Good morning, Faith Bible Church.
John Locke is a name that deserves more respect, especially in our Country. Having lived in England during the 1600’s. If you aren’t familiar with him, the best description of Mr. Locke would be as a “thinker”. Imagine John Locke as a Thinker in the same way people view the astronomer/Physicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson, in the public conscious. John Locke was renowned for his reasoning about Man’s position towards government. His foremost assembly of ideas is collected in his seminal work “two Treatises of Government”. This composition of essays is what many historians relate as the work the founding fathers used to craft their ideas before the American Revolution. One of his other oft quoted works is the Essay Concerning human Understanding. This essay seeks to inform the reader about the nature of understanding, the foundation of knowledge, and the growth of experience. It is in this work where John Locke is credited with coining the term Tabula Rasa. However, that’s just not true. John Locke did not coin that term. The idea of Tabula Rasa is, however, metered out in detail for English language speakers in the Essay “Concerning Human Understanding”. But that is not where the word, or even the idea of Tabula Rasa is from. To get to the genesis of Tabula Rasa, we can look back and see it also described in the works of St. Thomas Aquinas.
3Not used by name, The aspects of Tabula Rasa, which we will later consider, are found in the works of Thomas Aquinas. Thomas Aquinas was a renowned Dominican Friar who philosophized on the substance of man. He lived during the 13th century. One of HIS most renowned works, Actus Essendi (we would say “the first principle” in English) describes the immaterial essence of man’s mind. The components of the mind, in his estimation, are common sense, imagination, our ability to estimate and memory. Not to make a precise science of the matter of these senses, Aquinas posits that these elements can be formed and reformed in the mind of people and are not set in stone from eternity. That the collections of life experience will ultimately shape us into the people we are today, and not that we come prepackaged for who we are going to be forever. That we are born as the blank slate, Tabula rasa, and the work is completed upon our death, but that on birth, nothing is certain.
To continue with a strictly western philosophy, we can move down to Aristotle, the basis of modern views of western logic. Aristotle’s works and influences measure down from thousands of years. Known as the teacher to Alexander the Great, the conqueror of the Western world. Aristotle comes from the schools of Socrates and Plato. Names that may ring familiar from your high school literature and classical courses. In his Treatise, De Anima, or “On the Soul”. Aristotle Famously writes on how a soul is able to comprehend anything Quote
Have not we already disposed of the difficulty about interaction involving a common element, when we said that mind is in a sense potentially whatever is thinkable, though actually it is nothing until it has thought? What it thinks must be in it just as characters may be said to be on a writing tablet on which as yet nothing actually stands written: this is exactly what happens with mind.
Notice the piece, writing tablet on which as yet nothing actually stands written. It is in this phrase we coin our term Tabula Rasa.
Keep this in mind, when we see words in another language, or phrases with uncommon words, sometimes, not all the time, we can take that words and parse it next to our most closets English equivalent. English is, in fact, a conglomerate language developed over the past 1700 years. We take tabula, we think what? Table? Tablet… much more familiar of a term these last 15 or so years. And Rasa… that’s a hard one. The implement on the end our pencils? The ……. Eraser.
But we don’t stop it at eraser, tablet eraser just makes no sense. But what does an eraser do? It corrects mistakes, or more accurately, makes our papers blank. So, we take them together Tabula = Tablet, Rasa =Erase blank… The visage of a blank slate. The idea of a clean canvas, a white piece of paper, untouched snow. Tabula Rasa. So…. The definition. As passe as it is, it is necessary to Define this term. The way the Cambridge Dictionary defines it is as “A person whose character is not fixed, and who can develop in different ways”.
The Term Tabula Rasa, has been used in variation from American Revolution, Church enlightenment and World conquest. The idea that man comes into the world as a blank slate. That over the course of time, interactions, and experiences, people can become a variety of things based on just living. We can be Princes or paupers, heroes or villains, but most important… The one thing we can be which will lead us to eternal life or condemnation to the lake of fire… we can be moving heavenward or Hell Bound. While the wounds among saints and sinners can run generations deep. God has the ability to wipe clean our past and make us new creations in Christ Jesus. Nothing else has this power.
Whether we think we can hide in the depths of the jungle or the midst of the oceans, our sin finds us. But our God can blot out our sins, make us blank slates, ready to rewrite EVERYTHING that we are. Our text today is viewed, as always, in light of all of revealed scripture. I pray we can tie this together to know that, with Christ Jesus, we can be blank slates again.
Brothers and sisters keep this in mind now that we bring this back to our text in James Chap 1 verse 21.. Our Main point from the top. God Is willing and able to erase your past and write your future. God is willing and able to erase your past and write your future. We follow through in the portion of chapter one of James that is associated with the hearing and doing of the word where we Read in James Chapter 1, verses 19-26.
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 of God. Therefore, put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.
If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless. 27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.
Last Time we looked at verses 19 and 20 and talked practically about being quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger. We should be concerned with how we manifest these traits, not through our own initiative, but by the Holy spirit working within us. Consider the subtitle we are working under, The conduct of the Redeemed. James’s priority in his epistle to the church abroad and all time, specifically relevant in this section, is how Christ’s church interacts with itself and the world. James starts with how we should be conversationalists and verse 21, our subject matter today is not a flowery supplement to the commandment the bishop espouses. We don’t take this verse in isolation and create theology wholesale form this small portion. We do, however, begin to examine it in isolation, so that when we put it back with the rest of its context, we can gather the full depth and breadth of how God wants His church to be. So read again verse 21. Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
Lets examine this so we don’t lose sight of all the richness Gods word would have for us
1. Put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness
Why Does James say we need to put this away? What is the precondition on which James gives the assumption that his readers have “Filthiness and rampant wickedness”. I mean, after all, aren’t people essentially good? Left alone to their own devices, wouldn’t people choose the most moral and pure options of all things, given the chance? Hmmmmm…… What does scripture say? Psalm 14: 1 Take a quick detour with me to Psalm 14 where we read
1.The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds;
there is none who does good.
That’s well and good, isn’t it? I mean, we aren’t fools by this definition because we came here to attest that there is a God in Heaven. Moreover, since we aren’t fools, we aren’t corrupt, but that doesn’t excuse us from the ability to evil deeds. So, within the context of verse one, there is no fool who does good. THAT’S GREAT NEWS…. Wait a minute… what does the rest of the psalm go on to say?
2 The LORD looks down from heaven on the children of man,
to see if there are any who understand,
who seek after God.
We’re following the logic so far, I mean, I know I am seeking after God, So God does find me. But in what sense is the psalmist talking about? Because even the psalmist knows he is seeking after God, any wisdom the writer has must start there. So, A fool is someone who denies that there is a God, and that any who seeks after God cannot be a fool…. But…. Oh man…. This next verse is really concerning
3 They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt;
there is none who does good,
not even one.
Read this correctly in context. The psalmist has identified both the fool, and for our sake, the wise. One who denies God, and one who seeks after. But the Lord says that ALL have turned aside. There is not one person who does good. Both the person who strives for righteousness and the person who revels in their sin are detestable to the Lord. The Lord our God demands a perfect righteousness in order to stand Guiltless before Him.
4 Have they no knowledge, all the evildoers
who eat up my people as they eat bread
and do not call upon the LORD?
Truly a vile people. All people are like this. Doing what seems right in their own eyes. Is there any way to be rid of this nature, or even protected from these people?
5 There they are in great terror,
for God is with the generation of the righteous.
6 You would shame the plans of the poor,
but the LORD is his refuge.
This is curious, The Psalmist, who has already said that all are wicked and full of iniquity, states there is yet a group, who, even though had an evil nature, are righteous, even more, are protected by God. How does someone get this status? How do I rid my title of evil doer and be called among the generation of the righteous… better yet…. How do I make the Lord my refuge?
7 Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!
When the LORD restores the fortunes of his people,
let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.
The key is here… Faith Bible church, there is a salvation that has come from Zion and He dwelt among us, and we have seen his Glory as the only Son from the Father, full of Grace and truth. IN this manner Christ has made us free, and let’s us choose freedom. The filthiness and rampant wickedness are put, the paths we chose don’t make us determined for Hell, God has changed that. And that putting away is two-fold
Psalm 14 answers a question that a brought by James 1:21. Scripture to prove scripture, that is, we all come to Christ with filthiness and rampant wickedness. Such as the, unrighteous sexually immoral, idolater, adulterers, homosexuals, thieves, greedy, drunks, revilers and swindlers. Such were some of us (1st Corinthians 6:10-12). We are no longer these things when our identity is Christ Jesus. Paul continues
This is to say that we are washed, sanctified, and justified in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. Paul states it this way in Romans 6. I that the old life of wickedness and sin is gone. We are united in Christ; we are free and able to move forward from a life that had us marked for destruction.
The other half of putting away filth and wickedness is on our accord but not by our power
Coming back to our text today, James’s injunction to us is that we act in agreement with the Holy spirit and leave those things in the past. Put them away and be ready for the new. Again, continuing in Romans 6:10 “For death he died, he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives, he lives to God. You MUST CONSIDER YOURSELES dead to sin and ALIVE to God in Christ Jesus.
Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
“All filthiness and rampant wickedness” is equal to “corrupt, evil doers, not one who does good” is common to mankind because – Psalm 14:3, there is none who do good.
While God will always maintain his sovereignty, we have a great joy and responsibility in acting in accordance with the Heart of God. Salvation is a gift from God, sanctification is a work the Holy Spirit. We are not to deny the Holy spirit in the work that He does in us, to allow the Holy spirit to work is our responsibility. We don’t do anything to earn or maintain our Salvation, that is a work that strictly belongs to the Lord, but the crux of this epistle is that we have the responsibility to prove our salvation. Meaning, how does the world know we are called apart and holy if our conduct doesn’t reveal us as being redeemed. See what Christs’ church is called to do
We are to Put Away- a two-fold act.
Salvation comes for Israel out of Zion. We both are active and passive in the act of having our former nature replaced, covered, and outbid by the Holy spirit.
Consider where we have left from 2nd peter in pastor Scott’s recent series. Hopefully not far removed from your memory as it has been little more than 2 weeks since we concluded. We are active in our putting away of filthiness and rampant wickedness by exercising the power of the Holy spirit. When we went through peters 2nd epistle we read. Chapter 1: verses 3-15. Peter describes all the ways in which we are putting away all the dirt of our former lives before God makes us that Tabula Rasa. Able to keep the filth from what will stain his new creation. When we practice these things, we can show the efficacy of the salvation that comes from Christ Jesus. Without his imparting of the Holy spirit. To put it more simply. If we spend our time doing the things God tells us to do, we won’t have time to do the things God tells us not to do. Ii this way we keep off the old Nature.
This is a gift of grace and mercy when we believe and become new creations. Without the salvation from Zion, any good produced from us, is merely an act of common grace from the Lord, and not because of the healing power of Jesus that adopts us into God’s kingdom. The “put away” is a call to action that we by no other way could accomplish ourselves without the redemption provided by the Lamb of God. How appropriate where the prophet Ezekiel describes the hope and restoration of true believers and the events to follow as God works His Spirit in those who are called to his purpose.
and I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27And I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. 28You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God. 29And I will deliver you from all your uncleanness. And I will summon the grain and make it abundant and lay no famine upon you. Ezekiel 36:26-29
It follows, God has given us his laws, redeemed us from uncleanness and put away the former things that have marked our lives and make us new, erasing that past which marks us and enables us, by no other means possible, to live the life that is pleasing to him, fulfilling to us, and granting us the path to fulfill our designed purpose. The work accomplished by our Heavenly father. We could never have gotten to a place where we could be a blank slate and practice the things we ought without him wiping us clean. It is in this way we see two fold.
God makes us a blank slate so we can conduct ourselves as the redeemed. And we also must conduct ourselves in a way as to not fill that blank slate with the sinful things of our past
Without the proper view of the theology of this portion of scripture, we run the risk of thinking that life is hunky dory easy street when we come to know Christ as Lord and savior… Let me tell you friends, and those of you who have walked with the Lord longer can shout an amen. IT IS NOT EASY.
We also run the risk of thinking that our salvation and new blank slate, our tabula rasa, is solely ours to fill out when we get it. THAT IS ALSO not the case, The holy spirit empowers us to start, continue in, and assent to the Work our Heavenly father has assigned to us. We must work in cooperation with God to show ourselves as the redeemed.
Therefore, put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness AND… AND… AND receive with meekness the implant word, which is able to save your souls
15The next part is the “And” … Quick pit stop for some grammar homework. This is a curious portion of this verse, and I stress it to say that James, is not asking only to receive Christ so that the church is able to rebuke wickedness. What we have in this verse is two imperative clauses with a relative clause. “ Put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness” and also “receive the implanted word”, an the relative clause “which is able to save your souls. The first two imperative clauses must be followed in order to achieve the affect of the dependent relative clause. We have already discussed the need to put away the sinful nature. But that will not be enough if we wish to conduct ourselves as the redeemed. Both clauses the putting away and the reception of the word are necessary to save our souls.
Give these sentences as for an example of how that and is so vital in this verse” Read this for example
Wash the dishes and mop the floor, So we can have a clean kitchen
Read your book and do your homework, so you can get a good.
And From 2ndt Timothy 2:15 and 19
Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth
19 But God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.”
It is one thing for us to become the blank slate, the tabula rasa, no longer marked by sin and shame and enjoy that our Name is written in the book of Life. But Christ is not satisfied with us providing the bare minimum, nor does he want us to enjoy only the least of the benefits of his redemptive work this side of eternity. Our King tells us that we do not stand condemned in His face, but the next injunction is that we go, and sin more than we fill ourselves with all the Godly things in His word.
See again the “and” in the sentence. Our core is that our redemption does not end at the forgiveness of our sins, but the perfecting words and deeds of a life following Christ. The sentence in verse 21 is very much the point between a life of lawlessness and a life of legalism. A life of depraved base instincts and one self-righteous moralism.
To only take the first part of the verse is to miss out on all the blessing provided by the second…. But as we come to it, to force ourselves into habits and works while looking back with fondness at the sin Christ is saving us from is to miss the point entirely. Without holding to the second part of the verse, there is good reason to question the third part. That is to say, without receiving the implanted word, without acceptance of the Holy spirit, without acting in accordance with the Word of God, the evidence of our salvation is questionable at best and indicative of an unregenerate, unrepentant and unsaved soul at worst.
So, we receive the word both spiritually through the indwelling of the holy spirit, through the reading of it and the hearing of it. we Welcome God’s law. The reception of the Word is more than just the amazon driver leaving the package at the door, but much more to the effect of being visited by a dear old friend whom you haven’t seen in ages. The reception of the Word implanted in us is something to be amazed by. The power of the gospel in our lives is the power to be free from addiction, to heal the sick, minister to the poor, and reflect the Glory of our God. We receive this implanted word which gives us the power to stand for Christ in all situations. The reception of the word is what gives us the Power. Without the word, we have no idea what is pleasing in the sight of God. So, we receive that word to please our heavenly. It is by this word, and our acting within. THIS WORD. That we are capable of being the redeemed. Without this word, we are nothing. So we receive the Word in accordance to his word. We must remember, receive the word, because to have the word and to love the word is to love the savior. To love the savior is to love and follow his commandments. The reception of the is important, but how we do so is just as important.
James writes that we are to accept the implanted with what? With meekness! With humility! Gentleness. The word that we get is a gift! Outside of having the printed word literally gifted to us, do we not realize what a gift it is to us that we have God’s word with us in a language we can read? However, this isn’t what James is speaking about.
To discern the implanted word carefully is to approach it with an attitude of reverence and Deference. We approach and understand God’s instructions to His church on his own terms on not what we feel is the correct. Proverbs 11:2 When pride comes, the comes disgrace, but with humble is wisdom. Taking the word with all Humility. That we subject ourselves to its teaching at its face and intended meaning and not to contort or twist the words as some would. To force your will on the Word of our Lord and read it in a way pleasing to our own ears brings us destruction. Faith bible Church. 2nd peter was all about false teachers and prophets, if we receive the implanted word but without meekness and our own self-serving agendas, we negate the ability of it to save our souls, because we never were able to rid ourselves of all filthiness and rampant wickedness form the first part of this verse, we’ve negated the whole of the epistle. Without following the pattern laid out in this verse and being stuck on taking God’s words on our terms you place yourself in a grave spot in proving your salvation and conducting yourself like the redeemed.
This is how God glorifies Himself and by proxy, us. It is how we receive and act upon the implanted word. Hear now the words of our Savior King as he pronounces Judgment on those who would say they are, at best, master’s with the Word of God “Matthew 23:8 But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers. 9 And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. 10 Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Christ. 11 The greatest among you shall be your servant. 12 Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
Placing ourselves in the humble role of servant of the Word elevates our King who remembers our deeds towards him. Sitting at the foot of this book and doing what it says in it with all faithfulness and full expectation shows us as the faithful servant. The servant who was a wretched convict and prisoner to sin. Whose whole past has been blanked out and made useful to Son of God. Whose future is being written in accordance with what the Father desires…. Whose faithful service proves the complete salvation work being done in us.
See the illustration, Our God has taken away sin, and made us a Tabula rasa. Even so much, to not have the story written by ourselves to mess it up again, but has given us his Word which will be with us as the Holy Spirit rewrites our story
Brothers and sisters, God is willing and able to erase your past and write your future. By no means will this ever occur if we do not accept the Work the Holy spirit has to do, to make us blank slates. Get rid of all the things that mark us as belonging to Satan… and letting God work to make us new creations in His likeness.
IN closing, we see again in James epistle that his concern is so much for Christ’s church. That what makes us different? Yes we are saved by Grace alone, Yes we know the High King of Heaven. But they will know we our Christians by our love. Our Love is reflected in our Conduct.
We will see the first part of the crescendo of James epistle. His argument, which is always are our argument, is that If we name the name of Jesus Christ, we must walk the walk. We come forth from a tabula rasa and are having our Canvas painted and reflecting the beautiful things of Christ.