ON THE VANGUARD

NEED SAVING?
“Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.”
James 1:21

“HELP, I need somebody. HELP, not just anybody. HELP, you know I need someone, HELP!” The Beatles weren’t the first to express their need for help, and probably won’t be the last. But I dare say the Beatles were right in making this statement from the second verse of the song HELP!. “But every now and then I feel so insecure, I know that I just need you like I’ve never done before.” There comes a time when we all need a little, or maybe a bunch, of help. Let’s face it, we all need saving. And I venture to say that according to James 1:21, some of our help comes when we put away the worldly junk and embrace the Word of God.
Coming off of the charge to be quick to listen and slow to both speak and become angry, James then challenges us to get rid of the moral filth and evil that wants to eat us for dinner. To break it down, we read in the Greek to APOTITHEMI the filth. This word is pretty much a true definition, meaning to put off, cast away, or lay aside. We see this same word in Hebrews 12:1 where we are charged again to lay aside the weight of sin that besets us. I personally think of it as a backpack full of bricks. I can run both with or without a backpack full of bricks, but it should be no surprise that I can run a bit faster without. So James is urging us here to get rid of this weight. And what is this weight? It is the moral filth and evil, the RHUPARIA and PERISSEIA KAKIA. To translate it correctly, James is saying to get rid of the weights of befouling, dishonoring, or defiling, as well as of the abundance of malice, ill-will, wickedness, and trouble. That is quite a huge weight to be strapping to our backs honestly.
But there needs to be an exchange for what we take off and what we take in return. While we should not be putting on another backpack full of bricks, we should accept the word, His Word, planted in us. This is where I think the Beatles got the song right. In our sin we can feel insecure which, when we open our eyes to sin, helps us to see how much more we need help, His help. And His help comes many ways, including through His Word. Here again we see James urging us to receive, DECHOMAI, take with open hands yet still humbly, the engrafted LOGOS. In some cases we receive the rhema word, but here the word is logos, meaning the word uttered by a living voice. James is telling us to receive the words spoken by Jesus and spoken through those the spirit rested on because in these words was, and is for us now, the ability to be saved.
And here is the best part of this whole verse - the Word will save us. Literally, the Word has the DUNAMAI to SOZO. Dunamai is translated as ability, but we know it best as power. The Word has the power to sozo, rescue us, keep us safe, heal us or restore us. In the chain of events, let us throw off the baggage of filth and sin that we have been carrying around and turn to His Word which has the power to save us. Do you find yourself calling out for help like the Beatles? Then find the help needed, the rescue needed, in the Word of God.