“BE A DOER” James 1:19-27
FBCF – 10/9/22
Jon Daniels
INTRO – Nike started the “Just do it!” tagline in their advertising in 1988. Long before then, James said, “Just do it!” around A.D. 45, only he wasn’t talking about athletic footwear. He was talking about living the Christian life.
EXPLANATION – James 1:19-27 (p. 1011) – Francis Chan – “This may be the most-needed passage in the Church today.”
There’s no such thing as “unpractical theology.” Theology is simply what you think or believe about God. Nowhere in the Bible will you find teaching about God that does not translate into some type of practical living out of that teaching.
James specializes in “practical theology” – helping his readers put their thinking & belief about God into practice in their everyday lives. This was a tall order for these believers who were scattered all over the known world. Remember that James said they were in “the Dispersion” (v.1). One writer: “Those of the Dispersion were those in captivity, in slavery. [They] had been taken captive; they had been torn away from friends & country; they had suffered all the indignities or a conquered people. They were starving, homesick, the most loathed of all men. Under the heel of a pagan conqueror, it would be natural for them to cry out, ‘Where is God?’ James wrote to tell them.” (Louis H. Evans)
That’s why James wrote to them about enduring trials – they were in the middle of them! About having wisdom – they sure needed it! About battling temptation – they were facing them everywhere! About God giving them good gifts & saving them – they needed that strong encouragement!
And then we come to this extremely clear & practical teaching – “be doers of the Word & not hearers only” (v. 22). Or as we see in the application for this sermon:
APPLICATION – Just DO what the Word says!
MAKE THIS COMMITMENT – v. 22 – The Christian life is a life of ACTION. If it’s possible to like a Bible verse too much, it seems that some of us like Psalm 46:10 a little too much: “Be still & know that I am God.” It is absolutely true that there are times when we need to be still – need to bask in His presence – need to calm our spirits & cool our jets so we can hear from Him & know what He has for us.
But it is equally as true that we need to DO what He tells us to do. This theme runs throughout the entire Bible. God calls His people into a relationship w/ Him & then calls them to action in serving Him. He’s given us a mission to do – a mandate to be His witnesses wherever we go; to make disciples of all nations; to love each other in the Church & minister to one another; to bear one another’s burdens & take care of each other’s needs; to glorify God in all that we say & do.
Every Christ-follower in this room & watching/listening to this message today needs to make this commitment: I WILL DO WHAT THE WORD OF GOD SAYS FOR ME TO DO! If you’re not willing to make that commitment, then that’s a good sign that you do not truly know Christ as your Savior, which means that YOU need to get saved today – RIGHT NOW!
So make the commitment to DO what the Bible says to do:
Then DO these things: James gives us some specific things that we can DO in obedience to the Word of God – not an exhaustive list, but a good place to start today.
CONTROL YOUR ANGER – v. 19-20 – Practical teaching here: Clear your ears – Close your mouth – Control your anger.
We are some angry people! Social media is filled w/ people venting their anger. Parents get tossed from their little kids’ ballgames due to anger. Fans regularly get in brawls at college & pro football games. I’ve heard of church business meetings that degenerate into angry exchanges between folks who are supposed to brothers & sisters in Christ. I heard of a pastor who actually got punched by a deacon in a deacons’ meeting.
So many people on edge. Everyone wants to be heard these days & thinks they should be heard these days. And yet, the clear teaching of the Word is that we need to open up our ears, close our mouths, & control our anger. This is what we must DO b/c this is what glorifies God & produces His righteousness in our lives for others to see.
CULTIVATE PURITY – v. 21, 27b – James follows this practical teaching w/ some more practical teaching: Cultivate purity in your life. Clean your life up. I’m not going to delineate everything that means b/c you know what it means for you, & I know what it means for me. So just DO IT! Those words “filthiness” & “wickedness” mean “moral impurity, sordidness, malice, badness, depravity” – It's junk that simply should not be a part of our lives, so get it out & then keep yourself “unstained by the world” (v. 27b). In other words, cultivate purity in your life!
So, what else do we need to DO?
MASTER YOUR MOUTH – v. 19, 26 – Already said it in v. 19, then comes back in v. 26 & says to “bridle your tongue.” Lot of you have horses & know that the main purpose of that bridle is control – control the horse’s head, control the horse’s speed, control the horse’s direction – it’s all about control.
An uncontrolled tongue – whether it is uncontrolled in anger, cursing, gossiping, slander, verbal abuse, hurtful words, selfishness, berating & degrading words – is one of the most destructive forces in a Christian’s life, & it’s got to stop. James says you might think you’re religious, but you’re not if you’re not controlling your tongue. So, we must master our mouth! DO IT! No excuse for not doing this.
MINISTER TO THOSE IN NEED – v. 27 (Also 2:1-13) – One more thing that we must DO is to minister to those who are in need. James gets specific in v. 27 – “widows & orphans.” These are people who have experienced tremendous loss & traumatic grief, & desperately need the ministry of the Body of Christ to them. This is not just the job of the pastors & church staff, but something that we ALL must DO.
- Look around this room. Think about our church FAMILY. Who needs for YOU to reach out to them w/ the love of Christ & meet some need that they have?
- What about the half million kids who are in the foster system in the US right now? Some of you could take one of them into your home.
- What about the millions & millions of widows & orphans in war-torn countries & poverty-stricken countries around the world? What can we DO for them?
CONCLUSION – Let’s move back to v. 22 now that we know some of the things that we must DO.
Satan is thrilled when believers pack out church to hear the Word, then go do nothing. “Good sermon, preacher. I’m not going to do anything w/ it, but, hey, it was a good sermon!” They think they’ve accomplished something by hearing a sermon. They’re deceived. And since Satan is the great deceiver, these folks are actually doing Satan’s’ work for him, & he loves it!
What’s point of someone looking in mirror then forgetting what they saw? So foolish. What’s point of looking? But same true of hearing word but not doing anything about it. FOOLISH! WORTHLESS!
So many of us say we are “blessed,” which usually means that we’re not sick, we’ve got some money in the bank, & our kids are making good grades. But v. 25 tells us that we are blessed, not by what we have, but by what we do. A doer who acts is blessed in his doing. As we act on the Word of God, we will THEN experience the blessings of God.
Closing benediction video (Sermoncentral video "Doers of the Word Benediction" - 1:15)
So, what do YOU need to DO today?
