But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. (James 1:22) What is this great deception? You think that because you hear the word and agree with it, that this makes you a believer, but you are not. You are a knower, but not a believer. How do you know that you are a believer? When you willingly do what you know, that's when you believe it. And the more you do of what you know, the more you'll believe it.
Another sure way of knowing if you are a believer is by listening to the words that are coming out of your mouth, especially when you have not had time to think about what you are going to say, like when you react to something unplanned. Those words that come forth will tell on you, for out of the abundance of the (your)heart, the (your) mouth will speak. (Matt 12:34). You will say what you believe (especially when you haven't had time to process your thoughts). If what you are saying is not what you are hearing from the Word of God, then you don't believe it, but you'll be deceived into thinking that you do believe it because you agree with it. Believing is more active than that. Believing is doing and it's that doing that God responds to.
(Look at Genesis 22:1-19, James 2:14-26 especially verses 21-23, & Heb 11:17-19. These scriptures paint the real picture of believing. If you are not believing like this (by doing), then you are not believing, but only deceived into thinking that you are).
1 comment:
That's some hard stuff to swallow, but it's the truth. We have to hide the Word in our hearts and be ready to draw on it. It's a matter of discipline. Something very much lacking in the world today. It's not easy, no. But, it is possible. Anything is possible.
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