ExJM07: Doers of the Word, Not Just Hearers (1:22-27)

Introduction

Exordium. Last week, we looked intently into what James calls the perfect law of liberty, which is God’s Word that frees us to live as we were meant to live. We focused specifically on our speech: words marked by kindness, grace, patient listening, and self-control. But I want to begin this morning with a question that may feel uncomfortable: Did last week’s message change anything about the way you spoke this week? When conflict arose, did you slow down to listen? Did you choose grace when you could have chosen sarcasm? Did you hold back words that would have wounded? If you were changed, you are not only a hearer of the Word but a doer, one who looks into the mirror of God’s truth and responds. But if the mirror was set before you, revealing what Scripture says about your speech, and yet nothing changed, then James would warn that you may be deceiving yourself. God’s Word was never meant to be admired from a distance; it was meant to be obeyed, lived, and displayed in every conversation we have.

Context. In chapter one, James reminds us that every good and perfect gift comes from God the Father (1:16), and the greatest of these gifts is the new life He gives through the word of truth (1:18). Yet James quickly acknowledges our natural resistance to that Word. When confronted by it, we tend to grow defensive and angry, so he exhorts us to “be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger” (1:19). As he continues (1:22–25), James takes this further, insisting that true faith does not stop with hearing. We must respond in obedience: “be doers of the word, and not hearers only” (1:22). Finally, in verses 26–27, James provides a tangible picture of such obedience. Those who both hear and do reveal this reality through their speech, their care for the needy, and their separation from worldly corruption.

Simple outline. (1) Consider the two possible outcomes James presents: self-deception or blessing. (2) Consider the four possible groups of people to whom James refers. (3) Consider the two models James describes: one negative and one positive.

Two Outcomes

As we focus in to verses 22-25, we see James bookends these verses with two possible outcomes: self-deception (1:22) and blessing (1:25).

Deceive yourselves. With verse 22, James offers a concise and helpful purpose statement: “be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” With this, James offers the first possible outcome: self-deception. In verse 26, James further defines what he means by deceiving yourselves. He writes, “If anyone thinks he is religious and [does not obey] … this person’s religion is worthless.” Listening that does not lead to change is self-deception, a self-deception with which one thinks themselves to be doing profitable religious rituals but in actuality just wasting their time.

The term, translated deceiving themselves, can also mean to defraud.[1] When we fail to act on the truth revealed, we defraud ourselves in that we miss out on the opportunity for maturity and the accompanying blessings.

So then, when we hear the truth but do not follow the truth, we live a lie, thinking ourselves religious but actually possessing a worthless religion, void of spiritual maturity and God’s blessings.

Receive blessings. However, James proposes at the end of verse 25, a second possible outcome. If we are hearers and doers, we “will be blessed.”

James describes the blessed person as one who look into the perfect law of liberty. The title itself reveals the source of blessing. The law often comes off as binding, negative, or accusatory (i.e. the Mosaic Law). Yet, the perfect law of liberty (i.e. the Law of Christ) sets us free from self-centeredness to a new capacity to love God and others well.

We also experience the blessing that comes from doing what is right. Craig Blomberg notes, “This is not an eschatological blessing, but the promise of personal fulfillment in the very process of doing what believers know to be right.”[2] Obedience produces peace, contentment, and satisfaction, while disobedience brings shame, conflict, and unrest.

Finally, we receive the natural blessings that accompany faithful living. God intended for his laws (expectations) to bring blessing and joy. When we remain faithful in marriage, our marriages flourish. Faithfulness in marriage strengthens the relationship; gracious speech deepens friendships; gratitude replaces covetousness with contentment; and when children obey their parents, harmony fills the home.

Therefore, let’s consider our purpose statement. Receive God’s blessings by being both a hearer and a doer of the word.

Four Possible Types of People

Before we examine Jame’s two models of receiving the word of truth (one negative and one positive), let’s first consider four types of people confronted by the word.

Those who purposefully avoid. This first group avoids encountering the truth altogether. They don’t personally study God’s Word, and if they attend church or bible studies, they remain mentally checked out, unmoved and uninterested in being changed. They resemble people who throw away overdue bills, hoping their debt will simply disappear; or those who cover a car’s “check engine” light with tape to ignore the problem; or those who avoid stepping on the scale to escape knowing any weight gain. Each act of avoidance offers temporary comfort but ultimately keeps them from the truth that could bring health and blessing.

James is not referring to this first group of people. However, we would benefit in assessing whether we are part of this group. May I be so bold as to propose, if you have no desire whatsoever to hear the truth from God’s Word, you are not likely a believer.

Those who casually glance. This second group occasionally glances at the truth. However, as soon as any potential conviction or suggestion for change occurs, they’re out. They’ll step on the scale, but as soon as the number gets to a certain point, they quickly dismount. They may know it’s not good, but they don’t necessarily know how bad it is.

From several translations of verse 23, we may infer that James has this group in mind. For instance, the NASB, NIV, and HCSB simply use looks, the NET uses gazes, and the NLT uses glancing.

Those who meditate but don’t do. This third group reflects on the truth but fails to act on it. They open the mail, recognize their debt, and then throw it away. They notice the “check engine” light, realize there’s an oil leak, and keep driving, hoping the problem resolves itself.

I suggest James refers to this third group in verses 23 and 24, but I’ll expand on that shortly.

Those who meditate and do. The final group both meditates on the truth and takes purposeful steps to obey it. In verse 25, James describes this fourth group.

So then, there are four types of people confronted by the truth, those who avoid, those who merely glance, those who meditate but don’t act, and those who meditate and act. Yet, James offers two contrasting models for how we receive the truth: one negative and one positive.

The Models

The Negative Model. James seems to refer to the third group (those who hear but fail to act) when presenting the negative model. While some of the translations may suggests a casual glance, two terms indicate these people receive the truth on a deeper level. (1) The underlying term connotes intently looking.[3] (2) Additionally, the fact that they see their natural face suggests they look long enough to perceive reality. They meditate on the truth, recognize their sinful nature, and see the brokenness in their lives.

However, after perceiving what needs to be addressed, this person walks away unchanged. Their commitment to intently look holds no value because it leads to no transformation. They are left in a state of self-deception. Perhaps they pride themselves in their level of honesty or transparency. Maybe they feel genuine in their willingness to truly assess themselves. Yet, despite their awareness, they remain unchanged and in a place of deceit and no blessing.

The Positive Model. Like the negative model, this person also looks intently into the mirror of truth, seeing the same reflection, a sinful and defiled person. Yet, instead of walking away unchanged, they persevere and respond.

Once again, word choice shapes how we interpret the text.

ESV, perseveres

KJV, continueth therein

NASB, abides by it

NET, fixes his attention there

NIV, continues in it

HCSB, perseveres in it

The ESV’s perseveres may sound too broad. However, as the other translations (and the Greek) make clear, this perseverance involves remaining in, abiding in, or continuing in the intentional act of looking into the perfect law of liberty.

As Guthrie notes, “The doer not only has this practice of investigating God’s law but stays with it. In other words, the law becomes a frame of reference for living. With the law ever before the eyes of the heart, this person lives out the law instead of forgetting it.”[4]

Thus, the person in this positive model intently examines their life in light of God’s perfect law of liberty, remains continually shaped by it, and acts accordingly. The result is transformation and blessing: they are freed from self-centeredness, experience the peace that comes through obedience, and enjoy the natural fruit of godly living.

Conclusion

We live in a culture that values transparency without change, as if honesty about our flaws were itself the virtue. In James’ words, we love to look into the mirror and acknowledge our brokenness, yet we stop there. Vulnerability becomes a substitute for obedience.

So let me ask: Are you even looking? If so, are you honestly assessing your reflection? And if you see the truth, are you addressing what you see … or just ignoring it?

In his commentary, Alec Motyer offers a really helpful thought. He reminds us:

We deceive ourselves when we mistake the part for the whole. It is only part of our fruitful use of the Word of God to hear it and receive it, but it is a part on which we might unduly preen ourselves: ‘I spent fifty minutes this morning reading the Bible—and I can remember what I read. It was a super, uninterrupted time.’ And James would say, ‘Well done! But now, what about obeying the word you read? Have you actually changed your mind so that you now hold to be true what you learnt in the word? Have you (and are you) re-directing your imagination and your eyes and your thoughts so as to live according to the standards of the world? Are your relationships different, as the word instructed you they should be?’—and so he could go on. We must be doers of the word.[5]

Imagine standing before a mirror with a large streak of dirt across your face. You study it closely, describe it accurately, maybe even call a few friends to talk about how it got there. You take a picture of it, post it online, and say, “Just being real today.” Everyone applauds your honesty, and then you walk away without washing your face. You’ve been transparent but not transformed.

That is the tragedy James confronts in these few verses. God never calls us merely to see the truth or admit the truth, but to respond to it. The blessing is not in the seeing but in the doing. The mirror of God’s Word was never meant for mere reflection—it was meant for renewal. The true blessing comes not in seeing the truth, but in living it.

Endnotes

[1]παραλογίζομαι strictly reckon falsely; (1) of persons deceive, delude by false reasoning (CO 2:4; JA 1:22); (2) of things defraud, distort [Friberg et al., Analytical Lexicon of the Greek New Testament, 297.]

[2]Blomberg, James, 16:93.

[3]In glancing 😊 at various translations’ word choice in this verse, we might confidently conclude the person looking into the mirror does so with a quick furtive glance. However, katanoeo indicates “intently looking” which the ESV uses in its translation. [KJV, behold; NASB and NIV and HCSB, looks; NET, gazes; NLT, glancing]

[4]Longman et al., Hebrews-Revelation, 13:227.

[5]Motyer, The Message of James, 70.