Read the transcript from today's video devotional.
I love athletics, and there was a commercial that came out years ago with the advertisement "Just do it." I mean, everybody's heard it. Just do it. There's a tremendous advertising campaign. It was used in all kinds of places and was literally used all over the world.
In our passage today, we have really the ultimate "just do it" passage. It's in James chapter 1, verse 22. James says, "But don't just listen to God's Word. You must do what it says. Otherwise you are only fooling yourselves."
Two Essential Truths
There are really two truths that come out of this passage, and very simply, the first one is don't just listen.
James talks about how true faith works. That's really the context of the book. True faith works itself out in a righteous life. In James chapter 1, verse 19 he says, "But we should be quick to hear, quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry." We're supposed to listen to God's Word. It's really important for us to listen to God's Word.
You and I have the fatal tendency not only to take things for granted, but to listen to God's Word and not do what it says. You and I have the amazing capacity to be self-deceived while we're listening to the very Word of God that keeps us from being deceived. It's really, really important for us to understand that we must make sure that we're not merely listeners of the Bible.
Put It Into Action
Secondly, it's do it. The verse is right there. "Don't just listen to God's Word. You must do what it says." It means to take action, means to put it into action. That's the whole concept. Did you notice the incredibly dangerous thing that happens if we're just a listener of the Word of God and not a doer of the Word of God?
He says it again in the verse: "Otherwise, you are only fooling yourself." I don't want to be a fool. I've already got enough foolish areas in my life. Maybe you do too. But it's really important for us to hear God's Word and to apply it, because we don't want to be fools. I love the verse in Proverbs chapter 26, verse 12. Listen to this verse: "Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him."
A Personal Challenge
It's critical for you and me. I want to ask you this question. Think about the areas in your personal life, your private life, in your mind, your feelings, what you do at your job, your family, whatever it is. What's an area of your life that God wants to say to you, You should really apply this in your life? Or an area where you actually know a lot more than you live?
You know, that's the great thing and the bad thing about learning God's Word—there can be a widening gap between what we hear and what we listen to and what we live out.
Friends, let's not be fools. Let's not deceive ourselves or delude ourselves into thinking that church attendance and listening to the Bible equals application. But let's be those who sit under God's Word, who listen to it and humbly receive the Word of God, and we do what it says. Why? Because we love the Lord Jesus Christ. May God help us to be these types of people today.
