James: Tests of a Living Faith Faith
Tested by Response to the Word (1:19-27)
By Steve Budd
South Suburban Evangelical Free Church
Section Summary
When the true disciple hears God’s Word, there is an affection for its truth and a desire in his heart to obey it.
Outline
This passage is divided into two parts; how to receive the Word and how to apply the Word. Like the rest of the Book of James, it is easy to understand what the author is exhorting us to do by looking at the verbs.
I. How to Receive the Word (19-21)
A. We Should Receive the Word with Submission (19)
This you know, my beloved brethren But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.
There is a three-fold command in this verse:
- Be quick to hear. What is it that we must be quick to hear? The teaching of God’s Word.
- Be slow to speak. It naturally follows that if we are quick to hear, we will be slow to speak. We can’t speak if we are listening. Proverbs 17:28.
- Be slow to anger. The word used for “anger” here does not mean an explosive outburst, but a deep inner resentment. It is likely that James is directing the command to those who, after hearing the Word, are displeased or offended by how it confronts them.
These adjectives don’t describe the nature of the action but the attitude governing it.
"We might wonder why the ever-practical James does not proceed to outline schemes of daily Bible reading or the like, for surely these are the ways in which we offer a willing ear to the voice of God. But he does not help us in this way. Rather, he goes deeper, for there is little point in schemes and times if we have not got an attentive spirit. It is possible to be unfailingly regular in Bible reading, but to achieve no more than to have moved the book-mark forward." – J. A. Motyer
B. With Purity (21a)
Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness.
Filthiness (4507): Any sort of moral defilement or impurity. Original reference was to wax in the ear. Wickedness (2549): Deliberate and determined sin. Hidden, and known only to God and the individual sinner.
This verse describes more of a condition that is necessary for receiving the Word than a command (i.e. “Having put aside…”). Could it be that moral failures from the pulpit to the pew (overt and covert) are keeping believers from receiving and applying the deeper truths of God’s Word? If God’s Word causes a deep resentment within us rather than a repentant heart, and if we continually ignore His admonishments to repent of our moral failures (“put them aside”), why would we expect God’s Word to flourish in our hearts and lives? Positively, if we continually let God’s Word convict us to repentance, how much more powerfully could God work through us and bring us great joy?
C. In Humility (21b)
In humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls.
As we learned in our study of the Beatitudes, humility is the same as meekness. Meekness should not be thought of as weakness. Meekness is compatible with great inner strength, or power under control. Just as Jesus was meek (emptied Himself of the rights to which He was truly entitled), so we are not to assert ourselves or make demands for ourselves. Emptying ourselves of any perceived rights or privileges is how God wants us to receive his Word.
Why would James tell us that the implanted Word is able to save our souls? After all, aren’t our souls already saved, if indeed we have received Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior? We see that the Bible teaches three distinct, yet inseparable, parts of salvation (c.f. Romans 8:29-35):
- Justification saves us from the penalty of sin (a one-time past event).
- Sanctification saves is from the power of sin (an ongoing present struggle).
- Glorification saves us from the presence of sin (the future glory that awaits believers). Here, James is referring to sanctification, that ongoing work of the indwelling Spirit and the Word that enables us to overcome the power of sin.
II. How to Apply the Word (22-27)
A. Without deception (22-26)
But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does. If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless.
Delude themselves (3884): A process of deception by means of fallacious reasoning.
The command in this verse (“ginesthe” = to become) is a continuous action verb. James is telling us to show ourselves more and more doers of the Word. Becoming more of a doer of the Word means we first have to allow ourselves to be confronted with it. We are to “look intently” into the “perfect law”. What is the perfect law, the law of liberty?
- Some say it is the Gospel (man’s true need and God’s gracious provision).
- Some say that the perfect law is none other than Jesus Christ. Rather than looking into a mirror and comparing ourselves to ourselves, we should look at ourselves in light of the perfect law, Jesus Christ.
- Another says that the perfect law is love. This interpretation seems to capture everything embodied in the first two, and certainly complements Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 13. [I refer the reader to an exposition on this chapter by Henry Drummond entitled “The Greatest Thing in the World” (c1880)]
“Men are free when they want to do what they ought to do. That is the splendid paradox of the gospel.” D. Edmond Hiebert
B. Without Selfishness (27a) Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress,
Why would James would single out orphans and widows for special attention? Most likely because these are precisely those who would not be able to reciprocate an act of kindness, thus proving true, sacrificial love as the motive. Love for others proves an authentic saving faith.
"Love for God cannot be separated from love for others, especially for fellow believers and most especially for those who are in distress". John MacArthur
C. Without Compromise (27b)
and to keep oneself unstained by the world.
The command here is obvious. We are to keep ourselves unstained by the world (kosmos); fallen mankind’s ungodly systems of philosophy, morals, and values. See 1 John 2:15-16 and cite some examples of the kinds of things we need to keep ourselves from. My third 30-day challenge to the class and myself is this:
Ask yourself if God’s Word is living and active in your life. If you find that it is not, follow the prescriptive exhortations in this passage by receiving the Word with submission, with purity, and with humility. Then apply the Word honestly (to yourself) and with love (to others), thus proving your authentic faith by your response to the Word.
Next Lesson: James 2:1-13 Faith Tested by Reaction to Partiality
