Faith and Works: Does James Contradict Paul?

Wes McAdams: After a sermon is over, have you ever wanted to make a comment, ask a question, or listen to the preacher say more about a particular idea? If so, this podcast is for you. My name is Wes McAdams, and I'll be sitting down with one of my fellow McDermott Road ministers to discuss comments, questions, and thoughts that have come up after the sermon is over. Welcome to P.S., the Post-Sermon Podcast.

Barrett: Welcome and welcome back to the Post Sermon Podcast. My name's Barrett, and I'm one of the ministers at the McDermott Road Church of Christ here in Plano, Texas. Joined as always by the voice you've already heard, whether you're listening or watching. but it's Wes McAdams, our preaching minister here at McDermott Road. Wes, how are you on this Monday morning?

Wes McAdams: I am great. How are you, Bert?

Barrett: Doing really well, man. Thanks for asking. How are you feeling post sermon today?

Wes McAdams: Yeah, yeah. Enjoying this series to enjoying talking about James and how we how we talk and how we live our lives. Yeah.

Barrett: Yeah, it's great. I we've already heard some compliments in our staff meeting today that it went really well and that it was a good sermon and I know a lot of life group discussion. Yesterday was a life group Sunday and so l a lot ideally a lot of our life groups, if not all of them, were talking about yesterday's sermon and I thought our life group Man, we had we had forty people at our house, and I would say twenty of them or more are children that are third grade and younger. So we got through one question of what'd you think about the sermon? All right, that's probably enough, you know. but I thought it went well. Would you mind the shepherd who closed first service highlighted one of the unique and noteworthy analogies that you made about thunder and lightning. and I thought it was really great. Could you kind of summarize your sermon using that analogy for us?

Wes McAdams: Yeah, I got I got some pushback on that illustration that it wasn't scientifically accurate. I wasn't trying to say that thunder and lightning happen at two different times. I I understand that they are happening at the same time, but I said that thunder is sort of the the talking and lightning is sort of the the Becoming visible aspect of what is happening, and that thunder and lightning are not two separate things. They are the same thing that one is hearing it and one is seeing it. And the same is true with faith, that that faith and our works, works are faith becoming visible. And we have a way sometimes of talking like thunder. We have this tendency to talk about faith, but James says that your faith has to be made visible. And the way that it's made visible is through our good works. And so just like thunder and lightning are the same thing, I think sometimes we try to separate faith and works as two separate and distinct things, and they're not. works, the good works that we do are making visible our faith.

Barrett: Yeah, that was fantastic. And we'll get to how you ended the sermon, but I thought that analogy and the line you ended with could be brought up every Sunday, every life group. we need to be talking about it more. So in your message you you highlighted the New Living Translation, you know, uses the phrase for James one six that there's divided loyalty versus you know, the NIV, ESV talk about doubt. and so in modern English, you know, I think doubt sounds like questioning or intellectual questioning in particular, maybe uncertainty, but James I think is is getting at something deeper and that's definitely the direction we went yesterday in in the sermon. So how does shifting that framework from, you know, maybe how I read that verse as like a a student in college or even younger, but Shifting that framework from doubt to divided allegiance, how does that help us examine our hearts differently and look at that passage in a different way?

Wes McAdams: Yeah, I think it helps us to understand even the word faith, the way that we understand faith is not just about what we think in our brain. It's not just an intellectual exercise. Faith is loyalty, and that's James's whole point that it's one thing for us to say that we have faith, or say that we're religious, or say that we're keeping the law, or say that we love, or say that we're wise, all of these things that we have and will continue to talk about in this letter. James highlights all of this to say it's one thing to say it, it's another thing to do it. And I think that we almost naturally understand that loyalty is something that is and is supposed to be lived out. And so when we understand this idea of divided loyalty, it's not just about, I have these doubts. I or I I'm the some translations say double-minded. It's not just about having two differing thoughts in our head. It's about being disloyal. It's about having divided loyalty. It's about trying to live according to two different stories at the same time. It's one thing for us to say, Jesus is my king and I am going to live my life entirely for him. But then when we get out into the real world, quote unquote, when we get out into our everyday life, how do we live? And and our loyalty has to be more than professed loyalty. It has to be. lived loyalty. And I think that's really what James is talking about here. So I really appreciate the new living translation, not just talking about doubt or double-mindedness, because those things are kind of abstract, but I think it becomes more concrete when we recognize that this is really about divided loyalty, about trying to give our loyalty to Jesus or saying we're giving our loyalty to Jesus while at the same time giving our our real, lived out, actual loyalty to the powers and institutions and ideologies of the world.

Barrett: Yeah, I loved the professed versus lived and the the world story versus the Jesus story, the stories in competition with each other in our lives. Those were great points and a lot of tension between kind of the those stories and then also friend of the world versus friend of sinners. and I wanted to ask, like, you know, James four gives this warning that, you know, being a friend of the world makes us an enemy of God, right? And in the gospel. Jesus is famously called out for being a friend of sinners, and in some contexts, like friend of the world. and so for somebody listening who feels like staying close to the world, you know, the spaces and systems is essential for evangelism, whereas the line between a friend of the world for the sake of the gospel and becoming a friend of the world. Does that make sense?

Wes McAdams: Yeah, yeah. And I I think that this is one that we really struggle to understand. Well I know we'll talk more about patronage, but I think patronage is a concept that can be seen throughout this book of James. One of the ways that the world the word Friend was used in the ancient world was to to sort of put a a charade, to put a a mask on patronage, to say that this person is my friend. Well, really, what we mean is that they are my client. Like I am, I am their benefactor, I am their patron. And so if you sought out the protection. And and the financial benefits and resources of being associated with this rich and powerful person or these rich and powerful people according to the patronage system. You might refer to one another as friends. we're friends. I'm friends with this person. But what we really mean is they're protecting me, they're providing for me. And and that's exactly what the people in James's audience were doing. They were seeking out the providence of, the protection of, the patronage of. These wealthy, powerful benefactors. Well, James says they are oppressing you, they're dragging you into court, they're blaspheming, the they're they're committing blasphemy against the name of Jesus, and yet you are trying to be their friends. And so later in the book, when he talks about if you are friends of the world, then you are an enemy of God. And whoever wants to be a friend of the world is making themselves an enemy of God. He's not. Saying, hey, don't have what we would think of as friendships with sinful people. Paul would say in First Corinthians that if you if you disassociate yourself from all sinful people, you would have to go out of the world. There's no way for you to function in any capacity, much less as a disciple of Jesus who's trying to be salt and light in the world and not to have associations with worldly people or sinful people. That's not what we're called to do. That's not what James is calling people to do. He's calling people to love. Their neighbor, and that includes your sinful neighbor, that includes your neighbor that is in the world. There's a difference between that and seeking the protection of worldly systems. That's really what he's getting at. The way I like to frame it, and and we may get to this when we get to James chapter four, but he calls it adultery. It is adultery to try to be friends of the world and friends of God at the same time. It's like if a wife. If if a wife says to her husband, you know, husband, I I love you, I still want to be married to you, but I want us to move our house close to this other guy's house because he's stronger than you and he's more present than you. And I think that if something bad happens, he's gonna protect me better than you do. I still love you and I want to be married to you, but I want the protection of this other guy. Like no husband in the world would feel okay with that. And God doesn't feel okay with it when we say to him, Our loyalty is to you. We trust in you. You're the king. You are my pro protector and provider. But in a very practical way, I really want a relationship with this person over here because they're rich and powerful. They have all of the cards. They can protect me if something bad happens. They can provide for me. And James says that is adultery. And you have to stop that. If you are trying to be friends of the world, then you're an enemy of God. And that's what James gets on to them for. In the chapter we talked about on Sunday in chapter two is that if a rich person comes into your assembly and you give him a seat of honor because he's rich and powerful, and I think it's because they're trying to curry favor with him. They're trying to be his friend. That's really the problem here. It's not, it's not having relationships with people who need Jesus, sinful people in the world. It is trying to get the world to be your protector and your provider.

Barrett: Yeah, I think that's a g great alignment of thought on this of like I I know Jesus would you know, show up in religious spaces and, you know, smell like wine and have people on his arm that had no business being there according to the religious leaders. and I think that's part of our calling now is to show up in religious spaces, being the Jesus to these people and to those, you know, in those circumstances and in those relationships, not elevating their status in our life, to be our leaders and our protectors. So Well I

Wes McAdams: Yeah, it's the difference. It's the difference between what Jesus did there in eating with tax collectors and prostitutes and sinful people. It's the difference between that and if Jesus had come along and said, Well, I really need to get the Pharisees on my side. I really need to I need to make them happy with me. I can't say anything that would offend the Pharisees because they have power, or the Sadducees. And the Sadducees were very guilty of this. They had partnered up with The the Roman authorities. They had they had made their bed with the Roman authorities and they were committing adultery against God because they cared more about friendship with the Roman authorities than they did friendship with God. And that's when you are becoming a friend of the world, when you say, I need the world's protection, not I need to build relationships with people that are far away from God. That is exactly what we are supposed to do.

Barrett: That's great. Since you brought up patronage and kind of the games that they were playing then that James is calling out, I'm gonna skip down to one of my questions about that. You know, you talked about that system that was very popular, very much at play, very much a cultural thing, you know, currying favor with the wealthy, powerful, for protection for, you know, you know, like you said, they have all the cards. So I gotta be on their team. A and while we might not you know, invite rich and powerful to a special seat during a worship service or maybe even our home. w what games do you see us playing today in our culture? And and also like what do we do as a church and as brothers and sisters to really just remove ourselves completely from those games?

Wes McAdams: Yeah. such a great question. And and I don't want to say too much because I don't want people to get defensive and not hear what needs to be heard. And this in

Barrett: Sure. Yeah.

Wes McAdams: fact this is why I think James starts the way he does by saying, be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to become angry. Because when we hear these things, we can become very defensive and we can justify ourselves and say, Well, but we we have to play these games. This is how the world works.

Barrett: Right.

Wes McAdams: And the whole point of the gospel is that Jesus is introducing a new world and we are operating according to the rules of the new world and refusing to play the games of the old world. And part of that is the way that we do politics or the way that we don't do politics. And if we find ourselves saying, We have to have these people in power, if we don't have these people in power, the church is going to collapse or we're Good is not going to triumph, or evil is going to triumph if we don't elect these politicians, or if we don't elect this party. That's exactly what the people of James's audience were doing, is they were saying, if we don't have the protection of these people, we're gonna suffer for it. And what James is saying is: trust God, Jesus is your benefactor, he is your patron, he is your king. You do not need these worldly forces to protect you and provide for you. Who do you think is in charge here? Who do you think has the real power? The gospel says Jesus has all the power in spite of the way it looks, because it does look like it looked like in the first century, it looked like Rome had all the power. It looked like the wealthy people had all the power. And today it looks like the people in charge with titles and roles and authority. It looks like they have the power. But in reality, Jesus has the power. And James says God has chosen the poor of this world to make them rich in faith and to give them the kingdom to those who love him. We have to believe that that's truth. That in spite of what our eyes say, in spite of the way it seems, the truth is God is in charge. The truth is Jesus is King. He is the glorious Lord. And the question is, do we believe that? Because I hear a lot of Christians saying things like, Well, if we don't Do this, or if we don't vote, or if we don't elect this person. And I'm not saying we shouldn't vote. And I'm not saying we shouldn't be engaged in the political arena. Maybe we should at times, but we have to stop putting our faith in these things. Do not trust in these things. Do not trust in princes. Do not trust in armies. Do not trust in economies. These things will fail you and they're temporary. And they they are failing, they are decaying, they are corrupt. And recognize that. And recognize that even if we don't have any earthly wealth and we don't have any earthly power, we win. Like we are victorious. Do we believe that? Or do we think we need the protection and the providing of the world? And if we think that, that is a betrayal of our loyalty. That is a betrayal of the story that we say we're a part of. And and I think we really have to check ourselves and and our faith, our loyalty, our allegiance. is really tested when things get hard, when we suffer. And this is how James started the entire letter. He said, consider it all joy, my brothers, when you face trials of various kinds, because when your faith is tested, that's what produces endurance. That's what produces maturity. So we ought to be thankful when our allegiance, when our faith, when our when our loyalty is tested, because then we have the opportunity to prove we really do believe Jesus is on the throne. We really do believe he is Lord. And we don't need the protection of these worldly powers.

Barrett: Think that's a great answer and I I think as far as just a some like practical pieces of like things to stop doing or start doing too, but really checking our language, right? Of like, hey, I I need to stop saying, Well, that's the way the world works. Even if it's to my kids and I'm like, hey, the world is unfair, it's like w yeah, but we have to have a different mindset about these things and and talk more about well God is on the throne still. He's in control. And that might mean things are unfair for the time being, but he is a just and loving God and he has mercy and grace and like he will rule and reign supreme over everything. He is coming back. There is a new rule and reign coming. So I think that's a good reminder of just how we think about it and and also how we talk about the rules that we're playing by.

Wes McAdams: And it's already it it's also the already not yet concept that we talk about a lot. Is that is that yes, there is a sense in which that is the way the world works, but we don't participate in that because we're already a part of the kingdom that is to come. Like, is it coming and is it going to replace all the brokenness that exists, or is it already presently here? And the answer is yes, it's both. And we have to be the kind of people that say because the kingdom is coming. We are going to live as citizens of the kingdom now in the present. And so we're not going to play those games, even though they get played all the time. And it may feel like we're losing out. It may feel like we might get destroyed because we don't play those games. Yep. And you might get destroyed because you don't play those games. But in the end, you win. We are victorious because we refuse to play their games. We refuse to give our loyalty and our allegiance to the powers of the world. Because our loyalty and allegiance belongs exclusively to Jesus.

Barrett: That's a great reminder. I th I'm sure there were Christians being crucified that felt, you know, this is the way the world works, right? You know, and and still chose not to align themselves with certain political parties or powers that be just to y you know, not be destroyed, like you said. You ended with a really powerful charge, and I told our life group this of like we should probably end every life group and every sermon and every Sunday with, okay, we've proclaimed our faith, now let's prove it. and I got a call yesterday afternoon from one of our brothers that goes to church here, I've known him for a long time, and I don't even know if he mentioned that takeaway from the sermon or what he had how he'd spent some of his weekend and like how it tied together nicely with the sermon but it was I was like, Man, this is perfect for podcasting. But he said he had just gotten a some home gym equipment in his garage and he had opened his garage door and was working out and three boys across the street Said like I d you know, middle school boys didn't even know you could have gym equipment like this in your garage. This is crazy. When'd you get this? He'd never met them before and they just come on in. And he said, just kind of hit him like, this is an opportunity. I need to be bold and take this opportunity. And so he said, maybe the first question past like, what are y'all's names? And come on in and like kind of getting to know him and showing him the gym stuff. He was like, Well, you guys know Jesus? Do you have a relationship with Jesus? And do you go to church? and do you have a bible? Which led to getting them some Bibles yesterday. He was picking up some Bibles from the church here and he was like, I want to take them something nice and you know, the s Martells was closed and so he was picking up stuff here to take to these young men to have a Bible study with them. And I thought, perfect example of it would have been very easy for him to be like, Well, I go to church and proclaim his faith to them, but to really kind of take it to the next level of like, I wanna prove that this is what faith looks like is having them into my home is one thing, but also having those meaningful conversations with them. And so really proving faith outside of Vaish showing up for worship because he was here on Sunday morning for worship, but really proclaimed it and lived it out and proved it. And so James makes the great argument, right, that workless faith is worthless. And I thought, again, You could have ended the sermon on several different notes, but what a great one to close on. It's easy for Christians to confuse attendance and activity and busyness, you know, with sound theology and and discipleship. But so beyond church attendance, what does faith made visible look like for an ordinary churchgoer, which I shouldn't use that word because I think we're all extraordinary beings, but for just anybody listening What does faith made visible look like for the congregation?

Wes McAdams: Yeah. Well, I think for James specifically, he gives us so many and I think this is why people like James, because he gives so many practical examples of what it looks like to love people. And it it looks like not practicing favoritism or partiality. It looks like loving the person who is poor and is wearing shabby clothes. It looks like not just telling people be warmed and well fed, but actually feeding them and making them warm. It looks like Caring for, visiting the the orphans and the widows in their affliction. It looks like loving your neighbor. That's what it looks like. It looks like the interactions with the people that God puts on our path and really seeing them and loving them and not just loving them in word, but loving them in deed and doing things to help them, to encourage them, to give them what they need. That's what love is. Love isn't a feeling that we have in our heart. Love is Caring for people is doing for them what we would want somebody to do for us if we were in the same situation. And so James is all about cutting through the talk, cutting through the noise and and loving people. And and he uses a couple of examples like Abraham and Rahab. And I don't know that we necessarily connect that with what we do, but Rahab has this opportunity to either side with her own people in Jericho. Or to side with these foreigners who, I mean, face it, they're invading her her community, they're invading her city. And instead of doing what you would think she would do and kicking them out or warning the officials and saying, hey, these guys are here, she recognizes God wants me to love these people, God wants me to welcome them. And even though my loyalty to my community is being compromised here. My loyalty to Yahweh is more important. And she proves her loyalty by the way that she cares the people, cares for the people that God puts in her path. And I think James is saying this and using Rahab as an example to say this is what we all need to do. God is putting people in your path, people that others overlook, people that are poor, people that are widows, people that are orphans, people that don't have someone to care for them. And It may cost you something. You may have to sacrifice something. You may have to compromise your loyalty to your group, to your ethnic group, to your social group, to your f socioeconomic group, to your political group. You may have to compromise those loyalties for the loyalty you claim on Sunday when you say Jesus is King. Do you really believe that? And are you really going to live that way? And the proof of that. Is the way you treat people, especially the people that can't do anything for you, that have nothing to offer you, that there is no way that you can leverage your relationship with them to your own advantage. It is simply being like Jesus in sacrificing yourself selflessly loving them and caring for them. That's the proof of our loyalty to King Jesus.

Barrett: I may have shared this on the podcast before, but girl I went to school with at Harding University, Cersei, Arkansas, we had to do like Bible class interviews of each other and so we were like going around the class and like once a week having a meet with somebody and she asked me how I would define religion and I was like that thing James does a pretty good job like caring for the poor and the widows and the orphans and she was like is that it and I was like no and I like changed my answer and kept going and I was like no I think that was it. Like I should

Wes McAdams: Yeah, yeah.

Barrett: have probably just stopped and ended there. But let's wrap up with a question, two questions that got sent Sent in by one person. So Scott Rahi wrote in and asked these two questions. How does James align with Paul in Ephesians two, eight through ten? For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. We can pause right there and do one at a time.

Wes McAdams: Yeah, and I think this is a great question. And I and I'm this is why the PS podcast exists, because there's so much like nuance that I wanted to add to this sermon that I even got done on Sunday and I was like, should I have talked about how James and Paul interact with each other? Because so many people think that they're disagreeing with each other. And I I don't think anything could be further from the truth. I think I think James would hear The words of Paul within that context of Ephesians and say, Amen, amen. I have no problem with that whatsoever. And I think Paul would hear the words of James in his context and say, yeah, absolutely. I'm saying the same thing. We're all saying the same thing, that we are saved by grace. It's a gift. And James has said similar things throughout the book that it is the word that is implanted that saves our soul. Like you don't save yourself. God is saving you, He's rescuing you. Rescuing you. He is giving the kingdom to those who love him. Like it's not on the basis of our works. We don't earn or merit our salvation. James would completely agree with that. And they both would agree that we are given this gift on the basis of faith. And one reason I think it's so important to define faith as loyalty or allegiance is because that helps us to understand that what we're talking about is faithfulness. In fact, the same word, peasties, that Paul uses about that we are saved by grace through peesties, we are saved by grace through faith, you can translate that as faith or faithfulness. And and that's what it is. We are saved by grace through faithfulness, through being loyal to Jesus. And it is first Jesus' loyalty, it is his allegiance, it's his faithfulness that saves us. We are saved because Jesus was first. The faithful one. He was the loyal one. He was the the one with true allegiance to the Father. And it is through his faithfulness that we are saved. But that we are also saved by giving our faithfulness, our loyalty, our allegiance to Jesus. Not on the basis of works, not because we kept the law, not because we're perfect, not because we did all of these good things, but simply because we trusted in and followed King Jesus. We gave him our allegiance. And James is simply saying that if if we're talking about some theoretical faith that is somehow devoid of works, it is a workless faith, then that kind of faith doesn't save you. That kind of faith, a workless faith, if there is such a thing, if that is even theoretically possible, which I think both James and Paul would say, that's not even possible, because that kind of faith would be a dead faith.

Barrett: Right.

Wes McAdams: But if theoretically you had a faith that just happened to be workless, and when you were called upon to do works, you said, No, no, no, I don't do that kind of faith. I have the kind of faith that's just talk. Like James would say, that kind of faith doesn't save you. That kind of faith is worthless, it's useless, it's dead. And so both Paul and James are saying the same thing that we are saved as a gift from God, and we are saved on the basis of trusting loyalty in King Jesus, and then when we trust him and follow him. We are rescued by him, and that we have to be humble and recognize we can't save ourselves, that only God can save us, and he saves those who are giving their embodied loyalty to him.

Barrett: And then the the second question that Scott asked was, what about the homeless throughout our community? And we've kind of already addressed some of this, Wes, and and talked and hinted at kind of an answer to this, but so many homeless are grifters and giving to them often funds substance abuse. How do we approach those situations?

Wes McAdams: It's a it's a great question. I say there's two sides of this. On the one hand, there's some truth to that. And there's some truth to the fact that sometimes generosity, benevolence, charity can become toxic. It can become unhelpful. It can become enabling. And I I do think that we need to be wise in how we help people. And you it's the old motto, it's better to teach a man to fish than it is to to give him fish. You give him fish, he eats for a day, you teach him to fish, he He eats for a lifetime. And that's great wisdom. And I think there are a lot of people who are doing very wise things in helping the poor and helping those who don't have homes. I think it's wise to to say what's the best way to help people? And is just giving somebody money, cash, is that really the most helpful? And what if I knew that if I gave this gave this person a hundred dollars, he was going to use it for drugs and alcohol? Would that really be helping him? I think those are great questions. But I think on the on the other hand, I think we need to be very careful that our language, our talk, and that's what this series is all about, is talk is cheap. It's it's very easy for that to become self-justifying to say, well, I don't give money to homeless people because they're just gonna use it for drugs and alcohol. But the reality is I don't give them money because I don't wanna give them money. I don't give them money because I I would rather spend money on myself. I'd rather spend that on myself than on them. And it just becomes a very Very religious way of saying, very pious way of saying that I'm not gonna help and I'm going to refuse to help people. So it's one thing to say we should teach people how to fish rather than just giving them fish. But are you actually h teaching them to fish? Like what are you actually doing to help the homeless? I would rather I'd rather you gave them a sandwich, even knowing that, yeah, they're they're on drugs and alcohol, but you gave them some food. Than to piously say, well, I'm not going to give them anything because they're on the take anyway, and they probably have a pocket full of cash. It's like, okay, but what are you actually doing to help them? And are you doing anything to help them? It's true to say there are wise and unwise ways of helping people, but it's good to do something. And we can't just sit back and say, I'm not going to do that because that's not wise. Okay, but what is wise, and are you actually doing that? So we have to make sure that those things that we say about homeless people that that we're we're actually doing something. And also I think it needs to be said that we need to be careful not to paint with a broad brush. Because while there are homeless people that are grifters and are on drugs and alcohol, there are also those that aren't. And there are some people, especially people that do not have a home. That are using drugs and alcohol, they're doing that because they can't afford actual medication that will help them with their mental health issues. And so they they have mental health issues and they're self-medicating with drugs and alcohol because they can't afford actual medication that would be good for them. And we need to think both in terms of how can I help in the short term? What can I do? We have a ministry here that goes down to the Main Street Church of Christ. Once a month, and we feed people, and that congregation is feeding people not just on Sundays, but feeding them throughout the week. What can we do to help with their short-term needs? It's also good for us to think systematically, to to think about systems and how can we help people in the long term and what can we do to change the culture? And what can we do to institute a policies that might be helpful for those that that struggle with with being homeless, struggle with being on the street and And what can we do to help people with mental health issues? And what can we do to help make medicine more available to everyone? It's good for us to think about those things on multiple levels and to make sure that the the things that we say are not simply an excuse, because I know I've made those excuses to just kind of let myself off the hook to say, Well, I don't have to help this person because they're probably not genuine or they're they're taking advantage. That may be true, but that's between them and God sometimes. And sometimes the best thing that I can do is just Help people how I can in this moment because God put them in my path. And if if there is something I can do to help them, then I need to do that, whatever that is.

Barrett: Yeah, and if they are robbing you and taking it from you and using it for something they lied to you about, then we're called to turn the other cheek. That's what I've always said. Like,

Wes McAdams: That's right. That's right.

Barrett: man, this might be the wisest thing I can do is set myself up to turn the other cheek here. well, thank you, Wes, for your time. That was a great answer and and very, very thoughtful and and very challenging and I hope that we all kind of move in that direction and take steps towards that. where are we going next week in the book of James?

Wes McAdams: Yeah, so next week we're talking about talking out of both sides of our mouth, how we need to be careful that we're not saying one thing on Sunday and saying something else on Monday, more of the same of consistency and loyalty and being committed to Jesus, and how those of us that are guilty of having come out of our mouth both blessings and cursings need to stop and realize that this is not the way Jesus intended us to live.

Barrett: That's great. I love it. Extremely practical and timely for sure. Well, thank you for your time, Wes. Appreciate you this morning and yesterday. Great sermon. And thank you all for listening and for watching. We appreciate you guys keeping the conversation going. Thank you for sending in your questions, Scott. And we hope that you all will take advantage of that and look forward to seeing those in the future. We'll catch you next time on the Post-Sermon Podcast.

Wes McAdams: Thanks so much for listening to P.S., the Post Sermon Podcast. To find out more about this podcast or about the Church of Christ on McDermott Road, you can visit our website at ccmcdermott.org slash P.S. If this has been an encouragement to you, we also hope you will rate and review the show wherever you're listening, as well as share it with a friend. Because we believe sermons are not just for Sunday, but for our whole week and our whole life.