What's Love Got to Do with It?

 Rev. Will B. Dunn held a Quittin' Meeting. Like a revival, there's an altar call. But at a Quittin' Meeting members have already accepted Jesus. Instead, they're invited to quit whatever blocks their Christian walk. Quit drinking. Quit gossip. Quit carousing. Etc. At the invitation, Old Sue came forward. People were shocked. Everyone knew she'd never done anything wrong in her life. Rev. Will spoke for them all. "Sue, why are you coming forward?" Old Sue answered, "I ain't been doing nothin'. And I'm a'quittin'." James calls us to a Quittin' meeting in today's verses. Quit all moral filth. Quit listening to God's Word & not doing it. And quit doing nothing. Replace all that. With what? Remember our purpose (Westminster Confession). Glorify God & enjoy Him forever. How can we do this? Eph 2:8-10 tells us. Start doing the works God already prepared for us to do. Let's look at our verses. Just before our verses, Jas 1:13-16 is about temptation. God permits us to be tempted. (Remember Job?). But God doesn't tempt us. He never will. Why? God is love. He only gives good gifts. And temptation isn't good. Now we're ready for James 1:17-27. 17aEvery good (lit.) giving & perfect gift is from above. All good giving & gifts have one source. God, 17bcoming down from the Father of the [heavenly] lights. To light our way, God gave us sun & moon. Good gifts. God gives only good gifts. Not temptation. But even sunlight & moonlight cast shadows that shift over time. 17cGod doesn't change like shifting shadows. He's always the same. Always good. Therefore, His gifts are always good. Never bad. God already gave us the best gift of all. 18aHe chose to give us birth through the word of truth. God chose to make us sons & daughters. Why? Love. He loves us. In addition, God wills 18bThat we might be a kind of 1stfruits of all he created. How 1st fruits? When Adam & Eve fell, all Creation was cursed. God intends to bring everyone & everything back into the relationship He 1st planned. As 1stfruits, God's children can bring Him glory by being faithful. Learn to become Christians who persevere in spite of trials. Temptation is the enemy of spiritual growth. It can't be from God. We're to stand firm against temptations. Never cave in under their weight. (Christ died so we don't have to!) Trying hard (working out the salvation He worked in) will make us better this side of the grave. And on the other side of the grave, it'll yield a wonderful reward. God gave all of us everything we need to persevere. He gave us His Son to restore us to relationship with Him. He gave us His Word to guide us. And He gave us His Spirit to keep us near Him. His Spirit gives us power to persevere. What's the point of vv. 17-18? God wants to bless all people. Always. How much more He wants to bless His children (believers)! God's gifts (esp. salvation) are so good that a response is demanded. But how? James explains. 19aMy dear brothers... He's pleading with us. 19bKnow (lit., imperative) this! What's so urgent? 19cEveryone should be quick to listen, slow to speak & slow to become angry. Two ears, one mouth. Listen twice as much as we speak. That's good advice for life. But it's really good advice for our trials. 20Man's anger doesn't bring about the righteous life that God desires. What happens when trials come? Too often, we get frustrated & angry. When we get angry, not much good happens. Anger won't lead to the righteous character & behavior God wants in & from us. 21aTherefore, get rid of all moral filth. Anger is moral filth. Essentially, that's what Jesus says in Mt 5:21-22. But anger is only part of the moral filth we need to get rid of. In Mt 15:19-20, Jesus points to the moral filth resulting from the evil in our hearts. All of it makes us unclean. Including anger & wrath. 21bGet rid of moral filth & the evil that's so prevalent. Our culture is shot full of murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, & slander. It's all around us. It isn't for God's children. Nor are the heart attitudes leading to those behaviors. We're to get rid of all impure attitudes & behaviors. Be in the world, but not of it. Instead, 21chumbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. Accept the authority of God's word over our lives. Obey it. By obeying His word, we obey God. Why's that so important? In Jn 14:23-24, Jesus says obedience is the test of loving Him. In those same verses, if we love Jesus (obey), Jesus says He & the Father will dwell in us. In other words, if we're saved, we WILL obey Him, & He/the Father will put His Spirit in us. He'll dwell in us. It's the proof of salvation. Obeying also saves believers from the consequences of sin (ultimately, an early death). One more thing. We need to do more than listen to the 21cword planted in us. 22aDon't merely listen to the word, & so deceive yourselves. The word says to serve. Pastor once tried to persuade a woman to teach a Sunday School class. She knew her Bible. She had time for it. But she just wouldn't. "I don't want to be tied down." Pastor replied, "Good thing we serve a Master who was willing to be nailed down for us." For most of us, knowing Scripture isn't the problem. We go to Bible studies. We even study on our own. The problem is we're supposed to 22bDo what it says. We don't. What does James say? 23Anyone who listens to the word but doesn't do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror. We look in a mirror to brush our hair. Put on makeup. Things like that. Why do we look in a mirror? To see what we need to change. In the way we look, what isn't as perfect as we can make it? Whatever it is, we change it. Looking in the mirror, we make ourselves look as perfect as we can. Now, what if we don't obey the word? It's like 24after looking at ourselves, we go away & immediately forget what we look like. We look & do nothing. We don't fix whatever is imperfect. We leave alone things that should be changed. If we love God, we won't do that. 25But the one who keeps on looking intently into the perfect law [lit., of] freedom, not forgetting what they heard, but doing it-they'll be blessed in what they do. Doers of the word are the trees planted by streams of water in Ps 1:1-3. God will prosper whatever they do. What's the evidence? Action. 26If anyone considers himself religious & yet doesn't keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself & his religion is worthless. Why just the tongue? It is hardest to control & is the source of much evil. Gossip. Harsh attacks. Cursing. Coarse humor. Idle talk. Spreading hatred. Stirring up fear & maliciousness. Spreading lies. Tempting others. Discouraging others. Teaching error. Ruining reputations. The Spirit brings even the tongue under control. What's 27areligion that God our Father accepts as pure & faultless? Love in action. How do we start? 27bLook after orphans & widows in their distress & to keep oneself [lit.] unspotted / unsoiled by the world. Stay pure in the world. And shower godly love on everyone. Especially the helpless, disadvantaged & oppressed. Pastors are called to serve. So are members. Remember Eph 2:8-10? Yes, we're saved by grace through faith. But not just to enjoy ourselves. We're saved to do the good works God created us to do. The works He gave us spiritual gifts to do. Why don't we? Other believers. Pastors sometimes quit because of all the criticism they get. Members may quit because someone criticized the way they did something. Why can't we be like preacher D. L. Moody? He once said, "I like my way of doing it better than your way of not doing it." It's up to us to be faithful & do what God calls us to do. Results are His job. Old Billy hurried to the church on Sunday around noon. "Is the service over?" Usher Uriah answered, "The worship is over. But the service is only beginning." When we want to serve, God will provide the strength & whatever else is needed. He enables us to live & to serve. And it's all for His glory! One last thought. Did you notice the message title? Do you see why it's all about love? Jesus commanded us: love God & love others. Obeying the word is loving God. Know what that means? 27Religion that the Father accepts as pure & faultless is loving others. Lead a pure life & love others in practical ways. That's how we love God. Just don't forget that He loved us 1st. How much does He love us? So much that He's already given us a greater Savior to keep us in relationship. What's love got to do with it? Everything. What's Love Got to Do with It? - James 1:17-27 Page 1 of 1