should be `slow to wrath'. If this is indulged in (??? - more rightly "not indulged in"),

then the voice of God cannot be heard, nor will anyone listen to a bad-tempered speaker.

All wrath is better left to the One Who is absolutely righteous and can indulge in it

without sin.  Further than this, there must be a putting away of `all filthiness and

overflowing of wickedness' (1: 21 R.V.). The A.V. has `superfluity of naughtiness' and

the old English fails to convey today what James actually wrote. He cannot mean that it

is only the surplus of naughtiness which must be laid aside, and the middle English

`naughtiness' is not nearly strong enough, for the word has changed its meaning over the

centuries. The R.V. is better and in the place of sin, all should receive with meekness the

engrafted or implanted word which could `save their souls'.

The Scriptural meaning of the `saving of the soul' we have dealt with elsewhere. The

reader should consider Matt. 16: 24-27 in the R.V. and note the insistence of the Lord

by the repetition of the word `life', which the margin shows is the word `soul' in the

Greek. Likewise Heb. 10: 39 should be consulted. Each of these occurrences together

with the reference in James is addressed to saved persons and therefore cannot be

referring to the salvation of the sinner, as the phrase is used today. There is a further

aspect of salvation which should concern the believer and this is linked with suffering,

testing and the perfecting of faith, which finally results in reward from the Lord and each

of these contexts is dealing with this very important doctrine.

The writer has been stressing readiness and keenness to hear, but something more is

required than passive listening:

It is comparatively easy to listen, but far harder to listen and then practice what we

hear. James gives the illustration of someone taking a hasty look at himself in a mirror

and then going off and soon forgetting what he saw. Mayor, noting the aorist and perfect

tenses of the Greek verbs, renders it "Just a glance, and off he goes". What he sees

makes no impression on him. He turns at once to other things and forgets "what manner

of man he was".

The mirror, which reflects the imperfections of the outer man is now contrasted with

the perfect law of freedom which reflects the inner man. James refers to the law 8 times

(1: 25; 2: 8-12; 4: 11 twice). He calls it the royal law (2: 8) and the law of liberty twice

(1: 25; 2: 12). The writer is not dealing with the law of God as it relates to the unsaved

and the futile attempt of the unbeliever to keep it by his own efforts. We need to take

great care here otherwise we shall be setting up the teaching of James against that of

Paul. Many have done this, including great names like Luther, but they have disregarded

the context and to whom the epistle was written. As we have seen, it was addressed to

Hebrews who are saved and are now being taught what `going on to perfection' or

maturity means. The `perfecting of faith' through trial and suffering was stressed in

chapter 1: 2-4.