I understand this passage:
James 1:
22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror;...
24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.
Under conviction, an unsaved man looks into God's Word and sees what he really is. He prays "Jesus please save me," with no repentance and goes on his way. He then forgets his knowledge of how sinful he is and returns to his sins.
I believe you've left out a very important verse. Verse 25.
James 1:25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.
James is the only one in any of the Scriptures to use the phrase
"law of liberty".
The only one. You will not find it mentioned by any other person in any form. No where. Nada. It doesn't exist.
Before I go any deeper into why. I agree that those that name of Christ should depart from iniquity. This is continually echoed through the NT in various form from almost every single writer found in the NT.
HOWEVER,
James makes one of many mistakes here in the book that contains his name.
There is no liberty to be found in the law of God. No one has ever keep the law. No one. No one keeps it now. We don't. I don't. You don't. No one does. People are kidding themselves if they think they are keeping the law.
"James" at one point, very rightly so, says that a person is guilty of the entire law if he breaks a single instance of the law. He then "forgets" what person he is and straightly goes out and breaks the law..... while PRETENDING...... he doesn't.
The law of God was never given to produce freedom. If it had been given to produce freedom and liberty, then Christ NEEDLESSLY died!
I wash my face from time to time like anyone else. I see a sinner. I see him every morning of my life. How can I forget I'm lowly, helpless man? How? I can't. I'm reminded of it.... over and over... and over!!!!!
There is nothing righteous about pretending we keep the law of God. We don't. We endlessly rely on the everlasting mercies of God, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
I hope you remain in the conversation after I've said this.... Its the truth. I love the truth. Truth changes us.
I imagine you think repentance is turning away from sin?
Just how can a person turn from sin Vince? He is surrounded by sin on every side. His appetite craves the slop of sin and everything sinful. Repentance is nothing more than recognizing our helpless condition and turning to the only Person that can help us. Jesus Christ our Lord. If we are sincere..... and only God knows....
God, Himself, will grant us repentance. There is a reason Esau couldn't find repentance. Even though he weep for it!!!!