19 Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; 20 for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. 21 Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. 25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.
26 If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless. 27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.
and so, we were doing exploring Inductive Bible Study by applying it on James this week. There was this particular portion of the chapter which caught my eye.. and so I've decided to write it down here.
at verse 19 James commands that everyone is to be quick to hear, slow to speak and anger. The rationale is that our anger never produces the righteousness of God. If I'm not horribly mistaken it means that anger does not produce the righteousness of God in our souls. Why do I guess this?
Well, because with the word "therefore" in verse 21, James tells us what our response should be, knowing now that anger does not produce the righteousness of God. We should "receive with meekness the implanted word" which is able to save our souls.
I see this to mean "anger will not save your souls, therefore choose instead the implanted word because the implanted word will". Anger does not reproduce in us the righteousness of God, however, God's word when received in humility, can.
22 starts with a "but". Here James qualifies what it means to receive the implanted word meekly. Perhaps his audience was full of people who leap onto these things and say "aha, that's all I got to do right? Okay, I shall do nothing accept receive these words."
James responded preemptively to such interpretations, explaining that the true listener is also a doer. Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves [that by merely hearing you have received the implanted word] What comes right after in 23-25 is the interesting portion.
Here we are offered contrasting characters, one who listens only and one who listens and acts. The first is a man who looks at his face in the mirror only to walk away, immediately forgetting what he has seen.
The second man is one who looks into the perfect law, persevering, acting, not becoming a "hearer who forgets".
What's interesting here? In my own life I see that I study the bible quite a bit and more so, I find myself forgetting the things that I've learnt and discovered, what's more, I recall the sort of intense delight I have when I understand and God makes sense to me. So it's puzzling, how something which has delighted me so much at the moment of acquisition can become so backgrounded and forgotten, almost like how I forget how I look in the mirror moments after I've seen myself in it, only to turn back and catch a glance again just to remind myself.
James answers my question: I forget because I do not act. Do you find yourself disgusted at how precious truth escape your careless mind? James tells us to stop whining and start acting- that will be when you start staring intently at the perfect law... and so become a person who truly receive[s] with meekness the implanted word.
James sums it up for us: 26 If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless. 27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.
Don't waste your time looking at the word like a man who sees his own reflection in the mirror. Affix your eyes on the perfect law by acting on the things you hear. When you act you become a true hearer who does not forget... and that really puts you in a better position to be ever ready to serve God.
No comments:
Post a Comment