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08 James 1:22-25 - Hear and Do
Title: Hear and Do
Text: James 1:22-25
FCF: We often struggle putting our gospel faith into gospel action.
Prop: Because it is only those who hear and do the gospel message that are blessed of God, we must believe and live out the gospel.
Scripture Intro: ESV
[Slide 1] Turn in your bible to James 1.
When we experience trials and temptations as God’s children, we can expect them to have a redeeming purpose. That God is perfecting our faith in the midst of said trail, is a certainty.
But what are some areas of our life that God is targeting? Perhaps our lack of wisdom. Perhaps our view of the world around us is inconsistent with His view?
But most dangerously, perhaps it is our lofty view of ourselves. Being self-focused has taken center stage as James exposes areas of lack he sees in his audience. And last week he pointed out that their disputes with each other and with God over their trials, are stemming from their lofty view of themselves.
Today, James will continue that theme. He reveals that the gospel of Christ demolishes our pride. It decimates our lofty view of self, so much so that we must humbly submit to obey the Lord when we accurately look into and understand the gospel. It should be no surprise to us that the gospel kills human pride and every temptation to boast.
Let’s begin reading in verse 22. I’ll read from the ESV this week but follow along in the pew bible on page 1360 or in whatever version you prefer.
Transition:
This is such a huge point in James. I cannot overemphasize this point. We must see what James says in this passage today. To miss this is to miss most of the letter. I beg you to pay close attention today. Even commit to listening to this sermon again sometime this week. What is said today… is perhaps the most important message you will hear this Christmas season. Not because I have something you need to hear – but because God has something you cannot afford to ignore.
I.) Because hearing the gospel message without change is foolish, we must believe and live out the gospel. (22-24)
a. [Slide 2] 22 – But be doers of the word, and not hearers only,
i. The first word of verse 22 is a contrasting conjunction. It forces us to see what he says next in contrast to something he just said.
ii. The only question is, in contrast to what?
iii. Since he goes on to talk about the Word, it makes sense that the contrasting thought would be what he referenced previously about the word in verse 21.
iv. Even then we don’t have clarity, because there were two items mentioned about the Word in verse 21.
1. They were to humbly receive the implanted Word
2. The Word is able to save their souls
v. Last week I interpreted the reception of the implanted word to be not simply hearing or believing but even cherishing and obeying the gospel. In many ways that interpretation was influenced by where James goes in today’s passage.
vi. Therefore, I believe the contrasting point that James is making is from the second statement; that the Word is able to save our souls.
vii. We commented last week that the gospel – ALONE – is able to save us. That we cannot add anything to the work of Christ to complete our salvation.
viii. Therefore, from such a statement his readers might be tempted to believe that having received the gospel means that they have nothing left to do with the gospel of Christ. That all they must do is to passively wait for the gospel to complete its work in them.
ix. James counters that with a command.
x. Be doers of the gospel and not hearers only.
xi. But what is the gospel? What is a doer of the gospel? What is a hearer only? We need to define our terms. And James is going to do just that by way of illustration. But he chooses to start with the hearers only first.
xii. But before he does, he cautious his readers with what is at stake should they be a hearer only…
b. [Slide 3] Deceiving yourselves.
i. James does not mince words when describing someone who is a hearer of the gospel without being a doer of the gospel.
ii. To be a hearer only would mean that you are self-deceived. It means that you are delusional.
iii. It means you live in fairy land, and an existence of your own imagination.
iv. It is no small matter to be a hearer of the gospel only. Thus, a huge theme in the book of James begins to open right before our eyes.
v. Do not be deluded. Being a hearer of the gospel only – is of no profit to you. It is useless. It is actually a detriment to him.
vi. But why is someone deluded if they are a hearer only? The answer to that question relates directly to what a hearer only actually is. Let’s look.
c. [Slide 4] 23 – For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror.
i. James uses a silly illustration to convey the truth about a person who only hears the gospel without doing the gospel.
ii. He is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. There are a couple items we need to understand in this short description.
iii. First, the word for looking here is translated well in the ESV. The word could actually be translated “consider” or “contemplate.” This is not someone who quickly glances in the mirror. Instead, this is someone who looks intently. He studies what he sees.
iv. The second item we need to understand is what the man studies. He is studying his natural face.
1. The semantic range for both these words in the Greek is quite broad. The word for face can mean anything from presence to showing partiality. Probably because the term “face” has so many idiomatic uses. Nevertheless, face is probably the best word.
2. But the other word means birth, existence, or genealogy. From this many translations say “natural.” Which is a good translation as long as we understand what is intended.
a. Some interpreters take this as the original intention of God in creating mankind. In other words that of a pure vessel designed to image God.
b. However, there are two really good reasons to reject this interpretation.
i. James is clearly in the midst of an illustration here. To interpret this word “natural” to mean created purpose, would prematurely break the metaphor. We would be far better suited to look for a meaning of “natural” that fits inside the metaphor. What kind of face would a person see in a mirror that we could call “natural”?
ii. A second reason for rejecting this interpretation is because of context. Contextually James is clearly painting a negative picture of this man. To see in the mirror what God intended humans to be and to ignore that would certainly be tragic. But not as tragic as someone seeing who they actually are and ignoring that. More on this as we go forward.
c. In our Tik Tok and Instagram world we live in – using no filter would mean not using technology to augment your face to get rid of wrinkles or blemishes.
d. This is a far more likely interpretation of the word “natural” within the bounds of this illustration.
e. By natural, I believe James means “unaided” or “raw” or “unfiltered.”
f. It is the face that you were born with – not one adorned in any way.
v. So then, a man who is a hearer of the word without being also a doer of the word is like a man who studies his blemished, raw, unaided face in a mirror.
vi. But the description is not quite done.
d. [Slide 5] 24 – For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.
i. Although it would be tragic to see what God intended us to be from creation and forget that. There is yet a far more tragic thing to happen to someone who sees their true selves in a mirror.
ii. After spending all that time looking at himself and studying every single contour of his natural face; after knowing all that is wrong and all the blemishes that exist; after observing all that hair out of place and all that is not right with his appearance; his natural and unhelped appearance…
iii. The man goes away from the mirror forgetting what he was like.
iv. He forgets or neglects or overlooks his blemishes. He does nothing about them.
v. He lives as if – they are not there.
vi. This is why we would call this a silly illustration. Because we could truly say of any individual who does this… What a fool! What an idiot! What a slob!
vii. Who would do this? No one! No one looks intently in a mirror and does nothing with their appearance! Friends, how many times in your life have you looked in the mirror after just rolling out of bed and said, “Hey… nothing bad about that!”
viii. As if by pretending the blemishes do not exist- we can make them magically go away or worse forget they were there in the first place.
ix. A person who hears the gospel of Jesus Christ and is not a doer of it – is a person who has been shown, at least in part, the great sin of their hearts next to the holiness of God and has left that revelation and not only does not change – but they forget what they saw!
x. Oh, pity the man, woman, boy or girl who is in such a position!
e. [Slide 6] Passage Truth: James pivots from his discussion of ridding themselves of wickedness and humbly welcoming the gospel which is able to save their souls. He wants to be sure they understand what he meant by receiving the gospel and what he didn’t mean by the gospel being able to save their souls. So, he tells them in no uncertain terms, that to hear the gospel without doing the gospel is to play the fool.
f. Passage Application: So, his audience must not stop at hearing the gospel. Quick to listen yes! But not to stop at hearing – for listening is to hear and do. His audience must hear and do the gospel.
g. [Slide 7] Broader Biblical Truth: But is this true in the rest of the scriptures? Does the bible as a whole really teach us that hearing the gospel without living it is foolish? Indeed, this is one of the central themes in all of the scriptures. To hear the word of God and to not listen, to not obey, to not change, to not respond – is to spell certain doom upon yourself. God is longsuffering, and He allows many to continue to ignore His word - but eventually God will justly punish those who do not respond to His Word. And His Son is the Word. Jesus’ work and teachings on earth is the sum total of the fullest expression of God’s revelation to all mankind. So, to hear the teachings of and about Christ, to know the truth of the gospel and to know all that Christ commanded and to not do it – is to be the greatest fool that has ever been. In time past, when God’s full revelation was not revealed, we might have less harsh words for the man far removed from Yahweh and His people. But to us now in a world where all but few have heard of Jesus and what He has done – and to us especially in church every Sunday – to not hear and do – what a fool you’d have to be.
h. Broader Biblical Application: So, CBC, I implore you by the mercies of God, as He yet withholds His great judgment day – that great and Terrible Day of the Lord – I implore you to look long and hard in the mirror of the word of God. Study your natural face. Know who you are and who God is. But do not leave that revelation unchanged. Do not walk away and forget who you are. Remember, repent, believe, and obey.
Transition:
[Slide 8(blank)] We know what a man who hears only is like. We know he is a fool. We know he will be judged for his foolishness. But what does a gospel hearer and doer look like? What should he expect from a life of doing the gospel?
II.) Because hearing the gospel message and living it is the only path to God’s blessing, we must believe and live out the gospel. (25)
a. [Slide 9] 25 – But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty,
i. Here James draws two equals signs for us in the text.
ii. First, the perfect law, the law of liberty is the same as the mirror in the opening illustration of the one who is a hearer only. The mirror that the man looked into to behold his natural face is indeed the perfect law of liberty.
iii. That leads us to the second equals sign. The Word, the gospel of Christ is the same as the perfect law of liberty.
iv. But what do both of these terms mean? What is the gospel and what is the perfect law of liberty and how are they the same?
v. [Slide 10] Let’s start with a rather basic question, but one that must be answered if we are to proceed here this morning. What is the gospel?
vi. [Slide 11] The gospel is the work of Jesus Christ. And that work is recorded beginning in Genesis 1 and is completed in Revelation 22.
1. It is Christ being a second representative for mankind after our first representative (Adam) failed. Christ obeyed God’s law perfectly unlike Adam.
2. It is Christ being the sacrificial lamb and scapegoat whereby the sins of His people were expiated or removed to Christ and the wrath of God propitiated or extinguished on Him in the sinner’s place.
3. It is Christ promising a future in glory with Him where we will reign with Him forever.
4. It is Christ defeating the forces of darkness and freeing us from slavery to and the family of our former father Satan.
5. The scriptures tell us that He became sin who knew no sin that we might become the righteousness of God.
6. It is a transaction of substitution.
7. In this transaction, the perfect obedience of Christ is transferred to us while our failure is transferred to Christ where it was consumed by God’s wrath on the cross. Christ died once for all His people’s sin. And one day He will come again to receive the reward for His sufferings – a pure and holy bride.
8. The gospel is Christ being the hope for all who would stop trying in human effort to pursue their greatest desires and instead repent of their sin and trust completely on what Christ has already accomplished.
vii. [Slide 12] Therefore, the gospel is also a command. This shouldn’t shock us since James says right here that the gospel is a perfect law.
viii. It is a command to repent of sin and self-righteousness and believe or trust or depend ONLY on what Christ has done. Not dependance on a confession, profession, creed, set of truths, or even our decision to believe those truths. Instead, it is dependance on Christ alone. That His finished work is the effectual means for you and I to be saved. To the extent that even if God chose not to save you – Christ is still the only thing you can depend on to be saved. There is no other way.
ix. This is why John 3:16 is such an amazing verse. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever is believing on Him, will not perish but have everlasting life” You see this verse does not teach us a formula to be saved. Rather it is a promise that those who continue to believe will (in the future) be saved.
x. Since the gospel includes the command of repenting of sin and self-reliance and depending on Christ alone – God promising us that those who continue to depend on Christ alone will not perish – is a truly blessed promise.
xi. As I John 5:1 tells us, it is only those who continue to believe who are those who have been born of God.
xii. And finally, as James is saying here – and included in the perfect law – is that true dependance on Christ includes obedience to all He has commanded. If we love Him – we will keep His commands. And we will obey no matter what the cost.
xiii. As Philippians 1:29 tells us, the same people who have been gifted the ability to believe on Christ have also been gifted the privilege of suffering for His name.
xiv. And this helps us to transition to the aspect of the gospel being a perfect law of liberty.
xv. We are free in Christ. And not just free from sin’s punishment since Christ took our place – but we are also free to do what?
b. [Slide 13] And perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts,
i. Now James completes his illustration, painting for us the picture of the doer of the gospel.
ii. Being a doer necessitates being a hearer first. We can see this both by logic and by grammar. We are told to be a doer and not a hearer… only. This would leave us to conclude that we must hear first and then be a doer.
iii. But a true hearer and doer of the gospel perseveres in looking into the perfect law of liberty. They do not study and then walk away and forget. Rather they continue to see life through the mirror. And what is the consequence of continually seeing life through the gospel of Jesus Christ?
iv. It is someone who lives like their sin truly separates them from God who is the giver of life. It is someone who lives like they have nothing good of their own to offer God. It is someone who lives as if Christ and Christ alone is their only hope for a right relationship with God.
v. To live out the gospel … my friends… is to be a radically different person than you were born as. No natural man is this way. Every person is born with a love for sin, a hatred of God’s law, and a natural assumption that their relationship to God is merely strained and can be fixed by their own efforts.
vi. It is to live knowing that in Christ, the law remains in place for us. The difference is that we are now free to keep it. We are no longer slaves to sin and slaves to a will that does not desire righteousness and does not seek God. We are no longer slaves to Satan and to our flesh.
vii. Instead, we are free to obey. Free to be slaves to righteousness. Remember, He became sin, who knew no sin that we might become what? The righteousness of God!
viii. This is the liberty that the gospel gives to us. A liberty that our natural state did not give to us.
ix. The one who looks and perseveres in looking into the gospel and its freedom – will be the one who responds in action and does not forget what the gospel has shown him. And what will that produce?
c. [Slide 14He will be blessed in his doing.
i. Notice that James does not complete this phrase by saying – He will be saved.
ii. Ah to say so here would cross the very thin line of the status good works holds in the gospel message.
iii. Only the gospel, the implanted word, the work of Christ alone is able to save us. Our response to it does not save.
iv. However, to merely hear and not respond is foolishness and a sure path to eternal judgment and death.
v. So, if not responding condemns us, but responding does not save us - what place does responding to the gospel message have?
vi. We will be blessed, favored, given power and passion by God Himself in doing the gospel.
vii. Our efforts to respond to the gospel and live it out will be empowered and set aflame by God Himself.
viii. This word blessed means fortune or happy – and we correlate this word with divine grace. Where God gifts to us of His own freedom without impulse by any outside source – His grace.
ix. Meaning then, that it is not our response to the gospel that motivates God’s grace. For then it would not be grace. And it would contradict James here who says that we are given grace in the doing of the gospel not after doing it.
x. Instead, God’s grace is given for us to do the gospel.
xi. Do you not see my friends. Even our response to the gospel – even our doing of the gospel must be empowered by the gift of grace from God Himself.
xii. My friends – look in the mirror of the law of liberty – you have nothing to bring to the Lord. You are empty handed.
xiii. And yet, by His sovereign plan, he has birthed you through Christ’s work, He has implanted that work in you and He has enabled you to respond in faith and obedience.
xiv. My friends – salvation has never been and will never be about you.
xv. Respond to the gospel – but respond knowing that if you succeed in responding – it isn’t because of you. But it is because you have been blessed by God.
xvi. And if you have been blessed by God to do His gospel – then you will most certainly be blessed by God and received into His Kingdom.
d. [Slide 15] Passage Truth: So, James, in contrast to the gospel hearer, describes the doer of the gospel. And the outcome of doing the gospel is to be blessed of God in the doing of the gospel.
e. Passage Application: So, his audience must be doers of the gospel and not hearers only.
f. [Slide 16] Broader Biblical Truth: But is this true in the rest of scripture? Do we find that those who obey God are blessed in their obedience? The Old Testament serves as one vivid example after another of these exact parallel truths playing out. In fact, God told them that if they kept his law, he would bless them, but if not He would curse them. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, the judges, Samuel, David and many, many more, many who are listed in Hebrews 11, many who believed God and acted in that belief with obedience. They are said to be examples of faith, faith that is counted as righteousness. Faith that is alive and active.
g. Broader Biblical Application: So CBC, if we are to be blessed in our obedience, if we are truly saved, we must continue to believe and live out the gospel. We must be doers of the gospel and not hearers only. We must not forget our natural face which the word of God reveals to us. We must continue to see life through the perfect law of liberty. We must cling to the work of Christ and obey all that He has commanded us to be – for now we are free to do so. We must hear and do.
Conclusion:
So then CBC, what have we learned and how does it impact us in our daily lives?
We have learned that hearing the gospel only is a miserable and pitiable place to be. Like a foolish person convincing himself that his bed head and crusties in his eyes don’t exist just because he stopped looking in the mirror – to hear the gospel and forget what it showed us about ourselves or God or the world – is foolish. Ultimately it will condemn us to eternal judgment. Hearing the gospel is not enough. Hearing the gospel is not a faith that saves. Hearing the gospel is not an indication that God has implanted it in our hearts, nor that He has given us new birth.
Those who are blessed of God – are blessed in their doing of the gospel. In knowing the truth and being set free by it. Not freedom to sin – for the gospel does not afford us freedom to indulge our sinful habits further. Instead, a freedom to be what God has purposed for us to be. His first fruits among His creation. His children. Christ’s Bride dressed in pure white robes which are the righteous deeds of His church.
My friends if you do not live out the gospel, then you are not alive.
So how then shall we live? We must be slaves to righteousness. We must live as though we have nothing to offer God - but that Christ is all we have and all we need. He is our hope. We must depend on Him and love Him to the extent that we obey all He commands.
We need to put to death forever the notion that a person can say a prayer confessing the truths of the gospel and this somehow saves them from eternal punishment, whether their lives are changed or not. We need to once and for all silence the false teaching that is an easy belief which requires no lifestyle change or difference from God’s people.
While we may, in a theoretical sense, come to terms with a death bed conversion and even the temporary fruitlessness of a true child of God – we must recognize that the Word speaks seldom of and discourages such expressions of Christian life. It is clear from all of scripture and especially the New Testament, that the normal and predictable pattern of a truly redeemed person is to hear and do the gospel. To believe is validated by obedience.
This is so important for us as we come to this holiday season. We will all see family and friends who have prayed a prayer, who have made a confession, who know and perhaps to some degree still believe the truths of the gospel. Nevertheless, they are living in active sin, knowingly disobeying the Lord. Or perhaps they are actively trying to earn their own salvation by adhering to some traditional or ritualistic standard rather than depending on Christ alone. Or perhaps they are depending on something they have already done, a prayer they’ve said, or a confession they’ve made, or baptism, or other various actions they did to save themselves.
Now we can continue to pretend that these folks are true believers. We can massage our aching hearts with the hope that their confession is genuine. We can wink at the words of James and hope for better things. But to do so would be an act of hate against your family and friends. To know that their confession is empty – that they are foolish and headed for condemnation and to pretend as though they aren’t? What could we call such an attitude but hate?
It would be far better to first admit in our own minds and hearts that the scriptures are true and that those who posses confession without obedience are not God’s children. Only then can we pray and minister to them effectively. Only then can we truly love them enough to tell them the truth about the sorry state of their souls.
But to turn all this application to an even sharper point. My friends… how about you?
Perhaps you are one of those who has been a hearer but not a doer. You have looked long in the mirror of the Word and found your sin and the holiness of God. Yet you have not acted upon the gospel of Jesus Christ. You have walked away from what you’ve seen and refuse to look again – hoping to forget what horrified your soul.
Today, my friends, you have heard the gospel again. That Christ is the only way to peace with God. That He has been prophesied from the beginning to make a wretched person like you and me – into sons and daughters. Into royalty. Into priests.
My friends – whether you have never heard the gospel before and have only just heard it today, or whether you have heard the gospel for the thousandth time but have never lived it out – Let today be the day it changes you. Respond to the gospel call. Repent of your sin and self-righteous efforts to please God and depend on Christ and Christ alone for your salvation. Submit to His lordship over your life. And walk in newness. Endure in seeing the world through the lens of the perfect law of liberty!
Do not delay – even now under the sound of my voice you can cry out to Him in repentance and faith. You can obey the gospel and depend only on Christ. You can begin a life of obedience today, trusting in Christ alone to save your soul.
Do not pretend any longer. Do not forget what you saw in the mirror. Do not pretend that the blemishes aren’t there. No! Know they are there and know that Christ has no blemish. He was the spotless Savior who took your place! Believe on Him and Live for Him.
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By Christopher FreemanTitle: Hear and Do
Text: James 1:22-25
FCF: We often struggle putting our gospel faith into gospel action.
Prop: Because it is only those who hear and do the gospel message that are blessed of God, we must believe and live out the gospel.
Scripture Intro: ESV
[Slide 1] Turn in your bible to James 1.
When we experience trials and temptations as God’s children, we can expect them to have a redeeming purpose. That God is perfecting our faith in the midst of said trail, is a certainty.
But what are some areas of our life that God is targeting? Perhaps our lack of wisdom. Perhaps our view of the world around us is inconsistent with His view?
But most dangerously, perhaps it is our lofty view of ourselves. Being self-focused has taken center stage as James exposes areas of lack he sees in his audience. And last week he pointed out that their disputes with each other and with God over their trials, are stemming from their lofty view of themselves.
Today, James will continue that theme. He reveals that the gospel of Christ demolishes our pride. It decimates our lofty view of self, so much so that we must humbly submit to obey the Lord when we accurately look into and understand the gospel. It should be no surprise to us that the gospel kills human pride and every temptation to boast.
Let’s begin reading in verse 22. I’ll read from the ESV this week but follow along in the pew bible on page 1360 or in whatever version you prefer.
Transition:
This is such a huge point in James. I cannot overemphasize this point. We must see what James says in this passage today. To miss this is to miss most of the letter. I beg you to pay close attention today. Even commit to listening to this sermon again sometime this week. What is said today… is perhaps the most important message you will hear this Christmas season. Not because I have something you need to hear – but because God has something you cannot afford to ignore.
I.) Because hearing the gospel message without change is foolish, we must believe and live out the gospel. (22-24)
a. [Slide 2] 22 – But be doers of the word, and not hearers only,
i. The first word of verse 22 is a contrasting conjunction. It forces us to see what he says next in contrast to something he just said.
ii. The only question is, in contrast to what?
iii. Since he goes on to talk about the Word, it makes sense that the contrasting thought would be what he referenced previously about the word in verse 21.
iv. Even then we don’t have clarity, because there were two items mentioned about the Word in verse 21.
1. They were to humbly receive the implanted Word
2. The Word is able to save their souls
v. Last week I interpreted the reception of the implanted word to be not simply hearing or believing but even cherishing and obeying the gospel. In many ways that interpretation was influenced by where James goes in today’s passage.
vi. Therefore, I believe the contrasting point that James is making is from the second statement; that the Word is able to save our souls.
vii. We commented last week that the gospel – ALONE – is able to save us. That we cannot add anything to the work of Christ to complete our salvation.
viii. Therefore, from such a statement his readers might be tempted to believe that having received the gospel means that they have nothing left to do with the gospel of Christ. That all they must do is to passively wait for the gospel to complete its work in them.
ix. James counters that with a command.
x. Be doers of the gospel and not hearers only.
xi. But what is the gospel? What is a doer of the gospel? What is a hearer only? We need to define our terms. And James is going to do just that by way of illustration. But he chooses to start with the hearers only first.
xii. But before he does, he cautious his readers with what is at stake should they be a hearer only…
b. [Slide 3] Deceiving yourselves.
i. James does not mince words when describing someone who is a hearer of the gospel without being a doer of the gospel.
ii. To be a hearer only would mean that you are self-deceived. It means that you are delusional.
iii. It means you live in fairy land, and an existence of your own imagination.
iv. It is no small matter to be a hearer of the gospel only. Thus, a huge theme in the book of James begins to open right before our eyes.
v. Do not be deluded. Being a hearer of the gospel only – is of no profit to you. It is useless. It is actually a detriment to him.
vi. But why is someone deluded if they are a hearer only? The answer to that question relates directly to what a hearer only actually is. Let’s look.
c. [Slide 4] 23 – For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror.
i. James uses a silly illustration to convey the truth about a person who only hears the gospel without doing the gospel.
ii. He is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. There are a couple items we need to understand in this short description.
iii. First, the word for looking here is translated well in the ESV. The word could actually be translated “consider” or “contemplate.” This is not someone who quickly glances in the mirror. Instead, this is someone who looks intently. He studies what he sees.
iv. The second item we need to understand is what the man studies. He is studying his natural face.
1. The semantic range for both these words in the Greek is quite broad. The word for face can mean anything from presence to showing partiality. Probably because the term “face” has so many idiomatic uses. Nevertheless, face is probably the best word.
2. But the other word means birth, existence, or genealogy. From this many translations say “natural.” Which is a good translation as long as we understand what is intended.
a. Some interpreters take this as the original intention of God in creating mankind. In other words that of a pure vessel designed to image God.
b. However, there are two really good reasons to reject this interpretation.
i. James is clearly in the midst of an illustration here. To interpret this word “natural” to mean created purpose, would prematurely break the metaphor. We would be far better suited to look for a meaning of “natural” that fits inside the metaphor. What kind of face would a person see in a mirror that we could call “natural”?
ii. A second reason for rejecting this interpretation is because of context. Contextually James is clearly painting a negative picture of this man. To see in the mirror what God intended humans to be and to ignore that would certainly be tragic. But not as tragic as someone seeing who they actually are and ignoring that. More on this as we go forward.
c. In our Tik Tok and Instagram world we live in – using no filter would mean not using technology to augment your face to get rid of wrinkles or blemishes.
d. This is a far more likely interpretation of the word “natural” within the bounds of this illustration.
e. By natural, I believe James means “unaided” or “raw” or “unfiltered.”
f. It is the face that you were born with – not one adorned in any way.
v. So then, a man who is a hearer of the word without being also a doer of the word is like a man who studies his blemished, raw, unaided face in a mirror.
vi. But the description is not quite done.
d. [Slide 5] 24 – For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.
i. Although it would be tragic to see what God intended us to be from creation and forget that. There is yet a far more tragic thing to happen to someone who sees their true selves in a mirror.
ii. After spending all that time looking at himself and studying every single contour of his natural face; after knowing all that is wrong and all the blemishes that exist; after observing all that hair out of place and all that is not right with his appearance; his natural and unhelped appearance…
iii. The man goes away from the mirror forgetting what he was like.
iv. He forgets or neglects or overlooks his blemishes. He does nothing about them.
v. He lives as if – they are not there.
vi. This is why we would call this a silly illustration. Because we could truly say of any individual who does this… What a fool! What an idiot! What a slob!
vii. Who would do this? No one! No one looks intently in a mirror and does nothing with their appearance! Friends, how many times in your life have you looked in the mirror after just rolling out of bed and said, “Hey… nothing bad about that!”
viii. As if by pretending the blemishes do not exist- we can make them magically go away or worse forget they were there in the first place.
ix. A person who hears the gospel of Jesus Christ and is not a doer of it – is a person who has been shown, at least in part, the great sin of their hearts next to the holiness of God and has left that revelation and not only does not change – but they forget what they saw!
x. Oh, pity the man, woman, boy or girl who is in such a position!
e. [Slide 6] Passage Truth: James pivots from his discussion of ridding themselves of wickedness and humbly welcoming the gospel which is able to save their souls. He wants to be sure they understand what he meant by receiving the gospel and what he didn’t mean by the gospel being able to save their souls. So, he tells them in no uncertain terms, that to hear the gospel without doing the gospel is to play the fool.
f. Passage Application: So, his audience must not stop at hearing the gospel. Quick to listen yes! But not to stop at hearing – for listening is to hear and do. His audience must hear and do the gospel.
g. [Slide 7] Broader Biblical Truth: But is this true in the rest of the scriptures? Does the bible as a whole really teach us that hearing the gospel without living it is foolish? Indeed, this is one of the central themes in all of the scriptures. To hear the word of God and to not listen, to not obey, to not change, to not respond – is to spell certain doom upon yourself. God is longsuffering, and He allows many to continue to ignore His word - but eventually God will justly punish those who do not respond to His Word. And His Son is the Word. Jesus’ work and teachings on earth is the sum total of the fullest expression of God’s revelation to all mankind. So, to hear the teachings of and about Christ, to know the truth of the gospel and to know all that Christ commanded and to not do it – is to be the greatest fool that has ever been. In time past, when God’s full revelation was not revealed, we might have less harsh words for the man far removed from Yahweh and His people. But to us now in a world where all but few have heard of Jesus and what He has done – and to us especially in church every Sunday – to not hear and do – what a fool you’d have to be.
h. Broader Biblical Application: So, CBC, I implore you by the mercies of God, as He yet withholds His great judgment day – that great and Terrible Day of the Lord – I implore you to look long and hard in the mirror of the word of God. Study your natural face. Know who you are and who God is. But do not leave that revelation unchanged. Do not walk away and forget who you are. Remember, repent, believe, and obey.
Transition:
[Slide 8(blank)] We know what a man who hears only is like. We know he is a fool. We know he will be judged for his foolishness. But what does a gospel hearer and doer look like? What should he expect from a life of doing the gospel?
II.) Because hearing the gospel message and living it is the only path to God’s blessing, we must believe and live out the gospel. (25)
a. [Slide 9] 25 – But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty,
i. Here James draws two equals signs for us in the text.
ii. First, the perfect law, the law of liberty is the same as the mirror in the opening illustration of the one who is a hearer only. The mirror that the man looked into to behold his natural face is indeed the perfect law of liberty.
iii. That leads us to the second equals sign. The Word, the gospel of Christ is the same as the perfect law of liberty.
iv. But what do both of these terms mean? What is the gospel and what is the perfect law of liberty and how are they the same?
v. [Slide 10] Let’s start with a rather basic question, but one that must be answered if we are to proceed here this morning. What is the gospel?
vi. [Slide 11] The gospel is the work of Jesus Christ. And that work is recorded beginning in Genesis 1 and is completed in Revelation 22.
1. It is Christ being a second representative for mankind after our first representative (Adam) failed. Christ obeyed God’s law perfectly unlike Adam.
2. It is Christ being the sacrificial lamb and scapegoat whereby the sins of His people were expiated or removed to Christ and the wrath of God propitiated or extinguished on Him in the sinner’s place.
3. It is Christ promising a future in glory with Him where we will reign with Him forever.
4. It is Christ defeating the forces of darkness and freeing us from slavery to and the family of our former father Satan.
5. The scriptures tell us that He became sin who knew no sin that we might become the righteousness of God.
6. It is a transaction of substitution.
7. In this transaction, the perfect obedience of Christ is transferred to us while our failure is transferred to Christ where it was consumed by God’s wrath on the cross. Christ died once for all His people’s sin. And one day He will come again to receive the reward for His sufferings – a pure and holy bride.
8. The gospel is Christ being the hope for all who would stop trying in human effort to pursue their greatest desires and instead repent of their sin and trust completely on what Christ has already accomplished.
vii. [Slide 12] Therefore, the gospel is also a command. This shouldn’t shock us since James says right here that the gospel is a perfect law.
viii. It is a command to repent of sin and self-righteousness and believe or trust or depend ONLY on what Christ has done. Not dependance on a confession, profession, creed, set of truths, or even our decision to believe those truths. Instead, it is dependance on Christ alone. That His finished work is the effectual means for you and I to be saved. To the extent that even if God chose not to save you – Christ is still the only thing you can depend on to be saved. There is no other way.
ix. This is why John 3:16 is such an amazing verse. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever is believing on Him, will not perish but have everlasting life” You see this verse does not teach us a formula to be saved. Rather it is a promise that those who continue to believe will (in the future) be saved.
x. Since the gospel includes the command of repenting of sin and self-reliance and depending on Christ alone – God promising us that those who continue to depend on Christ alone will not perish – is a truly blessed promise.
xi. As I John 5:1 tells us, it is only those who continue to believe who are those who have been born of God.
xii. And finally, as James is saying here – and included in the perfect law – is that true dependance on Christ includes obedience to all He has commanded. If we love Him – we will keep His commands. And we will obey no matter what the cost.
xiii. As Philippians 1:29 tells us, the same people who have been gifted the ability to believe on Christ have also been gifted the privilege of suffering for His name.
xiv. And this helps us to transition to the aspect of the gospel being a perfect law of liberty.
xv. We are free in Christ. And not just free from sin’s punishment since Christ took our place – but we are also free to do what?
b. [Slide 13] And perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts,
i. Now James completes his illustration, painting for us the picture of the doer of the gospel.
ii. Being a doer necessitates being a hearer first. We can see this both by logic and by grammar. We are told to be a doer and not a hearer… only. This would leave us to conclude that we must hear first and then be a doer.
iii. But a true hearer and doer of the gospel perseveres in looking into the perfect law of liberty. They do not study and then walk away and forget. Rather they continue to see life through the mirror. And what is the consequence of continually seeing life through the gospel of Jesus Christ?
iv. It is someone who lives like their sin truly separates them from God who is the giver of life. It is someone who lives like they have nothing good of their own to offer God. It is someone who lives as if Christ and Christ alone is their only hope for a right relationship with God.
v. To live out the gospel … my friends… is to be a radically different person than you were born as. No natural man is this way. Every person is born with a love for sin, a hatred of God’s law, and a natural assumption that their relationship to God is merely strained and can be fixed by their own efforts.
vi. It is to live knowing that in Christ, the law remains in place for us. The difference is that we are now free to keep it. We are no longer slaves to sin and slaves to a will that does not desire righteousness and does not seek God. We are no longer slaves to Satan and to our flesh.
vii. Instead, we are free to obey. Free to be slaves to righteousness. Remember, He became sin, who knew no sin that we might become what? The righteousness of God!
viii. This is the liberty that the gospel gives to us. A liberty that our natural state did not give to us.
ix. The one who looks and perseveres in looking into the gospel and its freedom – will be the one who responds in action and does not forget what the gospel has shown him. And what will that produce?
c. [Slide 14He will be blessed in his doing.
i. Notice that James does not complete this phrase by saying – He will be saved.
ii. Ah to say so here would cross the very thin line of the status good works holds in the gospel message.
iii. Only the gospel, the implanted word, the work of Christ alone is able to save us. Our response to it does not save.
iv. However, to merely hear and not respond is foolishness and a sure path to eternal judgment and death.
v. So, if not responding condemns us, but responding does not save us - what place does responding to the gospel message have?
vi. We will be blessed, favored, given power and passion by God Himself in doing the gospel.
vii. Our efforts to respond to the gospel and live it out will be empowered and set aflame by God Himself.
viii. This word blessed means fortune or happy – and we correlate this word with divine grace. Where God gifts to us of His own freedom without impulse by any outside source – His grace.
ix. Meaning then, that it is not our response to the gospel that motivates God’s grace. For then it would not be grace. And it would contradict James here who says that we are given grace in the doing of the gospel not after doing it.
x. Instead, God’s grace is given for us to do the gospel.
xi. Do you not see my friends. Even our response to the gospel – even our doing of the gospel must be empowered by the gift of grace from God Himself.
xii. My friends – look in the mirror of the law of liberty – you have nothing to bring to the Lord. You are empty handed.
xiii. And yet, by His sovereign plan, he has birthed you through Christ’s work, He has implanted that work in you and He has enabled you to respond in faith and obedience.
xiv. My friends – salvation has never been and will never be about you.
xv. Respond to the gospel – but respond knowing that if you succeed in responding – it isn’t because of you. But it is because you have been blessed by God.
xvi. And if you have been blessed by God to do His gospel – then you will most certainly be blessed by God and received into His Kingdom.
d. [Slide 15] Passage Truth: So, James, in contrast to the gospel hearer, describes the doer of the gospel. And the outcome of doing the gospel is to be blessed of God in the doing of the gospel.
e. Passage Application: So, his audience must be doers of the gospel and not hearers only.
f. [Slide 16] Broader Biblical Truth: But is this true in the rest of scripture? Do we find that those who obey God are blessed in their obedience? The Old Testament serves as one vivid example after another of these exact parallel truths playing out. In fact, God told them that if they kept his law, he would bless them, but if not He would curse them. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, the judges, Samuel, David and many, many more, many who are listed in Hebrews 11, many who believed God and acted in that belief with obedience. They are said to be examples of faith, faith that is counted as righteousness. Faith that is alive and active.
g. Broader Biblical Application: So CBC, if we are to be blessed in our obedience, if we are truly saved, we must continue to believe and live out the gospel. We must be doers of the gospel and not hearers only. We must not forget our natural face which the word of God reveals to us. We must continue to see life through the perfect law of liberty. We must cling to the work of Christ and obey all that He has commanded us to be – for now we are free to do so. We must hear and do.
Conclusion:
So then CBC, what have we learned and how does it impact us in our daily lives?
We have learned that hearing the gospel only is a miserable and pitiable place to be. Like a foolish person convincing himself that his bed head and crusties in his eyes don’t exist just because he stopped looking in the mirror – to hear the gospel and forget what it showed us about ourselves or God or the world – is foolish. Ultimately it will condemn us to eternal judgment. Hearing the gospel is not enough. Hearing the gospel is not a faith that saves. Hearing the gospel is not an indication that God has implanted it in our hearts, nor that He has given us new birth.
Those who are blessed of God – are blessed in their doing of the gospel. In knowing the truth and being set free by it. Not freedom to sin – for the gospel does not afford us freedom to indulge our sinful habits further. Instead, a freedom to be what God has purposed for us to be. His first fruits among His creation. His children. Christ’s Bride dressed in pure white robes which are the righteous deeds of His church.
My friends if you do not live out the gospel, then you are not alive.
So how then shall we live? We must be slaves to righteousness. We must live as though we have nothing to offer God - but that Christ is all we have and all we need. He is our hope. We must depend on Him and love Him to the extent that we obey all He commands.
We need to put to death forever the notion that a person can say a prayer confessing the truths of the gospel and this somehow saves them from eternal punishment, whether their lives are changed or not. We need to once and for all silence the false teaching that is an easy belief which requires no lifestyle change or difference from God’s people.
While we may, in a theoretical sense, come to terms with a death bed conversion and even the temporary fruitlessness of a true child of God – we must recognize that the Word speaks seldom of and discourages such expressions of Christian life. It is clear from all of scripture and especially the New Testament, that the normal and predictable pattern of a truly redeemed person is to hear and do the gospel. To believe is validated by obedience.
This is so important for us as we come to this holiday season. We will all see family and friends who have prayed a prayer, who have made a confession, who know and perhaps to some degree still believe the truths of the gospel. Nevertheless, they are living in active sin, knowingly disobeying the Lord. Or perhaps they are actively trying to earn their own salvation by adhering to some traditional or ritualistic standard rather than depending on Christ alone. Or perhaps they are depending on something they have already done, a prayer they’ve said, or a confession they’ve made, or baptism, or other various actions they did to save themselves.
Now we can continue to pretend that these folks are true believers. We can massage our aching hearts with the hope that their confession is genuine. We can wink at the words of James and hope for better things. But to do so would be an act of hate against your family and friends. To know that their confession is empty – that they are foolish and headed for condemnation and to pretend as though they aren’t? What could we call such an attitude but hate?
It would be far better to first admit in our own minds and hearts that the scriptures are true and that those who posses confession without obedience are not God’s children. Only then can we pray and minister to them effectively. Only then can we truly love them enough to tell them the truth about the sorry state of their souls.
But to turn all this application to an even sharper point. My friends… how about you?
Perhaps you are one of those who has been a hearer but not a doer. You have looked long in the mirror of the Word and found your sin and the holiness of God. Yet you have not acted upon the gospel of Jesus Christ. You have walked away from what you’ve seen and refuse to look again – hoping to forget what horrified your soul.
Today, my friends, you have heard the gospel again. That Christ is the only way to peace with God. That He has been prophesied from the beginning to make a wretched person like you and me – into sons and daughters. Into royalty. Into priests.
My friends – whether you have never heard the gospel before and have only just heard it today, or whether you have heard the gospel for the thousandth time but have never lived it out – Let today be the day it changes you. Respond to the gospel call. Repent of your sin and self-righteous efforts to please God and depend on Christ and Christ alone for your salvation. Submit to His lordship over your life. And walk in newness. Endure in seeing the world through the lens of the perfect law of liberty!
Do not delay – even now under the sound of my voice you can cry out to Him in repentance and faith. You can obey the gospel and depend only on Christ. You can begin a life of obedience today, trusting in Christ alone to save your soul.
Do not pretend any longer. Do not forget what you saw in the mirror. Do not pretend that the blemishes aren’t there. No! Know they are there and know that Christ has no blemish. He was the spotless Savior who took your place! Believe on Him and Live for Him.