March 25 - Decisiveness

James 5:12

12 Above all, my brothers, do not swear - not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. Let your "Yes" be yes, and you "No," no, or you will be condemned.

Back in James again. The first thing I want to do is define condemn. Condemn is defined as to pronounce to be guilty and to sentence to punishment. James tells us that our yes should be yes and our no be no. This verse in summary is stating that as Christians if we do not heed the word of God and live by it in all manners, we are guilty of sin and our punishment is death. Christ has provided a way to avoid this condemnation if we place our faith in him and live according to his perfect will. We are to say "yes" to the things of God, in full confidence that his will is being carried out through our lives. We are to say "no" to things of the world, in full confidence that God's promises are enough to satisfy our our every need.

The most important understanding of this verse is that when presented with the truth, your "yes" is a statement of affirmation that you whole-heartedly commit to live for Christ and not for the world. When the devil presents temptation in our paths, we should stand firm in our "no".

There is no "maybe".