Doers of the Word
James 1:22 Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
It has been pointed out that just as sitting in a garage does not make you a car, sitting in church does not make you a Christian. In the same vein, listening to solidly biblical sermons does not make you a follower of Jesus. Neither does reading God's Word religiously.
After all, as James points out, knowledge without action is useless. Knowing who God is and how much He loves you without loving Him and obeying Him in return is empty. Knowing what God demands and desires from His people but not doing any of those things is meaningless. Knowing God's Word is not the one who studies it the longest or who argues most eloquently on it behalf. The person who truly believes God's Word is the one who incorporates it into his or her life.
We are to do what God's Word tells us to do, and we are to shun all that His Word designates as sin. That is how we express our faith. We deceive ourselves when we merely not along in agreement with God's truth but do nothing in response.
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