Be doers of the Word – not hearers only – deceiving yourselves

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. (James 1:22 NKJV)

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. ²⁵ But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does. (James 1:23-25)

It is good to be reminded that we must be doers of the Word.

In particular, the main thing to be a DOER of, according to this passage, is the “perfect law of liberty”. This is none other than the command to love our neighbor as ourselves. We can see this a little later in the Book of James where it says:

“ If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well;” (James 2:8)

Apparently our blessings in life DO depend on what we do. If we walk in love, which is the perfect law of liberty, and continue in it, this involves doing the WORKS God ordained for us.

To teach that receiving God’s blessings has nothing to do with what we do is just error.

One of the popular deceptions out there, and it can easily affect any of us, is the idea that it is enough to hear God’s Word. We hear the message and we think we know it, so now we can move on to learn something else.

Not so fast. If we do not DO the Word, we have not really learned to do it.

We in the western world especially are so intellectual in our ways of learning. Many of us go to University after 12 years of school, and we forget most of the things we learned during these times. As long as we heard it once, and can repeat it on an exam paper in writing, we are considered to know it sufficiently.

Many times we apply this same method of learning to our many, many “learning experiences” in church.

We hear sermon after sermon, but rarely does anyone take the time to check up on us as to how we are APPLYING what we learned.

Often we don’t have the structure for this in regular church life. “Life groups” could be a start towards this, but in a group of 8-12 people it is unlikely that there would be time to find out exactly how individuals are going as far as APPLYING what they have been hearing again and again.

The kind of learning which Jesus Christ modeled and envisaged for his people was via discipleship, or as I like to say, apprenticeship. In this way of learning, you have to show you know the subject by actually DOING something.

If we are going to be doers of the law of love, we have to be DOING something to benefit others. There needs to be some kind of practical expression.

It could be acts of service to meet real needs. Like helping someone with meals who is unwell.

It could be praying for others in a sacrificial way.

It could be in ministering the power of the Holy Spirit to people for their healing or deliverance from demons.

It could be in giving money, which does empower people to solve practical problems.

It could be in taking time to listen to people in emotional or mental distress.

It could be in forgiving the debts others have towards us.

It could be in preaching the gospel to people who need to hear (and hopefully see) about Jesus and what He did on the cross to pay for our sins and spiritual defectiveness.

Please don’t think that the purpose of Christianity is merely to go to more meetings, hear more messages, do more Bible studies, without putting these things into practice.

You are blessed if you have someone in your life that keeps asking you how you are going as far as being a doer of the Word.

I say this because it is not clear that in every place around the world there are many people like this, who will genuinely care for your spiritual welfare. Even in the days of the apostle Paul, he said to some Christians concerning his spiritual son Timothy. a minister he had personally trained,

“I have no one else like Timothy, who genuinely cares about your welfare. All the others care only for themselves and not for what matters to Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 2:20-21)

So here is the conclusion of the matter. If no one is looking out to your own spiritual interests, to see that you are a doer of the Word, and not a hearer only, DO IT FOR YOURSELF.

Make sure you are doing what the Word of God says.

Check yourself against what it says.

Don’t hide behind the idea that we are all sinners, and leave it at that.

Don’t deceive yourself, thinking that hearing is enough.

God has warned us that it is not enough. Because faith without corresponding works cannot save.

^” What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? ¹⁵ If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, ¹⁶ and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? ¹⁷ Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” (James 2:14-16)