Doers of the Word: Not Spiritual Auditors With Clipboards

Text: James 1:22-27

In the name of Jesus: Amen.

Dear friends, there's a certain kind of Christian who loves our Epistle reading from James for all the wrong reasons.  When they hear James say, “Be doers of the word, and not only hearers,” well… they become excited.  When they hear, “Be doers of the word, and not only hearers,” they become excited because they think to themselves, 

“Finally, here is a verse that calls out other Christians who are just not measuring up.  It is about time those second-class lazy Christians hear God’s Word and learn to try harder!”  

And so then, using the verses from the Epistle of James, the excited Christian immediately reaches for a clipboard. They sharpen their pencils, adjust their glasses, and begin looking down the pews and examining the church roster.  They even begin to consider their Christian neighbors across the street and family members, with the intent of handing out spiritual grades.  They say to themselves, 

“Hmm, I don’t think Johnny has been doing enough in the church.”

“Check: I haven’t seen enough volunteering from my neighbor Pam lately.”

“And Tom… let’s mark him down. I'm pretty sure he doesn't pray enough.”

“And young, Susie; infraction for her!  Everyone knows that she doesn't dress nice enough.”

“The Jones family, for goodness ' sake, their children are never quiet enough in church.”

“And Tammy, definitely her! She just laughs too much. She never takes anything too seriously.”

And so, after a bunch of scribbling on the clipboard, the Epistle reading from James has become a spiritual auditing tool, where the excited Christian has inspected their neighbor and given out spiritual grades based on their own expectations of what it means to be a doer of the word.

Dear friends, please listen very carefully. The reading from the Epistle of James is not handing you a clipboard. No, James is not handing you a clipboard.  Instead, James is holding up a mirror.

Consider what James said to us just a moment ago. He tells us that a person who hears the Word and does not do it is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror, then walks away and forgets what he looks like. You see, right there we hear that the mirror is not first for your neighbor's face, it is for yours. 

Let me be very blunt. James does not tell you to look into the mirror of your own word and then go around identifying everyone else's blemishes. James does not tell you to look into the mirror of your own word and then become the Church’s spiritual fruit inspector. James does not tell you to contemplate your own word, then grab a clipboard to go around and determine who is a real Christian and who is not. No, James is saying that you should hear God’s Word for yourself, then, looking into the mirror of God’s Word, consider it for yourself.  

Let me be very clear this morning, our reading from James gets abused in the American Church. It gets used by clipboard Christians as a weapon against other people rather than being a weapon used against our own sinful nature. That is to say, we need to put down the clipboard and understand that James is speaking to you and me right now. The reading from James is not criteria for a clipboard but a mirror for all of us today.  

So, considering this, if the Epistle reading from James is for you and me, what does James mean that we are to be doers of the Word, and not merely hearers?  

Dear friends, being a doer of the Word does not mean to be a better performer of good works so that God will accept you. No, that is not Christianity. That is paganism with Bible verses.

Furthermore, to be a doer of the Word does not mean that we uphold manmade expectations for salvation.  No, that is legalism with a clipboard. 

Instead, to be a doer of the Word means that the Word of God does its work upon you. 

Let me give you an example: when the 10 Commandments tell you what you should and should not do towards God and your neighbor, being a doer of the Word means you do not dodge, excuse, or minimize these Commandments of God.  In fact, when the 10 commandments expose to us that we are sinners in thought, word, and deed, we do not blame, shift, or deny this reality.  Instead, as a doer of the Word, we say, 

“Amen. God is right.  I am a sinner.”

Furthermore, when the Gospel says, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners,” the doer of the Word does not say, 

“That sounds too easy.” 

Or, 

“I wonder if Jesus is enough; maybe I should try to add my own works to Jesus.”  

No!  A doer of the Word says,

“Amen. Christ is for me.  His blood is for me.  His forgiveness is for me. I am redeemed – I am forgiven.  I am His, and He is mine because that is what the Word says!”

You see, it's quite simple. To be a doer of the Word means that when the Word of God says that you are a Sinner according to the Law, you agree that you are a Sinner according to the Law. 

When the Word of God says that you are forgiven because of the Gospel, a doer of the Word believes it to be so. 

Furthermore, when the Word of God says you are marked secure in Holy Baptism, the doer of the Word clings to Baptism. 

When the Word of God says take, eat, drink, given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins, the doer of the Word cherishes and receives Christ’s body and blood in faith.

When the Word of God says to love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, and strength, the doer of the Word loves God with all their heart, mind, and strength. 

When the Word of God says to love your neighbor as yourself, the doer of the Word loves their neighbor with sacrificial love.  

Right about now, you may be thinking to yourself, 

“But Pastor Richard, I don't do these things perfectly.” 

No, you don't, and neither do I. 

Listen up; this is very important.

The doer of the Word is not a person who says, 

“Look at me, I'm a doer of the Word. I've mastered the Christian life.”

The doer of the Word is not a person with their clipboard saying, 

“It sure looks like I have mastered all the good works that I must do in my life. I must be a true Christian, for I'm certainly doing more good works than everybody else around me.”

No, the doer of the Word is a person who looks honestly into the Word of God, the 10 commandments, and says, 

“Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner.”

The doer of the Word is the person who says, 

“Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me. I have no righteousness of my own. I need Your righteousness. I need Your forgiveness. I need Your body and blood. I need Your Word. I need Your mercy.”  

Baptized Saints, you are not a doer of the Word by looking busy, sounding pious, appearing serious, or meeting someone else's checklist. To be a doer of the Word does not mean that you are trying to appease a spiritual auditor in the church or the religious community. To be a doer of the Word is not upholding somebody else’s expectations.  But a doer of the Word looks at God’s Word – His Ten Commandments and says,

“Lord God, Your commands are holy and good. Create in me a clean heart and renew a right spirit within me. Grant in me holy impulses that I may serve my neighbor with love, joy, peace, patience, and kindness through these holy commands.”

To be a doer of the Word is simply to hear the Word of God – the Gospel - and say, 

“Lord God, strengthen me in your Word, that day by day I may be fortified by the Gospel to hold fast and fight the good fight against all the temptations of the Devil, the old Adam, and the world.” 

Baptized Saints, the church does not need you to be a spiritual auditor with a clipboard in your hand. The church does not need more self-appointed fruit inspectors examining the works of Christians to see if they're measuring up according to their own human standards. The church does not need more sinners pretending to be holy, pharisaical judges. The church needs Christ. And dear friends, Christ is exactly who you have. He is your Savior. He is your righteousness. He is your forgiveness. He is your life. He is the surety of your salvation. He is the Word made flesh for you, so that you might not be just a hearer of the Word but also a doer of the Word, as the Holy Spirit grants you repentance and faith - day by day – through the Word and Sacraments.   

In the name of Jesus. Amen.