Dear BPCWA worshipper, We have, over the past few pastorals, looked at the responses to God’s Word. It is, perhaps, a good time in the year to evaluate ourselves in the light of all we have heard and learned. After all, as the last pastoral concluded, hearing isn’t good enough. Hearing and understanding aren’t necessarily the difficult part of the Christian life. The end purpose of these is that we will be diligent and faithful doers of what we learn. That is the most difficult part. The question is not about being sinless because we cannot be perfectly sinless in this life. However, there must always be a striving for perfection in response to the hearing. And our response to knowing God’s Word must not be one of nonchalance and stubbornness. Why then are some hearers not doers? 

They are not Christ’s sheep. Hearing God’s Word (i.e., His commandments) with a desire to respond is an essential test for every true believer. I say this without apology, because Christ says, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” (Joh 10:27). We know that not everyone who gathers in church to hear God’s Word is necessarily a born-again believer. Some may be there out of curiosity. Some may be present because of family obligations. But anyone with consistently scant personal interest and desire for God’s Word and to follow, i.e., obey, Christ’s commandments demonstrates scant evidence of being a true believer, whatever their profession may be, and however regular they may be. Being a hearer of Christ’s voice and being His follower, i.e., doer of what God says, is an essential proof of being Christ’s sheep. And the word “follow” does not mean outward obedience when others are watching or following out of joyless obligation. The word means “to join one as a disciple”. This denotes a voluntary desire not only to seek the teachings of the Master, but to seek it because the student desires to practise whatever the Master teaches. Are you a sheep or a goat? You must settle this question using God’s Word today.

They will not honestly face up to the truth. Not everyone faced with God’s Word will like what they hear. This stems from an unwillingness to honestly face the mirror to confront the reality of one’s own sins and sinfulness. In the earlier pastoral, I brought up about a “magic mirror” (which, of course, there is no such thing) where the person only wanted to hear what he wanted to hear. “Asking” the mirror was simply to boost the pride rather than seek the truth. It may be confronting to hear the truth about ourselves, and it is hard to receive because our pride rejects it. Truth may be contrary to the fleshly lusts that our hearts desire. We have just been reminded from the previous week’s message to always see ourselves as chief of sinners and the least worthy of all. The flesh wants to avoid facing up to God even when it is inescapably clear in His Word. Christ told the Pharisees in unmistakable terms what they really were. That was the truth. But because of that, the Pharisees not only rejected it, but they also hated Christ for what He told them about themselves. Truth brings a reaction, but that reaction isn’t always obedience. Similarly, we can hear God’s commands today, and His expectations can be clear. We can understand the English and what it clearly says. But we can still reject the truth and not do it because we refuse to admit that it refers to us or to what we are doing. This is the defensive mechanism of pride in a person in denial. This person will not do it because they convince themselves that it isn’t about them. The question is, are we ready to have our hearts and consciences pricked if we recognise ourselves in what God’s Word rebukes? When we do not want what the truth reveals, then we are rejecting the truth. We will constantly be angry when the truth is brought up. Only when we take it upon ourselves to want to face up to what God shows us about ourselves in His Word will we benefit from hearing. And only then will we know the joy and blessedness of following Christ as His sheep.

They don’t care about what the truth reveals.James 1:24 speaks of a man who “beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was” (Jas 1:24). Here, the person beholds, i.e., considers attentively, fixes one’s eyes or mind upon himself. He knows and may perhaps even acknowledge that shortcoming that needs correction, the “manner of man he was”. However, he forgets. Certainly, it can refer to a lack of retention in the memory (which, of course, affects our doing as well). But God reminds the reader/hearer that the mere examination of oneself is not all that is required. That reflection and self-examination must be for the purpose of and taken to the next step of translating that knowledge into action after having known the manner of man we are. This is why taking notes and reviewing them to remind ourselves is a good practice that will help with the doing. But forgetting means “neglecting, no longer caring for”. It may be a nonchalant or laissez-faire attitude (i.e., just letting things develop without strict intervention and control) toward a manner of living he knows needs to change. This is of far greater concern because it is a disregard for what God reveals and is known, even if he agrees with God’s assessment. This kind of forgetful hearer knows the truth and what he needs to do, but he does not go further than that. The solution is to take the Word that God has shown you, bring the lessons/notes God has given through His Word, and kneel before Him in reflection, in prayer, and in repentance. This will help you not be a forgetful hearer.

By God’s grace, we are not short on teaching and hence have no shortage of opportunities to hear of God’s Word. For a true believer, while our minds are no longer alienated and enemies (Col 1:21) from God, our thinking and lives need sanctification and cleansing “with the washing of water by the word” (Eph 5:26). In Greek, the word “repent” means to change one’s mind for the better, to view every little sin as God views sin, and to heartily amend with abhorrence of one’s past sins. It follows that if God’s Word does not have the effect of changing one’s mind, then there is no repentance because God’s Word does not have the washing and cleansing effect in our lives. It must be a very terrifying thought if you refuse to repent, even if you know there is something that God tells you in His Word, and especially if you do not want to face up to or care about it. I hope that, understanding why hearers are not doers, we will be able to identify our problem. And then, knowing the areas He says we need to change, we must set our minds to align with God’s mind, repent, and effect that change in our lives. Doing God’s will is not just to help us ride through storms in our lives. Doing God’s will is a sign of genuine salvation and true discipleship, for Christ warns,

“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.” (Mat 7:21)

Yours in our Lord’s service,
Pastor