non believers. Each one of us will stand before God:

2 Corinthians 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due to him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad (NIV)

God's gracious gift of salvation does not free us from the requirement of obedience. We will all face Christ on the day of judgment to give an account of ourselves. I don't want to end up in heaven as one escaping the fire:

1 Corinthians 3:11-15 For no-one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.

I want Jesus to look at me and say "Well done, thou good and faithful servant" (Matthew 25:21, KJV), to know that I used wisely all the gifts God has given me.

It is a case of obeying God no matter what, of trusting in Him despite all the problems we face. But not obeying God through religious conformity, because we have to. We have the freedom to choose, the freedom to obey God or not, whether we are followers of Jesus or not. The difference is that as believers, the freedom we have n Christ means that we willingly obey God, but not begrudgingly, because we have to, because we want a reward, or because everyone else in church is doing so and we don't want to be the odd one out. The law, obedience to God, is not a set of external rules we must follow because we have to, in the same way that we have to obey the laws of our country, pay our taxes, drive within the speed limit and so on. It is a case of wanting to obey God because we have the freedom, the choice, and freely choosing His way, not ours, because we love God and are empowered by the Holy Spirit living within us.

So this involves, as James says here, treating others as we would want to be treated ourselves, not paying back like for like, retaliating whenever we feel hurt or threatened. We need to show mercy and grace to others, forgive them when they wrong us, just as God has shown each one of us mercy, grace and forgiveness. This doesn't mean we lie down on the ground and let everyone and his dog walk all over us, because sometimes we have to take a stand, to refuse to do something if it is wrong, insist on doing something if it is the right thing to do, no matter what the cost.

We need to be different, to be the salt and light in this dark world and to shine out against the general tide of sin and depravity that is rapidly filling every corner of the world. It is not easy. Quite the opposite in fact. There are people dying in Pakistan, India, China, Korea, and other countries for their faith. There are thousands of Christians imprisoned in Eritrea, and many suffer daily torture, persecution, ridicule in many, many other countries of the world.

Talk and act like a person expecting to be judged by the Rule that sets us free. For if you refuse to act kindly, you can hardly expect to be treated kindly. Kind mercy wins over harsh judgment every time. So no matter what the treatment we receive, we should try always to behave as Jesus would, to show others the love of Christ, show his mercy and forgiveness. Not always an easy task in this day and age.

James 2:11

NIV: For he who said, Do not commit adultery, also said, Do not murder. If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a law-breaker.

The Message: The same God who said, "Don't commit adultery," also said, "Don't murder." If you don't commit adultery but go ahead and murder, do you think your non-adultery will cancel out your murder? No, you're a murderer, period.

How many times do we each look around at our friends, relatives, neighbours, people we pass in the street, or perhaps we read in the newspapers of what people have done, hear the news reports in the TV or radio. It is easy to be critical of other people, to see their faults and flaws, see their wrongdoings, their crimes, their sins. After all, when you hear the news of one of Jamie Bulger's murderers committing some other offence and having to be taken back into custody, you know that is because he is a murderer, beyond the pale and his crimes are too heinous to even mention.

It is easy to sit and say you would never murder a young child like that (Jamie Bulger was around two years old when he was brutally killed by two ten year old boys, probably some 17 years ago now and the things those boys did to James were really horrific, the stuff of horror stories). Thou shalt not commit murder obviously doesn't apply to you, to me as we would never do anything like that……but what about the words of Jesus in Matthew 5:21-22?

You're familiar with the command to the ancients, 'Do not murder.' I'm telling you that anyone who is so much as angry with a brother or sister is guilty of murder. Carelessly call a brother 'idiot!' and you just might find yourself hauled into court. Thoughtlessly yell 'stupid!' at a sister and you are on the brink of hellfire. The simple moral fact is that words kill. (The Message)

The simple moral fact is that words kill. So when we get angry, we are guilty of murder in our hearts.

James talks about the idea that because we do not commit one sin, because we don't break one commandment, that will cancel out or balance the commandment we do break. So if, for instance, there are five commandments we never break, then they will balance the five we do break and we will be sin free.

Well, reading James and the other books in the bible, it is obvious it does not work that way. Take a good long h

ard look at the ten commandments in Exodus 20:

1. You shall have no other gods before Me.

2. You shall not make for yourself a carved image--any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.

3. You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.

4. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

5. Honour your father and your mother.

6. You shall not murder.

7. You shall not commit adultery.

8. You shall not steal.

9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour.

10. You shall not covet your neighbour's house; you shall not covet your neighbour's wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbour's.'

What about when we choose to stay in bed on a Sunday instead of going to church, or when we read our emails, go out with friends, or watch TV instead of spending a quiet time with God? Then there are the images we put before us to help us worship, to focus our thoughts on God - are they not graven images? Then the times something happens and we just automatically say "Oh God", taking the name of God in vain, using it as a swear word. The name of Christ here in the west is in common use as a swear word. As for honouring our father and mother, who hasn't argued with their parents at some tine or other? Then getting angry with your brother or sister is as bad as committing actual murder. As for adultery, this includes the thought as well as the deed, so looking at a beautiful women as she passes by and letting your imagination run riot is as bad in God's eyes as actually committing adultery. Then stealing. Have you ever taken a pen from work, used office paper to write personal notes, taken something belonging to your brother or sister, borrowed something and forgotten to take it back? Then you have stolen. False witness is lying. You may have just stretched the truth on occasion, told a little white lie to get out of trouble, but it is still a lie and therefore a sin. Finally, coveting your neighbour's house, seeing something someone else has and wanting it for yourself. Someone has a new car, new clothes, new baby, new husband, whatever it may be, and you want one too. Your greed, jealousy and lust get the better of you.

Each one of us has probably broken the ten commandments umpteen times, too numerous to count. We may not have kept track of each and every occasion but God knows and I am so thankful that he has cast my sins from his memory as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12), that he no longer has a list probably several miles long of all the times I have sinned.

Because God does not grade sin according to how severe it is. There is no colour coded chart with deeper colours at one end for the more serious sins, murder, rape, and so on, and lighter colours at the other end for the less serious sins, for maybe telling a little white lie, not doing something when we should, etc. Just because we have not gone out and brutally killed a little child as Jamie Bulger's murderers did does not mean that God looks more favourably on us than he does on them. We are all sinners, each and every one of us. It doesn't matter how serious (or not) in man's eyes are the sins we have committed, or how commonplace, any sin removes us from God, any sin at all.

That's why what Jesus has done is so amazing. He took on his shoulders the sins of each one of us. So every snide remark, every dig at others, the anger, the greed, the lust, the murder, the lies, the rape, the adultery, the stealing. Each and every sin he bore on his shoulders, carried the weight of them and was punished for each and every one of them. The brutal torture he faced at the hands of the Romans, the stripes on his back, when the skin was torn from his body by the whip, was because of the things we have done, the things I have done. The nails through his hands and feet are because of my sins, the spear in his side is because of what I have done. He paid the price to set me free, to set each one of use free. There is no one who is so bad, or who has committed such awful acts that Jesus' sacrifice does not cover the cost. Each one of us has had the punishment for our sins paid for by Jesus, the slate has been wiped clean and God sees each one of us as dressed in white robes of righteousness. He doesn't see the stain of sin on our souls, the dirt, the grime.

Whether we choose to receive Jesus as our Lord and Saviour or not, he paid the price to set us free. If we reject Him, if we refuse to accept the price he paid for us, if we turn our back on this free gift given in love, then we are doomed to spend eternity apart from God. We will face the wrath of God, the judgement, and the eternal damnation that follows. Take a look at Revelation 7 and 9 and see the seal judgements the trumpet judgements, what will happen in the tribulation. There is no neat and tidy ending, no promise of good things to come, if we reject God. Our hardened hearts will be such that even though we know the catastrophes we are facing are from God, we will end up cursing God instead of being in awe at his power and might.

So take a good look at your life today, the things you do and where you are going. Is God at the centre of your life? Is Jesus your Lord and Saviour? Because if not, the bible is only too clear on what will happen. There are so many people who do not know God, or who think they do but are in reality following a false religion. Jesus Christ is the only way to God and any other path is a lie from the devil.

James 2:10

NIV: For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.

The Message: You can't pick and choose in these things, specializing in keeping one or two things in God's law and ignoring others.

It is so easy to look at the things others are doing and be critical. I can look at my husband, my children and see them doing something and think to myself that I would never do that. I can watch or listen to the news and think how dreadful something is, how awful some people must be to do things like that, to kill, murder, torture, kidnap young children. How it is a truly dreadful world we live in with all the violence and crime.

I sit here in my ivory tower, watching the world go by with a critical eye, never looking at the things I do, the times I mess up, how often I actually do things that are just as bad. Well, ok, I don't actually go around murdering people, torturing them and so on, but what about the times when I come out with a cutting remark that makes someone feel really useless and insignificant? Or when I sit here and fume silently to myself (feeling really superior because I didn't lose my temper and answer back, as well!), going over the things that were said to me, the things that person did, how awful it was, what a mean and rotten person they are, I would never do or say that, metaphorically polishing my halo whilst being ever so critical and judgemental?

Take a look at Matthew 5:21-22:

You're familiar with the command to the ancients, 'Do not murder.' I'm telling you that anyone who is so much as angry with a brother or sister is guilty of murder. Carelessly call a brother 'idiot!' and you just might find yourself hauled into court. Thoughtlessly yell 'stupid!' at a sister and you are on the brink of hellfire. The simple moral fact is that words kill. (The Message)

It is the intention of our heart that matters, the reasons behind the things we say or do. Even thinking we hate our brother and want to kill him is as bad as actually killing him.

And Jesus goes on to say (Matthew 5:27-28, The Message):

You know the next commandment pretty well, too: 'Don't go to bed with another's spouse.' But don't think you've preserved your virtue simply by staying out of bed. Your heart can be corrupted by lust even quicker than your body. Those leering looks you think nobody notices—they also corrupt.

Our thoughts count just as much as our actions. It’s no good feeling all superior and holier than thou because I don't go around killing people, jumping into bed with every other man I see, ignoring my marriage vows. There are men who, for instance, do not commit adultery but will look at other women, read pornographic magazines, etc but Jesus says that is just as bad as actually committing the deed. Getting angry with someone is just as bad as killing them.

It's all very well being critical of others, pointing out their faults and flaws, even if it is only to ourselves (and feeling oh so superior in the process…), but if we think the same things, albeit we never act on it, then we are just as bad. Keeping all the ten commandments apart from one doesn't make us any the better a person than someone who breaks each and every commandment on a regular basis.

God does not grade sin. He doesn't give us marks out of ten for the number of sins we have committed, how serious they are, how often we committed them. A mass murderer in God's eyes is just as bad as the person who tells lies or who gossips. It's not a case of Adolf Hitler scoring a 10 whilst I get a 1.5, for instance. God is so pure, so holy, so just, that He cannot be anywhere near sin. It is like the isolation rooms in hospitals where every precaution is taken so that germs, infection, cannot get to the person in the isolation room. Our sin separates us from God, completely, utterly, like a chasm between God and each one of us that we cannot cross.

I love the NLT translation of Isaiah 44:22:

I have swept away your sins like a cloud.

I have scattered your offenses like the morning mist.

Oh, return to me,

for I have paid the price to set you free.

Jesus has paid the price to set us free, to bridge the chasm between each one of us and God. We just have to take His hand and walk across. His sacrifice means that our sins are forgiven, each and every one of them. The sly digs, the innuendoes, the hurting, the hating, the pain, the gossip, the pride, even the murder, the theft, the adultery, the abuse, every single sin is forgiven. Every last one of them.

When we tell ourselves that God wants nothing to do with us because we are sinners, that He could never forgive or forget when we did x, y or z, we are actually being full of pride and imagining that God is too weak and ineffectual to do anything, that our sins are greater than God's ability to forgive, his capacity for love and his great mercy.

No one is so bad that God cannot forgive them, no sin is so great that God's love cannot cover it. There is nothing we have done that could make God love us less, and nothing we can do to make Him love us more. Isn't that just so awesome and so gracious of God? He has paid the price to set us free.

James 2:9

NIV: But if you show favouritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as law-breakers.

The Message: But if you play up to these so-called important people, you go against the Rule and stand convicted by it.

Those are strong words indeed, telling us that when we show favouritism, when we give preference to someone because of the way they look, how they are dressed, the job they have, the money they have in the bank, the position and fame they have, then we are committing a sin. I mean, you wouldn't necessarily think that by showing favouritism you were sinning. But what are we doing when we give someone preferential treatment? We are actually preferring them to others, so someone else is suffering because we have not treated them in the same way.

I remember when I was a child, my brother and I would count the vegetables on our plates to make sure one of us did not have more than the other. Crazy, I know, but I have seen my own children do the very same thing. Nobody likes to be treated less well than others, it implies that you are not as good, not as worthy.

So exactly what is favouritism? Well, Chambers English dictionary defines this as:

favouritism or (US) favoritism noun the practice of giving unfair preference, help or support to someone or something

Then if you look preference up in a thesaurus, the following alternative words are shown:

• Preferential treatment
• Preference
• Partiality
• Nepotism
• Bias
• Discrimination
• Prejudice

Woah! This is a real eye opener to exactly what is implied and inferred by showing favouritism. When we show favouritism, we are actually discriminating against someone else. It is not a case of just doing good to one person, but of actively choosing not to do good to someone else. It is treating someone unfairly be virtue of the fact that we are choosing someone else above them.

So, for instance, if I give one of my children only chicken breast when we have a Sunday roast, and give the others the grey meat from the leg or thigh instead, then I am preferring one child and treating the others unfairly, showing bias. If, as an accountant, I only mix with other accountants and "professionals", then I am discriminating against those who do not have professional qualifications, the letters after their name, the higher education. Yet a fancy title and letters after your name don't make you a better person. What about when I ignore the Big Issue person, when I choose not to see them or hear them? That is a form of discrimination as well.

We are told to love one another. Not to love only those who have money, or dress well, or have a good education, who talk the same way we do, like the same things, and so on.

I know I take a very simplistic viewpoint but in reality, I reckon the whole of the bible comes down to love, the great love God has for each one of us, the love Christ has for us, so much so that he died on the cross for us, the way the Holy Spirit loves us and is actively changing us from within to become more like Christ. And we are instructed to do likewise. Not always an easy thing to do when some people are always insulting you, belittling you, and then what about those Christians who are being persecuted for their faith, locked up, imprisoned, raped, murdered? They too are called to love those who persecute them.

This is challenging. I am sure we can all think of people we would rather not have anything to do with, the ones we would cross the road to avoid. But those are the very people we are called to love. God loves every one of us, and we are to love others as God has loved us. I know I fail miserably at this, just as I fail miserably on many other things. So it is a case of leaning on God, asking Him for help me love those I would rather not be on a desert island with. And I know God will not fail, that even though it may take a month of Sundays in my case, He will be changing me from within, making me more Christ like (and He has a long way to go, believe you me!), so that one day, I will truly be able to say that I love all men and treat them equally, just as God treats each one of us equally.