Let me pray for us before we open that passage.
Father God, we want to thank you for your word,
and we want to ask that right now, as we have heard,
that we would be not mere hearers but doers.
We ask that you may enable us to be people who accurately reflect
the life that you have purchased for us with the blood of Jesus.
Amen.
One of the great struggles for those who call themselves a Christian
is that everyone thinks they know how Christians are supposed to live.
I'm sure that you have heard the phrase,
I thought you were a Christian,
or I thought Christians weren't supposed to smoke, drink, get tattoos, be fun,
stay up after 9.30, those sorts of things.
Even here in the car park, when we ask cars who are not here for anything to do with us
to park elsewhere during the week,
there is often abuse along the lines of,
I thought you guys were supposed to be Christian.
I'm not sure what that has to do with parking,
but they are sure.
And the sad reality is, even though the car park might not be a good example,
more often than not, when you hear a comment like that,
the critique is correct.
So many people who wear the badge Christian live lives that look nothing like what the Bible says.
And that's why so many people refuse to even hear the message of the Gospel.
Hypocrisy is one of the biggest barriers when it comes to telling people about Jesus.
I'm yet to meet a non-Christian who doesn't like Jesus.
I mean, he's loving, he's forgiving, he's generous, he's compassionate, he's powerful, he's great.
He'd be the perfect person to have in anyone's life.
But it's Christians.
And it's hypocritical lives that turn people off.
And so we need to address the gap between what we say we believe and how we live
if we're going to have any credibility in calling other people to follow Jesus.
But in fact, hypocrisy causes an even bigger issue.
An issue that strikes closer.
Where there is hypocrisy,
where there's inconsistency between the words that we speak or the faith that we profess
and the life that we live and the actions that we do and the way that we speak,
it's not just the world out there that is questioning the validity of what we believe.
It should make us stop and ask searching questions of ourselves.
About just how genuine our faith really is.
But the challenge is that nobody sets out to be a hypocrite.
Nobody's goal is to say their one thing and then do the other thing.
At the heart of hypocrisy is self-deception.
At the heart of that gap of the way that we live and the way that we speak
is a self-deception that's convinced itself
that actually we're living exactly how we claim to.
It's a self-deception that has convinced ourselves that we are hitting the mark,
that we are ticking the box.
But unfortunately, when there is hypocrisy,
when there's a gap between belief and action,
between faith and life,
there is deception.
Verse 22.
Do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves.
Do what it says.
James is writing to early Christians
who have been scattered all throughout the world then in different corners.
They have different trials.
They have different temptations.
They're struggling as a religious minority.
And he wants to put a spotlight on them,
particularly those who claim to be Christians,
claim to be followers of Jesus,
but look nothing like it.
And the struggle is that this self-deception is hard to see
because we're deceived.
It's self-deception.
We're blinded to what we're really like
and instead we float along in this sort of false confidence.
See, verse 22 assumes that there's a level of engagement
because they're listening to the word.
The problem isn't that they're not listening.
The problem is that they're just listening.
This whole letter of James is written to Christian churches,
written to people who would have identified as followers of Jesus,
written to people who probably gathered to study the Bible
like we are now.
Maybe had study groups during the week.
Maybe did their quiet times.
Maybe even memorized verses.
And yet, because the churches then and now
had a reputation and have a reputation for hypocrisy,
James feels the need to warn them,
and us,
don't be deceived.
And he gives us two measures so that we can check
just how genuine we are.
So that we can check whether or not there is a gap
that we've lost sight of or ignored.
Two safeguards so that we can check
and not waste our energy
in a life of deluded hypocrisy.
Verse 22.
Do not merely listen to the word
and so deceive yourselves.
Do what it says.
First safeguard,
listen to the word.
Second,
do what it says.
It's tempting to skip over the first one.
Like that's the easy one of the two.
But it's still essential.
The verse says,
don't merely listen to the word.
Meaning you have to be at least listening to it.
I mean,
I know listening to it's not enough,
but if you're not listening,
then you have no hope of doing it.
Because you would not know
what it is that is required of you.
And it's not as easy as it sounds.
Listening is actually a lost art for many of us.
Not just when it comes to God and the Bible,
but with anyone.
Have you noticed that most of our conversations,
if we're really honest,
are not two people engaging with one another.
They're two people taking it in turns,
saying what they want to say.
We don't sit and carefully listen to one another.
We wait for our turn.
We're distracted,
focusing on what words it is that we will speak next.
Just last week,
we had Are You Okay Day.
It's a day designed to encourage people
to ask one another how we're doing.
In the hopes that those struggling
with feelings of hopelessness and suicide
might be cared for.
The very fact that we need a day
to force us to have those conversations
and ask those questions
says that we have lost the art of listening.
Says that we're much more interested
in what we have to say or what we think
rather than those around us.
It's not a new thing.
James challenges the Christians
in the first century as well.
Verse 19.
My dear brothers,
take note of this.
Every one of you 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.
See, our inability to listen well
inhibits us in our relationships
with one another.
It reflects pride.
It reflects self-absorption
that exists in all of us.
And that pride draws us away
from the life that God desires for us.
From the life that God has designed for us.
A life lived self-seeking like that
lacks the capacity,
lacks the power to produce
the kind of life that God has designed.
And so we need another way.
And in verse 21 we find it.
Therefore,
given that, you know,
looking after ourselves,
worrying about ourselves,
speaking first,
listening second,
being quick to react,
given that that doesn't work,
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.
That pride that shapes so much
of how we relate to one another
is not just a slight deviation
from God's design.
It's not just a sort of slight challenge
to what God has for us.
It's opposition to it.
It's moral filth.
Just like you can't have a relationship
with a friend or spouse
if you don't listen,
you can't expect to have one with God
if you don't listen either.
This passage has really strong echoes
of Jesus' teaching in Matthew chapter 7
where Jesus speaks about the wise
and the foolish builder
and people come to him
who have done miracles,
who have preached sermons,
who have driven out demons
and they are sent away
because God says,
I never knew you.
The Bible and the story of Jesus
is a relational word.
It's designed to help us get to know God.
And so if we come to it with a pride
where our first response is to speak
instead of listen,
we will be incapable
of having the relationship
that God wants.
The Bible is not some opinion column
in the paper.
It's not the wise musings
of some gurus.
It's God's word.
It's the creator
speaking to creatures.
And so we must listen
with humility.
This word has power.
Did you notice it gets a few different names
in these verses?
Listen to how it's described.
Go back one verse to verse 18.
It says,
He chose to give us birth
through the word of truth.
God's word has the power
to give life.
Or verse 21 again,
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.
God's word can save.
Verse 25,
The man who looks intently
into the perfect law
that gives freedom.
God's word gives life,
can save and gives freedom.
It is the word of truth.
It is unchanging.
It is reality defining.
By it,
we understand everything else
in existence.
We must listen to it.
And not just waiting to respond
and say what we think
or speak,
but hanging on
every life-giving word,
eager for this to be the thing
that defines who we are,
what we care about.
And so you need to ask yourself
the question,
are you putting yourself
in situations
where you can listen
to the word of God?
Are you making the most
of the opportunities
that God is placing
in front of you now?
Are you preparing well
for church when we gather?
Are you making sure
you get a good night's sleep?
Are you asking God
to take away the things
in your mind
that you know
will distract you
or make you anxious?
Are you sitting
in a good spot here
where you know
you can concentrate best?
Are you eager
to take notes?
Are you blocking out
time to read the Bible
for yourself?
Or is it just
one of many voices
that you're just
looking for a gap in
so that you can let us
know what you think
or how you see things?
verse 22
Do not merely listen
to the word
and so deceive yourselves.
Do what it says.
Don't be deceived.
Listen
to the word.
Don't merely listen
but listen
so that you can do
what it says.
One of the great
strengths for our church
is that we are
Bible people.
We love the Bible.
Darren's already
alluded to the fact
that here in Australia
and here in Sydney
especially
there is a saturation
of good Bible teachers
and good Bible teaching.
People who love
God's word
and seek to proclaim
it faithfully.
We love to read
the Bible.
We love to sing
bits of scripture
in our songs.
We love to declare
it in our creeds.
We love to preach
from it.
We do Bible studies
around it.
We learn memory verses.
But does all of that
make any difference
to the way that you
speak
or think
or act
or feel?
Imagine a scenario
in my house
with me
and my son Bailey.
I've just
put him to bed
and I've explained
that he has to
stay in his room
and go to sleep.
I've wandered out
to watch TV
for my moment
of solitude
in the day
and a few minutes
later he reappears
working his cheeky grin.
He always comes out
and asks a question
like he doesn't know.
Oh, what are you doing?
And leans around
and starts watching TV.
Oh, it's the TV.
What's on TV?
And then sort of
works his way
to sit on the lounge.
So I say,
Bailey,
go back to your room,
get into bed
and stay there.
He continues
to watch TV
so thinking
that he wasn't listening
I say,
Bailey,
go back to your room,
get in bed
and stay there.
He looks at me.
Here's the seriousness
of my tone.
He says,
okay,
and wanders off,
stamping as loud
as he can
to wake Hudson up.
Now,
a little while later,
imagine I wander
down the hallway
to get something
out of my room
and I find Bailey
sitting in the hallway
reading books.
I'd be like,
Bailey,
didn't you listen to me?
Imagine if he was
to look up to me
and say,
yeah, dad,
I listened
and I've been
thinking about
what you said,
really studying it
and I think
that you were
talking about
me staying in my bed
and going to sleep.
In fact,
I think I've
memorised what you said.
I think you said,
Bailey,
go back to your room,
get in bed
and stay there.
You can imagine
how the rest
of the conversation
might go from my side.
That kind of listening
isn't okay
in any sphere
of our life.
That kind of listening
won't cut it
with your boss
when they give you
instructions.
In fact,
it completely defeats
the purpose
for me speaking
those words.
My goal wasn't
that Bailey knew
what I said.
my goal was
that Bailey did
what I said.
And yet,
often that's the way
we listen
to God's word.
We think about it,
we study it,
we have study groups
for it.
We write in our journals,
maybe we even
memorise it.
But does it
make any difference?
I've sat
in Bible studies
with people
who when confronted
with parts of the Bible
that were uncomfortable
or challenging,
maybe bits that
demanded some change
or some sacrifice,
and so those bits
were completely
pushed aside
and rejected.
And the issue
wasn't that they
thought the Bible
was saying something else,
it's that they
just didn't care.
we're happy
to read it
and understand it,
but the gap
is in our obedience.
In effect,
they were saying,
I've listened,
I know what you said,
but I disagree.
Maybe it's more subtle
than that for some of us.
We read what the Bible
says,
we agree with what it says,
but we either wrongly
think it doesn't
apply to us,
you know the classic,
I really hope that person's
listening today
because this is a message
for them.
If they want to be
as godly and humble
as me,
they've got some things
they need to adjust.
Or,
maybe we feel
that little twinge
of guilt,
we hear that little
challenge or rebuke,
but then we walk away
and do nothing.
verse 23 says,
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.
Now,
I don't know many
people who enjoy
looking at themselves
in the mirror.
Actually,
that's not entirely true.
Just about everyone
at the gym I go to
enjoys checking
themselves at the mirror.
But there are
a lot of people
for whom
a mirror
can be very
uncomfortable.
Because a mirror
shows all the bits
that you probably
spend time
trying to hide
or disguise
or trick yourself
into thinking
aren't there.
And so,
if you don't like
what you see
when you look
in the mirror,
it makes sense
that you probably
won't look that often
and even if you do,
you probably won't
work too hard
to remember
what you saw.
It's much
more pleasant
to delude
yourself into
thinking you
look how you
want to look.
So forget
about the rough
edges.
But pleasant
or not,
it's not
reality.
Looking in
the mirror
of God's
word will
at times
make you
uncomfortable.
It will
challenge you.
It will
demand things
from you.
It will
show you
parts of your
life and
parts of your
character that
are deeply
offensive to
God.
But pretending
that's not how
it is,
isn't going to
help you.
The point
of a mirror
is to see
what's there
so that you
can make
adjustments.
If I get up
in the morning
and I'm
looking in the
mirror and I'm
styling my
hair,
bit of product
in it,
little twist
here,
little pat
there,
if when I
look in the
mirror I'm
not happy
with what I
see,
I make
adjustments.
I deal
with the
little
alfalfa
that's
going on
at the
back.
I put it
where I was
trying to
put it so
it looks
how I
want it
to look.
I'm not
walking out
the door
looking
ridiculous.
The solution
isn't to
avoid the
mirror because
it makes me
uncomfortable,
it's to
deal with
what the
mirror shows
me.
And yet
again,
when it
comes to
our character,
when the
Bible shows
us the gap
between how
we're living
and what
we claim
to believe,
often our
first reaction
is to
pretend we
didn't see
it.
To trick
ourselves into
thinking that
we're actually
better than
we are.
We shrug
our shoulders
and we
live in
self-delusion
rather than
fixing the
issue.
To not do
what Scripture
calls you to
do, to not
obey what
you hear,
is to waste
the opportunity
given to you
by God.
The opportunity
to be changed,
to grow,
to be better
and even
to be blessed.
Did you
catch that
in verse 25?
Look there
with me now.
In contrast
to the
deluded,
forgetful
man,
religion that,
sorry,
verse 25,
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.
The opposite
of looking
and forgetting
is continuing,
not forgetting,
doing,
grabbing hold
of the opportunity
presented by
the chance to
see the bits
that need
work.
I mean,
did you notice
what the mirror
became there?
This is an
opposing analogy.
These verses
are connected
but in one
half,
a man looks
into a mirror.
But in
verse 25,
a man looks
into the
perfect law
that gives
freedom.
The word of
God is so
much more
than rules.
It does so
much more
than show us
the standard
that God
has set
that we
are not
making.
It shows
us Jesus.
It shows
us a
saviour.
It is only
perfect and
it only brings
freedom because
of Jesus.
Jesus.
Jesus
himself says,
I came
to fulfil
the law.
When Jesus
comes to
earth,
he's
perfect,
perfectly
obedient in
every way,
in every
opportunity.
He obeys his
heavenly father,
even to the
point of
dying.
And then
when he
dies,
he dies as
a substitute
for every
person who's
failed to do
that in their
lives.
He dies to
offer forgiveness.
He dies to
pay debt.
He offers to
take shame
and guilt.
He offers to
take away that
moral filth and
that evil that
we need to
get rid of.
This is why
it's the
word that
saves.
Because it's
the word about
Jesus.
It's the word
about the one
who forgives
sinful people,
who loves
those who
don't deserve
it, who
exchanges his
life for our
life so that
we can be
acceptable to
God.
Jesus
satisfies the
law.
He perfects
it.
He transforms
it.
And then
he redeploys
it in our
lives.
Now the
mirror has
become a
map.
Before it
was uncomfortable,
but now it
shows us where
we are.
It shows us the
destination that
God has
prepared for
his people.
Last week
James showed
us in
James 1
and verse
4 about
the goal of
being mature
and complete
and not
lacking
anything.
The mirror
is now a
map that
shows us our
inadequacies and
failures,
shows us the
finish line,
but also
shows us in
Jesus how we
might get to
that finish
line.
And shows us
how we might
have as much
blessing as
possible every
step of the
way and
every day
between now
and then.
It's not
something to be
scared of or
intimidated by.
It's God's
guide on how
you might be
most blessed
in the life
that he's
given you.
It's not about
guilt anymore
because Jesus
has dealt with
that by dying
for guilty
people.
God's word
is about
pouring as
much blessing
as can
possibly be
squashed into
your life.
Will we still
get corrected
and rebuked
and challenged?
Will there
still be huge
sacrifices and
changes that are
demanded of us?
Will we still
feel guilty
sometimes when
we read it or
listen to sermons?
Yes.
But what's
different now
because of
Jesus is
what we do
with that
guilt.
I remember
my first job
quite distinctly.
I worked at
Kentucky Fried
Chicken.
It was my
dream job
after working
in a video
store because I
didn't think you
had to do
anything in a
video store.
But working
at KFC was
also a dream
job because I
figured you
could eat as
much chicken
as you wanted.
That was a
half-truth.
But it was
still a fun
job.
But I remember
working in there
I actually had a
lot to learn.
I was 15 and
so I'd never had
any other job
before trying to
figure out that I
had to wear my
uniform correctly
because I hadn't
learnt that in the
first however many
years of school.
So I had to wear
my uniform correctly.
I had to be there
on time.
I had to stay
until the right
time.
I had to keep
myself busy.
I had to always
be doing whatever
they asked me.
And so there was
kind of this fear
that drives you in
your job.
I need to tick the
boxes required of me
otherwise my boss
is going to turn
around and say
you're cut.
You're fired.
You're sacked.
I can get a
different 15 year
old who can do
your job.
And so when you're
at work there is
this motivation for
you to do what is
required of you.
And that is if you
don't do it you're
gone.
You're fired.
That's it.
Game over.
However growing up
living in my family
there was a different
motivation to do what
was required of me.
It wasn't that if I
didn't do it I was
cut.
That's not how
families work.
What do they say?
You can choose your
friends but you can't
choose your family.
You're stuck together.
And so I obeyed
secure that obey or
not obey I'm still
going to be my
parents' son but also
confident that
ultimately they loved
me even if I
disagreed with what
they thought was best
for me.
I obeyed from a
place of security
not hoping to meet a
standard not hoping to
get something back from
them as a result.
Doing the word
obeying God's word
isn't about being
perfect.
It's not about
achieving a level so
that God might think
you're great or might
love you more.
It's about being
honest.
Obeying the word
about Jesus means
seeing in the map and
recognizing that you're
not good enough.
It means trusting him
to fix the issue.
Trusting that his
forgiveness is
sufficient.
Trusting that no
failure is too big for
his love to cover it.
And then secure in his
love chasing with every
bit of energy the
blessing that he has
designed in obeying
him.
In making the hard
choices.
In sacrificing.
In changing.
True hypocrisy
comes when we delude
ourselves into thinking
that we've made it.
When we start convincing
ourselves that there are
no faults or adjustments
required and instead are
very quick to point out the
adjustments required in
others.
It's a delusion that we
have invented because we
want to be secure.
But the security that God's
word offers is far better.
At the beginning we talked
briefly about how the world
around us is quick to let us
know when there's a gap
between what we claim to
believe and the way that we
live.
The issue isn't that we're
not perfect.
That's not the expectation in
God's word.
It's not even the expectation
in the world.
The issue is that we claim to
be perfect.
Whereas God's word tells us
over and over we are far from
it.
The issue is that we put a
standard here and then live
here.
When in actual fact this is all
God's word requires from us.
That we would be distinct.
That we would be different.
That we would stand out.
But not that we would be
perfect.
That's a work that God is
doing in us.
That's a job that won't be
finished until Jesus comes
back or we get called home.
And so what it means to have
integrity.
To be genuine.
To be authentic.
Is to actually say what the
Bible says.
I'm not there yet.
I'm still sinful.
What it means is to have the
humility talked about in verse
21 where our starting point
when we open the Bible is I
know there's something that
needs to change even if I'm not
sure what it is yet.
To be so secure in God's
love that it's okay.
In fact it's even exciting to
admit mistake.
Because that's the step towards
the growth that God wants to
bring.
That's the step towards the
blessing that God has designed
for us.
Authentic faith is so secure in
what Jesus has done and in the
unconditional love of God that
it is honest and real about
failure.
And it delights to confess sin.
Even publicly.
Because that just shows how
amazing Jesus is.
But none of this lets us off
the hook.
The end point is not sweet.
All I've got to do is admit that
I'm not good enough and I can
relax a bit.
The word still does demand
change.
It does demand that we are
distinct from the world.
It does show us what God wants.
It does expect us to be on a
journey towards that perfection
that God is working in us.
And if anything the freedom that
we have because of Jesus, the
security we have in his love
should increase our urgency.
Should grow our desire to obey
because it's not something we're not
being chased with a naughty stick
anymore.
God has laid out in front of us the
promise of blessing and motivated
us to pursue obedience because of
his goodness.
Verse 26 gives us a scary warning.
If anyone considers himself
religious and yet does not keep a
tight rein on his tongue, he
deceives himself and his religion is
worthless.
There is still the warning here from
James having pointed us to Jesus
that if we claim one thing and live
differently, we run the risk of having
a worthless religion.
But 27, religion that God our
Father accepts as pure and faultless
is this, to look after orphans and
widows in their distress and to keep
oneself from being polluted by the
world.
Three quick opportunities to put into
practice what James has challenged us
on.
Our conversations, our compassion and
our character.
It's not an exhaustive list.
This is not everything that it is to be
a Christian but I'm sure it's a
sufficient amount to make us feel
uncomfortable.
Do your words reflect God's design for
them?
Are you encouraging?
Are your words life-giving?
Or is your mouth full of gossip and
slander and coarseness?
Second one, are you actively engaged in
caring for those who are less fortunate,
those in need?
How do you respond to pictures of a
three-year-old Syrian boy washed up on a
beach?
And third, can your friends and family and
colleagues and neighbours see something
different in you compared to those
around you?
Or have you been diluted with the world
that you live in?
Are you just like everyone else?
Now we're going to unpack those three
things more as we go through this
series.
But if just those couple of verses, just
those three examples have made you
uncomfortable or made you see something
that you know needs to change, don't
just listen.
Do what it says.
Confess your failure.
Admit your inadequacy.
And trust Jesus to forgive you.
Trust him to be the one who will work in
you to change you.
And secure in his perfect love, work with
everything you've got to try and live in
the blessing of obedience to his word.
Hear this, verse 22 again.
Do not merely listen to the word and so
deceive yourselves.
Do what it says.
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.
Amen.
.
A
.