James 1:22

22 Do not deceive yourselves by just listening to his word; instead, put it into practice.

James 1:22 Meaning and Commentary

James 1:22

But be ye doers of the word
And they are such, who spiritually understand it; gladly receive it; and from the heart obey it, and make a sincere and ingenuous profession of it; and who submit to the ordinances it directs to, and keep them as they have been delivered; and live, and walk, becoming their profession of it. The Arabic and Ethiopic versions read, "be ye doers of the law"; and so one of Stephens's copies, as in ( Romans 2:13 )

and not hearers only;
though the word should be heard swiftly and readily, and received with meekness; yet it should not be barely heard, and assented to; but what is heard should be put in practice; and especially men should not depend upon their hearing, as if that would save them; this is deceiving your own selves; such as rest upon the outward hearing of the word will be sadly deceived, and will find themselves miserably mistaken, another day; see ( Luke 13:25 Luke 13:26 ) . Arguments taken from hence are like the sophisms, paralogisms, and false reasonings of sophisters, which carry a fair show, and ensnare and deceive.

James 1:22 In-Context

20 Human anger does not achieve God's righteous purpose.

21 So get rid of every filthy habit and all wicked conduct. Submit to God and accept the word that he plants in your hearts, which is able to save you.

22 Do not deceive yourselves by just listening to his word; instead, put it into practice.

23 If you listen to the word, but do not put it into practice you are like people who look in a mirror and see themselves as they are.

24 They take a good look at themselves and then go away and at once forget what they look like.