When I rededicated my life to the Lord, it wasn’t very long before someone lent me a teaching series. It was a tremendous series about how we see God. It was called “The Image of God in You”. It was a good kick-start for me in my walk with God and it berthed in me a hunger for the Word. It started to make sense to me and I wanted to know all I could know about this life in Christ. I was so hungry to hear what that minister was saying that I remember starting the first tape (yes they were cassettes back then) at about 11:00 pm and pulling the last tape out of the player at about 6:30 the next morning. It was amazing. If you had asked me just a few weeks before that if I would want to stay up all night listening to someone preach, I would have said “Um…No thank you!”
I became ravenous concerning the Word of God. I wanted as much as I could get. I wanted to learn. I wanted to know more about who I was in Christ. More about my relationship with my Heavenly Father. My life in Christ was real to me and I wanted to know how to live it.
The problem that developed for me though, was that with all the consumption going on, there wasn’t very much “Doing”.
James 1:22 says that we are to be doers of the Word of God and not hearers only, deceiving ourselves. It goes on in in verse 25 to say that the one who is not a forgetful hearer but a doer, shall be blessed in his or her deeds.
This brings to mind the popular bible verse in the John 8:31 & 32 where Jesus said “If you continue in my Word, then are you my disciple in deed, and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
Understand here that it’s not the plain truth that makes you free. There are conditions that come with freedom. Jesus said “If you continue in my Word…” Staying in the Word is a prerequisite to walking in freedom.
We see in James 1:25 some characteristics of the one that looks into the Perfect Law of Liberty, and continues in it.
- They Will Remember – They will not be forgetful hearers.
Deuteronomy 6 points out how we are to operate concerning this perfect law of liberty.
-Keep these words, which I say to you this day, deep in your hearts;
-Teaching them to your children with all care.
-Talk of them when you are at rest in your house.
-Talk of them walking by the way.
-Talk of them when you go to sleep.
-Talk of them when you get up.
-Let them be fixed as a sign on your hand.
-Let them be marked on your brow.
-Have them lettered on the pillars of your houses.
-Have them written over the doors of your towns. - They Will Be A Doer – putting it into action.
We see in James that real faith brings action. While we are truly justified before God by faith, real faith is always accompanied by corresponding action. When Abraham put Isaac on the altar in Genesis 22, he was acting in faith. Hebrews 11:19 tells us that Abraham received Isaac raised from the dead in a figure. Abraham fully intended to sacrifice the son of promise because he walked by faith, and demonstrated his faith with his actions. We know that Abraham didn’t have to follow through. God provided for Himself a sacrifice. This is when Abraham called the place Jehovah Jireh.
This person who makes it a point to be a doer and not just a hearer only will be blessed in their deeds. That bringing it back around to John 8. It’s not just the truth that makes you free. It’s not even the truth you read, or the truth you love. Scripture says it’s the truth that you KNOW that makes you free, and the inference is that its the truth you know and DO that makes you free. Your favorite scripture will have absolutely no affect on your life whatsoever… if you will not act on it.
The Truth you know demands action. Most of us as believers are not defeated by what we don’t know. We’re defeated by the truth we know but are not doing.
This also comes with a warning. If you are not a doer of the Word, but you hear a lot of Word, you may be self deceived into thinking that you are more spiritual than you really are. The self deceived are those that think they are spiritual because they have heard a lot of good teaching. The sad truth about those who are hearers only is that with each truth they learn, they put themselves “on the hook” to do it. When they don’t do it, they just increase their disobedience to God.
I want to be fully obedient in everything. I’m sure you do too. I don’t want to leave anything undone. I have started making a confession as often as I think about it, that I am a doer of the Word of God.
I want to encourage you to examine yourself. Where do you stand? I also want to challenge you to put action to your faith. Be a Doer!
