BE HEARERS AND DOERS OF

THE WORD

September 09, 2018

Rev. Mark F. Bartels

Old Testament Lesson; Isaiah 35:4-7

Gospel Lesson; Mark 7:31-37

Sermon Text; James 1:17-27

Our scripture lesson for today is taken from James, chapter one, verses seventeen through twenty seven. It tells us to be hearers and doers of The Word.

Every good act of giving and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the lights, who does not change or shift like a shadow. Just as He planned, He gave us birth by The Word of Truth so that we would be a kind of firstfruits of His creations.

Remember this, my dear brothers: Let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry. Certainly, a man's anger does not bring about what is right before God. So after getting rid of all moral filthiness and overflowing wickedness, receive with humility the word planted in you. It is able to save your souls.

Be people who do what The Word says, not people who only hear it. Such people are deceiving themselves. In fact, if anyone hears The Word and does not do what it says, he is like a man who carefully looks at his own natural face in a mirror. Indeed, he carefully looks at himself; then, he goes away and immediately forgets what he looked like. But the one who looks carefully into the perfect law, the law of freedom, and continues to do so – since he does not hear and forget, but actually does what it says – that person will be blessed in what he does.

If anyone considers himself to be religious but deceives his own heart because he does not bridle his tongue, this person's religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled in the sight of God the Father is this: to take care of orphans and widows in their afflictions and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

These are your words, Heavenly Father. Lead us in the way of truth. Your Word is truth.

Amen

A couple of years ago, I met somebody. I had never met him, before. We were talking, and all of a sudden he brought up a name, and I realized, “Hey, we have a common connection. I know that guy, too.”

So, I said, “Hey, I know that person. In fact, that person you are talking about is a member at Holy Cross He goes to my church.”

The guy I was talking to said, “No!”
And I said, “Yeah, he goes to Holy Cross.”

He said, “You are kidding me?”

I said, “No, he is a member at my church.”
He asked, “He is a member at your church?”
I answered, “Yeah.”
He said, “Wow! Wow! That's hard to believe.”
I asked, “Why is that hard to believe?”
He said, “If you knew how that guy talks, and how he hurts people's feelings by the things he says. Wow! He's a member at your church?”

What was that guy saying? He was saying there was a huge disconnect between the fact that man professed to be a Christian, but his lifestyle seemed to say something different.

I didn't know what happens when you drive off the parking lot, here at Holy Cross. I have not been in most of your homes, or your places of work, so I don't really know what happens at the kitchen table, the conversations, or the conversations in your car, or what you say at work. I don't know if somebody might look at you, and say, “Wow! Wow! That person goes to Holy Cross. There is a huge disconnect between claiming to be a Christian, and living a Christian life.”

In the book of James (James was the half brother of Jesus) we discover James was very concerned, as a pastor, and was reaching out to congregation members. He was very concerned that people went to church, and that they said they were Christians, but their lives did not seem to reflect or show this Christian behavior. He was very concerned about that disconnect. James makes this basic premise: This basic premise is, if you have met Jesus, you have changed. The basic premise in scripture is,

if you have really met Jesus,

you have changed.

The reverse of that is,

if you haven't changed,

you have not really met Jesus.

If you haven't changed, you have not really met Jesus. James, the writer of this scripture verse, this book of the Bible, is so concerned about that for particularly one reason. It is not that he is concerned about, “What are other people going to think about my congregation members?” Listen to what he says in verse twenty two.

“Be people who do what the Word says,

not people who hear it only.”

And then, listen to what he says.

“Such people are deceiving themselves.”

He doesn't want his congregation members to deceive themselves. To be self-deceived means you don't even realize you have deceived yourself into thinking, “I am a Christian”, but really your behavior is saying the opposite. And so, in this book he wants to get rid of that self-deception. It is a really healthy book for all of us to look at. Again, the basic premise is this.

If you have met Jesus,

if you have really met Him,

you have changed.

And, if you haven't changed,

you haven't really met Him.

Now, our temptation is to look at somebody else here in church, and say, “I know who he is talking about”. Let's all look at ourselves. Let's all look at ourselves, and ask the questions James asks in this scripture reading.

Now, what does it mean to really meet Jesus? I am going to use one of my favorite examples in The Bible of somebody who really met Jesus. It was the woman who was caught in adultery. A bunch of Pharisees caught her committing this act of adultery, and brought her to Jesus. They said, “Hey, she got caught committing adultery, and The Bible says she should be stoned to death. What do you think?”

Can you imagine? This woman must have been terrified, terrified, thinking, “I am going to get stoned to death. I am going to die right here on the spot. And, I am going to go to Hell, today.”

Jesus looked at the crowd, and said, “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.”

The Bible says they all slowly start to go away, one by one, until there is no one left except this woman, and Jesus. Jesus looks at the woman, and said to her, “Is there no one left to condemn you?” She looks at Him, and says, “No sir.”

And then, Jesus says these stunning words. He looks at her, and says,

“Neither do I condemn you.”

Wow! That woman met Jesus right there, that day. This is a sinner who, on her knees, realizing, “I could die, and go to Hell”, all of a sudden heard the greatest message should ever could have heard from the lips of God, Himself, saying to her,

“I don't condemn you.”

Why is that? It is because Jesus loves us. He is merciful. Jesus took all of her sins, and yours, and mine too, and took them to Himself, in mercy. And, on the cross He paid for every one of them. He lived a perfect life in our place, and He gives that to us, as a free gift.

As a result, God's heart toward us is a heart that says, “I love you. I forgive you. I don't hold your sins against you. I am your friend.” She met that Jesus. That is meeting Jesus.

Then, Jesus said,

“Now go, and sin no more.”

Do you think that woman went back home, and thought, “Wow, sure glad Jesus forgave me. But, I am going to keep committing adultery.”

I am sure she went home, and said, “I am so thankful I met Jesus, and God forgives all of my sins. I want to change. I want to live for Jesus.”

That is what it means to really meet Jesus.

If you have met Jesus,

really met Jesus,

you have changed.

And so, James says this, when he puts it this way in verse 18.

“Just as He planned,

He gave us birth by the Word of Truth

so we would be a kind of firstfruits of His creations.”

So, as a Christian, God gave you birth. That means before that, you were dead in your sin. We were dead in our sin. But, He brought us to life. He brought us to life through the Word of Truth, through hearing The Word, about what Jesus has done for you. The Holy Spirit caused you to meet Jesus, really meet Jesus. And, He brought you new life. It says so that we might be the firstfruits. That means you begin to produce fruit. What we are producing right now is the firstfruits. There is more to come. Someday our lives are going to be so changed that they will be perfect. That is when we are in Heaven. But, right now, we do good works, not in order to be saved, because good works don't save us.

We do good works,

because we are saved.

If you have met Jesus, you have changed.

Now, James wants you to really look at yourself. He is going to start to ask, “Have you changed?” He's not going to look at the big stuff, like, “Have you stopped being an alcoholic?” Or, “Have you stopped murdering people?” Or, “Have you stopped going out, and having affairs?”

He is going to look at the day to day, every day interaction you have all of the time, with people. He will do other things through the book of James, but at this spot he is going to really look at what comes out of your mouth. “What comes out of your mouth?” If you have met Jesus, it has changed. Listen to what he says, in verse nineteen.

“Remember this, my dear brothers:

Let everyone be quick to listen,

slow to speak, and slow to become angry.

Certainly, a man's anger does not bring about what is right

before God.”

So, the words that come out of your mouth, what are they like? Do they come from a changed heart, or are they primarily angry words? The Bible tells us words that come out of the mouth, come from the overflow of the heart. Is that heart still an angry heart? Is it still a heart that looks at other people, harbors resentment, and unkind thoughts, thinking bad things about them, and as a result feels entitled to lose its temper, get full of rage, and say mean things? James is saying, “Is that who you are? Is that primarily who you are?” If you haven't changed, have you really met Jesus?

He goes on, and says this. So, how do we change that? He is not going to give us a list of one, two, three, four, five. Do these five things, and it will change. He just goes right to The Gospel. The only thing that can change us is The Gospel. “So after getting rid of all moral filthiness and overflowing wickedness, receive with humility the Word planted in you. It is able to save your souls.” So, he is telling us,

“Get rid of all of that moral filthiness.”

If you know there are things about me that dramatically need to change, it is like walking into a nice clean house, and I am all full of mud. I want to get rid of all of that stuff. “Jesus, I am sorry I have this. I want it to be gone.”

Then it says,

“Receive with humility

the Word of Truth that is planted in you.”

You have had The Gospel planted in your heart. You have had the truth planted there:

-Jesus has washed away all of those sins.

-And in His mercy and His grace, He doesn't see them.

That is what is able to change us, and make us different people.

Listen to verse 22.

“Be people who do what the Word says,

not people who only hear it.

Such people are deceiving themselves.”

So, how do you know if you are deceiving yourself? James gives a really simple answer. Look in the mirror. Look in the mirror, and take a good look at yourself in that mirror. Listen to what he says.

“In fact, if anyone hears The Word

and doesn't do what it says,

he is like a man who carefully looks at his own natural face

in a mirror.

….he carefully looks at himself;

then, he goes away

and immediately forgets what he looked like.”

We have mirrors all over the place. I think statistics say we look in a mirror at least eight times a day. But, back in Bible times there weren't mirrors. It was rare to actually get a glimpse of what you looked like. You had to find a polished piece of metal, and even then it was a distorted reflection. “Is that what I really look like?” And then, imagine trying to remember what you look like, as you walk away. But, here it is talking about looking at yourself. In church, that is what happens. In church, you see what you look like in God's eyes – your sin. And then, you see what your Savior has done for you.

But, what happens, what happens next, when you drive out of this parking lot? Then, what happens? Listen to this passage from verse twenty six.

“If anyone considers himself to be religious

but deceives his own heart

because he doesn't bridle his tongue,

that person's religion is worthless.”

So, when you drive out of this lot, what happens? Did you change? Did The Gospel change you? Or, in the car, at home, and at work:

“Out of the mouth comes the overflow of the heart.”

Is there bickering? Is there gossip about what is going on with 'who and who' at church? Is there criticizing of what got said, or how it got said? Is there being critical of what got done, and how it got done? Is there disrespect, as you talk about other people? Is there anger that doesn't look out for the interest of others?

You know, a heart that has been changed by Jesus, who has met Jesus, and sees the mercy of Jesus, wants to look out for the welfare of others.

Or, is it a mouth, at your home, when you are talking to your spouse, your children, your classmates, your coworkers, that says things that are hurtful and harmful, that cuts down and breaks down, a mouth that doesn't say, “I am sorry”, and doesn't say, “I forgive you?”

If that is the case, then James is saying,

“If you haven't changed,

you haven't really met Jesus.”

This is a call to all of us. Every one of us can look in our own heart and certainly say, “There are lots of things about me that still need to change. There are. There are lots of things.”

Do you want to meet Jesus? Do you want to meet Him? He is holding out His hands to you. That's the kind of Jesus He is. He is holding out His hands to you, and He is calling you. He says,

“Come onto me.

Come onto me,

all of you who weary and burdened

and I will give you rest.”

He wants us to find freedom from the guilt, troubles, and lives we live that aren't what they should be, at all. In fact, this passage goes on and says,

“But the one who looks carefully into the perfect law,

(there, by “perfect law” it is using law in a broad sense

The perfect Word of God

that gives freedom),

the law of freedom,

and continues to do so -

since he does not hear and forget

but actually does what it says -

that person will be blessed in what he does.”

There James is calling us to hear The Word, and don't forget what it says.

As you come to The Word, and you bring your sins before Jesus, and hear Him tell you personally, in The Word, “I forgive you. I died for your sins. They are gone. They are washed away. I don't see them, anymore. When I look at you, for the sake of what I have done, I see someone who has never sinned, never done anything wrong. You are my friend. I love you.”

We hear that, and the Holy Spirit comforts us, and causes us to say, “I want to change. I want to change! I want to live for Jesus.”

Then, it shows how that change displays itself. The last verse says,

“Religion that is pure and undefiled

in the sight of God the Father is this:

to take care of orphans and widows

in their affliction

and to keep one's self unstained by the world.”

What is Jesus' heart? Jesus' heart is a heart for the vulnerable. You are vulnerable in your sin. You're vulnerable to be condemned, and go to Hell. But, Jesus' heart is a heart for the vulnerable, and He came, forgave you, and He makes you safe in His arms. His heart was towards those who were in need, toward those who were crippled, blind, or deaf, or sick. That was His heart. His heart was towards the vulnerable, and He came to help. A person who has been changed by the Gospel says, “That's my heart. That is my heart. That is what I want to be.”

And at home, “If my children are vulnerable (because they are), I want to use my words in a way that builds them up, takes care of them, and wrap my arms around them.”

“If my spouse is vulnerable, I want to use my lips,and my words in a good, God pleasing way.”

At work, “If I see somebody in need, my heart is I want to help.”

And so, it's a good day for self reflection for all of us. James who understood that we are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, and our good works do not save us, also was very aware that if you are saved, you will do good works, not in order to be saved, but because you are saved. And so, he says,

“Don't just be hearers of the Word,

and so deceive yourself.

Do what it says.”

Amen