But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. James 1:22

The Book of James is one of the most straight forward letters in the New Testament.  Instead of focusing on theological discussions, he deals mostly with what we do as evidence of what we believe.  In other words, he challenges us to look at our actions more than our words to truly discover what is in our hearts.

Revelation 12 give us an important insight into the work of Satan. We are told, “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down” (Rev. 12:10).  John is referencing Satan and reveals that the devil is constantly appearing before God in the courts of heaven with accusations against us…against you and me. We see a similar scene in the opening verses of the Book of Job where Satan is accusing Job of worshipping God only because God blessed him so richly.  Satan complained that God had prevented him from getting at Job and bringing pain and loss into his life.  The accuser argued that if God would lift his hand of protection and allow Satan to torment the man, Job would curse God instead of worshipping him.

When looking at these verses and others throughout scripture, we discover that Satan is constantly going before God with accusations against us.  He is persistent in his attempt to find a legal right to afflict us…some unrepented sin, some generational curse, or some spoken word that opens the door for his attacks.

James warns us of the ultimate deception through which Satan may gain access to many believers. He warns us to avoid the trap of being hearers of the Word only, without being doers of the Word. It is easy to feel spiritual and mature when we are constantly involved in Bible study, theological discussions, perpetual sermon podcasts, and so forth. We can carry on spiritual conversations, disect scripture, and talk about all the amazing things God is doing in the world, without allowing the Word of God to actually transform us.

In my years as a believer, I have witnessed men who taught the Bible with zeal and who could quote most of it, act in very unloving ways.  Some were abusive husbands and fathers. Some were spiritually arrogant and quick to judge others as less than themselves.  Some were child molesters. Others pursued secret addictions while quickly condemning others for their weaknesses.  

Because we talk about something, it is easy to believe we have done something about it.  Anyone who has done much counseling has experienced clients who come every week to their sessions and fully engage in long discussions about what they should be doing or could be doing, but then leave and never apply any of what they learned to their lives.  They show up, they talk, but they don’t change.  They feel great that they are going to counseling as if that were the goal rather than life change.  

We can do that in church or in our small groups as well.  We can read the Word, hear the Word, and discuss the Word, but never get around to doing what it calls us to do.  That is the great deception.  We feel we are good with God because we hang around God’s people, listen to sermon and attend conferences.   But our true goal is gaining religious information rather than spiritual transformation. Transformation takes a commitment to actually do what we are called to do…forgiver others, humble ourselves, confess our sins, care for the poor, seek justice for the weak, and so forth. 

When Satan goes before the Lord and accuses us of hypocrisy, God will have to grant him some legal right to afflict us because the charge is true.  The sin of appearing to be righteous while our hearts are full judgment, hatred, pride, lust, indifference to the needs of others, and so forth is the very condition about which Jesus rebuked the Pharisees…clean on the outside but full of decay on the inside.  The great deception is found in our contentment to know all the right things without letting those “right things” get hold of us and change us. The deception is feeling good with God and secure because we listen great sermons and great teachings.  James, however, says there is another necessary step.  We must do what we know, not just know what we know.  

I had a wise man come to me one day after a Bible class.  He said,” I don’t want you to teach me one more new thing from the Bible.  I want you to teach me how to do what I already know. I think that man would have made James, the brother of Jesus, smile. 

Jesus said on several occasions that the greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.  To truly love God, our minds and hearts must be aligned with his truth.  Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (Jn.14:15). We won’t keep a commandment that we don’t agree with…at least not consistently.  

Most of us are in the process of alignment.  We consistently obey Jesus in some areas but not in others. At our best, we begin to think or respond in a certain way, then think about what Jesus would want and, after some internal debate, surrender to him.  That is a good step, but the renewed mind goes to what Jesus would want first, without having to reason our way to that conclusion. When our mind and heart are both aligned with God’s Spirit, then we are truly renewed.  

The mind is renewed by constant time in the Word and in meditation on the Word. The Greek word translated meditation, is the idea of “chewing on something for a while.”  We need not just mindlessly read the Bible, but also  think about what we have read.  Discuss it with other believers.  Read or listen to someone else’s thoughts on the passage, etc.  As we do so, what seemed to be counterintuitive at one time, now seems to make perfect sense because we are training out minds with Kingdom logic, rather than worldly wisdom. If our mind is not renewed, we will not be transformed.  Paul declared, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Rom. 12:2).  

Along with the mind, our hearts need to be renewed as well. God’s truth can find its way to our heart in many ways, but the most powerful way is through revelation, when God’s Spirit bears witness with our spirit about his truth so that the life-giving Word of God replaces a lie that has affected us for years (Rom. 8:16). The lies of Satan are deadly but the truth of Jesus Christ gives life.  Adam bit on Satan’s lie in the Garden and death entered into the world. But when Jesus touched the dead, the dead breathed again. When Jesus touches a lie, he drains it of its deadly poison and breathes his healing truth into a wound that was releasing its toxin into our life. “The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words (rhema)  I have spoken to you are spirit andthey are life “ (Jn.6:63).

There are two general words in the Greek language that describe a word from the Lord.  One is logos and the other is rhema.  Typically, logos refers to the written word of God revealed to the prophets and penned by them as well.  Rhema is typically a spoken word of God that give fresh revelation to an individual.  It may be a revealed application of the written word or simply a direct world to a person through the Spirit.  We need both logos and rhema.

I believe the written logos is most needed to renew the mind while the spoken rhema is most effective at changing the heart.  Logos makes sure that rhema is consistent with the will of God and keeps us from spinning off into theological space.  It also is a way we experience God directly which increases our faith.  Paul said, “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word (rhema) of God. “  Truthfully, I am more transformed By a genuine experience with God than by a sermon or daily Bible reading.  The experience needs to be tested by the written word, but the spoken word or experience with God opens my heart up to a greater level and expands my mind to a deeper understanding of the written Word.

Churches that preach about God, but rarely experience him are not greatly transformative.  Churches that are mostly experience and little Word are prone to theological error and can be more “fleshly” than those churches who deny the Spirit.

Jesus declared, ”The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words (rhema) I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life” (Jn.6:63).  We need the words of Jesus…both written and those heard in our spirit.   

Let’s read the Word, let’s listen to good sermons, let’s read good books to help us understand the Lord more…but then let’s listen for his rhema.  Let Jesus speak to you about his Word, your plans, your hurts, your disappointments and even your successes.  When Jesus speaks your heart is transformed.   

When both our minds and hearts are renewed, we will commune with God in greater ways than we have ever known. That should be our truest and highest goal for living.