James 1:22-25
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22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23 Those who listen to the word but do not do what it says are like people who look at their faces in a mirror 24 and, after looking at themselves, go away and immediately forget what they look like. 25 But those who look intently into the perfect law that gives freedom and continue in it—not forgetting what they have heard but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.
In February of this year I was sitting on a plane flying to Sydney. (I think it was about the 14th flight I had been on in about 6 weeks. (Which has nothing to do with what I am wanting to say here… I just thought it was an interesting fact.) This flight was different. As we took off I was skimming through my Bible when I read the above section from the book of James. I had read these verses numerous times before and have always thought it was an interesting piece of scripture. I remember reading it… putting down my bible… and just pondering it for the next three hours as I stared out the plane window. You’d think that after pondering a certain scripture for three hours I would have something significantly profound to say. But I’m not sure that I do.
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. DO WHAT IT SAYS! – How simple is that! – Yet week after week we read the word… or listen to the word as it is preached. But do we, Do what it says? Sure we hear the word & read the word & talk about the word… but how often do we actually do what it says? What if we simply read the words of Jesus (you know the red ones)… and did… what he said… I think our lives would be a whole heap different.
I’m sure we’ve all listened to lots of messages or read in pages scriptures that have really impacted us. For me this happens all the time. BUT how often do we actually act on that revelation? Sure we Act sometimes… But I think a lot of the time, perhaps with out knowing it…we think the purpose in our reading or listening is that we would walk away with somewhat of a “warm fuzzy”… a revelation. Which is great! But unless that revelation of knowing something new brings us into a place of action… We are Deceived! – We return the next week and the next week and the week after that… not changed from the revelation… but in exactly the same place.
We think by listening or talking or reading, that we are seeking God. But when we walk away with a “warm fuzzy,” not doing or changing but simply knowing… Perhaps we have missed the point!
You see I’m convinced that when Jesus returns, He’s not going to ask us what we know… or how we felt in response to a certain scripture or whether we knew the route word for blah blah blah. But he is going to judge us by what we have done… by our actions! By our fruit!
Paul says in Romans 2:13
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And Jesus in Matthew Ch 7
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24″Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
I have a friend who has a broken leg… he’s had a few operations & now the bones aren’t fusing together and his leg is infected. So he has been going to see a specialist. What if my friend drove to the hospital sat in the specialist’s office and listened to the recommendations and instructions of how to best treat the infection. But somehow thought that by simply hearing the instructions he would be fine! What if he believed that somehow just going and hearing what the doctor had to say was enough. But never actually acted on the advice he was given. Would he not be Deceived?
But so often that’s what we do!
How many times have you heard a great message, which you swore was going to change your life… but by the end of the week you had forgotten it? Here James encourages us not to walk away forgetting what we have heard. But to look intently (the word in the Greek speaks of someone eagerly searching the word) into the perfect law (the Gospel) that gives freedom.
When we eagerly look into the truth… into Jesus… when we study his life, his truth his law… when we persevere… when we constantly remind ourselves of the truth… when we daily seek relationship with him… We will be found not only to be listeners that forget but doers that do.
The result for such a person… is that he will be blessed in what he DOES!!…not knows but does!
James 1:22-25
- Don’t fool yourself into thinking that you are a listener when you are anything but, letting the Word go in one ear and out the other. Act on what you hear! Those who hear and don’t act are like those who glance in the mirror, walk away, and two minutes later have no idea who they are, what they look like.25But whoever catches a glimpse of the revealed counsel of God—the free life! —Even out of the corner of his eye, and sticks with it, is no distracted scatterbrain but a man or woman of action. That person will find delight and affirmation in the action. (the message)
