Philip Dampier's Blog

Chapter 1, Verse 21 ^“Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.”

James’ challenge here is for Christians to look to the word of God for guidance in their daily lives. Consulting the scriptures would be the means for changing their lives from the old manner of living to that required by Christ for those who wanted the new way of life.

Is James pointing to the work of the Holy Spirit here? It seems that way. The implanted word would certainly be a work of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said that He would guide the disciples into all truth.

We understand that the word is only able to save our souls if we respond to it. James will make that clear in the next few verses. Receiving means a lot more than hearing and accepting its truthfulness.

Task for Today: Pay less attention to men and more to God’s word. The words of men can both encourage and discourage but they cannot save. Only the implanted word can do that. Are you listening to the Holy Spirit dwelling in you? When you read the words of the text do you listen for the instruction of the Spirit?