Be a Doer of the Word

KEY VERSE: “Be ye doers of the Word, and not hearers only.” —James 1:22

SELECTED SCRIPTURE: James 1:1-6, 19-27

IN OUR lesson today, the Apostle James addresses his message to all believing Jews, of whatever tribe, who were dispersed. He apparently felt that his brethren in Christian fellowship who had been scattered to all parts of the then-known world, many of whom were isolated or in small groups without sufficient leadership, needed an admonition to faithfulness. These Jews were persecuted because of their race, but their trials were intensified also because they were Christians. The apostle brings to their attention the very basic fundamental Christian principle that the follower of Jesus Christ must suffer and endure persecution as a means of development before entering into glory. The Apostle James states it this way, “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.”—James 1:12

Jesus said, “The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord. It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household?” (Matt. 10:24,25) The Apostle Paul tells us that even though Jesus was a son, he was required to learn obedience by the things he suffered. But after he was tried, proven, and his character as a new Spirit-begotten creation was formed and completed, he was resurrected and exalted to the divine nature and placed at the right hand of the throne of God. (Heb. 5:8-10) The message James desired to leave with the footstep-followers of the Master then, and now, is that if they desire to be with Jesus in the kingdom and to sit upon his throne they must also suffer and overcome the world. “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.”—Rev. 3:21

The important part of the apostle’s admonition is that we must be doers of the Word, or overcomers. In James 1:21-25, the apostle illustrates his point. “Receive with meekness the engrafted Word which is able to save your souls. But be ye doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the Word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass [mirror]: for he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of a man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.” The lesson is clear that real growth and maturity as a Christian requires more than mere head knowledge and meditation. These are important, but real growth and maturity comes by endeavoring to put into practice the principles learned, and this is very often in the face of difficult circumstances.

The Apostle Paul, in Romans 12:2, states, “Be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” The apostle is here saying that when we make a full and unreserved consecration to walk in the footsteps of the Lord, we enter the way with our worldly minds, minds that have been conditioned and shaped by the need of survival in a world dominated by Satan. The Lord opens our minds so that we can discern the character of our pattern, Jesus, and conform our minds to the high spiritual standards he set forth. This transformation is called the renewing of our minds.

In the succeeding verses of the twelfth chapter of Romans, the Apostle Paul tells us how to be doers of the Word and not hearers only. For example, he admonishes, “Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits. Recompense no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. … Avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him to drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire [incentives for good] on his head.”—vss. 16-20

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