This past month we asked the question if we even need the Bible. We also talked about listening to God instead of just hearing His word. Last week we talked about meditating on God's word and really taking it to heart.
I am going to go back to the book of James today to talk about what we do once we have read our Bible, and listened to what God has told us, and meditated on that word, and etched it into our hearts. Do you believe that the Bible can help us with any circumstance that comes into our life. It is always good advice. But do we take seriously the advice from God?
We get all kinds of advice from experts in their field. Mechanics recommend that we change the oil in our cars every so many 1000 miles. But we often drive far beyond that before we get around to changing it. Doctors tell us to eat well and exercise regularly to have good health. But most of us probably disregard this advice, at least some of the time. Dentists ask us to brush and floss our teeth routinely. But few of us look forward to having to face up when the dentist asks us about it at the next appointment.
The reality of it all is that we know a lot of the best practices but we do few of them consistently. That tells us that knowledge by itself is not good enough. We need to act on what we know. And I am sure that you know where I am going with this.
The same principle applies to much more than oil changes, exercise regiments, and flossing habits. The Bible teaches us what we are to do. We don't read, study, and memorize God's word just to know it. God expects us to act on and obey what we learn. Let's spend a little time this morning learning from God's word how to be more obedient to His advice. Prayer.
If we were to honestly admit it, most of us don't like to be told what to do. Whether it's a speed limit sign on the highway, or Doctor's orders. Our natural inclination is to shun authority or at least ignore it.
We might get away with that in some areas of life. But we cannot follow Jesus without allowing Him to tell us how to live. In order for us to have a relationship with Jesus, we must obey His commands. Jesus clearly told us:
John 14:15 – “If you love me, you will keep my commands.”
So let's listen now to what God says through James. James was the half-brother of Jesus and the leader of the first century church in Jerusalem. So, in his book he offers some practical advice on how to obey Jesus in the real world.
James 1:19-21 – “My dear brothers and sisters, understand this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger, 20 for human anger does not accomplish God’s righteousness. 21 Therefore, ridding yourselves of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent, humbly receive the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.”
Do you see it? The Gospel of Jesus Christ is inseparably linked to His word. The ability to obey any of God's word comes from the Gospel's power that Jesus implants inside your heart at the moment of salvation. The same Gospel that gave you salvation also empowers you to be obedient to God's word.
And it very simply gets down to this. As we embrace the Gospel in the word of God, we turn from our old way of life. So, James tells us that we are to rid ourselves of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent. And that's what happens when we turn away from our old way of living and turn to Jesus through faith in His Gospel. It goes beyond the initial salvation experience. We are to continually rid ourselves of this filth and evil for the remainder of our lives. And that takes obedience to God's word.
We as a churchy, people might generally think of moral filth and prevalent evil as the so-called sex, drugs, and rock and roll. And of course it includes that. But James calls our attention to our daily habits that we struggle with but have a temptation to overlook. So James goes to meddling now. He calls our attention to the way we listen, the way we speak, and the way we exhibit anger. When we do those things poorly, they are the filth and evil James is describing since human anger does not “accomplish God's righteousness.”
I am not sure if you realize it or not, but the Gospel of Jesus Christ (the Good News) actually gives us the power to be obedient. God wants us to act on what we know from Scripture by displaying a different disposition. So, we're told to be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger. And when we do this, we demonstrate humility and act on what we know from God's word.
James 1:22 – “But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.”
This warning that James gives us reveals a temptation that many Christians face. The more we are exposed to God's word, the greater we may be tempted to see knowledge itself as the goal. If we make that mistake, then we might deceive ourselves into thinking that God is after knowledge more than He is after our obedience. It gets back to what I said last week. God doesn't want us to read, study, or memorize Scripture just for the sake of knowing what it says. He expects us to act on and obey what we learn.
I don't know how you're wired, but if you're anything like me, procrastination is just a part of life. We've put off the oil change until the engine starts to drag. We delay going to the doctor until the pain becomes unbearable. We keep waiting to clean out the garage until it becomes so cluttered you can no longer get around. The truth is, we all probably procrastinate in some way or another.
My point in all of this is that we can also procrastinate spiritually. If we were honest, we would admit that we struggle with obeying God's word. Sometimes it's because we're ashamed or embarrassed by what we've done. Other times we simply don't want to make the life changes required in His word. So, we convince ourselves that it's easier to maintain the status quo than to do the difficult work of aligning ourselves to God's word. So, James is calling us away from spiritual procrastination. God simply wants us to know His words so that we might do His word today.
James 1:23-25 – “Because if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like someone looking at his own face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of person he was. 25 But the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom and perseveres in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer who works—this person will be blessed in what he does.”
Imagine with me for a moment that you're all dressed up for a very nice event like a family wedding. You're looking very nice in your formal best. Before walking out the door you look in a mirror to ensure that your tie is straight or your makeup is just right.
What would you do if you saw a black smudge on your cheek? Or a piece of broccoli stuck in your teeth? You would remove it. That's the purpose of the mirror. The mirror is there to show you an accurate picture of yourself so that you can make the proper adjustments. But what if you ignored what the mirror revealed? You're inaction would demonstrate one of two conclusions. Either you saw the faults and simply didn't care or you wrongly concluded that the mirror is wrong. It doesn't show what it does, in fact, show.
God's word is like a mirror to our souls. When we read it or study it, God shows us who we truly are in contrast to Him. We learn where our lives don't align with His Holy ways. So, when we know God's word but fail to adjust our lives by obeying it, we, in a sense, are seeing the smudge on our lives yet we do nothing about it.
Our inaction might say that while we see God's truth, we really don't care enough to make any changes. But maybe even more dangerous, we could even convince ourselves that God's word doesn't show us what it actually shows. We don’t take it seriously. James's answer to this is to persevere in obedience to the commands of Scripture without any delay. The one who does this, he says, will be blessed in what he does.
James 1:26-27 – “If anyone thinks he is religious without controlling his tongue, his religion is useless and he deceives himself. 27 Pure and undefiled religion before God the Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained from the world.”
Our faith is worthless if our words and our actions don't line up. When our actions don't line up with what we claim to know, we essentially become like the hypocrite Jesus repeatedly referred to in Matthew 6. When we know what God's word says to do and yet we do the opposite, we become a hypocrite.
In the first century world, a hypocrite was literally a stage actor. (The term “hypocrite” meant a stage actor.) Greek and Roman actors placed large masks in front of their faces. The mask hid the real person. We are like hypocrites when we don't obey what we say we've learned. We are wearing a spiritual mask. We claim to have a vibrant faith, but the Bible says our religion is useless.
Does this mean that you'll ever get to the point where you perfectly obey every single truth you've read? Of course, not! It should cause you to make an honest appraisal of your life. Do you regularly seek to live out what you learn from God's word or do you avoid or procrastinate on the actions that Scripture calls you to take? The one who has faithful religion not only knows God's word, but he or she also does it.
Boldly put, when we fail to act on what we know from God's word, it is a sign of a useless faith. What this is saying is that we can be an experienced student in God's word and still miss the mark of faithful religion. Here's what we should do and how we should read the Bible. As we read God's word, we should regularly guard our hearts by spiritually examining ourselves to ensure that we are pursuing faithful obedience rather than simply seeking knowledge.
We might ignore the recommendations of experts in many areas of life. But God's word is different. God calls us to act on what we discover in His words so that we can be doers of His word and not hearers only.
So here we go, fellow Christians. Faith without action is useless. God calls us to put into action what we read and learn from His word. James tells us what true religion should look like. He gives us three examples of God's word in action. So here is how we can apply what we have learned today.
We are to control our tongues. God really does care about the words we choose to use. The apostle Paul emphasized this as well.
Ephesians 4:29 – “No foul language should come from your mouth, (I felt a few of you cringe on that) but only what is good for building up someone in need, so that it gives grace to those who hear.”
This says to me that we control our tongues by refraining from using inappropriate language and choosing to speak that which benefits and edifies others.
We are to care for the vulnerable. James highlights the ministry pertaining to orphans and widows, to groups that were especially vulnerable in the first century. Today we can apply this principle to a number of vulnerable groups.: Orphans, widows, refugees, the elderly and those with physical and or mental challenges.
God wants us to care for those who are disadvantaged. Even though every Christian may not always be in a place to do something practically and materially, every time Scripture commands us to, at least bend our hearts toward their suffering. In other words, as I always say not only show that we care but truly care.
We are to pursue Holy living. James says that we're to keep ourselves unstained from the world. This is simply a general call to purity and holiness. We read, study, hear, and meditate on God's word in order to grow in Christ-like holiness.
I close with what Charles Spurgeon once said, “Nobody ever outgrows Scripture; The book widens and deepens with our years.”
So what are we to do with all of this knowledge? As you pray for God to use you, simply say “yes” today to God's calling tomorrow. Whenever God tells you to do something through His word, go ahead and say yes now.
Let's be doers of God's word and not hearers only.
