James 1:24 - Printer Friendly

ESV: For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.

NIV: and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.

NASB: for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was.

CSB: For he looks at himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of person he was.

NLT: You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like.

KJV: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.

NKJV: for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.

James began a simile in verse 23 which he will conclude in verse 25. A person who listens to the Word—the message of Jesus—and does not actually do what it says is like a person who looks at his own face in a mirror and immediately forgets what he looks like. It's an absurd idea to think that we would be unable to recognize ourselves after seeing our own faces in a mirror. It's also ridiculous to bother looking in a mirror in the first place, if we're only going to ignore what we see.

James' point is that it should be equally absurd to think that a Christian could hear the Word of God and fail to do what it says. That just doesn't make any sense. Those who believe the Word of God demonstrate their trust in God by obeying Him. Those who don't obey prove that they don't really trust Him.

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.

Accessed 5/6/2024 12:48:32 PM