Practical Christianity (11): Two Types of Hearers (James 1:23-25) by Rev. Angus Stewart
I. The Forgetful Hearer
II. The Non-Forgetful Hearer
Prof. Herman Hanko on James 1:25: “... increasingly liberty is defined as the right of a man to live and do as he pleases, provided his freedom does not encroach on the freedom of others. Such a definition of liberty is really the definition Satan used in persuading Eve to eat of the forbidden tree: ‘You shall be as God, knowing good and evil.’ That is, you will be able to decide for yourself what is good and evil, and no longer will God be able to determine this for you. Such exercise of liberty is the cruelest bondage and slavery imaginable” (Faith Made Perfect, p. 73).
Thomas Manton on James 1:25: “‘this man shall be blessed in his deed’ ... But here the Papists come upon us, and say—Lo! here is a clear place that we are blessed for our deeds. But I answer—It is good to mark the distinctness of scripture phrase: the apostle doth not say for, but in his deed. It is an argument or evidence of our blessedness, though not the ground of it; the way, though not the cause.”