Series: Faith & Works; LISTENING and DOING

James 1:19 - 27, Matthew 7:24 - 25

Today’s Text Scripture: James 1:19–27

“Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain. Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.”

Matthew 7:24-25

Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: 25  And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock

Introduction

Welcome back to our 5-week series from the book of James: Faith & Works. If you were here last week, you’ll remember that we looked at two interrelated ideas from the book of James. Last week we tackled the ideas of testing and persevering.

From the very start James is encouraging us to rejoice in the midst of our trials and sufferings. In the first half of chapter 1 we learn that adversity calls us to go higher, to be greater, and to trust deeper as we journey through life towards the eternal promise we have in Christ. This is an incredibly important message for believers all over the world and especially those who are in areas where there is ongoing persecution.

This week we’ll be finishing up chapter one as James encourages his readers to be both hearers and doers of the word. His main point here is that it’s one thing to listen and receive the word, and it’s another thing to act upon it. James doesn’t have much patience for those who only listen and never act. He develops this theme and expands his thoughts throughout the rest of the book of James, but the section we’ll be looking at today is where it all begins.

And it’s important to remember over the next few weeks that James was a good pastor who deeply cared for his church. At times he may sound condescending or harsh, but his letter is motivated by love and compassion for the health of his church. His seeming lack of patience for apathy may be motivated by the persecution his church was daily facing from the culture around them. The truth was that they simply didn’t have the time or luxury to engage in a lukewarm faith. In many cases it was truly a life or death choice for those in the early church.

Believers are to both hear (receive) the Word and act upon it. The person who both listens and responds is blessed in his/her doing.

Which begs the question for us today, would we be more inclined to act on the teachings of Jesus if our lives were on the line? Would external persecution motivate our faith?

I know we won’t fully answer these questions today, and maybe not even throughout our series. But we’ve got to start somewhere.

If you have kids, or you’ve at some point in your life been a kid, then this next example is going to make a lot of sense.

Have you ever asked one of your kids to do something and you were pretty certain they heard you… In fact you even got a verbal confirmation or head nod… Only to find that many hours later the thing you asked for never got done. Or, have you ever been the kid in that scenario?

Either way, there’s something specifically annoying about being ignored. Or in this case, being heard, possibly even acknowledged, and then ignored. This is a bit of the idea behind listening and doing that we’re going to cover today. Listening & Doing

LISTENING & DOING

You may have heard this parable before, but instead of getting into our James passage for the day I’m going to start in Matthew 21 with the parable of the two sons.

Read Matthew 21:28-32

But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work today in my vineyard. 29 He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went. 30 And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not. 31 Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you. 32 For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him. 

In this passage, Jesus is making a powerful point about listening and doing. Jesus says that the “tax collectors and prostitutes” will be entering the kingdom ahead of the chief priests and the Pharisees because they listened and responded to the message of John the Baptist.

With that in mind, here’s an important question that comes directly from the two sons' parable; “Which of the two did what his father wanted?” This parable should cause you to think long and hard about which son you most resemble in the parable. Are you listening to the words of Jesus? Are you hearing His voice through the encouragement of the Bible? Does listening even matter if there’s no response?

Receive 1 - RECEIVE THE WORD OF GOD

James 1:19-27

Our text today begins with James addressing his hearers as beloved brothers… or said another way, the church family that I love. Like I’ve said before, he was a good pastor, who deeply cared for his congregation. In fact, he cared enough to share with them the blunt truths that follow throughout the rest of his letter… Beginning with the encouragement to be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger.

I’ve heard it said that we all have two ears and one mouth, so we should listen twice as much as we speak…As I’m sure we all know, this advice would prove itself to be quite useful if we would simply respond accordingly. James spends a lot of his letter addressing the words we use, the way we speak, and the power of what he calls, the tongue. And even in this initial verse for our day, we hear the invitation to slow down, listen carefully, and respond accordingly.

“Be slow to get angry,” James says, “because the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” (vs. 1:20) Not only can anger lead to sin and ruin our witness to others, it can ruin the relationships we have around us. When anger leads to sin, it does not produce the righteousness of God.

So therefore, “put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.” (vs. 1:21) James is admonishing his hearers to set aside the filthiness, and the rampant wickedness. None of which will take one into the Kingdom of heaven. But instead he says, “receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.”

After hearing that we should understand that the word of God is “implanted” in us, and “is at work” in us, and “abides” in us, and (James 1:21 says) “saves” us. We cannot easily overstate how profoundly powerful and important the word of God is for our lives. If the word of God does not rank with your most cherished possessions, you need to do a reality check on your life. Nothing apart from God himself is more important and powerful than his word.”

We must receive the word in our lives. We must learn to throw off everything else, every hindrance that entangles us (Hebrews 12:1-2) and every deception that looks to steal, kill, and destroy our lives. (John 10:10) We need to RECEIVE THE WORD OF GOD!

And along with receiving, we are also encouraged to act.

Called to action. 2 - CALLED TO ACTION

The next line from our passage in James is one that many commentators and theologians believe to be the central message of the letter. It reads, “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.”

Can you imagine if a football player caught the perfectly thrown ball but then just stood there and looked at it? Or if a doctor delivered a perfectly healthy baby only to have the parents stare at the baby for the rest of its life?

These examples sound so odd, it’s hard to imagine them happening, but that’s the point James is trying to make too. He expands upon it in the next 2 verses.

Read James 1:22–23 (NIV)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. 

To simply receive the word, the message, the teaching, the encouragement, the sermon, the devotional, etc… isn’t God’s best for you. His best is found in the response to His word. At the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says:

“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.” (Matthew 7:24-25) ESV

As believers, we are called to be people of action. For example, the great commission in Matthew 28 begins with the word “Go.” And, as we learned last week, we must learn to persevere, counting the many trials we face in our “going” as joy.

In verse 1:25(ESV) James encourages us, “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.”

Don’t forget the word. Don’t take your eyes off Christ. Persevere in the calling and respond to the message of freedom you’ve been given. Remember you have been CALLED TO ACTION

A Few Thoughts. 3 - A FEW THOUGHTS

In our day and time many of us spent time on social media. And on those plat forms, you could be witnessing escalating tensions in social media discussions and community events that lead to division. To put God’s Word into action, engage in respectful dialogues that promote understanding rather than argument. When you post or comment, frame your contributions through the lens of Galatians 5:22-23, focusing on kindness, patience, and love. Furthermore, consider hosting community discussions or forums that focus on common ground and healing rather than controversy, thereby being a catalyst for change.

To finish off our section, pastor James gives some incredibly practical instruction in verses 26 and 27. James is passionate about the words we use and the power of the tongue. In verse 26 he bluntly states, “If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless.”

I’m sure we’ve all said things we regret, and I sure that there are things we’ve said that we wish we could take back.

What James is talking about isn’t the occasional slip up or foolishness but rather the unwillingness to restrain one’s words. The unwillingness to see the power of our words to build others up or tear them down. The person who won’t go see an anger management counselor or receive correction for their filthy - vulgar mouth. This person, if they also profess to be a BELIEVER, deceives themselves into thinking that their words don’t matter.

And conversely, if you don’t want to have a worthless religion, but rather a pure and undefiled one, then “visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and keep yourself unstained from the world.”

That’s putting the words of Christ to action. That’s being a person of action and not of meaningless talk. Another way to say it today would be this; Stop talking about all the good you’re going to do for others and start doing good for others. 

“Be doers of the word, and not hearers only…”

Conclusion

Admittedly, this passage of scripture, and the book of James, is a tough pill to swallow. There is much to feel conviction about and much to consider in our lives when we truly stop to consider what things we are actually doing in response to our hearing.

● Do my words align with the Christian witness I profess?

● Am I letting my anger turn into sin? Am I refusing to change for the better?

● What have I done lately in response to my faith?

● Do I talk more than I act?

● Does listening matter if I don’t respond?

These are a few of the questions that cross my mind, and I’m sure you have more to add to the list. But in the midst of the conviction that comes from a passage like this, it’s important to remember the heart behind it all, which is the very heart of God.

The same God who is compassionate and loving and sent His one and only Son to redeem mankind. This same God wants us to be realistic about our faith and think clearly about the things that may be hindering us from experiencing our best in Him.

So, if there is anything holding you back from action today, would you consider letting it go? Would you commit to praying this week that God would give you the courage to “go” as the great commission says, and to respond in righteousness to the goodness of the gospel message.

Let’s pray together.

Prayer: “God in heaven, give us the courage to be people of action. Help us to not only hear and receive, but also to respond in righteousness to the high calling of Christ.”