The Epistle of James: Response to the Word
James 1:19-27
“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. Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls. 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. Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.”
James 1:19-27 NASB1995
This next passage in James, at its heart, is an admonition that believers who hear God’s word and are not doers of that word are deluding themselves. James talks about being slow to speak and slow to anger, and also humbly putting aside all wickedness to receive the word implanted in your hearts, to save your souls. If anyone thinks they are “religious” and does not control their tongue and deceives their own heart, they have a worthless religion. But the core of the passage is that being a hearer only of the perfect law of God is like looking into a mirror and walking away and forgetting what we have seen. I know that I have been in public restrooms and washed my hands and never even glanced at myself in the mirror, or if I did look, I immediately forgot that my hair was a mess or my collar on my shirt needed fixing or that my lips were chapped (I never have spent much time in front of a mirror). We casually see the broken mess that is our sinful selves and choose to walk away, continuing to hear the word but doing nothing to make it stick.
Interestingly, I looked and looked and looked for a good image to accompany this devotional and finally found this one of a man looking into a fragment of glass. This work on Unsplash was entitled “I can see my soul”, so how perfect is that? When we look intently at the perfect law of God, the law of liberty and abide by it, then we are no longer just hearers of the Word. We are seeing through to the core of our being and know that we must DO what is commanded to fulfill what He wants for us. We finally see the dirt and sins and fall down to repent and be filled with His righteousness.
How many people go to church on Sunday, listen to the sermon and the nice music and walk out completely unchanged, continuing in their “regular” lives by only hearing and then forgetting? Our church pastoral teaching team does a superb job of getting the point across every week and many people take notes (in notebooks provided by the church that include daily in-depth Bible studies). But then that book closes with the “Amen” and off you go into the “real” world filled with horrible drivers, annoying co-workers, belligerent and demanding bosses, unfriendly neighbors, misbehaving children, bad news on television, unexpected expenses, medical concerns and all of the other flotsam and jetsam of this driven and fallen world. The law of liberty is exactly that (a great way to describe it): God’s laws liberate us from the debris surrounding us and lift us into a better (best) way to live. Here are some Excerpts from the Enduring Word commentaries on James 1 by David Guzik on this passage:
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only: We must receive God’s word as doers, not merely hearers. To take comfort in the fact you have heard God’s word when you haven’t done it is to deceive yourself…
- Jesus used this same point to conclude His great Sermon on the Mount. He said that the one who heard the word without doing it was like a man who built his house on the sand, but the one who heard God’s word and did it was like a man whose house was built on a rock. The one who both heard and did God’s word could withstand the inevitable storms of life and the judgment of eternity (Matthew 7:24-27).
- “I fear we have many such in all congregations; admiring hearers, affectionate hearers, attached hearers, but all the while unblest hearers, because they are not doers of the word.” (Charles Spurgeon)
- “You know the old story; I am half ashamed to repeat it again, but it is so pat to the point. When Donald came out of church sooner than usual, Sandy said to him, ‘What, Donald, is the sermon all done?’ ‘No,’ said Donald, ‘it is all said, but it is not begun to be done yet.’” (Charles Spurgeon)
He is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was: The person who only hears God’s word without doing it has the same sense and stability as a man who looks into a mirror and immediately forgets what he saw. The information he received did not do any good in his life.
- “The glass of the Word is not like our ordinary looking-glass, which merely shows us our external features; but, according to the Greek of our text, the man sees in it ‘the face of his birth’; that is, the face of his nature. He that reads and hears the Word may see not only his actions there, but his motives, his desires, his inward condition.” (Charles Spurgeon)
- A healthy person looks in the mirror to do something, not just to admire the image. Even so, a healthy Christian looks into God’s Word to do something about it, not just to store up facts that he will not put to use by being a doer of the word.
By being doers of the Word, we are then compelled to be His Hands and Feet in this world. We will find ways to help the widows and orphans (and homeless and suffering and neglected and sick) and bring them peace and hope.
My next devotional will examine James 2:1-13, Impartial Love
Heaven on Wheels Daily Prayer: Dear Lord, please help us see our sinful “souls” in the mirror of your Word and become doers of what we hear. Let us be liberated by Your Perfect Law and be blessed by being slow to anger, slow to speak, first to act and by keeping ourselves unstained in this fallen world. Amen
“Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org”
Commentary by David Guzik on Enduring Word is used with written permission.