The Letter of James - 1:19-27

Welcome everyone.

Today we’ll finish chapter 1 of the book of James. Hopefully.

So far, we’ve learned that James is the half-brother of Jesus and he is writing a letter to the Jewish Believers that have been scattered from Israel during heavy persecution against the church. Christians were being persecuted by devout Jewish leaders as well as Rome.

Life’s trials produce perseverance in those who patiently endure testing. If we need wisdom on how to endure, ask God for it, but your trust must be fully in God alone. If we have a heart that wants to believe and surrender our will to God, he will give us an understanding mind that can produce a joyful attitude through difficult trials of life.

Ultimately, James is directing his readers to understand the pathway to spiritual maturity.

He reassures his readers that the testing God allows us to go through is to strengthen our faith, to prove we are his. When we’re tempted, we must not blame God. Temptation is from our own desires. Temptation is not sin, but acting on it is. Our own desires tempt us to sinful actions which results in the birth of death. But God has chosen to give birth to us by giving us his true word. We have become his prized possession.

Please follow along with me as I read

James 1:19–27 NLT

19 Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. 20 Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires. 21 So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls. 22 But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. 23 For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. 24 You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. 25 But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it. 26 If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless. 27 Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.

19 Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. 20 Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires. 21 So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls.

22 But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. 23 For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. 24 You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. 25 But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.

26 If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless. 27 Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.

Quick, Slow, Slow

I want to go back to the word wisdom for just a moment. Often times when I hear the word wisdom, I think of someone who is wise. Seems natural, right. I often equate “wisdom” with “knowledge” but that’s wrong. Knowledge is not wisdom, but wisdom includes knowledge. Knowledge + good judgement + understanding + action = wisdom.

Wisdom is putting action to right information in good judgement, understanding the true outcome of the applied action.

Keep that in the back of your head.

James 1:19 NLT

19 Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.

(NLT)

In a society where everyone wants to have a voice where

19 Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.

Everyone wants to be heard

In a society where everyone wants to have a voice where everyone wants to be heard. Where anyone can comment onanything and everything through social media, blogs, youtube, we need to heed James warning here.

Where anyone can comment on anything and everything through social media, blogs, youtube, we need to heed James warning here.

Be quick to listen. Take a breath, breath. Listen first. Wait. Take a minute to express yourself. Slow down. This is a major theme that James comes back to throughout his letter. He is reflecting the thought intertwined throughout the wisdom literature in the Old Testament. It repeats over and over. He is just a few examples.

Ecclesiastes 7:9 NLT

9 Control your temper, for anger labels you a fool.

(NLT)

9 Control your temper,

for anger labels you a fool.

Proverbs 17:28 NLT

28 Even fools are thought wise when they keep silent; with their mouths shut, they seem intelligent.

(NLT)

28 Even fools are thought wise when they keep silent;

with their mouths shut, they seem intelligent.

Proverbs 10:19 NLT

19 Too much talk leads to sin. Be sensible and keep your mouth shut.

(NLT)

19 Too much talk leads to sin.

19 Too much talk leads to sin.

Be sensible and keep your mouth shut.

Proverbs 11:12–13 NLT

12 It is foolish to belittle one’s neighbor; a sensible person keeps quiet. 13 A gossip goes around telling secrets, but those who are trustworthy can keep a confidence.

(NLT)

12 It is foolish to belittle one’s neighbor;

a sensible person keeps quiet.

13 A gossip goes around telling secrets,

but those who are trustworthy can keep a confidence.

(NLT)

Proverbs 13:3 NLT

3 Those who control their tongue will have a long life; opening your mouth can ruin everything.

3 Those who control their tongue will have a long life;

opening your mouth can ruin everything.

Proverbs 17:27 NLT

27 A truly wise person uses few words; a person with understanding is even-tempered.

(NLT)

27 A truly wise person uses few words;

a person with understanding is even-tempered.

Is James telling us not to talk? No. He’s urging us to practice caution with our words. Careless words harm. If we listen more then we talk, we have opportunity to choose our words carefully before they pass our lips.

The quick-tempered person who does not take time listen, but is quick to speak and get angry is more likely to speak without careful consideration.

Have any of you ever been there? I have.

By God’s grace and the work of His Spirit, we can all be transformed as to bring our emotions in line with God’s word and his will.

The reason we must become quick to listen is to understand. To get the full details. Why?

(NLT)

James 1:20 NLT

20 Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires.

20 Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires.

The righteousness God desires can be more literally translated as “the righteousness of God.” The righteousness of God is an attribute, or a character trait of God, dealing with his justice and faithfulness. James reminds us that human anger does not produce this.

Righteousness is justice done right.

It doesn’t refer to behavior as much as it refers to character. The church tends to equate righteousness with outward behavior. This leads those outside the church to believe our job as Christinas is to correct behavior, they tend to see us as the “moral behavior” police.

Yes, we must to be morally just and pure. But changing ones behavior does not result in a change of character, or a change of heart. Righteousness begins on the inside and permeates outward.

In romans, Paul states this quite well.

(NLT)

Romans 3:21–22 NLT

21 But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. 22 We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.

Christ Took Our Punishment

21 But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him (righteousness) without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. 22 We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.

Rid yourself

James 1:21 NLT

21 So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls.

21 So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word (the good news) God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls.

Paul expounds on this idea when writing to the church in Colossi. He writes,

Colossians 3:7–10 NLT

7 You used to do these things when your life was still part of this world. 8 But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language. 9 Don’t lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds. 10 Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him.

(NLT)

7 You used to do these things when your life was still part of this world. 8 But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language. 9 Don’t lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds. 10 Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him.

It’s odd to me that believers sometimes get so caught up with external sins and are quick to condemn, but excuse internal sins, as if they are not that bad. That it’s just a suggestion to rid yourself to these.

The word God has planted in our hearts refers back to Jeremiah’s prophecy about the new covenant.

Jeremiah 31:33 NLT

33 “But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel after those days,” says the Lord. “I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.

(NLT)

33 “But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel after those days,” says the Lord. “I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.

Romans 2:13–16 NLT

13 For merely listening to the law doesn’t make us right with God. It is obeying the law that makes us right in his sight. 14 Even Gentiles, who do not have God’s written law, show that they know his law when they instinctively obey it, even without having heard it. 15 They demonstrate that God’s law is written in their hearts, for their own conscience and thoughts either accuse them or tell them they are doing right. 16 And this is the message I proclaim—that the day is coming when God, through Christ Jesus, will judge everyone’s secret life.

(NLT)

13 For merely listening to the law (God’s commandments) doesn’t make us right with God. It is obeying the law that makes us right in his sight. 14 Even Gentiles (non Jews), who do not have God’s written law, show that they know his law when they instinctively obey it, even without having heard it. 15 They demonstrate that God’s law is written in their hearts, for their own conscience and thoughts either accuse them or tell them they are doing right. 16 And this is the message I proclaim—that the day is coming when God, through Christ Jesus, will judge everyone’s secret life.

Ouch, let’s pretend that verse 16 isn’t really in there. That’s tough to hear.

Don't Just Listen

Forget is the most important word in this passage. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like.

Forget can mean a few things. You can see yourself, walk away, and actually forget what you look like. Or you can “forget” like my kids sometimes do. Did you take out the trash? Oh, I “forgot.”

There seems to be another forget that James is suggesting here.

Forget is more along the lines of neglect.

Not forgetting from absent of thought, or not remembering, but willing neglect, apathy. Seeing it, but choosing to not do anything about it.

Keeping with James analogy of looking in a mirror, one sees what he looks like and doesn’t care that he has chocolate all over his face or her hair is all messy. Have you ever told someone or your kids specially? “Hey, you’ve got food on your face.” And get the response, “I don’t care.” I think this is what James is referring to. The mirror shows us what is out of place, what we need to do.

When one looks into a mirror, most are quick to notice their flaws. It’s human nature. A mirror gives us a more clear perspective of things we might not notice on our own. Someone shows you a photo you’re in that you haven’t seen, typically the first response is, “I don’t really look like that do I?”

This happened much more often when I was younger when we didn’t have access to instant photos on a computer or phone. You would take a photo with a camera, get the film developed, and look through the pictures before you left the store. Or when you watch a video of yourself and ask “Does my voice really sound like that?” Yes. Yes, it does.

One way to help a person playing sports is to record there action and play it back for them to see. When they watch their form from a different perspective, they can make better adjustments to help correct their form whether it’s their golf swing, batting stance, or their bars routine.

If you don’t make a change to a new perspective that you see you need to make, what’s the use. Why even bother to look?

If you look carefully into the perfect law (that shows your mistakes, your imperfections, your ugliness) the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says, (act upon the self corrections that it reveals) and don’t forget what you heard, (not willingly neglecting God’s word) then God will bless you for doing it.

Orphans & Widows

James 1:26 NLT

26 If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless.

(NLT)

26 If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless.

What is religion?

Religion is defined as “a ritual act (typically external) of devotion that display commitment to a divine being.”

Basically, “an act to a god that shows commitment.”

So if we were to adapt this definition to Christianity, it might read,

“One who lives out the actions that demonstrate commitment to God.”

In its most basic sense, it requires a change of heart.

True religion will cause one to act differently, not because of an outward influence, but from an inward influence of the Holy Spirit.

It seems to me what God truly values is, concern for others in a way that reflects his own character.

We’ll cover control your tongue in future lessons. James goes off in this later.

(NLT)

James 1:27 NLT

27 Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.

27 Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.

Orphans and widows were the neediest members of their society. Who are the orphans and widows in our society?

Yes, literal orphans and widows. What about the homeless? The hospitalized? Special-needs? Unemployed? Displaced immigrants? The extreme poor?

I once heard an interesting fact.

There are 1/2 million orphans in the US alone.

1/2 million.

There are 1 million churches in the US alone.

What would it look like if the Church took God’s word literally? What if the church in America looked in the mirror and did something about our messy face?

The mouth speaks what is in the heart. Righteousness begins in the heart. Actions follow what is in the heart.

James 1:27 NLT

27 Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.

James

Refusing to let the world corrupt you.

Refuse to be influenced by the world system. Our values, beliefs, and morals.

Is your religion worthless?

Does it reflect the man who looks in a mirror, and refuses to clean himself up? Do you know the right thing to do but don’t always do it?

That’s a temptation that we all face. Let’s pray that God will produce endurance and wisdom in us. That we’ll look into the God’s word and apply what we learn. Not fooling ourselves into thinking that God is some how pleased with us just because we read his word everyday, or listen to a famous pastor online, or sit through Sunday service each week. Rather, we need to act on what we learn. Pick up a washcloth and wipe the dirt off our face so that we become a more accurate reflection of Jesus.