One of the problems in the ancient and modern church was people would come to hear the sermon. Rather than obeying today's reading and putting the lesson into practice, the church didn't gain anything from the message. Today's passage instructs us to listen to the message of the Word, and then to put it into practice.
Part 5 “Just Do It”
James 1:19-25
Intro – welcome back to our series in the book of James… …please open your Bibles to chapter 1…
I’d like to start off by acknowledging sportswear giant Nike for their globally recognized slogan “Just Do It”…which captures the essence of today’s passage in James 1:19-25…
Last week we saw that the way to overcome temptation is by believing and acting on God’s truth…and not to be deceived by believing lies about God and about ourselves…
-well in our passage today, James continues that theme of truth vs. deception but this time in the matter of our relationship to the word of God, the Bible…what he calls in v.18 “the word of truth…”
…and he makes the point that merely listening to God’s word, just hearing it without putting it into practice, without doing what it says, is deception and disobedience…
-just imagine that for a moment…acc to James, there are some people in church who are living lives of deception…and you know who those people are? those who come to listen to a sermon, but as soon as it’s over, they forget about it and go back to their unchanged lives…not allowing God’s word to impact or transform them…
-they are also those people who have regular, personal times in God’s word, even daily devotions, but again, once the reading is done and the book is closed, it’s on to the next thing…
-it was a problem in James’ day and it’s a problem in our day…and it’s a problem for which God has a solution…which we’ll find as we read the passage…
Prayer…read…
Now the obvious point of today’s passage is “Just do it!”…be doers of the word and not hearers only…
Simple right? Straightforward. But not as easily done as we would like to think. We all know the difficulty of putting into practice what we read in the Bible…
Thankfully, the passage in James has so much help to offer us…because while it’s one thing to say “just obey God’s word…come on, do what it says…” it’s another thing to say, “Here’s how”.
And that’s what James does here. He recognizes there are obstacles that keep us from following God’s word…there are things that need to be removed and things that need to be added if we’re going to have a proper relationship with God’s word…
…there are certain conditions in our life that need to be in place in order for us to be able to receive and respond to God’s word in an obedient way…
Conditions Conducive to Obeying God’s Word
1) listening ear v.19
-“everyone should be quick to listen and slow to speak”
This speaks of teach-ability, of being attentive to the word of God, receptive…the phrase can be translated “hurry up and listen…”
-we learn by listening instead of talking…rather than always talking, filling the space with words, if we’re going to have an obedient relationship to God’s word, we need to get quiet…to stop talking long enough to actually listen to what the Holy Spirit is saying…
-that’s becoming increasingly more difficult in our technological age where there are always words…in the media, on our phones, in our heads…it takes a great deal of disciplined intentionality to become quiet in God’s presence…
eg. we as a pastoral staff go away once a month for a day of prayer…did so this past week…it’s one of the ways we keep centered and rooted in Christ…I find it takes a while before I’m able to dial down and let go of the details of ministry and life…and just listen to God…it’s hard but it’s doable and so worth it if we make the effort…
-listening sets the stage for God to speak through His word, whether here in a church service or on your own with God and your Bible…
That’s the first condition needed for becoming a doer of God’s word…
2) settled spirit vv 19-20
-“…slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires…”
-there were obviously people to whom James was writing, who were angry with each other…
-as a matter of fact, verses 19 and 20 may be speaking primarily to human relationships where people weren’t listening to each other, but were yapping at each other and not trying to understand each other and were getting hot under the collar in the process…
-regardless, when you are angry inside, with human anger…in turmoil over something, upset with someone, you cannot have a healthy relationship with God’s word…
-there is a barrier, a filter, that colors your outlook, what you see and hear…when anger controls us, our inner spirit is distracted and we are unable to receive God’s truth in a clear way…
You may be angry this morning…angry with someone or something that has happened…perhaps you’re angry with God…some of us are angry with ourselves…
…if so, you have to ask God why you’re angry…and once He shows you, then you have to decide if that anger is justified and worth holding onto, or if it’s consuming you and damaging your relationship with Him and His word…
It may be damaging your relationship with a brother or sister in the family of God…so it’s got to go…
Mt. 5:23-24 “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.
We’re having communion today. This is a good time to do a spiritual health check-up and make sure we come to the Lord’s table without an unresolved issue between us and someone else…
A settled spirit is a condition necessary to be a doer of the word.
Closely connected is the third condition:
3) clean heart v. 21
“get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent…”
-the practice of deliberate sin becomes a huge barrier between us and God and His word…and our obedience…
-sin toughens our heart, numbs it, deadens it…makes it unresponsive to the word of God…unable and unwilling to do what it says…
-but confession and repentance and forgiveness softens our heart and revives it and makes it responsive to what the Spirit is saying through the word…
-once again, communion today is a good time to deal with anything for which we need God’s grace and forgiveness…
4) focused attention v.25
“whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom…”
-the verb used here for “looks intently” means “to stoop down and look into closely”…like when a child bends over to take a closer look at a bug they see on the sidewalk…
-it’s the same word used to describe Peter’s looking into the empty tomb after Jesus’ resurrection…
-there’s awe, wonder, amazement, attentiveness, searching, looking for God…
-what a great quality to bring to God’s word…to look deeply into it, not just settle for surface stuff…but to dig down…not for knowledge sake alone, but so that we can apply it to our everyday life…so that what we see will become how we live…
By the way, did you notice the phrase in v.25 “the perfect law that gives freedom…”? Doesn’t the juxtaposition of those words intrigue you? We often think of the OT law as binding and constricting and demanding…but acc. to James, the OT law actually gives freedom…
-and it does…God’s word is meant to bring freedom and life and health and strength…not put us in a straitjacket…our greatest freedom is found when we obey God’s word…
-people that want to do life their own way, by their own rules and standards, are often the ones that end up in the most bondage and unhappiness…but those who chose to follow the principles of God’s word find true freedom and joy and life…
Thomas Manton (English Puritan Minister from the 1600’s)
Jewels do not lie on the surface; you must get into the caverns and dark receptacles of the earth for them. No more do truths lie on the surface. The beauty and glory of the scriptures is within, and must be fetched out with much study and prayer. A glance cannot discover the worth of anything to us.”
Proverbs 2:3-5
…if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.
Don’t settle for spiritual fast food…dig in…eat a full, healthy delicious meal…that takes time to prepare…chew on some meat…savor it…eat the bread of life…drink deeply from the living water…
And do it all with a view to our last condition:
5) committed to long-term action v.25
“…continues in it…”
-to be a doer of the word requires a commitment to a long road of obedience…a road that is challenging and has its ups and downs, it’s smooth places and its rough places…but a road that takes us further, higher and deeper in becoming a man or a woman of God…
eg. I did run the 15k on Friday…here’s how…
Bruce, daughter Vanessa, granddaughter Isa…sharing the experience…supporting and pushing…
Conclusion
-here’s the picture James is presenting. Every time a child of God is exposed to the word of God…a mirror is being held up by the Holy Spirit…
-the purpose of this mirror is not to condemn us or discourage us…it is to show us our true condition, what kind of people we are…what’s good about us… and those things that still need alot of work…
-and if we’re willing to take a honest look in that mirror, and take it seriously, then we will see how God wants to change and grow us so we become more and more like His Son Jesus Christ…
2 Cor. 3:18 And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
That’s why James says don’t be a forgetful hearer; instead be an obedient doer…
a. the forgetful hearer is like the student who audits a class rather than takes it for credit…
-when you audit a class, you get all the benefits of the lectures and class interaction, but you don’t have to do any of the assignments or take the exams…
-there’s less buy-in and ownership…
b. the obedient doer is in hard-working student mode…knowing that the degree to which they invest in the course and do the work will effect their academic outcome…
And while it’s not about marks and performance for the child of God, it is most certainly about obedience and action…it’s about living like God’s word says we should…
…it’s about refusing to settle for the disconnect between what we read in the Bible and how we live our lives everyday…
…it’s about ending hypocrisy that gives the appearance of being devoted to the word but not allowing it to change the way we live in the real world…
Just do it…Christian…just do it…just be a doer of the word…
-make sure those conditions are in place so that you are positioned to be a doer and not just a listener…
-for the sake of Christ and His kingdom, just do it…
I close with Jesus’ words: Mt 7:24, 26
24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.
Prayer…Worship…