It is the will of God that we should hear His Word and do it. We may seek to know His words and admire their beauty and wisdom, but if we do not do them we delude ourselves. They are meant to be done. It is only as there is the readiness to do them that their real meaning and blessing are unfolded to us. And the measure in which we do them is the true measure of our growth in the Divine life. Let there be no mistake about this; it is a great point with practical James. The man who hears the Word and is not a doer of it deceives himself. He deceives himself as to his knowledge, usefulness, growth, and a deceived man is a pitiable object, he lives in a vain show, and lives in vain.

Mark the order in which things are put in Col. 1:10. "Walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God"; if we are not fruitful in good works we are not increasing in the knowledge of God, and if these two great things are not going on in our lives, we are not walking worthy of the Lord.

—Scripture Truth