By: Tyler Montgomery
In James 1 we are given one of the most powerful verses in the New Testament. It sates, “Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. 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” (James 1:21-25). This passage that is very straightforward and true, explaining the importance of being doers of the word, and to not shove away what you have heard from it. It states that those who are merely hearing the Word are just deceiving themselves but, how is that? How are the hearers deceiving THEMSELVES? Proverbs 19:27 says, “Cease listening to instruction, my son, and you will stray from the words of knowledge.” To apply this to today, when we listen to the Word (when we cease from learning the Scriptures) and decide to not follow (i.e. obey) those words, we will stray from the knowledge of them. It will become harder and harder for us to go back to them the longer we stray from them. Just to clarify, when it says the Word in these passages it is speaking of the Christ- John 1:1, and John 1:14 both state and clarify this thought. So, when we read to “be doers of the Word” we can discern this to mean that we are to follow and obey Christ’s commands. In verses 23 and 24 of James 1 we are given an illustration of a man looking at himself in a mirror, and when he turns away, he forgets what he saw. How is that possible? How is it that he immediately forgets what he saw? We know that he truly looked because it says that he saw his “natural face.” If we apply what we have just learned from Proverbs 19, it could have been that he was told to remember what he saw in the mirror. This is equated with learning to remember what he was reading and studying. When he was, he is around others, he forgot his “natural face,” he did not learn from what he was instructed. There are Scriptures such as Romans 11:22 that give us a good reason to remember and obey what we learn: “Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off.” With this knowledge, I ask, would you rather be a doer in all sincerity of the Word or would you rather put in the bare minimum by being solely a hearer? Those who wish to be doers, will figure how to achieve this through God’s word. Ephesians 5:1-2 declares, “Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.” We are to imitate Christ in all our works. This is how we become a sweet-smelling aroma for God. We please Him when we obey His Word. Ephesians 4:17-19 says, “This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.” We are to focus and stay strong in our Lord and change our earthly ways to no longer “walk as the rest of the Gentiles.” We cannot give ourselves over to lewdness, uncleanness, and greediness; we must stay away from these things! We also need to understand that the ability to stay away will not come over night, rather we should “imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises” (Hebrews 6:12b). It takes time to be able to hold yourself accountable according to Gods Word, but when we stumble, or fall, we need to understand that we must keep moving forward. If we become sluggish and lazy, then we stop moving in our faith and will become stagnant. We will become weak and we will be as the unrighteous and ungodly (cf. Psalm 1). We as the Church must continue to move, learn, strive, and grow in our amazing Gods Word. The inspired Peter exhorts, “You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked; but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory now and forever. Amen” (2nd Peter 3:17-18). Since the arrival of the Church to earth, we have been warned about falling from our Lord’s grace, false teachings, and falsehoods that WILL appear to us (cf. Matthew 7:15). False teaching, false teachers, and false doctrine have all been around since the beginning, but we as Christian’s know that we have the ability to prepare for them. We can know right from wrong and be able to discern what is true and what is not. WE MUST renew our minds (cf. Romans 12:1-2)! We must continue to strive in God’s will, we must prove what that will of God is supposed to be! We must be active and strong Christians or we will continue to stumble; we will continue to fall. Therefore, let us go out into this world and continue to do God’s will. Let us continue to strive to learn our God’s word. “See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of God” (Ephesians 5:15-21).