Good morning! I invite you to turn with me in your Bibles to James 1. For the last several weeks we have been looking at trials and talking about suffering. We’ve said that suffering is one of the basic components of life. Really, life is just differing degrees of suffering. Sometimes your suffering is a little lighter; sometimes it is extreme. But because you live in a sin-filled world, you will suffer to some extent.
And, as a side note, that is what will make heaven so heavenly. There will be no more tears, no more sorrow. Death will be no more. Sin and temptation will be extinct. There is going to be such a radical shift in what “normal” is that our whole manner of life simply cannot imagine what that will be like right now. Suffering is such a part of our life, we cannot imagine life without it.
But despite the suffering, we know that God is in control. We have been saying that God is sovereign in suffering—He is sovereign over suffering—and because of this, we can have joy. There is a sense in which there can be a little experience of heaven this side of the eternal world. We know that God is using suffering, working through suffering—even though he is not the author of it, he has ordained it for some grand purpose in our lives. Suffering is the opportunity for our faith to shine.
In our passage this morning we are still learning about these trials. And what you are going to find is that there is going to be a real focus on the role of God’s word. If we are going to maintain this joy, there has to be a real concentration on what God says in Scripture. Once we divert our attention from God’s word, our faith is not just in trouble—but it is a real kill-joy. James exhorts us to keep our attention fixed on the truth of what God has revealed.
Let’s read James 1...
Introduction:
As I was taking a walk this week I saw what might be a good illustration of what our passage has been talking about. This spring has been one of the most beautiful I think I have witnessed. The trees this year have blossomed and bloomed with such magnificence. I don’t know that I’ve seen magnolia trees so radiant.
This past week a storm came through in the night and in the morning all the white blossoms had fallen to the ground. The trees had lost some of that spring beauty; all the white leaves had been littered on the ground because the wind and rain had knocked them off.
As I walked I thought, isn’t this a good illustration of how many people react to trials and suffering. When the winds of life blow and hardships bear down, how many people find that they lose their joy. It is easy to be happy when things are going well. But when suffering comes, that joy—having no real deep hold in the soul, ends up fading away.
Our study so far has been telling us that that isn’t how things necessarily need to go. We’ve been told that we can maintain our joy (those leaves don’t necessarily have to fall). If we have the right perspective, we can see the sad times as blessed times.
There’s another illustration that is kind of similar. We’ve said earlier that the trials of life are “tests.” They are times where our faith is examined and revealed. One person has put it this way. If you take a jar and set it down, and let’s say some wind comes and tips it over. Everything in the jar will come pouring out. And it will be revealed what is in the jar.
Trials in our life are kind of like that. They are revealing what is in your jar. If you are in a trial of some kind, what comes out? Do you get angry? Do you get worried? Or do you react in a way that reveals faith—react with prayer, kindness, patience, love.
That’s what our passage is about today. You could say that when trials come your way and your soul is tipped over, what must come out should be Scripture—the virtues of Scripture.
This passage is here to remind us that God’s word demands our full attention. And you see that developed in three ways. It tells us that, in trials, the attention we give to God’s word must be exclusive, early, and entire.
I. Exclusive attention [1-18]
I say exclusive because there should be no other word that trumps God’s Word. You should not listen to any voice that deviates from God’s word. God’s word is the rule by which we should live. It should be the final authority for life and faith.
And we find that taught here in James 1. For the last several weeks we’ve been focusing on trials. That’s been the main theme of this chapter. But there’s a secondary theme that runs concurrently through these verses. And that theme is the authority of God’s word.
One of the things mentioned was the need for wisdom. When you come into a trial, what are you supposed to do? You are supposed to ask God to give you wisdom. Well, where do we find wisdom? It is in God’s word.
Then in verse 12 we saw that it talked about the crown of life. James said that God has promised to give this crown to those who love him. Where does God make this promise? Where do we find the promises of God? They are recorded for us in His word.
Then verse 18 is another pertinent passage. It tells us that we were born again (brought forth) “by the word of truth.” So it is by the power of God’s word that we have come to know God and been made alive. The deadness of our unbelief was broken by the Word that God spoke to us.
And it only stands to reason that the same word that originally gave us life should be the word that continues to govern our lives.
We may even back up to the very first line of this epistle. We read there that James is a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. As God’s servant, he is bringing to them the word of God.
So all through this chapter James has been hammering this point home: that we are to be governed by God. His truth is to be that which directs our lives. There is to be no other voice that we listen to.
I mention this because I want to extend to you the reminder that you should be in God’s word. You should be studying the Bible and making a point to live by it.
You do not live by what Dr. Phil says. The advice that you get from some teacher or family member or television personality or political figure or talk show host—if it does not come from the Bible, it is absolutely of no value. Our consciences are to be held captive by the Word of God.
I want to especially impress this upon our young people. You have a lot voices that are trying to speak into your life. They are trying to persuade you to do this and believe that. You have to be aware that if they are not telling you to do what God says, they’re words should not be given the time of day.
God’s word is to have the exclusive rights to our life. And that means we need to be opening that Bible app and reading it. You need to cave out time in the day to do it. Make it a point to have regular time each day where you read some Scripture.
If Christ is your Lord, then you need to know that His word must have a significant role to play in your life. So I want you challenge you that if you do not have a set time of Scripture study, create one. God’s word is to be supreme in your life, trumping all other voices that vie for your attention.
As we have seen, God’s word demands your exclusive attention. But there’s something else that you need to see here. It also demands your earliest attention.
II. Earliest attention [19-21]
By that I mean it should be your first restort. When trials come your way, your first instinct should be to turn to God and listen to Him.
That’s exactly what it says in verses 19-21. It says, “Know this, my beloved brothers, let every person be quick to hear.”
Now there are a lot of preachers who, when they come to this passage, they are trying to give you tips on interpersonal communication. They say that you should listen to your kids problems. You should listen to your friends. You shouldn’t talk a lot or make a rash judgement before having heard all the evidence.
But this is not talking about how to make friends or how to be a better parent. This is talking about how you deal with trials. This is talking about when your house burns down or when you get yelled at by your boss. And the context is verse 18 which talks about the word of God by which we were born again.
So when it says, “Be quick to hear”, it should be evident what exactly it is you should listen to. Be quick to hear God speaking in His word. When you meet a trial, ask for wisdom—pray to God for understanding, then turn your ears to what Scripture says.
And you will notice that this stands over and against what we normally do. In these same verses James points out that our first reaction is typically rash and a giving way to sinful passion. He says we are to be “slow to speak, slow to become angry.”
He’s telling us that there needs to be some restraint that we show. Why? Because the “anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.”
What does produce the righteousness of God? The word of God does. What does anger produce? Well, it is spelled out right there for us. It produces filthiness and rampant wickedness. If you have “overflowing wickedness” that might be a little better. Or at least it will give you a picture of just how disgusting a thing this is depicting. The idea is that it boils up and over. There is a churning that heaves up filth. It is like your toilet started swelling and all the contents overran the bowl.
That’s a pretty nasty picture. But that’s what anger is like. That’s how we typically deal with our trials. Instead of remaining joyful and turning to the word of God for wisdom on how to handle the situation, our natural instinct is to get mad. Something doesn’t go our way and we get irked about it. Our emotions start to flare and we end up saying things we didn’t really think about. Some rather filthy things.
Maybe we lash out at God. Maybe we verbally attack someone else. Or maybe we just blurt out a lot of words that are not pointed at any one in particular. We’re just so made that we start cursing and kicking.
Have you ever seen that happen? Someone’s walking along and the trip a little. They catch their foot on the a piece of the sidewalk that’s sticking up. First, they stumble along, but they catch their balance. They don’t fall on their face. But they walk back and they kick the sidewalk or the stone that tripped them up. What are they doing there? They are angry. They are venting their passion and have no desire to restrain the heat of rage.
But, you notice that there is a downward spiral. The wrong reaction to a trial, leads to some sort of sin. This second sin may then lead to further evil. So here is a trial. You react with anger. This anger leads to you saying something you shouldn’t have. And this just creates another trial that leads to further evil.
That is a vicious circle. What is the remedy? It is to make God’s word your first reaction. It is to “put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness.”
James is going to have a lot more to say about anger and things that may make you angry in the chapters to come, but here at the outset it is important to see the remedy for anger that he prescribes: suppress it. Don’t let it be the first reaction. Instead, let turning to Scripture be your first instinct.
God’s word must have our exclusive attention, and our earliest attention. When trials come our way we must give God’s word our earliest attention.
III. Entire attention [22-25]
In verses 22-25 James points out that you need to be “doers of the word, and not hearers only.” As a matter of fact, the guy who listens to God’s word and does not take it that extra step and apply it, he says this guy is deceived. He’s like a man who looks in the mirror only to forget what he looks like the second he turns away.
Now think about that illustration. If you look in the mirror and two seconds later forget what you look like, did you really give that mirror your full attention? You might have given a periphery look. You might have had your eyes going in the direction of your reflection, but your attention was not entirely fixated upon what was there.
So what he’s saying is that it is not enough just to read the bible or listen to sermons. This is good, but it is not complete. You need to take one step further and apply that to your life. You have to take this truth that God has given to you and it has to change the way you think. You have to make your
I am glad you are here today. I’m glad that you look like you are paying attention. But I want you to know that your being a part of this audience, no matter how much I appreciate it, is not enough. Your attention to this point is great, but you need to advance it to the next stage.
And what happens when you do this? The result is that you are blessed. That’s what James says in the last verse we read. In verse 25 it says that the one who looks into the perfect law of liberty and perseveres (that is to say, he puts that law into action) he will be blessed in his doing.
Psalm 19 says “in keeping your commandments there is great reward.”
So you see, the one whose attention to God’s word is more than merely scanning pages, is going to have more joy and more favor. He’s going to be better off than the one who isn’t giving God’s word his entire attention.
Let’s consider a few examples. The first case study is Cain. You remember that Cain and his brother Able offered sacrifices. God accepted Able’s, but the Lord did not regard the offering of Cain. Genesis 4 tells us that Cain became very angry and his face fell. Here was a trial that he faced. How did he react? Did he turn to God and His word? No. His first reaction was to get angry.
But the good thing was that God came to him with His word. God said to Cain, “If you do well, you will be accepted. If you do not, sin is crouching at your door.” So God says, “If you repent of your sin and you offer a right sacrifice, then there won’t be any reason for being all worked up.”
But did Cain do this? No, he did not. He ended up murdering his brother. His jealousy and anger led to “filthiness and rampant wickedness.” Now, do you think that made him feel better? Do you think that exterminating his brother made things cheery again?
Well the amazing thing is that the Lord confronted Cain about this. He said, “Where is your brother?” And Cain’s reaction was rather cold. He said, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” Instead of saying, “God I’m sorry, I killed him. Please forgive me” he said basically blew God off.
There was a chance for mercy. There was a chance for honesty and repentance. But he failed to listen to the voice of God. And as a result, the situation got worse. He ended up suffering more and falling into complete despair.
Cain is an example of one who heard the word, but did not practice it. And because he did not give full attention to the wisdom of God, he ended up suffering.
He could have been blessed. He could have had joy. He could have enjoyed God’s favor, but he failed to truly listen. He heard the word, but he did not apply it. And so he missed out on the blessings God could have given.
In contrast to this we have the life of Jesus. This is one of the reasons why Jesus was the most blessed man on earth, despite his having undergone the greatest trials.
In the sermon on the mount Jesus talked about the wise man who builds his house upon the rock. The wise man was the man who heard the words of Jesus and did them. When the storms came and winds blew, the house remained steadfast. It continued to enjoy soundness and a state of blessing.
Jesus himself embodied this. We know that Jesus was “a Man of Sorrows, acquainted with grief.” But he was also the most joyful and blessed. Even before his crucifixion, no matter how heavy his heart was, he was still able to recline at table with his disciples. That’s a picture of celebration…a demonstration of joy amidst suffering. Why? Because he was in full obedience to the will of God.
And because he endured the greatest of all trials (God’s wrath and curse) we through him may endure whatever trials come our way. We
But despite the suffering, we know that God is in control. We have been saying that God is sovereign in suffering—He is sovereign over suffering—and because of this, we can have joy. There is a sense in which there can be a little experience of heaven this side of the eternal world. We know that God is using suffering, working through suffering—even though he is not the author of it, he has ordained it for some grand purpose in our lives. Suffering is the opportunity for our faith to shine.
In our passage this morning we are still learning about these trials. And what you are going to find is that there is going to be a real focus on the role of God’s word. If we are going to maintain this joy, there has to be a real concentration on what God says in Scripture. Once we divert our attention from God’s word, our faith is not just in trouble—but it is a real kill-joy. James exhorts us to keep our attention fixed on the truth of what God has revealed.
Let’s read James 1...
Introduction:
As I was taking a walk this week I saw what might be a good illustration of what our passage has been talking about. This spring has been one of the most beautiful I think I have witnessed. The trees this year have blossomed and bloomed with such magnificence. I don’t know that I’ve seen magnolia trees so radiant.
This past week a storm came through in the night and in the morning all the white blossoms had fallen to the ground. The trees had lost some of that spring beauty; all the white leaves had been littered on the ground because the wind and rain had knocked them off.
As I walked I thought, isn’t this a good illustration of how many people react to trials and suffering. When the winds of life blow and hardships bear down, how many people find that they lose their joy. It is easy to be happy when things are going well. But when suffering comes, that joy—having no real deep hold in the soul, ends up fading away.
Our study so far has been telling us that that isn’t how things necessarily need to go. We’ve been told that we can maintain our joy (those leaves don’t necessarily have to fall). If we have the right perspective, we can see the sad times as blessed times.
There’s another illustration that is kind of similar. We’ve said earlier that the trials of life are “tests.” They are times where our faith is examined and revealed. One person has put it this way. If you take a jar and set it down, and let’s say some wind comes and tips it over. Everything in the jar will come pouring out. And it will be revealed what is in the jar.
Trials in our life are kind of like that. They are revealing what is in your jar. If you are in a trial of some kind, what comes out? Do you get angry? Do you get worried? Or do you react in a way that reveals faith—react with prayer, kindness, patience, love.
That’s what our passage is about today. You could say that when trials come your way and your soul is tipped over, what must come out should be Scripture—the virtues of Scripture.
This passage is here to remind us that God’s word demands our full attention. And you see that developed in three ways. It tells us that, in trials, the attention we give to God’s word must be exclusive, early, and entire.
I. Exclusive attention [1-18]
I say exclusive because there should be no other word that trumps God’s Word. You should not listen to any voice that deviates from God’s word. God’s word is the rule by which we should live. It should be the final authority for life and faith.
And we find that taught here in James 1. For the last several weeks we’ve been focusing on trials. That’s been the main theme of this chapter. But there’s a secondary theme that runs concurrently through these verses. And that theme is the authority of God’s word.
One of the things mentioned was the need for wisdom. When you come into a trial, what are you supposed to do? You are supposed to ask God to give you wisdom. Well, where do we find wisdom? It is in God’s word.
Then in verse 12 we saw that it talked about the crown of life. James said that God has promised to give this crown to those who love him. Where does God make this promise? Where do we find the promises of God? They are recorded for us in His word.
Then verse 18 is another pertinent passage. It tells us that we were born again (brought forth) “by the word of truth.” So it is by the power of God’s word that we have come to know God and been made alive. The deadness of our unbelief was broken by the Word that God spoke to us.
And it only stands to reason that the same word that originally gave us life should be the word that continues to govern our lives.
We may even back up to the very first line of this epistle. We read there that James is a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. As God’s servant, he is bringing to them the word of God.
So all through this chapter James has been hammering this point home: that we are to be governed by God. His truth is to be that which directs our lives. There is to be no other voice that we listen to.
I mention this because I want to extend to you the reminder that you should be in God’s word. You should be studying the Bible and making a point to live by it.
You do not live by what Dr. Phil says. The advice that you get from some teacher or family member or television personality or political figure or talk show host—if it does not come from the Bible, it is absolutely of no value. Our consciences are to be held captive by the Word of God.
I want to especially impress this upon our young people. You have a lot voices that are trying to speak into your life. They are trying to persuade you to do this and believe that. You have to be aware that if they are not telling you to do what God says, they’re words should not be given the time of day.
God’s word is to have the exclusive rights to our life. And that means we need to be opening that Bible app and reading it. You need to cave out time in the day to do it. Make it a point to have regular time each day where you read some Scripture.
If Christ is your Lord, then you need to know that His word must have a significant role to play in your life. So I want you challenge you that if you do not have a set time of Scripture study, create one. God’s word is to be supreme in your life, trumping all other voices that vie for your attention.
As we have seen, God’s word demands your exclusive attention. But there’s something else that you need to see here. It also demands your earliest attention.
II. Earliest attention [19-21]
By that I mean it should be your first restort. When trials come your way, your first instinct should be to turn to God and listen to Him.
That’s exactly what it says in verses 19-21. It says, “Know this, my beloved brothers, let every person be quick to hear.”
Now there are a lot of preachers who, when they come to this passage, they are trying to give you tips on interpersonal communication. They say that you should listen to your kids problems. You should listen to your friends. You shouldn’t talk a lot or make a rash judgement before having heard all the evidence.
But this is not talking about how to make friends or how to be a better parent. This is talking about how you deal with trials. This is talking about when your house burns down or when you get yelled at by your boss. And the context is verse 18 which talks about the word of God by which we were born again.
So when it says, “Be quick to hear”, it should be evident what exactly it is you should listen to. Be quick to hear God speaking in His word. When you meet a trial, ask for wisdom—pray to God for understanding, then turn your ears to what Scripture says.
And you will notice that this stands over and against what we normally do. In these same verses James points out that our first reaction is typically rash and a giving way to sinful passion. He says we are to be “slow to speak, slow to become angry.”
He’s telling us that there needs to be some restraint that we show. Why? Because the “anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.”
What does produce the righteousness of God? The word of God does. What does anger produce? Well, it is spelled out right there for us. It produces filthiness and rampant wickedness. If you have “overflowing wickedness” that might be a little better. Or at least it will give you a picture of just how disgusting a thing this is depicting. The idea is that it boils up and over. There is a churning that heaves up filth. It is like your toilet started swelling and all the contents overran the bowl.
That’s a pretty nasty picture. But that’s what anger is like. That’s how we typically deal with our trials. Instead of remaining joyful and turning to the word of God for wisdom on how to handle the situation, our natural instinct is to get mad. Something doesn’t go our way and we get irked about it. Our emotions start to flare and we end up saying things we didn’t really think about. Some rather filthy things.
Maybe we lash out at God. Maybe we verbally attack someone else. Or maybe we just blurt out a lot of words that are not pointed at any one in particular. We’re just so made that we start cursing and kicking.
Have you ever seen that happen? Someone’s walking along and the trip a little. They catch their foot on the a piece of the sidewalk that’s sticking up. First, they stumble along, but they catch their balance. They don’t fall on their face. But they walk back and they kick the sidewalk or the stone that tripped them up. What are they doing there? They are angry. They are venting their passion and have no desire to restrain the heat of rage.
But, you notice that there is a downward spiral. The wrong reaction to a trial, leads to some sort of sin. This second sin may then lead to further evil. So here is a trial. You react with anger. This anger leads to you saying something you shouldn’t have. And this just creates another trial that leads to further evil.
That is a vicious circle. What is the remedy? It is to make God’s word your first reaction. It is to “put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness.”
James is going to have a lot more to say about anger and things that may make you angry in the chapters to come, but here at the outset it is important to see the remedy for anger that he prescribes: suppress it. Don’t let it be the first reaction. Instead, let turning to Scripture be your first instinct.
God’s word must have our exclusive attention, and our earliest attention. When trials come our way we must give God’s word our earliest attention.
III. Entire attention [22-25]
In verses 22-25 James points out that you need to be “doers of the word, and not hearers only.” As a matter of fact, the guy who listens to God’s word and does not take it that extra step and apply it, he says this guy is deceived. He’s like a man who looks in the mirror only to forget what he looks like the second he turns away.
Now think about that illustration. If you look in the mirror and two seconds later forget what you look like, did you really give that mirror your full attention? You might have given a periphery look. You might have had your eyes going in the direction of your reflection, but your attention was not entirely fixated upon what was there.
So what he’s saying is that it is not enough just to read the bible or listen to sermons. This is good, but it is not complete. You need to take one step further and apply that to your life. You have to take this truth that God has given to you and it has to change the way you think. You have to make your
I am glad you are here today. I’m glad that you look like you are paying attention. But I want you to know that your being a part of this audience, no matter how much I appreciate it, is not enough. Your attention to this point is great, but you need to advance it to the next stage.
And what happens when you do this? The result is that you are blessed. That’s what James says in the last verse we read. In verse 25 it says that the one who looks into the perfect law of liberty and perseveres (that is to say, he puts that law into action) he will be blessed in his doing.
Psalm 19 says “in keeping your commandments there is great reward.”
So you see, the one whose attention to God’s word is more than merely scanning pages, is going to have more joy and more favor. He’s going to be better off than the one who isn’t giving God’s word his entire attention.
Let’s consider a few examples. The first case study is Cain. You remember that Cain and his brother Able offered sacrifices. God accepted Able’s, but the Lord did not regard the offering of Cain. Genesis 4 tells us that Cain became very angry and his face fell. Here was a trial that he faced. How did he react? Did he turn to God and His word? No. His first reaction was to get angry.
But the good thing was that God came to him with His word. God said to Cain, “If you do well, you will be accepted. If you do not, sin is crouching at your door.” So God says, “If you repent of your sin and you offer a right sacrifice, then there won’t be any reason for being all worked up.”
But did Cain do this? No, he did not. He ended up murdering his brother. His jealousy and anger led to “filthiness and rampant wickedness.” Now, do you think that made him feel better? Do you think that exterminating his brother made things cheery again?
Well the amazing thing is that the Lord confronted Cain about this. He said, “Where is your brother?” And Cain’s reaction was rather cold. He said, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” Instead of saying, “God I’m sorry, I killed him. Please forgive me” he said basically blew God off.
There was a chance for mercy. There was a chance for honesty and repentance. But he failed to listen to the voice of God. And as a result, the situation got worse. He ended up suffering more and falling into complete despair.
Cain is an example of one who heard the word, but did not practice it. And because he did not give full attention to the wisdom of God, he ended up suffering.
He could have been blessed. He could have had joy. He could have enjoyed God’s favor, but he failed to truly listen. He heard the word, but he did not apply it. And so he missed out on the blessings God could have given.
In contrast to this we have the life of Jesus. This is one of the reasons why Jesus was the most blessed man on earth, despite his having undergone the greatest trials.
In the sermon on the mount Jesus talked about the wise man who builds his house upon the rock. The wise man was the man who heard the words of Jesus and did them. When the storms came and winds blew, the house remained steadfast. It continued to enjoy soundness and a state of blessing.
Jesus himself embodied this. We know that Jesus was “a Man of Sorrows, acquainted with grief.” But he was also the most joyful and blessed. Even before his crucifixion, no matter how heavy his heart was, he was still able to recline at table with his disciples. That’s a picture of celebration…a demonstration of joy amidst suffering. Why? Because he was in full obedience to the will of God.
And because he endured the greatest of all trials (God’s wrath and curse) we through him may endure whatever trials come our way. We