Word Power!
James 1:19-27
There are a lot of lessons we can learn from the field of medicine. By collecting a list of symptoms and various indicators throughout the body, a doctor can diagnose and treat a disease with remarkable accuracy. As the field advances, more diseases which often proved fatal in the past are becoming treatable illnesses in our day. The secret in every case is treating the disease instead of merely dealing with the symptoms.
The problems we face in our lives as Christians are similar. Too often we attempt to diagnose our spiritual diseases by treating only one symptom at a time. We load ourselves down with the antibiotics of more involvement or more faithful attendance rather than face the reality that our unconfessed sin may lie at the heart of the problem.
The Bible offers answers to the problems of Christians. The Holy Spirit stands ready to reveal the cause of our spiritual maladies. Our own brothers and sisters are readily available to pray for and counsel us in our difficulties. Yet, too often we rush to conclusions or try a new spiritual fad, and we find ourselves no better off and usually a little more out of sorts than before.
Christians need to mature in their faith. They need to deal with the spiritual weaknesses in their lives and treat the diseases of dysfunctional faith, rather than throw “quick fixes” at the symptoms and maintain the status quo of immaturity and spiritual anemia.
James understood this problem. As he wrote to the dispersed Jewish believers of his day in the midst of their persecution, he offered spiritual guidance for living empowered lives. He offered them wise counsel in facing the difficulties of their day. The thing we would do well to understand is that their difficulties are not unlike our difficulties today.
I have entitled this message, “Word Power.” The recurring theme of “the word” is one that began last week in verse eighteen. James discussed the “word of truth” that led to salvation and adoption as children of God. Today, we continue this theme as we look at four ways to act on “the word” in order to lead empowered lives.
The cover of our bulletin today carries the words of Hebrews 4:12. Let’s consider them together as we look at applying God’s Word to our lives:
“For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
Listening to the Word brings righteousness. In a practical sense, verses nineteen and twenty are good advice for everyday living. We would all do well to listen more, talk less, and be less aggressive. But how does this advice figure into our understanding of God and His word?
I believe the answer lies in our receptiveness to God’s Word. Mark Twain once said, “It’s not the parts of the Bible that I don’t understand that bother me – it’s what I do understand that creates the problems.” Twain uttered true wisdom in his comments.
Amy Carmichael said, “If no word from God has ever hurt you, then you are not very familiar with God’s word.” Carmichael knew well the necessity of not only hearing the Word, but the reality of listening to what it said.
We are all well and good to pay cursory attention to the Scripture when we read it or are in a place where it is read. The Bible Broadcasting Network carries a segment every day at three o’clock where a portion of Scripture is read. The place where our hearing becomes listening, though is where we take the words to heart and compare our lives to them.
I have often found myself involved in a conversation where I was eager to make a good showing and therefore spent much of the time when the other person was speaking trying to decide what I should say next. As a result, I often misspoke and missed the entire meaning of what the other person said because I was too busy collecting my own thoughts.
We have all been engaged in arguments as well where our eagerness to get in our blows meant cutting off the other person in mid-sentence or, in the case of telephone conversations, we hung up with a fiery vengeance. It is a good example of what James called, “the wrath of man.”
The end result of all this cool-headed, quiet listening is ultimately the righteousness of God. It becomes obvious, too, that the process of listening to what God has to say is not a mindless task. The sense of listening to the word is one of sharp-witted reception and processing of the word. I suppose the next natural question, then, is how we go about doing this.
I believe it is simply this: engage yourself in the regular habit of absorbing God’s Word. Approach it with the attitude that God is speaking directly to you through the text. Set yourself in the place of the original audience. We may all identify with those who have been the recipients of the Word throughout history. Who here has never been rebellious in some way? Who has never broken a commandment of God? Who has not been in violation of at least some of the precepts Jesus offered in the Sermon on the Mount? Here the words of Scripture in the context of the original audience. Listen to what God is saying in every situation.
Do not try to rebut the sword of the Spirit as he probes your heart. At my house, whenever someone is asking personal questions that hit too close for comfort, we respond, “Don’t go there.” It means that we are being forced to consider things with which we are uncomfortable. Rather than consider them, we simply post a verbal “No Trespassing” sign. That is what I believe James was addressing when he told us to be “slow to speak.” Allow the word to penetrate every area of your life, even the secret, hidden areas where no one else is allowed to go. Don’t try to hold it off.
Finally, refuse to allow yourself to get mad at God when things hit close to home. I am the kind of person who generally denies things when they become too personal for my liking. Everyone has lived in some state of denial from time to time. Aggressive denial is known as the “wrath of man” in the context of James. Some people deal with this problem by removing themselves from the stimulus. Removing oneself from God’s Word is not a good idea. The only logical conclusion is to assume that God’s Word is right, that we are by necessity wrong, and adjust to the correctness of the Word.
The result of all this, of course, is the “righteousness of God.” I have always had a difficulty in understanding the substantial meaning of “righteousness” as it applies to me. It is hard to define this word as any more than “the state of being in a right relationship.” I have studied Isaiah 64:6 where the prophet says, “. . . all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags . . .” and still find myself coming up short on understanding. The only thing I can add today is that, as I listen to God’s Word, God establishes a relationship with me, his child, that is completely uninhibited and perfect. (Wow!)
Receiving the Word brings salvation. Donald Whitney devotes two chapters in his book, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, to discussion of Bible Intake. He breaks this down into hearing, reading, studying, memorizing, meditating, and applying Scripture. If you think it sounds pretty complicated, I will have to agree with you.
What does our Scripture for today say about “receiving the Word?” Verse twenty-one says explicitly, “Do away with all your filthy instincts and let the Word which can save your souls join itself to you” (paraphrase mine). Many commentators have linked this verse to the parable of the sower, the seed, and the soils found in Matthew 13, Mark 4, and Luke 8. They refer to the need for receptivity in the life of a believer in order for the Gospel to prosper. Let’s consider the verse in light of these options, offering practical specific instruction to both the negative and positive aspects of the command.
Before one can receive what the King James Version calls “the engrafted word,” he or she must do away with carnal things. Different translations present these vices in different ways, but the consensus leans toward morally questionable behaviors and downright bad-ness. In other words, “Straighten up!” The person who tells people to come to Jesus just as they are and never mentions the changes that take place afterward does lost people a great disservice. Regeneration must by necessity lead to sanctification.
If you are still doing the same things you were doing when joined the church twenty years ago, then you may want to have a look at the decision you made. Part of allowing the Word to take root in us and grow is preparing the soil of our lives to receive it. Those of us who have gardens know that the weeds and grass have to go in order for the plants to grow. The same is true of us spiritually. James says to put them away.
Our attitude about receiving the Word is next in significance. Do you see the words, “with meekness” there in the text? I am often guilty of reading Scripture, particularly the verses related to salvation and being saved with an almost flippant attitude. If we are honest, we all have the capacity to treat the Word with little respect. Yet, the Bible says to receive the Word with meekness.
I am reminded again of my visits to Mass with a Roman Catholic friend. While I have some serious concerns about the teachings of the Catholic church, I remember how impressed I was with the way the priest treated the Bible and the general reverence of the acts of worship. I have also watched events from the Vatican on television, and there, too, the respect for the Scriptures was demonstrated in word and deed. We might do well to take a lesson in meekness from the believers who are a part of this tradition.
The result of putting away carnal instincts and receiving the engrafted word with meekness is salvation of the soul. Jesus told his disciples, “And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28).
Paul understood this concept. Our earthly bodies are temporary at best. We see this daily. Our teeth cannot stand up to the foods we eat, our eyes cannot continue to see the things we look at, our bones cannot handle the stresses we put on them, our hearts cannot pump blood to all the parts of our bodies because of the fat in our diet, and so on and so forth. We are born to die. Paul said it this way: “We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8).
Even the great hymns of our faith teach that salvation of the soul is more important than that of the body. Martin Luther wrote, “Let goods and kindred go / This mortal life also / The body they may kill / God’s truth abideth still / His kingdom is forever.” Those words from A Mighty Fortress Is Our God remind us that no matter what we face, it is the condition of our eternal souls that matters most to God.
The only way to attain salvation for our souls is to embrace the Word of God as it implanted in us through our faith in Christ Jesus. Let me make this as simple as I can. Once we receive Christ as our Savior, our next responsibility is set aside the foolish, sinful things of our past as quickly as possible and fill our lives with a diet of Scripture. We do this through regular reading, study, and attention to teaching. The first two we may do on our own, but the latter requires the fellowship of the church. Attention to teaching is best accomplished through Sunday School and preaching in worship. I have come to especially appreciate 1 Corinthians 1:21 in recent years, which says, “For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.” If you are going to receive the Word, it must become a part of who you are.
Obeying the Word brings blessing. Verses twenty-two through twenty-five encompass some of the most quoted phrases in the New Testament. All of us have heard at some point the phrase, “Be ye doers of the word and not hearers only.” The message is simple, but the details are less specific. It is not until we comprehend verse twenty-five that earlier verses become clear.
It was these verses that initiated Martin Luther’s criticism of James. Many people have noted that Luther referred to James as, “a right strawy old book,” meaning that it glorified works more than the believer’s justification by grace through faith. In order to understand Luther’s sentiment, we need to remember that Luther advanced the teaching that a person enters a relationship with God not on merits or good deeds, but simply because God graciously receives him or her through faith in Jesus. While James later qualifies that living faith produces works, Luther wanted people to understand that even if a person does not produce a great multitude of good deeds, his standing with God was still the same.
Hear me today: there is no kind of deed you or I can do to earn God’s favor. Our salvation is still by grace through faith. Ephesians 2:8-9 say it well: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast.” However, the natural by-product of a believer’s growing life in Christ ought to be good works.
But what kind of effects should the Word have on us? James says that to simply listen to the Word and never act on it is like looking in the mirror and forgetting what you see. It sounds to me like a brainless activity. Our modern society tends to take mirrors for granted. We have them on our dressers, over our sinks, on the sides and in the center of our automobiles. We even had a request this past week for a full-length mirror in the ladies restroom here at our church. We like to see ourselves.
But what do we see? We seem to be happiest when there is no negative change in our appearance. As long as there is no new pimple or no new gray hair, we are happy. As long as most of our chins are hidden in the shadows, or the bags under our eyes are small carry-ons instead of giant matched sets of luggage, we seem to be okay. However, as change comes, especially drastic change, we panic at the sight of ourselves.
James says that our time in the Word ought to be a time of comparison and examination. It ought to leave us saying to ourselves, “Gotta do something about that.” Our time in the Word ought to have us making mental notes to change our agendas and take action on some things that are out of order. As we compare our lives with the image the Word gives us of ourselves, we ought to be adjusting to meet God’s standard.
I remember the story of Amos in the Old Testament. In Amos 7, the prophet writes, “Thus he shewed me: and behold, the Lord stood upon a wall made by a plumbline, with a plumbline in his hand. And the LORD said unto me, Amos what seest thou? And I said, a plumbline. Then said the Lord, Behold, I will set a plumbline in the midst of my people Israel: I will not again pass by them any more” (Amos 7:7-9). God was setting his standard alongside the lifestyle of his people, and they were not adding up. He had given them his own standard, but they had ignored it. He had allowed them ample time with ample warning to make adjustments, but they had ignored them as well. And now, God was ready to evaluate their work and pass judgment on it.
I wonder what God sees when he looks at the works of our hands today. Are we doing the things that please him, or are we simply paying him lip service in the name of our religion. The Bible says that we ought to be taking God’s Word and doing what it says to do. It is not enough to simply Listen to the Word and Receive the Word if we are not also willing to Obey the Word. In the over-quoted, if not cliché words of Nike, “Just do it.”
Living the Word brings holiness. Every religious person throughout history has sought to reach a level of enlightenment of some kind. We are wowed by the mystique and otherworldliness of people like the Dalai Lama and Mother Teresa. Men like Pope John Paul II and Billy Graham impress us with their uniquely reserved personalities. In a sense, each of these people have seemed to arrive at some elevated state of consciousness. They have each apparently had some kind of religious epiphany where everything “came together.” This is not new.
The achievement of holiness is for Christians both attainable and real. The beautiful thing is that we do not have to be some exalted personage in order for holiness to be a part of who we are. James makes this painfully clear in the last two verses of chapter one. He begins by addressing the perceived holiness of others, and he concludes with the reality of true holiness.
The initial point of reference is one among the believers who has two major problems: a) he gives the appearance of being very devout, and b) he has a hard time keeping his mouth shut. I have seen some beautiful people in my day who have opened their mouths and ruined my opinion of them in no time flat. I am personally learning the value of keeping my own mouth shut. My father has often reminded me, “It is far better for people to see you and wonder about your level of intelligence than for them to hear you and remove all doubts from their minds.”
Living the Word takes us directly back to our first point in today’s study: “. . . be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath . . .” The first evidence of a holy life in the Word is our silence. We cannot emphasize this enough. Decide now to listen completely and eagerly before you speak. After all, God made us with twice as many ears as we have mouth. Surely he had a reason for it.
James concludes by giving two primary examples of living the Word: a) caring for the needs of widows and orphans, and b) keeping oneself clean from the ungodly influences of the world. What are the ramifications of these behaviors? Are they symbolic or archetypical of the behaviors of a believer? I believe they represent the threefold relationship God desires of his people.
Consider a right triangle with God at the top. The Christian is at the base directly beneath God. The world is at the other point. Our role as believers is to relate not only to God properly in our personal lives, but to relate to those around us properly. In living this way, we point them to God. This has been the pattern God has used throughout history. It has been God’s way since long before we came onto the scene.
If we are to say that Living the Word brings holiness, then we must understand the difference between being Christ’s representatives and a modern concept that equates us with Christ himself in our relations to the world. I am hesitant to support this “incarnational” view of ministry. This view readily embraces slogans like, “You are the only Bible some people will ever read,” or “Be the hands of Christ to one in need.” I want to be quick to say that I go as a representative of Jesus with the Holy Spirit dwelling inside me, but I am no more Jesus than my wristwatch is me. You might look at the watch and see that I engraved my name on the back of it, but that does not make the watch me. It might have the address where I reside printed on it so that you can find my house, but that watch is not me. It will never be me.
Now, I suppose that you are saying that you agree with me and that I have oversimplified my case, but I must be clear: like the steeple on a million churches around this world, I will do my part to point lost people to God, but I am not nor will I ever be God. He is perfect, but I am flawed by sin. He is exalted, but I am lowly. He is pure, but I am stained. It is only by the blood of Christ that I have any standing at all with God. I cannot now nor ever hope to be any more than a sinner saved by grace, sanctified by the Holy Spirit, and surrendered to the work of the Lord.
We have covered a lot of ground in our study today. I wonder if you have considered your position in Christ, particularly as it relates to God’s Word. Are you currently engaged in the regular discipline of Listening to God’s Word and what it says about you in order to attain to God’s righteousness? Is your life fertile soil for the Receiving of God’s Word that brings salvation? Are you busy Obeying God’s Word as you look into it for instruction, so that you may experience the blessings of God? Finally, are you Living God’s Word on a daily basis in an effort to come to a level of holiness that only God can bring?
The book of James is a call to maturity. As a parent, I want my daughters to mature. They need to move from stage to stage in life, but I cannot do it for them. I have helped them many times, but ultimately they had to learn a lot of things on their own. Things that are complex physiological procedures they master with ease. It’s all just a part of the process. It is the same way for us in our growth as Christians.
Today, I believe God is challenging us to take hold of his Word. He is calling his people to apply the Scriptures and to endure their analysis of us, to receive the truths of the Bible and to do what it says to do. God is telling us to take this treasure he has given us and put it to the test. We read these words at the beginning, and it seems fitting that we should read them again now:
“For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
What will you do with this Word today?
