Golden Text - "Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves" (James 1:22).
Act on What You Hear
19-21 Post this at all the intersections, dear friends: Lead with your ears, follow up with your tongue, and let anger straggle along in the rear. God’s righteousness doesn’t grow from human anger. So throw all spoiled virtue and cancerous evil in the garbage. In simple humility, let our gardener, God, landscape you with the Word, making a salvation-garden of your life.
22-24 Don’t fool yourself into thinking that you are a listener when you are anything but, letting the Word go in one ear and out the other. Act on what you hear! Those who hear and don’t act are like those who glance in the mirror, walk away, and two minutes later have no idea who they are, what they look like.
25 But whoever catches a glimpse of the revealed counsel of God—the free life!—even out of the corner of his eye, and sticks with it, is no distracted scatterbrain but a man or woman of action. That person will find delight and affirmation in the action.
26-27 Anyone who sets himself up as “religious” by talking a good game is self-deceived. This kind of religion is hot air and only hot air. Real religion, the kind that passes muster before God the Father, is this: Reach out to the homeless and loveless in their plight, and guard against corruption from the godless world.
1. How does James 1:19 look back to what had just been said in verses 17-18?
2. Who was James writing to?
3. Why is being "swift to hear" (vs 19) rarely practiced?
4. When a person becomes angry, what particular right does he erroneously feel belongs to him?
5. What good does listening do?
6. What are some different ways of interpreting "filthiness" (vs21)?
7. How does the illustration of a person needing to look in a mirror relate to looking into the commandments of God?
8. What other importing teaching sheds light on the Exact meaning of "law of liberty" (vs. 25)?
9. What sorts of blessings might verse 25 refer to?
10. How can a person's speech unmask his hypocrisy?
********* ANSWERS **********
|
1. How does James 1:19 look back to
what had just been said in verses 17-18?
|
King James Version -
17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from
above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no
variableness, neither shadow of turning.
18 Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth,
that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
19 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be
swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:
Note: In Webster.. wherefore means - the cause or reason: to study the whys and wherefores of a situation.
In the bible – When you see “wherefore” it
direct us to what the writer said in the previous verse. It connects two or more verses.
The word “Wherefore” direct us to what James
had just stated in verse 18 – that the Father appointed us to be saved. The Father sends His good things down for
the sake of his children (vs 17), including Jesus, who He sent to rescue us
from sin and death. This is what James
referred to when he said that God “begat.. us with the word of truth” (vs
18).
|
|
2. Who was James writing to?
|
James was writing to believes. Specifically during this time, it was
believing Jews outside the land of Israel. (James 1:1) KJV - 1James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus
Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting.
|
|
3. Why is being "swift to
hear" (vs 19) rarely practiced?
|
We are naturally selfish and Selfish conversation looks
to be heard, not to listen. Quick,
shallow answers to people’s problems come from those who are overly eager to
speak. Love-destroying
self-centeredness comes from those who are keen to force others to
listen. Being “slow to wrath” keeps
many conversations from turning into hostility and resentment. Never meet aggression with aggression.
|
|
When a person becomes angry, what
particular right does he erroneously feel belongs to him?
|
The one who is anry assumes the right to judge others,
to pronounce sentence, and to cause some kind of hurt. Even minor displays of anger- which we give
deceptively innocent names like “irritation” or “aggravation” – cause hurt in
thow who see them. Anger often divides
people, making love difficult or impossible.
Our displeasure can lower other people, causing them to feel rejected. Aggravation for some people may turn into
violent action.
|
|
5. What good does listening do?
|
Good listening cause us to think before we speak. It allows us to hold back anger or jump to
conclusion which could lead into a fight.
|
|
6. What are some different ways of
interpreting "filthiness" (vs21)?
|
Filthiness is usually associated with sexual sin,
however, it could also mean, vain conversation. Conversation that promote ourselves and put
down others is also filthy conversation.
|
|
7. How does the illustration of a
person needing to look in a mirror relate to looking into the commandments of
God?
|
The illustration of the mirror suggests a parable. A
person concerned about an illness looks in a mirror to discern whether there
is a problem. Looking in the mirror,
he sees evidence of his health problem, but then he forgets what he saw after
he walks away. Comparing that to a
person that read Gods word, he can compare it to his own actions but never
changes and just walks away.
|
|
8. What other importing teaching
sheds light on the Exact meaning of "law of liberty" (vs. 25)?
|
Commentary:
There are many ways of interpreting the Law, what its priorities
should be, and how to keep. Judaism in
James’s time had many schools of thoughts, as it does today. Jesus gave His disciples very important
guidance on the correct way to interpret the Law. The first principle, that of highest
importance, is “the double commandment to love God and others”.
According to Jesus, the two greatest commandments, which are the key to interpreting all the others are from Deuteronomy 6:4-5 and Leviticus 19:18 (cf. Mark 12:28-34). In whatever manner the O.T. laws could be interpreted, they must always reflect these as the highest priority. Having wrong priorities in the Law can make one a hypocrite (Matt. 23:23). James referred specifically to the concept of Jesus’ teaching on love and called this way of interpreting the Law the “law of Liberty” (Jas. 1:25) and the “royal law” (2:8). |
|
9. What sorts of blessings might verse 25
refer to?
|
The Scriptures often speak of rewards in this life and
in the life to come. We should not
think that blessings for godly living are only in the afterlife. For example, in 5:16 James taught that the
prayers of those who live by righteousness are more powerful than the prayers
of the less righteous. In 3:18 he
explained that those who live by the law interpreted through love have peace
in their hearts. There are many
blessings to being a doer of the words of God.
|
|
10. How can a person's speech unmask
his hypocrisy?
|
Faking a good attitude is difficult. Thus a person of “vain” or hypocritical
religion will often be exposed by unloving words.
Pure religion is evidenced by selfless action. Example, those who care for widows and
children. Jesus cared for this group
of people and its evident in the scriptures.
Jesus said the highest form of service is to those who cannot repay
(Luke 14:14).
|
No comments:
Post a Comment