Be An Effective Doer Of The Word Series

JAMES 1:22-25

BE AN EFFECTIVE DOER OF THE WORD

[Luke 12:41-48]

If the implanted Word is received it will work itself out into actions. It is never sufficient to simply hear the Word we must take into heart and do it. Simply hearing a good sermon or Bible study will not make you grow and receive God’s best blessings. The implanted Word be accepted & then put into action. It is in the doing of God’s Word that spiritual growth and the blessings of God come. Too many Christians mark their Bibles but their Bibles never mark them! God wants His people to put His Word into action (CIT).

I. OBEY THE WORD, 22.

II. FORGOTTEN REFLECTION, 23-24.

III. BLESSED ABIDING, 25.

Verse 22 is a command to obedient action to the Word of God. But prove yourselves doers of the Word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.

In biblical culture, the word hearers identified those who attended a lecture without becoming disciples. People who demonstrate by their actions, or might I say lack of actions, that hearing alone is enough, God says are deceiving or are only kidding themselves. And that deception may be betraying the ultimate spiritual danger, the danger of not truly being saved. Scripture does not teach a salvation by works, nor does it teach a salvation for those who do not obey God by obeying His Word. Christ’s sheep are marked on the ear and on the foot, they hear His voice and follow Him (Jn.10:27).

An authentic believer is one who receives the implanted Word and continually strives for more and more practical obedience to the Word. They submit to the Word’s authority and comply with its directions. God wants a listener to become a disciple, an obedient follower of Jesus. One who listens to the Word without intending to obey it, becomes elf-deceived.

It is common knowledge that the doctor’s most ANNOYING PATIENT (except for the one who doesn’t pay his bills) is the one who doesn’t follow his orders. Such a person comes into the doctor’s office with a complaint, submits to an examination, hears the diagnosis, and is told what to do. But that’s as far as it goes. The patient either cheats on the recommended diet, doesn’t take the prescribed medicine, refuses to exercise, continues to smoke, or doesn’t return for a checkup. In so doing, he not only frustrates the doctor but also may hasten his exit from this world.

God has "problem patients" too–Christians who hear His Word and understand what they should do, but who don’t follow through. And the consequences may be very serious.

One man after many years of being in church regularly became involved with another man’s wife and began to talk about divorcing his mate. Friends tried to talk him out of it. Although he admitted that his contemplated action was wrong, he did it anyway. Today he’s a very unhappy man. He has cried hot, bitter tears, saying over and over, "If only I had obeyed God! If only I had obeyed God!" He has confessed his sin, and God has forgiven him, but he still lives under a burden of deep regret. How he wishes he had followed God’s clear biblical instructions on marriage.

Unless we obey God’s Word, we cannot experience spiritual health. If we are doers of the Word, we will not be God’s "problem patients." Obeying God is the best prescription for spiritual health.

The Lord hasn’t made His Word available just to give us interesting reading. He is preparing us for action. The implanted Word only flourishes in the enriched soil of true obedience. To think otherwise is to delude ourselves.

Growing in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ calls for more than simply putting new information into the computer of our brain – important as that is. When we listen to a sermon, read a devotional message, or gain new insight from a book, we must determine to put into practice what we have learned. Only then can God’s truth become a personal possession.

I’ve read that when EDWARD VI, the king of England in the 16th century, attended a worship service, he stood while the Word of God was read. He took notes during this time and later studied them with great care. Through the week he earnestly tried to apply them to his life. That’s the kind of serious-minded response to truth the apostle James calls for in today’s Scripture. A single revealed fact cherished in the heart and acted upon is more vital to our growth than a head filled with lofty ideas or dreams about God.

Do you feel as if you’ve reached a spiritual plateau? Check and see if there is any biblical promise you’ve not claimed, any command you’ve not believed. New light is not given unless you are walking in the light you already have. The growth equation for the Christian is always hearing + doing = growing.