If the Word implanted is dynamic, working salvation, it is imperative that believers do what the Word says (the verse in Gk. reads lit., “Become doers of the word and not only hearers, deceiving yourselves”). Certainly there is a sense of development or growth here. Being doers of the Word involves becoming,113 but the force here is in being who one is because the Word is resident within. Disciples are to “receive” the Word of God by “being” believers who do what that Word requires

The problem of self-deception recurs here. Believers can act against the Word of God and sin. Yet they simply must do what it says. For James, fruit must be produced, that is, acts of mercy. Hearing, listening to the Word of God, is right, but it can become wrong when another type of self-deception arises. Doing what Scripture says is not a question of acting quickly or slowly but acting at all. To be a hearer or to have faith only (cf. 2:24) is self-deceiving. Faith must be demonstrated (cf. 3:13), and to miss this is a fundamental flaw in understanding

There is a double mistake implied here by the believer who does not act upon the Word. First, the Word is being treated like a mere vision, a “theory,” in the sense of a detached mental image with no connection to the external world. The Word is like a theory, but it is a practical one that both reflects reality, that is, the natural face, and directs the beholder to act in a certain way. The second mistake we make regarding the Word is to ignore its message once it is received. The mere glancing at the Word without corrective action is of little use

Such an unconcerned quick checking and leaving, almost to see if the Word still condemns him, is meant to convey how terribly wrong this exercise is. The abruptness of the process is intensified by the immediate forgetting of what was seen

the believer who learns about himself and what God requires by concentrating on the mirror of the Word will be blessed. The sense here is of an intense looking into Scripture for the purpose of self-change. The exercise is one of careful attention to learn what is wrong and to discern what ought to be done to correct it. This kind of continual gazing into the Word—which is really a kind of hearing—guards against forgetting and motivates doing

Every believer walks back into life and away from moments of hearing the Word of God in preaching or reading, but not in the same way. Through humble, attentive, and continual exposure to the Word of God the believer will find a quickness to apply it both in the midst of trials of faith and in the temptation to give in to wealth and privilege