[Originally preached 26 September, 2004]
James 1.22-25
We are finally getting back to James after a little hiatus. We return to see again James’ wisdom and his pastor’s heart. He really cares about the people to whom he is writing. And because he cares he warns them. He is concerned lest the people deceive themselves. He voices that concern in verse 22. And it’s not only there that he warns them about this danger. He repeats the same concern back in verse 16 and then again in verse 26. James knows that someone who is deceived is in great danger. Such a person thinks that all is well when it isn’t. This is especially dangerous when a person’s soul is at stake. And so James cries out to these saints. ‘Don’t be deceived! Understand the true state of your soul.’
It’s here that we have a difficulty. How do you understand the state of your soul? How does one examine his own soul to see if all is well? What do you do? What do you look for? Do you ask yourself how you feel? That won’t work. Even when it comes to the health of the body, that won’t work. Someone with high blood pressure, for example, feels no pain. And yet, he is a prime candidate for a stroke or some other major problem. Determining the health of the soul is the same. So, James doesn’t ask us how we are feeling. Instead, he asks us how we are acting. It is our actions that reveal the state of our soul. In our text this morning James zeros in on one particular area of activity. Later, he will point out some other areas to consider. But in this text James asks us how we are acting when it comes to the Word. And so, he writes, ‘But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.’
Now, please notice that James is talking about hearing the Word. It’s easy to assume that James is talking about our reading of the Word. And while this text applies to that, it has special application not to our times of Bible reading but rather to the times when you listen to the preaching of the Word. This isn’t the exclusive application of our text, but it is a primary one. So, what James is really asking here is this. ‘Do you just hear the sermon, or do you also do something as a result?’ How you answer this question is a way of examining yourself. It is a way of getting a look at the health of your soul. James’ assumption is that hearing the word preached places a responsibility on you. The preaching of the Word obligates you to do something with what you’ve heard.
Now, the question that you might be asking is, ‘Do what? What is it that I need to do with the sermon?’ And the answer isn’t complicated. What you need to do with any sermon is believe it. Now, remember that believing is not just agreeing mentally with the content of what you’ve heard. Believing is agreeing and then acting accordingly. What you really believe shows in how you act. In the preaching of the Word the commands and promises of Scripture are explained, sins are exposed, a way of looking at life is impressed upon you, the character of the Father is revealed, the love of Jesus for His own is extolled, and the quiet, yet indispensable work of the Spirit is displayed. These are things that you need to believe, which includes acting upon them. And James writes that if you fail here, if you don’t do something with what you hear, then you are deceived. You think that all is well with your soul when it obviously is not.
This isn’t to say that every sermon needs to be some ecstatic experience that dramatically changes your life. That would be true if God were in a rush, which He isn’t. He works slowly, and usually quietly. But it does mean that over time you should see areas of your life being worked on as the Spirit takes different parts of the different sermons and presses them home. It does mean that over time you should see change. Not seeing change is a yellow warning flag that something is not right. Change, becoming more like Jesus, is what is normal for the Christian.
But benefiting from the preaching of the Word takes more than showing up and listening. If you are going to change as a result of the preaching of the Word there are things that you must do. For one thing, you need to ponder the sermon. You need to mull over what you’ve heard. Some of you take home the manuscripts of the sermon so that you can review it during the week. Some take a tape to listen to it again. Those are good things to do. In addition, you should discuss the sermon as a family. Talk about it over Sunday lunch. This can especially help the children to learn how to think about the sermon. This doesn’t need to be long and involved. Just have each member of the family, parents and children, mention one thing about the sermon. You fathers look for opportunities to build on what your children say to help them understand. Think about what was preached and mull it over, individually and as families. Then, another thing that needs to happen is that you need to pray. Don’t expect any fruitful ‘doing the Word’ unless you pray. Pray before the sermon, during the week. Pray for me so that I will be accurate and clear as I preach. Pray for yourselves and each other that you all might be able to give close attention to the preaching. Then pray after the sermon during the following week. Pray about the particular items that the Spirit may have pressed upon your thinking. As you do these sorts of things, you will see good fruit coming from your hearing of the Word. You will see yourself doing the Word. You will see growth. You will be able to avoid being deceived.
Now, James doesn’t stop with just a command. He also gives encouragement to obey that command. Here, we come upon his illustration of the two men and the mirror. One of the last things that I do before I leave home on Sunday mornings is to look in the full length mirror on the back of my bedroom door. I check to make sure that my hair is combed, my tie is straight and things like that. I imagine that you do the same sort of thing. And if you or I see something in that mirror that isn’t quite right we make adjustments. How foolish to look, see something amiss but then do nothing about it. But that’s exactly what this first man does. He looks and forgets all about what he sees in the mirror. He doesn’t straighten his tie or smooth his hair.
Now, James isn’t talking about mirrors and he isn’t concerned here with neatness. What he’s getting at is looking in the Word. The Word is a mirror. The Word shows us who we really are. And we need to get that right. How you think about yourself is so important. It is a place where so many are deceived. There are those who think of themselves in such exalted terms. These folk think so highly of themselves and their abilities. And it shows. It affects their relationships. Then there are the folk who think of themselves as just barely more valuable then dirt. They have a very low opinion of themselves and their abilities. And this shows too. This also affects their relationships. And then there are most people who bounce back and forth between these two poles. One time they’ll say, ‘I’m so great. Just look at what I did.’ Then, other times, even the next moment, they’ll say, ‘I am such a jerk. Just look at what I did.’ James’ solution is to look at the Word and remember what you see. The Word reveals to you who you really are. You are a sinner who is also a saint. Isn’t that what the Gospel says? Scripture lays out, in stark detail at times, the vile wickedness of your sin. Every worship service we are all reminded of some aspect of our sin by the Reading of the Law of God near the beginning of the service. But then, in the Confession of Sin we do something with what we heard from the Word. We own our sin. No excuses. We agree with God. We are sinners worthy of death and hell. And yet, that isn’t all that we pray. We also come in Jesus’ name, as God’s beloved children, asking, again, for forgiveness. What boldness! What audacity! We sin and then actually expect forgiveness?!? Yes! And why? Because the Word which we hear tells us that we are God’s saints covered by the sacrifice of Jesus on that cross. We do not sink into despair because of our sin. But we boldly go to the Father asking for forgiveness and for change. And we are granted our request. The Declaration of Pardon reminds us that God forgives wicked sinners like us! We have heard the Word. We have peered intently into it and have seen who we really are. But we do not stop there. We act on what we have seen and are blessed by it. That is one example of doing the Word. That is one way of looking at the Word and not forgetting what we see there.
Seeing it this way also explains James’ interesting way of describing the Word. It is the ‘perfect law of liberty’. The Word is ‘law’. Our culture hates the biblical notion of law. And the reason is clear. God’s Law is something that you must submit to. God’s Law is something that has authority over you. Our culture is so independent that it will submit to no one. People might grant outward compliance or even willing obedience, as long as they agree with the command. But that isn’t submission. Mere outward compliance or even willing obedience to those commands that we find agreeable isn’t the way to respond to God’s Word. That isn’t doing the Word. And this is why it’s helpful to see that James calls the Word the perfect law of God. This Word is a perfect fit for you. It is exactly what you need. It will reveal who you really are, if you are willing to see it. And because it is a perfect fit it bears good fruit in your life. This perfect Law brings liberty. What is the longing of every soul? It is to be free; to be free of the shackles which bind it. Most people don’t understand the real nature of their shackles and so they seek freedom in the wrong places and in the wrong ways. But we know the truth. It is our sin that shackles us. And we also know that we can be free of those shackles. We can be free because of the Gospel. By hearing and doing the Word, we can grow in our experience of real freedom. As you hear the Gospel preached and as you believe that Gospel and do it, what happens? More and more of your sin is exposed. It is exposed by the Spirit so that it can be dealt with. And as more of your sin is dealt with and removed, you become more like the pure saint that you were intended to be. You come more and more into the freedom that you will enjoy in fullness in the age to come. But the key is hearing and doing the ‘perfect law of liberty’. Is it any wonder that James tells us that such a person ‘will be blessed in his doing’?
For some of you this sermon has been a warning from the Spirit. The Spirit is warning you that you are deceived. You think that all is well with your soul. And yet, you are unable to present any evidence of doing the Word that you hear preached each Sunday. But the Spirit does this so that you might repent. There is always hope for the sinner who repents and believes the Gospel. With James I would urge you, ‘Be not deceived, my beloved brethren.’
For the rest of you this sermon has been intended as an encouragement. Doing the Word isn’t easy. Coming to grips with your sin isn’t fun. But you still work at hearing and doing the Word. Well done! And as you do that, you are seeing the fruit. You are being blessed in your doing. You are coming into a greater experience of the freedom of the Gospel. You are becoming more like Jesus. Let me encourage you, then, to press on. Continue the good work that you are doing. Persevere until the day when the struggle is over and you enter into the complete freedom of the Gospel.
James 1.22-25
We are finally getting back to James after a little hiatus. We return to see again James’ wisdom and his pastor’s heart. He really cares about the people to whom he is writing. And because he cares he warns them. He is concerned lest the people deceive themselves. He voices that concern in verse 22. And it’s not only there that he warns them about this danger. He repeats the same concern back in verse 16 and then again in verse 26. James knows that someone who is deceived is in great danger. Such a person thinks that all is well when it isn’t. This is especially dangerous when a person’s soul is at stake. And so James cries out to these saints. ‘Don’t be deceived! Understand the true state of your soul.’
It’s here that we have a difficulty. How do you understand the state of your soul? How does one examine his own soul to see if all is well? What do you do? What do you look for? Do you ask yourself how you feel? That won’t work. Even when it comes to the health of the body, that won’t work. Someone with high blood pressure, for example, feels no pain. And yet, he is a prime candidate for a stroke or some other major problem. Determining the health of the soul is the same. So, James doesn’t ask us how we are feeling. Instead, he asks us how we are acting. It is our actions that reveal the state of our soul. In our text this morning James zeros in on one particular area of activity. Later, he will point out some other areas to consider. But in this text James asks us how we are acting when it comes to the Word. And so, he writes, ‘But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.’
Now, please notice that James is talking about hearing the Word. It’s easy to assume that James is talking about our reading of the Word. And while this text applies to that, it has special application not to our times of Bible reading but rather to the times when you listen to the preaching of the Word. This isn’t the exclusive application of our text, but it is a primary one. So, what James is really asking here is this. ‘Do you just hear the sermon, or do you also do something as a result?’ How you answer this question is a way of examining yourself. It is a way of getting a look at the health of your soul. James’ assumption is that hearing the word preached places a responsibility on you. The preaching of the Word obligates you to do something with what you’ve heard.
Now, the question that you might be asking is, ‘Do what? What is it that I need to do with the sermon?’ And the answer isn’t complicated. What you need to do with any sermon is believe it. Now, remember that believing is not just agreeing mentally with the content of what you’ve heard. Believing is agreeing and then acting accordingly. What you really believe shows in how you act. In the preaching of the Word the commands and promises of Scripture are explained, sins are exposed, a way of looking at life is impressed upon you, the character of the Father is revealed, the love of Jesus for His own is extolled, and the quiet, yet indispensable work of the Spirit is displayed. These are things that you need to believe, which includes acting upon them. And James writes that if you fail here, if you don’t do something with what you hear, then you are deceived. You think that all is well with your soul when it obviously is not.
This isn’t to say that every sermon needs to be some ecstatic experience that dramatically changes your life. That would be true if God were in a rush, which He isn’t. He works slowly, and usually quietly. But it does mean that over time you should see areas of your life being worked on as the Spirit takes different parts of the different sermons and presses them home. It does mean that over time you should see change. Not seeing change is a yellow warning flag that something is not right. Change, becoming more like Jesus, is what is normal for the Christian.
But benefiting from the preaching of the Word takes more than showing up and listening. If you are going to change as a result of the preaching of the Word there are things that you must do. For one thing, you need to ponder the sermon. You need to mull over what you’ve heard. Some of you take home the manuscripts of the sermon so that you can review it during the week. Some take a tape to listen to it again. Those are good things to do. In addition, you should discuss the sermon as a family. Talk about it over Sunday lunch. This can especially help the children to learn how to think about the sermon. This doesn’t need to be long and involved. Just have each member of the family, parents and children, mention one thing about the sermon. You fathers look for opportunities to build on what your children say to help them understand. Think about what was preached and mull it over, individually and as families. Then, another thing that needs to happen is that you need to pray. Don’t expect any fruitful ‘doing the Word’ unless you pray. Pray before the sermon, during the week. Pray for me so that I will be accurate and clear as I preach. Pray for yourselves and each other that you all might be able to give close attention to the preaching. Then pray after the sermon during the following week. Pray about the particular items that the Spirit may have pressed upon your thinking. As you do these sorts of things, you will see good fruit coming from your hearing of the Word. You will see yourself doing the Word. You will see growth. You will be able to avoid being deceived.
Now, James doesn’t stop with just a command. He also gives encouragement to obey that command. Here, we come upon his illustration of the two men and the mirror. One of the last things that I do before I leave home on Sunday mornings is to look in the full length mirror on the back of my bedroom door. I check to make sure that my hair is combed, my tie is straight and things like that. I imagine that you do the same sort of thing. And if you or I see something in that mirror that isn’t quite right we make adjustments. How foolish to look, see something amiss but then do nothing about it. But that’s exactly what this first man does. He looks and forgets all about what he sees in the mirror. He doesn’t straighten his tie or smooth his hair.
Now, James isn’t talking about mirrors and he isn’t concerned here with neatness. What he’s getting at is looking in the Word. The Word is a mirror. The Word shows us who we really are. And we need to get that right. How you think about yourself is so important. It is a place where so many are deceived. There are those who think of themselves in such exalted terms. These folk think so highly of themselves and their abilities. And it shows. It affects their relationships. Then there are the folk who think of themselves as just barely more valuable then dirt. They have a very low opinion of themselves and their abilities. And this shows too. This also affects their relationships. And then there are most people who bounce back and forth between these two poles. One time they’ll say, ‘I’m so great. Just look at what I did.’ Then, other times, even the next moment, they’ll say, ‘I am such a jerk. Just look at what I did.’ James’ solution is to look at the Word and remember what you see. The Word reveals to you who you really are. You are a sinner who is also a saint. Isn’t that what the Gospel says? Scripture lays out, in stark detail at times, the vile wickedness of your sin. Every worship service we are all reminded of some aspect of our sin by the Reading of the Law of God near the beginning of the service. But then, in the Confession of Sin we do something with what we heard from the Word. We own our sin. No excuses. We agree with God. We are sinners worthy of death and hell. And yet, that isn’t all that we pray. We also come in Jesus’ name, as God’s beloved children, asking, again, for forgiveness. What boldness! What audacity! We sin and then actually expect forgiveness?!? Yes! And why? Because the Word which we hear tells us that we are God’s saints covered by the sacrifice of Jesus on that cross. We do not sink into despair because of our sin. But we boldly go to the Father asking for forgiveness and for change. And we are granted our request. The Declaration of Pardon reminds us that God forgives wicked sinners like us! We have heard the Word. We have peered intently into it and have seen who we really are. But we do not stop there. We act on what we have seen and are blessed by it. That is one example of doing the Word. That is one way of looking at the Word and not forgetting what we see there.
Seeing it this way also explains James’ interesting way of describing the Word. It is the ‘perfect law of liberty’. The Word is ‘law’. Our culture hates the biblical notion of law. And the reason is clear. God’s Law is something that you must submit to. God’s Law is something that has authority over you. Our culture is so independent that it will submit to no one. People might grant outward compliance or even willing obedience, as long as they agree with the command. But that isn’t submission. Mere outward compliance or even willing obedience to those commands that we find agreeable isn’t the way to respond to God’s Word. That isn’t doing the Word. And this is why it’s helpful to see that James calls the Word the perfect law of God. This Word is a perfect fit for you. It is exactly what you need. It will reveal who you really are, if you are willing to see it. And because it is a perfect fit it bears good fruit in your life. This perfect Law brings liberty. What is the longing of every soul? It is to be free; to be free of the shackles which bind it. Most people don’t understand the real nature of their shackles and so they seek freedom in the wrong places and in the wrong ways. But we know the truth. It is our sin that shackles us. And we also know that we can be free of those shackles. We can be free because of the Gospel. By hearing and doing the Word, we can grow in our experience of real freedom. As you hear the Gospel preached and as you believe that Gospel and do it, what happens? More and more of your sin is exposed. It is exposed by the Spirit so that it can be dealt with. And as more of your sin is dealt with and removed, you become more like the pure saint that you were intended to be. You come more and more into the freedom that you will enjoy in fullness in the age to come. But the key is hearing and doing the ‘perfect law of liberty’. Is it any wonder that James tells us that such a person ‘will be blessed in his doing’?
For some of you this sermon has been a warning from the Spirit. The Spirit is warning you that you are deceived. You think that all is well with your soul. And yet, you are unable to present any evidence of doing the Word that you hear preached each Sunday. But the Spirit does this so that you might repent. There is always hope for the sinner who repents and believes the Gospel. With James I would urge you, ‘Be not deceived, my beloved brethren.’
For the rest of you this sermon has been intended as an encouragement. Doing the Word isn’t easy. Coming to grips with your sin isn’t fun. But you still work at hearing and doing the Word. Well done! And as you do that, you are seeing the fruit. You are being blessed in your doing. You are coming into a greater experience of the freedom of the Gospel. You are becoming more like Jesus. Let me encourage you, then, to press on. Continue the good work that you are doing. Persevere until the day when the struggle is over and you enter into the complete freedom of the Gospel.
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