For anyone who hears the word but does not carry it out is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror,For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man looking at his natural face in a mirror;For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:For if any one is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a mirror:
4 sermons cite this verse
… them. We've gone to church every Sunday, but is that the reality that's coming out of us? Is there evidence and proof? 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 observing his face in a mirror, a natural face, his natural face in a mirror. He sees himself, verse 24, for he observes himself and goes away and he immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty, the Bible, and continues in it is not a forgetful heir and is not a forgetful heir. That's key. But a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does. And when you're blessed in what you do, it will cause others to be influenced for the glory of God. It's very encouraging. Very encouraging. I want to give you some verses. And in my notes, I have this written down here in the scripture in this verse 5 when it says, Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. …
… that conversation, but like I said, we are very capable of self-deception where we can read the Bible, not as a mirror, like James 1.23 says, but as an echo chamber. We only read the passages that are happy and we skip the passages that we don't like, where it only offers us encouragement. It only offers us affirmation, never correction. We too, like these false teachers, probably to a lesser degree can still twist scripture to justify our own beliefs, our own desires. And we have to be on guard for that. But I'll say this, if you're looking at somebody, you're trying to evaluate, maybe your friend sends you a book or they says, hey, take a look at this video. What do you think? If you're trying to evaluate, is this person a spiritual scammer? If you're able to, try to do some research on who are they? What sort of life do they live? Like, are they faithful to their spouse? Do they love their kids? Are they part of a local church? Do people who know them say, hey, they're the same person in public that they are in private? Do they have integrity? …
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. …
And then we have an illustration of that. Verse 23, if anyone is a hearer of the Word and not a doer, he's like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror. For once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. You don't want to take a transitory look at the truth. He likens the Word of God to a mirror. In those days, mirrors are made out of some kind of metal. Glass didn't come until a long time after that. But you don't want to be like a person who looks in the mirror, meaning the revelation of God, and you take a glance at yourself in the mirror, you get a look at your natural face, you see the true condition of your life, and then you, after that look, leave, you're immediately forgetting the kind of person you were. This is going to be a delusion of your true condition. And what he's really saying is here, stay and keep looking into the Word of God. …