The emphasis in this section is on the dangers of self-deception. See verse 32. If a Christian sins because Satan deceives him that is one thing, but if he deceives himself that is a far more serious matter.

Many people are deceiving themselves into thinking they are saved when they are not. See Matthew 7:22-23. However, there are believers who are fooling themselves concerning their Christian walk. It is a mark of maturity when a person faces himself honestly, knows himself and admits his needs. It is the immature person who pretends, “I am rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing”. See Revelation 3:17. In these verses we are going to study, James states that we have three responsibilities towards God’s Word. If we fulfil these responsibilities then we will have an honest walk with God and men.

1 – Receive the Word (vs. 19-21)

James calls God’s Word “the grafted Word” (vs. 21) which means “the implanted Word”. He is borrowing from our Lord’s parable of the sower. See Matthew 13:1-9; 18-23. Jesus compares God’s Word to seed and the human heart to soil. Jesus describes four types of hearts:-

• The hard heart – This person did not understand or receive the Word and therefore bore no fruit.
• The shallow heart – This person is very emotional but has no depth and so bore no fruit.
• The crowded heart – This person lacked repentance and permitted sin to crowd out the Word.
• The fruitful heart – This person received the Word, allowed it to take root and produced a bountiful harvest of fruit.

The Word of God cannot work in our lives unless we receive it the right way. Jesus not only said “Take heed what you hear” (Mark 4:24) but also said “Hearing they hear not, neither do they understand”. It is possible to be “dull of hearing” (Hebrews 5:11) because of decay of our spiritual life. If the seed of the Word is to be planted in our hearts, then we must obey the instructions that James gives us:-

• Swift to hear (vs. 19). See Matthew 13:9 and Romans 10:17.
• Swift to speak (vs. 19). We have two ears and one mouth, which ought to remind us to listen more than we speak. Too many times we argue with God’s Word, if not audibly then in our hearts and minds. See Proverbs 10:19 & 17:27.
• Slow to wrath (vs. 19). Do not get angry with God or His Word. See Proverbs 14:29. We are not to get angry at God’s Word because it reveals our sins to us. People sometimes would like to go against God’s Word. This is like the person who broke the mirror because he disliked the image that he saw.
• A prepared heart (vs. 21). James saw the human heart as a garden. If left to itself the soil would produce only weeds. The phrase “superfluity of naughtiness” gives the picture of a garden overgrown with weeds that cannot be controlled. How did we prepare the soil of our hearts for God’s Word? First by confessing our sins and asking the Father to forgive us. See 1 John 1:9. Secondly by mediating on God’s love and grace and asking Him to “plough up” any hardness in our hearts. See Jeremiah 4:3. Lastly, we must have an attitude of “meekness”. Meekness is the opposite of wrath in verses 19-20. When you receive the Word with meekness, you accept it and honour it as the Word of God. You do not try to twist it or conform it to your way of thinking.

2 – Practice the Word (vs. 22-25)

It is not enough to hear the Word. We must do it. In this section, James compares the Word of God to a mirror. There are three ministries of the Word of God as a mirror.

• Examination (vs. 23-25). This is the main purpose for owning a mirror. We see ourselves as we really are. James mentions several mistakes that people make as they look into God’s mirror.

1. They merely glance at themselves. They do not study themselves as they read the Word. To these people reading the Bible is a religious practice where they might read a chapter of scripture a day. If we want a real x-ray of our lives then we must study the Bible and apply its teachings to our lives.
2. They forget what they see. If we are looking deeply enough into our hearts then we would not forget what we see and we would do something about it.
3. They fail to obey what the Word tells them to do. See John 8:31-32.

• Restoration (Exodus 38:8). The laver was a basin filled with water. The basin was made from metal looking glasses. When the priest came into the Temple he would wash his hands and feet and also be able to gaze upon himself as he washed. If he did not do this, God would immediately strike him dead. See Exodus 30:17-21. The laver here is a picture of the Word of God. The water shows the Word of God as a cleansing power. See John 15:3. The mirror helps to cleanse us as well as we can see our defilement from God’s Word.
• Transformation (2 Corinthians 3:18). After the Lord restores us, He wants to change us so that we will grow in grace and not commit that sin again. You may explain this verse in this way, “When the child of God looks into the Word of God (the glass or mirror), he sees the Son of God and he is transformed by the Spirit of God to share in the glory of God”. The word “changed” used here gives us our English word “metamorphosis”. It is a change on the outside that comes from the inside. See Romans 12:2.

3 – Share the Word (vs. 26-27)

The word translated “religion” means “the outward practice, the service of a god”. Pure religion has nothing to do with ceremonies, temples or special days. Pure religion means practicing God’s Word and sharing it with others through speech, service and separation from the world.

• Speech (vs. 26) – There are many references to speech in this letter. This gives the impression that the tongue caused many problems in the local Church. It is the tongue that reveals the heart. (See Matthew 12:34-35).
• Service (vs. 27) – After we have seen ourselves and Christ in the mirror of the Word, we must see others and their needs.
• Separation from the world (vs. 27) – The best way to minister to the needs of the world is to be pure from the defilement of the world. Jesus was unspotted. See 1 Peter 1:19. Yet, He was the friend of publicans and sinners. As Christians we are in the world physically but not of the world spiritually. See John 17:11-16. We are sent into the world to win others for Christ. See John 17:18nting us a new birth, God declares that He cannot accept the old birth. Throughout the Bible, God rejects the first-born and accepts the second-born. He accepted Abel not Cain, Isaac not Ishmael and Jacob not Esau.

Categories: James