Hearers and Doers James 1:21-2:13

James  •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented   •  30:41
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Faith in Action: Swift in Hearing and in Doing

1. Doers and Hearers

James 1:21–24 “Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of 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 observing his natural face in a mirror; 24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.”
“Swift to hear” is not just listening. It involves concentration on the Word of God, study and practice. It is laying aside distractions and sins and welcoming the word which delivers us. Peter puts it this way “Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, 2 as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby,” 1 Peter 2:1–2.
Many people hear the Word of God every week, but approach it with doubts, personal sin, preconceived notions, tradition, and personal theology. We are told to hear the Word with meekness. To be hearers means to be prudent students of the Word.
Eisegesis means to interpret the Word based on our personal experience. We err because we introduce our own bias, agenda, and presupposition to our reading of the Word. If I am offended by the Word and don’t want to obey its commands I will willingly misread to text to save my flesh and soften my convictions.
To practice the imparted Word means to be a doer of the Word.
Ezra 7:10 “For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the Law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach statutes and ordinances in Israel.”
Ezra prepared himself through prayer and meekness to seek God’s face in His Word. First he recieved the Word; then he did it; and finally he was qualified to teach it. (Nehemiah 8:8).

2. Perfect Law of Liberty

James 1:25–27 “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. 26 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. 27 Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.”
James continues with the admonition “being swift to hear” by referencing looking into the perfect law of liberty (see James 2:12). This person is not a forgetful hearer because he practices what he hears.
The liberty here is the opposite of bondage. It speaks of a law of without condemnation. The one who hears the Word of God and practices it. Jesus spoke of this in John 8:31–32 “Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”” There is a blessing in this life for the one who abides in His Word.
There are two “religions” mentioned in verses 26 and 27. One says do, the other says it is done. One is deceptive and useless saying you must perform to receive and keep the gift of salvation. True religion declares the grace of God that salvation is by grace through faith not works (Eph 2:8-9).
The law of Christ Galatians 6:2 “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”
Obedience now in not out of fear, but because of love. No yoke of bondage, but freedom.
2 Corinthians 3:6 “who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.”
Romans 7:6 “But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.”

3. Partiality Versus Principles

James 2:1–7 “My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality. 2 For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes, 3 and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, “You sit here in a good place,” and say to the poor man, “You stand there,” or, “Sit here at my footstool,” 4 have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? 5 Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you and drag you into the courts? 7 Do they not blaspheme that noble name by which you are called?”
Romans 2:11 “For there is no partiality with God.”
James is calling for a moral obedience to the swift hearing of the Word. In the sacred assembly of the saints there is no room for prejudice. James 2:1 describes Jesus as the Lord of glory. A heavenly perspective of the transcendence of glory. Each of us us created in His image. We too often forget that our Lord gave up this glory to be one of us and die on the cross for our sins.
in the Olivet discourse Jesus spoke this in a parable.
Matthew 25:40 “And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’”
Matthew 25:45 “Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’”
He is challenging those who walk by sight and judge others by outward appearances. Many times it is the “poor” among us who are the “rich” in faith. Spiritual millionaires walk among us. Heirs of the kingdom who are rewarded because they are quick to hear and because they love Christ. (James 1:12 the same requirement for the crown of life).
In training for ruling as an heir of the kingdom James is reminding us to love not just God our Father but also to love our fellow brethren. If we are to rule we need to exhibit a love that serves and lifts up the least in dignity.

4. Royal Law of Love

James 2:8–13 “If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well; 9 but if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors. 10 For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. 11 For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. 12 So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty. 13 For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.”
The royal law is love. It is reflected in true liberty. The Old Testament gave a law that brought bondage. The New Covenant brings with it the Law of Liberty (James 1:25). James, at the Jerusalem Counsel, called it a yoke that no one is able to bear in Acts 15:10. Romans 6:14 describes the Christian life, “For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.”
We please God when we function under grace. We received our salvation by grace in Ephesians 2:8-9. We walk in grace (Ps 84:11). The law of Christ (Gal 6:2) tells us to bear one another’s burdens. To love unconditionally, and to lay down our lives. And we will be judged at the Judgment Seat of Christ (2 Cor 5:9-11) by this standard.

5. Being Swift to Hear Requires a Reaction

Being a careful listener hears more than words, he catches the meaning and it moves him to action.
Proverbs 17:17 “A friend loves at all times, And a brother is born for adversity.”
Proverbs 18:24 “A man who has friends must himself be friendly, But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.”
John 15:14–15 “You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. 15 No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.”
Are you a friend of God? Are you a true brother to your fellow Christian? The Bible describes friends who exist in fair weather like the prodigals friends (Luke 15:13-14), but when the money is gone so are they.
Then there is the true friend of God who listens to what God commands.
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