Practical Christianity
“But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” -James 1:22
Many times, we read a passage in Scripture, and we think of someone else. Or we think how nice or poetic it sounds, or consider how morally upright Jesus’ teachings were, but we never truly take the overall message to heart.
“And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” -Luke 6:46
Far too often, we as Christians may encounter powerful preaching, or life-changing verses in the Bible, or hard-hitting teachings from God’s word, and we are only amused. It brings our minds a little tickle. We may smile, and think how noble such things are, but we do not let these seeds of truth penetrate our hard hearts.
“Let these sayings sink down into your ears. . .” -Luke 9:44a
We ought to stop and think of the consequences of our actions, our attitudes, and our lifestyle, and see if it is truly pleasing to God. If we call ourselves Christians, and we claim to be children of God, we ought to examine ourselves, and let God’s words sink down into our hearts and allow God to work in us.
An example
Consider this astounding, life-changing portion of Scripture:
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” -Romans 12:1-2
What does this mean to you, personally? Do not think of how nice it sounds, or how noble or philosophical its principles are, but ponder this: what does it mean for me?
What does it mean to present my body to God as a living sacrifice? What practical ways will this effect my life?
What does it mean to not be conformed to the world? How will this change my life, my everyday living, because of this truth?
Change, nobody likes to do it
Nearly every hard-hitting or profound truth found in Scripture has one thing that people naturally hate: change. People hate to change. They do not want anything in the Bible to change the way they live, and they don’t want God to impinge on their selfish happiness. Yet God commands us: be a doer of the word, and not a hearer only.
Why do we so quickly forget the things that we need to hear the most? Why do we so quickly disregard the teachings of the Bible that would seek to change us for the better? When we see mirrored in God’s word our darkened state, and our tendencies to sin and selfishness, and ignore the ugly images of ourselves that we see, and we choose to forget them, we become hardened in our hearts, and are hypocrites.
“For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.” -James 1:23-24
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