Randall Caselman
Bella Vista Church of Christ
April 1, 2001 a.m.
Righteousness God Desires
Scripture Reading - James 1.19-27
Our lesson this morning comes from the Book of James.
We believe that... James who wrote this book, was the half-brother of Jesus. Early on in Jesus' ministry, James thought Jesus insane and that He certainly was not the promised Messiah... But James was converted... James spent no time writing his observations of Jesus' childhood or personal ministry... He never described his own conversion. He went straight to the point of telling us how to live... How to attain to the righteousness that God desires in our daily walk.
The book of James has its heart in heaven... But its feet firmly planted on the ground. Martin Luther even questioned whether the Book of James was even inspired... Because of James' emphasis on the practical doing of Christianity, rather than on doctrine and theology. The book of James is wisdom literature that is practical and useful in everyday life.
I believe it is evident that James is writing to the early church scattered among the nations. Fifteen times in the five chapters we find the phrase... My brothers. For instance, the second chapter begins... My brothers, as believers in Jesus.
You see... the book of James is an example of how the early church...
Believed in...
Used...,and
Applied
The word of Jesus to their daily walk.
With these thoughts in mind... Let’s explore what James has to say to us about maintaining the practical righteousness God desires OF US.
First... James admonishes us to control our emotions... Be slow to anger.
My dear brothers, take note of this... Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.
Church... An example of what James is talking about in these verses can be seen in Exodus chapter two... Where Moses doesn’t take time to listen and react with wisdom... But in impulsive anger he kills a man.
I believe that we can really understand how God feels about quick anger and rash behavior from other Bible passages... Listen to these verses from the wise man Solomon..
Ecclesiastes 7.9... Do not get upset quickly... For anger resides in the lap of fools.
Proverbs 29.20... There is more hope for a fool than for a man who speaks in haste.
Proverbs 13.3... He who guards his lips guards his life, but he who speaks rashly will
come to ruin.
Well... What’s wrong with anger?... Why is it something that God does not desire in us?
Allow me to give you three reasons...
First... It leads to rash behavior... It did in the life of Moses.
Folk... If we allow anger to go uncontrolled... Unchecked... It will always result in behavior that we will regret. No wonder... No wonder... Paul stated emphatically... Do not let the sun go down on your wrath.
Secondly... Anger is incompatible with the teaching of Jesus... Listen to what He says in the Sermon on the Mount... You have heard that it was said... Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.... But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment.... You have heard that it was said, Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.... But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.”
Number thee... Anger usurps the role of God as Judge and vindicator. Paul makes the point clear in Romans chapter 12... Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord.
This same James indicates that we should wait on the Lord to vindicate in 5.7-9... Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord's coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm... Don't grumble against each other, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!
Controlling our anger is tough.. Isn’t it?... But wisdom is found in not speaking and acting rashly in the face of anger. Allowing anger to turn to hate is not the kind of righteousness God desires in our lives.
Next... God desires that we become doers of the word and not hearers only. Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. As I read these verses again this week... I asked myself... What does James mean when he says: We can listen in a way to deceive ourselves?
First... We can deceive ourselves if we think that knowledge saves us... It doesn’t!! Some of us get a feeling of self-satisfaction when we study or listen to a sermon. We think... There is nothing more for us to do except... To bask in truth. I believe this is the very reason Paul wrote that... KNOWLEDGE PUFFS UP. Some of us are puffed up because we KNOW TRUTH... And we can quote truth.
Folk... It is not enough to KNOW truth... We must walk in it... We must obey it.
Knowing and not obeying it is self-deception.
What we need in the church today is not just more knowledge... But more doing.
We need act upon the truth we already know... RIGHT?
Secondly... We deceive ourselves if we think that faith alone will save us. Knowing truth... Understanding truth... and believing truth is not the righteousness that God desires in us.
His righteousness includes obedience... Listen to James from chapter two...
What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead... You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that--and shudder... Do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together... And his faith was made complete by what he did... A person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone... Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.
Remember Fonzie on Happy Days?... He would look at himself in the mirror... grab a comb... and then decided that he looked perfect and didn't need to comb his hair.
Do we come to the scriptures with this kind of attitude? Does it make us arrogant... Or is it making a daily difference in our lives? The man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it--he will be blessed in what he does.
Thirdly... Genuine... God-desired righteousness is learning to control our tongue.
One of the telltale signs of a Christian is a clean mouth.
The sins of the tongue are the most obvious!
Lying...
Gossip...
Backbiting...
Carping...
Criticizing...
Filthy language... Be it cursing or off-colored stories.
Tell those around us who and whose we are... And quickly!!
Years ago... I remember going into the barber shop in downtown Bentonville. When I walked in... If Mr. Sam was there... He would always say... Come in preacher and take a seat. As far as I know he never knew my name. He just knew me as a preacher. One afternoon when the four of us were alone, one of the barbers asked Sam why he called me preacher whenever I arrived... He said... “To clean up the language in this place.” The point being... We all know that our tongue tells others if we are serving God’s righteousness or Satan’s will... RIGHT?
Well... How can we learn to control our tongue?
First and foremost... Pray about it. Ask God specifically to help rein in our tongue. God will Convict us... Assist us... Prompt us... Strengthen us.... to practice the righteousness He desires.
Secondly... Confess our sins to God and to those we have hurt. Give our tongue sins to God... Ask Him to forgive... And He will.
Then... And this is important... Accept His forgiveness.
I know a lot of people who have done great damage to family, friends, and the church with their tongue... And they have confessed and asked forgiveness... But haven’t accepted the forgiveness that God grants. Church... Don’t suffer under guilt that God has already absolved.
Thirdly... Repent!!.... And witness more.
Remember repentance means we stop our ugly talking and start talking about good things... Beautiful things... Encouraging things... Righteous things.
Speak of Jesus... And your faith in Him.
Thank God for His blessings in the presence of others.
Find something good to say about others... Or don’t say anything at all.
Stop criticizing, and start praising.
Let the testimony of Jesus fill your heart and there will not be enough
room to curse and complain.
In chapters three, four and five... James says... Don't grumble against each other... Don’t slander one another... For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a mature... disciplined man, able to keep his whole body in check... The tongue is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell... With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. James is saying... A corrupt tongue is not the righteousness God desires from His children.
Next... James says that God desires we be benevolent servants.
Of all the needy people in the world... Why did James choose the widow and orphan as the object of pure religion?... Of the righteousness God desires?
Because they had absolutely nothing they could do for the giver.
Helping a widow... Lending a hand to a child without a family... has no monetary benefit.
There are no physical returns on these acts of kindness.
Folks... Helping the widows and orphans was pure religion... Because...You see... No other motive was possible.
Jesus practiced this kind of pure religion during his ministry...
Jesus helped the helpless... The folks who could not return His kindness.
Jesus healed the demon possessed... These folks were outcasts in their society.
He healed the lepers... Those others wouldn't even touch.
Paralytics were healed... The blind had their sight restored... The dead raised.
He had time for little children... To play with them... Bless them... Talk to them.
If a person was helpless in this world... Jesus cared and did something for them.
Jesus’ acts of service to others were unconditional... Without strings attached. I think this was what Paul had in mind when he wrote... Do not be proud... Do not be conceited... But be willing to associate with people of low position. Our religion has a lot to do with how we treat others who need us. You see... How we treat others is how we treat Jesus... As oft as you do it unto the least of these... You have done it unto Me.
Then finally this morning... God desires we live pure and Holy lives. Keeping ourselves unspotted... unstained... from the world. Look back to verse 21... Get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent. James is saying... Practical righteousness is... Is saying NO to things like:
Sexual immorality...
Greed...
Hate...
Anger...
Jealousy...
Pride...
Ambition..., and
Selfishness.
Listen as James tells us where this kind of evil behavior comes from... Each one of you is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed... Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death... You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred towards God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.
Church... Do we understand this morning that God has called us.... and expects us to live above the world... You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light... Love not the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
Question!!!... Will we allow this world to squeeze us into its mold... or will we conform to the righteousness He desires?
Mark Moring tells how he and his wife had been trying to get their son Pete to behave better. Each day they began with a blank index card... On it they would draw smiley faces if he did good... Or frowning faces to indicate unacceptable behavior. At the end of the day, they would add up the smiles and subtract the frowns. If there were more smiles than frowns, he got a reward. One day... Pete decided to do something about the frowns on his card. So.. He took it to the bathroom and tried to wash the frowns away. His parents heard the faucet running and Pete crying... The frowns would not go away. Mark and his wife took the opportunity to talk about God's forgiveness. How God could wash the frowns away.
That day God's grace had a face, a smiling face. Today, God's grace has a face: Our salvation is in a person... Jesus. His blood drenched on the cross. This was so powerful that John wrote... Blessed are those who robes are washed white in the blood of the Lamb.
If you are here this morning and not a child of God... You can become one by washing your sins away in the act of New Testament baptism... Immersion in water for the forgiveness of all your sins.
Perhaps you have stumbled in your Christian walk... Perhaps you haven’t been conforming to the righteousness God desires.
Repent... Change your life... God will forgive you... Accept you.
The invitation is yours as we stand and sing this invitation song.
Will you come!!
