James 1:19-20
Ps Paul Cheng
“…the natural reaction of our new spiritual life…”
~7 min read
Dear Bethelites,
Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God (James 1:19-20).
One of the most reliable evidence of genuine salvation is this hunger for the Word of God. “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby (1 Peter 2:2).” Just as a newborn baby does not have to be taught to hunger for the mother’s milk, the newborn child of God does not have to be taught to hunger for God’s Word which is his spiritual food. That is the natural reaction of our new spiritual life.
Someone once said to me that it is hard to tell the difference between the believer and the unbeliever by simply looking at the way they live their lives. At some point, I would have to agree that he is quite right because the lives of some unbelievers do put certain believers to shame. Just by gauging the lives of the people, we can hardly tell the difference. But certainly there is no way of escape when it comes to the way the believers and unbelievers respond to the Word of God.
It is the natural desire of the believer to want to know and obey the Bible, and it is the natural desire of the unbeliever to disregard and disobey God’s Word. Have you ever shared the gospel with an unbeliever, only to realize that he or she is looking for an opportunity to disprove or to put the Bible down? Well, the Bible has recorded for us so many descriptions of the responses of believers and unbelievers toward the Word of God.
To the disciples, Jesus said in John 15:7, If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. To the Jews, Jesus said in John 8, I know that ye are Abraham’s seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you… Why do ye not understand my speech? Even because ye cannot hear my word. Ye are of your father the devil… He that is of God heareth God’s words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.
If we are true believers who have professed faith in the one living and true God, let us consider the way in which we should respond to the Word of God.
I. With Eagerness
By addressing his readers as my beloved brethren, James clearly indicated his deep compassion and concern for them. Every pastor and preacher, and for that matter, every parent should learn that we are not trying to convince the minds of our children only in an intellectual way, but most vitally we are trying to reach their hearts. Rather than preaching down on them, we plead with them, “my beloved brethren or my beloved children, you must listen and obey the Word of God.” The best and most effective way to minister to the people is through a genuine love for those whom we teach. No matter how well the mind may perceive and understand the truth, it will be of little spiritual benefit to the believer if the heart is not inclined to embrace and submit to the truth in love.
Here James gave three important commands for the believer and it speaks of a strong sense of eagerness and willingness to receive the Word of God. Firstly, we must be swift to hear which can mean to be quick or ready to hear. In other words, be a careful listener, making sure that we pay attention to every word spoken in order to get the message right. The Bible tells us that even a fool, when he keeps silent and listens, is considered wise. Proverbs 17:28, “Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding.”
In any field of knowledge, we learn by listening more than by speaking. If that be true, then how much more the Word of God? Every day of our lives we need the Word of God and to be grounded in His truth. In times of great blessing, there are verses of thanksgiving and praises in the Bible; in times of trouble there are words of comfort and encouragement, in times of confusion there are words of wisdom and discernment, in times of trials and temptations God’s Word is the source of deliverance. Do you know where to find those passages? We must be like the Psalmist who said, “But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night (Psalm 1:2).”
Praise God for our DHW Bible study classes! What is the purpose of establishing such a ministry? The main purpose is to allow the church members to use this resource to better understand God’s truth. There will always be some who are swift to hear, eager to attend, listen and learn, but sadly there will also be some who are slow to hear and despite whatever encouragement they have received, they still will not attend these meetings. What about you, dear friend? Are you swift to hear or are you slow to hear?
Secondly, we must be slow to speak. This phrase slow to speak is sort of a companion of the first command swift to hear. The reason is simply because you cannot listen carefully while you are talking. Most of the time, we would try to listen to someone while we are thinking about what we are going to say. It is a most difficult thing to do! You cannot have a meaningful discussion when you are paying more attention to what you are about to say than what others are saying.
If I may add to this point, we should be slow to speak and be careful not to be thinking about our own thoughts and ideas while someone else is trying to share God’s Word. We cannot really hear God’s Word when our minds are on our own thoughts. We need to keep silent inside as well as outside. When the appropriate time comes for you to speak, what is being said are words carefully thought through. Are you a person who is slow to speak?
Once there was a famous orator who was asked by a young man to teach him the art of public speaking. The young man continued non-stop in a flow of meaningless talk that allowed the great teacher no opportunity to interject a word. When they finally reached the point of discussing the course fee, the teacher said, “Young man, to instruct you in public speaking, I will have to charge you a double fee, (of which the young man asked, “why?”), because I will have to teach you two skills; the first, how to hold your tongue, the second, how to use it.”
Maybe you are a preacher, or a Sunday School Teacher or a parent teaching your little children, when you speak for the Lord, you should have the greatest concern that what you say not only must be true but it must be spoken in a way that will edify the people who hear it. Therefore, we should pursue every opportunity to read the Word ourselves, to be diligent to hear the Word preached and after we have prayerfully learned them, when the opportunity comes for us to teach others, we may do it faithfully.
Thirdly, we must be slow to wrath. Wrath or anger is a natural emotion; it is almost like an automatic response to anyone or anything that irritates us. The word wrath here does not refer to an explosive outburst of temper but rather to an inner, deep resentment that slowly burns within, often unnoticed by others. Therefore, it is an anger that only the Lord and the believer himself would know about.
Since this anger is used in the context of hearing God’s Word, James seemed to be speaking particularly about anger targeted at a particular truth in the Bible. When someone preaches a certain doctrine that confronts your sinful lifestyle or a teaching that contradicts your personal belief or standard of behaviour, what is your response? The normal, humanistic reaction is one of anger against the preacher, right? Like the Apostle Paul who preached faithfully to the Christians in Galatia, and yet he said to them, “Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth? (Galatians 4:16).”
Often when I stand on the pulpit delivering the Word of God, I can see all kinds of facial expressions; happy and smiling faces, angry and irritable demeanours, etc. You can tell when people are angry with something you have just said. There were occasions when people came up to me immediately after the worship service because they were offended by some things I said. If I have said anything out of ignorance and arrogance, I beg your forgiveness, but if I have said what was true to the Word, why are you offended? I am simply the postman delivering what my Master has commanded me.
Be swift to hear, slow to speak and slow to wrath. Let every Bethelite, including the preacher himself, be mindful to listen with all attentiveness to the truth of God’s Word and think through carefully before we speak that we may not be quick to wrath. Why? For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. In other words, it does not accomplish what is right in the eyes of God. The truth of the matter is that any hostility against the truth of God’s Word is in reality against God Himself.
With love in Christ,
Pastor Paul
(To be continued in the next pastoral chat)
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