Not the Hearers, But the Doers

Romans 2:12-13,17-24 ESV

“For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified.” 

“But if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law and boast in God and know his will and approve what is excellent, because you are instructed from the law; and if you are sure that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of children, having in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth— you then who teach others, do you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the law dishonor God by breaking the law. For, as it is written, ‘The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you’.”

Now, this part of Paul’s letter was specifically addressed to the Jews who had been living under the Old Covenant, and since most of us were never under the Old Covenant, this writing will be mostly applied to our current situation today. For there is much here that does apply to us if considered under the teachings of the New Covenant. For we who believe in Jesus do not have to obey the Old Covenant liturgical, ceremonial, purification, and dietary laws.

So, how can we apply this to our lives today? Well, for one, we still have to obey our Lord’s commands to us, only they are his commands under the New Covenant, which are spelled out for us in the New Testament. We still must forsake our former lives of living in sin and for self, and we still must follow our Lord in obedience to his commands in living holy and godly lives, pleasing to him. That has not changed with time.

And it is still true that it is not the hearers of the Word of God and of the gospel of our salvation who are righteous before God, but it is the doers of God’s commands who will be justified. And three passages of Scripture come to mind here, the first of which is James 1:22-25, then Matthew 7:21-23, then 1 John 3:7. And they all say that we must be doers of the word and not hearers only, for it is whoever practices righteousness who is righteous.

And then this moves on to the subject of hypocrisy. Today this would be regarding those who make a profession of faith in Jesus Christ, who profess to believe in what the Scriptures teach. Some of them even know the Scriptures well, at least intellectually, and some of them have taught or are presently teaching the Scriptures, so some of them are also pastors of church congregations. But they are not living what they teach and preach.

So, when they try to tell others what the Scriptures teach, or when they spout out the truth of the Scriptures, but when they themselves are not living what they teach, but they are doing the opposite, then they are hypocrites. For they see themselves as guides to blind, but while they still walk in darkness. And that is because their minds are filled with all kinds of biblical knowledge, but which they do not put into practice in their lives.

For it is not what we know that matters so much as it is what we do with what we know. Are we putting into daily practice the teachings of Christ and of his New Testament apostles which were written down for our instruction? Or are we still holding on to sin or just to pet sins, and so we don’t want to let go? We know the way of salvation. We know what God requires of us. But are we choosing the ways of the Lord or the ways of the flesh?

And this doesn’t have to be about someone preaching or teaching the Word of God, either. For if you profess to believe the Word of God, then you are professing to believe that we, as followers of Christ, are to live in moral purity, truthfulness, and faithfulness, and not in adultery, lying, and in sexual immorality. So, when you do the opposite of that, you are being a hypocrite. And we are not to be hypocrites.

So, what’s the bottom line here? It is really summed up for us here:

“For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified” (Romans 2:13).

For we are all given the opportunity to choose God or to choose the flesh (see Romans 1:18-32). So, if we choose the flesh over God, we are without excuse, and we will die in our sins, and we will not have eternal life with God regardless of what faith in Christ we professed with our lips. For to choose God means leaving our lives of sin behind us to follow our Lord in obedience to his commands and in holy living, by the Spirit of God.

[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

My Sheep  

An Original Work / June 24, 2012  

Based off John 10:1-18 NIV

My sheep hear me. They know me.

They listen to my voice and obey.

I call them and lead them.

They know my voice, so they follow me.

They will never follow strangers.

They will run away from them.

The voice of a stranger they know not;

They do not follow him.

So, I tell you the truth that

I am the gate, so you enter in.

Whoever does enter

Will find forgiveness and will be saved.

Nonetheless whoever enters

Not by the gate; other way,

He is the thief and a robber.

Listen not, the sheep to him.

Oh, I am the Good Shepherd,

Who laid his own life down for the sheep.

I know them. They know me.

They will live with me eternally.

The thief only comes to steal and

Kill and to destroy the church.

I have come to give you life that

You may have it to the full… 

They know my voice, so they follow me.

https://vimeo.com/114938263