Sermon Tone Analysis

James 1:19-21

Rooting Out Rot

 

“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 that God requires.

Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.”[1]

Observing our evangelical Zion, I note that we are infected with a debilitating virus that was once confined to those living in the world.

Our humour reflects what we watch on television.

Consequently, we are growing increasingly coarse and sarcastic in responding to those about us.

We defend ourselves in such a way that it appears that we no longer recognise the enemy.

We seem to believe that anyone who does not agree with us deserves our scorn, or even our rage.

James addresses the tendency of Christians to bring into the new life attitudes which should have been left in the world.

We will do well to review his words and learn how to root out rot in our lives.

*Assessing the Rot* — Holiness is a concept that is seemingly absent from contemporary religious life.

The holiness that is accepted among the saints appears artificial—a pale, insipid imitation of the real thing.

Our piety is outward; we substitute religious observance for true holiness.

The great tragedy of contemporary evangelicals is that we have what has been described as peg-leg religion—we have to strap it on every morning.

And though it gets us around, it is cold and lifeless.

Whereas our fathers were once concerned to honour God in all things, we are concerned to grab all the gusto we can, because we only go around once.

Let me pointedly address some of the observations I make concerning the absence of holiness.

There was a day when modesty in dress and demeanour was a mark of a young woman’s or a young man’s Christian walk.

I know that our grandmothers were somewhat fanatical about their dress, but somehow young women today, to say nothing of many older women, are indistinguishable from the world in their dress.

We attended a songfest for a missionary organisation several years back.

A number of churches were represented that evening, with musical groups from each of the several churches presenting music between the congregational singing.

I noted the dress of several of the young women from a group that still speaks of holiness as a doctrinal standard for their churches.

On their web site, the denomination makes the following statement: “We believe in holy living.”

The denomination makes a strong statement on the necessity of a holy life as a prerequisite to enjoying the blessings of God.

In order to maintain modesty, female dress is specifically addressed by the denomination.

As a group of young women from this particular congregation arose to present a special number that evening, I noted that each of the girls was dressed more like a common trollop than a representative of the Saviour.

Bare midriffs, plunging necklines and skin-tight pants were certainly not the standard of previous generations.

Lest you imagine that I am picking on another denomination to the exclusion of our own Baptist people, let me hasten to state that almost all the young women present that evening, and a surprising number of the adult women, were dressed in skimpy attire more suitable for a bar than for a church.

Baptists were overly represented in the crowd on that particular evening, just as I observe the dress of many young women attending services of churches I have pastored who would pronounced themselves to be Baptists.

Perhaps we have forgotten the apostolic admonition that declares, “I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarrelling; likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, but with what is proper for women who profess godliness—with good works” [*1 Timothy 2:8-10*].

The Apostle specifically addresses women’s dress, as that is an apparent problem.

According to this passage, women are to dress respectably, modestly and with self-control.

Women’s dress are addressed by the words, “respectable,” “modesty” and “self-control.”

Other translations clarify this understanding of Paul’s words.

The New Century Version states, “[W]omen should wear proper clothes that show respect and self-control.”[2]

According to the NET Bible, “[W]omen are to dress in suitable apparel, with modesty and self-control.”[3]

Yet another recent translation affirms that, “[W]omen are to dress themselves in modest clothing, with decency and good sense.”[4]

Modest dress demonstrates respect—for God and for those of the opposite sex, and self-control.

Commenting on this passage, Dr. Tommy Lea writes, “To dress ‘modestly’ demands that the women dress tastefully and not provocatively.

The term ‘dress’ (*/katastolē/*) describes the outward deportment of the women as expressed in the clothes they wear.

To practice ‘decency and propriety’ demands that the women not flaunt their … beauty.

The former word shows reserve in matters of sex, and the latter word indicates a mastery of the appetites, particularly in matters of sex.

The two terms refer to inner virtues.”[5]

The UBS Handbook on this epistle instructs translators, “The first thing then that the women are urged to pay attention to is their dress or /apparel/.

There are three qualifiers mentioned before /apparel: modestly, sensibly/ and /seemly/; these three terms are related and their meanings overlap in some ways.

/Modestly /comes from a word that can mean “modest” in the sense of well ordered and moderate, hence not excessive, but can also mean ‘proper,’ or ‘suitable,’ or ‘becoming,’ ‘simple,’ ‘unassuming.’

/Sensibly/ translates a word that means ‘moderate’ or ‘reasonable’ with the implication that the person is aware of what is best in a particular situation.

The third qualifier, /seemly/, translates a word that pertains to being proper or suitable and thus contributing to one’s attractiveness and being respected by others…  An alternative translation model is the following: “The Christian women should dress in a proper (or, discreet) way, wearing clothes that are both sensible (or, unassuming), not extravagant in the sight of others.”[6]

Another example of the deficit of holiness among contemporary Christians is revealed through our speech.

Language has degenerated among evangelical Christians; we sound like the world.

I am not speaking solely of coarse language, though our language does seem to be growing coarser, both among women and among men.

We Christians are prone to use sarcasm and vitriol to castigate those with whom we disagree instead of heeding the words of Scripture.

In *Ephesians 5:1-4*, Paul admonished believers, “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.

And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

“But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints.

*/Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place/*, but instead let there be thanksgiving.”

This admonition comes hard after previous instruction in the way God expects Christians to speak.

“*/Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up/*, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear” [*Ephesians 4:29*].

Neither of these observations immediately addresses the lack of gentleness, the absence of civility, or the apparent delight in harbouring hostility that now appears to mark the lives of many of the professed saints of God.

In part, this condition exists and is tolerated, perhaps even fostered, because churches are run like business and congregants generally have a consumer mentality concerning church.

Church leaders are too often selected, not on the basis of godliness, but because of their stature in the community, because of their business acumen, according to the size of their portfolio, or by other such criteria that are valued in the world.

Congregants are loath to commit themselves to a congregation, and churches are reluctant to hold members accountable to the standards clearly set forth in the Word of God.

Attendance at a service is more highly prized than is commitment and submission to the Body of Christ.

As result of substituting our own values for godly values, we seldom witness church bodies that are regenerate.

What we do witness are churches that are run like business with application of the latest psychological techniques to continue to “grow” the church.

Pastors are chosen to be administrators instead of being shepherds charged with the ministry of the Word, protecting the flock, oversight of the church, pastoring the people and providing an example in godliness.

Consequently, congregations are often ignorant of the Word and of the will of God, and they are frequently unruly in their deportment and conduct.

However, Christians usually feel good about themselves, primarily because they are not held accountable for their behaviour and because they see their own behaviour as good as or better than that of the pastor.

Concerning the consumer mentality of churches, the fact that we change churches whenever we want testifies to the prevalence of that attitude among church members.

This is a reflection of society at large, as we are no longer “students” but “educational consumers,” no longer “patients” but “health consumers,” and among the churches, we are no longer “worshippers” but “church shoppers.”

Church historians Bruce Shelley and Marshall Shelley have written, “Many people assume that their needs count for more than their loyalty.

If their needs go unmet, they are quick to switch to another church, just as they would doctors, grocery stores or airlines to find better service.”[7]

Early Baptists did not permit such consumer mentality to reign; rather, they held one another accountable.

Hammett cites Leon McBeth who notes that in 1728, a member church of the Philadelphia Triennial Association asked for the association to give its advice on the question of whether or not it was proper to allow a member of one church to move his letter to another church, when his residence had not changed.

The association answered in the negative, reflecting the idea that church membership is not a matter of finding a place where one’s needs may be met, but finding a place where one can obey God’s commands with a clear conscience.[8]

Today, commitment to a church is viewed much like commitment to a particular coffee shop or commitment to a particular brand name.

If a better offer comes along, or if tastes change, then the individual can leave the former congregation without thought.

However, this is not the teaching of the Word of God where we are placed in the church according to the will of God.

Out placement is less for our immediate benefit than it is so that we can exercise the gifts God has invested in us to build up the Body where He has settled us.

In other words, at least as important as our own growth and development is the opportunity to build others and to glorify God through doing so.

The consumer mentality that has infected modern church life leads those in attendance to adopt a position that permits them to take whatever benefits are available from a church without investing their lives in building the church.

They view the church much as they would Zellers or The Bay, shopping there whenever there is a sale or as long as the product offered is sufficiently attractive, but always willing to shop elsewhere when a better sale is announced.

So, they are willing to take whatever they can from the church of the moment, but when a better deal comes along, they will vote with their feet and shop elsewhere.

The examples of entrenched rot among the churches are by no means exhaustive, but rather representative.

Frankly, church health in the modern experience is dismal.

We have been ungodly so long that we have grown accustomed to the darkness.

Modern churchgoers are intoxicated with Babylon.

When a call for holiness is issued, or when the festering wound is exposed, the reaction witnessed too often reveals our love with the world instead of leading us to godly repentance.

I am hard-pressed to know whether this consumer mentality results from the exaltation of self-esteem in modern society, or whether the emphasis upon self-esteem has led us to the consumer mentality.

What I do see is that the emphasis upon personal pride is well nigh endemic in modern society; and the churches are grossly contaminated with this deadly sin.

General knowledge is woefully absent from graduates of modern schools.

Math and science scores have declined significantly during the past several decades.

Vocabulary is declining among recent graduates.

Despite being unable to think or to compete on the world stage, we have a generation that feels prouder of their ignorance than any previous generation.

This pride in what we are has infiltrated the church.

Vast numbers of modern churchgoers are doctrinally ignorant and uncertain what they believe, yet they feel good about themselves.

Moreover, they are assured that they can tell the preacher what he should say, because they know how they feel!

Consequently, church business becomes a search for what makes us feel good instead of being a search for the will of God.

Woe to the church that dares attempt to impose loving discipline or that expects commitment from those wishing to take from the services without giving of themselves.