James 1:19-20, June 28, 2014

June 28, 2014   James  1:19-20           

James 1:19-22 NKJV  

(19)  So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath;  (20)  for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.  (21)  Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.  (22)  But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.  

We are in the book of James.   

The focus of the chapter now turns from trials to temptation.

Last time we came to the conclusion of the introduction of James (vv. 2-18).

This next section , since this is the case, the believer in the midst of a trial needs to be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to wrath.

It really is not a popular book or even one of my favorite books to read because of the reason on what it does to me.  It does show me where I am failing.  We do not like that.  It corrects me. 

We see where James does not pull any punches.  And where he does not want to see what our thoughts are, but to see some action in our lives, fruits we covered.  How James calls me to give an account in my way of life and how it impacts me personally.  

James 1:19 NKJV  So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; 

Swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath or anger; This can be viewed as a measure of maturity.  I ask myself, how mature am I compared to this verse.  Have I mastered this.  No. 

Vs. 19 by many works said this verse can be considered the theme verse or subject-matter for this letter. 

Being swift to hear: We should always be open and listening to others, for example for children, work, home, friends, etc.  We should be gathering information and learning in whatever situation we are in.  We need to be listeners. 

I have taken many classes through the City of Dallas, the one class, Communication, always started with listening to what is said, not what you think they said.  This is the same with the Scriptures, we need to understand what it says, not what we were told or think, what it says.  We all want to make what it says to fit what we want it to say.  Don’t believe what I say, prove it yourself, from the Scriptures.  

We are to be receivers.   (As we know, Receivers don’t work well when the transmitter is on.) If my transmitter is on, that means I probably am not listening.  How many times have we been talking to someone and you can tell they are already thinking ahead of how they will respond.  

We can think off personal examples of individuals who are always being a receiver, asking questions of others, showing they are sincerely interested, what we say.  Individuals, who are good listeners, will have individuals coming to them to ask questions and for help and are considered friendly. 

Pro 18:24 NKJV  A man who has friends must himself be friendly, But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. 

Slow to speak. Oh, if we learn to engage our minds before we let out the clutch. A pause for reflection could spare us so much embarrassment and damage. We need to control our mouths.  A constant talker will not hear what is really being said, between the lines. 

Pro 17:28 ISV  Even a fool is thought to be wise when he remains silent; he is thought to be prudent when he keeps his mouth shut. 

Ecc 5:2 NKJV  Do not be rash with your mouth, And let not your heart utter anything hastily before God. For God is in heaven, and you on earth; Therefore let your words be few. 

The reason for this is we need be careful to properly represent the One to whom we owe so much.  By our conduct and by the one part that stands out, our tongue.  James talks a lot about our tongue. 

We are often grieved for saying too much, seldom for saying too little.  We will condemn ourselves by talking to much.  How many times have we ask a question, the answer we received is far more than what we wanted to hear.  This is Something I will do, give too much information on something. 

Exo 20:7 NKJV  "You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain. 

To me, this is more than just swearing, but how I live my life according to the Scriptures. 

In fact, we are ambassadors, we represents Jesus to others and many time we do not do what as we should do. 

Eph 6:20 ISV  for whose sake I am an ambassador in chains, desiring to declare the gospel as boldly as I should. 

2Cor 5:20 NKJV  Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God. 

An ambassador is one who represents someone else. 

Slow to wrath or anger,  

This wrath or anger is not directed toward God, but directed toward other individuals and especially religious arguments or debate (we can also add politics to this). 

We are to govern and restrain our temper; we are not to give in to excited and angry passions. 

Pro 16:32 NKJV  He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, And he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city. 

We should lay aside all anger and wrath, and should come to the investigation of truth with a calm mind.  An investigation of truth demands a calm spirit to see the value of truth, or to weigh the evidence for it. 

Three things, James tells us, swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; 

Wrath or anger of Man, James covers this in the next verse. 

James 1:19 NKJV  So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; 

James 1:20 NKJV  for the wrath (anger) of man does not produce the righteousness of God. 

This is so hard:  If we as a believer gets angry in difficult circumstances, the practical righteousness of God will not be evident in our life. When someone wrongs us, our natural reaction is to retaliate, at least verbally. But this response does not glorify God. Holding one's tongue, trying to understand the other person's position, show godly love to the individual. 

Do not get me wrong, we have to handle the situation, but in a Godly way.

Can you imagine the impact of this verse if were actually applied? 

We tend to get angry, self-righteously angry. 

Eph 4:26 NKJV  "BE ANGRY, AND DO NOT SIN": do not let the sun go down on your wrath, 

What does the Scriptures tell us:  Vengeance is mine says the Lord: 

Deu 32:41 NKJV  If I whet (sharpen) My glittering sword, And My hand takes hold on judgment, I will render vengeance to My enemies, And repay those who hate Me. 

Rom 12:19 NKJV  Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, "VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY," says the Lord. 

Heb 10:30-31 NKJV  For we know Him who said, "VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY," says the Lord. And again, "THE LORD WILL JUDGE HIS PEOPLE."  (31)  It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. 

It is not for us to right the wrong individually, but is the Lord’s issue.  He will take care of it. 

Even if we were wrong, justified or not justified, as we been told before, the temptation toward revenge will yield more damage to us (physical and or mental) than whatever was done to us.   

Especially, in our society today and what we see happening. 

James will spend a good part of his letter—in Chapters 3 & 4—on the connection between sinful speech and selfish anger. 

We see James is always referring to the Sermon on the Mount.  James is never distant from those who “hunger and thirst after righteous ness,” “the pure in heart,” “the peacemakers,” and “those who are persecuted because of righteousness” (Mt 5:6-10).  

Jesus applied God’s commandment against murder as a commandment also against hating, cursing or insulting—specifically being angry. 

Mat 5:21-22 NKJV  "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'YOU SHALL NOT MURDER, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.'  (22)  But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, 'Raca!' (means worthless) shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, 'You fool!' (morally blockhead) shall be in danger of hell fire. 

The righteous life is the contrasting alternative. When the Lord appeared to Abram in Gen 17:1  

Gen 17:1 NKJV  When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, "I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless. 

Blameless does not mean you will not have sin, just don’t indulge in sin.

 

I know this all sounds good in our mind, but do we understand what it says,  

What do you do when things are going wrong, people are hurting you, etc.?

What do we really do when these things happen to us? 

A good answer, not the only answer, but Have our quiet time. Find a corner somewhere and talk it over in prayer and meditation, with our Father in Heaven. 

Again the goal - the righteousness of God requires MATURITY!