Question about James 1:23-25

[4ever_Thankful]

Hi Everyone!
Hope you are all having a good day. I have a question about James 1:23-25. What exactly do these verses mean? I have been thinking about them for days and am still having trouble with them.
Thanks!

 

[Chad]

James 1:23-25
23For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. 25But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.
NIV Study Bible Quote:
Verse 25

Perfect Law: The moral and ethical teaching of Christianity, which is based on the OT moral law, as embodied in the Ten Commandments, but brought to completion (perfection) by Jesus Christ, freedom. In contrast,to the sinner, who is a slave to sin, obeying the moral law gives the Christian the joyous freedom to be what he was created for.

 

[SpiritLedEd]

Re: About James 1:23-25

Chad's excellent post should help you. But, it occurred to me that it might also be helpful for you to meditate on Mt 7:21-27:

"Not everyone who says to me 'Lord, Lord' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, I never knew (had a relationship with) you. Away from me, you evildoers!

Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house upon the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the wind blew and beat against that house; and yet, it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the wind blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash."

SLE

 

[Nigh]

I see two different things in this passage...

He who looks at himself and sees his own nature as a sinner, and just walks away and forgets it so as to continue living the same life is lost. He who looks not unto himself, but unto Christ Jesus, and then not only hearing the word, but obeying and doing it will be blessed with his purifying blood and sanctifying water which flowed from his pierced side.

and...

Many wealthy Jews in the first century would look at themselves for justification. Look at thier charities, or tithes, or rituals and pride themselves at their self-made salvation. They were not looking unto the Lord for their salvation, but at themselves.

Be a doer,
Nigh

 

[4ever_Thankful]

Thanks to those who replied, the way you were able to explain it and for the passage in Matthew really healped me understand. May our awesome God bless you for helping out a sister.
"I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for me." Matthew 25:40

 

[beccasmom]

While we are saved by grace and not works we should remember that we are here for God's purpose to do His work. If He didn't want us to be fishers of men and live a christian life then after we got saved He would have immediately taken us to Heaven. But God left us all here for a reason....to do His work.

 

[Judypie]

I read that as looking in a mirror we see ourselves and know how we look but when we walk away from the mirror we have a tendency to forget but if we continuly keep the word in our thoughts and meditate on it, we will look Christ like and that's how God wants us to look not like that person in the mirror, because that person in the mirror is flesh and can act like it if we don't put the Word first place in our lives. I hope this makes sense since I'm not a great explainer of things but I know how my heart feels.