But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
1:22 — “But be doers of the word.” The Word, received with meekness, and that is implanted in one, must be working effectively in him. It falls to the Christian to be a doer of the law (4:11).
Matt 7:24-27 is a good commentary on this verse. Also in the parable of the sower (Matt 13:18-23, Mark 4:3-20, Luke 8:11-15) we see the need to produce fruit with the divine message heard. James uses the present imperative when he says, “thirst,” implying that his readers must be becoming doers of the Word, and stay active in it continually. The present tense in the Greek emphasizes what is habitual or lasting. Some of the brethren had come to a state of having heard the Word and were content with it; they did not put it to work continuously. The following verses develop the theme introduced in this sentence of verse 22. — “And not hearers only.” The biblical purpose of hearing is to produce faith (Romans 10:17), and faith works (Jas 2:22). As some are guilty of being hearers only, it is obvious that they lacked faith. They were not hearing in order to act! These brothers contained knowledge (for they were hearing), but they did not bear much fruit (Joh 15:8), because they did not have much faith. — “deceive yourselves”. One deceives himself because he believes that he is right with God, since he faithfully attends presentations of the Word preached and hears. But the truth is that just by hearing he is not serving the Lord. He is a victim of the fallacy of his reasoning. Hearing is a means, not an end! He deprives himself who believes that being a faithful listener is enough. On the contrary, hearing is designed to produce faith that works, and the faithful are those who hear to that end.
Source: Commentary on the New Testament by Partain
be doers of the word. Jas 4:17; Matt 7:21-25; Mat 12:50; Matt 28:20; Luke 6:46-48; Luke 11:28; Luke 12:47, Luke 12:48; Joh 13:17; Romans 2:13; Phil 4:8; Col 3:17; 1Jn 2:3; 1Jn 3:7; 3Jn 1:11; Rev 22:7.
deceiving yourselves. Jas 1:26; Isaiah 44:20; Obba 1:3; 1Co 3:18; 1Co 6:9; 1Co 15:33; Gal 6:3, Gal 6:7; 2Ti 3:13; Tit 3:3; 2Pe 2:13; 1Jn 1:8; Rev 12:9.
Source: The Treasury of Biblical Knowledge
be doers of the word, and not hearers only: Believers who hear the Word of God (v. Jas 1:19) must receive it with a meek spirit (v. Jas 1:21), applying it to their daily lives. Listening and not obeying is cheating.
Source: New Illustrated Caribbean Bible Commentary
be doers. The fact that James calls believers to be “doers” and not just to do indicates that all aspects of his personality and lifestyle should be characterized by obedience to God. See notes on Matt 7:21-28. deceiving you Lit. “reason aside” or “justify in passing”. This word was used in mathematics to identify all wrong calculations. Those who profess to be Christians and are content just to hear the Word have made very bad calculations in their spiritual life.
Source: MacArthur Study Bible
1:22 — “But be doers of the word.” The Word, received with meekness, and that is implanted in one, must be working effectively in him. It falls to the Christian to be a doer of the law (4:11).
Mat 7:24-27 is a good commentary on this verse. Also in the parable of the sower (Mat 13:18-23, Mar 4:3-20, Luc 8:11-15) we see the need to produce fruit with the divine message heard.
James uses the present imperative when he says, “thirst,” implying that his readers must be becoming doers of the Word, and stay active in it continually. The present tense in the Greek emphasizes what is habitual or lasting. Some of the brethren had come to a state of having heard the Word and were content with it; they did not put it to work continuously. The following verses develop the theme introduced in this phrase of verse 22.
– “And not only listeners”. The biblical purpose of hearing is to produce faith (Rom 10:17), and faith works (Jas 2:22). As some are guilty of being hearers only, it is obvious that they lacked faith. They were not hearing in order to act! These brothers contained knowledge (because they were hearing), but they did not have much fruit (Joh 15:8), because they did not have much faith.
– “deceive yourselves”. One deceives himself because he believes that he is right with God, since he faithfully attends presentations of the Word preached and hears. But the truth is that just by hearing he is not serving the Lord. He is a victim of the fallacy of his reasoning. Hearing is a means, not an end! He deprives himself who believes that being a faithful listener is enough. On the contrary, hearing is designed to produce the faith that it works, and the faithful is the one who hears for that purpose.
Source: Reeves-Partain Notes
HEAR AND DO
James 1:22-24
Prove that you are doers of the Gospel, and not hearers only; because those who believe that hearing is enough are deceiving themselves. Because, if one hears the Message and does not act accordingly, it is like the one who looks in the mirror at the face that nature gave him; he takes one look at her and walks away, and promptly forgets what kind of a man he is.
Once again, Santiago presents us with his proven pictorial mastery in two of his graphic paintings. First of all, he introduces us to the one who goes to the church meeting, and hears the reading and exposition of the Gospel, and believes that with that he is already a Christian. He has his eyes closed to the fact that what is read and heard in church has to be lived. He still often identifies going to church and reading the Bible with Christianity, but that’s not halfway there. The really important thing is to translate what we have heard into action.
Secondly, Santiago says that this person is like the one who looks in the mirror -mirrors were not made of glass back then, but of polished metal-, sees the defects that disfigure his face and disheveles his hair, and leaves. and he forgets about his appearance, so he does nothing to improve himself. Listening to the Word of truth reveals to one how it is and how it should be. He sees what is wrong; and what you have to do to remedy it; but, if he only listens, he stays as he was, and it has not done him any good.
James reminds us that what we hear in church we have to experience outside – or there is no point in hearing it.
Source: New Testament Commentary
Matt 7:21-27; Luke 11:28; Romans 2:13.
Source: Hispano-American Interdenominational Translation
CROSS-REFERENCES
43 Lev 18:5; Deu 7:11; 1Sa 15:22; Matt 7:21; Romans 10:5; 1Jn 3:7
44 2Ti 3:13; Tit 3:3
Source: New World Translation
deceiving yourselves… Lit. miscalculating for yourselves.
Source: Textual Bible IV Edition
R947 The negative is used with μόνον because the imperative γίνεσθε is implied.
Source: Grammar Help for the Study of the Greek New Testament
lit. miscalculating for yourselves.