Daily Thought

What part does God’s word play in our hearts and lives? James reminds us that it was the divine means used in our salvation. The Father loves to give us good and perfect gifts, v. 17, and one of these is new life: ‘of his own will begat he us with the word of truth’, v. 18. In the light of this, James encourages us to‘be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath’, v. 19. The importance of God’s word does not begin and end at new birth. It is vital to our spiritual growth that we are quick to hear what God has to say to us, as this will save us from swift and unwise reactions to what we hear, e. g., anger. We cannot lose our salvation, but we need to be saved constantly from the power of sin in our lives. We can achieve this only if we strip away all forms of uncleanness and humbly receive (in a deliberate and welcoming way) the divinely implanted word of God, v. 21.

However, it is not enough to be hearers of the word; therefore, James also challenges us to be ‘doers of the word’, v. 22. There is a danger of us treating God’s word like the man who looks into the mirror at his natural face, considers his image, goes away, fails to return, and forgets what he has seen, vv. 23, 24. Unlike this man, we should spend time looking intently and repeatedly ‘into the perfect law of liberty’, v. 25, which will give us an accurate picture of ourselves, and reveal how God wants us to live. His law is complete, and it liberates us in such a way that we, now being free from sin, want to obey it. Such an exercise will keep us from being forgetful hearers and ensure that we are blessed in our doing of the work, v. 25.

There is a danger that we can deceive ourselves. It is possible that persons can ‘seem to be religious’ by the things they do, and yet not to be genuine. Such persons will betray themselves by an inability to bridle their tongues, v. 26. True ‘doers of the word’ will care for others and keep themselves from being polluted by the defiling world in which they live, v. 27.

If God’s word is lived out practically in our lives it will regulate our attitude towards trials, vv. 1-12, and temptations, vv. 13-16. Indeed, we will be patient throughout our trials, v. 4, and know that the source of all temptation is our lust, v. 14.