Listening and Doing. James 1:19-27. Part 2

Read 1 James 1:19-27

James starts off our text with once again calling the readers “my dear brothers”. He reminds them that what he is going to tell them, he is saying in brotherly love. He gives them concise instructions, telling them they ought to be “quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry.” Man’s anger is not the righteous anger of God, but rather a sinful emotion, with sinful reasoning. Our section of text is about guarding our tongues but also our ears because what you absorb and take in affects what comes out. Proverbs 10:19 says, “When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent.” We can also turn to Proverbs 17:27 where it says, “Whoever restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.” The bible has many more passages about holding our tongues. Wisdom is listening first and thinking before you speak. To be wise, one must listen to God’s word and “put away all filthiness”, as Colossians 3:8 says, “But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander and obscene talk from your mouth.” James is chiding the reader and actually says these things are present in the reader’s lives when he says, “the evil that is prevalent”, or as the ESV puts it, “rampant wickedness”. In other words, evil is widespread and powerful where the readers are. It is accepted and practiced, even in the church.

What can they do about it? James says to “humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.” We are not to “merely listen to the word”, but also, to do what it says. Jesus says, in Matthew 7:21, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” James echoes this teaching and compares the one who does not enact the word to “a man who looks at his face in the mirror, and after looking at himself goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.” (1 James 1:23). You must retain what you see and act on it. To forget what God has revealed to us in His word is as ridiculous as forgetting what you look like when you walk away from a mirror. 

James tells us that freedom from sin is found by looking into the perfect law. The law was given in God’s word and fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Only in that knowledge, and in obedience to it will Christians find the pure joy James talked about in verse two. No longer as slaves to sin but freed through Christ. 

James goes on to bring us back to what we do, not only with our tongues but also what we do with our bodies. He wants us to not only look at what we hear and say but also what we do with our lives. As earlier mentioned, our actions and words must be a reflection of what Jesus has taught us. In Matthew 7:24-27 Jesus says, “therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the wind blew and beat against that house, yet it did not fall, because it had its foundations on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

If you consider yourself to be Christian but it is not reflected in what you say and do, then you are lying to yourself. James, yet again, reminds us of Jesus teaching when he says, “Religion that God accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress.” (1 James 1:27a). Jesus taught us to take care of others when He said, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger, and you invited me in, I needed clothes, and you clothed me, I was sick, and you looked after me, I was in prison, and you came to visit me…” “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” (Matthew 25:34-36, 40).

Finally, James tells us to keep ourselves from being polluted by the world. Again, what you take in affects what you do. If you allow the world to influence you, you will rebel and alienate yourself from God. Instead, as we learned about in the first half of the chapter, we should seek Godly wisdom and trust in God’s word, that He will grant you wisdom. How gracious is our God! He doesn’t leave us floundering in our sin, but gives us clear direction on how to live our lives in the light of His word.

1. Often in life we can get angry about little things that may frustrate us, how do you deal with this anger? Is the thing your mad at really worth your anger? Do you lash out or hold your tongue?

2. Where in the Bible does it talk about holding our tongues? Can you find any passages that speak about wisdom in silence?

3. Think about the things you watch and listen to in your daily life. Are these things Christ would approve of? If Christ came back in those moments would you be ashamed? 

4. What can you do to put your faith in action? Are there people in your life that you should or could be helping out? 

5. Can you see how the things you listen to, the people you hang around and the things you watch can impact your life? Do you see yourself reflecting the Word of God or the words of man?