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Now let's get into the show. When you come to God and admit that your good works aren't enough to save you, He gives you the strength to keep doing good works. But here's the big question: What are good works? Answering this and more coming up right now on the Clear Beats a Day Show. You're listening to Clearview Today with Dr.
Abadan Shah, the daily show that engages mind and heart for the gospel of Jesus Christ. I'm Ryan Hill. I'm John Galantis. Welcome back to the Clearview Today Show with our host, Dr. Abadan Shah.
If you're here for the very first time today, we want to welcome you to the show, let you know exactly who's talking to you. Dr. Shah is a PhD in New Testament textual criticism, professor at Carolina University, author, full-time pastor, and the host of today's show, Dr. Shah. Welcome.
It's good to be here. Lots of good things on the horizon. We finally got our big, big announcement out to the world. Feels good. Greek New Testament Byzantine text form 2026.
That's right. Link is in the description for the pre-orders. You know, we actually, I can't believe this got past us, but we actually had a person on YouTube say, you know, it blows my mind that they're giving out their phone number for people to pre-order instead of just a link. And I said. Surely that guy's not right.
And I'll win to the description. No link.
So, thank you, whoever you were that commented that. There is a link there now. There is a link there now. So, feel free to click on it. I was pre-ordering.
I wondered because I was like, man, the phone is blowing up with these pre-orders. It seems like every couple of minutes there's a new one. And I was like, people are texting into the show. It's because there was no wasn't there, but it is there now.
So, thank you. But at least we gave you guys a way to get the pre-order. And thank you for everyone who is pre-ordering. Keep doing it because every day we're seeing more and more and more people pre-ordering the Greek New Testament, and we could not be more pleased. Yes, and I'm very excited about this.
Yes, it's the and we chose the color purple because that is the color of the Byzantine Empire. Yes, so you know, whatever we believe about textual criticism, whether that's geographically right, but Byzantine, right? We're calling it Byzantine text. That's right. Byzantine text form, just to be right with Dr.
Robinson there.
So the color is purple. Yes. Do you have any objections to me believing that you chose purple because you know it's my favorite color? Like, are you okay if I believe that in my life? Does that make you feel good?
It makes me feel really good.
Okay, then I did. Hold that, hold on to that, and just absorb it. As soon as I heard purple was on the table, I was like, Thank you. I am going to cast all I will receive that. Thank you.
And boy, howdy, it looks good. It looks really good. And it was great because our team at Clearview Press sort of came together and we didn't want to look like the other editions. We wanted to be distinct. And what is one color that has not been tried?
And we looked at so many different colors and just did not look right. And then. I remember one of us typing in, what is the color of Byzantine? And AI is like, I can answer that. Jump right in.
Happy to try me. Because Byzantine was like an empire royalty. Their color was purple.
So we said, okay. I guess purple it is. And then there were two different hues of purple, and we landed on one, which I think. Was great choice. Thank you to the team.
Thank you to Clear V Press. Great job. And then the layout as well. You will see the Byzantine link on it. Yes.
You will. For those of you who do not know that Byzantine link, the chain link. I know famous music stars and movie stars wear that chain link, but it's known as a Byzantine link because they sort of perfected this or made this chain link, which is very intricate looking and it's very decorative and complex.
So anyways, that's That's on the front. It looks very good. That's right. So that pre-order link is alive right now. A lot of people were also asking when it's going to be available on Amazon.
Short answer is, I don't really know, but it will be soon.
Soon. Very, very soon.
So for now, use the link that we give you. It's going to take you to our website, clearubc.org. It's going to have a form for you to fill out for you to pre-order. And then very, very, very soon it will be available on Amazon. And you can always text into the show 252-582-5028.
And we're going to give you that link. That's right. We've taken a temporary break as we were having guests from the apologetics conference here on the show. We've had some great conversations over the course of the past few days. But today we're picking back up our kind of walkthrough of the book of James of talking about how to handle life when, you know, you're thrown various trials or temptations, when you are struggling.
We've talked about anger. James kind of runs the gamut of the human experience. And today we're talking, we're continuing the conversation about, you know, when your beliefs match your conduct. Yeah. Yeah.
He talks about that. Good works. And people, this is the one that people love to get up in arms over as though.
Some big Christian controversy. Like, what do you think about James? When James really is the Occam's razor of the Bible, it's like this makes perfect sense. But, Dr. Shuck, good works.
We talked about this a little bit before we had all the guests on in these past few episodes. I'm just taking a little old lady across the street, right? I'm sitting the table. I'm saying please and thank you at the drive-thru. These are the good works of the Christian life.
Am I right on that? That's not what James had in mind. You mean James wasn't thinking about me saying yes, ma'am, to my mom and opening the door for my grandma? Which you should do. You should do that.
But I don't think that's what James had in mind here. What James is talking about is. Works that accompany faith. Because you have faith in Christ, you have faith in the truth of God's word, it should show in your actions. Which means, as you said in the opening, belief should match your behavior.
Or vice versa. Your behavior should match your beliefs. Right.
So what does James say? Let's read that first and then we can walk through. James chapter 2, verse 14. What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he does not have works? Can fate save him?
Now I want to make a quick point of clarification here.
Some translations do not have the anaphoric article that After can. But in the Greek it is there.
So it should be can that faith Save him. Can that faith which kind of faith we're talking about? We're talking about the faith that does not have works.
So Then he goes on to say, If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, one of you says to them, Depart in peace, be warmed and filled, but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself If it does not have works, is dead. Yeah. That's right. Daily, each of us should examine our lives To see if there is a change in our behavior, we can say the right things.
We can even claim to believe the right things and we may be right. But somewhere. There has to be action. And I think that's what James is talking about here. Does your faith Come through in your actions.
We did a great walkthrough a few months back, maybe last year, on the book of Romans. You know what I mean? And what happens when you get saved? Like, spiritually speaking, what are the things? What are the mechanisms of salvation that are taking place inside of you on a spiritual level?
And one of them was this change, this transformation of the spirit. And it was very, very deep. It was very theologically technical.
So I advise people to go back and give those episodes a listen. But do you want to just sort of recap about how, like, about how the Holy Spirit changes us as people, as Christians? Yeah. Talk about from Romans. We'll just like the mechanics are of that.
Yeah, if I didn't go back and listen to that, what would you say? And I encourage people to go back and listen to those messages from the book of Romans. That was probably the crowning series here at Clearview. It was one of the best set of messages that not only impacted the people. Whether they were in the audience In the room or in the church, or whether they were in the audience on live stream or on YouTube or on Pray.com or Truth Network or TBN.
I mean, they impacted so many people on so many levels. But it also. Those messages impacted my life. Why? Because those messages on the book of Romans are the fundamental.
They contain the fundamental doctrines of salvation. If we get this right, we get everything else right. But if we get this wrong, The doctrine of salvation, it doesn't matter what we get right. Right.
Yeah, great. Oh, great point. It doesn't matter if you get eschatology right, which is the doctrine of last things. It doesn't matter if you get ethics right, which is. Things like abortion or homosexuality issues or just war issues.
It doesn't matter. Those are important things to stand for, but if salvation doctrine. Is not handled properly, appropriately, biblically, then it doesn't matter anything else.
So to give you a nutshell of what we learn is that We are born dead in trespasses and sins. Jesus is God's answer to our sin problem. We were born in the family of Adam. And there needs to be a change of family. To the family of the new Adam We are, it's not that easy to make that family change because we have some.
cosmic powers that are holding us back. Three big ones. Sin Flesh. Death. And if you add Satan into that mix, and these are four.
Enormous powers that are holding us captive, that we are slaves of sin. Enemies after us. The world system is after us.
So these are powerful cosmic forces that are holding us in the family of Adam. How can you get out of that family? You cannot just get out. You have to die. The only way to exit that family is by death.
But if we die, That's the end. Right.
I mean, what's going to happen to you? They're going to put you in a casket, and then on the other side, depends on how you lived in this life, whether or not you received Jesus, that's over. But what if, what if? Jesus died for us. Because he is our representative, he is the new Adam.
What if he dies the death we were supposed to die? And he did. When Jesus died, he died for us. For our sins, but he also died our death from the family of Adam.
Now he is alive and he is the new Adam. When we receive him as our Savior, as our King. We claim that we are now part of his new family. And the same resurrection that brought Jesus from the grave is now operating in us. I mean, that's what.
The book of Romans is all about. Oh, yeah, that was a, I would say, three or four-month series here on our show, instilled into about three minutes. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, and it's, it's, where does the Holy Spirit come in?
You and I cannot understand how this happens when you and I pray to receive Jesus as our Savior, as our King, without the enablement and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. Mm-hmm. He is the one who makes this real in our lives.
Now come other things like what do you do with old sin? What do you do when old habits come back up?
Well, That's what Romans is all about. You have to reckon yourself dead, means you have to believe that that old person is dead. And And you have to, by faith, receive who you are in Christ. It's a daily battle. Yeah, absolutely.
But thanks be to God who gives us our victory through the Lord Jesus Christ.
So it's a daily battle to not. Try to dig up that cadaver or whatever is left in the coffin and try to live that life again. It's very tempting because. That old way of living worked. And it works.
Don't get me wrong. The old way of doing things works. Pride. Works. Anger works.
Retaliation works. envy works, insecurity works, they work, they make us feel good. But every one of those things have a temporary life span, and they only result in more death and destruction And just more misery and pain. Yeah, absolutely. So you have a choice.
You can go back to the familiar and do the things that you did before, or you can, by faith, believe. That you're no longer that, that person any longer. You are a new creation in Christ. I know I'm kind of merging different books here, but that's what Romans is about. That's right.
About faith, walking in the newness of life.
So That in a nutshell is Christianity. And of course, other things come to play in the book of Romans about what's the rule of Israel. Does God still have a purpose for them and all that? And yes, of course, God does. But they also have to come through Christ.
Right.
But I like the way that you, I like that you bring up Romans, and we go through that because it shows that Paul and James do not. Really contrast each other. They're just talking about two sides of the same exact thing. Like Paul is talking about this is what happens in you at the moment of salvation. And I feel like James just catches the ball and throws it down the court even more.
He's saying, Listen, the things that have happened in you are resulting in you doing this for other people.
So if all that thing, all those things that Paul talked about in Romans are happening in you, the evidence of that is in how you treat others and how you think about others. Which is why we want to encourage you, you know, we don't just say go back and listen to those episodes just so you can get more content. Yes, we want you to get the content, but also because it lays a foundation for the conversation that we're having today. Yes. The books of the Bible are intrinsically linked in how they explain and expound upon one another.
And Dr. Shaw's Dr. Shaw's series through Romans was revolutionary in our understanding of salvation, in how we articulate those things, how we see the mechanics of salvation functioning in our minds. I mean, really, you will be blessed and you will be better equipped to share the truth of salvation with your loved ones and the people that God has put in your path. And even for you, You as a pastor, Dr.
Sha, I'm sure there's people who are listening to this who are pastors, who are in staff, and maybe they're wrestling with this idea of, you know, I craft these sermons and I tell myself I'm crafting them for my congregation, but really they're for me. And how do you have that when you're sitting down, you're writing a sermon, you're planning out ministries and events? How do you come to that point where you say, you know, am I really giving these people? A sermon Mm. Am I giving them something that's ultimately for me or ultimately for them?
You know what I mean? Like, am I giving them a meal, a spiritual meal?
Well, I have a two-part test. And not that I have it written out, like, this is what I'm going to check before I release the sermon or I preach the sermon, but it's always. Consciously or subconsciously, there for me when I prepare a sermon. Number one, Do I at some point tie it back to Jesus Christ? Every message.
If it does not come back to Christ, then it is a failed message. It has nothing of God in it. It has nothing of the living true Triune God. It is simply good works. It has to connect with Jesus Christ.
That is my force. Many times I have preached a message. And this felt like something was missing. I felt like There there was this coldness dryness Almost A sense of emptiness in that message. And I'm like, I know.
I got all my points from the text. I exegeted the text properly. Even applied it correctly. I had the right humor, right introduction, right closing. Everything is there.
What is missing? And ten out of ten times what is missing Is Christ.
So that is my number one test. If Jesus is not somewhere in that message, preferably throughout, but at least should be in the end. It should tie back to Him, coming to know Him, walking with Him, glorifying Him. If it's not there, it's a failed message. Secondly, I would say, Does it work on me?
Because if the message does not even impact my life, then it is again a failed message. Of course I can get up there and preach it. And it may touch your life and touch their life, but it's not touching my life.
So it's a failed message, not as much as for somebody else, it's a failed message for me. Great point. And in a message, in a sermon, it's not just the message. And the audience is also the messenger. Let's take a quick break.
Guys, John here from Clearview Today. Before we jump in, quick shout out to today's sponsor, Mighty Muscadine. If you've been looking for a natural way to support your health, these guys are doing it right. From 100% Muscadine grape juice to really high quality supplements, everything they make is handcrafted. It's backed by science.
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So thank you for that. Thank you to Mighty Muscadine for sponsoring this episode. Let's jump in. He's also involved in the process.
So you may have the message and the audience, you will not have the messenger.
So a big you know, think about sitting on a stool. With only two legs. You can sit on one, you know, you can sit on a stool with two legs. It's just not going to be stable. You don't want to.
Try to take a quick nap on the stool with you going to fall. That's right. You know, I think it's the motivation. You know, a lot of people think that because I'm saved now, because I've made this decision to follow Christ, I need to do these good things because that's what God wants me to do. But it's still me.
It's still saying I have to do these things because God wants me to, rather than saying because Jesus is living in me. I'm going to want those things. You know what I mean? Christ's presence, the Holy Spirit's presence in me, makes me want. To do these good works.
So, how does James help clarify this for us? How does he help us understand what these works actually are and how they fit into our lives?
Well, let's go back and let's walk through this real quickly. He says: if a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, Depart in peace, be warmed and filled, but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body. What does it profit? Thus also, faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
So some people have come to this passage and tried to claim that a changed lifestyle is an evidence of true faith. And they will say, you know, if you still have sin in your life, then you were never saved to begin with, on and on. Or, if you're still struggling with old sinful habits, then you need to get saved. And all that is, you know.
Sort of true, but not really. That's not what James is talking about. It's not that the moment you get saved, you're going to have a perfect life and never make any mistakes, or it's just going to be up and up. Right.
You're just going to like walk into glory, just getting better and better every day. Maybe. Hopefully. But the passage here is about something else. The test of true salvation is not a change in bad behavior, it is a change in how you look at others.
That's a great point. That's what it says here. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I'm going by the text.
It's not a change in bad behavior, it's a change in how you look at others.
So you see someone Right? And you say go or go in peace And you don't do anything for them. What does it profit? That's also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
So the real test of being a Christian is not whether or not I get angry or why do I still have bad thoughts. The real test is when I hear someone in need, Do I do something to help them or do I walk away? It's a great, it's a great illustration because I think for a lot of us, we tend to think of the really obvious, simple thing that gets me off the hook. Like someone off the street comes and says, Hey, man, I need some money. I hadn't eaten in days.
And I give them a $20 bill and I send them on his way and it's like, cool, that's me, because I was able to help. Then I think about like the people in my life who have real needs, really are struggling, have told me the things that they're struggling with. And all the times that I've said, man, I'll pray for you. You know what I mean? I've let the closeness of our relationship actually take us further and further away from what.
God wants us to you should pray for them like but we're not discounting prayer but if you have the means to help or you have the means to to serve your brother or sister who is in need and you choose not to do that That's when we run into an issue. Yeah, because when you got someone on the street, you know, it doesn't take any commitment. I lost $20 and I never have to think about that person again. I feel good about myself. I'm a good Christian.
Game over. But then the people in our life, the brothers and sisters who we know are struggling. It's like, it's this weird thing. It's like, well, I also know the decisions they made. I know that you didn't, you kind of deserve this a little bit, but I would never say that.
And we just get way more. Complicated, I guess. You know? Yeah. No, and Jesus.
Says in Matthew 25, when the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the holy angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And he will set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. And the king will say to those on his right hand, Come, you blessed of my father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. for I was hungry.
And you gave me food I was thirsty. And you gave me drink. I was a stranger and you took me in. I was naked and you clothed me. I was sick and you visited me.
I was in prison and you came to me. That's a powerful passage. You don't say. Of course, this is not a justification to live a A sort of a lascivious lifestyle, right? You need to live a holy life unto God.
This passage is about If you claim to be Saved. And you see these kinds of needs and you don't do anything about them, something is wrong with your heart. What I have found, and I'll come back to this passage in a moment, is. In many churches Or among Christians all over the world. And since history You see that.
There are people Who will say The evidence of salvation is a changed life. And there are people who will say, the evidence of salvation is that I help people. In a sense, you can say both are right. But when you look at the Bible carefully, is definitely the ones who Help others. Is it big?
Evidence of salvation. Not just that I'm not a bad person because. Even as a Christian, you will do bad things. That's true. You may occasionally slip.
So that is not if you just go by your your behavior Man, none of us are safe then. Yeah. Or we're constantly in danger of losing our salvation. Yeah, because it's like, how many times can I misbehave? You know, how many times can I behave?
And how far can I misbehave? Yeah, like this has become habit. And a lot of people will say that. It's like, well, you sin, but if it's habitual sin, then maybe that's evidence that you were never saved. But it's like, some of those bad habits are not going to die.
You told me that one time. I think you said that from the pulpit: there are some sins you're going to struggle with for the rest of your life. Part of that made me kind of feel down, but then part of me actually felt comforted by that. Like, okay, this is something I can, you know, work towards and pray for. But I'm not a lost cause.
I'm not, yeah. Exactly. Exactly. Yeah. I don't have to immediately turn in my salvation card and say, I guess, yeah, it's revoked.
You can keep it as a souvenir, but it's no longer active. I don't have access to this anymore. My subscription has been cut. Your access to the account has been terminated. Yes, unfortunately.
Your access to the book of life has been terminated. Yes. You know, that's what my wife does for an IT company. She just terminates people's access all day. They call her and they'd be like, hey, I can't get into this program.
They're like, oh, yeah. I terminated your access to that. Ooh. What? Have a good day.
See ya. That's sad. But I mean, I've been laughing, but it is sad. It's sad. But that's not what God is looking for.
Because then the righteous will answer, this is going back to Matthew 25, 37. Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and take you in, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and come to you? and the King will answer and say to them, Assuredly I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren You did it to me.
So, when we do these things, see, James and Jesus are going hand in hand, and I believe Paul is as well. Yes, of course. They're perfectly in sync here. Is how you treat others, especially those in the body of Christ. Says a lot about.
What your salvation is all about. That's right. Amen. Dr. Shaw, in the time that we have left, maybe if there's someone here who is listening and they're recognizing that there's been some inconsistencies in what they claim to believe and the way that they're living, they're like, I need to make a change.
And I hear that you're saying it's going to come from the way that I see people. It's going to come from the way that I see those around me. What are some things practically that I can do right now to help facilitate and lean into that change that God wants to work in me? You know, you cannot really help others in need unless you humble yourself. And realize that you also are a recipient of God's grace.
There are people who are listening to this who are also saying, you know, but I do those good works. I do help people. When I see a need, I rise to meet it. But I don't have Christ in my life. I'm not a Christian.
And I feel as though right now I am doing, if God is real and he's there, I'm doing what he wants, even if I haven't made that decision. Would you just kind of encourage those people and maybe put them on the path to accepting Christ? Of course. It's great that you are a compassionate person. It's great that you help people in need.
It's great that you are giving money to a nonprofit that feeds the hungry or helps the poor children who are orphans. You're doing great things. Wonderful. But you're putting the cart before the horse. And what is the horse?
Faith in Christ. Need to get that back.
So, yes, you may be able to push that horse to push the cart, but imagine if that horse was pulling the cart and. What is needed is for you to receive Jesus as your Savior. It's a simple prayer that says, Jesus, come into my life, forgive me of my sins and take over. And I will follow you the rest of my life as you help me. That's as simple as that.
That's right. And once you do that, you will find that it's not just you trying to do good works, but it's Christ living through you. Amen. So good, so helpful for us in setting us on the right path and understanding works and the important role that they have in the life of the believer, not to save us, but as an outpouring, as an evidence of the changed life that we have. Guys, make sure you join us next time.
Same time, same station. We're going to be diving into another great topic here on the Clearview Today show. Thank you to our sponsors for making today's episode possible. If today's your first time listening to the show, hey, write in and let us know what you got from today's episode. 252-582-5028.
You support us by subscribing to the show. Anywhere podcasting content can be found. Make sure you're sharing those episodes with your friends as well. And you can always support us financially at Abadanshah.com forward slash gift. That's right.
Thank you to everyone who does give to the show. And you can also get those Byzantine text form pre-orders, 2026 Byzantine text form by following the link in this show. And you can also text that same number, 252-582-5028. Don't forget to check out Dr. Shah's new show, How to Read Biblical Hebrew.
It's available on iTunes as a video podcast so you can study and learn at your own pace. We're going to start with the alphabet. We're going to go up to the Hebrew grammar, all of the verbs and the tenses and all of that great stuff. But our promise to you is this, that if you stick with this program, you will be reading the Old Testament in its original language. That's right.
We love you guys. We'll see you tomorrow on Clearview Today.
