"Belief That Behaves"

Belief That Behaves

The book of James is one of the most practical books in the entire Bible. It doesn’t just tell us what to believe. It tells us how to live. And in James 1:19-22, James gives us seven commands that every Christian needs to hear. Seven instructions that if taken seriously would transform the way we relate to God, to others, and to ourselves.

Read James 1:19-22 (NIV)

“My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this. Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to become angry. Because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. 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. Do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”

Seven commands packed into four verses. And today, I want to walk you through each one because these are not suggestions. These are not recommendations. These are commands from the word of God to every believer. The first command is this. 

#1 – Be swift to hear. Quick to listen. 

That is the starting point, and it is the first for a reason because everything in the Christian life begins with hearing. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. You cannot grow in Christ if you are not first willing to listen. But this isn’t just about hearing sermons or reading scripture, although those are vital. It means being quick to listen to the voice of God in every area of your life. Quick to listen when the Holy Spirit convicts you. Quick to listen when a brother or sister brings correction. Quick to listen when God is speaking through your circumstances.

Think about the boy Samuel in 1 Samuel 3. In the middle of the night, God called his name. And Samuel didn’t recognize the voice at first. He ran to Eli three times thinking the priest had called him. But when Eli realized it was God, he told Samuel to say in verse 10b, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.” That should be the posture of every Christian. Speak Lord, for your servant is listening. Not, speak Lord for your servant is busy. Not, speak Lord but let me check my phone first. It should be “speak Lord, I am ready to hear.” The second command is this. 

#2 – Be slow to speak.

Now this is the companion to the first because most of us have the opposite problem. We are slow to listen and quick to speak. We are already forming our response before the other person has finished their sentence. We are more concerned with being heard than with hearing. The Bible says in Proverbs 10:19 (NIV), “Too much talk leads to sin. Be sensible and keep your mouth shut.” Too much talk leads to sin. Not might leads but leads. There is a direct path between an uncontrolled tongue and sin. And James knew this. He dedicates an entire chapter later in his letter to the power and danger of the tongue. 

Think about Job’s friends. When Job was suffering, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar came to comfort him. And the Bible says that for 7 days, they sat with him in silence. That was the best thing they did. But then they opened their mouths, and they spent chapter after chapter speaking words that God himself later rebuked. We find this in Job 42:7 (NIV), “After the Lord had said these things to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has.” 

They would have been far better off remaining silent. Be slow to speak. Not every thought needs to be voiced. Not every opinion needs to be shared. Not every argument needs to be won. Sometimes the wisest thing you can do is close your mouth and open your ears. The third command is this. 

#3 – Be slow to wrath. 

James says that human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. Let that sink in. Your anger, no matter how justified it feels, does not produce what God is looking for. It doesn’t bring about godliness. It doesn’t build the kingdom. It doesn’t draw people closer to Christ.

Now, this does not mean that there is no place for righteous anger. Jesus himself overturned the tables of the money changers in the temple. There is a time to be angry about injustice, about sin, about the exploitation of the vulnerable. But even righteous anger must be slow and measured. Because unchecked anger, even when the cause is right, unchecked anger can lead you to say and do things that grieve the Holy Spirit. 

Think about Moses. God called him to lead the people out of Egypt. But in Numbers chapter 20, the people complained about having no water. And God told Moses to speak to the rock and water would come forth. But Moses was angry. He was frustrated. He had dealt with the complaints of this people for years and instead of speaking to the rock, he struck it twice in anger and water still came out. God still provided, but the consequence of Moses’ anger was devastating. God told him V12 (NIV), “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.” Moses was denied the promised land because of one moment of unchecked wrath. Be slow to wrath because the cost of anger is always higher than you think. The fourth command is this. 

#4 – Lay aside all filthiness.

Now the word filthiness here refers to moral impurity. It carries the idea of dirty clothing that needs to be removed. James is saying, “Take off everything that defiles you. Strip away every habit, every behavior, every secret sin that clings to your life like a soiled garment.” 

The Bible says in Colossians 3:8-10 (NIV), “But now you must also yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.” 

Take off the old self, put on the new. You cannot wear the filthy clothes of sin and the clean garments of righteousness at the same time. One has to go. And James is commanding us, let it be the filthiness that goes. The fifth command builds on the fourth.

#5 – Lay aside all overflowing of wickedness.

Now this word overflowing suggests excess, abundance, something that is spilled over its boundaries. James is not just talking about the obvious sins that everyone can see. He is talking about the excess of wickedness that overflows in subtle ways. The bitterness that leaks into your conversations. The envy that colors how you view other people’s success. The lust that creeps into your thought-life when no one is watching.

Think about David, a man after God’s own heart. But in 2 Samuel 11, he was on his rooftop when he should have been at war. And then, he saw Bath Sheba. And instead of laying aside what was overflowing in his heart, he acted on it. One glance became lust. Lust became adultery. Adultery became murder. And the consequences followed David for the rest of his life. Lay aside the overflow before it becomes a flood. Deal with wickedness at the source before it pours over into your actions and destroys what God has built. The sixth command is this. 

#6 – Receive the word with meekness. 

Meekness is not weakness. Meekness is strength under control. It’s a willingness to be taught, a softness of heart that allows the word of God to penetrate and take root. James says to humbly accept the word planted in you which can save you. The word is planted like a seed in soil, and the condition of the soil determines whether the seed produces fruit or withers.

Jesus taught this in the parable of the sewer in Matthew 13. The same seed fell on four types of ground. Hard ground, rocky ground, thorny ground, and good soil. The seed was the same, but only the good soil produced a harvest. 

And good soil is a meek heart, a heart that is soft, receptive, and teachable. Not hardened by pride, not choked by the worries of the world, not stolen by the enemy before it can take root. Receive the word with meekness. Don’t come to the Bible to confirm what you already believe. Come to be transformed by what God is saying, even when it challenges you, even when it corrects you, even when it cuts you because the word planted in you has the power to save your soul. And the seventh command is this.

#7 – Be doers of the word, not hearers only.

This is where James brings everything together because hearing without doing is self-deception. The Bible says in James 1:22 (NIV), “Do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” If you hear the word, but you don’t do it, you’re deceiving yourself. You’re not growing. You’re not changing. You are accumulating knowledge without transformation. And that is dangerous because the person who knows the right thing to do and doesn’t do it, to them it is sin. 

Think about the wise man and the foolish man in Matthew 7. Both of them heard the words of Jesus. Both of them received the same teaching, but one put it into practice and the other did not. And when the storm came, the house built on obedience stood firm. The house built on hearing alone collapsed. 

Jesus himself said it in Luke 6:46 (NIV) “Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and do not do what I say?” That’s the question every Christian must face. It’s not enough to hear the word. It’s not enough to agree with it. It’s not even enough to study it. You must do it, live it, walk it out every single day. 

Close

And so, dear friends seven commands, seven instructions from the word of God to every believer. Be swift to hear, be slow to speak, be slow to wrath, lay aside all filthiness, lay aside all overflowing of wickedness, receive the word with meekness, and be doers of the word. If we obeyed just these seven commands, our lives would be radically different. Our relationships would be transformed. Our churches would be strengthened. And the world would see us in a genuine living, breathing faith that doesn’t just talk about Jesus, but walks like him. (Can I get an Amen)