5
Obey God’s Word
Question 1:
What’s a piece of good advice people often ignore?
THE POINT
We display the truth and value of God’s Word as we live it out.
THE BIBLE MEETS LIFE
Experts—people who know what they’re talking about—regularly offer sound advice that we regularly ignore.
- Mechanics recommend that we change the oil in our cars every so many thousand miles, but we often drive far beyond that before we get around to changing it.
- Doctors tell us to eat well and exercise regularly to foster good health, but most of us probably disregard this prescription at least some of the time.
- Dentists ask us to brush and floss our teeth routinely, but few of us look forward to giving him a report of our negligence at the next appointment.
The reality is, we know a lot of “best practices,” but we do few of them consistently. Knowledge by itself is not enough; we must act on what we know. This principle applies to much more than oil changes, exercise regimens, and flossing habits. It also underscores the teaching of Scripture. We don’t read, study, or memorize God’s Word just to know it. God expects us to act on and obey what we learn.
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?
James 1:19-21
19 My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20 because human anger does not produce the righteousness 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.
Most of us don’t like to be told what to do. Whether it’s a speed limit or a doctor’s orders, our natural inclination is to rebuff authority—or at least ignore it. We might get away with that in some areas of life, but we can’t ignore the authority of God’s Word without negative effects. Here’s the reality: we can’t follow Jesus without allowing Him to tell us how to live. Obeying His commands stands at the heart of a relationship with Jesus. He said, “If you love me, keep my commands” (John 14:15).
The book of James has stood as one of the most practical in the New Testament. In his book, James offered practical insight into how to obey Jesus in the real world. James was focused on helping Christ followers connect biblical knowledge with Christ-like living.
In verse 21, James wrote, “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.” Notice two important truths here. First, note the reference to “the word planted in you” (v. 21). The gospel of Jesus Christ is inseparably linked to His Word. The ability to obey any of God’s Word stems from the gospel’s power that He implants inside your heart at the moment of salvation.
Second, notice that James tells us how to receive the implanted word. We are to receive it “humbly.” Humility is a posture of the heart where we recognize our need and admit our inadequacy. Humility ultimately submits to another’s authority and lives for the sake of another’s good.
As we embrace the gospel and the Word of God, we turn from the old way of life.
Question 2:
What role does humility play in obedience?
We are to rid ourselves “of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent” (v. 21). This is a picture of what happens when we initially turn away from our old way of living and turn toward Jesus through faith. It goes beyond initial salvation. We are to continually rid ourselves of this evil for the remainder of our lives.
James also called our attention to daily habits we all struggle with but have a temptation to overlook. In verses 19-20, James pointed to the ways we listen, speak, and exhibit anger. When we do those things poorly, they are the evil James described, since “human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.”
Naturally, people don’t always want to listen to another person’s concerns or hear a contrary viewpoint. But Scripture says God’s people “should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry” (v. 19). When we do this, we demonstrate humility and act on what we know from God’s Word.
James 1:22-25
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 someone 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 whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.
James gave a warning we can’t ignore: “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says” (v. 22). This reveals a temptation many Christians face: the more we are exposed to God’s Word, the greater we may be tempted to see knowledge itself as the goal. If we make this mistake, then we might deceive ourselves into thinking that God is after knowledge more than obedience. God doesn’t want us to read, study, or memorize Scripture just for the sake of knowing what it says. He expects us to act on and obey what we learn.
God’s Word is like a mirror to our souls. When we read it or study it, God shows us who we truly are in contrast to Him. We learn where our lives don’t align with His holy ways. Thus, when we know God’s Word and then fail to adjust our lives by obeying it, we metaphorically see the smudge on our lives yet do nothing about it. Our inaction might demonstrate that, while we see God’s truth, we don’t care enough to make any changes. Perhaps even more dangerous, if we ignore the Scriptures for too long, we could even convince ourselves that God’s Word doesn’t show us what it actually shows. James’s answer to this is to persevere in obedience to the commands of Scripture without delay. The one who does this “will be blessed in what they do” (v. 25).
Engage
SPEED CHECK
How would you assess yourself on James’s three criteria for accomplishing God’s righteousness? For each question below, 1 is the lowest score and 10 is the highest. Write a prayer asking God to help you grow in areas of greatest need.
Am I quick to listen?
Am I slow to speak?
Am I slow to get angry?
My Prayer:
“Maturity comes from obedience, not necessarily from age.”
The truth is we all probably procrastinate in some way or another. Unfortunately, we can also procrastinate spiritually. We all struggle with obeying God’s Word. Sometimes, it’s because we’re ashamed or embarrassed by what we’ve done. Other times, we simply don’t want to make the life changes required in His Word. We convince ourselves that it’s easier to maintain the status quo than to do the difficult work of aligning ourselves to God’s Word. James calls us away from spiritual procrastination. God doesn’t want us to hear His Word today and then wait until some moment down the road to act on it. He wants us to know His Word so we might do His Word today.
Question 3:
What helps us move beyond just being hearers of God’s Word?
James 1:26-27
26 Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their 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.
When we fail to act on God’s Word, it’s a sign of a useless faith. It’s quite possible to be a student of God’s Word and still miss the mark of faithful religion. We must regularly guard our hearts by examining ourselves to ensure that we are pursuing faithful obedience rather than simply seeking knowledge.
When our actions don’t line up with the truth we claim to know, we essentially become like the hypocrite Jesus repeatedly referred to in Matthew 6. We are like hypocrites when we don’t obey what we say we’ve learned. We may claim to have a vibrant faith, but the Bible says our “religion is useless.”
Question 4:
What are some consequences when our words and actions don’t align?
Does this mean you’ll ever get to the point where you’ll perfectly obey every single truth you’ve read? Of course not! Nor does it imply that a struggle in one area of life deems your entire faith as useless. It should, however, cause you to appraise the general pattern of your life. The one who has faithful religion not only knows God’s Word, he also does it. True religion stems from the person whose words and actions line up.
James qualified what true religion looks like. He gives three examples of God’s Word in action. These aren’t meant to be exhaustive, but they are a representative sample of living out the commands of Scripture.
- We control our tongues. James would say more about this in chapter 3, but we are to keep a tight rein on what we say.
- We care for the vulnerable. James highlighted ministry to “orphans and widows,” two groups that were especially vulnerable in the first century.
- We pursue holy living. We are to keep ourselves from being stained or polluted by the world. This is a general call to purity and holiness.
We might ignore the recommendations of experts in many areas of life, but God’s Word is different. God calls us to act on what we discover in His Word so that we can be doers of His Word and not hearers only.
Question 5:
How can our group help one another be people whose words and actions align?
LIVE IT OUT
How do you need to act on God’s Word today? Choose one of the following applications:
Confess. Is there a sin in your life that God’s Word is revealing to you? Allow God to wipe it off. Confess that sin to God. Receive His forgiveness and choose to walk in obedience.
Commit. Is there a specific command or task God’s Word is calling you to do, but which you have been procrastinating on doing? Commit to follow through and carry out that task. Pursue obedience.
Counsel. You may know someone who is ignoring or struggling with obedience to God’s Word. Encourage that person, pray for him, and walk with him to help him pursue a life of obedience.
We may not always listen to the experts in various matters of life, but as Christians, we would be wise to not only listen but obey our Lord and His commands. We’ll be blessed when we do.
Teacher's Notes:
What’s a piece of good advice people often ignore?
Experts—people who know what they’re talking
about—regularly offer sound advice that we regularly ignore.
· Mechanics recommend that we change the oil in
our cars every so many thousand miles.
· Doctors tell us to eat well and exercise
regularly to foster good health.
· Dentists ask us to brush and floss our teeth
routinely.
· Bull Durham – Meat shakes off Crashes’ signal
Knowledge by itself is not enough; we must act
on what we know. This principle applies to much more than oil changes, exercise
regimens, and flossing habits. It also underscores the teaching of Scripture.
We don’t read, study, or memorize God’s Word just to know it. God expects us to
act on and obey what we learn.
We began this series by learning to seize every
opportunity to hear God’s Word, for in His Word we find everything we need to
live victoriously. We have been encouraged to study God’s Word to stay firmly
grounded in our faith. Last week, we were encouraged to meditate on God’s Word
because saturating our minds with Scripture keeps us focused on the things of
God.
As good and necessary as all that is, we are
not to stop there. James emphasizes today - We must obey God’s Word with
humility, diligence, and consistency.
What is active obedience? What is passive
obedience?
Active obedience is when we obey the commands
of someone else.
Passive obedience is the total submission to
another, even when harm or suffering may result.
The two concepts are very similar, but active
obedience usually involves the performance of certain deeds, while passive
obedience implies non-resistance. In reference to God, active obedience is
seeking out His commands and setting our hearts to do them. Passive obedience
is the state of ongoing surrender that says, “Not my will but yours be done”
(Luke 22:42).
God required active obedience of the Israelites
in the Old Testament. That active obedience was detailed and difficult because
God wanted them to realize that they could not be righteous enough to deserve
His mercy and grace. He was setting the stage for the entrance of His Son,
Jesus, who would fulfill every letter of the law (Matthew 5:17). Through Jesus’
active obedience, He fulfilled the totality of the law’s requirements. He said,
“I always do those things that please Him” (John 8:29). In passive obedience,
Jesus submitted Himself to cruel and unjust treatment because it was the will
of God (Isaiah 53:7). The Bible never uses the terms active obedience or
passive obedience, but some biblical descriptions of Jesus’ passion do
emphasize passivity: “When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate;
when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who
judges justly” (1 Peter 2:23).
A Christian is to remain in a constant state of
passive obedience to God. Walking in
the Spirit means we stay sensitive to His leading and respond the way He wants
us to (Galatians 5:16, 25). When hardships come, we endure (James 1:2). We live
in the knowledge that God will work everything together for our good (Romans
8:28), so we need not pursue vengeance (Romans 12:19). We know that God is at
work in our lives, and we give Him free rein to accomplish what He wants
(Galatians 6:9; Philippians 2:13).
However, passive obedience is only half of the
responsibility of the Christian. God has specific commands He wants us to obey,
and many of them are contrary to what we would naturally choose. Jesus told us
that in order to follow Him we must “deny ourselves and take up our crosses”
(Luke 9:23). Those are actions. Among other things, we are told to “be not
drunk with wine, but be filled with the Holy Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18), “flee
sexual immorality” (1 Corinthians 6:18), “love one another” (1 Peter
1:22), and “pursue holiness” (Hebrews 12:14). Those commands all require
active obedience.
With Jesus as our perfect model and the Holy
Spirit as our strength, we must pursue lives of both passive and active
obedience (Acts 1:8). It takes both to fulfill commands such as this: “As far
as it is up to you, live at peace with everyone” (Romans 12:18). Passive
obedience overlooks wrongs and leaves judgment with God. Active obedience seeks
ways to do good and avoid evil. When we live this way, we glorify our Father in
heaven (Matthew 5:16).
I.
Respond to
God’s Word with humility.
James 1:19-21
My dear brothers and sisters, take note of
this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become
angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.
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.
What does humility have to do with obedience?
Only when we open ourselves up with humility,
sensitivity, and commitment can we know the full effects of God’s Word. We are
responsible to choose right behavior over wrong behavior. We are expected to
take intentional actions to get rid of wrong or ungodly practices. God’s Word,
because it is God’s faithful revelation of Himself, can lead us down the right
path, now and forever.
When you read your Bible, study a Bible lesson,
or hear a sermon, do you really anticipate hearing from God?
How does pride (a lack of humility) keep you
from hearing what God’s Word says to you personally?
James said, “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.” Notice two important truths here.
1. Note the reference to “the word planted in you”. The gospel of Jesus Christ is inseparably
linked to His Word. The ability to obey any of God’s Word stems from the
gospel’s power that He implants inside your heart at the moment of salvation.
2. Notice that James tells us how to receive the
implanted word. We are to receive it “humbly.” Humility is a posture of the
heart where we recognize our need and admit our inadequacy. Humility ultimately
submits to another’s authority and lives for the sake of another’s good.
As we embrace the gospel and the Word of God,
we turn from the old way of life.
II.
Obey God’s
Word without delay.
James 1:22-25
Do not merely listen to the word, and so
deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does
not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and,
after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.
But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom and
continues in it — not forgetting what they have heard but doing it — they will
be blessed in what they do.
Most of us don’t like to be told what to do.
Whether it’s a speed limit or a doctor’s orders, our natural inclination is to
rebuff authority — or at least ignore it. We might get away with that in some
areas of life, but we can’t ignore the
authority of God’s Word without negative effects. Obeying God’s Word stands at the heart of our relationship
with Jesus. He said, “If you love me, keep my commands” (John 14:15).
Which is more important to God – obedience or
knowledge?
James
gives a warning that reveals a temptation many Christians’ face today: the more
we are exposed to God’s Word, the greater we may be tempted to see knowledge
itself as the goal. If we make this mistake, then we might deceive ourselves
into thinking that God is after knowledge more than obedience. God doesn’t want
us to read, study, or memorize Scripture just for the sake of knowing what it
says. He wants us to obey it. God gives us His Word, not primarily for our
information but for our transformation.
James believed knowledge that does not lead to
action is of little value.
You are being deceived and foolish if you believe
that hearing without doing is acceptable behavior.
How is God’s Word like a mirror to our souls?
God’s Word is like a mirror to our souls. When
we read it or study it, God shows us who we truly are - in contrast to Him. We
learn where our lives don’t align with His ways. When we know God’s Word and
then fail to obey it, we recognize the mud/filth on our lives yet do nothing
about it. We see God’s truth, but we don’t care enough to make any changes. If
we ignore God’s Word for too long, we could even convince ourselves that God’s
Word doesn’t show us what it shows us. James’s answer to this is to obey without
delay. The one who does this “will be blessed in what they do.”
“Maturity comes from obedience, not necessarily
from age.”
LEONARD RAVENHILL
The truth is we all probably procrastinate in
some way or another spiritually. We all struggle with obeying God’s Word. Why?
Sometimes, it’s because we’re ashamed or
embarrassed by what we’ve done. Other times, we simply don’t want to make the
life changes required in His Word. We convince ourselves that it’s easier to
maintain the status quo than to do the difficult work of aligning ourselves to
God’s Word. James calls us away from spiritual procrastination.
III.
Our faith
is worthless if our words and actions don’t line up.
James 1:26-27
Those who consider themselves religious and yet
do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their
religion is worthless. 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.
How does James characterize religion that is
void of practice?
Worthless
What kind of religion does God accept?
One that reflects Him: Care for the vulnerable, and live a pure life
We reflect the Word
through unselfish service to others.
Service to God that costs
nothing means nothing. We will use our time and money to help others who are
not always capable of helping us. This is the litmus test of our faith. The
Word of God benefits our lives so that we can benefit others.
We reflect the Word through separation from sin. We know by God’s Word and living life day by
day that the world is not bent on loving God and others. The world tells us
it’s all about us - our wealth, our choices, and our pleasures. The Word of God
tells us not to be conformed to the pattern of this world, but to be
transformed by renewing our minds.
Just as the moon
reflects the light of the sun, true believers will reflect the light of the
Son. Our lives give evidence that God is at work
because we have had an encounter with the Word of God.
Except for Christmas, when was the last time
you acted benevolently toward someone in great need?
We should live not to impress others but to
honor God. We can fool ourselves and others by our appearance of being
religious, but we cannot fool God. God loves and cares for the helpless ones,
and so should we. What we do must be consistent with what we profess. When we
fail to act on God’s Word, it’s a sign of a useless faith.
Will we ever get to the point where we perfectly
obey every single truth we read? Of course not! Nor does it imply that a
struggle in one area of life deems your entire faith as useless. It should, however, cause you to appraise the
general pattern of your life. The one
who has faithful religion not only knows God’s Word, he also does it. True
religion stems from the person whose words and actions line up.
Conclusion
The Bible has a lot to say about obedience. It
says that obedience is an essential part of the Christian faith. Jesus Himself
was “obedient unto death, even death on a cross.” - Philippians 2:8 For us as Christians,
the act of taking up our cross and following Christ - means obedience. The
Bible says that we show our love for Jesus by obeying Him in all things: “If
you love Me, keep My commandments.” - John 14:15 A Christian who is not obeying
Christ’s commands can rightly be asked, “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and
do not do what I say?” - Luke 6:46
