Be a Doer not Just a Hearer

There is a saying that goes “Wherever wisdom is the goal, hearing is the first virtue.” This proves true throughout the New Testament as the word hearing is used 169 times in the New Testament and 286 times in the Old Testament.

Should you be a parent, you have experienced giving instructions to a child and them shaking their head as if they understand and then go off do everything but what they were told to do. You have also experienced giving them instructions in behaviour and they hear you, they can repeat every word that you said, they can even imitate your voice and inflection of how you speak. However, when it comes to actually doing what was supposed to be done, they became hearers and not doers.

We are going to see that James knows the instruction that has already been given to the readers of this letter we can see that with the saying “this you know” However we are going to see that we are not only required to hear but to do as well.