1st February 2009
James 1:19-27
Main idea: To challenge the congregation to obey God’s word.
Objectives :(1) To explain that obeying God’s word is practicing scriptural holiness. (2) To mobilize the congregation to do a social concerns project.
A. Introduction
- Margaret Thatcher, one of the former prime ministers of Britain, says, “No one would remember the Good Samaritan if he had only had good intentions.”
- Three frogs sat on a log and one decided to jump off. How many frogs were left on the log? Three, just because we decide to do something doesn’t mean we will actually do it.
- One guy said to his friend, “When a person walks, I know if he has been a soldier?” The friend asked, “How do you know?” The guy said, “From the way he moves his step, I will know.”
- The greatest misunderstanding towards the doctrine of “Justification by faith is we believe that accepting Jesus we will be saved. Then, in our daily living we do not need to pay the price for the sake of Christ. This type of gospel is called the cheap gospel.
- If a guy really falls in love with a girl, when the girl meets with a problem, this guy will express his love for her through actions. Similarly, if a person really believes in God, he will express his faith in this God through his actions.
- If we are Christians or not, it can be seen from our action.
- The passage today has very strong message of do not mere listeners of God’s word but be doers of God’s word.
- James 1:22, “Do not merely listen to the world, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.
- This was truly the spirit of the early Christianity, be doers of God’s word.
- In the midst of persecution, they still need to be doers of God’s word. It was where they could stand up for Jesus and proved they were genuine Christians.
B. Descriptions of Doers of God’s Word.
- Let us see how the author of the book James describes doers of God’s word.
- Basically, the descriptions are found in verse 25. Doers of God’s word is described as:
- Verse 25, “But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it – he will be blessed in what he does.”
- This was such an encouragement to the Jewish Christians as they were rewarded for their obedience to God’s word. They really needed that kind of encouragement as they were persecuted for their belief in Christ. Now they knew their obedience to Christ will not be in vain. They were hopeful of a future reward for being doers of God’s word.
- On the other hand, a persons who does not do God’s word is described in
1. Verse 23 and 24, “Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like”
- It was a gentle way to rebuke the disobedient Jewish Christians in the midst of persecutions.
- Forgetting about yourself was really a bad thing. That meant you did not know your identity and you were not conscious of your own self. Nobody liked to be in this kind of situation.
C. How should the doers of God’s word behave themselves?
- This is where author gets very practical. This is where he is very down to earth in his instruction on details about the Jewish Christian daily living.
- I consider these instructions as scriptural holiness. It is instructions revealed by God to a writer and how to live a holy, righteous life.
- They are so useful that you start to ask how God is so concerned about details like that in our life.
- This is how God desires Jewish Christians and even all of us as disciples of Christ today behave.
- (1). The first instruction is most down to earth. It deals with our temperament and emotion. It could the problem of lots of people, including Jewish Christians and Christians and Christians today. It is recorded in verse 19,”…Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry… Praise the Lord that quick to listen; slow to speak; slow to become angry, is practicing scriptural holiness. Being able to control your anger is holy. In terms of discipleship, if you can control your anger you are considered as becoming more matured. God in the person of Jesus desires you to be slow to speak and slow to anger. Can you do that?
- James even justify man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. That is it. Ability to control your anger is an expression of your holiness. It is something that God desires. If controlling your anger is God’s desire, then, being angry is your desire.
- And most probably the anger has caused the Jewish Christians lots of moral filth and make them to become so evil, therefore James writes in verse 21, “Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent …”
- When you are angry and you do not control your anger you tend produce moral filth like cursing, scolding, speaking words meant to destroy your husband, wife, children and parents. When you are angry you tend not to think of consequences of your attentions. In most cases you will take actions that please the devil. You will entertain the ideas of the devil. The devil tells you to entertain your pride and you will do it. The devil asks you not to be patient and do not reason things out, you will do it.
- If you can control your anger, you are removing the moral filth and the evil desires in you.
- James has an ever ready solution on helping the Jewish Christians to practice scriptural holiness. He teaches us how to control our anger. The answer lies in the later half of verse 21, “…accept the word planted in you, which can save you.” It is basically the word of God that helps you to control your anger.
- Personally, the word of God in the Ephesians always helps me to control my anger. Ephesians 4:26, 27, “In your anger do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.”
- And also, I am reminded by the word of God in Galatians 5:22, 23 on the fruit of Spirit like patience and self-control. When I am angry, I choose to be filled by the Holy Spirit and I bear the fruit of patience and self control. I practice scriptural holiness.
- (2). The second very practical instruction that James give for the Jewish Christians in the midst of persecution and helping them to pay attention to their daily living behavior is concerning the use of their tongue. This is where he says in verse 26, “If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless.”
- The ability to control your tongue is practicing scriptural holiness. You can imagine this is linked to the instruction above on how to control your anger. When you are angry, you tend to say negative things and so James now say, you need to control your tongue. Being able to control your tongue is holy, righteous. It is religious! So, how well have you controlled your tongues
- In mandarin we say, “Disaster comes from the mouth.” It may sound an exaggeration but there is definitely some truths in it. Especially words that hurt the feelings of people; words that look down on people; words that are tearing down the self esteem of people; words that embarrass people, etc.
- Take heed of James’ teaching that the expressions of your tongue represent your religion or your faith. Failure to control your tongue is deceiving yourself and not telling yourself the truth and your religion is worthless, useless.
- (3) The third practical instruction that we all can do is this: in verse 27, “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. God desires us to practice scriptural holiness by taking care of the widows and orphans and to keep yourself from being polluted by the world.
- In the past you may have the impression that praying a lot is holy; preaching the gospel is holy; coming to Sunday morning worship is holy; but today, you really learn that holiness has its social dimensions. Taking care of orphan and widows are considered as social holiness in John Wesley’s term. It is also called works of mercy.
- This year, in view of the theme of GMC, “Spreading scriptural holiness, transforming our nation,” we do not only emphasize preaching the gospel to the lost but also emphasize social concerns ministry. Right from the beginning of the year, the social concerns committee has identified a poor family in BM ministry, Tudan Preaching Centre with the help of Pastor Chan Jing Mei.
- Rose is a single mother, an Iban lady in her 30s with 2 children, all of whom were baptized by me in the year 2006. One is 21 years old, a down syndrome child; the other one is 12 year old. You may get to know the family later in the power points. She is working part time earning RM450 per month as a cleaner at International Hotel restaurant. She receives a social welfare help of RM75/ month from the government. She has to spend RM100 on one son for schooling; RM70 for electricity and water bill; she needs to spend RM100 for transportation to work everyday. The rest is for her food. She cannot afford to build a higher house to avoid flood. Our church now needs to come in to help to repair or rebuild their house that is prone to flooding. You will see her plight later on in the power points.
- Rose and the 2 children may not be considered as widow or orphans but they definitely demand our attentions for they deserve our love and care as they are poor. You are called to give towards building her house; you may put on the envelop the label for “
D. Conclusion
- In conclusion let me quote again verse 22, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”
- Let us apply the word of God today by giving to help the single mother and the 2 children to rebuild their house.
- There was one lady who carelessly drop her Hundred thousand check into the septic tank. This beautiful lady with a beautiful dress, pinching her nose to fight against the bad smell, she was not daring to even try to bend down into the septic tank to pick the check. As she jump up and down and shouted for help, she attracted the attention of passers by. Many came to surround her and gave all kinds of wonderful opinions to get the check. Someone suggest getting 2 sticks to pick up the check. Another said a big scoop can be used to pick up the check. Another said using a hook to do it.
- Just when everybody is busy suggesting the best method and do nothing, an old lady bend down and used her hand to pick up the check. The reporter rushed towards her and asked, “You are not bothered by the bad smell?” The old lady shook her head and said not at all.
- We do not need too complicated plan because it will cause us not daring enough to take step forward.
- We do not need a wonderful plan because it does not help us to achieve anything.
- We do not need a beautiful slogan as it will make us forget what we really to do.
- There is no point in coming up with the best method, most wonderful method, the most complicated method without action; it is much better to use the most stupid method that can do the job.
- No plan is the best if you do not take action to carry out the plan.
- No word of God will be the best if it is not carried out. The word of God will become the best if you do it
- Do not merely listen to what the word of God says, do what it says.
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