If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.
To be a Jew in Jesus’ day meant adhering to a strict diet of “clean” foods. These laws were given through Moses which gave them serious legal weight in the eyes of the Jews. The Gentiles, all of us non-Jews, had no such restrictions. Back then and even now we eat pretty much whatever we want. This difference in diets led to a clash of cultures in the early church. Paul felt the need to write several chapters on the topic to the Corinthians in his first letter to them. (See chapters 8-10)
James is still railing against those he calls “rich people.” As we have discussed before, what he means is greedy people who put themselves before God and their neighbor. In the context of this verse, it seems that James is suggesting that these rich people know better.
These aren’t just any ol’ rich people either. The people James is writing to are Christians. Jews who have come to believe in Jesus but who have been having a hard time giving up their old habits. James seems to draw a distinction between those who know the difference between right and wrong and those who don’t.
My guess is that James believes the people he is writing to know better. These people are not stupid, they are just greedy. If they do what they know displeases God, then that is sin.
Application: Do you know what pleases God? Do you ever get that feeling that you should be doing something right now? Do it!
Food for Thought: What is your strategy for dealing with that inner conflict that is stirred up when you know you ought to do something?
It depends on whether I am walking in the flesh or if I am walking in the spirit. The battle there is real and both the flesh and the Spirit have a pull and a strategy (Galatians 5: 16 – 26). As Paul says there – let us walk in the Spirit.
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I’m trying more and more to turn to his word. Im trying to pick the one that glorifies him but I still am a sinner and I have to repent for my mistakes.