Be Ye Doers Of The Word
Minister: |
Rev. Ronald Van Overloop |
Date: |
4/8/2012 PM
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Text:
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James 1:22-25
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Psalters: |
176, 116, 160, 271 |
- The hearers.
- James writes to those who are members of the church, faithfully sitting under the preaching of God?s Word.
- The preaching declares the contents of God?s Word with its commands, admonitions, threats, and promises.
- The Word and the preaching of it is like a mirror.
- There are three kinds of people under the Word.
- The non-hearer, who attends preaching but is like the hard soil and the Word has no impact.
- The hearer only is someone who is a forgetful hearer.
- The real hearer is a doer.
- What makes someone a doer and not a hearer only?
- First, he sees his natural face in the mirror of the Word of God.
- One?s ?natural face? is what one is by nature, by virtue of one?s relationship to Adam, one?s natural depravity.
- This is true for all who hear the preaching: they see this about themselves in the mirror of God?s Word.
- Second, the doer continues in this knowledge, i.e., does not allow himself to forget it or to set it aside.
- The hearer only ?straightway forgets? about his own depravity, this ugly image of himself.
- The doer becomes a doer by continuing in the knowledge of his sinfulness.
- His awareness of his sin and need for the Savior converts the mirror into ?the perfect law of liberty.?
- Such a doer ?shall be blessed in his deed.?
- The first deed of such a hearer (doer) of the Word is repentance.
- The doer finds blessing in knowing that he is free from the guilt and bondage of sin.
- The hearer who is a doer of the Word is blessed in his grateful loving God and his neighbor.
- His blessing is in the certainty of his hope of being perfect with God in the glory to come.