The Way of Life

The letter from James, found in the New Testament, is overflowing with practical wisdom for our daily lives. James was the brother of Jesus, and his writings are full of teachings similar to how Jesus taught in the Gospels.

James 4:17 provides us with a very simple definition of sin. James says that sin is when we know what we ought to do and we do not do it. It’s when we have knowledge of what's right, but we deliberately choose not to do it.

There are many ways that we learn what the right thing to do is. When we read Scripture, we are constantly learning how God wants us to live, and what He wants us to do with our lives. We also have the Holy Spirit within us who guides and teaches us.

We have no excuse for not knowing the right thing to do in almost every situation—because God has told us how He's designed things to work and how we should act. So when we decide not to live according to God’s ways, we are sinning.

But the beauty of the gospel is that when we sin ...