Somebody Loves You

Raul Ries: If we really walk in the light as He is in the light, guess what's going to happen? We have peace with God. We're cool. We're doing good. But if we're not in the light and we're lying to ourselves, we're walking in darkness. And how deep is that darkness in our lives? James really, really brings us some good things here.

Guest (Male): Welcome to Somebody Loves You Radio, the Bible teaching ministry of Raul Ries in Diamond Bar, California. We're glad to have you with us today as Raul returns to the book of James for a contrasting look at those who walk in God's light and those who fumble through the world's darkness.

You'll get a challenge to daily commune with the Lord in His word and in prayer, seeking His truth while surrendering to His will. Stay with us to see how following the Lord along righteous paths leads to eternal blessings. Now here's Raul Ries in the book of James.

Raul Ries: In chapter one, verse 21, we have now coming to the conclusion of chapter one. He brings to us the importance of the word of God, the importance of knowing God's word, the importance of living the Christian life by God's word, which the word of God instructs each one of us individually how to do it. So if you're not really reading the Bible and you're not spending time in the word of God, you're never going to know what God really wants you to do as a Christian.

That's why we recommend that you read the Bible once a year from Genesis through Revelation, 66 books. And they have many translations you can read, so it's easy reading. They have the one-year Bible you can buy, and you can read it, which is really cool. And this way you make a practice of not only reading, but coming to comprehension and begin to know chapters and verses and stories in the Bible.

And so whenever you're hearing something, you go, "Oh yeah, that's in the book of Joshua chapter one, verse eight, or the book of Zechariah or Haggai or Habakkuk or wherever it may be." And you become familiar with the word of God. And yet we need to become familiar. Why? Because the word of God is our source of what? Of power in life as a Christian. Without the word of God, we can't do nothing.

That's why I wrote on my Bible, every Bible that I have, I write inside of it, "This book will keep you from sin, but sin will keep you from this book." And that is true, especially verse 21 tonight. That if you do not live a holy life, then the Bible is of no value to you. No value. I'm sorry. It just becomes another book.

Look what James says in exhorting us here. He says, "Therefore, lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness." Now what's really interesting about James here is that as he's writing this great, great chapter and he's been exhorting us, that now here he's literally speaking in a term that is really kind of like a theological term where he says, "Therefore," after I've been talking to you guys about all these other things. Now I want you to know this, that the word of God is very important, but how are you living your life, in the flesh or in the spirit?

Because that word that he uses here, to lay aside, literally means having to put off as one would do it with a dirty clothes. Like if you're dirty, you have dirty clothes on, what do you do? You take it off to go wash it and put on clean clothes. That's the word that is used here. You cannot serve God with dirty clothes or a dirty life. It's impossible. No possible way.

That's why constantly when I'm teaching and preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ and I begin to share with the body of Christ, the church, and there are people sitting within the body of Christ, whether they might be into homosexuality, they're gay, or they may be into fornication with their boyfriend, girlfriend, or they may be in adultery, they're married but at work or somewhere else they have another woman or a man, or they're stealing or they're lying or they're cheating.

And there's many areas of sin. And if they're doing those things and they're not repentant, and yet they're coming into the house of the Lord and yet there's no repentance behind that life, then what are they doing? They're wasting their time. It's of no value because you're not doing anything about it. And yet the Holy Spirit is the one that will convict you to change your clothes, to get changed up. Because otherwise you cannot serve God. You can't do anything for God. It's an impossibility.

Remember in the book of Corinthians in chapter five and six, Paul writes this letter because he's not there, but he hears that there's a young guy that is living together sexually with his mother-in-law. And Paul writes and says, "Hey, what happened to the pastor? Why are you allowing such a thing to happen in the church when you know that it's wrong? That person, if he's not repentant, should be kicked out of the church," that's what Paul says. If he doesn't repent, he should not be in the church. Why? Because a little leaven leavens a whole lump. It infects, sin infects other people. It infects the church.

And it's really important that we understand what James is saying here. Because in the tense of the Greek here, the word "lay aside," it stresses the importance of putting off sin. Putting off sin prior to receiving God's word so that you can have clean ears and clean eyes and a clean mind and a clean heart to receive. So that God can convict you and God can speak to you and God can minister to you.

That's why it's really important for people when they come to the house of the Lord on your way up here, it's good throughout the day on Wednesdays, on Sunday mornings, Sunday evenings, to prepare the day in your life to come and receive the word of God. It's cool to do that. And throughout the week to make sure the first thing you've done is spent time with God so that God can lead you and guide you and provide for you and He can convict you and you're going to have a great day with the Lord.

Why? Because as soon as you step out of your house, the devil is there to meet you, and your flesh is there and wants to overtake you. So it's really important what James is saying here. It's really important to actually put off the old clothes. And the word that he uses here for filthiness, he's speaking about the filth of the world needs to be laid aside if you are a Christian. You cannot be the same person you used to be before. No possible way.

That's why Paul the Apostle in Romans 12:1-2 says, "Therefore I beg you by the mercies of God that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service to God. And be not conformed to this world, but be you transformed by the renewing of your mind."

Because what he's saying is that in the Old Testament, the sacrifices were presented as dead, not alive. You kill the animal. You bleed it. You cut it up and then you sacrifice it. But in the New Testament, there's no animal sacrifice, but my body now has become according to Paul in 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 that my body now has become the temple of the living God where God lives, where God dwells.

He says now your body has become the temple of the living God. God lives in us. We are the temple of God, not this house. You, me. Every person that is a child of God is the temple of God. And the temple of God should be holy, holy, the Bible says. So here James has a real heavy issue to speak about concerning the word of God, that first of all we gotta deal with our lives, physically, spiritually. Are we cleaning up our acts?

Why does he say that? Because look what he says here. "Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness," that is the use of evil things, notice, "and receive with meekness the implanted word of God which is able to save your souls." To save your souls, the word of God. How do people get saved? He who has an ear to hear what the spirit says, let him hear. You see? We listen. We see. We think. We understand. Because that's what God's word says to each one of us individually.

And this is important because when he speaks about the implanted word of God, notice, this is the seed that actually brings faith and new life. In 2 Corinthians 5:17 says what? "Therefore if any man is in Christ Jesus, he's a new creature. Old things are passed away. Behold, all things are brand new." Brand new. Day by day, getting prepared for heaven because this is not our home. This is not our home. We don't live here. We're only here for a short time. Our real home is in heaven. And what are we doing? We're preparing to meet the Lord.

So here James kind of waking us up a little bit he says here, that when the word of God really falls into your heart and you hear it and you understand it and it's really planted in your heart, what does it do? It saves you. It brings you to the new birth. It gives you eternal life. It makes you a child of God, it makes you a believer.

Guest (Male): You're listening to Somebody Loves You Radio with Raul Ries. Visit somebodylovesyou.com for resources to help deepen your faith and grow your relationship with the Lord. You can also email Raul your Bible questions and prayer needs. His address is pastorraul@somebodylovesyou.com. Now back to more of our study in the book of James.

Raul Ries: And then check this out. This is so beautiful. In verse 22 now. He says, "But be doers of the word, not just hearers only, deceiving yourself." Notice here the regard here what he's trying to say here is that the requirement is action. A person that is truly a born-again believer is what? A doer of the word of God, not just a hearer.

There are people that go to church on Sunday mornings, Sunday nights, or maybe even Wednesday nights, and every lesson they hear about the gospel of Jesus Christ like tonight, we're listening to the word of God. And if people really listen, you want to live godly lives tomorrow morning. You're going to want to walk differently than you walk today because of the Holy Spirit convicting you and bringing to your heart the word of God.

And surely you want to be a doer. You want to be obedient to the word of God. You don't want to be disobedient. You want to please God. You want to do what's right. This is the word of the Lord. This is God's holy word. And what does it do? It produces life. It brings great conviction to my life when I'm going to the left or maybe I'm moving to the right, and God always brings me to balance.

Because what happens if you're not a doer of the word of God, then what do you become? You become a religious person. He's going to talk to us about that, a religious person. Think of all the religious people in the world today. They go to church, they burn incense, they take communion, they go to confession, and they go through their practices.

And when you talk to them, they'll say, "Well, I belong to Islam or I belong to Buddhism, I belong to Hare Krishna." But at the same time, when you look at their lives, there's no change. No change. Because they think they can become good people. No, nobody's good, the Bible says. The Bible says that we all have sinned. And there's not many mediators, but there's only one true God and there's only one Savior of the world, and that is Jesus Christ our Lord and our Savior. He's the one that redeemed us by His blood.

That's what makes me a Christian. That I come to awareness in my life and my heart that I have sinned against God and sin separates me from God. And if sin separates me from God, what does the Holy Spirit do? It draws me back to God by confession, by repentance. You see? And by beginning to, by faith, beginning to live the life of faith in obedience to Jesus Christ as God gives me now not only the vision and the passion to do that.

As I read the word of God, I get excited. Wow, Lord, because the word of God speaks to me directly. The voice of God is in the word of God. I love it, the way God works. And so James is declaring here that, "Hey, be you doers of the word, not hearers only." Because if you're not obedient to the word of God, what does he say? You're deceiving yourself. You're lying to who? To yourself. Nobody else. You're lying to yourself. Because you're saying one thing, but you're living another thing, and that's hypocritical. You're turning people away from Christ instead of turning people to Christ. We need to be careful of that.

He's going to go on. Check this out. This is amazing. Verse 23. He says, here's the analogy he's going to give to us, the danger of the word of God. "For if anyone is a hearer of the word of God but not a doer, not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror." Let me give it to you in its language, it's really cool. He says here that a person that does not do what God's word says, you're only hearing it and you've stood before your mirror at home to prepare yourself, comb your hair, brush your teeth, whatever you do, put on your makeup.

What does he say? He says, "Observe" means to look carefully. "Like a man carefully observing himself," it says, "his natural face," which here it means the face of his birth, the first face you were born with literally in the Greek here. He says, "In a mirror." Or what is it? In the Old Testament, it was a polished metal brass, what the women used for mirrors. And what he's saying here again is that when you're looking at your face, you're really looking at the real person who's behind the mirror. And that's you.

And then he says this, watch this. Verse 24. "For he observes or sees himself and immediately forgets what kind of a man he was." Hey, when you look at the mirror, don't forget who you are. But most important, don't forget who God is in your lives. Be careful. Don't be forgetting because we do that. We forget.

He says, "For he who sees himself goes away and immediately forgets what kind of a man he was." You're not accepting the truth about yourself really, that's what he's saying. You're not accepting the truth that God says what? You're a sinner. You need to be careful how you live.

And then he says this in verse 25, "But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it." If you really believe God's word and you're studying God's word and you want to please God and you want to please Jesus Christ, check this out. He says, "But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it is not a forgetful hearer, but again, a doer of the work."

Not first he said the word, now he says the work. Why? Because if I really believe God's word and I obey God's word, then I'm going to bring forth what? Fruit, good works. I'm going to please God. You see? I'm going to do what God says. He says this, "This one will be blessed in whatever he or she does." Isn't that beautiful?

If we really walk in the light as He is in the light, guess what's going to happen? We have peace with God. We're cool. We're doing good. But if we're not in the light and we're lying to ourselves, we're walking in darkness. And how deep is that darkness in our lives? James really, really brings us some good things here.

We need to understand the importance of the word of God because when he speaks of the law of liberty here, again he's speaking how a great freedom in Christ Jesus has been given to us to serve the Lord with my whole heart. And what I do and what I don't do, I do it out of love and not duty. I obey because I love God, not because I have to obey Him. I don't have to do anything. We don't have a legal relationship. We have a love relationship, remember that. It's a love relationship with God.

And then check this out. This is amazing. Verse 26. "If anyone among you thinks that he is religious," and how many people have you met that they say, "Oh yes, I'm very religious"? They think they are. But check this out. "If anyone among you thinks that he is religious and does not bridle his tongue, but deceives his own heart, this one's religion is empty and useless." It cannot be of any, any good to him and that person. Isn't that interesting? It cannot be of any value.

And yet think about this for a moment as he's talking here. Because here he says there are many references here, not only to Christianity but to religions that actually think that they're the way, the truth, and the life, and they're not. Why? Because the greatest thing in a true, true religion, when I say religion I say relationship, I don't use the word religion, is what? The love of God. The love of God that constrains me.

But he's going to tell you now what real religion is. Watch verse 27. "Pure," and this is true Christianity, "pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this." What is it? Check this out. "To visit orphans," wow, "and to take care of the poor and the widows." Isn't that interesting?

As we say that we are Christians, are we truly helping the orphans and helping the widows that are in trouble? Think of how many people today take their mothers and fathers and their grandparents and they put them in an institution where in the old days you took care of them in your house. Because you don't want them to become a bother to you. How sad.

Now, there are some that need to be there because you can't take care of them. But what is your motive? What is your heart? As a Christian, we're supposed to take care of our families. We're supposed to care for them. Because if you don't, then who's going to take care of you? You reap what you sow.

And to me when I read this, it just really convicted me and it spoke to my own heart because I wasn't even a Christian and I would help my grandmother financially because I just felt that I had to as a man, she did a lot for me. And helping my mother or helping my father, now he's with the Lord. But we should never, ever, ever forget that as true Christianity, we're supposed to be helping widows and we're supposed to be helping the orphans. That's true Christianity. Works of faith.

And secondly, get this, what we started the first thing: keep oneself unspotted from the world. Don't get into sin. Holiness, godliness, faith in God, joy, spiritual growth, fruitfulness, perseverance, and notice, obedience and good works. Those are the things that God requires from a true child of God. And that can only come as I submit my life to Him fully and completely and I ask Him to baptize me with His love. That's the only way to do it.

Guest (Male): God's word assures us that He is our light in the darkness of this world, guiding us with His truth and lifting our hearts with His peace. You're listening to Somebody Loves You Radio with Raul Ries. If you'd like to hear today's teaching in its complete form, we'll be happy to send a copy to you for a donation of $5 or more. Just call us at 800-634-9165 and ask for today's teaching from James chapter one, verses 21 through 27.

As you think about the rich blessings of walking in communion with the Lord, we'd like to offer you Raul's eight-message series titled Traits of a Christian. It's available on either CD or flash drive, with each lesson exploring a unique aspect of the believer's faith journey. You'll get a challenge to spend more personal time with the Lord every day, drawing from His strength in your trials and learning to love others with His love.

Connect with us at somebodylovesyou.com or call 800-634-9165 to order Raul's eight-part series titled Traits of a Christian. We'll send you the thumb drive for $12 or the CD collection for $22. That's 800-634-9165. Or write to Somebody Loves You Radio, PO Box 4440, Diamond Bar, California 91765.

And be sure to take advantage of all of our free resources. You can visit the Somebody Loves You Worldwide YouTube channel for podcasts of all of these programs as well as live-streamed teaching. Plus, Raul's Straight Talk streams on that channel every Tuesday at 10:00 a.m. West Coast time.

We're a listener-supported ministry and your partnership is crucial in helping us share the good news of the Lord Jesus. Next time we'll continue with more in this series, and we hope you'll join us for encouragement to live an authentic relationship with the Lord. Empty religious activity can never measure up to true devotion, and only a genuine commitment to God can help you to bless others with His love. That's next time on Somebody Loves You Radio.

This program is sponsored by Somebody Loves You Radio in Diamond Bar, California.