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Psalms
150:1-6 Praise the LORD! Praise God in
His sanctuary; Praise Him in His mighty firmament! Praise Him for His mighty
acts; Praise Him according to His excellent greatness! Praise Him with the
sound of the trumpet; Praise Him with the lute and harp! Praise Him with the
timbrel and dance; Praise Him with stringed instruments and flutes! Praise Him
with loud cymbals; Praise Him with clashing cymbals! Let everything that has
breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD!
Father God, help us to be good
listeners and to control our tongue during difficult times. In Jesus name we pray, Amen!
Book of James 1:19-27 NKJV
Sorry about last week, things came up
and I wasn’t able to get the lesson completed. I also apologize for not posting
something about not having a lesson.
This lesson James touches on some of
our human downfalls. It is a message that causes us to do some soul searching.
Many times we view our actions as good, but fall short of being good compared
to God’s standards. It doesn’t matter what we think is good or other human
beings, what matters does our actions line up with God’s Word!
19 So then,
my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to
wrath;
So then, my beloved brethren; James is speaking to brothers and
sisters in faith (including us in current times) here by using the word
brethren. As a Born Again Christian we are to live a life as Jesus did and one
of the ways is expressed in the next phrase of this verse. I’m sure we have all
known or know people that speak before they think.
Let every man be swift to hear, slow
to speak; If we are
swift to hear, meaning effective listening skills, then we can apply the nature
of Jesus and use the wisdom of the Bible in our reasoning and evaluation of
situations. When we do this and then speak, the light of Jesus will come forth.
At times this is difficult to do because our feelings enter into the situation
and take control of our flesh. I feel this is a difficult thing for most of us
to do especially if it involves feelings. Sometimes when we talk too much and
listen too little, we communicate to others that we think our ideas or life is
much more important than theirs. Maybe we don’t intend to convey this type of
message, but it could also give people the thought that all you care about is
you, you, you. We need to control our part of conversations, by listening more
and talking less. One thing to keep in
mind when conversing with people is; do they feel that their viewpoints and
ideas have value?
Slow
to wrath; This wrath
or anger can at times be righteous, but in most instances it is unrighteous
anger that spouts out of us. James is telling us that we need to control our
speech which will in turn help us to control our anger. It is most difficult to
control our anger that erupts when our feelings are hurt, but this type of
anger is the one we need to learn to control. On the other hand when injustice
and sin occur, we should become
angry because our Bible beliefs are trampled upon or others are being hurt (this
is righteous anger). We should not become angry when we fail to win an argument
or when we feel offended or neglected. Selfish anger goes totally against the
teachings of Jesus. We are to be meek and humble not bold and argumentative. Matthew 5:3-11 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is
the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall
be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit
the earth. 6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for
righteousness, For they shall be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful, For they shall
obtain mercy. 8 Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall
see God. 9
Blessed are
the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God. 10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 "Blessed
are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against
you falsely for My sake. Matthew 6:2 Therefore, when you
do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in
the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men.
Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.
20 for the
wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.
This
verse isn’t telling us that our wrath produces righteousness of God, but if we
control our unrighteous anger we will display Christlike character and the love
of truth, which God requires of us. Our sin nature causes us to break the
commands of God and live a lifestyle separated from God. As a human being we
are never sure of doing right under the influence of excited feelings, and many
times do what is wrong resulting in regret at a later time.
21 Therefore
lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness
the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
Therefore;
James advises us to
get rid of all that is wrong in our lives and "humbly accept" the
salvation message. God has begotten us for his own service, not excited
feelings of self that tend to go wrong. We need to submit wholly to the
influence of truth. Colossians 1:16 For by Him all things were created
that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether
thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created
through Him and for Him.
Lay aside all filthiness and overflow of
wickedness; The word
filthiness here means filth, applied to offense evil conduct. Sin may be
contemplated as a wrong thing; as a violation of law; as evil in its nature and
tendency, and therefore to be avoided; or it may be contemplated as disgusting,
offensive, or loathsome. To a pure mind, this is one of its most revolting
characteristics, the wrath of man.
And
receive with meekness the implanted word; Through meekness we are to open our mind and heart to
instruction, and allow the truth of God’s Word to touch and change our lives. We
should allow the principles of the Gospel to penetrate our souls and be grafted
onto our nature, and not hang on to old heritage and customs. However perverse
our nature may be, or bitter and vile the fruits of our fallen nature might
bring forth, through the engrafted Word of God fruits of righteousness will be
produced. Matthew 18:2-3 Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him
in the midst of them, 3 and said, "Assuredly,
I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will
by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Romans
11:17 And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild
olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the
root and fatness of the olive tree.
Which
is able to save your souls; The
story of the Bible and believing in Jesus death and resurrection is the only
answer to salvation and eternal life. It is not a weak and powerless thing, the
Cross; it wasn’t designed to show His weakness or to give occasion for God to
work a miracle; but it has power, and is adapted to save the sinner. Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ,
for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew
first and also for the Greek. 1 Corinthians 1:18
For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to
us who are being saved it is the power of God. 2
Timothy 3:15 and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures,
which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ
Jesus.
22 But be
doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
This
verse isn’t difficult to understand. It is simply stating to obey the gospel,
and do not merely listen to it. Matthew
7:21 "Not
everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but
he who does the will of My Father in heaven.
To be doers of the Word of
God means to put into practice what a person learns from the Word of God. Many
times we go to Sunday services or Bible Study and nod our head and agree with
what is taught, but walk away and continue in our same lifestyle thinking we
have done our religious duty by listening. Some might even think that if a
person listens or reads what the Bible teaches that is all that is required of
them. James is telling us different here, that we are to put in practice what the
Bible teaches. It is important to listen to what God's Word says, but it is
much more important to obey it and to do
what it says. For example many places in the Bible it teaches against having
strange gods before us (idolatry), but you can drive around and see or read
about images that people worship. Deuteronomy
4:14-19 NLT 14 It was at
that time that the LORD commanded me to teach you His decrees and regulations
so you would obey them in the land you are about to enter and occupy. 15 "But
be very careful! You did not see the LORD's form on the day He spoke to you
from the heart of the fire at Mount Sinai.
16 So do not corrupt yourselves by
making an idol in any form—whether of a man or a woman, 17 an animal
on the ground, a bird in the sky, 18 a small animal that scurries along the ground, or
a fish in the deepest sea. 19 And when you look up into the sky and see the sun,
moon, and stars—all the forces of heaven—don't be seduced into worshiping them.
The LORD your God gave them to all the peoples of the earth. Jesus also taught us not to pray with
vain repetition, yet people pray the same exact words each day. Matthew 6:7 And when you pray, do
not use vain repetitions as the heathen do.
For they think that they will be heard for their many words. It is things like these that we read
in the Bible which are plain and simple to understand, yet people go on living life
according to religion, and disobeying God. This is what James is talking about
when he says, “But be doers of the word,
and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves”.
It’s bad enough to be
deceived by others, but worse yet to purposely deceive ourselves when we can
read a verse as simple as this one and still disobey God. We can measure the
effectiveness of our Bible Study time by the effect it has on our behavior and
attitudes. Do you put into action what you have studied?
23 For if
anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his
natural face in a mirror;
24 for he
observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was
James
gives us a comparison of the nature of our human soul to looking at ourselves
in a mirror here. Albert Barnes sums it up this way: “The apostle refers to
what all persons experience, the fact that we do not retain a distinct
impression of ourselves after we have looked in a mirror. While actually
looking in the mirror, we see all our features, and can trace them distinctly;
when we turn away, the image and the impression both vanish. When looking in
the mirror, we can see all the defects and blemishes of our person; if there is
a scar, a deformity, a feature of ugliness, it is distinctly before the mind;
but when we turn away, it is “out of sight and out of mind.” When unseen it
gives no uneasiness, and, even if capable of correction, we take no pains to
remove it. So when we hear the word of God, it is like a mirror held up before
us. In the perfect precepts of the law, and the perfect requirements of the
gospel, we see our own short-comings and defects, and perhaps think that we
will correct them. But we turn away immediately, and forget it all.”
In
a nutshell when we hear the Word of God, it only touches us on the outside
because we don’t allow God’s Word to sink deep into our soul and make a change
in us by the power of the Holy Spirit. If we are doers of the word, we should strive
with the help of the Holy Spirit to remove all those defects and blemishes in
our moral character, and to bring our whole soul into conformity with what the
law and the gospel requires. Spirituality has to be more than skin deep!
25 But he
who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work,
this one will be blessed in what he does.
But he who looks into
the perfect law of liberty and continues in
it; What this phrase is telling us is that the “perfect law” is God’s law.
Anyone that looks into God’s law and seeks to understand it the result will be
liberty by abiding in it. It
seems contradictory that a law could give us freedom, but God's law offers us a
true reflection of our sinful condition and gives us the opportunity to ask for
God's forgiveness Romans 7:7-8. As a result of this repentance a
person will be Born Again and then God’s laws come into clear focus and the
person will live within the liberty of God’s Law.
And is not a forgetful hearer but a
doer of the work; Anyone
that seeks the Grace of God is a doer and not a forgetful hearer. As
Christians, we are saved by God's grace, and salvation frees us from sin's
control. As believers, we are free to live as God created us to live. Of
course, this does not mean that we are free to do as we please and we won’t if
we are truly saved, because we will start living a lifestyle trying to please
God our Father.
This
one will be blessed in what he does; A
person that is saved will live a completely different life because he has cast
off the old man and is now a new man living to please God. This new life will
impart happiness of a higher order to his heart, it will exert a good influence
over his whole soul. He will be blessed in what he does. Romans 6:6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified
with Him, that the body of sin
might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.
26 If anyone
among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives
his own heart, this one's religion is
useless.
If anyone among you thinks he is
religious; Many
people claim to be Christians or Religious, but what is in the heart shines
forth to reveal where a person’s faith is, and many times it is in themselves
or the world. The next phrase reveals the truth about a person.
And
does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart; We have heard many times what is
actually in the heart is revealed through our speech. In forms of foul language,
dirty stories, blasphemy, greediness, covetousness, etc. Matthew 12:34 Brood of vipers! How can
you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the
mouth speaks.
This one's religion is useless; As stated many times before, religion
will not save anyone. It is faith in what Jesus did on the Cross for us that
saves a person.
27 Pure and
undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and
widows in their trouble, and to
keep oneself unspotted from the world.
Pure
and undefiled religion should have been translated, “spirituality”. So what
this verse is saying is that the actions of a Born Again Saint will be such
that they will visit the unfortunate, help those in trouble, and not conform to
the world, in fact they will be hated by the world, because they proclaim Jesus
name. They will have victory in everyday life and living, through the power of
the Holy Spirit.
Colossians 1:16 For by Him all things were created
that are in heaven and that are on earth,
visible and invisible,
whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers.
All
things were created through Him and for Him.
Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of
the glory of God,
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our
Lord.
John 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, Most assuredly, I say to you,
unless one is
born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."
Bill
Wiesbrock https://www.facebook.com/bill.wiesbrock?ref=tn_tnmn
The
Lighthouse Full Gospel Church
Sinners Prayer; Pray this, and if you
believe it with your heart, Jesus will save you!
“Lord
Jesus I know I am a sinner. I confess my
sins to you; I am sorry for my sins; I repent (Meaning, desiring to turn from a
sinful lifestyle.) of all my sins, and I am asking for your forgiveness. I believe that only you can forgive sin. I commit my life to you and ask you to come
into my heart, direct, and take charge of my life. I believe that you died to set me free from
my sinful lifestyle and you rose from the dead to give me eternal life, and
right now you are seated at the Right Hand of God Almighty. I believe you are
the Son of God; the only Way, the only Truth, the only Life, and my
Savior.” I believe this and have faith
you will make a new person out of me, by sending the Holy Spirit to dwell in my
heart and lead me in a new life. In Jesus name I pray Amen.” (John 3:16,17;
Romans 3:23; 6:23; 5:8; 10:9-13; Ephesians 2:8-10; 1
John 5:11-14; 1:6-10) (Sin: Rom.
1:22-32; Gal. 5:19-21; Eph. 5:3-7)
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