Power in the Pulpit | James 1:19–27

Intro: Thank you Leighton for leading us in a song of worship before we go into the message. Parents, thank you for being here with us tonight. We are going to take a quick break from our study of Colossians for tonight. The passage that was next is just too long to get through in the limited amount of time we have during halftime and before parents start wanting to head home. Tonight we are going to be looking at James 1:19-27. Before we do that, I have a question for you. When you are asked to describe somebody, how do you describe them. Naturally, you probably describe physical traits about them. But a big part of it is probably about what a person does. If a person is an adult, you would about what they do for a job. If it is a child, you may talk about the activities the child loves. Maybe they love playing sports. Maybe they love the arts such as theatre. But the things they do are a part of who they are. This is the same concept throughout the book of James, but particularly in the passage we are looking at today. The maid idea of tonight’s message is that what we do is an indispensible part of who we are. In the text, we will see one thing we should do, as well as one thing we should not do.

1:19-21

Exposition:We start by seeing James tell us in verses 19-21 not to do something. What he tells us, is to not allow ourselves to become tainted. He starts this by telling us to be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger. This was a proverb that was that was popular in both Jewish and Greek cultures. James is not telling us we should not respond to things we hear, but that there is a certain way in which we should respond.

Application: Which conversations tend to go better for you? The ones in which we constantly interject and don’t let the person finish or we get mad and we can’t even really focus on what is being said. Or is it the ones that we allow the person to finish and then we respond cordially without having an emotional outburst.

ExpositionL James continues his point in verse 20 when he says James 1:20 “for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” When James refers to anger he is not so much referring to anger where something randomly sets us off. But instead the anger that builds up within us. The anger that after time leads us to respond in a way we shouldn’t. James is telling us to avoid that anger.

Illustration: Have any of you ever let your anger get the better of you and you responded in a way that was honoring to God. Think about moments where you were made a parent for one thing, or maybe you weren’t even mad at your parent but something else and it built up in your mind. We allow it just to stew in our minds and we just continue to get more and more upset about it. Then, when you finally addressed that topic or something else came up and your anger from the thing you have been stewing on comes out. How many of you in that situation said when it was done, “wow, I really honored God with how I just acted and what I said. Probably not. It probably got you in trouble. Since we got some adults in the room laughing, how about those of you that are married? Have you ever allowed something you were mad at your spouse for stew and stew. When you finally hit your boiling point, how civil were you in that conversation? If in that moment we responded with anger, it was probably not honoring to God. It probably looked more like somebody that that did not know Christ than somebody who did.

Application: We know that when we are driven by anger, we do not uphold the moral standard that God has given us to abide by. It is not a good look to the world. Think about the issues facing our culture right now. What is going to be more effective, responding in anger or by listening to those we disagree with and then peacefully and lovingly express truth to them? Responding in anger does not honor God. It does not communicate his love and mercy and it is sinful. As we see throughout scripture, this is not God giving us just a regulation to follow. This is Him giving us a better way.

Exposition: James goes on to say in verse 21, James 1:21 “Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.” The word put off carries the connotation of taking off clothes that are dirty or ruined. James is saying we should remove sin from our lives in the same way.

Illustration: Imagine that you have been working in the yard all day. You have dirt from head to toe. When you come in, you take off all the clothes that are dirty or ruined, except your socks. Those bad boys you keep on for the next few days. You wouldn’t consider that clean. But we do this with sin in our lives. There are things we have no problem letting go of. We have areas of our lives where we have no problem being obedient. But sometimes there are areas of that we just want to hold onto. We say I shouldn’t do this, but overall I am doing well. Thank God for His grace, but this is not the way we are suppose to live. This taints our lives.

Exposition: James then contrasts this filthy wickedness that is sin in our lives with humility. He says to receive with meekness the implanted word which is able to save your souls. Meekness is the contrast to sinfulness because sin is often a pride issue. It is us saying that our way is better than God’s. That our lives are better with this thing than without it. Or we say that it’s not that bad, even though sin is so bad it seperates us from God. But it takes humility to say that God’s way is better. That His word is what ultimately fulfills us.

Explanation: The word implanted implies that the word has taken up residence within us. As followers of Jesus Christ, God’s word should be part of who we are. the Greek word for save has a form that implies it is continual. James is telling us that God’s word will sustain us until we are in God’s presence for eternity. Does sin ever do that? Or are we always reminded of how temporary its satisfaction is? God’s Word is always better than what the world has to offer. He is the creator of the universe. He knows what is good. And no matter how hard things get, no matter how strong the temptation is , His word is always better because it will sustain us all the way until we see Jesus face to face. God’s word carries with it the eternal promise and it is always better than allowing sin to taint us.

Transition: So we see that James’ warning for those he is writing to is to not allow themselves to be tainted. He then gives them two instructions of what to do. The first of which is to be doers of the word. He says starting in verse 22 James 1:22-25 “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.”

Explanation: The book of James is believed to be one of if not the first book written in the New Testament. He was writing to Jews scattered all around the Roman Empire. Hearing the reading of God’s word was a critical part of Jewish ritual. James is telling the people to be doers not just hearers of the word because just going and hearing the reading of God’s word is not enough. One must do God’s word. He said that to not do this is to deceive oneself. what does he mean that this is to deceive yourself? It means that you’re not really what you claim to be, and you don’t even realize it. He goes even further and says it’s like someone that looks into a mirror then forgets what they look like when they walk away. Mirrors at this time were not glass like we have today. They were shiny bronze. They reflected distorted images. To really see oneself in a mirror, the person had to look closely. They were used strictly for cosmetic purposes. To see if one’s face was dirty and needed to to be clean or if there was something wrong. James is saying that to be hearers of God’s word but not doers of God’s word was like looking in a mirror to see what needed to be done and completely forget once you stepped away. The word James used for forget means to just allow something to slip away.

Application: This is such an important challenge that James gives us here. How can we claim to be believers in the one true God if we do not keep his Word. What James said then is true today. To show up on Sundays and Wednesdays but not have our lives dictated by what we find in scripture is useless. Not only is is useless, it is dangerous. Because as James suggests, if one has no desire to do the things of God, how can we be convinced that person has truly been changed by God.

Explanation: This is not scripture suggesting that it is through works that we are saved. But that through our works that we show we are saved. James says in chapter 2, Faith without works is dead and that our faith is shown through works. Paul says in Ephesians 2:8-10 “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. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” We do not do good works for salvation, but because of our salvation.

Application: But there is one thing that can make doing the word of God difficult for Christians. That is not knowing the word of God. We cannot do the word if we do not know it. We cannot be doers of the word if we are not knowers of the word. We must be regularly studying God’s Word. If you are not regularly studying God’s word. I plead with you to start. If you need help doing a daily quiet time, reach out to me. I would love to help you with that. I have resources that can help you. We cannot be a people of God, if we are not a people of His Word.

Exposition: It’s also important to remember that God’s Word is not burdensome. James says in verse 25 James 1:25 “But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.” He calls it the perfect law of liberty. Remember, we have talked about this some last Sunday night. Jesus is the fulfillment of the Jewish Law. He is the righteous one that served as the sacrifice so we could have salvation. The Bible is not a rule book as much as it is a story of redemption by God. There is also blessing that comes with doing God’s Word.

Application: Being obedient to God is not always easy. There are some things in scripture that are really hard. But, what would we rather do Do what is easier and run contrary to God’s will, or would we rather walk in obedience directly into God’s will. If we are obedient to God and walk with Him even in the hard times, we will experience blessings that we could not see from the outside. We will see how much God cares and who He really is.

Transition: So, We see God telling us not to allow ourselves to be tainted by the world and to be doers of the word. Lastly, James tells us to be authentic. He says in verse 26, James 1:26-27 “If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.”

Application: The first thing he brings us to is not controlling one’s tongue. he says that anybody that claims to be religious, but stirs up trouble using their words is deceiving themselves like the one that hears the word but doesn’t do the word. If there anything we are known by more than what we say. If we claim to be Christians but our words do nor represent Christ, then how can that be true? If we use language we know we shouldn’t, if we are rude, if we talk poorly of people behind their backs and claim to know Christ, is that a good representation of who Christ is? There is nothing easier to give ourselves a pass on than this. We must control our tongues and make sure what we say is God honoring. because if we don’t, we can destroy our witness and make our claim worthless.

Explanation: James then goes further in the call to be authentic. He says true religion is visiting the orphans and widows and to keep oneself unstained from the world. This was time in which the husband and father was the one that that provided for the family. Orphans and widows had no way of caring for themselves. The OT refers to God as the father to the fatherless. True religion is not just we say we believe, but what we actually do with it. Are we following the commands in scripture to care for the weak and vulnerable. Teenagers, are you caring for those in your school that are bullied. Are you making sure those that come from modest means aren’t picked on for that.

Exposition: Lastly, James says we should keep ourselves unstained from the world. The word used here can also be translated spotless. He is not telling us to silo ourselves off from the world, but to not allow it to corrupt us.

Application: This is where studying scripture and being involved in your church community is so important. It is very easy to slowly drift away from Christ and to the world. Without realizing it we pick up bad habits. These bad habits slowly turn into sinful habits. Without having God’s word to examine our lives against, we don’t even realize it. But if we are not different from the word, then the world will never see what we have to offer and how much better it is than what the world offers.

Conclusion: As I said earlier, James is not suggesting that these actions can earn us salvation. He is saying that if we are truly changed into a new creation by our salvation, works are the byproduct of that. What we do shows who we are. We are also not left without an example. The example we have is Christ. Jesus came to earth and lived a perfect life. he was not corrupted by the world. he came and cared for those that could not care for themselves. In fact, the reason he came to earth was because humanity sinned and could not make themselves right before God. Therefore, Jesus left heaven and came to earth dying the death we deserved, though he was sinless. He then rose again and then ascended to heaven where he currently sits beside the Father. While earth he performed a multitude of signs that revealed who he was. All of these things did not make Jesus God the Son or the Savior of the world. He did these things because He was savior of the world. And we don’t follow his example so we can be His followers, we do them because we are his followers.