1. Adult Bible Study Guide Oct Nov Dec 2014 Adult Bible Study Guide Oct Nov Dec 2014 powerpoint presentation designed by claro ruiz vicente http://clarovicente.weebly.com

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3. Carlos Steger, Principal Contributor

4. The Book of James Contents 1 James, the Lord’s Brother 2 The Perfection of Our Faith 3 Enduring Temptation 4 Being and Doing 5 Love and the Law 6 Faith That Works 7 Taming the Tongue 8 The Humanity of Heavenly Wisdom 9 One Lawgiver and Judge 10 Weep and Howl! 11 Getting Ready for the Harvest 12 Prayer, Healing and Restoration 13 The Everlasting Gospel

5. The Book of James Our Goal O ur journey this quarter spans the entire Christian era, as it includes some of the earliest preaching, as well as special insights for these last days. Let us not miss these insights.

6. The Book of James Lesson 4, Oct 25 The Book of James Lesson 4, Oct 25 Being and Doing

7. Key Text James 1:22 “ B ut be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.”

8. Being and Doing Initial Words H earing and seeing are not enough when it comes to a relationship with God. We may be convinced about the existence of God. We may have seen the reality of God’s love and care. Yet, even with all that, we may not really be ready to commit ourselves fully into His hands, an action that would be revealed by our works.

9. Being and Doing Quick Look 1. Enemy to Self (James 1:23, 24) 2. Obedient to the Law (James 1:20) 3. Unlike the World (James 1:26, 27)

10. Being and Doing 1. Enemy to Self James 1:23, 24 NKJV “ F or if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.”

11. 1. Enemy to Self Knowing Your Enemy S alvation begins by seeing who we really are, not who we imagine ourselves to be. We need to get a better view of ourselves, no matter how much we might not like what we see.

12. 1. Enemy to Self Knowing Your Enemy The rich young man thought he had been keeping the commandments. Suddenly he was challenged to adhere to a different kind of obedience, one that he had never anticipated, one that went much deeper than mere outward compliance to rules and regulations. (See Rom. 7:7.)

13. 1. Enemy to Self Knowing Your Enemy Peter also had a distorted picture of himself. Self-confidently, he predicted that even if everyone else should stumble and fall away, he would remain faithful—even if it cost him his life. But neither realized how tightly sin held him in its grasp. Both were self-deceived about their true spiritual state.

14. Being and Doing 2. Obedient to the Law James 1:25 NKJV “ B ut he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one is blessed in what he does.”

15. 2. Obedient to the Law Being a Doer J ames combines being and doing. They are like two sides of the same coin, inseparable. We are to be doers. The tense of the Greek word for be here refers to an ongoing lifestyle of obedience, one that is expected of us now. As a result of what we become, we do the things that God commands us to.

16. 2. Obedient to the Law Being a Doer “Love your enemies.” “Give to everyone who asks of you.” “Be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful” (Luke 6:27, 30, 36, NKJV). Sounds impossible? And it is, on our own. Love like this does not come naturally to sinful human beings.

17. 2. Obedient to the Law Being a Doer Similarly, in Galatians 5 Paul contrasts the works of the flesh (Gal. 5:19–21) with the fruit of the Spirit (vs. 22, 23). It is almost as if the more we focus on doing, the worse we become; whereas, when we are being led by the Spirit, it yields a totally different outcome—the fruit of love and obedience.

18. 2. Obedient to the Law The Law of Freedom Even Paul affirms that “not the hearers of the law are just in the sight of God, but the doers of the law will be justified” (Rom. 2:13, NKJV). As he says, we can become doers only through the work of the Spirit writing the law on our hearts. Only when we obey it from the heart can the law be a law of freedom.

19. Being and Doing 3. Unlike the World James 1:26, 27 NKJV “ I f anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless. Pure and undefiled religion...is this: to visit the poor and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.”

20. 3. Unlike the World Useful or Useless? I f Jesus, James, and Paul emphasize anything, it is the importance of being a useful Christian. By loving “the least of these” (Matt. 25:40), by taking the time to visit those most easily over- looked, by showing hospitality—in all these practical ways and more—we reveal Jesus’ love and become the channel by which Jesus loves through us.

21. 3. Unlike the World Useful or Useless? How we treat those who have been rejected by the world reveals which of us are Christ’s true followers: either by lending money to those who cannot pay us back; inviting to dinner those who cannot reciprocate; or blessing and praying for those who mistreat us. We are re-created in Christ Jesus for good works (Eph. 2:10).

22. 3. Unlike the World “Unspotted” The problem with sin isn’t so much what is out there, though that certainly plays a role, as much as it is what’s in us, and in our hearts. That’s where the true battle is, and we will have to fight that battle no matter where we live. Real religion leads a person to “hunger and thirst” for a deeper experience (Matt. 5:6).

23. Being and Doing Final Words “ I nstead of releasing man from obedience, it is faith, and faith only, that makes us partakers of the grace of Christ, which enables us to render obedience.” —Ellen G. White Our Father Cares 69.