A Mirrored Laver

"But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves." Read: James 1:22-25

The Word of God is a mirrored laver in which we can both see our guilt and bathe in forgiveness.

But the Word of God is no ordinary laver. It is a glass that does more than show—it cleanses. It does not lie to flatter our vanity but, by the work of the Spirit, brings to light the dark spots and blemishes of our sinful state. To look into this mirror, merely to turn away and forget, is to treat with careless disregard that which has the power to save.

The "perfect law of liberty" — what profound words these are! This is no law of bondage under Moses, no "letter that killeth," but a law that breathes freedom, a law that is perfect, "converting the soul," that is, driving us to the remedy.  As the mirror of God's Word shines on the state of our hearts, so too does the same Word reveal the cure for every woe and ill. Therein lies the double marvel: The Word not only exposes sin but, by faith through the Gospel of Christ, cleanses.

Ah! But to enjoy the liberty that flows from this perfect law, one must "continue therein." (v.25). The Spirit does not bestow His best gifts on those who glance superficially at His Word. But on those who meditate day and night. Like the Bereans, we are to search the Scriptures daily (Acts 17:11). It is not the hearer, not even the reader or the quoter, but the "doer of the work" who "shall be blessed in his deed." (v.25) Notice, in his deed. The blessing comes in the doing, not the hearing.

Let us not be self-deceived. Many a man has deluded himself, thinking that hearing is as good as doing. But James tells us such forget "what manner of man" they are. They forget because the truth never penetrates beyond the superficial layers of their conscience. Let us not be such. Let us be people of the Book, a people who gaze intently into the perfect law of liberty, and find in it not only the diagnosis of our sin, but the washing of regeneration by the Spirit.