“Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls” (James 1:21)
I gave the content of James’ Epistle the title:
A LIVING VIBRANT FAITH
Christianity was not made merely for endurance, but for a life in which God is known and enjoyed. God saves us in order that our lives might be attractive with our great and noble purpose being evident. Such a life touches others and plants seeds wherever it goes. James teaches us that ordinary people can be extraordinary, under the power and influence of the Holy Ghost.
The challenge of a living vibrant faith is especially clear in this text and the surrounding context. Here we observe the evidence of a real and genuine Christianity. There is propagation and fruitfulness implied in our reading of these words. The source of this spiritual life is of particular importance. It is “the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls”. The Word is therefore the key which unlocks the meaning. A living vibrant faith is dependent upon the Word.
1: The Description of the Word
The word “engrafted” refers to that which is planted. The Bible is not merely a book but a living truth, which is a seed planted in our hearts.
This takes us back to James 1:18 where we are described as being begat, according to God’s will, “with the word of truth”. The word begat refers to the new birth, the new beginning which must take place in a person’s life. The agency whereby this new birth is accomplished is the Word. But the one who plants the Word in the heart is God. It is through the Word implanted in the heart by the Holy Ghost that God brings sinners into new life.
The Word in the heart is quite different from the Word in the mind. We teach minds, we give out knowledge but we cannot plant the Word in the heart. Only God can do this.
This is a moment for pause and reflection. If the Word of God has never gone beyond your mind to your heart you are not a Christian. There are people, who know the Scriptures, they are familiar with doctrine and theology, they could preach the gospel but all they have is head knowledge. Head knowledge without the seed in the heart will never save.
Head knowledge is important. We must not deprecate its importance. Bible teaching which illuminates the mind is a vital component of Church ministry. The Church must be focused on the Word. Head knowledge precedes heart knowledge. The heart cannot be affected unless we acquire understanding in our minds. Paul wrote that the Word must be heard before there can be faith. Therefore we must teach the Word and hear the Word. A Church that is all about singing and testimonies and fun and coffee is not a Church. Where the Word becomes an epilogue the Church is not doing its work. Where the sermons are nice and cozy and are not designed to make people think there is no ministry. The Word must be taught and applied faithfully.
That being said – you must move beyond the hearing, the Word must reach the heart before it does its work. The Word must be more than an academic interest or we are not saved.
A seed is an organism which produces life. The Word is designed to produce life in our hearts. But we are cast upon the will and the grace of God for this to happen. I cannot move one heart or stir one conscience. Only God can make the Word powerful in this regard.
When the Word reaches the heart there is real change. This is what we need to see happen in lives. This is what God does. This is what we must pray for and long for. The Word in the heart brings real change.
2: The Reception of the Word
Any seed needs to be nurtured in order that it might germinate and bear fruit. The soil conditions need to be correct as does the location, in order that the growing plant might benefit from good light and the appropriate moisture.
Therefore when the seed of the Word reaches the heart, new life begins and the first act of this new life is faith. The evidence of the Word in the heart is faith. Where there is faith there is new life.
Faith, however, becomes a responsibility. Faith is brought forth through the Word, and thereafter faith continues to receive, believe and obey that same Word. Faith must grow but when we receive the Word we can grow through the Word.
By faith therefore we must tend to our hearts. Our hearts are the soil. The soil must be looked after. Stones for example are not good for cultivation. They need to be removed. The weeds when they come must be cut down and their roots pulled out.
“A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.”
(Ezekiel 36:26-27)
When God saves us he takes away the hardness and he gives us a heart that is sensitive to the Word. The stony heart has been taken away, but the remnants of our old nature remain. There are still stones in the field which must continually be gathered. If we are to tend to the soil so that we might grow we have to gather the stones. They need to be taken out and thrown away. They are hindering growth. There are Christians with unresolved sins, sins to which they are clinging. Those sins need to be removed, repented of and put away. The same is true of the weeds. It is not enough to cut the head of the weed. It will come back. Pull out the root. Deal with the heart. This is what must be done.
The growing seed needs light and it must be watered. We always need external influences in order that we might grow. But as the plant rises above the soil, it reaches for the sky. The light is embraced and the rain falls bringing more growth. As we grow we pray. We seek after a real relationship with God. We grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord. We receive light and the influences of the Holy Ghost:
“He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass: as showers that water the earth.” (Psalm 72:6)
In the Song of Solomon, the bride likened her life to a vineyard, that she had not tended (Song of Solomon 1:6). Perhaps you have been busy with other vineyards. Busy in Christian work, caring for the souls of others. But what about your own soul? Has that been neglected? Are there stones and weeds that need removed?
The Bridegroom’s ambition for his bride was that she might be a beautiful and fragrant garden full of good things:
“A garden inclosed is my sister, my spouse; a spring shut up, a fountain sealed. Thy plants are an orchard of pomegranates, with pleasant fruits; camphire, with spikenard, Spikenard and saffron; calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense; myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices: A fountain of gardens, a well of living waters, and streams from Lebanon. Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south; blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out. Let my beloved come into his garden, and eat his pleasant fruits.” ” (Song of Solomon 4:12 – 5:1).
A garden of love and fellowship. Let our gardens be well tended today!
3: The Salvation through the Word
James employs the word “save” to identify the fruitfulness of the Word. We receive the Word with meekness in order that we might be saved. James is certainly looking towards the ultimate salvation of the soul, but the saving power of the Word is experienced in the present as well. Day by day the Word delivers us from the power and pollution of sin, renewing and sanctifying our lives.
Meekness is such an important word. The word meekness means gentle and quiet submission. This is how we grow in grace. Observe the lives of the godliest people in Scripture and learn about their growth and the impact they made:
“And David behaved himself wisely in all his ways; and the LORD was with him. Wherefore when Saul saw that he behaved himself very wisely, he was afraid of him. But all Israel and Judah loved David, because he went out and came in before them.” (Ist Samuel 18:14-16)
The word “wisely” means circumspect, careful, well taught. When David lived his life in such a way he excelled. This careful, godly spirit continued to mark David during the years when he was abused and hunted by a jealous king. On two occasions, when Saul was in his power, David refused to take the king’s life. He was exemplary in every way.
“And the LORD was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. And his master saw that the LORD was with him, and that the LORD made all that he did to prosper in his hand. And Joseph found grace in his sight, and he served him: and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand. And it came to pass from the time that he had made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, that the LORD blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; and the blessing of the LORD was upon all that he had in the house, and in the field. And he left all that he had in Joseph’s hand; and he knew not ought he had, save the bread which he did eat. And Joseph was a goodly person, and well favoured.” (Genesis 39:2-6)
In every way, inside and out, Joseph had an attractiveness. His submission to the revealed will of God made him great. The truth of God governed his heart and shaped his conduct.
There is no greater example than our Lord Himself:
“And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him” (Luke 2:40)
“And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.” (Luke 2:52)
The wisdom of Christ was the wisdom which comes from above. Here was the light and wisdom of God perfectly displayed in the life of the Spirit-filled Son.
He is our example. We fall far short do we not? We need saved from ourselves, from our sinfulness, from our unforgiving natures, from the lusts and desires of our hearts. We need to be saved to serve. Only the Word can save us. Only growing in the Word can make us the people, the fruitful people that God wants us to be.
On Wednesday we thought about the heifer transformed. Perhaps you need the illustration so I will give it again. Israel, in Hosea 4:16, was sliding back like a backsliding heifer. Struggling against the master, not responding to what was required of it – an untamed beast. In Hosea 10:11 however Ephraim is an heifer that is taught. The image has changed from the resisting animal to the heifer that has been taught and brought under the yoke. So with us: meekness means that instead of resisting the Word we come under its teaching. The Heifer is found working for the master in Hosea 10. So it is with us; as we are brought under the Lord’s rule – we surrender and we serve. Only the Word can save us for service.
These are lessons we must learn. Let us today give ourselves to the Word; make sure it has been planted, remove the stones and weeds, and grow in grace with meekness — because this Word, received by faith and obeyed in the life, is able to save our souls.
Clogher Valley Free Presbyterian Church 
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