Following Jesus requires action! As a disciple, you not only have to believe Christ is worth following, but you also have to take steps of faith to deny yourself, pick up your cross, and follow Him daily! He didn't want his readers to deceive themselves into thinking they could be Christians merely by believing the right things about Jesus. James left no room in his letter for the idea of hearing the truth and not doing what it says.

We are called to let the Word do its work inside us-to be living the Word - to read it daily with fresh eyes as it, by the Holy Spirit, reads our hearts and transforms us, making us more and more like Jesus. The gospel-filled life Christ calls us to is not one full of quick and angry words, self-serving pride, or self- sufficiency, but of sacrificial love and humility. If your spiritual life is all input with no outlet, you start to spoil, like the roots to a potted plant without a drain. In fact, knowledge can begin to harden your heart if your perspective is primarily focused inward. All of the Bible study in the world is meaningless if it doesn't transform your affections and your actions.

When you hear God's Word, respond in obedience. The Christian life is one of active obedience. God's Word becomes more than a book to us it is a means of grace, a tool of the Spirit’s sanctifying work in my heart. It means inviting the Holy Spirit to carve out those ugly places and fill them with the righteousness that Jesus gives, so that we might live out what James calls a “pure and undefiled religion” (1:27). Being transformed by the Word means becoming a doer, not just a hearer. As James tells us in this passage, we can’t merely hear God’s Word-we have to act on it. That’s because, ultimately, our mind doesn’t always connect to our heart. We know we should be “quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger” (James 1:19), but we don’t always do it.

James has been talking theoretically so far, but now he's getting to the heart of his message. So far, James has talked about trials and temptations.

Book of james by francis chan