"The Implanted Word" by Rod Bayley, June 6 2010 PM, James 1:19-27

[Danny]

In April of 2004, the Sydney Morning Herald printed an article, where
the journalist pointed to the truth of a great growth in spirituality
in many western countries including Australia. He went on to state
that he thought this was an impressive come-back for God given that
the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche famously said towards the
end of the 19th Century, ‘God is dead.’ This trend certainly
continues unabated despite the more virulent efforts of the so-called
new Atheists like Dawkins and Hitchens. There is a great rise in
spirituality in Australia today, but certainly not just with regards
to Christianity. Australia today is a smorgasboard of religious
beliefs. We not only have Christian churches, but also Islamic
mosques, Hindu/Buddhist/Bahai temples (we have the Taiwanese Nan Tien
Buddhist temple!), then there is the new age movement. Everyone it
seems is devoted to something - religious interest or spirituality is
very strong.

In this multi-cultural melting pot, we’ve become increasingly used to
defining and defending Christianity against other major world
religions. And at a second, narrower level, I think we’re somewhat
used to differentiating biblical Christianity from cults related to
Christian belief, like the Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses who also
claim to believe the bible. However, I think we can be less clear
when it comes to differentiating true and false spirituality within
mainstream Christianity. Perhaps at times we will talk about the
differences between the various mainline denominations, or one form of
theology or another, but usually not in the absolute terms of true
spirituality versus false spirituality. I’m not going to be branding
any group as false tonight, rather I’m going to consider James’ words
in the second half of chapter one. Here we find him differentiating
between true and false Christianity through the use of a category
which cuts across all churches. His concern is more foundational then
many of the ones we talk about, and although it is not all that the NT
offers on differentiating true and false Christian spirituality, it is
one of two key principles I would argue. So the big question that
we’ll consider today is: ‘What is one way to separate true Christian
spirituality from false Christian spirituality?’

This brings us to point one on your outline: ‘God’s word produces
fruit in our lives.’ Notice how James outlines the principle in verse
21:
“Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so
prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save
you.”

The focus is God’s word and what it produces, and we have this unusual
phrase “humbly accept the word planted in you,” or literally ‘humbly
receive the implanted word.’ The word being spoken about must refer
to the gospel, because it is able to ‘save you’ at the end of verse
21, and in verse 18 it gives us new birth or regenerates us. This
word of the gospel is said to be implanted in the believer - it’s like
an entity that has taken up residence within our lives. The idea
seems to be drawn from the prophet Jeremiah’s famous new covenant
prophecy in chapter 31. In Jeremiah 31:33 we read:
“This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that
time,’ declares the Lord. ‘I will put my law in their minds and write
it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.”

The repeated failures of Israel to obey the law that God gave to them,
makes it clear to us that the human heart was not capable of
submitting to external rules. A new internal work would have to be
done, giving people a new heart. And so James’ language reminds his
readers, including ourselves today, that we have experienced the
fulfilment of that wonderful promise. But it also reminds us that the
word which saves us can’t be ignored after our conversion - God plants
it in His people to make it a permanent guiding force. So the command
to “accept the word implanted in you” is a command to believers to
allow God’s word centred on the gospel, to influence every part of
their life. The word ‘humbly’ reminds us that we need to be open and
receptive to God’s word - we actually have to sit under God’s word, to
submit ourselves to it. We can’t think we know better, or feel free
to ignore it in the areas of our lives where we’re being disobedient.
For example, I know the bible says I shouldn’t be in a sexual
relationship outside of marriage, but I really love my boyfriend or
girlfriend, so surely God will overlook that one area in my life.
Bottom line - that is ungodly pride speaking, not a humble acceptance
that God knows best.

Notice how this principle of ‘humbly accepting’ or obeying God’s word
is put both positively and negatively in verses 20 and 21.
Positively, in verse 20 we are striving to live a “righteous life that
God desires.” We are seeking to please God by responding to his word,
and desiring to live righteously. Or negatively in verse 21, we are
to “get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent.”
The phrase ‘get rid of’ is more literally ‘take off’ and is using the
imagery of removing clothing. I’m to take off the filthy coat of my
old sinful actions, my old life, and put on the clean clothes of a
righteous life. This imagery of putting off and putting on is used in
a number of places in the NT. It’s always about responding to God’s
word - it’s the outworking of the gospel in our lives. Rather than
begrudgingly being forced to conform, a Christian is desiring to live
God’s way - they want to change.

In his book, ‘You can change’, Tim Chester says that this is the key
issue in throwing off sinful behaviour. He says we have to want to
change because we have truly understood that God’s way brings the most
joy. He states: “One of our problems is that we think of holiness as
giving up things we enjoy out of a vague sense of obligation. But I’m
convinced that holiness is always, always good news. God calls us to
the good life.”

So, give me an example you might say. Well, that’s just what James
does in verses 19 and 20. Here is the example of anger - notice again
what verses 19 and 20 state:
“My dear brothers, take note of this: everyone should be quick to
listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry, 20for man’s anger
does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.”

James is a very practical book, and almost so full of application that
there is little explanation at times, just things to do. It is the NT
equivalent of wisdom literature, and sometimes the application comes
first, and then the principles follows. So our passage tonight begins
with this application on anger, but it is an example of the principle
in verse 21. Notice that there are two concerns here - improper
speech and anger, which can often cause such speech. How often do we
find ourselves regretting words spoken in ‘the heat of the moment.’
Therefore James reminds us that the wise person will learn to control
the emotion of anger and so eliminate one of the most common sources
of unwise speech. We need to be quick to listen, not quick to speak.
Also, being short-fused, or quick to be angry will lead to sin, not a
righteous life. The simple point in verse 20 is that human anger does
not produce behaviour that is pleasing to God.

That brings us to point two on your outline: ‘A barrier to the Word’s
impact.’ If we are to humbly accept or obey God’s word so that we
might put off our old ways and put on our new life in Christ, what is
the threat to this process? Notice the barrier that James wants to
highlight for us in verse 22:
“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what
it says.”

This is the Nike verse of the NT - ‘JUST DO IT!’ Don’t simply come to
church or go to ECU and hear the bible taught, but live it out. It’s
not enough to just know lots about Jesus - we’re called to count the
cost, take up our Cross and follow Jesus. The danger of hearing and
not obeying is obvious - we are surely just hypocrites who know all
the theory but aren’t practicing what we preach, who aren’t practicing
what we say we believe. It’s worse than that James says - we can
actually deceive ourselves, and believe that such a Christian
spirituality is OK. We’re self-deluded if we’ve convinced ourselves
that merely listening, merely grasping the truths is an end in
itself. The meaning of the word ‘deceive’ here is to be blinded to
the reality of our state. You or I could no doubt come up with an
illustration of how dangerous such an approach is, or how unsatisfying
and empty it would be. However, James gives us his own illustration,
which seems to point out how superficial it is to act in this way.
Look again at verses 23 and 24:
“Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a
man who looks at his face in a mirror 24and, after looking at himself,
goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.”

And so we have an illustration about the man who looks in the mirror.
Looking at yourself in a mirror often became a metaphor in the ancient
world for the process of moral self-reflection. We still use the
phrase with this meaning today, and so the mirror serves as a natural
parallel to the bible, where we assess our moral life. In verses 24
and 25 it’s the result of the looking that James is interested in. In
verse 24 the viewer “forgets what he looks like”, while in verse 25
the man who looks intently into God’s law “continues to do this, not
forgetting what he has heard.” The key failure of the one who only
hears God’s word and fails to act, is the forgetting.

It’s often said that ‘knowledge is power’, but in God’s economy
knowledge brings responsibility, as knowledge must issue in action. I
was so conscious at the end of my time at bible college, that I’d
learnt all this great stuff, but how was I going to remember all that
I had learnt and put it into practice. I was so aware that I was a
greater hypocrite then I had ever been, because I had enjoyed so much
learning, and it had far outpaced my efforts to put it into practice.
Knowledge of God’s word needs to produce outcomes in our lives.
Remembering is a big theme in the bible. God constantly warned his
people Israel not to forget his mighty acts, but to remember his
mercies and remember his law. By this God meant that they must obey
His word, otherwise His promises would be null and void. To remember
God’s teaching is to meditate on them so that they make a lasting
impression on your heart and mind. The person who forgets is the one
who reads or listens superficially.

So, negatively, failing to act on God’s word puts us on dangerous
ground, but positively in verse 25, remembering and acting brings
God’s blessing: “he will be blessed in what he does.” This last
phrase could mean that as the person puts the Word into practice, he
experiences God’s mercy and goodness. But the blessing is more likely
referring to future blessing - the fulfilment of our salvation as we
enter God’s presence at the end.

Well, that brings us to the final point on your outline: ‘Self
deception vs real fruit.’ James gets even more practical in the final
two verses, and gives us examples of self-deception and real fruit.
Notice again what he states in verses 26 and 27:
“If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight
rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is
worthless. 27Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and
faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress
and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”

In verse 26 we have an example of self-deception: a Christian
spirituality which is all theory and no action when it comes to the
area of our speech. Uncontrolled speech, or a person who cannot keep
a tight reign on their tongue is in big danger. Such a person
‘deceives himself’ - there’s that word from verse 22 again. This
seems harsh doesn’t it - you’re self-deluded and your religion or
faith is worthless if you can’t control what you say. Is it harsh, or
is it because some Christians think so little of coarse language
today, or feel free to gossip about others and slander their
reputation, or feel free to mock others or add sexual innuendo into
their sentences, or feel free to bend the truth constantly or let’s
put it bluntly - lie? Jesus said, “I tell you that men will have to
give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have
spoken. 37For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words
you will be condemned” (Matt.12:36-37).

Thinking outside of the box, are we careless with our words because we
pretend the words we text on our phones or place on our Facebook pages
are not our speech. We have replaced a lot of speech with written
equivalents, but they are no less our words. I’m often horrified at
the things Christian people will write on their Facebook page.
Because it’s one step removed from us verbally saying it, it’s as if
people feel some sense of false freedom to sin and express things they
wouldn’t otherwise in person. If the gospel doesn’t lead to
controlled speech in my life, aren’t I kidding myself about seriously
responding to God’s grace? James will come back to this theme of
right speech over and over in the letter, so we’ll think about this
more in weeks to come. The reason he does so is because our words are
no less important to God than our actions. That’s why slanderers will
not inherit the kingdom of God in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, and why liars
are thrown into the lake of fire in Revelation 21:8. A person’s
speech is an important indicator of whether they know God.

In verse 27, James turns to two examples of real fruit, an example of
true Christian spirituality. The big intro to the instruction -
“religion that .... is pure and faultless” gets our attention, doesn’t
it. Maybe you’re surprised by the use of the word religion, because
let’s face it, it’s a word that has negative connotations today even
in Christian circles. But the bigger shock is that we can read the
statement as if James was intending to summarize all that true worship
involves. Well he isn’t - he is reminding us that religion without
the things he mentions is nothing - they are simply examples, by which
we can test our faith.

The first example raises an issue of social concern - “to look after
orphans and widows in their distress.” This phrase is repeated many
times in the OT, as in the ancient world with an absence of money-
making possibilities for women, and no social welfare, they were
helpless to provide for themselves. A mark of Israel’s obedience was
to be a special concern for those disadvantaged or marginalized, as
this was to imitate God’s concern (Ps.68:5). One test of genuine
faith is the degree to which we extend aid to the helpless in our
world, which for us might be refugees, or the handicapped, or the
homeless.

The second example has to do with our personal godliness, and is only
put in general terms, but James will return to the theme of
worldliness in 4:4-10. I believe he is saying that religion that is
pleasing to God doesn’t only involve social action - this must also be
accompanied by personal piety. The ‘world’ is a common biblical way
of referring to all that is opposed to God. We are not to get caught
up in worldly pursuits or be accepting of worldly morality because we
are God’s person, and this earth is not our home. I said at the
beginning that the question that we’d consider today is: ‘What is one
way to separate true Christian spirituality from false Christian
spirituality?’ I hope you can see that the answer is that true
Christian spirituality involves more than knowledge of the truth - it
puts God’s word into practice. What is set before us is the need for
obedience to the message. James is warning us against the notion of
mere assent which is viewed as an end in itself, or worse, a
substitute for genuine practical faith - faith that works. But maybe
you’re confused by the theology here, with it’s stress on your works.
Does James have a works-based approach to salvation? Perhaps with the
great German reformer Martin Luther, who called this letter a ‘straw
epistle’, you’re dismayed at the lack of justification by faith? I
said at the start that this passage shows us one way to separate true
and false Christianity - James’ concern is faith without works, which
he’ll return to in chapter two, when he says faith that does not issue
in works is dead! We’re used to hearing Paul’s emphasis, which is
another way to differentiate true and false Christianity. His focus
is on those who would add works to faith in order to receive
salvation. These are complementary principles - not opposites. Paul
is concerned for us to be clear how we are saved - James is concerned
with what follows conversion, that we don’t think that the gospel of
grace calls us to a loveless, actionless faith. The apostle John put
it this way: “Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but
with actions and in truth” (1 John 3:18). So let me leave you with
two questions: ‘Does your life reflect in action what you say you
believe?’ ‘Has the gospel produced in you a social concern for the
marginalized, as well as a desire for personal purity that sets you
apart?