Be Doers of the Word
James 1:22-27
May 25, 2025 anno Domini
It would have been better if Athanasius had kept his mouth shut, but that’s the problem with faithful preachers. God has called them to sow the seed of His Word and to plant it home – to those who like or like it not.
It is good, right, and salutary that we remember Athanasius this year. 2025 marks the 1700th anniversary of the event that made Athanasius famous because he was not afraid to open his mouth for Christ.
You might recognize the name Athanasius because in a few weeks, on Trinity Sunday, we will confess the Creed that bears his name – the Athanasian Creed. Oddly, Athanasius didn’t write that creed. It appeared a century after he lived and its author is anonymous. While he didn’t write the Athanasian creed, Athanasius did play a pivotal role in crafting the Nicene Creed in the year 325 at the Council of Nicaea. And as I said, it would have been better for Athanasius if he had kept his mouth shut – much better for him, but not for the church, and not for you.
I’ll return to the story of Athanasius in a minute (or twenty). In today’s Epistle reading St. James instructs the earliest Christians and us latter day Christians to “be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving ourselves.”
James wrote his letter to Christians who were dispersed throughout the Roman Empire. Christianity was illegal and those newborn Christians faced deadly persecution from the empire. That meant they faced the great temptation to keep their mouths shut and their faith secret. You know how this goes. Your workplace requires Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion training. DEI teaches you to judge people by the color of their skin or their perceived gender, instead of simply regarding all humans as made in the image of God. DEI is a lie and what do you do? You take the training, keep your head down, so you can do the work you love doing. Your best friend invites you to the wedding of her son who is marrying another man. That’s not marriage. It is sinful and deadly, both in that it cannot produce life here on earth, but abiding in that sin will cost those men eternal life. What do you do? Hope another event comes up on that day? Don’t go and make an excuse? Tell the truth? That last option would likely end the friendship.
When you read the book of James one of his great concerns is your tongue. Early in the letter he tells us how to boast – if we are poor we should boast in how much God has given us. If we are rich we should boast in how much God has humbled us. Last week James taught us that when God converts us and raises us from the death of sin, we are the first fruits of His creation, and that new creation begins with what comes out of our mouths. We should be slow to speak, and slow to anger. This week he tells us to bridle our tongues. Later he describes the tongue as a little instrument that can do might things. It is like the tiny bit in the mouth of a horse setting the direction of that large animal or like little rudder on a ship steering that mighty vessel. Finally, James compares the tongue to a tiny spark that can set a forest ablaze.
You should not be surprised that your tongue is so powerful. You are made in the image of God and the God of Scripture is the God who speaks. When He speaks His Word does what He says. He said, “Let there be light” and there was light. He said, “Let us make man in our own image” and in the image of God we were created, male and female He created us. The Bible also declares that the Word of God is the Son of God. The Word was God. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Everything in the world was made by Jesus, through Jesus, and for Jesus. The Son of God in human flesh, Jesus of Nazareth is the final and full Word of God.
Why are you here this morning? You’re here H-E-R-E to hear H-E-A-R the Word, to hear Jesus, to hear that He died for your sin and rose again, to hear that God loves you and forgives you in Christ, to hear that life wins over death, righteousness overcomes evil, and that there is a certain hope for the future. That faith came to you in your baptism – in water combined with God’s Word. That forgiveness comes to you in the Word of absolution. Your life and hope come under bread and wine, which the Word of Jesus declares to be His body and blood for the forgiveness of Your sins.
God made you by His Word. He made you for His Word. He redeems and saves You by His Word made flesh. The very first part of your body affected by His Word is your tongue. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. (Rom 10:10) When you were baptized, your parents spoke on your behalf – Amen. Yes, Bruce Alan Timm, is a child of God. When you heard forgiveness this morning, you said, “Amen, yes I am forgiven.” When you commune – yes, this is Christ’s body and blood for me.” God speaks to you in Christ. You believe. And your tongue speaks its “yes.”
But you also know how quickly your tongue can get away from you. It’s still tainted by sin, and your old Adam still speaks like the devil. Your tongue goes too fast – exaggerating the truth, boasting instead of being humble, angry instead of patience, grumbling instead of prayers, silence instead of confessing.
Your tongue needs two things and James delivers. First, your tongue needs the habit of prayer. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. Second, your tongue needs discipline. It needs to be taught how to speak the truth – and the truth comes from hearing God’s Word. God’s Word tells you what is good. God’s Word tells you who you are. God’s Word tells you what you are worth. God’s Word is Jesus and it is Him we confess.
That’s what Athanasius did. He did not keep quiet. Although he was only a deacon, he opened his mouth against a popular bishop named Arius. Arius did not believe that Jesus was true God. He believed that since the Son of God was begotten of the Father, there was a time when the Son was not. The Son of God was not true God, not eternal God, but a creature of God, like God, but not the same as God. 1700 years ago, on May 20, 325 A.D., the Council of Nicaea was convened. The Council decided to go with God’s Word instead of Arius’ teaching. So, today, we confess in the Nicene Creed that Jesus is God of God, light of light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father. It would be great to say that because Athanasius stood up for Christ he lived happily ever after, but he didn’t. After 10 years of exile Arius returned as a bishop, and Athanasius was exiled 5 times from serving his congregation, for a total of 17 years. It took 50 years for the church to get rid of Arius’ false doctrine, but thankfully Athanasius opened his mouth and confessed Jesus.
It is easier and safer to keep your mouth shut when it comes to Christ, but that is not what God has given you to do. Be doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourself. Where would you be if Athanasius had kept quiet? Where would you be if your relatives had not fled Europe to have the freedom to hear the Gospel? Where would you be if your parents would not have baptized you and brought you to hear God’s Word? You would not be here. You would not be Christ’s and you would not know the truth that brings you life. Be a doer of the Word and not a hearer only. Confess the name of Jesus. Amen.