James 1:21 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.
Context: James 1:19,20 Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; 20 for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. James 1:22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
From the lexicon: Lay apart=put off. Filthiness=moral filth. Superfluity=all abundance, excessiveness. Naughtiness=wickedness. Meekness=humility. Receive=welcome what is offered. Engrafted=implanted. Able=has power. Save=deliver from danger. Soul=distinct identity.
Pulling it together: James 1:21 begins with a “wherefore” so we need to look as to why it is there. Verses 19 and 20 instruct us to be swift to hear or be ready to listen, but not to react by speaking unrighteously in anger. Verse 21 clarifies this further. Although we may justify angry words, God calls it moral filth, excessive behavior, and an expression of an evil disposition. James admonishes us to put off such things for they have no part in our Christian walk.
Note that the last part of James 1:21 instructs us to receive into our lives the implanted word which is able to deliver us from danger. The implanted word is none other than the Truth of the Gospel, through which when we believe and accept we are born again—changed—delivered from the bondage of our sinful flesh. It is easy to go to the list of wrong behaviors in verse 21 and forget that this is in the context of controlling our anger. Instead of letting anger rule us allow the righteousness of God to prevail by being doers of the word, and not just hearers (vv.20-21).
Lord, I pray for grace to yield to Thy Spirit’s work within me to keep me from the demands of my sinful flesh. I pray for the power to overcome my tenancy to react in anger which is sin.