Cecil A. Fayard
Elliott Baptist Church
January 23, 2005
Getting It Done
James 1:21-15
INTRO: Christians are to be "doers of the word, and not hearers only..." (Vs 22). How are we going to get it done? How are we going to be doers and not just hearers of the word? There is only one way that we can get it done and that is by faith. How are we going to please God? Only by faith, for the Bible says: "without faith it is impossible to please him" (Heb 11:6). How can we live right? By faith, the Bible says: "the just shall live by faith" (Hab 2:4; Rom 1:17).
To live right, to do right, we must have an absolute standard and that standard is the Word of God– the Bible. The Bible tells us what is right and wrong (II Tim 3:16)..
Truly, the Bible is a book filled with wonderful words of life. By the Word of God, we were brought from death to life spiritually (Jn 5:24). And it is by the Word of God that we live: "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God" (Lk 4:4).
I. VS 21, THE ENGRAFTED WORD WILL GET IT DONE
A. Picture a garden full of weeds – weeds that need to be pulled out, rooted up, and thrown away so a healthy garden can be planted. This verse tells us that we need to get the weeds of sin out of our lives because God wants to plant something beautiful in the lives of His people.
B. "Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness."
1. "Lay apart"– this means to lay aside as in Hebrews 12:1. "Lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run....." It also means put off and get rid of as in Ephesians 4:22-23.
2. We are to "lay apart all filthiness." The Greek word for filthiness is rhuparia meaning "defiled, impure, foul, dirty, corrupt." Moffatt says: "So clear away all the foul rank growth" (Robertson 65).
a. We must get the weeds of sin out of our lives if we are to grow spiritual fruit in our garden of life.
b. Lay aside the filth that the Devil and the world has to offer. Remember "filthiness" means "dirty." We live in a dirty world with dirty music, dirty clothing, dirty television, dirty pornographic pictures.
c. You are going to have to work hard to keep the filthy weeds of sin out of your garden.
3. "Superfluity of naughtiness" is to be laid aside, put away.
a. "Superfluity" means overabundance, overflowing. The Greek word for superfluity was used by the Greeks to describe an excess of wax in the ears. This reminds us that sin will keep you from hearing the truth of God’s Word because your ears are stopped up.
b. We do have an overflowing of wickedness in our day. We live in a time when the world calls "evil good and good evil" (Isa 5:20).
c. There is an overabundance of the wickedness of perverted sex such as bestiality, homosexuality, pedophile, etc.
d. Witchcraft, occult activities are everywhere.
C. We are to lay apart all sin and "receive with meekness the engrafted word....." We need to learn to listen to the truth being preached without rebelling against it and arguing with it. Believe the Word, receive the Word, and be blessed by the Word.
1. "Engraft" means to implant, to take root. Without faith, the fruit of righteousness will not manifest itself in your life.
2. As we receive the Word of God by faith with meekness, God implants His Word into our very heart and soul.
3. The salvation spoken of here is power over the power of sin. It will be wonderful when one day we are saved from the presence of sin.
II. VSS 22-25, BE DOING THE WORD NOT HEARING IT ONLY
A. Vs 22, The Word of God is to be lived by faith. Not only are we to hear it, we are to put it into practice. There is life giving energy in the Word and if there is one thing Christians need it is spiritual energy.
1. The wise man hears the Word and builds on the rock (Mt 7:24-27).
2. We need to be workers not shirkers. "We’ll work till Jesus comes" not "we’ll shirk till Jesus comes."
a. Act on the Word; put it into practice.
b. For some folks, the word goes in one ear and out the other.
3. "Deceiving your own selves." We deceive ourselves if we think that going to church on Sunday, listening to a good sermon, then living like the world on Monday is spirituality.
B. Vs 23, The "glass" in this verse is a "looking glass"– a mirror. The "natural face" is the face with which this man was born. The purpose of the mirror is to reflect the exact image of the man.
C. Vs 24, God’s Word is a perfect mirror, a mirror that reflects and reveals the heart with which we were born. A mirror does not lie to you.
1. The man who only hears and doesn’t do is the man who forgets what he saw.
2. Don’t forget what you have seen in God’s Word.
a. Have you seen yourself as a sinner? Don’t forget it. Isaiah saw himself and said: "Woe is me for I am undone" (Isa 6:5).
b. Have you been saved by grace? How can you go back in sin? (Rom 6:1-2).
D. Vs 25, When we look into the Word of God and we continue in it, practice it, doing it, we will be blessed.
1. James calls the Word of God "the perfect law of liberty." Why?
a. When we obey the Word of God, we are set free (Psa 19:7-10).
b. Psalm 119:45, "I will walk at liberty for I seek thy precepts."
2. We are to continue in the Word day in and day out. We need God’s Word. There is no such thing as instant spirituality, and you will not stay spiritual if you get out of the Word. We must continue to turn page after page and read and study page after page of the Word.
3. The man who stays in the Word and does what the Word says: "shall be blessed in his deed."
a. John 13:17, "If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them."
b. James 4:17 says: "to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not to him it is sin."
CONCLUSION: How are we going to get God’s work done? How are we going to live right? Friends, we will do it by faith and by practicing the Word of God.
For additional copies of the sermon CD's, please contact the church office:
Elliott Baptist Church
566 Nat G. Troutt Road
Elliott, Mississippi 38901
Phone: 662-226-4425
Pastors Email: cecilafayard@msn.com