Claims are often made. Nothing wrong with making
claims, per se. But must be prepared to prove your
claim.
I. Claims we make to ourselves which expose us to danger.
A. "I am religious."
1. The danger is self-deception.
2. Religion has to do with more than just worship. It includes life and speech and doing one's duty to others. Jas. 1:26, 27.
a. Being a worshiper does not make the other aspects of our lives religious.
b. Being irreligious in any aspect of our lives makes us irreligious, even though we might engage in worship. Cf. Jas. 2:10.
3. Only the person who is religious in every
aspect of his life can say to himself, "I am
religious...my religion is pure."
B. "I am spiritual."
1. The danger lies in the conceit that
because of one's perceived "spirituality"
one may ignore the authority of God's
bona fide messengers (and in our case,
their writings) with impunity. 1 Cor.
14:36-38.
2. The result is disobedience and
punishment.
3. The solution is to remember that we
never become so spiritual that we can
decide for ourselves what is right
independently of God's word.
C. "I am wise in this age."
1. There is nothing wrong with worldly
wisdom per se; the danger lies is
thinking that worldly wisdom is a
substitute for spiritual wisdom contained
in God's revelation. 1 Cor. 3:18.
2. This claim exposes one to the danger of
ceasing to strive for wisdom from God
(e.g., to say, "I don't need to study the
Bible"), acting in religion on the basis of
worldly wisdom, and thus failing to fulfill
God's will.
D. "I stand."
1. This claim exposes one to the danger of
falling. 1 Cor. 10:13
2. The danger lies in overconfidence which
results in not taking heed to the things
which can trip one up and cause one to
stumble.
E. "I am something." Gal. 6:3 (cf. Acts 5:36,
Theudas made himself out to be somebody).
1. This claim is related to the previous (1
Cor. 10:13). It is understood in terms of
the context (Gal. 6:1).
2. A person who thinks he is so spiritual
that he is above temptation is blindly
headed for falling into it.
3. The recommended alternative is
constant, honest, and forthright
consideration of one's weaknesses. Matt.
26:41.
II. Claims we make to others, but which no man
should make.
A. "I am rich, and have gotten riches, and have
need of nothing." Rev. 3:17
1. The danger lies in forgetting our status--creatures of a kind and good Creator.
2. All of us are creatures of the Almighty,
and our breath, sustenance, and our very
lives are gifts of God. Cf. Lk. 11:3; Acts
14:17; 17:24-28
3. As in physical life, even more true with
regard to the spiritual life. cf. Jn. 15:8;
God is the Father of our spirits. Heb.
12:9.
4. The proper attitude: "I Need Thee Every
Hour."
B. "I have no need of you." 1 Cor. 12:21.
1. This claim is made by a Christian who
thinks he does not need any other
Christian for anything.
2. Paul described the church in terms of a
human body, as an analogy to the church
of Christ.
3. Every part of the human body serves an
important function which benefits all the
other parts of the body.
4. There is something that every other
Christian, no matter who he or she is,
has to offer which can be of benefit you
and me.
C. "I am tempted of God." Jas. 1:13.
1. The "blame game" is as old as man.
Gen. 3:12, 13.
2. Some people are so impudent as to
blame God for their temptations; some
will resort to anything to avoid feeling
guilty.
3. However, temptation is absolutely
foreign to God's character, which is
good.
a. God tests and tries people faith (the
meaning of the word "tempt" in e.g.,
Gen. 22:1AV)
b. But God never entices people to do
evil.
D. "I have no sin." 1 Jn. 1:8; "I have not
sinned." 1 Jn. 1:10.
1. These are claims of those who feel the
need neither of confession, of
forgiveness/ purification, nor of Jesus. 1
Jn. 1:7; 2:2.
2. Two serious problems involved in
making such claims:
a. Not being honest and truthful about
ourselves self-deception.
b. Not being truthful about God;
amounts to calling God a liar. (God's
word is truth, Jn. 17:17; and he
cannot lie, Titus 1:2).
(1) God has declared all men
sinners. Rom. 3:23.
(2) God, by sending Jesus as the
propitiation of the sins of the
whole world, has unequi-vocally
implied that the whole world
needs Jesus.
III. Claims which every Christian ought to be able to
make to others, but which bear verification.
(Merely claiming "don't make it so").
A. "I have fellowship with God."
1. God is light and in him there is no
darkness at all. 1 Jn. 1:5.
a. In the New Testament, light often
symbolizes righteousness, and
darkness symbolizes unrighteousness.
b. So, the claim is verified or disproved
by the life of the one who makes it. 1
Jn. 1:6.
(1) If the person making the claim
practices righteousness, he is in
the light and has fellowship with
God. 1 Jn. 1:7.
(2) If the person making the claim
practices unrighteousness, then
he is in darkness and has no
fellowship with God.
c. To hate one's fellow Christian is to
be in unrighteousness, i.e., to be in
darkness.
(1) A person may claim, "I am in
the light," but if he hates his
brother or sister, he is in
darkness. 1 Jn. 2:9.
(2) To be in the light thus includes
loving one's fellow Christian.
2. Every Christian ought to walk in the light
and have fellowship with God.
3. God desires for people to live in
fellowship with him, but that can happen
only when people live according to the
truth (viz., the truth about God, who is
pure light) and in love toward their
fellow Christians.
B. "I love God."
1. This claim is readily made by many, and
ought to be made by all Christians.
2. Such a claim is verified by keeping God's
commandments. 1 Jn. 5:3.
a. God has commanded many things;
what God has commanded is found
in the Bible and only in the Bible.
b. Any transgressions of God's negative
commands, and any omission of
God's positive commands, disproves
the claim to love God. (E.g., the
person who claims to love God , yet
refuses to be baptized, disproves his
claim).
c. Among God's positive commands is
the imperative for us to love our
fellow Christians. 1 Jn. 4:20, 21.
d. Remember that the imperative of
"love" ( gap w) is simply means to
unconditionally act in good will
toward, do good to.
3. It is a "given" that those who love God
also love the children of God. 1 Jn. 5:1.
C. "I know Jesus."
1. The word "know" ( Egnwka perfect
indicative active "I am in the state of
having come to know him") in this
statement refers to being personally
acquainted with him.
a. To know him means to know him as
he is.
b. To know him as he is means to know
him as the divine Word, the Son of
God, the Lord Christ.
2. Therefore, the claim is verified or
disproved by whether or not a person
keeps the commandments of Jesus. 1 Jn.
2:3, 4.
a. Refusal to bow before him in
reverent and absolute obedience
shows that one does not know him as
he is.
b. There are many who say they know
Jesus, but they know him as
something other than what he is (a
Jesus in our image, Jesus the benign
pal, a Jesus for whom anything goes,
etc.) , and so they do not really know
him!
c. Jesus has commanded many things
(including baptism), all of which are
found in the New Testament; what is
commanded by the apostles is the
command of the Lord Jesus. Matt.
28:19, 20; 1 Cor. 14:37.
d. Among the commandments of Jesus
is for Christians to love their fellow
Christians. 1 Jn. 3:11.
D. "I have faith." Jas. 2:14. Prove it!
1. Faith is something which we must have
(Heb. 11:6), and it is something which
we ought to confess (Rom. 10:10).
2. Thus, we ought to be able to make this
claim, "I have faith," but the issue is not
whether we have it, but what kind of
faith do we have?
a. James emphasizes that there are
several kinds of faith:
(1) There is a faith that is no good,
of no practical value, dead,
fruitless, barren, unable to save.
(2) This implies that there is a faith
which is good, has practical
value, living, fruitful, productive,
and able to save.
b. The determining factor as to which
kind of faith one has: works.
(1) Illus. The Pharisees "say and
do not." Matt. 23:3.
(2) The attitude of the advertising
world: If we say it long enough
and loud enough, people will
begin to believe it.
(3) A faith that works vs. a faith of
words. A faith that never gets
beyond the teeth.
3. Our actions may so exhibit our faith that
nothing need be said. Jas. 2:18 (cf. 1
Thess. 1:8).
Claims Jesus made and proved.
"I am he" summarizes all the things claimed of him
by inspired men Immanuel, Christ, Son of God,
Lord, Savior of the world, etc.
Proved by his miracles, his sinlessness, his virgin
birth, his teaching, his demeanor at death, his
resurrection from the dead, his ascension.
We ought to believe his claims, because he proved it,
and we ought to honor his claim upon us.
SM 7-25-99 a.m.
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