Doers of the Word

'James 1:22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.'


Doers of the word.


It's no good to just hear, to just listen and agree. Anyone at all can listen, anyone can agree they believe in what they hear and yet it means nothing at all. If you went for a job interview and listed all the things you could do on your resume and expounded on those things to the person interviewing you they'd expect what from you if they hired you? They'd expect you to be able to do all that you listed, all that you told them. They weren't sitting there just to listen to you tell them what you can do, they were expecting more from you. They have expectations of fulfillment of your qualifications in the work they're hiring you to do. If all you did was sit there they'd surely fire you because they weren't there it just listen to you tell them about yourself. We could listen all day to people teaching us about various things and unless we use the things they taught us what good was it to sit there? If I'm attending college to earn a degree once I have that degree it's expected of me to be able to do the work my degree says I'm qualified for. Sure, I could go to college and sit there and listen without making any practical application of the skills I'm learning but what good is that? What does it amount to but nothing at all whatsoever.


We have to hear the Word to learn the Word, but once we hear the Word we have to make it applicable to our lives. We have to live in the truths we learn. If we don't live in the Word we've learned we are deceiving ourselves by thinking we are doing right.


Let's read the entire passage here--


Jas 1:14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
Jas 1:15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.
Jas 1:16 Do not err, my beloved brethren.
Jas 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
Jas 1:18 Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
Jas 1:19 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:
Jas 1:20 For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.
Jas 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.
Jas 1:22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
Jas 1:23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:
Jas 1:24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.
Jas 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.
Jas 1:26 If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain.
Jas 1:27 Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.


A vain religion, to those Christ will say-


'Mat 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Mat 7:22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
Mat 7:23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
Mat 7:24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
Mat 7:25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
Mat 7:26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
Mat 7:27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.'


Do we want to hear the words of the Lord saying to us- 'I never knew you, depart from me ye that work iniquity'?


We need to hear His words and do them. Not hear them and live as if the words He's given to us don't matter at all. He is the living word and He's given us of Himself. No, we can't be perfect in the sense we are Him because He will always and forever be the One and Only One who can offer us salvation by His grace. We need to listen and follow His instructions as we are fully able to do so and where we fall short He will be there to pick up our slack. We can't live as if He's not instructed us at all, we can't be hearers and not doers of the word. If we only hear the word and never do the word Christ will utter those awful words to us telling us He never knew us, words we NEVER want to hear, never.


By His mercy and grace, through His righteousness alone may we hear His word and be doers of that word so we may be known by Him.


Amen.