God's Glory Church

Therefore, putting aside all uncleanness and the remnant of malice, receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. Be doers of the word, and not only hearers, deceiving yourselves. For whoever listens to the words and does it is like a person looking at the natural features of a face in a mirror. He looked at himself, walked away and immediately forgot what he was like. But whoever looks into the perfect law, the law of freedom, and continues in it, being not a forgetful listener, but a doer of the work, he will be blessed in his work (James 1:21-25).

These words of James divide all believers into two camps: in one – listeners of the Word, in the other – doers. Some people deceive themselves, others don’t. All believers desire to be blessed, but only doers of the Word will be blessed. Believers are divided into performers and listeners not only in the epistle of James. The Lord Jesus Himself, finishing the Sermon on the Mount, compares the doer of the Word to a wise builder who built a house on rock, and the house withstood the greatest storms, and the listener to a foolish builder who built his house on sand, which collapsed during a storm.

The Apostle John in his first epistle wrote: “And the world and its lusts pass away, but he who does the will of God abides forever” (1 John 2:17). The will of God is carried out by those who act according to His Word. Such a person remains forever; the Lord compares him to a builder whose house is not destroyed by storms. Therefore, wanting to be a real Christian, a person must inevitably become a doer of the Word – do not let yourself be deceived that it could be otherwise. A Christian who listens to the Word of God, but does not fulfill it, deceives himself. He belongs to that category of people about whom the Lord said[…] whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken away from him(Luke 8:18). This was the case with most of Christ’s contemporaries. They relied on the promises of the Old Testament, but were not attentive to the words of Christ and did not obey them.

Becoming a doer of the Word is the calling of every Christian. But how to become one? The answer to this question seems to be very simple – you need to act in accordance with the Holy Scriptures. But this answer is only partially correct, because even those contemporaries of Christ who persecuted Him thought that they were acting according to Scripture. The teachers of Scripture and the Pharisees of that time, considering themselves the most zealous doers of the Word, became a warning about the imminent danger of missing God to every believer who relies on his piety. Imagining that God liked these people, these people were unacceptable to Him, because, thinking that they could fulfill the Word of God in their own strength, they exalted themselves and humiliated others: “But Israel, who sought the law of righteousness, did not achieve the law of righteousness. Why? Because they were looking not in faith, but in works of the law. For they have stumbled over the stumbling block, as it is written: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling and a stone of offense; but whoever believes in Him will not be put to shame, […] for I testify to them that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For not understanding righteousness and being eager to establish their own righteousness, they did not submit to the righteousness of God”(Rom. 9:31-33; 10:2-3). It turns out that you can know the letter of Scripture, but not understand its essence. You can adhere to the letter with all your might, but not know God’s ways at all. The pagans, who did not delve into the Holy Scriptures, having believed in Christ, became true doers of the Word than most of God’s people.

Maybe this means that we should not delve into Scripture? I think, on the contrary, we must delve into it with a submissive heart and much more carefully than the Pharisees of Jesus’ time, so as not to repeat their errors and external observance of the letter of Scripture is not identified with the fulfillment of the Word.

The call to be doers of God’s Word and not just hearers is intended first for believers and only then for unbelievers. Believing is the first and most important step in the process of becoming a doer of the Word, but it is not enough. James calls on us believers to “put aside all uncleanness and any remnant of wickedness, and humbly receive the implanted word, which is able to save your souls” (if you want to be a doer, you need to humbly accept God’s word). By advocating that we were not only hearers, the author does not mean to say that we should not listen and read God’s word. James only warns that hearing and reading without doing them leads us astray. It is impossible to become a doer of the Word without listening to God’s words and understanding them. A doer can only be one who understands the Word with his heart and sees its invaluable value (since God’s word has the power to save our souls).

It is God who helps us become a doer of the Word. But having realized that the Lord is changing us, everyone has the opportunity to peer openly into God’s mirror without fear and see in it the reflection of the performer of the Word – the genetic code inscribed in the seed of the Word. We become light when His light illuminates us. Unfortunately, there have always been few “doers”, so why don’t we replenish their ranks?

Ask yourself today: “Are you doing what you learn from Scripture? Are you doing what God expects of you?” This is His will: first to hear, then to do. His blessing is the result of our obedience

“But whoever looks into the perfect law, [the law of] freedom, and continues in it, being not a forgetful listener, but a doer of the work, he will be blessed in his work”(James 1:25).