Faith Obeys the Word
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INTRO: “This you know...” a continuation of verse 18
INTRO: “This you know...” a continuation of verse 18
Pay attention (transition statement) - “But wait, there’s more”
QUESTION: Why do you develop a skill? Why hone a skill? Why practice? Why Study? And so on....
Faith - Obeys…(Obeys what?) The Word - Shown By...
Faith - Obeys…(Obeys what?) The Word - Shown By...
1) Put off, put on (vv 19-20)
1) Put off, put on (vv 19-20)
Some Characterizations of the faithful believer
Quick to hear
Slow to speak
Slow to anger
SLOW DOWN AND LISTEN - How quick are we to hear and learn?
2) Complete conversion (v 21)
2) Complete conversion (v 21)
No “residue”
Need complete healing - old wounds fester, old ways linger
3) (All the while…) Gets Christianity Done! (vv 22-25)
3) (All the while…) Gets Christianity Done! (vv 22-25)
Salvation - hear the message (then ignore or trust)
Obedience - hear the Word (then ignore or trust)
Church’s job is very clear
Church’s job is very clear
Reach the lost
Teach the believer
GIVE THE BELIEVER NO OPPORTUNITY TO KNOW GOD
GIVE THE CHURCH NO OPPORTUNITY TO ALLOW BELIEVERS TO NOT LEARN THE TRUTH
POINTS
POINTS
1) Put off, put on, takes work
1) Put off, put on, takes work
If you want to improve, you will work at it
What is your motivation?
If (HUGE IF) you know God, you’ll want to know more, embrace the closeness of God, see Him work, share Him with others
Uncontrolled speech and uncontrolled anger go hand-in-hand (avoid “heat of the moment”)
POINT - Jesus had every great (flesh) reason to give in to heat of the moment, and did not (He went willingly)
Modern psychology says: “emotions can’t truly be controlled” - WRONG
TRUTH - Emotions are the product of the whole person, and if the whole person is transformed by Spirit, then the emotions are Spirit-driven, controlled, and anger likewise
But...”slow to anger?” James says man’s anger does not bring about righteousness of God
But Paul says
Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger,
NOT a command to be angry, but rather, “when angry, do not sin” or “don’t let anger be occasion to sin.”
So, James agrees, and adds BE SLOW to even get angry - Hard saying?
TO do this - to not be controlled by anger, need to abandon the causes of the anger
Idea is “take off the old, dirty clothes, and put on new ones that identify the transformation” - to cling to the old is to be displeasing to God, and is destructive to Xian faith.
THROW IT AWAY! Whatever is morally detestable, throw it away!
What do you desire? What do you cling to? If you cling to the memory of the evil (pre-saved) responses, need to deal with that; believers distinguish themselves
Moral actions (put off, put on) require intentional actions
BASICS: prayer, worship, fellowship, evangelism, faith
NEVER fully and blindly habitual, requires willful choice to “put on”
QUESTION: What values do you put on?
POINT - What God says to put off MUST be put off; otherwise the contradiction to God’s righteousness WILL produce anger-filled person. (thus, characterized by anger implies something needing to be put off)
2) Complete Conversion - means “no residue” (v 21)
2) Complete Conversion - means “no residue” (v 21)
What is there left-over from your pre-conversion life?
(Do you remember pre-conversion, at least remember not being saved?)
When was your conversion? How did it occur?
Slow to speak and anger implies behavior toward others, namely other believers
James is huge on believers behaving toward other believers, not doing them harm - GUARD AGAINST doing harm to others, and conflict in the church!
“Receive the word implanted” - let God’s Word make an impression, a lasting impression
True repentance is shown by the fruit from the Word implanted
BASIC - - parable of the soils, not rooted, no fruit, not productive, useless
Not enough to stop at eliminating the causes of evil in your life
Not enough just to hear, though hearing and learning are good and essential
MUST...
3) Do it! Get Christianity done!
3) Do it! Get Christianity done!
James is big on the Word
knowing it, learning what God wants, who He is
and then DOING IT!
God needs to be heard (active concentration) - deepen faith, and keep receiving the Word after it is implanted
GROW
THIS IS WHY WE TEACH!
If hearer only
If hearer only
Like glancing in the mirror
a) We treat Word as “theory” with no connection to the external world
Truth is very practical, no such thing as “in the real world.” The Biblical world IS THE REAL WORLD
b) We ignore message altogether
POINT - Never ever forget what God saved you from, but...
if saved, you are a different person now, a “new creation”
BUT, remember what you put off, need to keep doing so
MIRROR
The Word exposes man’s natural condition (not inherently good), serves as a mirror - TAKE A GOOD LOOK
If we truly receive the Word, we may not like what we see
All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;
Learn what needs correcting. And it helps if you are surrounded by a church that will teach the truth, and other believers who know it
Iron sharpens iron, So one man sharpens another.
A friend loves at all times, And a brother is born for adversity.
POINT - Take effort in order to know the Word in order to apply it
Otherwise, just following rules, or following none
Exposure to Word - humble, attentive, requires conviction, then...
…QUICK to apply, especially in the midst of trials that challenge your faith
I mentioned last week HABITS
It is a habit to get dressed, but it takes a change of mind to change the wardrobe
It is a habit to react to life, but it takes transformation to pick the right responses that show “putting on” the changed life, lived for Christ!
DON’T BE DELUDED
(meaning, ignoring reality, just to feel “happy”)
One who is merely “hearing” and failing to act on it is deluded, living in an altered reality.
We use a mirror to see how our clothes look.
How about we use God’s Word to see how our Christianity looks?
We need the Word implanted!
SUMMARY/CLOSE (v. 25)
SUMMARY/CLOSE (v. 25)
Christianity brings us a “free obedience” - we call “liberty”
The perfect law (God’s desires), rooted in God’s goodness, and it is essential that we ask for and receive the gift of wisdom
TO STUDY THE WORD IS TO STUDY CHRIST
BASIC
But He said, “On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.”
(context is cool, regarding Mary)
Gotta act on what you see in the mirror - get the dirt off your face, your shirt is inside out, whatever
Gotta act on what you see in the Word. This means you gotta be honest about what you see, not deluded
More than a glance, you need an encounter, and you need to remember, remember, do not forget who God is and who we are, what we are capable of , and the potential God sees in each of us
Two kinds of believers here:
a) sees, hears, and then ignores or forgets
b) sees, hears, wants to be closer, see better, hear more clearly, wants more and more - GROWING!
We use a mirror to see how our clothes look.
How about we use God’s Word to see how our Christianity looks?
We need the Word implanted!
What is implanted will only grow if you nurture it, stay at it, or start if you haven’t yet.
Start with hearing, don’t speak, don’t get angry
Listen to what God is saying, really listen.
What are you going to do with that?