This past week, I was reading a story in the sports section of the newspaper concerning the two teams playing in today’s Super Bowl. What made this story especially interesting to me was that it was a story on the spiritual life of several of the players in today’s game. These players happened to be on the Ram’s team, although there are Christian players on every team in the NFL.
The story reported that there are some players who read their Bibles as much as their play books. It went on to detail these player’s commitment to Jesus Christ. I always like to hear stories like that. And I especially like to hear that they are reading their Bibles. I like to hear that because there is so much ignorance concerning the Bible in our society today.
So many people today don’t read or understand the Bible. This is not because they don’t have a Bible. The Bible is present in almost every home in America. The problem is that it is not read.
A few years ago, a test of Bible knowledge was given to five classes of high school seniors. Most of them failed the exam completely! Some were so confused that they thought Sodom and Gomorrah were lovers, or that the gospels were written by Matthew, Mark, Luther, and John. Others said that Eve was created from an apple, and that the stories Jesus used in teaching were called parodies. More than 80 percent of the pupils could not complete such familiar quotations as "Many are called but few are (chosen)"; or "a soft answer turns away (wrath)."
A Gallup poll conducted some years ago revealed that 60 percent of Americans did not know what "the Holy Trinity" was. Sixty-six percent couldn’t say who delivered the Sermon on the Mount, and 79 percent were unable to name a single Old Testament prophet. When people are questioned about the Bible on radio or television, it is remarkable and disconcerting to see their complete lack of knowledge on the subject. Some are almost as confused as the little boy who wrote on his test paper that "the epistles were the wives of the apostles."
How is your Bible knowledge? Do you benefit from your understanding of the Bible? The Bible says that we can be blessed by knowing and practicing God’s word. You can benefit from the Bible!
The Bible, you see, is not irrelevant, it is just not read, understood, and applied to daily living. The Bible is a very practical book. Would you like to benefit from the Bible? Would you like to integrate the Bible into your daily life? Wouldn’t you like to know the practical steps that guarantee that you can benefit from the Bible? Let’s take a few moments and examine the steps that lead to receiving the benefits the Bible has to offer.
19
My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20 for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. 21 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.The first step we must take is to accept the word. In the first 21, James tells us to humbly accept the word planted in you. The word translated "accept" literally means "to welcome." In other words, we must cultivate a heart and life that welcomes the word. And what kind of life is that? It is a life characterized by an attitude of humility, of openness, of receptivity. And such a life must be prepared to receive the word just as soil is prepared to receive the seed. After all, James tells us that the word is planted in you.
To adequately prepare our hearts, James gives us three behaviors we need to model. These behaviors will enable us to accept the word and receive the full benefit we should.
Slow down — that’s the first thing we need to do. We are simply traveling at too quick a pace. And when you travel at that pace, you miss the scenery along the way. James says that we should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry. That’s good advice, especially during rush hour.
One of the things that keeps us from hearing is that we need to be slow to speak. You can’t be an effective listener if you are doing all the talking. When God was giving out body parts, he gave us two ears and one mouth — that ought to say something to us, if we can hear it. Often, we don’t hear what someone is saying because we are not listening. We may ask them how they are doing, and we expect to hear an answer like "fine." That is what we are programmed to hear. If they start talking about how rough the week has been, we may be talking to someone else already. Sometimes we are like that with God. We are not really listening. So we need to slow down and listen. We can hear when we’re talking or angry or busy or preoccupied.
Calm down — that’s the next thing we need to do. James not only tells us that we need to be slow to anger, but that our anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. So we need to calm down. You can’t communicate with an angry person. I know. I have tried. (And I’m not talking about my wife.)
When we are angry, we are closed. We are not listening to reason. We are looking to get even and sometimes to get ahead. We feel resentment, or bitterness, and sometimes even hatred. These are barriers to communication. God cannot speak to you when you hold these attitudes in your heart. We need to calm down so we can hear.
Lay down — that’s another thing we need to do. James tells us to get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent. What we are to lay down is sin. The word for "filth" that is used here comes from a root in Greek that means "ear wax." It is a wonderful picture. Just as we can hear with our ears full of wax, so we can’t receive God’s word with our lives full of sin. So we must be willing to get rid of anything that we know of in our lives that keeps us from hearing God. We must lay it down. Are there things in your life today that you need to lay down? You will never be able to receive the full benefit from God’s word that you need to until you do.
22
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23 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 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 But 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 next step in this process is that you must apply the word. The first step is to accept the word. The second step is to apply the word. And there are three ways to do that.
The first is to research it. In verse 25, James speaks of the one who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom. Notice that he is not simply talking about someone who merely looks at God word. He is talking about someone who looks intently. In other words, we are to examine the word. We are to carefully investigate the word. We are to research it.
The connotation of the word translated as "look" is "to stoop down and gaze into." The idea here is not that we merely glance at God’s word but that we gaze at God’s word. I glance at the mirror every morning. But I’m not really looking very hard — unless I see something unusual. If I do, then I look a little closer. I want to take a good long look then. I want to concentrate on what I am looking at. I want to make sure that I see and remember it. We should look at God’s word in that manner. We should dig deeply for the truths that it contains. We should research it.
The next way we should apply God’s word is to reflect on it. James tells us that we not only look intently at the word but we also review and reflect on this word. Look at verse 25: But 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. We are to continue to look into the word. We are to remember what we have heard and read.
In other words, what James is talking about here is meditation and memorization. And these are two much-needed disciplines for the Christian today. Unless we have studied God word, we will not be able to make the right decisions that we are faced with everyday. We will be more susceptible to temptation. Jesus used God’s word to deal with the temptations Satan threw his way in the wilderness. And we must use God word in the same manner. David wrote in Psalm 119:11: "I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you." The word can be our protection. It can be our defense against the devil. But we can only use the word if we have memorized the word. To do that, we must reflect on the word. We must spend time in the word. Reading, studying, memorizing the word must become a priority.
One final way that we can apply the word is to respond to it. James tells us in verse 22: Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Again, in verse 25, James tells us that we will be blessed, not by simply hearing the word but by doing it. We must personally respond to word. The word applies to us. It applies to you. You need to do it. That is the basis upon which you will be blessed. That is the basis upon which you will receive the benefits of the word. If you’re not willing to do the word, don’t expect to be blessed by the word.
There are too many people who think that they can receive the blessing of God without being obedient to God word. James tells us that if we think that, we are self deceived. He tells us that if we are not willing to put the word into practice we are like someone who glances in the mirror but really never sees what they look like.
Mirrors show us what we really look like. When you look into the mirror, you see the brutal truth. Now, sometimes I don’t want to acknowledge that truth. You see, I would like to think that I looked like I did 20, no 30 years ago. Back then, I was a lien, mean, fighting machine. Ah, but the reality is different today. But most mornings I am oblivious to that fact. I look into the mirror to wash my face and comb my hair, but I am really not looking at myself to see what I truly look like. I see, but I don’t really see. And so, I can go away a blissfully thinking that I am still the lien, mean, fighting machine that I was at 20.
The word of God will serve as a mirror to show you the truth about yourself. But it will only do you some good if you apply it to your life.
26
If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. 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.The final step in this process that James gives us today is that you must act on the word. He is talking here of putting the word to practical use. You see, you must not only respond to the word by acknowledging a need to do it, but you must find practical ways to actually do it.
If you want to act on the word, the first thing you need to do is grab your tongue. That’s right! James tells us that our religion is worthless unless our tongue is kept on a tight rein. He has already told us that we are to be slow to speak. What he is saying here is somewhat different. Here he is saying that we need to control our speech. James knows that if we can learn to control our tongue, we can harness most of our other behavior as well.
James goes on to tell us that if we want to act on the word we will learn to give to others. He says that practical religion is to look after orphans and widows in their distress. In other words, living out the word in a practical way will mean that we care about others.
This has been one of the things that Christians have done well over the years. The church of Jesus Christ has set up hospitals, orphanages, homes for the elderly, and many other social institutions designed to care for the needs of others. Today the government provides many needs, but the church is still at the forefront. And historically, the church was there when no one else was doing anything.
People matter to God. And people should matter to us as well. One of the ways that we act on the word is to have compassion for people and do something to help them. It doesn’t have to be huge. You might not be able to support them for life. But don’t focus on what you can’t do. Instead, focus on what you can do. You might not be able to do everything, but you can do something. And people will see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
And finally, James tells you to guard your life. He tells us at a mark of true spirituality is to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. In other words, keep your life clean. Guard it! Be careful! Watch what you do! Watch what you allow! Don’t let anything keep you from having a pure heart and a clean mind.
Let me ask you an important question. What from today can you put into practice? What has God said to you? Perhaps you need to slow down. Has the pace of your life kept you from really being able to serve God like you should? What are you willing to do about it?
Has God said that you need to calm down? Is there too much anger in your life? Will you make a commitment today to get a handle on that?
Or perhaps God has spoken to you about a sin that you need to lay down. It could be a sin of commission or a sin of omission. By the way, some people think that sins of omission are sins that you simply haven’t gotten around to yet. Sins of omission are things you should be doing but are not. In one case you need to lay down the sin you are committing and in the other case you need to lay down your refusal to do what God has told you to do.
Perhaps you need to make a commitment to read and research, to meditate and memorize, to respond and obey God’s word.
You might simply need to stop talking and quit making excuses and blaming others. You might simply need to start living for Jesus Christ. Lay that sin down and guard your life. Make a commitment that you will keep.
As you think about what God is saying to you today, ask yourself this question. What can I DO. How can I apply what I know? Then — just do it!
Copyright © 2000 J. David Hoke. This data file is the sole property of the copyright holder and may be copied only in its entirety for circulation freely without charge. All copies of this data file must contain the above copyright notice.
This data file may not be copied in part (except for small quotations used with citation of source), edited, revised, copied for resale or incorporated in any commercial publications, recordings, broadcasts, performances, displays or other products offered for sale, without the written permission of the copyright holder. Requests for permission should be made in writing and e-mailed to J. David Hoke, at David@JDavidHoke.com.