Nov. 21, 2024

James 1:19-27 A New Interpretation Pt 2

James 1:19-27 A New Interpretation Pt 2

An attempt to build a new interpretation of James 1:19-27

Spreaker podcast player badge
Apple Podcasts podcast player badge
Spotify podcast player badge
PocketCasts podcast player badge
Amazon Music podcast player badge
Overcast podcast player badge
Audible podcast player badge
Castro podcast player badge
iHeartRadio podcast player badge
Castbox podcast player badge
Podchaser podcast player badge
TuneIn podcast player badge
Deezer podcast player badge
Pandora podcast player badge
RadioPublic podcast player badge
Podcast Addict podcast player badge
RSS Feed podcast player badge
YouTube podcast player badge
Fountain podcast player badge
PlayerFM podcast player badge
Goodpods podcast player badge
Podverse podcast player badge
Podyssey podcast player badge
Breaker podcast player badge
Podurama podcast player badge
Audacy podcast player badge
JioSaavn podcast player badge
Spreaker podcast player iconApple Podcasts podcast player iconSpotify podcast player iconPocketCasts podcast player iconAmazon Music podcast player iconOvercast podcast player iconAudible podcast player iconCastro podcast player iconiHeartRadio podcast player iconCastbox podcast player iconPodchaser podcast player iconTuneIn podcast player iconDeezer podcast player iconPandora podcast player iconRadioPublic podcast player iconPodcast Addict podcast player iconRSS Feed podcast player iconYouTube podcast player iconFountain podcast player iconPlayerFM podcast player iconGoodpods podcast player iconPodverse podcast player iconPodyssey podcast player iconBreaker podcast player iconPodurama podcast player iconAudacy podcast player iconJioSaavn podcast player icon

An attempt to build a new interpretation of James 1:19-27

WEBVTT

1
00:00:02.200 --> 00:00:05.919
Looking at our world from a theological perspective. This is

2
00:00:05.960 --> 00:00:12.839
the Theology Central podcast making Theology Central. Good morning everyone.

3
00:00:13.119 --> 00:00:16.679
It is Thursday, November the twenty first, twenty twenty four.

4
00:00:17.199 --> 00:00:21.280
It is currently eleven forty four am Central Time, and

5
00:00:21.359 --> 00:00:24.199
I am coming to you live from the Theology Central

6
00:00:24.280 --> 00:00:29.160
studio located right here in Abilene, Texas. Maybe I should

7
00:00:29.160 --> 00:00:33.600
call this the Theology Central laboratory, right, This is where

8
00:00:33.840 --> 00:00:37.159
I do experiments to try to come up with a

9
00:00:37.200 --> 00:00:41.719
brand new interpretation and then finally I say it's a

10
00:00:41.960 --> 00:00:45.240
live Okay, maybe that's a little bit. Okay, Yeah, I'm

11
00:00:45.320 --> 00:00:47.719
kind of borrowing from Frankenstein. Okay, never mind, never mind,

12
00:00:47.759 --> 00:00:51.240
never mind. But yes, I do, in a sense kind

13
00:00:51.240 --> 00:00:54.359
of see sometimes this studio as a laboratory where I'm

14
00:00:54.399 --> 00:00:57.840
working and trying to look at this interpretation and this

15
00:00:57.960 --> 00:01:01.320
interpretation and then try to consider this and question this

16
00:01:01.439 --> 00:01:04.200
and challenge this, and we try to formulate this. And

17
00:01:04.239 --> 00:01:06.760
so that's what we're currently doing. We're trying to come

18
00:01:06.840 --> 00:01:11.959
up with a new interpretation of James Chapter one, verses

19
00:01:12.120 --> 00:01:15.280
nineteen through twenty seven. And the reason we're trying to

20
00:01:15.319 --> 00:01:19.760
come up with a new interpretation is because I have

21
00:01:19.799 --> 00:01:24.120
a problem with every interpretation I've stumbled upon up to

22
00:01:24.200 --> 00:01:26.959
this very moment, and that's going all the way back

23
00:01:27.000 --> 00:01:29.640
to the early Church. We looked at how the early

24
00:01:29.760 --> 00:01:36.319
Church understood this section problematic. We reviewed a sermon problematic.

25
00:01:36.920 --> 00:01:40.480
So far, everything I've stumbled upon has been problematic. So

26
00:01:40.519 --> 00:01:42.439
I think we have to continue to do work. So

27
00:01:42.480 --> 00:01:44.480
I told you to get a brand new notebook, right,

28
00:01:45.120 --> 00:01:51.079
and not just a pencil. You need an entire box

29
00:01:51.159 --> 00:01:54.599
of pencils. In fact, you need two boxes of pencils.

30
00:01:54.640 --> 00:01:58.760
In fact, you need you need three boxes a pencil.

31
00:01:59.000 --> 00:02:02.040
I have three. I have three, ladies and gentlemen, boxes

32
00:02:02.040 --> 00:02:05.879
of pencils right here. Three. I don't know if you

33
00:02:05.920 --> 00:02:09.240
can hear that. Yes, that's how many boxes of pencils

34
00:02:09.280 --> 00:02:11.759
you need. At a minimum three. You probably should have five.

35
00:02:11.800 --> 00:02:14.280
You should have five boxes of pencils at any time, right,

36
00:02:14.360 --> 00:02:16.479
And you probably need two or three notebooks because we

37
00:02:16.520 --> 00:02:19.039
have a lot of work to do, and I've invited

38
00:02:19.080 --> 00:02:22.000
you to be a part of this. Right, So I've

39
00:02:22.039 --> 00:02:25.879
told you to start reading James one nineteen through twenty seven,

40
00:02:25.919 --> 00:02:27.400
over and over and over and over and over and

41
00:02:27.400 --> 00:02:29.560
over and over and over and over again. That's always

42
00:02:29.599 --> 00:02:32.639
the key, right, if you really want to start, if

43
00:02:32.680 --> 00:02:35.800
you really want to start an in depth Bible study,

44
00:02:35.840 --> 00:02:38.159
you've got to start doing the work. I mean, so

45
00:02:38.159 --> 00:02:40.680
many people I think like the idea of Bible study

46
00:02:41.080 --> 00:02:43.000
that don't like the work that is involved. But you've

47
00:02:43.000 --> 00:02:44.400
got to read it and read it and read it.

48
00:02:44.680 --> 00:02:49.000
You can start listening to sermons on it. That's something

49
00:02:49.039 --> 00:02:52.159
you can do. And so I hope and hopefully I've

50
00:02:52.199 --> 00:02:54.280
already kind of told you some things to work on.

51
00:02:54.439 --> 00:02:57.000
You could work on an observational outline on James one

52
00:02:57.120 --> 00:03:00.599
nineteen through twenty seven. You could do a book background

53
00:03:00.639 --> 00:03:03.199
study on the entire book of James, so you have

54
00:03:03.280 --> 00:03:07.319
the historical context. There's a lot of things you could do, right, So,

55
00:03:07.400 --> 00:03:10.280
but I hope you're ready what we have done so far.

56
00:03:10.599 --> 00:03:12.759
Let me kind of take you for what we have

57
00:03:12.919 --> 00:03:15.599
done so far and where we're going In this episode,

58
00:03:15.719 --> 00:03:19.360
I'm trying to break this attempt to build this new

59
00:03:20.240 --> 00:03:24.680
interpretation into smaller segments. That was that's what I said

60
00:03:24.719 --> 00:03:26.759
I was going to do, break it into smaller segments.

61
00:03:26.759 --> 00:03:30.319
But then if you look at yesterday, the first episode

62
00:03:30.400 --> 00:03:34.479
went an over an hour long. So yeah, but I

63
00:03:34.520 --> 00:03:37.280
mean it's work ladies and gentlemen. It's a lot of work.

64
00:03:37.319 --> 00:03:40.159
So here's what we did, if you think about it.

65
00:03:41.000 --> 00:03:43.960
The first episode we did is I was just reviewing

66
00:03:44.039 --> 00:03:48.919
random sermons, and I reviewed a random sermon entitled Law

67
00:03:49.080 --> 00:03:54.439
of Liberty by Brandon Neely right, and you can listen

68
00:03:54.439 --> 00:03:57.080
to that episode. We didn't review that much of it,

69
00:03:57.319 --> 00:04:00.400
but he started explaining what he thought. In fact, the

70
00:04:00.479 --> 00:04:04.879
key things in that sermon was how he handled James

71
00:04:04.919 --> 00:04:08.199
Chapter one, verse twenty one, where we read these words,

72
00:04:08.560 --> 00:04:12.360
wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and

73
00:04:12.439 --> 00:04:17.240
receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to

74
00:04:17.279 --> 00:04:20.720
save your souls. So we noted how he understood and

75
00:04:20.839 --> 00:04:25.000
grafted word, and then over in verse twenty five. But

76
00:04:25.079 --> 00:04:29.199
whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty? So what

77
00:04:29.279 --> 00:04:32.600
we focused on is how he was interpreting the ungrafted

78
00:04:32.639 --> 00:04:36.160
word and law of liberty, and to kind of just

79
00:04:36.279 --> 00:04:40.160
summarize it, he saw that the ingrafted word was the

80
00:04:40.199 --> 00:04:43.600
Old Testament law, the Old Testament law, and that the

81
00:04:43.680 --> 00:04:47.480
law of liberty was basically was so whenever you take

82
00:04:47.480 --> 00:04:49.879
the Old Testament law and the law of liberty, Just

83
00:04:49.920 --> 00:04:51.879
to kind of simplify it. He kind of saw them

84
00:04:51.879 --> 00:04:54.480
as the same thing. That the law of liberty somehow

85
00:04:54.519 --> 00:04:57.000
was the ingrafted word, which is the Old Testament law,

86
00:04:57.199 --> 00:05:00.000
and that law brings us liberty if we will say

87
00:05:00.439 --> 00:05:04.079
obey it, we bring liberty, and we just obey the

88
00:05:04.120 --> 00:05:06.079
world that we just obey the law of God. And

89
00:05:06.120 --> 00:05:09.839
so the entire kind of primise was the law of

90
00:05:09.879 --> 00:05:12.079
God will free you. The law of God will set

91
00:05:12.120 --> 00:05:16.360
you free. You should obey it, and you can obey

92
00:05:16.519 --> 00:05:19.439
the law of God, which of course we have talked

93
00:05:19.480 --> 00:05:23.000
about countless times. So I immediately have a problem with

94
00:05:23.040 --> 00:05:27.040
that entire interpretation because I don't believe we can obey

95
00:05:27.079 --> 00:05:29.759
the law of God. So then we went through Church history.

96
00:05:30.040 --> 00:05:35.040
Church history gave us the ungrafted word was. Some said

97
00:05:35.040 --> 00:05:37.560
it was the Old Testament law, some said it was

98
00:05:37.600 --> 00:05:41.199
the Gospel, some said it's just the scriptures. In general,

99
00:05:41.480 --> 00:05:43.920
the law of liberty had something to do with Christ,

100
00:05:43.959 --> 00:05:47.240
maybe fulfilling the law. The law of liberty was maybe

101
00:05:47.279 --> 00:05:51.040
the law of Christ. But even throughout Church history, the

102
00:05:51.120 --> 00:05:57.439
same thing, basically, the same basic premise basically came from

103
00:05:57.519 --> 00:06:01.319
their interpretations, which is obey the law. You can do

104
00:06:01.360 --> 00:06:04.959
the law you've been changed, you'll be transformed. You can

105
00:06:05.040 --> 00:06:08.680
do it. And so none of the none of their

106
00:06:08.680 --> 00:06:13.759
interpretations really accounted for some just basic facts. Right, nobody

107
00:06:13.800 --> 00:06:16.720
can keep the law. The law says be holy as

108
00:06:16.720 --> 00:06:19.240
He is holy. Nobody can do that. So that means

109
00:06:19.240 --> 00:06:22.079
I'm not set free. That doesn't mean I have is

110
00:06:22.120 --> 00:06:24.519
because if I'm set free from sin, well then I

111
00:06:24.519 --> 00:06:26.279
should be able to be holy as God is holy.

112
00:06:26.439 --> 00:06:29.120
If I can't, then I'm obviously not free. And if

113
00:06:29.120 --> 00:06:31.439
you say I have the power of God to help

114
00:06:31.480 --> 00:06:35.399
me obey the law of God, well then why can't

115
00:06:35.399 --> 00:06:38.040
the power of God get me to perfect obedience? See,

116
00:06:38.319 --> 00:06:41.519
there's this weird contradiction. And we talked about that a

117
00:06:41.560 --> 00:06:43.680
lot in the last episode. You can go listen to that.

118
00:06:44.079 --> 00:06:48.319
So we went through all of that. We reviewed that,

119
00:06:48.600 --> 00:06:51.639
and we reviewed how church history has looked at it.

120
00:06:51.720 --> 00:06:54.519
I know, that's like a simple, simple, simple, simple, simple,

121
00:06:55.199 --> 00:06:58.800
over simplification and reviewing everything we've covered so far. But

122
00:06:58.879 --> 00:07:00.959
I'm not going to go back all of this. So

123
00:07:01.360 --> 00:07:03.920
we looked at church history and so this is what

124
00:07:03.959 --> 00:07:06.720
we come to today. All right, here's what we're going

125
00:07:06.759 --> 00:07:09.279
to start with today. And there was a lot of

126
00:07:09.279 --> 00:07:12.759
other things there. I left out, but hopefully, hopefully you

127
00:07:12.800 --> 00:07:15.639
have kind of an idea. What we're primarily trying to

128
00:07:15.639 --> 00:07:18.040
do is we're really right now here's kind of the

129
00:07:18.040 --> 00:07:22.040
way we're on my approaches. I am focusing primarily on

130
00:07:22.160 --> 00:07:25.600
understanding the ungrafted word and the law of liberty. So

131
00:07:25.639 --> 00:07:30.360
we're really zooming in on those two concepts, the ungrafted

132
00:07:30.399 --> 00:07:34.519
word and law of liberty. Then as we kind of

133
00:07:34.519 --> 00:07:37.319
struggle through all of that, put forth are kind of

134
00:07:37.360 --> 00:07:40.480
our own interpretation and my kind of a new interpretation

135
00:07:40.560 --> 00:07:44.439
of what that may be. Then we'll zoom out and

136
00:07:44.480 --> 00:07:48.120
then look at the bigger picture and then see if

137
00:07:48.120 --> 00:07:51.920
we can come up with a complete interpretation of verses

138
00:07:52.000 --> 00:07:55.680
nineteen to twenty seven. But I think everything hinges on

139
00:07:55.800 --> 00:07:58.439
what the ungrafted word is and what the law of

140
00:07:58.480 --> 00:08:01.720
liberty is. Again, some say they're the same thing, some

141
00:08:01.800 --> 00:08:05.240
say they're different things, and there's there's there's just so

142
00:08:05.519 --> 00:08:10.160
many different perspectives on this. But are you ready? So

143
00:08:11.040 --> 00:08:15.240
we're gonna look at AI's kind of first attempt to

144
00:08:15.360 --> 00:08:19.319
try to handle this right. So basically I was looking

145
00:08:19.399 --> 00:08:22.160
to Ai asking it some questions. I said, Okay, well,

146
00:08:22.839 --> 00:08:25.959
how would how would how should this be section be handled?

147
00:08:26.000 --> 00:08:28.279
What what are some what are some things here? So

148
00:08:28.319 --> 00:08:30.680
AI gave just kind of this is not really a

149
00:08:31.240 --> 00:08:33.200
very in depth I could have. I could have asked

150
00:08:33.240 --> 00:08:35.519
Ai for more, but I just wanted to kind of

151
00:08:35.519 --> 00:08:38.320
see which direction AI would go. So this is what

152
00:08:38.360 --> 00:08:44.200
AI gave me. First, It gave me contextual considerations for

153
00:08:44.320 --> 00:08:47.799
interpreting the law of liberty. No, at this point it

154
00:08:47.840 --> 00:08:50.679
didn't go with the ungrafted word. Just see just look

155
00:08:50.679 --> 00:08:55.159
at where it goes. It says the immediate context, AI said, James,

156
00:08:55.200 --> 00:08:59.679
contrast merely hearing the word with actively doing it. The

157
00:08:59.799 --> 00:09:04.840
law law of liberty is described as perfect, suggesting completeness

158
00:09:04.879 --> 00:09:09.840
and fulfillment, likely alluding to Christ's fulfillment of the law.

159
00:09:10.559 --> 00:09:13.639
All right, So the idea is the law of liberty

160
00:09:14.000 --> 00:09:19.080
somehow refers to Christ fulfilling the law. All right? That okay,

161
00:09:19.120 --> 00:09:21.639
that a lot of people have said that. They didn't

162
00:09:21.639 --> 00:09:26.399
really necessarily articulate exactly what that means, but okay, because

163
00:09:26.519 --> 00:09:29.279
most of them said, the law of liberty somehow refers

164
00:09:29.320 --> 00:09:32.919
to Christ fulfilling the law. But almost inevitably, then it

165
00:09:33.039 --> 00:09:35.879
was like, well, Christ fulfilled the law, and then this

166
00:09:36.000 --> 00:09:38.360
somehow gives you the power to keep the law, which

167
00:09:38.440 --> 00:09:42.679
was really kind of confusing. So Christ kept the law,

168
00:09:42.840 --> 00:09:45.320
and that gives me power, so that now I can

169
00:09:45.399 --> 00:09:48.519
keep the law. Isn't the whole point of him keeping

170
00:09:48.519 --> 00:09:52.159
the law is because I can't. I couldn't, I can't,

171
00:09:52.759 --> 00:09:56.480
I will never be able to. Therefore, by faith, his

172
00:09:56.639 --> 00:09:59.039
keeping of the law is imputed to my account? Is

173
00:09:59.080 --> 00:10:02.159
it that the Christian message? But everyone was kind of

174
00:10:02.200 --> 00:10:04.879
like the law of liberty, it's him keeping the law.

175
00:10:05.240 --> 00:10:07.799
Now you've been set free, so you can keep it.

176
00:10:07.840 --> 00:10:11.399
And it was so like, this is confusing, So but

177
00:10:12.399 --> 00:10:15.120
AI went with the same kind of idea. Doesn't really

178
00:10:15.200 --> 00:10:20.279
explain here the law they Ai said, is linked with freedom,

179
00:10:20.679 --> 00:10:25.039
not bondage. See this is where it gets confusing, implying

180
00:10:25.120 --> 00:10:28.000
that this is not about mosaic law in a strict sense,

181
00:10:28.279 --> 00:10:32.720
but a principle that liberates. So then here AI kind

182
00:10:32.720 --> 00:10:35.120
of says, well, this is probably not the Mosaic law,

183
00:10:35.440 --> 00:10:37.600
but this is Christ fulfilling the law. But what law

184
00:10:37.600 --> 00:10:40.519
did he fulfill? Isn't it the Mosaic law? So this

185
00:10:40.519 --> 00:10:43.120
gets a little confusing again. But whatever the law of

186
00:10:43.159 --> 00:10:48.279
liberty is, it's a law that liberates. So here is

187
00:10:48.440 --> 00:10:51.360
law that sets you free. Now This is what leads

188
00:10:51.480 --> 00:10:54.159
pastors to go, hey, you want to be free, keep

189
00:10:54.200 --> 00:10:58.039
the law. You want to be free, just obey. You

190
00:10:58.080 --> 00:11:01.080
hear this in youth conferences a lot of time. Hey, kids,

191
00:11:01.639 --> 00:11:03.559
I know you see the Bible. You see all these

192
00:11:03.639 --> 00:11:06.480
dues and don't and you feel like that's restrictive and

193
00:11:06.519 --> 00:11:11.000
that that's bondage and that's slavery and that's not right.

194
00:11:11.960 --> 00:11:14.360
And the pastor will say, no, if you will keep

195
00:11:14.399 --> 00:11:17.320
the law, you will be set free. It will set

196
00:11:17.360 --> 00:11:20.600
you free, it will set you free. And I'm always like,

197
00:11:20.720 --> 00:11:25.080
I'm so just philologically dumbfounded by this. And the parents

198
00:11:25.120 --> 00:11:28.240
are like, hey, man, listen to that, little Johnny, just

199
00:11:28.320 --> 00:11:30.480
obey the law and you will be free. And I'm like,

200
00:11:30.840 --> 00:11:33.559
nobody in this church is obeying the law. The law says,

201
00:11:33.559 --> 00:11:36.879
be holy as he is holy. Nobody does. So why

202
00:11:36.879 --> 00:11:38.840
are you telling the kid that obeying the law is

203
00:11:38.840 --> 00:11:41.159
gonna set them free? Because as soon as they start

204
00:11:41.159 --> 00:11:43.200
their attempt to obey the law, you know what, they're

205
00:11:43.200 --> 00:11:47.600
going to find themselves not free. They're gonna find themselves condemned.

206
00:11:47.759 --> 00:11:51.440
They're gonna find themselves filled with guilt, shame, and humiliation,

207
00:11:51.759 --> 00:11:54.480
feeling like a failure and decide either they have to

208
00:11:54.519 --> 00:11:57.080
start pretending they're doing better than they are, or they're

209
00:11:57.120 --> 00:12:01.559
gonna have to start admitting this isn't working. But somehow

210
00:12:01.799 --> 00:12:04.600
churches love to go with this idea, the law of liberty. See,

211
00:12:04.600 --> 00:12:07.360
if you'll just obey the law, you're free. Well, if

212
00:12:07.399 --> 00:12:11.080
I could obey the law, I wouldn't need Christ. Well

213
00:12:11.159 --> 00:12:13.799
Christ sets you free so that you can obey the law. No,

214
00:12:13.919 --> 00:12:16.879
I thought Christ fulfilled the law because I can't keep

215
00:12:16.919 --> 00:12:22.639
the law. See, this is a completely rewriting of Christianity

216
00:12:22.679 --> 00:12:26.720
that I believe. Just well, it's more Catholic than it

217
00:12:26.799 --> 00:12:31.759
is anything consistent with the Protestant Reformation. This is the

218
00:12:31.799 --> 00:12:35.639
idea of almost an infused righteousness, and AI kind of

219
00:12:35.840 --> 00:12:38.879
follows this same concept now, it says the broader context,

220
00:12:39.480 --> 00:12:43.399
James frequently emphasizes this active, lived out faith, where he

221
00:12:43.480 --> 00:12:46.799
refers to the royal law of loving one's neighbor. The

222
00:12:46.879 --> 00:12:49.559
law of liberty appears to focus on obedience to God's

223
00:12:49.600 --> 00:12:53.919
moral and ethical will as revealed in Christ, empowering believers

224
00:12:53.960 --> 00:12:57.000
to live righteously. See it, AI did the same thing.

225
00:12:57.480 --> 00:13:01.519
So somehow the ungrafted word, somehow, the law liberty basically

226
00:13:01.600 --> 00:13:05.000
equates to it. And I know I'm oversimplifying it, but

227
00:13:05.120 --> 00:13:07.879
in sermon after sermon and everything that you can look at,

228
00:13:08.039 --> 00:13:11.399
it basically is this sets you free, This empowers you,

229
00:13:11.720 --> 00:13:15.320
so you can do it. And this denies the reality

230
00:13:15.320 --> 00:13:20.000
of Christianity. You cannot do it, and to think that

231
00:13:20.080 --> 00:13:25.399
you can means you're in total denial. I cannot state

232
00:13:25.440 --> 00:13:28.240
it again. Look at the Law of God. It demands

233
00:13:28.399 --> 00:13:34.759
absolute perfection internally, externally you have never kept it. You're

234
00:13:34.759 --> 00:13:40.519
in a perpetual state of disobedience to it. Don't when

235
00:13:40.559 --> 00:13:44.159
you're listening to sermons that take these kinds of concepts,

236
00:13:44.200 --> 00:13:47.519
And basically, no matter what they say about the angrafted

237
00:13:47.559 --> 00:13:49.279
word of the law of liberty, no matter, no matter

238
00:13:49.320 --> 00:13:51.440
if they connect it to the Mosaic Law, no matter

239
00:13:51.440 --> 00:13:53.559
if they connect it to the Gospel, no matter if

240
00:13:53.559 --> 00:13:56.399
they can just connect it, connect it to Scripture. If

241
00:13:56.399 --> 00:14:01.919
the basic conclusion is this frees you, this empowers you,

242
00:14:01.919 --> 00:14:06.879
you can keep the law, then it's denying the very

243
00:14:06.960 --> 00:14:12.360
reality that any Christian who's even slightly honest with themselves,

244
00:14:13.039 --> 00:14:15.639
any Christian who will slightly look at their life and

245
00:14:15.720 --> 00:14:19.720
light of God's actual law, will be like this. No

246
00:14:19.919 --> 00:14:22.679
this is not true. So all that's why I've got

247
00:14:22.720 --> 00:14:25.120
to be I'm not trying to go through every one

248
00:14:25.159 --> 00:14:27.360
of their interpretations and try to take this apart. In

249
00:14:27.399 --> 00:14:29.919
this apart, I'm just looking at what their conclusion is.

250
00:14:30.360 --> 00:14:33.200
And if the conclusion basically is you're set free, you

251
00:14:33.279 --> 00:14:36.200
have power, you can do it, I reject it because

252
00:14:36.279 --> 00:14:41.320
reality proves that that interpretation is incorrect. So that that's

253
00:14:41.399 --> 00:14:44.879
my approach here so far. And AI just falls into

254
00:14:44.919 --> 00:14:48.559
the right the same concept. Why is AI following following

255
00:14:48.559 --> 00:14:51.080
this same thing? Because AI is pulling from the majority

256
00:14:51.080 --> 00:14:56.000
of Christianity. Right Christianity, I mean it pulls from sources,

257
00:14:56.440 --> 00:15:02.200
and so most of Christianity gives you this perspective. AI

258
00:15:02.240 --> 00:15:05.600
goes on to say, Paul's writings also discuss freedom in

259
00:15:05.679 --> 00:15:10.679
christ but often contrast it with bondage of sin or legalism. James, however,

260
00:15:10.720 --> 00:15:16.120
emphasizes freedom to obey rather than freedom from obligation. So

261
00:15:16.279 --> 00:15:18.919
the idea here AI is going with what most preachers

262
00:15:18.919 --> 00:15:22.080
will say, We're now free to obey. You'll hear pastors

263
00:15:22.120 --> 00:15:24.039
say this all time when you all the time, when

264
00:15:24.080 --> 00:15:26.840
you become a Christian, you're now freed from the bondage

265
00:15:26.840 --> 00:15:29.120
of sin. You can now say notice in and yes

266
00:15:29.200 --> 00:15:35.039
to God. All right, So Ai says this. The law

267
00:15:35.080 --> 00:15:37.919
of liberty in James one twenty five is best understood

268
00:15:37.960 --> 00:15:41.919
as the moral and ethical teaching of Christ. Fulfilled through

269
00:15:41.960 --> 00:15:46.519
the Gospel and empowered by the Holy Spirit. This law

270
00:15:46.679 --> 00:15:52.279
liberates believers from the dominion of sin, enabling joyful obedience

271
00:15:52.320 --> 00:15:56.039
through grace. Unlike the Mosaic law, which was birdsome and

272
00:15:56.080 --> 00:15:59.879
impossible to fulfill, to fully keep, this perfect law re

273
00:16:00.039 --> 00:16:03.159
flex God's transformative work and believer's heart and the liqu

274
00:16:03.159 --> 00:16:07.759
What Ai did it references Jeremiah thirty one thirty three,

275
00:16:07.799 --> 00:16:12.679
which is again a promise to Israel, not to us.

276
00:16:12.960 --> 00:16:16.759
So Ai just takes what every other pastor does. Hey,

277
00:16:17.080 --> 00:16:19.600
this is about you being set free. This is about

278
00:16:19.639 --> 00:16:22.639
liberating you. This is about power. This is about now

279
00:16:22.679 --> 00:16:26.120
you can joyfully obey. You can do it because basically

280
00:16:26.120 --> 00:16:29.200
you have a new heart. You've been transformed. Basically this

281
00:16:29.240 --> 00:16:30.960
is I mean, if I want to summarize this, You're

282
00:16:30.960 --> 00:16:33.000
a new creation. All things have passed away, all things

283
00:16:33.000 --> 00:16:35.159
that have become new. You can obey God. You can

284
00:16:35.200 --> 00:16:39.440
do it. You have power. Go do it now. You

285
00:16:39.480 --> 00:16:41.960
listen to sermons like that. Inevitably, though at some point

286
00:16:42.039 --> 00:16:44.639
they'll say, well, I mean you can't come, you can't

287
00:16:44.639 --> 00:16:47.120
be perfect. I mean you're still going to sin. And

288
00:16:47.120 --> 00:16:51.080
then they start backtracking. Well, if I can't get to perfection,

289
00:16:52.000 --> 00:16:55.799
then I'm not free. If I cannot get to perfection,

290
00:16:56.320 --> 00:17:00.320
there's something more powerful than me getting to perfection, something

291
00:17:00.399 --> 00:17:02.399
more powerful than me keeping the law. And if I

292
00:17:02.399 --> 00:17:04.480
can't get to perfection, then I'm not keeping the law.

293
00:17:06.599 --> 00:17:11.079
So all of these interpretations, basically and at the same

294
00:17:11.680 --> 00:17:15.880
in the same place, AI says, here's the basic implications

295
00:17:15.920 --> 00:17:19.880
of their interpretation. The law liberty calls for practical action,

296
00:17:20.039 --> 00:17:24.240
demonstrating faith through deeds. Obedience is not about legalism, but

297
00:17:24.279 --> 00:17:26.720
about living in the freedom that grace provides. See Grace

298
00:17:26.720 --> 00:17:28.920
provides you the freedom to obey, so now you should

299
00:17:28.960 --> 00:17:34.680
be able to obey perfectly. But law, the essence of

300
00:17:34.720 --> 00:17:38.000
the law is love for God and neighbor. And so

301
00:17:38.200 --> 00:17:40.200
basically the idea is you can do it. Go do

302
00:17:40.279 --> 00:17:42.319
it go, do it go, do it go, do it go,

303
00:17:42.440 --> 00:17:44.759
do it go, do it go, do it right. So,

304
00:17:44.799 --> 00:17:48.799
the law of liberty basically is the ethical or moral

305
00:17:48.799 --> 00:17:52.039
teachings of Christ which will set you free. So they

306
00:17:52.119 --> 00:17:54.680
kind of move. So the AI doesn't really necessarily go

307
00:17:54.759 --> 00:17:58.240
with the mosaic law concept. It goes with basically, this

308
00:17:58.279 --> 00:18:01.319
is the ethical and moral teaching of Christ. He fulfilled it,

309
00:18:01.720 --> 00:18:03.279
and somehow that frees you to do it. So that

310
00:18:03.359 --> 00:18:06.359
means you can you can fulfill I guess, I guess

311
00:18:06.400 --> 00:18:10.200
you can keep you can do it all, and it

312
00:18:10.359 --> 00:18:13.240
just so denies reality. Now when it comes to the

313
00:18:13.319 --> 00:18:17.839
ungrafted word, AI tries to interpret this. This is what

314
00:18:17.880 --> 00:18:23.640
AI says. So that was kind of how AI initially

315
00:18:23.680 --> 00:18:26.519
tried to handle the law of liberty. So then I

316
00:18:26.559 --> 00:18:28.480
was like, okay, well Ai, let's put the two together,

317
00:18:28.880 --> 00:18:31.400
the law liberty and the ungrafted words. So let's try

318
00:18:31.400 --> 00:18:35.000
to handle this right. So this is what AI did. First.

319
00:18:35.079 --> 00:18:41.359
It provided a historical context, authorship, and audience. James likely

320
00:18:41.400 --> 00:18:44.079
was written by the brother of Jesus is considered one

321
00:18:44.119 --> 00:18:48.119
of the earliest New Testament books around forty four to

322
00:18:48.119 --> 00:18:51.200
forty nine AD. Please keep that in mind. That is

323
00:18:51.279 --> 00:18:57.960
so important, all right. Written primarily to Jewish Christians familiar

324
00:18:58.000 --> 00:19:04.960
with the Old Testament, James heavily reflects Jewish thought and scripture.

325
00:19:05.640 --> 00:19:08.039
Now this is where AI started giving me a little

326
00:19:08.039 --> 00:19:10.079
bit Okay, no, wait a minute. A lot of people

327
00:19:10.119 --> 00:19:13.119
come here the ungrafted word the law of liberty. It's

328
00:19:13.160 --> 00:19:17.480
about Christ, it's about the scriptures, it's about the Gospel.

329
00:19:17.799 --> 00:19:21.359
Let's just remember the Book of James has written so early.

330
00:19:21.519 --> 00:19:24.640
You don't have a New Testament. You're very early on,

331
00:19:24.880 --> 00:19:29.519
and he's writing to Jewish Christians. They're thinking. Even the

332
00:19:29.559 --> 00:19:34.200
tone here is very old Testament in so many ways.

333
00:19:34.680 --> 00:19:38.960
I don't think we can forget the historical context here. Now.

334
00:19:39.119 --> 00:19:43.400
It's relation, it's relational context to the Old Testament. In

335
00:19:43.519 --> 00:19:47.359
the early Christian period, the word lagos and law were

336
00:19:47.480 --> 00:19:51.319
understood primarily in terms of the Old Testament revelation. So

337
00:19:51.319 --> 00:19:54.240
when you hear the word the word law, and you

338
00:19:54.240 --> 00:19:57.680
hear the word word right lagos as this us here,

339
00:19:57.799 --> 00:20:01.000
they're gonna be thinking old Testament terms, thinking Old Testament.

340
00:20:01.119 --> 00:20:03.680
They're gonna be thinking Old Testament law. They're gonna be

341
00:20:03.680 --> 00:20:06.519
thinking Old Testament scripture. They're not gonna be thinking Gospel.

342
00:20:06.680 --> 00:20:09.400
They're not gonna be thinking the ethical teachings of Christ.

343
00:20:09.559 --> 00:20:13.799
They're gonna be thinking the Old Testament law. That's what

344
00:20:13.839 --> 00:20:16.920
they're gonna be thinking. I mean that the historical context

345
00:20:17.039 --> 00:20:20.079
demands us even Ai amidst this, when it gave me

346
00:20:20.160 --> 00:20:23.599
its first attempt to interpret this, it went with the

347
00:20:23.640 --> 00:20:26.480
majority of Christianity. But when you start breaking down the

348
00:20:26.559 --> 00:20:29.519
facts about the book, you're like, well, wait a minute, here,

349
00:20:30.079 --> 00:20:33.519
this this seems to be would lead to a different conclusion.

350
00:20:34.880 --> 00:20:39.279
The New Testament canon did not even yet exist, so

351
00:20:39.440 --> 00:20:42.680
references to scripture or God's word would resonate with audience

352
00:20:42.720 --> 00:20:47.160
as pointing to the Hebrew scriptures. The original audience of James,

353
00:20:47.680 --> 00:20:51.160
everything would in their mind be framed in an Old

354
00:20:51.319 --> 00:20:55.880
Testament context. If you forget that we come to James

355
00:20:55.880 --> 00:20:58.599
and immediately read it in like a very much a

356
00:20:58.759 --> 00:21:04.680
Christian context, a very modern Christian context that is obliterating

357
00:21:04.759 --> 00:21:08.319
the historical context. This would have had very much an

358
00:21:08.359 --> 00:21:11.680
Old Testament idea. I'm not saying there aren't New Testament

359
00:21:11.720 --> 00:21:14.480
ideas here, but at least you've got to at least

360
00:21:14.480 --> 00:21:19.359
consider things maybe referencing the Old Testament more than you

361
00:21:19.559 --> 00:21:24.799
would immediately think. All right, now, what is the purpose? Well,

362
00:21:24.920 --> 00:21:30.400
James emphasizes practical faith, a faith that produces action and obedience.

363
00:21:31.000 --> 00:21:37.480
His writing balances faith philological aspects with moral and ethical demands. Now,

364
00:21:37.519 --> 00:21:41.000
I would argue James is very much Again, if we

365
00:21:41.039 --> 00:21:44.920
go with a proper distinction between law and gospel, James

366
00:21:44.960 --> 00:21:50.119
is very law. Law, law, law, law, And what does

367
00:21:50.200 --> 00:21:58.799
law do. It condemns, it exposes, It does not free,

368
00:21:59.519 --> 00:22:04.720
it can, It exposes, It shows you you're inability. It

369
00:22:04.720 --> 00:22:08.559
doesn't say, hey, you can do it. It screams you

370
00:22:08.720 --> 00:22:12.079
never can, you never will. You need someone else to

371
00:22:13.640 --> 00:22:17.680
Just keep that in mind. All right, Now, how about

372
00:22:17.720 --> 00:22:22.799
its textual context and grafted word? Received with meekness, or

373
00:22:23.000 --> 00:22:25.279
receive with meekness the ungrafted word which is able to

374
00:22:25.319 --> 00:22:29.759
save your soul James one one. Now, the term engrafted

375
00:22:30.400 --> 00:22:36.200
implies something implanted or rooted within. It conveys the idea

376
00:22:36.240 --> 00:22:39.759
of a seed planted in the soil of a believer's heart.

377
00:22:39.759 --> 00:22:42.440
Now they say a believer's heart. But just note the

378
00:22:42.559 --> 00:22:46.960
ungrafted word is something that's put inside of you, something

379
00:22:47.119 --> 00:22:52.039
planted inside of you. Just keep that in mind. That's

380
00:22:52.119 --> 00:22:59.960
James one twenty one. Right, Receive with meekness the ungrafted word.

381
00:23:00.079 --> 00:23:03.440
The word is already there, it's inside whatever this word is,

382
00:23:04.039 --> 00:23:06.920
it's inside of you. It's been planted inside of you.

383
00:23:07.000 --> 00:23:09.880
Now with meekness, you've got to kind of since receive

384
00:23:10.839 --> 00:23:16.279
except what it's saying, and this will lead to the

385
00:23:16.319 --> 00:23:21.240
salvation of your soul. So I don't think that they

386
00:23:21.279 --> 00:23:23.599
say that this is what happened, that this is the believer,

387
00:23:24.279 --> 00:23:27.440
this is the believer's heart. But that seems a little confusing. Right,

388
00:23:28.359 --> 00:23:30.920
If you're already a believer, then you're already saved. So

389
00:23:30.960 --> 00:23:34.000
why do you need to receive the ingrafted word to

390
00:23:34.119 --> 00:23:38.079
save your soul? No, this would be you need to

391
00:23:38.119 --> 00:23:41.480
receive the word which will save your soul. This is

392
00:23:41.519 --> 00:23:43.759
not receive the word that saved your soul. I mean, look,

393
00:23:43.759 --> 00:23:46.400
how is it written? Received with meekness, the ingrafted word

394
00:23:46.400 --> 00:23:49.359
which is able to save your soul. It's not hey,

395
00:23:49.400 --> 00:23:53.240
receive that ingrafted word that saved you. No, receive the

396
00:23:53.279 --> 00:23:58.920
word which is able to save you. I think we

397
00:23:59.039 --> 00:24:01.839
have to at least consider that. Right, Whatever this ingrafted

398
00:24:01.920 --> 00:24:05.160
word is, it connects it somehow. It has a part

399
00:24:05.160 --> 00:24:09.000
in salvation. But we have to receive it with meekness.

400
00:24:09.640 --> 00:24:16.359
What could that word be? Now? According to AI, the

401
00:24:16.400 --> 00:24:20.279
word here most likely refers to God's revealed truth, including

402
00:24:20.319 --> 00:24:23.799
the moral law of the Old Testament, which convicts and

403
00:24:23.880 --> 00:24:28.440
points to God's holiness. Now, okay, at least it at

404
00:24:28.519 --> 00:24:33.279
least AI here says, okay, Old Testament. That's good. That's

405
00:24:33.319 --> 00:24:37.559
the context. Right, So AI here at least acknowledges this

406
00:24:37.599 --> 00:24:42.359
is probably the ungrafted word refers to the moral law. Okay,

407
00:24:43.000 --> 00:24:47.680
now here's the thing. Is the moral law implanted in you?

408
00:24:52.079 --> 00:24:54.079
Now see if it's if it's if it's about something

409
00:24:54.119 --> 00:25:01.079
that's implanted in what is implanted in us? Just keep

410
00:25:01.079 --> 00:25:06.039
that in mind. Just keep that in mind. So the

411
00:25:06.119 --> 00:25:09.359
word most likely is a reference to God's revealed truth,

412
00:25:09.720 --> 00:25:13.880
including the moral law of the Old Testament. Now, the

413
00:25:13.920 --> 00:25:16.920
Gospel Message as it aligns with the implanted nature of

414
00:25:16.960 --> 00:25:19.519
God's truth and the Hearts of believers mentions a future

415
00:25:19.559 --> 00:25:22.039
promise of God's law being written on the heart, though

416
00:25:22.160 --> 00:25:25.680
specifically for Israel. So then it said, well, it could

417
00:25:25.759 --> 00:25:28.319
be the Gospel message, or it could be it could

418
00:25:28.359 --> 00:25:31.640
be something more positive than the moral law. But look

419
00:25:32.039 --> 00:25:35.119
look what it quoted Jeremiah thirty one thirty three, which

420
00:25:35.240 --> 00:25:39.079
once again is new kevinet promises made to Israel. But

421
00:25:39.319 --> 00:25:43.960
Ai acknowledged here well though specifically for Israel, So it

422
00:25:44.480 --> 00:25:46.680
kind of references Jeremiah thirty one thirty three. But then

423
00:25:46.720 --> 00:25:48.960
AI kind of backs up and says, well that versus

424
00:25:48.960 --> 00:25:51.640
specifically for Israel. Okay, well, then let's just leave that out,

425
00:25:52.680 --> 00:25:55.960
all right. That to try to say the ingrafted word

426
00:25:56.000 --> 00:26:02.519
is the gospel message, So the the Gospel message is

427
00:26:02.680 --> 00:26:05.799
ingrafted inside of us that we have to read. Oh see,

428
00:26:05.839 --> 00:26:10.519
that seems that that seems to lead to some possible problems.

429
00:26:12.640 --> 00:26:16.799
The ungrafted word. This is the function, according to Ai,

430
00:26:17.440 --> 00:26:21.200
the ungrafted word convicts of sin. Oh no, what would

431
00:26:21.240 --> 00:26:25.720
that be? If the ungrafted word is the thing that's convicting,

432
00:26:25.839 --> 00:26:31.000
what would be? What would that be? It calls for repentance?

433
00:26:31.119 --> 00:26:35.319
What would that be? It ultimately points to salvation, What

434
00:26:35.640 --> 00:26:39.200
ultimately points to salvation, What ultimately convicts us of sin?

435
00:26:39.400 --> 00:26:46.359
What ultimately demands repentance. It requires a humble, meek reception

436
00:26:46.799 --> 00:26:51.279
because it reveals human sinfulness and dependence on God's grace.

437
00:26:51.440 --> 00:26:54.359
Whatever this ingrafted word is, Ai says, whatever this is,

438
00:26:54.720 --> 00:26:56.799
This is the thing that's gonna convict you. This is

439
00:26:56.799 --> 00:26:58.720
the thing that's going to condemn you. This is the

440
00:26:58.720 --> 00:27:01.240
thing that's going to show you that you can't do it,

441
00:27:01.359 --> 00:27:04.599
that you need grace, you need something else. Okay, all

442
00:27:04.680 --> 00:27:08.039
right now, now this is getting me somewhere right. Now, now,

443
00:27:08.039 --> 00:27:16.920
what could this be? So they say the basically AI's

444
00:27:16.960 --> 00:27:22.079
conclusion is that the and grafted word is the moral

445
00:27:22.200 --> 00:27:26.400
law of the Old Testament, and it condemns us. Now

446
00:27:26.440 --> 00:27:28.720
it's implanted in us somehow. It doesn't really go into

447
00:27:28.759 --> 00:27:31.000
a lot of how it gets there, but it condemns us.

448
00:27:31.000 --> 00:27:33.880
It reveals our sin, and it points us that we

449
00:27:33.960 --> 00:27:36.960
need something else that we can't do it ourselves. All right,

450
00:27:37.039 --> 00:27:41.559
that already gives me an idea. Now, AI, remember it

451
00:27:41.640 --> 00:27:43.759
kind of went to the law liberty. Now it returns

452
00:27:43.799 --> 00:27:46.079
back to the law liberty. Because I kept I kept

453
00:27:46.079 --> 00:27:49.720
basically going, all right, well, I kept asking it questions, right,

454
00:27:50.039 --> 00:27:54.039
trying to see all the different ways it would interpret it.

455
00:27:55.039 --> 00:27:59.359
So then AI did this. The law of liberty refers

456
00:27:59.359 --> 00:28:03.039
to the moral ethical teachings of God's Law, now fulfilled

457
00:28:03.039 --> 00:28:07.279
and transformed by Christ. It emphasizes freedom through obedience to

458
00:28:07.319 --> 00:28:10.480
God's will. So it says, okay, the ingrafted word is

459
00:28:10.519 --> 00:28:14.000
the moral law. The law of liberty is the ethical

460
00:28:14.000 --> 00:28:17.519
and moral teaching of Christ that he fulfilled. But then

461
00:28:17.599 --> 00:28:21.319
immediately look what it does somehow, then that implies now

462
00:28:21.359 --> 00:28:24.519
that I have freedom to do so it brings freedom

463
00:28:24.599 --> 00:28:31.839
to me. Now this gets a little confusing again. Perfect

464
00:28:32.359 --> 00:28:35.079
the law of liberty is described as perfect. It emphasizes

465
00:28:35.119 --> 00:28:38.480
completeness and wholeness, likely referring to the fulfillment of the

466
00:28:38.559 --> 00:28:43.200
law in Christ. Liberty suggests that the law, rather than enslaving,

467
00:28:43.559 --> 00:28:48.640
brings freedom from sins, dominion, and human traditions. The law

468
00:28:48.680 --> 00:28:53.480
of liberty motivates actions, highlighting James emphasis on practical faith

469
00:28:53.480 --> 00:29:00.519
that transforms behavior. All right, so immediately, though, I mean,

470
00:29:00.559 --> 00:29:03.359
it doesn't try to help us a lot. There. Law

471
00:29:03.440 --> 00:29:06.279
liberty somehow is connected to Christ fulfilling the law. But

472
00:29:06.400 --> 00:29:09.079
now it sets you free so that you can do it.

473
00:29:09.519 --> 00:29:12.319
And that the ungrafted word is the law that condemns you.

474
00:29:12.359 --> 00:29:15.160
So the ungrafted word is the moral law. The law

475
00:29:15.200 --> 00:29:19.599
of liberty is the law fulfilled in Christ. But now

476
00:29:19.680 --> 00:29:21.720
it frees you so that you can keep the law.

477
00:29:23.400 --> 00:29:26.279
I don't know, so then, so I ask Ai to

478
00:29:26.319 --> 00:29:29.759
give me some key interpretive points. So AI then gave

479
00:29:29.799 --> 00:29:33.400
me this The ungrafted word historically rooted in the Old

480
00:29:33.440 --> 00:29:37.000
Testament moral law and extended to the message of the Gospel,

481
00:29:37.160 --> 00:29:40.759
which reveals sin and offers salvation. Now see, it still

482
00:29:40.839 --> 00:29:44.720
tries to add the Gospel into the ungrafted word, say

483
00:29:44.759 --> 00:29:47.440
AI very much is committed to like, well, it's the

484
00:29:47.480 --> 00:29:49.880
moral law, but the Gospel is there as well. So

485
00:29:49.960 --> 00:29:53.400
somehow the moral law and the Gospel is ingrafted into us.

486
00:29:55.720 --> 00:30:04.400
I struggle with this. It signifies God's truth implanted in

487
00:30:04.480 --> 00:30:09.079
the heart, leading to transformation and sanctification. Please note see

488
00:30:09.079 --> 00:30:14.240
the idea is that the ingrafted word is law and gospel.

489
00:30:14.440 --> 00:30:16.839
But look what they say, it's gonna transform you. It's

490
00:30:16.880 --> 00:30:22.559
gonna change you. It still goes to transformation, behavioral modification.

491
00:30:23.119 --> 00:30:27.160
All of the interpretations do the exact same thing, and

492
00:30:27.200 --> 00:30:30.519
that the law liberty frees you. Well, ladies and gentlemen,

493
00:30:30.839 --> 00:30:34.240
how many times do I have to say it? Christianity

494
00:30:34.440 --> 00:30:38.480
constantly teaches that we're free, that we have power, that

495
00:30:38.599 --> 00:30:41.160
we can and then at the same time it will

496
00:30:41.200 --> 00:30:44.160
be like, but we can't be perfect, and we're gonna

497
00:30:44.200 --> 00:30:47.720
continue to send well, then I'm not free. Then there's

498
00:30:47.759 --> 00:30:51.480
a limit to the power. So we speak out of

499
00:30:51.519 --> 00:30:54.680
both sides of our mouth and it's ridiculous. Okay, we

500
00:30:54.720 --> 00:30:57.279
can't do that. We have to be like, well, wait

501
00:30:57.319 --> 00:31:01.119
a minute, if we're claiming all of this, then it

502
00:31:01.119 --> 00:31:04.799
should look like this and because it doesn't look like this,

503
00:31:05.559 --> 00:31:14.799
then maybe our claims are completely unfounded and fraudulent. All right, Now,

504
00:31:14.799 --> 00:31:17.240
the law of liberty, AI tells me this. It reflects

505
00:31:17.319 --> 00:31:21.000
the moral law fulfilled in Christ. It transcends the mosaic law,

506
00:31:21.119 --> 00:31:25.839
which was seen as burdensome, becoming a guide for joyful obedience.

507
00:31:26.920 --> 00:31:30.680
So basically, the law of liberty is a law fulfilled

508
00:31:30.680 --> 00:31:34.079
in Christ. But now you can do it. You can

509
00:31:34.119 --> 00:31:38.200
do it. So I was like, and so, I mean,

510
00:31:38.359 --> 00:31:40.359
there's a lot more there that AI had to say.

511
00:31:40.400 --> 00:31:42.200
We went back and forth and back and forth, and

512
00:31:42.319 --> 00:31:45.039
finally I was just honest with Ai. I'm like, look,

513
00:31:45.039 --> 00:31:48.400
I've got a problem here. I don't think this works.

514
00:31:48.680 --> 00:31:51.400
And I laid out my reasoning and as I've already

515
00:31:51.480 --> 00:31:56.759
articulated to you, because of the reality of sin, things

516
00:31:56.799 --> 00:32:03.519
don't work. So AI then said this to me, Your

517
00:32:03.759 --> 00:32:10.440
struggle is rooted in a tension between the philological claims

518
00:32:10.519 --> 00:32:16.640
of freedom and transformation found in PA passages like James

519
00:32:16.720 --> 00:32:20.920
one twenty one through twenty five, and the undeniable reality

520
00:32:21.200 --> 00:32:24.799
of ongoing sin in the life of believers. So please

521
00:32:24.799 --> 00:32:31.640
know what AI did. AI maintained its belief, its idea

522
00:32:32.079 --> 00:32:36.240
that James One nineteen through twenty five speaks of transformation

523
00:32:36.759 --> 00:32:43.119
of power. But Ai was willing to acknowledge the undeniable

524
00:32:43.279 --> 00:32:46.960
reality of ongoing sin in the life of a believer,

525
00:32:47.640 --> 00:32:49.519
right because if you if you say the Law is

526
00:32:49.559 --> 00:32:51.480
be holy as God is holy, well then you're in

527
00:32:51.480 --> 00:32:54.720
a perpetual state of sin. So it's undeniable. Every Christian

528
00:32:54.759 --> 00:32:57.680
is in a perpetual state of sin, all right, So

529
00:32:57.720 --> 00:33:00.240
how do you reconcile that with this claim of transformation

530
00:33:00.640 --> 00:33:09.599
of power? So AI said this, this tension is real

531
00:33:10.319 --> 00:33:17.680
and recognized throughout church history. Okay, good, I'm not crazy.

532
00:33:18.319 --> 00:33:20.640
Even AI's like, hey, look, the tension is real, and

533
00:33:20.680 --> 00:33:24.000
everyone in church history has well has acknowledged it to

534
00:33:24.039 --> 00:33:26.720
some level. Now, I think in many cases it's more

535
00:33:27.000 --> 00:33:35.240
acknowledged by theologians, by those in a seminary classroom. I

536
00:33:35.279 --> 00:33:38.359
don't think it's always acknowledged by those behind the pulpit

537
00:33:38.440 --> 00:33:40.799
and those sitting in the pew. I think those behind

538
00:33:40.839 --> 00:33:44.880
the pulpit love to sell a Christianity that no one

539
00:33:44.920 --> 00:33:47.960
in the pew is really experiencing, but everyone in the

540
00:33:47.960 --> 00:33:53.559
pew plays along. I think in some ways Christianity is

541
00:33:53.599 --> 00:33:57.559
nothing more than everyone playing pretend. I know that offends people,

542
00:33:57.559 --> 00:33:58.960
but I think there's a lot of truth to it.

543
00:33:59.160 --> 00:34:02.440
I think it's those who step outside of that context

544
00:34:02.799 --> 00:34:06.440
the church game, and I'm like, okay, I don't have a

545
00:34:06.480 --> 00:34:08.840
theological team. I don't have a dog in this fight.

546
00:34:09.039 --> 00:34:12.039
I'm not wearing your colors. And they step back. I

547
00:34:12.039 --> 00:34:14.880
think they then have more freedom to go Wait a minute, guys,

548
00:34:14.920 --> 00:34:18.079
there's a problem. We keep claiming this, but here's the reality.

549
00:34:18.199 --> 00:34:20.360
We're in church. You can't do that. If a pastor

550
00:34:20.400 --> 00:34:28.159
does that, mostuckily, he's gonna lose his job. But it's

551
00:34:28.159 --> 00:34:32.119
admitted throughout church history. So I asked Ai, Okay, well,

552
00:34:32.119 --> 00:34:36.039
then great, you acknowledge there's a problem. There's got to

553
00:34:36.079 --> 00:34:39.679
be then another way to interpret James, the ungrafted word

554
00:34:39.719 --> 00:34:42.039
and the law of liberty that doesn't lead to these

555
00:34:42.079 --> 00:34:44.719
wild claims that you've been set free and you can

556
00:34:44.760 --> 00:34:50.519
do it. There's got to be some alternative interpretations. So

557
00:34:50.679 --> 00:34:55.440
AI said, well, to address it without dismissing if I

558
00:34:55.440 --> 00:34:59.039
can read correctly, To address it without dismissing either the

559
00:34:59.119 --> 00:35:05.480
textual linguistic context, we can attempt to explore an interpretation

560
00:35:06.159 --> 00:35:16.800
that emphasizes position process rather than suggesting complete practical freedom

561
00:35:16.880 --> 00:35:19.559
from sin, and I was like, oh, now you're talking

562
00:35:19.599 --> 00:35:22.639
my language. So AI's like, okay. If we try to

563
00:35:22.679 --> 00:35:26.559
take in this text and the idea of the ungrafted

564
00:35:26.599 --> 00:35:28.639
word in the law of liberty, if we try to

565
00:35:28.679 --> 00:35:33.440
take this in and try to understand it based off

566
00:35:33.679 --> 00:35:41.119
the text, based off linguistic concerns and linguistic context, and

567
00:35:41.199 --> 00:35:44.679
we acknowledge the reality of ongoing sin, then what we

568
00:35:44.760 --> 00:35:46.599
have to do is we have to try to approach

569
00:35:46.719 --> 00:35:53.280
this emphasizing position. What does that mean? Our position before God?

570
00:35:53.360 --> 00:35:58.039
See my position before God? I am perfect, holy, righteous, obedient, free,

571
00:35:58.159 --> 00:36:00.320
I'm a new creature. Old things have passed away, all

572
00:36:00.320 --> 00:36:03.000
things have become new. That is one thousand percent true

573
00:36:03.039 --> 00:36:09.199
positionally because by faith Christ, imputed righteousness is mine. So

574
00:36:09.239 --> 00:36:11.280
we're going to have so AI says, well, we would

575
00:36:11.280 --> 00:36:15.559
have to emphasize position. We would have to emphasize a process,

576
00:36:15.920 --> 00:36:18.920
that we're in the process of struggling against sin. We're

577
00:36:18.920 --> 00:36:21.599
not set free from it, because we're going to be

578
00:36:21.599 --> 00:36:24.159
struggling with it all the way to glorification. It says,

579
00:36:24.159 --> 00:36:28.679
we're going to focus on position and process, not on

580
00:36:28.840 --> 00:36:33.599
a completed practical freedom from sin, which doesn't exist. Now

581
00:36:33.639 --> 00:36:36.039
I'm throwing that in. Ai didn't say it doesn't exist,

582
00:36:36.079 --> 00:36:41.440
but AI acknowledged before that The reality is is we're

583
00:36:41.480 --> 00:36:47.199
well ongoing sin. Christians continue to sin, and Ai even

584
00:36:47.199 --> 00:36:51.119
acknowledge that throughout church history people admitted this. They may

585
00:36:51.159 --> 00:36:53.679
not admit it in a sermon, but they will admit

586
00:36:53.719 --> 00:36:55.800
it somewhere in their writing and even in their sermons

587
00:36:55.840 --> 00:36:57.840
where they tell you, have you ever noticed pastors do

588
00:36:57.920 --> 00:37:01.559
that if anyone's crisis a new creature, old things are

589
00:37:01.599 --> 00:37:04.719
passed away, all things have become new, and then five

590
00:37:04.920 --> 00:37:07.559
minutes later you have to fight against sin, and we

591
00:37:07.679 --> 00:37:10.079
have to struggle against sin, and we have the flesh,

592
00:37:10.239 --> 00:37:12.360
and we've got whoa, whoa, whoa, whoah, whoah. You just said.

593
00:37:12.360 --> 00:37:14.480
I've been a new creature, the oldest gone. Everything is new.

594
00:37:14.519 --> 00:37:16.679
I don't need to fight against anything. I don't need

595
00:37:16.719 --> 00:37:20.800
to struggle against anything. There's nothing sinful left in me.

596
00:37:21.159 --> 00:37:25.880
I've been completely changed. I've been completely transformed. I'm basically imperfect.

597
00:37:26.719 --> 00:37:28.599
Well no, no, no, that's not what we meant. Well

598
00:37:28.679 --> 00:37:31.920
that's what you said. Okay, so can you make it

599
00:37:32.039 --> 00:37:35.440
make sense? Ai was like, well, if we try to

600
00:37:35.480 --> 00:37:38.320
make this make sense We're gonna have to focus on

601
00:37:38.400 --> 00:37:43.280
position and process, not some idea of a completed practical

602
00:37:43.360 --> 00:37:48.880
freedom from sin, because it's just not real. So then

603
00:37:49.119 --> 00:37:51.400
I said, okay, Ai, that's great, that sounds good, Thank

604
00:37:51.440 --> 00:38:00.840
you very much. Now give me some alternative interpretations. Let's

605
00:38:00.880 --> 00:38:03.239
go to the alternative and see what we can find.

606
00:38:04.800 --> 00:38:09.360
So you're ready for AI's alternative interpretations, Let's go back

607
00:38:09.360 --> 00:38:14.000
to James one twenty one, wherefore lay apart all filthiness

608
00:38:14.079 --> 00:38:18.440
and superfluity of naughtiness and receive with meekness the ingrafted word. Now,

609
00:38:18.920 --> 00:38:20.519
I know we're at thirty eight minutes, but let me

610
00:38:20.599 --> 00:38:23.920
do this here. Everybody listen. Some of you are already

611
00:38:24.000 --> 00:38:27.639
running to other verses and James one and you're going

612
00:38:28.039 --> 00:38:30.920
just stop. We have to our focus here is the

613
00:38:31.000 --> 00:38:34.280
ungrafted word in law of liberty. We need to try

614
00:38:34.320 --> 00:38:38.679
to figure out how we can interpret these that stays

615
00:38:38.760 --> 00:38:43.000
true to the text, stays true to the context, and

616
00:38:43.280 --> 00:38:46.199
at the same time acknowledges that we live in a

617
00:38:46.239 --> 00:38:49.360
perpetual status sin. That's what we're going to try to

618
00:38:49.719 --> 00:38:52.320
Then once we have that belt, I'm not going to

619
00:38:52.400 --> 00:38:55.039
ignore all the rest of the language that you're already

620
00:38:55.079 --> 00:38:57.840
going well, what about this verse? What about this verse? One?

621
00:38:58.199 --> 00:39:02.039
Slow down, we gotta start. You gotta a lot of

622
00:39:02.079 --> 00:39:04.400
people love death by cross reference. You just make a

623
00:39:04.480 --> 00:39:06.400
point and they get throw out five cross references and

624
00:39:06.559 --> 00:39:11.480
like I one, that's not hermeneutics. That's just ridiculousness. Okay,

625
00:39:11.760 --> 00:39:14.679
that's not the way it works. So we've got to

626
00:39:14.719 --> 00:39:19.159
start here. So AI gives me ingrafted word and then

627
00:39:19.199 --> 00:39:29.920
it throws out alternative interpretations. Instead of viewing the ingrafted

628
00:39:30.000 --> 00:39:38.320
word as a power that guarantees freedom from sin and practice,

629
00:39:39.719 --> 00:39:42.239
it could be understood. See a lot of people see

630
00:39:42.239 --> 00:39:47.800
the ingrafted word. It's power. It it's what transforms, it's what. However,

631
00:39:47.880 --> 00:39:50.880
they identify the ingrafted word if they graft, they if

632
00:39:50.920 --> 00:39:55.360
they identify it as moral law, Gospel Bible, that it

633
00:39:55.519 --> 00:39:58.480
transforms us. Well, AI is like, well, instead of seeing

634
00:39:58.559 --> 00:40:05.079
it as being powerful or power, maybe we could understand

635
00:40:05.119 --> 00:40:08.559
it this way. And that offers some suggestions that the

636
00:40:08.639 --> 00:40:12.840
ungrafted word is the message of the gospel. This word

637
00:40:12.960 --> 00:40:18.000
logos is not primarily about empowering sinless living, but about

638
00:40:18.079 --> 00:40:21.920
continually confronting us with God's grace and our dependence on

639
00:40:22.119 --> 00:40:26.400
Christ finished work. So okay, AI says, all right, let's

640
00:40:26.440 --> 00:40:29.239
take the ungrafted word and let's interpret that as the

641
00:40:29.320 --> 00:40:32.079
gospel message. Now I'm not a fan of this approach. Okay,

642
00:40:32.559 --> 00:40:34.639
I'm not a fan of this approach, but I do

643
00:40:34.760 --> 00:40:38.199
appreciate what it tries to do. Here. AI is like, Okay,

644
00:40:38.519 --> 00:40:43.840
it's the gospel message. But this is not about empowering

645
00:40:45.039 --> 00:40:47.559
This is not about giving you power to live out

646
00:40:47.639 --> 00:40:53.360
the Christian life. This is about the Gospel confronting us

647
00:40:53.840 --> 00:40:58.400
with God's grace and our need and dependence for that

648
00:40:58.679 --> 00:41:02.320
grace and his finish. That the idea that this is

649
00:41:02.360 --> 00:41:06.400
the gospel message saying, hey, you need Christ, you need

650
00:41:06.559 --> 00:41:09.760
his finished work. It's not about empowering you. It's about

651
00:41:09.840 --> 00:41:13.480
pointing you to the one who took care of everything

652
00:41:13.760 --> 00:41:19.719
in his death, beryl resurrection. So it could be the

653
00:41:19.760 --> 00:41:25.039
message of the gospel. The second solution or the second

654
00:41:25.079 --> 00:41:27.840
option offers it could be the message of the gospel.

655
00:41:27.880 --> 00:41:32.079
But that's not about empowering you. That's about confronting you

656
00:41:32.159 --> 00:41:34.719
with God's grace and your dependence on Christ's finished work.

657
00:41:35.440 --> 00:41:37.639
I'm still not a fan of that one, okay, but

658
00:41:37.800 --> 00:41:40.880
we'll see the second option. I remember, this is all

659
00:41:40.920 --> 00:41:47.440
giving me alternative interpretations. A positional reality the Word and

660
00:41:47.599 --> 00:41:50.719
planted and believers is the truth that we are declared

661
00:41:50.800 --> 00:41:55.519
righteous by God's justification through faith in Christ. It is

662
00:41:55.599 --> 00:41:58.199
able to save your souls not by making you sinless,

663
00:41:58.440 --> 00:42:01.039
but by keeping us grounded in a promise of salvation

664
00:42:01.480 --> 00:42:05.840
despite our ongoing sin. That the implanted word is the

665
00:42:06.039 --> 00:42:09.719
truth that we are saved by an imputed righteousness, not

666
00:42:09.880 --> 00:42:13.119
an infused righteousness. And so it's able to save our

667
00:42:13.199 --> 00:42:16.960
soul by constantly reminding us that we have been saved

668
00:42:17.000 --> 00:42:19.119
by the finished work of Jesus Christ and we are

669
00:42:19.199 --> 00:42:24.480
declared righteous by an imputed righteous I still struggle. I

670
00:42:24.519 --> 00:42:26.760
struggle with that one. Now I completely agree in the

671
00:42:26.840 --> 00:42:32.039
positional reality. I completely agree that the Gospel message is

672
00:42:32.159 --> 00:42:35.519
not about empowering. It's about reminding us of our inability

673
00:42:35.719 --> 00:42:38.159
and telling us of the power of God in salvation

674
00:42:38.719 --> 00:42:43.360
of saving sinners by imputing righteousness to us. Right, So

675
00:42:43.480 --> 00:42:46.920
I agree with the Gospel message and the positional reality.

676
00:42:47.000 --> 00:42:50.159
I just don't know what that's what James one twenty one,

677
00:42:50.239 --> 00:42:53.239
this ingrafted word is talking about. I just I'm having

678
00:42:53.320 --> 00:42:57.840
problems with this. So then I said, okay, so what's

679
00:42:57.880 --> 00:43:01.159
the key implication of this, and Ai said, the ungrafted

680
00:43:01.199 --> 00:43:04.960
word doesn't promise practical freedom from sin, but serves as

681
00:43:05.000 --> 00:43:07.719
the ongoing reminder of our identity in Christ and our

682
00:43:07.800 --> 00:43:11.880
position of grace before God. It keeps us tethered to Christ,

683
00:43:12.519 --> 00:43:21.559
especially in our failures. I I don't know about that.

684
00:43:22.760 --> 00:43:25.840
It sounds good. Now. This is very important whenever you're

685
00:43:25.840 --> 00:43:29.760
doing hermeneutics and you're considering all the interpretations out there,

686
00:43:31.320 --> 00:43:33.519
Like if you listen to all my teaching about law

687
00:43:34.079 --> 00:43:39.079
and gospel and about imputed righteousness versus infused righteousness, and

688
00:43:39.199 --> 00:43:43.360
positional reality versus practical reality, you would think, well, you

689
00:43:43.400 --> 00:43:46.360
would take that one that seems to support everything you say.

690
00:43:46.440 --> 00:43:50.280
But just because something seems to support my theology doesn't

691
00:43:50.320 --> 00:43:52.960
mean I believe. That doesn't mean I just immediately interpret

692
00:43:53.000 --> 00:43:57.880
a passage because it supports my theology. This is very important.

693
00:43:58.559 --> 00:44:02.960
You do not interpret passages simply because they agree with

694
00:44:03.079 --> 00:44:08.360
your theology. Your theology is not the rule. Your theology

695
00:44:08.519 --> 00:44:13.159
is not the measure. Your theology should never influence how

696
00:44:13.239 --> 00:44:17.800
you interpret scripture. You interpret scripture based off context, based

697
00:44:17.840 --> 00:44:23.400
off words, not on theology. The interpretation of scripture should

698
00:44:23.440 --> 00:44:28.199
lead to your theology. Your theology should not guide your interpretation.

699
00:44:28.480 --> 00:44:31.440
I think that that's completely wrong, because then you a

700
00:44:31.519 --> 00:44:34.119
Calvinist will interpret every passage in a Calvinistic way, a

701
00:44:34.199 --> 00:44:37.599
non calvinistic A non Calvinists will interpret every passage as

702
00:44:37.719 --> 00:44:41.119
non calvinistic an, anmillennialist will interpret every passage in a

703
00:44:41.119 --> 00:44:45.119
non millennial way. And someone who's dispensing that you cannot

704
00:44:45.280 --> 00:44:50.119
do that, but that's how Christians approach hermeneutics. That's flawed,

705
00:44:50.239 --> 00:44:56.280
that's wrong. You go to the text, You forget your

706
00:44:56.360 --> 00:45:01.159
stink in theology, you forget your little pet doctrine. You

707
00:45:01.320 --> 00:45:04.480
go to the text. The text doesn't care about your theology.

708
00:45:04.639 --> 00:45:07.559
The text doesn't care about your doctrine. The text doesn't

709
00:45:07.599 --> 00:45:13.079
care what church you go to. So, just because this

710
00:45:13.239 --> 00:45:15.159
sounds like something that I would be like, well, this

711
00:45:16.079 --> 00:45:19.280
sounds like how I teach, I don't care. I don't

712
00:45:19.320 --> 00:45:22.960
think that that works in James one, I just I

713
00:45:23.119 --> 00:45:26.440
have problems with this, all right, how about the law

714
00:45:26.480 --> 00:45:32.199
of liberty alternative interpretations. The law liberty does not mean

715
00:45:32.280 --> 00:45:36.280
believers are now capable of perfectly obeying God's command. Instead,

716
00:45:36.360 --> 00:45:39.960
it could be understod so AI admits. Just because you

717
00:45:40.039 --> 00:45:43.199
see the words law of liberty. This doesn't necessarily mean

718
00:45:43.480 --> 00:45:47.119
that you're now capable to perfectly obey the law. Anyone

719
00:45:47.159 --> 00:45:52.440
who says that it is not being it's not being honest, well,

720
00:45:52.480 --> 00:45:55.559
because reality would would prove that you're not. So. How's

721
00:45:55.840 --> 00:46:00.840
what's some ways of interpreting this, Well, this is what

722
00:46:00.960 --> 00:46:04.199
AI said. Here's some alternative interpretations the law of liberty.

723
00:46:04.360 --> 00:46:07.559
And that's in verse I know I don't keep reading

724
00:46:07.599 --> 00:46:09.280
these verses because I told you to read them over

725
00:46:09.320 --> 00:46:11.199
and over and over. The law of liberty is in

726
00:46:11.320 --> 00:46:15.239
verse twenty five. But whoso looketh into the perfect law

727
00:46:15.320 --> 00:46:18.480
of liberty and continue if therein him, being not a

728
00:46:18.559 --> 00:46:21.199
forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man

729
00:46:21.239 --> 00:46:27.960
should be blessed in his deed. All right. Hei offers

730
00:46:28.000 --> 00:46:30.920
this as an alternative that the law of liberty could

731
00:46:30.960 --> 00:46:35.280
be the Gospel standard fulfilled in Christ. The law of

732
00:46:35.360 --> 00:46:38.119
liberty is not about what believers do, but about what

733
00:46:38.280 --> 00:46:42.400
Christ has done on their behalf. It is liberty or

734
00:46:42.440 --> 00:46:46.480
it's liberating because it frees believers from the condemnation of

735
00:46:46.559 --> 00:46:52.039
the law while still holding up God's holy standard. All right.

736
00:46:52.199 --> 00:46:55.920
The law of liberty is about what Christ has fulfilled.

737
00:46:56.480 --> 00:46:59.800
It doesn't free you from the power, but it frees

738
00:46:59.800 --> 00:47:03.440
you from the condemnation of Well. See if the law

739
00:47:03.480 --> 00:47:09.599
of liberty is freeing me from the condemnation see, then

740
00:47:09.639 --> 00:47:13.320
that would mean then the ungrafted word. If the ingrafted

741
00:47:13.360 --> 00:47:15.880
word is the Gospel message, and the law of liberty

742
00:47:16.000 --> 00:47:18.519
is basically the gospel message of Christ fulfilling the law,

743
00:47:18.679 --> 00:47:20.679
that would seem to mean the ingrafted word and the

744
00:47:20.760 --> 00:47:23.719
law of liberty is the same thing. I say, I'm

745
00:47:23.760 --> 00:47:32.480
not convinced that they're the same thing. I think there

746
00:47:32.519 --> 00:47:34.599
needs to be a progression of thought here. But okay,

747
00:47:38.280 --> 00:47:41.239
when James speaks of looking into the perfect law of liberty,

748
00:47:41.800 --> 00:47:44.679
it may be less about empowering obedience and more about

749
00:47:44.719 --> 00:47:48.519
confronting believers with the perfection they cannot achieve, driving them

750
00:47:48.599 --> 00:47:52.079
back to grace. This aligns with Paul's teaching in Galatians

751
00:47:52.119 --> 00:47:54.800
three twenty four, where the law serves as a tutor

752
00:47:55.079 --> 00:47:58.079
leading to Christ. So we look into the law of liberty,

753
00:47:58.320 --> 00:48:01.760
we see perfection. We see Christ keeping it. We know

754
00:48:01.920 --> 00:48:04.639
we can never keep it, which drives us more back

755
00:48:04.719 --> 00:48:08.679
to Christ. So I asked Ai for the implication. It says,

756
00:48:08.800 --> 00:48:12.320
the law of liberty shows us God's holy standard, reminding

757
00:48:12.440 --> 00:48:15.440
us of our dependence on Christ's righteousness rather than our

758
00:48:15.480 --> 00:48:20.679
own ability to keep the law perfectly. And It says

759
00:48:20.880 --> 00:48:25.559
James does not resolve the tension between the high standard

760
00:48:25.639 --> 00:48:28.400
of the law of liberty and the ongoing real reality

761
00:48:28.480 --> 00:48:32.159
of sin. Instead, his emphasis is on faith that works

762
00:48:32.559 --> 00:48:36.320
a life of striving, not perfection. The call to be

763
00:48:36.480 --> 00:48:39.400
doers of the Word is not about achieving perfection, but

764
00:48:39.519 --> 00:48:43.199
about responding to the ungrafted Word with ongoing repentance and

765
00:48:43.280 --> 00:48:47.239
a sincere desire to align with God's will, blessing and

766
00:48:47.360 --> 00:48:50.679
the striving. The blessing promised in James one twenty five

767
00:48:51.079 --> 00:48:54.239
is not a promise of sinless perfection, but an encouragement

768
00:48:54.320 --> 00:48:57.320
that striving to live according to God's will brings spiritual

769
00:48:57.440 --> 00:49:05.039
growth and alignment with our call even as we fall short. Okay,

770
00:49:05.400 --> 00:49:15.000
I'm still not I'm not completely convinced of this. So

771
00:49:15.159 --> 00:49:18.239
then AI says, Okay, how does this all fit with

772
00:49:18.360 --> 00:49:23.119
the textual and linguistic context? The ungrafted word is received

773
00:49:23.440 --> 00:49:27.760
James one one, not something believers create or achieve. This

774
00:49:27.920 --> 00:49:31.159
underscores it's external origin and reminds us that salvation and

775
00:49:31.239 --> 00:49:36.320
transformation comes from God, not ourselves. Well again, that doesn't

776
00:49:36.360 --> 00:49:39.480
really help. Again, if you're going to refer to the

777
00:49:39.679 --> 00:49:43.000
transformation comes from God, if transformation comes from God and

778
00:49:43.079 --> 00:49:46.760
not from us, well then if I'm not transformed, you

779
00:49:46.840 --> 00:49:51.239
can't blame me. It's God's fault. See that. Christianity loves

780
00:49:51.280 --> 00:49:53.679
to say this. It's not about what you do. God

781
00:49:53.840 --> 00:49:55.840
is the one who changes you. God is the one

782
00:49:55.880 --> 00:49:58.360
who transforms you. And then as soon as someone falls

783
00:49:58.400 --> 00:50:03.400
into sain ex community, disqualify, throw out of everything, throw

784
00:50:03.440 --> 00:50:06.039
out of ministry, throw them off the top of a building.

785
00:50:06.079 --> 00:50:07.719
Wait wait wait, wait, wait wait wait. If it's God

786
00:50:07.760 --> 00:50:11.760
who transforms, the lack of transformation means well, they weren't

787
00:50:11.800 --> 00:50:14.480
transformed in that area because God didn't transform them. So

788
00:50:14.599 --> 00:50:18.800
then go blame God. Excommunicate God. Yeah no, no, no, no,

789
00:50:19.039 --> 00:50:20.840
it's not God's fault. Well wait a minute, I thought

790
00:50:20.840 --> 00:50:23.239
you said God is the one who transforms. If it's

791
00:50:23.320 --> 00:50:26.760
God who transforms, any lack of transformation in someone's life

792
00:50:27.000 --> 00:50:30.400
is God's fault. So is it God who transforms or

793
00:50:30.480 --> 00:50:33.280
is it not? Well, God transforms, but you have to

794
00:50:33.360 --> 00:50:37.440
do your part. Oh, so then it is me. No,

795
00:50:37.599 --> 00:50:41.360
it's God, No, it's me. If I can stop God,

796
00:50:41.599 --> 00:50:44.599
and I'm the one who makes the final determination on

797
00:50:44.679 --> 00:50:47.719
how much transformation there is or isn't. Then it's me

798
00:50:48.000 --> 00:50:52.480
controlling the process. It's not God doing the process. And

799
00:50:52.599 --> 00:50:54.360
if it's simply all I have to do is say

800
00:50:54.400 --> 00:50:57.840
God transform me, well, then I'm okay, God perfectly transform me.

801
00:50:57.960 --> 00:51:02.920
I should wake up tomorrow perfect right. Well, God transforms

802
00:51:03.320 --> 00:51:07.320
in a process. So if God decides to do it

803
00:51:07.440 --> 00:51:11.559
in a progressive way as a process, well, then wherever

804
00:51:11.639 --> 00:51:14.719
I am in in the process, it's because God decided

805
00:51:14.760 --> 00:51:16.480
to do it in a process where he could just

806
00:51:16.519 --> 00:51:19.079
eliminate my sinful nature and I could be perfect that

807
00:51:19.159 --> 00:51:23.760
which would still mean any lack of perfection, any lack

808
00:51:23.840 --> 00:51:27.039
of holiness in my life, is because God has decided

809
00:51:27.320 --> 00:51:30.000
not to get me to holiness. You can't get God

810
00:51:30.079 --> 00:51:37.320
off the hook. And not only that, It says that

811
00:51:38.840 --> 00:51:43.000
the ungrafted word is received, not something believers create or achieve.

812
00:51:43.039 --> 00:51:48.000
This underscores its external origin, but it says it's ingrafted.

813
00:51:48.119 --> 00:51:50.639
Sayce thee I already have see me and AI are

814
00:51:50.719 --> 00:51:54.480
having some difficulties here. Now. AI goes on to say

815
00:51:54.519 --> 00:51:58.920
the law of liberty that it's perfect. It highlights its

816
00:51:59.000 --> 00:52:02.639
unattainable stand apart from Christ. Yet believers are called to

817
00:52:02.679 --> 00:52:05.599
preserve and looking into it not because they can perfectly

818
00:52:05.639 --> 00:52:08.440
fulfill it, but because it keeps them oriented towards God's

819
00:52:08.480 --> 00:52:15.000
holiness and their need for grace. So it says, this

820
00:52:15.159 --> 00:52:17.800
is what AI has to say about its interpretation, how

821
00:52:17.840 --> 00:52:21.119
would you live out AI's interpretation will This approach avoids

822
00:52:21.159 --> 00:52:25.480
the idea of claiming practical freedom from sin and instead

823
00:52:25.559 --> 00:52:27.960
emphasizes something different. So it says AI is saying, at

824
00:52:28.079 --> 00:52:31.599
least my interpretation that I've offering this alternative one will

825
00:52:31.679 --> 00:52:34.880
keep you from everyone running around claiming you can basically

826
00:52:35.039 --> 00:52:40.119
keep the law. But instead it refers to position over practice.

827
00:52:41.079 --> 00:52:43.920
Believers are justified by Christ and stand in grace even

828
00:52:43.960 --> 00:52:49.239
if we struggle with sin. Obedience is not about achieving perfection,

829
00:52:49.639 --> 00:52:52.480
but about responding to God's grace with repentance, humility, and

830
00:52:52.559 --> 00:52:55.920
the desire to reflect his character. The ungrafted word in

831
00:52:56.000 --> 00:52:58.159
law of liberty points us back to Christ when we fail,

832
00:52:58.519 --> 00:53:03.199
reminding us that our hope is in ourselves but in Him.

833
00:53:08.039 --> 00:53:14.360
So I was like, well, I don't that sounds like

834
00:53:14.400 --> 00:53:17.960
a lot of platitudes, a lot of theological concepts, But

835
00:53:18.079 --> 00:53:20.599
I don't know if it really stays with the text.

836
00:53:21.320 --> 00:53:23.000
I don't even know how I would work through the

837
00:53:23.079 --> 00:53:25.840
text the way they're putting it forth. It just seems

838
00:53:25.920 --> 00:53:29.000
like it's so it does feel like you're taking these

839
00:53:29.039 --> 00:53:34.360
theological ideas and you're crumming them into the text. And

840
00:53:34.480 --> 00:53:38.320
I'm not a fan of that. So I said, okay, Ai,

841
00:53:39.360 --> 00:53:42.480
we have looked at a sermon and how they've approached

842
00:53:42.639 --> 00:53:46.119
the ingrafted word and the law of liberty. We've taken

843
00:53:46.199 --> 00:53:49.159
a journey from the second century all the way to

844
00:53:49.280 --> 00:53:53.079
modern times, looking at how everyone has interpreted the ingrafted

845
00:53:53.079 --> 00:53:56.599
word and the law of liberty. I've let you Ai

846
00:53:56.800 --> 00:53:59.000
now speak for I don't even know how long it

847
00:53:59.079 --> 00:54:01.639
had gone. Probably we had gone for forty five minutes,

848
00:54:01.679 --> 00:54:04.119
going back and forth. I've let you basically go forty

849
00:54:04.159 --> 00:54:06.679
five minutes giving me all of these ideas, all of

850
00:54:06.760 --> 00:54:11.719
these theological platitudes. You've given me your interpretation, your alternative interpretation,

851
00:54:12.079 --> 00:54:15.360
and let me just say, Ai, I'm not happy with

852
00:54:15.519 --> 00:54:20.880
any of it. So then I I cracked my knuckles.

853
00:54:20.880 --> 00:54:23.320
I can't crack them right now, Okay, I cracked my knuckles,

854
00:54:23.360 --> 00:54:26.719
and I'm like, Okay, let's start typing, and I was like,

855
00:54:28.440 --> 00:54:31.000
I typed, and I typed, and I typed, and I typed,

856
00:54:31.079 --> 00:54:33.480
and I typed, and I typed, and I typed, and

857
00:54:33.599 --> 00:54:40.599
I typed out my interpretation, I hit enter and Ai

858
00:54:41.039 --> 00:54:44.840
it took a minute to analyze. After it analyzed everything,

859
00:54:44.920 --> 00:54:53.800
I said, AI said, your hypothesis hypotheses is an intriguing

860
00:54:54.960 --> 00:55:03.199
alternative interpretation, and it aligns certain biblical themes while staying

861
00:55:03.480 --> 00:55:09.199
true to the text, emphasizing on receiving the ingrafted word

862
00:55:09.360 --> 00:55:18.400
with meekness. That that sounds pretty good, doesn't it all? Right?

863
00:55:18.800 --> 00:55:21.000
So I spent all I don't even know how long

864
00:55:21.039 --> 00:55:22.440
it took me to type it all out, but I

865
00:55:22.519 --> 00:55:26.280
typed it all out. I said, okay, Ai, I don't

866
00:55:26.320 --> 00:55:28.360
agree with your interpretation. I don't even agree with your

867
00:55:28.400 --> 00:55:31.440
alternative interpretations. I don't agree with anybody in church history,

868
00:55:31.559 --> 00:55:34.119
and I don't agree with the original sermon. I just

869
00:55:34.280 --> 00:55:36.559
disagree with all of it. So here's my take. So

870
00:55:36.639 --> 00:55:39.960
I typed out an entire interpretation and again, let me

871
00:55:40.039 --> 00:55:48.599
read how AI responded. Your hypothesis is an intriguing alternative interpretation.

872
00:55:49.519 --> 00:55:53.599
It aligns with certain biblical themes while staying true to

873
00:55:53.719 --> 00:55:58.360
the text's emphasis on receiving the ingrafted word with meekness.

874
00:56:01.360 --> 00:56:06.960
So then it says, let's explore your hypotheses, and it

875
00:56:07.079 --> 00:56:12.800
begins to break it down with some of my basic interpretation,

876
00:56:16.639 --> 00:56:24.760
and we'll talk about it next time. Did that work?

877
00:56:24.920 --> 00:56:29.119
Is that a good hook? Come on? That's a good tease? Right?

878
00:56:29.960 --> 00:56:31.719
Is that gonna make you want to tune in next time?

879
00:56:32.119 --> 00:56:34.239
Are you gonna be like, oh, come on, do the

880
00:56:34.320 --> 00:56:37.480
next part today? Come on? Well, you know, for a

881
00:56:37.719 --> 00:56:41.960
small gift of seventy seven thousand dollars. Okay, I'm joking.

882
00:56:42.119 --> 00:56:44.800
I'm joking, but no, I am not. I'm not joking.

883
00:56:45.239 --> 00:56:47.960
You're gonna have to wait till next time. Right, we're

884
00:56:48.039 --> 00:56:50.159
fifty six minutes. Do you really want me to get

885
00:56:50.199 --> 00:56:53.079
into it now, do you? No? No, no, no, no, no,

886
00:56:53.199 --> 00:56:55.440
no no no no. We'll take a break. I will

887
00:56:55.480 --> 00:56:57.119
try to come back and do it today. I will

888
00:56:57.679 --> 00:56:59.719
because now we I know, going through all of that

889
00:57:00.360 --> 00:57:03.920
stuff was probably a little confusing and confound because it's

890
00:57:04.039 --> 00:57:06.599
because but you know what, when you read everything about

891
00:57:06.679 --> 00:57:09.159
what the ungrafted word is and what the law of

892
00:57:09.239 --> 00:57:13.239
liberty is, personally, I feel on all the sermons you

893
00:57:13.320 --> 00:57:17.000
look at and commentaries, you're kind of left. Okay, so exactly,

894
00:57:17.239 --> 00:57:19.360
it sounds like you're telling me what it is. But

895
00:57:19.480 --> 00:57:22.079
what does that even really do practically? How does that

896
00:57:22.199 --> 00:57:24.519
even work? Well, when you get down to it, you

897
00:57:24.559 --> 00:57:29.760
know what it does on every interpretation is you can

898
00:57:29.880 --> 00:57:32.760
do it. You can do it, you can do it.

899
00:57:33.000 --> 00:57:35.320
I mean you can't really do it. I mean you're free,

900
00:57:35.480 --> 00:57:38.679
but you're not completely free. You have power, but I

901
00:57:38.719 --> 00:57:40.159
mean you don't have the power to get to perfection.

902
00:57:40.480 --> 00:57:42.440
I mean, yeah, I mean you you're never gonna be

903
00:57:42.480 --> 00:57:43.920
holy as God as holy well, I mean you're never

904
00:57:43.960 --> 00:57:45.559
gonna love God with all your heart in my body soulf.

905
00:57:45.599 --> 00:57:47.280
I mean, you're still gonna fight with sin. There's no

906
00:57:47.679 --> 00:57:49.679
but you can do it. And you're like, what does

907
00:57:49.760 --> 00:57:54.639
this even mean? So it's just confusing. So what I

908
00:57:54.920 --> 00:57:57.719
think is we have to have an interpretation that takes

909
00:57:57.760 --> 00:58:00.199
the ingrafted word in the law of liberty and it

910
00:58:00.440 --> 00:58:06.159
makes like it's tangible, it makes sense so that anybody

911
00:58:06.280 --> 00:58:09.119
can understand and go, that's what it means, but it

912
00:58:09.239 --> 00:58:13.679
stays true to the text. So I tie, Look, I

913
00:58:13.760 --> 00:58:17.599
spent I don't know thirty minutes typing out everything I thought,

914
00:58:17.960 --> 00:58:20.000
and then I handed it to Ai, and again AI said,

915
00:58:20.039 --> 00:58:24.159
but that my hypothesis. Now I wanted AI to refer

916
00:58:24.280 --> 00:58:26.280
to mine as a hypothesis, so I said, here is

917
00:58:26.360 --> 00:58:28.760
my hypothesis, because I did not want it to say

918
00:58:29.079 --> 00:58:32.480
here's what I think. No, here's just my theory. And

919
00:58:32.599 --> 00:58:34.519
all I'm gonna do to you. All I'm gonna do

920
00:58:34.599 --> 00:58:38.920
for you is present to you my theory. All right,

921
00:58:39.320 --> 00:58:42.480
not now, but I will so again AI said, your

922
00:58:42.599 --> 00:58:46.800
hypothesis is an intriguing alternative interpretation. So it admits it's

923
00:58:46.800 --> 00:58:50.360
an alternative because it goes against pretty much everyone else.

924
00:58:51.639 --> 00:58:54.440
It aligns with certain biblical themes. That's good to know,

925
00:58:55.159 --> 00:58:59.559
and it stays true to the text emphasis. Look, look

926
00:58:59.599 --> 00:59:07.440
at this, receive with meekness the ungrafted word, which is

927
00:59:07.480 --> 00:59:09.559
able to save your soul. I think the key here

928
00:59:09.760 --> 00:59:12.039
is whatever the ungrafted word is, it's something I have

929
00:59:12.199 --> 00:59:15.400
to receive. I'm called to receive it. They were called

930
00:59:15.440 --> 00:59:18.800
to receive it. It's already there, it's ingrafted in you,

931
00:59:19.159 --> 00:59:21.559
but you now have to receive it. It's like there's

932
00:59:21.599 --> 00:59:26.280
something that's been put in you that teaches or says something,

933
00:59:26.599 --> 00:59:28.559
but now you've got to be willing to acknowledge it

934
00:59:28.800 --> 00:59:32.239
and receive it, and somehow the receiving of whatever this

935
00:59:32.480 --> 00:59:37.920
ingrafted word is plays a vital role in salvation. There's

936
00:59:38.000 --> 00:59:40.239
only one thing that makes any sense to me here,

937
00:59:41.519 --> 00:59:46.960
all right. And it says that I emphasize, in my view,

938
00:59:47.159 --> 00:59:51.639
the receiving the ungrafted word with meekness. And it says, so,

939
00:59:51.760 --> 00:59:54.800
let's explore the idea that the ungrafted word refers to

940
00:59:55.199 --> 00:59:58.599
the and stop right there, because well, then I offer

941
00:59:58.719 --> 01:00:03.599
my interpretation. Ai. AI at least thinks it's intriguing. It

942
01:00:03.679 --> 01:00:06.719
thinks it's an alternative, an interpretation, and it says that

943
01:00:06.800 --> 01:00:09.280
I align with biblical truth and I'm staying true to

944
01:00:09.519 --> 01:00:13.559
the text. It's about the text. Look, it would be

945
01:00:13.840 --> 01:00:15.960
it would make much more sense that I just go

946
01:00:16.079 --> 01:00:20.199
with what AI said earlier on about the positional versus

947
01:00:20.280 --> 01:00:24.679
the practical and that this doesn't necessarily say anything about power.

948
01:00:24.960 --> 01:00:27.480
And that sounded so good, but I just don't think

949
01:00:27.480 --> 01:00:32.280
it works in the text. And it almost connects the

950
01:00:32.639 --> 01:00:34.960
ingrafted word with the law of liberty almost being the

951
01:00:35.000 --> 01:00:37.840
same thing, and I think they're separate. I think the

952
01:00:38.039 --> 01:00:41.280
ingrafted word does one thing and the law of liberty

953
01:00:41.320 --> 01:00:45.360
points to a separate thing. Now they're connected, but I

954
01:00:45.440 --> 01:00:48.960
think they're separate. The ingrafted word. Think of this way.

955
01:00:49.000 --> 01:00:51.920
The ingrafted word is gonna say do do do this,

956
01:00:52.760 --> 01:00:55.360
and you're and you can't, and well, you're gonna have

957
01:00:55.480 --> 01:00:57.320
to go to You're gonna have to do something in

958
01:00:57.400 --> 01:01:00.159
a sense, you're gonna have to go somewhere. And then well,

959
01:01:00.199 --> 01:01:01.960
that's going to take you to the law of liberty,

960
01:01:02.159 --> 01:01:05.239
which is going to say done, all right, do done?

961
01:01:05.679 --> 01:01:10.159
How to write an entire paper on do and done? Right,

962
01:01:11.559 --> 01:01:15.639
do and done? Do? That's what the law says done,

963
01:01:15.760 --> 01:01:18.599
That's what Christ has done. That's I know, very law gospel.

964
01:01:19.199 --> 01:01:20.719
You know, I'm going to revert back to that to

965
01:01:20.840 --> 01:01:22.440
some level. I think that's the only way to truly

966
01:01:22.559 --> 01:01:25.599
understand much of this. This is why Christians get so

967
01:01:25.760 --> 01:01:30.800
confused and confounded. So that's what we're going to do.

968
01:01:31.440 --> 01:01:35.800
We've gone so what have we done so far? I

969
01:01:35.920 --> 01:01:37.639
know it's very hard to take notes and all of this,

970
01:01:37.840 --> 01:01:41.800
I know, because it's just really confounding and confusing. But

971
01:01:42.360 --> 01:01:45.840
we have listened to, we have analyzed an entire sermon

972
01:01:45.880 --> 01:01:49.639
called the Law of Liberty by Brandon Neely. Go listen

973
01:01:49.679 --> 01:01:53.679
to all of it, right, We did a review of

974
01:01:53.840 --> 01:01:56.639
part of it. Then I did an entire analysis of it.

975
01:01:57.320 --> 01:02:00.519
So we definitely covered that. We looked at how AI

976
01:02:00.679 --> 01:02:05.639
attempted to try to deal with it, and Ai, whatever

977
01:02:05.719 --> 01:02:08.280
you think about it, I challenged it. I asked AI

978
01:02:08.440 --> 01:02:13.639
for alternative interpretations, and it gave me alternative interpretations. Now,

979
01:02:13.800 --> 01:02:18.559
at least did acknowledge. AI did acknowledge. Well, yeah, Christians

980
01:02:18.760 --> 01:02:20.960
constantly say you have power, you can do it, you

981
01:02:21.000 --> 01:02:23.639
can do it. Even AI acknowledged that. Sermon the law

982
01:02:23.639 --> 01:02:26.679
of liberty basically claim that you can keep the law

983
01:02:27.000 --> 01:02:31.440
all That's the philological beginning point of almost all Christians,

984
01:02:31.519 --> 01:02:33.400
is that we can now obey the law. But they

985
01:02:33.440 --> 01:02:35.519
can't explain if we can obey it, why nobody can

986
01:02:35.599 --> 01:02:38.119
keep it perfectly. If I can't keep it perfectly, then

987
01:02:38.159 --> 01:02:40.760
I'm not obeying it because the law demands perfection. It's

988
01:02:40.840 --> 01:02:45.079
such a contradictory position that Christians hold. Even AI said,

989
01:02:45.119 --> 01:02:50.079
look this, you're right, Christians promised this, and the reality

990
01:02:50.199 --> 01:02:53.559
is nobody can do it. So all right, that how

991
01:02:53.599 --> 01:02:55.679
do we resolve this tension? So AI try to come

992
01:02:55.760 --> 01:02:59.119
up with some alternative interpretations. I think the alternative alternative

993
01:02:59.159 --> 01:03:06.599
interpretations from a theological standpoint sounds good, right, I don't

994
01:03:06.639 --> 01:03:15.719
think it sounds good textually. That's my problem. So can

995
01:03:15.800 --> 01:03:17.639
I come up with something that will work, that will

996
01:03:17.679 --> 01:03:25.039
get us from verse nineteen to verse twenty seven, right?

997
01:03:25.880 --> 01:03:32.440
Because that wherefore they're in nineteen and when we get

998
01:03:32.480 --> 01:03:34.199
down to it, some of this is going to be difficult.

999
01:03:34.199 --> 01:03:36.679
But whatever he tells them, Hey, beloved brethren, let every

1000
01:03:36.840 --> 01:03:39.360
man be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow

1001
01:03:39.440 --> 01:03:48.039
to wrath. Heyhhhhhhhh, don't get mad, don't get ticked off,

1002
01:03:48.199 --> 01:03:52.480
because the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. Wherefore,

1003
01:03:52.719 --> 01:03:56.199
all right, hey, you got to listen to me. Now,

1004
01:03:56.440 --> 01:04:01.079
what do we need to do? Then we get to

1005
01:04:01.199 --> 01:04:03.280
verse twenty one, and now we're going to be introduced

1006
01:04:03.320 --> 01:04:06.039
to the ungrafted word, and then a few verses later

1007
01:04:06.199 --> 01:04:08.159
we're going to be introduced to the law of liberty.

1008
01:04:15.079 --> 01:04:26.079
All right, Next time we do it, I offer my interpretation,

1009
01:04:26.320 --> 01:04:36.880
a new interpretation. We'll find out what happens. As they

1010
01:04:37.000 --> 01:04:40.039
used to say in the famous Batman series from the

1011
01:04:40.159 --> 01:04:45.679
nineteen sixties, tune in same Bat time, same bat channel.

1012
01:04:46.760 --> 01:04:49.679
Will Batman and Robin be saved or will they will

1013
01:04:49.719 --> 01:04:52.679
the Joker kill them. They're in this horrible trap. There's

1014
01:04:52.760 --> 01:04:56.400
no way they're going to escape. Tune in, Well, can

1015
01:04:56.480 --> 01:05:00.320
I come up with an alternative interpretation that actually wor works,

1016
01:05:02.519 --> 01:05:05.400
or will I be proven to be an idiot? Well,

1017
01:05:05.440 --> 01:05:06.880
I may be proven to be an idiot, but I'm

1018
01:05:06.880 --> 01:05:09.480
going to go down swinging, So tune in next time.

1019
01:05:09.679 --> 01:05:10.239
God bless