James 1:23-27 Check Yourself
Proposition: Only by putting God’s Word into practice will we find its true value Introduction Bible Trivia – Leonard Sweet The prince of Grenada, an heir to the Spanish crown, was sentenced to life in solitary confinement in Madrid's ancient prison. The dreadful, dirty, and dreary nature of the place earned it the name, "The Place of the Skull." Everyone knew that once you were in, you would never come out alive. The prince was given one book to read the entire time: the Bible. With only one book to read, he read it hundreds and hundreds of times. The book became his constant companion. After 33 years of imprisonment, he died. When they came to clean out his cell, they found some notes he had written using nails to mark the soft stone of the prison walls. The notations were of this sort: Psalm 118:8 is the middle verse of the Bible; Ezra 7:21 contains all the letters of the alphabet except the letter J; the ninth verse of the eighth chapter of Esther is the longest verse in the Bible; no word or name more than six syllables can be found in the Bible. This individual spent 33 years of his life studying what some have described as the greatest book of all time. Yet he could only glean trivia. From all we know, he never made any religious or spiritual commitment to Christ. He simply became an expert at Bible trivia. – Leonard Sweet, Your Church in Today's Fluid Culture (Group Publishing, 1999), p. 59 James exhorts us this morning to use God’s Word as more than a book of trivia Only by putting God’s Word into practice will we find its true value
Principle: Check Yourself with the Word (vv. 23-24) Foolish The Man who does nothing with the word 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; 24 for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. The man who hears the word but does nothing with it, Is like a man who looks at himself in a mirror, but immediately forgets what he sees What good is the time spent gazing into the mirror, if it never brings any improvement? Jesus calls this man a fool in Matthew 7 The foolish man built his house on the sand The rains came and the floods rose & his house fell
What do we do with these kinds of people? Do we just cast these people aside? Ezekiel 33:30-33 "But as for you, son of man, your fellow citizens who talk about you by the walls and in the doorways of the houses, speak to one another, each to his brother, saying, 'Come now and hear what the message is which comes forth from the LORD.' 31 "They come to you as people come, and sit before you as My people and hear your words, but they do not do them, for they do the lustful desires expressed by their mouth, and their heart goes after their gain. 32 "Behold, you are to them like a sensual song by one who has a beautiful voice and plays well on an instrument; for they hear your words but they do not practice them. 33 "So when it comes to pass-- as surely it will-- then they will know that a prophet has been in their midst." The word faithfully proclaimed is A witness against them A critical part of our putting the word into action
Blessed is The Man who puts the word in action 25 But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does. The one who looks intently at the perfect law The Law is Perfect The Word of God is exactly what we need (sufficient) It reveals who God is without error and without omission Every one of His attributes is made known His glory, holiness, righteousness, grace, mercy etc. It reveals who we are without error and without omission Our failings and need for a Savior is exposed Our great hope is revealed in Jesus Christ The Law brings liberty Those who do not understand see the Word of God as a book of restrictions and prohibitions They see God as a cosmic killjoy and taskmaster Those who have matured in Christ see God’s Word as a gift of God’s provision and deliverance We see God as a loving father The one who abides by this Law Is not a forgetful hearer Those who do not live out the provisions of God’s Word quickly forget what they have read and heard How long does it take to forget what you have read from the Bible? How long does it take to forget what you have heard from the Sunday Sermon?
But an effectual doer The truth and freedom of God’s Word is found only through experiencing its truth by putting it into practice Some things can only be tested by action Jesus calls this man wise in Matthew 7 The man who hears His words and acts upon them is like the man who built his house on the rock The rains fell and the floods rose, but his house stood firm
Practical: Two Easy Means of Measuring Check Your Tongue (v. 26) 26 If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man's religion is worthless. Do you think you have it all together spiritually speaking? If you do not control your tongue You deceive your own heart Your religion is worthless What do the words you use say about you? Does the content of your speech honor the Lord or yourself or others or no one? Does the content of your speech show integrity and honesty? What does the manner of your speech say about you? Do not discount the value of how you say things Tone of voice and body language communicate at least as much as our words Do speak the truth with love or with the sword? Are your words winsome or divisive?
Check Your Religious Practice (v. 27) 27 Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world. James gives two examples of pure and undefiled religion Pure = “one thing” (pure gold or pure water) Undefiled = Not dirtied, sullied or polluted Religion = Practices performed to please the person we worship (i.e. God, self, idols etc.) External: To visit orphans and widows in their distress What personal advantage is to be gained by ministering to orphans or widows? Do they generally have position, power, wealth, influence etc. Ministry to those who can give nothing in return allows us to honor God without the temptations of personal gain Internal: To keep oneself unstained by the world Remember James has been exhorting us to put the Word into action True religion is acting on the Word in the midst of the
unregenerate masses without becoming corrupted by the world It is not Monasticism – withdrawal from the culture at large We cannot actively take the Gospel to those with whom we do not engage on a daily basis It is not Syncretism – consecrating and adopting cultural norms and standards This is the error of taking pagan ideas or objects and calling them sacred This is the danger the church faces as we face pressure to cave into cultural standards on sexuality, marriage, sanctity of human life, war, politics, economics etc. This is a truly fine line to walk, but a necessary one Actively engaging with our culture without compromising our commitment to honor the Lord
Therefore: Only by acting on the Word of God will we find its true value Religion Doesn't Equal Faith – Mark Galli – Christianity Today "One can love religion like anything else in life: sports, science, stamp collecting. One can love it for its own sake without relation to God or the world or life," wrote Orthodox theologian Alexander Schmemann in his journals. "Religion fascinates; it is entertaining. It has everything that is sought after by a certain type of person: aesthetics, mystery, the sacred, a feeling of one's importance and exclusive depth, etc. That kind of religion is not necessarily faith." – Mark Galli, "The Thirst of the 24/7 Fan," Christianity Today (3-28-05)
Are We Addicted to Negative Words? Rabbi Joseph Telushkin, author of Words That Hurt, Words That Heal, has lectured throughout this country on the powerful, often negative impact of words. He often asks audiences if they can go 24 hours without saying any unkind words about, or to, another person. Invariably, a small number of listeners raise their hands, signifying "Yes." Others laugh, and quite a few call out, "No!" Telushkin responds: "Those who can't answer 'yes' must recognize that you have a serious problem. If you can't go 24 hours without drinking liquor, you're addicted to alcohol. If you can't go 24 hours without smoking, you're addicted to nicotine. So if you can't go 24 hours without saying unkind words about others, then you've lost control over your tongue." Mark Mitchell, "The Life-Giving Tongue," Qoheleth blog (11-15-13)
The Terrible Price of Sin In his book Finishing Strong, Steve Farrar sums up well the terrible price of sin: "Sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you're willing to pay." Lee Eclov, Vernon Hills, Illinois; source: Steve Farrar, Finishing Strong (Multnomah, 2000), p. 90
Blaming God but Doing Nothing On my door there's a cartoon of two turtles. One says, "Sometimes I'd like to ask why he allows poverty, famine, and injustice when he could do something about it." The other turtle says, "I'm afraid God might ask me the same question." Peter John Kreeft, quoted in Lee Strobel, The Case for Faith(Zondervan, 2001), p. 50
Hearing and Obeying Robert Kupferschmid was an 81-year old with no flying experience. However, due to a tragic emergency, he was forced to fly an airplane. On June 17, 1998, he and his 52-year-old pilot friend, Wesley Sickle, were flying from Indianapolis to Muncie, Indiana. During the flight, the pilot slumped over and died at the controls. The Cessna 172 single-engine plane began to nose-dive and Kupferschmid grabbed the controls. He got on the radio and pleaded for help.
Nearby were two pilots who heard the call. Mount Comfort was the closest airport, and the two pilots gave Kupferschmid a steady stream of instructions of climbing, steering—and the scariest part—landing. The two experienced pilots circled the runway three times before this somewhat frantic and totally inexperienced pilot was ready to attempt the landing. Emergency vehicles were called out and ready for what seemed like an approaching disaster. Witnesses said the plane's nose nudged the center line and bounced a few times before the tail hit the ground. The Cessna ended up in a patch of soggy grass next to the runway. Amazingly, Kupferschmid was not injured. This pilot listened and followed those instructions as if his life depended on it—and it did. Imagine what would take place in the lives of believers if we listened to and obeyed the Word of God with the same earnestness. Gregg Donnelly, Maple Plain, Minnesota
How Those Outside the Church View Those Within In their book UnChristian, author David Kinnaman highlights a number of troubling statistics from an extensive study by the Barna Research Group of those born between 1965 and 2002. Included are two statistics that show how those outside the church view those within: Nearly nine out of ten young outsiders—87 percent—said that the term "judgmental" accurately describes present-day Christianity. Of the non-Christians surveyed, 84 percent said they personally know at least one committed Christian. Yet just 15 percent thought the lifestyles of those Christ-followers were significantly different from the norm. David Kinnaman, UnChristian (Baker, 2007), pp. 48, 182
How Do We Feel About God's Loving Authority? I noticed something about my two sons when they moved from childhood to adolescence. I noticed that my boys responded differently to my touch as they got older. When they were little, they seemed eager to hug me. They would jump into my arms and cling to me with all their might. When they became teenagers, things changed. Oh, they still let me hug them. But in their teen years, they stiffened, ever so slightly. There was a resistance that wasn't there before. What changed? Some of it, I am sure, can be attributed to the awkwardness of adolescence. Many teenagers seem to go through a stage where they feel uncomfortable showing affection. But I think the change was also a symbol of their growing independence. The autonomy they declared with their body language was matched by many of the choices they made. They stiffened against the
constraints my wife and I had placed on them, just as they did my embrace. The rules and standards that we saw as an expression of love and a means of protection, they mistook for a prison. I wonder—which is it for you, when it comes to God's strong hand of love? Is it a source of comfort to you or something that you stiffen against and resist? Does the inescapable presence of God make you feel protected? Is that steady footfall that you hear the mark of a faithful companion? A guide? A rear guard who has your back? Or do you feel like God has laid siege to your soul? Do you see his relentless pursuit as the pursuit of an adversary? If we are honest, we would probably have to say a little of both. John Koessler, in the upcoming sermon "Knowing the God Who Knows You," PreachingToday.com
Biting Your Tongue It was his first day on the job. He was a new clerk in the green goods department of a super market. A lady came up to him and said she wanted to buy half of a head of lettuce. He tried to dissuade her from that goal, but she persisted. Finally he said, "I'll have to go back and talk to the manager." He went to the rear of the store to talk to the manager, not noticing that the woman was walking right behind him. When he got into the back of the store, he said to the manager, "There's some stupid old bag out there who wants to buy half a head of lettuce. What should I tell her?" Seeing the horrified look on the face of the manager, he turned about and, seeing the woman, added, "And this nice lady wants to buy the other half of the head of lettuce. Will it be all right?" Considerably relieved, the manager said, "That would be fine." Later in the day, he congratulated the boy on his quick thinking. He then asked, "Where are you from, son?" The boy said, "I'm from Toronto, Canada, the home of beautiful hockey players and ugly women." The manager looked at him and said, "My wife is from Toronto." The boy said, "Oh, what team did she play for?" Bruce Thielemann, "Because," Preaching Today, Tape No. 105.
Husband Pays for Silent Treatment A married couple had a quarrel and ended up giving each other the silent treatment. A week into their mute argument, the man realized he needed his wife's help. In order to catch a flight to Chicago for a business meeting, he had to get up at 5 a.m. Not wanting to be the first to break the silence, he wrote on a piece of paper, "Please wake me at 5 a.m." The next morning the man woke up only to discover his wife was already out of bed, it was 9 a.m., and his flight had long since
departed. He was about to find his wife and demand an answer for her failings when he noticed a piece of paper by the bed. He read, "It's 5 a.m. Wake up." Van Morris, Mt. Washington, Kentucky
Writer Tries to Go One Month Without Saying Hurtful Words We've all heard the old adage, "If you can't find anything nice to say about someone, don't say anything at all." In a recent article for Salon.com, Lauren Frey Daisley tried to follow that advice for one month. She titled the article "My month of no snark." ("Snark" is a slang word that combines "snide" and "remark" and refers to sarcastic comments.) Daisley writes: It started when my husband, baby and I drove away from a visit with my aunt, who has Stage 4 breast cancer. I thought back on the 30- some years I've known her. I have never once in all that time heard her say anything unkind. Not even in the subtext of her words. That's one [heck]—or, in this case, heaven—of a legacy…. I began to wonder, how would holding my tongue—or at least changing what came off it—alter my relationships? That's when she began her "month-long campaign" to practice kindness in her speech. Daisley discovered that it's not easy to live without snark. Instead, she wrote, "It's so much cooler to be more sarcastic …. It says, I am so above this scene—above other people, even." After her month-long experiment she concluded, "Kindness [of speech] doesn't have to imply repression. It doesn't rein in humor or impede the fight for justice. But it does require discipline and substantive engagement with others." Lauren Frey Daisley, "My month of no snark," Salon.com (3-28-11)
Secular Reporter Praises the Work of Evangelicals In 2011 New York Times editorialist Nicholas Kristof wrote a column praising the work of many evangelical Christians. Kristof begins by noting that at times evangelical leaders act hypocritically and don't reflect Christ. However, he also goes on to write: But in reporting on poverty, disease and oppression, I've seen so many others. Evangelicals are disproportionately likely to donate 10 percent of their incomes to charities, mostly church-related. More important, go to the front lines, at home or abroad, in the battles against hunger, malaria, prison rape, obstetric fistula, human trafficking or genocide, and some of the bravest people you meet are evangelical Christians (or conservative Catholics, similar in many ways) who truly live their faith. I'm not particularly religious myself, but I stand in awe of those I've seen risking their lives in this way—and it sickens me to see that faith mocked at New York cocktail parties.
Nicholas D. Kristof, "Evangelicals Without Blowhards," The New York Times (7-30-11)
The Early Church Grew by Caring for the Sick Sociologist Rodney Stark has written a brilliant book,The Rise of Christianity, in which he describes how Christianity arose from a small group … to become the dominant force of the Roman Empire in such a short time. He presents factors that would have contributed to this great movement towards Christ. He shows that there were two great epidemics during those first few centuries. If those who were affected were cared for, there was a good chance they would survive. But often when a member of the family contracted the disease, the other family members left that person uncared for and left their homes for places not affected by the disease. The Christians, however, did not do this …. The Christians [cared for their own family members and] also cared for those who were left behind by [their] family members. Stark points out that the willingness to suffer in order to care for the sick had a part to play in large numbers of people in the Roman Empire turning to Christ. Evangelicals today are a despised group who are considered hopelessly out of step with today's … pluralistic attitude toward religion …. Because of their evangelistic activity the early Christians too were despised and persecuted. But they bore the persecution with such radiant power that their response served as a great attraction to people. Ajith Fernando, The Call to Joy & Pain (Crossway, 2007), p. 91
Talking Is Easy, Listening Is Hard Work Take this simple test: After your next long conversation with someone, estimate what percentage of it you spent talking. Be honest. No, you're already underestimating. How do I know? Because it's more fun to talk than to listen. Talking is like drinking a great Cabernet. Listening is like doing squats … Listening is like reading a corporate report. Talking is like eating a cinnamon bun. —Rob Lazebnik, a writer for the TV show The Simpsons Rob Lazebnik, "It's True: You Talk Too Much," The Wall Street Journal (10-4-13)
Dietrich Bonhoeffer on the Ministry of Listening Christians, especially ministers, so often think they must always contribute something when they are in the company of others, that this is the one service they have to render. They forget that listening can be a greater service than speaking. Many people are looking for an ear that will listen. They do not find it among Christians, because these Christians are talking where they should be listening. But he who can no longer listen to his brother will soon be no longer listening to God either; he will be doing nothing but
prattle in the presence of God too. This is the beginning of the death of the spiritual life, and in the end there is nothing left but spiritual chatter. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together (New York: Harper & Row, 1954), pages 97-8.
Rewards in the Pages of the Bible In her book Amazing Grace, the writer and poet Kathleen Norris shares what she calls "the scariest story" she's ever heard about the Bible. Norris and her husband were visiting a man named Arlo, a rugged, self-made man who was facing terminal cancer. During their visit, Arlo started talking about his grandfather, a sincere Christian. The grandfather gave Arlo and his bride a wedding present: an expensive leather Bible with their names printed in gold lettering. Arlo left it in the box and never opened it. But for months afterwards his grandfather kept asking if he liked the Bible. Arlo told Norris, "The wife had written a nice thank-you note, and we'd thanked him in person, but somehow he couldn't let it lie, he always had to ask about it." Finally, Arlo grew curious enough to open the Bible. "The joke was on me," Arlo said. "I finally took that Bible out of the closet and I found that granddad had placed a twenty-dollar bill at the beginning of the Book of Genesis, and at the beginning of every book … over thirteen hundred dollars in all. And he knew I'd never find it." Kathleen Norris, Amazing Grace: A Vocabulary of Faith (Riverhead Books, 1998), p. 95
Let Them Eat Bread The question of bread for myself is a material question, but the question of bread for my neighbours, for everybody, is a spiritual and religious question. ... Christians ought to be permeated with a sense of the religious importance of the elementary daily needs of people, the vast masses of people, and not to despise these needs from a sense of exalted spirituality. Nicolai Berdyaev in Origin of Russian Communism. Christianity Today, Vol. 32, no. 10.
Nothing in Common Liberals are always talking about pluralism, but that is not what they mean. ... In public school, Jews don't meet Christians. Christians don't meet Hindus. Everybody meets nothing. That is, as I explain to Jews all the time, why their children so easily inter-marry. Jews don't marry Christians. Non Jewish Jews marry non-Christian Christians. Jews for nothing marry Christians for nothing. They get along great because they both affirm nothing. They have everything in common-- nothing. That's not pluralism.
Jewish talk-show host Dennis Prager in The Door (Nov./Dec. 1990). Christianity Today, Vol. 35, no. 6.