Doers of the word
James 1:22-25 Are you merely a hearer of the Word?
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“But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.”
James 1:22-25 NASB1995
Sometimes people ask us questions about why we write our Heaven On Wheels devotionals. We often answer that we like learning more about God’s Word by digging deeply into each verse, but when I saw today’s verses from James come up, the true answer jumped out at me — we’re compelled to be more than “merely hearers” of the Word.
We’ve both mentioned our years at a local Lutheran church and why we left it (the particular synod this church is part of had become too “woke”, to the point of being heretical). But as an assisting minister who faced the congregation almost weekly, what I saw was a group of people who were mostly “hearers who delude themselves”. They were all too comfortable hearing the Word each week, reciting the litany, taking Communion, singing a few songs, then rushing out for donuts and coffee before leaving… only to do the same thing the next week.
Sure, they are believers, and a handful of the flock did attempt to study the Word of God. Some were even “doers”; volunteering for a variety of roles in the church and in the community of God. But I’ll stand by my statement that many were just “checking the box” each week, listening to a sermon and doing their part in the ceremony, but leaving it at that. Most of the Bibles and Lutheran hymnals that were scattered throughout the pews had never been opened, except when a bored five-year-old needed some paper to scribble on.
What was James trying to say in the first verse here? Enduring Word provides insight:
a. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only: We must receive God’s word as doers, not merely hearers. To take comfort in the fact you have heard God’s word when you haven’t done it is to deceive yourself.
i. It was common in the ancient world for people to hear a teacher. If you followed the teacher and tried to live what he said, you were called a disciple of that teacher. We may say that Jesus is looking for disciples: doers, not mere hearers.
ii. Jesus used this same point to conclude His great Sermon on the Mount. He said that the one who heard the word without doing it was like a man who built his house on the sand, but the one who heard God’s word and did it was like a man whose house was built on a rock. The one who both heard and did God’s word could withstand the inevitable storms of life and the judgment of eternity (Matthew 7:24-27).
iii. “A teacher or preacher may give an eloquent address on the gospel, or explain ably some O.T. prophecy about Christ, but when the sermon is done, it is not done; something remains to be done by the hearers in life, and if they content themselves with sentimental admiration or with enjoying the emotional or mental treat, they need not imagine that this is religion.” (Moffatt)
iv. “I fear we have many such in all congregations; admiring hearers, affectionate hearers, attached hearers, but all the while unblest hearers, because they are not doers of the word.” (Spurgeon)
In the next two verses, James uses the metaphor of a “hearer of the word” being like a man who looks at his reflection in a mirror. He may see himself in the mirror, but immediately forgets what he saw. Likewise, someone may read or even study the Bible, but unless they put the Word into action by living it, they’re simply a pale reflection of the Word.
In a continuation of the commentary from Enduring Word, Spurgeon says of these verses:
“Certain preachers dream that it is their business to paint pretty pictures: but it is not so. We are not to design and sketch, but simply to give the reflection of truth. We are to hold up the mirror to nature in a moral and spiritual sense, and let men see themselves therein. We have not even to make the mirror, but only to hold it up. The thoughts of God, and not our own thoughts, are to be set before our hearers’ minds; and these discover a man to himself. The Word of the Lord is a revealer of secrets: it shows a man his life, his thoughts, his heart, his inmost self.”
Answering the question about why we study the Bible and write these devotionals can be partially explained by Spurgeon’s wise commentary. We want our readers — and ourselves — to use our explanations of verses as that “revealer of secrets”, to examine their lives, their hearts, and their minds, and hopefully compel themselves to follow The Word of the Lord in everything they do.
Barb and I certainly do a surprising amount of soul-searching each time we sit down to write a Heaven On Wheels devotional. Often the mirror shows us a reflection of ourselves that we don’t want to see, but we’re forced to come to grips with our shortcomings. Hopefully having our eyes opened to our many faults is helping us to be more “effectual doers”.
Heaven On Wheels Daily Prayer:
Today’s prayer is from Knowing Jesus:
Heavenly Father, thank You for this reminder to keep my eyes fixed on Jesus and my heart focussed on the truth of Your Word. Thank You that I am no longer under the curse of the Law of sin and death but have been set free to follow the Law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus. As I look to Him, I pray that I may become increasingly like Him and that I may not only hear Your truth but act on it in word and in deed. This I ask in Jesus' name, AMEN.
Thank YOU, Joe.
Thank you, Steve. Well written and great clarification. I pray that each time I read a message that it affects how I proceed with the life God has given me.