Previous Page

Walk the Talk | Authentic Faith

Jan 26, 2025 | Matthew Jones

The Character of the Doer

Full Service

1. The Doer is characterized by seizing every opportunity to hear and RECEIVE the Word of truth. (vs. 19-21)

  • Receiving is exhibited through those who are:
    • Quick to hear (cf. Matthew 11:15)
    • Slow to speak (cf. James 3:17)
      • The church in James’ day was really struggling with this. James brings up this concern with the unbridled tongue and its connection to unbridled anger and other passions at least 5 times in this letter.
    • Slow to become angry (vs. 20-21; cf. Exodus 34:6; Ecclesiastes 7:9) 
      • The anger of man is a destroyer of relationships as it breaks the bond of peace and ruins the ministry of peacemaking that we are called to.
      • We who are in Christ, we put off immorality and mortify the evil within us and receive with meekness the implanted Word which is able to save our souls.

There is nothing quite like the tongue that betrays the heart of mankind. At the heart of every problem is a problem of the heart.

2. The Doer is characterized by a genuine REVERENCE for the Word of God. (vs. 22-25)

Mirrors are a useful tool only if you act on the information you gather from what you see in it.

  • Those who hear the Word, and do nothing, are deceived because any response short of surrender to the Word of truth is self-deception. (vs. 22)

  • The doer looks intently into the Word of God with reverence and sees a correct reflection of themselves and responds immediately. (vs. 25)

Law and liberty are two words that seem like they should be at odds with each other:

  • law is seemingly restrictive 
  • liberty carries a sense of freedom
    • The Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Word of God is the perfect law of liberty because it allows us to see ourselves as we really are and provides the solution to respond and be changed. The believer who looks intently, daily discovers the depths of the gospel and that the Word of God is a law of liberty, setting them free from the bondage of sin (vs. 25)

3. The Doer is characterized by a resolve to REFLECT the character of God. (vs. 26)

  • The tongue must be brought under the control of the Spirit to reflect the character of God (vs. 26)

  • Two outward experiences of a doer:
         1) Serving those in need
         2) Separating from worldliness
    • These are the kinds of fruit that should be present in the life of every believing doer reflecting the character of God (Gal. 6:10). A true inner health of our religion will be expressed through a life of outer sacrifice. Throughout the Scriptures God is described as a Father of the fatherless and Defender of the widows (cf. Psalm 68)
    • We reflect the character of God by being resolved in purity (vs. 27)

PRINT SERMON HANDOUT

PRINT SERMON NOTES

Series Information