Take God's Word and turn to James chapter one would you please. And in a moment we're going to begin reading in verse twenty one. James one twenty one. You will never be a growing Christian without a knowledge of the Word of God. May that sink in. You will never be a growing Christian without a knowledge of the Word of God. These hath God married and no man shall part, dust on the Bible and drought in the heart.
But it's not enough even to know Bible facts. You must know the Lord of the Word. You can backslide with a Bible under your arm. You need to understand the Bible. Let's look in God's Word. Verse twenty one. Wherefore, lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness and receive with meekness the engrafted Word that is able to save your soul, but be ye doers of the Word and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the Word and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass, that is in a mirror. He beholdeth himself and goeth his way and straightway forgeteth what manner of man he was, but whosoever looketh into the perfect law of liberty and continueth therein, being not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the Word, this man shall be blessed in his deed.
And, in that passage, we have four ways to better understand the Word of God. Now, look if you will in verse twenty one. Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness and receive with meekness the engrafted Word that is able to save your souls. This is written to Christians. He's telling Christians how to be saved. Receive with meekness the engrafted Word that is able to save your souls. Well, Pastor, I thought we were already saved. Well, we are. Then, why does he say, receive the Word so you can save your soul? Salvation comes to us in three tenses, past tense, present tense, and future tense. The past tense of salvation happens when you receive Christ as your personal Savior and you were saved from the penalty of sin. You will never have to die and go to hell because your sin has been washed whiter than snow with the blood of Jesus Christ.
A Sunday School teacher asked a little girl, I'm told, is there anything that God cannot do? That little girl wisely said, yes teacher, there's one thing that God cannot do, God cannot see my sin through the blood of Jesus Christ. Thank God for that, that is salvation in the past tense. That's from the penalty of sin. But there's salvation in the present tense. That is from the power of sin. And, even though we'll not go to hell, the devil has not ceased working on us and sin still has its allurement and its attraction and sin is working every day and you know that is true.
So, not only do we need to be saved past tense, we need to be saved present tense from the power of sin, and one day when Jesus comes, that's future salvation, we're going to be saved from the possibility of sin. But that day is not here yet. And so it is the Word of God that is able to save our souls. The Greek word for soul is the word “psyche.” Able to save your psyche - your mind, your emotion, your will. That's what the soul is - your mind, your emotion, and your will need to be controlled by the Word of God. When your mind, your emotion and your will is controlled by the Word of God, then you're living in victory.
May I give you a testimony? The thing that keeps me going is not primarily how I feel. It is what I know from the Word of God. I've been on the trail long enough to look back and analyze and say, what is it that keeps me, what is it that holds me? It is the Word of God, sanctify them through Thy Word. Thy Word is truth.
Now the Bible says we are to receive the Word of God. Now, notice in verse twenty one, receive, do you see it? Receive with meekness the Word of God. They're two words in the Greek language for receive. One is the word lambono and that means to grasp, to reach out and take, to get. He doesn't use that word here because you can't just reach out and snatch the Word of God. You can't just take. Ever so often somebody says, well, I've studied math, I've studied geometry, I have studied physics. I've studied history, I'll study the Word of God. So, he gets a Bible and he gets him so lexicons and he gets him a concordance and he spreads the Bible out and he takes his mind and he takes his will and he takes his determination and he takes his intellect and he says, I'm going to master the Bible. He may get the words but he'll never get the
music. He may learn about the kings of Israel but he'll never know the King of kings. You see, this is self promoted taking. It is grasping. It is going into the Bible to extract the truth. Many people have approached the Word of God that way and they have failed, but there's another word for receive and that's the word that is used in verse twenty one. It is not lombano, it is decomine, which means to welcome. To receive as though you would receive somebody into your house, as you receive a guest. You say welcome. Now, if you would understand the Bible you must learn to welcome the Word. You're never going to take your intellect. You're never going to take your mind and your determination and go into the Bible and get truth out, but if you'll open your heart and open your mind and welcome the Word.
I've had the joy of preaching overseas in different countries, and one of the countries is in China. And, when I went to China, the guide said, now when you go to the Chinese, they are the most gracious and hospitable of all people. The Chinese are wonderful people. If you know the Chinese, you will love them. They are so wonderful and so gracious. And, when you come into a Chinese home they want to serve you something, they want to give you something. It is an honor for them to have you come under their roof. They know how to welcome you. They will say, you are welcome in our home and I want to serve you something. And, you ought to receive it, to show that you accept their hospitality. The guide said, if they serve you something, if it's tea for example, never reach out and take it with one hand. That implies you're grasping. Take it with both hands, then you're receiving. Then, you're receiving.
Now, now you don't just reach out and take God's Word. We lift up our hands to Him and we welcome the Word, we receive the Word, we just take the Word by faith and by grace and let God's Word come into our heart.
Now, having said that, I want to mention to you four ways to welcome the Word. Four ways. And so in order to help you understand them, we're going to let all four of these ways begin with the letter R. How do you welcome the Word?
Number one. You welcome the Word with a repentant heart. Welcome the Word with a repentant heart. Look again in verse twenty one. Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness and receive with meekness the engrafted Word which is able to save your soul. Now, there is a moral qualification to understand the Word of God. It is not primarily an intellectual qualification, primarily a moral qualification. It is not enough to know Greek and Hebrew and to have a Bible dictionary. Now, you must lay aside what the Bible here calls the superfluity of naughtiness. Now, that's a word we use a lot isn't it. That's the reason that some say the King James is hard to understand. What does superfluity of naughtiness mean? It literally means that which remains, that which is left over.
Now, it means residual sin. You see, when you got saved, you repented of your sin and you received Christ as your personal Savior and Lord as best you knew how, but you were you were a new Christian. There was a lot that you did not know about Jesus and a lot that you did not know about you. And, so when you got saved you were very much like Lazarus who came out of the grave. And, Jesus said to Lazarus when he raised him from the dead, Lazarus come forth. And, Lazarus came forth but how did he come forth? He was dressed in the grave clothes of the old life, the stench of the old life was upon him. Now, he had received life. He had come out of the grave, but he still has the grave clothes on and Jesus said, loose him and let him go. In other words, take that off that remains, that superfluity of naughtiness. Take the grave clothes of the old way off of him.
Or, when the prodigal son came back to the Lord. Do you remember that in Luke fifteen? The prodigal son came back to his father rather and he came back he was dressed in rags and the Lord said, put shoes on him, put a ring, put a new robe on him, take off those rags, that which is left over.
Now, what does that mean to you. Well, you may be saved and on your way to heaven but you've got some superfluity of naughtiness. You've got something that remains. I'm going to tell you something. I repented of my sin when I received Jesus Christ as my personal Savior, but I have done far more repenting after I got saved than I did when I got saved. Isn't that true about you? I've done far more repenting. Because I had gotten saved, I've learned so much more about me and I've learned so much more about the Lord Jesus Christ and so the Bible says you lay aside that superfluity of naughtiness and filthiness.
Now, the word filthiness. Do you know what the word filthiness is? Huh you'll be surprised. Ear Wax. Ear wax. The word lupus means ear wax. Now, what God says is if you want to hear, you've got to clean out your ears. Musically you can't hear if your ears are stopped. God says that sin in your life is like wax in your ear. Just get rid of it. Get rid of it. Listen friend, to hear God, there is a moral qualification. It is so simple yet it is so profound. The reason that so many of us do not understand the Bible when we read it. The reason that God's truth does not come into us is that we've got hangover sin, that superfluity of naughtiness. We've got spiritual wax in our ears. And, therefore, it is absolutely important that when you study the Bible that you make a full confession of sin and ask God to search your heart and see if there be some wickedness in you. Get your heart clean, get your heart right with God.
Now, if you're going to a garden, before you plant the seed, you weed the garden. That's what it's all about, just get your heart right. So many times we sing that song, fill my cup Lord I lift it up Lord. Well, you think He wants to fill a dirty cup. Maybe we ought to sing, Cleanse my cup Lord, I've messed it up Lord. And then after God cleanses the cup, he'll fill the cup. After we weed the garden, then the seed will grow. After we get the wax out then we can hear. Do you understand that? Receive the Word. Welcome the Word with a repentant heart.
Secondly, not only should you welcome the word with a repentant heart, verse twenty one, but welcome the Word with a receptive heart verse twenty one, look at that also, wherefore lay apart all filthiness and all superfluity of naughtiness and receive with, do you see this next word, receive with, look at it, receive with meekness, meekness, the engrafted Word which is able to save your soul. Welcome the Word with meekness. What is meekness?
Meekness is a teachable spirit. To be meek is to be teachable. In olden times and I've told you this when we've preached on the Beatitudes. When people would take a Stallion full of fire and power and strength, they'd want to be able to ride that Stallion, they'd have to break it so they could put a bridle and a bit and a saddle on it. When that powerful animal had been broken, not crippled, broken, the fire, the stamina, the strength is still there, but when he had been broken they said he had been meeked. He'd been meeked. That was the word. I'm going to meek a horse. That means I'm going to break this horse.
Did you know that God wants to be able to put the bridle and the bit on you. Did you know that God wants to break you and take you under His control and make you sensitive to His commands. That's a meek spirit. That is a receptive spirit.
Now, you say, I want to learn the Word of God. Question? Are you meek? First question, are you clean? Second question, are you meek? Do you have a teachable spirit. I will give you a promise from the Word of God. It is John chapter seven and verse seventeen. Jesus said, if any man will do God's will he shall know the doctrine. If any man will do God's will he will know the doctrine. You see it is the will that comes, the will must be surrendered. It is not primarily the mine, it is the heart, the will. I want to know. God says, if you will to do my will, you will know the doctrine.
I shared with you before the story of a man who came to see me. I'd never met him. Pastor on the space coast down at Cape Kennedy. This man was a big shot in the space industry, a big shot, an intelligent, learned man in many ways. He came into my office, he said, Mr. Rogers I need my help. It is my wife, she wants to commit suicide and I don't want her too. I thought that was nice, he didn't want her to. And, he said, I wish you would talk with her. I said I will sir, if you will come with her. So they came into my office. I said madam would you tell me what the problem is. She began to pour her heart, but her problem could be summed up in one little three letter word, him. That man. Him. He was a liar, he was an adulterer. He was a gambler. He was a profane man. He abused here physically. He abused her verbally. He abused her almost every way. He was an arrogant man. I turned to him and I said, Sir, I want to ask you a question. Are you a Christian? Now, I was not asking for information. I'm just trying to get the conversation started. Are you a Christian? Hah, he laughed. He said, no I'm not a Christian. I'm an atheist. I said, oh? He said, yes, I 'm an atheist. I said well an atheist is a man who knows there's no God. Do you know there's no God? He said, Yes. I said, well, that's very interesting. I said, of everything there is to know, how much would you know. Do you know all there is to know? He said, of course not. Said nobody knows everything. I said, well would it be generous to say you know half of all there is to know. Well, he said, yes of course. I said, I thought you said you knew there was no God. Wouldn't you have to admit the possibility that God might exist in that half of the knowledge you don't have? Well, he said, I don't think there's a God. I said, well, that's different. You're not an atheist, you're an agnostic. He said, yea that's what I am, an agnostic. I don't think there's a God. I said, well, the agnostic, that just means a doubter. I didn't tell him the Latin equivalent is ignoramus which, same word, really, same word, both mean just simply, I don't know. I didn't call him an ignoramus. I said, you're an agnostic. He said, that's right. I said, well that means you're a doubter He said, Yea, and I'm a big one. I said, well, I don't care what size. I want to know what kind. He said, well what kinds are there. I said, only two. Honest doubters and dishonest. I said, which one are you. He said, well, what's the difference. I said, well, an honest doubter doesn't know but he wants to know and therefore he makes an
honest investigation. I said dishonest doubter doesn't know because he doesn't want to know. He can't find God for the same reasons a thief can't find a policeman. I said, you claim to be a scientist. I said, how would you like to prove whether or not God exist. I said, it can be done if you get in the right laboratory. And, I gave him the verse that I just gave you. John chapter seven verse seventeen. Jesus said, my doctrine is not mine but His who sent me and if any man will do His will, He shall know of the doctrine whether it be of God or whether I speak of myself.
God I don't know whether you exist or not. I don't know whether the Bible is your Word or not. I don't know whether Jesus Christ is your son or not, but I want to know. And, because I want to know I'll make an honest investigation. And, because it is a honest investigation, I will follow the result of that investigation wherever it leads me regardless of the cost. I said, an honest man would sign that statement. He said, give it to me again. God, I don't know whether you exist or not. I don't know whether the Bible is your Word or not. I don't know whether Jesus Christ is your son or not, but I want to know and because I want to know, I'll make an honest investigation, because it is and honest investigation, I will follow the results of that investigation wherever it leads me regardless of the cost.
He said, alright, I want to be honest. I'll do that. I said, wonderful. I said, God's gonna show Himself to you. He said, where do I start. I said start with the gospel of John. That’s written that you might believe that Jesus is Christ and believing you might have faith in His name. What should I do? I said, just begin to read about a chapter a day and pray like this, God I don't even know whether you're there or not. I don't know whether this is your Word or not. But if it is, speak to me and my mind is made up ahead of time, I will follow you if you'll only speak to me. I will do your will if you are there. In several weeks, that man came back to my office, got down on his knees, wept like a baby and gave his heart to Jesus Christ - was wonderfully saved. The last time I saw them, I saw them sitting in their big white Cadillac holding hands like school kids. She didn't want to commit suicide anymore. The last time I heard from him, I got a letter a while back. He's moved up to Maine. I'd almost forgotten about him. But he wrote me a letter. I have it on my file. He told me how he's in a Sunday School ministry there, how he's in a tape ministry there, how he's working in a Christian school up there, and then he said to me, and Mr. Rogers I want to thank you for spending time with this general in the devil's army.
Now, where was that man's problem. That man's problem before he got saved was not in his head, it was in his heart. He did not have a receptive spirit. He did not have a meek spirit. And the minute that man opened his heart and said, I want to learn, I want to know, I surrender my will, God began to speak to him. That is John seven seventeen, if any man wills to His will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God. You receive the Word with a repentant spirit. You receive the Word, you welcome the Word with a receptive spirit. Have you got it? Now, here's the third way to understand the Word of God.
The third R is you welcome the Word with a responsive spirit, with a responsive spirit. Look in verse twenty two. But be ye doers of the Word and not hearers only deceiving your own hearts. You see, once you get your heart clean. Once you surrender your will, then if you would understand the Word of God, begin to obey what God tells you. If you do not respond to what you hear, the Bible says you are self- deceived. Be ye doers of the Word and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
No man is a bigger fool than the man who is self-deceived. You know what's wrong with so many folks today. They come to church. They sit, soak, sour. They never they never apply what they hear. And, if you're like a sponge, you sit, soak and sour, before long you'll stink. You've got to, you've got to give out what comes in. You receive the Word with a responsive spirit. Did you know that if you hear truth and don't act on truth, do you know what Jesus calls you? He calls you a fool.
In Matthew chapter seven and verse twenty-six, Jesus said, and everyone who heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them not, I will liken unto a foolish man. When a man hears and he doesn't do. Again, Jesus said in Luke chapter eleven and verse twenty eight. huh, blessed are they that hear the Word of God and keep it. It's not enough to hear. Now, every now and then, people will compliment my preaching. I think a preachers lying if he says he doesn’t' like to hear that. You've got a compliment for me, it's alright, help yourself. That's fine. But I want to say this. the best compliment you can give to my preaching is to live what I say. Not just to hear it. Not just to say, well you know, Pastor that was good. Wasn't the music wonderful? Whatever. Oh, the best compliment that you can give to the Word of God is to obey the Word of God, to live it out. Be ye doers of the Word and not hearers only.
Years ago, I heard of an actor, famous actor who was in a crowded theater. They'd come to hear him and a fire had broken out in the wings of that theater. The manager came to the actor and said, we could have a bad situation here. There's a fire, it's not out of control, but if the people smell smoke, if the people hear the word fire, they'll all head for the exit. It could be a disaster. They have come to hear you. I suggest that you go out on the platform and you tell them about the fire, but tell them in such a way that they would leave in an orderly fashion.
This great actor, according to this story, came the platform. He said, ladies and gentlemen, I have an announcement to make. Give me attention. I don't want there to be any undue harm, but I want you to listen carefully. A small fire has broken out in this theater. There’s plenty of time for all of us to leave, so I'm going to ask that right now we stand and in an orderly way, we vacate the premises. They applauded. Wonderful - wonderful. What a fine actor. They thought it was part of the act. Just a story. So, he came back again the second time. Said no, this is not a part of the act, this is real. There is a fire. Now there's plenty of time, if you will get up now and exit. Bravo. Wonderful. Isn't he fine. What a wonderful actor. Then realizing the gravity of the situation, he got down on his knees and with tears he said, please for your safety, leave the theater. Bravo. Isn't that wonderful. See those tears. Bravo. Just a story. But it illustrates how many people hear the Word of God. Come and listen to a preacher preach the Word of God. Isn't that fine. Isn't that wonderful. Yes, how we love to hear the Word of God, but God said consider yourself deceived if you read the Word, hear the Word and don't heed the Word. Be ye doers of the Word and not hearers only.
The best way to understand the part of the Bible you don't understand, is to obey the part you do understand. To him that hath shall be given. To him who has not, even what he has will be taken away. I want to ask you a question, why should God show anybody more truth until that person has acted upon the truth God has already shown them. HMMM.
Is there a part of the Word that God has been speaking to you about. Maybe in your witnessing life, giving life, your prayer life, maybe in making restitution, maybe in restitution to the church, maybe about baptism, maybe about confessing Christ openly and publicly. You know that you ought to do it.
Now please listen to me. Maybe this is the most important thing I'll say this morning. A study of the Bible gives you knowledge about God. Obedience gives you knowledge of God. Jesus said in John chapter fourteen and it's a very wonderful passage. Jesus said, he that hath my commandments. John fourteen verse twenty one. He that hath my commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me and he that loves me shall be loved of my father and I will love him and will manifest myself to him.
He that hath my commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me. You can say, oh how I love Jesus all day long and if you don't keep his commandments, you don't love him. He that hath my commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me. He that loveth me shall be loved of my father. You want God to love you, then you love Jesus and I will love Him and Jesus said I will manifest myself to Him. Studying the Bible gives you knowledge of God, the knowledge about God, but obedience gives you knowledge of God, makes God real to you.
Now, here's the fourth R and we'll be finished. Four ways to better understand the Bible, to welcome the Word. You welcome the Word with a repentant spirit. You lay aside that filthiness, get the wax out of your ear, then you're ready for this next thing. You welcome the Word with a reflective spirit. Look if you will at verses twenty three and following. For if any man be a hearer of the Word and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass. That means the face you were born with, the word glass here means mirror. He's like a man that looks at his mug in a mirror for he beholdeth himself and goeth his way and straightway forgeteth what manner of man he was. Whoso looketh to the perfect law of liberty and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the Word, this man shall be blessed in his deed.
Now, there many metaphors and figures of speech to describe the Bible. The Bible is called the hammer. It's called a lamp. It's called the bread. It's called a sword. It's called a seed. But here James calls the Bible a mirror. The Bible is a mirror. It reflects and so when you go to the Bible and you look at the Bible, the Bible looks back at you. You see yourself in the Word of God. Read the Bible with a reflective spirit. Let the Bible read you. Now, there's a difference in a mirror. There two ways you can get an image, a mirror and a photograph. Well, the wonderful thing about a photographer is this, that he can be an artist. You know, where there's beauty we take it, where there's none we make it, but the mirrors don't lie. That's the reason we don't like the mirror.
I heard a long time ago about a man who'd never seen a mirror in his life, an old farmer and he found one out in a field and he looked at it and he said, well, would you be, there's a picture of my old daddy. Look at that. He was so proud of it, he put it up in the attic of his house. His wife saw him up there in the attic. He stayed up there a long time, she being curious. After he came down decided she'd go up and see what he'd placed in the attic. She rummaged around and found the mirror, she'd never seen one either. She looked at it and said, ahah, that's the old hag he's been running around with.
A mirror shows us our selves. Now, James imagines two people. He imagines one person who comes and looks in the mirror and he just glances at the mirror. Look if you will in verse twenty four. He beholdeth himself and goes his way. He straightway forgets what manner of man he is. And, if you've ever seen a man come to work. He's shaved and he's cut himself and he takes a little piece of tissue and sticks it on there and then forgets it's there and then comes to work with it stickin’ on there like that. Looks ridiculous doesn't he. But he means to take that off, he's just busy, he's thinking about something and he forgets it or you know whatever, you know you've got a dirty face and you say we'll I've got to get that smudge off and you forget it. You just get a glance and you go your way.
Now, James says that's the way some people are when they look in the Word of God. They just may have a look and a promise. What he's saying is this. Some people. Listen to me now. Some people are too casual in their study of the Word of God. They just glance in the mirror and they go their way. You know they say well it's time for my quite time. Well let me see here. They read a word. Off they go. All there like a man who just glances in the mirror as he goes. He never straightens his tie. He never combs his hair. He never gets the smudge off. He never removes that piece of tissue. He just goes his way.
But James mentions another kind of man, not the man with a casual glance, but the careful gaze. Notice verse twenty five. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty and continueth therein, not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the Word, this man shall be blessed in his deed and the word here that is used for look means a careful gaze. It means to look penetratingly into the Word of God.
Do you know where it was used. It was used in the Bible for John when John at the resurrection, he and the other disciple came to the tomb and the stone had been rolled away. And, the Bible says that John came and he looked, stooping down, he looked into the tomb. Had you been there that Easter morning and you came where your Lord had been buried and the stone was rolled away. Oh, would you have just glanced in and just gone on. No, you would look with all of the intensity possible.
I can remember the first time I was in that empty tomb, you were there with us. I can remember. You weren't there the first time I was there, but you were one time. I can remember looking. I wanted to see everything where my Lord was. John wasn't even sure of that. He looked with intensity into that tomb, not a casual glance, but a careful gaze. You want to understand the Word of God. Friend, when you read it, bring your mind to it, bring your heart to it, bring everything to it. It's not easy. Tonight I'm going to talk to you about how to study the Bible. But all I'm telling you right now is, it is that gaze, it is that looking into the Word of God that makes the Bible real to you and if you will receive the Word today. If you will receive it with a receptive spirit. Oh, if you will receive it my friend with a repentant spirit, responsive spirit, reflective spirit, it will burst aflame in your hands and in your life, and it will change your life. Let's bow in prayer.
Father God, your Word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our paths. Thank you Lord that you've taught us, even from your Word, how to love and study your Word and apply it to our hearts. In Jesus name. Amen.
