2. KEY TEXT
“But be ye doers of
the word, and not
hearers only,
deceiving your own
selves”
James 1:22
3. James 1:22-27
HEARING
AND DOING
Those who
hear and do
James 1:22
Those who
hear but
don’t do
James
1:23-24
WHAT TO DO?
Practical religion
Looking into
the law and
doing the
work
James 1:25
Bridling the
tongue
James 1:26
Taking care
of others
James 1:27
Keeping
oneself
unspotted
James 1:27
4. “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only,
deceiving yourselves.” (James 1:22)
James moves us to BE doers. Hearing or reading the Word is
not enough. The Word must be our lifestyle.
“There is danger of not making Christ’s teachings a personal
matter, of not receiving them as though they were addressed
to us personally. In His words of instruction Jesus means me.”
(E.G.W., That I may know Him, October 1)
See Luke 6:27-38. What if we just know that we must do
good to those who hate us, but we don’t do so? What if we
just know that we must give to those who ask of us, but we
don’t do? Is that good for us?
How can we become doers of the Word?
“I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you
shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.”
(Galatians 5:16)
5. “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.” (James 1:23-24)
Those who only hear the Word think that they already
fulfill the requirements to be a good Christian. They
see a distorted image of themselves.
When temptation comes, they “forget what kind of
man they were” and fall.
There are two examples of people who saw a
distorted image of themselves in the Gospel:
1. The rich young man (Matthew 19:16-22)
He thought he was a perfect believer. But he
hesitated and failed when he was asked to
go further.
2. Peter (Matthew 26:33-35, 69-75)
He thought he could follow Jesus to death.
Some hours later, he showed his actual
weakness.
6. “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.”b (James 1:25)
If we use the Law as the means of salvation, then It condemns us.
If we love God and keep the Law He wrote on our hearts by the grace
of His Spirit, then we will experience the God’s freedom as His
children, saved by grace only.
7. “If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and
does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own
heart, this one’s religion is useless.” (James 1:26)
James explained how to be doers of the
Word in the last verses of chapter 1.
Our religion must come through in our
words; then, also in our acts.
“God cares more for what we
really are than for what we say
we are. He does not care how
beautiful we may look, but He
wants our hearts pure. Then all
our words and actions will be
right.”
E.G.W. (The Story of Jesus, cp. 10, pg. 61)
8. “Pure and undefiled religion before God and the
Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their
trouble…” (James 1:27)
From a worldly standpoint, it does not make sense to
focus our resources on those who can give nothing
back to society.
But from God’s viewpoint, it is precisely how we treat
those who have been cast off and rejected by the
world that reveals which of us are Christ’s true
followers: either by lending money to those who
cannot pay us back; inviting to dinner those who
cannot reciprocate; or blessing and praying for those
who mistreat us.
“And the King will answer and say
to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to
you, inasmuch as you did it to one
of the least of these My
brethren, you did it to Me.’”
(Matthew 25:40)
9. “…and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.”
(James 1:27)
Is moving away from the world necessary
to remain morally unspotted?
Jesus didn’t ask the Father to take us away
out the world, but to keep us from evil
(John 17:15)
We may live really far away from the world,
but evil will follow us wherever we go.
We are transformed to Christ’s image by His
communion. He gives us the power to live an
“unspotted” life.
So we are called to live in the world, but to
not let it corrupt us. We must announce the
good news of salvation to the world.
10. Those who are saved by grace will be
doers of God’s Word because they
have placed their faith fully in Him.
The root of temptation comes from
our own lusts and desires, but God’s
Word is an effective weapon against
sin. Satan attempts to make sin
appear attractive, but when we are
fully surrendered to God we will
accept that His ways are best, and we
will become new people
in Him.
11. JAMES,
THE BROTHER OF JESUS
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