Commentary.James 1.19-21(b)
Scripture
19 So then, my beloved brethren, let every man
be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; 20 for the wrath of man does not
produce the righteousness of God. 21
Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with
meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
Application Summary
James again
takes time out to address the reader in his love as a brother in Jesus. He seems to want to continue to encourage his
audience, realizing his writing will likely be a rebuke, and one in love. He cares so much for them (and us) that he
wants to keep us reassured of his heart for us, and also that he is subject to
the same scrutiny.
As God has
promised, He has set out to transform each of us into a new creature, someone
who ideally will become more and more like Jesus. And why?
Because it is for His Glory we would want to imitate Jesus as best as
possible, because what He is is good, and because in doing
so it furthers His Kingdom. In this way,
His Kingdom might be expanded in at least two ways. In us, as believers, our heart grows and
changes. As we are renewed and strive to
set aside our sinful ways, the change in us shines out to the World as the
evidence of God’s reality. Our shining
out will then capture the attention of people yet unsaved and cause curiosity
and conviction, and then make another instance for God’s Message to be
proclaimed. Those chosen to be saved are
brought into the Kingdom by and through our Savior, they are transformed and
shine on in the same way, and the Kingdom grows. In all cases, God is Glorified as the One
solely responsible.
The change
which God promises is not easy or automatic, but requires our work as
well. Dealing with us as His children,
He lovingly provides the means to make this happen through the Word and It’s
conviction in our heart. Our
responsibility is to keep ourselves in It as much as possible, and once in It,
to do everything we can to make the most of It.
We must be always alert to the opportunity to hear the Message, then we
are to contemplate It well before forming our own opinion to oppose any
conviction to change. Then finally, when
our sin or area to be changed is revealed, we must not resist It or make excuses,
but commit to obey the Truth and change accordingly. This is because our anger, either towards
ourselves or others in sin, cannot change the heart ‑ only the behavior, not
it’s source in the heart. Our outward
behavior, reflecting what is in our heart, can only be changed by God through His
means, and that is His Word.
So, in
following God’s direction by His Word, we must follow through with the
opportunity to change given to us. The
sin, which was revealed to the reader, now confessed, must be repented of. The outward behavior which once was rooted in
that sin should change, now that it’s root has been cut off by the Sword of the
Word. And with this sin set aside, there
is now one less issue hindering the next opportunity to receive Truth from God. When this opportunity comes, it is in
meekness we should approach It, again removing all of our objections and
obstacles, because this is the way that God will purify our souls from total
pollution. Through the voucher of Jesus,
who knows His flock through a personal and real relationship, our sins are
forgiven already, and as of now God already calls us His children. But this is all based on the Promise of Jesus
to stand in our place for payment on Judgment Day. And there is no surer Promise to be
fulfilled! But until then, there is much
work to be done, and God has promised to take us through it. It is our responsibility to do our part and
make the most of this opportunity as good stewards, while acknowledging it is
all possible only through Him.
Commentary
‘To the brethren’ – note only of those who believe
and not the pagan; James exhorts us to stay prepared on all fronts so as to
make ourselves most receptive to the work of the Lord in our lives. He addresses all three fronts of our person,
circling in from the outer then into the Holy Word’s target, the core of our
heart.
‘Everyone should be quick to listen’ – our first
defense, good or bad, to what we allow and bring into our consideration. Concerning the Wisdom of the Lord, we must
always be quick in opening our ears to His Truth. (Mk 4:9) Listen to what is being said, not from man’s
perspective alone, but tested to be as of the Lord’s. Never take a man’s opinion of the Word
without considering it against the whole counsel of the Word, (Prov
15:22), against the intent of the Author of the Truth, nor without
petitioning His Holy Spirit for enlightenment.
The Spirit is here for our counsel, our teaching, our comfort. (Jn 14:16-18, Jn 14:26) Pray to Him and ask to be shown the Truth as
you search the Scriptures yourself to test the conclusions for their value
before bringing them any further towards your heart. (Acts 17:10-11) The same is quickly seen in considering
things of a sinful potential we might have placed before our eyes. At this point we face the decision to flee or
to embrace. God, always offering an
alternative to temptation, allows us to escape such things unscathed. The eyes and the ears are the first defense
for good or bad. When under the Spirit’s
teaching, be quick to hear and do not pass on any opportunity to receive the
Truth. To receive the Truth in your
heart, you must first hear It. (Rom 10:17)
‘Everyone should be…slow to speak’ – Our Creator
has made us so, that it is impossible to speak and listen at the same
instant. Allowed past our ears, our intellect
must consider what is presented before it.
Often the Word, sharp as any two edged sword, cuts to the heart in an
instant conviction so that we know exactly what we must do in response. But even if so, there is always more to be
gleaned from the Word, and this takes time and contemplation. (Ps 1:2, Josh 1:8) The Truth is meant to be meditated on, not
just for the sake of our mind’s understanding of It, but too for our own heart,
the ultimate target. In considering the
Truth, a bridled tongue is an asset. (Job 6:24)
‘Everyone should be…slow to become angry’ – The
Word is offensive to our own fallen hearts.
It challenges our beliefs and actions and core values, which make us who
we are. It is usually difficult to face
the demand It may make of us. But that
is exactly what It is for! (2 Tim
3:16-17) In our path to
Salvation, our time of Sanctification as our Lord prepares us, we undergo the
transformation of our hearts, the regeneration of our minds, under the
discipline of the Holy Spirit. The
overall change of our hearts from hard, cold, and black as sin, to soft, warm,
and alive in God requires this very thing – the reworking and reshaping of our
core being which only the Word can accomplish.
Nothing else has access to change our heart but God’s Word. Nothing.
God’s Word is a function of His Love in motion, cutting to the core of
the issues in any consideration. No
rules of man can get to the bottom of the problem, the root of our outward
person. (Col 2:23) And as God is concerned for our inward heart,
expressing itself in our outward expression, He provides us with the Word to
make that change. (Heb 4:12) Outward action covering a deceitful heart is
rubbish to Him. Rules can only change
our behavior, not the heart.
The challenge to our self, which the Word’s conviction
brings, should be ‘received with meekness’, not in ‘wrath’. Don’t reject the yolk our loving Lord places
on you. (Matt 11:29) Don’t resist His loving instruction, but
rejoice in His Gift and seek to make the most of It. ‘The wrath of man does not produce the
righteousness of God’ – A response of wrath is a response of rebellious
denial of the Spirit’s work. It is a
rejection of His Good intent to reshape our heart. Can the Spirit’s effort be honored if we
continue to oppose Him? Instead, let us
place ourselves patiently under His teaching and care for our own good, and for
His Glory.
Having considered this, we must ‘therefore lay aside
all filthiness and overflow of wickedness’ in our lives. Note whose responsibility this is. God gives us our regenerate heart, the heart
of Christ – our job is to obey this heart and live accordingly. (Jas 1:22) God does not take away the evil we might
practice from the heart, nor the opportunities to continue to exercise it through
trial and temptation. Our training is in
learning to embrace the new parts of our heart, as the Spirit continues to
renew it, in the face of our flesh’s fallen nature. He promises to renew us; we must commit to be
good stewards and put it to use, persevering through the proofing of our faith
in Him. (Heb 10:36) Therefore, in reflection of your new heart,
ask God to reveal the sinful actions rooted in your heart, then confess and
repent; ‘lay (it) aside’.
In doing so, we benefit again
by removing one more hindrance of our regeneration. The believer must then continue and ‘receive
with meekness the implanted word’, bringing us full circle in the cycle of
renewal. Having shed his wrath, his
rebellion, the believer can now be humbled to be again under the Spirit’s
teaching in ‘meekness’, making the most of God’s effort and thus His
Glory. The Word is special in It’s
nature that It is ‘implanted’, grafted into the believer’s heart. Praise God!
What else can change me, O Lord?
How else might I be made like You?
Only You can break and make a man’s heart. Let us try to do so ourselves, and see us
fail, frustrated. Praise for the Word of
God and the Word incarnate in our Jesus!
The Word, our Jesus, in the
Spirit, ‘which is able to save your soul’. Our Sanctification is directed by this
alone. The Mighty Power of God, hidden
from the world in seemingly mere text. (Mk
4:12) The world considers it all
folly, for it hasn’t the key of Faith, necessary to deliver It’s payload into
our hearts. Faith from the Father, only
accessible through His Son Jesus, only to the Elect. We cry out to God in thanks and in our need,
and He hears. He lavishly blesses us in
all ways through His Word. Open your
heart to His blessings, remove any obstacles in It’s way, place yourself at His
feet and drink in His Loving Teaching, and see Him change your soul. See Him transform the dark heart into a
reflection of His heart, and all from His Love, for His Glory.
Key Summary
We are to seek to place ourselves obediently under
the Loving teaching of the Word, removing all hinderances and making the path
straight.
We must further set aside our evil ways which retard
our growth and resist the changes God seeks in the fruits of our outward
person.
All of this is best realized with a meek heart.
Study Questions
What
are three perimiters which surround the heart?
What
can overcome all of these, and alone is able to change the heart?
What
are our responsibilities in the context of this passage?
Cited Scripture
Mark
4:9
9And He said to them, “He who has ears to hear, let him
hear!”
Proverbs
15:22
22Without counsel, plans go awry, but in the multitude of counselors
they are established.
John
14:16-18
16And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper,
that He may abide with you forever– 17the Spirit of truth, whom the
world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know
Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. 18I will not leave
you orphans; I will come to you.
John
14:26
26But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My
name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things
that I said to you.
Acts
17:10-11
10 Then the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night
to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. 11These
were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the
word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether
these things were so.
Romans
10:17
17So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Psalm
1:2
2But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he
meditates day and night.
Joshua
1:8
8This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you
shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all
that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you
will have good success.
Job
6:24
24“Teach me, and I will hold my tongue; Cause me to understand
wherein I have erred.
2
Timothy 3:16-17
16All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable
for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,
17that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good
work.
Colossians
2:23
23These things (extra-biblical rules, regulations)
indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility,
and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the
flesh.
Hebrews
4:12
12For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any
two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of
joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Matthew
11:29
29Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly
in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
James
1:22
22But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving
yourselves.
Hebrews
10:36
36For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the
will of God, you may receive the promise
Mark
4:12
12so that
“Seeing they may see and not
perceive,
And hearing they may hear and not
understand;
Lest they should turn,
And their sins be forgiven them.”