James 1:19-20
“Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness that God requires. Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.”
God requires righteousness from me. He expects for me, as a redeemed child of God to, to pursue holiness at every turn. Holiness is the expectation. Anger is an outward manifestation towards the inward disconnect between me and the word of God.
As a child of God, I have been forgiven of my sins by the death of Jesus Christ. Stated differently, Jesus’ righteousness – or holiness – has been applied to me on his behalf. I am no longer in bondage to sin, to its ungodly desires, or to its destructive nature. This includes anger.
When James warns me that “the anger of man does not produce the righteousness that God requires” he is not suggesting that I could produce righteousness that leads to salvation. I know that Ephesians 2:8,9 says “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Rather, James is hinting at what he will later explain in greater detail: true faith and true righteousness will be justified (or made apparent in my life) by my good deeds.
A simple way to think about this is to say that true righteousness, which only comes from God, will always be accompanied by righteous living.
This truth brings me to a welcomed reality check. What is happening to me spiritually when I become angry or my decisions are producing an unrighteous lifestyle? If I am continually given to anger and unholiness there is a high likelihood that I am not subjecting myself to a constant intake of the word of God. I am not reading my Bible. I am not spending time in prayer. I am not talking with other believers about my relationship with God.
What then do I do if I find this to be true in my life? First, I must ask myself several tough questions:
- Do I really believe that Jesus is the Son of God?
- Do I really believe that I was born into this world a sinful person, damned to spend eternity separate from God?
- Do I really believe that Jesus, though He was righteous, took on the full wrath of God for me and paid for my unrighteousness?
- Do I believe that I have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus and am set free from the bondage of sin?
If I answer yes to the above questions and still find myself angry and practicing a life of unholiness, there is only one option. James makes it very clear in verse 21: “Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.” I must commit to stop making unholy decisions and I must depend on the Holy Spirit to lead me through that commitment. This is called the process of sanctification and it will not happen unless I consistently “receive with meekness the implanted word.” If I am not willing to work out my sanctification with fear and trembling, I fooling myself when I claim to be a child of God.
Anger and unrighteous living is a sure sign of my disconnect from the word of God.
Needed this very much today! 🙂
Anxiety is a disconnect from God. When I am anxious, I go the the verse that says Be anxious for nothing, but by prayer and supplication make your requests known to God, and the peace that passes understanding will guard your heart and mind. When I am anxious about a matter, I am unyielded to God in this matter. I want the outcome that I want and am worried that it will not happen. If I pray to God to fulfill my desire I gain no peace. If I yield to my God and leave the outcome in his hands, then the peace that passes understanding fills my heart. This is not always easy but it must be. This is the way of God.
Anger for a wrong against you is another hard obstacle. Sometimes a person betrays, slanders and goes out of his way to humiliate and hurt you. The pure evil he displays is very hard to ignore or overlook when it is every day, non stop. And then he is promoted and you are laid off. The sheer unfairness of this can ruin your day, and is a matter of serious talk time with my Father. His answer is always the same: Forgive. That is the last thing I want to do. He says pray for your enemies. So I pray that they will get hit by a Mack truck and put in the hospital and for the first time in their lives think about God. Except it was just not one person, it was two working together in all their calumnious arrogance. Oh did I pray. It was a struggle, but I was always kind to them. One day it was all turned off. In a sudden moment they were nice to me. It was so sudden that I said, Father, what did You do? Yes, I got laid off, but God has restored it all back. And God revealed to me something about the woman who had given me grief. She told me, You know that a follower of Christ will be persecuted. I said, yes. She said, You really know this, don’t you? I nodded yes. She then said, How can you know what is true because everyone says this is true and that is true. I told her that everyone carries a big burden of guilt around with them and are not aware of it. Just put our lives on a movie screen for everyone to see and the shame would crush us. The Holy Spirit was showing her at that very moment her screen. And she asked how I knew I was forgiven. Then I shared it was by faith in God’s promise to forgive. Turns out that long time ago she used to be a worshiper of God. She is starting to read her Bible but it is off and on. You know, after traveling this road a long time, I am convinced that absolute surrender to Jesus Christ is what is needed, and is mostly ignored. Just be willing. Just say yes to God. That is all He requires, Then walk with Him. There is no escape from anxiety, worry, anger, the world, sin without giving up self ownership and obeying our Lord Jesus Christ. Surrender is the key to overcoming immorality, drugs, etc. American Christianity just does not get the job done. Live in the Word of God. Seek the Lord even when He hides himself, and stay faithful especially when He hides Himself. And you will find it is God all along working in you to grow our faith and endurance. You will also find as you keep seeking the Lord by His grace, that He is there in the dark night of the soul. Yes He is. Yes He is. He wants intimacy with us too, but there is a huge price to pay, the death of myself. So why do I walk this narrow way? Jesus. I have tasted the Lord and I am ruined for this life. That is the whole truth of the matter. The greatest thing is knowing the Lord. It took me an entire lifetime to figure that out. If it weren’t for God I would be wicked, and if it weren’t for God I would go to Hell. Praise God for the fire that burns the dross. But I never lose sight that God credited to my account His very own righteousness, and justified me by faith in Jesus Christ. But God is changing me into the image of Jesus Christ and the change is painful. And when I see how far I have yet to go, I remember to take it one day at a time until I am called home. Jesus, my Lord. What can I say? You simply are the greatest.