Our sermon text this morning is James 1, verses 18 through 27. We will primarily be focusing on verses 21 through 25, but let's read together James 1, 18 through 27. This is God's holy, inspired, inerrant word. Of his own will, he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures. Know this, my beloved brothers. Let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger. For the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. And therefore, put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness. Receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For 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 the mirror. He looks at himself, and then he goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no longer, being no hearer who forgets, but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing. So if anyone thinks he's religious and does not bridle his tongue, but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and is undefiled before God the Father is this, to visit orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained from the world. Father, we've just sung these words, but we pray them again. Would you speak to us? as we come to you to receive the food of your Holy Word. Speak, O Lord, and fulfill in us all of your purposes for your glory. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Please be seated. Well, it's every pastor's desire that their sermons will be enhanced by good illustrations. Now, they also know the danger of good illustrations, and that is sometimes we remember the illustration without forgetting the important spiritual truth that the words are trying to be brought to us from God's Word. Well, Pastor James, before us, has a real advantage. His illustrations are Holy Spirit inspired. So we can be confident that the illustrations that he gives us from his word are apropos and appropriate for us to listen to. And we've already considered some of these. Let me remind you, those of you who haven't been with us, we've covered the first 20 verses or so. But in verse 6, we were told that the one who prays is tossed about and he's driven away like waves that are blown by the wind. In verses 9 through 11, we were told that rich people and their riches are like the grass and flowers of the earth. They show forth in beauty one day and they're gone the next. Verse 14 reminded us that wicked men who give in to temptation of their sinful natures are like a fish who's lured and enticed into his ultimate demise. And now, also last week, you may recall as well, in James 3, we considered briefly some of the ways in which the tongue was like the... various parts of God's creation as well. Well today, James has two more illustrations, two more comparisons for us. Note verse 21 begins with these words, put away all filthiness. See here we're exhorted to strip ourselves of our daily sins just as one would strip themselves of dirty clothes. In the second illustration, in verses 23 through 25, we look into a mirror. It's like looking into the truths of God's Word. And we're exhorted by James, don't forget what you've seen. Not so much in the mirror, but in the truths of God's Word. But in between these two illustrations, We find the central truth that James wants us to learn in this passage, and he very clearly states that central truth for us. So before we consider how James further explains his primary truth with that illustration of stripping off dirty sins and that other illustration of seeing ourselves properly in the mirror of God's word, let's note the clear teaching of our passage from verse 22. but be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves." As we can see, consider together what it means to be doers, not just hearers of God's word. Note that a literal reading could be, be word doers. See, James is appealing to his readers to be the true, obedient followers of Christ that they're called to be. We read verse 18, even though we considered it a couple of weeks ago. We read it again because I want us to be reminded that as believers, our walk of obedience began when we were brought forth by the word of truth, as it's phrased in verse 18. When we heard the gospel, the Holy Spirit changed our hearts of stone into hearts of flesh. And so as we consider being hearers and doers of God's word, let's be reminded that it's your regeneration that results in your obedience. Your regeneration results in your obedience. Last week, if you were with us, you may recall, we talked about verses 19 and 20 and 26. And we're reminded that born again, regenerate Christians have a true religion which changes the way we speak. And today, we want to be reminded that born-again Christians who have a true religion recognize that in the way it changes the way we act. See, we're not unlike regenerate men. With our new natures, we now can obey God's word. James puts it this way in 2.17, familiar words to us, faith by itself if it doesn't have works. is death. Faith, of course, also a gift from the Holy Spirit when we are blessed to have new natures, when we are born from above, born again. And so two is obedience. But I don't want us to just jump over the fact that James does tell us we are to be hearers of the word as well as doers. He indicates that it's important for us to hear God's word. We should not be, though, hearers only. So no, hearing is necessary, but it's not enough. Hearing is necessary. But it's not enough. We first hear the word preached. We first hear the word taught. Or with our own spiritual ears, we listen to God as he speaks to us, as we read his word on our own. That's where our salvation, that's where our regeneration began. Remember Paul's words? We often use them in times of evangelism, but they're appropriate for us to be reminded of today. Romans 10, 14 through 17. How then will they call on him whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him if they've not heard? And how are they to hear unless someone preaches? And how are they to preach unless they're sent? As it's written, how beautiful are the feet of those who preach good news. But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us. So faith does come from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. And yes, we have heard the gospel. Yes, we are those who by blessed to be obedient to it. But it's not enough in our life to hear the gospel message one time. It's not enough to say that we've been justified in Jesus, and then never hear or heed God's word again. It's ongoing life of hearing, and then it's an ongoing life of obedience that God calls us to as his people. That's why we gather each Lord's Day. That's why we're here right now. We're hearing the word of God preached. That's why we gather together to study God's Word. That's why we consider it in Sunday school. That's why I trust you read and meditate and study it on your own and as families. Our desire to hear God's Word should be like that of the psalmist in Psalm 119. And whenever you hear a preacher say that, don't you worry, oh, no, he's going to read all 176 verses. No, I'm not going to do that. I really would encourage you to study them, though. Let me just give you a sample of what Psalm 119 says, because the psalmist is not just saying, I love God's word. It's great. I like to read it. It's fun to read it and to have wonderful doctrinal understanding. That's great, but that's not the end. Notice Psalm 119.11. I've stored up your word in my heart. Why? so that I won't sin against you. Hearing is good, it's not enough. Teach me, O Lord, the way of your statutes, verse 33 says, and I will keep it to the end. I want to learn, I want to be taught, but I want to be obedient. Give me understanding. so that I can keep your law, and I can observe it with my whole heart. Wholehearted obedience is the goal for us as we hear God's word. And so the first exhortation is very simple. And you're all here, and you're almost always here each Lord's Day, but keep being present each Lord's Day when God's word is preached. But may I also encourage you, be attentive to what we are saying in God's word. I've shared this with you before, but I was amazed, somewhat discouraged, to be honest. Many of you know I was junior high camp director for Presbytery for many years, and I see some of you who probably attended some of those camps. Well, one year, Alex Soto, a former member of our congregation, decided he was going to pass out the wristbands. You had to have a wristband in order to participate in the junior high camp. But he wouldn't give any of the campers a wristband unless they could share one thing they remembered from the previous Lord's Day sermon. It was rather disheartening. Many of the campers, Alex threatened not to let them have their wristband and not to eat, and we gave in. But that was the point. And then Alex said, you know what? I'm just going to ask the counselors. I'm sure they'll do better. Well, sadly, I must tell you, it wasn't a whole lot better. But there was one counselor who said, oh, I remember. Our pastor preached a sermon on eschatology, and none of us understood what he was talking about. So that was not real encouraging. May I exhort all of us to be attentive and to hide God's word in our heart. And as we talked about last week, that book by Jay Adams, What to Do on Thursday. Take God's word, use it, apply it to your life. Haven't you noticed in your own Bible reading how quickly Satan can get you distracted? Or maybe you're just distracted on your own. Maybe we're giving Satan too much credit. But all of a sudden, all of those household tasks come to mind. Some of you students, all the tests that you're about to face come to mind. All the other activities of the day come to mind. We really can't obey God's word. unless we're attentive to it initially. So hear God's word, pay good heed to God's word, and then do God's word. That's the right order for us. And this is not just the teaching of James. It's the teaching, of course, of our Lord Jesus himself. The reason we read Matthew 7, 24 through 27, as our Savior ended the Sermon on the Mount, was because the wording from there is remarkably similar to what we read in James. And many believe, of course, even though James, as we considered as we introduced the book, at that point thought his brother Jesus was out of his mind, he might have been present for some of these things. He might have at least heard. what Jesus said at the end of Matthew 7. And let me remind you, Jesus has, on the Sermon on the Mount, been talking about his word, the law. And then he says, at conclusion, in verse 24, everyone who hears these words of mine And does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. Another divine illustration, our lives are the houses that need to be built on the rock. Yes, the rock of Jesus, but also the rock of obedience to what he tells us to do. Those who are wise, those who are righteous, those who are understanding, those who are godly, build their lives upon obedience and following the Lord Jesus Christ. And the rains fall, the floods come, the winds blow, they beat the house, but it doesn't fall because it's been founded on the rock, the rock of Jesus, the rock of obedience. And it's interesting to think about what we said a few weeks ago when James went, remember how it was introduced? My brothers consider it all joy when various trials come, when the floods come, when the wind blows, when the rain falls heavily down upon you in your life. You can rejoice because you have a genuine faith that's steadfast. You will persevere. And that's the idea that our Lord gives to us as well here. Be life, be those who hear God's word, but obey it as well. But what about the wicked man? The wicked man hears it. Everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man. who built his house on the sand. Many are able to speak all kinds of proper theology. They're able to know lots of verses. They may be able to recite the Apostles' Creed from memory. And that's all well and good, but it's not enough. It's really the height of folly to know the Bible and not obey it. Because what happens? Trials come. And that house collapses, a life of destruction awaits those who are not obedient, who don't have true, genuine faith. So once more, hearing good news is not enough. Going to church, prayer meeting, Bible study, Again, wonderful things to do, but one born again by the Spirit of God are given both gifts of faith, but also gifts of obedience. They are hearers and they are doers of God's Word. Well, our verse ends with another warning about deception. Be doers of the word and not hearers, deceiving yourselves. We've seen that word deceive before in our book. And let me remind you, it means to be led astray. You're led astray from true, genuine faith if all you do is hear God's word and then don't act upon it. We've already been warned in verse seven, you deceive yourself if you think God will give you wisdom when you doubt him. We learned that you deceive yourself in verse 16 if you say that when you're tempted, you're tempted of God, because he can only give good and perfect gifts. And last week, we were reminded in verse 26 that you are deceived if you think you can have an unbridled tongue and speak like the world around you and believe you're practicing a worthy religion. Well, today, deceived if you think you are truly born again, if you don't both hear and obey God's Word. And sadly, many are so deceived and so self-deceived. Charles Spurgeon said this, to deceive another is bad, to deceive yourself is worse, and to deceive your soul is worse of all. Beloved, be not deceived this morning. For the sake of your soul, be both a word hearer Indeed, word doer. That's the message from James, and the rest of it are those two illustrations. But in those two illustrations, he vividly reminds us of the same thing. And I will also tell you, as is so typical of James, he's going to use terms that he doesn't fully explain. He's going to use terms that are unique to him. So we will need to be good Bereans and consider what other passages tell us as well. So note with me verse 21, that first illustration. Put away all filthiness, rampant wickedness, receive with meekness the implanted word which is able to save your souls. And that word for put away is the term that's used when dressing and undressing yourself. Put off your dirty clothes. The NIV, to make it very clear, says, put off your moral filthiness. And it's the same word that James uses in a literal sense in verse 2 of chapter 2. If a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, but by contrast, a poor man comes in that shabby or filthy, same word, clothing also comes in. What is James just saying for us? What is he reminding us? He's reminding us of just how rotten and disgusting and polluted and putrid sin is before our Holy God, not something we should take lightly at all. So he's saying to us, put off the grime, put off the muck, Put off the mud of sin. That, by the way, isn't a quote from me, but I liked it, and I must confess, when I went back to attribute it to the proper author, I lost the source, so let me just share with you again. I should go back and research it, but here it is. Put off the grime and the muck and the mud of sin. And that may call to your memory this morning the words of the prophet in Isaiah 64, six, all our righteousness are as filthy rags. polluted garments from the ESV. And see, it is true. Even those of us who've been brought forth by the gospel, from verse 18, those of us who are born again by the Spirit in our regeneration, we do have to fight against our old sinful natures. We must take off that dirt. And we still have what James next described to us as a rampant wickedness. We're literally, it's an abundant surplus. We still have sin that besets us. And that phrase is interestingly characterized in so many different ways. In the NIV, it's the prevalent sin. In the NASV, it's the remaining sin. The new King James, the overflow of wickedness. But the King James, you know, sometimes the King James just gets it. Here it is, ready? The superfluity of naughtiness. the superfluity of not, however you describe it, it's obviously wicked, and it's bad, and it's wrong before the Lord. It is a reminder to us that our sin is great, and it's filthy, and it must be removed from us. And James has specified a couple of those evil ways. He's told us in verse 19 last week we need to give up self-centered speech, we need to care more about the people that are talking than what we have to say. He's told us in verse 20 about the need to get rid of anger, another one of those rampant wickednesses, wickedness that remains with us all too often. Well, Paul uses that description of putting on and putting off in various places, perhaps Colossians 3, most familiar to us. And it's interesting there, Paul gives a big long list of those things that we're supposed to put off. And not surprisingly, Paul says, OK, if you're taking off those dirty garments, then you need to put on righteous deeds. But it's fascinating. James, in typical James fashion, doesn't give us the terminology that we would expect next. He doesn't say, okay, you put off those wicked things and you put on righteousness. Notice what he says, how are we going to get rid of the filthiness? How are we going to get rid of the rampant wickedness? Here's how. You receive with meekness the implanted word. You receive with meekness the implanted word. How do you get rid of your dirt, your moral filthiness? Accept God's word with meekness. Take the gospel to heart, if you will. The only way to do so, of course, is with humility, meekness. Acknowledge your unworthiness to be blessed, to be a regenerate saint. Meekly receive the word of truth and then obey it. Remember what Jesus said? In Matthew 5, 5, blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. See, this meek acceptance, this humble receiving of God's word is really a demonstration of godly wisdom. And James is going to come back to that, and we'll consider it in far more detail in future weeks. But just flip over to chapter 3, verse 13, and note these words with me. Who is wise? Who is understanding among you? By his good conduct, let him show his works in meekness of wisdom. He's not just a hearer of God's word. He has good conduct, and thereby he demonstrates the meekness of wisdom, the humility with which we need to approach the word of God. But James identifies the Word of God for us here in a way that's not ever identified using this terminology in the rest of Scripture. That is, it's the implanted Word of God. Well, what does he mean by that? Again, he doesn't tell us, he just throws that term at us. So let's turn back to what we read for our Old Testament reading. Jeremiah 31, 31 through 34. Again, good Bereans, we're going to search the scriptures here and look at three other passages to help us explain what this implanted word means. Jeremiah 31, 31 through 34, it's a text of prophesying of the blessings of the coming new covenant with the coming of Jesus. Verse 33 very clearly tells us that one who sits on David's throne is coming, and that's when all of this will take place. And we recognize, of course, that that is Jesus. It's quoted for us in Hebrews 8. where the author there discusses the new covenant. So note with me, Jeremiah 31, beginning with verse 31. Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord. I'm going to give you a new covenant with the house of Israel, the house of Judah. It's not like the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. My covenant, they broke it. I was their husband. I was the faithful one. I brought them out of slavery from Egypt, but they failed to obey. They failed to follow me. Verse 33, though, this is the covenant that's going to make with Israel. And of course, we recognize we are, as God's people, the Israel of God today. After those days, declares the Lord, here it is. I will put my law within them. I will write it on their hearts. I will be their God. They shall be my people. So when James says, we need to receive the implanted word. He's telling us we should receive the new covenant blessing of that implanted word, the word that's written by our loving covenant God upon our hearts. And that's the heart of covenant language. I will be their God. They will be my people. We have an interesting thing to consider here together. God has sovereignly given this word to you, yet you must still act to receive it. You must be a doer of the commands that are etched in your heart. Notice verse 34. No longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, know the Lord. They shall know me, but the least of them to the greatest declares the Lord. I will forgive their iniquity. I will remember their sin. know more. Some have misunderstood this to say there's really no need for preachers or teachers anymore. Everyone can just read the Bible on their own and figure it out. But the idea here is that the success of the new covenant will be so great that God's people will have the word etched in their hearts and God's people will know exactly how it is that they should live. and they will be obedient. Why? Because I'm the one that's forgiven of their sins, of their iniquity. So we should get rid of the remaining moral filth. We should be those who demonstrate that we have God's word implanted in our hearts. But turn with me to Ezekiel, because Ezekiel also talks about the new covenant. people of God and the coming of the new covenant and what will happen at that point. And let me remind you, Jeremiah prophesied primarily before the exile. Ezekiel's prophesying in the midst of the exile, but the promises are still there. They're still true. And so Ezekiel 36, we'll pick it up with verse 25. I will sprinkle clean water on you. You shall be clean from all your uncleanliness. All your idols, I will cleanse you. I will give you a new heart. and a new spirit I will put within you. I'll remove the heart of stone from your flesh. I'll give you a heart of flesh. I will put my spirit within you. I will cause you to walk in my statutes and to be careful to obey my rules. " This cleansing that we talked about with regeneration in James 118 referenced here I will sprinkle clean water upon you. You will be clean from all your uncleanness. But what's the response then? The response is to be those who do follow, to walk in his statutes, and to obey his rules. And it's also worth noting that the word implanted is referenced in Jeremiah, but now we have the spirit of God also implanted in us. New covenant believers, what a blessing. God's spirit indwells us. God's word indwells us. No reason for us, then, not to put off the filth that remains. No reason for us not to be both hearers and doers of God's Word. One more passage. 1 Thessalonians. Paul, the great apostle of the new covenant to the Gentiles. And in 1 Thessalonians chapter 2, let me remind you as you turn there that in Acts 17, we learned that for three Sabbath days, Paul went in the synagogue of Thessalonica and told everyone that Jesus was indeed the Christ, the Messiah. The new covenant had come. The son of David was now reigning on his throne. And so in 1 Thessalonians 2.13, we read these words. We thank God constantly for this. When you receive the word of God, which you heard, see, hearing's good, you heard it, but notice what happened. You then accepted it, and you didn't accept it as the word of man, but you accepted it for what it really is. It's the word of God, and that work of God is still at work in you, believers. The implanted word is doing its work in all of us, and it's still doing its work in all of us 2,000 years later in Costa Mesa. And so my beloved congregation of the Lord Jesus Christ, it is true, you have received the gospel of Christ for what it really is. It is the word of grace and it now continues its great work in you, but you must continue to receive the implanted word and you must put off the filthiness of your remaining sin. Well, I have an illustration for us today as well. It's not a Holy Spirit-inspired one like James, but I checked with my wife to get the accuracy of this, and I hope I have the title right. Both Timothy and Peter love the book called The Muddiest Pig Contest or something like that. And my boys loved not just to read books, but they loved to be readers and then doers as well. So they felt morally obligated to have a muddiest pig contest. And it took Amy a while to clean up the muck and the mud and the grime. Well, the first time it was fine when they did it because they were the ones that instigated. But then they did a second time. But then Carrie, our third, not so motivated to participate. rather an innocent bystander, a reluctant participant. And as soon as she got the muck and the grime and the mud all over her, what did she want? She wanted to be cleaned up. We need to be like Gary. Sorry, Peter. Not like Peter, not like Timothy. We need to say, yes, there's muck and there's grime and there's mud. Lord, please keep removing it so that I can be hearers and doer of God's word. Well, if that illustration was helpful, James has another one for us. And it's this very simply, don't forget how you look. Don't forget how you look. And he gives us an everyday example in verses 23 and 24. If anyone is a hearer of the word, not a doer, he's like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. He looks at himself, and then he goes away. And at once he forgets what he was like. Well, some think the idea here is that there was something wrong when you looked in the mirror. You know, your hair wasn't combed, your face was dirty, but you didn't care, so you just walked away. And perhaps that's it. Ladies, I don't know if this has ever happened to you. You always hear about this kind of thing. Do any of you still use curlers in your hair? Do you ever leave a curler in your hair, not get them all out? Do you ever look at your teeth after you've eaten something and, oh, there's something in there I really should floss, but then you walk away and don't take care of it? Perhaps that's what James had in mind. James might have even had something simpler in mind, and that is every day we look at our face in the mirror, we take care of ourselves, and then we leave, and then we don't even think about it until the next day. Now, for vain people, that's not true, who always spend all day looking to make sure they're okay. But for the rest of us, it's no big deal. You look in the mirror once, you forget what you look like, and you go on with life. It is okay that you forget what you look like in a mirror. But you cannot treat the Bible this way. Verse 25 tells us, 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, not in his hearing, but in his doing. And it's interesting that mirrors in this New Testament times were made of either brass or copper. And every once in a while, if you were rich, you could get one made out of polished silver. But it wasn't glass, so it gave a distorted view, a distorted reflection. But God's word's not that way. God's word is perfect. It is clear. undistorted true word of God that gives us a true and complete picture. And it's a true and complete reflection of both our sin and our souls. So you must not forget how God's word reflects your soul and reflects your sin. Hebrews 4, 12 through 13, the author of Hebrews reminds us that the word of God is quick and it's powerful and it's sharper than any two-edged sword and it's a discerner of the thoughts and the intents of the heart. And no creature is hidden from God's sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account. God knows what we look like. His word penetrates our hearts and shows us that we are sinners who need to be forgiven, who need repentance. And so we need to be reminded of that image as we walk through life and as we live our lives for Christ this upcoming week. But let me also remind you, You do look in the mirror and you may still see that remaining filth. You do need to remove it, but let me also remind you, when you look in the mirror of God's word, you should also be reminded that glorious truth that you're dressed in Christ's righteousness. and you get the glorious privilege of living for Jesus in the week ahead. So please, this week, don't forget how God's word reflects your soul and your sin. Be a doer of the word. Remember Paul's famous words in 2 Timothy 3, 16 and 17. The Holy Spirit is the one who regenerates us, but he's also the one who inspires God's Word. It's God breathed for us so that we can learn teaching, yes, but beyond that we can learn correction so that we can live righteously and we can lead perfect, obedient lives before Him. Well, James once more has somewhat of a puzzler for us in our verse before us. He doesn't call God's word the word of God, the word of truth, as he calls it in verse 18, the implanted word in verse 21. He calls it the law of liberty, the law of liberty. Again, not something that we find in the other pages of scripture. I really do believe what he's telling us here is that that same gospel, that same implanted word, the same word that is in our hearts is that perfect law of liberty. The gospel is the perfect law of liberty. We usually think of the gospel, we think of the good news that Christ died for our sins and overcame them in his death on our behalf and resurrection, and that's absolutely true. That is good news. But the good news also is that as regenerated saints, as adopted children of the father, we have now found freedom to be his obedient sons and daughters. That's a freedom that the world around us knows nothing about. We're free to be both hearers and doers of his commands. And God's law was always perfect. Remember the psalmist in Psalm 19 said, the law, seven said, the law of the Lord is perfect and it revives the soul. But with the coming of Christ, with the coming of the new covenant, the law is more fully revealed, it's more fully explained, and it really is more complete. And it's written on our hearts. In Jesus, we find the perfect law of liberty. We've already said James and Jesus' connection at the end of the Sermon on the Mount, being wise men who hear and do God's Word. But let me remind you, throughout the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus expounds on the truth of the law of God. Remember how often we read this phrase in the Sermon on the Mount? You have often heard it said, But I say to you, and that's why Matthew ends by saying people were astonished at his teaching. He was teaching as one who had greater authority. He wasn't like the scribes who just could quote other people. Of course, Jesus was the divine son of God. Let me also remind you, in Matthew 5.17, Jesus said this, I haven't come to abolish, I haven't come to abrogate, I haven't come to destroy God's law. I've come to fulfill it, that is to confirm it to its fullest measure. And there are times when it is appropriate for us to contrast the law of God and the gospel of God. But James isn't making that contrast for us. He's rather teaching us the same thing that our confession of faith teaches. In Christ, the use of the law is not, and let me quote the confession, it's not contrary to the grace of the gospel. but it does sweetly comply with it. How does it sweetly comply with it? We've been forgiven of our sins. We've been given new hearts. God's word is planted on those hearts and now we are free to be obedient sons and daughters. We are free to be hearers as well as doers of God's law. Paul said in Galatians five, stand fast therefore in the liberty where the Christ hath made you free and be not entangled again. in the yoke of bondage. So beloved, hear, read, look into the perfect law of liberty, and as you do so, see Jesus, see the full revelation of God in Christ, see that you're dressed in Christ's righteousness, but see now you have freedom to forsake your moral filth and to receive the implanted word of God. And as you live your life, do not ever forget what you look like. Do not ever forget what you see in God's word. And James exhorts us, encourages us to persevere in this. This isn't a one-time thing. This is a day in, day out thing. Just as we look at the mirror, we comb our hair on a daily basis, so too we daily strive to be obedient to God's word. We daily strive to persevere in what God has called us to do. And as he always does, God promises blessing for obedience. And twice in our text, we're told the results of those who hear and do God's word. Verse 21 reminds us that if we put away that filth, if we follow that implanted word with meekness, that word is able to save our souls. And we usually think of soul, we think of the immaterial portion of us. Sometimes the Bible uses the soul to talk about our entire being. We know in glory body and soul will be completely saved. I think James ultimately has in mind that glorification, but along the way, our regeneration, our justification, our sanctification, our perseverance, all of these result in the salvation of our souls. And so we see then that implanted word of God and obey it. and know that one day you will stand in glory with your Savior. But doers, hearers also receive, and our text ends with this, be a doer who acts, and you'll be blessed in your doing. We receive the blessing of our God. And I do believe, once more, this is referencing ultimately in glory, but here on earth as well. Remember Psalm 1? How does it start? Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, stand in the way of sinners. Obedience. Why though? Because he delights, verse two, in the law of the Lord. And with that blessing, he's like a tree that will not be uprooted. Yes, the blessings of this life, but the psalm ends with the reminder and the contrast between the wicked who are cursed and the righteous who are blessed, who will never perish because they will be with God forever. And perhaps the last chapter in the Bible, we don't often turn to in this context, but I think there's words here, even as God's revelation to us is about to be ended. So if you'll turn to Revelation 22, 11 through 14, and I know some of you are going to say, well, Pastor, you've taught us that this is primarily talking about the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. That's true. I believe that. I know others don't. love them dearly in the Lord. But I still think it's a proper application for us today. Because we are waiting for the return of our Lord Jesus. We are awaiting the salvation of our souls. We are awaiting that final judgment. So what do we hear from John in Revelation 22, 11? Let the evildoers still do evil. Let the filthy still be filthy. See, that's not who we are in Christ. We have that remaining sin, but we need to be rid of it. And here's the contrast. Let the righteous still do right. Let the holy still be holy. Behold, I'm coming soon, Jesus says, and I'm going to bring my reward, my recompense with me to repay each one what he's done. And if you have any doubt about it, I'm the eternal God, the Alpha, the Omega, the first, the last, the beginning, and the end. And blessed are those who wash their robes. What do they wash their robes in? Verse 14 of chapter 7 makes it very clear. They're the ones who wash their robes and made them white. in the blood of the lamb. They've received the gospel. They've turned in faith to the Lord Jesus. His sins have cleansed them, but they are now the righteous that still do right, and they are still the holy that still do holy. And what happens to those who've washed their robes? Verse 14, They receive the right to the tree of life, and they enter into this heavenly city by the gates. And outside are the wicked, the dogs, the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters, everyone who loves and practices falsehood. But we are blessed, beloved, as we wash our robes in the blood of the Lamb and as we live for Him. And as those who have indeed been washed in the blood of the Lamb, sometimes, again, we may forget what we were taught on Sunday. I hope this week we remember, be doers of the Word and not hearers only. Let the righteous still be righteous. Let the holy still be holy. Be not just hearers, but be doers of the word of truth. And know that that word of truth is the word of life, both now and throughout eternity, when you see your Savior face to face in glory. Until then, be hearers of his word, but doers as well. Amen. Let's pray together. Father, first of all, we thank you for revealing to us the word of truth in the gospel. Thank you for revealing to us Jesus. Thank you for implanting that gospel in our hearts. Thank you for removing our old sins and dressing us in the righteousness of Christ. We still struggle, and we will daily struggle, to be those who put off that which is evil and put on that which is right. But help us, having heard your word this Lord's Day, to be hearers and not doers only. And we desire these things once more because we want Jesus to be glorified and honored in our lives. And we pray in his name, amen.