One letter can make a huge difference in the meaning of a Bible passage. If I read the New Testament in Greek there would be little chance of confusing "work" with "word." I don't always wear my glasses (and maybe I should!) when I read but "ergon" looks nothing like "logos." While I have been guilty of finishing God's sentences in the past, sometimes I have also been guilty of skimming through scripture instead of carefully reading each word. When we do this we literally don't realise all the revelation from God we missed.
But praise the LORD, even without wearing my glasses I came upon a passage I have mis-read in times past. I looked it up in another Bible just to make sure it wasn't a typo! James 1:21-25 says, "Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. 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 observing his natural face in a mirror; 24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. 25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does." (bold emphasis mine) The engrafting of God's word into our hearts and minds is His work believers must cooperate with. Both men in Jesus' parable who were building a house heard His words, but the one who obeyed them built a house which would endure on a solid foundation.
We have all seen the reflections of our face in a mirror: some were cursory glances, to aid shaving, help with applying make-up or styling of hair. We may check to ensure our teeth are clean or to look for the source of pain. The person who hears the word but doesn't do it James compares to one who takes a quick look and walks away--taking no action concerning the dry slobber on the cheek, sore ingrown hairs, and severe bed-head. Being freed from the condemnation of sin and the shackles of Law, we are to work to follow Christ's example to love God and others, to make disciples of Jesus. Our justification and sanctification is the work of God but we too are to work as Jesus did. Even as a youth He was about His Father's business. Having been set free by the Gospel by grace through faith in Jesus, we are blessed as He works in and through our lives. Without Him we cannot do anything! We do not earn salvation by working, but Jesus has saved us to do good work (Eph. 2:8-10).
When the Word of God is engrafted into our lives it produces fruit were there was only thorns and fruitlessness previously. Jesus is the Vine and we are grafted into Him, and the Word is engrafted into us. We are called to be intentional in seeing the contrast between the perfect law of liberty and the bondage we foolishly place ourselves under, whether it be bondage to sin, legalism, judgment, or tradition under the guise of being more pleasing to God than being led by the Holy Spirit. No profitable labour happens by accident no more than make-up magically bonds to your face because you slept a bit hard last night or your hair is suddenly presentable without a degree of attention. Hearing the Word of God is not doing it, and when we have heard it we ought to put it into practice. The one who is a doer of the work will be blessed in what he does.
But praise the LORD, even without wearing my glasses I came upon a passage I have mis-read in times past. I looked it up in another Bible just to make sure it wasn't a typo! James 1:21-25 says, "Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. 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 observing his natural face in a mirror; 24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. 25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does." (bold emphasis mine) The engrafting of God's word into our hearts and minds is His work believers must cooperate with. Both men in Jesus' parable who were building a house heard His words, but the one who obeyed them built a house which would endure on a solid foundation.
We have all seen the reflections of our face in a mirror: some were cursory glances, to aid shaving, help with applying make-up or styling of hair. We may check to ensure our teeth are clean or to look for the source of pain. The person who hears the word but doesn't do it James compares to one who takes a quick look and walks away--taking no action concerning the dry slobber on the cheek, sore ingrown hairs, and severe bed-head. Being freed from the condemnation of sin and the shackles of Law, we are to work to follow Christ's example to love God and others, to make disciples of Jesus. Our justification and sanctification is the work of God but we too are to work as Jesus did. Even as a youth He was about His Father's business. Having been set free by the Gospel by grace through faith in Jesus, we are blessed as He works in and through our lives. Without Him we cannot do anything! We do not earn salvation by working, but Jesus has saved us to do good work (Eph. 2:8-10).
When the Word of God is engrafted into our lives it produces fruit were there was only thorns and fruitlessness previously. Jesus is the Vine and we are grafted into Him, and the Word is engrafted into us. We are called to be intentional in seeing the contrast between the perfect law of liberty and the bondage we foolishly place ourselves under, whether it be bondage to sin, legalism, judgment, or tradition under the guise of being more pleasing to God than being led by the Holy Spirit. No profitable labour happens by accident no more than make-up magically bonds to your face because you slept a bit hard last night or your hair is suddenly presentable without a degree of attention. Hearing the Word of God is not doing it, and when we have heard it we ought to put it into practice. The one who is a doer of the work will be blessed in what he does.
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