Real Life Christianity. What Is Your Life Ruled By?
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The book of James was written by the half-brother of Jesus. The Son of Joseph and Mary. Written in the early 40s. He wrote to primarily Jews who were Christians, as at this time it was so early in the spread of Christianity that it had not been widely adopted by non-jews, also known as Gentiles. James encouraged his readers to live consistent Christian lives in the midst of persecution for their faith in Christ.
He says he writes to the “12 tribes in dispersion” which is likely due to the fact that Christians in and around Jerusalem were being persecuted for their faith in Jesus and were being driven out of the area and were settling in farther and farther regions.
Biblical Text -
Biblical Text -
So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath;
for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.
Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
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;
for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.
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.
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.
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.
-[Prayer]-
-[Prayer]-
Life Principle - The Christian Should Be Ruled By Purity, Not Selfishness & Wrath
Life Principle - The Christian Should Be Ruled By Purity, Not Selfishness & Wrath
Life Point- Don’t Be Ruled By Wrath
Life Point- Don’t Be Ruled By Wrath
Exegetical -
Exegetical -
So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath;
for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.
Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
Homiletical -
Homiletical -
This section begins with So then, which means James is referring to what he wrote before, which as you know was about trials and temptations.
He calls them the beloved brethren
who are the beloved? By God. God the father, God the son, and God the Holy Spirit.
This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.
You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.
No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.
You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.
These things I command you, that you love one another.
Jesus says to His disciples that they are not just mere servants, but are friends.
Not only that He says the disciples didn’t choose Him, He chose The disciples.
So by this we know James is talking about the saved, the Christians. Those that have been regenerated by the Holy Spirit.
Now James gives us the best piece of advice for dealing with trials, temptations and people that he could have possibly given.
Be quick to Hear, slow to speak, and slow to wrath
Things don’t always go our way. Did you notice that? A lot of times it is because we want it our way, like Burger King.
Well the kingdom of God is not Burger King, you can’t get it your way. So in the midst of dealing with others we should be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to wrath.
They say don’t discipline in anger when dealing with children. The same is true when dealing with others.
This can be hard, train yourself to do it. Make it a matter of prayer. There have been many times, I wished I had followed this command in scripture. Then, not only would things not blow up, I wouldn’t have had to repent before God and apologize to others.
for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.
Do you really think your angry outburst is going to bring God’s righteousness? You aren’t God. Don’t try take care of anything right at the time you are angry
“Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath,
Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, “I will take revenge; I will pay them back,” says the Lord.
It is not up to you. Leave it to God.
Now if we look in James 1:21 it says:
Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
Because we need to act right before each other, as Christians, we should lay aside all filthiness in our character. This includes losing your temper, saying dirty jokes, wrong language, etc. and receive with meekness.
Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.
What is meekness?
too many times people associate meekness with weakness. NO, it strength under control in humility before God.
But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.”
Only through meekness which includes humility can we receive and have the implanted word of God.
What is this implanted Word? Notice implanted. Meaning it has been given and has taken root in our lives. This goes beyond knowing the Bible, but putting the principles and commands found therein into daily use.
But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.
How awesome it is that this scripture was fulfilled in Christ! Now we have the Holy Spirit in us, quickening our lives to make these laws come alive and active in us.
The person who says they are a Christian but there is not fruit, you know
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
I mean none at all. They have an attitude that Holiness is not something to be attained. They want their fire insurance so they say a prayer and tell people they’re good and move on. These people aren’t Christians because there is no sign of the working of The Holy Spirit in their lives.
These kinds of people can hide in a church, but not from God. These people need Jesus to save their souls. Only the implanted word of God can do this. To save our souls and straighten out or rotten minds.
Speaking of rotten minds. Remember Romans 12:2
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Illustration -
Illustration -
Speaking of wrath, here are the top comments you shouldn’t say to someone when you are angry:
Your kid is so annoying, he makes his Happy Meal cry.
I’m not insulting you, I’m describing you.
You are like a cloud. When you disappear it’s a beautiful day.
I’ve seen people like you before, but I had to pay admission.
I was hoping for a battle of wits but you appear to be unarmed.
Jealousy is a disease. Get well soon.
This one is for the ladies: Don’t hate me because I’m beautiful. Hate me because your boyfriend thinks so.
People like you are the reason I’m on medication.
Who ate your bowl of sunshine this morning thundercloud?
You fear success, but you really have nothing to worry about.
Life Point - Don’t Be Ruled By Self
Life Point - Don’t Be Ruled By Self
Exegetical -
Exegetical -
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
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;
for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.
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.
Homiletical -
Homiletical -
Verse 22 says to actually do what the Word of God commands. Can you imagine if every person in every church all over the world did what the Bible said? This world would have a ton of Christians, and no church would be low in attendance.
Jesus said:
Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had appointed for them.
When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted.
And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
People focus a lot on just converting others, but we forget about discipleship. Why? I believe it comes down to one thing. Selfishness.
First, We don’t want to do what the scriptures say in our lives, our character, and our actions because that causes us to give ourselves up and embrace Christ’s life, His Character, and His actions.
Second, discipleship takes time. It requires a person to be with you. Think about the 12 disciples. They traveled with Jesus, ate with Jesus, did ministry with Jesus, and were taught by Jesus. They were with Jesus pretty much everyday, all day.
Today people don’t want to give up their time, so here we are. If you want to grow as a Christian and a church then it is past time to give ourselves, yourself and myself. We need to be the salt of the world and get our lives straight and do some discipleship.
“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.
Do you know the worst part about someone deceiving there self is? They don’t know they’re deceived. Many times it is because of their own failing. Failing to examine ourselves, examining our character, our speech, our thoughts before God.
For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged.
For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh.
For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds,
casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,
Now James gives us an example of what he is talking about.
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;
for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.
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.
If you want to have God’s blessings, then you need to be a doer of the Word of God; both individually and corporately. Are you talking to people about Jesus? Are you discipling anybody? If not, then in actuality you have become a pew warmer. You have become useless in the Kingdom of God. Get to work on yourself and help others get to work on theirselves too.
Illustration -
Illustration -
One afternoon, a wealthy lawyer was riding in the back of his limousine when he saw two pathetic-looking men by the side of the road, eating grass. He ordered his driver to stop and got out to investigate. He asked the men, "Why are you eating grass?"
"We don't have no money for food," the first man replied.
"Then you must come with me to my house," insisted the lawyer.
"But, sir, I got a wife and three kids here," said the man.
"Bring them along!" replied the lawyer.
The second man exclaimed, "I got a wife and six kids!"
"Bring them as well!", the lawyer proclaimed as he headed back to his limo.
They all climbed into the car, and once underway, one of the men expresses, "Sir, you are too kind. Thank you for taking all of us with you."
The lawyer replied, "I'm most happy to do it. You'll love my place. The grass is almost a foot tall."
This is very similar to what Christianity, and I use the term “Christianity” loosely here, has become. It looks like they care, but really it is about what’s in it for them. Let that never be said about First Baptist Church of Minneola.
Life Point - Be Ruled By Purity
Life Point - Be Ruled By Purity
Exegetical -
Exegetical -
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.
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.
If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless.
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.
Homiletical -
Homiletical -
I have students every year who use the name of the Lord in vain. It has become so apart of their natural speech they don’t even realize they are doing it. The always exclaim “Oh My God” and then continue on until I stop them and say “Please don’t take the name of the Lord in vain.”
Do you know what I hear every time? “I can’t help it Mr. Kramer!” To which I respond, “You control your tongue, no one else. You can help it, you just have train yourself to stop it.”
Today people have become too used to using this phrase as well as other words as part of their communication and don’t think about it. The “F” word is common today. When you say to the Christian who talks this way that they can stop it, they look at you and ask themselves why they should.
1. Because God said let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth
2. It can ruin your testimony. The person inside says to themselves, “Why should I go to church with you? You are just like me. You do the same stuff I do and there is no difference between us. I don’t need that drama in my life.”
If we would just learn to control what we say, whether in trials or temptations, we would be a lot better off in our reflection of Jesus. You and I are the only examples of Christianity the unsaved will ever see. If we aren’t different than what is out in the world then our so-called religion is worthless. It makes no impact on other people.
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.
orphans and widows had no source of income in the ancient world, other than sinful behaviors. They were the ones that needed help and didn’t have anything in which to give other people.
Our works before the world and those of our community should be for those who can’t do anything for you. There is no quid-pro-quo. Our works should be for those who truly need a hand up.
Too often churches and pastors only seem to do things for the more higher up folks in their midst, financially speaking. This should not be the case. We should be reaching everyone, not just those that have some kind of social status in order to make ourselves look more important.
That honor you were going to give the rich man, how about giving it to the poor man first.
James also says that we are to keep ourselves unspotted by the world. To be Holy.
because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”
Holiness is not mentioned in our churches anymore today, yet it is one of the most important concepts for the Christian life.
So sum this up, a person’s religion before God should consists of true selfless actions and purity from the world’s moral impurity.
Life Principle– The Christian Should Be Ruled By Purity, Not Selfishness & Wrath
Life Principle– The Christian Should Be Ruled By Purity, Not Selfishness & Wrath
Call to Action – altar call….
Call to Action – altar call….