Second Baptist Church, Griffin, Ga

James 1:22-25
But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude or deceive themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is 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. But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.

Nehemiah 8:1-4 (paraphrased)
And all the people gathered as one man at the square… they asked Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses which the LORD had given to Israel. Then Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly… He read from it before the square… from early morning until midday… and all the people were attentive to the book of the law.

Nehemiah 8:5-6
"Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people… and when he opened it, the all the people stood up." Then Ezra blessed the LORD the great God. And all the people answered, “Amen, Amen!” while lifting up their hands; then they bowed low and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground.

Nehemiah 9:1-3
Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the sons of Israel assembled with fasting, in sackcloth and with dirt upon them. The descendants of Israel separated themselves from all foreigners, and stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers. While they stood in their place, they read from the book of the law of the LORD their God for a fourth of the day; and for another fourth they confessed and worshiped the LORD their God.

Nehemiah 10:28 (paraphrased)
The people took… an oath to walk in God’s law… to keep and to observe all the commandments of GOD our Lord, and His ordinances and His statutes…

“It took me a long time admittedly to find out that the bottom line in the spiritual life is not some momentary commitment, the bottom line in the spiritual life is long-term obedience.”
~John MacArthur

II. True Faith Responds to the Word of God Obediently:

Verses 22-27
…But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves…

“Not the expounding of the law is the chief thing, but the doing of it.”
Rabbinical Teaching

Matthew 12:50
For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother.”

Luke 11:28
…blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.”

John 13:17
If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.

Matthew 28:20
‘Go make disciples teaching them to observe all that I commanded you…

James 4:17
…to one who knows the right thing to do, and does not do it, to him it is sin.

Rom 2:13
It is not the hearers of the Law are just before God, but the doers of the Law will be justified.

“Those who consistently disobey God’s Word give evidence that they are without His life within them. Those who consistently obey the Word give evidence of the life of God in their souls. As noted several times in earlier chapters, that is the central theme of James’s epistle… a true believer will not be inwardly satisfied with merely knowing the Word. His conscience and the prompting of the indwelling Holy Spirit will keep convicting him of his failure until he becomes obedient.”
~John MacArthur

a. Two Types of People:
Verse 22

“Wholehearted acceptance of the Word must result in active obedience to the Word. Such obeying of the Word constitutes the essence of a living faith.”
~D. Edmond Hiebert

1. Those Who Do:

Verse 22
But prove yourselves doers of the word…

Philippians 4:9
The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

Matthew 7:24-27
"Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine, and acts upon them, may be compared to a wise man, who built his house upon the rock. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and burst against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded upon the rock. And everyone who hears these words of Mine, and does not act upon them, will be like a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and burst against that house; and it fell, and great was its fall."

"The world does not need a definition of religion, as much as it needs a demonstration."
~Martin Luther

Verse 22
But prove yourselves doers [poiétés] of the word…

poiétés (poy-ay-tace'): a maker, a doer
[origin; poieó (poy-eh'-o): do, act, cause]
*describes one who does something as his occupation.

*preceptaustin.org

Matthew 4:4
'Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"

2 Timothy 3:16-17
All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.

2. Those Who Hear:

Verse 22
Be ye doers of the word, and not merely hearers [akroatés] who deceive themselves.

akroatés (ak-ro-at-ace'):
a hearer of, a listener to

“In the Jewish home, the education process, and in the synagogue, the hearing of the Law read aloud played an important part in Jewish life.”
~Cleon L. Rogers Jr.
"The New Linguistic and Exegetical Key to the Greek New Testament"

“Hearing the word of God is not an end in itself, it's a means to an end and the end is obedience?
~John MacArthur

Matthew 7:21-23
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’

Verse 22
not merely hearers who deceive [paralogizomai] themselves.

paralogizomai (par-al-og-id'-zom-ahee):
to miscalculate, to reason falsely or wrongly

“God’s people are not redeemed by observing the law, but they were redeemed so they might obey the law.”
~Kevin DeYoung

“The central issue about the Bible is whether we live it.”
~John Alexander

b. Two Different Outcomes:
Verses 23-25

1. Some Are Deceived:
Verse 23-24
For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked [katanoeó] at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was.

katanoeó (kat-an-o-eh'-o): to consider attentively

“They fail to obey what the Word tells them to do. They think that hearing is the same as doing, and it is not.”
~ Warren W. Wierbe

2. Some Are Blessed:
Verse 25
But one who looks [parakuptó] intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.

parakuptó (par-ak-oop'-to)
stoop, peer in, look down, look intently.

“The blessedness of true religion lies very much in the practical effect of it. Hearing is pleasant; but doing is the effectual proof of grace.”
~Charles H. Spurgeon

Verse 25
…this man shall be blessed in his deed."

Deuteronomy 29:9
So keep the words of this covenant to do them, that you may prosper in all that you do.

Psalm 1:1-3
The blessed man… delights in the law of the LORD,
And in His law he meditates day and night…
And in whatever he does, he prospers.

Joshua 1:8
This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.