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- Preaching the Living WORD through
the Written WORD - 2 Tim 4;:2 - |
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BECOMING
DOERS OF THE WORD IN TRIALS AND TEMPTATIONS (James 1:21-27) 10-10-12 Grace Bible Church,
Gillette, Wyoming Pastor Daryl Hilbert I. RECEIVE THE IMPLANTED WORD
(21) A. The believer cannot blame
temptation on God because God is holy, God cannot sin or tempt anyone to sin,
and God only seeks to benefit for good. In fact, if man is tempted it is
because of his own sinful nature. The believer has no excuse to give into
temptation but only has one true course of action, that is, he must become a
doer of the Word during trials and temptation. B. “Therefore” (dio, - for this reason), because the only right course of action is to receive the Word
during trials (or any circumstance), James instructs his readers that
“putting aside” (aorist participle of apoti,thęmi -
as in put off clothing, lit. “having put aside) sin is a prerequisite for
receiving the Word. C. “Filthiness” (hrupari,a
- filth or dirt, moral filthiness) and “wickedness” (kaki,a
- morally evil and depraved) must be put aside first because a sinful and
stubborn heart does not readily accept the truth of God’s Word. D. Instead, they were to “receive” (aorist
middle imperative of dechomai - willingly receive,
welcome) the Word in “humility” (prau,tęti
- meekness or gentleness, ) so that they will submit and yield to God’s
Word. E. This is the Word that was implanted (emphutos) by the Holy Spirit through illumination
in the heart of the believer. This is the same Word that is “able to save
souls” both in salvation (Pr 11:30; Jm 5:20) and sanctification (1Th 5:23; He
4:12). James does not mean that obeying the Word will permit someone entrance
into heaven. Rather the message of salvation is embraced by faith alone (Ro
10:17) and obedience to the Word follows salvation. II. REFORM AS DOERS OF THE
WORD (22-25) A. After preparing their hearts
and receiving the Word, James commands the readers to put the Word into
practice. Literally they were to be “doers” or “practicers”
of the Word (22). 1. James
commands them to “prove themselves” (present middle imperative of gi,nomai
- be, become, become something) or literally, “You all must become” doers
of the word. It is a strong imperative that tells them they have the
responsibility to obey the Word. The middle voice suggests that they must do
this for themselves. 2. What they must become are “doers” (poiętę,s - (plural nominative) to do, make, or
practice) of the Word in the sense that they must put Word into practice.
The whole intent of the Scriptures is to obey it (Dt 4:2; Lk 6:46ff; Jn
14:15; 2Ti 3:16-17; 1Jo 2:3; Re 14:12). 3. The Word (lo,gos
- word, statement, or corpus of Scripture) is God’s Word (Je 23:28; 1Th 2:13; 2Pe
1:20-21), His very revelation of Himself and the standard for mankind. It is
not an optional religious manual or a mere guide among other words of wisdom,
It is the word of the Lord (Dt 5:5; Is 1:10; 38:4; 55:9-11; 1Pe 1:25). 4. They must always be going forward with
practicing the Word, otherwise they will become “mere” (mo,non
- only or mere) hearers. “Hearers” (akroatę,s
- (plural nominative) audience or listener) is a description of those who
simply come to listen to the Word but not “hear it” so as to do it. 5. Those who merely hear, “delude” (present
middle participle, falsely reckon, deceive) themselves into false
reasoning that they are fulfilling all that is required of them, when in
reality they should be hearing with the purpose of applying it to their
lives. B. In his typical custom,
James gives an illustration resembling what a mere hearer of the Word looks
like (23-24). 1. “If” (ei, first class condition) anyone is a hearer of the Word, he is “like” (e,oika - appear or resemble ) a man who looks
at himself in the mirror (e,soptron
- polished metal for observing one’s reflection), but makes no changes to
what he sees. 2. Even though he observes (“look” katanoe,ō - perceive, study, examine), vs. 23, 24)
his face intently, he makes no attempt to groom or change his appearance. 3. As soon as he goes away from the mirror,
he “forgets” (epilantha,nomai -
forgotten, neglected) what kind of
appearance he had and what changes needed to be made. 4. If a person does not actively pursue the
application of the Word, he becomes a mere hearer. If he becomes a mere
hearer, he soon forgets what he heard from the Word. C. If however, a person
practices the Word, and the Word takes root in his life, he is blessed in
whatever he does (25). 1. On the
other hand, they were to be like one who carefully observed (“looks
intently” same word as vs. 24) the Word and acted on it. The Word is
described as the “perfect” (te,leios
- full, total, ccomplet, or perfect) law
because it comes from a perfect God who gave man a perfect and absolute
standard. The Word gives a perfect revelation of God, a perfect revelation of
man, a perfect description of a perfect salvation, and a perfect instruction
for the believer’s sanctification. 2. The Word is also described as a law of
“liberty” (eleutheri,a - state of being
free) in the sense that it gives a perfect wisdom how to overcome sin,
giving true freedom and liberty to the believer. 3. In addition, they were to “abide” (parame,nō - remain or stay beside) in the
Word meaning they were to continue to
look intently and continue to apply it. This will make them an
“effectual doer” (poiętęs e,rgou
- “doer of work” or a “working doer”) i.e. one who is handling the Word
the way they are supposed to, letting the Word accomplish God’s will. 4. Much like the one who “delights in the
Law of the Lord” in Psalm 1:2, this individual will be “blessed” (maka,rias -
characterized with the joy and blessing) in whatever he does (Ps 1:3). He
will be characterized with the joy of the Lord and with blessing in his life
as a result of obeying God’s principles, even in trials. III. RESEMBLE TRUE RELIGION A. The final result of being
an effectual doer is the application of the Word in practical everyday life
demonstrating true religion in oneself (vs. 26). 1. Evidently
there were some who “considered” (doke,ō
- seem, think, or consider) themselves “religious” (thrę,skos,
adj. - one preoccupied with religious observance, God-fearing, pious)
even though they were mere hearers of the Word and did not bridle their
tongue. 2. The word
“bridle” is the Greek word chalinagōge,ō
and literally means to lead a horse with a bit and bridle. Figuratively
it means to hold something in check or to restrain. James applies it to the
tongue (Jm 3:2-12 cp. Pr 13:3; 17:27-28; 21:23). 3. Once
again this person is deceiving (apata,ō
- deceive or mislead) himself and this deception takes places in his
heart. 4. The conclusion is that such a person’s
religion is “worthless” (ma,taios)
which means unprofitable or futile. It does not work and is not true religion
at all. B. The final result of being
an effectual doer is the application of the Word in practical everyday life
demonstrating true religion for the needs of others (vs. 27). 1. James
describes true religion as “pure” (kathara, - clean or pure, fig. morally pure) and “undefiled” (ami,antos
- unspoiled or unsoiled) as the highest essence of religion. 2. He also defines true religion as those
moral obligations of meeting the needs of those who are in unfortunate
circumstances beyond their control, namely orphans and widows. Orphans and
widows are two groups that the OT emphasizes special care (Ex 22:22; Dt 10:18;
Ps 10:14; Is 1:23; Je 7:5-6; Zc 7:10). 3. In addition to these, James defines a
most important aspect of true religion for those who are “doers” of the Word
as keeping oneself unstained from worldliness. “Unstained” (a,spilos - without
stain, fig. morally unstained or spotless) from the world means that the
world should not influence the believer’s behavior, rather the Word and its
application should influence the believer (Jm 4:4; 1Jo 2:15-16). IV. OBSERVATIONS AND
APPLICATIONS A. Preparation of the heart
(including confession and repentance) is a necessity and first order of
business in order to receive the influence of the Word. In fact, it should be
the constant attitude of the heart for every moment of everyday, especially
in trials and temptation. B. The ultimate purpose for receiving the
Word, whether it is devotions, Bible Study, or Church is to become a “doer of
the Word.” This is the meaning of true religion which will keep us from
forgetfulness and becoming a “doer of the world.” C. The blessedness of the believer comes from
putting the Word into practice, which involves applying it to every area of
life. This includes times of trials and temptations as well as the most
practical aspects of life and meeting the needs of others. |
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