Introduction.
In this letter, James is writing to a specially
favoured people to whom the Lord has chosen to give
birth through the word of truth, who are a kind of firstfruits
of all God has created (v.18).
He is writing about
the family of God, whom James refers to as "My
beloved brethren" (vv. 16 & 19). He has been
considering their many trials, and has been giving them
exemplary advice.
These Christians are
being reminded of God's purpose for their future, which
is to live the righteous life. Nothing else matters
or is more important.
God, who gave us our
first and second births, wants our lives to be like
His, holy, loving, just, and full of honesty, because
this is what righteous means.
To achieve this, there
must be Consistency in living if the Christian is to
have credibility.
Practical faith in the
word of God should naturally grow into practical obedience
to the word. The same word of truth that produces life
is able to nourish life where it finds obedience to
the truth.
Where there is not total
obedience to His revealed word, it is impossible to
live a life that is pleasing to God,
Illustration--
The saddest life is the one that lacks any purpose.
Most of us have some aims besides that of mere survival.
Everyone who knew the story of Justin Fashenu was distressed
by how it ended.
He was Britain's first
million pound black footballer, who had made a decision
to become a Christian. He seemed to have everything
the world longs for - looks, talent, fame and money.
Yet, in May 1998, his
body was found in a lock-up garage in London's East
End. He had, apparently, hanged himself. This goal-scorer's
goals in life had let him down.
It is absolutely crucial
to have the right goals. Instead of asking what sort
of life do I want, we should ask, what sort of life
does God desire for me? How does our Creator and Redeemer
expect us to live?
James tells us that God
desires a righteous life for us (v.20). To achieve this,
there must be Consistency in our life and testimony
for Jesus Christ. Transgression
The God, who brought
us forth from death unto life by His Word, teaches us
from His word, how we are to live the new life.
1:
19 wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be
swift to hear,
The Righteous person
will be swift, (prompt and ready) to listen to God.
James
1:21 wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity
of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted
word, which is able to save your souls. (KJV)
1:22
but be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving
your own selves.
Having cautioned us about
our speech and our anger, James now urges that we be
"Consistent in our Walk" and highlights three
important factors, which we must put into practice,
if we are to have creditability as the sons and daughters
of God.
Transgression
to Remove.
Truth
to Receive
Teaching
to Remember.
Transgression
to Remove.
Wherefore
lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness,
James 1:21 Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow
of wickedness, (NKJ)
Get rid of all moral
filth and the evilness that is so prevalent, and accept
the word of God, which has been planted in you.
The Greek word, (
apotithemi ) that translates, "lay apart, lay
aside, get rid of, to put of, to strip away. The word
can be used for someone taking off a coat.
Thus, it is the responsibility
of the believer to strip off all moral filth. Although
God has chosen us and called us, there is something
for us to do.
We must take off our
old coats of sin, (not in order to be saved, since it
is only the blood of Jesus that can take away our sin,)
but that we might be consistent in our walk, displaying
holiness.
James saw the human heart
as a garden, which if left to itself, it would produce
only the weeds of sin.
"For the heart
is deceitful an d above all things desperately wicked"
The Lord said,"
out of the heart proceed evil
thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, theft false
witness, and blasphemies These are the things which
defile a man:
These things, which are
common in the unregenerate man, cannot be reconciled
with the Holy Spirit and the Grace of God in the life
of the believer. James was a man, who was very sensitive
to sin and he reminds us of three facts concerning sin
1.
The Defilement of Sin. All
filthiness
To the unconverted man
sin is but a Trifle, to the carnal Christian sin is
often Trouble, but to the sensitive Christian, sin is
always a Tragedy.
Charles
Wesley- was one who recognized the Defilement
of Sin and penned these words.
Purge
me from every blot
My
Idols all be cast aside
Cleanse
me from every sinful thought
From
all the filth of self and pride.
These are telling words.
When we think of Moral filth, we are apt to think of
adultery, rape, homosexuality and all other kinds of
degrading practices.
But James is saying,
wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity
of naughtiness.
2.
The Depth of Sin. Superfluity
of naughtiness.
This means superabundance
of depravity, of wickedness and that, which will injure.
This includes, every form of uncleanness. Whether it
is thoughts, words, or deeds, they must be rooted out
of the life. For sin is sin, and it is an abomination
unto the Lord.
In chapter 3 of the Old
Testament book of Zechariah, the High Priest discovers
himself to be covered in dirty clothes, and Satan is
accusing him. Then an angel speaks; "Take off his
filthy clothes and I will clothe him with a change of
raiment".
If all your clothes are
filthy, you can't be selective and take off some of
them, and put on fresh clean clothes. They all need
to be removed. How fresh would a new suit smell, if
the undergarments had not been removed for months?
Lay aside all moral filth
and evil. This is the theme of all Scripture.
2
Corinthians 7:1 dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves
from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting
holiness in the fear of God.
Friends, no Christian
can battle against sin, until they recognize the depravity
of the flesh and the depth of sin in their own heart.
Henry
Twells--- got it write when he wrote
And none, O Lord,
have perfect rest.
For none are wholly
free from sin
And they who vain
would serve you best
Are conscious most
of wrong within.
Sin
has a tremendous depth and it will seek to plunge us
into terrible depths!
3.
The Damage of Sin.
The whole point that
James is making is, unless we get rid of sin in whatever
form it takes, it will damage us, for sin wrecks everything
it touches.
The Greek word, (rhuparia),
which is translated filthiness or moral filth, is a
compound word from which we get the words "ear
wax"
James uses this word
to drive home the truth, that filth in the life of the
Christian will keep him from hearing the word of God.
We need to be aware of
those things in our lives, which can cause wax in our
spiritual ears and hinder us from hearing the word of
God. Wax needs to be removed, if we are to hear,
and sin needs to
be removed if we are to be holy.
Col
3:8 But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath,
malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your
mouth.
Heb
12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with
so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every
weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us,
and let us run with patience the race that is set
before us.
Friends, even those sins,
which we might consider to be small are deep rooted
and damaging. We need to get rid of them with a ruthless
determination.
Beloved our daily Prayer
should be.
Refining
fire go through the heart
Illuminate
my soul
Scatter
Thy life through every part
And
Sanctify the whole.
Transgression
to Remove.
Lay
apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness,
Truth
to Receive.
"And
receive with meekness the engrafted word"
Note. What
we are to Receive
"The engrafted Word".
This is how God’s standard is attained. James places
great emphasis on the word of God.
A. The
Word of Truth V.18.
God’s verbal communication
has been given to men; a full revelation of which is
now contained in the inspired cannon of scripture.
B. The
Perfect law of Liberty. V 25
But
whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth
therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer
of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.
Law—this means that the "Word
of God" is to be our rulebook for living. It contains
commandments that are always for our good. The words
of the Psalm 119:
Thy
word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto
my path. The entrance of thy words giveth light; it
giveth understanding unto the simple.
Wherewithal
shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto
according to thy word.
Thou
hast dealt well with thy servant, O LORD, according
unto thy word.
Order
my steps in thy word: and let not any iniquity have
dominion over me.
Liberty –God’s word is a liberating
word and, when we obey it, we are set free from, Self,
Satan and Sin, enabling us to serve God.
C. The
Engrafted Word V. 22
This statement suggests
the process of propagation. God engrafts His word into
our natural bodies. It is only as the word is implanted,
it becomes united with the heart.
Unless the word becomes
rooted in us by faith, the fruit of righteousness
cannot be brought forth. As the word of God roots itself
more deeply in us, the new life develops and the old
life dies. How can we grow in knowledge of our Lord
and Saviour? How can we be consistent in our talk and
in our walk? By receiving the "Engrafted Word"
God engrafts His word
into our hearts so that we might display something of
the sweetness of His divine nature, and that we might
be conformed to the image of His dear Son.
How much of our reading
consists of the word of God? We read daily newspapers,
weekly magazines, Christian journals, and Bible commentaries,
but we can make the fatal mistake of reading more of
what others have to say about the word of God, than
of reading of what God has to say in His word. Christians
should seek to apply themselves to the earnest study
of the word of God.
As
Oscar Feucht has said, "Bible reading is
not the exceptional thing for the literate Christian,
it is part of his response to God".
A
glory gilds the sacred page,
Majestic
like the sun;
It
gives a light to every age,
It
gives, but borrows none.
A
bit of the Book in the morning, to order my onward way.
A
bit of the Book in the evening, to hallow the end of
the day.
A.
What we are to Receive
B.
How we are to |Receive
"Receive
with meekness the engrafted word"
We need to learn how
to read the Bible, and how to listen as others explain
its truth.
For sometimes we can
have the wrong attitude toward the word as well as towards
those, who teach the Word. James is saying that we are
to receive the word in a submissive and open-minded
way. We should be eager to learn more, and willing to
apply what we learn to every area of our lives.
Psalm 25 The Psalmist
says to God.
4
Show me thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths.
Lead
me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the
God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.
Is this our attitude when we come to the word?
There are believers,
who instead of receiving the Word meekly, resist it
proudly. There is an unwillingness to submit to God’s
Word, and to surrender certain sins and certain desires.
If they do not like what
they hear, they conclude that the preacher is an extremist
and they are his targets. Then there are others who
come to the word wearing blinkers, and earmuffs. They
only see and hear what they want to hear.
Is there not the danger
that we can read into the Bible instead of reading from
the Bible? Is there not the danger of switching of and
hearing only what we want to hear?
I
am reminded of A. W. Tozers words—
"We
must never edit God"
James is teaching, that
we must receive the word in its totality and we must
receive it humbly, opening the inner self to its powerful
influence. The word of God, which is received in meekness,
will find good ground to be fruitful
Mark
4:20 And these are they which are sown on good ground;
such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring
forth fruit, some thirty fold, some sixty, and some
an hundred.
We are to receive the
word humbly; it’s the Greek word "Praotes"
which was used to describe an animal that had been domesticated
–for example, a wild stallion that has been broken,
and is now under the control of its master.
The horse’s will
has been broken; he is still powerful but he is also
now obedient. We are to come under the control of the
word and accept it with humility and meekness.
We are to bend before
the Lordship of Christ, as He bowed to the will of His
Father, saying
J.
Robert Ashcroft (1878-1958) "Not My will
but Thine be done" All heaven is waiting to help
those who will discover the will of God and do it.
Charles
Wesley All my requests are lost in one, "Father,
thy will be done!"
A.
What we are to Receive
B.
How we are to |Receive
C.
Why we are to Receive.
Receive
with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save
your souls
We know that the word
is able to save souls through the power of the Holy
Spirit. This is a strange expression in the light that
James is speaking to Christians, who are already saved.
Is he saying that the saved need to be saved? Yes.
This becomes clear, when
we realize that the Bible speaks of Salvation in three
different senses and tenses. It speaks of Salvation
in three different ways.
The
Possession of Salvation.
The once and for all,
the unrepeatable, the unalterable experience of the
New Birth which Paul speaks of in
Eph
2:8-9 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that
not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Not
of works, lest any man should boast.
The
Progress of Salvation
This is the gradual process
of Sanctification in the Christian’s experience,
and spiritual development. Paul refers to this in
1
Cor 1:18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that
perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is
the power of God. (KJV)
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. (NKJ)
The Power of God is available
to save His people from unclean practices and from every
defiling sin. The word of God is not only able to save
the soul from eternal damnation; it can save us from
the daily damage, from sin.
Regeneration assures
the Christian of deliverance from the penalty of sin,
but it also assures him of a powerful deliverance from
sin’s power in this present life.
The
Prospect of Salvation.
This is that great and
wonderful day, when we shall be delivered from the very
presence of sin.
Rom 5: 8 But God
commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were
yet sinners, Christ died for us.
9
Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we
shall be saved from wrath through him.
This will be the experience
of every believer beyond the grave—Saved from the
Penalty, the Power, and from the Presence of sin.
James is saying in v21
that we are to receive the engrafted word because it
is able to save us from the daily pollution of sin.
The power of the word overcomes the power of sin.
Yet, multitudes of Christians
fall short of maturity, and the blessing that ought
to be theirs, all because the word of God is not taking
root in their hearts.
The word of God is able
to nourish, to strengthen, and to make one spiritually
healthy.
Many are spiritual weaklings
because they fail to receive the engrafted word into
their hearts, and submit to its living power.
A.
W. Tozer-- A new world will arise out of the
religious mists, when we approach our Bible with the
idea that it is . . . a book, which is now speaking.
Joseph
Cook-- Do you know a book that you are willing
to put under your head for a pillow when you are dying?
Very well; that is the book you want to study when you
are living. There is only one such book in the world.
1.
Transgression to Remove.
lay
apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness,
2.
Truth to Receive.
"And
receive with meekness the engrafted word"
3.
Teaching to Remember.
1:22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers
only, deceiving your own selves.
It is not enough to hear
the word of God we must be doers. It is in the doing
of the word that brings the blessing. Too many Christians
mark their Bibles, but their bibles never mark them
or their witness.
If we don’t put
the word of God into practice, the only ones that we
are deceiving are ourselves. Self-deception and delusion
is common among the Lord’s people.
Jesus says, "The
wise man is one who hears His sayings and does them.
The Foolish man hears them and does them not".
James exhorts us to receive
the word, to welcome it, to bury it deep in our hearts
and minds, and to live by its almighty power.
Isaac
Watts-- writes the response that every believer
should make.
Thy
Noblest Wonders here we view
In
souls renewed and sins forgiven
Lord,
cleanse my sins, my soul renew
And make Thy word my
guide to Heaven
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