Expositional Study of James
SEEN IN THE LOOKING GLASS
Scripture Reading: James 1:22-27 (KJV)
James is still talking about Holy Scripture. As previously mentioned, he was a great Bible man. Within the compass of this brief Epistle, containing five chapters and one hundred eight verses, there are references or allusions to Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, 1 Kings, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, and to seven out of the twelve Minor Prophets. That is truly extraordinary. And, as far as the New Testament is concerned, one can find in James no less than fifteen connections, not so much in word as in idea, with the Sermon on the Mount. James was a man who was steeped in Holy Scripture. We may glean the following from this paragraph:
One of the offices of the Bible is to act as a glass "Like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass," says verse 23. That word "natural" is interesting. It means, "The face he was born with." Can we help our face? Some today try. There is a delightful way of improving the face – from inside. The light of the Savior's presence in the heart shining out in the face – "they looked upon Him, and were radiant," as the American Revised Version translates Psalm 34:5. Yes, we can help the face we were born with by reflecting the Light we were new-born with. However, all this is an "aside." Let us return.
The mirrors of the ancients were, of course, not of glass, but of highly polished metal – mostly brass. It is strange to read that old time teachers used to recommend the use of these homely instruments as an aid to moral culture. For instance, Socrates urged young men to carry and consult, a mirror – if they found themselves to be handsome, it would remind them that an ugly life was out of keeping with good looks. On the other hand, if they were plain, they might remind themselves that handsome actions did much to counteract any impression of facial ugliness.
There are two ways of discovering what we are like – a photograph and looking glass. The former is unreliable, sometimes flattering, sometimes doing scant justice to its subject; the latter is frankly dependable and unerringly truthful. One is similar to what people say of us – we scarcely obtain a right estimate of ourselves that way. The other is what Scripture says of us – an infallible indicator of our real self. For example, take the corner of the mirror revealed in Romans 3:22-23. Here is a terrible jar for the one who thought he was superior to others; but this is the inescapable verdict of the looking-glass. All alike have the disease; some may have it worse than others, but all have it. Consider also Jeremiah 17:9. What a shock to one who has been brought up to think that the human heart is true and good. Yet, this is what the mirror reveals: it is no good arguing or getting angry. Another instance of the mirroresque quality of the Word is seen in Romans 7:9. The meaning is not easily understood; but listen to Matthew Henry's paraphrase, "I once considered myself alive, in the absence of the Law (the Scripture): but when that commandment (the Scripture) was set up before my face, sin disclosed itself, and I realized my state of condemnation and death." Seen in the looking-glass, he turned out to be different from what he had imagined.
However, let it never be forgotten that the Bible glass is not only intended to show us up, but also to clean us up. An interesting bit of familiarly Typology will serve to make this clear. Recall for a moment that piece of furniture in the old Tabernacle Court – the brazen laver. Its object was to provide cleansing for the priests before they entered their further duties. How was that great brass washing bowl made? Exodus 38:8 reveals the answer: "He made the laver of brass . . . of the looking-glasses of the women." What a strikingly suggestive token of the sacrificial spirit of those ladies. The Glass, that reveals the Need of Cleansing, leading to the Laver, that provides the Fountains of Cleansing. The Bible Mirror is meant to call our attention to the Amissness of Life, and then to point the way to the Amendment of Life. Perhaps this is the meaning of that word in Psalm 119:9, "Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to Thy Word." This, then, is among the blessed functions of Holy Scripture. But, another truth is here revealed –
One of the dangers of the Bible reader is to be content with a casual glance "He beholdeth himself," says verse 24. The Greek word translated "beholdeth," is the same as rendered "beholding" in the previous verse, really means "a casual glance." He looks in his glass; but so little is the impression made on him by what he sees of himself that he "straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was."
A good example is when we might look at our watch, and then someone asking for the time and once again we have to look at our watch before answering. Our first consultation had been so casual a glance that it made little conscious impression on our mind. In that same off-hand way we sometimes look at ourselves in the glass; and such, say these verses 23-24, is the case of the man who reads or hears the Word and does nothing about it. His inaction is evidence of his inattention.
We may ask what good does it do us? We dutifully rush through our work for the day, and tick off the Bible verses as read; but it has all been to such little purpose, that the passage has really said nothing to us, and certainly we have seen nothing of self there. Too often we have not been serious enough to notice the spots and blots that disfigure our spiritual countenance; and, consequently, we "do" nothing about them – there is no Cleansing, and no Correcting. Even if there was some momentary gleam of what spotted "manner of man" we are, we are so little disturbed by the sight that we have forgotten all about it as soon as the Book is closed. So, what harm will it do us? Better almost not to have been a "Hearer," it we are not going to be a "Doer." In any case, this habit of inattention will grow on us, until we will find our reading simply and solely mechanical. "If any man will do...he shall know" says John 7:17 – failing to do, such a one will cease to know.
An illustration of this negative reading is appended in verse 26. A man goes to the mirror, expecting to see a thoroughly religious man. After all, he seems to be, and thinks himself to be, religious. What a surprise to find that he is not what he had fondly supposed. He has a glaring fault. One such is sufficient to spoil the whole picture – as James will subsequently teach in chapter two, verse 10, "whosoever shall keep the whole law and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all." A rock that smashes only one corner of a mirror spoils the whole glass. Our man's one blot, then, is shown – his tongue is gravely at fault. Later in his Epistle, James will show how serious this is. For the moment, let it be sadly noted that he does nothing about it – he "bridleth not his tongue."
One of the purposes of Bible reading is to induce a careful gaze "Whoso looketh into the perfect law," says verse 25; and the word in the original for "looketh" signifies a careful, earnest gaze. This man is so different from the other. He is an Observant reader – giving good heed to what he finds. The Book is called a law of "liberty," because to "do" what it says is the secret of all true freedom – setting us free, not only from the defilement and disfigurement of those spots and blots that we spoke of as being revealed by the Looking Glass, but also liberating us from the disease of which they are but the symptoms. This earnestly observant attitude to the Word is no mere "flash in the pan," it is the habitual custom of this man's life, every day he bends his earnest gaze to the revealing page – it is his regular rule, he "continueth therein." Indeed, so earnest is he about it that we find he is an Obedient reader – he is "a doer of the work."
Whatever portion of God's Book we read, we are sure to find something that it requires us to do; and, if we are wise, we will at once seek His grace to be obedient. We say, "wise," because concerning one who follows such counsel it is written, "this man shall be blessed in his doing" (margin). How vividly we are here reminded of the story of the two houses, with which our Lord concluded His great Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 7:24f. How blessedly secure is the life there pictured that rests on the doing of those sayings of our Lord – not the hearing, though that was blessed, too; but the doing is thrice-blessed. "Hearers only" stand little chance in the inevitable storms of life: but the "doer of the work" finds himself empowered to meet all that life's vicissitudes may bring him, as well as equipped to use all the opportunities that may arise. Oh, to be of this quality of Bible reader – both earnestly Observant, and eagerly Obedient.
An illustration of this positive reading is given in verse 27. The man goes to the mirror to see a reflection of True Religion, and there he finds it. As we have seen already, James is an intensely practically minded Christian, reducing everything to the terms of practical daily life. In using him as His vehicle of inspired instruction, the Holy Spirit does not abrogate his personality and mentality – when He speaks through James it is the practical side of things that receives emphasis. Therefore, we may be sure that "pure religion and undefiled" will be shown to be something much more than the merely theoretical, the simply mystical; "before God and the Father" – that is to say, "in God's eyes" – it is, indeed, something most realistically practical.
Remember, we are dealing here with the practical issue of Religion, not Regeneration. James would have us grasp the fact that the former consists, not in what we Believe, but in how we Believe. He is not the man to discredit Doctrine; none of the Bible writers do that. The importance of man's faith in and obedience to Jesus Christ is recognized throughout the Scriptures as being fundamental and essential. The body cannot do without its skeleton of bones – "sound doctrine," to use the Scriptural phrase, is the skeleton, but it is desirable to have something else besides skeleton. A mere "skin-and-bones" religion is not the true New Testament type; and it is that "something else" that James is here underlining. He is evidently not altogether unacquainted with that kind of Christian who is too often the bane of modern church life – the man who is thoroughly "sound," and thoroughly unpleasant. Not by the greatest stretch of Imagination or charity can it be claimed that they "adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things", as Paul urges in Titus 2:10.
So, as in a Looking Glass, we mark the attractive lineaments of this God-recognized religion. Two sides of it are represented. One is Practical Love – "to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction." To visit, as contemplated by James, is not just popping in and paying a friendly call. Perhaps the best way to understand what is implied is to look at another passage where the same word is employed, both in English and Greek. Listen, then, to Luke 1:68 and 78, "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for He hath visited and redeemed His people...the Dayspring from on high hath visited us." If we can take hole of some of the implications of His visit in those verses, and place them in the context of the verse that we are studying, we will obtain a new, higher, deeper, and grander conception of what is expected of those who seek His grace to be "doers" of this Word, "and not hearers only." Considering this aspect of proper religion, one cannot remove practicality.
The other aspect of the kind of religion God wants of us is Practical Holiness – "to keep himself unspotted from the world." The world is truly a muddy place. But God keeps us safe and clean. In John 17:15, the Master prays, "not that Thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that Thou shouldest keep them from the evil;" and yet we are also told (1 Tim. 5:22), "Keep thyself pure." On those days when there seems to be nothing but mud and slush in our neighborhood, we can be thankful that our Local Council has made provision for us to be kept unspotted by providing a pavement on which to walk, but we must also keep ourselves unspotted by avoiding the curb edge. So, let us avoid the curb, do not run into temptation, "make not provision for the flesh," as Romans 13:14 has it, keep close to Jesus Christ, thus keep yourselves and God will see to the rest of the keeping.
So the chapter ends with giving us the impression of a man who has bestowed such careful gaze on what he has seen in his mirror that he has become a "doer of the work," and has enjoyed the "blessing" promised to all such.
