Since we’ve not been together for several weeks, a little review might be helpful in getting us "back in the swing" of looking at the Epistle of James.

I’ve been impressed recently with a "truth" that I wish I had understood much earlier, but somehow missed. People disagree because they don’t all understand the truth at the same time…if everybody understood the truth at the same time, there would be no reason to disagree! That’s what Jesus told His disciples when they asked why He spoke to the people in parables: Jesus answered them, "To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted….Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand….But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. For truly I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it." (Matthew 13:11, 13, 16-17 NASB95)

God’s revelation of Himself to human beings is progressive…we don’t get all the truth at one time. Nowhere in the Bible is this more evident than with James and Paul. As much as some would like to insist that James and Paul are saying the same thing, but just using different words, it just doesn’t "wash"…Paul and James saw things quite differently, but they still worked together to spread the Good News that Jesus had come to bring salvation, both to the Jews and the Gentiles. Paul took a New Covenant approach, while James continued with an Old Covenant approach to having a relationship with God. I hope we can follow their example of cooperation, even when we don’t agree on everything!

Now, let’s look at the verses from our last lesson:

In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures. This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God. Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls. (James 1:18-21 NASB95)

Human flesh is charged with selfishness and pride. These show up not only in immorality (the use, rather than the valuing of others), but also in anger and antagonism. James says that the quick, hostile reactions of men to one another are changed by faith. Patience and meekness replace anger and pride. But in these verses, I believe we can see evidence of the Holy Spirit’s conveying truth that even James did not fully understand, at least when he wrote his Epistle.

As we’ve said before, James takes an Old Covenant approach …his focus is on what the believer does rather than what Jesus does in and through the believer. In verse 21, however, James makes a statement that seems to support the truth of the Christ life, even though I don’t think that was his intent… in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls. Doesn’t that sound like "Christ in you"?

James is urging his readers to make a decision…to exercise their freedom of choice… to receive the implanted word. The word humility comes from the Greek word prautes (prah· oo ·tace) and is most often translated meekness. A meek person is one who wholly relies on God rather than their own strength in every situation. It is the opposite of self-assertiveness and self-interest and the result is not a product of human will, but the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:23).

The English translation word is in Greek logos (log ·os) and although it can refer to a simple word, or saying or account or speech, it is the exact same word found in John 1:1 used to describe Jesus. The word implanted is the Greek emphutos (em ·foo·tos) and is only used once in the Bible. It means to engraft or spring up.

According to the REM Version, this verse would read: Therefore, allow the Holy Spirit to take away all that defiles...all depravity, trusting completely in God to allow Jesus to spring up inside, so that you may experience the abundance of eternal life here and now.

Notwithstanding my enthusiasm for the idea of total reconciliation, the important issue is not what Jesus will do at the end of the age, but what He has done (Calvary) and what He wants to do in and through every believer in the "everydayness" of life. Whatever He does in the end, it will be exactly right and we’ll all agree with Him then…because for the first time in human history, everyone will see the truth at the same time. Until then, let’s grant each other the liberty of being led by the Holy Spirit.

Our verses for today, again take up the Old Covenant approach of focusing on what the believer does:

But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does. (James 1:22-25 NASB95)

James correctly declares, "talk is cheap"! A person who "talks the talk" but fails to "walk the walk" is deluded and those who are watching are not positively impressed. The Old Covenant promised blessings and prosperity to those who obeyed the law, not to those who simply heard the law. I think it’s important to differentiate between temporal blessings and spiritual blessings. Material prosperity and many of the blessings of this life generally follow correct behavior. The person who does the "right thing" generally gets better results from their activity than the person who doesn’t. Spiritual blessings, a right standing with God and eternal life, on the other hand, are very different and come from His grace alone…behavior makes no contribution either positive or negative in terms of the final outcome. Salvation…redemption is by God’s grace alone!

To the Jews I became as a Jew, so that I might win Jews; to those who are under the Law, as under the Law though not being myself under the Law, so that I might win those who are under the Law; to those who are without law, as without law, though not being without the law of God but under the law of Christ, so that I might win those who are without law. (1 Corinthians 9:20-21 NASB95)

Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ. (Galatians 6:2 NASB95)

Although it is possible to "read into" this verse a Christocentric interpretation, I don’t think that was the understanding James was trying to convey. To the Jewish mind, obeying God’s law would not only bring temporal blessings, but spiritual as well. The law was seen as perfect and if it could be obeyed perfectly, God would reward the obedient with prosperity, health and deliverance from their enemies, including the enemy of death (The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul…(Psalm19:7) and Then you will prosper, if you are careful to observe the statutes and the ordinances which the Lord commanded Moses concerning Israel (1Chronicles 22:13)). Obedience to the law would result in liberty…freedom from poverty, freedom from sickness, freedom from oppression and freedom from death.

The development of the Mishnah (over six hundred rules!) was their attempt to bring the Law of God into every day life and is a frightening example of what happens when humans try to approach God using a "rule system". The inevitable result is egocentric rather then theocentric…the focus is on the humans rather than on God! Yet today, even in the most grace-centered churches, egocentricity often thrives as we shift our focus from "what we do" to "what we believe". A "rule system" draws the focus to performance and, almost without exception, breeds a feeling of superiority in those who practice it best.

Instead of becoming one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, I want to look intently at Jesus, the only One who ever kept the law perfectly and the only One who not only offers me His perfect life of obedience in exchange for my life of perfect failure, but who also comes to live inside me to make it possible to enjoy life here and now to the fullest.

Click Here to Go Back