The Book Of James Pt. 16 Put Off Impure Things. Rightly Receive God's Word.

James just finished telling us to be swift and ready to hear from God, and to be slow to become angry. 

He urged us to be slow to speak, and that statement certainly has a wide application for our lives in the information age. 

In the last section of James 1, he reaches back to his previous admonition and back to the regenerating power of the Word of God. The word "wherefore" connects to his previous teaching. 

Discard impure things. Receive God's Word!

James 1:21  Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.  

First, James wants to make sure that we understand the "put off" that he instructed us to keep. This is the same word translated "put off" in the apostle Paul's writings, so we know what he is getting at.

"Putting off" certain things means to cast them off or throw them away as if they are vile or polluted. It means to forcefully discard those things. 

"Filthiness" refers to things that corrupt the mind or pollute the soul, so that we are enticed with sin.. This word describes someone whose emotions are attached to impure things. 

We are also to lay aside all superfluity of naughtiness. The word "superfluity" means an excessive amount of something, in this case, an excess of something very negative.

The word "naughtiness" is used differently today than in the 1800's. Webster's 1828 Dictionary defines this word as bad to the core; that which is wicked or evil.

Thus, these words describe a mind or heart overflowing with a malicious wickedness. Malicious and wicked things are found on the anonymous internet in large quantities each day. 

The "put off" for us is that we must throw off anything that corrupts our mind, pollutes our spirit or that leads us away from our God.

What is the "put on" that James is teaching us?  It is the command to "receive" the engrafted word that can save our souls. 

The Greek word translated "receive" is middle voice, meaning we are to take in the gospel of Christ to ourselves and receive it. 

We are to receive the gospel of Christ with meekness. We must receive what God says with a humble heart, knowing we do not deserve of the least of His favor. 

He loved us while we were still sinners and His enemies. Meekness is the opposite of the wrath that James warned about.

Receive the gospel of Christ with child like faith.

Matthew 18:2-4  And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, 3)  And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. 4)  Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 

Receiving the Word of God with meekness is connected with having a child like faith. 

When His disciples argued about who would be greatest in the Kingdom of God, Jesus said to be born again, you must be like a child. Children are trusting, loving and accepting of what adults say. 

Peter tells all new believers to receive the word of God like babes. We are to drink in the pure, unmixed milk of God's truth. 

Just as an infant must be fed his mother's milk in order to grow properly, so each new believer in Christ needs the milk of God's Word (See 1 Peter 2:1-3).  

Rightly receiving the scriptures results in producing fruit for the LORD.

Matthew 13:23  But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 

In this parable of Jesus, you find that there are four kinds of soil where the seed of the scriptures are sown. These correspond with four different responses of the heart to the preaching of the gospel.

The first person hearing never receives the gospel truth because the Devil snatches it away. 

The second person receives the good seed but they do not stick with it. 

The third person receives the good seed but they are bogged down with the things of the world, instead of the things of God.

This leaves the last person, the one who receives the Word of God and becomes a productive person for the kingdom of God. It is this type of reception of the scriptures that James wants us to grasp. 

We need believers who truly are committed to the Lord Jesus Christ and Jesus tells us what that kind of Christian is like. 

They show their love for Jesus by keeping His commandments (John 14:15). They teach other believers that they too, must keep Jesus commands (Matthew 28:20). 

Receive God's Word with a meek heart. 

Psalm 25:8-9  Good and upright is the LORD: therefore will he teach sinners in the way. 9)  The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way.

Jehovah is good and will always do what is right. He promises to teach sinners in the way. Because God is good, He will teach sinners, though they deserve nothing but destruction. Because He is right, He will teach them the true way.

Not all sinners will respond to the gospel with repentant faith in Christ, but some will. They will have learned the sinfulness of their own heart and repented of their sins, while turning to Christ to save them.

Jehovah will draw near to those who tremble at His Word. 

Isaiah 66:2  For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.  

Jehovah created all things, gave life to all living things and sustains it all by His Word. Yet, He will look or have respect to a man of poor spirit, who has been humbled by his sins. 

A man whose spirit is contrite means he knows he is guilty of sinning against Holy God. This man "trembles" at the preaching of God's Word because He knows God can justly punish him for his sins. 

Yet, one cannot stop at merely being afraid at the prospect of facing God as Judge for his sins. This person must receive it and believe it, taking it for himself, and claiming God's provision of salvation through faith in Christ. 

A humble, contrite spirit leads to salvation. 

Isaiah 57:15  For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones. 

The gospel does not stop at this point. The Good News is that God laid all the punishment and condemnation for our sins, upon His Son, Jesus Christ. He is a risen Savior and will save all who call upon His name.  

What is God's promise? It is a promise to dwell with, or draw near to men, women and young people, whose hearts have received the engrafted word James teaches us about. 

He will give us a brand new heart that is tender toward God. He will give us a new spirit, His own Spirit, to live in us. He will quicken us by the regenerating work of His Spirit. He will revive us when we become weary in well doing.

Receive the scriptures as they are:The Word of God!

1 Thessalonians 2:13  For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe. 

The apostle Paul knew what it was like to receive with meekness the engrafted Word. 

The Thessalonian Christians received the gospel of Christ, as it truly is. The Word of God. He mentioned this twice in this text in order to emphasize that to receive the gospel and be saved means believing that it is God's Word. 

The Thessalonians found out that the preaching of the gospel of Christ is the power of God to save any who truly receive and believe it. 

Unbelief and gospel rejection results in eternal condemnation. 

2 Thessalonians 2:10-12  And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11)  And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: 12)  That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. 

What differentiates a believer from an unbeliever? Paul makes this clear. Those who are unbelievers do not receive the love of God's truth from the gospel of Christ. 

They chose to deny it, to reject it or to ignore it. They chose not to hear and heed the gospel so that they might be saved.  

In so doing, they sealed their eternal destiny. All those unbelievers alive at the return of Christ for his church, will instead believe the lies of the AntiChrist. They will be eternally damned.

Thoughts to Ponder...

Remember, only one of the four soil types rightly received the Word and brought forth fruit. These are sobering spiritual realities that we must think about. 

Let us be those who have thrown off all things that pollute our soul and dishonor our God. 

Let us be those who have truly received the gospel as the Word of God.  

We must ask God to help us be His witnesses to those who are lost. We must ask for His reviving work when we are spiritually worn out, or when we detect some apathy forming in us. 

We must pray for the spiritual condition of our unsaved family, friends and neighbors, asking the Spirit of God to penetrate their stony hearts, just as He broke through our stony hearts, when He saved us.  

May God have His way in our hearts and may we receive His truth and live it out.

Bob