But be ye doers of the Word and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. James 1:22
I am not sure the story is true, but it goes like this: A policeman stopped a car for speeding. When he approached the driver, he was met by an obscene gesture and rude, profane, and abusive words from a very irate woman. Immediately he returned to his patrol car and called in some back-up. With gun drawn, he approached the car and demanded the woman get out. He handcuffed her and took her to the police station. After a brief interrogation, he let the woman go, telling her that, based on her behaviour and the ‘What would Jesus do?’ bumper sticker on the car, he had assumed the car was stolen. It is shocking to think that anyone claiming to be a Christian would display such behaviour, but it happens. As our text declares, it is not just a matter of knowing what the Bible says, but in knowing how to obey it.
Our text seems to be aimed directly at the religions world. Many religious people are good at quoting the Scriptures but not very good at obeying them. Instead of obeying the Word, they obey the doctrines that their particular denomination has evolved, along with the traditions that go along with them. There is no lack of activity, but little of it has anything to do with obeying the Word. James as he writes the epistle would have in mind the Pharisees and their self-righteous lifestyle, their self-created rules and regulations, and their lack of consideration for others. These people had deceived themselves into thinking that they were righteous because they heard the Word, even if they didn’t do it. We don’t have the Pharisees with us today, but we have plenty of people who are just like them. We look at those people and can easily see that it is wrong to be like them. But we can still do better than we do in this field.
We have a good knowledge of the Word of God, compared to many others. We can quote Gospel texts and we can find our way around the Bible. We can readily identify the major characters in the Bible. We might even be able to list the different dispensations in the Bible, and be able to outline the end-time events as described in Bible prophecy. All these are good, and we do well to improve in these things. But if we know what the Bible says, we are wrong if we don’t obey. A Christian who learns the truth about baptism is disobedient if he remains unbaptized. A Christian who reads that we are not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together (Hebrews 10:25) is in error if he remains at home alone. A Christian who knows of the error of the unequal yoke (2 Corinthians 6:14) is in error to marry an unbeliever.
The Word of God has many things to teach us. And the things that it would teach us, our Lord wants us to put into action as well as into our heads. – Jim MacIntosh