If you are reading along with our study of James, we’re going to be covering chapter four this Sunday.  We’ve named this five week study “the Antidote” for good reason.  I believe the Book of James contains the antidote for much of “what ails us” thousands of years later.  Like any strong medicine though, the book of James is not often pleasant.  It doesn’t sugar-coat truth.  It’s sort of like a syringe of adrenaline directly to your heart.  (I cannot remember what movie I saw that in…but it certainly did not look like an enjoyable way to have your life saved) :-)

The final verse of chapter four hit me particularly hard this week.  It’s a bomb-shell.  It messes with so many of the ideas that we have about morality and religion.  I thought I’d lob it out there on a Wednesday and see if these words speak to anyone else as much as they have to me:

James 4:17     Remember, it is a sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.

Boom.

Being a follower of Jesus isn’t just “NOT DOING” certain things.

It’s not just a morality based code.

It’s not enough to just abstain from “bad” things.

It’s actually a sin not to do the  things we know  we  “SHOULD DO”.

Hmmm.    To be continued Sunday…