Faith - Just Do It

Faith – Just Do It
James 1:18-26
September 29, 2024 

The majority of Bible scholars believe James was written by James, the half-brother of Jesus.  But you say he did not believe Jesus was the Messiah nor follow after Jesus during his time on earth. But the book shows a familiarity about Jesus from our author, so the consensus is His half-brother, James wrote it.

     Can you imagine having Jesus as your big brother? How much pressure was that?

     When James had problems or got into trouble, can’t you imagine his mother saying, “Why can’t you be more like Jesus?”

     Or he would go to his parents with his problems and they would say, “Well what would Jesus do?” Or what about that bracelet they gave him that said WWJD?

     Anger, selfishness, road rage, you name it – when someone points to James bracelet and questions WWJD, James would surely say, no, wwjd.

     At one point, Jesus’s mother and brothers came to speak to Him, thinking perhaps He was out of his senses, but Jesus responded, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?” And then He looked upon them and said,

     Matthew 12:50, For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother.”

     But after witnessing the resurrection, James became, not only a believer and follower of Jesus, he became the leader of the church in Jerusalem.

     It was such a radical transformation that he launches this letter by referring to himself as a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus the Messiah.

     James isn’t writing to a particular church like Paul did in Corinthians or Galatians or Ephesians, but to the “twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad.” The church was born in Jerusalem at Pentecost and was
distinctly Jewish. But then a great persecution arose against the church there and they were dispersed abroad, taking the gospel with them.

     The theme of this letter is that faith, that is living and active, turns the life upside down, or perhaps more rightly, it turns the life right side up. Living faith affects the life of the believer so that it changes how he lives. This letter is extremely practical because it touches on things we deal with every day.

     Some have criticized this letter because they don’t like the phrase, “Faith without works is dead.” In their minds, it seems to suggest that faith and works are both required in order to be saved. But nothing could be further from the truth; what James is saying is that faith that is sincere and authentic results in a life that brings about good fruit, good works, and a changed life.

     Matthew 12:35, “The good man brings out of his good treasure what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure what is evil.

I. God Desires Our First Fruits

     v18 –  In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures.

     The concept of first fruits was distinctly
Jewish. The first portion always belonged to God. It was considered the best.

     Spiritual fruit is the result of abiding in Christ. God is serious about fruit in your life. He’s serious about wanting to transform your life, your
heart and your character.

     Jesus said, “A new commandment I give unto you.” Many people don’t like the word ‘commandment’ because, well, you hear it, it sounds so command & authoritive.

     Some like to be captain of their own lives, and God is most certainly welcome to give His suggestions and some take that into advisement. But if He is the captain and commander, then His words are certainly more than suggestions.   

     God said Israel was like a fig tree that produced no figs and should therefore be torn out by its roots. Wouldn’t you agree that seems to suggest that God is serious about fruit.

A. Let’s be quick to hear

     Someone once said that there is a reason God gave us two ears and one mouth. It isn’t your ears that get you in trouble, it’s usually your mouth.

     Have you ever said something and immediately wished you could take it back?  We talk about this in marriage counseling. Do you realize how many conflicts or hurt feelings could be avoided if couples would allow each other to say, “timeout, I didn’t mean it that way, can I say that again?”

     Another way of looking at this example is, give each other the benefit of the doubt. Show grace. Far better and more godlike than taking offense. Are you withholding forgiveness for a past offense in your marriage?  I’ve yet to receive a biblical justification for doing so.    

     Being quick to hear is part of the first fruits of faith because God is very concerned about how we treat the people around us.

     Again, in marriage, why would you not apply this piece of wisdom? There is something deeply Christlike when you truly listen and are slow to speak. When, as we say, you actively listen to one another, not listen only to respond.

     Words are powerful, they can tear down or they can build up.  Being slow to speak means to consider the impact of your words before you say them.

     Ephesians 4:29, Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.

     This is the result of just doing faith. God transforms the heart so that you speak words of life to others because God has brought life into your soul.

     Luke 6:45, “The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.”

B. Let’s be slow to anger

     Show me someone who is slow to anger, and I will show you a person who is quick to hear and slow to speak.  But then he adds, “for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.”

     If you don’t master your anger, it will surely master you.

     Proverbs 1:19, So are the ways of everyone who gains by violence; It takes away the life of its possessors.

     Proverbs 29:11, A fool always loses his temper, But a wise man holds it back.

     Everyone gets hot in the head sometimes, but blessed is the one who keeps control of it… Be slow to anger.

     Because the anger of man does not bring about the righteousness of God and that is the fruit He desires.

     The righteousness of God is seen in edifying others, in blessing them with your words; anger is the opposite, it’s about tearing them down.

     Anger is a weapon, but it’s of the flesh. Notice that it’s often the flesh that rises up first.

Illus – When someone wrongs you does your spirit say, “Bless you, brother/sister, you must be having a tough day, please throw more of that my way.” No, it’s the flesh that rises up first.

     2 Corinthians 10:3-4, For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but are divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.

II. Be Doers of the Word

     God ‘implants’ His word in our lives and it bears fruit because it is empowered by God Himself. And we must be careful how we receive it…
If you receive it with the wrong kind of heart, it bears no fruit.

     Luke 8:15, “The seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance.”

A. The word will completely change you

     In other words, the word of God shows you what kind of person you are; it also shows you what kind of person God wants you to be.

     What kind of person are you? What’s in your heart? The word of God will show you; verse by verse. It’s like a mirror that shows you what you’re
like.

     God’s Word is the ultimate measuring stick for our obedience to God.

Pastor Rich gives this Illus – Notice it says, it’s like ‘a man’ that looks in the mirror… He used a word which means “a male.” A man will only glance at a mirror, but a woman will ‘behold’ in a mirror. Women appreciate the value of a mirror more than a man. They may even have a series of mirrors they use to get started on their day.

     The ‘law of liberty’ is the word of God that sets people free from the things which poison and embitter the soul, things which hold people captive.

     John 8:31-32, 36, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free… And if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.”

     Notice that James is not saying that people should become doers by acting religious. That was what the Pharisees did and Jesus criticized them for it…

     Matthew 23:24-26, “You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel! You clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside are full of robbery and self-indulgence. You blind Pharisees, first clean the inside of the cup and the dish, so the outside may become clean also.”

Illus – Like it a parent that just picks and picks at a  child to change their behavior, but does nothing to build them up and minister love to their heart.

B. Abide in Christ and be blessed

     If you want to live the blessed life, this is a great key. God blesses the effectual doer, the one who has looked intently at the word of truth and taken it into his heart.

     2 Corinthians 3:18, But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.

     This particular word ‘religious’ is used only here in the New Testament. We could say it this way, “If anyone thinks himself to be spiritual, and
yet does not bridle his own tongue, that man’s spirituality is worth nothing.”

     In other words, it’s possible for a person to deceive himself into thinking that because he hears the word of God that he is a spiritual person, but if the word of God does not get hold of a person’s heart so that he cares for those in distress and does something about it, he has truly deceived himself, for his spirituality is worthless.

     This is in fact the word of God becoming like a mirror that causes us to look at ourselves and ask, “Am I deceiving myself into thinking that I
am spiritual, when in fact I don’t really care about those in distress? Am I so self-centered that I have no time to help others?”

     The story of the good Samaritan challenges all of us to be doers of the word and not hearers only.

     The one who looks intently at the law of liberty and abides by it and becomes an effectual doer, this man shall be blessed in whatever he does.

     Dwight L Moody said, “What the church in America needs the most is people who believe the Bible, from the crown of their heads to the soles of their feet, the parts they do understand and the parts they don’t understand”

     And as one of your Pastors, I want you to be one of those people. We want this church to be overflowing at the seams with these kind of people who believe the word of God to be truth from the crown of your heads to the soles of your feet, what you do understand and what you don’t understand.

     And don’t you worry about what your friends or relatives think of you. Don’t worry about that; you build your house on the rock, the Word of God.

     When all the dust in eternity settles, you will be glad you built your life on the eternal Word of God.