James 1:19-25 BSB (Berean Standard Bible)

“19My beloved brothers, understand this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger, 20for man’s anger does not bring about the righteousness that God desires. 21Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and every expression of evil, and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save your souls.

22Be doers of the word, and not hearers only. Otherwise, you are deceiving yourselves. 23For anyone who hears the word but does not carry it out is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror, 24and after observing himself goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25But the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom, and continues to do so—not being a forgetful hearer, but an effective doer—he will be blessed in what he does.”

Sin, a Heart Issue

Why do so many people who profess faith in Jesus Christ continue in moral filth and in so many expressions of evil and not in submission to Christ as Lord in holy living? What lies within their hearts that drives them to keep repeating the same sins over again with no genuine repentance in sight? Well the Scriptures teach that it is out of what is stored up in the heart that comes evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, and slander, etc. (see Matthew 15:17-20; Luke 6:45).

So sin is really a heart issue. And there are many people in this world, professing Christians and not, who are living in addiction to sin who are selfish, self-indulgent, malicious, morally unclean, egocentric, liars, angry, manipulators, and deceivers, many of whom fake their Christianity to try to appear righteous on the outside but while they continue living in addiction to sin in secret. For they are those who are wandering far from God, choosing their sin over and above God, who are unfaithful to what their lips profess.

False Teachers

And then we have so many false teachers of the gospel in so many of the gatherings of what are at least called “churches,” who are teaching the people that all they have to do is to make a profession of faith in Jesus Christ and now all their sins are forgiven and they are on their way to heaven guaranteed but regardless of how they live. So many are teaching that faith does not require death to sin and obedience to God’s commands, or else they make them optional, which is a lie of the devil and not of God.

For the Scriptures make it quite clear that faith in Jesus, if it is genuine, and if it is biblical, requires that we repent of (turn from) our sins and that we now walk in obedience to our Lord and to His commands. We must be doers of the Word and not hearers only. How is it that so many are not seeing that in the Scriptures? It is all throughout the New Testament teachings under the New Covenant. And yet I hear so many say, “I don’t have to obey God. I don’t have to repent of sin.” For they call that “works salvation.” It isn’t!!

Self-Deception

Many people today are being self-deceived, for they look to other humans to tell them the truth they want to hear while they ignore the multitude of Scriptures which teach us that we must, by faith in Jesus Christ, deny self, die to sin, and follow our Lord in walks of obedience to His commands. For if we refuse, we will not inherit eternal life with God. NOT MY WORDS! I nearly always include Scripture references here so you can look them up and read them for yourselves. There is no way around this. Please know the truth!

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; 2 Corinthians 5:10,15,21; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:1-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22]

We must be doers of the Word and not hearers only or we will not be blessed of God. We must not be those who see ourselves for who we really are, and then if we see that something is wrong, that it is out of place, or that it is sinful or antibiblical, that we just walk away and we ignore what we were shown. Instead, we are to be those who look at our hearts with all honesty to see what God sees is in our hearts who then make the necessary changes in our lifestyles and attitudes in order to now please God with our lives.

For by God-gifted faith in Jesus Christ, which is not of our own doing, we are crucified with Christ in death to sin and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in Him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but as slaves to righteousness in walks of obedience to God’s commands. We are no longer to permit sin to reign in our mortal bodies to make us obey its desires. For if sin is what we obey, it results in death. But if obedience to God is what we obey, it results in sanctification, and its end is eternal life with God (see Romans 6:1-23).

Be An Effective Doer
An Original Work / September 27, 2026
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Your Life

Based off of Colossians 3:1-17
An Original Work / October 22, 2011
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Set your hearts and minds on things up above
Where Christ sits with God; not on earthly things.
For you died and your life is now hidd’n with Christ.
When Christ, who is your life, is seen, you will be with Him.

Your sins, put to death. Don’t walk in these ways.
Don’t lie to yourselves or to others, too.
Since you have taken off your old sinful past,
Put on the new self in Jesus. Get rid of such things.

Therefore, holy ones, put on gentleness;
Kindness; patience, too. Be compassionate.
Bear with one another. Forgive others, too.
Forgive as the Lord forgave you. O’er all, put on love.

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts now.
You were called to peace. Be ye so thankful.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly now
As you teach and instruct others. Sing songs unto Christ.

Spoken: “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Col. 3:17 NIV 1984).