 |
| JAMES LESSON #44 Are you a doer or a thinker? Are you more likely to act without thinking, or think without acting? If you were arrested for being a Christian, what evidence would be used to prove the point? THAT, is exactly the question that James has been dealing with throughout his letter to the new Jewish converts. What separates you from the rest of the world that says �I believe in God?� Yesterday I left you with a lot of questions � many around the issues of �conditional� and �unconditional� love. The final thought was: �Obedience becomes something we desire..� �Why? The answers to that question are found in looking at the �Word of God and our responsibility to it, �conditional and unconditional love,� and �authority vs. power.� The first area I want to look at is �the Word of God and our responsibility to it.� I want to carefully wade through James 1:18-27 asking and answering several questions � so mark your Bibles carefully. This will get a little �tedious� but stay with me because it will serve you well later. Look at James 1:18-26. What is the first way that James reveals God�s Word? He calls it the �Word of truth.� In verse 18 what does he say about the �Word of Truth?� We�re brought forth by it. How? In the exercise of my choice? No. In the exercise of His will. Why were we brought forth? So that we would be the first fruits of His creatures. What�s �brought forth� mean? It means, �new birth.� It�s showing the source of our �new birth,� � the believers �regeneration.� It says that we were brought forth by the �exercise of HIS will.� What�s that showing? That the life we�ve been given is all about Him � all about His sovereignty. What exactly IS the �Word of truth?� That Jesus was born, was crucified, died, and was resurrected from the dead so that we too could die to our sin and live free in Him. What does it mean by �first fruits?� James is writing to those who were literally first believers. They were the first sharers in the gospel harvest that had a greater harvest yet to come (us). In verse 19 when he says, �This you know,� What�s he referring to? He�s referring back to what he�s just said. �You know this was how you were born again.� -If the �Word of Truth� is the �source of the believers birth,� what�s our responsibility to it? Keep marking: (you should be detailing your chapter with definition of the passages I�m pointing out, in case you�re not! Smile) Look at verse 21- what is the next way that the Word is revealed? It�s �implanted.� What�s that mean? It means ��to germinate, to grow.� What�s that implying about the Word of God? GET THIS: That it seeds itself in our hearts and begins to grow � �truth� begins to grow inside us. If we are to �receive� the Word implanted, what are we to allow the Word to do in us? We�re to own it and let it grow. (More on this in a minute) What�s the �Word� able to do? Save your soul. What�s your �soul?� It�s your will, mind, reason, emotions and personality. In verse 23, what is the next way in which the �Word� is referred? A mirror. What�s he showing about the mirror? That it �reveals something.� (What does a mirror do?) (This ties into the thought that he made earlier that we should allow the Word to grow in us: The question I had with that thought was � How? � Here, he answers it) Instead of �ATTENDING TO� what was �revealed,� what did the man do? He went away and forgot. (Notice, that that is a choice.) When you look intently into the Word, what does it reveal? Who you really are. Why? Because it�s truth in it�s purest form. Look at verse 25- What is the last way that the Word is revealed in these verses? As the �Law of Liberty.� He calls the Word, �The Law of Liberty, The Word of Truth, and the Perfect Law.� Look at verse 19- What�s the responsibility he gives to the believer? Be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger. Now think �context� here- When this letter was written what was the situation? Was the New Testament printed and available? Were Paul�s writings circulating among the churches? No. What MAJOR transition were the Christian Jews needing to make during the given time period? What would their �natural� reaction be upon hearing the �New Testament?� They would be angry and fight with each other. That�s why James was telling them not to speak or get angry quickly �but to be �slow to speak-� �Why? He wanted them to listen and learn. (That is direction given with �authority� �something the Jews were not used to. More on that later.) How was the Word being given according to Acts 2:42? It was taught by the apostles. Look at Acts 17:1-5 Paul was reasoning with them from what? Old or New Testament? Old. You tell me- What was he showing them through the Old Testament? Jesus. What was the response? Some sided with Paul, others became jealous and formed a mob and created chaos. Why are they to be slow to anger? What kind of behavior did it produce? Chaotic behavior with chaotic results. Note this: What�s it mean that the �anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God?� Anger does not bring about the upright conduct that God requires of a man � so � don�t �own� it, as to allow it to control your choices. How do verses 18-19 relate to each other? What�s he saying when he reminds them that they are brought forth by the Word of truth and yet, because they know this, they are to be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger? He�s saying, �Give proper attention to the Word� � How? �Attend� to the things it �reveals� in you that need �attending to.� Let � LET, the Word continue to function in your life � don�t deny it and/or shut it down like the man in the mirror did. Your new �birth� needs to move into growth that builds into �strong living.� How�s this fit in our picture? We�re to be quick to hear the Word � meaning, quick to �attend� to whatever the Word reveals to our hearts that needs attention- and in terms of our �opinions?� We are to be slow to speak and slow to offer our own opinions. We�re to wait, and examine the scriptures to see if what we�re hearing is correct. Ok- so what happens if we hear someone that�s offering some off the wall spiritual idea that we don�t agree with doctrinally? We�re still to be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger. Our responsibility is TO EXAMINE THE SCRIPTURES (get that) � and SEE if what we�re really hearing is truth : Use the WORD OF GOD as your �truth plumb line.� Will getting angry achieve God�s purpose in the conduct of our lives? No. In verse 21, what�s our responsibility to the Word implanted? WE are to �put aside� all filthiness and wickedness and receive the Word implanted. (Receiving the Word implanted means: let the Word do it�s work in us � learn quickly to keep your mouth shut and respond in obedience to whatever God�s Word reveals � attending to what needs to be attended to: side note: it will save you tremendous heartache if you get that early in life) Put aside all filthiness? What filthiness? Moral defilement. What wickedness? Everything else that is contrary to God. In humility? And how did we define humility? �The heart of humility lies in undivided attention to God- No longer concerned with �appearing� to be good- we can move freely in the mystery of who we are (children of God) aware of the sovereignty of God and of our absolute insufficiency and yet moved by a spirit of radical self-acceptance without..without..without self concern �because we know we are loved: THAT � is how we are to �receive� the Word of God: it�s total acceptance that indeed we DO need some attention because of our insufficiency � a humility responding to �authority� � a new concept: hang on, we�re going to go there. James has an order to this process. In order to �receive� the Word implanted what do you have to do? Put aside wickedness and sins first. Who�s responsibility is that? Ours. What�s a believer to do in verse 22? Prove yourself a �doer� of the Word. How does he describe the �hearer?� As one who �deludes� himself. (�delude� means deceive- to mislead his own mind into believing that what he�s doing is �ok�) What is our responsibility to what is revealed in the �mirror?� To be a doer- not a �hearer� only. To attend to what the mirror reveals. What is the believers responsibility to this �Perfect Law of Liberty?� To look intently into it. Abide by it. Respond to it. What is the contrast that�s given in verses 26-27? Worthless religion vs. Pure and undefiled religion. What does �worthless religion� NOT do? Bridle the tongue. If we are truly believers what�s our responsibility to the Word as given in verse 22? To be �doers.� In verse 26, is this person �doing� his responsibility? No. He�s thinking his religion. What does �pure and undefiled religion do in verse 27? It visits orphans and widows. What does �visit� mean? Just check in from time to time? Do your �spiritual duty?� No. It means really �care.� What does �unstained� mean? It means �free from defilement.� How will the person with undefiled religion keep himself? Clean. God�s Word �implanted� in us results in: 1) Regeneration: New Birth � brought forth by the Word of Truth 2) Sanctification: Big word that means a major on going clean up and restore job begins � if we receive the seed implanted in us and it begins to grow: When the Word reveals things in our lives that need attention, we need to attend to them. 3) Being blessed in all we do: If we look (vs. 25) intently into the Word, we will be blessed in all we do 4) Pure and Undefiled Religion: If the responsibility has been fulfilled of being quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger: -if the responsibility has been fulfilled to attend to what needs attention- Back to one of the first questions: If you were arrested for being a Christian, what evidence would be used to prove the point? Answer? A bridled tongue, a lifestyle outside of habitual sin, genuine caring for orphans and widows, and continuous �attention given� to whatever needs attention within us � in humility. Something to think about for tomorrow: Is humility a response to �power� � Or is humility a response to �authority?� Is there a difference between the two? Again, �Obedience becomes something we desire�why?� More tomorrow. Stay with me in this. Loving you, Robin �copyright 2001 Jim and Robin Hibschman |
|