Be Ye Doers of the Word, James 1:22-25

"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it-- he will be blessed in what he does."

     To listen to the word, but not apply it to your life and act upon it, is to deceive yourself. For you think that by hearing the gospel you have obtained salvation, having not realized that salvation comes by faith, by putting your trust in the saving work of Jesus Christ. Salvation comes through conscious decision. You have to make the choice to surrender your life to God and turn from sin, and that choice is made not by merely hearing the word, but acting upon it in faith.

     You attend church. You sing the songs, pray the prayers, and listen to the messages. But when you leave the sanctuary, your life remains unchanged and unaffected by what you heard. You think that you are doing alright, that everything is fine. You think that you have everything covered. You will live a life that pleases you, and when you die, you will be in heaven because you faithfully went to church.
     But it's not about church. It's not about songs, it's not about being good. It's not about doctrine, and it's not about tithing. It's about believing the gospel of grace, and surrendering your life to God. It's about doing, not hearing.

     You are a faithful Christian. You go to Bible study several times a week, regularly pray. You are faithful in your devotions, and quick to call out, "Praise the Lord!". But your life no longer produces the fruit it once did. Your have become spiritually stagnant. You are not growing. You have started to view the word as intellectual stimulation rather than the Lord speaking to you and leading you. You have become a hearer, and forgotten to be a doer.

     You hear the messages, but the somehow don't seem applicable to your life. Your heart has become hardened. The Lord just doesn't seem to be speaking to you in your devotions. You have become disobedient. Your prayers seem to go unanswered. You have become self-centered.

     Throughout time, God has spoken to mankind in many differnt ways. In the past, He spoke to us mainly through the prophets. Today He speaks to us primarily through His word, the Bible. When we, even as faithful Christians, start to become stagnant in our walks with the Lord, it could very well be because we have become merely hearers of the word, and have neglected being obedient to what the Lord is telling us through His word.
     You see, God did not inspire His people to pen the countless prophecies, unparalleled truths and unsurpassed wisdom of the Bible simply for our intellectual stimulation. The word was never meant to be something debated and theorized, but rather, it is God's direction for man's life, His love letter to us, and our daily bread. But one is not directed by simply having a map, nor is he wooed by the posession of a love letter. No one has ever been fed by buying a loaf of bread. Rather, we are directed when we follow the map, wooed when we read and believe the letter, and fed when we eat the bread.

     James tells us that a person who listens to the word and yet does not do what it says is like a man who looks at himself in the mirror, walks away, and then immediately forgets what he looks like. What would be the point of looking into a mirror if we don't heed what it tells us? The whole point of looking into a mirror is to see a reflection of ourselves and correct anything that needs correcting. To look at yourself in a mirror and not tend to what you see defeats the whole purpose of doing so. You are deceived because you think that you have made the necessary changes to correct your appearance, but indeed you have not.
     James goes on to say that a man who looks intently into the perfect law which brings freedom, continues to do so, and does not forget what he has heard but rather does it-- this man will be blessed in what he does.

     When we look intently into the word of God, we see ourselves for who we are. We see our sinful nature, our rotten hearts, and our depraved minds. We see that we are lost and perishing. But we also see that God so loved each and every one of us, that He was not willing that any should perish but that all should come to everlasting life. And He made a way for us to be cleansed of our sin, released from the burden of guilt, and set free from our past. That way is Jesus Christ.
     God took on the form of sinful flesh, yet without sin, and walked this earth, learning what it is like to be tempted, to be humiliated, to be hungry, cold, and hurting. He experienced all that man goes through so that He could sympathize with us. Yet He did not succumb to temptation, nor did He murmur about the cold and the hunger. He embraced humility and endured the pain-- for our sakes.
     When we look intently into the perfect law of God, we are set free. We are set free from pride, for we see our true state, and like Isaiah, can say no less than "Woe is me!". We are set free from sin, for we see our Savior, who, by dying the most painful death known to man for our sins and taking on the wrath of God stored up for all mankind since the fall of Adam, cleansed us from all iniquity and restored communion between God and man forevermore. We are set free from loneliness, for we come to know the most amazing love that has ever been and ever will be. We are truly set free when we hear, and believe.

     This is the blessing that is promised to us by James on behalf of the Lord: Freedom. When we see the reality of life, when we see the reality of sin, when we see the reality of a love so great it was willing to forsake glory beyond comparison to save a fallen creation fully deserving of death-- when we see God for who He is, then we are free to worship Him in spirit and in truth. For truly, that is the very reason we were created. In Christ only are we free.