“Hearers and Doers” James 1: 22 6/20/12
Religious leaders of the time of Christ are reported to have had the
attitude of an elite segment of their culture and basically remained
separate from the “common,” or man of the street. These were
supposed, keepers of the Law of God, and held knowledge of God’s
Law as tantamount to righteousness of their own. Jesus once said
that the Pharisees went about trying to establish a righteousness of
their own. The principle has me thinking; if one would inherit eter-
nal life, he must first recognize his unrighteousness and look to
Christ for righteousness. Another way of putting it; if I am attemp-
ting to establish righteousness on my own, it is apart from the righ-
teousness of Christ; therefore my case is hopeless. One cannot be
righteous apart from the righteousness imputed by the Lord, as in
the case of Abraham who was declared righteous, because he
believed God. His faith, just as in the New Testament, made him
whole. One aspect of Abraham's faith is; he obeyed God. He was
a hearer of God's Word and faithfully obeyed or followed Him.
"Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted
to him for righteousness." Galatians 3: 6
I must admit to a period of time in my life when I made an effort
to become like Christ through keeping a“Christianized” version of the
“Law of God.” This approach for me, a Christian, was just as futile as
it was to the person under Judaism. If keeping the Law of God did
not save during the earthly walk of our Savior, it is just as ineffective
today. Working through this and traps of that ilk, may take years
or it may be settled in a short time. Those of us who were reared
among “church” people, seem to have greater difficulty with this than
converts from our culture at large. Those of us who were part of evan-
gelical congregation from birth, have different baggage from those not
so blessed. Having heard “faith without works is dead” all our lives,
we still attempt to establish a righteousness of our own by keeping a
“Christianized” version of Old Testament Law. We cannot seem to
accept the free gift; salvation from our Lord, without trying by some
means to earn that same salvation. James, in chapter 1 of a letter writ-
ten to converted Jews, makes this plain. We must be "doers" of the
Word of God, not futile hearers. We who are hearers and not "doers"
fall into the trap of working at our own version of the Word, or Law
of God. As we put our hand to it, we pervert or corrupt the Law and it
is no longer God’s Word, but our word. Like the Pharisees of old, we
prefer our version of things and at times, have difficulty accepting the
straight, forward premises of Jesus Christ.
What is it that keeps one from experiencing a meaningful rela-
tionship with Christ? First, we must deal with the attitude; "We are
somewhat better than others who have not had the benefit of life in
church.” We must accept the fact that degrees of sin are not relevant
as we come to Christ. If one is guilty of any transgression of the Law,
he is guilty of all. When one comes to Christ from depravity seeming
greater than our own, he is to be accepted without question. He who
comes to Christ having lived an innocuous or uneventful life is just as
depraved. It shows up in a different form. One may come to Christ
out of a life of drug abuse. He is to be accepted without question. A
wise mentor will assist this one, holding him to account on this issue.
Others come to Christ from families where parents were able to keep
their offspring from this abuse. They were reared in a positive, Chris-
tian environment and were generally kept from drugs, alcohol or
other forms of abuse. The former comes to Christ broken and repen-
tant while the latter may come to Christ with little "apparent" reason
to repent. The danger here is; the unrepentant spirit with, possibly,
“holier than thou” attitude may keep one from truly knowing Christ
out of “a broken heart and a contrite spirit.” Psalm 34:18
The fact that one may not have engaged in gross or flagrant sin may
be worn as a badge by the new "convert" keeping him from true con-
version as he compares himself with others. I have witnessed many
such instances during a lifetime spent around church people. I am
one such example.
It was not until I was a parent and had served churches in the areas
of music and youth work I discovered this principle. I met Christ in a
genuine experience of repentance and conversion while leading music
in a series of revival meetings. It was evident to me that my "conver-
sion" of years before might have been spurious, and it was incumbent
upon me to make it right. At close of one message by the late Rev.
Dan Greer on Romans 10: 9-10, I was convinced of sin and confes-
sed, publicly, faith in Jesus Christ, admitting the doubts of my ear-
lier experience. Since then, there have been a "gradual," marked
changes in my life and I have been assured of my relationship with
Jesus Christ, knowing it does not depend on anything I have done
or will do. Grace and mercy on His part; faith on my part plus
nothing. Even the faith is a gift of God. "So then Faith cometh by
hearing, and hearing by the Word of God." Romans 10: 17 (Read
the Word of God on a regular basis, with a plan, and your faith in the
Lord with grow; Your life in Christ with prosper and you will find a
peace that only comes from a confident walk in the Word with Jesus
("For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works
is dead, also." James 2: 26)
Someone has said; "God said it, that settles it, I just believe it."
AMEN!!
Having established that faith in God is the basis for Regeneration,
what do we do with the passage in the book of James 2:14-26. It is
clear in verse 18, "But someone will say, "You have faith and I have
works, show me your faith without your works, and I will show you
my faith by my works." This is convincing evidence that it is Christ, by
His Spirit, working in us proving our faith. If we attempt works (in the
flesh) outside the work of the Holy Spirit, we are breaking the com-
mandment that says... "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy
God in vain..." If we say we work on His behalf and are working with-
out the fullness of his Holy Spirit, have we not taken that Holy Name
in vain?
In verses 21-22, "Was not Abraham our Father justified by works
when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? Do you see that faith
was working together with his works, and by works faith was made
perfect?
26, "For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works
is dead also."
What then, is a dead faith worth? I do not believe it is possible to
have true faith without the fruit of the Spirit that produces "His"
work in us. A dead faith is a faith in faith and has not the Spirit
of Jesus Christ as an active force and is therefore, worthless...
donporter 7.7.12
Religious leaders of the time of Christ are reported to have had the
attitude of an elite segment of their culture and basically remained
separate from the “common,” or man of the street. These were
supposed, keepers of the Law of God, and held knowledge of God’s
Law as tantamount to righteousness of their own. Jesus once said
that the Pharisees went about trying to establish a righteousness of
their own. The principle has me thinking; if one would inherit eter-
nal life, he must first recognize his unrighteousness and look to
Christ for righteousness. Another way of putting it; if I am attemp-
ting to establish righteousness on my own, it is apart from the righ-
teousness of Christ; therefore my case is hopeless. One cannot be
righteous apart from the righteousness imputed by the Lord, as in
the case of Abraham who was declared righteous, because he
believed God. His faith, just as in the New Testament, made him
whole. One aspect of Abraham's faith is; he obeyed God. He was
a hearer of God's Word and faithfully obeyed or followed Him.
"Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted
to him for righteousness." Galatians 3: 6
I must admit to a period of time in my life when I made an effort
to become like Christ through keeping a“Christianized” version of the
“Law of God.” This approach for me, a Christian, was just as futile as
it was to the person under Judaism. If keeping the Law of God did
not save during the earthly walk of our Savior, it is just as ineffective
today. Working through this and traps of that ilk, may take years
or it may be settled in a short time. Those of us who were reared
among “church” people, seem to have greater difficulty with this than
converts from our culture at large. Those of us who were part of evan-
gelical congregation from birth, have different baggage from those not
so blessed. Having heard “faith without works is dead” all our lives,
we still attempt to establish a righteousness of our own by keeping a
“Christianized” version of Old Testament Law. We cannot seem to
accept the free gift; salvation from our Lord, without trying by some
means to earn that same salvation. James, in chapter 1 of a letter writ-
ten to converted Jews, makes this plain. We must be "doers" of the
Word of God, not futile hearers. We who are hearers and not "doers"
fall into the trap of working at our own version of the Word, or Law
of God. As we put our hand to it, we pervert or corrupt the Law and it
is no longer God’s Word, but our word. Like the Pharisees of old, we
prefer our version of things and at times, have difficulty accepting the
straight, forward premises of Jesus Christ.
What is it that keeps one from experiencing a meaningful rela-
tionship with Christ? First, we must deal with the attitude; "We are
somewhat better than others who have not had the benefit of life in
church.” We must accept the fact that degrees of sin are not relevant
as we come to Christ. If one is guilty of any transgression of the Law,
he is guilty of all. When one comes to Christ from depravity seeming
greater than our own, he is to be accepted without question. He who
comes to Christ having lived an innocuous or uneventful life is just as
depraved. It shows up in a different form. One may come to Christ
out of a life of drug abuse. He is to be accepted without question. A
wise mentor will assist this one, holding him to account on this issue.
Others come to Christ from families where parents were able to keep
their offspring from this abuse. They were reared in a positive, Chris-
tian environment and were generally kept from drugs, alcohol or
other forms of abuse. The former comes to Christ broken and repen-
tant while the latter may come to Christ with little "apparent" reason
to repent. The danger here is; the unrepentant spirit with, possibly,
“holier than thou” attitude may keep one from truly knowing Christ
out of “a broken heart and a contrite spirit.” Psalm 34:18
The fact that one may not have engaged in gross or flagrant sin may
be worn as a badge by the new "convert" keeping him from true con-
version as he compares himself with others. I have witnessed many
such instances during a lifetime spent around church people. I am
one such example.
It was not until I was a parent and had served churches in the areas
of music and youth work I discovered this principle. I met Christ in a
genuine experience of repentance and conversion while leading music
in a series of revival meetings. It was evident to me that my "conver-
sion" of years before might have been spurious, and it was incumbent
upon me to make it right. At close of one message by the late Rev.
Dan Greer on Romans 10: 9-10, I was convinced of sin and confes-
sed, publicly, faith in Jesus Christ, admitting the doubts of my ear-
lier experience. Since then, there have been a "gradual," marked
changes in my life and I have been assured of my relationship with
Jesus Christ, knowing it does not depend on anything I have done
or will do. Grace and mercy on His part; faith on my part plus
nothing. Even the faith is a gift of God. "So then Faith cometh by
hearing, and hearing by the Word of God." Romans 10: 17 (Read
the Word of God on a regular basis, with a plan, and your faith in the
Lord with grow; Your life in Christ with prosper and you will find a
peace that only comes from a confident walk in the Word with Jesus
("For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works
is dead, also." James 2: 26)
Someone has said; "God said it, that settles it, I just believe it."
AMEN!!
Having established that faith in God is the basis for Regeneration,
what do we do with the passage in the book of James 2:14-26. It is
clear in verse 18, "But someone will say, "You have faith and I have
works, show me your faith without your works, and I will show you
my faith by my works." This is convincing evidence that it is Christ, by
His Spirit, working in us proving our faith. If we attempt works (in the
flesh) outside the work of the Holy Spirit, we are breaking the com-
mandment that says... "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy
God in vain..." If we say we work on His behalf and are working with-
out the fullness of his Holy Spirit, have we not taken that Holy Name
in vain?
In verses 21-22, "Was not Abraham our Father justified by works
when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? Do you see that faith
was working together with his works, and by works faith was made
perfect?
26, "For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works
is dead also."
What then, is a dead faith worth? I do not believe it is possible to
have true faith without the fruit of the Spirit that produces "His"
work in us. A dead faith is a faith in faith and has not the Spirit
of Jesus Christ as an active force and is therefore, worthless...
donporter 7.7.12
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