Monday, Oct. 22

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James 1:22-25

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at  himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it – he will be blessed in what he does.

Have you ever been to an amusement park that has a set of those trick mirrors that grossly distort your image? One might make you look very long and skinny; the other makes you look almost round. They make us laugh, but the truth is many of us have slightly distorted views of ourselves!

I saw some research recently that reported that most people tend to misrepresent themselves when surveyed about certain issues. For example, the study said that when asked if they exercise regularly, most people will report that they go to the gym about twice as often as they actually do. The same thing happens when we are asked how much we give to charitable causes or how often we attend worship. In other words, we tend to “fudge” the truth a bit so as to present ourselves in a bit more positive fashion!

Here James uses a similar kind of image to talk about how the word of God, the gospel, is to shape our lives.

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at  himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.

He is putting his spiritual finger on the tendency we have to listen to God’s word, nod our heads in approval, and then go on living as if we never heard a thing. The phrase, “in one ear and out the other,” comes to mind!

James is telling us that the gospel is intended to be a kind of spiritual mirror in which we can see ourselves as God sees us. And how does God see us?

Tim Keller writes:

We are more flawed and sinful than we ever dared believe, yet we are more loved and accepted than we ever dared hope at the same time. (from essay, “The Meaning of the Gospel”)

The gospel, then, reveals both who and what we are in stark clarity, as well as who God is in his holiness and grace. When we see both ourselves and God clearly the gospel has the power to save and transform. When we see only part of our sinfulness; or when we see only part of God’s grace; we see only part of the gospel and therefore are like the man who looks at his face in a mirror but immediately forgets what he looks like. We hear the word of God, but we do not allow it to penetrate to our hearts and therefore we do not experience its power to change.

James continues:

But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it – he will be blessed in what he does.

We usually think of “law” as that which limits our freedom. James says just the opposite; there is a law that gives freedom. By the phrase “perfect law” James is referring to the word of God; the gospel that sets us free from what Paul called the “law of sin and death” (Romans 8:2). 

The way to experience this freedom, James says, is to “look intently into” the gospel. I think he is saying that as we look intently into God’s word, God’s word will also look intently into us. And when the gospel penetrates deep into our hearts it begins to change who we are and how we live.

Pastor Brian Coffey