Active Faith (Part Seven): Not Mere Hearers

Transcript

JRNT 7
11/20/202
Active Faith (Part Seven): Not Mere Hearers
James 1:22-25
Jesse Randolph

In his book, Improving Your Serve, Chuck Swindoll sets up the following scenario:
He says “Let’s pretend that you work for me. In fact, you are my executive assistant in a company that is growing rapidly. I’m the owner and I’m interested in expanding overseas. To pull this off, I make plans to travel abroad and stay there until the new branch office gets established. I make all the arrangements to take my family in the move to Europe for six to eight months, and I leave you in charge of the busy stateside organization. I tell you that I will write you regularly and give you direction and instructions. I leave and you stay. Months pass, a flow of letters are mailed from Europe and received by you at the national headquarters. I spell out all my expectations.”

“Finally, I return. Soon after my arrival I drive down to the office. I am stunned! Grass and weeds have grown up high. A few windows along the street are broken. I walk into the receptionist’s room, and she is doing her nails, chewing gum, and listening to her favorite disco station [this was written by the way, in the 1970’s.] I look around and notice the waste baskets are overflowing, the carpet hasn’t been vacuumed for weeks, and nobody seems concerned that the owner has returned. I ask about your whereabouts and someone in the crowed lounge area points down the hall and yells, ‘I think he’s down there’.” “Disturbed, I move in that direction and bump into you as you are finishing a chess game with our sales manager. I ask you to step into my office (which has been temporarily turned into a television room for watching afternoon soap operas).”
“What in the world is going on, man?”
“What do ya’ mean. . .?”
“Well, look at this place! Didn’t you get any of my letters?”
“Letters? Oh, yeah sure, got every one of them. As a matter of fact, we have had letter study every Friday night since you left. We have even divided all the personnel into small groups and discussed many of the things you wrote. Some of those things were really interesting. You’ll be pleased to know that a few of us have actually committed to memory some of your sentences and paragraphs. One or two memorized an entire letter or two! Great stuff in those letters!”
“Okay, okay, you got my letters, you studied them and meditated on them, discussed and even memorized them. But what did you do about them?”
“Do? Uh” and the story ends there.

This morning, we’re back in the book of James. Specifically, in James 1, and it’s been a couple of weeks since we’ve been in this great book. With that, I think it’d be helpful if we had a little refresher on where we’ve been. So that we can better understand the context of where James is taking us, not only today, but in the weeks and the months ahead. Remember, if we look at James 1 as a whole, we see that where James is directing us. Where James is pointing us. Where James ultimately wants us to get, is to this place of Christian maturity.

This place where, as he describes it in James 1:4, we are “perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” As it’s going to become more progressively clear to us, as we continue to work our way through the book of James, the maturity that James is pointing us toward, is developed through two means: The first means by which we grow and mature, as we saw in the first several sermons in this series, is through the trials that come from without, and the temptations that arise from within. We are to “consider it all joy” when we encounter those various trials, James 1:2. We’re to consider it all joy knowing, as James 1:3 says, that the testing of our faith produces endurance. Steadfastness. Hupomene. Which ultimately, verse 4 says, brings us to that place of Christian maturity, where we are “perfect and complete lacking in nothing.” We are to “consider it all joy”, James says in 1:5-8 when we ask God for wisdom to navigate our trials. We’re to “consider it all joy”, James 1:9-12 says, when we recognize that God uniquely brings certain forms of trial to the rich of this world verses the poor of this world. We’re to “consider it all joy” as we recognize that while God does allow us to go through “various trials”, trials are not the same as temptations. God Himself, “does not tempt anyone”, James 1:13. But instead, is the supplier, James 1:17, of “every good and perfect gift.” So, that’s the first means by which by which we grow and mature through trials, even temptations.

Last time, two weeks ago, we opened the door to the second means by which we grow and mature, which is through the Word. Having been “brought forth”. Having been begotten. Having been birthed through the “Word of truth”, as James 1:18 puts it. We are to be “quick to hear” the Word. We are to be “slow to speak” when we receive the Word, and we’re to be “slow to anger” in response to the Word. James 1:21 says, we are to “put aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness,” and “in humility receive the Word implanted, which is able to save your souls.”

Now, that catches us up. We grow in maturity by receiving the Word patiently. By receiving the Word submissively. By receiving the Word humbly, and by receiving the Word in purity. Now the page turns. Now the focus shifts. Now the thought process changes, as James now, here in our text today, will redirect us from stressing the manner in which we are to receive the Word. To being people who faithfully “do the Word.”

We’re going to pick it up this morning in James 1:22-25. If you’re not there already, please turn with me in your bibles to James 1;22. We’re going to go through verse 25 this morning. God’s word reads: “But prove yourselves doers of the Word, and not merely hearers who delude 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.”

For you notetakers here this morning, I’ve outlined our text as follows:
Point One – verse 22, would be The Point.
Verses 22-23 would be The Picture.
And verse 25, would be The Promise.
The Point, The Picture, The Promise, that’s how we’re going to frame this up for this morning. Let’s start with verse 22.

The Point:
“But prove yourselves doers of the Word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.”
Now, over the centuries, there have been many who have said that this is the theme verse of the book of James. In that, it so succinctly and crisply pulls together what James is saying throughout this entire book. I can’t say I disagree. This verse does, verse 22, does encapsulate much of what James has previously covered. About trials. About seeking wisdom. About temptations. About being hearers of the word. This verse does also accurately summarize everything he still will say to these early Jewish Christians. About their tongues. About their passions. About their plans. About their prayers. About their perspectives, and about everything else. In all of it, James is saying, be doers of the Word. The Christian life is not one of sideline-sitting passivity. But rather, it is one of devoted and consecrated activity. It’s not passive belief. It’s active faith.

Now, James here, starts in verse 22 with this all-important word, “But.” That word always had significance, and great significance. Because with it, James, what he’s doing here, is continuing with his overall train of thought. He is saying, it is important that you hear the Word; and in doing so, it is important that you hear the Word with open ears and closed mouths, and submissive spirits, and pure and humble hearts. But that’s not enough. It’s not enough merely to hear.” The Christian not only hears, the Christian does. Which is what we see him picking up in these next two words of verse 22, but “prove yourselves.” “Prove yourselves.” That word – ginesthei, is a present middle imperative. All that means, is that James here is saying: “Be continually.” Show yourself more and more to be. Keep on striving to be. Keep on striving to be what? Well, he tells us in verse 22. The referent is to being “doers of the Word.” So, putting it all together, James here is saying: “be continually being doers of the Word.” “Show yourselves more and more to be doers of the Word.” “Keep on striving to be doers of the Word.” Don’t proudly point to your dog-eared bible. Don’t drop in the casual references to how you earned a degree in theology with honors. Don’t puff out your chest in pride over how much of the bible you’ve ingested, memorized, or preached. No, James here is saying that the true believer, the faithful believer, the maturing believer, will not be satisfied with merely knowing the Word. They will not be enamored with their own expert grasp on the scriptures. Rather, in response to the Word, they will submit themselves to the Holy Spirit’s work of convicting them of the sin that still clings. They will turn, again with the Spirit’s power, from that sin, and progressively put off that sin, as they grow in faithfulness and obedience to the Lord.

So, prove yourselves, prove yourselves what? “Doers of the Word.” Now, that word, “doer” (poeitai), in this context, could also be translated “those who do the Word.” What this is speaking to, is this person who is wholly and comprehensively devoted, mentally, emotionally, physically, spiritually, comprehensively, to what ever it is they’ve been tasked with. To whatever it is they’ve been charged to do. He’s all in. She’s all in. It’s the picture of the professional soldier, whose life is completely devoted to combat and warfare. In contrast to the guy who plays paintball from time to time. It’s the picture of the bodybuilder, whose life is dedicated to shaping and sculpting and refining himself physically. Rather than that guy, that old guy who shows up from time to time with the headband, as he tries to regain his old form from the glory days. It’s the picture of that professional homebuilder or skilled repairman, who has whittled his craft or his trade down to a science. In contrast to the guy who is merely capable of changing a lightbulb in his home from time to time. A “doer”, in other words, is all in. He’s fully absorbed. He’s totally committed.

That idea, by the way, is not unique to James. Remember, James’ half-brother was none other than the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. As we’ve already seen, as we will continue to see as we study this book, is that often, James will channel in certain sayings of his half-brother, of Jesus. Recall the words of our Lord in some of these verses that I’m going to read off for you right now; and how they parallel what James is saying here about being “doers of the Word.” These are the Words of Christ.
Matthew 7:24 – “Everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them [or does them] may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock.”
Luke 6:46 – “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I say?”
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 to do them.”
James here though, is not only pulling in the wisdom of Christ, he’s also pulling in wisdom from the Old Testament. Remember, James was writing to this early audience, these early believers who had this Jewish background, this Jewish heritage. So, they would have been surely familiar with these passages:
Deuteronomy 28:58 – the Israelites were to be “careful to observe all the words of this law which are written in this book, to fear this honored and awesome name, the Lord you God.”
Or 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.”

What James is saying here, then, as he ties together these words both from Christ and from the Old Testament, is that genuine faith acts. Genuine faith acts. The “doer” regularly and routinely puts the Word into practice in his life. To be a “doer of the Word,” in fact, is more than being something someone does, it is what someone is. They are dedicated, not only to hearing and learning God’s word. They are dedicated to faithfully and continually obeying it. Since the bible tells them to render to Caesar what is Caesar’s, they do so. Since the bible tells them to pray for those who are in government leadership, they do so. Since the bible tells them that they are to gather as God’s people, they do so. Since the bible tells them to share the gospel with nonbelievers, they do so. Since the bible tells them to love their brothers and sisters in the Lord, they do so. Since the bible tells them to train up their children in the ways of the Lord, they do so. Since the bible tells them to work heartily as unto the Lord, they do so.

See, we are not merely to be students of the Word. We are to act on the Word. Which takes us to the next part of verse 22, where James contrasts those who are “doers of the Word.” With those who “merely hear the Word.” It says, “and not merely hearers who delude themselves.” “Mere hearers.” Now, there is no question that salvation starts with hearing. “Faith comes from hearing”, Romans 10:17, “And hearing by the word of Christ.” There is no question that we are called to be hearers. That was the entire last sermon I was up here preaching. Remember, we saw in that message from James 1:19-21, that the church is to be made up of people who are quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger, in response to what? God’s word. That’s James 1:19. So, as we strive to grow in maturity as followers of Christ, it certainly does start with hearing the word of God. After all, we cannot do what we do not know. But what James is getting after here, in verse 22, is that the Christian’s obligations do not end with hearing. Hearing, in other words, is not enough.

Now, the word here for “hearers”, in its original context, would refer to someone who would sit passively in an audience and listen to a speaker of some sort; this person wasn’t taking notes. They weren’t replying audibly. They weren’t raising their hand to ask a question of the speaker. They were just taking it all in. A modern-day example of that would be the person who audits a college course. Maybe even a course at Shepherds Theological Seminary in Lincoln, Nebraska. They attend, they hear, they listen, but they don’t do any of the work that for-credit students are doing. They’re not doing outside studies. They’re not reading extra books. They’re not writing papers. They’re not taking exams. In other words, they’re not being held academically accountable for what they hear.

Now, there is a legitimate place for auditing in academia. Someone can legitimately audit a course just to learn something new, for which they don’t need to write papers and take exams and so on. However, there is no legitimate place for auditing in the Christian life. That’s exactly what James is saying here when he warns his audience about being “mere hearers”, “mere auditors.”

Rhetorical question time. Don’t answer. Don’t raise your hand. I don’t want to see the hands. How many of you here this morning are just auditing true biblical Christianity? You’re willing to wake up reasonably early on a Sunday morning. You’re willing to take a shower and brush your teeth and style your hair and put on some nicer clothes before you come here. You’re willing to brave the elements, the icy winds to get here. You’re willing to shake a few hands and give a few glancing nods out in the south lobby as you walk in. You’re willing to grab a bulletin. You’re willing to sing a few songs, or at least mouth the lyrics. You’re willing to throw a few dollars in the bag during offering time. You’re willing to sit in your comfortable chair. For many of you, the same comfortable chair that you’ve been in for many years. You’re willing to sit in this climate-controlled auditorium. You’re willing to listen quietly and attentively while the preacher is up here. You’re willing to close your eyes for the closing prayer. You’re willing to be part of the program. You’re willing to go with the flow. You’re willing, like the Athenian philosophers of Acts 17, to come and hear something new. Like you would a university lecture or a presentation at an art museum.

But then, with a self-righteous sense of satisfaction, “I did church today.” “At least I’m not like the godless pagans out there who don’t go to church.” You head right out these doors at 11:30 am, on the dot, and its back to the anger. And its back to the bitterness. And its back to the envy. And its back to the hostility. And its back to the hopelessness. And its back to the despair. And its back to the fear. And its back to the mindless scrolling. And its back to the time wasting. And its back to the daydreaming. And its back to the booze. And its back to the drugs. And its back to the porn. And its back to the unequally yoked relationship. And its back to sleeping with your girlfriend. And its back to lusting after someone else’s wife. And its back to the idolatrous obsession with worldly things. And its back to whatever dangerous cesspool of sin you find yourself walking toward.

Listen now.

If you’re living a buttoned-up, spit-shined, polished and pretty Christian life only here on Sunday mornings. But you’re not living an upright and godly life out there between Sunday mornings. If you’re an auditor only, a “mere hearer.” James has a word for you. It’s at the end of verse 22. Look at what he says about the one who is a “mere hearer.” Look at what he does. Look at what he’s doing. They “delude themselves.”

“Delude” . . . paralogizomai, it means to miscalculate. It means to incorrectly reckon or reason. In the context, what the word actually is suggests is, deliberate false reasoning for the purpose of deceiving. It’s the same word Paul uses in Colossians 2:4, where in his context, he’s warning the Colossian Christians about false teachers who were teaching Christological errors. He says to them in Colossians 2:4 – “I say this so that no one will delude you (paralogizomai) with persuasive argument.”

Here in the context of James, what he is saying, is that professing Christians who hear the Word without obeying it, make a serious spiritual miscalculation. Which causes them to be deluded. Not only that though, James here is using, with that word, that verb, he’s using the middle voice. What that means, is the actor is bringing the activity upon himself. Meaning, the “mere hearer” is not just deluded, they are self-deluded. They are self-deceived. Any response to the Word, other than faithful, unqualified obedience, James is saying, is self-deceptive. We deceive ourselves if we say we’ve heard the Word, and listened to the Word, but we do not follow it. But we do not “do” it.

Now, bringing it back to James 1:22, there are those who, because of their constant hearing of the Word, they’re just going to assume they are saved. They’re just going to assume they’re safe in Christ. That they are among the redeemed. That they are one of the faithful. They are going to assume that, because they’ve heard the Word. They’re going to assume that, because in some settings, they continue to hear the Word, and in churches like ours, they have the opportunity to hear the Word constantly. That does describe our church, does it not? I’m being fair, right? This is a church where we have countless opportunities to hear the Word, right? First hour. Second hour. Evening service. Bible study. Titus Tuesday. Wednesday night study. Adventure Club. Men’s conference. Women’s conference. We’re planning a Marriage Conference for next year. The Sound Words podcast. Pamphlets. Books. The bookstore. Book studies. Sermon archives. What riches! We are truly blessed! But what James is telling us here, is that as much as we can and should avail ourselves of all those resources, hearing is not enough! We aren’t faithful just because we hear. We aren’t being faithful just because we listen. Listening is merely the start of it, but its not the end of it. No. Our conduct. Our works. Our “doing.” What we “do”. That’s what shows whether we have genuine faith. It’s not a question of claiming. It’s a question of living. It’s not a matter of hearing. It’s a matter of doing. Again, consider what we see elsewhere in the New Testament on this very topic. Again, James is not out here on an island, inventing some new out there theology. It’s all over the New Testament. Consider these words. I’m going to rattle off a few more verses. Some from the very lips of our Lord Himself.
Matthew 7:16 – “You will know them by their fruits.”
Matthew 12:34 – “For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart.”
Matthew 12:35 – “The good man brings out of his good treasure what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure what is evil.”
John 15:14 – “You are My friends if you do what I command you.”
John 14:23 – “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word.”
John 14:24 – “He who does not love Me does not keep My words.”
1 John 2:3 – “By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments.”
1 John 2:4 – “The one who says, ‘I have come to know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.”

A hearer who is not a doer is deceived. He is deceived into thinking, either that he is being faithful in his walk with the Lord, when he actually is not. Or worse yet, he’s deceived into believing he knows the Lord, that he is saved, in the first place.
1 John 3:10 – “By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God.”

One of my greatest fears in this role, as the pastor of this church, is actually not to step up and preach texts like this, just because they make us a little uncomfortable. My job is to “preach the Word in season and out of season.” 2 Timothy 4:2. What I fear, rather, is what texts like these may expose in our church. As the light of the truth of God’s word penetrates the dark corners of the hearts in this room. How many of you know much about the word, but are doing little in response to the Word? How many of you are hearing the Word, but not doing the Word? How many of you are deceiving others and deluding yourselves? How many of you have open ears but hard hearts? How many of you are active at church, but otherwise at home, you’ve spiritually atrophied? How many of you are just going through the motions, as religious do-gooders, as spiritual busybodies, when in reality your hearts are far from the Lord Jesus Christ? My heart genuinely breaks when I think of it. Please, if I’m describing you. I ask you; I beg you, stop playing games. Stop the charade. For some of you, stop that listless and limping death that awaits you, in a real and eternal hell. If you’re an audit-only attender. If you’re a “mere hearer.” My call on you, on the authority of God’s word, and specifically what we have here in James 1, is to repent. To be willing to acknowledge, before God, that you are a mere hearer, and not a faithful doer. Maybe you’re that “mere hearer” who is a genuine believer, but right now you’re in that season where you just find yourself somewhat spiritually adrift. You know, the spiritual cylinders aren’t firing. God seems somewhat remote or far off from you. You’ve lost your first love for Him. It that describes you, the solution is simple. Ask God, through prayer. Ask God and beg of Him, that He would “fan into flame” the lost affections you once had for Him. So that you’ll have the motivation and the resolve to be a faithful “doer” and not a mere “hearer.” But I fear that the reason some of you in this room are “mere hearers” is that you’ve never actually been born again, you’ve never truly come to trust in Jesus Christ in saving faith. If that’s you this morning, it is not my place to call on you, as an unbeliever, to start mechanically “doing the Word.” Because the reality is, you can’t. You’re unable to. You can’t do so, without a new heart. You can’t do so, if you’re not a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. You can’t do so, if your sins have not yet been washed and forgiven by the blood of the Lamb. You can only do so, if you’ve turned to the Lord Jesus Christ in saving faith. Trusting in His finished work on the cross, to pay the penalty for your sins. Everyone of them. Every wicked, vile sin you’ve ever committed. Those that are out there in the open; and those that are hidden in those dark corners of the heart.

If that’s you, let me make a promise to you right now. If you cry out to Jesus today, to forgive your sin, to save your soul, He will answer that. He will wipe out, blot out the sin debt that you’ve incurred. You will be granted eternal life. His Spirit will indwell you. You will now, have the ability to fight those sins that you’ve never been able to fight. To have victory over those sins you can never seem to have victory over. To live the faithful and fulfilling life that only a true follower of Christ can experience. So, if that’s you, if you’re not a follower of Christ here this morning. If you are not truly a believer, you don’t’ need to “do”, like what James is saying here. You need to run. You need to run to the cross of Jesus Christ. To beg Him for forgiveness and ask Him to save your soul.

Back to our text. Verse 22, there’s not pleading ignorance as to what James is saying here. We know exactly what he’s saying and what he means. From the pulpit to the pew, we’re called to do what we hear. Christianity again, is not a faith of just hearing, it’s a faith that involves doing. Obedience to God’s word is not an elective in the school of saving faith. We’re not to be mere auditors of the Word. We’re to be practitioners of the Word. We’re to be “doers of the Word.” You’re saying, okay, we get point Jesse. We’re all saying, okay, we get the point James. We can go home now, right? Wrong. Ever the preacher, James now, drives this point home even further with this illustration in the next two verses, verses 23-24. Which brings us to our second major heading for this morning, The Picture.

The Picture:
We had the point in verse 22. We now have the picture in verses 23 and 24. Let’s read it. He 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; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was.” Again, James here, is just so crystal clear in his writing. There’s no questioning it. There’s no contending with it. There’s no challenging it. He’s made his point. “Be doers of the Word”, not “mere hearers.” But, then through this use of this vivid illustration in verses 23 and 24, he drives the nail all the way in. Starting with those words in verse 23: “For if anyone is a hearer of the Word and not a doer.” In other words, if a person is not heeding what James said back in verse 22. If they don’t have active faith. If they aren’t a “doer of the word.” If they are a “mere hearer” of the Word. If they are a pew potato and then he gets right into his illustration: “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.”

Now, in some ways, this illustration is simple enough that it’s immediately understandable to each one of us. Sitting all these years later, all the way across the world, we can picture what James is outlining here. This picture of the person walking up to the mirror, giving themselves a passing glance, and then walking away and forgetting some aspect of their physical appearance. But there are other ways in which this illustration isn’t all that relatable to us, given the original context. What do I mean?
Well, think of it this way. The idea of forgetting what we look like, is pretty much impossible in our day. Right? In a way that wasn’t true of James’ day. Unlike James’ original audience, you and I have that experience of knowing what we look like. Knowing quite well what we look like, from head to toe. From young to old, for better or for worse. We know intimately the details, the lines, the blemishes, the you name it, of our own face, in a way that the people of the ancient world didn’t have. We have use of the photographic image. We have the iPhone. We have the android. We have videos. Of course, we have the normal experience, the common everyday experience of looking in the mirror. Looking in the bathroom mirror. Looking in the countertop mirror. Looking in the rearview mirror. Looking in the mirror at the gym. Looking in the mirror at the storefront windows every time we walk by one. Looking in the mirror of every car that we walk by. Don’t act like its just me. Right? In fact, we have love ourselves so much, that we fill our homes with mirrors. I would venture to say, that most of us, have more mirrors in our home, than we have people who live there. Think about it, we’re so preoccupied by how we look, that whenever we pass some sort of reflective surface, we can’t help but stop and get a glance. That wasn’t the case in the first century. The average person in James’ time, would have only had the fewest and rarest opportunities to ever glance in what was a mirror back then. Even then, the mirrors that they had, would just give these crude outlines of what the person truly looked like.

That’s the picture James is giving us here. If a person is a mere hearer of the Word and not a doer of the Word, like he says here, “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.” So, James here is saying, that the mirror here, is “like a man who looks at his natural face.” That verb there for “look”, katanoeo, is actually stronger than what our English verb for “look” would suggest. The Greek verb here is more like “behold.” To look carefully. To observe carefully. James here, is not talking about a passing glance, as you pass a Toyota in the parking lot. He’s describing a person who is peering intently and giving careful and cautious consideration to what’s in front of him and what’s in front of him? “His natural face”, it says. That alone is a very interesting set of words, “his natural face.” Translated literally, it means “the face of his birth.” The “face of his genesis.” The face of “his existence.” Some translations render it, “the face that he was born with.” The words “natural face” is perfectly legitimate here. But the main idea is, he sees himself as he really is. The man here, is pictured as looking in the mirror and seeing his face, and even studying his face.

In one of those mirrors that were not high-definition, not high-resolution. They were these mirrors that were not made of the mirrored glass that we’re used to. But they were rather, this primitive, polished bronze, silver or gold, depending on how much wealth the person had, that really gave a dusty, hazy, opaque reflection of what you were looking at. But if you looked long enough and if you studied intently enough, you could get a pretty close sense of what you actually looked like in those early mirrors. But it took some work. It took work, to see the man or the woman in the mirror. It took work, intellectual firepower to retain the image of what you saw until the next time. It could be many decades later, that you had a chance to look at a mirror again.

I set all that up, and lay all that out, because what James says here now in verse 24, it explains why what he says, why its so jarring. Look at verse 24 again. It says, “for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was.” Hang on. What? We just had this description of a person looking in this mirror, in this once in a blue moon type opportunity. They get the chance to see what they look like, and what the mirror reveals about what they look like, then look at what happens. He looks at himself in the mirror, and just as soon as he’s given this rare, this momentous opportunity, he takes a few steps away from the mirror, and immediately forgets what he looks like. This would be like going to Game 7 of the World Series, and walking out of the stadium, and before you get to your car even, forgetting the sounds and the smells of the stadium. This would be like holding your newborn for the first time; and before you hand them off to the doctor or nurse to clean them up, you’ve already forgotten how their warm skin felt against yours. This would be like the groom seeing his bride walking down the aisle for the first time. Then he takes one sheepish glance down at his feet, and he already forgets her beauty. That’s what’s going on here in verse 24. The man, described here in James’ illustration, peers intently into the mirror to see his own face, his “natural face”; and after he’s looked at himself in that mirror, and gone away, he immediately forgets what kind of person he was. Now, that word here for “forget”, or forgotten, that doesn’t refer to some, you know, innocent failure to remember something. Like forgetting all the state capitols. Or forgetting if Haggai goes before or after Zephaniah. Or forgetting the names of certain grandchildren. No. To “forget” here, the definition is, to “allow something to escape by inattention or neglect.”

Again, this is an analogy here in verse 23-24. James here through analogy, is driving home this deeper spiritual point with the picture he’s painted. That point, again, is this: Just as it would be ludicrous for a man who, after intently looking at a mirror, immediately forgets what he looks like, especially in the early context of James’ book here, it is ludicrous for a follower of Christ to receive the Word, to hear the Word, to sit under the Word, to study the Word, but not to “do” the Word. A person who looks at God’s word, and hears God’s word, even if carefully and attentively, but then does not “do” God’s word, that is, apply God’s word, to his or her own life, he “deludes himself.” “Deludes himself.”

God’s word is the “mirror” of James 1:23. It identifies us. It reveals us. It exposes us. Just as a physical mirror reveals or exposes our very real blemishes. The mirror of scripture reveals and exposes our very real sin. Our very real need to repent of that sin. To confess that sin to God and that very real need to purify ourselves from our sinful ways. Just as it would be absurd for this man in the mirror of James 1:23 and 24, to look into that mirror; to study his physical appearance, and to walk away and immediately forget what he looks like. So, too, would it be absurd, and jut just absurd, but potentially spiritually deadly, to treat God’s word in such a careless manner. As you look into the mirror of God’s word. As you have God speaking directly to you, through its pages. But then to ignore His commands and His directions, and His instructions as you go on your merry way.

I get it. I understand, in our fallen state, we do have a tendency to forget rather than to remember. Now, that’s why many of you will forget this sermon by dinner time tonight. James here is saying, fight against that. “Fight against that tendency.” “Don’t let the word go in one ear and out the other.” “Don’t be attentive in your hearing, and then forgetful in your application.” “Don’t drift.” “Don’t ignore what the mirror reveals.” “Instead, face up to what the mirror of God’s word is showing, and act accordingly.” Be a “doer” of God’s word.

Alright, we’ve seen the point in verse 22. We’ve seen the picture in verses 23-24. We now get to The Promise in verse 25.

The Promise:
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.”
So, we’ve received the charge from James here, to be doers of the Word, and not mere hearers of the Word. We’ve walked through this illustration of how being a “mere hearer” is like one who studies his appearance in a mirror, and then immediately forgets what he looks like. Now we have this major turning point in this section of James where we go from the negative example to the positive example. Where we go from forgetful one to the faithful one. Starting with those words again, in verse 25 – “But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty.” We had the “hearer” pictured in verses 23-24. We now have the “doer” described in verse 25. This person, this “one” you see, “Looks intently.” Now, that word, “looks intently”, is actually a different Greek verb, than what we saw back in verses 23-24. The verb here, is parakupto, a stronger more intensified verb, that refers to “looking.” That actually means to literally to stoop down over. To bend down to examine something with precision.
It's the same verb that Luke would use to describe Peter looking into the empty tomb after Jesus’ resurrection. The same verb John would us to describe that same event in John 20.
Now, in the context of James’ mirror illustration here, that word, parakupto, implies this willingness to stoop. To humble oneself. As a person would crouch down or crane their neck with great effort and great desire, so that they can “look intently” into whatever it is they are looking at. In this case, a mirror to discern what that mirror will reveal. This person, verse 25, when they see what that mirror reveals, as they stoop over and look into, peer into what it reveals. They are gripped. Unlike the first man of verses 23-24, who forgets what kind of person he was. There’s no chance that the person in verse 25, is going to forget what he sees.

Look what he sees, “the perfect law, the law of liberty.” What is the perfect law? Is it the Mosaic Law? No. The Mosaic Law was for Israel. The Mosaic Law, Galatians 3:24, was the school master that would point to Messiah, Christ, when he came. Certainly, there are things and principles we can glean and learn from the law, but we don’t live under the authority of the Law today. Rather, James here, when he’s mentioning “the perfect law”, he’s referring to the Word of God, the scriptures. We must remember in context, what he’s referring to here, is part of this broader paragraph. This whole paragraph, as we’ve seen here in James 1, is about being submissive and humble recipients of the Word of God. Now, faithful and active “doers” of the Word of God. We’ve already seen, in James 1:18, that He “brought us forth by the Word of truth” the gospel message which is found in the Word of God. We’ve already seen that we are, James 1:21, “in humility” to “receive the Word implanted.” So, as James here continues to build out his thought about the work of the Word in the believer, it is most logical to conclude that “the perfect law” he’s referring to, is a reference to the Word of God.

The way he’s using this word “law” here, it’s to describe how God’s word is authoritative in the life of the believer. Meaning, it’s that body of truth which serves as the foundation for the Christian faith. It’s that authoritative standard by which life in the body is to be regulated. It’s our standard of faith and standard of practice. All that to say, we don’t live under the Mosaic Law, God’s Law, specifically God’s word, is the law for the Christian today.

So, we study it. We seek to learn it. We revere it. We honor it. We follow it. We obey it. We order our lives around it, even if others might call us bible thumping fundamentalists. The word is the law for us. Seeing that it comes from a perfect and truthful God who cannot lie. Who cannot deceive. God’s word truly is, as it says here in James, the “perfect” law. It is sufficient. It is complete. It is final. It is comprehensive. It is declarative. It is without error. It is without contradiction. It is flawless. It is absolutely perfect. It always accomplishes all that God wills and all that God purposes.

Not only that though, James calls God’s word, not just “the perfect law”, but in this parenthetical, he says, “the law of liberty.” Those words “of liberty”, that’s a subjective genitive. What that means, all that means, is that this “perfect law”, is what gives that Christian the experience of genuine freedom. It’s a law, the “perfect law”, which gives us liberty, as we seek to heed and follow and obey it. The truth of God’s word, and specifically, the truth of the gospel contained in God’s word. Sets us free. It liberates us. When we were “brought forth” by that word of truth, as James 1:18 puts it. The shackles of sin fell off. We were set free from the enslavement to our old ways. We became liberated. But that doesn’t mean that because we’ve been set free, we don’t yet have an obligation to obey. We do! Though we have been set free from the bondage of sin. Though we have been purchased and redeemed by the blood of Christ. We still have a Master. As Romans 6:17-18 puts it. We were once slaves to sin. But now we are slaves to righteousness. All we’ve done friends, is traded Masters. We’ve been freed. But we’ve actually been freed to be slaves. Bondservants, douloi, of the Lord Jesus Christ. What is it that our Master, our gentle, our gracious, our ever-loving Master wants us to do? Where is it that He wants us to go? What does it mean to obey Him? How does He want us to follow Him? How do we know what He wants us to do, in following Him? Through His word. “The perfect law, the law of liberty.” The doer, the one who is not merely a hearer. The one who is growing in Christian maturity. Is the one who “looks intently”, James 1:25 “at the perfect law, the law of liberty.” That is, God’s word. But not only that, look what comes next, and “abides by it”, it says. “Not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer.” That is, he gives not only his attention to God’s word. He follows through as a doer of God’s word. He not only reads the scripture. He lives out the responsibilities that scripture places upon him. He heeds its imperatives. He follows its commands. He lives in light of its examples. He does so precisely because, he’s been freed through the precious blood of Christ. As one commentator has put it: “Men are free when they want to do what they ought to do.” That’s what the law of liberty is. The person pictured here, in James 1:25, is no mere hearer, but a faithful doer. The very type of maturing Christian believer, that James is not only urging his original audience, but each one of us here today, to become.

To such faithful doers, he holds out this promise at the end of verse 25. “This man”, it says, this woman, “will be blessed in what he does.” It’s not limited to men; it is a term that applies to men and women. That man or woman who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, “will be blessed in what [they do].” See, the blessing comes, not at the hearing. The blessing comes in at doing. The doing of God’s word. “He will be blessed in what he does.”

Now, note that this is written in the future tense. It says, he “will”, this man “will be blessed”. Meaning, this is a statement of assurance. Such a person is blessed in knowing that they are heirs of the hope of eternal life. That salvation, that the eternal inheritance cannot be snatched away from them. But it also says, such a person can live in this life, blessed and fulfilled, knowing that they are like the wise man of Matthew 7:24-25, who builds his house upon the rock. They are blessed in knowing that they can live in this happy condition, that comes along with living in joyful obedience to God’s will and God’s ways, as He’s revealed them in His word. Knowing that they are not mere hearers but faithful doers of the Word.

Well, as we close here this morning, I want you to know that there are certain similarities between the “mere hearer” and the “faithful doer” of the Word. So much so, that it can be difficult at times, to distinguish the two, especially when we’re talking about ourselves. Both receive the Word. Both hear the Word. Both listen to the Word. Both are present and attentive and alert and aware. Just like anybody in this room this morning. When they hear or receive the Word. The difference though, is that one resolves to obey the Word, to do the Word and the other does not. The one puts the Word into practice in his or her life and the other does not. The one is spared the insecurity of spiritual delusion and the other is not. The one has true, genuine assurance of salvation. The other does not. To use the words of verse 25 here, the one is blessed. The other is not.

As we head out of here this morning, I want you to reflect on that question. Am I doer of God’s word? I want you to think on that. Are you a doer of God’s word? Or are you a mere hearer? If you’re the later, I want you to think, what does that say about me, in light of what I’ve heard this morning? In light of what the text of scripture, in James 1:22-25 says about me this morning? I want to make very clear; I’m not asking you to go home and think about how this sermon makes you feel. I’m not asking you to think about what you’re answer, even to that question, how that makes you feel. I want you to reflect on what your answer is, and what it says about you, in light of what God’s timeless, perfect, revealed Word says about all of us. I ask that you would go home and really wrestle with that. Reflect and think and chew and process and measure all aspects of your life, against what we have here in the timeless, precious word of God. Humble yourself. If there are parts of your life, where you are certain, I am not doing the Word, in this area of life or that area of life. Confess that sin to God. Seek forgiveness for that sin from God. Repent of that sin. Resolve to live a more faithful and godly life in Christ Jesus; and if what that reveals, is that, like I said earlier, you’ve never been born again, then I would love to chat with you out there in the south lobby today. We could grab a place in the corner over there, to talk privately, and pray. Then you do business with God, and really make sure that you know Him. That you really have bent the knee to Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. Because again, you can’t do what James is saying here, you need to do, if you haven’t had a true conversion experience. So, make sure, before you leave here today, that you are right with the Lord, the living God. Make sure that you’ve trusted in Christ for salvation. Only then, can you truly say, number one, are you redeemed and saved and have the hope of eternal life. Only then, can what this message is conveying, land on the right soil and lead you to a place where you can actively do what Christians are called to do. With that, let’s have a word of prayer.

Lord, we thank You this morning, for the chance to be again, in the book of James. Thank You so much, for Your word. Thank You for the truth it contains, the clarity with which it is communicated, and its perfection. Thank You that we have, in this book, all that we need pertaining to life and godliness, as believers. Thank You that we have in this book, the hope of the gospel, the gospel message itself, written out so that unbelievers can read it and wrestle with it, and come to faith in the one Savior of the world, the Lord Jesus Christ. I do ask, as I just said, that we would take this text, a familiar text, and not let it float away or dissipate in the ether, after this sermon. But rather, that we would chew on it and work through it and study ourselves, in light of the Word, and repent of any ungodliness that remains. Repent of any passivity that remains. Repent of any deception that remains. Help us to be, not mere hearers of Your word, but faithful doers. May You be greatly glorified. In Christ’s name, Amen.