Don't Just Listen, Obey!

Introduction

We are in our study in the book of James.

I’ve entitled this series “How to Live the Christian Life.”

James is concerned that our faith in Christ is seen by our actions away from the church.

He wants people to see Christ in us as we live a Christ-like life of obedience.

In the first 18 verses of chapter 1, James encourages as we face trials and temptations.

God uses these trials to help us grow in our faith.

The temptations we face, often in the midst of the trials, can lead us to sin.

However, when we recognize the temptation, God empowers us to overcome it and avoid that sin.

Have you ever been to a meeting that was about something you already knew.

Yet, you had to attend?

How well did you listen to the speaker?

Most of us in that situation simple hears but don’t really pay attention.

You could say we are listless listeners.

Since no one demanded anything from us, we did nothing.

Didn’t take notes or really pay attention.

It was easy to hear the words and ignore the content.

A listless listener is someone who can endure a speech, lecture, or sermon without purposing to do a thing.

A listless listener can mistake hearing and learning for obeying God.

In today’s passage, James warns us against listless listening.

We have heard messages from God’s Word, learned new truths, and even been “born again.”

James wants to know, Are we still learners who have not yet become doers?

God wants us to absorb his message and to allow it to change our lives.

James 1:19–27 CSB

19 My dear brothers and sisters, understand this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger, 20 for human anger does not accomplish God’s righteousness. 21 Therefore, ridding yourselves of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent, humbly receive the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. 22 But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 Because if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like someone looking at his own face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of person he was. 25 But the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom and perseveres in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer who works—this person will be blessed in what he does. 26 If anyone thinks he is religious without controlling his tongue, his religion is useless and he deceives himself. 27 Pure and undefiled religion before God the Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

Warning Against Ignoring God’s Word vs. 19-21

It is easy for us to pretend to obey God when we don’t really listen to His commands.

We, like James’ readers, know the transforming power of God’s Word.

But is that transformation seen in our lives?

We are challenged in verse 19 to be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry.

It seems that one of the hardest areas of our lives to put fully under the Lordship of Christ is our speech and our words.

These three commands are for both our relationships and to God.

Quick to hear calls for an eagerness to hear and obey’s God’s message for us.

In communication training this is call active listening.

It is where you hear what the other is saying without thinking about what you want to say.

You try to understand what is being said and why.

That then leads to be slow to speak.

This demands silence until we have understood and applied the message.

This is especially true of God.

Meditate on His word, pray it back to Him, and let the Holy Spirit to apply it to your life.

It means we must restrain ourselves otherwise we might produce a ill-timed or hasty reaction.

Tied in with these two is the third command to be slow to become angry.

It’s a warning against hostile, bitter feelings.

We cannot hear God if we remain distracted with resentment, hatred, or vengeful attitudes.

We live in a society that encourages us to be open and honest, as long as its not offensive or goes against the majority.

We get the picture that a wise person is one who listens to God and others.

Then deliberate what is heard and responds carefully.

When he or she does speak, they do it with caution.

Anger is Useless V. 20

James keys on anger because angry Christians distort the message God is trying to get to a lost world.

How many people do you know that reject church or even Christ because of angry Christians?

So many churches are arguing about non-essential things that on the outside it is ugly and most don’t to have any part of that church.

Our anger as Christians wastes the energies of God’s people, it produces divisions, and often comes from selfish ambitions or motives.

In chapter 3, James says that God desires our deeds to be pure, peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit.

All angry words produce is dissension, hot-tempered attitudes, and revenge.

Angry Christians prevent the unsaved world from seeing that the God of all does right and good.

It is impossible to see a good, loving God when the conduct of those who claim to worship Him and serve Him are always fighting.

Therefore V. 21

Instead of indulging in anger that hinders God’s word, try a positive response.

This verse gives us a command and a prerequisite for obey that command.

How do we need to act in a positive rather than getting angry.

We are humbly receive the implanted word.

God has placed His word in our lives when we said “Yes” to Jesus through the Holy Spirit.

This should cause us to gladly welcome God’s message in our lives.

The prerequisite to do that is to get rid of all moral filth and evil.

It’s like taking a dirty clothes off and putting on clean clothes.

What kind of dirt is your life that you need to get rid of?

Dirty clothes may feel nice and comfortable, but they also stink and rub off on the furniture.

Get rid of them.

You know what you need to do, if not let the Holy Spirit show them to you.

We even have an incentive to do this.

The implanted word can save you.

Obedience to God’s word promotes holiness and develops godly character.

We are more like Christ as we get rid of the fleshly desires of filth and evil.

Our obedience must display humility.

We shouldn’t argue with God about a sin, or ignore it thinking God will forget.

He doesn’t and the trials in the first part of this chapter sometimes is used to bring us to our knees in repentance.

How To Respond to God’s Command Vs. 21-25

In verse 21, we have a contrast to what was previous written.

First, James focused on speech as an area where we need to be obedient.

Now, he turns our commitment to the Lord and obedience.

Be doers of the word literally means to “Keep on becoming doers of God’s word.”

He wants obedience that lasts.

Hearing the word of God is very important, but as a result of what is heard, we need act on it.

Often we hear a sermon as an interesting moral or theological lecture.

What we need to do is to do something other than sitting and listening with no expectation of action.

Jesus has promised that those who hear the word and obey will receive a blessing.

Obedience will lead to blessing from God.

That means more than just listening to a sermon or reading a few verses.

Do something.

God wants us to become disciples who are obedient followers of Jesus.

A believer is one hears and believes.

A disciple hears and does.

When we hear the message without doing anything is self-deception about your situation.

A bishop in the 1800’s said, “To deceive is bad, to deceive yourselves is worse, to deceive yourselves about your souls is worst of all”

James illustrates this by using a mirror.

A picture of listless listening compares to those who only hear God’s Word to people who gaze into a mirror and dash away with little memory of what they saw.

Mirrors in New Testament times were made of polished metal.

They would use them, then they quickly left, giving little thought to the image they had seen.

People can repeat this experience in the spiritual realm.

We give a quick glance into God’s Word, find a morsel of truth, and jump into another task without remembering or applying what we read.

Verse 25 takes the metaphor of the mirror a little be further.

Obedient people look intently into the perfect law that gives freedom.

This describes someone who gazes at God’s message with a desire to learn.

The same verb—translated as bent over—pictures the apostle John staring into Jesus’ empty tomb (John 20:5).

John’s look led to an obedient faith (John 20:8).

Obedient people continue to do what God said.

They put God’s Word into practice and follow through with commitment.

Obedient listeners do not forget what they hear.

Spiritual amnesia never conquers their minds.

Obedient listeners do what God’s message instructs them to do.

God’s Word is the perfect law that gives freedom.

Not the OT law from Moses, but the law that Jesus brought.

Obedience to Jesus’ commands in Scripture brings freedom from sin and death.

Whenever we submit to God’s message, this law of liberty produces a disposition to obey God’s will joyfully.

We have freedom because we truly want to serve God.

Remember, obedient people are promised a blessing.

Now and in the future.

Evidence of Listening To God’s Word Vs. 26-27

Verse 26 is special to me.

5th grade Children’s camp, counselor went to town, time for cabin devotion, I led using this verse.

Quite of few of my friends would cuss, but when around adults and in church didn’t.

This verse describes some who acts all religious, but really doesn’t listen to God’s word.

They focus on all the outward signs of being a Christian.

Things like public praying, giving, attending worship, and putting on a show.

In reality, they are not truly obedient disciples

This is seen in their language, where they had no control over their tongue.

Controlling his tongue is also translated as “Keep a tight rein on his tongue.”

It’s a picture of an unmanageable horse that need a bit and bridle to control it.

The same can be said for the tongue,

Without proper control is can be a wild beast.

Not just cussing, but hurtful comments, lies, etc.

A believer like this deceives himself.

He or she thinks that by having religious practices do not lead to ethical or upright living.

These are deceived thinking if they live the life, but not really doing the life is all they need.

Robert Cupp, “They’ll be a lot of people surprised at death. A lot of people will be in heaven who thought they were going to hell and a lot in hell who thought they were going to heaven.”

That’s deception.

The false believer’s religion is worthless.

Peter uses the same word and it is translated empty, describing those pagan practices his readers followed before they became Christians.

Religious practices without inner control have no more saving power than paganism.

The True Evidence

The evidence of pure religion is seen in deeds of compassion and inner purity.

The emphasis here is that for God to accept our worship it must be accompanied by loving ministry and a holy life.

Both Christians and non-Christians could see and understand this type of evidence.

To look after orphans and widows demanded demonstrations of concern and active involvement.

In Psalm 68, God is pictured as a defender of orphans and widows.

Christ used the word for look after in Matthew 25:43 to describe the ministry of caring for those in prison.

Obeying this appeal calls for more than an occasional visit.

It demands genuine compassion and true engagement.

Being unstained by the world demands a freedom from contamination by the world.

Peter used this word to refer to Christ as “without … defect” (1 Pet. 1:19).

Christians are to model their purity after that of Jesus.

I’ve put together a lot of things over the years.

I follow the instructions even though is obvious how it all goes together.

We must follow God’s instructions devotedly if we want to produce a lifestyle honoring to God.

Obeying God’s Word demands control of the tongue, a compassion for others, and a separated life.

These are the identifying marks of pure and faultless religion.

Let’s Pray!