January 19 Daily Devotional

Scripture for Day 19—James 1:18–21

¹⁸ Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. ¹⁹ Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear… ²¹ Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

Devotional:

John Rogers, a Puritan preacher, warned his congregation against neglecting God's Word. He asked them what if God said: "I have trusted you so long with my Bible—it lies in some houses all covered with dust and cobwebs, you care not to listen to it. Do you use my Word that way? Well, you shall have my Word no longer." Rogers then picked up his Bible and started walking away from the pulpit.

Then he stopped, fell on his knees, and took on the voice of the people, who pleaded, "Lord, whatever you do to us, do not take your Word from us! Kill our children! Burn our houses! Destroy our goods! Only spare us your Word! Do not take away your Word!"

"Say you so?" the minister returned to the pulpit, showing how God might respond: "Well, I will try you a while longer; and here is my Word for you. I will see how you use it, whether you will search it more, love it more, observe it more, and live more according to it."

Thomas Goodwin was so convicted by Rogers's sermon that when he left the church service he wept for fifteen minutes upon his horse's neck before he felt strong enough to mount it.

Are you quick to hear God's Word? Do you hurry to every opportunity to hear it? Meditate again on verses 18–21, "Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear… receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls."

God's Word is "able to save your souls" if you "hear" and "receive" it. It is the sword of the Spirit. By his Word, the Triune God himself regenerates sinners, sanctifies believers, and builds churches. Accordingly, every believer should be "quick to hear." But when we look at professing Christians and churches, what do we see? Some break God's Word by overt disdain for its teaching and disobedience to its commands. Others bend God's Word to suit whatever shape they want it to have; rather than being transformed by the renewing of their minds, they conform to the world and rationalize by twisting the Scriptures. Still others bury the preached Word under an avalanche of entertainment and self-help lessons. Ironically, these affirm the highest view of Scripture while at the same time giving it the lowest place in practice.

When you look at yourself, what do you see? Do you really believe that God's Word is really a powerful means of grace "which is able to save your souls"? Knowing that God applies his Word mainly (although not exclusively) through preaching, are you "quick to hear"?

"O God, you are my God alone;
I seek your face with eagerness.
My soul and body thirst for you
in this dry, weary wilderness" (Psalm 63:1, versified).

Click here for background on the author of Are You For Real?: Meditations in the Epistle of James for Secret or Family Worship.