Episode 149 - "Be doers of the word!" James 1:22-25

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 who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. 25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.

In our last episode, we learned that we are to be “quick to hear.” (v. 19) I suggested that means we should be actively listening to God’s word as well as to our brothers and sisters in the faith. However, James says it’s not good enough just to listen or hear when God is speaking to us. In verse 22, he says that if we just hear the word but don’t act upon it, we deceive ourselves. That seems self-explanatory, doesn’t it? But, let’s not rush on without reflecting upon the implications of this.

Wouldn’t you agree that to “deceive ourselves” would be a foolish thing to do? Why would we want to do that? Foolishness is the opposite of wisdom, and we learned in verse 5 that wisdom is something God wants to give us. It is an essential component of the completeness for which God has intended for us. Therefore, if we genuinely want what God wants for us, we will listen to God’s word so that we will know what to do. How do we do that? How do we listen to God?

There are many people who will say, “God told me . . . “ Perhaps that’s true. The problem is how does one know? The Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments offer frequent warnings about false prophets and people who are inclined to follow people who say what they want to hear. Moses writes that God commanded that false prophets should be put to death. (Deut. 18:20) The point is that we should understand the serious nature of speaking for God. 

The Apostle John wrote in 1 John 4:1-6 that an essential first test of a teacher of God’s truth is that they confess (teach and affirm) that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh and is from God. If someone denies this, they are not to be heard. If God is true, then His word is true. Whatever message someone says is from God must come true. If it bears out to be not true, we should not listen to that person. 

The Church has held that the Scriptures from Genesis through Revelation are God’s inspired special revelation to humanity. We believe the Scriptures are God’s word. Therefore, the most reliable source to follow and act upon is our Bible. It is wise and commended that we don’t just read the Bible and interpret it from our own perspective. We should read how Christians throughout the generations have interpreted the Scriptures and pray for wisdom in understanding.

Then, we are to do what the Scriptures say. We cannot say to ourselves, “Wow! That was great!” and then turn around and ignore it. James gives the illustration of looking in a mirror and immediately forgetting what we look like and likens that to those who listen to God’s word and understand what God wants them to do but ignore it. It seems that James is suggesting that we are not foolish for the things we don’t understand. That’s why he tells us that we can ask God for wisdom, who will grant it to whoever asks. It’s a matter of depending upon the Lord and allowing Him to help us grow in knowledge, wisdom, and faith. 

Verse 25 is the “icing on the cake.” James writes, “But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.” What is the perfect law? Some of you might say, “We’re Christians, and we aren’t under the law.” Without going into great detail on this, look at how he qualifies this “perfect law.” He describes it as the “law of liberty.” The point here is that when we read God’s word and we are “listening” to the message, we are not to create a list of things to which we enslave ourselves. James understands that people can and do develop the mindset that if they just follow a list of dos and don’ts, they are pleasing God. In your spare time, read Romans 8. Paul explains that one of the roles of the Holy Spirit is to confront us about things in our life that need to change or to provoke us to what is good and righteous. The point here is we should not get caught up in keeping score by following a list but considering how we can honor the Lord in following Him. James says the one who does this will “be blessed.” (v. 25)

An example of doing this could be Jesus’ new commandment. “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.  By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. (John 13:34-35) Jesus taught his disciples and made it clear that what he was telling them was to be obeyed by them. He also told them the good that would come out of them obeying his new command to love one another. He told them that all people would know they were disciples of Jesus if they loved one another. 

Jesus also told people the entire Law of Moses was represented by two things: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind. Love your neighbor as yourself. (Matthew 22:37-44) It seems to me those teachings reflect a “law of liberty.” Rather than seeking to follow a list, we are pursuing a philosophy of loving God and mankind.

Prayer: Father in Heaven - Give us a hunger to listen to your word and for your Spirit to provoke and enable us to honor you by obeying your desires for us. Thank you for the blessing you are offering us through this.