BEING DOERS OF THE WORD
James 1:21-25
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR
1. An older man was going to "try out" for a church. When he arrived in the town, he discovered he had forgotten his dentures. He called the head deacon, who replied, "I'll take care of it."
2. Later that evening a man showed up at his hotel room with a briefcase full of dentures. The ‘would-be’ pastor tried on several of the dentures until he found one that was a perfect fit.
3. The next morning, he preached and was well received by the church. After the service, the pastor returned the dentures to the man and said, "It's sure nice to have a Christian dentist here!"
4. And the man replied, "I'm not a dentist, I am a mortician!"
B. WHICH STAGE ARE YOU IN? There are three stages of Bible study:
1. First, the Robitussin stage -- when you take the Word like medicine, because it's good for you.
2. Second, is the shredded wheat stage -- dry, but nourishing.
3. Third, the cookies and cream stage – whew, it's all good! Which stage are you in?
C. TEXT
21 “‘Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent’* and receive with meekness the engrafted Word, which is able to save your souls. 22 But be doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; 24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. 25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does” (*NIV; underlined is KJV).
D. RECEPTIVE TO THE WORD
1. Being willing to hear is vital. We should receive the Word like a lemon tree receives a grafted pear branch, that eventually brings forth fruit. The fruit from that branch won't have the lemon’s sour nature, but will bear fruit which is native to the graft.
2. James speaks of the "engrafted Word, which is able to save your souls." That's how much a part of us the Word must become to save our souls.
3. We must yield ourselves to the Word of God, with a submissive, humble spirit, and let it mold us. Being receptive to it is not enough -- action must follow!
I. OBJECTIVE OF THE GOSPEL
A. 3 CLASSES OF MEN
1. Those who don't hear, nor do the Word.
2. Those who hear, but don't do the Word.
3. Those who both hear and do the Word.
B. DREADFUL DANGER OF “HEARER’S ONLY” After service, when a Church was dismissing:
1. Some forget all they'd heard;
2. Others remembered for awhile, then dismissed the message from their thoughts;
3. A few remembered longer, remarking to friends later how they enjoyed it!
4. But without ‘doing,’ what is the good of sermons?
5. Illustration. It's like the man who was loitering outside of a church. When a couple came out, he asked them, "Is church done?" The husband replied, "The sermon's been preached, but it hasn't been done yet!"
6. Faith without works is dead. Even the demons ‘believe’ and tremble. But ‘believing’ without obeying has no benefit to it.
a. The Lord's severest rebukes were for those cities which had known most of His miracles.
b. "Many Stripes" are reserved for the servant who "knew his lord's will and didn't do it" (Luke 12:47).
C. GOAL OF THE WORD?
1. The purpose of preaching is not being entertained, but to be edified, inspired, and motivated to live-out God’s Word.
2. ILLUS. One pastor was asked what he thought was the greatest translation of the Bible. He replied, "My mother's translation." The goal is to translate the gospel into practical application in our daily lives.
3. JOHN THE BAPTIST’S EXAMPLE: 9 The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.” 10 “What should we do then?” the crowd asked. 11 John answered, “The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same.” 12 Tax collectors also came to be baptized. “Teacher,” they asked, “what should we do?” 13 “Don’t collect any more than you are required to,” he told them. 14 Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?” He replied, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely—be content with your pay.” Luke 3:9-14. Generosity, honesty, justice.
II. WANTED: DOERERS OF THE WORD
A. GOD IS PRACTICAL
1. One time the eminent philosopher, John Dewey, found his son in the bathroom. The floor was flooded.
2. The professor began thinking, trying to deduce the cause and remedies for the situation. At last his son said, "Dad, this is not the time to philosophize; this is the time to mop!"
3. We need to love the people who come in here. There are all types of people; God loves all. The world has seen enough theoretical Christians; it needs to see some real ones!
B. NOT TALK, BUT WALK, GETS US TO HEAVEN
1. An Asian man brought a number of his friends to a mission station. When asked how he succeeded in getting so many to come, he said, "I got on my knees and talkee, talkee, talkee. Then I got up and walkee, walkee, walkee!"
2. Pray and then work. Praying without working, like working without praying, is dead; let's all talkee and walkee.
3. ILLUS.
a. I remember the story of two Christians who went fishing in a rowboat. The guest noticed that the owner had written ‘faith’ on one oar, and ‘works’ on the other. "Why?"
b. The owner demonstrated. When he pulled on just the ‘faith’ oar, the boat simply circled in one direction. Then when he pulled on the ‘works’ oar, the boat circled in the opposite direction.
c. But when he pulled on both oars the boat went forward!
III. THE WORD: A MIRROR
A. MIRRORS
1. What are some things you are sure to check in the mirror before leaving the house?
2. Mirrors are important. They show us what we look like. But sometimes we don't like what we see.
3.ILLUS.
a. In older life, Queen Elizabeth's wrinkles became numerous and deep on her formerly beautiful face. A sculptor made the mistake of making too close a likeness of her when preparing a bust. She became angry.
b. Her attending maids took the hint; they removed all of the mirrors in her palace apartments. The Quarterly Review says the Queen "didn't have the heart to look herself in the face for the last 20 years of her life!"
c. Just as a mirror exposes wrinkles, dirt, etc., so does the Word of God expose our hearts and shows us our sins.
B. THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE 2 MEN
1. In verses 23-25, James describes two men using two different words. One "beholds" and the other "looks."
a. The Mere Hearer – “katanoew” – gives “only a passing, cursory, careless glance of the eye."
b. The Wise Hearer – “parakupto” -- is a "serious, eager, anxious gaze of the soul.” Both see their defects, but the second one takes them into serious consideration.
2. One man "goes away;" the other "continues" to look.
a. Mere Hearer -- glances hastily, but uninterestedly. Sermons are dull, let's get it over.
b. The Wise Hearer -- listens intently to discover the solutions to the spots of sin, and finds the blood of Jesus Christ.
3. One man "immediately forgets;" the other becomes "a doer of the Word."
4. It's terrible how many hear the Word in some form, are convinced they are sinners and need to change, but take no action, and their convictions are lost!
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION: Can the Bible Transform Lives?
1. When William P. MacKay left for college, his mother gave him a Bible. On the front page of the Bible, she did an inscription, "To W.P., from your mother" and wrote the date. But W.P. wasn't even slightly interested in this book; He didn't share her faith. In college, he became an ardent atheist.
2. W. P. became a medical doctor, and also, the first president of the atheistic society in Canada. One day W.P. was called to the emergency room for a young man whose body was badly crushed because of a serious fall.
3. The boy asked how bad he was injured. Dr. W.P. replied, "You only have more than two hours to live."
The young man replied, "That's all right, Doctor. I'm ready," and a smile creased his face. “Dr., could ask my landlady to send me the book." "What book?" asked the doctor. "Oh, she'll know," he said. "Just ask her to send the book."
4. Dr. W.P. had other patients, but later checked back on the young man. “He died,” he was told. “Did he ever get his ‘book’?” “Yes, it’s there on his nightstand. W.P. wondered and opened it. Inside the cover was an inscription, “To W.P., from your mother, and the date.”
5. It was his own Bible that he had pawned during college! He took the Bible, went to the doctors' lounge, locked the door, and got down on his knees and begged for God's mercy and forgiveness. Dr. MacKay eventually became a Christian apologist and the author of the book, Grace and Truth – still one of the finest books in print on the subject. [Harold Sala]
B. THE CALL
1. That book changed the life of the man who had turned his back on a God; it can change your life as well. It still holds the keys to heaven's door.
2. Is there anything God has spoken to you about but you haven’t done anything about it? Is there any unrepented sin you know of?
3. Our application of the Word shouldn’t just be about taking things OUT of our lives, but putting godly habits INTO our lives.
4. Let’s pray about how we can put the Word of God into practice in our daily lives!
