Be a Doer
Notes
Transcript
Introduction: In the Army they have orders to help everyone decide what to do. There are three general orders for the sentry in the Army:
I will guard everything within the limits of my post and quit my post only when properly relieved.
I will obey my special orders and perform all of my duties in a military manner.
I will report violations of my special orders, emergencies and anything not covered in my instructions to the commander of the relief.
These are general orders - they cover what we are doing anytime we are on duty - or off duty.
Special orders tell specifics of what we are to do at the time - like what our post is at the moment.
For good military order, orders must be given and followed. Without order things can break down fast. We Christians have orders to - they were issued by our Captain - Jesus. If we follow them it will go well with us and the church - if we don’t - well you might be able to imagine what will happen. In fact some of you have lived through what can happen.....................
Our orders are spelled out in the bible and today's passage reminds us to know our orders and to follow them..
This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger;
for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.
Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls.
But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.
For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror;
for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was.
But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.
Trans Sent: When we know what our orders are we must follow them to maintain good church order and to be a witness to the truth.
1. This passage begins with three simple orders to obtain the Righteousness of God
Quick to Hear (to hear with intention) The Greek is: akŏuō, ak-oo´-o; come (to the ears), understand.)(not in one ear and out the other,
Listening to others shows respect and kindness.
Slow to Speak The Greek is (lalĕō, lal-eh´-o; to talk: utter words:—preach, say.)
Speak to quickly and you may hurt someone or be disrespectful or just plain rude. We want to make sure our brains are functioning before we put our mouths in gear.
Slow to Anger - (ŏrgē, or-gay´desire (as a reaching forth or excitement of the mind), violent passion, indignation, vengeance, wrath.) This emotion can cause a distorted sense of what is true...
But now you also, put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth.
b. Righteousness of God - adherence to what is required according to a standard
“You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You shall not commit murder’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.’
“But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘You good-for-nothing,’ shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.
2. What to Do about it
a. Remove Filthiness (moral imperfections) and Wickedness (perverting of moral purposes to evil ends)
So what is some of the filth and wickedness that we can remove from our lives? Anger, Arrogance, Discrimination, Selfishness, Greed, Partiality, Pride
This stuff gets in the way with our ability to obtain the righteousness of God. But there is something we can do about it.
b. Humble ourselves - Why? Why humble ourselves?
Humility is the opposite of Pride, quite often our pride is what causes anger when we are quick to speak instead of quick to listen. In Peter’s first letter we see some of the other personal qualities that go along with humility.
To sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit;
So, what is that thing we can do to obtain the righteousness of God? James 1:21
Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls.
c. With Humility receive the word Implanted - This word is the logos, the word of God. The content of what is preached about in the good news of Jesus’ way of salvation.
When we receive we take it in...
When it is implanted it becomes a part of us...
This is what becomes the righteousness of God in us, the word of God accompanied by His Spirit dwelling in us through faith in Christ Jesus.
We can’t get rid of the filthiness and wickedness ourselves. We need help and that help comes through surgery. Implantation surgery. The implanting of the word.
We have to remember one thing we cannot be ashamed of this word - this gospel. In Romans it says:
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
3. This brings us to Do the word or for a military answer - follow your orders.
a. Prove yourself a doer - if we are ashamed of the gospel or don’t know it we won’t do it. A doer of the word will act on what is known. In other words - I just told all of you that James says we should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to anger. The question is how many of you will put that into practice? How many of you will actually start thinking about what you are going to say before you simply start talking?
b. Mirror James 1:23-25
For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror;
for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was.
But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.
James uses this analogy to help us understand the idea of doing and not just hearing. If you heard what I just said you will do it, that will make you are doer of the word; if you don’t do it then all you are is a hearer of the word. Don’t just listen to the word, implant it in your heart and do what it says.
In basic training we were required to memorize the three general orders and know what they meant. We had to know a lot of other stuff too. It’s the same with the word. There are things we should memorize and things we should know. But all of it should be done.
c. Blessed in what we do James 1:25
But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.
So what does James say the ultimate outcome of our doing will be? We will be blessed in what we do. When we actually do what the word says we will be blessed. Sounds good to me. But how does that work? If we are slow to speak and quick to listen we may actually learn something, or we may be able to help someone, or we may...
Blessings come in many ways, when we act on what we have learned about the word, God pours out His blessings.
One thing might be giving back to God, you may think you can’t give but when you actually do He will give more to you. It worked in our lives. As we learned to give more and actually made an effort to give more He started giving more to us. It’s a strange upside down economy that God runs. Give more love, money and stuff away and God will give you more love, money and stuff.
Conclusion: We have two ears and one mouth, use at least one of your ears before you use your mouth. That will help you listen first. Who knows, maybe you will learn something, maybe you will be able to help someone or maybe God will pour out a blessing on you.
Jesus is our Captain and the bible is His word. When you learn a new order put it into action in your life. Don’t just listen and then walk away and forget everything you just heard. There is no righteousness in that. So let’s get busy being doers of the word not merely hearers.
Be a doer!
