The
blessing is in the doing:
Receiving
and Responding to God’s word
James
1:21-25
Well, we have been taking a journey together through a series on the various Christian practices or means of grace God has given us that we might walk with him and we have spend the past month or so on the essential means of grace of the word of God. This morning, as we conclude our sub-series on the word of God within our overall series, I want to be careful to leave us with the best perspective we can have on how to deal with the word of God. I want to position us to get the very most out of the word of God, to be as greatly blessed as possible. I want blessing for your lives, I want blessing for my family, my children, your families, your children, your marriages and for this church. I want through this message and all I do as a pastor to so position us in our relationship to the word of God that a generation from now and maybe two or three if the Lord tarries, this church will continue to experience blessing and good fruit because of the culture we established in how we relate to the word of God. I believe the scriptures teach us this fundamental fact – the blessing of the word of God is in the doing! Now, I could take you on a journey through the entire bible to convince you that this is indeed how God wants us to relate to his word – that the blessing is in the doing - and indeed I want us to be familiar with the entire bible’s story and perspective on this. But I can think of no one better place to go than the book of James chapter 1.
James is a fantastic book about the nitty-gritty of walking out the Christian life. It is full of very specific instruction about walking in every day life in response to the word of God. James is concerned in this book that the people of God really live as the holy people of God they are empowered to be and not deceive themselves into thinking God desires anything less. As we prepare to jump into James instruction let us pray that God may speak to us through his awesome and eternal word.
16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. 18 Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. 19 Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; 20 for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness that God requires. 21 Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. 22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. 25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing. 26 If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless. 27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. (James 1:16-27 (ESV))
1.
The blessing is
in the doing because of Sovereign Grace.
There is something vital to understand before we begin to
address the specifics of chapter 1:21-26.
The book of James contains a rich supply of specific instruction for the
Christian life. This very helpful
instruction from this great Elder of the church and blood brother of the Lord
Jesus is entirely founded on grace, contrary to some who have viewed it as
empty legalism. Martin Luther at one
time doubted it’s validity as scripture.
He said,
“These books [John, Romans, 1 Peter etc] show you Christ and teach you all that
is necessary and salutary for you to known even though you were never to see or
hear any other book or doctrine. Therefore St. James epistle is really an
epistle of straw compared to them, for it lacks this evangelical
character."[1]
He later retracted that, for if you study James carefully, you
see that all this instruction is predicated on a previous work of God in the
hearers life. Take a look at verse
18. It says, “Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of
truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.” And in
verse 21 we are told, “receive with meekness
the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.”
Why am I bringing these two verses up? Because we
would be in a whole heap of trouble if we dove into the exhortations in this
book without understanding the very bedrock of the Christian life. That bedrock is the amazing sovereign grace
of God. James teaches this in verse
16-18. This teaching is consistent with
many other verses in the bible. The
teaching is this. Our forgiveness before
God, our relationship with God through Jesus Christ, our ability to believe in
Jesus and trust him alone for our forgiveness and salvation, our ability to
understand that Jesus came as the promised King and Savior to pay for our sins
and earn our acceptance before God, our ability to turn from sin and love and
trust God comes not from ourselves, not through our decision, not because we
first willed it but because God first willed it. And in his great love for us,
this unfathomable eternal overwhelming love that is granted us not because we
earned it but because he chose freely to give it, he has brought us forth by
the word of truth – that is the good news of Jesus Christ.
And before there can be any true love for God and any
true response to the word there was first the sovereign grace of God. It is sovereign grace because it comes from a
King, God himself, who is under no compulsion to you or me to give grace and
only does so from the counsels and kindness of his own heart. It is grace because it is entirely
undeserved, it is an entirely free gift to us, receive through faith and
repentance, not earned in the least, not deserved in the least. Entirely of his will and love and mercy and
therefore irrevocable and unmovable and eternal.
And before we can step into any genuine response to
God’s word there must first be this work of grace whereby God brings forth life
in us that were formerly dead, whereby he implants the very word of the gospel
in our hearts and writes his Holy law in our heart of hearts by the Holy
Spirit. Before we can learn to be doers
of the word we first must be undone and redone by the word and that is what
James teaches and Paul teaches and Jesus teaches and God teaches and therefore
that is what we will teach, by God’s grace as long as we live.
And yet, we will not neglect the purpose of this sovereign grace – to create a people for God, a holy people who hunger after his excellent and righteous ways. So, let us dive further into our text, understanding the utter and continual necessity to ground all we do on sovereign grace. The blessing is in the doing because of Sovereign Grace and….
2.
The blessing is
in the doing not hearing only
Let’s reread verses 22 to 25. It says, “22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. 25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.” What a wonderful text this is! James likens the hearer only to a man who intently examines his face in a mirror, who observes the scraggly beard, who sees the peanut butter on the corner of the mouth, who notices the bedhead and the sandman deposits in his eyes, who takes time to observe and examine and experience and even interrogate the image he sees but then who walks away without doing anything about what he saw. What a ridiculous picture! And James is intentional in communicating this through the story. Do you see how it describes the man – it says he “looks intently”. He really spends some time checking himself out – this is not a casual glance but focussed effort. And the thing that is most surprising about this man is that after spending that time examining himself in the mirror and seeing all his flaws clearly he walks away from the mirror and forgets entirely what he was doing.
Now as I read this I thought about my tendency to do exactly the same. And I thought about how this story James tells parallels how I often handle the hearing of God’s word through preaching. Do you know what I mean? I like the man in the story will sit and listen intently to a message and sit enthralled with the topic and the sense of God in the message. I might even have shivers up and down my spine and sense the presence of God. I might take copious notes with double underlines and triple exclamation points. I have the notes and files to prove it. But then, after I sit there I go home and I forget almost entirely what was said. I am like the man in the mirror! Can you relate? Have you ever done that? Yes? No? Who can tell me what the Sunday message was on two weeks ago? Very good? Now can you tell me specifically how God spoke to you through the message? Well, you guys are more attentive than me.
But I know myself, and I too often resemble the hearer only in the story and I spend time gazing intently in the mirror of God’s word only to go throughout my week with spiritual bedhead and spiritual sand in my eyes and spiritual bay leaves in between my teeth.
And this is exactly what James is after in this section. And this is what God is after in our
relationship to the word. The blessing
is not in the hearing, the blessing is in the doing. So listen to what James says – “be doers of the word, and not hearers only,
deceiving yourselves…But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of
liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he
will be blessed in his doing.” James 1:22,25 (ESV)
It is the one who looks into that mirror long and
hard and perseveres in seeking to act according to what he sees who is
blessed. Now the word is called the
perfect law, the law of liberty. What a
wonderful term this is. The power of the
life of Christ in us transforms how we relate to the word of God, it transforms
how we relate to the commands of God.
You see, the core of the word, this perfect law, this law of liberty,
teaches us that Christ has come and fulfilled all righteousness. All those good commands given from the time
of Adam until now, summed up in the command to love God with all our being and
our fellow man as ourselves were fulfilled in Christ. He alone earned the right to inherit the
promised kingdom God originally designed for mankind. But, in his great love for his people, he
made an incredible trade, our sin for his righteousness. He took all the sins of his people on himself
and suffered and died a sinner’s death for sin, bearing the full wrath of God
for our sin. God raised him from the
dead on the third day to show that he accepted his death and now he offers
himself, his death for sin and his life for righteousness to us that we might
be reconciled to God and stand before him blameless and righteous. That is at the core of this law of liberty. For now, we are free from our sin and
forgiven and empowered in Christ to now truly obey him, not to earn heaven but
because we love heaven and its King and the Kings laws are written on our
hearts. We are called to run hard and
free after holiness and to keep running hard.
Have you ever heard about one of the contests where the prize is a free
10 minute shopping spree at a place like Walmart? What would you do if you won
that prize? Would you saunter into
Walmart and think, I think all I want is a pack of gum? No, if you are like me, you would sprint
straight for the biggest ticket items and fill your shopping carts like a
maniac. Well, Jesus has won the shopping
spree for us and all the items on the shelf are the blessings of walking with
him and growing in holiness and we are to run hard after all the blessing that
comes from his holy word! We are to be enthusiastic and zealous and free doers
of the word – we have nothing to lose and everything to gain!
But folks, we
are in danger of deceiving ourselves.
Oh, it is so easy to have a false sense of piety, a false sense of
spiritual accomplishment based on the wrong thing. We are in so much danger of being a people
awash in the knowledge of the word but bankrupt in obedience. It is so easy to evaluate our maturity based
on the knowledge of the bible instead of obedience to the truth. It is so easy to assess our sense of
spiritual well-being based on whether we felt a particular Sunday message was
uplifting instead of whether it changed our lives. Do you know what I’m talking about? Folks, the reason God put this verse in
scripture is to keep us from deceiving ourselves. God doesn’t care about bible study, he cares
about bible application, God doesn’t care about whether any sermon is a good
sermon, he cares that it accomplish good.
God doesn’t care about how a sermon makes us feel, he cares about
whether our lives are changed.
I wonder if some of the men I love to hear preach
attract me only because I feel good when I hear them, not because they bring
truth that changes my life. There are
many gifted speakers out there but is it the gift of the man what matters or
the effect the word has on our lives? If
I am a hearer only I am deceiving myself.
And if you are a hearer only and not a doer you are deceiving
yourself. The blessing isn’t in the hearing
– the blessing is in the doing!
If we get this right oh how it will change us! I believe there is a radical difference between a doer and a hearer only and I believe there is a radical difference between a church full of doers and one full of hearers only. And I am desperate to become more of a doer and less of a hearer only. As I spent time meditating on this passage and the book of James I came up with 15 qualities of the doer versus the hearer. I have included these in your notes. I will only take time to go through some of these today.
15 differences
between the doer and the hearer only from James.
1. The doer measures maturity by his doing not his
knowing, the hearer measures maturity by his knowing, not his doing. (James
1:22-25, 2:14-26, 3:13-18)
James contrasts the difference between knowing and believing versus the actual doing throughout the letter. Jesus himself warns us that it is not those who say “Lord, Lord” who will receive their reward but those who do what he says. It is not the one who knows and believes the bible whose house weathers the storms but those who do what he says. You see, the godly man, the doer of the word, understands that vitality in the Christian life is measured by fruit – by the application and obedience to the word of God – first and foremost the gospel itself – embracing the justification it brings and seeking to walk in accordance to the repentance and new life it calls us to and empowers us for. We must be careful to measure maturity by conformity to Christ, conformity to the command to love God and to love one another and not the mere knowledge of these things.
3. The doer is hungry for holiness, the hearer sees
it as of little importance. (James 1-5)
James is a letter about holiness. It is 5 chapters based more or less on Jesus’ teaching through the sermon on the mount. It is an unabashed celebration of holiness. And every true believer is to be hungry for holiness. We are to be hungry for holiness not because it earns us anything before God. For we are free. But we also are new creations intended for a destiny – that destiny being complete and perfect enjoyment of and love for God. And that is what holiness is – the unadulterated enjoyment of and love for God and others. And those who have tasted of the new life in Christ want more – more of Christ, more of obedience, more of undivided love for him. Yes, the doer of the word is hungry for holiness.
5. The doer is reliant on grace and very glad for it,
the hearer only knows grace but doesn’t know the fullness of its blessing
because he hasn’t truly struggled for holiness. (James 1:18, 21)
Also, the doer is desperate for grace because as he strives to do he so often finds himself failing and falling short and continually faces the reality that even his very best efforts are still riddled with sin and imperfect. And so grace, the free gift of forgiveness and righteousness, the perfect and complete and everlasting righteousness of Christ is all the more meaningful to him. It is not the hearer only who better grasps grace but the doer who knows how needy he is at each moment of his life and yet keeps on longing for what is ahead, that is perfect love for God and forgetting what is behind.
10. The doer avoids pride and pursues humility, the
hearer only doesn’t see his desperate need for humility. (James 3:13-18,
4:4-10)
Finally, for now, the doer avoids pride because he knows this
is the antithesis of what he is trying to accomplish. He knows that pride is dangerous and
deceptive and will derail him from true doing.
And so the doer pursues genuine humility. Oh how far short I fall here! How I resemble the hearer only who does not
guard against pride. I see this often in my relationship with my
wife. I so often bristle at her gentle
observations that may reflect negatively on me.
I am so slow to hear her appeals.
I can be so abrupt and unkind.
Just about all our conflicts flow out of my pride. I am so often deaf and blind to the word of
God, preferring to be a hearer only than to genuinely pursue the doing of the
word through pursuing true humility.
What am I doing but trying to say that Jesus didn’t need to die for me
and that I am plenty righteous and worthy in myself, thank you God. O God forgive me and help me to embrace the
truth and my desperate need for a Savior and Lord at all times.
How about you guys? Do you see yourself as a hearer only in any of these categories? Maybe you could take time later today or this week to go through these together with a friend or family member and just pick one of these to consider as an area for growth. You see, the blessing is in the doing!
3.
The blessing is
in the doing , here’s how.
We as a church want to so orient our lives and the life of our church so as to be doers of the word and not hearers only. This is why we have a great emphasis on application of the word. This is why we have caregroups focused on not so much on studying the bible but on applying it. Nothing against bible studies, we value the study of the word, but we value the study of the word for the purpose of application – the purpose of fruit – knowing, enjoying and loving God and loving others. I think we have to be careful not to fill our minds with too much knowledge of God’s word without the consequent obedience to it. I don’t want us to be a church known for our bible expertise – I want us to be a church known for its love. I want us to be a church where people encounter the presence of God and the love of the saints. So we have organized ourselves around building relationships that practice regular biblical fellowship – specifically, helping one another walk out the truth of God’s word together. If we don’t get this one down we shouldn’t be trying anything else. That is why we require our members to practice regular participation not only in our main Sunday gathering but also in our small groups because we want the blessing of being doers of the word and we can’t do it if we are not helping one another apply the word in the context of vital relationships fostered by small groups.
If you want to become a
doer of the word, get in a caregroup. Go
visit the Haavisto’s caregroup and spend time talking about how we walk out the
truths of Acts 17 or 18. Observe a group
of people who love the Lord and are excited about helping each other love him
more and leading others to know and love him too. Take your burdens there and meet saints who
will share the load and demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit and spur you on to
love and good deeds. If you want to
become a doer of the word dive into the Haavistos caregroup and hang on for a
wonderful wild ride of growth in Christ!
We want to do all we can so you can enjoy the blessing in the doing. And we want to remind you all along the way that there is one who already has finished the doing and he alone is our righteousness and the goal of our holiness. We will remind you of the perfect forgiveness and acceptance you already have. And we will remind you of the wonderful destiny you have to be conformed to the image of Christ. And we will do all we can to help you walk this out in specific ways.
One more point before we close. This growth in doing comes step by step. Listen to what David Powlison, editor of the Journal of Biblical Counseling says, “Bring one bit of Bible to one bit of life. You can’t say [or do] it all at once. Charles Spurgeon put the principle in his inimitable way, ‘One bit of Bible prayed over, and bedewed with the Spirit, and made alive, though it be only a short sentence of six words, will profit you more than a hundred chapters without the Spirit.1’ One bit of Bible, bedewed with the Spirit, comes to life in one bit of life! You can’t deal with it all at once. Scripture never does. Ministry, like life, goes one step at a time.” [2] So, don’t think being a doer means you go out from here and in a flurry of manic spirituality do all the things you know you should be doing. No, being a doer means you deal in specifics and you deal humbly with yourself. And that means you recognize that you and I can only handle one simple thing at a time. So, the doer of the word takes bite size pieces and works at them slowly and surely. I have a pastor friend who will orient all his devotional time with the Lord to keep on chewing on one truth or one area of growth until he is experiencing change and then he may move on. I think that is so wise.
So, what one bite size bit of truth are you going to carry out of here today? How are you going to take one small step to be a doer of the word and not a hearer only? We will remind you of the wonder and freedom of sovereign grace and we will walk with you side by side as we grow as doers of the word.
Let’s pray.
15 Differences Between the Doer and
the Hearer Only
from the book of James.
1.
The doer measures maturity by his doing, not
his knowing, the hearer-only measures maturity by his knowing. (James 1:22-25,
3:13-18)
2.
The doer understands salvation is not merely
instantaneous but also a lifelong process, the hearer-only thinks he’s done
when he first believes. (James 1:21,25, 2:14-26)
3.
The doer is hungry for holiness, the hearer-only
sees it as of little importance. (James 1-5)
4.
The doer deals in specifics, the hearer-only
in vague applications. (James 1-5 i.e. speech, generosity/wealth, humility)
5.
The doer is reliant on grace and very glad
for it, the hearer-only knows grace but doesn’t know the fullness of its
blessing because he hasn’t truly struggled for holiness. (James 1:18, 21)
6.
The doer confesses sin, the hearer-only only
hides it or is unaware of it. (James 3:14, 5:16)
7.
The doer relies on others for his growth in
Christ, the hearer-only doesn’t seek this sort of depth in relationships.
(James 5:16,19-20)
8.
The doer pursues fruit in speech, the hearer-only
doesn’t see his need to grow in godly speech. (James 1:26, 3:1-12)
9.
The doer pursues fruit in deep relationships,
the hearer-only avoids relationships or keeps them shallow. (James 1-5)
10.
The doer avoids pride and pursues humility,
the hearer-only is blind to his pride. (James 3:13-18)
11.
The doer doesn’t boast about tomorrow but recognizes
his desperate and daily need for God, the hearer-only can be boastful and
self-sufficient and lives for his plans. (James 4:13-17)
12.
The doer is prayerful, the hearer-only
doesn’t think he needs to be. (James 5:13-18)
13.
The doer is sober about becoming a teacher
the hearer-only is eager to tell others what he knows. (James 3:1 ff))
14.
The doer understands that the test is in
trials, the hearer-only fails in trials. (James 1:2-5)
15.
The doer’s hope is in the future, the hearer-only
seeks comfort now. (James 1:12, 21, 2:5, 5:7-11)