Therefore lay aside all
filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted
word, which is able to save your souls. (James 1:21)
James advises us to get
rid of all that is wrong in our lives and “humbly accept” the salvation message
we have received (“the word planted in you”), because it alone can save us.
The word of God that has
been implanted in the believer’s heart should be received with
meekness—describing a teachable spirit—without resistance, disputing, or
questioning. Receiving God’s Word in this way will save the believer’s soul, a
word meaning “life.” Sin leads to death (James 1:15). Obedience prevents death; it protects a
believer from sinful behavior that can lead directly or indirectly to physical
death (James 1:15; 1 Cor. 11:30).
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 observing his natural face in a mirror; for
he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he
was. But he who looks into the perfect
law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of
the work, this one will be blessed in what he does. (James 1:22-25)
It is important to listen
to what God’s Word says, but it is much more important to obey it, to do what
it says. We can measure the
effectiveness of our Bible study time by the effect it has on our behavior and
attitudes. Do you put into action what
you have studied? Be doers of the word,
and not hearers only: Believers who hear the Word of God (James 1:19) must
receive it with a teachable spirit (James 1:21), applying it to their daily
lives. To hear and not obey is to be deceived.
It seems paradoxical that
a law could give us freedom, but God’s law points out sin in us and gives us
the opportunity to ask for God’s forgiveness (Romans 7:7, 8). As Christians, we are saved by God’s grace,
and salvation frees us from sin’s control.
As believers, we are free to live as God created us to live. Of course, this does not mean that we are
free to do as we please (1 Peter 2:16).
We are now free to obey God.
The perfect law of
liberty is the law of love. Loving God
and loving one’s neighbor sums up the Law (Matt. 22:34–39, Mark 12:28-31). But
it is Christ’s love (Eph. 3:17–19) which frees us from our sins to truly love
others (John 8:36–38; Gal. 5:13).
If anyone among you
thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own
heart, this one’s religion is useless. Pure
and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and
widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world. (James 1:26-27)
In the first century,
orphans and widows had very little means of economic support. Unless a family member was willing to care
for them, they were reduced to begging, selling themselves as slaves, or
starving. By caring for these powerless
people, the church put God’s Word into practice. Orphans and widows were among the most
unprotected and needy classes in ancient societies (Ezek. 22:7). Pure religion does not merely give material
goods for the relief of the distressed, it also oversees their care (Acts
6:1–7; 1 Tim. 5:3–16). When we give with
no hope of receiving in return, we show what it means to serve others.
To keep ourselves from
being polluted by the world, we need to commit ourselves to Christ’s ethical
and moral system, not the worlds. We are
not to adapt to the world’s value system, which is based on money, power, and
pleasure. True faith means nothing if we
are contaminated with such values.
References: NKJV Holy
Bible, Life Application Bible (NIV), the Nelson Study Bible.
10 comments:
Excellent post! I whole heartedly agree that we must not adapt to the world's value system. Seeking money, power, and pleasure are sure to bring one to ruin.
Amen, Lloyd.
As James pointed out, faith that doesn't produce action is as unsatisfactory as a can of pop that has set open until it has lost it's fizz.
I had to re-post this comment because of technical problems:
We need make the difference among the people. on What Is Genuine Religion?
ErlonAndrade
"Religion should unite all hearts and cause wars and disputes to vanish from the face of the earth, give birth to spirituality, and bring life and light to each heart. If religion becomes a cause of dislike, hatred and division, it were better to be without it, and to withdraw from such a religion would be a truly religious act. For it is clear that the purpose of a remedy is to cure; but if the remedy should only aggravate the complaint it had better be left alone. Any religion which is not a cause of love and unity is no religion. All the holy prophets were as doctors to the soul; they gave prescriptions for the healing of mankind; thus any remedy that causes disease does not come from the great and supreme Physician."
--Bahá'í Holy Writings
Thanks for reminding us that our faith is not just about our salvation but demonstrating it so that others may know the hope that we hold on to—that is, Christ saves, in every aspect!
Well said, we rarely hear of care and justice for the widow, fatherless, the foreigner, the prisoner etc. which feature far, far more often in the Bible than the topics many of our more vocal conservative friends jaw on about (e.g. Exodus 22:22, 22:24, Deut 10:18, 14:29, 16:11, 16:14, 24:17, 24:19 etc. Ps 68.5, Ps 146:9, Isaiah 1:17, 1:23, 10:2, Jeremiah 22:3, Ezekiel 22:7, Zechariah 7:10, Malachi 3:5 etc.). Jesus gave very few direct commandments, yet the ones he gave are challenging: to wash one another’s feet, to labour and not seek either reward or recognition, to turn the other cheek, to love one’s enemies, to delight in persecution, to not judge others or look down on others and always to seek to be the least and the last, to be the servant of all – instead of trying to be society’s master! Would that those over at Lifesitenews or the many conservative Christian blogs and sites that focus on Lev 18:22 or abortion, or to a lesser degree evolution as ‘hot topics’ for Christians. All three topics have one thing in common, they are rarely PERSONALLY COSTLY – and perhaps that explains why they have become so important to many – a quick, off the peg, prepacked, ready-to-wear, righteousness that costs little but at least gives a semblance of conservatism and orthodoxy.
A Christianity built on condemning (and often promoting superiority to) others is null and void – its adherents have their own reward: a sense of self-righteousness (cf. Luke 18:9-14) and self-importance. But are these folk bringing the Kingdom into time and space? Or just promoting a religion that makes people feel better about themselves? You will know them by their fruit... (Matthew 7:16). A bit more foot washing, turning the other cheek etc. and less finger pointing and revelling in the easy righteousness of condemnation of others at the expense of ourselves is that is needed...
Steve Underwood: You said it all there. Religion is something that powerful people to use to assuage their guilt and to control other people 'in the name of God'. It has very little if anything to do with love, compassion, equality, true justice, mercy and tolerance and acceptance of others and far more to do with worldly power masquerading as religion.
Great post, Lloyd. Thank you so much for sharing.
Hiya, excellent reminder! Staying humble in all what we do ...is against our (definitely mine) nature..it's a struggle. Still Christ is our helper. Blessings.
Great ! I will be praying for you.
God bless you,
in Christ,
Santhosh Chellappan
www.gospelindiamission.in
India
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