Ministry of Grace Church

But become doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

Truth to Learn

No one ever coined the phrase, “listening makes perfect.” That’s because it is only through practice that we improve on anything that we do.

Behind the Words

The word translated “become” is a form of ginomai, the basic meaning of which is “to begin to be.” This word is written here in the imperative mood indicating a command. And, the word “doers” is poiētēs, which is derived from poieō, meaning “to make something or perform something.” Poiētēs means “to be a doer or a performer.” Thus, we see that James is giving us a firm instructive command to “become people who do what the Word of God says!”

“Hearers” is translated from the Greek word akroatēs. This word is derived from the classical Greek word akroama which means, “something which is heard, such as a piece that is read, recited, played, or sung.” The implication is that it is something that is being intentionally and intently listened to.

Meaning Explained

Though my father passed away many years ago, I can still hear him saying to me as a young boy, “Don’t let my words go in one ear and out the other!” That’s probably a decent colloquialism for what James is telling us here.

James has just told us that we need to rid ourselves of evil thoughts and bad, self-serving actions and to allow the Word of God, which has been implanted in our hearts, to grow. But our faith does not grow strong without practice.

You do not become a great musician by simply reading about how to play an instrument, you must practice. But, practice does not mean simply playing through a piece once and then moving on to another (unless you are practicing musical sight-reading). It means playing the piece over and over again, paying particular attention to the nuances of the written music and the technique used to produce the sound. As the musician repeatedly plays through the music, he or she memorizes the notes and markings until the piece can be played without having to think about the specific notes on the written page.

Any Christian who wants to live the victorious Christian life and have a close fellowship with God, must cultivate the habit of reading and studying the Bible regularly. But that by itself will not produce results any more than reading about music. As we read the Word of God we need to think about it and put it into practice. We need to be aware of the nuances of God’s word just as a musician needs to be aware of the nuances of the music. And we need to practice doing it over and over again until the principles or actions become second nature to us.

Let me say that another way. Just as a musician performs music as a result of repeated practice, we must be performers of the principles given to us in the Bible by repeated practice.

Application

Hearing the Word of God is important indeed, but not nearly as important as doing what it says. James tells us that if we are only hearers of the word and not doers, we are deceiving ourselves.

Let’s put “practice being a Christian” on the top of our priority list for today, and for the rest of our lives!