Topic: Be A Doer!
Do you believe the Bible can help us with any circumstance that comes into our life? Probably many of us reading this would say yes. How many of you do not always follow the advice of scripture?
We get all kinds of advice from experts in their field. Mechanics recommend we change the oil in our cars every so many 3,000 miles. But we often drive far beyond that before we get around to changing it. Doctors tell us to eat well and exercise regularly to have good health. But most of us probably disregard this advice, at least some of the time. Dentists ask us to brush and floss our teeth routinely. But few of us look forward to having to face up when the dentist asks us about it at the next appointment.
The reality of it all is that we know a lot of the best practices but we do few of them consistently. That tells us that knowledge by itself is not good enough. We need to act on what we know.
The same principle applies to much more than oil changes, exercise regiments and flossing habits. The Bible teaches us what we are to do. We don't read, study and memorize God's word just to know it. God expects us to act on and obey what we learn. Let's spend a little time this morning learning from God's word how to be more obedient to His advice.
But we cannot follow Jesus without allowing Him to tell us how to live. In order for us to have a relationship with Jesus, we must obey His commands. Jesus clearly told us:
John 14:15 – “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.”
James 1:19-22, “This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God. Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls. But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.”
Do you see it? The Gospel of Jesus Christ is inseparably linked to His word. The ability to obey any of God's word comes from the Gospel's power that Jesus implants inside your heart at the moment of salvation. The same Gospel that gave you salvation also empowers you to be obedient to God's word.
The Gospel of Jesus Christ (the Good News) gives us the power to be obedient. God wants us to act on what we know from Scripture by displaying a different disposition. So, we're told to be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to anger. And when we do this, we demonstrate humility and act on what we know from God's word.
My point in all of this is that we can also procrastinate spiritually. If we were honest, we would admit that we struggle with obeying God's word. Sometimes it's because we're ashamed or embarrassed by what we've done. Other times we simply don't want to make the life changes required in His word. So, we convince ourselves that it's easier to maintain the status quo than to do the difficult work of aligning ourselves to God's word. So, James is calling us away from spiritual procrastination. God simply wants us to know His words so that we might do His word today.
See you Sunday,
Dr. Scott Kallem