The Power of God’s Word
Notes
Transcript
James 1:19-27
James 1:19-27
Today we will be finishing chapter 1 of the letter of James, vs 19-27. James 1:19-27. The title of todays sermon is “The Power of God’s Word”
We recap what we have learned so far in the letter of James as he writes to the churches that are scattered. James begins the chapter with talk of how we, as followers of Christ, walk through trials with joy and peace. Next James talks about when trials turn into temptation and temptation turns to sin. Finally to finish this chapter James emphasizes the importance of the Words of God, as seen in scripture, in the life of the believer.
We have to remember that at this time, those in the church were beginning to experience terrible persecution. That the tendency of the human spirit in times of persecution, is to possibly question God or to even lash out in anger, but the biggest issue was that they might begin to doubt God and His goodness. In the previous verses we are continuously reminded that while God sends trials they are for our good and our growth. We are reminded that God is good and because of that He will never tempt us with evil. James confirmed three things about the goodness of God.
James emphasized that God is the only source of what is good. That all that is evil is of the world but that all that is good is from God. James also reminded us that God does not change, EVER, He is continuously giving good things to His children and this does not change. Finally James reminds that God is the source of the supreme act of goodness, our salvation. That God’s goodness provided a way for us to be free from sin and the punishment we so richly deserved, and because of the goodness of God we are now adopted sons and daughters that have been given new hearts.
Ezekiel 36:26 “26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.”
We are given renewed minds, that seek after the goodness God gives and not after the perversion the world offers. We are given a new spirit, and the Holy Spirit, God Himself, now dwells within us to lead and guide us. That God walks with us in every trial and every temptation we may go through.
We spoke some last week about how the Word of God gives us the ammo we need to fight temptation. We also see this week how the Word of God is our strength. It is our shield. It is what sustains us through all that we may experience. It is God’s Word, the Gospel message, that brought and breathed life through the Holy Spirit into our dead souls and it is God’s Word and His Spirit revealing that Word, that will sustain us and continue to work God’s sanctification in our lives. That God’s Word will be used to make us more like Christ every day as we study it, as we read it, as we meditate on it, but we must take hold of it and not let it be pulled from the grasp of our hands if it is to do this.
We remember that we must not just have knowledge. There are many across the world and across history that had knowledge of God’s Word. That had a knowledge of who God is. However, they did not have Wisdom to apply it. We can look at many of the modern Ivy League schools that started as Seminaries to train men to preach the Gospel, and are now empty houses of perversion that blaspheme the very nature of who God is in their teachings.
One of my favorite places to go visit and just walk and meditate on God is Sewanee, the College of the South. What was once a military institution that was a Christian institution. It has an absolutely stunning chapel on the campus and a large cross that overlooks the valley on the mountain, but God is no longer honored there, the things of God are not celebrated, but the things of this world have become the celebration. The perversions that this world has made of sexuality and perversion of religion and perversions of thought and reason reign on this campus, and this grand institution that was built to honor God has now been reduced to an empty, beautiful building, where the presence of God is rejected and is no longer welcome.
They have knowledge, but when that knowledge, the knowledge of what God’s Word says goes against the sinful nature of mankind, there is a lack of wisdom because that knowledge is not applied. Instead it is rejected and tossed aside. We can have all the knowledge but if we don’t have wisdom, the application of that knowledge, the action that is applied to that knowledge, then it is for nothing. What we will see is that we must accept God’s Word, we must act on what God’s Word says, and we must abide by what God’s Word says.
It is not about my opinion or your opinion or what we may think of what God said. It is about a literal application of God’s Word to our everyday life.
Hebrews 4:12 “12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”
God’s Word is living. God’s Word is active, and if we are to be strengthened, if we are to be sustained through our trials and temptations, we must allow it to pierce into our very hearts and souls, to cut out the sin and the filth in our lives, and to lead us into righteousness.
John 16:13 “13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.”
God’s Spirit guides us into all truth, the truth found in God’s word, and that is where we will find our rest and our peace.
This is the Word of God to His people
James 1:19–27
“19 Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;
20 for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.
21 Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
23 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.
24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.
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.
26 If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless.
27 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.”
This is God’s Word. AMEN!
We see in the end of James 1 three imperatives, or commandments regarding the Word of God. Our three points today are that we must:
Receive the Word (James 1:19-21)
Practice the Word (James 1:22-25)
Share the Word (James 1:26-27)
Receive the Word vs 19-21
James starts this section telling us that we should be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger. James says to “KNOW THIS.” It is emphasized that you need to know what he is about to say. Being quick to hear implies that we should have an eagerness and desire to hear the Word of God. We should be quick to run and hear what God has said to us. It is not something that we run from or avoid but we hunger and we thirst for the Word of God to feed our souls and quench the thirst in our hearts. In verse 21 James calls God’s Word the “implanted word” or we could say “the engrafted word.” We read the parable of the sower that Jesus told in Matthew 13 and we see this analogy or parable of a man that goes out to plant seeds in the soil.
Jesus is comparing the Word of God to the seeds and the human heart to the soil in which the seeds are to be planted. Jesus describes four different hearts in this parable. The “hard heart” that did not understand or receive the Word of God. The seed just fell on to the side and was eaten by the birds. It was not able to even begin to take root and grow. Instead, it bore no fruit at all.
Jesus also describes the “shallow heart” in the soil that fell on rocky ground, and the seed immediately sprang up but because there was no depth the sun immediately killed the seed when it rose and heat was applied. That this shallow heart maybe had an emotional experience, maybe they got caught up in the moment, but there was no true repentance, there was no true saving belief, and as soon as the first trial or temptation came along, as soon as heat was applied, that emotional experience was not enough and the seed died, never bearing any fruit.
Next, Jesus describes the “crowded heart.” That the seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew around and choked the plant. The heart that had no repentance and instead allowed themselves to be surrounded by sin, allowed their hearts to continue to love and seek after their own desires and their unrepentant sin crowded out the word of God. It didn’t leave room for the Word of God to be implanted in their lives. They were like the rich man in Matthew 19:16-30 who came running to Jesus and asked how to be saved. He claimed to have kept the letter of the law his entire life, that he had always done as God commanded but when He was told to sell his possessions and give them to the poor He left sad because He did not want to give up HIs carnal pleasures. He didn’t want to rid himself of the things of this world that would keep Him from God. He wanted the benefits of salvation while still enjoying the very things that kept Him from following God with all he had.
Finally, Jesus describes the seed that fell on good soil and took root, and grew, and produced a harvest. This was “the fruitful heart.” The heart that received the Word of God and the Word was implanted in the heart and a harvest was seen. That this fruit, this harvest of “the fruitful heart” is seen as evidence of salvation. It is the proof that someones life has been radically changed by the power of God’s Word. If we are to grow, if we are to be sustained, we must be dedicated to hearing and studying God’s Word and allowing it to be implanted in our lives.
There are many that may attend bible study when its convenient or they may show up on Sunday for church, but they are not being swift to hear. They are there to check a box on their weekly to do list, but they are not eagerly seeking after God’s Word. We must have a longing and a hunger in our lives for God’s Word.
Opening Up James Developing Swiftness (v. 19)
Adlai Stevenson once opened an address to students at Princeton with these words: ‘I understand I am here to speak and you are here to listen. Let’s hope we both finish at the same time.
Romans 10:17 “17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”
It is God’s Word that brings us faith. It is God’s Word that we long for just as the baby crying longs for the comforting voice of its mother to soothe it, we cry out for the comforting Word of God to soothe our weary souls. To bring peace into our battle worn lives. We long for and are quick to listen for the voice of our Father because His Word is another proof of His goodness.
2 Timothy 3:16 “16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,”
God’s Word teaches us, it corrects us, it trains us how to be more like Christ. We are quick to listen for God’s Wisdom and His Word before we speak, before we complain, before we question.
Psalm 46:10 “10 “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!””
The Psalmist writes the words of God, to be still, and know. To be swift to hear and then be still and KNOW, that God is God. It is in the stillness and in the quite that God so often speaks. It is in the study of His Word and in the meditation on His ways that we read about throughout Scripture that God speaks to us today. We must be swift to listen for the voice of God found in His Word or we will miss what He is trying to tell us.
We must be slow to speak. Quick to listen and slow to speak. James points out the contrast here. How often do we want to argue with what God’s Word says. How often does our flesh and our wants and desires get in the way, and we are quick to have an answer for why we should not do what God has commanded. We must understand culture at this time. If someone had a question or a disagreement with what was being taught it was common for them to interrupt in the middle of the reading or message and even argue their point. Later we read that there were times these disagreements even led to fighting and wars within the church. Instead we must be slow to speak.
Proverbs 10:19 “19 When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent.”
Proverbs 17:27 “27 Whoever restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.”
Later in the letter James addresses this further in how our speech should be as believers, but he begins addressing the issue here. We must stop and listen to what God’s Word and His Spirit are saying and not be quick to argue or to reason, but we listen to what is said and then we respond with actions, not just our words. We are not quick to speak and make promises of what we will accomplish or what we will do but we respond with action to the commands of God and not just words or arguments.
Thirdly James says to be slow to wrath. To not get angry at God or at His Word. The Greek word for wrath is “orge” which can be translated as anger, indignation, vengeance, or wrath. This is the same Greek word used in
Colossians 3:8 “8 But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.”
We aren’t to just be slow to wrath but we are supposed to put it away out of our mouths. How many times do we become indignant over how we are treated, or how things may not go as we planned. How often do we become full of wrath as we are driving down the road and that car cuts us off and we almost collide in traffic. How many times do we find that our wrath, our indignation, is simply a result of us not getting our own way. That we are frustrated and we allow that frustration to turn to wrath. James continues here by telling us that the wrath of man does NOT produce righteousness.
We as followers of Christ should not be full of anger and wrath. This becomes a major hinderance and obstacle with us implanting the Word of God into our lives. How many times have churches been destroyed because of strife and anger within the body of Christ? We allow wrath to not only hinder our own spiritual growth but that of others as well. Those of the world respond in wrath and anger at the truth revealed in God’s Word. Those who do not know or love God respond in wrath at His commandments.
Instead the posture of the believer is a life of meekness. Meekness is the opposite of wrath. You may say that sounds fine but what about Jesus, when He destroyed the tables in the market at the temple. There is one type of wrath that God does allow and that is a righteous wrath against sin.
Ephesians 4:26 “26 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger,”
Psalm 97:10 “10 O you who love the Lord, hate evil! He preserves the lives of his saints; he delivers them from the hand of the wicked.”
We should have a wrathful anger towards the sin and evil that is directly opposed to the things of God. We notice Jesus never showed wrath or anger over anything that had to do with Him or His followers while He walked the earth. Instead, when he exhibited anger it was because they had taken His Father’s house, which should be a house of prayer, and worship to the most high God, and had turned it not only into a marketplace but a “den of thieves” in the words of Jesus. They had taken what was holy and set apart and turned it into a worldly market that profaned the very holiness of God.
We see the example of hating evil and a righteous anger towards what opposes God, but then we see the example of meekness our saviour exhibited when on the cross on which He was to die He prayed for God to show mercy on the very men that had nailed Him to it. Meekness is not weakness. Meekness is not weakness but meekness is a posture of total dependance on God and trust in Him that He will handle whatever situation comes your way, and that we do not allow the death of our wants and desires drive us to lose site of God’s Word and our saviours example.
Instead of seeking our own way we are told in
Matthew 6:33 “33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”
If we are slow to wrath we will set aside our personal desires and wants, we will set aside the things that attack our person, and we will seek God’s will and desires above all else. We will seek God’s kingdom before all else. The question is if we are to be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to wrath, how do we accomplish that?
James tells us that we do this by laying aside all filthiness and wickedness and we receive meekness through the Word of God, implanted in our hearts and souls. Our words and our speech will reveal who we really are inside. The things we allow to come out of our lips will reveal who we worship and who we follow, wether it is God or our selves. If we are truly following God, and we are truly working to implant His Word in our lives, then we will see the growth of that seed that was planted by the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. We will begin to see the fruits of the spirit grow in our lives
Galatians 5:22–23 “22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”
The Bible Exposition Commentary Chapter Four: Quit Kidding Yourself (James 1:19–27)
How do we prepare the soil of our hearts for God’s Word? First, by confessing our sins and asking the Father to forgive us (1 John 1:9). Then, by meditating on God’s love and grace and asking Him to “plow up” any hardness in our hearts, “Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns” (Jer. 4:3). Finally, we must have an attitude of “meekness” (James 1:21). Meekness is the opposite of “wrath” in James 1:19–20. When you receive the Word with meekness, you accept it, do not argue with it, and honor it as the Word of God. You do not try to twist it to conform it to your thinking.
We receive the Word and commands of God with meekness and the Holy Spirit continues to work in our lives to grow us further into sanctification to be like Christ.
Practice the Word vs 22-25
First we Receive the Word and our second imperative is that we Practice the Word. Just as knowledge requires action to become wisdom, there is a progression in the words of James here. Quick to listen and seek after the Word of God and to learn from it, slow in our speech so that we take time to study and we do not argue against what God has said, and slow to become angry, then one more process is added. Take the Word of God and don’t just be people that listen to it and have no action behind it but go and do what the Word of God says! The Word of God is powerful and is never passive when we read it, but it requires us to respond to it and actively obey it in our lives.
The Bible Exposition Commentary Chapter Four: Quit Kidding Yourself (James 1:19–27)
Many people have the mistaken idea that hearing a good sermon or Bible study is what makes them grow and get God’s blessing. It is not the hearing but the doing that brings the blessing. Too many Christians mark their Bibles, but their Bibles never mark them! If you think you are spiritual because you hear the Word, then you are only kidding yourself.
We must become people that do not simply sit and listen to the Word of God. We don’t simply sit in a pew on Sunday and think we have done our Christian duty. The Word of God is living and as it is implanted in our lives it brings life to us, and we respond in active obedience to carry out God’s will. If we do not put action behind the Word of God then we will become stagnant like a lake that has the most beautiful pure spring feeding it, but there is no flow out from the water, and our spiritual lives will decay and become stale. James writes later in the letter;
James 4:17 “17 So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.”
If we do not do what the Word of God says then it is sin. James uses the example here of a mirror. That a man looks in the mirror at his face, walks away, and immediately forgets what he looks like. The greek here prosōpon tēs geneseōs is translated as the “face of his birth”. That we look in the mirror at what God has said to do in His Word, and there is an obligation involved when we do this. The greek word for “looks intently into” (parakypsas) literally is translated as “to stoop down” in order to look closely.
That we don’t just give a cursory glance but that we stoop down and we examine the Word of God with all intensity. That while we think “The Law that gives freedom” is a paradox. That it restrains us from what we want to do and takes away our freedom, this is not so with the law of God. That God’s law provides us freedom and not just freedom but perfect freedom.
John 8:31–32 “31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.””
Many read their chapter of the Bible daily and think they have done what they should do for the day, but they miss the mark because they do not actually study what God’s Word says. A quick glance over the Word of God will not reveal the depth of what God has for us in His Word. The quick glance is done and we walk away and we forget what we read and continue on the same way we were, and we miss the intensity with which we should treat the Word of God.
The Bible Exposition Commentary Chapter Four: Quit Kidding Yourself (James 1:19–27)
John Wesley wrote about a preaching service: “One before me dropped as dead, and presently a second, and a third. Five others sunk down in half an hour, most of whom were in violent agonies” (Wesley’s Journal for June 22, 1739)
When you study the Puritans and their intense love for scripture, they would devote the entire Lord’s Day, Sunday, to study of scripture. There is a story of a preacher who had traveled to preach at a service and 3 hours in stopped and apologized that he had been going for so long, and the people cried out at the top of their voices to keep going because they understood the importance of depth in God’s Word. They had a hunger and desire that was so great for what God had to say to them. It is damning to the modern Church in the US that we come and have a 20min sermon on a Sunday morning and then complain if the preacher goes more than 30min. How sad that we would not take time for the God of all creation, our good and gracious Father, who wants to speak to us.
It would be the equivalent of me coming home to my wife after a long day of work, and she wants to spend time with me and talk to me about my day and tell me about hers, and I tell her you have 2 minutes then I’m going to go watch the game. How horrible of a marriage relationship that would result from that attitude! The law of God points us to our wretchedness and our need for a saviour.
Isaiah 6:5 “5 And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!””
Luke 5:8 “8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.””
Job 42:6 “6 therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes.””
There is a visceral response to our depravity when we see the law of God, but the Word of God doesn’t just leave us in our sin and depravity but it gives us promises, and hope, and the knowledge of our adoption in Christ! When we obey and walk out what God’s Word says we will be blessed for doing God’s Word. We will be blessed for putting action to what God gives us. James here can literally be translated that “This man shall be blessed in his doing.” God sets us free through His Word.
Psalm 119:45 “45 and I shall walk in a wide place, for I have sought your precepts.”
John 15:3 “3 Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you.”
Ephesians 5:26 “26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word,”
Simply glancing in the mirror is not enough but we must study and peer closely into God’s Word every day. We must listen for the leading of the Holy Spirit as we read that He guides us in all truth. If we do this, then by faith, we can and will be doers of the Word and not just hearers. We must follow God’s Word in ACTIVE obedience.
Share the Word vs 26-27
Finally, our third imperative is that we share the Word. First we Receive the Word, then we Practice the Word, and finally we Share the Word.
The word “religious” (thrēskos) refers to external observances. The outward ritualistic practices which a person may think are commendable are considered to be worthless (mataios, “futile, fruitless, useless”) if there is no parallel control, or tight rein on the tongue, a theme elaborated more fully in 3:1–12. Such a person deceives himself (apatōn kardian heautou, lit., “misleads or seduces his own heart”; cf. a different word for deceive in 1:22).
Too often in todays culture we look at religion as a dirty word. We may say I’m not religious, I just follow Jesus or as a church I helped with years ago had bumper stickers made that said, It’s not religion, it’s relationship. However, we see here that we should have religion but religion requires action as well. This greek word for religion only appears 5 times in the New Testament and two of them are right here in James letter.
The Bible Exposition Commentary Chapter Four: Quit Kidding Yourself (James 1:19–27)
Pure religion has nothing to do with ceremonies, temples, or special days. Pure religion means practicing God’s Word and sharing it with others, through speech, service, and separation from the world.
That to have pure religion, to truly follow God and His Word we must watch our words. We must watch how we talk to others, how our speech reflects our heart. That when our heart is fully seeking after God and the Holy Spirit is at work in our lives our speech will reflect that and when we are seeking after our own interests and our evil desires, our words will reflect that as well.
Luke 6:45 “45 The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.”
After seeing ourselves in the mirror of God’s Word, and we see our need of Jesus to save us, and we see He has done so, and we are no longer slaves to sin, but we are slaves to Christ, and we walk in the freedom of His Word, then we seek to server others and their needs before we serve our own needs. When Isaiah saw the Lord and cried out in shame at his own condition, he after this realization and subsequent cleansing, saw the people and their need.
Isaiah 6:5–8 “5 And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” 6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.” 8 And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.””
We take care of others and we remain unspotted from the evil of the world around us. When we look at the history of the early church they were seen as societal disrupters in Rome because they looked after those that Roman society cast out and ignored. Those, the very least of those, that were around them found grace, safety, and care in the arms of the early church. As the children of a Holy God we exist in this world, surrounded by evil, but we are not to be of this world, we are simply in it.
John 17:11–16 “11 And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. 12 While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. 13 But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. 14 I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 15 I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.”
We are in this World to lead others to Christ through the power of the Gospel, both at work in our lives, and proclaimed at the top of our voices in every avenue and street where God sends us. We do not conform to this world to look more like the world. This is a travesty that is being seen in churches across the country and the world today, as we try to be more and more like the world to “attract” people to Christ. This is like the old analogy of going out and wrestling in the mud with the hogs in order to get them clean. You won’t get the hog clean and the mud will be covering you when you are done. We are told
Romans 12:1–2 “1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
If we are to minister to the world around us, if we are to proclaim the power of the Gospel in our lives and out of our lips, then we must remain pure and unspotted from the World around us and we must put action to the Gospel. The goal of the believer should be to walk in spiritual maturity, to remain holy before God, and to put action to the Word of God. If we will anchor ourselves in God’s truth, if we will fully place our trust and our lives in the God of all creation, then when trials and temptations come in our lives we will not be destroyed but we will stand on the firm foundation of Jesus Christ and we will emerge triumphant because;
2 Chronicles 20:15 “15 And he said, “Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: Thus says the Lord to you, ‘Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God’s.”
Ending Scripture:
2 Corinthians 2:14 “14 But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere.”