Unmoved
There is an old joke about the Baptist’s favorite hymn being “We Shall not be Moved.” It’s actually pretty funny because, like all good humor, it has a ring of truth to it. We generally think of being “unmovable” as a negative trait. We visualize this kind of person as an old, cantankerous, stubborn sort. Well, being unmovable isn’t always a negative trait.
The last line of Psalm 15 exalts the unmovable:
He who does these things shall never be moved.
What things? Things like walking blamelessly, being consistently truthful with what he says to himself, not slandering others, hating evil and loving good, and being honest with money. I don’t think that is meant to be an exhaustive list. It is a compendium of righteous living. It gives us a good idea of the kind of man David has in mind here.
So, what does it mean when it says this person shall never be moved? The Psalm begins with two questions:
Who shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy hill?
The rest of the Psalm goes on to answer those questions and the last line is meant to affirm that the person who lives this way will be anchored firmly within the tent of God. This Psalm would find an echo in the book of James. James was not writing against justification by faith. He was writing for a faith that produces works. True faith works. It transforms life, and it does so in practical ways. It changes how a man speaks within himself and about others. It transforms the way he sees good and evil and how he feels about them. It affects his pocketbook and how money does and does not motivate him.
It is the person whose faith has transformed him, made him a new creation, and produces in and through him the fruit of the Spirit that shall not be moved. The one who perseveres in faith is the one whose faith is actively working to transform them from glory to glory. Unrighteous living is like a prophecy of apostasy.
