Read with Me
James 1:21-25 (HCSB)
Therefore, ridding yourselves of all moral filth and evil, humbly receive the implanted word, which is able to save you.
But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. Because if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man looking at his own face in a mirror. For he looks at himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom and perseveres in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but one who does good works—this person will be blessed in what he does.
Listen with Me
The “therefore” at the beginning of this section refers back to James’ instructions to be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry, and instead to focus on bringing about the righteous life that God desires of each of His people. This points to the truth that, in addition to the reshaping and purifying work that God does in a believer’s heart, there is intentional work that each believer must do in his or her own life. And James details what that work is in verse 21.
The first part of the work is that we are to actively get rid of everything in our lives that works against that righteousness: moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent in our current society. There can be no areas of compromise with the philosophies and standards of the world. Instead, each of God’s people must hear and obey God’s call to come out and be separate from those philosophies and standards (2 Corinthians 6:17).
The second part of the work is to receive and obey God’s word. As James points out, this is not merely the external word in the Bibles that we own and sometimes read. It is a living Word that has been placed in each of us through the presence of the Holy Spirit, and that can keep us in the way of salvation if we listen to it, understand it, and obey it.
As James points out, far too many of God’s people hear the word, but don’t allow it to actively penetrate our hearts and minds to the point that it changes our lives and modifies our lifestyles and our actions. We are like the unfortunate soul he writes about who forgets what he or she sees in the mirror.
The alternative, of course, is the person who hears the word, who meditates on it, who soaks it in, and who allows it to change us, to transform us from the inside out. That is the person who will ultimately experience God’s blessings.
Pray with Me
Father, thank You for this reminder. You have not given us Your word in our Bibles merely for us to read and memorize. It is designed to challenge us, to change us. And You have not placed Your living Word into our hearts through the agency of the Holy Spirit merely as a convenience. That word is designed to transform us day by day into the image of Jesus. Lord, help me to live in that word today, not only allowing it to work in my own heart and mind, but empower me through that word, so that I can do my part by casting off anything in my life that will trip me up, distract me, or keep me from being entirely holy and righteous. Amen.