Be Doers Who Act, Not Hearers Who Forget

By Robin G. Jordan

But let every man be quick in hearing, slow in words, slow to get angry; For the righteousness of God does not come about by the wrath of man.

For this reason, putting away all dirty behaviour and the overweight of evil, take into your souls without pride the word which, being planted there, is able to give you salvation. But be doers of the word, and not only hearers of it, blinding yourselves with false ideas. Because if any man is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man looking at his natural face in a glass; For after looking at himself he goes away, and in a short time he has no memory of what he was like. But he who goes on looking into the true law which makes him free, being not a hearer without memory but a doer putting it into effect, this man will have a blessing on his acts.

If a man seems to have religion and has no control over his tongue but lets himself be tricked by what is false, this man's religion is of no value. James 1:19-26 Bible in Basic English

In his epistle James, Jesus’ older brother, urges us to be attentive to what others says and careful in what we say. He warns us against being short-tempered. Giving play to our anger, he reminds us, will not help us grow in godliness.

James goes on to stress the importance of being doers of the word. James tells us that a man’s religion, if it does not help him to grow in discernment and in self-control, if it does not influence his thinking and his behavior, it is worthless.

How many of us, I wonder, take James’ words with the seriousness that they deserve? How many of us go to church on Sunday, listen to the readings, the sermon, take to heart what we hear, and apply it to our lives? How many of us do the same thing with the hymns, the anthem, and the prayers when they echo the Scriptures? How many of us are truly doers of the word, putting it into effect?

Let us not be content as some are to go to church every Sunday and take communion, chat with friends, and then go home to live lives during the week, which are no different from their neighbors who never set foot in a church. They allow the word to fade from their minds like the memory of a dream. They may believe that the Holy Communion is transforming them yet we see no evidence of any transformation in their lives. We find no support for their belief in holy Scripture.

Let us seek to be doers of the word for in doing the word our lives do undergo a transformation. God reveals himself at work in us for He is the cause of our desires and our acts, for his good pleasure. Our behavior does credit to the good news of Jesus Christ.

We can do a number of things to be doers of the word. We can jot down the key points of the sermon on the back of our service bulletin or in a small notebook. We can take home our service bulletin and look up the readings during the week, mediate upon them, practice the principles discernable in them, live by the truths revealed in them. We can do likewise with our sermon notes. We can meet with a small group of other Christians and share with each other what we are doing and to offer each other encouragement and support. We can devote a part of our day to the reading and study of the word with a view to applying what we learn. We can memorize the more pithy sayings and shape our lives according to what they teach.

Being a doer of the word is not something that we can do in our own natural strength. It requires the grace of the Holy Spirit. To this end we must make our own the prayer that the bishop said at our confirmation, as he laid his hand upon our head as a mark of goodwill and concern.

Defend, O Lord, this thy Servant with thy heavenly grace, that I may continue thine for ever; and daily increase in thy holy Spirit more and more, until I come unto thy everlasting kingdom. Amen.

Those who are doers of the word are blessed in the doing. They are especially blessed in the knowledge that what they are doing is pleasing to their Lord. They show themselves to truly be his disciples, those who in truth love him.

Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him." John 14:21 English Standard Version

Those who are doers of the word have a part and a place in the kingdom of God. They are numbered among the saints and are of the family of God.

Then His mother and brothers came to Him, and could not approach Him because of the crowd. And it was told Him by some, who said, "Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see You." But He answered and said to them, "My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it." Luke 8:19-21 New King James Version

God is building doers of the word into his sanctuary. He is uniting them together as his dwelling place. He is making them a people given completely up to Him to make clear the virtues of Him who brought them out of darkness into His marvelous light.