THE LIFE GIVING WORD
JAMES 1:19 25
READ James 1:19 25
Last week James made us aware that our position as Christians is one of conflict...the battle of the two natures within us. Having done that, James now wants to help us to enter into a present salvation (21) which includes a blessing here and now. (No pie in the sky)
Verses 19 25 and out text from last week are connected by the idea of the Word of God..the word of truth (18)..the word planted in you (21)..the word (22)..the word (23)..the perfect law that gives freedom(25). This is a call to look to the word of God.
We have in this passage 3 absolutely essential directives regarding the Bible, each with a distinct response to the word that God speaks to us ...hearing... receiving... and obeying.
Up to this point, James has set before us the goal of maturity. Here he wants to guard us against becoming stuck in the infant stage of Christianity, which is something that happens to probably the vast majority of people who accept Christ as Savior...not only now, but back then as well.
Paul referred to the Corinthians as babes still on milk who should have been eating meat...and of course he was referring to their Christian maturity. James wants us to learn how to make the most of this great gift of salvation we've received. How do we move on from the new birth into the new life? This is a very important question James is raising.
We already know that the old nature and the new nature are locked in mortal combat. And as James sees it...it's not meant to end in stalemate. Last week we read that "every good and perfect gift" is available to us...so we have everything we need to be victorious.
But how do we actually do it? How are these resources, these heavenly forces that help us in the battle, how are they brought up to engage the enemy? Look back for a minute to verse 18...Read 18a...and then in verse 19 it says "be quick to listen.."
When we received this birth, which is salvation, we discovered an important truth...that we were able to hear, understand, and respond to the word of God. The Bible plainly says that those who aren't saved aren't able to understand the things of the Spirit. Only after the Holy Spirit comes to live in us are we able to grasp the real truth of God's Word.
And this same pattern remains the key to an on going, growing experience...we must go on hearing the word that tells us about our new nature...and in this way progressively enter in to the new life we're meant to live. It's an on going process!
By hearing the life giving word, all the energies of the new nature are stimulated into action. So we must be quick to listen to what God has to say to us. But is it really that important to read the Bible? Well, it is if we believe that the Bible is our final source of authority for all that we believe and do.
Now, God speaks to us in other ways...like through that still, small voice...or through the gifts of the Spirit, such as a word of knowledge, a prophecy, even a message in tongues that is properly interpreted...but all other means of guidance must come under the authority of God's inspired Word the Bible.
A wonderful thing happens when a born again believer is reading God's Word. The same Holy Spirit who inspired the writers is with us when we read it. He guided the writers of His Word by inspiration...and He guides those who read and study it by illumination.
When we read the Word of God, we make ourselves available to the Holy Spirit, who illumines the truth to our hearts and minds....He guides us through what He intends to say. But a word of warning here...we should never approach God's Word seeking confirmation of our own personal desires. We are to study His Word to understand what He is saying to us.
Now, we've all been misunderstood at some time in our lives. Someone took part of what we said out of context and changed what we meant. And what hurts the most is when that misunderstanding is inconsistent with our character. But it's even more tragic if we misrepresent what God means.
And sadly enough, this is the rule rather than the exception. Often the word is read but not really heard...not listened to. We read over the words but seldom if ever do we follow the command of Joshua 1:8 READ
And it's even worse when we pray. Look at your prayer life as it stands right now. How much of your prayer time is talking and how much is listening? For most people, once you're done talking its all over.....Amen, I'm out of here. This may sound crude...but its almost like God is saying...OK, you spoke your peace now listen to what I have to say.
Two men were talking one day. One of them said, "My wife talks to herself a lot." His friend answered, "Mine does too, but she doesn't know it. She thinks I'm listening." Hello
The growth of the new nature from infancy to maturity is the God's desire for us. This is what will happen if we go on with the great task of hearing the word of truth. This is how James develops the idea of going on with God.
But we also find in these verses the command to be slow to anger, for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. And the prohibition against anger must have to do with getting along with people...and this is surely the context of the command to be slow to speak.
Our life with God is not something segregated, "this is my Christian life and this is my secular life"...Our life w/ God can't be restricted to "quiet times" or "church times." If we don't have an attentive, listening ear to God in the ordinary circumstances of life...we don't suddenly become different people when we shut the door and open the Bible.
We have to use the relationships and situations of everyday life as a training ground for a readiness to hear...a control for our speech...and a cautious hatred of anger. We need to become listeners...people who will listen to God. Great talkers are rarely great listeners...and never is the ear more firmly closed than when anger takes over.
One thing we need to recognize...slow to speak doesn't mean "never speak" ...but speak with proper thought and care...and slow to anger is not the same as never be angry. But on the other hand, we can safely say that human anger seldom if ever advances the cause of Christ.
Paul spoke of anger in Ephesians 4:26 when he said, "In your anger do not sin. Don't let the sun go down while you're still angry." Both Paul and James imply the possibility of a righteous anger...but both give a straight warning that anger and sin are never far apart.
James doesn't give a long dissertation about human anger...he just gives a simple truth. It's not an emotion that is pure...it's usually contaminated with some kind of sin....like self importance, intolerance, or stubbornness.
James is speaking to each and every one of us...and he's saying that our anger does not bring about the righteous plan of God. And besides that, an angry spirit is never an attentive one. When anger comes in...our listening ability usually flies right out the door!
Anyone who wants to listen to God has to train themselves to be listeners...and that means that they must desire and cultivate a slow tongue and a calm temper. Everything must be made subject to hearing God's word. But once we do hear it, we need to go to the next step...which is accepting it, according to verse 21. (READ)
Now, take note of how verse 19 begins, "My dear brothers" which is a common reference to fellow Christians. And yet in verse 21 he says that we're to accept the word that was planted in us which can save us. I thought we were already saved...or is he referring to something besides the initial salvation experience?
In the healing ministry of Jesus, people were "saved" from disease and death and brought into a state of personal wholeness. This provides us with a pattern for that total salvation that Jesus came to accomplish.
Salvation can be spoken of as past, because the work of salvation was completed when Jesus died for us. It can also be spoken of as future, because the full experience of salvation will not be ours until Jesus comes again.
But it's also present, because day by day we can experience a greater and greater measure of what has been done for us by our Lord. James uses the verb tense that underlines the power of the implanted word to make salvation a positive reality in our daily experience.
Each and every day should provide us with some fresh evidence that we are saved...that new powers are at work within us...and that the Lord is progressively making us whole. And the source of the energy that makes all this possible is the living word planted in us. But now we come to the place where we're instructed to obey God's Word. READ 22 25
We can see right away the importance of this last area because James adds the stern warning about not deceiving ourselves. And there may be no greater area of failure in Christianity than this very thing...self deception when it comes to obedience to His word.
James uses the illustration of a man with a mirror and contrasts that with a true believer. The man with the mirror looks...goes away...and forgets. But the believer looks intently...continues on looking...and acts on it.
Now, we need to make sure we see this for what it is. Both are equally intent on what they see. It says the man with the mirror "looks"...and this Greek word means to consider, to look at with reflection. The believer "looks intently"...and this word which is different from the previous word, means to stoop, or bend over to search"
So each is equally serious in their gaze...but it's what happens next that makes the difference. One considers it but then goes away and forgets it...while the true believer searches it, accepts it and then acts on it.
James says we have the same choice. We can either deceive ourselves or bless ourselves. We deceive ourselves when we mistake a part for the whole...and we only do part when we hear and then accept the word.
Like if I were to say, "I spent one hour this morning reading the Bible...and I can understand and remember everything I read..." James would say, Good job...but now what about obeying the word you just read. Have you actually changed your mind so that you now live what you learned in the word?....
...Are your relationships different as the word instructed you they should be...are you redirecting your thoughts...and your eyes...and your imaginations so that you live according to the standards that the word sets forth? James goes further than we often do.
And we need to look at this not as a life of legalism and bondage...but as the greatest opportunity for freedom we'll ever experience. And maybe the best way to see this passage from James would be to go back to the time when the law was given to the Israelites at Mt. Sinai in Exodus 20.
At Mt Sinai, the Lord spoke to the people He brought out of the land of Egypt. These were a people that had been redeemed...and the means of their redemption was what?....the blood of the Passover lamb.
So we can see that God didn't give His law as a means of salvation...but as a life style for those who had already been saved. It was the way He wanted His redeemed ones to live. True freedom is the opportunity and the ability to express what we truly are!
