Seventh Sunday after Pentecost (CL)

James 1:19-27

¹⁹ Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; ²⁰ for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. ²¹ Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

²² But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. ²³ For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. ²⁴ For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. ²⁵ But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.

²⁶ If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless. ²⁷ Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

Be doers of the word not just hearers, I think many people have taken this a little too far. Many have become makers of the word? We have twisted the word of God to force it to say what we want. If this is not the case for you, then you have probably pulled the teeth put of the convicting word of the Law. These are the two chief crimes of biblical theology.

The text hear does not say, do not add or subtract to the word of God which I implied. It does say DO WHAT THE WORD SAYS! This does mean we need to hear the word and follow it. But often times we can hear the word and be thankful that Jesus forgive our misdeeds and continue to do them. This also means we can hear his word like some husbands listening to their wives, it goes in one ear and out the other.

The real message in this text is even more so talking about deception. I have long said the easiest person to lie to is yourself. You can very easily be deceived by what you think is right, or by someone simply asking the devilish question, is that really what is meant. But God is not out to trick, or deceive, us. He is there to help us. He is there for you because he loves you. He does not hide the line, but points to it, and how you have already crossed the line.

But he is also there pointing us to a proper way to live, shown in Jesus Christ. He is providing us with saintly examples who emulate Christ. These people even show us that when we fail we look to the cross and find forgiveness, strength, and new life (in the resurrection).