The Residue of Depravity
http://kahlich.wordpress.com/2009/05/04/the-residue-of-depravity/
I was studying James 1:21-27 today and thought “this is only one page, I’ll breeze through it.” But I couldn’t. I camped on verse 21 for most of the time, which says this:
Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls
billy_oxycleanAnd as I read this I couldn’t help but think of Billy Mays. I mean, who wouldn’t, right? This pitch man has made a name for himself praising different ways to clean different things. He could have a market with the James 1:21 crowd. First let me show you this:
If you list out everything from James 1:21-27 that Christians are responsible to do and write them in the first person, you get a list like this:
* I am to put aside all filthiness
* I am to put aside all that remains of wickedness
* I am to receive the word of God implanted in humility
* I must prove myself a doer of the Word
* I am not be merely a hearer
* I am to look intently at the perfect law
* I am to abide by the law of liberty
* I am not to become a forgetful hearer
* I am to become an effectual doer
* I am to bridle my tongue
* I am to visit orphans and widows in their distress
* I am to keep myself unstained by the world
Now let me show you this:
How can a disciple of Jesus do this? With the Word. The Word is able to save your souls. It can replace the conditional filth and the residue of depravity. Without this salvation from the Word, we are going to remain depraved. There is no sanctification without the Word. It is able to save our souls provided we receive it with humility. If we don’t receive it, we are adding to our depravity by rejecting the very thing that can purify us.
fam_q-tips_170-2390Let me illustrate this real quick: I never knew I had to clean my ears regularly. Not long ago I put my head underwater in a hot tub, and the wax and water mixed to create an impenetrable blockage that left me deaf for two weeks. After a lot of help from doctors, it cleared and I’ve been investing in Q-tips ever since, one in each hand, two tips per ear, every single shower.
That’s what the Word does for us. It removes the filthiness of our depravity bit by bit. It helps us realize why we can’t hear or what that smell is.
It cleans us.
Created about 3 years ago
