Pastor Dave's Weekly Blog- Hearing and Doing- James 1:19-27

Hearing and Doing- James 1:19-27

This strikes me as a pretty tame title for a pretty in-your-face piece of scripture.  As I studied James this week, it rocked me.  These few verses are a marvelously balanced and apportioned presentation of a big truth that will rock our world as we really get hold of it.

The ruling truth is the intended impact of the written Word of God on our lives.  God has a profound purpose in His Word, and it is to save us, change us from the inside out, and complete us as we bless everyone around us with “true” religion.  “True religion” in James’ view is as good as “useless religion” is ridiculous and harmful.

It is having a precisely aligned relationship with the Word of God, that God uses to recreate us and cause us to experience true religion.

James outlines three levels of interaction with the Word as I see it.  Beginning with verse 18, he points out that God gives us new birth by the “message of truth”, as the Holman Standard translates it.  He then goes on to talk about the “implanted” word which can utterly change us, v. 21.  Finally, he speaks of becoming “doers of the word”, v. 22.  It strikes me that we have here three levels of engagement- being  spiritual reborn into a new life with God, receiving an implant that rewires us, and then living out our new wiring in our sphere of influence.  Wow, what a picture!

What’s even more remarkable is that for both the implanting and doing phases of this, he also outlines a series of attitudes and approaches which we need to adopt if it’s going to happen for us.  Verses 19-21 address the implanting aspect, and verses 22-25 address the doing aspect.  What do you see as the practical things he talks about that prepare the way for the Word to do its work?  How would you put this stuff into modern language and daily realities with which we can actually engage?  If you were writing a modern paraphrase of scripture like “The Message” how would you express what you think James actually is saying?

A couple of other questions come up for me.  First, where does the Holy Spirit fit in this picture.  We know there is no true transformation without Him, but James doesn’t mention in this context, and for sure he’s talking about transformation.  This goes with another question.  How do we avoid legalism in living out James’ message?

How’s that for stirring the pot a little?

I can’t wait for this Sunday.  This is an awesome and perspective rocking word!

In His Love,

Dave

 

Oil and Cones

Submitted by rachaelsee on April 11, 2010 - 11:10pm.
 
This might really be a stretch, and if nothing else it will be entertaining to see into how this brain of mine works : ).  In thinking about what James says about anger, what I immediately picture is a cone (aka funnel), like one used for pouring oil into the oil tank of a car.  When we are open to the word, we are like right side-up cones.  When we are angry or not open to the word, we are like upside-down cones. 
 
The cone, when right side up is wide open and ready to receive the oil, which is poured into tank through the cone and dispersed to the engine, enabling it to run efficiently and not overheat or burn-out or whatever happens (I'm no car expert as you can tell...but I know that the car needs oil... or it's bad).  The cone was made with a purpose - to receive liquid and allow it to go where it needs to without creating a mess and allows as much liquid as possible to reach it's destination, with very little waste.  The cone is necessary to receive the oil and the oil is necessary for a healthy engine.  The two go hand in hand.  The cone was not designed to be used upside down.  Could it be used that way?  Sure.  However, there are consequences to not using it properly.  Turn your cone upside down and imagine pouring the oil into the small opening of your upside down cone.  What's that look like?  How much oil is going to successfully enter the tank when you're pouring it into the small opening of the cone?  Not much.  Do you like messes - yes?  Good, perfect, because your hands are going to potentially get messy, and your car engine is definitely going to get filthy (not to mention it will smoke and burn and maybe catch fire), and so is the ground beneath your car...so much for that expensive landscaping job.  If you don't know how to properly use a cone to pour oil into a car...that's okay - it's not QUITE as bad as deliberately using the cone upside down, and by trial and error you may eventually figure it out.  Silly, yes...but the word picture makes sense to me.
 
I know that when I'm angry I become like an upside cone, very little can get in because I have a zoom focus on what I'm angry about and there's not much room for anything else.  When I'm angry I get tunnel vision.  If I were to stop and think in that moment, I would be aware that I need to readjust the cone to its correct position if I wanted the situation to turn around.  I think it's very similar to receiving the Word.  We have to constantly be thinking and DOING (readjusting that cone) to receive the oil...constantly being aware of God and His Word... in order for our lives (our engines) to run properly.   
 
The other thing to remember is that if we use our cone upside down, yes - we will get some oil in there...but right side up is the most efficient, cleanest, cost effective, smartest way to feed our engines with the oil it needs.
 
I see the components like this - but I'm open to adjustments:
  • We are the engine
  • Our acceptance (or denial) of the Word is the cone.
  • The oil itself is the Word
  • The holy spirit is the tank (the connector between the cone, the oil and the engine) 
Okay, out of curiosity I went online to see what happens when you don't put oil into a car and these responses caught my attention...and I found them rather amusing in context to what I was saying above:
 
Response 1
 

Hi, if the engine runs very low on oil to where the oil light (is on) (or there is) no oil pressure then there is a big problem. The oil in the engine lubricates the moving parts inside the engine, no oil - no lubricating. The parts get red hot and start to melt together. The first thing to go will be the pistons, which are made of aluminum and the rings. Then the engine will start knocking and eventually seize up. If the engine oil light did not come on or still had oil pressure and you only added like 3 quarts of oil it will probably be ok. But if there are knocks,clicking, smoking from the tail pipe, or blow by from the oil filler cap, engine miss firing, then you probably need the engine replaced. hope this helps you and good luck.

 
Response 2
IT will start making all kinds of funny noises, and might eventually catch fire. Why can't you put oil in it??? Don't drive it if you can't, it's that simple!
 
Response 3
Everything gets very hot on the inside and either melts together or explodes. You do not want this to happen
 
Response 4
Bad, real bad. real real bad.
 
Have a wonderful week and don't forget to readjust your cone - constantly!

Holy Spirit and legalism

Submitted by Janet FV on April 10, 2010 - 10:22pm.

Just as God breathed life into Adam, the new birth to which James refers is the Holy Spirit regenerating our dead spirits.  Perhaps James assumes his readers understand this without explanation.

Legalism is doing acts of the law in order to be saved.  James' works are post-salvation acts of love.  Even the very ability to love and then act on that love is the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives as He changes us from being self-centered to Christ-centered.  So the works that James states are essential are done only through the power of the Holy Spirit.  They are the works that God prepared for us to do in advance of our even being saved (Ephesians 2:10).

Janet