James 1:22-25 – Hearing and Doing…or Not.

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.

James 1:22-25

God first spoke to man in the Garden of Eden when he told Adam the trees from which he could and couldn’t eat. The relationship between God and Adam seems to have been very personal as both Adam and Eve knew the sound the LORD made when he walked in the Garden (Genesis 3:8).

But it didn’t take long for Adam and Eve to decide they didn’t want to listen to God. They took the fruit and were subsequently shown the door; they were exiled from the Garden forever.

God also spoke to man at Mount Sinai. Thunder and lightning issued forth from the smoke-covered mountain. A trumpet blared, the ground shook, and God spoke to the assembled people of Israel, but they were afraid (Ex. 19 & 20). After God spoke the Ten Commandments, the people asked Moses to listen to the LORD’s word for them. And he did. Moses listened to God and recorded the Laws of God; those laws we commonly call the Laws of Moses. Many years later, Moses told the people of Israel that they must come together every seven years during the Feast of Booths and listen to God’s Laws being read (Deut. 31:1-13). This was done so that “they may hear and learn to fear the Lord your God, and be careful to do all the words of this law, and that their children, who have not known it, may hear and learn to fear the Lord your God, as long as you live in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess” (Deut. 31:12-13). And many years later, upon crossing the Jordan and entering the Promised Land, they promised to do just that; follow God’s Laws (Joshua 23 & 24).

But, when we read Judges, Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles, we find that the people of Israel did not keep their promise; they strayed from God’s Laws. Interestingly enough, the books of Israel’s judges and kings only record one instance when the Laws of Moses were actually read to the people of Israel. This happened during Josiah’s reforms in II Kings 23:2. Assuming that was the only time God’s Laws were read to the people (an assumption that may or may not be correct), this means that in 813 years (approximately the number of years between Othniel, the first judge, and the Babylonian Captivity) the people of Israel only once read the Laws of God instead of the 116 times (813/7 = 116) that they should have. I believe it is safe to say that the nation of Israel was exiled to Babylon, Assyria, and Egypt because they did not follow God’s commands.

But that’s not the end of the story. During the exile when Ezra and Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem with a small number of Israelites, they read God’s Laws out loud once again. Nehemiah 8:1-8 tells us that all the people gathered together in Jerusalem while Ezra, along with a number of other scribes and Levites, read the Law and explained it to the people. Nehemiah writes that the people were happy because they “understood the words that were declared to them” (Nehemiah 8:12). He also writes that the Law of God was read every day, they wept with tears of joy, the people confessed their sins, and they sought to make restitution for all they had done wrong (Nehemiah 9 & 13).

It seems as though this would be a good place to put the classic phrase, “and they lived happily ever after,” but that doesn’t seem to be the case. Following Ezra’s reading of the Law, the next we hear of Israel is in Matthew’s Gospel. (If you don’t know much about the times between Nehemiah and Matthew you can about some of it in I & II Maccabees). In Matthew’s time, Israel had returned to their homeland, but they were not in charge. Rome ruled the land and the Pharisees enforced the religious laws. This seems like a good thing, doesn’t it? A group of people existing for the sole purpose of making sure Israel followed God’s Laws. But these leaders weren’t really obeying God’s Laws and Jesus called them out on this. He said that they had “neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!” (Matthew 23:23-24). The religious leaders thought they were doing what was expected of them, but they were not.

It is probably safe to say that the people to whom James wrote his letter were intimately familiar with Israel’s history. These Jewish believers knew that the Law was to be read every seven years and they knew they were to do what it said. But they also knew that Israel had a very poor track record when it came to following through with obedience; they neither read God’s Laws nor did they do what they said.

But it is God’s Word implanted within us, as James has been saying, that will make of us “perfect and complete, lacking nothing,” it will give us “the crown of life,” and by God’s Word we will become “a kind of firstfruits of his creation.” God’s Word does all of this; except we must do our part — we must listen and obey.

I think this is why James talks about a mirror. Israel had become much like the person who looks at themselves in a mirror after waking up and does nothing. They see the horrible mess of tangles in their hair, the wrinkles on their face from the sheets, the eye-goobies and dried drool on their chins, and they smell their bad breath. But after seeing all their problems, they do nothing about them. God’s Laws point out their problems, but they choose to ignore him and continue living in sin.

But can we really judge them? I mean, how often do we read the Bible and then walk away having changed nothing? In fact, how often do we even read the Bible? Some of us don’t even read it every seven years; in this, we are no different than the ancient Israelites. I’m not suggesting we gathering in tents every seven years and listen to the reading of the Mosaic Law, but I think we do need to be better at listening to God’s Word.

I know. We are all busy and barely have enough time to catch our breath. But, let me ask this: which is more important, American Idol or the Word of God? Some of us (most?) say we are too busy to read the Bible every day, but then we spend hours a day watching some sort of television, cable, or internet show, or we are plugged into social media and responding to texts, tweets, Snapchats, Instagram posts, Tik-toks, paddy-wack, bring the dog a bone. I realize this may sound harsh to say, but if we find time for those things but not for the Word of God then I wonder if we really want to become “perfect and complete, lacking nothing,” so that we may wear “the crown of life” and become “a kind of firstfruits of his creation.” Our words may not say as much, but our actions certainly do.

If we are really disciples of Christ — if we are really believers — then we will do what God has commanded us to do (John 14:15). And, from the beginning of time, God has commanded that we listen to him. We might not have smoking mountains and burning bushes, but we have something much simpler and it can be found in almost every hotel room and accessed for free on the internet: the Bible. If we do not listen to God — if we do not read the Bible — then how can we ever expect to do what God wants? We need to be in the Word; it’s that simple. We don’t need to be reading the latest books by the most popular Christian authors or spending lots of time listening to podcasts; we need to read the Bible or, if you are so busy that you are always in the car, then listen to the Bible.

The Bible tells us about God and his ways. We learn about his love, his wrath, his judgment, his mercy, his grace, and it changes us. How? I’m not totally sure, but it does. I suppose if I were a psychologist I might tell you that when you immerse your mind in any sort of thought on a daily basis you will soon take upon yourself its attributes; you will begin to think and behave like that which you are reading. Sure, I think that’s true of reading the Bible; but it’s not the entire story. God’s words created the universe. God’s words caused miracles to occur. God’s Word became flesh and dwelt among us so that we might see the Father. And now, God’s living and active Word is available to do God’s work in our lives (Hebrews 4:12). But we must take the time to read it. Just having a Bible in the house or next to your bed does nothing for you; it must be opened and read.

But there is something we must not forget. After reading God’s living and active Word we must act; there is nothing passive about this. We must not be like the ancient Israelites who heard the Word of God but neglected to do it. We must also not become like the Pharisees who failed to follow the Word of God that they enforced. If we only hear it but do not do it, we will never receive the blessing James promises.

How do we become perfect and complete, lacking nothing?
How do we gain the crown of life?
How do we become a kind of firstfruits of his creation?
Simple. By hearing the Word of God and doing what it says.

For some reason, however, we try to make it more difficult than that. I think part of our problem is that we think it needs to be something more complex. Our own wisdom tells us that there has to be more to our spiritual growth than just listening to God and doing what he wants. I mean, doesn’t that seem like something you’d tell a child? “Trust and obey, for there is no other way…” Adults are smarter, Right? We require something much more complex. Right?

No, you arrogant fool (Psalm 14), that’s why James tells us that we must receive God’s word with meekness (James 1:21). We must lose our pride and our sense of self-grandeur and, like a child (Matthew 18:3), accept God’s Word, and then go do it.

Okay, you get it, right?

Yeah, but the Bible has a lot of commandments, doesn’t it? Does James mean to say that we are supposed to follow everything?

That’s a good question and one that James doesn’t leave unanswered. James’s next words explain what this means, but we will have to wait until next week to find out what that is. Until then, put away the phones, televisions, and iPads, and read the Bible, you may find that you are a different person next week.