"Receive with meekness the implanted word"

This is one day in the Bible Study Fellowship (BSF) study on Acts of the Apostles.

THIRD DAY: Read James 1:19-27.
James challenged believers to live out faith.
6. Which commands stand out to you and why?

  • quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger
  • put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness
  • receive with meekness the implanted word - 
    • This is able to save souls. All of the other things listed are possible when we are spending time in the Word. But there is a way in which we have to interact with the Word - meekness. We must come to the Word humbly which is implanted in us and growing. It has the ability to save where desire leads to sin leads to death. Humility - it is the Holy Spirit working in us that reveals God’s truths to us, not our intellectual prowess. The Bible should first change our hearts not just our head. 
  • be doers of the word, and not only hearers - persevere
  • bridle your tongue and do not deceive your heart
  • visit orphans and widows in their affliction
  • keep oneself unstained from the world 

I ended up listing all the commands and challenges that I could find in the verses. The one that stood out to me was to receive with meekness the implanted word from verse 21. In my Bible, this section of James is entitled "Hearing and Doing the Word." I think I have always gravitated towards verse 22 "But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourself." which is the namesake of this section; yet, in order for us to act our of faith and what the Bible commands us to do we must first know the Bible. This points us back to verse 21 where we must 
  1. Receive - To receive we must be in the Word expecting to get something out of it. 
  2. Meekness - Humility to know that it is the Holy Spirit that works in us to bring change/sanctification
  3. Implanted - growth. The Word is living and should be planted, take root, and grow in our lives. 


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