Putting The Bible Into Practice

Did you know that you can attend a college-accredited course without being responsible for the requirements listed in the syllabus? Though the rules and availability vary by school and professor, you can "Audit" a class of your choosing.   Although there is a formal registration process that may include a fee, you can take a class in which you are not accountable for attendance or assignments. However, if you choose to audit a class, you will not be receiving credit on your academic transcript.  

We sometimes treat God's Word as if we can simply "audit" church services, Bible study groups, classes, and gatherings without being accountable for what we learn. However, God's will is for us not to view the Bible as merely an academic exercise that checks a religious box or as occasional inspirational sayings. Instead, we should see His Words as teachings that we need to put into practice without delay.

James 1:22-25, “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.”

Being a doer doesn't mean we have the whole Bible memorized or that we impose self-righteous standards on ourselves or others. Rather, God is calling us to actively hear what He says in the Scriptures and apply it. To meet this objective, think of the word obedience. In Luke 11:28 Jesus said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”
When we do this, we will not forget what we read like that man in verses 23 and 24 above who looks intently in the mirror only to forget what he saw!  

James shares with us a profound motivation for focusing on God's Word, describing it as the perfect law of liberty. A proper understanding of both the Old and New Testaments reveals that it is impossible to be sinless and atone for those transgressions in our strength. This is why we need the grace of God. However, the purpose of God's law is not to remind us of how sinful or foolish we are. On the contrary, God's perfect truth has the power to set us free from sin and death.

With this understanding, let us seize every opportunity to hear God's Word and apply it in our daily lives. The last thing we should do is expect spiritual growth, greater trust from God, and opportunities to serve if we are merely auditing the Bible. Let us put the Bible into practice!