The following story illustrates the point we wish to ponder:

I was testing the children in my Sunday school class to see if they understood the concept of getting to heaven. I asked them, ‘If I sold my house and my car, had a big garage sale and gave all my money to the church, Would that get me into Heaven?’ ‘NO!’ the children answered.

‘If I cleaned the church every day, mowed the yard, and kept everything neat and tidy, would that get me into Heaven?’ Again, the answer was, ‘NO!’

By now I was starting to smile. Hey, this was fun!

‘Well, then, if I was kind to animals and gave candy to all the children, and loved my husband, would that get me into Heaven?’ I asked them again. Again, they all answered, ‘NO!’

I was just bursting with pride for them.. ‘Well,’ I continued, ‘then how can I get into Heaven?’

A five-year-old boy shouted out, ‘YOU GOTTA BE DEAD.’

So, do you really want to go to heaven? Do you want to go to heaven enough to “crucify” yourself and live by faith so that Christ lives in you (Gal 2:20)? Do you want to go to heaven enough to “have the sentence of death” in yourself like Paul did? (Are you willing to die for Christ and trust in God who raises the dead, 2 Cor 1:8-9?) Do you want to go to heaven enough to give up your life in order to remain faithful to Christ (Rev 2:10)? Do you want to go to heaven enough to deny yourself, and take up your cross daily, and follow Jesus (Lk 9:23)?

Those who “really want to go to heaven” have learned that “to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Phil 1:21). They know this world is not their home, and so they are living and longing for the heavenly city (Phil 3:20; Heb 11:13-16). They are seeking first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, not the fading baubles of this world (Matt 6:33-34).

Do you really want to go to heaven? “You gotta be dead” to get there! You must die to the world and live unto Christ (Rom 6:3-4; Gal 2:20). To go to heaven you will have to die in order to “depart, and be with Christ, which is far better” (Phil 1:23). Do you really want to go to heaven? Perhaps we should ask, “Do you want to be dead?”

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A stark contrast is made in James 4, showing the evil fruit of earthly wisdom (3:13-16). James appeals to the grace of God to exhort Christians to put away all sin (worldliness, evil speaking) and humbly submit to the will of the Lord by doing what we know is good.

I. FAITH AT WORK “DE-FRIENDS” THE WORLD, Jas 4:1-4.

  A. The Result of Faithless Wisdom: “Confusion and Every Evil Thing”, Gal 5:14-15; cf. 1 Jno 3:15; Col 3:5.
  B. The Real Problem: They had befriended the World, Jas 4:4; Jer 3:8, 20; Psa 73:27-28; 1 Jno 2:15; Rom 13:12; Eph 5:6-8, 11  (1 Cor 15:33-34).

II. FAITH AT WORK RELIES ON GOD’S GRACE BY SUBMITTING TO GOD, Jas 4:5-10.

  A. Grace Overcomes Sin, 4:5-6 (Prov 6:34-35), Exo 20:4-5; Rom 5:20-21.
  B. Grace to Overcome Sin Requires a Working Faith, 4:7-10.

III. FAITH AT WORK DOES NOT SPEAK EVIL OF ITS BRETHREN, Jas 4:11-12 (5:9).

  A. To Speak Evil of One Another makes One a Judge, 2:4 (1 Cor 6:1-8; Matt 22:39)
  B. There is One Lawgiver, 4:12 (Matt 10:28)

IV. FAITH AT WORK DEPENDS ON GOD, Jas 4:13-17.

  A. By Keeping Life in Perspective, 4:13-14. Prov 27:1; Matt 6:33-34; Job 7:7; Psa 39:4-6.
  B. By Living for the Will of God, 4:15-17.
      -Omitting good is arrogance on display.

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Idle Words

1. We will give account of every idle word in the day of judgment, Matt 12:36.
2. “Idle words” conveys a wide variety of sins of the tongue.

I. WHAT ARE IDLE WORDS? Matt 12:36

  A. Defining “Idle”: no work, “ineffective”.
    -Used to describe:
    1. Inactivity, Matt 20:3, 6. No productivity
    2. Profitless leisure, 1 Tim 5:13.
    3. Lazy, Titus 1:12.
    4. Barren, 2 Pet 1:8.
  B. Idle Words Mark Out the Heart that Bears Evil Fruit, Matt 12:34-35.

II. HOW IDLE WORDS MAY BE SPOKEN.

  A. Context: By Denying Jesus is the Christ, Matt 12:22-24, 32; Acts 17:11; Jno 12:37, 43; Jude 10, 12-13.
  B. Busybodies who Gossip and Bear Tales, 1 Tim 5:13 (14-15); Prov 16:28; 1 Ths 4:9-12; Matt 7:12; Col 3:13.
  C. Corrupt Words, Eph 4:29; Col 4:6; 1 Pet 2:1; Prov 30:11-14; Psa 59:12.
  D. Barren, Useless Words, Matt 12:35-36; cf. Eph 5:8-13; Col 3:9; Prov 17:20; Matt 7:15; Gal 3:13-15; Prov 24:1-2 (6:19)

III. WHY WE MUST BE CONCERNED ABOUT IDLE WORDS.

  A. Our Words Reveal our Character, Matt 12:35; Prov 23:7.
  B. Our Words will be Judged by God, Matt 12:37; Prov 13:3.
  C. Our Words must Advance Godliness and Righteousness, Titus 2:6-8.

Concl. Purify character–purify language, Prv 17:3

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An armed and masked intruder robbed the Roadway Inn of Bellingham just past midnight Thursday morning. The alleged robber, who is still at large, is described as “6-foot-tall white man in his late 20s or early 30s, weighing at least 180 pounds. He had stubble and wore a baseball cap, a military-style bomber jacket and dark pants” (“Man with handgun robs Bellingham motel; suspect at-large”, Caleb Hutton, www.bellinghamherald.com). This crime illustrates the nature of sin as it warns us of sin in our lives.

1) Sin loves the darkness. “And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil” (Jno 3:19). The light of truth exposes sin; therefore, those who love sin try to hide their sins under the cover of darkness (Jno 3:19-20; 1 Ths 5:7; Eph 5:11-13).

2) Sin tries to cover its true identity. Like a masked thief, sin deceives and tempts us to fulfill evil desires while hiding its real purpose – our pain and spiritual death (Heb 3:13; Jas 1:13-16).

3) Sin violates and flees from proper authority. Like the robber who flees from the police, sin hides from the authority of Christ’s word (Matt 28:18; Col 3:17).

4) Sin hurts people. Like the clerk (who was terrorized by a masked man with a handgun demanding money) and the motel (which was robbed of its property), sin does harm others (Gal 5:19-21). The person who says “my sin does not affect anyone else” is very mistaken (read Gen 3:16-19).

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