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 who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing. [James 1:22-25, ESV]
“Actions speak louder than words.”
Yes, that saying has been said so often that most people will roll their eyes whenever they hear it, but there is a reason why that saying has been used so often. The reality is that actions do speak louder than words. That fact of life is nothing new, and in James 1:22-25, we see James saying the same thing that our mothers and fathers have told us.
James explains the way we must consult the Word of God, how we should apply the Word to our lives, how we must not let the Word exist in our minds but not our hearts. What good is a diploma if never used to apply for a job? What good is money if it is never spent? What good is wisdom if it is never applied? What good is our faith if we do not live it out? We must not let life stop us from living out the faith that we have in Jesus Christ. We must serve God in all areas of life, at all times, in every situation.
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
For the second time in James 1, James tells us not to be deceived. Given the way James phrases this verse, we know that James is writing about something that had become a problem in the Church. The human mind is highly susceptible to deception, especially when it is complicit in being deceived.
As an American, I often meet people who will live sinful lifestyles, who do not read the Bible, who never pray, who never go to church, who never make any effort to live as Christians are supposed to live, yet they consider themselves to be Christians. I am not able to say that those people are not Christians (I can only tell you that I am a Christian), but I can say that their faith is not worth much. If I called myself a Christian (which I do), yet I lived a life of sin (which I used to), what would that say about my faith? Those who love God love to live according to His Word. People who love God will hear the Word, and they will put the Word into practice in their lives.
Many people fall into a life of sin because they lack faith in Christ. Many people are raised in the church, so they feel as if they are Christians. I used to be one of those people, and I can say that my faith was virtually worthless. I believe that I have always been a Christian, but I certainly did not live up to my professed faith.
We are unable to save others, and we cannot be saved by other people. We receive the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ, and through Christ alone. Having received the gift of salvation, we must turn from our sinful ways, seek the Lord, and live according to God’s Word.
For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.
James makes an excellent analogy to help us understand the difference between being a hearer of the Word and a doer of the Word. A hearer is like a person who goes to a mirror and stares at his reflection, only to go somewhere else and forget what he looks like. I have not looked at myself for a few hours, but I remember what I look like. The point is not that the man staring at his reflection has some kind of memory loss, the point is the man looked at himself, yet he did nothing with what he saw.
I used to go to church, listen to the sermon, go home, and forget about what I heard. I did not value God’s Word in the way that I do now, and I was merely a hearer of the Word. I read the entire Bible, yet I struggle to remember anything that I had read. Since rededicating my life to Christ, I have found that I love the Bible, I love knowing the Lord, and I love living the Word out in my life.
We must not be satisfied with hearing the Word. We must hear the Word and live according to the Word.
But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.
Here we read James describing the type of person that we must be. James is writing to an audience that is predominantly Jewish, so when James describes the “perfect law”, he is contrasting the Mosaic Law with the “law of liberty”. The reason why we Christians are free from the Mosaic Law is complicated, and is deserving of its own essay. For the time being, suffice it to say that the Old Testament Law was fulfilled by Jesus Christ, therefore we are no longer judged under the Mosaic Law. Jesus Christ, having liberated us from the Old Testament Law, gave us the “perfect law”, otherwise known as the “law of liberty”.
The person who “looks into” the perfect law is anybody who accepts Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. When that person receives salvation, he must persevere in his faith. Being a Christian is not easy, and it is often far more difficult to live as a Christian than it would be to live as an unbeliever. However, when we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior, when we persevere in our faith, and when we act upon the salvation that we have received, we will be blessed.
I would like to mention that James describes the way one who is “no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts” will be blessed in his doing. When we are doers of the Word, we will be blessed in being doers of the Word. As a doer of the Word, I am not able to go and clean out casinos, for example. As a doer of the Word, when I want to show somebody the love of Christ, or when I want to share my faith with somebody, I will be blessed in my doing. God will equip us to be doers of the Word.
My brothers and sisters in Christ, do not be complacent Christians. We have received salvation, and we are citizens of Heaven, but there are billions of people who have yet to know Christ. Our souls are going to Heaven, but there are still billions of souls who will not join us unless they receive the salvation that we have received.
I want to conclude this essay by sharing an observation that I have made (though I am far from the first person to make this observation):
I have met countless individuals who have shared with me a story that follows the same pattern. They were born into a Christian family, they went to church, they read their Bible, they lived according to God’s Word, but their faith was ruined when they saw the way Christians behaved.
Bear in mind, we should absolutely not hide our beliefs, nor should we put on an act for others. The type of behavior that has turned so many people from God is the behavior that is not in keeping with God’s Word. As Christians, we must be sure that we live as God commanded us to live. When Christians teach something, they must follow what they have taught. We must practice what we preach, we must correct others in love, we must be firm in our faith, and we must share our faith with the world. People die all the time, and we know that Christ will return soon, so we must do whatever we can to share the Gospel with everybody that we can. If you are a musician, make music that leads people to Christ. If you are a writer, write things that lead people to Christ. If you work in an office, live a life that leads others to Christ. If you are unemployed, live a life that leads your family and friends to Christ.
Hypocrisy kills faith. We must be doers of the Word, not just hearers of the Word.
