“The Book of James 1:19-21

                                    Pastor Mike Barnett

¹⁹My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, ²⁰for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. ²¹Therefore, 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. James 1:19-21

• James encourages Christians to be _______________ (quick) to __________________(listen) and ______________(slow) to ________________(speak) because God ___________________(opposes) the ___________________(proud) and ___________________(lifts) up the ___________________(humble)!

• Whereas a proud person speaks a lot, a humble person has less of a need to _______________________(control) people and circumstances through _________________(words).

• WE ARE PROUD PEOPLE – BY NATURE!

•  We are sure that we have been wronged and assume the posture of righteous anger, confident God is on our side.

• TO BE CLOSE TO GOD REQUIRES __________________________(HUMUMILITY), AND ONLY A HUMBLE PERSON IS ________________(QUICK) TO ________________(LISTEN) AND _________________(SLOW) TO _________________(SPEAK).

• When James says that we should be slow to speak, he has placed his finger on a problem that can have devastating effects.

• WE ARE URGED TO BE QUICK TO LISTEN BECAUSE PERHAPS WE CAN ______________________(LEARN) SOMETHING.

• WE ARE URGED TO BE SLOW TO SPEAK BECAUSE WE HAVE GREAT POWER TO ________________________(HURT) OTHERS WITH OUR ____________________(WORDS).

Jesus said in Matthew 5:21-25:

   ²¹"You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not murder,^[a] and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.' ²²But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother^[b]will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, 'Raca,^[c]' is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell.

    ²³"Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, ²⁴leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.

    ²⁵"Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still with him on the way, or he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. Matthew 5:21-25

• OUR WORDS REVEAL WHAT IS IN OUR ________________________(HEART).

Matthew 15:16-20 says:

 16"Are you still so dull?" Jesus asked them. 17"Don't you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? 18But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man 'unclean.' 19For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. 20These are what make a man 'unclean'; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him 'unclean.' " Matthew 15:16-20

• THE TONGUE HAS THE POWER TO _____________________(HEAL) OR TO _____________________(KILL), TO _____________________(GIVE) LIFE OR TAKE IT _____________________(AWAY)!

• Often times, Christians are guilty of intemperate speech…whether it is an outburst of anger or premeditated gossip.

• Gossip can have real and tragic consequences.

• We sometimes excuse our gossip by claiming that we have a right to know some bit of information about someone else so we can better pray for them or by claiming that the details have to be known in order to make wise decisions.

QUESTIONS TO ASK BEFORE SHARING INFORMATION:

1)     Could this information be a stumbling block or harm someone else?

2)  Is there any possibility that my motivation for sharing this information is less than pure?

When it comes to anger, James tells the Christian to be slow in speech because:

1)      Our anger resides out of ___________________________(ignorance) – we do not know the whole story.

2)     Our anger stems from ___________________________(arrogance) – we think our ideas, emotions, needs, wants and desires are better and more valid than those of the people around us.

NOTE: The prophets who spoke in God’s righteous anger reserved their harshest and most strident tones for times of ______________________ ___________________(imminent danger).

The Prophet Amos said Amos 5:14-15

¹⁴ Seek good, not evil,
       that you may live.
       Then the LORD God Almighty will be with you,
       just as you say he is.

    ¹⁵ Hate evil, love good;
       maintain justice in the courts.
       Perhaps the LORD God Almighty will have mercy
       on the remnant of Joseph. Amos 5:14-15

TRUTH: The righteous anger of the prophets was directed at the injustices that __________________(others) were experiencing, not at injustice that they _________________________(personally) experienced.

NOTE: Human beings have the tremendous capacity to be very ___________________(vocal) when they are _______________________(wronged) and very _____________________(silent) as they observe the pain of others – this should be _________________________________(reversed).

1 Corinthians 6:7-8 says:

⁷The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means you have been completely defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated? ⁸Instead, you yourselves cheat and do wrong, and you do this to your brothers. 1 Corinthians 6:7-8

·        It is more productive for the Christian to concentrate on ________________________(listening) with ________________________(humility) rather than _____________________(speaking) in ____________________(anger).

Proverbs 29:20 says:

²⁰ Do you see a man who speaks in haste? There is more hope for a fool than for him.  Proverbs 29:20

·        James argues that to receive the Word with humility is better than speaking in anger.

Matthew 12:35 says:

³⁵The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him.  Matthew 12:35

·        This passage is rooted in the Jewish wisdom tradition, which placed a premium on ___________________________(measured) speech and ___________________________(studious) listening.

·        THE BIBLE SAYS THAT EVEN A FOOL CAN APPEAR TO BE WISE BY BEING SILENT!

·        In claiming that anger is undesirable, James again offers an observation with parallels in Hellenistic and Jewish literature.

·        HUMAN ANGER IS THE PRODUCT OF A ______________________ _________________ (HARDENED HEART) THAT REFUSES TO _________________________(LISTEN), AND IS AT ODDS WITH GOD’S RIGHTEOUSNESS!

·        CLEARLY OUTBURST OF ANGER DOES NOT PRODUCE THE KIND OF RIGHTEOUS BEHAVIOR GOD DESIRES TO SEE IN OUR LIVES.

·        AN ANGRY PERSON IS A ______________________(SELFISH) PERSON.

·        ANGER IS SIMPLY __________________(WANTING) _______________________(SOMETHING) I CANNOT HAVE.

·        DEPRESSION IS SIMPLY REPRESSED ___________________(ANGER) TURNED INWARD, WITHOUT _________________(HOPE).

·        Christians should “get rid of” (strip off) certain behaviors like anger.

·        Originally this Greek word was used of clothing.

Ephesians 4:22-25 says:

²²You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; ²³to be made new in the attitude of your minds; ²⁴and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

    ²⁵Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body.  Ephesians 4:22-25

• Anger is a very ______________________ ________________________(natural emotion) that is an automatic response – even for believers who are not spiritually ___________________(prepared).

• “Orge” does not refer to an explosive outburst or temper but to an inner deep resentment that seethes and smolders, often unnoticed by others…..It is therefore an anger that only the Lord and the believer know about.

• This kind of anger is dangerous because it is privately harbored and nobody sees it.

• ANGER THAT IS NOT EXPRESSED IS STILL _____________________(DANGEROUS) AND A _____________(SIN).

WHY DO WE GET SO EASILY ANGERED?

• ANGER IS SIMPLY __________________________(WANTING) SOMETHING I _______________________(CANNOT) OR SHOULD NOT _________________(HAVE).

• People desire to have their own opinions _______________________(confirmed), their own ways _______________________(approved), their own likes and dislikes ________________________(accepted) by others. When they are not, they get angry.

• The Best defense against anger is to: put ______________________(space) between the ______________________(stimulus) and the ______________________(response).

• Family members who know you, will make it very difficult for you to do this because they know which _____________________(buttons) to _____________________(push) – so anticipate such behavior _______________(ahead) of time.

• Even God’s _______________(Word) can push our buttons and get our goat if we have an _________________________(unsurrendered) heart.

• Within the context of James letter we see that even Professing believers in Bible Times have resented God’s truth and the messenger who brought it.

The Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 4:18-21 said:

 18Some of you have become arrogant, as if I were not coming to you. 19But I will come to you very soon, if the Lord is willing, and then I will find out not only how these arrogant people are talking, but what power they have. 20For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power. 21What do you prefer? Shall I come to you with a whip, or in love and with a gentle spirit?  1 Cor. 4:18-21

• Sometimes believers hear God’s Word and find anger rising up in them because God is asking them to ________________ ______(give up) a thought, emotion, behavior or dream they are ______________________(holding) on to that is inappropriate for them.

• Instead of being angry at God or His word, the anger often gets _________________(projected) on to other people and sometimes the ______________________(messenger) of God’s Word.

• When the mature disciple of Christ hears God’s Word, there is an affection for its truth and a desire in his heart to obey it.

• James instructs believers to remove “moral filth” and “evil” in V. 21.

• THE MEANING IS CLEAR: Christians must turn not only from anger, but from evil and malice, whether random or premeditated.

• But turning from evil is not enough…..James also gives us another option for living…

• Before God’s Word can produce His righteousness in us, we must _________________________(renounce) and put away the sin in our lives that stands between us and that righteousness.

Col. 3:8-10 says:

8But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. 9Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.  Col. 3:8-10

1 Peter 2:2-2 says: 

1Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. 2Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, 1 Pet 2:1-2

• JAMES ENCOURAGES THE CHRISTIAN TO HUMBLY __________________(ACCEPT) THE WORD ________________________(PLANTED) IN YOU, WHICH CAN SAVE YOU.  V. 21

• James counsels us to avoid moral filth because such sin can grow and flourish as the corrosive mirror image of spiritual growth.

• THE PARADOXAL TRUTH ABOUT SIN - While sin pollutes and destroys it also propagates.

• One lie often leads to another; children of abusive alcoholics often marry people who become abusive alcoholics.

• Sin gives rise to more sin.

TRUTH: HUNGERING AFTER GOD’S WORD IS A HEALTHY ____________________________(DISTRACTION) FROM HUNGERING AFTER SIN.

 Romans 1:16 says:

16I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.  Rom 1:16

• The _________________________(hunger) for the Word of God characterizes the one who has been born again of the Holy Spirit.

• Our attitude is to be one of humility, recognizing God’s wisdom relative to our own poor resources.

• The way to salvation is to be found in meek ______________________(listening) to God’s Word and the ______________________(receiving) of it.

• This posture of ______________________(humility) is necessary if we are to __________________(accept) the Word _______________________(planted) in us.

• As members of the fallen human race we need to have the Word of God planted in us and to nurture it so that its roots grow deep and strong.

• There is a significant parallel to these thoughts in 1

1Peter 1:23-2:2 says:

²³For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. ²⁴For,
   "All men are like grass,
      and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;
   the grass withers and the flowers fall,
       ²⁵but the word of the Lord stands forever."^[a] And this is the word that was preached to you.

    ¹Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. ²Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation. 1 Peter 1:23-2:2

• One of the most reliable evidences of genuine salvation is ___________________________(hunger for the _____________________(Word) of God. V. 22

Saving faith is marked by:

1) A proper _________________________(reception) of Scripture as the Word of God.

2) A proper ____________________________(reaction) to the Word, reflected in an ________________________(obedient) life.

NOTE: Just as a newborn baby does not have to be taught to hunger for it’s mother’s milk, the newborn baby CHRISTIAN does not have to be taught to hunger for God’s Word - His spiritual food and drink.

• It is the natural impulse of his/her new spiritual life to crave the Word of God.

Jesus said in Matt: 19:11:

Matt 19:11 says:

11Jesus replied, "Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given.  Matt 19:11

• True believers love God’s Word and their highest joy is to understand it and thereby please their Lord.

Psalms 119:10,14 says:

10 I seek you with all my heart;
       do not let me stray from your commands.

14 I rejoice in following your statutes
       as one rejoices in great riches. Psalms 119:10,14

Jesus said in John 14:21-24:

21Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him."

 22Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, "But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?"

 23Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. 24He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.

John 14:21-24

• Just as it is the inner desire of the believer to know and obey God’s word, it is the natural desire of the unbeliever to ____________________(disregard) and disobey it.

• Although unbelievers sometimes refer to certain passages of scripture to support their own beliefs, standards, and objections, they do not cherish it and ___________________(submit) to it as God’s authoritative word.

Matt 13:18-23 says:

 18"Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: 19When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path. 20The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. 21But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away. 22The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful. 23But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown." Matt 13:18-23

• And just as the Word was the power of new birth, so it is the power of our new life.

• In James 1:18, Scripture is called “the Word of truth”; in verse 21, “The word implanted”; in verse 22, simply “the word”; in verse 23, figuratively, as “a mirror” and in verse 25, “the perfect law, the law of liberty.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 says:

16All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.   2 Timothy 3:16-17

Psalm 19:7-8 says:

 7 The law of the LORD is perfect,
       reviving the soul.
       The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy,
       making wise the simple.

 8 The precepts of the LORD are right,
       giving joy to the heart.
       The commands of the LORD are radiant,
       giving light to the eyes. Psalm 19:7-8

• We are urged to be quick to listen to the _____________________ _________ ____________(Word of God) so we can be a careful to pay attention in order to get the message right.

• James encourages every believer to _________________(seize) every opportunity to increase their ________________________(exposure) to _________________________(Scripture), to take advantage of every privileged occasion to read God’s Word or hear it faithfully preached or taught.

Acts 17:11 says:

11Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.  Acts 17:11

• The sincere, eager desire for such learning is one of the surest marks of a true child of God who has been born again!

WHEN THE CHRISTIAN TURNS TO THE WORD:

1. When the Christian is blessed, he/she turns to the Word to find passages of ______________________________(thanksgiving) and praise.

2. When he is troubled, he/she searches for words of comfort, _______________________________(encouragement) and strength.

3. In times of confusion, he/she searches for words of ______________________(wisdom) and guidance.

4. When tempted, he/she searches out God’s standards of purity and _____________________________(righteousness) for power to resist. The Word is the source of deliverance from temptations and trials.

NOTE: Periodically, every Christian should do a personal inventory regarding his hunger and thirst for God’s Word.

• The true believer will be marked by such an attentive spirit, which will find a way to be in Scripture regularly, not for the purpose of filling an allotted devotional time, but to grow in Christ.

• The believer who willingly receives the Word with submission must be slow to speak because you cannot ___________________ _________________________(listen carefully) while you are talking or thinking of what to say.

• Many discussions are ________________________(fruitless) for the simple reason that all parties are paying more attention to what they want to ________________(say) than to what others are ____________________(saying).

• In the context, it seems that “slow to speak” includes the idea of being careful not to be thinking about one’s own thoughts and ideas while someone else is trying to express God’s __________________(thoughts).

• We cannot really hear God’s Word when our minds are on our own thoughts - We need to keep silent inside as well as outside.

• When the appropriate time to speak does come, what is said should be carefully thought out.