A Call to Action

· Good morning!

· This morning we’re going to be continuing our study in James 1.

· We’ll be in James 1, beginning at verse 19.

· With the vote today for our search committee, I found a fitting joke for you all this morning.

· It is called “The Search for a Pastor in Bible Times”

· Dear Members,

We do not have a happy report, as we have not been able to find a suitable candidate for the pastor of our church thus far. We do, however, have one promising prospect. The following is our confidential report on the candidates: Adam: Good man, but has problems with his wife. Noah: Former pastorate of 120 years with no converts. Prone to unrealistic building projects. Joseph: A big thinker, but a braggart. Interprets dreams. Has a prison record. Moses: Modest and meek, but poor communicator; even stutters at times. Sometimes, he blows his stack and acts rashly in business meetings. Deborah: One word—female. David: The most promising candidate of all, until we discovered the affair he had with a neighbor’s wife. Solomon: Great preacher, but serious woman problems. Elijah: Prone to depression; collapses under pressure. Jonah: Told us he was swallowed by a huge fish. He said the fish later spit him out on the shore near here. We hung up. Amos: Backward and unpolished. With some seminary training, he might have promise; but he has a problem with wealthy people. John: Says he’s a Baptist but doesn’t dress like one. Sleeps in the outdoors, has a weird diet, and provokes denominational leaders. Paul: Powerful CEO type and fascinating preacher. But he’s short on tact, unforgiving with young ministers, harsh, and has been known to preach all night. Timothy: Too young. And lastly, Judas: His references are solid. Conservative. Good connections. Knows how to handle money. We’re inviting him to preach this Sunday with great hopes that he will accept our offer!

· Well, if you have found your places, stand with me for the reading of God’s Holy Word, James 1:19-27.

· Read.

James 1:19–27 ESV

Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. 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. 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.

· Pray.

· Now remember, we’re coming right out of James’s directions for withstanding trials.

· We saw last week, where he said to Count it joy when you fall into trials of various kinds.

· Because it is the testing of your faith.

· And that testing of your faith, produces patience in you.

· So James is going to go from the test of faith, which proves your faith to be genuine, to the characteristics of what that genuine faith is going to look like.

· And it is no coincidence, that coming out of talking about trials, the first Characteristic James is going to talk about is the need for Christians to be level headed.

· James says to be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger.

· Christians ought not to be known as being hot-headed.

· James says this because he knows good and well, that what often happens when a person faces a trial, is that they jump to conclusions about what is going on, and those conclusions often lead them to anger, even anger towards God.

· So, James says to be quick to hear, and slow to speak.

· This command works two ways.

· Number one, it works towards God.

· When you are facing something you don’t understand, be ready to listen to what God may be telling you.

· And be slow to speak.

· Don’t speak rashly towards God, questioning his goodness, just because you don’t understand.

· This command also works towards man.

· Quick to hear.

· When you are in a conflict with someone else, be quick to hear.

· Listen to what they are saying.

· Hear their side.

· And be slow to speak.

· This idea demands silence until we have understood and applied the message we are learning.

· It is a call for restraint, that we may not jump to hasty and unnecessary reactions.

· Proverbs 17:27 Whoever restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding

· You know how many fights you can avoid, if you just take a step back and don’t speak out of anger in the heat of a moment?

· It is clear that James is saying that there is a connection.

· The person who is quick to hear and slow to speak, is far more likely to also be slow to anger.

· Proverbs 14:29 says “Whoever is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who has a hasty temper exalts folly.”

· James 1:20 says “The anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.”

· It might feel good to get even in the moment.

· It might feel good to let go of your anger sometimes and let someone have it.

· But James is saying that your anger will not produce a Godly life.

· Ephesians 4:26 says “In your anger, do not sin, do not let the sun go down while you are angry.”

· Some translations say “Be angry, do not sin.”

· In other words, sometimes there are instances when you are wrong if you are not angry.

· When Paul was in the city of Athens, the Bible says that his spirit was provoked within him, when he saw that the city was full of idols.

· That’s an example of righteous anger.

· Jesus, God mad a time or two, he turned the tables over and chased the money changers out of the temple.

· He got mad at the hard heart of the pharisees, and he healed the man with the withered hand out of his anger.

· Those are examples of righteous anger.

· But lets be honest, most the time, we justify our anger, and call it righteous anger, when in reality, that’s not what it is.

· We are mad that our pride has been hurt.

· Our egos have taken a hit.

· We get made that we have been inconvenienced in some way, maybe.

· That’s not righteous anger.

· And James is clear when we let the anger get the best of us, then we are not producing the righteousness of God in our lives.

· James goes on, in verse 21.

“Therefore, put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.”

· Genuine faith humbly receives the word of God, and allows it to change them.

· 1 Thessalonians 2:13 says “And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.”

· Put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness.

· Repent.

· That’s a change of heart and change of action.

· Repentance is saying I was going this way and now I am turning around and going this way.

· When you receive the word of God, you take that old moral filth, and, like dirty old clothes, you cast it off of you.

· This is not to imply that it is the act of casting these things off of you that saves you.

· James says it is the implanted word that is able to save your souls.

· The word of God contains the gospel of Jesus Christ, and you are saved through faith in Christ.

· Romans 10:9 “Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”

· James is talking to Christians, he is talking to people who are saved and they’re evidently being bums.

· They’ve bought into the lie that once they’re saved there’s no more to do.

· So James is telling them that could not be further from the truth.

· James isn’t saying that in order to come to Christ, you have to clean up.

· If you aren’t saved, and you think its because you’re not good enough to be saved.

· You think you have to clean yourself up and then come to the Lord, that’s a lie of the devil.

· There’s nothing you can do to clean yourself up.

· There’s not one person in here who is good enough.

· We’re all sinners.

· Its Christ in you who cleans.

· You come as you are, and let Christ do that.

· But if you’re a Christian, and you’re backsliding, thinking its no big deal, James is saying cast off the filthiness.

· Verse 22: “Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.”

· In other words, it is one thing to listen to the word of God and to know what it says.

· To come to church and hear the sermons and sit through Bible studies and have a knowledge of the Bible is one thing.

· But to put that knowledge into practice in your life, is a whole other thing.

· And James stresses through his letter, that a Christian is not just to hear, but is to do.

· Literally translated, James’ command is to “keep on becoming doers of God’s Word.”

· It is not enough to come to church and hear the word of God.

· It is not enough to simply read the word.

· And then do nothing with it in your life.

· The word of God is a call to action.

· Now, don’t hear me say that hearing the word and studying the word is not important.

· It is, and it is absolutely necessary.

· How else would you know how to practice the things of the Bible apart from hearing the word and studying the word?

· 2 Timothy 3:16 says “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.”

· 1 Peter 1:20-21 “knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the holy spirit.”

· (Hold up your Bible)

· This book is the inerrant, infallible and authoritative word of the Lord.

· It cannot be added to, and it cannot be taken away from.

· People say its flawed, because it was written by flawed men.

· But I’m telling you, if God can speak the earth into existence.

· If God can create man out of dust and woman from his rib.

· If God can make a donkey speak.

· If God can put a baby in the womb of a virgin.

· If God can raise the dead.

· Then God can put his word into a book and keep it complete even through flawed and sinful men.

· The Bible says what it means and it means what it says.

· When the Bible tells us to “go therefore and make disciples of all nations”

· It means that we are to get out of our comfort zone and go and share the gospel with a lost and dying world.

· When it says “Be not drunk with wine, but be filled with the Holy Spirit.”

· I’m telling you, it means “don’t get drunk.”

· Get that stuff out of your life.

· When it says not to forsake the assembling of yourselves together.

· It means, get yourself in church.

· Don’t forsake the church.

· Join the local church.

· When it says in Acts 2:38 “repent and be baptized, every one of you”

· It means to repent and get yourself baptized!

· When it says in Genesis that God created male and female, male and female he created them.

· I know this ruffles feathers in this world, but it means that God created people, male and female, with a purpose.

· He did not make a mistake, and it is not up to us to let people decide to change that.

· When the Bible defines marriage as one man and one woman, it means it.

· There are no exceptions to that rule.

· And we must defend what the Bible says even if the world doesn’t like it.

· We are called to follow this book and to obey it.

· To put it into practice in our lives.

· But you see, the problem is, that some people hear the word and they don’t like it and therefore they don’t do it.

· Some people don’t like it because its inconvenient, so they don’t do.

· And some people know that the world doesn’t like it, and so they don’t do it.

· But I am here today to tell you, it doesn’t matter if you like what it says.

· It doesn’t matter if the world likes what it says.

· It doesn’t matter if you agree with it.

· If you disagree with the word of God, it is you that is wrong.

· When the world disagrees, it is the world that is wrong.

· If I disagree, it is me that is wrong.

· And instead of ignoring those parts, we are to let the word work in us.

· And we are to cut those sins out anyways.

· Study the word.

· Read the word.

· Listen to preachers talk about it.

· Talk about it with other people.

· But I’m telling you, if all you’ve got is knowledge of the Bible.

· If you are just a hearer and not also a doer, then its time to start acting on what you’ve heard.

· Romans 2:13 says “For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified.”

· Verses 23-24 “For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.”

· How many of you spend at least a little effort getting ready in the morning, especially Sunday mornings?

· How many of you use a mirror to do so?

· Imagine waking up and looking in the mirror first thing in the morning.

· Your hair is mess.

· If you’ve got a beard like I do, even that can be a mess in the morning.

· You all worry about taming your hair in the morning, I gotta tame my beard too.

· You haven’t brushed your teeth.

· You haven’t gotten dressed yet, you’re still in your pajamas.

· You look at yourself, you think, wow I need to get ready for church.

· Then you walk away, forget what you looked like, and you get in your car and head to church.

· Addressing none of the things you would normally do in the morning.

· James says that this is no different than the person who hears the word of God and then doesn’t do anything about it.

· The word of God is a mirror. The law is a perfect picture of what our lives are supposed to look like.

· And when we look in that mirror, the word of God, it should do something to us.

· You wouldn’t get up and come to church in your bathrobe with unkept hair and unbrushed teeth.

· So why when you hear the word, and understand that there are things that you need to work on, would you walk away and ignore those things?

· What James is really saying is that Christians ought not to be hypocrites.

· We can’t say we believe something and then act in a way that is inconsistent with those beliefs.

· And lets be real, that’s one of the biggest complaints people have towards Christians.

· The world LOVES trying to point at hypocritical Christians as evidence that they don’t need the church.

· Charles Spurgeon was known as the Prince of Preachers and he had this to say about hypocritical Christians: “If there is only one waterfall in a river, only one in a thousand miles, everybody hears about it and it is marked on the map. But if another river should flow on smoothly, gladdening the meads on either hand and bearing navies out to sea, it would not cause such a noise as that one cataract would make.

In like manner, a holy life is not talked of by an ungodly world half as much as one unholy act of an inconsistent professing Christian. How they delight to speak of that! How they roll the story of the sins of God’s people under their tongues as sweet morsels! You may repent of your backsliding; you may become even more zealous afterward, as you should do. But, my dear brothers, after having once stained your reputation, it is not easy to wipe out the blot.”

· To be a doer rather than a hearer only is to be a witness for Christ.

· Verse 25, James says “But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.”

· Dear Christian, persevere in the work of the Lord.

· Hear what he says, and put it into action.

· I want to ask you this morning, does your life reflect your faith in Christ?

· Does your life reflect that you believe what you say that you believe?

· Are you a doer of the word or are you a hearer only?

· As we wrap up chapter 1, James gives some concrete examples of some things that Christians ought to be practicing in their lives.

· Some things we should be doing.

· Verses 26 and 27 “If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless. Pure and undefiled religion before God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.”

· James gives three characteristics of the faithful doer of the word.

· Number 1, they bridal their tongue.

· This person is not loose with words, we’ll see more of that when we get to chapter 3.

· Number 2, they show mercy and love towards the down and out.

· This person cares for the orphans and the widows.

· People who are feeling helpless.

· Number 3, they keep themselves unspotted from the world.

· To be a doer of the word of God and not simply a hearer, it means putting these things into practice.

· If James 1 is a mirror, and you’re looking into it, let me ask you, how is your life matching up?

· Do you keep a tight rein on your tongue?

· Are you quick to hear and slow to speak?

· Do you show mercy and love towards other people?

· Are you keeping yourself unstained from the world?

· Or does your life fit right in like you’re living in the world.

· The beautiful thing about the gospel is that there’s not a person in this room who has perfected this.

· There’s only one person who ever did.

· And his name was Jesus Christ.

· He came to this world, because of your sins.

· He came because we all fall short.

· And he lived the life we’re supposed to.

· “He made him who knew no sin to become sin for us.”

· And because of this, Christ took on the punishment that we deserve.

· But he didn’t stay dead.

· Because three days later, he came out of the tomb.

· And if you haven’t given your life to him, you can do that right now.

· And if you have, and you’re still not living this out.

· There’s still time for you too.

· Because the gospel isn’t to beat you up.

· It is to remind you that you are forgiven.

· And you are loved.

· And ultimately it is that truth that motivates us to put the word into action.

· As we come to this time of invitation, the altar will be open.

· Is there something in your life that you have not given total obedience to the Lord?

· Is there something you are a hearer of but not a doer?

· Let me encourage you this morning.

· Give it to the Lord.

· Maybe you are being led to follow the Lord in Baptism.

· Maybe you are being led to join this church this morning.

· Maybe you have sin your life that you need to repent of.

· Maybe you need to give your life to the Lord.

· I’ll be down at the front to talk with you as we sing.

· End in prayer.