The Power of the Word
Heart to Heart • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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18 Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.
19 So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath;
20 for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.
21 Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror;
24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.
25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.
26 If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless.
27 Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.
Many years ago in a Moscow theater, matinee idol Alexander Rostovzev was converted while playing the role of Jesus in a sacrilegious play entitled Christ in a Tuxedo. He was supposed to read two verses from the Sermon on the Mount, remove his gown, and cry out, "Give me my tuxedo and top hat!" But as he read the words, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted," he began to tremble. Instead of following the script, he kept reading from Matthew 5, ignoring the coughs, calls, and foot-stamping of his fellow actors. Finally, recalling a verse he had learned in his childhood in a Russian Orthodox church, he cried, "Lord, remember me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom!" (Luke 23:42). Before the curtain could be lowered, Rostovzev had trusted Jesus Christ as his personal Savior.
J.K. Johnston, Why Christians Sin, Discovery House, 1992, p. 121.
The Word is God, according to verse 27. Religion before God and the Father.
The word for God is “Theos” and is the same word as is used in verse 1
Martin Luther famously said of James, “it is a right strawy epistle.” He said this because in his eyes James spoke little of Jesus.
I. Results of the Word
I. Results of the Word
1:19–21
A. Spirit of Meekness
A. Spirit of Meekness
v.19
B. The Spirit of righteousness
B. The Spirit of righteousness
v.20
C. Salvation
C. Salvation
v.21
II. Responsiveness to the Word
II. Responsiveness to the Word
1:22–25
An old lady returned home from a church service to find an intruder in the process of ransacking her house. "Stop!" she yelled. "Acts 2:38!" (which says, "Repent!") The burglar stopped dead while the old lady called the police. As he handcuffed the burglar, the officer asked, "How come you just stood there? All the old lady did was quote a Bible verse." "A Bible verse?" the thief replied. "She said she had an axe and two .38s!"
A. Will call us to action.
A. Will call us to action.
v.22
B. It will reveal who we are.
B. It will reveal who we are.
v.23-24
C. Results in a fruitful life.
C. Results in a fruitful life.
v.25
III. Relinquishment to the Word
III. Relinquishment to the Word
1:26–27
19 A servant will not be corrected by mere words; For though he understands, he will not respond.
Mirrors are self-checkout registers are there to help the customers become self-aware in an effort to discourage shoplifting. Likewise, the bible serves as a mirror to bring us self-awareness of our position before God. That is the reason much of the world hates the Bible, it makes them see themselves guilty before God.
Thus, we must make a decision, will we neglect God’s word in a feeble attempt to improve our self-image, or look to it to improve our image before God.
A. A Heart of Compassion.
A. A Heart of Compassion.
v.25
B. A life of holiness.
B. A life of holiness.
v.25
