Thursday, July 06, 2006
How Do You Do?
Oh, I already feel proud about my cleverly punned title. In all likelihood, this post is already corrupted by my flesh. Plus, this is another one of those posts that isn't specifically about Chisholm. But then again, it is.
I am observing (with great disgust) a trend among my peers-- my peers being educated, church-attending, presumably Bible-reading people-- to prefer conversations, discussions, arguments, studies, etc. to practical application of what is being conversed, discussed, argued, and studied. (I touched on this subject in my lamentation of the blogosphere a few weeks ago.) There appears to be a strong desire for knowledge, but only a faint or feigned desire for application. What good is knowledge that does not motivate action and obedience?
James 2:22-25 asks and answers the very question.
"But be doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the Word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks intently into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing."
Have you ever considered the implications of verse 22? When you merely listen to instructions, teaching, sermons, exhortations from brothers and sisters, you lie to yourself. How terrible this is! We become personally responsible for our own folly and fruitlessness; we deceive our hearts. YET, WE DON'T KNOW IT. Why not?
The answer is simple. We think that we have satisfied God simply by hearing and agreeing with the truth. We convince ourselves that we are righteous and faith-full simply because we acknowledge truth as truth; it stirs us when we hear it. We "Mmm" and "Amen" and think, "Man, this is good stuff!"; and somewhere in all that agreement we believe that we are practicing the truth by talking about it/ listening to it/ examining it. This is not the case, however. We are only practicing the truth when we DO it.
James gets bold enough in chapter 2 to tell us we are justified by our own actions and doing (Calm down, Luther!) and that the demons are just as capable of agreeing with the truth as we are. In fact, they even fear him more than we, shuddering and the very thought of God's nature. What then is the distinction between our acknowledgement of the truth and theirs?
It must be faith at work, doing what God commands and requires of us.
So try to answer the question... How do you do? How do you make application of the Bible in your own life? How do you purposefully glean applications from your pastor-- and does he make application of the texts he preaches? (Mine does.)
Don't just read these very words and perpetuate the problem by feeling satisfied with your accumulation and comprehension of James 1:22-25. Go be a doer. Teach, serve, sing, forgive, baptize, exhort, admonish, correct, rebuke, preach, heal, provide, give, go, weep, laugh, rejoice, bear, crucify, deny, shout, love, speak, wait, pray, bless, disciple, assemble, expect, ask, seek, sacrifice.
To do these things is to demonstrate a realness of your belief.
These are what distinguish you from the demons.
"Be a doer and not a hearer only, deceiving yourselves."
I am observing (with great disgust) a trend among my peers-- my peers being educated, church-attending, presumably Bible-reading people-- to prefer conversations, discussions, arguments, studies, etc. to practical application of what is being conversed, discussed, argued, and studied. (I touched on this subject in my lamentation of the blogosphere a few weeks ago.) There appears to be a strong desire for knowledge, but only a faint or feigned desire for application. What good is knowledge that does not motivate action and obedience?
James 2:22-25 asks and answers the very question.
"But be doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the Word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks intently into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing."
Have you ever considered the implications of verse 22? When you merely listen to instructions, teaching, sermons, exhortations from brothers and sisters, you lie to yourself. How terrible this is! We become personally responsible for our own folly and fruitlessness; we deceive our hearts. YET, WE DON'T KNOW IT. Why not?
The answer is simple. We think that we have satisfied God simply by hearing and agreeing with the truth. We convince ourselves that we are righteous and faith-full simply because we acknowledge truth as truth; it stirs us when we hear it. We "Mmm" and "Amen" and think, "Man, this is good stuff!"; and somewhere in all that agreement we believe that we are practicing the truth by talking about it/ listening to it/ examining it. This is not the case, however. We are only practicing the truth when we DO it.
James gets bold enough in chapter 2 to tell us we are justified by our own actions and doing (Calm down, Luther!) and that the demons are just as capable of agreeing with the truth as we are. In fact, they even fear him more than we, shuddering and the very thought of God's nature. What then is the distinction between our acknowledgement of the truth and theirs?
It must be faith at work, doing what God commands and requires of us.
So try to answer the question... How do you do? How do you make application of the Bible in your own life? How do you purposefully glean applications from your pastor-- and does he make application of the texts he preaches? (Mine does.)
Don't just read these very words and perpetuate the problem by feeling satisfied with your accumulation and comprehension of James 1:22-25. Go be a doer. Teach, serve, sing, forgive, baptize, exhort, admonish, correct, rebuke, preach, heal, provide, give, go, weep, laugh, rejoice, bear, crucify, deny, shout, love, speak, wait, pray, bless, disciple, assemble, expect, ask, seek, sacrifice.
To do these things is to demonstrate a realness of your belief.
These are what distinguish you from the demons.
"Be a doer and not a hearer only, deceiving yourselves."
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