#6 - JAMES AND THE BEHAVIOR OF BELIEF - How to Recognize the Presence of Saving Faith

FINDING FRUITFULNESS IN YOUR BIBLE STUDY

James 1:22-25 - “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. [23] For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. [24] For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. [25] But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.”

That word, “But” at the beginning of verse 22 links these verses back to verse 21 - “Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.”

That word “But” means the mere removal of wickedness doesn’t make a person godly. It may make a person moral. But that isn’t the same as Biblical holiness. And the reason this matters is James wants everyone to understand that more than morality is needed we hope for the saving of our souls (21).

“Receive with meekness the implanted word....” Now James wants to tell us what he means by receiving the Word. If we are Christians at all, it is because Father God has “....brought us forth by the word of truth....”(18). You and I are Christians, if that is what we profess to be, because of the “Word of truth”(1:18), and if we have been “brought forth” by the Word of truth we will demonstrate this is so by the way we continue to “humbly receive” the same Word of truth.

So the birth is measured in terms of the ongoing reception of the truth of the word in our lives. In other words, genuine conversion establishes a relationship with the truth of God’s Word. This, and this alone, proves the genuineness of our transformed hearts. Our faith isn’t just talk. Our lives have been birthed by the Word, and they are increasingly shaped by that same Word. That’s the line of reasoning James follows in our text.

So what does it mean to receive the implanted Word? James says we only receive the Word to the degree we do the Word we hear. That this is his whole point in our text is made clear by the way he frames verses 22-25 with commands to do the Word at each end:

1:22 - “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only....”

1:25 - “....being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.”

So, if we take last week’s teaching and this week’s together, we see that we are to be “quick” to hear the Word in terms of readiness and alertness - 19 - “Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger....”

But hearing the word quickly doesn't mean hearing it superficially or carelessly. To flesh all this out, James writes what is perhaps the classic passage in all the Bible on how to use God's Word fruitfully in our lives:

1) JAMES OUTLINES THE PARTICULAR DANGER OF SELF- DECEPTION THAT COMES TO RELIGIOUS BIBLE READERS

Verse 22 - “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.”

Now James is answering the question, “When has a person humbly received the implanted Word?” That’s the whole issue that was introduced in verse 21 - “Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.”

Notice the way James ends that verse. It’s very important. James wants to make sure we all understand what’s at stake. That’s why he finishes that verse with the reminder that it is the reception of the implanted Word that makes the saving of the soul possible - “....which is able to save your souls.”

Back to verse 22 - “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.”

The Word is received when, and only when, the Word is obeyed. To receive the Word is to put it into practice. The Word that saved us must also shape us. If the Word doesn’t continually shape us it also doesn’t save us. This is the uncomfortable logic James simply won’t allow us to miss when verses 21 and 22 are snapped together like pieces of Leggo.

That this is indeed James’ intended meaning is made clear by the way he finishes verse 22 - “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” What kind of deception is this? What is James talking about?

Douglas Moo, in his wonderful commentary on James, comments directly on these words: “The idea of “deceive” in this context is clear. To be deceived is to be blinded to the reality of one’s true religious state. People can think that they are right with God when they really are not. And so it is for those people who “hear” the Word - regular church attenders, seminary students, seminary professors and pastors - but do not “do” it. They are mistaken in thinking they are right with God. For God’s Word cannot be divided into parts. If one wants the benefits of its saving power, one must also embrace it as a guide for life. The person who fails to “do” the word, says James, is a person who has not truly “received” God’s Word at all.”

Those are strong words. Notice what this verse says. These “hearers only” deceive themselves. They don’t deceive God, though, deep inside, this is probably what motivates their ongoingrespect for the Word they do not actually obey. They only deceive themselves. Perhaps they’ve come to actually believe theirs is a genuine faith. After all, it seems as good as most. But, however sincerely held, their faith isn’t real.

I’m quite certain we’re at a very significant crossroad in the life of the contemporary church. I’ve never seen anything like it in all my years in ministry. Something is shifting in the church right before our eyes. Personalized definitions of faith and Christianity abound. We’re all, so we’re told, on our own journey, and heaven forbid anyone should even pretend to have anything absolute to say about where we’re going or how we’re going to get there.

People, it seems, can find just about any kind of Jesus they want, and follow that Jesus pretty much on their own terms. And if you disagree with them you are told not to judge. The fact that so much of the church seems to buy into this may only show how true James’ words are, and how badly we need his warning, though it may be too late to do any good. The thoroughly deceived never know it.

2) HOW THE WORD OF GOD IS AND IS NOT LIKE A MIRROR

Verses 23-24 - “For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. [24] for he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.”

James isn't just talking about a man who looks into a mirror and doesn't use it. That’s part of the point, but not the main point. The text goes much deeper than that. It has to do with the way all of us use mirrors. Up we get in the morning. We use the mirror for a few moments - wash the face, brush the hair, shave, some put on make- up.

But then we leave the mirror and get on with the tasks of the day. Unless you're an incredibly vain person, those moments in front of the mirror are isolated from the rest of the day. You go your way and forget about the mirror while you work or study, shop or play.

That's what verse 24 is all about - “For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.” The mirror was important for that single moment, then you normally forget about it. There are other more important things to do. You put the mirror out of your mind.

And there’s nothing wrong with using a mirror that way. But there is something terribly wrong with looking into God’s Word that way. Through all of this, James is pulling out two lessons. One comes from a similarity with the mirror illustration, and one comes from a contrast. First, the similarity:

A) When you see what needs to be done from looking in the mirror, and when you see what needs to be done in your life from looking at God’s Word, you must do it right away

After all, that’s what a mirror is for. It’s not just to gather information about yourself. There is something terribly wrong with the person who gets up in the morning, goes to the mirror and says, “Boy, do I look a mess. Yep, that’s what I was afraid of!” Then off he goes to the wedding without cleaning himself up. Whatever that person is doing with that mirror, he’s
not using it to any personal advantage at all.

This is the same with looking into God’s Word. Anyone who studies the Word of God without doing what it says isn’t really receiving the Word at all. It’s not there just to provide information.

That’s why James likens the Word to a mirror instead of a computer. Like a mirror, the Word is there to show you what you must do with your life. You really can’t learn God’s Word like you learn French or Algebra.

This is true of everything the Bible teaches. Consider the Lord’s prayer, just as an example. “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” There it is, right there, in the most famous passage in the Bible. Jesus teaches me how I come to know spiritual truth. “Lord, let me know the reality and power of forgiveness of sin in my life.” “Fine. If you want to know about My forgiveness, begin by forgiving your worst enemy!”

Question: when does a Christian know about forgiveness? Answer: When he prays for forgiveness? No. Wrong answer. When he reads about the importance of forgiveness? Wrong again.

Answer: The Christian knows about forgiveness (from God or anyone else) when he does forgiveness from his heart toward his enemy. There is no other way to open your life to the Biblical truth about the subject of forgiveness. Forgiving others is how you receive the Word of God about forgiveness. You don’t receive God’s Word about forgiveness by just memorizing, or even claiming promises about forgiveness.

Now James points out the contrast between looking into a mirror and looking into God’s Word”

B) The limitation of any mirror is you can’t keep it in front of you the entire day

The impact of any physical mirror is lost once you walk away from it. Now James introduces the lesson from contrast between a mirror and God’s Word. God’s Word, while it can’t be read constantly, twenty-four hours a day, must be considered and received and applied long after the book is put back on the shelf. That leads into James’ next point: