James, Part 9
He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of first fruits of all he created… Therefore, put away all the filth and evil in your lives and humbly accept the word planted in you, for it has the power to save your souls.
James 1:18, 21
The introduction to James’s letter makes it clear that he is writing to people who have put their faith in Jesus and have been regenerated (born-again). In verse 18, James affirms they had experienced “birth through the word of truth,” and he identifies them as examples of God’s grace and goodness (“first fruits”). Then we come to verse 21, where salvation is described as something yet to come. “Humbly accept the Word,” James says, “because it has the power to save your souls.”