Page 12 - General Epistles (James through Jude) Textbook

form. Therefore, getting rid of those vices was not an option. Further,
James’ audience needed to continue getting rid of those evil vices. The
word “planted” is an agricultural term which implies that anything planted
should in most cases (if not always) be expected to germinate and produce
fruits down the road. The word “save” here “does not so much point to
the moment of regeneration as to the whole Christian life as the
experience of “salvation,” and especially to the believer’s ultimate deliverance from sin and death at
Christ’s glorious return (see Rom. 5:9–10; 13:11; Phil. 2:12; 1 Thess. 5:9; 1 Tim 4:16; 2 Tim. 4:18; Heb.
9:28; 1 Pet. 1:5, 9; 2:2; 4:18). This is a major emphasis in James as well (Jas. 1:12; 2:12–14; 3:1; 4:12; 5:5,
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7, 15).”

Not only did they need to listen to that Word which was planted in them, but to also do it. The person
who does not do what the Word says is pictured as that one who forgets how he looks like after looking
at his face in a mirror. So, James is describing the nature of doing the Word. That is, to remember (just
like that one who remembers his face after looking at his face in a mirror) the Word of God which has
been studied. That kind of remembering is what James calls looking intently into the perfect law that
gives freedom. In this context, the perfect law refers to the following:

Jesus’ gift of a “new law” (Matt. 5:17–20), which is the new covenant written on the heart (Heb.
8:7–13, quoting Jer. 31:31–34). Jesus was the “end of the law” (Rom. 10:4, [NLT) who “has already
accomplished the purpose for which the law was given” (Rom. 10:4). As synonymous with the
“word,” the “law” refers to the gospel message, the truths of God, the canonical Scriptures.
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During the Old Testament times, women and children were the “two most impoverished groups in the
ancient world (cf. 1 Kgs. 17:8–24; 2 Kgs. 4:1–7).” Pure religion is not only attested by thinking nor
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holding in check their tongues, but responding to the needs of the orphans and widows (and probably
any vulnerable person) by means of action, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

How to Become a Doer of the Word (James 1:22-27)

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