Eddie Sims
James says in Chapter 1 verses 21-25 of the book of James
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
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;
for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.
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.
There are those who read the word of God for right reasons and those who read it with selfish motives in mind. I worked with a man once with whom I was impressed by his knowledge of the word though he admitted he was not a believer. Thinking maybe he was raised in a religious home or had a religious background of some sort. As I began to speak to him, I came to find out that he had read the Bible through and spent much time in study, but only for the purpose of being able to argue with those who believed it to be the truth.
While I was impressed with his commitment in one way, in another I thought, how foolish to spend so much time and effort on something you think is a farce just so you can argue with people.
James points out that when we read the word of God and are hearers only and not doers, we deceive ourselves. He compares it to a man looking at himself in the mirror, seeing his blemishes, flaws, shortcomings and what a mess he is and then turns away and forgets what he saw and continues as he is. The reason to look in the mirror in the first place should be to see what needs to be changed or fixed and then take appropriate action to do something about what we saw.
The look in the mirror should be followed by appropriate action, otherwise what was the point.
James follows up by saying that if we receive the word of God and let it bring change in our lives and we not only hear it but are obedient to it, we will be blessed in what we do. Being obedient to God’s word and direction brings blessing.
Jesus used this same point to conclude His 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).
I recommend and hope that you read the Bible daily or often, but the end is not in the reading. When the minister preaches the sermon, it is to inspire people to change — to action — not just to lull people to sleep. Spurgeon told the story of the man who came out of church early and his wife said, “Is the sermon all done?”
To which he responded “No, it is all said, but it is not begun to be done yet.”
May we be doers of the word and not hearers only, that we may be blessed in the things we do.
Eddie Sims is Associate Pastor at Valley Christian Fellowship
