James part 3
Responding to the Word God Gives
Today I want to share a painting with you. It was painted in 1865 by Winslow Homer and called “The Veteran in a New Field.” If you notice on the bottom right corner, you’ll see what appears to be a brown blob. But, if we could see it in person, and look close enough, you would find that blob is really a Union Army jacket. Perhaps you’ll recall from American History something very important happened in 1865. It was the end of the Civil War. Homer captured the moment when America could put down her weapons and return to more peaceful and productive days. Now, we all know that peace wouldn’t last, but in this moment, this soldier gets a glimpse of the prophecy in Isaiah 2:4, “They shall beat their swords into plowshares; and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.” It’s a beautiful painting that evokes a beautiful thought.
But the reason I bring it up today is to note the transformation of the soldier. He has gone from a life of war and hate and entered into the life of productivity and nourishment. His work is no longer to kill. His work is to feed.
James is a book about transformation. It reminds us that when we come to faith in Christ, our life is no longer the same. We are not bound to the life of war and hate anymore. We are bound to Christ in a life of love and nourishment to those around us.
As we continue James today, it will help us to recap what we have studied so far in chapter 1. Chapter 1 is an introduction chapter in that each principle or theme of the book is first given within this first chapter.
Principle 1: The trials of life are opportunities to grow in maturity. (vs. 2-4)
We can rejoice when hard times come, because that means God is not done with us. He is pointing us towards greater faith and greater character. I was talking with another pastor this week who made this very true and pointed statement, “God is always focused on the end game. Jesus’ ministry was always focused on the mission of the Father.” That is absolutely true, and if it is true of Jesus, it is also true for us. God is focused on where He wants to take us, and sometimes that means allowing trials and troubles from time to time to get us on track.
Principle 2: Wisdom is freely available for those willing to seek it. (vs. 5-8)
This one is connected to the first in some respects in that wisdom many times comes after hardship, but the fact of the matter is God’s goodness extends to His generosity. Part of His generosity is His willingness to give us wisdom. However, I add “for those willing to seek it” because many times we think we want the answers to our questions, but what we really want are easy answers. But the thing is, God does not deal in easy answers. Life is hard. Reality is hard. And the true and living God is unafraid to deal with difficulty. When we are focused on Him and willing to face the hard truths about life, then we are willing to listen, and He responds with the hard facts.
Principle 3: Salvation is a transforming process that moves us away from sin and death and towards righteousness and eternal life. (vs. 9-18)
There are no shortcuts with God. Salvation itself is not a one-step process. In the modern SBC, we tend to think of salvation as a past tense activity. “I was saved when I was x years old.” What we should say is, “My salvation began when I was x years old,” or “I became a believer at x years old.” Personally, I take the approach C.S. Lewis describes in The Last Battle. This life is just the cover page for eternity.
But this principle is really foundational to the other two. I gave them to you in the order they appear in James 1, but really this last point helps us understand the other two. If I accept the truth that my salvation is a process, then I can accept that trials in life are part of that process. I can also accept even if maybe I don’t know everything, I do know Who saved me, and I can go to Him for wisdom. After all, if God created this whole thing we call life and reality, then maybe He knows a thing or two about what I’m dealing with. In fact, when I recognize God came down and lived among humans as a human, then I can take to heart what Hebrews 4:15 says,
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.
Hebrews 4:15
God absolutely understands our temptations and weaknesses, and not just because He is up in Heaven watching us, but because He walked among us and experienced those same temptations and weaknesses. Think about it. Jesus felt every temptation you have ever felt. He felt every pain of life, every moment of weakness, but He was able to live sinlessly. So when you go to God and say, “Lord, do you understand the pain of this? Do you understand how hard it is to not do this sin?” He answers “YES, I get it.” Jesus had to overcome those same temptations, and don’t think it wasn’t difficult at times. If you believe Jesus had an easy life, then you have not read the Gospels very well.
Now, this leads us to today’s final principle from chapter 1:
Principle 4: When God gives us new understanding, He always calls us to new action.
Again, when we go back to principle 3, salvation is a process, we also see that salvation is a process in which we have a part to play. Now, understand what I am saying clearly, because I am not saying we earn our salvation or we have hoops to jump through in order to be saved. What I am saying is that when God calls us to salvation, we have to respond. We respond by repenting, or turning, from our sin. We turn toward Jesus. We confess Jesus is Lord. Then, with the knowledge of salvation in our head and heart, we walk with Jesus. We are not called to sit and listen, we are called to go and tell.
Likewise, when it comes to matters of wisdom and Christian maturity, each of those steps and lessons are also opportunities to serve the Lord. That service can take any number of forms, but once God has revealed an aspect of His will, He will call us to action. As the 80s G.I. Joe cartoon used to say, “Knowing is half the battle.” The other half is us taking action.
Let’s begin reading in verse 19.
Receive the Word and Respond | James 1:19-25
Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant 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 who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.
James 1:19-25
It is helpful to remember that James is writing these words amidst great persecution in Jerusalem. If anyone ever had the right to be angry, it was those first century Christians. James led a church who mainly consisted of converted Jews. And his church faced persecution from both the Romans who were always the bane of Israel since they first took the region from Greece and also from his fellow Jews who rejected Christ. They were a people without a home on earth. God saved them, but now they were facing problem after problem. But instead of venting in anger, James says to slow down, put away the wickedness, and receive the implanted word which will save the soul.
The problem with anger is it doesn’t help. It’s a hard lesson, and one I am still learning myself. But the simple fact is this:
Anger will never lead to godliness.
Think about what an angry person looks like. Think about how their face turns red, their voice gets louder, and their body starts moving around crazily. Their hands are flying about, and their feet are kicking around. What does this inevitably lead to? Cussing, fighting, insults, and if it gets really out of hand, criminal behavior.
Now think about this. Have you been, or have you ever heard of someone being, convinced they were wrong because some angry person was yelling at them?
Of course not. Now, you may have seen people back down, but they certainly weren’t convinced of anything…except maybe they were dealing with a jerk.
This world may be filled with angry people these days, and some of it may be justified. But, dear Christian, the last thing this world needs is for people who claim to be ambassadors for the God who loves, forgives, and seeks to save the lost to be caught in fits of rage…regardless if it seems justified.
Anger inevitably leads to sin which inevitably leads to the chains of addiction and heartache. Star Wars is not a place I would normally go to for spiritual advice, but just like that blind squirrel, they did find one nut. “Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.”
Now, for those of you like myself who struggle with this truth, let me take you back to James 1:5. If any of you lack wisdom, ask God who gives generously. But, verse 6, let him ask in faith, with no doubting. Ask God to help you with what it is that is making you angry, and be willing to listen to His answer. I have one more tip to go with this. God has given us this wonderful thing called the Bible. Dig through it and you’ll discover God will teach you how to deal with the problem that is causing your anger. But be ready! Sometimes we discover the problem isn’t with what’s going on out there. The problem is what is going on in our own heart.
So, anger does not help us. Rather we need the word that is able to save our souls. Verse 21 probably alludes back to “word of truth” found in verse 18. The same word that saves us is the same word that will help us put away filthiness and wickedness.
By the Word of God we are saved, and by the Word of God we are transformed to godliness.
Then, James tells us to not just hear the word, but do the word. If we sit in church and listen, but never act on what we’ve heard, we are deceiving ourselves. He gives a rather silly illustration, but I don’t think it’s because James couldn’t come up with a better illustration. I believe he’s reinforcing just how foolish we are sometimes. We are like the unmerciful servant in Matthew 18. The servant was forgiven an enormous debt he could never pay. He goes away apparently forgetting how much he had been forgiven, because very soon he comes across another servant who owes him money. Instead of passing on the same forgiveness, he recalls the debt and punishes the man. The master calls the servant wicked for not showing the same mercy.
When we fail to demonstrate forgiveness, patience, and mercy to others, we are also failing to follow the example of Christ to us. At first glance it may seem like James lost his train of thought bringing up anger, but in reality, James understands that where we fail most to demonstrate the qualities of faith is when we are angry. And again, he is writing this to Christians facing persecution. They have every right to be angry, but that anger will not bring about godliness. Patient endurance and consistent focus on the Word of God is what they need for their souls.
Next, I want you to highlight verse 21. Then, put a big star next to it in your Bible. James 1:22 is the Book of James in a single verse. James will return to this point time and time again, and he states it pretty clearly.
True faith is demonstrated by the doing, not by the listening.
Now, before we read the last verses for today, look again at verse 25. This is a verse you should highlight and meditate upon because it is one of those verses that is often overlooked to our own detriment.
The one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres will be blessed. Notice the perfect law, the whole and complete law, is the law of liberty. True freedom is found walking in obedience to Jesus. It is the freedom to not react to every little grievance. It is the freedom to forgive others and release them to their own consequences without them taking up space in your heart and head. It is the freedom to love even the unloveable. It is the freedom to live without fear, because there is no place for fear in the heart of the one whose faith is in the Sovereign Lord.
How do we persevere in times of trial? How do we forgive the unforgivable? How do we love the unlovable? James 1:25 puts it in one little verse.
Look into the perfect law—study God’s Word
Act in obedience to God’s Word
Persevere—keep obeying even when, or especially when, it gets rough.
And keep in mind the end of that verse. The blessing comes after the doing, not before and not by the hearing. It is an absolute blessing that we have God’s Word. But the bigger blessing, and the blessing God has in store for you, comes from obedience—from doing God’s Word.
True blessing comes from obedience to God’s Word not just listening to it.
The last verses for today reinforce this point. Let’s read the end of chapter 1.
True Religion | James 1:26-27
If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.
James 1:26-27
With these last two verses James reiterates his point in 1:22. True faith is demonstrated by action. In this example, the ability to bridle your tongue (or we might say today, “watch your mouth”) is evidence of faith. Jesus said it this way in Matthew 15,
It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person…what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person.
Matthew 15:11 & 18
The point of religion, true religion, is to change the heart. Jesus came to save the lost by transforming the heart. When the heart is far from God, it will cause the mouth to say all kinds of things. Now, typically we think of someone cussing, but the truth is a person can bring all kinds of evil out of their mouth without ever using profanity. James will return to taming the tongue in chapter 3, so I won’t belabor the point. But let me leave you with this question:
If you were put under trial for being a Christian, and the prosecutor had a recording of everything you said and put on social media for the last month, would they have enough evidence to convict you, or would there be reasonable doubt?
True faith transforms our daily conversations.
Last for today, I want to be sure we give attention to 1:27 because it is another verse that needs highlighting in your Bible. It’s a verse that we hear a lot, but I’m not sure how many of us really meditate on it.
James says pure religion, the kind that is undefiled before God the Father, consists of two things. Now, it certainly isn’t limited to these two things, but the two things he mentions pretty well sets the standard so high, that we can be sure it is God’s standard. Outside of God’s inspiration, the human heart does not seek such a high calling. The first is to care for orphans and widows. The state of the orphan and widow in our day is still lowly, but in the first century, these two groups were two that had absolutely no standing in society, nor did caring for them offer any social benefit.
True faith cares for those who can’t care for themselves.
The second standard is to “keep oneself unstained from the world.” James has already been making this point throughout chapter 1, but here he states it clearly.
True faith does not look like the rest of the world.
Think back to the question I posed a minute ago. If that prosecutor dissected your life and behavior, how much different would you be from the average lost person?
It is worth landing here and really meditating on this point, because as I said last week, we tend to fall into one of two camps: either the libertine or the legalistic. What’s interesting about this verse is that it calls out both those camps.
The libertine Christian usually does not have a problem caring for orphans and widows, because they want to be relevant and loving to everyone. The problem though is they tend to start looking and acting like the world in order to stay “relevant.”
The legalistic Christian usually does not have a problem abstaining from the things of this world, because they want to make sure they have checked all the right boxes and stayed away from the devil’s music, tv, or whatever else might corrupt them. But in their zeal to abstain from the world, they tend to turn a blind eye to the needs around them. After all, if they go help the poor and needy, they might get some of those “sin germs” on their clothes.
The person who follows pure religion engages the world around them, but engages with wisdom and care in order to not be drug down by the world. Each person has to decide where God calls them to engage, but they also have to engage. We can’t use our fear of temptation as an excuse to ignore the problems of this world.
We will pick up this train of thought next week and in the coming weeks as we walk through James. But for today, we must simply ask ourselves this question: Are we following true religion?