LET
THE WORD TAKE
JAMES1:19-22
19 My
dear brothers and sisters, take
note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20 because
human anger does
not produce the righteousness that God desires. 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.22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so
deceive yourselves. Do what it says.
Read verses
19-20. Write down the warning that James’ is telling to the church or to his
readers.
To be quick to
listen, slow to speak and slow to be angry.
Why does James
warn us
TO KEEP OUR ANGER IN CHECK? (Reread vs. 19-20)
James wants us to be slow to
be angry because he knows that anger does not show the righteous life that God
desires us to have.
James is telling us
that nothing good happens when we let our anger get the best of us. Unchecked
anger results in heated words that can cause severe and painful damage. In this
instance, the word righteousness carries the idea of what is right or what
brings justice. When you and I are quick to get angry, we decide that the other
person is wrong, guilty, or at fault, which often leads us to treat that person
in a way that isn’t right or fair.
We are all guilty of
losing our temper and being slow to listen, quick to speak, and very quick to
get mad. Think about this: Would James have told his readers to pay attention
to his word about anger if they were all really good at keeping their anger
under control? Probably he wouldn’t have.
How does James connect the
lesson about LISTENING AND ACTING on God’s Word with what we are talking about
now CONTROLLING OUR ANGER?
(READ James 1:20-21) Complete
the thought below to get a clearer picture.
WHAT TO GET RID OF: moral filth and evil
REASON TO LOSE THE: this doesn’t reflect a righteous life
WHAT TO RECEIVE: Word (scripture)
REASON TO RECEIVE IT: saves us
In verse 21, why did James use
the word prevalent to explain moral filth and evil?
Dictionary: Prevalent -
powerful; generally or widely practiced.
Because all men have evil
desires in them and they are prone to practice them.
Why did he use the word humbly
and planted?
God graciously gave us the word.
His Word is the only way that can save His sinful and helpless creation.
In verse 21, James descried what
it is like when God’s word doesn’t take root in someone’s life. He used the
word “moral filth” and “evil excess”. The message, describes a word-less life
as “spoiled virtue” and “cancerous evil” that should be thrown away like
trash. In other words: a life without
God’s Word isn’t a pretty existence. The Word that isn’t rooted in a man’s life
leads to evil actions.
The Word saves us. It saves is
like a man rescued from a fire, a girl air-lifted out of a flood, a woman
healed of an incurable disease or , a child freed from kidnappers. The heart of
the problem though isn’t fire, flood, disease or a person. It is “sin”. We are
saved from sin and being saved means being brought into the kingdom of God.
How can the Word save us?
The Word that James is talking
about is the Scripture that came from God. In God’s Word we read about the
birth, life, death and resurrection of Christ and its significance in human
history. It tells us the story of redemption, the story of how you and I can be
rescued, healed and freed.
Why is it important to be doers
of the Word? (vs. 21-22)
Unless the Word takes root in our lives and we
act on it, we will never be saved.
We will be deceiving ourselves
into thinking that we are O.K. without Christ; when the truth is that He is
everything.
Read verses in 1John 3:1-8.
Being with Christ is freedom and without Christ is death. John also teaches us
how to be like and being the “children of God”.
John also tells us that God
desires what is best for us. He wants us to live like His Son, Jesus Christ.
God wants us to be His children that are pure and blameless. This is why He
gave us the perfect law and the Holy Spirit to understand His word and to be
lead by Him (vs.4-6). Children of God are ought to sin no more but we all know
that we can’t be perfect by our own works this is why He sent His Son to die
for us and to redeem us from the punishment of our sins (v. 8).
DEEP ROOTS:
James understood that it is not
enough just to read the Bible like you read the morning newspaper or the latest
book. God’s Word needs to take root in our lives. It needs to find a humble (v.
21), receptive, willing and open heart.
Our lesson connects to one of
Jesus’ parable in the book of Luke.
Luke 8:4-8, 11-15 -The Parable
of the Sower
God teaches us four different
soils representing a person’s receptiveness to God’s Word.
1st-a
path like heart: a person
who heard the word and lets the devil come and take away the word from his
word so that they may not believe and be saved.
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2nd-
a rocky heart: a person who
received the word with Joy when he heard it, but he has no root. He believes
for a while but in time of testing he falls away.
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3rd-
a throne-infested heart: a
person who hears the word but as he goes on his way. He gets choked by life’s
worries, riches and pleasures and they don’t mature.
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4th-
a good(open) heart: a
person who hears the word, retains it and by persevering procedure a crop
(good fruit).
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What are you doing with the seed
planted in you? Think about Jesus’
parable and evaluate how your life is with or without Jesus.
Are you going to throw away the
good soil of your life?
Choose to be a tree that uses
its roots to hold tight into the source of life (good soil which is the Word).
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