Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary James 1:22

"But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deluding your own selves." — James 1:22 (ASV)

The author next discusses putting the Word into practice. It is not enough merely to “listen to the word” or, by the same token, merely to read it. Those who congratulate themselves on being hearers of the truth are deceiving themselves. If they assume that this is all that is needed to earn them a position of special favor with God, they are sadly mistaken. In reality, the responsibility of those who hear is far greater than that of those who have never heard. If they do not combine doing with hearing, they put themselves in a most vulnerable position. The call to “do what it says” lies at the center of all that James teaches and sums up the whole book: Put into practice what you profess to believe.