Our Anger is NOT God's Righteousness (James 1:16-18)

This week we look at some of the ways James outlines for Christians to live, and being angry is not an action that shows God's righteousness in our lives. He follows that with some things we can and should do to pattern our lives to show God's righteousness (James 1:19-27)

Context – James 1:16-18

16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. 18 Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.

Qualities Needed by believers

19 So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; 20 for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.

Be Doers — Not Hearers Only

21 Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; 24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. 25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.

26 If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one's religion is useless. 27 Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.

In these verses James continues to develop what I see to be one of the main themes of his letter: how the transformation from our old men and women into the firstfruits of God’s creations ought to manifest itself in our lives. As Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:17-18, “…if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” We are not to be conformed any longer to this world, but are to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. But transformed how, into what?

In simplest terms, the answer is that we are to conform our lives to the life of Christ. 1 John 2:6 tells us that each believer “who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.” We are to follow in Christ’s footsteps, doing the will of the Father, doing what is good and suffering patiently for it. Listen to what 1 Peter 2:21-25 has to say patiently suffering like Christ:

21 For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps:

22 "Who committed no sin,
Nor was deceit found in His mouth";

23 who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously; 24 who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness — by whose stripes you were healed.

And Paul, in Ephesians 5:1-2, commands the believers at Ephesus to imitate God and walk after Christ, “1 Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.”

Last week we read how, as a result of our faith and belief in the “word of truth,” in good news of the Gospel, in the work of Christ upon the cross, we have become a kind of firstfruits of His creatures [verse 18]. As I mentioned last Friday, the believers to whom James wrote were truly among the first generation of God’s human creation to believe in the work of Christ upon the cross. There is, however, another sense of firstfruits that is applicable to all believers. Firstfruits were an offering sanctified for God, set aside for His consumption. And if we are, as Romans 12:1 tells us, presenting our bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is our reasonable service, then we are indeed becoming fruitfruits of His creation, living sacrifices set aside for His will.

As James tells us in verse 21 of our passage tonight we are to “receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save our souls.” Regarding the gospel of Christ, Paul says in Romans 1:16-17:

16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "The just shall live by faith."

I want to be clear that it is Christ who by living a sinless life of perfect obedience to His Father, by dying on the cross as a propitiatory sacrifice for the sins of all mankind, and by being risen from the tomb on the third day, did the work of salvation for us. We must only have faith in or believe His work.

But by having faith in the gospel of Christ, we can be born again, of the Holy Spirit, and be able to see and enter the kingdom of God. [WG1] And when we are born again, we receive the Holy Spirit of God, who dwells within us and assists us in many ways. Among other things, the Holy Spirit gives us understanding of God’s word of truth and convicts us of sin when we disobey the will of God. And by the operation of the Holy Spirit in our lives, we receive the ability and the opportunity to begin to understand and manifest in our lives the wisdom which comes from God, in the form of His written word and in the teachings of the Holy Spirit.

Recall with me what James stresses in verses 6, 7, and 8 of chapter one, that we are to ask God for His wisdom in faith, without doubting, without double-mindedness. We are not just to ask for wisdom, but to follow through with what God shows us to be wise. We are to “be doers of the word, no just hears only” [verse 22]. We are to be like Abraham, who took God at His word, without hesitation, and without complaining, when He called upon him to sacrifice his son Isaac, his only son, whom he loved.

In verses 19-27 James give born-again believers a list of spiritual qualities that they should seek to embody. The common denominator of all of these qualities seems to me to be the believer’s need to put off the old man or woman and become more like Christ. Because we have been blessed yet again this evening with an extended set of worship, we will focus on verse 19, peaking ahead only to passages which elaborate upon what James is saying here. We will return to the rest of this passage next week, Lord willing.

In verse 19 James encourages believers to practice patience, both with regard to their speech as well as their anger. Believers must not be quick to speak or to become angry with others. Instead, we are told to be swift to hear but slow to speak and slow to wrath. There are clear scriptural precedents for James advice. Consider the following passages taken from some of the books of wisdom of the Bible:

Proverbs 10:19

19 In the multitude of words sin is not lacking,
But he who restrains his lips is wise.

Proverbs 14:29

29 He who is slow to wrath has great understanding,
But he who is impulsive exalts folly.

Proverbs 16:32

32 He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty,
And he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.

Proverbs 17:27-28

27 He who has knowledge spares his words,
And a man of understanding is of a calm spirit.
28 Even a fool is counted wise when he holds his peace;
When he shuts his lips, he is considered perceptive.

Proverbs 19:11

11 The discretion of a man makes him slow to anger,
And his glory is to overlook a transgression.

Ecclesiastes 7:9

9 Do not hasten in your spirit to be angry,
For anger rests in the bosom of fools.

There is a clear spiritual precedent for our being slow to speak and slow to wrath. And this is how Jesus behaved, even towards those who abused and cursed Him. Writing over 700 years before Christ lived, the prophet Isaiah prophesized regarding the suffering Messiah:

7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet He opened not His mouth;
He was led as a lamb to the slaughter,
And as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
So He opened not His mouth. 

And listen to what 1 Peter 2:21-25 has to say regarding the patient suffering of Christ:

21 For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps:

22 "Who committed no sin,
Nor was deceit found in His mouth";

23 who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously; 24 who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness — by whose stripes you were healed.

I believe that there often is a direct connection between our anger and speech. It is not uncommon, at least for me, and I suspect for each of you as well, to say things in the heat of anger that we later regret. The importance of learning to control our tongues is a recurring theme in the Epistle of James. In verse 26 James tells us that if we do not bridle our tongues, we deceive our hearts and render our religion useless. And in chapter 3, verses 2-12 James speaks at length of the trouble that an unbridled tongue can generate:

2… If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body. 3 Indeed, we put bits in horses' mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body. 4 Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires. 5 Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things.

See how great a forest a little fire kindles! 6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell. 7 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind. 8 But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. 10 Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so. 11 Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening? 12 Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh.

Why are we so quick to speak? Let us look at some for me pretty typical scenarios and ask what might be the motive.

  1 - We have been unjustly wronged and want to avenge ourselves – In such cases, we should remember what we just read in 1 Peter 2 about suffering patiently and as well Paul’s advice in Romans 12:17-21:

17 Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. 18 If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. 19 Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay, " says the Lord. 20 Therefore

"If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
If he is thirsty, give him a drink;

For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head."

21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

 2 -  We have been caught red-handed in sin, with our hand in the cookie jar, and wish to defend ourselves, justify ourselves, or perhaps divert attention away from our sin. – In such cases we are better served to fear God, who can destroy both body and soul in hell, whom we should fear, not man. We need to remember who we are – that is, still sinners even though we do believe – and simply do what 1 John 1:9 tells us: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” We could not justify ourselves before God before we were saved; what makes us believe we can do a better job now?

3-  Someone else has said or done something wrong and we feel compelled to correct them. – Except in matters pertaining to salvation, it is my opinion that we are often too quick to jump in to correct one another. We need to ask ourselves what is our motive in correcting others? Are we acting out of pride, trying to make ourselves look better or smarter? Are we acting out of love when we correct them? 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 tells us that

Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

We need to make sure when we go to correct another that we do so in love. Often it might be better to pray for that other person, that the Holy Spirit might do the work, reveal to them what they need to know and stir them up to change. Can we do a better job than the very Holy Spirit of God?

4- We are angry and unable to bridle our tongues. We need to remember that we are new creations, firstfruits of God’s creation set aside for His use, and we should walk worthy of the calling with which we were called. Listen to Paul’s admonition to the believers at Ephesus to this effect:

17 This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, 18 having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; 19 who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.

20 But you have not so learned Christ, 21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: 22 that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.

25 Therefore, putting away lying, "Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor," for we are members of one another. 26 "Be angry, and do not sin": do not let the sun go down on your wrath, 27 nor give place to the devil. 28 Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need. 29 Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. 32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. [WG5] 

As believers we need to be mindful that we will be judged by our words. Here are two examples from the Gospels that make that point clearly. In Matthew 12:33-37, Jesus responds to a group of scribes and Pharisees who have accused Him of casting out demons by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons, telling them:

33 "Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit.  34 Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.  35 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.  36 But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.  37 For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."

And again in Luke 19:11-27, as Jesus and the crowds accompanying Him draw near to Jerusalem, He tells the following prophetic parable:

Luke 19:11-27

11 Now as they heard these things, He spoke another parable, because He was near Jerusalem and because they thought the kingdom of God would appear immediately. 12 Therefore He said: "A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and to return.  13 So he called ten of his servants, delivered to them ten minas, and said to them, 'Do business till I come.'  14 But his citizens hated him, and sent a delegation after him, saying, 'We will not have this man to reign over us.'

15 "And so it was that when he returned, having received the kingdom, he then commanded these servants, to whom he had given the money, to be called to him, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading.  16 Then came the first, saying, 'Master, your mina has earned ten minas.'  17 And he said to him, 'Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over ten cities.'  18 And the second came, saying, 'Master, your mina has earned five minas.'  19 Likewise he said to him, 'You also be over five cities.'

20 "Then another came, saying, 'Master, here is your mina, which I have kept put away in a handkerchief.  21 For I feared you, because you are an austere man. You collect what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.'  22 And he said to him, 'Out of your own mouth I will judge you, you wicked servant. You knew that I was an austere man, collecting what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow.  23 Why then did you not put my money in the bank, that at my coming I might have collected it with interest?'

24 "And he said to those who stood by, 'Take the mina from him, and give it to him who has ten minas.'  25 (But they said to him, 'Master, he has ten minas.')  26 'For I say to you, that to everyone who has will be given; and from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.  27 But bring here those enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, and slay them before me.'"

The last point I would like to make about our passage tonight is what James has to say in verse 20: “for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” Even though Jesus was both a son of God and a son of man, He kept His anger in check.