James 1:19-27

James describes himself as servant of God and the Lord Jesus Christ. To be a servant of God the Father and God the Son, one must serve the Father and the Son. One must perform the tasks which the Godhead directs.

In this epistle, it becomes exceedingly clear that James was assigned the task of communicating and clarifying God’s will to believers.

In verse 19, James addresses his audience as “my beloved brethren.” James is writing to all who have been begotten by the word of truth (see v. 18). James is addressing all who have been redeemed — redeemed by God for the stated purpose of being a kind of first fruits of His creatures. The first fruit of the harvest is to be given to God in recognition of the harvest which He has provided. The Apostle Paul wrote that it is our reasonable service that “ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God.” James is directing all believers to present themselves as a first fruit, our reasonable service.

The word which God gave James is the same which He gave to Paul. The life of a believer is to be a testimony of God’s righteousness. We are to be swift to hear. We are to be attentive to the needs of those about us. We are to be slow to speak and slow to wrath. We are not to issue instant judgments. Man’s wrath does not serve as a conduit of delivery to communicate the righteousness which is of God.

When one is swift to hear, there is no gap between reception of the message and our response to it. James tells us how to receive messages that God would have us receive. Cell phone users of today find it extremely difficult to receive calls in a noisy environment. James tells us how to take a cell phone call: Stay out of noisy environments. The noisy environment that prevents believers from hearing God is identified in verse 21. One must avoid environments made noisy by filthiness and wickedness. One cannot play in the pigpen of those who rebel against God and present themselves as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God.

James urges believers to be doers of the word and not hearers only. The coupling of hearing and doing is engrafted (v. 21). James’ use of the word, engrafted, produces images of a plant shoot taking root and springing forth with life. The heard word is the word implanted (engrafted) into believers by the Holy Spirit. It is word that takes root and shoots forth new life. Those who separate hearing the word from doing the word stifle the Holy Spirit. Non-doers deceive themselves. Their shoots die for failure to take root. That which the Spirit speaks to non-doers was never fully implanted.

The hearer who is a non-doer and the hearer who is a doer view themselves differently. The non-doer looks into a glass which only reveals the outward appearance. The non-doer compares himself to the world around him and is comforted because he measures well. He does no see what God sees.

The doer looks into the mirror of God’s word — the perfect law of liberty. The perfect law of liberty reveals the measure by which God judges believers. Believers are to render a reasonable service. The doer responds by doing his reasonable service and is blessed (v. 25).

The non-doer’s vision of a reasonable service is different from that of a doer because he does not use the measure which God provides (the perfect law of liberty) to view himself. The non-doer rightly claims life eternal through Christ Jesus but denies His command to love one another and to go and to teach and to baptize. The non-doer is a forgetful hearer in that he looks into the perfect law of liberty but does not continue therein. The non-doer has received the love of the Father and has been made free from sin but casts the Father’s love aside by not honoring the Son who said: “love one another; as I have loved you” (Jn. 13:34). The forgetful hearer is not blessed because he fails to act upon the word of truth which he has received. He loves only himself and does not refrain from sin.

“If any man among you seem to be religious . . .” (v. 26). The Greek word, threskos, translates into English as religious. A dictionary might describe religious as one’s thought about or worship of a divine being. The words one speaks reflect one’s worship of God. Unbridled words reflect poorly. They speak of worship which has no effect (vain). They are words which do not reflect the love which God has bestowed upon us.

Pure religion, worship which is of effect (reflecting God’s love), is found in action — in doing. Words without action are without effect. In verse 27, James cites two actions which reflect the love which God has extended to us — visiting orphans and widows in distress and keeping one’s self spotless in the eyes of the world. The world is not blind to orphans and widows in distress. There are some in the world who reach out to orphans and widows. Reaching out to orphans and widows does not make one righteous. The word of God states, “there is none that doeth good, no, not one” (Ps. 53:3). When the world fails to see believers reach out to the needy, the world is comforted because believers fail to exhibit good works.

Believers are called to show the world that reaching out to orphans and widows does not produce righteousness. The world cannot hear the message “there is none that doeth good, no, not one” when spoken by the tongues of them who do not care for orphans and widows. Likewise, the world sees no need of the righteousness which is of Christ when the righteousness of Christ is not seen in them who profess to be the recipients of His righteousness.

It is a reasonable service that we should reveal God’s love and righteousness to the world. Let us be doers of the word.