Doers of the Word

The next few posts mainly come from a Greek New Testament and an electronic book called Sparkling Gems from the Greek by Rick Renner. When I took notes, I generally followed the text, but I did make some additions based on other references works I have.

But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. James 1:22

The words “hearers only” are taken from the Greek word akroates, which was used in classical Greek times to describe people who audited a class rather than taking it for credit.

In other words, these people didn’t attend the class to receive credit for the course. They were simply there to hear the lecture, think about what was taught, and later discuss it with their friends. They had no intention of actually applying what they heard. In addition to being intellectually stimulating, these lectures could be quite entertaining.

These “hearers only” would roam from meeting to meeting because they loved special speakers and the excitement of hearing something they hadn’t heard before. Sometimes they followed their favorite speakers from city to city. Although the “hearers only” had no intention of applying anything they heard, they loved to gather new information that made them look more knowledgeable in the eyes of other people. It was their delight to attend meetings in order to be with the crowd, to have a good laugh, or simply to hear something new.

But they never put any effort or action into what they heard. They didn’t consider that it was a message to apply or obey. They weren’t listening to master information, get credit or progress. They simply wanted to have a good time.