By Kyle Beshears
Associate Dean and Assistant Professor of Christian Studies, University of Mobile
With Obedience
James 1:19–27; 2:1–4
Heeding (1:19–21)
James is a wise and loving pastor. He desires the best for the people of God as they press forward from their faith into their sanctification as witnesses of the resurrection. For this reason, James commands believers to listen quickly, speak cautiously and remain cool-tempered.
Too often we are quick to speak and slow to listen, especially in this digital age where opinions are the currency we exchange on social media. In God’s economy the opposite is valued — someone who listens more than they speak, someone who intently hears the word of God, the counsel of godly believers and the experience of all people, whether they weep or rejoice (Rom. 12:15).
Listening has the power of diffusing tension and dousing anger. Such practices are avenues to maintaining a loving community and true witness of God’s own character. In fact, it is the goal of every believer to display the character of God to the world. This is why James commands believers to rid themselves of “moral filth and evil,” the exact opposite of our morally perfect and good God.
Doing (1:22–25)
Here is one of the most well-known sayings in the book of James. The Christian life does not exist apart from action, being stirred to good works like reconciliation, discipleship and evangelism. Often as believers in the reformation tradition, we approach an active faith with uncertainty. After all, are we not “justified by faith apart from the works of the law” (Rom. 3:28)? Yes, and amen! For it could not be any other way. But justification is only the beginning. As regenerated sons and daughters of God, we embark on a life of Spirit-empowered sanctification, which enables us to be doers of the Word, not hearers only.
The Apostle Paul reminds us, “We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do” (Eph. 2:10). The reformer John Calvin put it this way: “It is therefore faith alone which justifies, and yet the faith which justifies is not alone.” Our faith always precedes our works, but our works ought to always follow our faith. Otherwise, James warns, we deceive ourselves, like a person who, after viewing themselves in a mirror (i.e. in light of their new identity in Christ’s “perfect law of freedom”), walk away and forget that they are now Spirit-empowered doers for the glory of the Lord.
Loving (1:26–27; 2:1–4)
What does it look like to be a doer of the Word, not a hearer only? Submitting ourselves to the lordship of Christ in all things, from our speech (i.e., controlling our tongues) to our concerns for true justice (i.e., caring for the oppressed, like orphans and widows) and abstaining from favoritism. If we are honest with ourselves, these three commands are difficult to follow. The root cause is our hearts.
The Lord Jesus taught that what is stored in our hearts overflows from our mouths (Matt 12:34; Luke 6:45). Our hearts would rather see ourselves cared for before the orphan and widow. Favoritism rises up from our hearts when we act on our belief that favoring someone will get us what we want.
In all these things, James is implicitly asking a difficult question: To which frequency is our heart tuned? Have we tuned our hearts to sin, speaking and acting in a way that reflects our most hidden, ungodly desires? Or have we tuned our hearts to the Father’s heart, speaking and acting in a way that reflects His proclaimed desires?
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