1
00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:01,560
All right, good morning, church 
family. 

2
00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:05,040
As you find your seat, let me 
invite you to open your Bibles 

3
00:00:05,600 --> 00:00:11,880
or type in your devices the book
of James chapter 1. 

4
00:00:12,400 --> 00:00:17,360
And this morning we're going to 
be in verses 22 to 26. 

5
00:00:17,720 --> 00:00:20,400
We've been going through James 
for, I don't know, maybe if 

6
00:00:20,400 --> 00:00:23,280
several weeks now, and we've 
been going at at a pretty slow 

7
00:00:23,280 --> 00:00:27,400
pace. 
This morning we're in James 122 

8
00:00:27,400 --> 00:00:30,720
to 26. 
The title of the sermon is this,

9
00:00:31,000 --> 00:00:35,440
The danger of listening without 
obedience. 

10
00:00:35,960 --> 00:00:38,600
And so let's read the text. 
I'll open this in a word of 

11
00:00:38,600 --> 00:00:41,760
prayer, and then we'll jump into
the sermon this morning. 

12
00:00:41,760 --> 00:00:50,400
James one beginning in verse 22.
But be doers of the word and not

13
00:00:50,400 --> 00:00:53,480
hearers only, deceiving 
yourselves. 

14
00:00:54,200 --> 00:00:59,560
For if anyone is a hearer of the
word and not a doer, he is like 

15
00:00:59,560 --> 00:01:03,160
a man who looks intently at his 
natural face in a mirror. 

16
00:01:04,040 --> 00:01:09,640
For he looks at himself and goes
away, and at once forgets what 

17
00:01:09,640 --> 00:01:13,040
he was like. 
But the one who looks into the 

18
00:01:13,040 --> 00:01:18,960
perfect law, the law of liberty,
and perseveres, being no hearer 

19
00:01:18,960 --> 00:01:24,920
who forgets, but a doer who 
acts, he will be blessed in his 

20
00:01:24,920 --> 00:01:27,800
doing. 
If anyone thinks he is religious

21
00:01:27,800 --> 00:01:32,800
and does not bridle his tongue 
but deceives his heart, this 

22
00:01:32,800 --> 00:01:43,120
person's religion is worthless. 
You pray with me, Father. 

23
00:01:43,120 --> 00:01:49,000
I pray this morning that you 
would help us all to listen well

24
00:01:49,000 --> 00:01:58,200
this morning and that you would 
also help us to go beyond that. 

25
00:01:59,840 --> 00:02:05,600
Guard us, God, from listening 
well, period. 

26
00:02:07,680 --> 00:02:09,919
Help us, God, to be a doer of 
the word. 

27
00:02:09,919 --> 00:02:12,240
That what we learned here this 
morning, what we learned next 

28
00:02:12,240 --> 00:02:17,440
week, last week, small group, 
Friday night discipleship, our 

29
00:02:17,440 --> 00:02:20,560
own private time of reading. 
Lord, help us to put into 

30
00:02:20,560 --> 00:02:24,240
practice and to obey what you 
have taught us, what we have 

31
00:02:24,240 --> 00:02:27,960
listened to. 
God, we, we recognize, we, we 

32
00:02:27,960 --> 00:02:31,280
see these words on the page that
we are called to be doers of the

33
00:02:31,280 --> 00:02:34,800
word and we pray God, you would 
give us the grace to do that now

34
00:02:35,400 --> 00:02:38,760
and in the coming week. 
Lord, I pray this in the name of

35
00:02:38,800 --> 00:02:44,680
Jesus, Amen. 
We've all heard the phrases. 

36
00:02:45,040 --> 00:02:51,240
Actions speak louder than words.
Or maybe practice what you 

37
00:02:51,240 --> 00:02:56,880
preach. 
Or maybe talk is cheap or you 

38
00:02:56,880 --> 00:03:01,760
should walk the talk. 
Or maybe well done is better 

39
00:03:01,760 --> 00:03:06,760
than well said. 
He's all kind of hit on the 

40
00:03:06,760 --> 00:03:09,640
topic of what James is telling 
this morning, that as Christians

41
00:03:10,080 --> 00:03:14,440
we can do a lot of listening and
a lot of speaking. 

42
00:03:15,520 --> 00:03:18,600
This morning you are listening 
and you will be speaking in just

43
00:03:18,600 --> 00:03:21,320
a few moments. 
I I am speaking. 

44
00:03:22,880 --> 00:03:26,080
We can do a lot of listening and
a lot of speaking, but all of it

45
00:03:26,080 --> 00:03:31,840
is for nothing if it is not 
accompanied by a lot of doing. 

46
00:03:34,080 --> 00:03:37,680
There is a great danger in the 
Christian life of listening 

47
00:03:38,160 --> 00:03:41,360
without obedience. 
That's what the sermon is about 

48
00:03:41,360 --> 00:03:48,680
this morning is the danger of us
to listen well, but to not obey 

49
00:03:49,080 --> 00:03:51,800
what we hear. 
So let's start with the next 

50
00:03:51,800 --> 00:03:54,280
edition of the text. 
I'm going to explain the text 

51
00:03:54,280 --> 00:03:58,760
and try to open it up to its 
meaning for us and then I will 

52
00:03:58,760 --> 00:04:00,480
apply it. 
I have 6 points of application 

53
00:04:00,480 --> 00:04:03,320
this morning, but let's start 
with our text. 

54
00:04:03,320 --> 00:04:11,000
Verse 22 A where James writes 
but be doers of the word and not

55
00:04:11,120 --> 00:04:15,800
hearers. 
Only last week we saw that James

56
00:04:15,800 --> 00:04:21,040
exhorted the church that all of 
us are to be quick to hear and 

57
00:04:21,040 --> 00:04:24,800
slow to speak. 
But now James wants to warn us 

58
00:04:24,840 --> 00:04:28,800
about a hidden danger that 
exists with this. 

59
00:04:29,360 --> 00:04:34,400
And the danger is that someone 
can be quick to hear but 

60
00:04:34,400 --> 00:04:39,880
actually be slow to obey, right?
In other words, we can get that 

61
00:04:39,880 --> 00:04:42,160
right. 
We can be quick to hear but 

62
00:04:42,160 --> 00:04:45,440
actually be slow to obey. 
This is why James begins the 

63
00:04:45,440 --> 00:04:51,080
sentence with the word. 
But he says, but be doers of the

64
00:04:51,080 --> 00:04:57,440
word and not hearers only doers 
Hear means one who does what is 

65
00:04:57,440 --> 00:05:00,280
prescribed. 
You could even translate this be

66
00:05:00,280 --> 00:05:05,280
obeyers of the word. 
Last week James had exhorted the

67
00:05:05,280 --> 00:05:09,240
church to receive the implanted 
word with meekness. 

68
00:05:09,480 --> 00:05:14,160
And now he specifies what does 
that actually mean to receive 

69
00:05:14,160 --> 00:05:16,440
the word with meekness? 
And here's what it means. 

70
00:05:16,640 --> 00:05:21,120
It means to do it in the words. 
The way to know if you have 

71
00:05:21,120 --> 00:05:25,760
received the word with meekness 
is if you do it, do you put it 

72
00:05:25,760 --> 00:05:29,280
into practice? 
Jesus said, My mother and my 

73
00:05:29,280 --> 00:05:34,040
brothers are those who hear the 
word of God and do it. 

74
00:05:34,160 --> 00:05:37,800
Luke 821. 
Jesus said in John 1317, If you 

75
00:05:37,800 --> 00:05:40,320
know these things, blessed are 
you. 

76
00:05:41,760 --> 00:05:48,280
If you do them, look at 22B 
deceiving yourselves. 

77
00:05:48,560 --> 00:05:51,400
Be doers of the word, not 
hearers only deceiving 

78
00:05:51,400 --> 00:05:54,120
yourselves. 
James's argument is that if a 

79
00:05:54,120 --> 00:05:58,800
person is a hearer only and not 
a doer, they are actually 

80
00:05:58,800 --> 00:06:02,400
deceiving themselves. 
Notice James doesn't say they 

81
00:06:02,400 --> 00:06:06,280
are being deceived, he says in 
fact we actually deceive 

82
00:06:06,280 --> 00:06:08,120
ourselves. 
How so? 

83
00:06:08,960 --> 00:06:10,760
Well, because knowledge can be 
deceptive. 

84
00:06:12,280 --> 00:06:15,960
Theology and doctrine can be 
deceptive. 

85
00:06:16,960 --> 00:06:19,120
How so? 
It can make us feel like we're 

86
00:06:19,120 --> 00:06:25,800
spiritually fine. 
We listen well, we know a lot, 

87
00:06:26,320 --> 00:06:29,720
we are well read. 
But if we don't put it in 

88
00:06:29,720 --> 00:06:33,840
practice, what we have heard, 
what we have read, we are 

89
00:06:33,840 --> 00:06:38,920
actually deceiving ourselves. 
Look at verse 23 to 24. 

90
00:06:39,840 --> 00:06:44,200
For if anyone is a hearer of the
word and not a doer, he is like 

91
00:06:44,200 --> 00:06:47,480
a man who looks intently at his 
natural face in a mirror. 

92
00:06:47,720 --> 00:06:53,600
For he looks at himself and goes
away and at once forgets what he

93
00:06:53,600 --> 00:06:57,880
was like. 
James now gives a mini parable 

94
00:06:57,880 --> 00:07:00,400
to make his point. 
He gets like a mini parable to 

95
00:07:00,400 --> 00:07:02,520
make his point. 
He says if anyone is a hearer of

96
00:07:02,520 --> 00:07:07,360
the word, so they listen to the 
word, but they are not a doer. 

97
00:07:07,840 --> 00:07:10,040
They don't put into practice 
what they have heard. 

98
00:07:10,600 --> 00:07:13,400
He is like a man who looks 
intently. 

99
00:07:13,800 --> 00:07:16,080
Looks intently is actually one 
word in the Greek. 

100
00:07:16,360 --> 00:07:19,080
It means to look at it in a 
reflective manner, to 

101
00:07:19,080 --> 00:07:22,560
contemplate, to consider. 
It means to think about 

102
00:07:22,560 --> 00:07:26,120
something carefully. 
So this is not a casual glance. 

103
00:07:26,320 --> 00:07:28,480
This is not someone you know. 
You walk by a mirror and you 

104
00:07:28,480 --> 00:07:31,400
just kind of like, like this is 
not a casual glance. 

105
00:07:32,200 --> 00:07:35,440
There's a contemplation here. 
This is like someone who looks 

106
00:07:35,440 --> 00:07:39,400
in the mirror and is sit there 
is contemplating, reflecting, 

107
00:07:40,640 --> 00:07:45,280
contemplating, reflecting what 
James says his natural face in a

108
00:07:45,280 --> 00:07:48,320
mirror, his natural face. 
The word for natural is the 

109
00:07:48,320 --> 00:07:50,920
Greek word genesis. 
That's where the word genesis 

110
00:07:50,920 --> 00:07:51,880
comes from. 
It's a Greek word. 

111
00:07:52,440 --> 00:07:54,800
It means origin or birth. 
Literally, it translates. 

112
00:07:54,920 --> 00:07:57,640
He's contemplating the face of 
his birth. 

113
00:07:58,360 --> 00:08:00,240
That's what it says, the face of
his birth. 

114
00:08:00,600 --> 00:08:04,160
So what's going on here is that 
this man is staring at himself 

115
00:08:04,160 --> 00:08:07,720
in a mirror. 
He's contemplating his own face.

116
00:08:08,280 --> 00:08:11,640
He looks into the mirror. 
He's contemplating what he sees 

117
00:08:11,640 --> 00:08:16,200
in this mirror, James says, For 
he looks at himself. 

118
00:08:16,400 --> 00:08:19,640
This is the same Greek word as 
looks intently, for he 

119
00:08:19,640 --> 00:08:25,840
contemplates himself. 
And as he contemplates, he goes 

120
00:08:25,840 --> 00:08:30,000
away, steps away from the mirror
and at once he forgets what he 

121
00:08:30,000 --> 00:08:32,280
was like. 
What does that mean? 

122
00:08:33,400 --> 00:08:35,600
Could also be translated. 
Forgets what kind of person he 

123
00:08:35,600 --> 00:08:37,600
was. 
Could also be translated. 

124
00:08:37,600 --> 00:08:41,200
Forgets what he looks like. 
Could also be translated either 

125
00:08:41,200 --> 00:08:43,559
those. 
What is the point of this mini 

126
00:08:43,559 --> 00:08:46,000
parable? 
As I read this before, I 

127
00:08:46,200 --> 00:08:49,080
normally when I prepare sermons,
I, I read the text, I try to 

128
00:08:49,080 --> 00:08:51,560
understand it myself and and and
bring out meaning. 

129
00:08:51,560 --> 00:08:54,000
And sometimes I come across 
something and I'm like James, I 

130
00:08:54,000 --> 00:08:55,720
don't get it, man. 
I don't I don't get the point 

131
00:08:55,720 --> 00:08:58,800
you're making here. 
What what is the point of this 

132
00:08:58,800 --> 00:09:03,600
mini parable? 
And I found four helpful 

133
00:09:03,600 --> 00:09:07,320
explanations by commentators. 
I think they're all true. 

134
00:09:07,680 --> 00:09:09,200
I'm not going to choose between 
them. 

135
00:09:09,200 --> 00:09:11,920
I just like to whenever there's 
choices and they're all true, 

136
00:09:11,920 --> 00:09:15,000
I'll just take them all four 
helpful. 

137
00:09:15,000 --> 00:09:16,560
Let me read these to you. 
They're rather short. 

138
00:09:17,080 --> 00:09:19,160
The verses by Peter Davids. 
Here's what he writes. 

139
00:09:19,680 --> 00:09:23,600
The point is that the impression
is only momentary. 

140
00:09:23,720 --> 00:09:27,280
The look in the mirror while 
combing one's hair may be 

141
00:09:27,280 --> 00:09:31,600
temporarily absorbing, but it 
normally bears no practical 

142
00:09:31,600 --> 00:09:33,720
results. 
When 1 engages in the business 

143
00:09:33,720 --> 00:09:38,400
of the day, it is useless. 
The momentariness and the lack 

144
00:09:38,400 --> 00:09:40,800
of real effect is the point of 
the parable. 

145
00:09:42,200 --> 00:09:44,440
In other words, you comb your 
hair in the mirror and then you 

146
00:09:44,440 --> 00:09:48,400
just go about your day. 
It's just a momentary thought to

147
00:09:48,400 --> 00:09:50,760
the status of your hair, and 
that's it. 

148
00:09:51,640 --> 00:09:55,280
That's one second, Craig 
Blomberg writes, We begin to 

149
00:09:55,280 --> 00:09:58,240
wonder if perhaps this 
illustration is not better 

150
00:09:58,240 --> 00:10:01,920
understood as a deliberately 
ridiculous analogy. 

151
00:10:02,400 --> 00:10:05,320
For no one in their right mind 
who examines their image that 

152
00:10:05,320 --> 00:10:09,200
closely would then utterly 
neglect the flaws they discover 

153
00:10:09,240 --> 00:10:11,480
and instantly forget whatever 
they had seen. 

154
00:10:12,120 --> 00:10:15,520
Likewise, James seeks to stress 
how ludicrous it is for people 

155
00:10:15,680 --> 00:10:18,600
so rapidly to ignore and forget 
what they have heard. 

156
00:10:20,200 --> 00:10:23,480
What James is getting at is that
imagine if you looked in the 

157
00:10:23,480 --> 00:10:27,800
mirror and you saw like, you 
know, your your roommate in the 

158
00:10:27,800 --> 00:10:29,800
middle of the night took Sharpie
and wrote something on your 

159
00:10:29,800 --> 00:10:34,880
head, on your forehead. 
You saw it in the mirror, you 

160
00:10:34,880 --> 00:10:37,400
study it, you're like, what in 
the world who did this? 

161
00:10:37,520 --> 00:10:41,080
And then you just walked away as
though it didn't exist, didn't 

162
00:10:41,080 --> 00:10:44,720
do anything about it. 
That would be crazy, right? 

163
00:10:45,800 --> 00:10:49,120
That's what James is saying is 
like when we listen to the word 

164
00:10:49,240 --> 00:10:53,400
and do nothing about it, there's
another one, Baker writes. 

165
00:10:53,760 --> 00:10:58,200
It's like a person who examines 
intently his very own face in 

166
00:10:58,200 --> 00:11:01,640
the mirror, but within seconds, 
he cannot even pick himself out 

167
00:11:01,640 --> 00:11:05,080
of a police lineup. 
In other words, if I were to 

168
00:11:05,080 --> 00:11:08,000
look in the mirror, know what I 
look like, and then somebody 

169
00:11:08,000 --> 00:11:11,400
gave me a police lineup of 
suspects, I'm in that lineup. 

170
00:11:11,400 --> 00:11:13,840
And I'm like, I don't recognize 
any of these people. 

171
00:11:15,440 --> 00:11:19,000
Here's one more, Martin writes. 
What is seen in the mirror is 

172
00:11:19,000 --> 00:11:22,120
meant to lead to action, usually
regarded as remedial. 

173
00:11:22,320 --> 00:11:25,080
For example, a dirty face that 
needs washing. 

174
00:11:25,680 --> 00:11:28,880
Yet this person goes away and 
fails to deal with the flaws 

175
00:11:28,880 --> 00:11:32,040
that the mirror revealed. 
It's very similar to the other 

176
00:11:32,040 --> 00:11:35,560
one. 
The idea here is that it may. 

177
00:11:36,040 --> 00:11:40,440
I think the the the general idea
here is that it would be 

178
00:11:40,520 --> 00:11:43,960
ridiculous for someone to look 
in a mirror, study their face, 

179
00:11:43,960 --> 00:11:49,640
see flaws, see things that need 
to be corrected, and then just 

180
00:11:49,640 --> 00:11:51,480
walk away as though they don't 
exist. 

181
00:11:52,960 --> 00:11:58,400
Just pretend like nothing's 
wrong, James says. 

182
00:11:58,400 --> 00:12:02,520
That's what it's like when 
someone hears the word and then 

183
00:12:02,520 --> 00:12:06,960
they don't do anything about it.
Look at verse 25-A. 

184
00:12:08,360 --> 00:12:13,760
But the one who looks into the 
perfect law, the law of liberty,

185
00:12:14,080 --> 00:12:16,200
the one who looks into the 
perfect law, the law of liberty.

186
00:12:16,400 --> 00:12:19,960
James is now going to contrast 
this man in the many parable, 

187
00:12:20,280 --> 00:12:23,320
the man in verses 23 to 24. 
He's going to contrast it with 

188
00:12:23,320 --> 00:12:27,680
another kind of man. 
This kind of man is the one who 

189
00:12:27,680 --> 00:12:31,040
looks into, looks into. 
Now this is a different Greek 

190
00:12:31,040 --> 00:12:32,320
word than the one we just looked
at. 

191
00:12:32,640 --> 00:12:36,760
This is the same Greek word used
of John when he ran into the 

192
00:12:36,760 --> 00:12:38,640
tomb. 
Remember when Peter and John ran

193
00:12:38,640 --> 00:12:41,600
to the tomb? 
Peter runs first, but then John 

194
00:12:41,600 --> 00:12:44,320
outruns him, right? 
He gets there. 

195
00:12:44,440 --> 00:12:46,320
When he gets there, he doesn't 
go into the tomb. 

196
00:12:46,440 --> 00:12:48,880
It says that he's stooped to 
look in. 

197
00:12:49,520 --> 00:12:51,400
That's that. 
That word there is like, so it's

198
00:12:51,400 --> 00:12:53,760
like when you get to the tomb 
and he goes like this, he Stoops

199
00:12:53,760 --> 00:12:55,880
to look in. 
That's the word that's used 

200
00:12:55,880 --> 00:12:58,200
there. 
It's the same word used of Mary 

201
00:12:58,200 --> 00:13:01,000
when Mary went to the tomb. 
And the text says that Mary 

202
00:13:01,080 --> 00:13:04,760
stooped to look in same exact 
word. 

203
00:13:05,200 --> 00:13:07,760
And so that's the idea is that 
James is saying is that the one 

204
00:13:08,040 --> 00:13:12,440
who looks into the law, the law 
of liberty, they stoop to look 

205
00:13:12,440 --> 00:13:17,560
in at this law, this law of 
liberty, the law of the law of 

206
00:13:17,560 --> 00:13:19,000
liberty. 
Now what is that? 

207
00:13:19,480 --> 00:13:22,200
What is the perfect law? 
The law of liberty? 

208
00:13:22,600 --> 00:13:26,960
When we first have to talk about
what is this word law mean here 

209
00:13:27,640 --> 00:13:29,480
one of the difficulties of the 
word law. 

210
00:13:29,480 --> 00:13:31,880
This is true for any passage you
read in the New Testament. 

211
00:13:32,000 --> 00:13:34,800
When you come across the word 
law in the New Testament, you 

212
00:13:34,800 --> 00:13:38,080
have to ask yourself how is the 
author using this word? 

213
00:13:38,400 --> 00:13:41,800
Because it is used in many 
different contexts and has many 

214
00:13:41,800 --> 00:13:44,640
different meanings. 
For example, Paul writes in 

215
00:13:44,640 --> 00:13:50,040
Romans 614, since you are not 
under law but under grace, 

216
00:13:51,040 --> 00:13:52,760
you're not under the law but 
under grace. 

217
00:13:52,960 --> 00:13:56,400
But then in Galatians 6/2 he 
writes bear one another's 

218
00:13:56,400 --> 00:13:59,880
burdens and so fulfill the law 
of Christ. 

219
00:14:01,880 --> 00:14:05,600
Paul says we're not under law. 
He says to fulfill the law. 

220
00:14:06,960 --> 00:14:09,000
How to make sense of that? 
He's using law differently 

221
00:14:09,000 --> 00:14:12,600
there. 
So how is James using law? 

222
00:14:12,600 --> 00:14:16,920
Here? 
James gives us 2 clues with his 

223
00:14:16,920 --> 00:14:20,880
descriptions #1 he calls it the 
perfect law. 

224
00:14:21,320 --> 00:14:23,360
The one who looks into the 
perfect law. 

225
00:14:23,520 --> 00:14:28,040
The Greek word for perfect often
has the nuance of mature or 

226
00:14:28,040 --> 00:14:30,800
complete, right? 
It can be translated perfect, 

227
00:14:30,960 --> 00:14:33,600
mature, or complete. 
So what I think James is saying 

228
00:14:33,600 --> 00:14:37,440
is that this is not just the 613
commands of the Old Testament. 

229
00:14:37,840 --> 00:14:40,720
He's not saying that the one who
looks into the Old Testament law

230
00:14:40,720 --> 00:14:43,440
613 commands. 
He's saying the one looks into 

231
00:14:43,440 --> 00:14:46,800
the mature, perfect, complete 
law. 

232
00:14:46,800 --> 00:14:49,840
In other words, all of 
Scripture, the entire Bible, 

233
00:14:49,840 --> 00:14:52,520
this whole thing is the perfect 
law. 

234
00:14:52,680 --> 00:14:56,400
That's how he's using it there. 
Number two, he calls it the law 

235
00:14:56,400 --> 00:14:59,240
of liberty. 
You could also translate it, the

236
00:14:59,240 --> 00:15:00,680
law of freedom. 
That would be a good 

237
00:15:00,680 --> 00:15:02,120
translation. 
The law of freedom. 

238
00:15:02,760 --> 00:15:04,880
That's best explained in the 
book of Galatians. 

239
00:15:04,880 --> 00:15:09,200
If you remember that in 
Galatians Paul was encouraging 

240
00:15:09,200 --> 00:15:12,080
or exhorting or commanding the 
church there in Galatia to not 

241
00:15:12,080 --> 00:15:15,000
submit to the law that the 
Judaizers were trying to get him

242
00:15:15,000 --> 00:15:17,200
tell them to do. 
The Judaizers were telling them 

243
00:15:17,200 --> 00:15:21,520
they had to get circumcised. 
And Paul says do not submit to a

244
00:15:21,560 --> 00:15:26,400
yoke of slavery for freedom. 
Christ has set us free. 

245
00:15:27,120 --> 00:15:30,000
In other words, the law of 
Christ is meant to set us free, 

246
00:15:30,000 --> 00:15:31,880
not to bring us back into 
bondage. 

247
00:15:32,240 --> 00:15:35,000
If you get circumcised, you're 
going to be going back into 

248
00:15:35,000 --> 00:15:37,680
slavery. 
And he says Christ came to set 

249
00:15:37,680 --> 00:15:42,560
us free from this bondage. 
And so James is using the law of

250
00:15:42,560 --> 00:15:48,640
liberty and that sense here. 
So James writes that the one who

251
00:15:48,640 --> 00:15:58,720
Stoops to look into the perfect 
law, the law of liberty, and 

252
00:15:58,720 --> 00:16:06,560
perseveres and perseveres, not 
only do they look into it, they 

253
00:16:06,560 --> 00:16:09,480
persevere. 
This is not the normal Greek 

254
00:16:09,480 --> 00:16:12,960
word for persevere, the word for
abide. 

255
00:16:12,960 --> 00:16:15,680
And John 15, you know all those 
uses of abide in John 15. 

256
00:16:15,680 --> 00:16:17,960
The word for abide in John 15 is
meno. 

257
00:16:18,480 --> 00:16:20,960
This is the Greek word para 
meno. 

258
00:16:21,720 --> 00:16:24,480
Para meno. 
It means to continue in an 

259
00:16:24,480 --> 00:16:28,600
official capacity. 
It could have take the nuance of

260
00:16:28,600 --> 00:16:30,200
abiding. 
They can't take the nuance of 

261
00:16:30,200 --> 00:16:32,680
abiding. 
That's how the NASB translates 

262
00:16:32,680 --> 00:16:35,600
it. 
The one who abides by it. 

263
00:16:35,600 --> 00:16:37,040
They don't translate as 
persevere. 

264
00:16:37,040 --> 00:16:39,840
They translate it as the one who
abides by it. 

265
00:16:40,160 --> 00:16:43,560
You could translate it that way.
Look at verse 25-B. 

266
00:16:46,000 --> 00:16:47,920
The one who looks into the 
perfect law, the law of liberty,

267
00:16:47,920 --> 00:16:53,800
perseveres, being no hearer who 
forgets, but a doer who acts. 

268
00:16:54,160 --> 00:17:00,200
He will be blessed in his doing.
James writes that the one who 

269
00:17:00,200 --> 00:17:07,079
looks into the law and abides by
it abides in it, meaning he's no

270
00:17:07,079 --> 00:17:11,319
here who forgets he's no. 
He is a doer who acts. 

271
00:17:11,319 --> 00:17:13,400
He takes action on what he has 
heard. 

272
00:17:14,119 --> 00:17:18,040
He will be blessed in his doing.
Blessed here is not the way that

273
00:17:18,040 --> 00:17:21,119
the world uses blessing. 
The world uses blessing in the 

274
00:17:21,119 --> 00:17:23,319
sense of health and wealth, 
right? 

275
00:17:23,640 --> 00:17:26,079
That's what blessing is to the 
world is health and wealth. 

276
00:17:27,400 --> 00:17:29,000
And that's not how James is 
using it here. 

277
00:17:29,840 --> 00:17:30,880
Why? 
How do we know this? 

278
00:17:30,880 --> 00:17:35,640
Because being a doer of the Word
will probably lead to less 

279
00:17:35,640 --> 00:17:40,320
worldly blessings and often more
trials. 

280
00:17:43,840 --> 00:17:48,160
James is using blessed here in 
the way that Jesus uses blessed 

281
00:17:48,320 --> 00:17:51,920
in Matthew 5. 
When Jesus says blessed are the 

282
00:17:51,920 --> 00:17:55,080
poor and spirit. 
Blessed are those who mourn, the

283
00:17:55,120 --> 00:17:58,640
meek, those who hunger and 
thirst, the merciful, the pure 

284
00:17:58,640 --> 00:18:02,520
in heart, the peacemakers and 
the persecuted. 

285
00:18:04,400 --> 00:18:08,240
Look at verse 26. 
A if anyone thinks he is 

286
00:18:08,240 --> 00:18:13,800
religious and does not bridle 
his tongue, If anyone thinks 

287
00:18:13,800 --> 00:18:18,320
he's religious and does not 
bridle his tongue, now I'm not 

288
00:18:18,320 --> 00:18:21,640
going to address the phrase in 
this sermon. 

289
00:18:22,200 --> 00:18:26,760
Does not bridle his tongue. 
All right, I want to say ever, 

290
00:18:26,760 --> 00:18:29,880
but I almost almost never skip 
over anything in the scripture. 

291
00:18:29,880 --> 00:18:33,120
I preach on all of it. 
For now, I'm going to skip over 

292
00:18:33,120 --> 00:18:38,040
it because in chapter 3, James 
is going to spend 11 verses 

293
00:18:38,280 --> 00:18:41,480
talking about the tongue, and I 
don't want to steal that Thunder

294
00:18:41,480 --> 00:18:43,840
right now. 
So I'm going to talk about that.

295
00:18:44,280 --> 00:18:46,920
When I get to chapter 3, I'll 
talk about the tongue and I'll 

296
00:18:46,920 --> 00:18:50,400
address this phrase there. 
But I will address the basic 

297
00:18:50,400 --> 00:18:51,840
argument that James is making 
here. 

298
00:18:52,480 --> 00:18:56,400
James says if anyone thinks he 
is religious. 

299
00:18:56,880 --> 00:18:59,080
Now, we first have to ask, what 
does it mean to be religious, 

300
00:18:59,680 --> 00:19:01,240
right? 
What does it mean to be 

301
00:19:01,440 --> 00:19:03,120
religious? 
Not a phrase we usually use, 

302
00:19:03,120 --> 00:19:04,560
right? 
We don't talk about or it's not 

303
00:19:04,560 --> 00:19:06,680
a phrase I use. 
I don't think most of us use it.

304
00:19:07,560 --> 00:19:09,520
I'm a religious person. 
What does it mean to be 

305
00:19:09,520 --> 00:19:11,040
religious? 
This is the only time this word 

306
00:19:11,040 --> 00:19:14,600
is used in the New Testament. 
Only time it's cognate though, 

307
00:19:14,600 --> 00:19:17,040
for religion is used a few 
times. 

308
00:19:17,640 --> 00:19:20,960
It's used in Acts 26 five where 
Paul says that he obeyed 

309
00:19:20,960 --> 00:19:23,480
according to the strictest party
of our religion. 

310
00:19:23,720 --> 00:19:27,320
I lived as a Pharisee. 
It's also used in Colossus 218 

311
00:19:27,320 --> 00:19:31,320
where Paul writes insisting on 
asceticism and worship of 

312
00:19:31,320 --> 00:19:32,640
angels. 
That word worship. 

313
00:19:32,640 --> 00:19:35,520
There is actually the same word 
for religion, religion of 

314
00:19:35,520 --> 00:19:39,320
angels. 
The definition of religious is 

315
00:19:39,320 --> 00:19:44,160
this pertaining to being devoted
to a proper expression of 

316
00:19:44,160 --> 00:19:47,200
religious beliefs. 
You could translate it as devout

317
00:19:47,520 --> 00:19:50,200
or pious. 
That's the idea here. 

318
00:19:50,200 --> 00:19:56,600
Devout or pious. 
Notice that James says if anyone

319
00:19:56,600 --> 00:20:01,080
thinks, thinks in other words. 
So this is somebody who 

320
00:20:01,080 --> 00:20:06,280
considers themselves devout, 
considers themselves pious. 

321
00:20:07,000 --> 00:20:10,280
They are devout Christian. 
They are devout or devout 

322
00:20:10,520 --> 00:20:13,080
religious person, a pious 
person, he says. 

323
00:20:13,080 --> 00:20:19,240
If that's if they think that. 
But their actions do not line up

324
00:20:19,240 --> 00:20:22,960
with their beliefs. 
And in this particular case, it 

325
00:20:22,960 --> 00:20:25,480
gives the example of not 
bridling one's tongue. 

326
00:20:25,800 --> 00:20:27,120
But he could have given any 
example. 

327
00:20:27,120 --> 00:20:34,480
Here James says that this is 
that person deceives their own 

328
00:20:34,480 --> 00:20:38,000
heart. 
They deceive their own heart. 

329
00:20:39,240 --> 00:20:43,000
James is making a similar point 
as he did in verse 22 where he 

330
00:20:43,000 --> 00:20:47,880
says just as a person who live 
who listens but doesn't obey 

331
00:20:48,160 --> 00:20:52,560
deceives themselves, so does a 
person who thinks they are pious

332
00:20:52,600 --> 00:20:56,960
and devout but doesn't obey 
deceive themselves. 

333
00:20:57,560 --> 00:21:01,720
He's making the same point. 
Look at and then look what he 

334
00:21:01,720 --> 00:21:02,800
says. 
It's 26B. 

335
00:21:04,560 --> 00:21:08,320
This person's religion is 
worthless. 

336
00:21:09,600 --> 00:21:15,320
James pulls no punches here. 
I love this because as a pastor,

337
00:21:15,360 --> 00:21:17,240
you know, sometimes you can get 
the pulpit and you can, like, 

338
00:21:17,400 --> 00:21:20,040
tell people their religion is 
worthless and then get upset 

339
00:21:20,040 --> 00:21:21,240
with you. 
And I'm like, I didn't tell you 

340
00:21:21,240 --> 00:21:30,280
that the Bible did. 
This person's religion is 

341
00:21:30,280 --> 00:21:34,280
worthless. 
He has no problem telling the 

342
00:21:34,280 --> 00:21:38,480
church the hard truth. 
James says that a person who 

343
00:21:38,480 --> 00:21:41,480
thinks he is religious, thinks 
he is pious, thinks he is 

344
00:21:41,480 --> 00:21:44,640
devout, but they don't obey what
they believe. 

345
00:21:45,960 --> 00:21:48,360
This person's religion is 
worthless. 

346
00:21:48,360 --> 00:21:50,920
Notice he's not saying the 
religion is worthless. 

347
00:21:51,520 --> 00:21:54,960
He's not saying the religion. 
He's saying this person's 

348
00:21:55,240 --> 00:21:58,240
religion is worthless. 
Now what does that mean? 

349
00:21:58,800 --> 00:22:01,400
The word for worthless is used 
six times in the New Testament. 

350
00:22:01,720 --> 00:22:04,120
It can be translated as vain or 
futile. 

351
00:22:04,640 --> 00:22:08,600
It's defined as pertaining to 
being of no use, idle, empty, 

352
00:22:08,720 --> 00:22:12,240
fruitless, useless, powerless, 
lacking truth. 

353
00:22:14,040 --> 00:22:21,040
In other words, the Christian 
who lives a double life is 

354
00:22:21,040 --> 00:22:27,120
living a worthless life. 
We'll stop there with our 

355
00:22:27,120 --> 00:22:29,840
exposition application of the 
text. 

356
00:22:29,840 --> 00:22:37,640
What do we do with this? 
6 truths #1 There are no points 

357
00:22:38,080 --> 00:22:41,280
for merely listening, only for 
doing. 

358
00:22:43,200 --> 00:22:48,960
There are no points for merely 
listening, only doing. 

359
00:22:51,400 --> 00:22:55,200
One of the most important parts 
of the Christian walk is 

360
00:22:55,200 --> 00:22:57,000
listening. 
Let's be clear on that. 

361
00:22:57,480 --> 00:23:00,760
The Bible is replete with 
commands to listen. 

362
00:23:02,280 --> 00:23:04,680
The most foundational verse for 
the Israelites in the Old 

363
00:23:04,680 --> 00:23:06,320
Testament is what we call the 
Shema. 

364
00:23:07,840 --> 00:23:12,240
Shema is the Hebrew word for 
hear, hear, O Israel, the Lord 

365
00:23:12,240 --> 00:23:17,720
our God the Lord is 1 Paul 
writes in Romans 1017. 

366
00:23:17,760 --> 00:23:23,360
Faith comes by what hearing? 
Three times in the Gospels Jesus

367
00:23:23,360 --> 00:23:28,120
told the crowd He who has ears 
to hear, let him hear. 

368
00:23:29,080 --> 00:23:31,960
And the revelation Jesus gave 
the exact same exertration to 

369
00:23:31,960 --> 00:23:35,560
all 7 churches. 
He said he who has an ear, let 

370
00:23:35,560 --> 00:23:38,880
him hear what the Spirit says to
the churches. 

371
00:23:39,200 --> 00:23:45,320
He cannot over emphasize the 
importance of listening in the 

372
00:23:45,320 --> 00:23:47,240
Christian walk. 
We just can't. 

373
00:23:48,960 --> 00:24:00,120
And yet there are no points for 
merely listening, only for 

374
00:24:00,120 --> 00:24:04,280
doing. 
Let me give some basic 

375
00:24:04,280 --> 00:24:06,000
analogies. 
Very basic analogies. 

376
00:24:06,400 --> 00:24:10,160
Suppose a basketball team is 
really good at listening to 

377
00:24:10,160 --> 00:24:12,960
their coach. 
Really good. 

378
00:24:13,600 --> 00:24:17,880
They learn the plays, they know 
how to diagram them, they know 

379
00:24:17,880 --> 00:24:20,800
how to explain them. 
They know them backwards and 

380
00:24:20,800 --> 00:24:24,960
forwards. 
But come game time, they don't 

381
00:24:24,960 --> 00:24:32,440
actually run them. 
There is no stat line for 

382
00:24:32,440 --> 00:24:39,040
listening well. 
Or suppose a student goes to 

383
00:24:39,040 --> 00:24:40,400
medical school to become a 
surgeon. 

384
00:24:41,960 --> 00:24:44,840
They listen to their, his or her
professors really well. 

385
00:24:45,400 --> 00:24:49,280
They get perfect grades. 
They know the medical textbooks 

386
00:24:49,440 --> 00:24:54,440
backwards and forwards. 
But come surgery time, they 

387
00:24:54,440 --> 00:25:01,600
don't follow what they learned. 
When you go in for surgery, you 

388
00:25:01,600 --> 00:25:05,480
don't want a surgeon who just 
listens. 

389
00:25:05,480 --> 00:25:14,980
Well, one of the worst things 
that we can do here this 

390
00:25:14,980 --> 00:25:21,180
morning, it's to be really good 
listeners, period. 

391
00:25:26,400 --> 00:25:30,640
One of the worst things we can 
do is to get an A and listening 

392
00:25:31,040 --> 00:25:37,000
period. 
James writes that we must be 

393
00:25:37,360 --> 00:25:42,120
doers of the word and not 
hearers only. 

394
00:25:44,280 --> 00:25:48,520
Meaning, if we leave this place 
week after week, if we read our 

395
00:25:48,520 --> 00:25:52,160
Bibles week after week, if we 
meet up for discipleship week 

396
00:25:52,320 --> 00:25:57,520
after week, and we make little 
to no changes in our life, we 

397
00:25:57,680 --> 00:26:12,240
have wasted our time #2 Don't 
let knowledge and doctrine 

398
00:26:12,480 --> 00:26:17,200
inoculate us from an accurate 
assessment of ourselves. 

399
00:26:18,640 --> 00:26:24,400
Don't let knowledge and doctrine
inoculate us from an accurate 

400
00:26:24,400 --> 00:26:30,200
assessment of ourselves. 
There is a danger of listening 

401
00:26:30,200 --> 00:26:35,560
without obedience. 
Let me say it again, There is a 

402
00:26:35,600 --> 00:26:38,760
danger of listening without 
obedience. 

403
00:26:39,760 --> 00:26:44,120
It's like a plumber with a leaky
faucet, or a dentist with 

404
00:26:44,120 --> 00:26:49,520
crooked teeth, or a personal 
trainer who was overweight, or a

405
00:26:49,520 --> 00:26:54,080
mechanic with a broken down car,
or a lifeguard who can't swim, 

406
00:26:55,160 --> 00:27:02,040
or a financial advisor in debt. 
So is a regularly attending 

407
00:27:02,200 --> 00:27:07,400
church member who listens but 
doesn't obey. 

408
00:27:11,200 --> 00:27:15,360
James writes that a person who 
listens to the Word but doesn't 

409
00:27:15,360 --> 00:27:22,720
do it, they deceive themselves. 
Now, how did they deceive 

410
00:27:22,720 --> 00:27:24,000
themselves? 
How does that work? 

411
00:27:24,240 --> 00:27:30,320
Knowledge and doctrine can 
inoculate us from an accurate 

412
00:27:30,360 --> 00:27:35,040
assessment of ourselves. 
What does that mean? 

413
00:27:36,880 --> 00:27:39,480
There are church members. 
This is true at our church. 

414
00:27:39,520 --> 00:27:41,840
It's true at every church in 
America or across the world. 

415
00:27:41,840 --> 00:27:46,760
Even there are church members 
who listen very well. 

416
00:27:48,160 --> 00:27:52,200
I mean, they always listen very,
very well, and they can 

417
00:27:52,280 --> 00:27:59,240
perfectly explain the Trinity, 
the Incarnation, the hypostatic 

418
00:27:59,240 --> 00:28:05,680
union of Christ, predestination,
election, the atonement, the 

419
00:28:05,680 --> 00:28:10,360
problem of evil. 
And yet they are regularly 

420
00:28:10,360 --> 00:28:16,320
looking at pornography or 
getting angry everyday, or 

421
00:28:16,320 --> 00:28:22,080
cheating on their taxes or 
gluttons, or give very little, 

422
00:28:23,320 --> 00:28:25,360
or consistently impatient in 
their marriage. 

423
00:28:30,830 --> 00:28:34,590
Have you ever considered why do 
pastors and theologians and 

424
00:28:34,590 --> 00:28:37,430
seminary professors and 
Christian apologists and 

425
00:28:37,430 --> 00:28:39,870
missionaries fall into egregious
sins? 

426
00:28:41,510 --> 00:28:46,230
Why does that happen? 
Because they deceive themselves,

427
00:28:49,480 --> 00:28:55,120
they deceive themselves. 
You can get so used to 

428
00:28:55,120 --> 00:29:01,720
listening, your ears can become 
so accustomed to the truth that 

429
00:29:01,720 --> 00:29:03,360
you fail to put it into 
practice. 

430
00:29:06,840 --> 00:29:10,000
You see, the sword of the Spirit
is intended to cut us. 

431
00:29:10,360 --> 00:29:13,240
It's intended to cut you. 
It's intended to cut me. 

432
00:29:13,480 --> 00:29:19,520
But our incessant listening only
has produced calluses that keep 

433
00:29:19,520 --> 00:29:23,920
us from being cut to the heart, 
Paul writes. 

434
00:29:23,920 --> 00:29:26,760
It is not the hearers of the law
who are righteous before God, 

435
00:29:27,120 --> 00:29:31,160
but is the doers of the law who 
will be justified. 

436
00:29:33,440 --> 00:29:37,080
Think about that. 
It is the doers of the law who 

437
00:29:37,080 --> 00:29:45,520
will be justified. 
Don't let knowledge and doctrine

438
00:29:45,600 --> 00:29:57,080
inoculate you from an accurate 
assessment of yourself #3 Every 

439
00:29:57,080 --> 00:30:01,600
Christian must wrestle with the 
absurdity of our own cognitive 

440
00:30:01,600 --> 00:30:05,960
dissonance. 
Every Christian must wrestle 

441
00:30:05,960 --> 00:30:09,720
with the absurdity of our own 
cognitive dissonance. 

442
00:30:10,000 --> 00:30:12,640
What you I know most. 
You probably know this, but if 

443
00:30:12,640 --> 00:30:14,960
you don't, what is cognitive 
dissonance? 

444
00:30:16,280 --> 00:30:20,360
Here's the definition. 
Cognitive dissonance is a 

445
00:30:20,400 --> 00:30:24,520
psychological phenomenon that 
occurs when a person experiences

446
00:30:24,520 --> 00:30:28,840
mental discomfort or stress due 
to holding two or more 

447
00:30:28,840 --> 00:30:32,800
conflicting beliefs, values, or 
attitudes, or when their 

448
00:30:32,800 --> 00:30:34,920
behavior conflicts with their 
beliefs. 

449
00:30:35,600 --> 00:30:38,720
This discomfort often motivates 
the person to change their 

450
00:30:38,720 --> 00:30:43,040
beliefs or justify their 
behavior or avoid contradictory 

451
00:30:43,040 --> 00:30:48,720
information in order to reduce 
the dissonance and definition. 

452
00:30:50,400 --> 00:30:51,880
So let me give you some examples
of this. 

453
00:30:51,880 --> 00:30:55,000
Let me put some. 
A person is smoking a cigarette,

454
00:30:55,920 --> 00:30:58,440
and as they smoke it, they say, 
yeah, I know, I know I 

455
00:30:58,440 --> 00:30:59,920
shouldn't, I know I'm killing 
myself. 

456
00:31:01,080 --> 00:31:03,280
But they just, they just keep 
puffing. 

457
00:31:06,120 --> 00:31:08,480
A person is working out to lose 
weight. 

458
00:31:08,760 --> 00:31:11,440
They worked out hard, but then 
they go home and they eat a 

459
00:31:11,440 --> 00:31:15,160
bunch of junk food and they say,
yeah, I know, I know I shouldn't

460
00:31:15,160 --> 00:31:19,040
eat this, but they just continue
eating it anyway. 

461
00:31:21,320 --> 00:31:24,560
A person needs to get a task 
done and they say, I know, I 

462
00:31:24,560 --> 00:31:28,600
know, I need to get up off the 
couch and do it, but they don't 

463
00:31:28,600 --> 00:31:31,120
get up. 
They just sit there. 

464
00:31:33,880 --> 00:31:36,040
A biblical example. 
This is what Paul writes in 

465
00:31:36,040 --> 00:31:40,120
Romans 719. 
For I do not do the good I want,

466
00:31:40,800 --> 00:31:44,640
but the evil I do not want is 
what I keep on doing. 

467
00:31:45,920 --> 00:31:48,320
Even the apostle Paul 
acknowledges that there's a 

468
00:31:48,320 --> 00:31:53,760
cognitive dissonance here. 
And James writes, this is like a

469
00:31:53,760 --> 00:31:58,400
man who looks intently at his 
natural face in a mirror. 

470
00:31:59,280 --> 00:32:03,560
He goes away and at once he 
forgets what he is like. 

471
00:32:06,360 --> 00:32:08,720
Let me give an illustration of 
the point that James is making. 

472
00:32:08,720 --> 00:32:10,440
Let me give an illustration of 
the point he's making. 

473
00:32:12,440 --> 00:32:15,320
I'm going to tell it from the 
I'm, since I'm a, I'm a dude, 

474
00:32:15,560 --> 00:32:16,800
I'll tell it from a guy 
perspective. 

475
00:32:17,640 --> 00:32:20,720
Imagine if you have wanted to 
date this girl for two years. 

476
00:32:20,840 --> 00:32:26,400
You know, you have this girl 
that you've been observing for 

477
00:32:26,400 --> 00:32:27,840
two years. 
You really like her. 

478
00:32:27,840 --> 00:32:29,400
You've been wanting to date her 
for two years. 

479
00:32:29,920 --> 00:32:33,720
You finally work up enough 
courage to ask her out, right? 

480
00:32:33,960 --> 00:32:35,640
And when you do, she actually 
says yes. 

481
00:32:36,120 --> 00:32:37,120
She's like, yeah, I'll go out 
with you. 

482
00:32:37,920 --> 00:32:40,400
So you have a date on Friday or 
Saturday? 

483
00:32:40,400 --> 00:32:48,640
Saturday, Saturday. 
So you pick out your best 

484
00:32:48,640 --> 00:32:53,520
outfit. 
You get a shower, comb your 

485
00:32:53,520 --> 00:32:58,080
hair, put on some Cologne, and 
get ready to pick her up. 

486
00:32:59,520 --> 00:33:04,280
But before you pick her up, you 
are starving and you don't want 

487
00:33:04,280 --> 00:33:06,560
to be distracted with how hungry
you are. 

488
00:33:08,080 --> 00:33:11,480
So you run to Costco. 
You order a hot dog with 

489
00:33:11,480 --> 00:33:14,960
mustard. 
You scarf down this hot dog 

490
00:33:16,080 --> 00:33:17,840
before you leave Costco's food 
court. 

491
00:33:17,960 --> 00:33:20,600
You go to the bathroom to make 
sure you look all right in the 

492
00:33:20,600 --> 00:33:24,440
mirror. 
As you look in the mirror, you 

493
00:33:24,440 --> 00:33:29,520
notice you have mustard smeared 
across your cheek and you have 

494
00:33:29,520 --> 00:33:34,360
hot dog in your teeth. 
And you look at it and you see 

495
00:33:34,360 --> 00:33:38,000
it. 
And then you just walk away 

496
00:33:38,000 --> 00:33:39,720
pretending like you never saw 
anything. 

497
00:33:41,560 --> 00:33:43,960
And you show up to your date 
with mustard smeared on your 

498
00:33:43,960 --> 00:33:50,640
cheek and hot dog in your teeth.
That's what James says. 

499
00:33:50,640 --> 00:33:56,440
It's like when we listen to the 
word and we don't do anything 

500
00:33:56,480 --> 00:34:04,240
about it. 
See, listening is intended to 

501
00:34:04,240 --> 00:34:10,280
reveal our flaws. 
It lovingly shows us our 

502
00:34:10,280 --> 00:34:14,520
shortcomings. 
It lovingly shows us where I 

503
00:34:14,520 --> 00:34:19,360
need to make changes, where I 
need to grow, where I need to 

504
00:34:19,360 --> 00:34:25,360
correct something. 
We should never resent the 

505
00:34:25,360 --> 00:34:31,120
mirror. 
It's only revealing what is true

506
00:34:31,960 --> 00:34:43,560
and what needs to change. 4 
Obedience is always freedom and 

507
00:34:43,560 --> 00:34:48,199
always blessing. 
Obedience is always freedom and 

508
00:34:48,199 --> 00:34:51,400
it's always blessing. 
Now I was thinking about this 

509
00:34:51,400 --> 00:34:54,840
passes as to why all of us, 
including myself, why do we all 

510
00:34:54,840 --> 00:34:57,120
wrestle with being a hearer of 
the word and not a doer? 

511
00:34:58,040 --> 00:35:00,480
Why do all of us, including 
myself, why do we all wrestle 

512
00:35:00,480 --> 00:35:03,520
with hearing the truth and but 
then not doing it? 

513
00:35:03,520 --> 00:35:05,840
Why do we all wrestle that? 
It occurred to me that there's 

514
00:35:05,840 --> 00:35:09,640
still a part of our sinful 
nature convincing us that 

515
00:35:09,640 --> 00:35:14,600
obedience equals slavery and 
obedience equals misfortune. 

516
00:35:15,840 --> 00:35:17,480
There's still a part of us that 
that believes that. 

517
00:35:17,480 --> 00:35:20,480
Let me give some examples. 
Doing personal spiritual 

518
00:35:20,480 --> 00:35:22,840
disciplines, right? 
We all know that we should do 

519
00:35:22,840 --> 00:35:25,560
them. 
We can feel like, though, that 

520
00:35:25,560 --> 00:35:29,400
spending the time to do personal
spirit discipline is enslaving, 

521
00:35:31,080 --> 00:35:32,360
right? 
It's enslaving that I have to 

522
00:35:32,360 --> 00:35:37,080
spend the time to do this, or 
waking up early to do them is 

523
00:35:37,080 --> 00:35:40,280
enslaving or take the command to
forgive. 

524
00:35:40,960 --> 00:35:43,120
We know that we need to forgive 
this person that hurt us or 

525
00:35:43,120 --> 00:35:46,160
offended us or wounded us, but 
we can feel like that if we do 

526
00:35:46,160 --> 00:35:48,800
so, we will be taken advantage 
of. 

527
00:35:49,960 --> 00:35:53,840
Forgiveness enslaves us to being
a doormat. 

528
00:35:54,240 --> 00:35:58,560
We can feel that way or think 
about giving, and we'd have so 

529
00:35:58,560 --> 00:35:59,960
much more money if we didn't 
give. 

530
00:36:01,400 --> 00:36:06,600
We can easily feel enslaved to 
generosity or perhaps just 

531
00:36:06,600 --> 00:36:08,200
misfortune. 
Perhaps it's just misfortune, 

532
00:36:08,200 --> 00:36:11,560
right? 
If I obey here, I've had this 

533
00:36:11,560 --> 00:36:13,640
situation as a pastor where 
somebody told me what should I 

534
00:36:13,640 --> 00:36:14,920
do? 
And I'm like, you should quit 

535
00:36:14,920 --> 00:36:17,560
your job or you should not quit.
You should do this. 

536
00:36:17,560 --> 00:36:19,280
And they're like, if I do that, 
I'll get fired. 

537
00:36:19,840 --> 00:36:25,360
So get fired. 
If I obey here, it may cost my 

538
00:36:25,480 --> 00:36:31,360
job. 
If I obey here, it may cost the 

539
00:36:31,360 --> 00:36:33,320
relationship. 
I've talked to girls before. 

540
00:36:33,320 --> 00:36:35,520
They're like, if, if we don't 
sleep together, he'll break up 

541
00:36:35,520 --> 00:36:41,720
with me then then let him break 
up with you if that's the only 

542
00:36:41,720 --> 00:36:44,240
reason he's with you. 
He don't love you. 

543
00:36:52,160 --> 00:36:54,840
If I obey here, it may cost my 
comfort. 

544
00:36:56,000 --> 00:36:59,320
If I obey here, it may cost my 
life. 

545
00:37:01,520 --> 00:37:05,360
Brother, sister, obedience is 
always freedom. 

546
00:37:05,640 --> 00:37:13,240
It's always blessing. 
Always, always, always, James 

547
00:37:13,240 --> 00:37:15,200
writes. 
The one who looks into the 

548
00:37:15,200 --> 00:37:20,440
perfect law, the law of liberty 
and other words, obedience is 

549
00:37:20,440 --> 00:37:23,280
not enslaving, it is actually 
free. 

550
00:37:26,040 --> 00:37:31,160
A fish is not enslaved to water,
it is freed by the water. 

551
00:37:32,560 --> 00:37:38,680
Land is slavery for the fish. 
A well rested person is not 

552
00:37:38,680 --> 00:37:42,280
enslaved to sleep, they are 
freed by sleep. 

553
00:37:43,320 --> 00:37:49,320
The tired person is enslaved. 
A sports team is not enslaved to

554
00:37:49,320 --> 00:37:53,920
the rules. 
They are set free to win by 

555
00:37:53,920 --> 00:37:55,280
competing according to the 
rules. 

556
00:37:55,720 --> 00:38:01,080
The team that cheats and is 
disqualified is enslaved. 

557
00:38:02,720 --> 00:38:06,600
A person who budgets their money
is not enslaved to their budget.

558
00:38:07,160 --> 00:38:10,160
They are set free to have 
spending power. 

559
00:38:11,040 --> 00:38:13,920
The person who was in debt is 
enslaved. 

560
00:38:15,320 --> 00:38:18,960
A physically fit person is not 
enslaved to their exercise. 

561
00:38:19,400 --> 00:38:22,080
They are set free to not be 
injured. 

562
00:38:23,120 --> 00:38:27,120
Health conditions and injuries 
are enslaving. 

563
00:38:29,520 --> 00:38:34,920
Obedience is always free. 
Always. 

564
00:38:37,560 --> 00:38:41,960
And obedience is always a 
blessing, James writes. 

565
00:38:41,960 --> 00:38:50,720
He will be blessed in his doing.
There is almost never a day 

566
00:38:51,960 --> 00:38:59,680
where I see an image online or a
woman at the gym and I am 

567
00:38:59,680 --> 00:39:05,720
tempted to look, to stare 
because I think this will make 

568
00:39:05,720 --> 00:39:13,080
me happy and I have to 
constantly remind myself this 

569
00:39:13,280 --> 00:39:20,760
will not lead to my blessing. 
It won't lead to my blessing. 

570
00:39:23,200 --> 00:39:26,240
There is almost never a week 
where somebody says something 

571
00:39:26,240 --> 00:39:30,920
hurtful to me or offensive to me
and I am tempted to say 

572
00:39:30,920 --> 00:39:34,080
something back to them or about 
them. 

573
00:39:34,080 --> 00:39:36,880
Why? 
Because I think I will feel 

574
00:39:36,880 --> 00:39:44,400
better saying it and I have to 
constantly remind myself this 

575
00:39:44,400 --> 00:39:54,240
will not lead to my blessing. 
Purity will lead to my blessing.

576
00:39:55,760 --> 00:40:07,480
Meekness will lead to my 
blessing. 5A Cucumber. 

577
00:40:08,000 --> 00:40:12,000
Only becomes a pickle by abiding
in the brine. 

578
00:40:15,600 --> 00:40:21,200
A cucumber only becomes a pickle
by abiding in the brine. 

579
00:40:22,160 --> 00:40:25,440
James writes the one who looks 
into the perfect law, the law of

580
00:40:25,440 --> 00:40:30,280
liberty, and perseveres. 
As I mentioned in the 

581
00:40:30,280 --> 00:40:34,280
exposition, this can be 
translated as continues or 

582
00:40:34,280 --> 00:40:40,480
abides or fixes his attention. 
The idea here is that the person

583
00:40:40,480 --> 00:40:44,920
doesn't just look into the law, 
they abide in it. 

584
00:40:47,520 --> 00:40:51,080
Think about this. 
You cannot get a pickle by 

585
00:40:51,080 --> 00:40:54,280
taking a cucumber and just 
dipping it into brine. 

586
00:40:56,480 --> 00:41:00,440
Doesn't work that way. 
You can dip it 10 times into the

587
00:41:00,440 --> 00:41:02,680
brine. 
You won't get a pickle. 

588
00:41:04,720 --> 00:41:12,560
That cucumber must abide in the 
brine, and likewise, so must you

589
00:41:12,600 --> 00:41:22,800
and I abide in our brine. 
Coming to church, what you're 

590
00:41:22,800 --> 00:41:28,320
doing here this morning and 
listening to a sermon is like 

591
00:41:28,320 --> 00:41:31,960
dipping your heart in the Word. 
That's what you're doing. 

592
00:41:31,960 --> 00:41:34,040
You're dipping your heart in the
Word. 

593
00:41:34,720 --> 00:41:40,520
Reading your Bible in the 
morning or at lunchtime is like 

594
00:41:40,520 --> 00:41:46,880
dipping your soul in the world. 
It is not enough to simply 

595
00:41:46,880 --> 00:41:54,760
listen or to simply read. 
We must abide in it. 

596
00:41:57,240 --> 00:41:59,880
Jesus says, If you abide in my 
word, you are truly my 

597
00:41:59,880 --> 00:42:01,520
disciples. 
John 831. 

598
00:42:01,680 --> 00:42:04,120
If you abide in me, and my words
abide in you. 

599
00:42:04,120 --> 00:42:06,280
John 15. 
Seven John writes. 

600
00:42:06,440 --> 00:42:09,280
I write to you, young men, 
because you are strong, and the 

601
00:42:09,280 --> 00:42:12,600
word of God abides in you. 
First, John 214. 

602
00:42:12,760 --> 00:42:16,080
Whoever abides in the teaching 
has both the Father and the Son.

603
00:42:16,080 --> 00:42:19,920
Second, John 9. 
You know what's funny is that 

604
00:42:20,080 --> 00:42:26,280
even after a cucumber becomes a 
pickle, the pickle still abides 

605
00:42:26,280 --> 00:42:31,080
in the brine. 
It's not as though once it's a 

606
00:42:31,080 --> 00:42:34,240
pickle, it's like, I can be 
brine free. 

607
00:42:36,640 --> 00:42:42,800
I made it, I'm a pickle, no more
brine for me. 

608
00:42:43,960 --> 00:42:46,720
It continues to abide in the 
brine. 

609
00:42:47,400 --> 00:42:52,440
The brine preserves it, it gives
it flavour, it keeps it crisp. 

610
00:42:55,400 --> 00:43:03,960
And so it is with you and me. 
Don't be satisfied that God has 

611
00:43:04,080 --> 00:43:07,040
made you a Christian. 
He's made you a pickle. 

612
00:43:07,120 --> 00:43:12,920
You made it. 
You won't make it if you don't 

613
00:43:12,920 --> 00:43:20,760
abide. 
Six last point. 

614
00:43:22,040 --> 00:43:25,720
A Christian is only as pious as 
their obedience. 

615
00:43:26,800 --> 00:43:30,360
A Christian is only as pious as 
their obedience, James writes. 

616
00:43:30,360 --> 00:43:33,720
If anyone thinks he is 
religious, that word religious 

617
00:43:33,720 --> 00:43:35,600
can be translated as pious or 
devout. 

618
00:43:38,000 --> 00:43:41,920
You know, I was thinking, how 
would I answer if somebody asked

619
00:43:41,920 --> 00:43:45,720
me, Matt, do you consider 
yourself a pious man? 

620
00:43:47,920 --> 00:43:49,320
How would you answer that for 
yourself? 

621
00:43:50,880 --> 00:43:53,480
Somebody walked up to you at 
work or you know, your your dad 

622
00:43:53,480 --> 00:43:55,760
or your mom or somebody at your 
work or a family member or a 

623
00:43:55,760 --> 00:43:58,920
neighbor and said, do you 
consider yourself a pious man? 

624
00:43:58,920 --> 00:44:00,440
Do you consider you have a pious
woman? 

625
00:44:00,440 --> 00:44:03,280
How would you answer that? 
And I was thinking about that. 

626
00:44:03,280 --> 00:44:05,480
I was like, how do you know if 
you're a mature Christian? 

627
00:44:07,840 --> 00:44:10,200
How do you know if you're a holy
Christian? 

628
00:44:11,920 --> 00:44:13,880
How do you know? 
There are many metrics that 

629
00:44:13,880 --> 00:44:17,480
often get used, right? 
How often do you attend church? 

630
00:44:18,560 --> 00:44:20,760
How many of a church, how many 
of the church functions do you 

631
00:44:20,760 --> 00:44:22,640
attend? 
How often do you read your 

632
00:44:22,640 --> 00:44:23,880
Bible? 
How often do you pray? 

633
00:44:23,880 --> 00:44:26,200
How much do you give? 
How well revenue and doctrine of

634
00:44:26,200 --> 00:44:27,920
theology, how much do you serve 
the local church? 

635
00:44:28,120 --> 00:44:31,080
There are many, many, and all 
those are good things. 

636
00:44:31,080 --> 00:44:32,480
All those are things that we 
should do. 

637
00:44:33,200 --> 00:44:36,000
But James's point is that if a 
person thinks they are 

638
00:44:36,000 --> 00:44:40,240
religious, if they think that 
they are pious, they are devout,

639
00:44:42,200 --> 00:44:44,520
but they are living a 
disobedient life. 

640
00:44:45,160 --> 00:44:49,880
They deceive their. 
Own heart, James go so. 

641
00:44:49,880 --> 00:44:52,160
Far to say that their. 
Religion is worthless. 

642
00:44:54,240 --> 00:44:55,240
Worthless. 
What? 

643
00:44:55,760 --> 00:44:56,440
What? 
What? 

644
00:44:56,440 --> 00:44:58,680
Why would it be worthless? 
It's still worth something, 

645
00:44:58,680 --> 00:44:59,960
right? 
Why would it be worthless? 

646
00:45:00,080 --> 00:45:03,560
Think of it like this. 
Imagine if a husband. 

647
00:45:03,560 --> 00:45:06,800
Told his wife. 
That he loved her every day. 

648
00:45:08,600 --> 00:45:10,880
He even left her. 
Notes to express his affection. 

649
00:45:10,880 --> 00:45:12,760
Every day he would, even when he
before he left for work, he 

650
00:45:12,760 --> 00:45:16,360
would leave a note hidden around
the house somewhere to express 

651
00:45:16,360 --> 00:45:21,480
his affection that he loved her.
He bought her flowers, folded 

652
00:45:21,480 --> 00:45:23,560
her laundry, he cooked her 
dinner. 

653
00:45:23,560 --> 00:45:25,440
He's got dinner ready for her 
when she gets home. 

654
00:45:26,720 --> 00:45:31,080
He gets home before her, bought 
her presents, even washes the 

655
00:45:31,080 --> 00:45:34,000
dishes after dinner. 
He takes her on dates. 

656
00:45:34,280 --> 00:45:39,240
He does all these things, but 
he's having an affair all while 

657
00:45:39,240 --> 00:45:45,360
doing it. 
He did 99 things. 

658
00:45:45,360 --> 00:45:53,120
Right and one thing wrong. 
How would you describe? 

659
00:45:53,840 --> 00:46:00,600
His love for her. 
I know how James would describe 

660
00:46:00,600 --> 00:46:03,040
it. 
Worthless. 

661
00:46:05,360 --> 00:46:11,200
Worthless. 
How would you describe his? 

662
00:46:11,200 --> 00:46:15,320
Words of affection to her 
vanity. 

663
00:46:16,520 --> 00:46:22,240
Meaningless. 
Paul's point in Romans. 

664
00:46:22,240 --> 00:46:25,320
Is that all that matters for 
justification? 

665
00:46:26,080 --> 00:46:30,160
Is faith his point in Romans? 
Is all that matters 

666
00:46:30,160 --> 00:46:33,320
justification? 
Is faith and James's point is 

667
00:46:33,320 --> 00:46:36,080
that all that matters for 
glorification? 

668
00:46:37,080 --> 00:46:42,800
Is faith filled obedience a 
Christian? 

669
00:46:42,920 --> 00:46:47,000
Is only. 
As pious as their obedience, 

670
00:46:48,760 --> 00:46:49,200
let's pray.