James 1:19-22
19 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: 20 For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. 21 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. 22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
Have you ever heard someone say about someone else, “They claim to be a Christian, but they don’t act like it?” We all know too well what hypocrisy looks like. The word literally means “to wear a mask.” It referred to actors wearing masks to play different roles in a play. It is used metaphorically to describe someone claiming to be something, but not actually being what they claim to be. Jesus addressed the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and Scribes, “Saying The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat: All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not” (Matthew 23:2-3). We see hypocrisy all around us in the world. We even see it in the Church. Perhaps, we see it in ourselves.
Having addressed what is required to endure trials, keeping a proper focus on what matters, and identifying the real inner source of our opposition to resisting sin and temptation, James now comes to a portion of his letter that serves as a crux and central thesis for what He calls His readers to; being “doers of the Word.” It is one thing to know truth. It is important to know truth. However, truth that is not applied and acted upon in obedience is very dangerous. It is this issue that James now speaks to. This week, we will look at three key requirements in our lives, from James 1:19-22, for us to live as “doers of the Word and not hearers only.”
First, “doers of the Word” practice self-control. There are very few things in life that we can accomplish without discipline. Our fallen flesh works against us at just about every turn and we will be ruled by sinful desires if we just apathetically float through life. The Spiritual fruit of self-control (or “temperance”) (Galatians 5:22-23) is needed. It is one thing to know God’s Word. It is great to read it and study it, but one must have the desire and the discipline to put it into practice. The Christian life is a process of “bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5). First, James tells us we are to be “swift to hear” and “slow to speak.” Proverbs is full of warnings about the failure to listen and control what comes out of our mouths. The emphasis here is not just on daily conversations but on relationship to God’s Word. We should listen to the Word more before we speak. It is this idea of allowing the Word of God to saturate our minds before we act. “Slow to wrath” further drives this point home. There is a natural tendency when God’s Word convicts us for us to become angry or defensive. This type of reaction is not from God, but from our sinful desires in our hearts. With the Spirit’s help, we must learn to control our emotions and harness our actions, submitting them to the truth revealed in God’s Word. We are reminded that good things do not come when we act apart from the lens of the Word of God. James tells us, “the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.” To “walk in the Spirit” is to live our lives guided by and surrendered to the Word of God (Ephesians 5:17-18).
Next, “doers of the Word” pursue holiness. “Lay apart” is a command given in the aorist tense. The meaning is that of a completed past action to render the understanding: “having laid apart.” “Filthiness” and “superfluity of naughtiness” are general descriptions referring to moral filth and wickedness of all forms. Believers have turned to Christ in faith. Therefore, our lives should no longer be controlled by these things, but should be yielded to Jesus and His purposes. Believers are to “receive with meekness” God’s Word. It takes great humility to receive God’s Word. It is something the Holy Spirit works in our lives as He convicts us through the Word. The call here is to learn to submit to God’s Word and allow Him to have His way in us. We know that the Word is “able to save” us. It is also the means of God’s sanctifying work in our lives (John 17:17). Therefore, the pathway to holiness as “doers of the Word” is humble submission to God’s Word. Psalm 119:11 tell us, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.”
Lastly, “doers of the Word” pursue obedience. A “doer” is someone who practices something. In this case, a doer “of the Word” is one who does what the Word tells them. The middle/passive verb here would literally translate, “You continually be yourselves doers of the Word.” It has led some translations to read, “prove yourselves doers of the Word.” How does one do that? We do it by simply being obedient to the Word and not just hearing it. “Hearers” is a word that describes passive listening. It was used to refer to an audience passively listening to a singer or speaker for entertainment. Active listening is obedience. Listening without intention to apply is what is described here. Christianity is full of passive listeners. The seeker sensitive movement is built on it. We have to constantly have new flashy Bible studies, creative ways of teaching the Bible, or props and illustrations that capture people’s attention because most professing Christians are after entertainment and not godliness. John Phillips reminds us, “Bible study is not an end in itself; it is a means to an end.” Warren Wiersbe adds to that thinking, “Too many people mark their Bibles, but their Bibles never mark them!” This is why in Luke 8:18 Jesus gives us a warning to not only hearing, but paying attention to how we hear. If we are after truth and obeying God, then it will show in what is required to attract us. To hear passively for entertainment or to check a box and not obey and pursue godliness is to deceive ourselves. John MacArthur rightly says, “Any response to the gospel that does not include obedience is self-deception.” Jesus addresses the same issue, “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven” (Mathew 7:21). The evidence of a person who has been born again is their desire to obey the Word.
To some extent, all of our lives are marked by a level of hypocrisy. However, there is a drastic difference between striving for self-control, holiness, and obedience while falling short and approaching our faith with a half-hearted apathy. Are you practicing self-control with the Spirit’s help? Are you pursuing “holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14)? Are you striving for obedience to the Word, not just religious entertainment? The cross is the answer. We must continually look to the One who gave us His Word and died in our place because He loved us and desires to make us His own special people.