A Faith that Works Listens

Continue our series on James. Open up to James 1:19-26. Or you can navigate your phone to James.

I think of that and am reminded of how technology has come. If 30 years ago I said that I would be considered crazy!

If you are under 30 you don’t know how it was. We would leave the house and no one would know where we were. They couldn’t call us, text us, or track us. It was terrible. It was like being Amish – except that we were driving cars.

Even when cell phones became more affordable and accessible, things were still spotty. Coverage wasn't always the best. So, cell providers would really try to sell you on their superior coverage.

Hearing is important. Listening is important.

And today as we look at James 1:19-26 that’s where I want to focus – listening, hearing. Let’s read:

James 1:19–26 (NIV) — 19 My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20 because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. 21 Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. 22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do. 26 Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless.

James is addressing several topics here – he does that often and then he will circle back and dive into a topic deeper. Three things I see:

Listening

Controlling your tongue

Not just listening, but doing

All three are great topics and need to be talked about. But James will circle back to the tongue I chapter 3, so I’m going to put that on the back burner. He will circle back to hearing and doing in chapter 2, so I will also put that on the back burner. Today I want to focus on that opening command:

Everyone should be quick to listen.

The NIV may not carry the command as strongly as other translations and this is a command, not a suggestion.

James 1:19 (NLT) — 19 Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.

James 1:19 (NASB 2020) — 19 You know this, my beloved brothers and sisters. Now everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger.

Are you quick to listen? Are you anxious to hear what others are saying to you? Hearing and listening is so important.

How many mistakes have you made because you didn’t listen to instructions?

How many times have we responded in an ungodly manner because we didn’t listen?

How many times have we neglected a chore or a request because we didn’t listen?

Before we know what to do and how to do it we must be listeners!

A Faith that Works Listens.

And not just listens but is eager to listen. And that means more than just what we want to hear, it means eager to hear instruction, advice, criticism. Are we quick to listen even to things we sometimes don’t want to hear?

Listening is important to grow, to learn, to level up in life.

We have some teachers here. How important is it to you that you present your lessons in a way so that children will listen? How many times do you have to remind your students to listen? How many strategies do you have to call your students back to listening?

Doesn’t help at all if there is no one listening. You can have all the best lessons and all the best advice but if no one listens what good is it? Jesus was a teacher and he had the same challenge. That’s why you hear him say things like this:

Matthew 11:15 (NIV) — 15 Whoever has ears, let them hear.

Matthew 13:18 (NIV) — 18 “Listen then to what the parable of the sower means:

Matthew 15:10 (NIV) — 10 Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen and understand.

Matthew 21:33 (NIV) — 33 “Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place.

Luke 6:27 (NIV) — 27 “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,

Luke 8:18 (NIV) — 18 Therefore consider carefully how you listen. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they think they have will be taken from them.”

Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22 (NIV) — 7 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

Romans 10:17 (NIV) — 17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.

Without hearing, we have no faith. Without listening, our faith will never grow. A faith that works listens! We have to be eager to listen!

I love how James illustrates this in 1:22-25.

James 1:22–25 (NIV) — 22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.

He compares listening to looking in a mirror. We all have mirrors – this is a timeless illustration. Why do you look at yourself in a mirror? I can think of two responses:

You want to admire yourself. You give yourself a big smile and you say to yourself, “Man, you are looking good.” I suppose that’s okay. It’s a little vain but it’s okay.

You want to see if there’s anything out of place and fix it. You look at your hair. You inspect your teeth. Wipe away any dirt. Check your clothes. You look in a mirror to be more presentable.

What is James thinking about here? I think it’s obvious. Listening is like looking into a mirror to see what needs to be adjusted. Hearing what others say to us can reveal some things in our life that need to be changed. It’s important to be eager to hear what people are telling us.

Proverbs 19:20 (NIV) — 20 Listen to advice and accept discipline, and at the end you will be counted among the wise.

Proverbs 4:1 (NIV) — 1 Listen, my sons, to a father’s instruction; pay attention and gain understanding.

As hard as it may be we need to be eager to hear advice from other people. Of course, we need to weigh that advice but nonetheless we need to be quick to listen.

But even more important than listening to others we need to be quick to listen to the word of God.

James 1:25 (NIV) — 25 But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.

The perfect law seems to mean the teachings of the word, specially as we see them taught by Jesus. When we listen we are given freedom. I think we misunderstand what he Bible means by freedom. We tend to think it means we can do anything we want to do but biblically this term freedom seems to mean when we listen intently to the world of God and act upon it we are released from those sins that are enslaving us and killing us. In turn, we are free to experience the fuller blessings of our life in Christ.

Paul puts is well in Romans 8:

Romans 8:1–2 (NIV) — 1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.

When we listen intently to the word of God we are set free from this cycle we find ourselves in of sin and death.

So, why do you read the Bible? Why do you come to church?

To want to admire yourself. You want to see that you are so good. You want everyone to see that you have it altogether. To many go to church and rad the Bible simply to affirm what they already know and do. Now, that’s all too bad but it’s missing James’ point here.

You want to see if there’s anything out of place and fix it. Are you here today because you want to hear from God. And I hope you hear his approval but I also hope you hear him calling you to make some changes in your life. Going back to James:

James 1:21 (NIV) — 21 Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.

You will never be set free until you come to the mirror of God’s word with humility and a desire to get rid of the moral filth in your life that is ruining you!

I know I’ve focused on listening but I do think it’s necessary to talk just a little about putting into work what we have heard. So, let me close with some words from David Platt:

For some followers of Christ, there may be an area of outright disobedience or an area of delayed obedience. It’s an area of life where they have been putting off God’s Word. They know what God’s Word says, but they are not putting it into practice. The Word is saying, “Care for the poor,” and yet they’re still not doing it. The Word is saying, “Turn from gossip, turn from pornography, be reconciled to your spouse,” and they are ignoring it because it doesn’t fit with what they want. Or maybe the Word is saying something that so goes against the grain of the way this culture works, and they think, “I don’t know if anybody will understand.” In the end we must obey God’s Word, regardless of the circumstances or consequences. This is one of the marks of true faith as the Bible defines it.

I am frighteningly convinced that countless people within the church listen to the Word week by week, and yet it is not planted in their heart, and it is evident because they are not acting on it. Sure, they act on the things that agree with their lifestyle, or they act when it is convenient to obey. But when this Word confronts, challenges, convicts, or tries to change them, they put it aside and forget it, never putting it into action. Be careful if this describes your life because this is not the Christian life.

So don’t settle for just listening to it. There are surely many followers of Christ to whom God has been speaking for days, weeks, months, maybe even years, and by His Word He’s been calling them to do something in particular in their life or in their family. My counsel is this: Do it. Receive the Word humbly, remember it constantly, and obey it wholeheartedly.

David Platt. Exalting Jesus in Jame

My hope and prayer is that all of us can be open and receptive to the voice of God in our loves. I hope that we are quick to listen – eager to hear from him. He wants so desperately to be heard.