Most law preachers have trouble discerning the words of James.
No wonder some of the early 'church-fathers' moved for the removal of James from the Bible.
More often the problem is one of corrupt translation or even one of isolation of one piece of scripture outside of the proper context.
We should probably look at the expressive meaning of the Greek words in the context of what James is saying.
Let's look at a particular troublesome part in James 1: 21-27
Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.
But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:
For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.
But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.
If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain.
Pure religion and undefiled before יהוה and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world. Jas 1:21-27
James is making a point here.
The context is important
What is he talking about?
The scripture here is all about the emphutos logos - the en-grafted, the incubated Word.
The word incubate means to attend to something (nurture) in order to keep it warm and secure, and bring it to hatching.
Jesus is the Word.
He is the Word that we en-craft (incubate) in every and any situation, the Word we should ponder, incubate and nurture all day long so that when we apply it it may supersede our doubt and unbelieve and there spring life and goodness and prosperity from it (Him).
For instance, the Word does say that:
You are forever free ...
You are holy and blameless ...
You are sanctified and washed ...
You are healed and free of sickness ...
You are prosperous and blessed and rich ...
It is His Word of truth that we should incubate.
Listen to corruption?
We should, therefore, lay aside the filthiness and wickedness of this world (corruption) that says we are sinful, poor, sick, dependent on our circumstances, ugly, fat, hopeless, frail, despised, unworthy ...
Lay aside everything contrary to the Word, Jesus.
So, what do we do and how do we do it?
We should be doers of the Word.
Poiētēs
Doers (Greek word is poiētēs or poets) of the Word. Incubating the Word we are now to proceed being poets of the Word, Jesus (not the law and commandments), meaning we should appropriate and apply what the Word says instead so that we don't forget what kind of victorious person we have become in Jesus.
And this brings about the security and serenity of perfect freedom in Christ!
It is not a work, but our persuasion.
Perfect-law-of-liberty
The PERFECT LAW OF LIBERTY (PLL) is a Person James 1:25.
He is Mr Freedom Himself.
There is only one law and his Name is Jesus!
THE PERFECT LAW OF LIBERTY is a law of total perfect and complete freedom.
It is not the PERFECT LAW OF LIBERTY plus the ten commandments or plus any other law or prerequisite or rule or regulation. It (He) is perfect onto Itself.
It is perfect in the most complete sense ... IT IS JESUS!
Our freedom comes with responsibility
For this reason, James says we bridle our tongues. We don't give way to the devil and his devises - his lies and deceptions towards us. In doing so we would speak contrary to Jesus.
But agreeing with Jesus, we speak Life and Truth!
Easy!
Complete!
It is Finished!
Are we in this world?
James closes with a summary (also perverted into a law by the modern law-preacher) when he says Pure religion and undefiled before יהוה and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.
What is he saying?
Taken out of context this last verse of James chapter 1 is problematic to the max.
However, in context we see that he summarizes that faith in Jesus is to visit the fatherless and the widows and to keep himself unspotted from the world.
- to visit (do, to poet)
- the fatherless (those who know not that they have a loving Father who gave His Son so that we may be the appropriators of the PERFECT LAW OF LIBERTY)
- and the widows (those who know not that they have a loving Husband who is all-victorious and has done everything for them to be free)
- and to keep himself unspotted from the world (the lies and deceptions of the world that speaks against the finished Work of Christ).
Settled
If we do this, we bring the Gospel of the PERFECT LAW OF LIBERTY!
Isn't it just wonderful that the whole of God's Word is beautifully scripted in context?
Isn't it beautiful that the context of the Word is One and One only - Jesus Christ!