Text: James 1:18–27
James, the brother of Jesus, is writing to followers of Jesus who were facing persecution from outside the church but also some conflicts within the church. If you’ve read this letter, you know that James is very direct and practical. Faith is based on a set of beliefs but is always expressed through actions.
His letter is written on the premise that an encounter with Jesus will change not only what you believe but how you act. Early on in his letter he describes the relationship that a follower of Jesus has with God’s Word.
James’s message is that true faith in Jesus produces “doers” of God’s word. It’s not just a call to do but a call to embrace the totality of what it means to commit to doing God’s word. There are four things we can get from this passage:
God’s word produces new birth.
God’s word, when its implanted, saves you.
God’s word practiced frees you.
God’s word shapes your behaviour.
God’s word produces new birth.
Verse 18 says, “He chose to give us birth through the word of truth.” The way we are initiated into this new, eternal life is through the word of truth. Of course, it involves the work of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit draws us and opens the eyes of our understanding. But our eyes are opened through the word of truth.
Paul says in Romans 10 that if you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved.
New birth, and then new life, comes when we embrace the word of truth. But it’s not only the basic truth about Jesus. When I choose Jesus, I put myself under the authority of God’s word.
God’s word implanted saves you.
In verse 21 James calls them to “humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.” The word “accept” carries the idea of embracing something as you would welcome someone into your home. It’s the word used to describe hospitality.
His reference to God’s word being “planted in you” is a statement about its permanence. When a person experiences new birth through the word of truth, they then embrace the word that is planted in them.
The word “save” here speaks of the continual, ongoing growth and maturing of the believer. So, we begin our journey with Jesus through God’s word, we continue the journey, and we navigate the journey by the ongoing commitment to practicing God’s word and living accordingly to the truth of God’s word.
God’s word practiced frees you.
There is so much packed into these verses. Let’s go through this almost line by line.
Verse 22 “Do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”
There is something that happens when you listen to or read God’s word. You’ll be challenged and feel conviction. When you hear but then don’t follow it with doing, you deceive yourself.
When I hear a convicting sermon, I feel bad. It identifies something I need to change, and I feel guilty. I feel good about the fact that I’m hearing the truth of God’s word, but then I don’t follow through. I go on my way unchanged in my actions and behaviour.
Just feeling conviction and feeling the need to change—unless acted upon—changes nothing. James states over and over that saving faith is much more than mental assent to a set of truths.
Verse 25, “But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.”
Note the words, “looks intently.” It literally means to stoop down to take a close look. It’s the same word used in the gospels when Peter and another disciple look into the empty tomb. They look intently and are absorbing what they see. They’re thinking through the implications of what they are seeing. James says, “that’s how we approach God’s word.”
Look at how he describes God’s word, “the perfect law that gives freedom.” When James speaks of the scripture in terms of the perfect law it speaks to the authority of God’s word set in place by God. Every part of the Bible is authoritative for my life.
Note that he says that the perfect law gives freedom. To the Jewish mind, freedom had to do with the ability to fulfill what you were designed for. We view the scriptures as God’s loving authority designed to enable the greatest freedom we could ever enjoy.
“and continue in it—not forgetting what you’ve heard but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.”
The blessing is in the doing. James is echoing the famous words that God speaks to Joshua in Joshua 1 as he assumes the leadership of the nation of Israel.
Joshua 1:7–8 says, “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.”
When we hear prosperous and successful our minds often go to money. God’s definition is far broader in scope. Prosperity and success have to do with living in the flow of God’s blessing, enjoying the favour of God and people.
Think about the only One who in all human history who was the consummate DOER of God’s Word. There is only one person who did it perfectly.
In his most well-known sermon that we call the Sermon on the Mount he teaches about the Kingdom of God and at the very end he says, “Everyone who hears these words of mine AND PUTS THEM INTO PRACTICE is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.”
He goes on to tell the story of the two men; the wise man who builds his house on a firm foundation of rock and the foolish man who foregoes the foundation and simply builds on the sand. A storm comes and the wise man’s house stands and the house of the foolish comes crashing down.
Jesus makes it clear that both men HEARD Jesus’ words but only the wise man put JESUS’ WORDS INTO PRACTICE. Putting Jesus’ words into practice built the foundation. The good work of hearing PLUS the hard work of doing is what gave the house the ability to withstand the storm.
The word shapes our behaviour.
James gives three examples of how God’s word shapes our behaviour:
We keep a tight rein on what we say and how we say it.
We look after orphans and widows. The term “orphans and widows” speaks of the vulnerable, those with little power and few resources, those who need advocacy and support.
We keep our lives free of the things that pollute our lives.
This final point could be a whole sermon or a sermon series. But here’s the point: God’s word is an invaluable gift that shapes my character, my behaviour, my habits, my relationships—everything about me and how I live this life.
I Hear it. I Read it. I Do it.
— Notes from Pastor Marvin Wojda’s sermons on February 26th and 27th, 2022.
CLICK HERE to watch the sermon on YouTube.