James 1:21, “Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.”
“Receive…the engrafted word.”
I hope it is the heart of every Christian to receive the Word of God in our hearts. After all, it is God’s Word that molds us to be what God wants us to be. Scripture tells of itself that it is “profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17) The reception of God’s Word is an absolute necessity for Christian growth. God tells us here in the book of James how we can receive His Word.
First, though, notice the description of the word to be received: the “engrafted” word. The Word of God must be engrafted or implanted in us in order for us to receive it. We must be instructed in God’s Word. The engrafting process is not necessarily a quick process; it is a careful action with the purpose of growth. It also is not a solitary process; instruction requires instructors. The greatest Instructor of God’s Word for the Christian is the Holy Spirit. John 16:13 teaches us that “when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth.” Without the Holy Spirit, we cannot understand spiritual truth, but as the Holy Spirit engrafts God’s Word in our hearts, we can receive it. We must also recognize the importance of the teaching of the faithful mentioned in 2 Timothy 2:2. These are the teachers who take “the things thou hast heard of me among many witnesses” and “commit [the same] to faithful men.” Godly pastors, preachers, and teachers who are “strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus” are also necessary for every Christian to take part in engrafting the word into the hearts of believers.
“Receive with meekness.”
If we will receive this engrafted word, we must do so in meekness. A meek person can be taught because he is submissive, but a stubborn, prideful person will not be able to receive the Word of God whereby he may grow.
Are you teachable? Being teachable is not natural to our flesh. Pride, stubbornness, and laziness are natural, but these qualities only serve to hinder our growth as a Christian. We must humbly and submissively approach the matter of receiving God’s Word, allowing the Holy Spirit and Godly teachers to engraft Scripture into our hearts.
We need the attitude of the Psalmist who prayed, “Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.” We rely on God to open our stubborn eyes to the wonderful things He has. We are blinded by our pride, our preferences, our prejudices, and our preconceptions so much that only God can shine the light of His Word into our hearts.
We must also be ready to receive the correction and instruction of Scripture. Our heart should repeat the prayer in Psalm 139:23-24, “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” To meekly receive God’s Word, we must expect that we will discover in our hearts that which must be forsaken in order to grow further.
“Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness.”
We have much to “lay apart” or lay aside in order to grow in God’s Word. Engrafting involves two things: the removal of the old and the adding of the new. In order to receive the new things of the engrafted word, we have some old things to remove.
We must lay aside all filthiness. Filthiness is that which defiles and dishonors. We must lay aside the sin “which doth so easily beset us.” (Hebrews 12:1) We have no room for the purity of Scripture if we are holding to the filthiness of sin. Don’t expect to have a successful grafting of God’s Word in filthy conditions. When plants are grafted together, sanitation is paramount to prevent infection in the plant. If the conditions are filthy, the graft will fail and the plant may die. We cannot rightly expect that we will see the flourishing of God’s Word in our hearts if we don’t clean out the filthiness of sin revealed to us.
Superfluity (or the abundance) of “naughtiness” must go as well. The emphasis here is the overflowing of this wickedness that exists in our flesh. To see God’s Word implanted successfully, we cannot afford to walk in the flesh where sin abounds. We must die to the flesh. Romans 8:13 expresses, “For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.” Our flesh is corrupt and must be put off so that we can “put on the new man” and see the successful engrafting of the Word.
“Which is able to save your souls.”
Aren’t you thankful that your soul can be saved? We do not deserve saving, but God made a way through Jesus Christ anyway. Romans 10:13-17 states, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent?…So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Hearing God’s Word leads a person to place their faith in God’s saving grace.
Salvation is just the beginning of the effect of the engrafted Word of God on our hearts. Colossians 3:16 asserts, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.” God’s Word saves our souls from Hell, and then it continues to work in us in all wisdom. Let us never forget the value of God’s Word.