Whereas verses 19-21 stress the importance of listening to the Word, verses 22-25 emphasize the necessity of putting the Word into practice, applying it.
1:22 Doing the Word of God in this context means persevering in God's will when we experience temptation. Hearing God's will is good as far as it goes, but obedience should follow. Some Christian disciples delude themselves by thinking that knowing God's will is enough, but it is only foundational to doing God's will.
"The blessing does not come in studyingthe Word, but in doingthe Word."69
"The call to do what it says' lies at the center of all that James teaches. It sums up the message of the whole book: Put into practice what you profess to believe. Indeed, 1:22 may well be the key verse of James's epistle."70
1:23-24 This illustration is so clear and so common that it needs little comment. The Greek verb katanoeorefers to careful observation. It does not mean to cast a hasty superficial glance, as some have suggested.
1:25 The law to which James referred is the revelation of God's will contained in Scripture (cf. Matt. 5:17). It is perfect because it is the perfect will of a perfect God.
"Unlike the imperfect metal mirror in the previous illustration, this law is able to give the beholder a true and undistorted revelation of himself."71
"The law of God is perfect, first, because it perfectly expresses his nature and, secondly, because it perfectly matches ours."72
It is a law of liberty because by obeying it we find true liberty from sin and its consequences (i.e., real life).
"True freedom is the opportunity and the ability to give expression to what we truly are."73
Note James' agreement with Paul that Christians live in comparative liberty under the "law of Christ"(Gal. 5:1; 6:2; cf. Matt. 11:30). Obedient adherence to the Word of God is the key to experiencing God's blessing in life now as well as in the eschatological future.
". . . the letter . . . is a law book' in a deeper and more pervasive sense than any other single writing in the New Testament."74
"Thus the passage falls into three sections, each with a distinct response to the word God speaks: hearing (19b-20), receiving (21) and obeying (22-25)."75
