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Doers of the Word

John the Baptist declares, “There’s the Lamb of God.” Later on, he says about Jesus, “I must decrease and He must increase.” That is our goal in life. We must decrease, and Jesus must increase.

When John’s two disciples heard John say Jesus was the Lamb of God, the Chosen One, they followed Jesus. Let me tell you about these disciples: these are good disciples right here. They were students, learning from John the Baptist. He had been teaching them about the Messiah. He pulled the old prophecies from Isaiah, telling everyone, “The Messiah’s coming! I’m preparing the way for Him. I’m making the crooked paths straight. You’ve got to follow Him.”

So, when these two guys heard John proclaim Jesus was the Messiah, they followed Jesus. John was cool with it. He was just chilling. He told them, “That’s the guy you’re supposed to follow.” We are all disciples, but these guys are special. They are doers of the Word, like it says in James 1:22. Many people in church are hearers of the Word of God, and not doers.

Do you read the Word of God and do what it says? When you read the Bible, it says do not lie; if you’re hooking up, sleeping around, don’t do that; if you’re cheating, stop; if you’re greedy, if you’ve got hatred in your heart, stop.

When you read God’s Word, you get convicted. In church, “convicted” is a good thing. It makes you better. It means that you compare your life to what the Bible says, see what you are supposed to do, and realize where you fall short. The Word of God shows you how to live.

We need to be doers of the Word, and not just hearers. James adds that being hearers but not doers is like looking in the mirror. You see all the things that you need to change in your life. You look at yourself and say, “Dude, I’m busted up. Whatever.” Then you walk away and you forget what you look like. But you need to do what the Word says. Don’t read it and then not let it affect you. Don’t pretend like you didn’t read it. Do what it says.