James so let's read from the verse number 21 of the chapter James chapter 1 verse 21. Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness and receive with meekness the engrafted word which is able to save your souls but be doers of the word and not hearers only deceiving your own selves and For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto man beholding his natural face in a glass. For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh in to the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, he deceiveth his own heart. This man's religion is vain. Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, to visit the fatherless, and widows their affliction and to keep himself unspotted from the world. Amen and we'll end a reading at the natural break at the end of the chapter and with the word open just briefly let's unite once again in prayer please. Our loving father come now and minister to our hearts from my word send thy spirit into these O God, hearts of ours, in a greater and a more fuller way than has ever been known before, that we may not only hear the word, but that we might heed it and then live it out in our lives, we pray. And so come and help this preacher and fill him now with thy spirit. I pray this in the Savior's precious and worthy name. Amen and amen. Having instructed his readership on how they ought to prepare for and receive the engrafted word of truth, James, the inspired writer, now in the verses 22 to 25, comes to speak about the practical outworking of that word in the lies of his readership. Really what James is dealing with here is the Christian's compliance, submission, and obedience to the Word of God. Now while faithful preachers of the Word expend large amounts of time in preparing messages, there's a time spent in prayer obviously, the time spent in study which is required, and then the time spent in the actual preaching of that word, all their time and all their efforts are in vain if the hearer of the word does not heed the word that is presented to them. This is what James's simple argument is within this particular section of chapter 1 of this letter to the saints of God. And so tonight we want to simply consider these verses together, verses 22 to 25, and think about our response to God's word. Our response to God's word. I want you to notice firstly with me the entreaty James issues. The entreaty James issues. Look there at the verse 22, but be doers of the word. and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. If you look down there to the verse 25, for verse 25 repeats in a somewhat similar fashion what he says in verse 22 here, he says, But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, and be not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man is blessed in his deed. The entreaty issued by James here is that we are not only to hear the word, but we are to then live the word out within each of our lives. Yes, an intellectual knowledge of the scriptures is important. Brethren and sisters, we ought to be acquainted with what the word of God has to say. We ought to be acquainted with respect to what the word of God teaches. We ought to have an intellectual knowledge with regard to the doctrines that are presented within the word of God. We should be aware of the conduct that God's word demands. However, living out the scriptures, day after day is much more important and much more profitable than having a simple mere head knowledge of the scriptures. I've used the illustration before but it's as good as it gets and it's well worth the repeating. Every learner driver is required to read and learn the highway code for their theory test. However, The head knowledge gained by reading the code is worthless if the R driver then decides to go onto the road after passing their test and decides not to follow the rules of the highway code and drive through red lights instead of stopping. To go round a wrong way with respect to a roundabout or to refuse to stop at a stop sign. Compliance to the Highway Code is much better and you would know much safer than simply knowing about it in one's mind. Heeding the Highway Code is a much safer option than simply knowing it intellectually. And such is true when it comes to the Word of God. Compliance to the Word is much better and much safer for us than simply being able to repeat verses of scripture from memory. Nothing wrong with that, but obedience to what is taught in the scriptures is much more safer and much better than being able to repeat verses of scripture from memory. Brethren and sisters, it's all well and good being able to recite the words of Matthew 6 verse 33. But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you. But are we actually doing it? Are we putting the Lord first in our lives? Are we putting the Lord first in our homes? Are we putting the Lord first in our families? Are we putting the Lord first when we come to make decisions in our life? Or do we simply know Matthew 6 verse 33 as something in the mind but never has it left that mind and been lived out within our lives. Are you seeking first the kingdom of God? It's all well and good. being able to recite 1 Peter 1 verse 15, but as he which is called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation. But are we being holy? Are we living holy lives in the manner in which we live? Do we strive after holiness? Are we concerned about the unholy way that we live at times? It's all well and good being able to recite the words of 1 Peter 5 and the verse 7, casting all your care upon him, for he careth for you. And we receive that intellectually and we believe it intellectually but actually do we cast our cares upon the Lord? Are we as those continually carrying our cares upon the Lord? Or is it the case that we are carrying our cares and we play the martyrs card? Whenever God tells us to cast our cares upon Him Brethren and sisters, it's better to live out the word by faith than simply to know it intellectually. You know, brethren and sisters, it's all good to come, it is good to come to God's house and to sit under the preaching of God's word. We're commanded to do that. It's good practice to read the scriptures for yourself and with your family around the family altar, and I trust you do that. but it's not good enough to simply hear the word of God. We have to go one step further. We have to obey it in our lives. We are to be doers of the word. Now that word doers, it can be translated performers. Be ye performers of the word and not hearers only. You see what James is saying here is that there has to be a public visible performance of the word of God by the Christian before the world and before the church. The word is to be performed. This is what James is encouraging the people to do. The form of the verb do here, doers, it takes, it is what is known as in the present imperative. What that simply means in layman's terms is that we are to be continual, continual doers of the word. We are to be continually being doers of the word. It isn't that we once obeyed the scripture in some particular area of our lives and then that's us for the rest of our lives. No. It simply means that day after day, we are to follow the commands and the precepts of the Word of God. We are to habitually, perpetually, daily live out God's Word in our homes, in our school, and in our community. And it is to be a daily living of it out. continually being a doer, being a performer of the word of God. There is the very real danger that we enjoy hearing God's word, but we neglect the doing of it. We enjoy hearing the preacher, we enjoy coming to the Bible study, We benefit and profit with respect to being under the word of God. But whenever we leave the meeting, we forget it. We fail to live it out in our lives. And we're no better having been under the word. And this ought not to be so, brethren and sisters. Emphasis by preachers is often placed on being at the meetings to hear the Word, and rightly so. But maybe a better emphasis should be on obeying the Word. Obeying the Word. One of the fears any minister has is that his congregation hears so much of the Word, but they do so little about it. Sadly, many substitute hearing for the doing. But the Christian who desires to see advancement in their Christian life, the one who longs for spiritual maturity, remembering that's what the book of James is all about, such a person will see to it that they not only hear the word but that they heed the word and then that they live the word of God out in their lives. You see James is trying to bring these people from infancy spiritually speaking to maturity with regard to spirituality and the only way that that will ever happen is that you move from being a hearer of the word to being a doer of the word. That's the only way that you and I will ever mature, progress, advance within our Christian lives. We're not only to hear the word, but let's live it out. Let's be a doer of the word. There's no benefit to one's life if all you do is attend the house of God, hear the word of God read and expounded, but you do absolutely nothing about what you've heard. You know, I hear people and they complain about the ungodly. How can the ungodly sit under such preaching and not get saved? And yet I always think, well, how can the Christian sit under such preaching and do nothing about it? Hearing the word of God, brethren and sisters, that's not the end goal. To hear the word And you think that you've ticked a box and that's it? That's not the end goal. Brethren and sisters, obeying the word, obedience. Obeying the word, that's the end goal. Because it is that which will bring us into a state of Christ-likeness. Vance Havner, the 20th, Century, American evangelist said on one occasion, we need an outbreak of holy heartburn. When hearers shall be doers, when congregation shall go out from meetings to do things for God. Listen, you may have a heavily underlined and highlighted Bible in your hand tonight. You may have notes galore down the margins of God's Word. You may have a well-worn copy of the Scriptures on your bedside table. You may have committed to memory extensive swathes and portions of Holy Scripture. You might even be the greatest defender of the authorized version of the Scriptures, but all that is to no avail if you fail to put into practice what the Bible teaches. doing is what marks Christ's sheep the Son of God said in John 10 verse 27 my sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me they hear me and they follow me hearing and doing Protestant reformer Martin Luther said, the world does not need a definition of religion as much as it needs a demonstration. This is what we are to become. When we hear and do that which we are told to do in the word of God, we become a demonstration of biblical religion. Let us then be submissive doers of the word, glad doers of the word, ready doers of the word, constant doers of the word. Listen to this quote from the Reverend James Smith. He said, the word of God is intended to be our daily counselor, guide, and friend. It contains all that is necessary to be known for our comfort, direction, and safety. It never flatters or vanity, nourishes our fears or sanctions or sins. It comprises all that is necessary for doctrine, correction, and instruction in righteousness. Its doctrines are all true, important, holy. They are to be believed, published, and enjoyed. Its ordinances are simple, plain, and significant, and are to be observed by all who reverence, believe, and hope in God. Its precepts are appropriate, necessary and wise, adapted to our situations in society, and are to be cheerfully, constantly, and universally obeyed. Be doers of the Word. The knowledge, brethren and sisters of Scripture, must be collaborated by what you do. or it's all to no avail. The story is told of a parishioner who met the pastor at the church door after the service had concluded. And the parishioner said to the pastor, pastor, that was a wonderful sermon. To which the pastor replied, well, that remains to be seen, doesn't it? See, it would only be wonderful if it actually had an effect on the parishioner. This should be our approach when we are confronted with the Word of God. We're not just to hear it, we are to live it. Child of God, you'll not go far wrong if you become a doer of the Word. When it comes to your personal life, your family life, your church life, your business life, your life in this society, to be a doer of the word. Now to enforce this principle of being a doer and not just a hearer of God's word, James employs an example, an illustration from a daily activity to emphasize how we ought to respond to the word of God. And so let's consider in the second place, not only the entreaty that James issues, but the example James uses James writes in verse 23 and 24, For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass. For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. Now the glass that James refers to in verse 23 is simply a mirror. It's a mirror, that which we look into in the morning, and at times are shocked by what is reflected back. Well, James wants his readers to picture a person going to the mirror, looking at their reflection in the mirror, seeing something that is out of place, and yet they do not rectify that particular thing. Such resembles. James says a person who comes to the mirror of God's Word is alerted to something. that is inconsistent with God's revealed will within their lives, and yet they refuse to put things right. We would think an individual that does that on the physical level, going to a mirror and seeing something wrong, and not rectifying, we would think that to be a foolish thing. And yet, do we not do the same? We come to God's word, God speaks to us, there are things in our lives that are not right, not in accordance to God's will, and we forget what we've read, and we never put things right. One of the activities that a mirror is useful for is the activity of self-examination. I wonder has maybe your mother or maybe your wife said to you something like this, would you go and look at yourself in the mirror? Did your mother ever say that to you? Does your wife ever still say that to you, those men there at home or there in the car? Would you go and look at yourself in the mirror? If you follow their advice, you would see the reason why they have said such a thing to you. You see, the mirror will reveal to you that something is wrong that is previously hidden to you. Something's wrong that was previously hidden, concealed, to you or from you. Such happens when we come to the word of God. We can be ignorant of how we are before God, but the mirror of God's word soon sees to it that we're given a true reflection of our lives. And it helps us to see ourselves as God sees us, so that we might put things right in our lives. That's what it is to come to the word. What lessons are we to learn from the simple illustration or example that James employs here? Well, the first lesson we are to learn is that the myrrh tells no lies. The myrrh tells no lies. How prone we are to think of ourselves, spiritually speaking, more highly than we ought to think, however, The Bible brings us to a realization of how we truly are. You see, the Word tells no lies. The Word of God shows us the secret things of our hearts, the deformities of our soul, and the deficiencies of our graces. The story is told of an African tribal chief who was presented with a mirror by a visitor. He had never seen a mirror before in his life. He peered curiously into the glass and commented on the ugliness of the person he saw. When he realized he was looking at himself, he became so enraged that he smashed the mirror on the rock. What was the chief's problem? Well, the problem wasn't the myrrh. The problem was the reality shown in the myrrh. And too often we come to the Bible and we're confronted with the reality of who we really are. And just like the chief, it doesn't make for pleasant viewing, does it? And what do we do? We want to smash the myrrh. But smashing the mirror doesn't take away from the reality. And you can live having been confronted with the word of God and God challenging you about some area that needs to be put right in your Christian life. And you can go away from the mirror, but folks, it doesn't do away with the reality. It doesn't change. The reality of things. The second lesson we learn is that the best time to put things right in our Christian lives is whenever you're in front of God's word, the myrrh of God's word. The danger is that when we leave the myrrh, whether that is rising from our pew in the church and going out to the car and making your way home or whether that is after your own quiet time and closing the word of God over. The danger is that when we leave the mirror, other things can come into our lives and we, although we had good intentions, we forget to make the appropriate modifications. And so practically, When God does speak to you from His Word, when He shows you what is required of you, the time to respond is there and then, because There's the possibility that the cares of this life could come and distract you and you never actually get round to implementing what God would have had you to implement and put into practice within your life. And so when God speaks, respond immediately. The old adage goes, there's no time like the present. And there's no time like the present when God speaks through his word. Let's not be willfully forgetful. God confronts us with his word, but let us by God's grace put right that which is wrong. And if we do, there is great reward for doing so. And that brings us to consider our third and final point, the encouragement that James presents. Verse 25, But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful here, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. Now note the terms that James uses here to describe the word of God. In this verse he speaks of the word as being the perfect law of liberty. Three quick things I want you to note about God's word from that phrase, the perfect law of liberty. In these words I see the word of God's finality. The word perfect means complete. The word of God is complete. There's a finality to its teachings. Revelation 22, 18 and 19 informs us that nothing is to be added to the scripture, nothing is to be taken away from the scripture. God has spoken, it has been revealed, it has been recorded, and it settles it. And so we must reject all other prophetic words. Because what you have in your hand tonight is the perfect, it is the complete word of God. So we have finality, we have authority, authority. The word of God is called the perfect law. God's word is God's law, handed down to us from the law giver. The law is something that then is authoritative, and therefore it is for us to simply obey. God does not make suggestions. He doesn't set forth proposals. He doesn't offer ideas. He commands and we are to obey. Finality, authority, liberty. James speaks of the perfect law of liberty. God's Word teaches us the way to find true freedom. We find it, first of all, knowing the Son. We're told, whom the Son shall set free shall be free indeed. But we're also told that the truth shall make us free. There's liberty, not bondage, but liberty when we submit ourselves to the Word of God. But note, note something, child of God, now note it. The liberty here spoken of is controlled by the law. It is the perfect law of liberty. So many professing Christians forget this. They are antinomians. They live a life of lawlessness. No law. We're all under grace. No. It's called the law, the perfect law of liberty. Yes, of course, there's liberty. But liberty is governed by the law of God. Liberty isn't doing what you think you should do. True freedom, true liberty is found in the law of God, in the word of God. And James continues and reminds the saints that whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty and continueth therein, there it is, this constant daily day-to-day living, and be not a forgetful hearer but a doer, this man shall be blessed in his deed. Now notice what he doesn't say. He doesn't say that he's gonna be blessed for his deed. We're not blessed because we do things for God, but he's blessed in his deed. Whilst he's doing it, he's blessed. This blessedness does not lie in knowing, but in doing the will of God. The Lord Jesus said, John 13, 17, if ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them, if ye do them. A.W. Pink wrote, the extent the Christian does use the Holy Scripture in a practical way, regulating his thoughts, desires, and actions by their warnings and encouragements, their prohibitions and precepts, will very largely determine the measure in which he will enjoy God's blessing on his life. Do you want to be blessed in your deeds? Do you want the works of your hands to be established? Then, brother, sister, allow the word of God to govern your life. Let us not be like the foolish builder. He built his house upon the sand. Let's not hear the word, but neglect putting it into practice, because that's the picture that the foolish builder presents, the person who hears but does not do the word. but instead let us be like the wise builder who built his house upon a rock. Let us not only hear the word, but then let us put it into practice within our lives. And so may God help you tonight. And may God help me to be not only a hearer of God's word, but also to be a doer of the word of God. May the Lord bless his word to our hearts. Let's just briefly pray and then we'll bring some announcements. Loving Father, take thy word and help us, Lord, to live out thy word now in our lives. May we come to God's house, not only seeing, hearing as the end goal, but may we come now to God's house when we reconvene again in this building and, Lord, online And via other means, Lord, we pray that we'll leave each time saying, what do I now need to do? And then, Lord, give us the grace and the help to do that. We pray this in Jesus' name.