Doers of the Word

James1:22-25

Intro: How can we hope in God’s word unless we read it? How can we claim His promises if we don’t know what they are? How can we expect God’s word to help us unless we do what it says?

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

  a. If a person thinks that he can hear and learn the Word of God and then go out and live like he wants, he deceives himself. There are many who sit under the Word of God week after week, and they learn and know as much of the Word as anyone. They think that their listening and learning makes them acceptable to God, that it makes them safe and secure. When they slip into sin, they feel that they can ask God for forgiveness and that He will forgive them.

      They just feel that God would never reject them or what they do.

  b. God does not accept us because we hear and know His Word. These are necessary and very important, but they are not enough. It’s when we take action on His word that He accepts us.

      God accepts us because we [confess and repent]. Repentance means that we turn away from our sins and turn to God. God accepts us because we turn to Him and live for Him. When we believe God—really believe Him—then it is that we trust and follow Him and do exactly what He says. Worthwhile knowledge is a prelude to action; but God’s word can only grow in the soil of obedience. We can measure the effectiveness of our Bible study time by the effect it has on our behavior and attitudes. The devil doesn’t care how much we read and know God’s word as long as we don’t use it. He only fears when we claim God’s word, live by it and use it against him.

2. A hearer only forgets what he has heard. James 1:23-24 (NKJV) ²³ 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.

  a. The person who only hears and knows the Word soon forgets what he has heard. If a person does not practice what he learns, it soon fades from memory. Some people take a casual look at God’s word without letting it affect their lives, like the person who looks so quickly into a mirror that flaws go undetected and nothing is changed. It is just forgotten, and it never becomes a part of the person's life. He is like the person who looks in a mirror to see if he needs to do anything to his appearance, then walks away and thinks of something else and forgets what needed to be cared for. Some listen and maybe study God’s word but don’t act on it. So it’s soon forgotten! Does a person no good!

3. A doer of the word is blessed.  James 1:25 (NKJV)  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.

 a. People who look steadily into God’s word and studies it with serious attention and then makes God’s law their chosen lifestyle, are blessed of God.  They study with attention not only once, but continuously; as a result, they remember God’s word and do what it says. Note that the Word of God is called the perfect law of liberty. This law is perfect; it cannot be improved. This law sets people free because it is only in obeying God’s law that true freedom can be found. John 8:31-32 (NKJV) ³¹ Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 

³² And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."                                      As Christians, we are saved by God’s grace, and salvation frees us from sin’s control. As believers we are free to live as God created us to live.  We are not free to live as we would. God will bless these people who look steadily, continually at God’s word, do what it says, don’t forget what they have heard, and obey it. The person who hears and does the Word of God is blessed. He is freed from all that enslaves his soul upon earth. He will discover love, joy, peace, and a soul that soars above every circumstance and situation he finds himself in. This means that the Word of God will set a person free from the bondages of sin and death. The Word of God will free a person from all the temptations of this life and give him the full and victorious life for which his soul longs—a life that will continue on and on eternally with God.

Invitation: Have you been set free from the slavery and bondage of sin? Have you found the blessed life that Jesus Christ can bring you? Call on Jesus today to forgive your sins and save you from Hell! The bible says in Romans 10:9 (NKJV)  That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. If you have been saved, are you a doer of God’s word or a hearer only? Is God’s word a part of your daily life and actions? Remember, the one who does the word is blessed!