INTRODUCTION

1. The Scriptures place a high degree of importance upon hearing the word of God.

   1. Salvation comes by grace and faith (Eph. 2:8), and "faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ" (Rom. 10:17).

   2. Indeed, the path to salvation and eternal life is revealed by a message that must be heard.  "He who has ears to hear, let him hear" (Matt. 11:15).

2. Even so, merely hearing God's word will not advance one's spiritual wellbeing at all.  To reap the benefits of God's word, one must act in compliance with the message of Scripture.

   1. The emphasis on hearing is mostly a lesson for Christians who have already heard and believed the gospel, for it is their responsibility to give others the opportunity to hear.

   2. Hearers of the gospel implicitly know the need to act, just as those men knew in Acts 2:37:

      Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brethren, what shall we do?"

   3. What shall we do?  The gospel of Christ tells us what we shall do, but unless we do it, we cannot be profited.  This leaves us with one viable option: when we hear the word of God, we must do it.

       

DOERS, NOT HEARERS ONLY

1. The Lord ended His greatest sermon with the most important message of that sermon, which was a call to action.

   1. Every person in the Lord's presence on the day He preached the Sermon on the Mount heard great things, and they were all amazed at His teaching (Matt. 7:28-29).  However, Jesus divided them into two distinct categories: the wise and foolish.  The difference between the two was action.

   2. Notice Matthew 7:24-27:

      ²⁴"Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock.  ²⁶Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.  ²⁷The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell --   and great was its fall."

   3. Just as the Lord's words from this sermon still stand, so also does His call to action.  We have heard the words of Jesus; now will we be wise of foolish? Will we act on His words, or will we be hearers only?

2. No amount of reading, studying, or listening to God's word will ever be effective for a person who will not act on it.

   1. Many men acknowledge the Bible as God's word. Many also read it and give their attention to many sermons.  However, there are not nearly as many who also act on the Bible's message.

   2. Consider God's words to the prophet in Ezekiel 33:30-33:

      ³⁰"But as for you, son of man, your fellow citizens who talk about you by the walls and in the doorways of the houses, speak to one another, each to his brother, saying, 'Come now and hear what the message is which comes forth from the LORD.'  ³¹They come to you as people come, and sit before you as My people and hear your words, but they do not do them, for they do the lustful desires expressed by their mouth, and their heart goes after their gain.  ³²Behold, you are to them like a sensual song by one who has a beautiful voice and plays well on an instrument; for they hear your words but they do not practice them.  ³³So when it comes to pass -- as surely it will -- then they will know that a prophet has been in their midst."

   3. These Jews certainly had a zeal for hearing Ezekiel preach the word of God, but they had no zeal for acting on that word. Ezekiel's preaching and God's word were merely an attraction and a form of entertainment to them.  Is this what they are for us?

3. Those who feel a sense of accomplishment by merely hearing God's word are self-deceived.

   1. Notice James 1:22-25:

      ²²But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.  ²³For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; ²⁴for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was.  ²⁵But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.

   2. James uses the analogy of a man looking in a mirror and forgetting his reflection, but we could use many others as well.

      1. Hearing God's word without doing it is like a man sitting down at a table spread with a great feast and never eating.  What has it profited him?

      2. It also like a man travelling a long distance to arrive at a certain destination, but once he arrives, he fails to enter.  His journey was for nothing.

      3. Again, it is like a student who prepares for years for a certain profession, but once he finishes his education, he never goes to work. What good is his education?

   3. The point of these analogies is to show that hearers who never become doers are deluded if they think that hearing is achieving. Are we under such delusions?

       

ACTION IS VALUED ABOVE WORDS

1. Again, it was at the end of the Sermon on the Mount when Jesus emphasized the importance of actions over words.

   1. Consider the Lord's words in Matthew 7:21-23:

      ²¹"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.  ²²Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?'  ²³And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; Depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.'"

   2. The words "Lord, Lord" will be empty without the appropriate actions to give them substance.  That action is the doing of the will of God.

   3. Notice that arbitrary, self-determined action is insufficient. Instead, we must act according to the will of God as revealed by His word.

      1. Many will act, but their actions will not be according to the Father's will.  Therefore, Jesus will say, "I never knew you."

      2. So it is for those who simply act without regard for God's will.  They acknowledge God in their words, but their deeds do not follow. Jesus said, "This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far away from Me" (Matt. 15:8).

2. This truth is also demonstrated in the Parable of the Two Sons.

   1. The Lord gave this parable to the chief priests and elders in Matthew 21:28-32:

      ²⁸"But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, 'Son, go work today in the vineyard.'  ²⁹And he answered, 'I will not'; but afterward he regretted it and went.  ³⁰The man came to the second and said the same thing; and he answered, 'I will, sir'; but he did not go.  ³¹Which of the two did the will of his father?"  They said, "The first."  Jesus said to them, "Truly I say to you that the tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you.  ³²For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him; but the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him; and you, seeing this, did not even feel remorse afterward so as to believe him."

   2. The words of the sons did not match their deeds. Ultimately, it was their deeds that mattered most.

      1. For the son who answered correctly, his words did not justify his failure to obey.

      2. For the son who initially refused his father, he redeemed his errant words by obedient behavior.

          

CONCLUSION

1. The message of this lesson is not profound, but rather it is common sense.  Even so, its application is not common.  There are simply more hearers than there are doers of God's word.

2. Therefore, let us be certain to be people of action, and let those actions be determined by the word of God.  Jesus said, "If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them" (John 13:17).