But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.   James 1:22 HCSB

Walking is good exercise. It gets the heart pumping and helps to burn calories. As Christians we talk about talking the talk and walking the walk. It’s easy to hear God’s word and warm a pew on Sundays. It’s easy to come and sit in a Sunday School class or any other type of Bible study. But doing what we learn through God’s word requires a little effort. Just as getting out and walking for exercise requires getting of the sofa.

If you read God’s word and pray to Him daily, you are off to a good start. But if you never put that into action, you never experience growth as a Christian. We put this into action by our service to God often through serving others. What does it look like to do God’s word? It looks like Christianity in action. That looks like obeying His commandments. God gave us the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20. In Matthew 22, an expert in law who was among a group of Bible scholars, tried to trick Jesus. He asked Jesus which was the most important commandment. Jesus answered by saying that the greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul and all your mind. He then told him that the second greatest commandment was like it in that we should love our neighbor as we love ourselves. Loving God with all our heart covers the first four of the Ten Commandments which speaks of our relationship with God. If we love God with all our heart, we will not violate the first four commandments. If we love others as we love ourselves, we will not violate the last six commandments. In John 15:10 Jesus said, “If you keep my commands, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in His love.” In verse 16 he tells us that we should go out and bear fruit. In verse 17 He commands us to love one another.

In order for us to be doers of God’s word, we must know what God’s word says. We must study the Bible. We must stay in constant communication with Him by praying continually (1 Thessalonians 15:16-18). But none of that does us any good if we stop there. We can talk it out, but then we must walk it out. We must become imitators of Christ. Others should be able to see Christ abiding in us.

Ask yourself today, are you merely talking the talk? Do you talk a good game? Do you tell your friends about how you go to church and maybe even how you help out there every now and then? Or do you study God’s word and try your best to do as He has instructed us to do. Are you trying to live as He has instructed us to live? If you are, others will see that. They may come to want the peace and joy you will have found through being doers of God’s Word. This may provide you with an opportunity to lead others to Christ or produce the fruit that Jesus spoke of in John 15:16. We are told in Matthew 28:19, which is known as the Great Commission, to go and make disciples of all the nations. I love what Jesus said in verse 20. He instructed them to teach others to observe all the things he had commanded them and to remember that He was with them always even to the end of the age. That holds true for us as well.

My friend, the Bible is God’s love letter to us. If you were in love with someone and they took the time and effort to sit down and write you a love letter, I think you would read it. Many of us claim to love God but we never read his love letter to us. We are too busy to study His word. He should come first in all we do.

We must be hearers of God’s Word. We should actively participate in church and Bible study. We must also do what His Word commands of us.

I don’t know if you are talking the talk and/or walking the walk. But I know that we are required as Christians to do both. We are required to be witnesses for God. We can’t do this if we are not doers of His word. If you have been warming a church pew or sitting in a Bible study hearing God’s Word, it’s time to get to work. Start walking!

Have a great day!