BS: James 5
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QUIT KIDDING YOURSELF
QUIT KIDDING YOURSELF
19 So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath;
20 for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.
21 Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror;
24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.
25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.
26 If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless.
27 Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.
QUIT KIDDING YOURSELF
The emphasis in this section is on the dangers of self-deception:
The emphasis in this section is on the dangers of self-deception:
“deceiving your own selves” ();
“deceiveth his own heart” ().
If a Christian sins because Satan deceives him, that is one thing.
But if he deceives himself, that is a far more serious matter.
Many people are deceiving themselves into thinking they are saved when they are not.
22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’
23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
“Many will say to me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy name? and in Thy name have cast out devils? and in Thy name done many wonderful works?’ And then will I profess unto them, ‘I never knew you: depart from Me, ye that work iniquity.’ ” ().
“Many will say to me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy name? and in Thy name have cast out devils? and in Thy name done many wonderful works?’ And then will I profess unto them, ‘I never knew you: depart from Me, ye that work iniquity.’ ” ().
But there are true believers who are fooling themselves concerning their Christian walk.
They think they are spiritual when they are not.
It is a mark of maturity when a person faces himself honestly, knows himself, and admits his needs. It is the immature person who pretends to be holier than they are.
17 Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked—
Spiritual reality results from the proper relationship to God through His Word.
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Spiritual reality results from the proper relationship to God through His Word. God’s Word is truth (), and if we are rightly related to God’s truth, we cannot be dishonest or hypocritical.
God’s Word is truth (), and if we are rightly related to God’s truth, we cannot be dishonest or hypocritical.
In these verses, James stated that we have three responsibilities toward God’s Word; and if we fulfill these responsibilities, we will have an honest walk with God and men.
Receive the Word
Receive the Word
19 So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath;
20 for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.
21 Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
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James calls God’s Word “the implanted word.”
James calls God’s Word “the engrafted word” (), which means “the implanted word.”
Borrowing from our Lord’s Parable of the Sower, he compares God’s Word to seed and the human heart to soil.
1 On the same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea.
2 And great multitudes were gathered together to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.
3 Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: “Behold, a sower went out to sow.
4 And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them.
5 Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth.
6 But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away.
7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them.
8 But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
9 He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”
18 “Therefore hear the parable of the sower:
19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside.
20 But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy;
21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles.
22 Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.
23 But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”
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In His parable, Jesus described four kinds of hearts:
In His parable, Jesus described four kinds of hearts:
The hard heart, which did not understand or receive the Word and therefore bore no fruit;
The shallow heart, which was very emotional but had no depth, and bore no fruit;
The crowded heart, which lacked repentance and permitted sin to crowd out the Word;
And the fruitful heart, which received the Word, allowed it to take root, and produced a harvest of fruit.
The final test of salvation is fruit.
This means a changed life, Christian character and conduct, and ministry to others in the glory of God.
This fruit might be:
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.
Growing in holy living
growing in holy living (),
22 But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life.
Sharing our material possessions
sharing our material possessions (),
28 Therefore, when I have performed this and have sealed to them this fruit, I shall go by way of you to Spain.
spiritual character (),
Spiritual character
),
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
good works (),
Good works
10 that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;
And even praising the Lord
and even praising the Lord ().
15 Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.
Religious works may be manufactured, but they do not have life in them, nor do they bring glory to God.
NOTE:
Religious works may be manufactured, but they do not have life in them, nor do they bring glory to God.
Real fruit has in it the seed for more fruit, so that the harvest continues to grow fruit, more fruit, much fruit.
1 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.
2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.
3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.
4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
If tghe Word of God abides in us then we will bear much fruit.
But the Word of God cannot work in our lives unless we receive it in the right way.
Jesus not only said:
24 Then He said to them, “Take heed what you hear. With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given.
, “Take heed what ye hear” (), but He also said, “Take heed how ye hear” ().
), but He also said, “Take heed how ye hear” ().
But He also said:
, “Take heed how ye hear” ().
Too many people are in that tragic condition in which.
18 Therefore take heed how you hear. For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him.”
Too many people are in that tragic condition in which:
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13 Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.
They attend Bible classes and church services but never seem to grow.
They attend Bible classes and church services but never seem to grow.
Is it the fault of the teacher or the preacher?
Perhaps, but it may also be the fault of the hearer.
It is possible to be “dull of hearing”because of decay of the spiritual life.
11 of whom we have much to say, and hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.
If the seed of the Word is to be planted in our hearts, then we must obey the instructions James gives us.
If the seed of the Word is to be planted in our hearts, then we must obey the instructions James gives us.
1: Swift to hear
1: Swift to hear
19 So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath;
Jesus said:
james 1 19
(v. 19a).
9 He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”
“Who hath ears to hear, let him hear!” ()
Paul wrote:
17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God” ().
Just as the servant is quick to hear his master’s voice, and the mother to hear her baby’s smallest cry, so the believer should be quick to hear what God has to say.
There is a beautiful illustration of this truth in the life of King David ().
David was hiding from the Philistines who were in possession of Bethlehem. He yearned for a drink of the cool water from the well in Bethlehem, a well that he had often visited in his boyhood and youth.
He did not issue an order to his men; he simply said to himself:
15 And David said with longing, “Oh, that someone would give me a drink of the water from the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate!”
, “Oh, that one would give me drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate” ().
Three of his mighty men heard their king sigh for the water, and they risked their lives to secure the water and bring it to him.
They were “swift to hear.”
2: Slow to speak
2: Slow to speak
19 So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath;
(v. 19b).
We have two ears and one mouth, which ought to remind us to listen more than we speak.
19 In the multitude of words sin is not lacking, But he who restrains his lips is wise.
27 He who has knowledge spares his words, And a man of understanding is of a calm spirit.
Instead of being slow to speak, the lawyer in argued with Jesus by asking, “And who is my neighbor?”
“He that refraineth his lips is wise” ().
“He that hath knowledge spareth his words” ().
Instead of being slow to speak, the lawyer in argued with Jesus by asking, “And who is my neighbor?”
In the early church, the services were informal; and often the listeners would debate with the speaker.
There were even fightings and wars among the brethren James was writing to
1 Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members?
3: Slow to wrath
3: Slow to wrath
19 So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath;
Do not get angry at God or His Word.
Do not get angry at God or His Word.
29 He who is slow to wrath has great understanding, But he who is impulsive exalts folly.
“He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding: but he that is hasty of spirit exalteth folly” ().
When the Prophet Nathan told King David the story about “the stolen ewe lamb,” the king became angry, but at the wrong person.
“Thou art the man,” said Nathan, and David then confessed, “I have sinned” ().
In the Garden, Peter was slow to hear, swift to speak, and swift to anger—and he almost killed a man with the sword.
Many church fights are the result of short tempers and hasty words.
There is a godly anger against sin (); and if we love the Lord, we must hate sin.
10 You who love the Lord, hate evil! He preserves the souls of His saints; He delivers them out of the hand of the wicked.
But man’s anger does not produce God’s righteousness ().
But man’s anger does not produce God’s righteousness
20 for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.
In fact, anger is just the opposite of the patience God wants to produce in our lives as we mature in Christ
3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.
4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
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I once saw a poster that read, “Temper is such a valuable thing, it is a shame to lose it!”
It is temper that helps to give steel its strength.
The person who cannot get angry at sin does not have much strength to fight it.
James warns us against getting angry at God’s Word because it reveals our sins to us.
Like the man who broke the mirror because he disliked the image in it, people rebel against God’s Word because it tells the truth about them and their sinfulness.
4: A prepared heart
4: A prepared heart
21 Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
] (v. 21).
James saw the human heart as a garden; if left to itself, the soil would produce only weeds.
He urged us to “pull out the weeds” and prepare the soil for the “implanted Word of God.”
The phrase “ovefrflow of wicked” gives the picture of a garden overgrown with weeds that cannot be controlled.
It is foolish to try to receive God’s Word into an unprepared heart.
How do we prepare the soil of our hearts for God’s Word?
First, by confessing our sins and asking the Father to forgive us
9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Second, by meditating on God’s love and grace and asking Him to “plow up” any hardness in our hearts.
Then, by meditating on God’s love and grace and asking Him to “plow up” any hardness in our hearts, “Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns” ().
3 For thus says the Lord to the men of Judah and Jerusalem: “Break up your fallow ground, And do not sow among thorns.
, “Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns” ().
And Finally, we must have an attitude of “meekness”.
21 Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
().
Meekness is the opposite of “wrath” in .
When you receive the Word with meekness, you accept it, do not argue with it, and honor it as the Word of God.
You do not try to twist it to conform it to your thinking.
If we do not receive the implanted Word, then we are deceiving ourselves. Christians who like to argue various “points of view” may be only fooling themselves.
They think that their “discussions” are promoting spiritual growth, when in reality they may only be cultivating the weeds.