Listeners and Livers (James 1:22-25)

While a student at Texas A&M University, I had a class with a man who was in his sixties. He wasn’t the professor. He was a student. I thought it was fantastic that this man had decided to earn his degree at the age most are starting to think about retirement. However, as I got to know him, my admiration turned to astonishment. He was not working on his first degree, but his twelfth degree. In fact he possessed many bachelors and masters degrees as well as three doctorate degrees in various fields of academic study.

This man had received a large trust that had set him up financially for the entirety of his adult life. So, instead of putting all his knowledge to practical use, he had spent his entire life doing nothing but learning. While he may have known many useful things, his life had no real purpose. The man spent almost 50 years in college. He acquired multiple degrees, but never put any of them into practice.

Unfortunately, there are far too many people who spend their whole lives listening to the teaching of the Word of God, but spend very little time living it out.

They hear all the “thou shalts,” they just don’t heed them. They can recite the fruits of the Spirit; they just don’t reproduce them in their lives.

In James 1:22-25, the brother of our Lord speaks out against this disconnect between listening and living.

[James 1:22-25]
22 But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.
23 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;
24 for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was.
25 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.

James reminds us in this text of what someone once observed. “Christ’s sheep are marked in the ear and foot. They hear His voice and they follow Him.”

In Luke 6:46, Jesus asked, “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” At the heart of being a follower of Christ is not just hearing, but doing what His Word commands.

Look with me at this passage from James 1, and consider some things it teaches us about the necessary connection between listening and living. First of all, notice that James points us to:


1. THE FOOLISH LISTENER
Look at verse 22. James says, “But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.” Notice the phrase, “delude themselves.”

The word translated “delude” literally means “beside reason.” It describes that which is counter to reason.

In other words, James says that it is irrational to only hear the Word, but not do what it commands. You might say that it is senseless and foolish to only hear the Word, but not heed it.

Look at verse 22 with me, and notice what James says about only hearing the Word. First of all, notice:

A. We are commanded to apply the Word.
James says, “But prove yourselves doers of the word…” James opens this section with a command about how we are to apply the Word of God to our lives.

He says that we are to be “doers.” James chose an interesting word for “doer” when he originally wrote this verse.

The word the Spirit inspired James to use describes more than just following a prescribed course, or adhering to a set of instructions.

The word James used for “doer” describes someone who takes something they are given, and then creatively does something new with it.

The Greek word translated “doer” in verse 22 is ποιητής (poiētēs). This is the word that gives us our English word “poet.” A poet puts words together to create something artistic and beautiful.

Think about that. Like a poet, we are to take the words of God and put them together in our life so as to create something beautiful and unique that will glorify Christ Jesus.

Whenever you hear the Word of God, it is not just information for your head; it is inspiration for your heart! You are to take the Word and apply it creatively to your life.

James follows the positive command of “But prove yourselves doers of the word…,” with a negative one.

B. We are convicted if we audit the Word.
Again, at the close of verse 22, James indicates that it is possible to hear the Word and foolishly “delude” yourself.

This foolish self-deception comes from being “merely hearers.” James says, “But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers…”

Again, James chooses a unique word in this text. Notice that word “hearer.” The word translated “hearer” is the word that is now used to describe those who audit a class in a university.

Those who audit a class will attend all the lectures, and listen to all the material given, but they do not take any of the exams or tests.

Likewise, when the class is over, they get no credit for taking the class. They simply listened, but they did not actually “take” the class.

Unfortunately, this is exactly how many people approach the Word of God. They listen to sermon after sermon, and hear instruction after instruction, but they never put it into practice.

The foolishness of this approach is that you cannot graduate the course of the Christian life by only auditing the teachings of Christ.

Jesus said in John 13:17, “If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.” The blessing of the Christian life is not found in simply knowing what you are to do, but in doing what you know.

In verse 22, James literally says that you are not in your right mind if you only hear the word, and do not do it. There is a foolishness that only hears the Word, but does not obey it.

Notice not only the foolish listener, but notice also further, James points out:

2. THE FORGETFUL LISTENER
Having encouraged us not to be “merely hearers,” in verses 23 and 24, James illustrates what it looks like for a person to listen but not live out what they hear from the Word.

“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.”

Notice that the man is said to have forgotten what he saw in the glass. In verse 25, James says that the man who does what the Word says is not a “forgetful hearer.”

Obviously James connects the issue of forgetfulness with a failure to do what is commanded in the Scripture.

Let’s look at this illustration James gives us, and see what he teaches us about how forgetfulness will hinder us from carrying out what God has commanded. Notice first of all:

A. Who we find when we look in the Word
In verse 23, James says, “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…”

James says that a man looks into the mirror, and he sees his face. The mirror reveals who he really is.

Is that not what happens when we look into the Word of God? The Bible serves as a mirror to reflect back to us the truth of who we are.

In Romans 7:7, Paul says, “…I would not have come to know sin except through the Law; for I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, ‘You shall not covet.’”

When we look into the Word of God, it tells us who we really are. It tells us we are sinful. It tells us we need a Savior. It tells us that in Christ we are loved, accepted, and forgiven.

The story is told that, years ago, while working on one of his movies, actor Warren Beatty was spending so much time looking at himself that the film’s director had his assistants cover up every mirror on the set.

Someone once said that Beatty was so vain, he was the kind of man who would “end up dying in his own arms.”

Through his illustration, James reminds us that the Word of God is like a mirror, not to feed our vanity, but to build our virtue by pointing us to Jesus.

James not only reminds us in verse 23 of who we find when we look in the Word, but in verse 24, he reminds us of:

B. What we forget when we leave the Word
Look again at James’ illustration. He said a man who only hears the Word, but is not a doer, is like a man who looks at himself in the mirror.

Then he says in verse 24, “…for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was.”

The mirror informs the man of who he is, but he walks away and forgets completely what he learned from the mirror.

Is that not how so many of us read the Bible? We take one look at it, and then we are off, never to consider again what God had to say.

There are two reasons I think we forget the Word of God after we have heard it or read it. One, we don’t meditate on it, and two, we don’t memorize it.

Psalm 1:2 says that a blessed man meditates on the Word of God “day and night.” David said in Psalm 119:11, that he “hid” the Word of God in his heart.

When we rush away from the Word, and never meditate on it, or memorize it, we are bound to become the kind of person who is only a hearer, but not a doer of the Word.

James has shown us the foolish listener and the forgetful listener. Lastly he shows us:

3. THE FAITHFUL LIVER
I know that using the word “liver” to describe the way someone lives is not grammatically correct, but it does capture the idea that living life is an action instead of a state of just being.

Look at how James presents the opposite of the man who only hears the Word. He says in verse 25, “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.”

That phrase “the perfect law, the law of liberty” is another way of speaking of the teachings of Jesus. James is referring to the Word of Christ.

James says that in order to connect our listening to our living, there is a way in which we must handle the Word of God.

Notice a couple of truths James gives us to help us practice what we are taught in the Word of God. First of all, we find here:

A. How we should read through the Bible
Look carefully at verse 25. James talks about a person who “…looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty...”

Note that phrase “looks intently at.” It is translated from a word that literally means to turn your head sideways in order to look into something.

It is a picture of someone stooping down to look carefully at something. It is the same word that is used in John 20:5, where it describes what John did when he came to the empty tomb.

It says, “and stooping and looking in, he saw the linen wrappings lying there…”
Imagine John squinting and leaning into that dark tomb, trying to make out what was inside.

That is the same effort and strain that James says a doer of the Word uses when he “looks intently at” the Scriptures.

James is teaching us that a quick skim over a Bible chapter is not sufficient to translate listening into living.

If we want the Word to become a part of our actions, we must look deeply into the Scriptures, and as James says in verse 25, we must “abide by it.”

I read about two rival Scottish writers who met on the streets of Edinburgh one day. One of them asked the other, “Have you read my latest book?” The other answered, “I have not…You write a great deal faster than I am able to read.”

Be sure; God is not so much worried with quickness of your reading, as He is with the quality of it. We must read the Word carefully; looking deeply into what God has to say.

The faithfulness that obediently handles the Word of God not only has to do with how we read through the Bible, but also further:

B. How we should respond to the Bible
Look again at verse 25. James says, “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…”

Here is the original point where James began in verse 22, being not just a hearer of the Word, but an “effectual doer.”

You may fill your head with Bible principles until you sound like a certified theologian. However, if none of those principles become practice in your life, they are useless.

If Biblical information never becomes personal motivation, then you have mishandled the Word of God.

For instance, if you read that you are to love your neighbor as yourself, but you are so busy with yourself that you never get to know your neighbor or tell them about Jesus, then you have not truly responded to the Word.

If you read that those who have been forgiven are supposed to in turn forgive, and yet you carry around some dusty grudge against someone, then you have not faithfully and obediently responded to the Word of God!

One of my favorite stories is about a man who once bragged to Mark Twain that he was planning on visiting the Holy Land, climbing Mount Sinai, and shouting out the Ten Commandments at the top of his voice.

Twain told the man that it would be better if he just stayed at home and lived them.

It is not enough to simply hear and know what the Bible says. James reminds us that a faithful handling of the Word of God involves hearing and obeying what God has said.

James concludes verse 25 with a beatitude. He says that if a man carefully studies the Word, and then puts into practice what he has learned, “…this man will be blessed in what he does.”

There is a blessing – a happiness – in life that can only come from obeying the Word of God.

Hearing the Word of God is important, but hearing alone is not what God intends for us to do with His Word.

According to James, you are only fooling yourself if you fail to connect your listening to your living.

My prayer for each of you is that you will learn to obediently handle the Word of God, and live out what you learn.