James 1:25 - Printer Friendly

ESV: But 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 in his doing.

NIV: But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.

NASB: But one who has looked intently at the perfect law, the law of freedom, and has continued in it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an active doer, this person will be blessed in what he does.

CSB: But the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom and perseveres in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer who works—this person will be blessed in what he does.

NLT: But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.

KJV: 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.

NKJV: But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.

In the previous two verses, James made a useful analogy. He compared someone who hears God's Word, but doesn't do what it says, to a man who forgets his own face immediately after looking into a mirror. Both ideas should seem ridiculous to us. Why look, if you're not going to act on what you see? Why look, if you aren't going to remember what you just saw?

Here, James explains how believers ought to handle their study of the Word of God. Christians should look intently into the perfect law, the law that gives freedom. When they routinely do that and obey what they see there, they will be blessed in what they do.

When James uses the word "law," he is not likely talking about the Law of Moses. James was one of the leaders of the church in Jerusalem and was likely writing to a very Jewish audience who knew all about that Law. More importantly, though, he was writing to Christians about what it means to live out our faith in Christ.

James is not calling believers to see legalistic rule-following as the path to being blessed. He is writing to people who believe that Jesus fulfilled the Law of Moses by obeying it perfectly Himself. In Christ, the Word has been planted in us (James 1:21). That's the Word we hear and obey because we trust our Father. That Word is the perfect law, the law of the love of Christ, which brings freedom.

We will be blessed in what we do, this verse promises, as we look intently into that law and obey it.

James 1:19–27 emphasizes that those who truly trust God don't settle for merely appearing religious. They give up trying to control the world with their words and their anger. They humbly receive the Word God has planted in them, listen to it, and proceed to do what it says. Part of what the Word says to us is that we should keep control over our words, to care for those who are weak and suffering, and to keep ourselves from being polluted by the world around us.

How important is it for Christians to trust God? It's so important, James writes, that we should call our worst moments joyful things, because trials help us trust God more. People who trust God ask Him for wisdom—and then take what He gives. People who trust God make a bigger deal about their rewards in the next life than their wealth in this one. People who trust God don't blame Him for their desire to sin; they give Him credit for all that is good in their lives. They look into His Word, and they act on what they see there.

This first chapter in the book of James sets the course for the rest of his letter to Christians worldwide. God wants us to trust Him more, and more deeply, as we learn more of Him. This is so important to God that He calls on us to find joy, even in hard times, because hardship helps us trust God more. Those who really trust God will ask Him for wisdom, will be excited about their status in eternity, will recognize Him as the source of all good in their lives, and will work to act on what they find in His Word.

The book of James is about specifically understanding what saving faith looks like. How does faith in Christ reveal itself in a believer's life? What choices does real trust in God lead us to make? Those are the questions James answers. Most scholars believe the writer was Jesus' half-brother, a son born to Joseph and Mary after Jesus' birth. James may not have come to believe Jesus was the Messiah until after the resurrection. Eventually, though, he became one of the leaders of the Christian church in Jerusalem. This is possibly the earliest-written of all the New Testament books, around AD 40–50. James addresses his letter to Jewish Christians scattered around the known world.