January 16-31
Daily Devotionals
by Pastor Larry Wilson
Are You For Real?: Meditations in the Epistle of James
January 16
Are You For Real (James 1:18)
Scripture for Day 16—James 1:18
18 Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth…
Devotional:
"Unless one is born again," Jesus declared to Nicodemus, "he cannot see the Kingdom of God" (John 3:3). If the cause of this new birth is God's sovereign grace ("Of his own will he brought us forth…"), then the instrument that God uses to regenerate sinners is "the Word of truth."
The Holy Spirit is the agent who effects the new birth and "the sword of the Spirit … is the Word of God" (Eph. 6:17). God's Word is thus the instrument or tool, the "means of grace," by which the Holy Spirit regenerates sinners. It is increasingly important that we deepen our commitment and expectation that this is the means that our Lord himself—supernaturally and personally—especially uses to convert and edify sinners. This is important, for surely, we must ever deepen and intensify our efforts to reach the lost. But the spirit of our age is such that believers and churches increasingly are putting the Scriptures on the back burner in order to take up more entertaining and purportedly more effective methods to reach the lost. What is this if not a failure to believe that sinners are so lost that God himself must regenerate them "of his own will" and that he does so "by the word of truth"? What is this failure to believe if not the sin of practical unbelief?
Moreover, as you read the ensuing verses, notice that their accent is not on reading the Word, but rather on hearing it. That same theme is sounded throughout
Scripture—"You have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God ... And this is the word that was preached to you … Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation" (1 Pet 1:23–2:2). God has ordained that his Word is to be publicly read and proclaimed. When it is, do you devote yourself to "conscionable hearing" (Confession of Faith 21:5)? Do you consciously seek to be touched and transformed by the sword of the Spirit (Eph. 6:17)? Do you prayerfully listen for the voice of the Good Shepherd through the preaching (Rom. 10:14)? God says that he has chosen to use a weak and foolish message (the gospel) by a weak and foolish method (preaching) through weak and foolish men (preachers) in order to make it crystal clear that if anyone at all is saved, it's a miracle from above (1 Cor. 2:1–5)! Do you pray that God himself will anoint and empower both the preaching and the hearing of his Word?
Pity the nations, O our God,
constrain the earth to come;
send thy victorious Word abroad,
and bring the strangers home. (Isaac Watts)†
†Click here for the full hymn and tune.
January 17
Are You For Real? (James 1:18)
Scripture for Day 17—James 1:18
18 Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creation.
Devotional:
"Unless one is born again," Jesus declared to Nicodemus, "he cannot see the Kingdom of God" (Jn 3:3). If the cause of this new birth is God's sovereign grace ("Of his own will he brought us forth…") and the instrument that God uses to regenerate sinners is "the word of truth," then God's goal in giving us the new birth is "that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creation."
This reminds us just how steeped in the Old Testament is the Christianity of the New Testament. God did not spend thousands of years laying the foundation and preparing the backdrop for the New Testament just so we could ignore it. Do not neglect the Old Testament. It was the whole Bible of the New Testament church until the Gospels and Epistles were written. New Testament Christians insist on studying the Old Testament. In fact, much of the New Testament cannot be correctly understood apart from the Old, for example, "that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creation."
In the old covenant, the first born—whether people, cattle, or fruits—was to be presented before the Lord. For example, "When you come into the land that I give you and reap its harvest, you shall bring the sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest, and he shall wave the sheaf before the Lord" (Lev 23:10-11). Old covenant "Israel was holy to the Lord, the firstfruits of his harvest" (Jer 2:3). The resurrecton of Jesus is the "firstfruits"of the resurrection of the dead (1 Cor 15:20). The Holy Spirit is the "firstfruits" of the complete salvation of the redeemed. And God regenerates new covenant believers in Christ "that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures." The "firstfruits" were the foretaste and downpayment and guarantee of the whole.
Of what are born again believers a "firstfruits"? Of what are we the foretaste and downpayment and guarantee? "Of his creation." That is the ESV. The ASV, KJV, and the NKJV render this "firstfruits of his creatures." The NASB renders it "first fruits among his creatures." The NIV says "firstfruits of all he created." In each case, note the emphasis on God's creation. This is part of our future hope. "According to [God's] promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells" (2 Pet. 3:13; cf. Isa. 65-66; Rev. 21). The regeneration of the sinner is a kind of firstfruits of the regeneration of the entire creation. Indeed, Jesus used this very word to describe God's renovation of the universe. In Matthew 19:28, "Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, I say to you, in the new world [literally, in the regeneration], when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne...'" The new birth is the first part of that great harvest that will eventuate in the new birth of the entire universe. The regeneration of sinners by the Holy Spirit's effectual calling through the Word of truth is the foretaste and downpayment and guarantee of the new heavens and new earth in which righteousness dwells. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, [it is a matter of] new creation" (2 Cor. 5:17).
I hope that our zeroing in on verse 18 for several days hasn't overly distracted you from James's train of thought. The overarching theme is responding to trials. Specifically, in testing your faith, is God trying to do you harm? To the contrary, if you are in Christ, not only is God using your trials to prepare you for a crown of life (v. 12), he is using your trials as steps toward preparing the entire creation for its regeneration under Christ (v. 18). They are tools in his executing his eternal "plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in [Christ], things in heaven and things on earth" (Eph. 1:10)
January 18
Are You For Real? (James 1:18–21)
Scripture for Day 18—James 1:18–21
18 Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. 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 that God requires. 21 Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
Devotional:
People generally take verse 19—" be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger"—in isolation, as a Dale-Carnegie-esque bit of advice about how to win friends and influence people. It's good advice too. The problem is, that's not the Holy Spirit's point in this context. One way you see this is by the verses that bracket this verse. Verse 18 says that "he brought us forth by the word of truth." Verse 21 infers, "Therefore … receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls." In this context, "be quick to hear" must mean to be quick to hear God's Word.
When I was a new believer, a freshman in college, God graciously put me under the preaching of Pastor Lew Grotenhuis at an Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Harmony, New Jersey. I had grown up in the church, yes, but under Protestant liberalism. And so, this was the first time in my life that I had ever heard the Bible exposited in preaching. And, believe me, I just couldn't get enough! Like a starving beggar, I was there bright and early every Lord's Day for both morning and evening worship, sitting way up front. If I had ever heard someone say, "Aw, do I have to go back for evening worship?" it would have seemed like nonsense to me. "Do I have to?" Don't be ridiculous, brother, you get to!" This was the product of the Holy Spirit's gracious working, but it was also important to my spiritual growth, and other Scriptures stress its importance. "You have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God ... And this is the word that was preached to you … Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation" (1 Pet. 1:23–2:2).
Do you long to hear God's Word? Do you go to church prepared and eager and alert? Do you hungrily seize every opportunity that God gives you to hear his Word?
"Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth … Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear…"
Revive thy work, O Lord,
thy mighty arm make bare;
speak with the voice that wakes the dead,
and make thy people hear.
Revive thy work, O Lord,
disturb this sleep of death;
quicken the smould'ring embers now
by thine almighty Breath.
Revive thy work, O Lord,
create soul-thirst for thee;
and hung'ring for the Bread of Life
O may our spirits be. (Albert Midlane)
January 19
Are You For Real? (James 1:18–21)
Scripture for Day 19—James 1:18–21
18 Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. 19 Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear… 21 Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
Devotional:
John Rogers, a Puritan preacher, warned his congregation against neglecting God's Word. He asked them what if God said: "I have trusted you so long with my Bible—it lies in some houses all covered with dust and cobwebs, you care not to listen to it. Do you use my Word that way? Well, you shall have my Word no longer." Rogers then picked up his Bible and started walking away from the pulpit.
Then he stopped, fell on his knees, and took on the voice of the people, who pleaded, "Lord, whatever you do to us, do not take your Word from us! Kill our children! Burn our houses! Destroy our goods! Only spare us your Word! Do not take away your Word!"
"Say you so?" the minister returned to the pulpit, showing how God might respond: "Well, I will try you a while longer; and here is my Word for you. I will see how you use it, whether you will search it more, love it more, observe it more, and live more according to it."
Thomas Goodwin was so convicted by Rogers's sermon that when he left the church service he wept for fifteen minutes upon his horse's neck before he felt strong enough to mount it.
Are you quick to hear God's Word? Do you hurry to every opportunity to hear it? Meditate again on verses 18–21, "Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear… receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls."
God's Word is "able to save your souls" if you "hear" and "receive" it. It is the sword of the Spirit. By his Word, the Triune God himself regenerates sinners, sanctifies believers, and builds churches. Accordingly, every believer should be "quick to hear." But when we look at professing Christians and churches, what do we see? Some break God's Word by overt disdain for its teaching and disobedience to its commands. Others bend God's Word to suit whatever shape they want it to have; rather than being transformed by the renewing of their minds, they conform to the world and rationalize by twisting the Scriptures. Still others bury the preached Word under an avalanche of entertainment and self-help lessons. Ironically, these affirm the highest view of Scripture while at the same time giving it the lowest place in practice.
When you look at yourself, what do you see? Do you really believe that God's Word is really a powerful means of grace "which is able to save your souls"? Knowing that God applies his Word mainly (although not exclusively) through preaching, are you "quick to hear"?
"O God, you are my God alone;
I seek your face with eagerness.
My soul and body thirst for you
in this dry, weary wilderness" (Psalm 63:1, versified).
January 20
Are You For Real? (James 1:18–21)
Scripture for Day 20—James 1:18–21
18 Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. 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 that God requires. 21 Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
Devotional:
You can expect it: believers in Jesus Christ will "meet trials of various kinds." When we do, we should "count it all joy." Why? Because we know that God tests our faith in order to produce "steadfastness" so as to produce conformity to Christ (vv. 2–4). But to rightly handle trials, we need "wisdom." Therefore, "if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him" (v. 5).
But what means does God most use to communicate his wisdom? "The Word of truth"! God's Word does not just transmit bare information. More than that, it is a tool that God uses to empower us to act on that information; it is "which is able to save your souls" (v. 21). It is a genuine means of grace. Accordingly, God enjoins us to be "quick to hear" his Word. To be slow to hear is sin. But it is also folly. We very much need to hear God's Word.
But obstacles can get in the way of hearing. They can hinder us from profiting from God's Word. And so the Holy Spirit speaking through James quickly adds, be "slow to speak" and "slow to anger." In other words, shut up and listen to God! And calm down and listen to God!
First, shut up and listen to God! Be "slow to speak." It's exceedingly hard to listen if you're doing all the talking. It's also sinful. Proverbs 18:13 says, "If one gives an answer before he hears, it is his folly and shame." If that is true in general, it's especially true regarding our listening to God. Maybe you are quick to speak by imagining that certain preconceived notions trump Scripture, so that you're unwilling to let God's Word challenge and inform your framework. Maybe you are quick to speak by thinking about how other people need to heed this Scripture ("Oh, I wish so-and-so was here to hear this sermon. He/she really needs it") instead of applying it to yourself. How do you tend to drown out God's voice by your own speaking? Shut up and listen to God!
Second, calm down and listen to God! Be "slow to anger." Maybe you're mad at others because of their sins. Maybe you're mad at God because of your trials. Maybe you're mad for God and you want to do something in order to promote his Kingdom and righteousness, much like James and John were ready to call down fire from heaven to consume unbelievers (John 9:54). Calm down and listen to God, "for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness that God requires," (v. 20). You don't have the power to do what only the Holy Spirit can do. Before you "jump in with all four feet," make sure you get your marching orders straight.
Be quick to listen to God, slow to speak, slow to wrath.
January 21
Are You For Real? (James 1:20)
Scripture for Day 21—James 1:20
20 …the anger of man does not produce the righteousness that God requires.
Devotional:
In our day of email and websites and blogs and online discussion groups and who knows what else, there are veritable hurricanes of words purporting to promote truth and faithfulness flying this way and that. We do well to consider more specifically the point God makes in James 1:20. It may be helpful if I modernize some comments Thomas Manton (1620–1677) made on this verse in his commentary on James:
The worst thing that we can bring to a religious controversy is anger. The context speaks of anger occasioned by differences about the Word. Usually no affections are so outrageous as those which are engaged in the quarrel of religion. Why? Because that which should bridle the passion instead is made the fuel of it. That which should restrain undue heats and excesses instead engages them.
However, this should not be. Christianity, of all religions, is the meekest and most humble. It is founded upon the blood of Christ, who is a Lamb slain. It is consigned and sealed by the Spirit of Christ, who descended like a dove. Both are emblems of a meek and modest humility. And should a meek religion be defended by our violences? Should the God of peace be served with wrathful affections? Should the madness of an evil nature reveal itself in the best cause?
Christ's warfare does not need such carnal weapons. As Achish said, "Have I need of madmen?" (1 Sam. 21:15). Likewise, does Jesus Christ need our passions and furies? Does the God of heaven need a "tongue … set on fire by hell" (James 3:6)?
Michael the archangel was engaged in the best cause against the worst adversary, with Satan about the body of Moses; and yet the purity of his nature would not permit him to profane his engagement with any excess and indecency of passion—"he dared not bring against him a reviling accusation" (Jude 9 NKJV).
Moreover, as the wrath of man is unsuitable to the matters of God, so it is also prejudicial. When tongue is sharpened against tongue, and pen against pen, what follows? Nothing but mutual animosities and hatreds, whereby, if we gain anything of truth, we lose much of love and goodness.
Satan would gladly be even with God. The devil's kingdom is mostly ruined by the rage of his own instruments. You cannot gratify Satan more than when you wrong the truth by an unseemly defense of it. Why? Because then he seems to be on even terms with Christ, overturning his Kingdom by those who are engaged in defending it.
Briefly, then, if you would do good, use an appropriate means. The barking dog loses the prey. Violence and furious prosecution seldom benefit. They engage most successfully who use the hardest arguments and the softest words.† Railings and revilings, on the other hand, as they are without love, so they are without profit. Be watchful. Our religious affections may often overthrow us.
† Cornelius Van Til advocated that we be fortiter in res, suavitor in modo (strong in substance, gentle in manner). Likewise, Francis Schaeffer urged us "to speak the truth in love." Amen and Amen!
January 22
Are You For Real? (James 1:21)
Scripture for Day 22—James 1:21
21 Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
Devotional:
It seems likely—does it not?—that James was thinking of the parable of the sower from Luke 8:4–15:
4 And when a great crowd was gathering and people from town after town came to him, [Jesus] said in a parable: 5 "A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it. 6 And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. 7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. 8 And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold." As he said these things, he called out, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."
9 And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant, 10 he said, "To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that 'seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.' 11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the Word of God. 12 The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the Word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. 13 And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the Word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away. 14 And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. 15 As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the Word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.
Jesus identified four types of responders to God's Word, four types of "soil." The first are like a beaten down path; the Word doesn't even have a chance to get implanted. The second are like rocky soil; they seem to respond with joy to the gospel, but have no root, so the trials of this life occasion their falling away. Others are like thorny soil. They do hear God's Word, but then they get "choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature." As for the good soil, "they are those who, hearing the Word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience." By the bye, that word translated "patience" is the very same word that is translated "steadfastness" in James 1:3–4.
Examine yourself. Which type of soil are you? One can only be good soil if he has been born from above by a sovereign work of the Holy Spirit. Pray that by his grace, God will make you to be good soil for his Word.
January 23
Are You For Real? (James 1:21)
Scripture for Day 23—James 1:21
21 Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
Devotional:
This verse seems to be an application of Luke 8:14–15, "14 And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. 15 As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the Word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience."
Just as we should seek wisdom from God without being double-minded (vv. 5–8), so we should sincerely ask God to make us good soil for his Word. Being such involves a two-fold response to God's Word.
On the one hand, keep pulling weeds from your heart, "put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness." Indwelling sin remains a reality in the lives of believers. But you must never be complacent or content about it.
"Believers … must contend with sin as long as they live (1 Kings 8:46; Prov. 20:9; James 3:2; 1 John 1:8). Their lives are characterized by a constant warfare between the flesh and the spirit, and even the best of them are still confessing sin (Job 9:3, 20; Ps. 32:5; 130:3; Prov. 20:9; Isa. 64:6; Dan. 9:7; Rom. 7:14; 1 John 1:9), praying for forgiveness (Ps. 51:1, 2; Dan. 9:16; Matt. 6:12, 13; James 5:15), and striving for greater perfection (Rom. 7:7-26, Gal. 5:17; Phil. 3:12–14)"†
If you don't persistently pull weeds in a garden, they'll choke out the good plants. Likewise, if you don't persistently "put away" sins from your life, they'll choke out your spiritual growth and fruitfulness. Every time you hear God's Word, ask yourself, "Does this expose a sin I need to repent of?" Then repent unto God.
At the same time, keep welcoming God's seeds into your heart, "receive with meekness the implanted Word, which is able to save your souls." Welcome God's Word with open arms, not with haughtiness, but "with meekness." As B. B. Warfield said,
"How unquestionably we must receive its statements of fact, bow before its enunciations of duty, tremble before its warnings, and rest upon its promises."
Does that describe your response? Anything less is wicked. In the Bible, the living God himself speaks to you. How do you respond?
This is important to heed, for God says it more than once. For example, 1 Peter 1:25–2:2 (NIV): "25 '…the Word of the Lord stands forever.' And this is the Word that was preached to you. 2:1 Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. 2 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation...." Are you quick to hear God's Word, especially the preaching of God's Word? Do you crave it like a baby craves its mother's milk? Do you heed it so that you persistently "put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness" and "rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind"? Do you seek continuously to "receive with meekness the implanted Word, which is able to save your souls"?
†Louis Berkhof, Summary of Christian Doctrine. Eerdmans, 1938, 1972; p. 144.
January 24
Are You For Real? (James 1:21)
Scripture for Day 24—James 1:21
21 Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
Devotional:
What do you receive when you do "receive with meekness the implanted Word"? You receive Spiritual life and power, for "the implanted Word … is able to save your souls." It is not for naught that we call the Word a "means of grace." People tend not just to be "looking for love in all the wrong places;" even believers tend to look for the life and power of the Holy Spirit in all the wrong places.
Who can deny that we greatly need the powerful working of the Holy Spirit? The source of the life and power that we need is Jesus Christ, who was crucified for sinners and is now resurrected and exalted. The agent who communicates the blessings that Christ has won for his people is the Holy Spirit. The means that the Holy Spirit uses to communicate these blessings is his Sword, the Word of God. The instrument that receives these blessings is faith. And "faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the Word of Christ" (Rom. 10:17).
Of the Thessalonians, the apostle Paul said, "And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the Word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the Word of God, which is at work in you believers" (1 Thess. 2:13). "The Word of God … is at work in you believers." That's another way of saying "the Holy Spirit is at work in you believers.
Maybe you're saying, "My faith is a sham. I'm double-minded, divided in heart, and two-faced with God." You need Jesus Christ to apply his salvation to you by his wonder-working Spirit. Ask him for it, and look for it where he has promised to give it. "Receive with meekness the implanted Word, which is able to save your soul."
Maybe you're saying, "'I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!'" (Mark 9:24, NIV). You need Jesus Christ to apply his salvation to you by his wonder-working Spirit. Ask him for it and look for it where he has promised to give it. "Receive with meekness the implanted Word, which is able to save your soul."
Maybe you're saying, I need the wisdom to face my trials in a godly way and the strength to persevere through them. You need Jesus Christ to apply his salvation to you by his wonder-working Spirit. Ask him for it, and look for it where he has promised to give it. "Receive with meekness the implanted Word, which is able to save your soul."
"I am weak, but Thou art strong;
Jesus, keep me from all wrong;
I'll be satisfied as long
as I walk, let me walk close to Thee."
January 25
Are You For Real (James 1:22–25)
Scripture for Day 25—James 1:22–25
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.
Devotional:
In our circles, we highly value learning God's Word, both its story and its system of doctrine. And the importance of learning God's Word can never be overestimated. God does command, "be quick to hear." Conversely, he laments, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge" (Hos. 4:6). But at the same time God warns us to make sure that we don't content ourselves with accumulating knowledge as abstract information. "But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves." Genuine orthodoxy always leads to faithful orthopraxy! A genuine grasp of sound doctrine always leads to faithful living.
If, however, it does not, then that's a sure sign that it is counterfeit, not genuine. If you merely learn sound doctrine in an abstract way, where you grasp it in your head but it never grips your heart or drives your life, then you are "deceiving yoursel[f]." You are "like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like" (vv. 23–24). Picture him. He gets out of bed and gets dressed for work. Before he leaves, he looks in a mirror. He sees that his hair is unkempt, his face is unshaved, his shirt is buttoned askew and is untucked, his pants are wrinkled, and the colors and patterns clash. (Translate that image into a feminine version if it helps.) Then he completely forgets and leaves for work like that. What's his excuse? He has none! How much more inexcusable are those who are blessed with sound teaching and who do not permit it to penetrate their hearts and transform their lives. They are living a lie. And just as God won't answer double-minded prayer, neither will he bless double-minded doctrine. No, he will hold you accountable for what you have learned. "Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required" (Luke 12:48).
Are you living a lie? Or are you instead "walk[ing] in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called" (Eph. 4:1)?
Search me, O God,
and know my heart today;
try me, O Savior,
know my thoughts, I pray.
See if there be
some wicked way in me;
cleanse me from ev'ry sin
and set me free (J. Edwin Orr).
January 26
Are You For Real? (James 1:22–25)
Scripture for Day 26—James 1:22–25
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.
Devotional:
Our Lord Jesus says, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me" (John 10:27). A born-again heart loves God's Word; it is "quick to hear." Moreover, it is quick to do what God says in his Word. The Lord's sheep don't merely assent to what their Shepherd says; they follow him. But if you are "hearers only" of God's Word, and not doers, then you are "deceiving yourselves" (v. 22). It raises the question: are you in fact one of the Lord's sheep?
"It is possible to hear God's Word constantly proclaimed in … Scripture [readings] and in sermons, and to regard such hearing as an end in itself, so that the message heard never becomes translated into deeds accomplished. This … is a form of self-deception."†Our sinful flesh is quick to embrace legalism, the expectation that we can somehow contribute to earning our right standing with God. We so easily deceive ourselves into imagining that somehow we can make God beholden to us. But our sinful flesh is just as quick to embrace the opposite error of presumption. We can also deceive ourselves into thinking that just because we know certain information, therefore we are right with God. God gravely warns us here. Don't deceive yourself into thinking that you are saved when you have no repentance unto God and when you content yourself with hearing God's Word merely as a matter of accumulating abstract, academic data.
Remember how our Lord Jesus promises and warns in Matthew 7:24–27: "24 Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it." "Blessed … are those who hear the word of God and keep it!" (Luke 11:28).
Keith Green once asked in song,
"How can you be so dead
when you've been so well fed?"It's so incongruous, but it's still possible. People do it by not taking God's Word to heart, by being hearers only, and not doers. Ask the living God to give you both ears to hear his Word and a heart to heed it, so that you "unquestionably ... receive [the Bible's] statements of fact, bow before its enunciations of duty, tremble before its warnings, and rest upon its promises" (B. B. Warfield). O, how we need the sovereign, gracious working of the Holy Spirit to produce this response of faith! Ask him to grant it, not just for yourself, but also for others.
† R.V.G. Tasker, The General Epistle of James, (Eerdmans, 1956, 1975), p. 52
January 27
Are You For Real? (James 1:25)
Scripture for Day 27—James 1:25
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.
Devotional:
This verse stands over against verses 23–24, "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." This time the "mirror" is "the perfect law, the law of liberty." This is "the word of truth" by which "he brought us forth … that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures" (v. 18). This is "the implanted word, which is able to save your souls" (v. 21). God's Word is his "law," his torah, his parental instruction. And it is "perfect." Whatever flaws we might see are always in us, never in God's Word. It is "the law of liberty." Genuinely hearing and doing God's Word will have a liberating effect on your life.
How can you experience this liberating effect? You need to do two things. First, you need to peer, to "look into" God's Word. This compares to "he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror" (v. 23). The verb translated "look" is used in John 20:5 to describe how Peter and John first looked into the empty tomb. You can be sure that this was no casual glance. How do you look into God's Word? Do you peer intently into it, meditating prayerfully on its meaning and implications, adjusting your thoughts, your attitudes, your behavior accordingly?
Second, you need to persist, to "persevere" in doing so. This contrasts with "For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like" (v. 24). On the other hand, one who is "no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts" persists in learning God's Word, loving God's Word, and living God's Word. And in so doing, he discovers that God's Word is both "perfect" and liberating. "But as for you, continue in what you have learned … the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus" (2 Tim. 3:14–15).
Indeed God promises to use his Word as a means to give you grace to help in time of need — "he will be blessed in his doing." As our Lord Jesus says, "Blessed … are those who hear the word of God and keep it!" (Luke 11:28). It may be no surprise to hear God promise to bless his followers in eternity. It may be no surprise to hear God promise to bless his followers at some future time in this life. But in this verse God promises, "he will be blessed in his doing." Right then and there. "True blessedness—the joy of Christ's kingdom—comes not by escaping trials but by doing the Word of the Lord."†
"1 Blest is the man who turns away
from where the wicked walk,
who does not stand in sinners' paths
or sit with those who mock.
2 Instead he finds God's holy law
his joy and great delight;
he makes the precepts of the Lord
his study day and night.
3 He prospers ever like a tree
that's planted by a stream,
and in due season yields its fruit;
its leaves are ever green.
4 Not so the wicked! They are like
the chaff that's blown away.
5 They will not stand when judgment comes
or with the righteous stay.
6 It is the Lord who sees and knows
the way the righteous go,
whereas the way of wicked men
the Lord will overthrow." (Psalm 1, versified)† George M. Stulac, James (IVP, 1993), p. 79
January 28
Are You For Real? (James 1:26–27)
Scripture for Day 28—James 1:26–27
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.
Devotional:
People tend to think that if only they can persuade a representative of God (for example, a pastor) that they are religious, then they are OK with God. God, however, makes it crystal clear that he doesn't see things that way. Our Lord Jesus said to some in his day, "You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said: 'This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me...'" (Matt. 15:7–8). God isn't fooled. And he warns us not to fool ourselves.
Just as economists look for "leading economic indicators," God specifies three leading spiritual indicators in James 1:26–27. What are three signs of a genuine relationship with God? We'll reflect on them one day at a time.
The first is truly searching—do you control your tongue? "If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless," (v. 26). You may be able to deceive others into thinking that you are religious, but if you cannot keep a tight rein on your tongue, you may at the same time be deceiving yourself! "If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue, [he] deceives his heart…" (v. 26). The telltale sign is, do you bridle your tongue?
On the one hand, do you constrain your tongue? Obviously, this includes turning away from words that are blasphemous or vile. But it includes much more. God also forbids backbiting (complaining about others behind their backs), slandering others (saying stuff that is not true and is harmful), and gossiping about others (saying stuff that might be true but is no one else's business). John Calvin comments:
"When people shed their grosser sins, they are extremely vulnerable to contract this complaint. A man will steer clear of adultery, of stealing, of drunkenness, in fact he will be a shining light of outward religious observance—and yet will revel in destroying the character of others; under the pretext of zeal, naturally, but it is a lust for vilification."†Indeed, God warns, "when words are many, transgression is not lacking…" (Prov. 10:19). Do you constrain your tongue?
† John Calvin, Calvin's New Testament Commentaries, Vol. III, tr. A.W. Morrison (Eerdmans, 1972), p. 274
January 29
Are You For Real? (James 1:26–27)
Scripture for Day 29—James 1:26–27
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.
Devotional:
Just as economists look for "leading economic indicators," God specifies three leading spiritual indicators in James 1:26–27. What are three signs of a genuine relationship with God? We'll reflect on them one day at a time.
The first is truly searching—do you control your tongue? "If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless," (v. 26). You may be able to deceive others into thinking that you are religious, but if you cannot keep a tight rein on your tongue, you may at the same time be deceiving yourself! "If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue, [he] deceives his heart…" (v. 26). The telltale sign is, do you bridle your tongue? On the one hand, do you constrain your tongue?
On the other hand, do you consecrate your tongue? Do you consciously speak in order to glorify God and edify others? "Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear" (Eph. 4:29). Not only should your words not tear down, but also they should positively build up.
How do you use words? Alexander Whyte recommended that we ask ourselves three questions before we say anything: "Is it true? Is it necessary? Is it kind?"
According to God, your speech is a telling signal as to the reality of your religion. Our Lord Jesus says that your words manifest your heart,
"Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit. You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil." (Matt. 12:33-35).Again God's Word exposes how desperately we need the grace of God in Christ. Christianity is not a mere code of ethics; it is the story of how God saves sinners. We need the forgiveness that Christ alone can win. We need the new hearts that God alone can give. We need the "self-control" that the Holy Spirit alone can produce (Gal. 5:23). That's why your use of words is a leading spiritual indicator.
January 30
Are You For Real? (James 1:26–27)
Scripture for Day 30—James 1:26–27
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.
Devotional:
"The proof is in the pudding." These verses identify three "leading spiritual indicators." What are three signs of a genuine relationship with God? A first is: do you control your tongue? A second gauge is: do you show charity to the helpless?
"Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction…" (v. 27). This is not talking about your convictions about how the church or society should respond to the needy; that's a completely different subject. The question here is what do you personally do about the needy, especially in the church?
Orphans and widows are those who don't have a family to help them when they're afflicted. They are those who are helpless. But the Lord himself promises to be a "father of the fatherless and protector of widows" (Ps. 68:10). If you are united to him, then you are part of the body which he uses as his hands and feet. You are part to the body through which he ministers to his children who are needy and helpless. As a result, "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction…" The word translated "to visit" means more than to hurriedly peek in on someone. It's better translated "to look after" (NIV).
Accordingly, religion that does not look after orphans and widows in their affliction, is not "pure and undefiled before God." One may appear exceedingly religious before other people, assenting to all the correct truths and abstaining from all the taboos. He may even receive accolades from others while, all the while, in God's eyes, he is impure and defiled. "Man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart" (1 Sam. 16:7).
True religion helps the helpless. The reason it does so is, first, because that is what God does. Once you were helpless, but "God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Rom. 5:8). If God didn't help the helpless by saving us from our sins, we would still be lost. Second, the sin that our Lord Jesus saves us from is our failure to be like God, our falling short of his glory, of perfectly reflecting his image as we ought. And third, because the salvation that our Lord Jesus saves us to includes sanctification, his progress work of "Christianizing the Christian" and conforming his redeemed children to his image.
Do you show the fruit of godliness (God-likeness) by helping the helpless, especially in the household of faith? Who in your congregation fits into this category? How can you be an instrument in God's hands to help encourage them, to help serve them? Why don't you start by praying for them?
January 31
Are You For Real? (James 1:26–27)
Scripture for Day 31—James 1:26–27
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.
Devotional:
Being a Christian means knowing God (not just knowing about God) through his Mediator, Jesus Christ. No one can truly know God and stay unchanged. Is your religion real? In these verses, God gives three ways to take your spiritual temperature. They are not a comprehensive list, but they are "leading spiritual indicators." First, do you control your tongue? Second, do you care for those in need? Third, do you pursue cleanliness from sin? "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: … to keep oneself unstained from the world." (v. 27).
Most Christians are well aware that God's Word says, "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind" (Rom. 12:2). But what is "the world"? God's Word often uses the term "world" to describe people who are out of touch with heaven. The world disobeys God. It lives as if God is not real (Ps. 10:4). Although believers are "in the world," they are "not of the world" (John 17:16). The great enemies of your soul are the flesh, the devil, and the world.
What is it to be "unstained from the world"? Some have thought of "worldliness" as breaking a set of pious taboos ("Don't drink, don't chew, and don't go with girls who do"). In our day, many so react against the external legalism of previous generations that they have no fear of worldliness at all. But God himself calls his redeemed children to be "unstained (or unblemished) from the world." They must turn from the attitudes and approach to life that marks the world. "The lambs that were offered under the Old Testament sacrificial system had to be without blemish: so the Christian must 'keep himself unspotted from the world' that he may offer himself a holy and living sacrifice acceptable to God."†
Note that God says that the genuine believer will "keep oneself unstained from the world." This implies that, even though it is all of grace, nevertheless sanctification is neither automatic nor easy. It involves a struggle. But if you really have been "brought … forth by the word of truth," then it is to "be a kind of firstfruits of his creation" (James 1:18). Consequently, there is no such thing as a new birth without a new life. There is no such thing as true religion without transformation. There is no such thing as justification without sanctification. True religion makes God's redeemed children godly (God-like), not worldly (world-like).
Hence God commands us, "Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world" (1 John 2:15–16). Likewise, in James 4:4 he says, "Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God."
"The proof is in the pudding." How does your life contrast with that of the world around you?
†R.V.G. Tasker, The General Epistle of James (Eerdmans, 1956, 1975), p. 55.
