John Stott’s “Jesus Christ”: Lesson 11 – Moral Teacher

John Stott’s “Jesus Christ”: Lesson 11 – Moral Teacher

I. Introduction
a) Book of James – set up the frame of reference
James written by James, the brother of Jesus, to the church at Jerusalem
James was not considered to be a believer during Jesus’ lifetime

• Scholars, incl. Stott, believe he came to faith during a resurrection appearance
• Leader of the Jerusalem church
• Josephus, Jewish historian, records that James was known for his zeal for prayer; his was nicknamed “Camel Knees” because his knees were literally calloused from such devotion to prayer
• The book of James deals with affliction and the relationship between faith & obedience
• The letter obviously has a Jewish flavor since James was Jewish and head of the church at Jerusalem
• There are multiple OT references in the letter; you’ll see the language resembles Proverbs, Psalms, and Isaiah
• There is also a unique similarity between the language Christ used and the style James was written in
• Stott also suggests that James was a possible witness to the Sermon on the Mount and perhaps other of Jesus’ teaching moments
  

II. James 1:19-27

a) Question: Talking about morality, what one word/phrase would you use to describe Christian morality?

• Faith
• Holiness
• Righteousness
• Selflessness
• Obedience
  

b) James exhorts us to be “swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.”

Question: What problems can be avoided if we adhere to James’ instructions?

1. Stay away from anger
2. Keep foot out of mouth
   How often have you spoken poorly of someone or something only to be told how the person you’re talking to is intimately related to the someone or something?
   
3. What do these commands lead to?

• “Swift to hear” Quick to Learn
• “Slow to speak” Quick to grow
• “Slow to wrath” Quick to peace

• Matthew Henry: “It is the man who listens intently to the Word of truth who progresses in godliness.”

c) James puts anger & righteousness in opposition to one another

• We can easily see that God’s wrath is holy; However, man’s wrath is sinful
• Do we want justice when we’ve been wronged? No – we want revenge
  Example: What if Christ had called on the angels during his questioning before Pilate? We would not have received atonement. How much more glorious is the justice God provided in Christ’s death?
• This is not to say we should not defend ourselves when the time is right, but often times we spin our wheels with how to get even instead of allowing God to provide righteous justice on our enemies

d) James says “get rid of filthiness & wickedness” and instructs us to be humble

Question: What do humility & wickedness mean and why put them in opposition to one another?

• Selfishness = Evil
• Service = Humility
• We shouldn’t seek out suffering
• If we serve and sacrifice for one another and our fellow man, that naturally leads to suffering and that’s ok
  

e) Let’s look at the imagery provided in v. 22-25

Question: What warning does James give us?

• If we are a hearer of the word only and not a doer, we are only deceiving ourselves
• Imagery: A Man looking into a mirror – he sees his natural self, but he walks away and immediately forgets what kind of man he is
• How often do we do this?

1. Mirror = Scripture
2. Natural Face = Our Sinful State
3. Our Reflection = the Scripture revealing our souls’ need for grace

• Quote: “The devil is most proud when he’s convinced us that we are humble.” – Burk Parsons
• Promise: (v.25) if we stay focused on Scripture and act on our convictions, we will be blessed
• “Liberty” = law of God sets us free

1. Rom 8:2 – “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.”

2. Gal 5:13 – “For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.

f) Question: What negates a person’s profession of religion (v.26)?

• We think we are religious
• We don’t control our tongue
• We deceive our own hearts
• Key – reliance on our “own” religion
• We talked last week about relying “in Christ” and “with Him” and not on ourselves; when we begin to think that we’re self-sufficient
  

g) Question: How do we stay out of trouble / avoid sin?

• Pure faith – grounded in Scripture (the mirror)
• Visit orphans / widows – serve one another
  

1. Side Note: 12 OT references to helping orphans & widows in the same verse (4 were in Isaiah)
2. This is a “McFly” moment – from the movie "Back to the Future," “Hello McFly”; I’m trying to teach you something
3. Clearly we are being called to serve those in need – specifically orphans & widows, but all those who are being marginalized
   

III. Wrap-up

a) Stott does a great job of wrapping this up for us – Threefold Ethical Duty

1. Ourselves – pure faith
2. Neighbors – service
3. God – worship / obedience
   

b) Quote: “God is teaching us something, showing us something, preparing us for something, every hour of every day. Live ready to see, listen, and learn.” – Burk Parsons