Study 2 from “The Work of Faith” Study on James: James 1:19-27
“Captivated by His beauty,
Worthy tribute haste to bring.
Let His peerless worth constrain thee,
Crown Him now unrivaled King.”
– Ora Rowan (1834-1879)
from the hymn “Hast Thou Heard Him, Seen Him, Known Him?”
Questions for initial thought: If Christians should expect trials and temptations in life, what sets a Christian apart from a non-Christian? How can we be sure if our faith is genuine? What if my life does not always reflect God’s joy in my trials? Does this mean I am not truly a Christian? What does true fruit in my life look like?
James introduces his letter telling us that trials and temptations are normal for the Christian experience. But they are no excuse for sitting back and blaming God for our suffering at the expense of our faith. No, God uses trials and temptations as an opportunity to help us grow in our faith, and learn the greater joy that comes from fixing our eyes on the eternal riches God offers, rather than what the world can offer. God Himself gives us everything we need to walk through the trials and temptations of life in a way that is for our good and growth, and for the growth of His Kingdom.
But we may wonder, if Christians are going to face trials and temptations (just like everyone else), what sets us apart from non-Christians? And if we do not always weather these trials particularly well, how can we be certain of the genuineness of our faith? Like we have talked about earlier, James is a practical book. He calls us to practical living in the midst of trials, and he also shows us practical faith. In the second half of James’ first chapter, he will begin to show us what it means to learn to grow in trial, by God’s grace, as we receive His blessing and marks of His Word at work within us.
The Fruit of the Implanted Word (vv.19-25)
As James calls us into action in the second half of chapter 1, he reminds his audience that we are able to do this as we “receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls” (Js 1:21). But what is this word, and how does it change us?
James has already told us that it is God who has “brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures” (Js 1:18). Though James is a practical book, by no means does he tell us that our work and steadfastness in trial is a means of earning our salvation. Christ alone is able to save our souls! Jesus is the “word made flesh” as John tells us, the very Word of Truth come to dwell among us (cf. John 1:14). Christ alone is the word implanted in our lives! We have access to Him and His promise of sanctification in our lives, because Jesus Himself is with us. Our job is not to earn or go get the implanted word; it is merely to receive it in meekness and humility, trusting His grace!
John 1:12:
“But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, the gave the right to become children of God…”
Yes, our growth in faith (and its outworking) is the fruit (or “firstfruits”, cf. again v.18) of a changed life in Jesus Christ. When we seek this fruit, and desire to see His Wisdom changing and shaping us, this is the proof of a genuine faith!
But James makes it clear to us: the fruit of God’s Word at work in our lives does mean discipline and active living in the midst of the trials and messiness of life. So James speaks earnestly to his “beloved brothers” in the faith.1 He urges us to “be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger, for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God” (Js 1:19-20). This is what it means to seek wisdom from God (cf. vv.5-8). James urges us, in the midst of trial and temptation (or walking with someone else in trial or temptation), to first listen to God’s wisdom, instead of trying to proclaim our own judgments. God had warned through the prophet Isaiah against those who “hear” but never understand, and those who “see” but never perceive (Isa 6:9-10, and also cf. Matt 13:14-15; Acts 28:26-27).
Truly “hearing” God’s wisdom – through His Word, and through the reality of His presence in us by His Spirit – should create visible change. It is only as we seek Him and listen to His truth in our lives, that we are ready to “put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness” as we recognize that Jesus, the implanted word, is better (Js 1:21)! It is His beauty and grace that makes everything else grow dim in comparison! It is the beauty and grace of His implanted word at work in us that should cause us to ask what it looks like to live for Him, right now, in all of life!
So even and especially in the midst of the trials and tribulations of life, God’s Spirit at work within us calls us to not just hear and talk about His Word, but to “be doers of the word” (Js 1:22). In John Bunyan’s allegory of the Christian life, Pilgrim’s Progress, “Talkative” is able to “talk the talk” of the Christian life, but his life is unchanged; he loves to hear his own speech, but it has no impact on how he lives. As a result, Talkative represents a false Christianity. James warns against being like Talkative just “listening” and thus “deceiving yourselves.”
As James explains, only listening to God’s word “is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like” (Js 1:23-24). God’s Word, His Wisdom, His truth, shows us our need for Him; it shows us that He is at work in trial and temptation; it shows us that we have a God to whom we can cry out; it gives us the grace to act on His truth even when we feel weak, because of His strength.
God’s Word invites us to “look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere” (cf. Js 1:25). At first, this may seem like a strange invitation. If we look into the perfect law, like looking into a mirror, God’s perfect, holy law shows us all our imperfections. It shows us our “filthiness and rampant wickedness;” it reflects the way in which we do not bear fruit reflective of Christ. If we truly see ourselves through the “perfect law” of God, how can James also call it the “law of liberty”? How is it not a law of condemnation?
But if we have received the implanted word, it is no longer our sin – or even our trials and temptations – that define us! Rather, our lives are defined by the perfect life of Jesus Christ, who gave Himself up for us, to purify us, and to make us desire His good fruit in our lives (cf. Titus 2:14)! If we are in Jesus, looking into the perfect law shows us our sin, but it also shows us Jesus’ blood that cleanses us from all unrighteousness (cf. I Jn 1:7-9). The perfect law becomes the law of liberty because Jesus’s blood has freed us to live for Him. Hearing His truth, and doing His requirements in faith brings freedom, because it is no longer about earning our salvation. Moreover, we are “blessed in our doing” because we are able to act out of our weakness, and in the strength of the implanted word! Genuine faith gives us the grace to admit where we have listened to other voices, and to ask for His implanted word to help us live for Him. Genuine faith bears fruit as we act and do from the grace and strength of Jesus working in us.
Truth-Check for the Implanted Word (vv.26-27)
Ask yourself: How can we know if we are truly bearing fruit from a life planted in His Word, or simply being “hearers” of the Word?
James gives us a warning, or a “truth-check” for knowing if we have received the implanted word, and if it is bearing fruit in our lives. In short, do we care about what is coming out of our mouths and hearts? Are our hearts becoming softened to see more with His eyes, and live more with His grace? Are we still trying to just “look good,” or is Jesus helping us to truly love what He loves, and hate what He hates?
James helps us consider these questions: “If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless” (Js 1:26). God’s Word, implanted in us, does not allow us to remain content with words and actions that have not been shaped by the Word of Truth. If we think we have heard, but our lives and the way we talk remains unchanged, James invites us to consider whether we have Jesus, or a worthless religion.
Someone who “hears but never understands” has become calloused to the grace of Jesus (again cf. Isa 6:9-10, and Matt 13:14-15). In the life of a Christian, His grace does bear fruit. This fruit takes cultivating; it takes faith to actively listen to and act upon the wisdom that God gives as we seek Him. And it is a process of sanctification (that is, of growing ever more into the image of Jesus, and reliance upon His strength in our weakness).
So genuine faith means action: action that comes from a heart captivated by the beauty of Jesus, the implanted word! It means “to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world” (Js. 1:27). It means coming to God in our trials, our temptation, and our weakness, and seeking His wisdom, His truth, and His grace. It means trusting that He is at work both in us and through us, for His glory. It means hearing and experiencing His grace for us, and allowing that grace to shape the way we see those around us. It means learning to see “orphans and widows in their affliction” with His eyes of compassion, and trusting that His fruit will work through us, as we seek to serve Him.
May we learn to receive the implanted word, and allow His truth to mold and transform our hearts and actions. May we become doers of His perfect law, not as a way of earning our faith, but because we are learning the blessing of what it means to live in His strength!
Questions for Reflection & Prayer:
How does today’s study challenge or encourage you? In what ways have you seen God’s implanted word at work in your life? Where might you be challenged to do a “truth-check” in your own life? Where have you felt God’s law to be burdensome, rather than a law of freedom? How does this passage encourage you to find *freedom* in learning to *do* His Word? If James is writing in the context of normal Christian trials and temptations, how can we learn to serve and see with His eyes, even when we are struggling or feel weak ourselves? How does today’s study encourage you if you feel like your growth is slow or hard? Where are you learning to be captivated by His truth and beauty?
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- Note that the Greek is an inclusive gender, speaking not just to men, but men and women ↩︎
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