Being An Effective Doer

By Steve Clark

June 25, 2026

James 1:22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

All of us face the temptation to walk according to sight instead of faith. Human reason will fail us at times, but God never fails. His Word keeps us on the right course as long as we obey it. Simply hearing a good sermon will not make you grow. The soil of our hearts must be tilled, so the Word can be planted. It must be accepted as truth, allowed to grow, and put into action. It is in the doing of God’s Word that we see true spiritual growth and the blessings of God come.

An old preacher said: Too many Christians mark their Bibles but never allow their Bibles to mark them! God wants His people to put His Word into action! But that is not going to happen until we obey the Word. Verse 22 isn’t a request; this is a command!

“Hearers” are those who attend a lecture without becoming disciples. We see this in people who demonstrate a lack of action for the Lord in their lives because they are only hearers and hearing alone is enough. God says they are deceiving themselves. They are just kidding themselves.

Here’s a hard fact: That deception may reveal the ultimate spiritual danger, the danger of not truly being saved. John 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:

My Sheep—It shows that He knows you, but also that you know him and obey his voice. A true believer is one who receives the Word of God and continually strives for more and more practical obedience to the Word. They submit to the Word’s authority and comply with its directions.

God wants a listener to become a disciple and a disciple is an obedient follower of Jesus. Does this describe you or are you just deceiving yourself?

Reflection—When the sermon is over, it is all said, but it not all done.