Daily Bible Nugget #237, James 1:22

The Nugget:

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

My Comment

The Scriptures should not only be heard but obeyed. You can hardly expect to be able to obey the Scripture if you have not heard the Scripture. Today we are blessed to have the Scriptures widely available in printed form. I think God will hold us accountable in some measure for how we did or did not avail ourselves of the Scriptures and Bible study tools He has providentially provided for our use. If we do not take advantage of our privileged position of such ready access to God’s Word, we surely shall be judged in eternity by those who had less access but made better advantage of what they had compared to us. But how can we be “doers of the word”? We can pattern our life in accordance with what the Bible says. We can adopt a worldview that is compatible with what the Bible presents as the truth about reality. We can adopt values that are in line with God’s Word. A great many people who identify themselves as Christians have beliefs and values that mirror the surrounding culture rather than the Word of God found in Scripture. We will be helped along these lines if we not only read the Bible, but study it. One of the most essential ways to study the Bible is to make use of cross references. James in this very verse (James 1:22) identifies failure to do God’s Word as a logical fallacy, a deception we bring on ourselves, an example of the snare of the devil (Deuteronomy 7:25). As we discover from the Bible how God wants us to live we can become people who are “doers of the word.”

For those who desire to DIG DEEPER into this subject:

(1) Consult the cross references given in Nelson’s Cross Reference Guide to the Bible on page 1447 for James 1:22.

(2) Consult the cross references given in The New Treasury of Scripture Knowledge on page 1466 or in Logos 5 Bible software for James 1:22.

(3) Lacking access to those two resources, consult the cross references for this passage as I have developed them as given below:

James 1:22. But be ye. or, But become ye. Gr. ginomai. Present tense, middle voice, imperative mood verb. Mt 10:16. doers. ver. James 1:25. James 2:14-20. 4:11, **James 4:17. *Ex 24:7. 35:1. Le 20:8. Dt 15:5. +*Dt 26:16. 28:58. +**Jsh 1:8. **2 K 22:13. +*Ps 15:5. +*Ps 119:1. Pr 8:34. *Pr 15:32mg. Je 11:6. 38:20. Ezk 18:5, 9. Mt 5:19. **Mt 7:21-25. 12:50. 13:23. *Mt 28:20. *Lk 6:46-48. *Lk 8:15, 21. +*Lk 11:28. +*Lk 12:47, 48. *Jn 8:31. +*Jn 13:17. *Ro 2:13. 8:2. 15:18. 1 Cor 9:21. Ga 6:2. Ep 2:10. **Phil 4:8, 9. *Col 3:17. 2 Th 2:17. Titus 3:8. +**1 J 2:3, 9, 10. 3:7. *3 J 1:11. *Re 22:7. the word. ver. James 1:18, 21, 23. +*Ps 119:48. Mk 4:14. Jn 5:38. not hearers. Gr. akroatēs (S#202g, only here, ver. James 1:23, 25; Ro 2:13), a hearer (merely) [Strong]. James 2:14. Ezk 33:4. *Mk 6:20. Ro 2:23. only. +*Ezk 33:31, 32. Lk 6:49. deceiving. or, ensnaring. Gr. paralogizomai (S#3884g, only here and Col 2:4), to deceive by false reasoning (CB); to misreckon, that is, delude (Strong); to use fallacies (Lange). By the logical fallacy that the mere hearing is all that is needed (see JFB). T#1078. ver. James 1:26. James 2:24. 3:13. Ge 29:25. 31:41. +**Dt 7:25. Jsh 9:22. 1 S 28:12. +*Ps 5:9. +*Pr 14:12. 16:25. Is 44:20. Je 37:9. 42:20. +*Ob 1:3. Ro 7:11. 1 Cor 3:18. +*1 Cor 6:9, 10. 8:1. 15:33. *Ga 6:3, 7. **Col 2:4. 2 Tim 3:13. Titus 3:3. 2 P 2:13. **1 J 1:8. Re 12:9. your own selves. *Pr 21:2. 27:19.