S: But be doers of the word, and not only hearers, deluding your own selves.
natural face in a mirror;
for he sees himself, and goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.
But he who looks into the perfect law, the law of freedom, and continues, not being a hearer who forgets but a doer of the work, this man will be blessed in what he does.
If anyone among you thinks himself to be religious while he doesn't bridle his tongue, but deceives his heart, this man's religion is worthless.
Pure religion and undefiled before our God and Father is this: to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself
for he sees himself, and goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.
But he who looks into the perfect law, the law of freedom, and continues, not being a hearer who forgets but a doer of the work, this man will be blessed in what he does.
If anyone among you thinks himself to be religious while he doesn't bridle his tongue, but deceives his heart, this man's religion is worthless.
Pure religion and undefiled before our God and Father is this: to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself
unstained by the world.
O&A: Oh, boy! Being a doer of the law is to be "one who obeys or fulfils the law", and of course we know that only Yeshua could fulfill the law, so my understanding is that I am to be one who obeys the law... what law? "The law demanding faith, the moral instruction given by Messiah/Christ, esp. the precept concerning love." If I may, this makes me think of the parable of the sower, where the seed is scattered (instruction; an offering of the gospel/the Besorah), but not all of the seed lands on fertile ground and grows roots to become mature. I think the hearer of the word is maybe like the seed that began to grow, but because it has no roots, is easily destroyed.
"He who looks into the perfect law" = to look carefully into, inspect curiously
"Law of freedom" = the Christian (Messianic) religion, which furnishes that rule of right living by which the liberty just mentioned is attained. So this law of freedom is not to say "we're saved, we can do what we want!", but to live according to the law of Adonai. Psalm 1:1-3 says, "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the LAW/TORAH of יְהֹוָה; On his law he meditates day and night. He will be like a tree planted by the streams of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also does not wither. Whatever he does shall prosper." <~ References that seed that grew and yielded fruit... it was a doer, whereas the seed that sprang up immediately because it had no roots in the eretz/Earth was a hearer, which Yeshua said, "When the sun had risen, they were scorched. Because they had no root, they withered away."
"Pure and undefiled religion (fearing or worshipping יְהֹוָה) is this:
to visit (to look upon or after, to inspect, examine with the eyes) the fatherless (of those bereft of a father; teacher, guide, guardian) and widows (one whose husband has died) in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained (spotless, unblemished, free from vice, unsullied) by the world." Something that Abba showed me a few years ago was this: the orphan and the widow... Yes, this is a literal meaning of what we understand orphans and widows to be, but also on a spiritual level, the orphans are those who do not know Elohim as God their Father, and those who do not know Yeshua as their Bridegroom. There's a whole world of people separated from the love of Elohim!
Here again, we are being commissioned into a set-apart service to Adonai. James is saying to us, "Don't be like the world!" "Don't fall into the snare of the adversary!" "Be a DOER of the the law of Elohim!" If we are a DOER, then we have ears to hear, and eyes to see what is good and acceptable in our Father's eyes, and to DO those things. If we are a HEARER ONLY, we will know what is acceptable and unacceptable, but choose to do what pleases our own self, as opposed to pleasing Adonai.
O&A: Oh, boy! Being a doer of the law is to be "one who obeys or fulfils the law", and of course we know that only Yeshua could fulfill the law, so my understanding is that I am to be one who obeys the law... what law? "The law demanding faith, the moral instruction given by Messiah/Christ, esp. the precept concerning love." If I may, this makes me think of the parable of the sower, where the seed is scattered (instruction; an offering of the gospel/the Besorah), but not all of the seed lands on fertile ground and grows roots to become mature. I think the hearer of the word is maybe like the seed that began to grow, but because it has no roots, is easily destroyed.
"He who looks into the perfect law" = to look carefully into, inspect curiously
"Law of freedom" = the Christian (Messianic) religion, which furnishes that rule of right living by which the liberty just mentioned is attained. So this law of freedom is not to say "we're saved, we can do what we want!", but to live according to the law of Adonai. Psalm 1:1-3 says, "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the LAW/TORAH of יְהֹוָה; On his law he meditates day and night. He will be like a tree planted by the streams of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also does not wither. Whatever he does shall prosper." <~ References that seed that grew and yielded fruit... it was a doer, whereas the seed that sprang up immediately because it had no roots in the eretz/Earth was a hearer, which Yeshua said, "When the sun had risen, they were scorched. Because they had no root, they withered away."
"Pure and undefiled religion (fearing or worshipping יְהֹוָה) is this:
to visit (to look upon or after, to inspect, examine with the eyes) the fatherless (of those bereft of a father; teacher, guide, guardian) and widows (one whose husband has died) in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained (spotless, unblemished, free from vice, unsullied) by the world." Something that Abba showed me a few years ago was this: the orphan and the widow... Yes, this is a literal meaning of what we understand orphans and widows to be, but also on a spiritual level, the orphans are those who do not know Elohim as God their Father, and those who do not know Yeshua as their Bridegroom. There's a whole world of people separated from the love of Elohim!
Here again, we are being commissioned into a set-apart service to Adonai. James is saying to us, "Don't be like the world!" "Don't fall into the snare of the adversary!" "Be a DOER of the the law of Elohim!" If we are a DOER, then we have ears to hear, and eyes to see what is good and acceptable in our Father's eyes, and to DO those things. If we are a HEARER ONLY, we will know what is acceptable and unacceptable, but choose to do what pleases our own self, as opposed to pleasing Adonai.
One last thing: "For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man beholding
his natural face in a mirror;
for he sees himself, and goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was." My spirit is hearing these words of Yeshua, "Depart from me, I never knew you."
P: Abba, There is so much to glean from Your word, and I am just so convicted of my shortcomings, and I am so grateful for Your beloved Son, my Messiah, Yeshua, who bore my every iniquity and shame and sin on the execution stake. I know my studies can be long-winded, but there is just so much that You are speaking to me that I can't make myself pick and choose what to put! I want to be more of a DOER than just a hearer. I want ears to hear, and eyes to see, so that I will be greatly equipped to share the Good News, and to LIVE the Good News! I want to be a pleasing offering to You, and live according to Your calling. Here I am, Abba... Use me. In Yeshua's name, Amein.
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