"Be Ye Doers Of The Word"

by J. Taylor, Crowborough | Category: General | Feb 1980

How easy it is to be a hearer and not a doer! pay by day we hear the words of men in advertisements or propaganda, but unless the subject directly concerns us we are hearers only. In the verse quoted above however we have something on a higher plane. James in chapter 1 and verse 22 of his epistle is not speaking of men's words, but the Word of the living God which is not to be lightly regarded. Most of us realize that God speaks to us through His written word brought home to our hearts by the Holy Spirit in various ways. It may be in our daily reading of the Word, or it may be in a word on the calendar, or perhaps in ministry, either spoken or written. When the Lord has spoken to our hearts, telling us of something which we should be doing or which we should cease from doing, the responsibility rests with us to obey Him.

Some writers, in the past, perhaps quite unwittingly have given the impression that when one's life is under the leading of the Holy Spirit one automatically does what is right. While it is perfectly true that the Holy Spirit will never lead one to do anything wrong, right actions are certainly not automatic. The Lord Jesus said of the Holy Spirit that, "He shall guide you into all the truth" (John 16:13). We are still left with a free will to be, or not to be, guided by the Lord. We have heard the word, and so then we have to act. The Lord does not do for us what he has given us the ability to do ourselves.

A little while ago I read, in a magazine a little snippet which seems to illustrate this thought. It ran like this, "Don't waste time asking God to keep you from doing things - don't do them!" This may sound rather crude but it does emphasize the point.

When the Lord has spoken to our hearts can we disregard His word?

"God speaketh once, yea twice, though man regardeth it not" (Job 33:14). So then if we have heard the Lord speaking to our heart let us not be hearers only, or we shall be, as James puts it, "deluding (or deceiving) your own selves". Mary's words at the marriage at Cana seem to sum up all this:

"Whatsoever He saith unto you, do it".

J. Taylor, Crowborough | Feb 1980
General