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Faith Works - In Obedience

  • Writer: Paul Downie
    Paul Downie
  • Aug 31
  • 22 min read

James 1:19-27 NIV 

[19] My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, [20] because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. [21] Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. [22] Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. [23] Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror [24] and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. [25] But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do. [26] Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. [27] Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. 

Have you ever had the opportunity to visit a reptile house in a zoo? It can be a fascinating place. The study of these animals is essential, and not just for educational reasons. Several powerful drugs have been derived from snake venom in particular.


However, handling venomous creatures is obviously a very dangerous occupation. Supplies of anti-venom must be kept nearby, because there are some creatures with a bite that can be deadly. 


There are aspects of our lives in a fallen world that are nothing more than pure poison.


There is nothing good in them. They are universally bad. There are others that, like lasers, need to be focused to do any good and, if handled incorrectly, can be deadly. 


These verses are like the warning on the jar with the skull and crossbones that warns you of the dangers. These are the instructions that tell you to ‘Keep out of reach of children’ or ‘Do not drink’. 


James is raising the alarm. We would do well to heed it. 


But the causes of this alarm might surprise us. 


The first cause of alarm is Anger. 

 

Anger 

James 1:19-20 NIV 

[19] My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, [20] because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.  

Anger and revenge have these days become subjects of entertainment. Many movies have been written about this subject. Movie-goers have paid to watch movies like ‘Raging Bull', ‘Falling Down', ‘Promising Young Woman’ and ‘Joker’ where the main characters express their rage in ways that we just would not. Although there can be moral elements to these movies, where the person who vents their anger faces the consequences, it is a very strange form of entertainment. 


I have even heard of ‘rage rooms', where people dress in safety gear and then smash up old, broken equipment with hammers or baseball bats. It’s supposed to be therapeutic.

 

Rage, anger and frustration are everywhere. I can understand where they come from. This world is not perfect. Things do go wrong. 


But James urges us to step back and ask ourselves a very serious question: is it any good? Will it get us what we need? Will it bring us any closer to God’s plan for our lives? 


The answer is: ‘No’. It won’t actually do us any good. 


Now, we have to make a very specific differentiation here. Paul also talks about anger: 


Ephesians 4:26-27 NIV 

[26] “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, [27] and do not give the devil a foothold.  

He is actually quoting from the Latin (Septuagint) translation of this verse: 


Psalms 4:4 NIV 

[4] Tremble and do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/psa.4.4.NIV)


This verse doesn’t give us justification to be angry. Instead it talks of controlling our anger so that we don’t cross over into uncontrolled rage. It also sets a time limit on anger, telling us to settle the issue in ourselves before sundown in order to stop the rot from anger from affecting us more than it needs to. 


We can’t, however, escape the fact that Paul also said this: 


Colossians 3:8 NIV 

[8] But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/col.3.8.NIV)


In other words, the Biblical model, from the Old Testament (Psalm 37:8; Proverbs 29:11; Ecclesiastes 7:9) is not to give full vent to our anger and take it out on other people. Far from it! It’s to resist it, to deal with it before God and get rid of it. 


So in that context, James gave us three very simple pieces of advice to manage our temperament. We would do well to listen to these very carefully. 


Firstly, we should be quick to listen.  


Why would James say something like that? 


Because often the reasons for our rage and fury don’t actually exist. We are wasting our time, our precious resources, and sometimes our relationships, getting mad about situations that aren’t happening. How foolish is that! 


And the antidote to our anger is to take a step back, take a breath, listen carefully and seek to understand. So simple, but so profound. 


We should also be slow to speak. 


Now, this is quite some piece of advice! 


Have you ever been involved in a disagreement and felt like you were about to burst because, from your perspective, the other person was talking nonsense, or could have no reason for saying or doing what they said or did? Have you ever got involved in a ‘dialogue of the deaf’, as Romanians rather poetically call it, when to people talk (or yell) over each other, but no-one listens to anyone? 


That is what James talked about here. 


Did you know there are situations where God’s people are basically told to shut up? 


Did you know that they are mostly linked to times when worry that they would not get what they need caused them to talk incessantly without saying anything useful? 


I'll give you some examples: 


Exodus 14:13-14 NIV 

[13] Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. [14] The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” 

Psalms 46:10 NIV 

[10] He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/psa.46.10.NIV)


Job 33:31 NIV 

[31] “Pay attention, Job, and listen to me; be silent, and I will speak. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/job.33.31.NIV)


Habakkuk 2:20 NIV 

[20] The Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/hab.2.20.NIV)


In all of these situations, God’s people were facing severe situations of lack. Something was missing. God’s solution was to tell them to stop bumping their gums, stop arguing, stop complaining and be silent. 


It appears to me that a major source of our anger is not a desire for things to be fair or righteous or equitable, but because we don’t have what we want. James will write about this later on (James 4:1-3). Our issues are caused because we seek in people what we should be receiving from God. That causes disappointment, frustration and, yes, anger. 


James wrote that we should not give this anger free reign. Instead, we should be slow to speak. We should properly assess the situation. We should choose our words carefully to get the outcome that we want. 


Let me give you an example. Let’s say that I’m waiting on a train. I'm in the station, on the platform. An announcement is made: my train is late. 


What if I get angry about this? What if I rage? What if I shout and yell and scream in frustration? Will it make the train come sooner? 


No, it won’t. In fact, it’s more likely that I will be arrested by the police for a breach of the peace and won’t be able to travel at all! 


And that’s the problem. James told us to be slow to speak and quick to listen because if we are slow to listen and quick to speak, our temper will not get us what we want. In fact, more likely, it will move us further away from it. 


The result of James' two other pieces of advice is that we should be slow to get angry.


There is no place in Christianity for short fuses and bad tempers. 


Our anger should not spark quickly and burn long. Instead, our fuse should burn slowly and our anger, on the rare situations that it is right and proper, should flare quickly and disappear just as fast. All along our slow-burning fuse, we should ask ourselves why we feel angry? Are we justified to feel angry? Will my anger get me what I want or need? 


If we feel anger rising in us like the hackles of a dog, we should remain silent, remove ourselves from the situation and repent in prayer until the anger subsides.  


James' teaching on anger, like on most of his subjects, is direct, to the point and painfully relevant.  


The question is: are we listening? Are we quiet enough to hear it? 


The second cause of alarm, the second poison to which the Bible has the antidote, is Sin. 

 

Sin 

James 1:21-25 NIV 

[21] Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. [22] Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. [23] Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror [24] and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. [25] But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do. 

Often the solution to our problem is so glaringly obvious that when we discover it, we regret not having found it earlier. I recall a city break we took to Vilnius in Lithuania. We arrived at the main station. Since we hadn’t been there before, we were reliant on a map I had downloaded on my mobile phone. Unfortunately, this map took us on a rather circuitous route to our hotel. We followed it. We didn’t want to get lost. 


The next day we woke up and say that the road to our hotel was straight, direct and quick.


We had simply missed the easy road. 


Often we make such a drama out of leaving behind our sin. There are situations when it genuinely is difficult: if we are suffering from substance abuse or require counselling because of mental trauma. Most of the time, it is not. The people who make it so hard for us are ourselves. 


How do I know? 


When it comes to sin, all throughout the Bible, the admonitions are simple and direct. 


Don’t do it. 


That’s it. 


Just don’t do it. 


That might sound horrifically simplistic, but how else can we explain the clear commands like this in Scripture: 


Psalms 37:27 NIV 

[27] Turn from evil and do good; then you will dwell in the land forever. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/psa.37.27.NIV)


Isaiah 1:16 NIV 

[16] Wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight; stop doing wrong. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/isa.1.16.NIV)


Ephesians 4:22-24 NIV 

[22] You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; [23] to be made new in the attitude of your minds; [24] and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. 

Maybe you've read the famous verses in Romans 7:14-24 and somehow come to the conclusion that you can’t be held responsible for your sin because you can’t help it. 


That is a mistake. 


If it really is not your fault and you can’t be blamed on you, then why does the Bible say you should take responsibility for it and you should repent? As God told Ezekiel: 


Ezekiel 18:20 NIV 

[20] The one who sins is the one who will die. The child will not share the guilt of the parent, nor will the parent share the guilt of the child. The righteousness of the righteous will be credited to them, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against them. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/ezk.18.20.NIV)


The Bible teaches us that each of us is responsible for our sin, each of us must repent of our own sin, and if we do not repent and follow Jesus, then each of us is accountable for our own sin. We are not trapped in the sins of others. We are not entangled in thr sins of others.

 

As we saw earlier in our pivotal studies on Galatians 5:13-26, sin is a conscious choice. It’s a choice to deny the Holy Spirit and follow either our fleshly desires or the devil. Because of what Jesus achieved by dying for us on the cross and rising from the dead, we are free to not make that choice anymore. 


That is James' point in these verses. 


He gave us three very simple things to do.  


Firstly, get rid. The Greek word used here is the same one used in these verses: 


Ephesians 4:22-24 NIV 

[22] You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; [23] to be made new in the attitude of your minds; [24] and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. 

Colossians 3:8 NIV 

[8] But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/col.3.8.NIV)


1 Peter 2:1 NIV 

[1] Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/1pe.2.1.NIV)


Hebrews 12:1-2 NIV 

[1] Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, [2] fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/heb.12.1-2.NIV)


The word literally means ‘to take off’. It was used of athletes when they took off their clothing and ran naked in the games. Now, we don’t have that nowadays (although athlete costumes aren’t that far off it). If we did, TV coverage of the Olympics would come with an age restriction. The nearest we could come to it is if we had become really dirty and smelly and needed to discard our soiled clothing. The Bible regards our sin like that. 


What James means is that we need to see our sin for what really is and decide to be done with it, for good. 


Secondly, he told us to gaze upon. The word used here comes with the idea of not just glancing or passing your eyes over something, but inspecting something to find out the details. That something is the Word of God.  


Now, if we have been caught in sin, this might be difficult for us: like staring at a serious injury or examining an x-ray of a broken bone in our own body. It won’t be comfortable, but it will be absolutely necessary. We cannot fix something if we don’t understand how or where it broke. That is what the Bible tells us. That’s why James told us to look deeply into it.


Thirdly, James told us to obey. So if we put off our sins and learn about why they are sinful and what caused them, it stands to reason that our next cause of action is to act on what we know. 


As I write these lines, tsunami warnings have gone out across the Pacific Rim (although, thankfully, most of them were later cancelled). In extreme situations like that we should always follow our government’s advice. If we don’t do so and we stay in the danger zone, we could be seriously hurt, or even killed. 


Sin is a danger zone. God is telling us through James, and many others, to get out of there.


We would do well to heed Him.


What we see here is the essence of repentance. We see something similar in the teaching of John the Baptist: 


Luke 3:10-14 NIV 

[10] “What should we do then?” the crowd asked. [11] John answered, “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.” [12] Even tax collectors came to be baptized. “Teacher,” they asked, “what should we do?” [13] “Don’t collect any more than you are required to,” he told them. [14] Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?” He replied, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely—be content with your pay.” 

Do you see how this worked? They came to John for guidance, so he told them to put off their sin and to obey God. James is telling us to do precisely the same thing. 


So we saw that the antidote to anger is to be silent and listen, and the antidote to sin is repentance and obedience.  


The last antidote James presents is against False Religion. 

 

False Religion 

James 1:26-27 NIV 

[26] Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. [27] Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. 

I remember, when I was a boy, we used to walk to church. Our church wasn’t particularly big. However, the men who went there in particular seemed to all wear the same style of clothes: plain shirt, suit, tie, and they carried a large, plainly visible Bible. Honestly, the sight of so many men dressed pretty much the same way and carrying the same thing was a bit intimidating. They looked like some sort of ‘Bible Mafia’: like they had a ‘licence to evangelise’. 


It was also quite out of kilter with the town around them. The town had struggled since its mines had closed following a disaster. It was an economically depressed area. There was a lot of unemployment. Teenage gang violence was a real problem. So seeing a bunch of guys headed to church in suits most people could not afford was a little strange. 


There was also a movement to hold marches to proclaim Jesus' lordship in our town. I think it took place either once or twice. It didn’t ‘take’ due to the occurrence of sectarian marches. People connected the two and couldn’t see the difference. 


Why am I mentioning these? 


Because for a great many people, religion is not about the Bible or obedience or repentance, it’s about the look. It’s about the optics. It’s about the perception. It’s about what people think of them. 


That was something for which Jesus sternly rebuked the Pharisees: 


Matthew 15:7-9 NIV 

[7] You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: [8]  “ ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. [9]  They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.’ ” 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/mat.15.7-9.NIV)


James picked up the baton here. 


There are so many religious movements – Christian and otherwise – that promote appearances: doing the right rituals, wearing the right clothes, being seen in the right places. They say if you tick the right boxes, paradise is yours.  


But we have to understand that Christianity is different. And it always has been. Even the Jewish prophets of the Old Testament did not spare the blushes of who sought rite and ritual over right relationship: 


Isaiah 1:12-15 NIV 

[12] When you come to appear before me, who has asked this of you, this trampling of my courts? [13] Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me. New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations— I cannot bear your worthless assemblies. [14] Your New Moon feasts and your appointed festivals I hate with all my being. They have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them. [15] When you spread out your hands in prayer, I hide my eyes from you; even when you offer many prayers, I am not listening. Your hands are full of blood! 

Jeremiah 7:1-7 NIV 

[1] This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: [2] “Stand at the gate of the Lord’s house and there proclaim this message: “ ‘Hear the word of the Lord, all you people of Judah who come through these gates to worship the Lord. [3] This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Reform your ways and your actions, and I will let you live in this place. [4] Do not trust in deceptive words and say, “This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord!” [5] If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly, [6] if you do not oppress the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm, [7] then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your ancestors for ever and ever.  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/jer.7.1-7.NIV)


Amos 5:21-24 NIV 

[21] “I hate, I despise your religious festivals; your assemblies are a stench to me. [22] Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Though you bring choice fellowship offerings, I will have no regard for them. [23] Away with the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps. [24] But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream! 

And these are among many, many others. 


It clearly and absolutely not enough to simply carry out religious rituals in the hope that God will turn His back on your sim and wave you through the pearly gates. That will not happen. We have already seen several meditations on Galatians that have proved conclusively why this is not the case. We know that to believe something like this makes a mockery of what Jesus did for us on the cross, and that cannot be. 


Here James aims his crosshairs at one particular area of false religion. If we’re honest, this one ought to really trouble us.  


He takes aim at our words. 


James 1:26 NIV 

[26] Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless.  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/jas.1.26.NIV)


He will go on to discuss this further in his blistering words in James 3:3-12. Suffice it to say here that when James talks of a ‘right rein’, he is talking about a horse's bridle, just as he will do in James 3:3. A bridle is a piece or equipment that is used to direct the energy and power of the horse in the right direction. What James is saying here is that our tongues are powerful, but need to be guided to be useful. If we let them do whatever they want, they are capable of immense damage. 


Now, we need to get something clear here. In common with many languages, the word ‘tongue' in Greek can also be translated as ‘language’. This is not just about how use our physical tongue. It is actually about how we use our language, our words, whatever the means we use to express ourselves. We cannot be disciplined in our speech, but raging keyboard warriors online. We must be disciplined in both. 


Look again at the fruit of the Spirit: 


Galatians 5:22-23 NIV 

[22] But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, [23] gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.  

When it comes to choosing what to say, we should ignore the flesh and obey the Spirit, such the fruit of the Spirit are reflected in what we say or type or write. 


Are they? 


If they are not, then James said that our religion is worthless. 


Why? 


Because any religion worth its salt ought to improve the life and the behaviour of the believer. We are all walking billboards for our beliefs. If people look at us and see that our religion has not elevated our attitudes or behaviours, if hasn’t salted our speech (Colossians 4:6), then our religion is void. 


That is something to remember the next time you open your mouth, or your computer, or your social media account. Before you communicate anything, stop yourself, take a breath, and ask if what you are about to will bring glory to God. 


James moved on from our words to our works. 


And, yet again, he doesn’t miss the mark: 


James 1:27 NIV 

[27] Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/jas.1.27.NIV)


Here James linked the validity acceptability of our religion not just with social justice, but with social action. This isn’t about campaigning or petitioning or arguing for a better world. Anyone can do that. It’s remarkably easy to simply blame someone else and accept no responsibility at all for what you can do yourself. 


James here is targeting a very specific area where the Jews had often let themselves down in the past. You see, what they, and often we, forget is that much of the Temple giving was to help the poor and the most vulnerable in society: 


Deuteronomy 14:28-29 NIV 

[28] At the end of every three years, bring all the tithes of that year’s produce and store it in your towns, [29] so that the Levites (who have no allotment or inheritance of their own) and the foreigners, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns may come and eat and be satisfied, and so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. 

But this had been long forgotten. 


Psalms 82:2-4 NIV 

[2] “How long will you defend the unjust and show partiality to the wicked? [3] Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed. [4] Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/psa.82.2-4.NIV)


Isaiah 10:1-2 NIV 

[1] Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees, [2] to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people, making widows their prey and robbing the fatherless. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/isa.10.1-2.NIV)


Amos 2:6-8 NIV 

[6] This is what the Lord says: “For three sins of Israel, even for four, I will not relent. They sell the innocent for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals. [7] They trample on the heads of the poor as on the dust of the ground and deny justice to the oppressed. Father and son use the same girl and so profane my holy name. [8] They lie down beside every altar on garments taken in pledge. In the house of their god they drink wine taken as fines. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/amo.2.6-8.NIV)

Christianity must overrule capitalism. We cannot enrich ourselves by impoverishing others. That is strictly and clearly forbidden. 


What we must do is stand beside those who are vulnerable and help them to become stronger. We must laugh when they laugh and weep when they weep (1 Corinthians 12:26). We must seek to understand their situation and seek to change it with them. 


James then moved on from our words and our works to our world: 


James 1:27 NIV 

[27] Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/jas.1.27.NIV)


There used to be what they called a ‘clean girl aesthetic' on social media, where influencers tried to persuade their followers to have squeaky clean homes, squeaky clean diets, squeaky clean lives. For some of us, that might sound like a good thing. However, it became so ubiquitous that other influencers rebelled against it and led their followers to have a messy, disorganised, destructive life. 


Neither of them is right. 


It’s good to be clean. But the best cleanliness there can be is cleanliness of the soul. 


The word James used here is not ‘polluted’ in the sense we would use it: of dirty, undrinkable water. It’s more a sense of being unstained, unblemished, unsullied. He didn’t say that we should withdraw from the world. Even Jesus didn’t pray for that (John 17:18). It’s that the world would not stain them. 


James wanted us to be on guard. 


How can we understand this? 


Think about your home. There are some people who don’t get past the threshold: delivery people, sales people, etc. We keep them outside.  


There are others we allow into our guest rooms, and maybe our bathroom, but we don’t allow them into the more intimate areas of our homes.  


There are others we are quite happy to allow to go anywhere they like. 


James told the first century Jewish believers to leave sin at the front door: to not let it cross the threshold. He wanted them to not permit evil thoughts and attitudes to enter their head. 

That is how they were to stay unsullied by the world.  


So, you see, there is no such thing as a ‘dab'll do you’, ‘hatch-match-despatch', ‘Sunday best, Monday to Saturday worst’ Christianity. Your faith in God should not have an off switch or a holiday mode or an out of office. You are either a Christian all the time or you are not a Christian at all. It either changes everything or it changes  nothing. 


And if it changes nothing, then it’s fake. Or worse, dead. 

 

Conclusion 

James 1:22 NIV 

[22] Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/jas.1.22.NIV)


There are many in this world who are simply opposed to any message their government communicates, and any attempt to bring in rules to keep them safe. This was really noticeable during the Coronavirus pandemic. It’s even more noticeable when you hear people spout useless conspiracy theories that have zero basis in fact. It sounds almost incredible that in 2025 there is still any form of debate about being intoxicated on a flight or wearing a seat belt in a car or getting children vaccinated. And yet people are so opposed to being told what to do that they disobey without considering the consequences. 

In a way, we should not be surprised that this is happening. It how human beings are (2 Timothy  3:1-5).  


But it ought to not be how we are.


The simple thing is that we are called to obey (Matthew 28:18-20; Romans 2:13; 1 John 2:3-5 and many others), both our spiritual leaders (Hebrews 13:17) and, I must say this clearly, our civil leaders (Romans 13:1-7). Of course, where these leaders ask us to disobey God, God comes first (Acts 4:19-20), but this doesn’t excuse us disobeying when God has told us we should obey. 


These verses, however, are about how obeying God is the antidote to three things that have gone badly wrong in our culture. 


We saw firstly God’s commands around anger. These completely differ with our culture’s approach, which is to give free rein to our fury as we have the freedom to say what we want. We do, but that doesn’t mean that we should. James told us that we should not. 


We saw repentance and obedience as the antidote to sin. That should have been obvious, but those who we caught in sin can often miss this simple cure. 


We saw that obedience is also the antidote for bad religion. We examined how going to the right places and doing the right things is not enough. We also need to obey God. 


Often we need reminded of Jesus' sharp words: 


Luke 6:46 NIV 

[46]  “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/luk.6.46.NIV)


Today there are far too many CINOs. No, I'm not talking about a  certain type of trousers. I mean people who are Christians In Name Only. These people are not really Christians at all.


A real Christian doesn’t just say they believe in God, they really do believe in God. This leads to them trusting His Word and obeying it. 


After reading and considering these challenging words in James, the question is: do you? 


Prayer 

Lord Jesus, I realise that faith without works is dead. I commit myself today to hearing and obeying You. Show me what this means as I seek to improve my temperament, my obedience and my worship. Amen. 


Questions for Reflection

  • Why did James mention anger? How did he say we can bring it under control? 

  • What should we do with the Word of God? Why is this important? 

  • How can we recognise truly religious people? Are you one of them? 

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