Sermon Tone Analysis

James 1:19-21

Rules for a Righteous Life

 

“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]

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od gave us two ears and one mouth so that we would listen twice as much as we speak.

Unfortunately, we tend to speak much more than we listen.

Consequently, we often fail to hear what others are saying.

Though we hear the words, we don’t hear what is said.

Worse yet, when we do hear the words, we too often permit ourselves to grow quickly angry, enticing impulsive reaction to what we thought we heard.

Such reactions dishonour the Lord who saved us.

Thus, James found it necessary to confront this persistent condition among the people of God by establishing rules for a righteous life.

Join me in exploring this portion of the Word in order to equip ourselves to be righteous before the Lord our God.

*The Purpose for the Rules* — “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.”

To benefit fully from the instruction James provides, it will be necessary for us to review what we have previously studied.

James was writing to people who were being severely tested, even as he wrote.

Reading the letter, it becomes evident that James longed for them to derive some benefit from their trials, which were seen as testing permitted by God.

God was at work transforming into good what their enemies meant for evil.

James did not want the testing they were passing through to be wasted.

At the outset of the letter, he told them that the immediate goal of their testing was steadfastness.

Then, when the steadfastness was polished to perfection, they would be mature—“complete and lacking in nothing.”

The purpose of the command is nothing less than righteousness—practical righteousness, the righteous life God expects.

This is not theological righteousness that James holds before us, but practical righteousness.

Those who were persecuting the believers persecuted them because of their lives—what they believed and the impact their belief had on their manner of life.

We Christians are taught to “put off [the] old self, which belongs to []our former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness” [*Ephesians 4:22-24*].

Peter writes, “The time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry.

With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you” [*1 Peter 4:3-5*].

Inhabitants of the world are schizophrenic concerning the children of God, at the same time hating us because our refusal to agree that their actions are okay and admiring us because we hold convictions.

The professed Christian that is like the world suffers no persecution because there is nothing in her manner of life that condemns.

However, the life of the child of God who lives conscientiously in order to please the Master condemns the world about him, and those in the world resent the condemnation.

It is for this reason that Paul urges Christians, “Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, and not frightened in anything by your opponents.

This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God” [*Philippians **1:27**, 28*].

Steadfastness in persecution, living with convictions instead of seeking what is convenient, gives evidence to the world that the child of the God has been delivered from the judgement of God, though those who approve of such persecution face that awesome judgement [see *2 Thessalonians 1:4-7*].

James called on the persecuted saints to whom he wrote to walk in the way of wisdom in *verses 5–11*.

Beginning with *verse 12* he called Christians to walk in the way of knowledge—knowledge about ourselves, knowledge about the work of God in us, knowledge of our old nature and knowledge of our new nature.

The path of knowledge outlined is demanding.

Those walking that path will find themselves under constant pressure.

At one and the same time the old nature lures us to follow its desires and so to walk the path of sin and death, while at the same time God summons us to live out our true nature.

This is the new nature given in the new birth, filled with new life, bound for new destinations of holiness.

This is the battle of the wills—the will of the old nature, and the will of God expressed in the new nature.

This clash of wills is the very heart of the life-giving conflict of which James has been teaching.[2]

James referred to the old nature that will afflict us throughout our days on this earth in *verses** 14* and *15*.

“Each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.

Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.”

The new nature is in view in *verse 18*.

“Of his own will [God] brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.”

This does not mean that we are stalemated in our progress toward righteousness, for “every good gift and every perfect gift” has been placed at our disposal, so that we can fulfil the will of the Father.

It is distressingly easy for us to focus on a couple of verses, forgetting what God is saying.

We can read the words without ever grasping the essence of the message.

This is the reason I am stressing that the purpose for these rules is to enable us to live the righteous life that God requires.

We are not to be righteous in order to be saved; but because we are saved, we must be righteous.

We are saved to serve God, to glorify Him through witnessing to His grace and through revealing His power in our lives as we turn others about us to the imputed righteousness of Christ the Lord.

We lend power to our witness through the manner of life that we live.

Thus, James unites with the whole of the Word of God to urge Christians to labour to be righteous.

The goal of the instruction is maturity in the Faith and practical righteousness exhibited in each life.

*The Rules Stated* — “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.”

There are three rules for righteousness—be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger.

This is nothing less than an iteration of oft-repeated admonitions found throughout the Word.

The rules are universal—every person is included in the commands.

When James addresses the rules to “every person,” the language is deliberate.

He is making the instruction individually applicable to each individual.

None of us are excused.

Of course, there is a time to respond forcefully and vigorously.

When error is being taught, we must not debate, but rather for the sake of Christ and for the sake of bairns within the congregation, we must quickly take a stand.

When our family is threatened, or when the cause of the Faith is threatened, we must not delay but act with haste.

What is especially difficult for us is that God does not provide us with a detailed list of “do’s” and “don’ts.”

He gives us principles which enable us to apply sanctified common sense.

The first rule calls us to be */quick to hear/*.

Certainly, God expects us to listen, especially attending the preaching and teaching of the Word that we might learn what is taught from the pulpit and through the Word.

This is not merely an admonition to attend the preaching and teaching of the Word, though it is assuredly that, but it is a warning to be eager to understand what God is saying through His Word.

We do not slavishly listen to the preaching of the Word, driving ourselves to attend the ministry of the Word, but we do are to do so freely and with alacrity because we want to know the will of God.

However, we are to be quick to hear, and the emphasis is upon the quickness, diligence in listening to the instruction of the Word.

Delay in obedience to the Word is a sign of unwillingness.

Paul demonstrates the proper manner for a Christian to receive the command of God when he writes of his call to ministry.

“When He who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by His grace was pleased to reveal His Son to me, in order that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone” [*Galatians 1:15*].

To put off doing what is right demonstrates that the sluggard is not willing to obey.

When we debate the commands of God, we demonstrate that we are losing the battle to the flesh.

I marvel at the tendency for us Christians to make excuses why we cannot obey God in this matter.

Family is coming, so we cannot attend the instruction of the Word.

We are tired, and we must have our recreation, so we cannot attend the instruction of the Word.

Our presence might be offensive to some of our friends or family, so we cannot attend the instruction of the Word.

Our children have soccer practise, a hockey game, or a dance recital, and therefore, we cannot attend the instruction of the Word.

However, though we have a thousand excuses, we have not one reason why we should not attend the instruction of the Word.

Surely, James commands that we be quick to hear.

In the business meetings of the church, I have observed that it is not unusual for vocal people to demand that they be heard.

“Listen to me!” they cry.

However, we would each be well advised to hear the Spirit of God when we meet.

It is a wise thing for us to allow time to discover what the Spirit is saying through the Word of God.

The account exists of Augustine in debate with a heretic who demanded of him, “Hear me, hear me.”

Augustine modestly replied, “Neither hear me, nor I thee, but let us both hear the apostle.”

It is a good rule for us to hear the Apostle, to hear the Word, to listen for the voice of the Master speaking through His Word.

Have you ever noticed how frequently the Word urges us to be quick to hear?

Consider a selection from the Proverbs.

“When words are many, transgression is not lacking,

but whoever restrains his lips is prudent.”

[*Proverbs 10:19*]

 

“Whoever guards his mouth preserves his life;

he who opens wide his lips comes to ruin.”

[*Proverbs 13:3*]