May 18 – James 1:19-27

Hearing and Doing the Word

The book of James is a very practical guide for living the Christian life. If you really believe the basic message of Jesus, then what kind of life will you live? The central theme of this section is practical Christianity: Hearing and Doing the Word of God.

Hearers of the Word

In this important section James begins by encouraging the church to pursue the practice of hearing the word, and to avoid hasty speech and unrighteous anger. Lack of listening, combined with lack of restraint in speech, leads to ill-tempered action. Becoming slow to anger does not mean that all human anger is sinful, but the quick-tempered, selfish anger of the world betrays lack of trust in God and lack of love for others.

The problem with unchecked and selfish anger, even when directed against some wrongdoing, is that it fails to recognize that human scolding cannot change another person’s heart, and cannot produce the righteousness of God. God is holy and righteous, requiring that his people emulate his righteous character in how one deals with anger. Followers of Jesus are called to be holy in character as God is holy. In verse 21, James tells us to rid ourselves of our moral filth as a way of practical holiness in our everyday lives. In place of unholy behavior, the implanted word must take root in God’s people. This idea of God planting his revealed truth reflects Deuteronomy 30:14 (“the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart”). Save your souls refers here to progressive sanctification and ultimately the completion of God’s saving work on the last day.

Doers of the Word

Hearing the word without action is self-deceptive, by contrast hearing that results in doing the word is a blessing. Being doers of the word, and not hearers only is the only proper response to the Word of God (not only the gospel but the entirety of Scripture), allowing it to take root in one’s life. James tells us that only hearing the Word is like looking intently at one’s natural face in a mirror and then forgetting what he was like demonstrates the folly of examining oneself in God’s “mirror” of the “implanted word” and then doing nothing about it . When one sees imperfections (as when looking in a mirror), common sense says something should be done about it.

Doers of the Word become so by looking intently into the perfect law of freedom and who preservers in. In James, the “law” and the “word” are two different ways of describing the same reality. Earlier, the “word of truth” (v.18) is the gospel of Christ, and the “law” here refers to the OT law as it has been interpreted and fulfilled in Christ. Though the OT law was “holy and righteous and good”, it had no power by itself to enable sinful people to conform to it. Thus, the OT law did not liberate God’s people but enslaved them, as Paul taught.. But the law is one of “liberty” when it comes along with the word of the gospel and the power of the Holy Spirit to change hearts.

James 1 concludes with three characteristics of the one whose religion is pure and undefiled, that is, one who “does” the word. First, a follower of Jesus refuses self-deception and bridles their tongue, which means keeping a tight rein on one’s speech like a bridle controlling a horse. Second, a follower of Jesus shows mercy and love to the oppressed. Orphans and widows were frequent OT examples of this because of their particularly helpless state. Third, a follower of Jesus remains unstained from the world; James uses the sacrificial language of “unstained” to describe the pure religious person.