Are You a Doer or Just a Hearer?
Do you find it easy to listen to Christian content, but hard to do what you know is right? If so, here are a few suggestions.
Years ago, I had a conversation with one of my friends who was seeking a staff position at a local church.
During his interview with the senior pastor, he was asked for his perspective on whether he thought a church should focus on discipleship or evangelism. My friend gave the answer I would have given, saying he didn't think it was either/or, but rather both/and.
But that wasn't the response the pastor wanted, and he informed my friend that their church was not an evangelistic church, but was solely a discipleship church. And by discipleship, this meant largely tending to the same group of people and shutting off contact with the outside world.
The result was a congregation that spent a great deal of time listening to the truths of God's Word, but very little time doing what Jesus commanded them to do.
Of course, this lone example is far from an isolated incident. The mistake many Christians make today is that they believe true discipleship occurs within the confines of a Sunday morning church gathering. They view the process of being molded into the image of Christ as an event that occurs in fellowship with other believers, rather than a transformational process that happens as they live a life of active obedience.
Hearing Is Easier Than Doing
The longer you're a Christian, the more tempting it will be to allow the familiarity of God's Word to prevent you from taking it seriously. Little by little, you'll be tempted to hear and not do.
This can happen so subtly. Take Jesus' command in Mark 16:15 to “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation." Such as basic command, but ask yourself: When was the last time I shared my faith with someone who wasn't a Christian?
Proverbs 3:5 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding.” You probably have this hanging up somewhere in your home. But how often do we live in ways that clearly demonstrate a lack of trust?
Then there are the hundreds of verses that say not to worry, but how many times do you struggle to have faith?
Now, I'm not trying to guilt-trip you. I'm merely pointing out that simply doing what you know is right is an extremely overlooked discipline.
The message James is driving home to his audience is this: True conformity to the image of Christ only occurs within the context of living out the teachings of Christ in our everyday lives.
