James: Faith/WorksSample

Hearer / Doer

True belief causes Christians to live out their faith according to God’s Word. We don’t passively hear the Word. Rather, action should always follow genuine heart change. The one who merely hears the word and has a lifestyle that is characteristically against doing what he hears has not truly received the gospel.

Many scholars have called the Book of James a commentary on Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. They mean James uses similar language and images to describe a life of true faith. The Sermon on the Mount concludes with a famous parable about building a house. This is the heart of James’s letter: hearing and doing, faith expressed in our works.

James left no room in his letter for the idea of hearing the truth and not doing what it says. He didn’t want his readers to deceive themselves into thinking they could be Christians merely by believing the right things about Jesus. Following Jesus requires action. As a disciple, you not only have to believe that Christ is worth following, but you also have to take steps of faith to deny yourself, pick up your cross, and follow Him daily (see Luke 9:23).

Being a doer has two components: putting away filthiness and seeking pure religion. If the word religion gets you bent out of shape, set aside your personal interpretation of what that means. James was talking about a devoted life that’s pleasing to God.