James 1:22-25

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 who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. ²⁴ For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. ²⁵ But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.”

As we come to the final sermon in this series, I want to begin by reminding you briefly of what we have seen over the past six weeks…

1. Over the past six weeks we have determined that God has sovereignly chosen to reveal to humans HIS existence, HIS nature, and HIS will. HE did this through a process we call, “Revelation” and that Revelation of HIMSELF came through the divinely decreed means of Creation, our Conscience, the Content of Scripture, and through Christ!!
2. We have determined that through the process of “Inspiration” we have the very Words of very God given in human language to human authors who perfectly wrote what God would have written had HE simply written them down HIMSELF.
3. We have determined that through the process of Preservation God worked throughout history to preserve HIS Word which HE has given to humans in human language and through human authors.
4. We have determined that through the process of Canonization God enabled men and women to rightly understand which writings HE had inspired and preserved and therefore ought to be included in the Canon of Holy Scripture!
5. We have determined that through the process of Translation God equipped and enabled men and women to transfer HIS revealed, inspired, preserved, and canonized Words from the original languages in which they were given into additional human languages
6. Last week, we determined that through the process of Interpretation God gives HIS people (by the in-dwelling presence and work of the HOLY SPIRIT) the ability to both understand and rightly interpret the intended meaning of HIS Words!
7. This coming Lord’s Day morning, as the LORD allows, I want to help you see how we are to apply God’s revealed, inspired, preserved, canonized, accurately translated, and rightly interpreted Words to our everyday life!!

Among the most helpful KEYS to rightly applying the Scriptures is being aware of the four different “purposes” God has for giving us HIS Words:

– Some of HIS Words are “Prescriptive” – “Thou shalt”

– Some of HIS Words are “Proscriptive” – “Thou shalt not”

– Some of HIS Words are “Descriptive” – “How things are”

– Some of HIS Words are “Illustrative” – “Deeper, or more practical understanding” (Metaphor, Simile, Parables, etc.).

We will break down our Text for the week, (James 1:22-25) and see how the many different phrases contained in these four verses reflect these multiple purposes!

As the Lord allows, I intend to close out this sermon and the series by applying four critical realities to the understanding and application of our Text.

I trust that you will find this exercise in Biblical Application to be helpful both as a practical application of James 1:22-25, and as a pattern for applying all of the Scripture to all of your life.

As Tom Rains always says… “I hope to see you Sunday with a smile on your face, your Bible in your hand, and your family and friends by your side!”

Amen.