What Stops you from being a Doer of the Word!
God's Word is the seed that is implanted in us to grow our faith and make our life impacting and worthwhile. His Word cannot be planted in our hearts when all the room is taken up by our pride and personal, evil agendas! God's Word must be an active participant in us; His words must transcend our soul and will so that they take root in us in a deep and personal way so all we do will be the result of what God has impacted in us. We are never to divorce our Christianity from God's Truth or His call! Allow yourself to receive His reconciliation and Truth for your life and ministry!
In this passage is the word filthiness it means earwax; it needs to be cleaned. You cannot hear well if your ear is full of wax. This is also a colloquialism for evil; it is a form of adultery! It is adultery by our hidden motives and willful, moral rebellion against God. It is literally cheating on Him with our desires, lust, and sin from what He as called and planned for us. It is us, as humans, seeking what is contrary to His will such as hatred and bigotry (Isaiah 14:12-15; Matt. 15:18-19; Rom. 3:23; Eph. 2:3; Rev. 21:4). God calls us to strip it off like filthy clothing.
There is an aspect to receiving and applying His power into our lives, Christians often overlook. We have the responsibility to practice it. We are not great at it at the start. Bible memory, just like learning to drive or play a game, it takes time to master, no matter how talented we may be. We have to work at it by learning, absorbing, and then applying what we have learned. In using it, we grow and mature. The price is not too high since Christ paid for it. We have no excuse not to grow and serve Him! Never consider that it is too difficult or that you are not gifted or worthy enough, because the Spirit in you is able to do it (Psalm 87:7; Isaiah 40:29-31; John 14:13-14; 2 Cor. 9:8; Col. 3:23)!
We are not called to be prefect all of the time. We still have His forgiveness when we mess up, but we are called to put forth an effort and have a caring heart' in whatever we do, we must do it with excellence for His glory. Listening is extremely important and James will expand on it later, but just listening and doing nothing is useless! If a person went to a police officer and said a burglary was in progress, would the police officer be doing a great job by just being a great listener? Perhaps the police officer did all of the earnest, proper listening skills, paid close attention, and took the time to carefully listen-perhaps even writing it down. But, if he never responded to the burglary by calling it in, or trying to stop or investigate it himself, his job would be of no value to the community.
Do not be the forgetful person, who says they will do it and never does. To be a person who does not desire to improve himself or who does not care James plainly says is stupid behavior to be that person! Philosophers, at that time, believed knowledge freed them from worldly care; thus, having knowledge meant you did not have to deal with it. James is attacking that apathetic concept that was creeping into the Church then, and has taken deep root in the Church today!
God's Word will lead to godly action when it is received by a person who is rooted in Christ, whose life has been transformed. If not, we are self deluded as James states in verses 23-27 and Ezekiel in Ezek 3:30-32. Thus, the Bible must be read, it must be adhered to, it must impact us. Then, a visible and viable result will occur as our faith development increases, and our purpose is set with a life that is worth living and that leads others to Him. Further action is taking our faith to the streets of life and actually helping others in a real, authentic way.
Questions to Ponder
- How do you use a mirror? What do you look for? How is the Bible a mirror to you?
- How will God's Word be the seed that grow into a strong healthy tree of faith? What do you need to do? When will you do it?
- Have you considered there is filthiness and evil in you (Rom.
- What would your church look like if more people were "doers of the Word?"
- What can you and your church do to get its people to do Scripture memory?
The memorizing a passage of Scripture is an essential way not only to know God's most precious Word, but to know and grow in our Lord and Savior!
© 1984, 2006, Rev. R. J. Krejcir, Ph.D., Discipleship Tools www.discipleshiptools.org/