Quiet… mark of Faith

God’s people would please take
your Bibles and turn to James chapter 1 the first James James’s
epistle chapter 1 I suppose we could say it’s his
first epistle and his last We’ve been in this passage for many
weeks and I have told you and reminded you over and over again
that James is concerned about the life, the walk if you will,
of his people, particularly the Jewish converts to Christianity
there in Jerusalem, but also the surrounding areas, James
is concerned not so much about doctrine, he’s not so much concerned
about what they know, he’s concerned about how they live and that
they are living Christ-like lives. One of the things that James
addressed in this opening chapter is that of trials. Trials will
come. We literally fall into them. They become occasions for us
to sin but they are not designed by God for that. We can sin in
the midst of a trial and unfortunately so often we do as we gnash our
teeth at God and shake our fist in his direction or fall into
some lamentable pattern of behavior even walking away from the faith
well James is concerned and not only how they handle trials but
their view of God in them and James is pointed to God as a
good and giving God one who is magnanimous and gracious at every
turn James wants his people to know
that it is not a matter of God pouring out heartache
and difficulty on his people in order to trip them up. James
wants his people to know that God is a loving and giving, he
is a good God and he gives nothing but good gifts. And for that portion of it, we
pick up in verse 16, if you would. Verse 16, where James corrects
the very common thinking. It must have been almost rampant
in the communities for James to address it. at the very start
of his epistle. Do not be deceived, my beloved
brethren. Every good thing bestowed and
every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of
lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.
In the exercise of his will, he brought us forth by the word
of truth so that we might be a kind of first fruits among
his creatures. This you know, my beloved brethren,
but let everyone be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow
to anger. For the anger of man does not
achieve the righteousness of God. James is correcting the
thinking that was very prevalent in that community. The trials
were God’s way of throwing difficulty into our lives for the purpose
of tripping us up, getting us to sin. That is the equation
that was actually being considered even among professing believers.
And James is quick to correct that thinking. And he says that
to To fall into that kind of thinking is to fall into what
he calls deception. Do not be deceived. Literally
stop being deceived. Every good thing. And James begins
to unfold the truth about God. Every good thing that we ever
receive. Every gift that we receive is
perfect. If it’s good, it’s from God.
If it’s pure and right and lovely, it’s from God and no other. And
that’s built upon the very nature of God, the father of lights,
the creator of heaven and earth. And unlike those things that
he’s created, the sun, the moon, and the stars, There is no shifting
shadow with God. There is no variation. God does
not change. Last Lord’s Day, we learned about
His greatest gift appropriately on Easter Sunday. That His greatest
gift was literally bringing us back to life. We were dead in
our trespasses and sins, but verse 18 says He brought us forth
He brought us to life. We didn’t even know there was
a Christ. We didn’t even know there was
a Savior. We didn’t even know how wretched our condition was
until God brought us to life. And it was according to His will. And it was by means of the Word
of God. But having done so, James tells us that it was so that
we would be the kind of first fruits. We would be the first
of many who would come to know and name
the name of Jesus Christ. And James says This, these doctrines,
the fact that God doesn’t send evil, the fact that God gives
gifts, the fact that God gives only good gifts, the fact that
God is the one who regenerated us. James says, these things
you know, you know your doctrine. These things you know. Everything
that he’s talked about up to this point, all the way up from
Verse 2 to verse 18, James says, you’ve got all that well in hand,
you know this. But James moves, look at this,
lightning fast. From the realm of the theological,
as he’s informing us about God and his nature, his character,
he moves from the theological to the realm of ideas and concepts. True as they are. He takes that
and turns that into the realm of the practical. The real world,
as we would call it. The world where we have to function
in our day-to-day living. James says you know all of this.
You’ve got your doctrine squared away. There’s some question there,
and I looked at both approaches to this question. When he says
this, you know. That could be an imperative.
Know this. Make sure that you know your
doctrine. And there are many places we
could go in scripture to back up the claim that James is issuing
forth this command as an imperative here, an admonition to focus
your attention. Know the character and nature
of God. but it also could be, and I believe
it is, what we call an indicative. James is just saying, look, you’ve
got your doctrine all squared away. You’re good on the doctrine,
but there are some additional things, some practical outworkings
of the doctrine that you need to know. And James wants to remind
them that Their knowledge of God, their knowledge of who He
is, a good and giving God, their knowledge of the new birth that
comes only from the Word of God is only the beginning. Now there’s
a Christian life to be lived. James acknowledges that they
have a certain level of knowledge about the nature of God, the
giver of good gifts. They know about their spiritual
condition. They know how great a work was
done in their wretched hearts. But in acknowledging their theological
level of expertise, he, as I said, moves immediately into a practical
blind spot. And that was their ability to
interact with one another. Perhaps even believers to interact
with them in a godly manner. James here wants to address Christians
in the midst of this controversy in which they were living. And
he moves to provide them with some very practical principles
on how to function not only in a Christian society, say, a church,
but also in the culture, in the greater society in which that
church is placed. I call these marks of faith. And it could
be characterized really, I believe, by one word, quiet. Quiet is
a mark of faith. First of all, those who are reborn,
those who are brought to life by the Word of God and the Spirit
of God, those who are in Christ ought to be characterized by,
first of all, an eagerness to listen. An eagerness to listen. Look at verse 19. This you know,
my beloved brethren, but let everyone be quick to hear. When he says let everyone, It
literally, and some of the translations muddy this up, it literally is
every man. And it is what one commentator
called an individualizing phrase. Did you pick up the gist of what
he’s saying? It’s as if James begins pointing around to the
congregation, to each and every person in his midst. Let every
single one of you, Paul uses this. In fact, we saw this last
Lord’s Day in our Sunday school, or two Sundays ago. I testify
again, Galatians 5.3, every man who receives circumcision, and
Paul is arguing there that to go back and submit to all of
the commands of Judaism was to capitulate from the gospel. Every
man is to be held accountable. Colossians 128 which verse frames
our hearts desire as a church we proclaim him admonishing every
man and teaching every man with all wisdom so that we may present
Every man, complete in Christ. There is no sexism in that. Paul
is equally concerned with the women in his midst. He’s equally
concerned with children. What it’s talking about is every
single individual. And here, James uses that same
phrase to say every single individual is to listen. And listen carefully. I suppose the first question
we have to ask, be quick to hear. Does this mean we are quick to
hear absolutely everything? That would be absurd. To set
aside discernment, to listen to just anything and
everything. One of my heroes in the faith
said, there are many things in which we must act wisely in being
slow to hear. or current culture, profane speech,
impure, false, utterly trifling and unprofitable speech, more
fitted to benefit either head or heart, pardon me, no more
fitted to benefit either the head or the heart than the shouting
of the Ephesian mob. In other words, he says there
are some things that we ought to be very slow to hear. profane things, vile things,
evil things, impure things, false things, frivolous things, unprofitable
things. We should be exercising discernment
and we should be very slow to listen to those things. Titus chapter 3, which first
we will likely get to next week, Paul admonishes Titus to avoid
foolish controversies. There are some things that we
don’t even want to listen in on. You hear me say it all the time,
ignorance is bliss. I’m unaware of this controversy
between these two brothers. Avoid foolish controversies and
genealogies and strife and disputes about the law for they are unprofitable
and worthless. Paul tells Titus to avoid those
things, don’t listen to them, shun them, don’t take part in
those. But it’s not that we should be
dull of hearing to everything. Unprofitable things, filthy things,
vile things, of course, but there’s much good that is said, wholesome
advice, The Word of God, good instructions, discipleship, kind
words, encouragement, especially from God’s Word, testimonies
of God’s grace at work in our brothers’ lives, and the graciousness
of God towards others as we hear how He’s working in particular
people’s lives. We should be quick to hear those
things. Matthew Henry said people are
often rigid in their own opinions because they are not willing
to hear what others have to offer against them. We ought to be
quick to hear a brother’s criticism of us. God put him in our life. We ought to be eager to hear
what insights our brother brings. We should be swift to hear the
truth. We should be swift to hear correction. We should be
swift to hear encouragement, even when it isn’t given verbally.
You know, much appreciation comes our way that we almost seem to
deflect, don’t we? I remember one of the frequent
things that I’ve used in the course of counseling, especially
with couples, is called, it’s just a parroting technique. Oftentimes,
I’ll turn often to the husband and I’ll say, can you repeat
back what she just said? Most times, we can’t do it because
we didn’t listen in the first place. We need to be eager listeners.
We need to be attentive listeners. We need to listen to understand
and not just to reply. We need to bring it in deep into
our heart and mind and mull over what has been said so that we
might have an apt response. One woman said that listening
is the art of closing one’s mouth and opening one’s heart. I like that. Thomas Manton much more forcefully
said it this way. We should not be so puffed up
with our own knowledge, but we should be swift to hear what
others say. There is none so wise, but he
may receive some benefit by the different handling of what he
himself knows. There used to be a phrase spoken
of seminary students. You can always tell a seminary
student. You just can’t tell them very
much. That’s a pitfall, isn’t it? Where you think you’ve arrived
at some plateau where you no longer need to listen to your
brothers in Christ. Manton continues and he says,
men are puffed up with their own mind. They make a darling
and an idol of their own thoughts. Divide self from your opinion
and love things not because they suit your prejudices, but truth.
In other words, take time to listen and to examine even your
own heart. Those who are reborn, those who
are brought to life and now urged to live out the Christian life
are taught, first of all, an eagerness to listen, but secondly,
a reticence to talk. And I realize this stings almost
everyone in this room, a reticence to talk, we’re a talkative bunch.
And much of our talk is not wrong. It’s not wrong to converse. It’s
not wrong to fellowship. It’s not wrong even to enjoy
each other’s company. But this, there is a particular
kind of speaking. There is a speaking where listening
has not been employed. kind of a blurting back of a
response that is insensitive even to what has been communicated
to begin with. There’s a speaking against what
is heard in the ear that hasn’t yet been processed in the mind
and the heart. And so we need to weigh the words
of those who have communicated something to us. We need to ponder
carefully what it is they’ve said before we begin the process
of reciting our position. It’s a little-known fact. Only
probably those who know me the closest know the passage that
I preached, very first passage I ever preached. It’s a humbling passage. It’s
an exacting passage. It’s a heart-rending passage.
Proverbs 10.19. When there are many words, transgression
is unavoidable. In other words, the more you
talk, the more you sin. The more likely you are to lie,
the more likely you are to slander, the more likely you are to gossip,
the more likely you are to tear down another brother, the more
likely you are to hurt With where there are many words, transgression
is unavoidable. So thankful for the second part
of that proverb, right? But he who restrains his lips
is wise. I wish it happened more frequently
than. It does, but I’ve begun to notice. I began to notice something finally
in my life. I was cursed with wit. I was cursed with a
quick mind and one that wants to say the first thing that comes
into my mind. Always brings a laugh, you know. But I began to notice something
finally after years of offending people and struggling with it. I’ll have a thought come to my
mind that I just don’t say. Isn’t this refreshing? Some of
you are going, and? And I just don’t say it. But
I recognize that I didn’t say it. I recognize that I sat on
that one. Glory to God. I recognize that
it didn’t need to be said, that nothing was lost by not saying
it. that thankfully no one was offended by my quick wit. Proverbs 10.19, my first ever
sermon, and I’ve only begun to apply it 30 years down. Proverbs
13.3, likewise, says the one who guards his mouth preserves
his life. The one who opens wide his lips
comes to ruin. This is how criminals are caught
red-handed. They tell the story, an hour
later they’re asked to recount the story. They can’t tell the
same story twice. Ecclesiastes 5.2 issues the same
warning. Guard your steps as you go to
the house of God and draw near to listen rather than to offer
the sacrifice of fools. You don’t come to church to talk.
You come to church to listen. Proverbs 18.22, a fool does not
delight in understanding. He doesn’t want to listen. It’s
not his role to listen. It’s not pleasant for him to
listen. A fool does not delight in understanding,
but only in revealing his own mind. All he wants to do is talk,
right? One faithful Puritan brother
challenged it this way. Do not speak until you have sure
ground. And really that dispels so many
arguments. Did I hear you correctly? Is
this what you’re saying? Is this what you’re talking about?
Do not speak till you have sure ground. The sudden conceptions
of the mind are not always the best. Right? Except now the horse
is already out of the barn. And now we’ve already offended
with our words and now we have a whole lot more to mop up. than
did we originally. The sudden conceptions of the
mind are not always best. When men are quick and short
of spirit, they are transported into many indecencies, which
dishonor God, wound their conscience, and afterwards have cause enough
by a long repentance to bewail the sad effects of a short and
sudden anger. In other words, because we didn’t
listen, we took the wrong meaning from words, we blurted out whatever
came to mind, we offended whoever was there to listen, and we heaped heartache upon heartache. Guard your steps. Guard your
mouth. Paul said the same thing in talking
to Timothy Some of Paul’s most severe warnings he ever gave
to young Timothy occur in chapter 2 of his second epistle. In that
epistle he said, remind them of these things and solemnly
charge them in the presence of God not to wrangle about words. And he pictures this idea of
these guys all sitting around the city gate where they love
to gather and bicker and complain and wrangle. about the meaning
of a particular word. Paul says, warn them not to wrangle
about words which is useless and leads to the ruin of the
hearers. Do you ever worry about what it is other people are hearing
come out of your mouth? How destructive it could be to
lead to the ruin of a brother? In that same chapter Just a few
verses later, 2 Timothy 2.16. Avoid worldly and empty chatter
for it will lead to further ungodliness. That banter is just the beginning. And that banter leads to false
ideas. And those false ideas leads to
sinful living. There was an old Jewish proverb
probably with which James was familiar. And it said, if a word
is worth one shekel, silence is worth two. Elizabeth Elliot said it much
more straightforwardly. Never miss an opportunity to
keep your mouth shut. Isn’t that great? Isn’t that
simple counsel? Paul likewise admonishing the
Ephesian believers, let no unwholesome word, this is the passage that
I said is either garbage or grace, that’s the only thing that’ll
come out of our mouth. The only thing that is gonna come flowing
out of your mouth is either garbage or grace. Let no unwholesome
word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good
for edification according to the need of the moment so that
it will give grace to those who hear. He didn’t say don’t speak. He didn’t say don’t say anything,
although that has a nice appeal sometimes. There are times where
we’re commanded to speak. There are times where we have
to come in and confess that we didn’t say what we should have
said. We didn’t issue a correction. We didn’t challenge somebody’s
foolish thought. We didn’t share Christ as we
ought. Robert Johnstone, my hero in
this study of James, said, many a man has had to repent of speaking, but not so of holding his peace. And he admits that that’s a little
overstated since there are times when we ought to speak and do
not. And so he turns it delicately to say, far more ground for repentance
has been given by speech than by silence. Did you hear what
He said? You’re going to have much more
to repent. You’re going to have much more
to confess to Almighty God and to others by your speaking than by holding your tongue,
by guarding your lips, by maintaining your silence. We have a tendency to say the
first thing that enters our mind, don’t we? on any given subject. We’ve become the experts of almost
anything. And we often know where others
stand because of it, but those things that we say are often
rash and hurtful and provocative and even downright false. And
so James says we’re not forbidden to speak all together. We’re
to speak wisely, calmly. We’re to speak in a measured
tone, We’re to speak accurately and we’re to speak truth. The Proverbs says, the one who
guards his mouth preserves his life. What the Proverbs frequently
appeal to is a restraint for this hasty speech. Off-the-cuff
remarks. Venting our anger at someone
else. Proverbs 17, a new proverb to
us. He who restrains his words has
knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.
He measures himself. He guides himself by God’s grace. He doesn’t say the first thing
that bursts into his mind. Even a fool, when he keeps silent,
Proverbs 17, 28, is considered wise. When he closes his lips,
he is considered prudent. You might think him the wisest
man in the city just because he doesn’t open his mouth and
betray who he really is. When we know the power of words,
when we know how hurtful they could be, how destructive they
can be, how tentative we should be to even speak at all. One pastor said, knowing the
power of words for good or evil, there’s solemn irrevocableness. Isn’t that true? Now it’s out. Now you’ve said it. Now you’ve
got to own it. Now you’ve got to apologize for
it. But even after you apologize for it, it’s still, there’s an
echo, isn’t there? It’s a dull echo. Even if you’ve
come across the most forgiving spirit ever, it’s there. You
said it. How fragmentary, he says, and
mingled with misconceptions. We don’t always have the true
story. We don’t always have all the
facts. The wise believer will be much
swifter to hear than speak. He will never be rash. He will
not speak except where he sees the duty clear, and then will
weigh his words. Do you remember Pilgrim’s Progress? You remember Christian pilgrim
is on the way to the celestial city and he meets up with a friend,
a friend called Faithful, and they’re progressing toward the
city, remember? And they came across a third
friend named Talkative. And they begin talking with him,
and at first everything seemed good. Everything seemed normal. This seemed like a guy who could
travel. Talkative said, I enjoy talking about worthwhile matters.
I’m glad that I’ve met with those who are inclined the same way.
For to tell you the truth, there are only a few who care to spend
the time in this manner as they travel. Most choose in Ted to
argue about the things that don’t matter, and that troubles me.
Faithful is able to get a word in edgewise. and comments on
talkative’s speech and talkative resumes his chatter. What is
more pleasant is more profitable than to talk about the things
of God. For instance, if a man enjoys talking about the history
or the mystery of things or if a man loves to talk about miracles
and wonders and signs or where they will find anything more
wonderful than that which is recorded in the Holy Scriptures. Faithful gets another word in
edgewise, and that only opens the door the wider to talkative.
This is just what I said, for to talk of such things is profitable.
By doing so, a man may gain the knowledge of many things, such
as the vanity of earthly things, necessity of new birth, what
it’s like to repent and learn all the great promises and consolations
of the gospel. And he takes a breath, and faithful
gets not even a complete sentence in, and talkative is off again. You get my point. Talkative says, whatever you
want, we’ll talk about it. I’ll talk about things heavenly
or things earthly, things moral, things evangelical, things sacred,
things profane, things past, things to come, things foreign,
things at home, things essential, things circumstantial, provided
that all this is done to our prophet. Faithful gets a little nervous
about his new companion. And faithful begins to express
his concern to Christian who challenges their new friend. Their conversation goes like
this. Faithful challenges talkative
and says, to know a thing, to know a thing that pleases talkers
and boasters is to do But to know a thing is that which pleases
talkers and boasters, but to do that which pleases God is more important. Faithful says the one who is
convicted of sin, especially the defilement of his nature,
the sin of unbelief, for which he is sure to be damned if he
does not find mercy at God’s hand and faith in Jesus Christ. The conviction causes him sorrow
and shame for his sin. Moreover, it reveals to him his
need to make himself right with the Savior of the world, which
makes him hunger and thirst for God. And it’s hungering and thirsting
for salvation that God has promised to satisfy. And if you know the
story, it’s precisely at this juncture The talkative left off. He didn’t want to walk with them
anymore. We need to listen. We need to
speak less. Remember the old proverb, we
have two ears and one mouth. That should say something to
us. One faithful commentator said,
let each brother listen kindly. respectfully and thoughtfully
to what his brethren say. And in any part he may himself
take in the discussion, let him not be rash or inconsiderate. Let him not be influenced by
vanity or the love of controversy and excitement, but a simple
desire to help in the ascertainment of truth. God will use you. God hasn’t forbidden you to speak
altogether. God will allow you to speak.
He wants you to share your mind. He wants you to participate in
fellowship if you have something to say. Those who have been touched by
the grace of God, brought to life, reborn, were to be characterized
first by an eagerness to listen. Secondly, by a reticence to talk. And finally, by carefulness to
flare. Look at the passage again, this
you know by beloved brethren, but let everyone be quick to
hear, slow to speak, slow to anger, for the anger of man does
not achieve the righteousness of God. What it’s talking about here
is not just any anger, but that unchecked, vented anger, that
fury that kind of simmers below the surface, You ever met a person
like that, where the slightest thing just sets them off, and
the next thing you know, they’re on you? It’s more than just a passing
irritation. It’s a strong, passionate, bitter
anger towards a brother. The Proverbs have Much to say
about this kind of anger proverb 1632. He is slow to anger is
better than the mighty And he who rules his spirit than he
who captures the city Proverbs 15 1 a gentle and answer turns
away wrath. There are all kinds of proverbs
that point us in the direction Of subduing our anger. It’s not that all anger is wrong Be angry, Ephesians 4.26, and
yet do not sin. There is a righteous indignation. There is an anger that does not
sin. But the particular anger that
God is concerned with here is this flash reaction, this harsh
and rash venting of our anger towards another brother. Here’s how one said it, described
it. Intemperate religious zeal. That sounds like a good thing
almost, doesn’t it? Intemperate religious zeal is often accompanied
with a train of bad passions. You see, you’re getting only,
you only got run over by the engine, but he’s got 42 cars
and a caboose to boot. Intemperate religious zeal is
often accompanied by a train of bad passions, and particularly
with great wrath against those who differ with us in opinion,
right? He’s ready to launch. It’s simmering
just below the surface. All you’ve gotta do is bump up
against him. All you’ve gotta do is differ.
And you get this fiery, harsh response. Jeremy Taylor, the
Puritan, said, it makes the voice horrid, the eyes cruel, the face
pale and fiery, the gait fierce, the speech clamorous and loud,
the whole body monstrous, deformed and contemptible. What a sad thing to say of a
Christian. It does not achieve the righteousness
of God. It doesn’t get the job done.
We looked at righteousness in times past, righteousness is God’s holy standard
and only God is righteous perfectly and we ought to be growing in
godliness we ought to be yearning for practical righteousness but
to think that our anger is gonna set somebody straight put them
back on that path James says no way one pastor I’ll close with this,
that anger is not to be trusted. Anger is not to be trusted. It
is not so just and righteous as it seems to be. Does that
surprise you? We’ll let God judge our righteous
indignation, should we? It is not so just and righteous
as it seems to be. Anger, like a cloud, blinds the
mind and then lords over it. When you’re under the power of
passion, you have just cause to suspect all your apprehensions. You are apt to mistake others
and to mistake your own attitude. Passion is blind and cannot judge. In other words, he says, an angry
man, an angry man who is just venting is not gonna have it right. God’s
not going to use him. to bring about the righteousness
of God in another brother’s life. It’s not going to happen. James issues this command, these
series of commands, in order to get us to check our faith. He’s not doubting those. He’s letting God be the judge.
But He issues forth these commands, an eagerness to listen, a reticence
to speak, and a carefulness to flare. He issues those for our
good and for His glory. Let’s examine our hearts. Our merciful King, we humble
ourselves in Your glorious presence and we thank you first and foremost
we’re still on cloud nine over the passage we heard last Lord’s
Day where you have moved upon us and you have brought us to
life it wasn’t anything in us that motivated you to do that
it was purely by your grace and your will that you brought us
to life and to faith in Christ But now so clearly you tell us.
You tell us what a Christian looks like. Tell us how a Christian
should live and walk, listen, and speak. God, examine our hearts. And if there is even a single
one who knows in their heart that these things are not the
mark of their life, not the mark of a true Christian, And merciful
God, move upon them, we pray, and do the work that verse 18
spoke of. Unlock their heart, enliven these
from the dead. Lord, we thank you and praise
you for your work in our lives. We pray all of these things in
Jesus’ name. Amen. Before I go off, Mike, I want
to bring the curves up. And I’ve asked a few of our men
to join me in rejoicing with them. I have put in our card
to them that they’re going out as missionaries. They’re going out as missionaries
to their own grandchildren. And I don’t say that to be funny,
but that really is their heart’s desire is to go and minister
to their grandkids and teach them the word and play piano
for them, fix toys, paint things. And so we rejoice with them in
that. And it’s a privilege that we
have. to walk with like-minded believers,
and you guys have been just a thrill in my own heart. I am strangely
tearless. I should be just blubbering, but I am thrilled for you guys,
and so we just want to pray for you. Our merciful God, we thank
you that You give us the blessing of fellowship. And we thank you that these 14
years ago. You brought these Saints through
our doors. And they came in and immediately rolled up their sleeves
and began to serve. Not just in playing piano and. Pounding on nails and doing whatever
needed doing, but Lord you. You bless them. and blessed us
in them in just opening them to us and using them in our midst. Lord, we rejoice in the privilege
that we had to walk with them. We pray indeed that you would
take them and place them there in St. Louis and use them for
your glory in their grandchildren’s lives and in this new church
to which you’ve already directed them. We pray that you would,
we know that you have a place for them. We pray that they would
fit in quickly and hit the ground running and be used by you for
your glory. We thank you father for your
grace in allowing us to walk with them for a season and we
entrust them into your care as we send them out. We pray all
of these things in Jesus name. Amen.