Two Ears And One Mouth

 

In the book of James in verses 1:19-20 he tells us that we are to be quick to listen with our two ears and slow to speak with our one mouth. We are also told that we should be slow to anger.  Then in the next verse he tells us how to be slow to anger. He tells us that we need to get rid of bitterness, rage and anger, brawling, slander, and malice.

 

James 1:19-20 – NIV My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.

 

James addresses this to his Dear Brothers that is to say his brothers and his sisters in Christ or the church. And he wants us to take note of what he is about to say meaning that it is going to be something important. In other words he wants our undivided attention and we must listen with our ears and not use our mouth.

 

Everyone must be quick to listen to the word of God in the bible and the word spoken to us by the Holy Spirit and when we listen he tells us to listen carefully. As followers of Christ or children of God we must always be ready willing and prepared to listen to the scriptures and the word of God. And when we listen we must also obey and do what is asked or required of us.

 

Everyone must be slow to speak and slow to become angry. It is not so much that we are not to speak or to speak slowly but he means that we should speak with patience and humility and not babble like the pagans do. If you are always talking you are never listening and that is what my Mother meant when she said “God gave you two ears and one mouth, so listen twice as much as you speak” and when I first read this passage as an adult and a father I knew where she came up with the expression and now this passage is clear to me.

 

A wise man is not always the one who talks or speaks the most but a wise man is one who listens intently and carefully to the word of God and then speaks about it with authority and a sense of understanding . Some people feel that if they talk a lot they are proving to others that they are wise or smart because they have so many words to say. However that is not always the case and this also applies to your prayer life as well. When you pray Jesus says in Matthew 6:7 ”Do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words and  this applies to verse 1:19 as well.

 

When James says that we should be “Slow to become angry, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires” this means that anger does not reflect the true character of God or a godly man or woman. Anger doesn’t help anyone and it does not fix anything it is just our way of venting our frustration over the fact that we think we have been offended or treated unfairly. As Paul wrote to the Ephesians we are to: Ephesians 4:31 – NIV Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.

 

Rage and anger often go hand and hand together and we should get rid of both because they can lead to bitterness, brawling, slander and malice. If you have a temper and are quick to anger it leads to rash behavior which is not reflecting the righteous life that God desires for us. Anger towards another person is not what God expects from us and as Jesus said in the Gospel of Matthew we are to love everyone even our enemies and those who we think are persecuting us: Matthew 5:44-45 – NIV But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

 

Next James says that we are to rid ourselves of all moral filth and evil or sin in James 1:21 – NIV Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. When we get rid of the moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent we become humble and accept the word of God that is in us. If you are gratefully humble to the word you will look at things with humility and not be subject to anger. This in turn saves us. Ultimately we are instructed to get rid of the filth by listening (Quick to listen) thoughtfully speaking (Slow to speak) and not be hasty (Slow to anger) then ultimately we are willing to hear and obey what the word of God says to do as the next verse tells us. James 1:21 – NIV Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.

 

It says here that we are not to merely listen to the word of God as outline above. If we only read the words and do not understand them the purpose is defeated. Many times we reread what we have read moments before or days before and at first we do not understand what the Gospel or scripture is saying to us. Then when we reread it we comprehend it. This is normal and God does not expect you to understand everything you read in the bible. Many times if you pray before reading the bible and ask the spirit of the lord to be with you it can help.

 

Then and only then can we do what the scripture is saying and are not deceived about God. Listening to the word of God in Sunday services is one thing but to do what it says is another. We need to put into action what we learn from the bible not just the Ten Commandments but all of the word of God from the Old Testament to the Gospels and the New Testament books for it is all the inspired word of God. That is one reason why daily bible study and reading of scriptures is so important to Christians so that they can be “In” the word everyday not just on Sunday. Then we will be blessed.

 

Luke 11:28 – NIV “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”

James goes on to explain why it is important to listen to the word of God using an analogy of a man looking at himself in the mirror.  James 1:23-25 – NIV Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it—he will be blessed in what he does.

 

Here the analogy tells us that we are to go back to the bible time and time again and study it so that the word is always in us. When you wake up in the morning and look into the bathroom mirror as you wash your face you may not notice the wild hairs in your nose but when you shave and are looking more intently at yourself in the mirror so you don’t cut yourself shaving you may notice them and trim them. The same can be said of women. You wash your face in the morning and you may not notice that you have uneven eyebrows but when you put on your makeup and are looking more intently at yourself in the mirror so you don’t smudge your makeup you may notice the irregularity and pluck them out.

 

Some of us look at the word in passing or casually and do not act upon it while others look at it closely or intently and in doing so see defects in our lives and act upon them and the word of God to correct them as required. You wouldn’t wash just your face off and leave dirt on your forehead and so why would you just look at the word of God and not change your ways or habits if you know what you are doing is something that is contradictory to what you just read and not do what is right.

 

James uses the words Listen and listens in these passages but when you read the word of God aren’t you listening as well? When James wrote this letter it is important to note that only a small percentage of the population in his life time was literate. To learn to read and write you had to be rich and most could not afford that. Reading and writing was a luxury to most people living then and was for the priest and scholars not the working man. As a result when they heard the word of God from the Old Testament it was read to them out loud by priest. When they heard circular letters such as those by Paul, John, James and others it was read to them out loud as well.

 

In the New Testament times public readings of letters and scripture were expected as Paul wrote to Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:13 – NIV Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. On the other hand there were those who could quote scripture like we do today not by reading it and memorizing it by looking at the words as we do from our Bibles today but by hearing it read to them over and over again until it was memorized. Back then they were no bound bibles like we have now in fact there were few churches like we have now as most of them met in peoples homes or hidden in caves to avoid persecution.

 

It was not until the King James Bible was authorized by King James the first of England in 1604 and printed in 1611 that the bible was translated into English for the first time. However not many were printed and as a result they were hard to find and it was not affordable to most people. It was not until the 20^th century that Bibles were affordable and were printed in mass so that the common man could have one.

 

 

Blasphemy Against The Holy Spirit – The Unforgivable Sin

 

Three times in the New Testament Gospels we are told that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is an unforgivable or unpardonable sin. In the Gospel of Matthew chapter 12 verses 22-32 we have the story of Jesus and Beelzebub (Be-L’s-A-Bub) the prince of demons. Here Jesus was taken to a demon possessed man who was also a blind mute and Jesus healed him and he was able to see and speak after the demons were drawn out of him.

 

The people who witnessed the miracle were amazed and asked “Could this be the Son of David?” But the Pharisees or Jewish leaders and teachers of the Law who Jesus on several occasions called snakes and a brood of vipers said he was Beelzebub the prince of demons or Satan and he was driving out his fellow demons. To which Jesus said in verses 25-28: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges. But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you.” (NKJV)

 

Then Jesus went on to say in verses 30-32: “He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters abroad. Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.” (NKJV)

 

The gospels of Mark 3:20-30 and Luke 12:8-12 also tells us that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is an unpardonable sin. There is one sin that will not be tolerated nor forgiven and that is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. But what is blasphemy? Blasphemy is irreverence, disrespect, profanity or slander.

 

If you confess that Jesus Christ is your lord and savior you will be forgiven for each and every sin and blasphemy you commit and this is a promise from God. In reading these passages most people seem to miss that promise because they are more concerned about the warning of blasphemy. But if you believe in God and accept the free gift of salvation by the blood of Jesus all of your sins will be forgiven even blasphemies or words against God and the son of man Jesus Christ. But only if you confess your sins and repent because there is no sin that God cannot forgive you for as long as you ask. However there is one sin that will not or cannot be forgiven and that is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.

 

It is important to note here that Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is not so much your actions, thoughts or words but your attitude or way of thinking. Those souls who are lost or not saved by grace or salvation or those such as those Jews who deny the power and authority of Jesus and refuse to believe he is the Messiah are blaspheming against the Holy Spirit. Jesus was not talking about rejecting him as a man but of refusing to believe that he was the messiah and therefore rejecting the power of the Holy Spirit behind him.

Here the Jewish Pharisees blasphemed against the Holy Spirit when they said that Beelzebub or Satan performed the miracle and not Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit. Therefore their sin is unforgivable as they lived and is carried over when they die. By their conscience rejection of the Holy Spirit they blasphemed and therefore rejected God. It is funny to note that the Pharisees said Jesus was guilty of blasphemy when they were the guilty ones because they said Jesus was in league or possessed by Satan. Simply put when you deny the power behind Jesus – The Holy Spirit – you deny and reject God.

 

Jesus said that those who blasphemy against the Holy Spirit can not be forgiven but it is not because their sin is worse than any other but simply because they as unbelievers will never ask for forgiveness of their sins. This is in effect a separation from God because when you refuse to accept the works of the Holy Spirit you remove yourself from the only one who can lead you to repentance and a restoration with God and that is the Holy Spirit. This sin cannot be forgiven in this life or age or in the age to come because the consequences are forever or eternal.

 

Sometimes as Christians we worry that maybe we unintentionally committed this sin. However only those who have rejected God and Jesus Christ need to worry. If you find that you are worried about this sin you should realize that by simply worrying about it is evidence that you have not. Why because the Holy Spirit is convicting you and thorough the Holy Spirit we are compelled to ask for forgiveness and repent. Because this is the only sin that God will not or cannot forgive we must be willing to ask for and accept the forgiveness of our sins but not if we blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.

 

 

How To Gain Eternal Life

 

 

I remember as a child when I was attending Catholic School on the playground a kid asked me a question. To this day I still think back to the question from time to time. He asked me if I would rather die by freezing or die by burning. However unfortunately I cannot remember my reply since it was so long ago but I still remember the question as if I were still a youth.

 

Have you thought about how you would like to go out or die? I don’t mean the physical method as much as I mean the emotional or spiritual way. I once heard someone say that they wanted to go out like their grandfather did in his sleep – and not screaming like the rest of the passengers in the back seat of a car as they headed over the cliff. That was obviously a joke but death and dying are not a joke and death as we know it is not an end.   

 

In the bible only two men did not physically die. In the Old testament in Genesis 5:24 we read that “Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.” and in 2 Kings 2:11 we read “As they – Elijah and Elisha - were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind.” Enoch and Elijah did not die a physical death but everyone else must die physically. Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ died physically on the cross for us as he was brought into the world to do and we are also born to die. However Jesus Christ rose again on the third day and was the first to die and ascend into heaven so that by his death and resurrection he could open the gates of eternity for us to have a new life after this one passes away.

 

In this present age or life we must prepare to die and prepare ourselves for burial before we are called. The choice is simple either you choose to die cold or hot by fire much like I was asked in my youth but you cannot be lukewarm. If you HAPPEN to die cold or without God your eternity will be quite the opposite because the fires of hell and Hades will find you in death. If you CHOOSE to die hot or on fire for God you need not worry about the heat because we are told in Revelation 7:16 that “Neither shall the sun light on them nor any heat“. If you die lukewarm or undecided it is too late because Gods final judgment will be on you.

 

In John’s book of Revelation at the great white throne or the throne of Judgment the dead are summoned before God. If their names are not found in the Book of Life or the Lambs book of Life they were judged according to their deeds and condemned to Hell as we read in Revelation 20:11-13: “Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done.”

Hades and Hell are found in the Bible only in the in the New Testament. Hades comes from the Hebrew word Sheol and is mentioned 5 Times and is a Greek word for the underworld which is the realm of the dead. Of the 5 Times Hades is mentioned all but one found in Revelation with the exception being Matthew 16:18. Hell comes from the Greek word Tartarus and the Hebrew word Gehenna and is a place of torment designed for Satan and his demons. Hell is the final destiny for those that have not accepted Jesus Christ as their personal lord and savior as we see in the book of Revelation. Hell is mentioned 14 Times in the New Testament and half of the references appear in the Gospel of Matthew for a total of 7 times.

 

For most Christians when they think of Hades they are quick to quote Revelation 6:8 where John says: “I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him.” As Christian followers of Jesus Christ we need not fear Hell or Hades because Jesus Christ holds the keys to them and death and by virtue of our salvation – which we cannot loose unless we blasphemy the Holy Spirit- he will keep us from it as we read in Revelation 1:18 “I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.” You can escape or hide from God as you live and breathe but in death you cannot escape him.

 

Everyone who lives must die and everyone who dies will be judged. Everyone – those who are believers and those who are not – the dead both great and small as we read in verse 12 by him who is seated on the throne. We also read in Matthew 25:32-33 that “All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.” Jesus the judge of everyone and for believers our Sheppard will separate us one from another the sheep and goats or those that belong to him the believers and those that do not belong to him the unbelievers as a good Sheppard must do each night. The sheep here are believers who belong to the Sheppard and they will be placed on the right the place of honor and the goats that are not his or are unbelievers will be placed on the left.

 

If your name is in the Lambs book of Life – and the book of life – heaven will be your reward because God says of Heaven in Revelation 21:27 that “Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life” will be allowed to enter. This book like the Book of Life is not an actual book but here it serves as God’s registry listing those that belong to him. To reach heaven and stand in the presence of the almighty your name must be found in this book – as well as the Book of Life – and if it is not the final judgment will be swift and terrible for those whose names are not found.

To be sealed by God and redeemed by Jesus Christ you must accept Jesus Christ and bring God into your life. In Matthew 10:32-33 Jesus said that “Everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But everyone who denies me here on earth, I will also deny before my Father in heaven.” In the final judgment when you appear before God the father and Jesus Christ the son you want to hear the Lord say to you “Well done, good and faithful servant”‘ and not hear the words “I never knew you. Away from me”. The choice is yours but can only be made while you are still among the living.

 

But we must remember that hell and Hades were not created by God for mankind and man was not intended to go there. It was created for Satan – the devil and his angels. When those that have accepted Jesus Christ are judged it will be like an awards banquet where the earthly works and deeds are recounted. I like to think of it as being accepted into Gods hall of fame. For those that have not accepted Jesus Christ it will be more like beggars banquet or Gods hall of shame where they will beg God to ignore their shameful  earthly existence and spare them. But they will be banished from the presence of God and be sent to away because of their rejection no matter how good their works on earth were they will not be saved.

 

For us as believers scripture tells us that a day will come when “God by Jesus Christ will judge everyone’s secret life” in Romans 2:16 and he will “Judge of all the world” and he “will judge all people according to what they have done” In Romans 2:5-6 so that “each of us will stand personally before the judgment seat of God” and “Each of us will have to give a personal account to God.” in Romans 14:10 and 12. Why because in Hebrews 9:27 it says “It is destined that each person dies only once and after that comes judgment.”

 

How you live your life now is what matters so that you can store your treasures up in heaven. After you die if you have not accepted Jesus Christ as your personal lord and savior as you lived it is too late to repent and do so after you die.