Okay, I may be about to misapply a principle of salvation, but here goes. Let’s see how this plays.

Reading in James this morning. Reminded that our salvation is God’s doing, that it is He who “brought us forth by the word of truth” (James 1:18). That “He chose to give birth to us by giving us His true word” (NLT). That He gave us new life. How? Through His word. The B-I-B-L-E . . . yes, that’s the book that saved me.

So, says James, there’s a two-fold posture we are to take towards the word, the second of which I’m guessing most of us are pretty familiar with: “Be doers of the word” (James 1:22).

But it’s the first exhortation I’m hovering over this morning — the one I’m guessing would be less likely to come to mind when we think about how we are to approach the word of God.

Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

(James 1:21 ESV)

Receive with meekness the implanted word . . . that’s what I’m chewing on.

Get rid of the weeds of sin. Root out the “spoiled virtue” (MSG) of a deceptive heart tied to the old man. Cast off the “cancerous evil” (MSG) of a world in rebellion to its God. And having cleared the ground and tended the soil, receive with meekness the implanted word.

The implanted word, which is able to save your souls. We were born through the word, and we will be sanctified by the word. The salvation begun through the word is the salvation that will be completed through the word. True? Okay, then how does that implanted word do its sanctifying work? It’s as we receive it with meekness.

Even for those of us who at first resisted the word, maybe even kicking against the word, when we first received the word, it was with meekness. When we first believed, we yielded. We assumed a certain posture of humility as we opted to receive what we didn’t necessarily fully understand. And, says James, just as we were first saved by receiving with meekness the implanted word, so too the consummation of the saving of our souls will be realized as we continue to receive with meekness the implanted word.

That’s the way of salvation — how it began is how it’s going to be finished. Our salvation which began by faith will be a salvation that is finished by faith — we are saved by faith for faith (Rom. 1:17). The new life initiated as a work of the Spirit will be the new life perfected through the Spirit (Gal. 3:2-3). Similarly — if I’m rightly connecting dots and accurately applying the principle — the salvation which began with receiving the word in meekness is the salvation that will come to full fruition by receiving the word in meekness.

So, if the way of the word is to receive it with meekness, then why is it that when we seek to stand on the word, we so often feel the need to do so with forcefulness rather than with humbleness? Why is there so often an air of arrogance when it comes to rightly dividing the word and contending for the faith? While the word of God is “the sword of the Spirit” (Eph. 6:17), and while it will “pierce to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intention of the heart” (Heb. 4:12), why do we feel we need to wield the sword and do the slicing and dicing and not allow the Spirit to do His work? Why would we not trust that an implanted word which is received with meekness is an implanted word able to work from the inside out and thus save its hearers to the uttermost. And if that’s true, then shouldn’t the word we are to receive with meekness be passed on with meekness? I’m wondering . . .

Meekness isn’t weakness. It is not a fragile position; it is a Christ-like posture. We can stand firm; we can contend for the faith; we can uphold the truth of God, AND we can do it with meekness. The same meekness we are to have when receiving the implanted word.

When it comes to the word, we can hold fast with humility.

Make sense?

By His grace. For His glory.