21 So get rid of every filthy habit and all wicked conduct. Submit to God and accept the word that he plants in your hearts, which is able to save you.
22 Do not deceive yourselves by just listening to his word; instead, put it into practice.
23 If you listen to the word, but do not put it into practice you are like people who look in a mirror and see themselves as they are.
24 They take a good look at themselves and then go away and at once forget what they look like.
25 But if you look closely into the perfect law that sets people free, and keep on paying attention to it and do not simply listen and then forget it, but put it into practice—you will be blessed by God in what you do. (GNB)
Vs. 21 - “So get rid of every filthy habit and all wicked conduct.” -
Some versions command us to ‘lay aside” these behaviors. Both ‘get rid of’ and “lay aside” imply a purposeful decision. No longer are you to be hindered by dragging an anchor through your spiritual life. You cut the chain. You throw off the baggage. I used to go backpacking in the Oregon Cascade mountains when I was younger. The backpack holds your tent, sleeping bag and pad, clothes, food, stove and fuel (enough for the number of days you will be there). It was heavy. After several hours of hiking up the trail, what a relief when you ‘laid aside’ that backpack!
“Filthy habit”, or “Filthiness”; “Wicked conduct”, or “Wickedness” - If you have been a Christian for most of your life, or for a significant amount of time, this verse may seem a little odd. In the society at the start of the Christian churches (50-90 AD) there was no influence to ameliorate the lack of morals at that time. The society, whether Greek or Roman or other, was not ‘Christianized’. Temple prostitutes were common - according to some of the sources I have read there were some ‘religions’ where the sexual act was the worship. There may have been no moral teaching - anything goes. This may not have been true in Jewish communities, because they had the Word of God given to them through Moses and the Prophets. So it is probable that sexual misconduct (as we would see it) was not considered a ‘sin’. Who knows about theft, thuggery, etc.
In some ways, we can look at what is going on in some of our larger cities in the U.S. The crime wave raging in our cities is shocking - murders are up 25-50%; vagrancy is rampant; people are being attacked - some have been shoved on to subway tracks or into the street; people have been attacked and beaten; stores have been ransacked. How could ancient cities and societies be any more violent and evil.
Consider the situation from where you and others may have come. You have heard the gospel, and it makes landing within your heart and mind. You accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Now what? How do you act? What do you do? James is clearly talking to people who have come to Christ from rough circumstances. He is telling them, “Don’t do what you did before!” Paul said, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.” (2 Cor 5:17)
There are positives and negatives in this verse. The ‘negatives’ are in the command to no longer behave the way you did before you accepted Christ. Why is that a negative? For example, think about losing weight - your have to change your eating habits. This is hard. I love candy bars, apple turnovers, maple bars, burgers and fries. It is hard for me to see a green salad as a meal. I want to eat until I am full, and considering that I am overweight it means that I have done that a lot. Likewise if you have been looking at pornography, or having an affair, you must not do that again. It is hard to make that change. Your are so used to doing something - pornography, lying, cheating on your taxes, cheating on your golf score, speeding through a school zone, abortions, etc., that it may not even register that what you did is a sin!
The positives in this verse is that you don’t have to do this in your own power! The Holy Spirit is in you to guide and teach you. You have the Bible, God’s Word, to give you instructions. One evidence of your new faith - hunger for the Word. God will ‘speak’ to you from the Bible. There may not be a specific command for some behaviors, but the Bible also has tenets and standards that you can apply to your life that will steer you away from sinful activities.
Vs. 22 - "Do not deceive yourselves by just listening to his word; instead, put it into practice."
In the first century A.D. society most people did not read or write. Most teaching was oral reading of the scriptures or letters. (Mark’s Gospel was probably written about 60 AD, Luke’s and Matthew’s gospels followed. None of the gospels would have been in ‘book’ form.) The Gospels would not have been canonized at the time this letter was written. So the account of Jesus’ life, teaching, death and resurrection was told by those who were with Him, or was taught by those who heard and believed the first-person accounts. The letters written by the apostles were read in the churches.
The NASB puts it that you should be a ‘doer’ and not a ‘hearer’ only. Teaching what God has instructed us has the same importance as reading the Bible. That puts tremendous pressure on the teacher to ‘get it right’. A teacher’s message is most effective and powerful when his life matches his teachings. When his life does not follow his own teachings he is a liar - to himself and to others. His teachings cannot be trusted.
On the other side of this equation, the student has to make a decision when listening to the teacher. Does the student accept and believe the lesson? Does the student take the teaching and apply it to his life? James is clearly saying you cannot claim belief without showing a change in personal behavior. If you believe, you will put it into practice.
***Vs. 23-24 - “If you listen to the word, but do not put it into practice you are like people who look in a mirror and see themselves as they are. They take a good look at themselves and then go away and at once forget what they look like.” -
This example does not need much explanation. Imagine getting ready to go out on a date with your wife, and as you walk out of the bathroom she asks, “Aren’t you going to comb your hair?” Your response, “What?”, shows that you looked to see if you were ready and didn’t notice. In similar manner, God wants you to be aware the Christian image you portray shows you care about and notice the witness you are presenting. When being taught Christian living principles we can either observe what is said and apply it to our lives or we can be careless about what we were hearing.
Vs. 25 - “But if you look closely into the perfect law that sets people free, and keep on paying attention to it and do not simply listen and then forget it, but put it into practice—you will be blessed by God in what you do.”
James tells us to look into the ‘perfect law’, because it will set us free. What is the perfect law? Remember, the term ‘the Law’, would have a particular significance to Jews who revered the Law as handed down by the Lord to them. Roman citizens and subjects would also understand ‘the law’. Roman law was harsh and completely enforced by the Roman legions. Were those laws perfect? Jews tended to claim the Law was perfect, but their behavior tended to belie those statements.
Jesus came to set us free from the strictures of the Law. The Law did not make it possible to be free from sin. The perfect law that Jesus proclaimed sets us free from sin, both its commission and punishment. Jesus said, ”Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever. So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:34-36) No longer are we slaves to sin when we are in Christ.
The perfect law of Jesus Christ is followed by faith, not by works. God aimed us toward this from OT times. See: “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel, ‘Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit’, says the Lord.” (Zech 4:6) (Yes, I understand this particular message was about freeing the Israelites from Babylon, but it is the heart of God’s message to us - believe in the Lord and you will be saved.)
Paul wrote: “For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.’” (Rom 1:17) Paul amplified this in chapter 3, “But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Where then is boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith. For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law. Or is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, since indeed God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith is one.” (Rom 3:21-31)
Lastly, we are reminded, “He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, 6 whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior.” (Titus 3:5-6)
That is the perfect law!
How can God's Word do a daily saving work in the believer? The Word, as spoken by Jesus, has promised the indwelling of the Holy Spirit to those who accept and believe Jesus as Lord and Savior. The Holy Spirit can control and empower you to live the wonderful life Jesus has promised. The Holy Spirit is your earnest down payment guarantee that when you have Jesus you have eternal life. Your name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life! Your life is safe in Jesus Christ for all eternity. Let’s hear a ‘Praise the Lord!’
That is the perfect law!
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