Be doers of the word, and not hearers only. Otherwise, you are deceiving yourselves.But be doers of the word, and not only hearers, deluding your own selves.But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deluding your own selves.
12 sermons cite this verse
… And instruction, obedience to this instruction equals life to us. In James chapter 1, verse 22. Watch this. But be doers of the word. Now listen. Should you memorize Bible? Yes. Should we read the Bible? Yes, should we study the Bible? All these are, you know this. This is yes. but if we are just consumers of the Bible If I say I've been going to church for years, maybe so much so that I could recite sermons. Maybe you and I remember sermons that were delivered by this person or that person. You might know so much. Maybe collectively we might know so much. But as a church, what are we affecting? Maybe you know. Maybe I know so much. Listen, this is personal. but does my life affect the world that is around me? Do not raise your hand, please, friend, but if you say today, if I say today I'm a Christian, how I live my life, how you live your life, is it provable? Remember, I ended last week's message by saying, do we really believe the Lord? …
… I must do what the Bible says. James 1.22 says, remember, it's a message to obey, not just to listen to. If you don't obey, you're only fooling yourself. You're like a person who sees their face in a mirror and does nothing to improve their appearance. You see yourself walk away, and you forget what you even look like. But if you keep looking steadfastly into God's perfect law, or into his word, the law that sets you free, and do what it says, and don't forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it. It's amazing. You know, when you go and look in the mirror, it shows you something. Sometimes you see something that others were seeing but you were not aware of. Like there's a string of cheese hanging from your lip from the omelet you had that morning. No wonder everyone was kind of smiling at you and looking away. Oh, they must think I look good today. No, you have cheese hanging from your face and the mirror showed you that. …
according to the design. I promise I'm almost there, but you're going to get this word and then you're going to work the study guide and we're going to be all right. Are you hearing the words that are coming out of my mouth? So, so let's get into it. So he says, but he who lacks, who looks into the perfect law of liberty, watch this, and continues in it. And it's not a forgetful hearer, watch this, but a doer, It doesn't say of the word, even though that's true. He switches it. But a doer of the what? Ooh. Of the work. Work, work, work, work, work. Work, work, work, work, work. Can't you hear Jesus? I must work while it's day. For nighttime comes when no man can work. You know, I've got to say something real quick. We're almost there. Look. I was on set working on some stuff the other day and I said out of nowhere I just sprung this question on the crew I said hey I said when Jesus comes back I said what do you want him to find you doing I said A, B, or C A, B, or C, multiple choice I said A, fasting and praying I said B working I said or see looking up into heaven in anticipation of his return. …
… James chapter one. Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. Follow this. If all you do is hear the word and you don't do it, then you're deceiving yourself. And deception is the work of the devil. So think about it. There is a sense in which the devil is totally fine with you reading the Bible every morning and sitting here right now listening to it and then walking away and just moving on with your life because he knows that's actually fueling your deception. It can be a very dangerous thing to listen to sermons and to read your Bible. if you just leave it there. It's leading you into total deception. Jesus says the same thing in Matthew 7. Everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand and the rain fell and the floods came and the winds blew and beat against that house and it fell and great was the fall of it. …
… will not do you any good. It's exactly what God says in James chapter one, verse 22. Be doers of the word, not hearers only. Deceiving yourselves. If anyone is a hearer of the word, not a doer, he's 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 looks 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. Like if you hear these words of encouragement for fighting anxiety and you think, well, that was helpful, then you don't actually stop and do these things when you begin to think anxious or worrisome thoughts, then you are deceiving yourself and you will miss the blessing of God. And not just you, but others. There's a powerful word here back in Philippians chapter four, verse nine, four, and we could spend a ton of time here. …
… Put that scripture up. Look at James chapter one, verse 22, but don't just listen to God's word. You must do what it says. Otherwise you are only fooling yourself. DJ Calderick's here. He said, you played yourself. You played yourself. You played yourself. You thought this is just about learning. And I know a lot. I know a lot about God, know a lot about church, know a lot of scriptures. Listen, I met a lot of people that are bound, a lot of people that are addicted, a lot of people that are filled with hatred, that know a lot about God, that do not know how to live for God. And I will tell you, the way that you please him is not just by knowing stuff. It is by walking out the truths of God's word. And the reality is, is that sin is going to keep you from this book or this book is going to keep you from sin. You got to decide what it's going to be. I don't know about you, but I want this book to keep me from a life of sin. I want to walk and live in truth, in righteousness, in freedom, and in wholeness. Come on, clap if that's your prayer today. …
We don't ever want to be mere hearers or even just enjoyers of this word, but we also want to be doers of the word. James 1, 22 to 25. Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. The one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, who does, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing. He will be blessed, happy in his doing. This blessing has fallen to me, Psalm 119 prays, this blessing has fallen to me that I have kept your precepts, that I have obeyed you. A life of God-given, spirit-filled obedience to God's word is essential to enjoying Jesus in secret. We have to be doers of the word. So Lord, train my hands to obey you and glorify you in everything that you've called me to do. As we pray for God to do something for us and in us in our secret time with him, we also want him to be preparing us to do something through us for the good of others and for his glory. …
… on himself because he had become so numb of learning and heeding the word of God. James 1.22 says it this way it says do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves do what it says listening seems kind of easy for all of us but applying that's a whole other story like you know like when I take my kids to Target and we just So we have a little huddle, and I just watch these moms walk in with daughters, and they just, like, follow, like, little ducklings, and their hair is all clean, and, like, they are sweet, and they just, like, walk, you know, in a line. And I'm like, you see that family over there? When we go into Target, I guess they're going to walk in a line behind me. Do you hear me? Are you listening? Yes. Okay. So we've had our pep talk, and we go into Target, and it was almost as if they heard on your mark, get set, go, be gone. …
… If I condemn you, blame me not. James 1.22 says, don't be just a hearer of the Word, deceiving your own selves, but be a doer. It's not the profession. It's the reality that matters. And we come then to verses 24 to 27, and we see the end of both roads, both groups, in a picture of judgment. is depicted as a storm, and the individuals who are caught in the storm are depicted as houses. Verse 24, therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them. That's what righteousness is like. You hear, you believe, you obey. Everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell and the floods came and the winds blew and slammed against that house, and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. …
… of doing the will of God. James picks up this same reality and writes in James 1.22, But prove yourselves doers of the Word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves." You can't audit Christianity. You can't audit the Bible. You have to prove yourselves doers of the Word, not just those who listen. In fact, James goes on in verse 26 to say, "'If anyone thinks himself to be religious in the true sense, and yet does not bridle his tongue. He deceives his own heart. This man's religion is worthless. So you may claim to be a Christian, but what comes out of your mouth will give evidence of whether or not you are. And then in chapter 2, the famous words of James in verse 17, faith without works is dead, being by itself. You can't have a legitimate, quote-unquote, Christian faith that doesn't show up in your life, because if any man is in Christ, he's a new creation. Old things are gone, and new things have come. …
… pastors and prayer leaders and counselors down here and we'd love to start this conversation Father, I pray that we be doers of the word and not hearers only. I pray that we would receive this implanted word that is able to save our souls. I pray, God, that it would grow and prosper.
… and does the Word of God whose life is built on a firm foundation. And notice what James says in James chapter 1 verse 22, be ye doers of the Word and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. I believe that James was thinking about what Jesus said in Matthew chapter 7 right here. Be ye doers of the WORD AND NOT HEARERS ONLY. BECAUSE ANY MAN IS SELF-DECEIVED WHO COMES TO CHURCH AND HEARS THE WORD OF GOD DOES NOT DO THE WORD OF GOD AND HAS THE IDEA THAT HE'S DONE WHAT HE'S SUPPOSED TO DO. YOU KNOW, IT'S LIKE A PERSON WHO WOULD COME THIS MORNING AND THEY WOULD SAY, YOU KNOW, I, I ENJOY THE MESSAGE. OH, THE MUSIC, THE MUSIC WAS WONDERFUL. BUT THEN THERE IS NO whatsoever in their lifestyle in the way they live. James said, that man is deceived and he has deceived himself. He is self-deluded. Be ye doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. Jesus said, whosoever hears this word and does it. Now let's just stay with James for a moment. I want you to go to James CHAPTER TWO, AND I'M GOING TO READ AN EXTENDED PASSAGE OF SCRIPTURE. AND IT IS ONE OF THE MOST CONTROVERSIAL PASSAGES OF SCRIPTURE IN ALL OF THE BIBLE. BUT I AM TOTALLY CONVINCED THAT WHAT I'M ABOUT TO READ THIS MORNING IS THE MESSAGE THAT MOST CHURCHES IN AMERICA NEED. I WANT YOU TO LISTEN TO IT. AND MANY BAPTIST CHURCHES NEED THIS. HERE'S JAMES. JAMES IS VERY …