Title: Words and deeds (James 1:22-27)
Contents
The Bible is truly a wonderful mirror. Because, above all, the Bible illuminates our hearts. Because the Word of God illuminates even the darkness and sins hidden in our hearts, the repentance movement takes place when we hear the Word. A preacher is like a person who holds the mirror of the Word in front of the saints. Only when the mirror of the word delivered by the preacher is clear, the members can see themselves right away. If the mirror of the preacher's words is blurred, the preacher's responsibility is great because the members cannot see themselves.
In the Bible, King Ahab is mentioned. King Ahab had many prophets. Many prophets failed to show Ahab the mirror of the Word. There was only one prophet, Micaiah, who reflected the mirror of God's Word before Ahab. Ahab hated Micaiah because he hated seeing his ugliness. He told the prince, Joash, to imprison Micaiah. But he preferred the 400 prophets who praised Ahab without lifting a mirror. (Note-sent)
The book of James makes people feel burdened. Because the book of James is a mirror that reflects our life. If Romans is a mirror that reflects our faith, James is a mirror that reflects our lives. The Bible is a mirror that reflects many aspects of life. Among them, the book of James is a spiritual mirror that allows us to see our actions for ourselves.
Those who believe in Jesus should not be unnatural when reading the book of James. You must believe that your life should be familiar with the words of the Bible and that living according to the words is the life of the saints. A believer should always check his life so that his life does not separate from the Word of God. It's something a person should be proud of and want to see when they see themselves.
In the beginning of James, the book of James tells believers about three mirrors.
First, he said that the appearance of a believer is the appearance of overcoming trials well. He said that it is the image of a believer to persevere and protect oneself when faced with trials.
Second, he said that helping the poor is the face of a believer if he has material possessions. If a person with a lot of material things lives while ignoring people in need, that person's face is not the face of a believer.
Third, there are those who believe in the trials that God gives them when they are faced with trials and develop themselves.
After all, a believer who does not obey the Word is a believer who deceives himself. It means that a person who does not change even after hearing the Word is a person who deceives his soul. The word of God is a blessing to those who hear it. However, those who only hear the word of God and do not obey it are deceiving the word of God. Therefore, we should be able to see ourselves often by looking in the mirror of the words of James.
Listening to the Word and not changing your life means that you are living a double life of faith. Such people can never enjoy happiness in their religious life. You have to let go of the double side of life. You shouldn't be a person who looks like a believer in one way but is not a believer at all in another way. In the case of Ananias and Sapphira, they said that they gave half to God and hid the other half. In other words, if you look at it from one side, you seem to believe well, but if you look at the other side, you are deceiving the Holy Spirit.
I've never seen a life of faith like this. A person who hears the Word and does not change his or her life is like a person who has only several blueprints. Even if you have a blueprint for 100 stories, it is not a house. However, there are those who obey the Word every time they hear it, and there are those who live a life of faith, like building up bricks one by one when they hear the Word. This person will one day have his own home.
In today's Word, a person who hears the Word and does not obey it is like looking in a mirror and forgetting what he has seen. So is the word of God. It is said that if you do not obey the Word even after hearing it for the rest of your life, it is the same as forgetting the Word of God. Not forgetting the Word doesn't mean you can't remember it. It means that the Word is not something that we can know with our heads, but that it becomes ours when we obey. This is the mystery of the Word of God.
Jesus said that those who hear the word and do not do it are like a house built on sand. A house built on sand refers to a house that will eventually be lost. It means that no matter how many times you hear it, it will not be yours in the end. But he who hears the word and puts it into practice is like a man who builds a house on a rock.
Even today, there are people who keep the word of God as sand, and there are people who keep it as rock. He who preserves the Word of God only as knowledge is like the man who preserves it as sand. But when the Holy Spirit moves upon them when they hear the word, those who obey it are like keeping the word as a rock. No one can take away the blessings of God's word to him.
But he who does the word of God will be blessed in what he does. Blessed believers listen to the word of God well. When we hear the word of God, we listen to obey. When we listen to the Word, listening to obey and simply listening are completely different. No matter what you say, if you listen to it in order to obey it, you will also receive the strength to obey when you hear it.
When we see people of faith, we listen to them in order to obey. This is faith. If you listen in order to obey, the person who listens to the Word will experience change. In order to be obedient, in the heart of the hearer, there is a conviction that the word is the word given to me. When you meet people, there are people who listen to you in order to obey. This kind of person will surely mature himself first through the work.
Among the changes that appear in those who practice the Word, the first change is the change of language. The absence of a word means that there is no change in the word. Even those who consider themselves to be pious are not those who cannot control their tongues. The most fundamental thing in human behavior is language.
[Joint Translation] "If anyone thinks that he is living a religious life, but does not hold back his tongue, he is deceiving himself, and his religious life will be in vain."
[Modern Man's Bible] says, "If anyone claims to believe but utters reckless words, he deceives himself, and his faith is of no value."
In today's Word, those who hear the Word and put it into practice will be blessed in what they do. The word of God is a blessing given to us. In Deuteronomy, it is said that if you keep the word of God, you will be blessed whether you go in or out. It means that the blessings of God's Word are those that are shown when we practice them. All blessings that Abraham, the father of faith, received and obeyed God's word, the blessing was revealed. (Rev. Byung-Woo Cho)