{"id":156,"date":"2020-04-20T21:36:06","date_gmt":"2020-04-20T21:36:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/3.14.142.208\/?p=156"},"modified":"2024-01-17T15:44:02","modified_gmt":"2024-01-17T15:44:02","slug":"praying-james-122-before-you-begin-bible-reading","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stevebelsheim.com\/?p=156","title":{"rendered":"Praying James 1:22 Before You Begin Bible Reading"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This blog post is the third of four blog posts that together consider the four verses in a September 21, 2015, article entitled \u201cFour Prayers for Bible Reading\u201d by Pastor David Mathis, in which he discusses four verses to pray before one begins to open God\u2019s Word.  A link to Pastor Mathis\u2019 article is (https:\/\/www.desiringgod.org\/articles\/four-prayers-for-bible-reading<\/a> ).  This third blog post looks at Pastor Mathis\u2019 third verse, i.e., James 1:22 (ESV), which reads:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his article, Pastor Mathis shines a light on the importance of life change that produces spiritual fruit through Bible reading (emphasis added):<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pray that God, having opened your eyes to wonder and reminded you of the sufficiency of his grace, would produce genuine change in your life. Ask him to allow the seeds from Scripture to bear real, noticeable fruit in tangible acts of sacrificial love for others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many times people read or study the Bible and acquire knowledge, but they do not apply what they learn to their lives.  An obedient believer must apply what he or she gains through Bible intake to bear spiritual fruit.  To consistently study the Bible and not experience life change ought to create concern about one\u2019s salvation.  However, that is a topic for another day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s look at James 1:22 in the context of James 1:22-25 (ESV), which reads:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. 25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In these verses, James distinguishes a \u201chearer only\u201d from a \u201cdoer\u201d by how he or she reacts after looking at God\u2019s Word using the metaphor of a mirror.  In reference to the \u201chearer only\u201d, the ESV translates the Greek adverb monos<\/em> as \u201conly\u201d, and it means:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(an idiom, literally \u2018throughout only places\u2019): the only item of a class in a place\u2014\u2018alone, all by oneself.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: based on semantic domains<\/em><\/a> (electronic ed. of the 2nd edition., Vol. 1, p. 590). New York: United Bible Societies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this usage, monos<\/em> has the sense of nothing more.  Further, James\u2019 message to a \u201chearer only\u201d is they are \u201cdeceiving yourselves.\u201d  The ESV translates the Greek verb paralogizomenoi<\/em> as \u201cdeceiving,\u201d and it means:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

to deceive by arguments or false reasons<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: based on semantic domains (electronic ed. of the 2nd edition., Vol. 1, p. 758). New York: United Bible Societies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the context of mathematics, paralogizomenoi<\/em> means a miscalculation.  See The John MacArthur Study Bible, Word Bibles, (1997), Thomas Nelson, Nashville, TN at p. 1928.  A \u201chearer only\u201d miscalculates thereby deceiving themselves about the outcome from failure to apply God\u2019s Word to achieve life change. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the \u201chearer only,\u201d he looks intently at his \u201cnatural face in a mirror.\u201d  The \u201chearer only\u201d looks at God\u2019s Word, but his process of Bible engagement is terminated because he goes away from God\u2019s Word and \u201cat once\u201d forgets what he was like when he was looking at God\u2019s Word.  The \u201chearer only\u201d may see God\u2019s Word as a theory only, and ignores the mandate to act on the message of Scripture.  A hearer only is one who may possess head knowledge about what God prescribes, but that is all.  The knowledge of a \u201chearer only\u201d never makes the journey from his head to his heart and his hands.  It just stays in his or her brain never to result in any substantive life change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In reference to the doer, the ESV translates the Greek noun poi\u0113t\u0113s<\/em> as \u201cdoer\u201d and it means:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

one who does what is prescribed<\/strong>, a doer<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arndt, W., Danker, F. W., Bauer, W., & Gingrich, F. W. (2000). A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament and other early Christian literature<\/em><\/a> (3rd ed., p. 842). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Emphasis added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I normally cringe any time someone uses an English dictionary definition in Bible study.  At the risk of causing someone to cringe, note the definition of \u201cprescribe:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2: to lay down a rule: give directions<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Webster\u2019s Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, (2002), Merriam-Webster, Inc., Springfield, MA, at p. 1792.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One who is a doer is obedient to what God prescribes in His Word.  Verse 25 presents four verbs that describe what the doer does concerning God\u2019s Word.  First, the doer looks \u201cinto the perfect law (of liberty)\u201d.  The implication is that the doer stares at God\u2019s Word with the desire to learn.  Second, the doer perseveres in obedience to do what God says in His Word.  Third, the doer does not forget what he learns.  He does not suffer from spiritual amnesia.  Fourth, the doer \u201cacts\u201d in conformance with the teachings of God\u2019s Word.  What a doer learns from God\u2019s Word travels from his head to his heart and his hands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is James intended message by this text to his audience?  It seems to me that he is trying to strongly emphasize to his audience that mere biblical head knowledge is of no real value.  And that for a \u201chearer only\u201d to consider head knowledge valuable is self-deception that God does not bless.  Please note that God blesses a doer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How can we apply James\u2019 message to us in the 21st Century?  One answer is we need, and must, dig into God\u2019s Word.  We must take Bible intake seriously and fully appreciate that God\u2019s Word is infinitely more than black print on a white page, but is instead, \u201cliving and active\u201d per Hebrews 4:12\u201313 (ESV):<\/p>\n\n\n\n

12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We must yield to God\u2019s will as expressed in His Word by letting it change how we live our lives so that we produce an abundance of spiritual fruit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For a practical application, let me suggest the following prayer to pray before Bible reading, study, meditation, or listening:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dear Heavenly Father, I am about to engage in the study of, reading of, meditation on, or listening to the Bible.  Please help me to see what You say and teach in Your Word about how I am to live my life.  Please help me to continually engage Your Word.  O, Father, please give me guidance and courage and determination to apply the timeless principles in Your Word to my life today.  I hunger and thirst for Your Word to change me so that my life produces an abundance of tangible spiritual fruit.  In Jesus\u2019 Name I pray. Amen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NOTICE OF PERMISSIONS<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am mindful of and respect the rights other authors and\/or publishers possess in their works.  I thus try my best to not violate any copyright rights other authors and\/or publishers possess in their works.  The below copyright permission statement is the result of my best efforts to understand that limited usage or \u201cfair use\u201d is available and\/or to secure direct permission for specific works. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scripture quotations are from the ESV\u00ae Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version) copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.  Used by permission.  All rights reserved. I believe the short quotations from Pastor Mathis\u2019 article, Arndt, W., Danker, F. W., Bauer, W., & Gingrich, F. W. (2000). A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament and other early Christian literature<\/em><\/a> (3rd ed., p. 842). Chicago: University of Chicago Press, and Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: based on semantic domains<\/em><\/a> (electronic ed. of the 2nd edition., Vol. 1, p. 590). New York: United Bible Societies, The John MacArthur Study Bible, and the Webster\u2019s Third New International Dictionary fall within the fair use doctrine.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This blog post is the third of four blog posts that together consider the four verses in a September 21, 2015, article entitled \u201cFour Prayers for Bible Reading\u201d by Pastor David Mathis, in which he discusses four verses to pray before one begins to open God\u2019s Word.  A link to Pastor Mathis\u2019 article is (https:\/\/www.desiringgod.org\/articles\/four-prayers-for-bible-reading […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[321],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-156","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bible-study"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stevebelsheim.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stevebelsheim.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stevebelsheim.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stevebelsheim.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stevebelsheim.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=156"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/stevebelsheim.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":157,"href":"https:\/\/stevebelsheim.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156\/revisions\/157"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stevebelsheim.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=156"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stevebelsheim.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=156"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stevebelsheim.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=156"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}