These are the original teaching notes from this passage.
Review – How to have wisdom …
- JOY because of TRIALS…
- When we FALL into various TRIALS – TEMPTATIONS…
- KNOWING – that the testing of our faith produces patience!
- WISDOM for TRIALS…
- There are TWO very different kinds of WISDOM – from ABOVE and from BELOW…
- We MUST ask the Lord for WISDOM from ABOVE – and He WILL give it freely to us…
- But we NEED to ask in faith [trust] – doubting NOTHING…
- Those who doubt are double minded will not get ANTYTHING from the Lord!
- REWARD from TRIALS…
- OH HOW HAPPY – is the man who endures TEMPTATIONS…
- When we go through trials / temptations [same word] we WILL learn to endure [abide]…
- When we endure – we WILL receive a crown of life – speaking of our salvation!
- Temptations DO NOT come from God…
- God cannot be tempted by evil – and he does not temp anyone with evil…
- We are tempted by our own desires – and we are deceived…
- DO NOT – be deceived my beloved brethren – IMPERATIVE!
- Every good perfect God comes down from the Father of Lights!
- Who brought us forth by the Word of Truth – that we might bear fruit!
Answer in TRIALS… [3 points]
- 1st – Listen to the Word… vs. 19-21
- 1st – Slow to SPEAK… vs. 19
- Since we LACK wisdom from ABOVE…
- And we are in constant danger of falling into TEMPTATION…
- So then my beloved brethren…
- Let [imperative] every man be swift to hear – slow to speak – slow to wrath!
- We used to say – sticks and stones…
- It turns out names are far more devastating than stones…
- If you get hit by a stone – the wound will heal rather quickly – not so much with words…
- There are things people said to me when I was a child that I STILL remember!
- They leave scars that NEVER go away – words are POWERFUL!
- Words are WEAPONS…
- When we are not happy – we can use cutting words designed to cause maximum damage…
- You have heard the old saying – if you have nothing good to say – say nothing…
- Because we will have to answer one day for every idle word – Matthew 12:36
- Ecclesiastes 3:7 – “There is a time to keep silence, and a time to speak…”
- It has been well said that God wisely designed us with TWO ears and ONE mouth…
- Because we should be listening at least TWICE as much as we are talking!
- The problem is that often open our MOUTHS – when we should be opening our EARS!
- Do not throw out words carelessly – it ends up costing us dearly…
- Better to think first about what we are going to say – the consequence of our words…
- It is easy to say something – it is almost impossible to take our words back!
- Ephesians 4:29 – “Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth…”
- 2nd – Slow to WRATH… vs. 20
- The wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God…
- James gives us a hint on what happens if we ARE NOT slow to speak…
- There will be WRATH – because words do SO MUCH damage…
- And those wounds that we inflict on others – when our words PROVOKE anger…
- Those DO NOT lead to the righteousness of God – just the opposite…
- They take us down a path of BITTERNESS – which SEPARATES us from God!
- Wrath – leads to bitterness…
- Jesus said if we are ANGRY with someone is equivalent to murder – Matthew 5:21-22
- Therefore if we are ANGRY with someone – deal with it before the sunsets…
- Talk to the person we are upset with – before our ANGRY turns to BITTERNESS…
- BITTERNESS which becomes HATRED – HATRED that will begin to control our life!
- I have unfortunately too often let the SUN GO DOWN on an argument…
- Now while I can sleep like a baby when that happens – my wife has suffered…
- Time DOES NOT make it easier to deal with hurts – in contrast it lets them fester!
- If we try and ignore a problem – we give an opportunity to satan…
- Satan would love to cause division in our families – in church – bitterness and hate…
- Do not let satan rob us of the forgiveness and joy Jesus has provided…
- If we are upset with someone because of something they said – talk about it today!
- II Corinthians 2:11 – “lest Satan should take advantage of us…”
- 3rd – Receive the Word… vs. 21
- Therefore – lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness…
- Do not miss INEVITABLE result of WRATH…
- All filthiness [only here NT] – to make DIRTY…
- Overflowing wickedness – super abundant evil!
- [Instead] Receive with meekness the implanted word…
- Notice that we are given a solution to filthiness / wickedness…
- SET ASIDE these things – by RECEIVING [imperative]…
- What MUST we RECEIVE – the engrafted [written on our hearts] Word!
- Hebrews 12:1 – “Lay aside [same word] every weight – the sin which so easily ensnares us – let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. Looking to Jesus…”
- Which is able to save your souls…
- SOUL [ψυχή] – speaking of our MIND / EMOTIONS…
- ABLE [δύναμαι] – we can almost speak into English – dynamite / power…
- The implication is the Word has the POWER to change our MIND / HEART!
- Change our heart to allow us to let go of ANGER/ BITTERNESS – and FORGIVE!
- The COMMAND to forgive…
- How often do we have to forgive others – 70×7 – Matthew 18:22
- With a little quick math we can figure out that is 490 times…
- But Jesus was not giving us a number – He was giving us a Bible reference…
- 70×7 is a very special number only used once in the Bible!
- Daniel 9:24 – “A period of seventy sets of seven [70×7] has been decreed… to bring an end to sin, to atone for guilt, to bring in everlasting righteousness….”
- How often are we to forgive someone when they hurt us – EVERY time!
- What if they keep committing the same sin – then we keep forgiving…
- Is there ever any reason when we do not to forgive – not even one!
- The REASON we forgive…
- With WRATH in our hearts – God does not hear our prayers – Mark 11:25
- AND if we are not willing to FORGIVE – God will not forgive us – Matthew 6:15
- When we are hurt by others – and REFUSE to FORGIVE – it plants a seed in our heart…
- It can quickly grow into BITTERNESS – we become consumed by the hurt they caused…
- Its roots can grow down deep – poisoning and hardening – SEPARATING us from God…
- The FRUIT in our life makes us BITTER – and eventually brings spiritual DEATH!
- The only solution – RECEIVE the WORD…
- Jesus can CHANGE our hearts – and allow us to let go of filthiness and wickedness…
- Forgiveness is not just for the one who did us wrong – it is also for us…
- He sets us free – we do not dwell on the past – we get to move forward in Jesus!
- John 8:36 – “If the Son makes you free – you shall be free indeed.”
- 1st – Slow to SPEAK… vs. 19
- 2nd – Obey the Word… vs. 22-25
- 1st – Doers of the Word… vs. 22
- Be [imperative] doers of the word – and not hearers only…
- DOER – [ποιητής] – used THREE times in the next THREE verses – IMPORTANT!
- It is not enough to just LISTEN to what the Bible says – we need to OBEY!
- We can read our Bibles – we might even agree with everything it says…
- But if we do not OBEY the commands – then what benefit did it have!
- I took a boat ride in India – SIX hundred people in a boat built for TWO hundred!
- Before it left – they gave safety instructions – what to do if the boat sank – I paid attention!
- The gist of the instructions was to get out of the boat – and swim for it…
- But all that information meant nothing – because most of the people could not swim!
- The Bible is not a textbook we must learn – it is an instruction manual to follow…
- We can know all words – but if it does not change our actions – it means nothing!
- Deceiving yourselves…
- DECEIVING – [παραλογίζομα] – we can speak the word into English – LOGIC…
- Too many people try to use JUSTIFY the BITTERNESS in their lives with LOGIC…
- I am the way I am because of what has happened to me – what people did to me…
- As a RESULT they are DECEIVED – they miss the POWER of Jesus to set them free!
- I know a lot of people who know about Jesus – but do not DO what He says…
- Unfortunately for them – it does them no good – knowledge does not save us…
- We cannot stand before God one day and say – I knew what Jesus wanted me to do!
- How to OBEY…
- Ephesians 2:10 – “For we are His workmanship…”
- WORKMANSHIP – [ποίημα] – same exact word translated as DOER…
- It is not that we must DO what the Bible says – that would come from us…
- We come to Jesus – who changes us HEARTS – and He makes us a DOER of the Word!
- 2nd – The mirror… vs. 23-24
- If anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer…
- He is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror…
- There are two ways that we can approach the Bible…
- It can either be an INSTRUCTION manual – or it can be a MIRROR…
- The person who does not OBEY the INSTRUCTIONS – treats the Bible like a MIRROR!
- When I get up on the morning – I DO NOT like mirrors…
- They are TOO honest – they tell me EXACTLY what I look like…
- But I find the solution to the mirror – is to walk away – then I can forget what I saw!
- That is exactly what happens to the man who does not OBEY…
- For he observes himself – goes away – and immediately forgets what kind of man he was…
- When he LOOKS at the Word – he sees his NATURAL face…
- NATURAL [γένεσις] – original – we might say REAL…
- But the moment he puts the Bible down – he always CHOSES [active] to walk away!
- FORGET come from the root word – [λανθάνω] to HIDE – an intentional act!
- That way he gets to go on with living his life HIS way!
- He goes back to the same broken life he had before he read the Bible!
- He is the same kind of man he was [imperfect] before he heard the Word – NO CHANGE!
- When we first come to Jesus – we are not going to understand much of the Bible…
- There is a LOT about the Word of God we will not comprehend…
- But we should not stay that way – as we get into the Word – we should CHANGE…
- When a believer whose been saved for TWENTY years – is still living for this world…
- It is a tragedy – they never became DOERS of the WORD – they never matured in their faith!
- 3rd – The law of liberty… vs. 25
- He who looks into the perfect law of liberty…
- The person who LOOKS into the perfect Law of Liberty…
- The word LOOK here – is NOT the same word as OBSERVE in verse 24…
- The word LOOK here means to do more than glance – it means to bow down an inspect!
- It carries the idea of being VERY interested in the topic we are examining…
- Recognizing its importance and giving it the proper RESPECT it deserves!
- Continues in it – and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work…
- This one will be blessed in what he does!
- CONTINUES [παραμένω] – to ABIDE in the Word…
- So often people do NOT want to OBEY the Bible – because they want to be FREE…
- They do not want to be told what to do – they want to have the CHOICE…
- But true FREEDOM is not being left to our own devises – that is BONDAGE!
- FREEDOM comes from the PERFECT [complete] Law of LIBERTY…
- The word LIBERTY comes from the root word to be FREE BORN…
- In Rome there were only TWO kinds of people – SLAVES and CITIZENS…
- Do not miss the point – those who ignore the Bible are SLAVES to sin – Romans 6:16
- But those who continue – ABIDE – in the PERFECT law of LIBERTY…
- Not forgetting what they HEAR – but are DOERS – they BLESSED…
- Because they become CITIZENS of the kingdom – FREE from sin!
- A good example to illustrate this – sheep and goats…
- If you set a sheep right next to a goat – you might not know which is which…
- Do not look very different – they do not sound very different – eat the same things…
- They live side by side – experiencing much the same life…
- But the final destination of the goats is very different from the sheep!
- The one who can always tell them apart is their shepherd!
- John 10:27 – “My sheep hear My voice – and I know them – and they follow [OBEY] Me.”
- Both sheep and goats hear Jesus voice – but only the sheep OBEY!
- Hearing does not make us a Christian – obeying Jesus makes us a sheep!
- 1st – Doers of the Word… vs. 22
- 3rd – Fulfill the Word… vs. 26-27
- 1st – Useless religion… vs. 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!
- WHAT does being a HEARER and DOER of the Word looks like…
- If anyone THINKS they are RELIGIOUS – by context meaning a HEARER and DOER…
- But they do not BRIDLE – literally put a BIT in their MOUTH – to control their TONGUE…
- Then they are DECEIVING their own hearts – their RELIGION is USELESS!
- What comes out of our mouth is in really a reflection of what in our heart…
- We will talk a LOT more about this when we come to – James 3
- Luke 6:45 – “For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.”
- 2nd – Pure religion… vs. 27
- Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this…
- Pure [true] RELIGION undefiled before God the Father is defined by three ACTIONS…
- The suggestion is that RELIGION that is in WORD ONLY is defiled and impure…
- Because it lacks the corresponding ACTIONS that show a CHANGED heart!
- To visit orphans and widows in their trouble…
- VISIT [σκοπός] – literally to ALWAYS [present] keep a watchful EYE on the orphans…
- When there are children who have NO ONE to take care of them – VISIT!
- And VISIT the widows in their affliction [θλῖψις] – tribulation…
- They have lost their husband – and often have NO ONE to care for them!
- The common thread between these two ACTIONS – LOVE for others…
- The number one MARK of someone who is a DOER of the Word – LOVE!
- John 13:35 – “All will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
- To keep oneself unspotted from the world…
- UNSPOTTED – to have the STAIN of the world…
- We are ALWAYS [present] to keep ourselves clean from the FILTH of the world!
- I can tell you I am a Christian – but what kind of FRUIT comes from my life…
- It is easy to say we have RELIGION – but the proof is in our actions – LOVE…
- If we say we are Christians – but still live like the world – where is the CHANGED heart…
- We are NOT to fool ourselves – if we are not OBEYING – it is not PURE RELIGION!
- 1st – Useless religion… vs. 26