But be sure you live out the message and do not merely listen to it and so deceive yourselves.
Into the Text
When we become Christians, we are given a new nature, a new birth. The Holy Spirit comes to live in us. He is the sap flowing from the vine into the branches, producing a godly character. That is why when we abide in Christ, we will bear fruit.
James reminds us that becoming a Christian is only the beginning. The real proof of a person having been born again is that he or she will now “live out the message.”
Living out God’s Word means doing as He said. Of course we all struggle with this daily. The walk of a Christian is not an uninterrupted series of victories over sin. We often stumble and fail. Sometimes it looks like we are going two steps forward and three backwards.
But, if we belong to Jesus, we will have victories over sin again and again. We will be different to the way we used to be. We will steadily grow in holiness and godly character. We have a living faith, not a dead, fake one. We are a living branch, abiding in the Vine and producing good fruit. The Father will make sure His children walk in His ways, to prove that we really belong to Him. We know we are not justified by these works, but they are the proof of our having been made new in Jesus, just in the same way as fruit is the proof that a branch is alive.
Prayer
Dear Jesus, help me to be more than just a listener of your Word. Give me the courage to live it out each day and to abide in you by walking in obedience. Amen.