Responding to The Word: The Posture of a Receptive Heart

Read James 1:19-25

James 1:19–25 KJV 1900

19 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: 20 For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. 21 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. 22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. 23 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: 24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. 25 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.

The study of the Bible requires more than reading - it requires receiving.

A part of receiving is interpreting - you need to know what it means

Now this does not mean you will always understand everything you ever read in this great Book. (If that is the case I’m in trouble)

But it does mean you pay attention to what it is saying.

We call interpreting the Scriptures -Hermeneutics

There is whole set of rules, skills, and guidelines in this field - but I want to boil it down to four words - (this is by no means exhaustive)

As you read the Bible you are going to find at least four ways to interpret what you read. We are going to use all four this morning in our examination of the text - but before that I want to give you their meaning:

Prescriptive - Some things in Scripture are prescriptive - meaning the Bible is prescribing how we should live - When you go to the doctor with an infection - they are most likely going to prescribe you an antibiotic - take this 2 times daily for 10 days or some such like

Prescriptive statements in the Bible are commands that we should obey and follow.

Descriptive - There are times when the Bible speaks to us in descriptive terms - it describes something that happens.

One of my recent favorite musical pieces is Ferde Grofé's [FUR-dee grow-FAY] Grand Canyon Suite - especially the first part Sunrise as the music plays you can picture in your mind the sun slowly creeping up over the horizon and splashing down into the canyon below shimmering and shining on the tiny ribbon of water at the bottom. He, with music, describes the event so beautifully

Declarative / Indicative - There are times in when the Bible is just making a truth claim. When it speaks in a declarative sense it is telling us what is true. in our text we find an example - where it speaks of how the Word of God “is able to save your souls” (James 1:21)

Normative - When the Bible speaks of What applies universally. We must pay attention to context and the rest of scripture or we can get very confused on this. There should be no debate scripturally at least on whether or not Christians can eat pork. We might have plenty of health reasons not to - but scripturally that was lifted in at least two places in the New Testament. But there are commandments and instructions that are for everybody. They are normative.

Our text contains all four of these hermeneutic principles and some of them even overlap, perhaps we will have time to explore it closer.

Whenever you read or listen to the scripture you should be asking - “How does this apply to my life” and you should also be sincerely and honestly asking which of these does it fit into?

Is it:

Prescriptive

Descriptive

Declarative/Indicative

Normative

Just a short little caveat before I go further - you have to train yourself to let the Word of God speak to you- you do not speak into the Word of God. - This is one way to do that

But James who is writing to the church - to believers - to those in the community of Christians gives a short passage on the importance of the Word of God in a believer’s life.

But James begins with the importance of our response to the word of God and the posture of a receptive heart.

Exalting Jesus In James The Journey of Obedience

I. We Receive the Word Humbly (1:19–21).

II. We Remember the Word Constantly (1:22–25).

III. We Obey the Word Wholeheartedly (1:22).

One of the biggest descriptive statements in this passage is found in James 1:21

James 1:21 KJV 1900

21 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.

Here James tells us exactly how the Word come to be within us.

The KJV calls it “the engrafted word”

But that brings to mind the grafting of plants. Taking one kind of plant and causing it to grow on another plant

But the idea of the Greek here is more that of implanting. One described that as being “organically united” a being joined into a single living entity.

The context also suggests it is a postnatal acquisition - or something that happens at the New Birth or conversion

Although Dr. Richard S. Taylor makes quite a compelling argument for this referring to the experience of entire sanctification - we will leave that for another day -

but what is important to see - is while this is descriptive - it is also declarative/indicative - we see that when we are born again the Word of God is implanted put into our hearts - Just as God prophesied:

Jeremiah 31:31–34 KJV 1900

31 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, That I will make a new covenant With the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: 32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers In the day that I took them by the hand To bring them out of the land of Egypt; Which my covenant they brake, Although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord: 33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, And write it in their hearts; And will be their God, And they shall be my people. 34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: For they shall all know me, From the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: For I will forgive their iniquity, And I will remember their sin no more.

Key elements of the prophecy:

“I will make a new covenant…”

“Not like the covenant… when I brought them out of Egypt”

“I will put my law within them”

“I will write it on their hearts”

“I will forgive their iniquity… remember their sin no more”

and again in Ezekiel 36:25–27

Ezekiel 36:25–27 KJV 1900

25 Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. 26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.

Key Components:

“I will give you a new heart”

“I will put my Spirit within you”

“Cause you to walk in my statutes”

What God promised to do, James assumes has begun—and now must be cooperated with

So what is our cooperation? What is the posture of a receptive heart?

I see where our passage gives us three ways to accomplish this:

1. Receive with Meekness (James 1:19-21)

What is meekness? It means gentleness of attitude and behavior - instead of the harshness just addressed, in our dealing with others. One lexicon noted that “gentleness” is often expressed as a negation of harshness or “not being harsh with people”

But meekness is not just about our behavior or how we are in interpersonal relationships - it is an inner spiritual quality and expression directed toward God.

When we are talking about the term “meekness” in our text we are talking about receiving the Word of God with it - having a teachable attitude and being submissive to God’s will.

We should not treat God’s Word as an adversary or kill joy - to resist

but rath approach it with a posture of openness so the Word of God can accomplish its saving work in your life.

So we come with

A Prepared Heart:

Begins with Quieting Our Noise (James 1:19)

James 1:19 “19 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:” NOTE: PRESCRIPTIVE/NORMATIVE

We are in a culture drowning in noise.

According to some sources there is approximately 1 1/2 -2 billion hours of speaking content on the internet - this is non-paywall content

Let’s think about this a minute:

If we take Low Estimate (1.31 billion hours): It would take approximately 149,441 years of continuous, 24/7 listening.

The High Estimate (2.02 billion hours): It would take approximately 230,435 years of continuous, 24/7 listening.

If a listener were to use "speed-listening" techniques common in digital consumption:

At 1.5x speed: The high estimate drops to 153,623 years.

At 2.0x speed: The high estimate drops to 115,217 years.

But then add to that - this though: Even if you could listen to 24 hours of content every day, you would fall further behind every second. With over 500 hours of video uploaded to YouTube every minute, the world produces roughly 720,000 hours of video every day.

Production vs. Consumption: It would take a single person roughly 82 years of non-stop listening just to finish the content uploaded to the internet in the last 24 hours.

God calls His people to create space for His Word to be received, rooted, and released in obedience.

We live in a world where:

Everyone is quick to speak—online, in conversations, in conflict.

Everyone is slow to listen—to each other, to wisdom, to God.

Everyone is overloaded—with information, opinions, and outrage.

Everyone is spiritually dehydrated—because noise has replaced nourishment.

James speaks directly into this cultural moment:

“Be quick to hear” confronts our distracted age.

The next step in our Posture of a receptive heart is..

Quitting Those Hindering Things (James 1:21 “21 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, ...”) NOTE: PRESCRIPTIVE/NORMATIVE

James uses the two great words to prescribe what we must do

All filthiness = not single isolated acts of sin - but the accumulated residue of moral degradation that sticks to the soul.

Related words are shame, obscenity, defilement, lasciviousness, licentiousness - it is the overall condition of being soiled - or the pervasive state resulting from habitual wrongdoing.

I love thrift store shopping. Now Goodwill's are nice - but I like looking through those shops that aren’t always so neatly organized and nice looking - that is where you sometimes find the good stuff.

We were in Bartlesville recently and went to a store like that called of all things - “The Junk Shop” Room after room of things piled, stacked, some things looked like they hadn’t been touched in years and the dust and grime had accumulated on them -

Like I said - I like going to stores like that - but when I leave - I always feel so dirty, and gross - especially if I have walked through racks of clothes - that probably were not washed before they were put on the rack

But this is somewhat the idea James is saying this filthiness is not just “a little messy”—it’s the kind of dirt that: sticks to you and makes you feel unclean even after you leave the environment

THINGS THAT DO THAT TO YOU SPIRITUALLY NEED YOU GOTTA QUIT!

James uses the idea of a garment - “lay apart”

you lay it off - you take it off - you stop - you quit!!!

The second word or phrase actually that James uses is “superfluity of naughtiness”

It is two Greek words

“superfluity” means an overflow, prevalence, surplus, excess, beyond the ordinary

“naughtiness” means malice, ill-will, desire to injure, wickedness, depravity, evil or trouble

The idea is not talking about an isolated act - but the abundance of wickedness - an overflowing condition where evil has accumulated and proliferated the heart and soul

R. S. Taylor equates this idea of “superfluity of naughtiness” to inbred sin, what some call carnality - or the sin nature that remains in the heart even after being born again.

Filthiness could be the acts of sin or committed sin - the superfluity of naughtiness the nature of sin in the heart

However it is these two work together as a depiction of spiritual contamination

James says “Lay APART” quit - let it go - Let God cleanse the heart,

"We talked about 'laying apart all filthiness'—the grime that sticks to us from the world's 2 billion hours of noise. Think of the plumbing in an old house. If the pipes are clogged with sediment and rust, it doesn't matter how much water the city pumps into the line; only a trickle will reach the faucet.

Some of us are frustrated because we read the Bible and 'feel nothing.' We hear the sermon and 'gain nothing.' It’s not because the Reservoir is empty—it’s because the pipes are clogged. James says the 'superfluity of naughtiness' acts like spiritual sediment. It blocks the 'implanted word' from reaching your soul. Tonight, don't just ask God for more 'water.' Ask Him to help you 'lay aside' the debris. When the blockage is gone, the Word doesn't just trickle; it flows, and it is 'able to save your souls.'"

Acquire What Has Been Implanted

We already talked some about the implanted word but the prescription is here

Receive - to accept an offer deliberately and readily - to take to oneself what is presented or brought by another.

You can receive something as true - receiving the Word of God takes more than just a passive exposure to it - it demands a deliberate assent to its truth claims

But it goes beyond just agreement or assent to its veracity or truth

To receive means to admit with the mind and heart, by implication and action to embrace and follow

James talks later about the difference between being a hearer and a doer of the Word of God.

We are to receive and receive and receive

There is somewhat of a paradox in this verse James 1:21 “... receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.”

James says this engrafted or implanted word is to be received

It is possible - it would seem, according to James, to have the word implanted but still have not received it

Possession and reception do not appear to be identical

When someone comes to your house and we invite them in - we typically usher them in enabling the welcome

When we receive the Word of God we are enabling the welcome so the word is experienced and lived out in our lives - when we receive and welcome the Word of God - it goes to work in our souls.

ANd we do this again, and again, and again

We don’t just get it by reading it through one time

in fact you will find something new almost every time you read - if you are receiving it.

Pray before you start and ask God to help you receive what he has for you.

The Story of the Bible Buried in the Sand After the Tsunami

(Documented after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami)

After the tsunami in 2004, relief workers found a small village church completely destroyed. Nothing remained — except a single Bible, half-buried in the sand, opened to a page that had survived the waves.

The page was James 1.

A relief worker later wrote:

“It felt like God was saying, ‘The waves can take everything else, but My Word still stands.’”

The villagers gathered around that Bible and read it aloud. They had lost homes, family members, and their entire way of life.

But they responded to the Word with tears, prayer, and hope.

The Tuning Fork (Resonance of the Heart)

"In a world of noise, how do we know we have truly 'received' the Word? Think of a tuning fork. If you strike a fork and hold it near a piano, only one string will begin to vibrate in response—the string that is tuned to the exact same frequency.

James says the Word is 'implanted' or 'engrafted' into us. When we 'receive with meekness,' our lives begin to resonate with the heart of God. We aren't just 'hearers' who listen to a sound and walk away. We become 'doers' because our souls have caught the frequency of the Truth. When the world strikes a note of 'wrath' or 'filthiness,' we don't vibrate. But when the Word speaks of 'liberty' and 'righteousness,' our whole being responds.

Is your heart tuned to the frequency of the Word today, or is it still vibrating with the noise of the world?"

Receive again and again the word of God that saves the soul.