Know This

James 1:19-21
February 21, 2021
Abraham Hong

Sermon Script

Let’s do a quick review. We’ve been going through the book of James. And this is the big picture that you need to remember as we go through this book. We are living in the last days. Jesus is coming back soon. The church is a dispersed people. We are scattered all over this old and fading earth. But in the new heavens and new earth, we will all be home. Until then, we go through many trials and tests in life. And we are to consider it all joy. Because we know Jesus and we have his salvation. Nothing can separate us from his love. The war not yet over, but the war is already won. And yet, the trials and the tests, the suffering and the tears and pain, our old sinful nature and our deaths before Jesus return - it’s all still very real. So we need wisdom. Thankfully, God provides you wisdom when you ask for it with faith. With wisdom, you will endure everything that you will need to endure. And when all of this is over, when you have your rest in the new heavens and new earth, when you see Jesus face to face, you will look back on all of this. And you will smile and tell many good stories about the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.

We are looking at James 1:19-21. Here are two things that you need to know. There are a lot of things that you need to do (law or good works). But first, here are two things that you need to know (gospel or good news).

First, know that God is producing righteousness in you. There is a godly righteousness that is yours. And it is being produced in you. In the new you. Make no mistake, the righteousness of Christ is what saves you. Jesus’ righteousness is his perfect obedience to the law. Jesus’ righteousness has been credited to you, rendered to you, imputed to you, by his grace and with his love. That is why you are going to heaven. Let’s make that very clear. But there is also a godly righteousness that is yours. It is your righteousness, not Jesus’ righteousness. It comes from your new nature. It is being produced in you by God. It is being produced by his grace and with his love. This godly righteousness of yours does not save you. Instead, this godly righteousness of yours is happening in your life because you are saved. Because you are a new creation. Because you are united with Christ. Because God is producing it from you. This is such good news! And you need to know this! What is this righteousness of God that is being produced in you? The righteousness of God that is being produced include things such as: wisdom and single-mindedness, steadfastness, and humility. Things such as: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Things such as: holiness and obedience. Things such as: greater love for God and greater love for others. This is amazing.

Highland, when you know all of this, then what James says here in today’s passage makes perfect sense. The anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. Anger does not lead to godly righteousness in your life. And that is because anger is not a part of what it means to be a new creation. When God gave you a new heart, he didn’t design it so that it would include anger. Anger is a part of what it means to be an old creation. Your old sinful heart, your old sinful nature includes anger. Your new heart, your new creation nature does not. Galatians 5:19-21 says this: “Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, … fits of anger, … rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these.” Again, your old sinful heart, your old sinful nature includes anger. Your new heart, your new creation nature does not. By God’s grace, your old nature, your old self, is being put to death. You will still struggle with it during your life. But by God’s grace it has been absolutely and surely replaced with your new nature, your new self, which is being grown and produced and sanctified by Jesus who is your Good Shepherd.

Therefore, in light of all of this, because of this gospel truth, be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger. Next Sunday, Lord-willing, we will go in-depth into what it means to be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger.

The second thing that you need to know is this. God’s word saves your soul. You are being saved right now. Your soul is being saved today. And salvation is happening to you because of God’s word. Make no mistake, you have already been saved, past tense, by Jesus. Jesus saved you by living for you and dying for you and resurrecting for you. His work on the cross, his sacrificial payment for your sins, his substitutionary atonement for your forgiveness, it is all finished and completed and done, once and for all. All of those “parts” of his salvation do not need to be redone, repeated, or reapplied. Let’s make that very clear. But God’s salvation also includes sanctification. God is saving you today in the sense that he is growing you and changing you, by his grace, today. God’s salvation is happening to you right now and throughout the rest of your life. This is such good news! And you need to know this! Your soul is being saved today. And God does this through his word. He is saving your soul now by giving you his written word. The Bible. The Old and the New Testament. From Genesis to Revelation. All sixty-six books of the Bible. God’s word is able to save your soul.

And God’s word is implanted in you. God said in his covenant of grace that he would put his laws into your mind, and write them on your heart, and that he would be your God and you shall be his people (Jeremiah 31; Hebrews 8, 10). God’s word is reshaping your heart. God’s word is saving your soul. God’s word is strengthening your strength. God’s word is reorganizing your mind. All so that you would love the Lord with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind. While you may have a Bible app on your phone, know that God did not put his word into your phone. God put and God is putting his word in you. This is amazing.

Therefore, in light of all of this, because of this gospel truth, put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word of God. Next Sunday, Lord-willing, we will go in-depth into what all of this means.

When I think about you Highland, I am amazed. And I praise God. I see many ways in which God is producing righteousness in you. I see members becoming more holy and more godly as the seasons go by. I wonder what you will look like one year from now, ten years from now, and beyond, as God’s new creation. And I also see many ways in which God has implanted his word in you. I see members becoming more hungry for and more knowledgeable in the Bible. I wonder how many more times you will read the Bible one year from now, ten years from now, and beyond, as God’s new creation. When I think about you Highland, I am amazed. I hope that you would be amazed too. But I am also very sober-minded and serious. And I hope that you would be sober-minded and serious too. God is doing all of this to you. His work is holy. His work is powerful. What he is doing to his church is utterly profound and glorious. I dare not take it lightly.

In closing, Highland, you are so beloved. You are greatly loved by God. Jesus loves you so much. Know this today. Know this during this week. Know this as we get out of this pandemic. Know this for the rest of your life. God is producing righteousness in you. And God’s word is implanted in you.

Soli Deo Gloria