More Than Religious Activity

But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. (James 1:22)

It is possible to do a great deal that looks like faith and still deceive yourself. Confession can become a religious motion. Communion can become a religious motion. Almost any act of devotion can be reduced to something you perform out of habit rather than something that flows from an actual encounter with the Word. James is not condemning these practices themselves. He warns against the danger of thinking you are fine simply because you have gone through them. Still, faith requires more than mental assent. You must do what you believe.

The Greek word translated as “doer” means someone who performs. This isn’t just someone who knows, but a person who carries out what has been written rather than merely agreeing with what God said in theory. Hearing without doing can make some feel secure because they feel good about the Word they received. People can walk away from a sermon feeling spiritually accomplished and still be no further along than before they sat down if nothing they heard actually changed how they live.

Being a doer assumes a specific order. First, you find out what Scripture actually says about the matter at hand. Then you take the time to understand it clearly. Only after that do you decide to act on what is written. Skipping any part of that sequence, especially the last step, leaves you with information instead of transformation.

Practical Application

Choose one area where you have been going through religious motions without genuine conviction or something you claim to believe but have not acted on. Take time today to determine exactly what Scripture says about it, and decide to act accordingly.

Luke 11:28; Joshua 1:8