Hear and Do

“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” Jas. 1:22.

James says that we deceive ourselves if we only hear the word but do not do it. There are many people who live in this deception their entire life; they hear and hear, but never attempt to do what they hear. Some people hear God’s word their whole life, but when death is approaching and they are face-to-face with eternity, then, in spite of all that they’ve heard, they come into an intense time of soul-searching. You often have to wonder if people like this—who always seemed to be good Christians—were actually even saved. They heard, but they never did what they heard, which is why they had deceived themselves the whole time.

“My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality.” Jas. 2:1. How many people hear these words and do them? I suspect that all worldly people and most Christians are deceived by worldly greatness. You rarely meet anyone so perfect that they treat a poor man with the same level of interest and same level of respect as they treat a man wearing fine apparel and gold rings!

“Have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?” Verse 4. “But if you show partiality, you commit sin, and are convicted by the law as transgressors.” Verse 9.