James 1:19-27 - Hear, Be, and Do
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Introduction:
The late Adlai Stevenson, a politician and Princeton graduate, spoke to a group of students at Princeton and once said:
“I understand I am here to speak and you are here to listen. Let’s hope we both finish at the same time.”
Adlai Stevenson
I love this tongue-in-cheek remark about the need to hear and listen. I can preach all day, and we won’t see anyone changed by the Word if you all aren’t listening. You could attempt to listen intently all day and not be changed by the Word if I am not preaching it.
Both are necessary as we seek to be changed by the Word.
I pray that today - I preach the Word and you hear, listen, and are changed by it.
But not only that, I pray that you are doers of the Word. The Bible isn’t a book to be read, pondered, and forgotten.
The Bible is to be obeyed. A proper approach to the Scriptures is to hear the Word, be changed by the Word and then be doers of the Word.
With that said, let’s jump in to our Scripture for today…
Read Full Scripture:
Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;
for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.
Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
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.
For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.
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.
If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless.
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.
Prayer
Today we are going to see three results that we should see in the lives of mature believers who hear the Word. The first is…
I. Hearing the Word Should Not Lead to Anger (19-21)
I. Hearing the Word Should Not Lead to Anger (19-21)
Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.
James starts off with a soft tone - calling his fellow believers beloved brothers. And then moves forward to drop some difficult teaching!
I am sure that most of us have heard these verses. We might even be able to recite them from memory. However, I fear that none of us have mastered this teaching practically!
As we have mentioned before, James is often called the Proverbs of the New Testament. And these verses sound just like a couple of verses that would come out of that book. He packs a lot of punch here.
First we are told to be quick to hear…
It is hard to be quick to hear. We have things to say. We want others to know what we think. Yet, God commands us to be listeners before hearers. As it commonly asserted - we have two ears and one mouth for a reason!
But what are to be quick to hear?
In context, we are to be quick to hear the Word of God. Instead of voicing our own opinions, we should be ready to hear what God has to say to us through His Word. Listening requires humility.
When we are good listeners to the Word, we show our high regard to the Lord. We show that we value what He has to say far above our own thoughts and ideas.
And then we are told be slow to speak. That doesn’t come naturally to most of us. Some here might naturally be more quiet and reserved. But even quiet people can become quick to speak when they feel like they are being misunderstood or treated poorly or if they are passionate about a certain topic.
Why do most of us struggle with being quick to speak?
It is likely because of pride. We think we already know the answer before someone else speaks. Yet, listen to the book of Proverbs rebuke our natural proclivity to speak first and listen second…
Whoever restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding. Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.
That is a tough word there! In an effort to show how much we know, we actually tend to do the opposite much of the time. We may show our foolishness and ignorance because we are quick to speak. Instead of making ourselves look better - we make ourselves look worse!
We live in a world where it is considered powerful to be quick to speak. Everyone is looking for a platform to push their ideas and image. Yet, James and the book of Proverbs here, warns us to be wise in how we speak. We need to be thoughtful with the words that we say.
Jesus actually tells us that we will give an account for every word we say in Matthew 12:36.
One of the most important practical teachings that we can take from these first two charges from James is this:
Be humble and be teachable.
If we want to grow in our walk with the Lord, we must remain humble and teachable to the Word of God. We must be willing to hear and listen.
And finally - James tells us to be slow to anger. James go on to say that the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.
In other words, although it is possible to be angry and not sin - it’s just not very likely!
Ephesians 4:26 tells us that we will be angry. It is inevitable that someone is going to push your buttons or tick you off. However, we are told to not sin in our anger. In times when anger rears up its ugly head, we must rely on the Holy Spirit to give us peace and joy and self-control. We must allow the fruit of the Spirit to rid us of anger.
Is there an approvable righteous anger?
Perhaps. But James warns us here that man’s anger does not produce the righteousness of God. Because of our fallen nature, man struggles to rightly apply righteous anger. God can be righteously angry. Jesus was righteously angry as He overturned the tables in the temple (John 2:14-17). He was able to be angry and not sin.
Yet, for us, it is difficult to remain righteous in the midst of anger. Unfortunately, even in the midst of our so-called righteous anger, it is most certainly difficult for us to not become God’s proverbial new prophet per se. We can quickly elevate ourselves to a higher place than where we really are. And our pride can quickly get the best of us.
I really struggle with many of the false teachers of our day. When I hear false teachers twist the Scriptures and deceive people, as they say in the south - it burns my britches! However, I have noticed when I start getting upset and angry about false teachers, I start to miss my own sinfulness. Though I certainly should combat false teaching, I must do it with humility, restraint, and self-control.
In context, this warning is also to those who find their anger at the true preaching of the Word. Some respond to the truth of God’s Word with anger and resentment. If I preached many of my messages in a more progressively leaning gathering - I am sure that smoldering anger and resentment would be perfuse - with the occasional burst of anger directed toward me!
Yet, our response to God’s Word must never be anger - but instead it should be humble acceptance, belief, and obedience.
To summarize these first three charges, theologian J.A. Motyer beautifully stated:
“The great talker is rarely a great listener, and never is the ear more firmly closed than when anger takes over.”
J.A. Motyer
May we be humble before the Word of God. May we be quick to hear it, slow to speak as we humbly sit under it, and slow to anger as we are rebuked and taught by it.
Moving forward to verse 21 James states:
Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
A right response to the Word of God isn’t smoldering anger. Instead, it is acceptance.
It is meekness that is blessed by the Lord. Meekness allows us to receive the implanted word - namely the Gospel which saves us. Only those who are humble and meek can be saved. We must agree with God that we are sinners. We must not be spending our time considering the sin in others and ignoring our own.
I love how clearly that we see the Gospel clearly laid out here in verse 21:
Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
The first half of this verse speaks of repentance and the second half speaks of faith.
These are both necessary for true salvation.
We repent by putting away all filthiness and rampant wickedness.
The Greek word for filthiness speaks of a sort of moral defilement or impurity. The term is actually closely linked to the wax of someone’s ear. In context, this word makes a lot of sense. Have any of you ever had an ear so full of wax that you could not hear? I have before. My stethoscope loves to cause this issue! It is terrible. It sounds like you are under water all of the time. There is no better feeling than once this blockage is removed and you can hear again.
In the same way, those who are living in moral corruption are unable to rightly and completely hear the Word. They need drawn by the Lord and to repent in order to hear the Word of truth clearly.
The word for filthiness can also refer to taking off soiled garments. This also tracks well with what James is saying. We are to allow Christ to remove our soiled garment and place His robe of righteousness upon us.
We see this clearly articulated in Zechariah 3:3-5:
Now Joshua was standing before the angel, clothed with filthy garments. And the angel said to those who were standing before him, “Remove the filthy garments from him.” And to him he said, “Behold, I have taken your iniquity away from you, and I will clothe you with pure vestments.” And I said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the Lord was standing by.
How great is our God Who removes our filthiness from us!
The Greek word for wickedness used here refers to moral corruption in general. And the adjective placed with it speaks of an abundance of it. Not only are we naturally wicked before we are saved - but we are full of wickedness - rampant wickedness. We must confess our wickedness and sin and repent from it in order to come to a saving knowledge of Christ.
Moving to the second half of verse 21 we see that…
We receive the implanted Word through faith in Jesus’s finished work on the cross.
We have the righteousness of Christ imputed to us - given to us when we repent and place our faith and trust in Christ.
We receive this free gift of salvation from what Jesus did for us. And when we are saved, we are born again and are filled with His Holy Spirit Who guides and directs us.
Jesus came to earth as truly God and truly man - born of the virgin Mary. He suffered and died on the cross for our sins and rose three days later. We now can be saved because He bore our sins on that rugged tree.
If you haven’t trusted Jesus for your salvation, I’d love to speak with you after the service. He can deliver us from our anger and sin. He can give us peace and joy - even in the midst of our struggles. Come to Him and He will give you rest for your soul.
Brothers and sisters - as we already mentioned may your response to God’s Word not be anger but be acceptance.
Next we see that…
Scripture References: Proverbs 17:27-28, Matthew 12:36, Ephesians 4:26, John 2:14-17, Zechariah 3:3-5
II. Hearing the Word Should Lead to Action (22-25)
II. Hearing the Word Should Lead to Action (22-25)
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
James isn’t holding anything back. Now he challenges us to action. In fact, many commentators have claimed that verse 22 is the theme verse of the book of James. James wants to remind believers that true faith works. We will see that taught clearly and even more directly in our next chapter. If we are following the Lord, we will be doers of the Word.
It is great to hear the Word of God. It is great to read it and to learn it.
But without obedience to it, one is no better off. Attaining a high theological understanding is not where the Christian life ends. Theology is great - but without practice, it leads one to self-righteousness and pride - and as James states here - to self-deception.
I have met men who knew their theology well. They were well read and could quote many of the historical leaders of the church. They knew many doctrines found in the Scriptures. They could even quote many Scriptures. Yet, their hearts were hard. They were full of pride. Talking with them was like talking with an AI bot on a computer. They were devoid of compassion and love.
Friends:
When we study the Scriptures, we don’t study them as a textbook. We study them as the true Word of God.
We are told that the Word of God is living and active (Hebrews 4:12). In this great verse we learn that it should change us from the inside out. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 tells us that the Word of God will train us for righteousness. It will equip us. It doesn’t stop with teaching - though it does that - it also reproves and disciplines us. It changes us.
Unfortunately, many hear the Word of God and think that is enough.
They sit in church on Sunday mornings and leave unchanged by the Word. Their life isn’t changed by it. They don’t obey it.
James describes such persons in verses 23 and 24…
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. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.
People who hear the Word and refuse to be changed by it and be obedient to it are like this man.
They look into the mirror of the Word - seeing their sin up close and personal, and walk out of the service unchanged and unbothered.
How many people across our world sit in a church on Sunday mornings and leave the service unchanged - forgetting what they looked like in the mirror of God’s Word?
Friends, there is no substance in a knowledge that brings no heart change or action.
I want to challenge each of you today. It isn’t enough to give a head nod to what is said as I preach. It isn’t enough to even agree with what is preached. The Word of God needs to change you from the inside out. And you need to respond to it. With the power of the Holy Spirit, you can obey the Word. And as a believer, you must obey the Word.
Many struggle to want to hear the Word because of the conviction that it brings. The mirror of God’s Word reveals the darkness and sin within our lives. It isn’t pleasant to become aware of just how sinful you are.
Yet, may we embrace this truth and repent and be changed by the Holy Spirit through His Word. This requires humility and faith.
Jesus will grow you through His Word. He will continue conforming you into His likeness. You just need to humble yourself before Him.
Don’t forget what you see when the Word reveals it you you, Church.
In verses 23 and 24 we have seen the foolish man observe himself in the mirror, walk away from the mirror, and quickly forget what he saw.
Yet, in the following verse we see that the mature believer looks into the mirror of God’s perfect law, perseveres, and acts.
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.
The mature believer not only hears - but does. He understands the perfect law - the law of liberty. He perseveres with his actions. And he will be blessed.
God blesses those who are obedient to Him. He desires for us to have a heart bent on serving and obeying Him.
He isn’t impressed by your head knowledge if you don’t have a soft heart.
Jesus could have had His pick of the Pharisees and scribes of His day. Many of the scribes had even memorized much of the Scriptures. Talk about a great head knowledge!
Yet, Jesus chose a tax collector (Matthew), some fishermen (Peter, Andrew, James, and John), and even an extreme political zealot named Simon.
Why did he choose these men? He cared about their heart. All of His disciples - other than Judas who betrayed Him - would persevere and help spread the Gospel. These men were doers of the Word.
The Pharisees and scribes knew the Word. They could quote it and even teach it to others. Yet, they were not doers of it. And they were not changed by it.
May we be true doers of the Word - who persevere in obedience to our Savior. May we see ourselves clearly in the mirror of God’s Word and allow the Holy Spirit to change us from the inside out. Though the Word ‘do’ is mentioned throughout these verses - the real call is to be. Be in Christ. He will do these works in and through you when you allow Him to work in your life through His Word.
One final thing we want to be sure to grasp in verse 25 is that the commands or perfect of law of God is a law of liberty.
Many of those who refuse to respond and obey the Word of God have a wrong view of it. They feel like the commands of God restrain them from having the fun they want to have and living the life they want to live. However, Psalm 16:6 says…
The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places…
In other words, the commands of God are not burdensome (1 John 5:3).
His boundary lines are pleasant. His commands are right and good. They are for your good. As we saw last week, God isn’t holding good things back from you. Everything is for your good and His glory.
We just need to trust Him - that He knows what is good for us more than we do.
As we move to our final point today, may we trust our wonderful Savior and His Word as we avoid anger, as we become men and women of action, and finally we learn that…
Scripture References: Hebrews 4:12, 2 Timothy 3:16-17, Psalm 16:6, 1 John 5:3
III. Hearing the Word Should Lead to Affection (26-27)
III. Hearing the Word Should Lead to Affection (26-27)
If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless. 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.
We oftentimes see the word religious and think of the Catholic church or think of other more sterile and works-based religious systems such as Islam or Buddhism. Many evangelicals today, instead, like to talk about Christianity being a relationship and not a religion. Though there is much truth in this, Christianity is still a religion.
We should be devoted to Christ and His Word.
The word religious here means devout or demonstrative.
True believers demonstrate their love for Christ by their obedience to His Word.
We must watch overcorrecting the religious man-made ideas of the Catholic church and others by creating a false religion of feelings.
Many churches today teach the relational component of Christianity without the devotion required. This is just as dangerous as teaching religion alone.
Friends:
We are called to be devoted to Christ AND to have a relationship with Him.
We obey, and we love Jesus. It isn’t one or the other.
And James gives us a few ways that we show this devotion to Christ.
These are three quick litmus tests we can use to check our heart towards the Lord.
3 Ways We Show Our Devotion to Christ
1 - We bridle our tongue.
We will cover this in much more detail in chapter 3, but we must remember the necessity of watching our mouths.
This goes back to being slow to speak. Self-control of our speech is one of the most difficult things to get a reign on.
The word bridle here means to exert control over. We use a bridle for horses to get them where we want them to go. Likewise, we need to control our own tongues.
May we keep our tongues from evil and our lips from speaking lies (Psalm 34:13). May we honor God with our speech.
Next we see that we show our devotion to God as we…
2 - We do good to those who can’t return the favor.
Jesus called us to help those who couldn’t necessarily pay us back.
He said also to the man who had invited him, “When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”
Here we see James expound upon this concept further. Helping orphans and widows is a call and command from God.
When we help those who cannot repay us, we show the sacrificial love of Christ living within us.
God is called a defender of the fatherless and the widow in Deuteronomy 10:18. He cares about them. And He sees how we treat them as well.
In fact, Jesus actually tells us in Matthew 25:40 that what we do for the least of these - those who are suffering, those who are hungry and thirsty, those who need clothes, those who are sick and imprisoned - that we do it for Him.
Another important action word in verse 27 is the word visit. This word doesn’t mean to make a quick appearance. It means to care for and help in whatever way is needed.
God has called us to do something, Church. Our heart should be for the lost and for the least of these. We should be willing to serve in whatever way the Lord has for us to serve. May we be doers of the Word. May there be substance to our faith.
And lastly, God calls us to…
3 - Be holy
This is an overarching theme of the Bible. We are to be holy for He is holy. He has set us apart. Though we are to be in the world, we are not to be of the world.
The command for us to be holy because our Lord is holy is stated clearly at least 5 times in the book of Leviticus (see the handout - Leviticus 11:44, Leviticus 19:2, Leviticus 20:7-8, Leviticus 20:26, Leviticus 21:8), and also found once in 1 Peter 1:16. This concept is also found many other times throughout the pages of the Bible.
God calls us to be unstained by the world. We are to be spotless, pure, and without blemish.
But many of us might hear that and realize that we aren’t those things much of the time.
Don’t we all continue to sin? Don’t we all keep falling short of God’s perfect standard?
Yes we do. But this doesn’t change the charge to press on and obey the Lord. This doesn’t diminish our need to be fully devoted to Christ.
How do we continue pursuing Christ when knowing that we do continue to fall short?
We can persevere because we know that when God sees us, He sees the finished work of Christ on the cross.
We know the truth of Romans 8:1:
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
Though our sins are as scarlet, He has washed them white as snow (Isaiah 1:18).
If you are a believer, you don’t strive for victory - you strive from a place of assured victory!
It is much easier to keep running the race when you know what is coming at the finish line! We can continue to allow the Lord to pick us up day after day despite our sinful tumbles. We can continue to strive to walk in the holiness that He calls us to because we know He never gives up on us.
And one day - He will remove this sinful flesh, and we will be blessed to live forever with Him unblemished in heaven for all eternity.
In the meantime, may hearing His Word bring out of you a great affection for Him.
Scripture References: Psalm 34:13, Deuteronomy 10:18, Matthew 25:40, Leviticus 11:44, Leviticus 19:2, Leviticus 20:7-8, Leviticus 20:26, Leviticus 21:8, 1 Peter 1:16, Romans 8:1, Isaiah 1:18
Conclusion:
As we come to a close, may we respond to the Word with acceptance and not with anger. May we humbly respond to the Word in repentance and faith.
May we also respond to the Word of God with action and with affection for our Savior. True love shows itself through action. We don’t work in order to be saved - but we work because we are saved. This will be a common theme for James in this great book.
Friends, may you hear, be and do. It isn’t enough to just hear the Word. It isn’t even enough to just do the Word. You must be born again. You must be in Christ. And then God will work in and through you to accomplish His good purpose in you.
